Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

XXVIII

The days were becoming longer as January was flipping one page of the calendar after another. The sun was setting above the horizon later with each passing day, as the winter nights were getting colder in the middle of the season. Months will fly by as fast as the other years did, and the warmth will kiss the skin of the people again, painting the landscape around the base green once again before being taken over by cold in the endless cycle.

Price was standing next to a small window, watching the smoke of the cigarette escape outside and mix with the fresh air as his eyes were focused on the horizon. The fog disappeared as fast as it had fallen onto the ground the day before, allowing everyone to see the heels surrounding the base. Life felt easier so far away. Just for a moment, the captain wondered how his life would have turned out if he never stood a foot inside of the training base of the army back when he was 16. Would he be happier? Or miserable like most of the people who run from their homes to work and back again? These questions were meant to stay unanswered. John knew that history is written every day, and his story was already written by the choices he made in his life earlier. The clock on the wall was loudly ticking, building annoyance in the man's mind before all of his thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. It was 4 pm. The time he asked the boys to come for the meeting to hear the latest intel Laswell wanted to talk about.

"C'mon in!" His voice sounded even deeper after smoking. The burned cigar landed in the ashtray on Price's desk. As the three men joined the captain inside of his office ready to hear whatever Kate wanted to share with them.

The window that was letting the last bits of the daylight was covered with the screen, as the projector was showing the map of the world, keeping the man wondering where the mission would take them next time. A loud sound of the incoming communication echoed in the room as Kate's face appeared on the laptop screen, finally starting the meeting on the intel MI6 gathered on Makarov.

"Konni's in London, John," Laswell's voice was unemotional as always. The woman knew how to keep her appearance professional after years in service, not even a single muscle on her face moved as she was sharing a worry for everyone's information.

"Fucking hell," Johnny was the first to vocalize his thoughts while thinking about the possible reasons why Konnis could be in London. None of the possibilities did sound good in his head. "Is Makarov alive?"

"There're coms from Czar 9-0," Kate opened a file with the report on her screen, seeing the communications provided to her by MI6. There was no confirmation that it was him, yet everyone did know that it was in fact Makarov. Alive.

"That's his callsign," Ghost's voice was heard from the far corner of the room, as he was keeping his full focus on the conversation. The Makarov's callsign was hard to forget.

"What are they doing in London, Laswell?" Kyle was looking at the screen, seeing the city he knew too well. The memories of the Picadilly attack were running around his head, and the Sergeant would do everything to never let a similar attack happen in the heart of the country once again.

"Signals intelligence shows Konni meeting with a known black hat in Greensbury Park," The map moved deeper inside the city, focusing on the green area of the park right in the center of the city. The best way to hide was always in the biggest crowd. And in this case, people around could help or make things more complicated for the team. "We need to find out what they want to get the access to, and stop it."

"The hacker can lead us to Makarov," The gaze of the deep blue eyes of the captain was focused on the city that was so dear and well-known to him. The voice of the man echoed in the silence of the office, as John knew his country needed him now maybe more than it ever did.

"Konnis are in London, he can't be far behind," Soap was watching the map, seeing the picture of their main target on the large screen. He knew quite well, that wherever they find Konni, Makarov himself won't be far away.

"We need the solid intel, and move quickly," Ghost's voice was calm. The large figured man was in his own mind, watching over the map and his teammates. They had one chance on this mission and needed to get all the possible information before getting out of the shadows.

"Makarov could be in our backyard. We get wind of where he is, we'll move on it. Let's follow our mark and find him." Price's voice was sharp, as he was pointing on the map in front of them on the Greensbury park, showing the positions on the ground they would take.

They needed the last bit of intel, to make sure that the information was correct. Yet everyone in the room knew that it wouldn't take them long to hear about the Konni's presence in the city. Finally, long days of wait were coming to an end and they were back to the main mission again. Price hid the screen and let the moonlight enter the room, just to meet with the warmth of the artificial light coming from the table lamp. The man was ready to strangle Makarov with his bare hands if needed. Throughout the years Price was so close to him, but every time one step behind. This time, it had to end for good.

"Anything else Soap?" John looked at the only chair that was still occupied in the office by the time the meeting ended. MacTavish was sitting still as if words were circling around his tongue but never escaped into the air.

"After Shepherd's trial and Grave's betrayal, I think you should know about Amelia's friend who was a financial advisor for the PMC," Johnny looked up at the captain, knowing how crucial such details could be. He knew that his childhood friend would never betray the people who were important to her, but you can never trust anyone too much.

"I know about that, Johnny, but thank you for telling me this as well" Price remembered going through the thick personal file of the brunette for the first time after his idea of bringing her to the training reached Laswell's ears. Information on everything starting from her childhood times, including all the pets she had ending with the information on the people who were close to her. John would never let anyone step into his office if he wasn't sure. It never hurts to double-check the circle of the person healing your wounds, just to prevent future stabs in the back.

"You wanted her to train here, guess there wasn't anything serious about that connection," The rock of tension lifted up from the man's chest, as he was feeling like keeping the secret from the captain for his friend. After all, Priya was dead now and wasn't a reason to be concerned with anyone.

"Nothing at all. The dead one can't betray you twice,"  A hint of a smile appeared on Price's face, as his eyes traveled from the sergeant to a large file on his desk. The inner circle of the officer wasn't his concern. John had nothing on his mind except for the mission.

The adrenaline was running through the captain's body as he was ready to be back in action after many quiet days. The intel was taking over every corner of his mind, keeping him awake during the coldest nights of the winter. But there was one thing Price knew for sure – he wouldn't let her go as far as the whole team whenever Konni's will be. The captain never knew how to take care of his own self, one year after another putting his job higher than any aspect of his life. However, John knew quite well how to take care of the people around him which became an important part of his life, even if the captain would never say it out loud.