The Ghost and the Shadow

Chapter 1 - An Old Friend

I'm awakened from my nap by Pixie, "We're almost there," she says excitedly with a broad smile on her face.

"Yay," I say unenthusiastically, I'd much rather sleep.

"What do you think they're like?" she asks, not being able to hide her excitement. I don't know how she's always so happy and positive; I'm the opposite. Perhaps that's why she's been my best friend since childhood; we complement each other, Yin-and-Yang.

"Who cares, I just wanna sleep," I say and readjust myself in the uncomfortable metal seat to fall asleep again.

"I heard they're all very nice," she says.

"Uh huh," I mumble, trying to get her to shut up. I couldn't care less about how nice they are or not.

Two weeks ago, we were contacted by CIA Station Chief, Kate Laswell, while stationed in Iran. She expressed her concerns about a possible terror attack on America. We assisted with a mission in Urzikstan before and she was impressed with us. She said she would be in contact in the future; some time passed since then though, and I didn't think we'd ever hear from her again.

She fears the Quds force major, Hassan Zyani, is planning the attack and due to our time spent in Iran, we have extensive knowledge of their operations. She believes we may be able to help locate his whereabouts. 

They plan to capture him for interrogation.

I start to dose off again, but Pixie nudges me, "Do you think Price still has the mutton chops?"

"Definitely; what would he be without his beard and bucket hat?"

"And don't forget the cigar," she adds.

I like Price and I've always looked up to him. I went on several missions with him in Urzikstan and he's taught me a lot, I look forward to seeing him again.

I yawn and look down at my phone. The location confirms we're already in Al Mazrah. I wonder how far we must still go to reach base.

I've never been able to sleep during the night before something big happens. My nervousness or excitement always keeps me awake. This isn't a case of either though, rather sadness. I already miss the base back in Iran, I made great friends there and didn't intend to ever leave.

I hate how I always have to up-and-go just when I get used to a place. Who knows how long this mission is going to take. Weeks, months, years? I'm just glad that Pixie is with me, I wouldn't have been able to leave her behind.

We grew up on the same street. Our parents were losers. My father abandoned us when I was very young, and I can't remember anything about him. My mother was a drug addict and had a bunch of boyfriends. She was abusive towards me and my siblings but seemed to take extra pleasure in hurting me, I was her personal punching bag. I still have many scars on my body, but none of them as bad as the scars she left on my mind.

Our house was always dirty and there were always people over. Usually, people I didn't know, sketchy people. It made me very uncomfortable, and I would often hide in my room, it was tiny, but it felt safe. It felt like the narrow walls were hugging me.

I have two brothers and a sister. My older brother was barely ever home, and I never had a close relationship with him. I tried to get to know him when I could, but never got far. He was always high and only stopped by to eat or borrow money. He'd never stay longer than 10 minutes and would leave again for weeks, before we saw him again. On the off chance that he did stay at the house, he would sleep the whole day. 

When I joined the military and got deployed, we lost contact.

My older sister ran away from home when I was 10, I haven't seen her since. I often wonder what happened to her, she was beautiful.