Word Count: 3k

The silence was deafening even over the ocean's crashing waves and loud cracks of nearby thunder. Eventually I peeled my eyes opened and just stared into the dark sky, rain pelting me all over my face and intermingling with the tears filling my eyes, rolling down the smooth skin of my cheeks. Brights streaks of lightning would illuminate the atmosphere for just a moment before they'd disappear only to be followed by a loud, shaking boom. Still, the silence was getting to me. The true silence, the quietness that followed after I professed my love to Ghost in a moment of weakness. To pour my heart out to him and be left with no answer in return, no snarky comment, no gruff half-assed reply, no "Sorry Y/n but I actually do not love you", no nothing. 

The only thing to fill up this silence was a voice that made the sadness in my chest grow for a completely different reason: Graves. Graves and his stupid, dumb face. And his stupid, dumb voice. And his stupid, dumb Shadows. And his stupid, dumb outfit. And his stupid, dumb everything. "Ghost, this is Shadow-1, head over to the docks, over," he quickly stated into the comms followed by a brief static and then back to silence. I needed Ghost right now, needed him to tell me it'd all be alright, that I did the right thing, that I was okay. But, we sat in complete and utter quietness. Saying nothing at all hurt more than just telling me he didn't feel the same way. What was I truly expecting? A standing ovation? A Shakespeare type reply, reciting a quote that would be make swoon? 

Still. I needed something, anything that wasn't just this. But, of course, that was all I would get. Ghost steered the boat away from the ship and over to where we came from, back to the dock where I'd have to sit in the SUV and watch water trickle down the window, choosing which droplet would win against the other, and try not to think about Blaze, or the fact that Ghost had basically rejected me in the worst way possible after I had saved his literal fucking life. Ghost didn't even bother to glance at me once, I bet if I jumped off the edge of the boat he wouldn't even notice, and if he did, he wouldn't even care. My lip began to quiver, having to use my teeth to bite into the pink flesh to stop myself from breaking down again.

The minute we reached the docks, I hopped straight off the boat before Ghost even cut the engine. Soap's eyes even had tears in them as he bolted to where I stood, wrapping his arms tightly around my body. "I- I thought I lost you, both of you," he whispered in my ear, his voice wavering. My head found solace in the crook of his neck as I lightly cried into it, my entire body shaking under the weight of my emotions. "I-I'm s-so sorry," I blubbered into the crease of his shoulder, my legs feeling like they would give out from under me at any second. Soap tightened his arms around my waist and nodded his head, "It's okay, it's okay Y/n," he whispered softly, rubbing my back like Blaze used to do.

My heart ached in my chest as I wrapped my arms tighter around Soap as well. We stood like that for a minute before we both calmed down and broke off of each other, he flashed me a weak grin that I softly returned. "C'mon, let's go and we can get all cleaned up," Soap mumbled, shaking my shoulder slightly before making his way toward the SUV that Alejandro was already sitting inside of, giving me a small smile once he saw my gaze land on him. Slightly nodding in return, I began to walk up the SUV as well before Ghost grabbed my shoulder and forced me to look up at him, uncertainty filling his stare. 

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Graves giving hushed orders to his Shadows before getting into his own vehicle. Weird, but I didn't necessarily care about that at the moment. Not with the question that escaped Ghost's lips, the words making my chest tighten, "What did he mean when he said you were hiding something?" My eyes widened, my mouth dried and my mind completely blanked. My gaze fell down to the ground, yet another tear escaping the threshold of my waterline. "Something I would like kept unknown," I whispered, not wanting elaborate. Ghost nodded, clearly wanting to probe me but fighting against that wish. "But I'm learning that probably won't be possible for long," I whispered under my breath, not knowing whether or not Ghost had heard me.

I couldn't tell him, I just couldn't. Not now and not ever. Ghost stared down at me before taking a step back and turning around, he stood still for a moment, his hands clenching at his sides before he shook his head and walked off again, stepping into the SUV. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I followed after him and stepped inside as well, letting the door slam shut before buckling my seatbelt. I had a feeling everything would blow up in my face sooner or later, and I could only pray it'd be the latter. The car lurched forward, following after Graves' vehicle as we slowly made our way back to Alejandro's base. My gaze remained outcast, staring mindlessly out of the window as I tried to keep myself reigned down into reality. 

After an hour or so of me managing to just barely keep to together, we rolled up to Alejandro's base, except something felt completely off. My eyes narrowed down through the window, taking note that guarding the gate stood some Shadows instead of Los Vaqueros soldiers. One of the Shadows held his hand up, Graves' vehicle halted to a stop in front of us causing our car to do the same. My mind replayed the hushed orders Graves had given his soldiers just a little bit ago, the gears in my head began to spin as I hopped out of the SUV after Alejandro, followed by Ghost and Soap who looked equally confused. 

Graves stepped out of his SUV as well and turned back to face the rest of us, two other Shadows filing out after him. As inconspicuously as possible, I slowly pulled the rifle off my back and clutched it tightly in my hand. Everyone else seemed to have no idea what was going on, but I sure as shit did. My eyes narrowed down at Graves as he walked up to Alejandro, eyeing him down like a dog does with a bone. My suspicions from the very beginning were becoming increasingly feasible with each passing moment. Alejandro motioned out toward the gate as he stood toe to toe with Graves, "What's this?" he asked, his voice slightly raised. 

