Volatile | König

II - Caught off guard.

—

Marina's deep blue eyes lit up as soon as she saw Saint step onto the helipad. "Nice to see you here, V." The older woman exclaimed, rolling her shoulders in delight. Saint gave a quick nod as she reclaimed the headphones from the hand that was reaching out to her. She quickly boarded the chopper, popping her neck, bracing herself for a protracted and loud flight.

Saint felt uneasy because the flight was painfully quiet and, for some reason, moving at a very slow pace. She detested having occasions like this where she had an excuse to reflect on her sinful deeds from the past and the present, her thoughts were inundated with vivid images of the tons of blood she had spilled and the atrocities she had to go through to ensure the protection of innocent people. Although she couldn't deny that sometimes killing particular people offered her amazing satisfaction with no guilt whatsoever, she always believed that a person would have to be insane in the head to be enjoying killing others. She only felt horrible for the young soldiers who merely wanted to assist.

Until the helicopter finally came to a stop and landed on a remote hill, she thought while gazing at the surroundings below with bleary eyes. It seemed improbable that there were any towns nearby, and it brought Saint somewhat peace - being far away from civilization.

"Welcome to Russia, soldiers. We'll be landing in a few seconds." The pilot spoke into his headphones-mounted microphone. Marina smiled giddily and looked around at the four people in the helicopter. Saint fiddled with her icy fingertips, her vision still foggy. She recalled her last visit to Russia and how the events had taken a toll on her health. She's been shot multiple times, the bullets narrowly missing her vital organs, she's been assaulted, beaten nearly to death, and she's still alive. It took months of recovery to make things better, but the memories remained as vivid as ever.

"Lieutenant, Price will be waiting by the landing zone. He said he'd keep an eye on our helicopter until we arrived." Marina exclaimed, her gaze piercing Saint's dark brown eyes. She nodded curtly at the woman, her eyes widening slightly. Captain Price? Was she going to be on another mission with Task Force 141 in Russia? Her thoughts were jumbled; why hadn't Shepherd or Laswell informed her of which force she was joining? Saint was well aware that it was done on purpose and it angered her.

Marina was the first to exit the chopper as soon as it touched down. Price, as expected, was waiting for us near the helipad. His eyes lit up as he noticed a familiar figure exiting the helicopter. He made his way towards the crew, his infamous bucket hat firmly on his head. He laughed heartily and spread his arms out. "Bloody hell, Lieutenant V! It's been a long time, hasn't it?!"

Saint unintentionally smiled at the sight. Price was someone she genuinely cared about; he served as a father figure to her. She appreciated his efforts and consideration, how he would always have long talks with her after difficult days, he had always been the adult she needed in her life growing up.

Saint couldn't help but embrace the man, unable to deny how much she missed him. Price chuckled, immediately enclosing her in his arms and patting her back repeatedly.

"Do you want me to be honest?" Saint mumbled into his chest. Price hummed a yes as he waited for her to speak. "I had missed you. And I missed Soap, Ghost, and Gaz. A lot."

"I know, little V. You're going to see them real soon," he said as he withdrew from the hug, smiling lightly at the girl. "Let's go inside now. Everyone. There's a lot of shit to discuss..."

—

"Pishin' hell, lass! Look who we've got here, Ghost!" The tall, masked individual next to him was elbowed by the man with a mohawk on his head. "Woah."

Saint's smile returned as she watched her former teammates greet her and her companions. She approached Johnny McTavish and hugged him tightly. She considered embracing Simon Riley, but she knew how he was - not very tactile - so she stretched her fist out first, admiringly, for him to bump it. He let out a breathy chuckle as he shook his head lightly, still colliding his gloved fist with the woman's, who was much shorter than him.

She looked at him for a moment before overcoming her thoughts and giving him a brief hug, to which he jovially patted her back, to her surprise.

"It's great to see you thriving again, V. We missed having you around." Soap smiled at the woman, who reciprocated with a grin. "Thank you very much, Soap. I, too, missed your company. I'm glad to be back with you after such a long time." Saint avowed, taking a seat on one of the nearby chairs. Her comrades had followed her lead and were now seated around the long table intended for meetings.

"Hey, where is Gazzie?" She inquired, her hand wrapped around the back of the chair. "Should be here anytime soon, you don't have to worry, bear," Price groaned as he took a seat and tried to unwind.

Saint nodded, her hands now entwined on the table, which was strewn with maps.

"Saint, we're in danger. We trusted a man and were once again deceived. It was a man named Andrey Dmitrievich," Price said, leaning in slightly, his voice full of concern. "He owns a number of hotels and casinos throughout Russia, but secretly works for the military. He informed us that he had made contact with someone who had shipped missiles to the United Kingdom, provided documentation and a legal identity. We had Laswell go to the very depths of it and there was nothing sketchy about the situation."

Saint listened attentively to the man, digesting the information she had yet to sort out in her mind.

"It was a pitfall, fuck it."

Price slumped back in his chair and sighed in disappointment. Waiting for the captain to complete his explanation of the situation, the female lieutenant arched her brows.

"Once we realized it was a trap, we had Laswell go over the data again, and only then was she able to determine what we needed. Saint, you are aware that it's nearly impossible for Laswell to butcher shit like this; they probably took their time to undermine our system. Andrey is a ruthless rapist, a drug baron, and a human trafficker. He figured that we discovered the truth and fled the country sometime about three in the morning."

"Do you know where exactly he went?"

Price nodded briefly, mucking up the papers on the table in an effort to pinpoint one in particular. It was a scan of Andrey's flight's tracking. It wasn't surprising that he owned a private jet, but that's what complicated things - it took them a long time to track his plane and estimate the time he trespassed into another country.

"Moldova. He is currently in Moldova."

Saint's gaze shifted from Price to the rest of the team. When they failed to meet her gaze, she shot them a questioning glance. "I'm sorry, I'll need you to elaborate... Why are we in Russia right now? Do we have someone we're supposed to interrogate?"

Price turned to face Ghost, then Soap, and finally Saint. "Caught one."