Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

LIX

The cotton candy clouds wrapped around the rays of the sun just like the fluffiest blanket. The afternoon was getting colder, as the last cold days of the season were still holding the power over the weather. Strong wind was picking up the pace and knocking on the windows of the buildings, and cars, trying to enter every warm corner of the capital. Spring was in the air, and Easter was closer than any other festive day, as the chocolate eggs took over the shelves of the supermarket. Others were plotting plans for warmer months of summer, trying to escape out of the concrete jungles. But only a few knew that if one person won't be stopped during the next hours, all the plans of Londoners, tourists, and people living in other English cities would not matter anymore. Dead people don't need their vacation time to be signed or to have a plane reservation.

"Everyone, on me!" Price's heavy boots stood on the dirty, cold floor of the subway station. During any other time, crowds of people would stand alongside him, but the captain was surrounded by his teammates and something else in the stiff air of the underground. For a split moment, John couldn't help but wonder if it was the reaper following his every step or the luck finally keeping an eye out for him.

One passage was turning into another, bringing the team closer to the warmth of the daylight. The comms were quiet as if the Alpha team was waiting to hear about anything that was happening so far away, in the darkness of the underground world. The station was eventually evacuated, raising the questions into the air. Was there a threat? Maybe a prevented attack? Or the prank call about the bomb on one of the platforms?  But none of the passengers would ever know the real reason why the station wasn't working on the gray afternoon of the early spring. Makarov always enjoyed when the spotlight was on him, and no one else around. The man needed a crowd, an audience to watch his next performance.

"What are you doing here?" The wrinkle in between the captain's eyebrows got deeper, as every muscle of his face tensed. Noticing the silhouette of the woman John almost thought that he finally went insane and experienced the hallucinations. But the hallucination would never look back at him with the cocktail of warmth and worry in the oceans of dark soil.

"Waiting for you to come," Amelia was holding her hand on the trigger and looking in the direction where the last noise came from. Her gaze shifted to the team, finally feeling how the feeling of being alone abounded her.

"We had a conversation, officer," Price's voice was cold. This mission could be one of the most important missions in his life, and there were only two possible ways it could end: success and failure. John had no time to listen to excuses or see anyone not following his own orders. Not even the woman he loved.

"It was my order, John," Kate's voice appeared out of nowhere in the headset of the team. She sounded sharp, letting everyone know that the discussion was over and no one would question her orders.

"For fuck's sake!" John held his weapon closer to his chest, as the knuckles of the captain were turning in the white shade his body could create. There was a misunderstanding in his mind, anger, and a drop of disappointment. But the captain had to choose the other timing to dick into his mind. The clock was ticking fast and Makarov was escaping even faster.

"Thank you, Laswell," A brunette quietly whispered, hoping a woman on the other side could hear her. After it was all over, Knight knew that everything would come up to the surface. But, never a woman could leave her team to deal with anything that could wait for them in the long tunnels and corridors. The dark stars were taking her back to the mission, to the last moments when she still could remember Johnny alive.

The steps of the heavy combat boots echoed in the silence of the Waterloo station. The escalators were waiting for the passengers to arrive, just to take them deeper underground to let the fresh wind of the city kiss their faces. A loud bang caught the attention of the team. It seemed as if the noise was coming from everywhere, but no one of them could see the visible signs of where it was coming from. The ground was shaking as if all the trains were arriving at the platforms at the same time. John stopped at the top of the staircase and looked back at the passage that was leading everyone into the underground trap. The rock fell from the ceiling in front of the brunette before the rain of the concrete fell onto the team.