Malloy watched the cactuses and dunes roll by the window in apprehensive silence. "So..." he started after a long while. "We're just not gonna talk about what happened?"

"What's there to talk about, Malloy?" Graves adjusted the rearview mirror to see into the back seat. "We found a terrorist, we killed him. End of story."

"No, you killed a terrorist, that you were told to let go! Man, you don't think we're gonna be in a shitstorm over this?"

"Shitstorm or not, there's one less terrorist in this world and Al Qatala has one less leader. Besides, no one's gonna find him out there."

Malloy grimaced, knitting his fingers together in his lap. "Still makes my stomach hurt thinking about it..." Beside him, Gann was asleep, his head tilted back and mouth agape. He pouted at him and sighed. "Wish I could just sleep it off like him."

Novaleen scoffed, adjusting the rearview mirror to look at Malloy. "Me, too, mate." She noticed the Commander's mouth was still fixed in a frown and his eyes glimmered in the passing streetlights. "Graves, you okay?" she murmured.

"Not here, NAG..."

Her green eyes narrowed to a glare. "You're not about to shut me down. Talk to me. What's on your mind?"

He sighed heavily, looking away. "I can't believe Shepherd told us to let him go."

"Yeah..."

"What Hassan did at the border wasn't just personal for me. It affected a lot of us."

She nodded solemnly and folded her hands in her lap. "I heard about Rodolfo."

He sniffed, rubbing his eye with his thumb. "How could he just do that? Why should it matter that we killed him? AQ could do whatever they want, we have missiles, too. If we wanted, we could turn their country into a fuckin' parking lot."

Novaleen squeezed his forearm. "You can't just vaporize an entire country for their worst civilians. And the reason it matters is because, if Al Qatala finds out, we're facing serious repercussions. You thought the Texas attack was bad? Wait until they launch missiles that wipe out other places; God forbid our capitol. This will be detrimental if they find that body."

Graves turned the wheel, keeping his face averted. "I know... I know..." They pulled through the front gate and he parked the truck. "Malloy, we're here. You can stop staring blankly out my window."

"Great!" He bailed out the door, rocking the whole vehicle as his massive, muscular frame left it.

Gann hissed at the bright cab light in his face and covered his eyes. "God... damn it, Malloy..!" He groped blindly for the door handle and charged after the other Shadow, taking off his glove and throwing it at him.

Graves shut the door behind him and growled under his breath. "It's been a long fuckin' day... I need coffee and a Nicorette..."

NAG brushed his shoulder as she walked beside him and he looked at her. She saw the red in his eyes and pursed her lips in a sad frown before hugging his neck, patting his back firmly. "I'm always on your side, brother. What you did was stupid, and I'm disappointed, but whatever happens, I'm here. Alright?"

"A'ight." Philip made a sad smile and hugged her back. "Thank you. Don't know where I'd be without you on my team, sis."

Simon stared coldly into the dessert far beyond the base, entirely unmoving from where he stood in the courtyard behind the barracks. Despite his stillness, his mind was racing. He could still hear the rattle of paint cans and the crashing of glass bottles on the cellar floor. It had been so long yet it still felt so fresh. He smoothed his hand over his chest where he had been hit. He was fine... he was fine. He wasn't eleven years old standing up to his father. He wasn't hiding, terrified of his brother. He wasn't pleading for his mother's safety. He was fine. He was just fine...

"Ghost?"

Novaleen's voice was so soft that it startled him. Ghost slowly rotated his head to glance over his shoulder and sighed. "Been a crazy day, hasn't it?"

She grinned nervously, raking her fingers through her undercut. "Yeah, it's been a lot. Between you guys and Hassan, I think I'm gonna need some beta blockers."

A mild chuckle rattled in his ribs. "Your Commander is a wily son of a bitch."

"You're telling me. After the stunt he pulled, I'm a little nervous to see how this turns out."

"He's got a hot head, he's going to pay for it sooner or later."

Her brows creased and she folded her arms. "That's what I'm worried about... he's my best friend, I don't want him to face consistence, and I've got his back if he does, but if our country really does face fire..."

"Will you really have his back through it all?" he asked quietly. "He's patriotic, yes, and fiercely loyal to his country, but he's reckless. What if his actions eventually hurt you? Will you still be on his side?"

Ghost saw a shade of melancholy fall over her face and he felt a familiar pang of sympathy swelling in his chest. "I don't know what I'd do without him... he's been my brother since I lost my boys in Kazakhstan."

He went silent again and she shuffled an uncomfortable foot beside him, scuffing the fine grains of sand across the concrete. The stillness of the wind made the heat unbearable and she slid a side glance to him. "... Does it ever get hot in that thing?"

"My mask?"

"Yeah."

Ghost shrugged, teetering his head back and forth. "I suppose it does, but I don't really notice it anymore."

She raised a brow. "Why do you wear it anyway?"

"It keeps me anonymous."

She tilted her head back with a guffaw. "As if! That mask is so iconic, there's not a person out there who wouldn't recognize you... Not even people who'd never seen you before."

He scoffed back. "I didn't say they wouldn't. They don't need to see my face to know who I am."

"Oh I see." She folded her arms, swaying back and forth with a playful smile. "So who are you scared of?"

Ghost was taken aback. "What?"

"You wear that thing everywhere, 24/7. Do your friends even know what you look like?"

He abruptly turned on his heel. "It's late, NAG, we should get some shut eye."

Her smile faded and she watched after him. Not again... "C'mon," she grumbled. "Can't you answer a question without diverting? It's strange that not even the people you're supposed to trust don't know what you look like. Who are you hiding from?"

She stopped dead in her tracks when Ghost turned a heavy pair of brown eyes on her. "I'm not scared of anyone. I'm not hiding from anyone. I don't have friends, I have teammates and acquaintances." He tilted his head, leaning down to level his face with hers. "What's this about? Do you think that because we spent one night together means that you deserve to know everything about me? Because it doesn't. Some people have one-night stands to let go of some pressure. And that's all that was for me."

His words had cut her deep and for a moment, he regretted that he had hurt her. "And some people don't give out their bodies frivolously. You're my hero, Ghost, and I wanted to be there for you when I thought you needed me, but I feel like you took advantage of that for kicks. I'd have never done that to you..."

As she drifted past him and walked inside, he couldn't find the courage to go after her. Hurting people's feelings had never bothered him, but now, seeing that heaviness in her eyes, he felt terrible. How could he have done this to her?

"NAG, wait." He pushed the door open and looked down the empty halls. "NAG?" He climbed the stairs to the next level. Empty. Damn. "Novaleen, I'm sorry..." With no response, Ghost sighed forlornly and meandered the hall in search of his own room. Maybe some sleep might smooth things over in the morning.