Black Swan | Ghost & König [I] ✓

chapter 11

"I thought the door was locked!" you hissed under your breath, shoving the large man off you. He didn't reply, like he never does, so you took it upon yourself to assume that Alejandro's safe house was rather old and dingy-looking anyway, so it wasn't that shocking that the locks on the doors were useless.

But that was the least of your concerns.

Ghost stumbled back from the force of your push and caught himself on a desk near his previous position, but before he could relax he reflexively pulled his knife out and stood in front of you.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Your eyes gradually panned over to the man at the door. He was extremely tall and broad, even more so than Ghost. His attire was quite worn, but he possessed the same if not more amounts of heavy tactical gear as you and Ghost did. He stood in the doorway with a fear-inducing silence, as if his mere presence could bring even the strongest-willed men to their knees.

The most noticeable feature about the mystery man was his mask.

It was a long, faded ebony fabric hanging loosely from his head, and two choppy eyeholes were cut out so that he could see. Extending from the cutouts were two, sienna-colored painted smears on each side, sliding downwards across the front of the veil.

You looked into his eyes. Despite his initial outward appearance, his eyes were puppy-like, soft and warm. They were a mesmerizing forest green, and you felt your throat going dry the longer you stared at him.

"Who are you?" the unknown man croaked out, as if he hadn't spoken in years. At this point you had risen from your seat and stayed cautiously back, eyes narrowed on the figure in front of you. He had an accent — an Austrian accent.

There was a silence, a muted moment that left you feeling as if you were buried in the ground and suffocated. During this period, you found the man's eyes again, and watched as his cactus-green irises shook. His eyelids expanded and further revealed the whites of his eyes as if he had stumbled himself upon an incredible epiphany.

"...[Y/N]?"

Your knees went weak. Your heart plummeted to your stomach.

Before you could reply, he looked back to Ghost, a fury beginning to kindle beneath his iris. "What were you doing to her?"

Ghost was quiet, as always, and held his ground well. He stood strongly, unafraid, his body blocking a small amount of your vision. Still uneasy and unsure of the man's identity, and to your immense surprise, he stood protectively in front of you, his knife still held out to his side.

"I asked you a question," the masked man said, his Austrian accent thick and piercing.

The more he moved closer to you and the more he spoke, the more you felt yourself edging closer and closer to a realization.

As if possessed by something otherworldly, Ghost charged at the man and pinned him against the wall. They grunted and brawled with one another with extreme fervency, Ghost trying to stab the larger man with his knife. He must've underestimated his strength though, because before you could blink, Ghost was on the ground and the man with the veil over his face had him locked there tight.

The man punched Ghost with a loud blow. Your mouth was agape, but you shut it and whipped out your SMG, pointing it at the man with the mask. "Get the fuck off him or I'll blow your brains out!"

The two men heaved as you watch the man halt for a moment, considering your words, but just before anyone could take further action, you heard footsteps thumping down the hallway. You whipped your head around to look at the door.

It was the commander of German Special Forces.

He sighed, his voice as rough as gravel. "I should have known this would happen."

"C-Commander..." you said in shock, lowering your weapon.

The men panted below you. The unidentified man scoffed under his breath after seeing the commander's presence, unwillingly dragging his body off of Ghost and rising to his feet. You watched the scene in confusion and bewilderment.

"Odile," the commander nodded at you. "I see you've met your new teammate."

You breathed out of your nose as Ghost dusted himself off beside you. "Who is he?" Your tone was hostile, yet curious all in one.

"He can tell you," the commander said, almost playfully. His eyes panned to Ghost. "I apologize on his behalf... He's..." He looked at you. "...protective."

You felt frustrated, confused, and angry all in one — if the commander wouldn't tell you, and the man himself wouldn't tell you, you'd just have to find out on your own.

So, you swallowed any feelings holding you back and you approached the man, your heels clicking against the old hardwood, hips swinging side to side as you let your body relax. You felt more sure of yourself now that your commander was here, and more safe to play dangerously.

You came only inches away from the masked man, your chest nearly about to bump into his. You scanned his mask, observing every little stitch, wrinkle and tear, every stain and speck of dirt. Your eyes trailed up and down his face, and eventually met his eyes for another time — but this time was different, this time was crucial, catastrophic.

His eyes were painted with a cheap-looking paint, similarly to Ghost, and you could see his skin tone and texture beneath the eye makeup. You noticed his long dark eyelashes, the specks of earthy brown in his green eyes, the puffy eye bags protruding upon his skin, his sunken, tired eyes — there was a gleam in them, a mere sparkle, as if he was waiting for something.

And then you saw it, just barely underneath his mask.

The small, ragged scar splitting a portion of his brow. And then you knew. Then you were sure.

Kilgore.

Your bottom lip quivered, but you wouldn't cry, not in front of others at least. His gaze softened, but you wouldn't allow yourself to stare at him any longer. You forcefully turned your head and clenched your jaw and looked to your commander.

You opened your mouth to speak, but words would not come out. You had so many questions. Why was Kilgore here? Why now? Why did he disappear? Where did he go? Most of all, betrayal stabbed you in the chest — why was he here with your commander? Has he known the entire time?

You turned your nose up and rushed out of the room, feeling your pride drain out of your body. As you turned your back to every person in the room, you felt a single tear of joy, anger, and sadness fall out of your eye.