The first thing they needed to do upon arriving at the lab location was to find the breaker switches to cut the power to the holding cells. Then they had to disrupt the radio frequency to the shock clips. They had already done this at the last location in Manchester. It was important to start there, they didn't want a repeat of what had happened in Soap's lab location. Where they just terminated all of their assets and bounced.
Price, Ghost, and König slipped into the adjoining control room to handle those tasks first before giving the rest of their men the all clear to head inside and take out Makarov and his men. With both Ghost and König present, it was exceptionally easy. Ghost shadowed them both directly into the control room where König wrapped his tentacles around the men inside's throats to keep them quiet. With a nod from Ghost, he crushed all of their windpipes with a squeeze and a twist to finish them all off. He retracted the tentacle back into himself, leaving the fresh corpses to drop to the floor with a thud.
Ghost started working at the controls to get the signal scrambled and the power to the door locks shut down. Price moved to another computer to try and tap into the security cameras. He wanted to get some sort of confirmation on if the team was actually here. König stood nearby and waited patiently.
"How many of those do you have?" Ghost asked as he worked.
"Hm?" König hummed.
"Your arms, appendages, tentacles. Whatever you want to call them." Ghost clarified.
"As many as I need, Lieutenant."
A vague answer. But maybe it was less vague and more accurate. Either way, he couldn't focus on that right now. He got the shock clip signal successfully interrupted, and he was just finishing on the cell power when Price gave a little shout.
"They're here!"
Ghost spun around and hurried to his side. Price had one of the cell cams pulled up. In a tiled room the screen showed two individuals. One looked like a man, and the other was a siren in a small tub. The man was leaning against the tank, carding fingers through the siren's hair.
Rudy and Alejandro.
"What about the others?" Ghost asked.
Price flicked through some of the other cameras. He momentarily stopped on a room lit by the purple glow of a UV light. The camera was labeled as "Dryad". Although they couldn't see Gaz inside from this angle. Either he was out of frame, or simply not in the room. He continued flipping, landing on a more nondescript cell. There was a couple of what looked like metal dog bowls on the floor, chains on the wall, an IV pole set up, and a small mat on the ground. On the mat was a man, with a very distinct haircut. He looked far beyond haggard.
"Johnny." He breathed.
Price nodded, "Let's get down there and get 'em out. König, go get the other men and clear this lab of any of Makarov's goons. And if you see the man himself, try to keep him alive for us."
"Yes Sir!" König nodded, an excited lilt to voice, before running out of the room.
Price hoisted his gun and headed for the door, "On me, Simon."
Ghost lumbered after him. They picked their way farther into the building. When they made it to the stairwell they faced a bit of trouble. Clearly they had the most security for the basement levels. There was a loud alarm blaring, casting the whole building in a harsh red light. They were returning fire, but between the two of them they needed some of their back up.
Price unhooked some vials from his vest and tossed them directly down the center of the stairs. Between the sound of gunfire they could hear the sound of the glass shattering on the tile below. The smoke it produced was quite pleasant, it smelled of herbs and lavender, but it did its job well. Black smoke billowed up from below, filling the hall and obstructing the views of their enemies. Ghost took the opportunity to use the darkness and shadow directly to the bottom of the stairwell. Price must have called for König because he looked up at the sound of wild shrieking and screams.
One by one the guards on the stairwell were getting snatched and dragged up to the top of the stairs by long tentacles that wrapped around both necks and limbs and tossed them around. Ghost thought he heard the sound of König laughing from above. Slightly sadistic in all honesty. Particularly as the man seemed almost shy before, but he was clearly in his element and doing a fantastic job. Ghost left him to it and hurried down the hall to find their men. The rest would catch up soon.
Entering the containment ward was much pure chaos. Many of the creatures and monsters had realized their doors were open and their clips deactivated. They roamed about the maze-like halls. There was blood splattered across the walls from both humans and monsters as they fought each other.
He shoved through a few groups. They weren't his priority. He ran until he had to practically skid to a stop outside the door to the tiled room and quickly opened the door.
