We Who Serve

Chapter Seventeen

Grimes kept a tight grip on the rope of the little boat they were in. The waves were monstrous as the small boats struggled to tackle them. Grimes was in Ghost's boat as they made their way to the shipping boat. The other two boats, with the rest of the group, headed to the oil rig. While they took care of that, Ghost and Grimes were to assault the ship.

"Ghost, we're moving up to the main deck. What's your status?" Soap asked down the comms as The boat pulled up alongside the boat. There was a rope ladder that went up the side of the ship, which would allow them access. 

"Boarding the ship with Grimes and shadow 3 now." Ghost answered back down the comms as Grimes was first to go up the rope ladder. Rope ladders are hard enough, add in dangerous waves, and they become deadly. One wrong step or move and you're in the water.

"Hold tight, don't let go." Ghost spoke to her as she nodded before beginning her accent. 

"See you topside." She told him before climbing. Ghost watched her closely as she climbed, the ladder swaying side to side. She twists around like a toy in a kid's playground. But this wasn't fun. It took all her strength to keep a hold of the ladder, but as soon she reached the top, she reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall before pulling herself over and keeping herself as low as possible. She moved behind a small box covered and pinned to the ship's deck by a net. Looking around for any enemy.

"Clear top deck." She called down the comms to Ghost, who went next, followed by the rest of the shadow team.

"Ghost," Grimes called out as she saw flares being set off from the oil rig.

"Shadow-1, Ghost, visual on flares coming from the rig! What's your status, over?" Ghost called out over the comms.

"Ghost, they're signalling the ship; they're gonna launch that missile!" Soap called out back to them. Ghost was about to respond when rounds were sent hurtling towards them. 

"Contact!" Grimes called as she stood up and returned fire, managing to take down one. They began to push forward to take control of the ship. That was their objective. As they moved, the containers on the ship also moved. They must have untied them to make it harder for them to advance. But Grimes and Ghost worked flawlessly, keeping an eye on each other as they moved forward. They were taking down gunmen as they went. It didn't take long for them to make their way to the bridge where Grimes located the controls to the missile. 

"All stations! Visual on the missile controls!" Ghost yelled down the comms. "I say again; Missile controls are on the bridge." 

"Copy that!" Graves called out as Ghost and Grimes watched the boat leave the oil rig and head for the boat they were on. "Ghost, this is 0-1! Back on the water. Inbound to your position."

"Solid copy!" Ghost called as the bridge began to take bullets from below. They quickly began to return fire. "We're taking effective fire! The LZ will be hot!" Ghost informed them as Grimes pulled a pin of a grenade and chucked it out the window. 

"Alejandro, maintain overwatch from the rig!" Ghost called out as Grimes continued to fire from the bridge to help Soap and Graves move forward. 

"It's good to see you, Soap," Grimes smirked at him as they appeared to join them on the bridge.

"Graves, the controls." Grimes pointed to the small armoured case on the ship's console. 

"Tappin' in." Graves said as he pulled out a tablet from a pocket. "C'mon, baby." Graves muttered to himself as he tried to disarm the missile. "Fuck, we can't disarm it." 

"Why?" Ghost cried out as he looked out the window, not wanting to have missed any enemy.

"It's too late." 

"There's no abort code?" Soap asked him, amazed there wasn't a way to override the missile programming. 

"Yeah, well that window's closed on that, boys." Graves spoke almost like he was out of breath. "Gold Eagle, Actual, this is Shadow-1. Missile's in boost phase about to burn, how copy?" 

"Solid, Shadow. If we can't disarm, then we detonate." Shepherd called over the comms.

"Rodger that, Actual. Stand by." Graves confirmed. "Soap, get on the controls. We're gonna have to do this together." Graves said, looking at Soap as he rushed over to the armoured box. "Now the clock is ticking. So we gotta move, brother. Alright?" Graves picked up his tablet as Soap opened the box. "It's a two-man job, Soap. Tap in, let's get this done. Yeah?" For a moment, Grimes zoned out as she fired a couple of shots to take out a straggler she spotted but zoned back in when she heard Shepherd. 

"We're gonna take out the oil rig with the missile." He called over the comms. 

"Alejandro is back there with the Shadow!" Soap called out; he looked up at the oil rig they could see from the window. 

"All stations, Clear the rig now!" Ghost called through the comms as Grimes then took her turn. 

" Alejandro, Will, get off that rig now." She yelled out.

"Rodger, what's the count?" Alejandro asked then as Graves told him one minute. Grimes watched as Graves and Soap worked together to hack into the system, bypassing the oil rig's target. It only took them a moment before Graves confirmed it was changed. 

"Let's enjoy our handiwork, Sergeant. Here we go." Grave said as he walked behind Soap while everyone watched out the window. "All stations prepare for the boom!" Graves called out as they watched the missile launch into the air.

 "Missile away," Grimes confirmed as it moved into the air before stopping for half a second and turning to drop onto the rig. As soon as it hit, it exploded. The ship shook violently with the shock wave, causing Grimes to step back.

"Look at that big bad, beautiful shit!" Graves yelled with excitement. 

"Steamin' bloody Jesus." Soap muttered in awe at the sight he had just watched. They moved forward to get a better view out the window. 

"Alejandro, you good?" Grimes asked him and waited for a reply.

"Santa Madre de Dios, that was fucking crazy, man!"

"you safe?" Soap asked, as he didn't confirm he was safe. 

"affirmative, you?"

"We're good here, Hermano." Soap answered him with a sigh of relief that he was good.

"Gold Eagle, Actual, Shadow-1. Good hit. Good hit. Missile and rig destroyed." Graves informed Shepherd of the success of the mission. 

"Copy that, Shadow-1. Good work. Get off that X and go home. Soap, Ghost, Thanks for a job well done." Shepherd called out his thanks as Grimes continued looking at the rig.

"Rodger that, Actual." Soap answered the general as Graves tapped his shoulder with his fist.

"We're RTB, men." Ghost called as Graves pulled Soap in her a hug. 

"Will, how copy?" Grimes asked down the line. 

"Solid, all in one piece," Will answered. Ghost could see her shoulder visibly relax when she heard his voice. He felt a ping of jealousy fly through him for a brief moment. 

"Let's get the fuck outta here," Grimes said as she marched off the bridge, followed by the rest of them.