Word count: 3.7k

My nerves never dwindled even after Hassan had been thrown out of vehicle only a couple of hours ago, left to wander around the outskirts of town before the cartel or his AQ soldiers would pick him up. Anytime I tried to get some shut eye, to doze off to sleep, I was haunted with Hassan's evil grin that made my entire body shudder. My eyelids remained wide open, even blinking would have his image flash through my head like lightning, leaving me paralyzed as if I had been struck. 

Soap would try and talk to me, tell me some stupid joke or announce some out of pocket thought he had, but every word he spoke went through one ear and out the other. Alejandro and Rodolfo sat in the front seat discussing something about "El Sin Nombre", a possible hit they had on his position, but I couldn't focus on that. Digging my nails into the palm of my hand became the only thing that kept my mind momentarily distracted, my jaw clenched the harder I pressed my fingertips into my skin. 

Ghost quickly reached over the open space between the seats and grabbed my balled up fist, his gloved hand pulling apart my fingers as his eyes bored into my mine. "Don't do that," he mumbled under his breath, his gaze falling down to my reddened flesh. My far-off stare warily met his, "Sorry..." I whispered in reply as I pulled my hand out of his, letting it fall loosely in my lap. Soap looked up at us from the very back seat, a concerned look inscribed on his features. He leaned forward as his eyes darted around my pallid face. Ghost let his gaze linger on me for a few seconds more before resting his back against his seat, looking out of the window.

Soap's lips pulled upwards slightly at the sides with gears clearly turning in his head as his grin grew wider. Scooching up further to me, his lips parted to speak, "Let's give everyone a theme song," he stated, motioning his hand out to the rest of us. I'd be lying if I said Soap didn't know how to distract me, make me feel better. It was obvious he was trying, and that soothed me somewhat. Nodding my head, I decided to bite. "Hm..." I hummed, surveying my options of songs I knew while looking between everyone. A small smirk began to make its way to my face as my eyes fell back on Soap, "Yours would be California Gurls," I mumbled. Soap instantly looked offended, "Thought it was obvious mine would be the Scottish national anthem," he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Alejandro laughed from the front seat, glancing back at both of us, "Hermano... she's right, yours would be California Gurls," he egged on, a grin present on his mouth. Soap narrowed his eyes down at Alejandro before glaring at me. "Sorry, I don't make the rules," I shrugged, my smile finally reaching my eyes. Soap looked like he was about to protest, but I interrupted him before he could. "Alejandro's would be..." pursing my lips together, I racked my brain for what would fit him the most, my thoughts finally becoming preoccupied from Hassan. Soap seemed to drop it, looking like he was deep in thought as well. His eyes lit up at he looked at me, "Well isn't it obvious?" He laughed, "It's Alejandro by Lady Gaga!" Alejandro looked back at us again, his eyebrows pulled together, "No it's not," he mumbled. Soap broke out into a laugh, "Like Y/n said, Sorry, I don't make the rules," he mocked in an attempt to recreate my accent.

Alejandro grumbled to himself before turning back around in his seat. Rodolfo glanced over at Alejandro with a shit-eating grin, "They're right you know," he mumbled, Alejandro shot him a deadly look before turning over his shoulder, glaring out of the window. "No, it's not. Clearly it would be something cooler like Thunderstruck," he grumbled, not looking at any of us anymore. Shaking my head, I glanced over at Ghost before giving Soap a mischievous smile, "Well... I think Ghost's would be screams of the damned," I stated confidently. Ghost snapped his head in my direction, and Soap looked like he was seconds away from breaking into a fit of laughter. "No, it wouldn't be," Ghost replied disapprovingly, his eyes narrowing down at me and Soap angrily. "It would be Simon Says or something," he growled before turning his body over dramatically in his seat.

Wow, so far no one was happy with their theme song. Soap looked over me, his eyes scanning me up and down before his gaze met mine, "Yours would be Squidwards Tiki Land," he grinned before breaking out into laughter after seeing the most offended, disgusted look on my face. "What?" I scoffed loudly, crossing my arms over my chest. "That's not even a real song!" I stated incredulously, a humongous frown pulling downward on my lips. Everyone started laughing, even goddamn Ghost darkly chuckled. "Actually Soap, I think yours would be fucking Friday!" Soap's smile immediately dropped, "Take that back!" Shaking my head, I pointed a finger in his face, "You gave me Squidwards fucking Tiki Land so you can shut up," I replied, my voice raised.

