„Get down!" Rora screamed, aiming her rifle above Ghost's shoulder, taking out a man who was running at them, ready to shoot them.
A bullet went past her head, only missing by a few inches, forcing her to back down to cover. She pressed her back against the cold blue container they found, a storm of bullets raining down on them. Ghost was quick to terminate some soldiers behind enemy lines, but the backfire seemed to be too strong for their small team.
„Fucking rats are everywhere!" the woman called out, yelling over the chaos around her, taking out another man with her deadly aim. The rain falling over their heads made it more difficult by the minute to see clearly, her patience running low.
„Just hold on!" he yelled back, popping out the now empty magazine from his gun, reloading at the speed of light.
„I still have grenades!" an idea came into her mind, earning a pointed look from him.
„No explosives!"
„But-"
Cutting her off with a cold look, he reached for the radio on his vest, directing his words now to the rest of the team.
„All stations! Visual on the missile controls! I say again, missiles controls are on the bridge!" he barely got time to finish his sentence, he was already reaching for his gun, hitting two other men that just descended the stairwell on the other end of the cargo. „Eighteen."
Her rifle run out, and a man was making his way more quickly through the loose cargo shipments than it would be ideal, so she reached for the pistol holstered on her thigh, shooting him twice, once in the head, once in the chest.
„Sixteen!" she exclaimed, flashing a grin at him. „I'll beat your ass, Lt.!"
„Keep trying, Sergeant!"
„Copy that!" came Graves' voice through the comms, interrupting their banter. „Ghost, this is 0-1! Back in the water. Inbound to your position!"
„Solid copy!" Ghost replied, only stopping for a heartbeat to watch Rora shoot at the men trying to reach them. A permanent angry scowl was sharpening her features, her cold eyes turning stormy like the sky above their heads, gaze like steel flashing to any movement, trying her best to get them into a better position. „We're taking effective fire! The LZ will be hot!"
„Roger that!"
The two of them emerged from cover at the same time, aiming their guns at the men slipping through the numerous loose containers, which failed to stay strapped down because of the storm and harsh waves, seemingly all hell breaking loose.
„Just one grenade!" Rora tried again, sending a desperate look to the man beside her. For a moment, he didn't reply, sparking hope in her chest as a smile already made its presence on her lips, ready to cause more chaos.
She thrived in chaos, especially in the one she caused.
„Stand down, Wells," came his answer a moment later, shattering her hope in an instant. A pout took the place of her smile, taking her sudden anger out on the poor soldier that was closer to her, releasing several bullets into him.
She had to bite her tongue to not fight back, knowing damn well that he had an iron grip on her. He knew that she will cause more unnecessary chaos, and it was already starting to get out of hand. Plus, he would rather not have the whole cargo ship sink because of her urge to blow things up.
Soon enough, a loud crash shook her world, her head snapping towards the noise, only to watch a dingy slam into the ship, sliding across the floor and landing only a few feet next to them. From it, Graves and Soap jumped off, already shooting at the enemy lines, covering them.
„That was fucking sick," she breathed, her smile widening as her eyes met with Soap's.
Ghost only got behind the cover to acknowledge them with a brief look, already getting back into the mission mindset he liked to maintain. Rora started to distract him more and more, and he didn't like that, so it was sometimes easier to just ignore her.
„Alejandro, maintain overwatch from the rig! We're forcing up!" Ghost called, motioning for the others to push forward in case they didn't hear him.
„Copy that," came the solid answer from Alejandro, while Rora checked one more time that she was ready to cut through the soldiers.
Ghost watched her, waiting for a sign that she was ready. Giving him an affirmative nod, the two of them stood from their cover at the same time, Rora sliding across the small, blue container that served as their cover before, the boys returning fire in an instant as she landed on her feet, her legs pushing her forward with such force that she almost stumbled over her own feet.
