Blessing in Disguise - Simon "Ghost" Riley

KIA

Natalie's POV:

Alejandro stormed into the room, pulling the doors open with force as Soap, Ghost, Gaz, Price and I followed closely behind him. He headed straight toward the table at the end of the room, his expression dark and determined. The other soldiers in the room exchanged glances and stared at him. 

He whistled, getting everyone's attention, "Orale- Vaqueros, pongan atención. (Hey- Vaqueros, pay attention.)" Rudy waited for us while we gathered around the table. I stood across from Ghost, next to Soap as Price, Alejandro and Gaz stood on the left side of the table. 

"Alright, listen- We are taking back your HQ. We are getting our prisoner," Price spoke, placing his hands on the table. "We are killing Commander Graves."

"When?" Rudy asked.

"Now." Ghost said. I glanced at him, but his gaze stayed on Rudy.

"This is a fight against our own..." Price said, pointing his fingers against the table. "We are not 141 and Los Vaqueros on this. We're a team." He said, shifting his gaze to Ghost, where he bent down and grabbed a bag. He opened up the bag and tossed whatever was inside onto the table. They were masks, just like his own, but the skull was drawn on. "...Ghost team."

I looked up to see Ghost glaring at me as his hand snaked up to the hem of his mask, tugging it before he  begins to take it off. I quickly focused my attention to my feet, refusing to look up. In a way, I would feel more guilty if I saw what Ghost had looked like. Soap tensed as he took his mask off, "No fuckin' way." 

"Good to see you again, Simon." Price said. I almost forgot his name was Simon, I've gotten so used to calling him Ghost. "If you're in, take a mask... If you're not, don't."

I looked up, and saw Ghost, who had the new mask, staring daggers at me. His blonde eyelashes and blue eyes seemed more prominent in this mask. I grabbed a mask and put it on quickly, slightly uncomfortable at the breathing situation. Alejandro looked at me and chuckled, fixing my tilted mask. 

Price turned to me and asked, "Zero, are you ready for this mission?"

I hesitated for a moment before I took a deep breath, "Yes sir, I'm ready."

Price looked at me with a mix of concern and understanding. "I know what happened with during the prison break was tough, but we need you on this mission. You're a valuable asset to this team." I smiled at him, grateful for his support. 

My heart pounded in my chest as I thought about the pain I had endured at the hands of Tristan, someone I cared deeply about. The memories quickly stirred up into a deep anger, and I promised myself that I would never let him and Graves walk free after this mission. I clenched my fists to control the familiar burn of rage that was building within me. The mission would be dangerous, but the thought of taking revenge on the people who had hurt me the most gave me a sense of purpose. Nothing would stop me from achieving my goal.

Alejandro placed down a map and pointed to his base, "My troops know the Fuerzas Especiales facility better than Shadow... So, we'll have the advantage. Be advised, they'll be on high alert because of the prison break... We'll infiltrate the base with two Ghost Teams. Team one is Captain Price, Gaz, Me, and one pilot. Team two is Rudy, Soap, Zero, Ghost and Los Vaqueros. Team one will use the tunnels to get to the tarmac and commandeer a helo. My pilot will take the Captain up. Team two will stand by outside until Price fires on the entry gate and let's them to fight their way to Graves. I suspect he will be in my HQ defended by his best shooters. While Gaz and I locate Valeria, team two will find Graves, and kill him."

"Sounds like a plan." I said.

"Let's go." Alejandro replied, giving Rudy a set of keys. Each team went to their vehicles, and drove off to Alejandro's base. We all huddled into our vehicle, I sat next to Rudy while Soap and Ghost sat next to each other. I stared blankly out the window as Soap, Rudy, and Ghost made small talk.