"Vaqueros!"
Alejandro lifted his head from where he was pressed against Rudy's head. He had his hands covering the siren's ears, probably to protect against the blaring of the alarm.
"Ghost?"
Ghost hurried forward, "You two alright?"
"I'm okay, but Rudy..." He trailed off.
Rudy hummed a noise that could have been an "I'm fine" but there was now way to be sure. Alejandro had removed their clips when the lights had turned off on them, but he didn't have anything to get Rudy's gag off. Ghost knelt down and handed him one of his knives and a spare gun.
"I'm going to find the others." Ghost told him, "You get that thing off of Rudy and you keep eachother safe."
"Will do." Alejandro replied, determined and he began to carefully saw at the strap of the gag with the blade.
Ghost hurried back out into the hall and continued. He found the room that they suspected to be Gaz's, but he wasn't inside. He would find him later, for now, he needed to get to Johnny.
He continued to book it around the corners around him. A few monsters that had been driven to a feral state lunged for him. He hated to hurt them, but they weren't his priority. He continued to mow down anyone that moved to slow him down.
He finally managed to make it to his cell and threw the door open. But instead of the terribly sick Johnny he had seen on the camera, he was met with the sight of an empty space. The IV pole was still there, but there was no Soap on the mat. He spun around the space as if he might appear.
He paused and took a deep breath through his nose and slightly parted lips. He could smell him, along with something else. Something vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He turned back around and began to stalk down the halls, following the scent. The taste his Johnny left in the air.
He picked up the pace to a jog when he noticed an upcoming set of double doors. The smell trailed in that direction. There was a screech that came from the room and he pushed through the doors.
It was some sort of surgery room, but he honestly didn't care about that. What he did care about was the sight of multiple security guards surrounding what looked like a massive moth in the center of the room. The moth was hunched and puffed up over something. It was hissing and screeching at the men to keep them at bay.
Ghost let the shadows slip and grab ahold of the security guards by the ankles, tugging a few of them down to the ground. A few of the others he simply lunged for, sinking his teeth in and tearing out throats. One remaining man he simply shot.
He turned to face the moth who was still growling and gnashing teeth in his direction. He looked down and saw the thing that it was protecting wasn't a thing at all. But Johnny.
Ghost stepped forward, and the creature rose up on its hind legs, spreading its wings and shaking them threateningly. Ghost hissed back and flashed his fangs. The moth suddenly pulled back slightly and blinked, looking him up and down.
Soap let out a little whimper from below the creature. The moth chirped and leaned back down to grab at him, but Ghost rushed forward and grabbed at Soap first, yanking him out from under the monster before it could try anything. The moth let out another little trill and attempted to grab him back, so Ghost snarled and shouldered the thing to the ground.
His attention was drawn back to Soap when his shirt was being grabbed and tugged on. He looked down at Soap to see him fisting the fabric in his hands that were still bound at the wrist. He had a muzzle on, but he gave a little noise of protest and looked at him almost pleadingly with dull and tired eyes.
"What is it, Lovely?"
Soap looked between him and the creature on the ground, but Ghost's eyes never left Soap's as he reached for another knife to cut the muzzle off. He carefully removed it from Soap's mouth and massaged his jaw slightly.
"There we are, Pretty. You're okay now. I gotcha."
Soap shook his head a bit and tried to speak before dissolving into coughs as he choked slightly, "No-."
"Easy there, Puppy. Careful now."
"S'Roach."
Ghost blinked in surprise. Out of all the times for Soap to bring up the man from his past, why now?
"What?"
Soap bobbed his head forward and down a bit and Ghost turned back to the large moth. Except it wasn't a moth anymore. It was a man. A man he knew well.
"Gary?" Ghost scanned the scars, the antenna, and wings. All the things that weren't familiar on the man, "W-what happened? I thought..."
Roach shook his head and slowly pushed himself up, "Not now. Talk later."
