Unexpected Lover | S. 'Ghost' Riley

23.

I stood frozen as his words replayed. My heart felt heavy and squeezed into pieces. He didn't even hear me out. I looked up at the warehouse ceiling, trying to hide my tears. Still, in disbelief, I breathed and stayed neutral. Once I composed myself, I remembered there was a mission briefing, so I made my way to see Price.

Finally, I arrived at the meeting room. It seemed I was the first one to come. I took a seat close to the mission board and observed the papers.

'OPERATION MASQUERADE'

I heard the door open as Price walked in. "Well, well. At least I know someone won't ever be late to meetings." Price chuckles. I let out a weak smile, "Of course, Sir. Wouldn't miss them for the world," I laughed with subtle force. Price looked at me with his head cocked sideways, inspecting me. He then sucked his teeth, "Rose," I looked at him as I tried holding my emotions in. "Yes, sir?" I asked, my voice slightly trembling. My hands started to shake the more I thought about it.

Price sat beside me and placed his hand over mine, stopping my shaking hands and seeing my bottom lip hiding under my upper lip, trying not to break down. "Breathe, and tell me what's wrong," he spoke softly. At this moment, I felt vulnerable. I couldn't contain my tears anymore and finally unraveled.

"Lieutenant sir, he found out... About könig," I said as I sniffled, trying to catch my breath from hyperventilation. There was silence for a moment as my words came out; Price put his head down slowly as if disappointed, but why? He cleared his throat and spoke, "He will get over it. If he doesn't, well, Ghost will be the most immature man. Try not to stress it love, yeah?" he patted my back softly. I wiped my nose and eyes as I gave a fragile smile. My eyes hurt and felt numb, but my focus now had to be on the upcoming mission.
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After a few minutes passed, the rest of the team came into the room for briefing. Simon sat across from me, focused on the board and avoiding eye contact. Usually, I wouldn't be bothered by the lack of exchanges, but it was distant. I hated every minute of it. König was leaning on the wall, listening as Price explained the mission.

"Operation Masquerade is an undercover mission. Now, the next part I will explain will be discomforting, but do know this is for the sake of the mission." Price scanned around the room, particularly looking at me, Simon, and könig. Oh no, please don't tell me.. "Rose, you will be partnered with König—" Simon closed his eyes, trying to hold in his annoyance; on the other hand, I rolled my eyes and planted my face in my hands.

"Simon, you will be on the lookout and trying to obtain information on Esteban Garcia's next moves. You guys will be disguised, so blend in with the crowd and do not leave empty-handed. Do I make myself clear?" Price raised an eyebrow, scanning our expressions again. Simon stood up and left, not saying a word. I nodded, "Affirmative, Sir." Price then shifted his eyes to König, and he responded with a nod. "Alright, be ready tomorrow night, 10 pm, we are flying out. I will go ahead and find Ghost to let him know." Price added.

Once Price departed, me and König were left. König leaned off the wall and walked towards me. His footsteps stopped beside me, and bent down to meet my face. What did he want now? I sighed, "könig, leave me alone. It's bad enough you provoked the wrong person," He let out a small laugh, practically a pretentious laugh. "You are much better on your own anyway. This mission will be just like old times. You remember, don't you, Liebe?" he sneered. I got up from my chair and walked out not giving him the acknowledgment he wanted from me. I couldn't stand being around him, and it was bad enough I had a task with him as my undercover partner.
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This whole day stressed me; Simon thinks I'm dishonest, and König is just everywhere I go. It's like I can't dodge him. All I wanted was to let some steam off. The fitness room was calling my name, so I made my way over.

Reaching the fitness room, I saw Soap standing with his arms crossed and his legs in front of the door. As I got closer, he spoke, "Are you okay love? Heard it was pretty tense between you and lieutenant." I smirked, "Honestly, I don't even wanna think about it. He chose not to hear me out. I can't do anything else if he won't make the effort." I shrugged. He patted my shoulder, "I'll join you. Let's go inside." MacTavish has been there since day one, and I couldn't be more thankful to have him as a brother-like figure.

As we worked out, we helped each other do our sets and had some laughs. It felt good to laugh genuinely after everything went down; it was well-needed. After doing our last sets, we sat on the gym floor mat and talked.

"Do you think he will ever talk to me about the situation?" I asked. Soap softly placed his hand on my knee, and he gave a gentle smile, "Rose, he likes you. He won't be mad for long." My eyes lit up as I heard him say, "he likes you." Simon still felt the same way about me, at least I know that. I looked down and scoffed, "he has a funny way of showing it." Soap chuckled; he then got up, lending a hand to help me up. "If it will make you feel better, I will talk to him more." I took his hand, got up, and looked at him. "Thank you.. Really." he nodded, and we returned to our rooms.

Walking down the hall, I saw Simon standing outside his door. I looked down to avoid eye contact; he seemed like he was trying to get into his room as if he just got there himself. What was he busy doing after the meeting? I shook my head, I couldn't worry about him, but it felt impossible not to. I entered my room and locked the door, dropping my stuff to the ground as I walked over and plopped down on my bed.

I checked my phone, 10:30 pm. I didn't realize how late it was; I had to ensure I got enough rest. I took a quick shower and threw on some sweats and a baggy T-shirt as I wrapped my hair up. The temperatures always dropped at night, but it wasn't too bad. I left my window open, laid down back in bed, and thought to myself;

Tomorrow is another day; I hope it will improve from here on out. I must prove to Simon that könig will not be a problem, but if he's unwilling to listen, I must show him instead.