Soap pointed his own finger in my face as well, "You gave me the worst song on the planet!" He angrily stated, "Everyone hates that song!" A grin overtook the frown prevalent on my mouth, "You gave me the weirdest song on the face of the Earth! Actually- it shouldn't even be considered a song! Because it is not!" I bit back, throwing my hands up in the air. "Can you both shut it for fucksake," Ghost grumbled, looking over at us with amusement swimming in his eyes. Rodolfo was smiling from the front seat, looking back at us through the rearview mirror, "I think mine would be Anaconda," he shrugged, in the most confident tone I think I've ever heard. Me and Soap looked over at each other for a second before dying of laughter.

Rodolfo grumbled Spanish curses from the front seat, "It would be... pendejos," he mumbled under his breath. Over our laughter, my ears picked up on the song playing from the radio, my eyes widened before I lunged over the front console, turning up the knob and letting the song blast at an ear piercing pitch. Everyone grimaced before turning back at Soap who was fuming. California Gurls, the original song I gave him, blasted throughout the car. "ONCE YOU PARTY WITH U-US!" I screamed out, pointing at Soap, "YOU'LL BE FALLING IN LOVE! OH-OH-OH-OH!" My voice was barely audible over the sound system, but I could make out everybody's laughter.

Soap shook his head before grinning, "CALIFORNIA GIRLS, WE'RE UNFORGETTABLE!" He yelled out, his voice nowhere near the pitch it needed to be. Jesus, thank God he took up the army because singing was clearly not going to be in his future. His Scottish accent somehow managed to overtake the deafening music making everything ten times more funny. Me and Soap began to scream out the song, pointing at each other as we used the flares attached to our tactical vest's as microphones. Rodolfo and Alejandro even rolled down the windows, the wind whipping throughout the car as we barreled down the road, kicking up dirt in our path. Ghost was even rocking back in forth in his seat to the beat of the song, my mood instantly lifted. I can't believe I ever second guessed them. 

----

Slowly the vehicle began to roll up a small hill, hidden behind large canopies of trees in what looked to be an extremely nice area of Las Almas. Large, rolling hills and steep, tall mountains surrounded the area we were in, the sky above us painted in a dusky blue, not a single star twinkling in the atmosphere. Graves, my least favorite fucking person ever, was already standing idly, watching as our SUV rolled to a complete stop. Rodolfo gave a nod to Alejandro, "Do well, brother," he stated before looking behind at the rest of us, "You all as well." Soap nodded and gave Rodolfo a strong handshake before climbing out of the car, me and Ghost following behind. 

The minute my boots collided against the asphalt beneath my feet, a strong gust of wind slapped me in my face, making me shiver slightly. There was a brisk breeze dancing in the air, the chill creeping its way up my bones as goosebumps emerged on my exposed skin. In the distance I caught sights of a massive mansion like structure with three floors with expensive looking stucco walls painted in a warm, earthy beige. The exterior was adorned with intricate wrought-iron railings atop the many balconies jutting from the sides of the building, terracotta tiles decorated the floor surrounding the massive courtyard.

From where we stood, a huge pool sat in the very back of the mansion, illuminated from the bright lights positioned at the bottom of it, leaving the water a light neon blue shade. After I was done drooling over what I believed to be the nicest house I'd ever seen, I approached where Graves, Alejandro, Soap, and Ghost stood. The minute Graves glanced over at me, a scowl formed on his face, resentment unmistakably obvious in his stare. A grin tugged at his lips as he looked away from me. What the hell was his problem? I have quite literally done nothing that has affected him thus far. Stupid American pig. 

Rolling my eyes, I stood next to Soap who was peering closely at the building using binoculars, soaking in every bit of the structure before turning his head over to Alejandro. "Su casa de Sin Nombre (Is this Sin Nombre's house)?" He asked in butchered Spanish, his Scottish accent accentuating all the obvious pronunciation mistakes he made. Alejandro grinned over at him, "No. One of his Lugartenientes," he replied whilst shaking his head. Soap looked back through the binoculars, "A cartel lieutenant," Soap clarified. My eyes widened, the fuck? We haven't been here longer than two days and suddenly he knew everything.

My astonishment must've been evident on my face because when Soap turned around he gave me a cheeky grin. "Buen hermano. Estás aprendiendo (Nice brother. You're learning)," Alejandro replied, patting Soap on the back with a smile. Graves snatched the binoculars out of Soap's hands and looked through them himself. I thought Southern people had manners from what I've heard, guess that doesn't apply to Phillip  fucking Graves. What kind of name is Phillip anyways? Did his mother hate him or something? I knew if I came out of the womb and was named Phillip of all things, I would've been throwing baby hands. 