As much as Ghost wanted an explanation, he knew Roach was right. As he often was. It seemed that part of him remained unchanged. Roach stepped closer and appraised Soap, making sure he was okay before letting out a satisfied chirp and gesturing back toward the door.
Coming back into the hall with Soap in his arms, it was much quieter. More of their men were around, milling about and poking their heads into the rooms that remained closed. Checking on whatever monsters were still there.
Ghost led them back to Gaz's room to check inside again. He found Price inside.
"Captain."
Price spun around, "Have you seen Gaz anywhere?"
Ghost shook his head, "I was hoping you had."
Price looked on the verge of a panic attack, he didn't even notice Roach. He pushed past Ghost and hurried down the hall toward some of the back rooms. Their little group followed behind. Ghost wanted to get Soap out, but he knew that Johnny would want to know that all members of the pack were okay first.
The looked through multiple rooms, still finding nothing, before they found a sort of office space. It was ornately decorated. A large desk and decorative carpet spread beneath. Shelves of records and journals and books lined the walls. Still no Gaz.
Price was panting, he pressed the butt of his hand into his forehead. He couldn't lose Kyle. Not like this. Not after everything.
"I should have known you'd fuck things up for me, Price."
They all turned back toward the doorway to find Makarov leaning against the frame. He had a small rolling cart beside him, resting on it was a plastic pot with a tree inside. The leaves of the tree were looking yellowed and splotchy. Many of the leaves were dried up and resting at the top of the soil. Makarov was holding a cigar casually in one hand.
"Price?" Ghost asked.
Price didn't respond to him, "Let me make myself clear, Makarov. You will return my dryad and surrender. The longer you play this game the worse you make it for yourself."
Makarov laughed, "Your dryad? In case you've forgotten, you stole him from me. This dryad is mine. He was born in captivity."
"I'm losing patience." Price uttered.
"No." Makarov shook his head, transferring the cigar to his other hand, closer to the tree, "From where I am standing, the only one losing patience is me. You are in no place to make demands. You will let me go, I will take your little sapling with me. If you refuse... I will have no use for a dryad in prison or in the grave."
He tapped some of the ash from the cigar close to the bark of the small tree. Running the heated end of it up the side of the wood. Ghost could swear he saw the tree tremble.
"Stop!" Price held up a hand.
Makarov grinned and raised his eyebrows, pulling the cigar away and standing up straight, "You really do value these things' lives. You will order your men to stand aside then?"
"No." Price told him, "I just needed to get that cigar off of him."
Makarov looked briefly confused. Price gave a sharp whistle through his teeth and a mess of tentacles emerged from the darkness of the hallway behind Makarov and wrapped around his limbs and torso. He let out a frightened yelp as he was raised off the ground and squeezed. He thrashed and cursed before one of the tentacles wrapped around his mouth, shutting him up.
König stepped out of the darkness and into the light of the space.
"Good work, König." Price commended with a nod, "Knock him out and load him for transport. Don't be gentle."
"Yes, Captain."
Ghost was sure the kraken was smirking beneath the mask as he squeezed a tentacle around Makarov's neck. Tightening as the man thrashed and his face reddened. He only let up when he went slack from lack of oxygen. König sauntered off down the hall again, dragging Makarov along the floor behind him.
Price rushed forward to kneel beside the little tree and examined the long burn up its trunk.
"You'll be alright, Kyle. You and me again, yeah? I'll take care of you, Son." He spoke gently.
"The Vaqueros?" Ghost asked after a moment.
"Checked on them on my way through. They're still together. Go fetch them and then we can get the fuck out of here."
"Yes please." Soap mumbled weakling against Ghost's shoulder.
Ghost ran a hand through his tangled mohawk, "Stay awake a bit longer for me, aye?"
"Aye, Sir." He slurred, a yawn tearing out of his throat with a high pitched whine.
"Sleepy puppy." Roach rasped from beside him. "He's sick."
Ghost hummed as they headed back down the hall to Rudy and Alejandro's cell.
"We'll get him fixed up, Roach. Promise." Ghost didn't often make promises, but he meant this one with every fiber of his being.