Nova 141

Chapter 17

I sat in the seat beside Price as he piloted the helicopter, giving me a birds eye view of our whole compound. Ghost, Soap, Rudy, and a group of Los Vaqueros soldiers came into view, as they approached the gates of the base.

" Standing by for air support," Price said, before throwing a quick glance over at me, " You like flying?"

I scuffed in return. " Better than boats."

" Why don't you like boats? Being in the air is more deadly if something ever happened," Price responded matter of factly.

" I hate the ocean, it's too unpredictable. At least if I did live after an aircraft went down, I'd be on solid ground. Not in the middle of the ocean with a seemingly endless darkness below me. Land too far away to swim to."

We both went silent as the group below us opened fire on the many soldiers inside the compounds threshold. Gunfire and explosions were going off at every angle, and I silently thanked Price for taking me with him as it looked completely chaotic.

The climb through the tunnels was bad enough. It was cold, wet, and dark, with too many spider webs for me to keep track of. Gaz had confidently took the lead for us all, disarming each and every alarm system Alejandro had in place.

Once we had made it outside, Alejandro and Gaz left us to the chopper, as their task was to find and contain Valeria.

The push up was slow and teedious for the group on the ground. The comms were surprisingly quiet, with everyone too focused on the fight ahead of them to be communicating back and forth.

Price was a quiet man, someone who spoke the odd sentence here and there. It was a blessing in times like this, my full attention was on the soldiers below us and keeping them safe while also using it as a learning experience.

" Price, I marked a building to hit. Flatten it," Soap's voice came over the comms.

" Copy your mark," Price replied, pressing several buttons, " Weapons loose."

A missile fired from the chopper, and hit the targeted building, sending shards of the wreckage into the air. The shock wave shook the chopper slightly, but Price stabilized us effortlessly.

The group pushed up faster, and finally made it to the entrance of the main building. " Think we'll need to make a way in?" Price asked me, and I shook my head.

" Rudy has it covered."

As soon as I said that, the front of the building exploded from the explosive Rudy had made sure to pack. " We're going in, Price, standby and cover outside," Ghost updated, continuing a few seconds later with, " Eyes on Graves!"

Price hovered above the building, scanning the area and firing at any Shadow Company PMCs that came into view.

A few more minutes passed, and the group exited the building, their guns drawn and pointing in every direction. Then, I spotted him.

Graves ran out from behind the main building, and launched up onto the wall surrounding the compounds grounds. " He's jumping the wall," I said through the comms.

Price glanced to his right, but it was just enough of a distraction for him to not see the soldier step out from behind a vehicle, and aim his launcher up at us. " Um, Price. We've got a... problem," I stated quietly, my body frozen in shock.

" What?" Price asked back, and then he spotted the soldier on the ground, but a moment too late, " Fuck."

The grenade was shot before we could even move, and Ghost's horrified yell came over the radio, " RPG!"

The explosive collided with the tail end of the chopper, and warning bells started going off, filling the cabin with their obnoxious noise. " We're hit!" Price yelled into the radio, and forcefully grabbed my belts and buckled me into place, " Don't brace, it'll be a hell of a lot worst than if you go limp. I'll try to get us down easy, but in case we don't, be prepared."

As the tail end of the helicopter grew with flames, it started to slowly pivot in the air. Price attempted to stabilize it enough to land safely, but within minutes, we were spiraling to the ground.

" We're going down!" Price yelled to the ground crew, " I repeat, we're going down!"

The landing was rough, but I did exactly what Price told me to do, and went limp like a rag doll. The belts stopped me from slamming forwards into the control panel, and the smell of smoke filled my nose instantly.

I reopened my eyes, and glanced over to Price, sifting through the wreckage at his feet. My injured shoulder was aching, and it felt like a wet spaghetti noodle on my side as I attempted to move it. Price noticed me staring, and his blue eyes instantly filled with relief. " You're okay?"

" Yeah, I'm fine. I think my shoulder might be slightly out of place, but I'm good. You?"

Price continued his search, cursing under his breath. " Lost a good cigar."

" We could've died and all you're worried about is a cigar?"

He glared back over at me, but his features softened when he noticed I was holding back laughter. " You young kids don't understand. Let's get out of here before this thing goes up."

I unfastened my belts, and followed the Captain out of the chopper. The fire was quickly spreading from the tail end, causing a black plume of smoke to rise into the air.

My shoulder hung loosely at my side, and Price held out his arms. " Here," He said, " I'll put it back into place."

He stepped towards me, grabbing a hold of my wrist with one hand, and placing the other onto my shoulder. I steadied myself, squinting my eyes shut, and nodded at Price to continue.

With one swift movement, he tugged on my arm, and pushed with the other hand. There was a loud crack, the sound of my shoulder popping back into its socket. The pain begun to subside, and I reopened my eyes as Price let go of my arm. " Thanks," I hissed, rubbing my shoulder with my palm.

" No problem, done that more than enough times," Price responded half proudly.

" You guys okay?"

We turned around to see Ghost sprinting towards us, an explosion going off behind him. A loud humming was heard, followed by multiple more explosions.

" We're fine, is that a fucking tank?" Price exclaimed as Ghost stopped in front of us.

" Yeah, Graves," Ghost muttered, " Rudy and Soap are taking care of it. I wanted to come and check on you."

Ghost scanned my body from my head to my toes, and didn't look satisfied until I smiled at him. However, it still didn't change the look he had in his eyes. He seemed distant and cold, but I just assumed it was due to the bullshit Soap and Rudy were currently dealing with.

" Did Alejandro and Gaz locate Valeria?" Price asked, noticing Ghost shutting down.

Ghost nodded. " Alejandro is clearing a vehicle for exfil now. Nova, you should go with."

" I'm fine," I protested.

" You're not needed here now, you'll just be another liability to look after until Graves is dead. We didn't expect this much of a fight. Price and I will go help Soap and Rudy."

I went to open my mouth, but Price gave me a glance, confirming Ghost was right. I huffed in annoyance, and crossed my arms over my chest. " Alright."

Ghost started talking through the radio, to Alejandro I was assuming, giving him our location. I still couldn't shake the feeling something was off wth him, but it wouldn't be the time to pester him about it. It would have to wait until Graves was dead.