Alejandro looked back over the large, rock barrier we stood behind, sighing softly before turning back to face us, "My sources tell me all the VIPs in Las Almas will be there tonight," he explained. My eyes lingered over the barrier as I took another step forward. People of all shapes and sizes could be seen walking through the clear glass windows, talking and laughing about. Some were even wearing masks, weird. "Some are invited, others are, um...," Alejandro trailed off into a brief silence that was quickly filled up by Graves' annoying ass self, "Volun-told?" Alejandro looked over at Graves and nodded, "Yes."

Graves nodded before handing the binoculars back to Soap, his eyes looking down at his feet before meeting Alejandro's gaze once again, "What's the meet about?" He asked in a quick Southerny, annoying, stupid, disgusting, idioti- "Nosotros (Us)," Alejandro replied before looking back out at the mansion, "Las Almas is burning and they want to know who lit the fire," his voice took on a darker tone near the end of his sentence. Ghost took a step toward Alejandro's direction after being eerily quiet like he usually is, "Sin Nombre will be there, yeah?" He asked in a sex- nope, gruff voice.

Alejandro took a deep sigh before turning to face Ghost, his back turned to the mansion. "No guarantees," he replied, "But this is our best shot." Soap turned toward Ghost as well along with me, all of grouping together in almost a huddle. Graves butted in and walked toward us as well, "Then we take it," he stated, looking between everybody but fucking me. My eyes narrowed down at him, my lips pulling to the side. Graves rested his hands on the top of his tactical vest as he continued, "I got enough Shadows here to take over the goddamn country." Who the fuck says shit like that? I thought to myself.

Except apparently I guess I didn't think to myself because Graves whipped his head in my direction and suddenly the air became thick with tension, "How about you keep your little comments to yourself Ms. AQ," he darkly replied with a slight chuckle. My mouth went to spew something back before Alejandro quickly replied for me, "I'd prefer if you didn't do that," Alejandro stated, taking a step forward. Graves grinned before putting his hands up with a snort, "I'm just saying," he replied with a lopsided grin, "One house shouldn't be a problem." Ghost cut in, looking down at Graves, "We need Sin Nombre alive," he grumbled.

"Well..." Graves sighed, looking to the left of him at the mansion before turning his attention back at all of us, except me, again, "Then we need to meet him." Soap glanced over at Graves, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, "How?" He questioned. Graves grinned in return, his eyes falling on Soap, "We give them what they want," he looked back at Alejandro, his gaze avoiding mine until it fell on Ghost, "Intel." After a small silence, Graves continued with a head nod, "They wanna know who's here. Let's tell them." Alejandro looked at Graves, his lips pursed together, "In person?" He asked in a dark, hushed tone.

Graves nodded, "Correcto." If Soap sounded stupid speaking Spanish with his accent, Graves somehow managed to sound even more idiotic. I'm probably biased but whatever. Maybe he should stop trying to fit in and trot his fat ass back to America where he belongs. "Get one of us inside," Graves steadily continued, his eyes darting between all of us and can you guess who was left out? Me. "And find the boss, roll him up." He concluded, smacking his hands together before taking a step back and looking back out at the bustling mansion. 

Soap looked down at the ground before tilting his head back up again, "I'll do it," he stated. Graves pursed his lips together and looked deep in thought, clearly think about something. "You go in there and they'll kill you hermano," Alejandro firmly stated, his eyes falling on Soap. "I'll take my chances," Soap responded, placing his hands on the top edge of his tactical vest while nodding, "We came here to stop a missile, let's stop it," he affirmed, his voice raising as he nodded his head in the direction of the mansion. Well thank God it's not me. Soap came in clutch for once since I've met him.

Graves shook his head and laughed, placing a heavy hand on Soap's shoulder. "Listen, I love your spunk, I really do," he started off, his eyes finally falling on me, "But I think that's a little too risky, don't you?" Soap looked almost insulted as he turned to face Graves, "This is what needs to be done," he argued back. Graves nodded his head, letting the arm that held Soap fall back to his side, "I'm not saying that's not what needs to be done. I'm saying that you shouldn't be the one to do it," Graves replied, his piercing stare never leaving my angry one for even a second. Oh he's a dirty fucking dog. Of course I spoke too soon.

Soap looked confused alongside everyone else. Jesus was everybody really this fucking dense? "Well who else?" Soap asked, puzzlement interlaced between his words. Graves nodded his head and motioned toward me, "Well, Y/n of course." Ghost darkly laughed and immediately stepped in front of me, his tall frame looming over Graves, "That's not happening mate," he stated in a dead serious tone. Graves seemed unfazed as he craned his neck to look up at Ghost, "She's the most expendable, she should go in. I mean she's a goddamn terrorist!" Graves stated, laughing out loud. Ghost's fists clenched at his sides, "Do I need to repeat myself Graves? Not. Fuckin'. Happening!"

