Nova 141

Chapter 18

The atmosphere in the heavily armoured truck was tense to say the least. I got to ride shotgun while Alejandro drove, something I rarely ever did as Rudy claimed the passenger seat as his. Gaz and Valeria sat in the back, the thick metal grates separating them from Alejandro and I.

Gaz decided to break the unnerving silence. " So... Do you guys plan on rebuilding or fixing your base up?"

" We don't have the funds to rebuild," Alejandro responded, his tone cold, " And it would be too much of a hassle to relocate in order to do so."

" As long as it's not flattened by the time we're back," I muttered quietly, keeping my gaze staring directly ahead.

" What are you two anyways?" Valeria spoke up.

This was my first time being around the infamous El Sin Nombre, and she definately radiated power. She had a constant resting bitch face, her cheekbones somewhat prominent. Her short black hair defined her face perfectly, and if she wasn't completely evil, I would say she was the definition of beautiful.

" Family."

Alejandro and I both glanced at each other as we replied in unison. Alejandro's face lifted, a smile threatening to cross his features. I bit my lip to avoid smiling back, wanting to stay serious due to the intense situation.

" He hasn't filled your head with bullshit, has he?" Valeria responded, obviously trying to get Alejandro going, " Wouldn't want him doing anything terrible to someone like you. Female to female, I'd run while you can. Hell I'd even take you in."

I glared into the rear view mirror, and caught her gaze. " Aren't you the terrible one in this truck? I mean, you're currently in our custody."

Gaz pursed his lips, attempting to hide the smile forming on his face. Alejandro's grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he looked into the rear view as he said, " Callarse la boca (Shut up, Valeria)."

" Hazme, pendejo (Make me, asshole)."

" Lo haré, pero te puedo garantizar que no te gustará cómo lo hago. Así que vete a la mierda (I will, but I can guarantee you won't like how I do it. So fuck off.)."

I rolled my eyes as the bickering in Spanish went on, Gaz awkwardly staring at his hands. I took the opportunity to ease the tension, and turned around in my seat. " How'd you start this career?" I asked Gaz.

Gaz glanced up from his hands, and gave me a smile, excitement filling his brown eyes. " I enlisted in the British Army when I turned 18. It just seemed fitting for me. I've learned so much throughout my years."

" What's the most important thing you've learned?"

" Your mentality is more powerful than your physicality," Gaz responded proudly.

Valeria scuffed. " Alejandro's mentality is none existent."

Before Alejandro could react, the radio in the truck crackled to life, Ghost's tired voice coming through. " He's dead."

Alejandro grabbed the radio, holding in the button as he spoke, " Copy, on our way."

~~~

The whole compound was a mess. The courtyard was filled with wreckage, the ground spotted with holes from the explosions. Some of Alejandro's men were already cleaning the place up, attempting to bring it back to its normal life.

The two large smoke clouds caught my attention as Gaz and I followed Alejandro through the gates. One of the clouds being the chopper Price and I had crashed in, the other, Graves' tank. I shuddered at the thought of his body left to burn, leaving nothing but ash left to his name.

One of Alejandro's men, Sergeant Bridges, gave us a nod as we approached. He was the one who confirmed Graves was dead inside the tank, and proceeded to light the whole thing ablaze. I didn't believe a tank could be burnt to the ground, but using enough gasoline will disintegrate anything.

I gave Bridges a sympathetic look, as I knew with him being a fellow patriot, it probably hurt him having to do that to another American. He only came to us 6 months prior, after leaving his hometown due to surviving a horrific murder that occurred in his family. He was the only survivor, his wife and two daughters killed while he was on deployment overseas.

Once he came to Mexico, he immidiately enlisted to be in the Mexican Special Forces. Alejandro took pity on him, and accepted his request. But, he definately earned his worth with us multiple times over.

As we entered the main building, what used to be our home, Alejandro was relieved of Valeria as two of his men took her to her cell. Gaz had ran off to Price, who was currently sweeping up some debris in a corner.

The stairs leading up to Alejandro's room and office were covered in glass, a byproduct of Rudy blowing the whole entrance open.

I gazed around at the wreckage. It definately wasn't as bad as we thought, with the main damage being outside.

Soldiers were beginning to cover up the front of the building, the sound of hammers and drills filling the otherwise silent room.

Alejandro let out a defeated sigh, and begun walking towards the stairs, I assumed going to assess the damage to his office. I on the other hand, went to my room.

The door was shut, and when I opened it, I breathed a sigh of relief to see nothing was touched. Everything was still where it was when we left.

I entered my room, gently shutting the door behind me. I turned around, wanting nothing more than to actually just lay in my bed, when I noticed a figure standing in the far corner of my room.

" We need to talk," Ghost said, his arms crossed over his chest.

" About?" I asked, taking my hair out of the messy bun it was in.

Ghost eyed the brown wavy strands as it cascaded down my shoulders, and he let out a sigh. " I don't think we should do this."

I narrowed my eyes as I grabbed my hair brush, and started brushing through the knots. " What? You can't just do that now."

" It's for the best."

" You pursued me in the first place!"

Ghost looked taken aback at my comment, and just continued to stare at me. My patience was beginning to run out, and I turned my back on him, continuing to brush out my hair. " What changed?" I asked simply.

" Seeing you go down like that. It... hurt. I feel like it was my fault, and if I stay around you, you'll just end up hurt," Ghost paused slightly, before adding, " Or six feet under."

" It was my own choice to go. I could've very well stayed behind, but I took that risk. If it helps, I won't go on another mission again. I honestly was thinking on doing that anyways," I responded, the last sentence barely above a whisper.

I pulled the brush away from my hair, and stared down at it in my hand. The red plastic handle was cracked, and some of the bristles were missing. It half reminded me of myself.

Memories of that night flashed in my mind, the bloodshed, the screams, the dead child's body. I quickly blinked them away and threw the brush under my bed, making a mental note to get a new one. One that wasn't broken or red.

" So what do we do?" I whispered, my voice wavering slightly.

" I just need to think for a bit, and you should get some sleep too," Ghost replied solemnly.

I made eye contact with him, and searched the top half of his face for any emotions. But I came back with nothing. " Okay," I sighed, defeated, " We'll talk more tomorrow. When we're fully rested."

Ghost nodded slowly, and walked past me, our arms brushing slightly. The room felt cold as he closed my door behind him, and I hugged myself tight as days worth of tears welled up in my eyes.