Our backs
tell stories that
no book spine
can hold.
"THEY found Makarov's financier. She's an oligarch named Milena Romanova. Been doing Makarov's bidding behind the scenes for years." Kate spoke through the comms.
We were heading towards her private island, isolated and remote, filled with security: Konni group. The continuous waves hitting the boat were making my stomach twist and for sure my face showed all my suffering.
I focused my gaze on my feet, my hands fidgeting on the lucky charm hanging from my rifle. It was a small golden siren, its tail decorated with the most beautiful details, a gift from my uncle when he found out I was enlisting.
"We can roll up her money. Island's got servers that can get us into her banking."
"We need to get past her security protocols." Ghost's voice oozed over the comms, making me turn to look at him.
"Someone out there has a FOB key. We find him, I can get a live line and crack it."
"We'll infil from the water and split up. I'll go for the FOB key with Scylla, Ghost secures the rear perimeter." Soap nudged my side and I shot him a glare – in the end they all got used to my grumpy behavior.
We were now getting closer to the island's shore, the sky was dark and a storm was about to come. Ghost stopped the boat and signaled us to go, but damn the water looked terrifying.
I am strong, I have to be strong.
"Goin' in. Scylla, after me." Soap said before diving inside the water. I shot a look at Ghost and grasped my weapon tightly, "I'll have your back. Go." He whispered to me.
I took a deep breath and dived in too, swimming after Soap towards the shore. My black hair, previously tied in a bun, came undone as I moved, the soft locks dancing gracefully in the water.
A few silenced shots echoed near me, a pained groan from a guard following right after. Soap climbed on the deck and held out a hand to me, I grabbed it to help myself out of the water.
I let out an annoyed sigh when I felt my wet hair loose, I had no other hair tie and I hoped that it wouldn't give me problems.
We moved along the beach, checking for supplies that Shadow's left when they scouted the island. I grabbed a few grenades and mags, before we climbed on the rocks, near some cabanas. Before Soap could get on a balcony, I eyed an enemy and quickly took him down with my silenced weapon.
"Nice fucking shot, Scylla." He chuckled, while I aimed around to check for other enemies, eventually taking a few more down. I covered his back while he searched around the cabana, finding nothing but other supplies.
We moved ahead, walking up some stairs. I kept behind him and shot from afar other enemies, so he had his path free. We reached a small square, packed with enemies, and we opened fire. "Get down, Scylla! LMG!" A loud gun fire exploded in the air, making me crouch down behind a wall and cover my ears from the loudness.
I peaked my head and weapon, opening fire against it, hoping that luck was with me this time. "He's down, go! Go!" Soap helped me take the bastard down and we immediately ran towards another cabana. As I entered a powerful and unexpected blow on my cheek made me crash on the ground, blood pouring out from my nose like a river. My vision went black for a brief moment, "Fuck!" A pained groan erupted from my throat, my eyes widening in surprise when the man that hit me climbed on top of me, ready to give me another blow. I focused my gaze on him and panic rose in me, I couldn't move under his weight, he was so much stronger than me, the thought of it made my chest tighten up with pressure.
He was way too stronger. I was weak. I was completely weak.
My mind went blank, suddenly I felt helpless, leaving the man free to hit me once again. Luckily Soap was there, late, but still. He quickly shot the man, the heavy body falling on me as I coughed, trying with all my strength to push it off of me. I was trying to recover from the hit and the past that flashed by my eyes, it didn't have to happen, not on missions.
With a kick, he let the body roll away, fishing out a hand to help me up. "You good?" He asked with a concerned tone, which I replied with a small nod. I grabbed my weapon with trembling hands, checking its mag to assure I still had enough ammo to continue.
I wiped away the blood on my nose, leaving a smudged trail on my cheek. "HVI's down." I clicked the button of the comms, "Get his FOB-Key!" Kate ordered and I immediately followed.
I searched his pockets and finally found it, now what was left was to find the bunker and give access to Laswell to Milena's bank account. We ran fast as the sirens echoed in the island, back up enemies incoming with helos.
My nose still hurt from the impact, that fucker's blow managed to knock me down for a few seconds. I followed right behind Soap as we approached the security building, "Scylla, open the bunker, I'll cover you." He guided me and I quickly climbed up the stairs, taking control over the security gates. I pressed the button and ran back to him, now heading to the bunker that slowly opened up.