Soap stepped in as well, "I've already offered, I should be the one going in," he vouched for me, giving a small nod in my direction. Graves grinned looking in my direction over Ghost's large arm, "What? Scared she'll fuck it up?" My blood began to boil in my veins, who the hell was he to question what I could and could not do. Shoving past Ghost and Soap, I stood toe to toe in front of Graves, a wicked smile on my face, "Actually, I think that's the best idea you've had all day," I laughed straight at him, pure hatred coursing in my veins. He'd eat shit, that I'd make sure of. Ghost scoffed and grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to look at him, "No. I won't allow it." He stated. 

Shrugging off Ghost's grip on my arm, I redirected my anger onto him, "Oh yes I fucking will!" I bit back, my voice raising with each word I spoke. Ghost's eyes narrowed down at me, his jaw clenched beneath his mask, "I am your superior, you do what I say," he angrily replied, shoving his finger in my face that I instantly swatted away. My eyes fell on Graves and took note of the stupid smirk on his face, "So is he!" I asserted getting more infuriated by the second. That probably wasn't true considering he was his own company, but I didn't care. I was going in whether Ghost liked it or not. 

Soap looked at me with pursed lips, "Lass, I don-" I cut him off angrily, "I decide what I want to do, I don't fucking care what any of you have to say!" In a huff I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, shooting glares at anyone who dared looked at me with anything other than agreement. Alejandro deeply sighed, "If you go in. You need eyes and ears, I'll go too," he replied, hesitation in his tone. Ghost glared at Alejandro, "She is not going in!" His voice boomed. My eyes narrowed into tiny slits as I began to take off my vest, my thigh holsters, my guns, and every weapon attached to my body.

"What are you doing?" Ghost barked, bending down to pick up my shit, trying to shove it back into my hands. Everyone was dead silent as I threw my gear back in Ghost's face, "I. Am. Going. In," I whispered in a voice so dangerously low I'm surprised anyone could hear it. Ghost's eyes flitted down to my exposed body that was no longer hidden beneath the 40 pounds of tactical gear, his gaze lingered for a moment to long before his eyes met mine again. My stare into his own was unwavering, I wasn't fucking budging. "Fine," he growled before snapping his attention to Alejandro, "But I'll be the one going in with her."

Alejandro shook his head, "No, I need to be the one going in hermano." Ghost looked on the verge of blowing the fuck up, "And why the hell not?" He barked angrily, his eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched tightly underneath the fabric covering it. "Sabes español (Do you know Spanish)?" Alejandro asked, already knowing the answer. Ghost looked confused before realization settled in and he took a step back, "Fucksake..." he grumbled under his breath. Graves nodded and smiled, "Glad that's out of the way," he stated, winking at me. Just looking at him made me want to rip him into tiny little shreds. 

After Ghost fumed to himself for a few moments he spoke up in a bitter voice, "I'll take overwatch then along with Soap," he growled, "Shadow circles the target in a helo." Ghost glared down at Graves for a few moments before staring down at me with his arms tightly crossed. My teeth gritted together tighter and tighter the longer I looked at him, who was he to try and control me? Graves looked over at me and ripped the Shadow Company insignia off his vest, holding it out to me, "They're gonna want proof," he stated, "Show 'em this." My fingers tightly gripped around the stupid badge before snatching it angrily out of his grip, shoving it into a pocket of my black cargos.

I could still feel Ghost looking on me, angrily I snapped my attention onto him and immediately became flustered once I saw where his gaze was. His eyes were lingering on my breasts that were now only covered by the thin fabric of my shirt without being hidden beneath my vest. The bottom of his balaclava bobbed up and down before he realized I'd caught him staring. With his fists clenching once again, he tore his eyesight away from me. My cheeks blushed as I turned away as well. "Call me when you need me," Graves called out before rotating on his foot and walking off, Alejandro and Soap following after him.

When I turned on my heel to catch up, Ghost latched his large hand around my upper arm, and spun my body toward him. His gaze darted all over my form before landing on my eyes, "If you're ever fucking nervous, you abort the damn mission," he growled, "Do you understand me?" My eyes narrowed down at him, "I'm very capable of myself," I scoffed in return. The grip on my arm only tightened more as he took a step closer to me, "Say you bloody understand," he angrily whispered at me. After standing in silence for a few moments, I nodded my head.

"I bloody understand."