Experiment C-32 | Simon "Ghost" Riley

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Ghost's mind raced, replaying the video he saw of Iris being experimented on as the team made their way back to base in the helicopter. His guilt swirled with the anger in his chest. He stared blankly ahead of him, "Lt.?" Soap broke his trance as he put a rough hand on his shoulder. Ghost looked at Soap. "It's not your fault." Soap assured but Ghost thought differently and shook his head. "If I would've just kept lookin'-" "Don't do that to yourself, Lt. We didn't know Makarov had her." Soap tried once more. "I never should've stopped searching..." Ghost whispered as his heart felt sore. "Who knows what else he's done to her..." Ghost said as all the sick possibilities flashed in his mind, making him feel nauseous. "We'll find her," Soap said quietly as he looked at Gaz who had a somber expression on his face. Once the helicopter landed, the team quickly exited the cabin and made their way to Price's office.

Konig and Iris sat on the ground in the forest. "Where can we go?" Konig asked as he looked at Iris intensely. She shrugged, "I don't know..." she sighed, "There's one place I know but I don't know if it's still there." she said as she thought of the safe house she shared with the team at one time. Konig nodded as he stared at the ground. Why did he help me? Iris thought carefully. "Because I didn't ask for this." Konig responded out loud. Konig let out a small laugh, "No offense, but I didn't want to be a monster." Iris laughed and nodded her head, "That's fair. I didn't either. Papa did it to a few of us. Their bodies couldn't handle it, and they died right after he filled their IV tubes with my blood." She felt guilty, though she had been against it, fighting Papa as he took her blood after informing her what his plan was. He was never part of my experiments, maybe I can trust him. "You can," he paused, "you forget I can hear you, too." he said with a smirk under his sniper hood. Iris smiled, "We better get going," she stood up, "the sooner we get there, the sooner we can find somewhere else if it's not there anymore."

Konig and Iris flew through the forest, making their way to the safe house impossibly fast. After a while, they finally reached the forest that sat between them and the safe house. How sure are you about this place? Konig thought. Pretty sure, I stayed here with a team, they were assigned to keep me safe. They did until... Iris' thoughts trailed off to silence. Konig nodded, and leaped forward with Iris close behind. Stop! Iris shouted internally. Both froze on the edge of the forest, peeking through the trees at the safe house. Their eyes watched intensely for any movement or signs of life. Everything was calm so Konig and Iris walked out of the forest keeping their eyes aware and focused on the house. "This is it?" Konig asked, surprised, expecting something larger and more fortified. Iris nodded, "Yeah, I know it doesn't look like much but I think Kate told me not many people know about it. Most think it's just land out here." Iris said as they approached the front door. She glanced into the window of the living room. Confusion grew, "Huh, still looks the same." she said quietly. Her eyes darted over the living room, seeing the books she once read through scattered over the floor and the shelves. The couch that still had hers and Riley's favorite blanket to wrap themselves in. In the distance she saw the kitchen island still occupied as it was the day she left. Why does it look the same? She thought. "Problem?" Konig asked. Iris shook her head, "No, it's just- uh, everything is the same, everything is the way we left it." Konig looked inside the window, his mind suddenly consumed by memories that weren't his own. He saw Iris and men he hadn't recognized laughing and smiling throughout the house. A dog that ran around freely as Iris did the same. "The telescope is inside the door." He answered the quiet question Iris asked herself. She looked at Konig, "How do you know that?" she asked cautiously. "I'm not sure... But I can see your memories, too." he said with slight unease in his tone.

A Few Days Later

The team was sitting around a table waiting for Laswell to come in and speak to them. Ghost was still consumed with enormous guilt as he sat back in his chair with his arms crossed and avoiding eye contact with everyone. Price had given Laswell the laptop they brought back with them. She assigned a team to go through the footage to find any information on where they could've gone. After a while of waiting, Laswell finally entered the room. "Boys," she greeted quickly, "We found some information about where Makarov might be." Soap sat up, listening intently. "Where?" he asked impatiently. "In an underground bunker on the outside of the US. The coordinates match some we had on him years ago, before Iris was involved." Ghost looked at Laswell with annoyed eyes, "Why wasn't this thought of sooner?" he asked, anger rising in his chest. "It was in an archive, we forgot about it." she said with a huffed tone. "Forgot about it?" Soap repeated in disbelief. "We're some of the best in the world and we forgot?" Price asked, astonished. "We're only human, John." Laswell said in defense. Price shook his head, laughing. "Fuckin' brilliant," he said sarcastically.