A few guards came out, instantly opening fire at us and we fired back, clearing the office. "We're in the bunker." Soap spoke through the comms while I covered the exit. He handled everything quickly, booting up the terminal so Kate could infiltrate the servers.
"Good work, guys. I see multiple accounts, banks, routing numbers.. it's a start but it's all locked under biometric authentication."
"SIGINT shows multiple calls from the main house." Ghost added, his husky voice sending a shiver down my spine – I cursed to myself for letting my body betray my mind and heart.
"Milena must be inside." I responded and started heading to the main villa with Soap while I changed mags to my rifle. "We need her face, eyes, prints.." Kate informed and I bobbed my head in agreement.
"Soap and Scylla – rally at the mansion. We'll take Milena alive." Ghost ordered and we immediately followed, finding the main entrance to the place, packed with Konni group's soldiers.
I hid behind a wall, far from the entrance, and peaked my head enough to aim at the enemies and take down a few of them. Soap, in the meantime, pushed all the way through, clearing the path. I quickly stood up from where I was hiding and ran after him inside the mansion,
As we entered, we encountered other guards and immediately started clearing, separating ways to quicken the job. I made my way upstairs, clearing other rooms before I found a code locked one. "Pop the lock on Milena's door, Las." I spoke through the comms and prepared myself to face other possible guards.
With a click, the door opened and I barged inside, finding the woman's back in my direction as she watched the security cameras. "Special Forces! Show your hands." I yelled as I pointed my rifle at her. Milena followed and raised her hands into the air, slowly turning around to face me.
I grabbed a chair and placed it next to the desk, gesturing her with my head to 'accommodate'. "Sit." I narrowed my eyes at her, "Fuck you." Her response made my blood boil, "Sit down, Milena." I said through gritted teeth and she finally followed my orders.
Finally, Soap entered the room and stood by my side, while I leaned against the desk. I touched my nose, flinching when the pain spread around my face.
I didn't pay much attention to their conversation, I was staring my reflection over the window, a red-violet mark was forming on my left cheek, stained with blood that was starting to dry up. I looked like a mess.
"How we doin' guys?" My comms buzzed to life when Kate spoke, "She's not talking." Soap responded. Some heavy steps approached the room we were in, Ghost appeared with a laptop in his hand while the other one gripped his rifle.
I watched him as entered, an intimidating aura surrounding his figure. "She's about to." He grumbled and placed down the laptop. Soap started to handle it while Ghost approached me, "What happened?" He whispered once he got close enough to me.
He reached out a hand to caress my bruised cheek, my body was completely frozen, unable to push him away or retort with my usual grumbles. His eyes analyzed my face, his figure towered over mine and my nostrils filled with the scent of his cologne mixed with sweat and gunpowder.
I sucked in a breath and finally moved my face to the side. "Why the mask?" The woman suddenly asked and we turned our heads to look at her, "To hide my face." Ghost simply responded, reminding me of the team's night out, when Gaz and Soap laughed to death at his words.
The corners of my lips slightly twitched upwards but I quickly put back my poker face. "We need to get this off the X. Make this happen or we take her with us." Ghost spoke up and walked away from me, towards Milena.
They started arguing over her bank account's money, but I was too exhausted to even listen. My head was spinning like crazy, my body felt weak in that moment. I focused on my breathing and sat on the edge of the table.
"We. Need. Makarov. Where is he?" Ghost's husky voice echoed in the room as he leaned forward, his intimidating self showing. Milena's chest rose and fell quickly, before she finally gave us the information we needed, "Vostok!"
"There's a wire transfer to Vostok Capital in St. Petersburg. Vladimir buys old properties, abandoned buildings.. I don't know how he uses them. That's all I can tell you."
"Pleasure doin' business with you." Soap flashed her a teasing smile and stuck out his hand for an handshake, but she just glared at him.
"Scylla, time to go." Ghost turned to look at me, but something felt wrong. "Scylla?" He called out once again and I just hummed in response, my body finally giving in to the exhaustion and pain, dropping from the sitting position I was in.
"Bloody hell, Scylla!" I heard his muffled voice and before I collided with the ground, a pair of strong arms caught my body. The heat radiated to me and instantly I felt so comforted, safe.
"I've got ya."