Sticking to the side, trying to cut behind the enemy lines, she dodged a container that came flying towards her, sliding across the wet floor on her knees, pulling her combat knife out of her pocket. She saw the leg of a soldier, him firing upon Graves, not even noticing her being as his cold eyes narrowed, trying to hit the Shadow Commander through the rain and metal boxes.
Not even hesitating, she slid forward, slicing the back of his knees, a loud, pained cry escaping his lips as he dropped to the floor, blood mixing with the water. Using her momentum, she jumped to her feet, slamming her knife into his neck, killing the man in a swift motion.
The next moment, a shot went past her head, causing her to pull her neck down, flipping the combat knife in her hand, ready to throw it at the man that dared to shoot at her.
A body dropping behind her caught her attention, watching as it disappeared behind a booth that looked like a security lookout, her head whipping around just to catch the gaze of the man that somehow managed to reach a small part of her heart, despite all of her efforts in protecting it.
There stood Ghost, rifle rock solid in his hand, aiming at the body that just dropped behind her. A thunder sliced the dark sky behind him, giving his body a menacing energy as he stood only a few feet away from her. The cape-like material hanging on his shoulders flew with the wind, and only now she managed to look at his body in a different light.
He had amazing body proportions, she had to give him that, and a deadly aim.
But she was still a little pissed because he didn't give a warning, and stole a kill from her.
„That was my kill!" she yelled over all the gunfire and storm, earning a little headshake from him.
„Push forward!" he ordered, already moving on, Rora following behind him with a determined look on her face. There was no way she would lose to him again.
Somewhere midway they got separated, the only man in her sight being Soap, cutting his way through some obstacles. She was several feet behind, but she kept a close eye on him, not wanting to separate from the group entirely because she was sure Ghost would probably choke her without a second thought.
She noticed another soldier jump out from cover, but she was busy dodging another container and being too far away, she reached for her radio.
„Soap, enemy at your nine!" she called franticly, huffing out a breath as her eyes jumped from the man to her partner.
Without hesitation, Soap turned in the direction she gave, aiming his rifle and pulling the trigger, releasing a series of bullets into the man. The cargo ship was being thrown by the harsh waves, making it harder for him to hit the target, but without struggle, he still managed.
„Good call, Wellsy," he called, his voice more cheery, a small smile appearing on her lips.
„Doing God's work, MacTavish."
„And doing it hella right," Soap complimented, her smile widening.
Hurrying to the side, she only came a moment later than Ghost, he already making his way up the metal stairs, clearing the way for the others.
„Hey, Lt.," she called, announcing her presence, hoping that he wouldn't shoot her for sneaking up on him like that. „Wanna hear a joke?" not waiting for a reply, she ascended with him to the upper floor, shooting down another man. „What makes a suicide bomber joke funny?"
„Bad timing, Wells," Ghost grumbled, stepping over a body.
„Well, actually, it's good timing, but whatever."
The four of them were quick to wipe the deck clear, ending up in the control room they sought all this time, while Rora checked out the corners of the room for any remaining enemies before she joined Soap and Graves standing over what looked like a high-tech briefcase, containing the controls for the missiles they missed.
„Alright. Eyes on the controls, tappin' in..." Graves casually informed, trying to ease the uneasiness in the air, her eyes following Ghost's frame taking a lap around the room, his observant eyes catching the oil rig for a moment before he continued his way.
Having the patience of a three-year-old, she was quick to join Ghost, feeling the need to speak to someone she remotely trusted and wasn't near Graves. She still held some grudge, for no apparent reason anymore, but her gut feeling (or more like her trust issues) started acting up again, seeking comfort in the man that never lied to her before.
Noticing her sudden arrival, his eyes flicked to her, his arm which held his rifle relaxing a bit as he looked down at her. She was biting her bottom lip anxiously, her wet hair seemingly jet black in this light, and despite her worn-down appearance, her eyes were wide awake, ready for action.
„What is it?" he asked, keeping his voice lower, in case she didn't want to let the others know about her problem.
