𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇, simon riley

deux

"YOU HEAR?"

Kyle Garrick kicks his feet up onto the chair, the recreation room quieting as the other turns towards him. "We're getting a new guy." Gaz looks to the his teammate.

"New guy?" John MacTavish chuckles, grabbing the folder that his friend flicks across the coffee table at him.

"New girl, if you want to get technical about things," a voice echoes from the doorway, and simultaneously, Gaz and Soap raise their heads.

Mari leans against the doorframe, duffel bag looped over her shoulder. "Allô." She gives a small smile, as Gaz nods in her direction. "Salut. Comment vas-tu?"

Her smile widens as she hears him speak, shuffling the bag to her other shoulder. "Je vais bien. Ton français est bon."

She looks at the other man in the room, who's just staring at the two of them, before he finally speaks.

"Can I get that in English?"

Mari laughs softly and walks forward, offering her hand. "Mari Moreau." Price clears his throat, entering the room. "Vie in the field." She nods along, as Soap shakes her hand.

"And Vie in the field."

"Soap. That over there, is Gaz." Gaz tips his baseball cap.

"I was going to show Vie to the barracks but I figure one of you two can do that just as well." Soap, who's already standing, looks over at Gaz. "I can do it."

And just like that, he's leading her outside and to a different building, where they climb a flight of stairs and enter a long hallway. "Quarters are here, most of em' unused. Gaz is in 14, I'm in 21, and Ghost is in 9. The rest are free, you can just... pick your favorite."

Soaps friendly demeanor is refreshing, and Mari chooses the closest unoccupied room.

"Ghost," she repeats, as she opens the door. "Will I be meeting him?" Soap chuckles, as she surveys the room, similar to a tiny college dorm in appearance. "At some point or another."

"This is nice," Mari remarks, tossing her duffel on the bed. "Last barracks I slept in was one line of beds in a long, narrow room."

Soap nods, and gives her a little salute. "I'll see you tomorrow, Vie. Up early for training, yeah?" Mari nods back. "Yeah."

And she tries to sleep. She really does, but sleeping isn't something that comes easy. Mari rolls around on the hardened mattress for hours before deciding that it's a lost cause.

Though it's early morning, it's still dark when Mari laces up her shoes and braids her hair back. Creeps quietly down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone and slips out of the building.

She's not yet familiar with the grounds, but what better time to figure it out than when nobody is awake?

She takes a path by the tree line, headphones buried in her ears. The familiar burn in her lungs is welcome, something that finally fits somewhere where she feels so out of place. At first, Mari matches the beat of the music with her paces.

The air is crisp and cool, her cheeks and nose growing pink. The fog is thick through the trees as she turns into the forest, pushing herself into a run.

Her lungs beg for air, which she allows sparingly in calculated breaths, feet hitting the  packed dirt faster and faster.

Mari runs until her head is nearly spinning. Only when her chest hurts and her vision clouds does she stop, and lean against a tree. She looks down at her watch.

Three miles from base. She turns around darting through the trees making her way back. She sees the fence ahead of her and lets into a run, before turning a corner.

Mari comes face-to-face with a darkly clothed figure, gasping when she looks up at the face. Two eyes glint darkly back at her in the early-morning light and she takes a step back.

The figure speaks before she does, looking her up and down. "You're the new recruit." The voice, a man's, is gravelly and deeply accented. 

"How'd you know?"

"There's usually nobody else on my path."

She presses her lips together. "Your path?" He nods, looking at this woman, whom he's never seen before. "Yes. My path." She finds his tone frustratingly arrogant.

"And who are you?" She's about to make some sort of sarcastic remark, but the wheels turn in Mari's head, as she surveys the skull-print mask. Suddenly, she thinks she knows who she's talking to.

"You're Ghost."

"Affirmative." He steps forward, eyeing her. "Have you got a name?" Her eyes meet his, stubborn. It's like the stranger demands a sort of formality from her. "Sergeant Margot Moreau. Most call me Vie."

Ghost lets out a breath, adjusting his balaclava. "Odd." Mari raises an eyebrow. "No odder than that mask." He ignores her retort.

"Are you easily scared, Sergeant?"

She takes two steps back, enough to be able to look the masked figure up and down. "Not by most things," Mari replies evenly.

She passes by him, shoulders brushing.

"Is that so?" Ghost remarks, and Mari stops in her tracks. The two face in opposite directions, Mari's back to his.

She doesn't turn. "Not of ghosts." He listens to the lilt of her accent, humming in response as she jogs off down the path. It's a second before he moves as well, the short exchange sitting carefully at the front of his mind.

When Mari reaches the compound, she's left with some sort of residual frustration, though she's not sure where it's come from. She sprints up the stairs and into the hallway as the sun finally peeks out, shutting the door behind her.

So far, this is much different than any of her previous missions or teams. Whether it's good or bad, Mari doesn't know yet.

note: they met already because i wanted to get this show on the road !!