„I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered, her eyes wandering out the window, watching the storm hype up the waves, both of them angering and fueling each other. „I know it's stupid, but you said to report if I felt something off. And here I am."
Her crystalline eyes met again with his brown ones, all of her emotions laying in front of him. His head cocked to the side as he observed her, wondering what caused her to go off like this, it was odd. But before he had the chance to ask about it, Graves' voice broke them apart.
„Fuuuck!" he groaned aloud, throwing his hands in the air. „We can't disarm it."
„You kidding me?" Rora snapped her head towards him, her eyes glowing with anxiety and showing a glimpse of the anger that always seemed to linger in her heart.
„Why?" Ghost asked, stepping by her side quickly, but still being awfully aware to not touch her as he passed.
„It's too late," the Commander declared, shooting all of them a panicked look.
„There's no abort code?" Soap's eyebrows furrowed as his intense gaze bored into Grave's, all of them being on the edge.
„Yeah, well that window closed on that, boys," he sighed, reaching for the radio on his vest. „Gold Eagle Actual, this is Shadow-1. Missile's in boost phase about to burn, how copy?"
„Solid, Shadow-1" came Shepherd's stable voice through the earpiece, her eyes wandering to Graves. „If we can't disarm, then we detonate. We're gonna take out the oil rig with the missile."
Well, now, that was Rora's way. Rora liked explosives and flames, those two things were on top of her list of favorite things in the world, but this was almost out of her way, too. And by the alarmed look she received from Soap and an unreadable one from Ghost, she knew they were waist-deep in shit.
„Alejandro's back there with the Shadows," Soap spoke up, panic tinting his voice, causing Ghost to immediately turn on his heel, facing the said oil rig.
Oh, fuck.
Her heart sunk to her stomach, watching the rig with anxious eyes, her shoulders tensing as she felt her heartbeat quicken. She grew fond of Alejandro, he was the perfect match for her with his hot temper, his kind heart being one of the only things that made her think about being nicer to people.
„All Stations -- Clear the rig now," Ghost speak into comms, such urgency in his voice that caught her off-guard. She never heard him so close to panic, and it scared her. „I say again- Clear the rig!"
„Roger- what's the count?" came Alejandro's voice immediately, taking only a slight pressure off her shoulders. At least they were able to reach them in time.
„One minute," Graves declared, taking a look at his watch.
The all-too-familiar rush of adrenaline almost swept her off her feet, feeling the need to move around caused her to guard the door with her rifle propped against her shoulder, her heartbeat drumming inside her ear as she tried to keep an eye on everything.
The next minute seemed to fly by like it was only a few seconds, and just as she came to her senses, trying to snap out of the numerous memories that linked this feeling to her, the missile was already away, it turning in the air and slamming into the oil rig with such a powerful force it made her feet lose balance. Her side slammed against a nearby metal table, a small hiss leaving her lips but she only felt a small part of the pain as she watched the flames reaching for the sky, her heart skipping a beat at the sight.
All those poor sea creatures...
„Alejandro, are you guys okay?" Rora's panicked voice echoed through comms, her eyes unable to leave the flames consuming the world in front of her. She failed to notice the look Ghost gave her.
A heartbeat later, Spanish curses flew through her earpiece, an immediate sigh leaving her lips, weight lifting off her shoulders.
„That was fucking crazy, man!" he yelled now in English, a small smile appearing on her face. „We're good here, you?"
„We're okay, too," Rora replied, her eyes wandering over the men beside her. But somehow, her eyes seemed to idle on the masked lieutenant, suppressing the memories that tried to surface.
There was a weight in her chest that became heavier with time, making it harder to pretend that she was alright and joke about things like it was nothing.
heeey!
we're officially so close to the fun part! the alone mission was my favorite one, and let me tell you i wrote a LOT about it. and i really mean a LOT, there will be multiple and long chapters, but i just love the ghost-rora-soap mechanic sm i just couldnt resist
dont forget to vote and comment, i love hearing about you guys!