Graves nodded his head, his hand slowly inching to hold his rifle more defensively. At least for once I  wasn't Queen of all fuck ups, and how great was it that Graves was the one becoming the reigning King of them. A small smirk formed on my lips as killing him became more excusable with every word he spoke. "This is the immediate future," he stated with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "Step away from the gate." His voice was calm, too calm. Not seeming to be fazed with the consequences his actions would surely cause. Different Shadows began to slowly, almost unnoticeably, surround us from all angles, I kept my eyes trained on every move each of them made. All of my senses were heightened, I just had to wait for the moment I could act, and I was a very patient person. 

Soap scoffed and shook his head, "What?" He asked incredulously. Graves grinned at him and nodded his head, his fingers still slowly wrapping around the stock of his rifle that nobody else seemed to take notice of. "You heard me," he replied, his voice holding as much authority as he could muster. Alejandro laughed, shaking his head before he deadpanned completely, "You're crazy, this is my base," he stated, motioning his hands out toward the structure. Graves shook his head, his eyes never leaving Alejandro's, "This is not a base," he clarified, "This is a sizable covert facility and I admire it," he sighed before pressing his lips together tightly, the air grew thick with tension that I had felt moments before anyone else did, "So I'm taking it," he finally finished, looking back out toward the base before meeting Alejandro's anger-filled glare. 

My hands finally wrapped around the stock of my rifle completely, none of the Shadows or Graves took notice, I still held an element of surprise if and when it came down to it. "You boys... and terrorist... have been relieved," Graves stated, looking between each of us, his gaze lingered on me a moment too long, showcasing all the amusement behind it. My eyes narrowed down into tiny slits, my hand gripping tighter around my weapon as my lips pressed together. "Thank you for your service," Graves concluded with a nod. Remember that patience I was speaking of? Yeah, that was wearing pretty fucking thin right about now. 

Alejandro shook his head, "No, no, no, I don't take orders from you," he stated, his voice growing more agitated. Graves pinched his eyebrows together and tilted his head to the side as he lowly replied, "Didn't Valeria say that?" Graves nodded his head and took another step forward, "Now that makes me wonder what else I don't know about your affiliation with a drug lord," he continued, his own voice raising in an accusatory way. Alejandro looked back at me and Soap before laughing and returning his gaze back onto Graves, taking his own step forward, "What the fuck did you just say to me, pendejo..." Alejandro darkly chuckled, still advancing on Graves. What I would pay to see that smackdown.

Soap took notice and immediately made his way up to them, pulling Alejandro's shoulder back. "You're out of line Graves," Soap bit angrily, pointing his finger in Graves' face. "What I'd also like to know is why you've let a terrorist into your little Task Force," Graves continued with a smirk, clearly trying to gauge a reaction from me. Patience had vacated the premises, ask and ye shall receive motherfucker. Angrily, I stormed up to him, pointing my own finger in his face, "You really wanna go there أيها الوغد الأمريكي الغبي (you stupid American prick)?" I hissed bitterly. Graves looked down at me with undeniable hate, "Don't do that," he ordered, holding up his finger as well, "Don't... do that," he drawled, enunciating each of his words while looking between everyone.

Some form of rationalization returned to me causing me to fall back to where I perviously stood. Anger takes away from calculation, and right now, I needed to be very fucking calculated. To say shit was about to hit the fan would be an understatement, it's more like the septic tank is about to hit the industrial engine. My eyes darted around all of the Shadows, searching for weak points in their gear I could capitalize on. "No one needs to get hurt here," Graves stated, pointing his finger still at all of us. Ghost's voice almost caused me to jump, almost forgetting he's been here this entire time, "Are you threatening us?" He asked, his accent somehow sounding extra Britishy. 

Graves redirected his undivided attention onto Ghost for a few moments, "Soldier, I don't make threats," he started off before looking back at Alejandro, "I make guarantees, so let's not do this," he continued, his eyes falling on each of us as he spoke. Soap turned on his heel, his neck still turned at Graves for a brief moment, "I'm callin' Shepherd," he muttered before turning his body completely around, stopping dead in his tracks at what Graves had to say, "General Shepherd sends his regards," he started off, causing the hairs on my neck to stand at attention. Complete miscalculation, we are definitely fucked. Butt fucked straight in the ass. We have no support, no one we can trust. My grasp on my gun tightened even more to the point my knuckles turned a ghostly white. 

"He told me y'all wouldn't take this well," Graves continued, his voice sounding more and more confident. Confidence and arrogance are a deadly duo, having too much can just be the thing that kills you. Maybe not a weakness in gear per se, but definitely a weakness in the mind and that is something I could capitalize on. Ghost spoke up once again, "He knows about this?" He asked, and by his body language I could tell he was growing on the realization I have had since the beginning, Graves was lubing up his dildo to fuck us as we speak. Graves nodded his head, "He's put me in command of this operation from here on out," he replied, "So y'all need to stand down. It's time to let the pros finish this."

A small snort fell from my lips as I shook my head, "Pros?" I mumbled to myself. The "pros" he's currently referring to are quite literally called Shadows. Arguably, the dumbest and unscariest name out of everything he could've possibly chosen from. Graves didn't seem to notice my comment, but the Shadow behind me most definitely did. My eyes caught the sight of Soap and Ghost glancing at each other, finally I understood the secret language they seemed to have, the words shared between their gazes summed up everything I've known since the moment of hoping out of the SUV. Graves angrily looked at all of us, "And why the hell are we talking like this is some kind of negotiation?" He scoffed, "It's not!" Graves pointed at his chest as he continued, "I've got my orders," he stated before pointing at everyone else, "And now you have yours."

Alejandro shook his head, "And who the fuck do you think you are cabrón?" he stated, his voice growing louder until it boomed throughout the air surrounding us while pointing at his base, "My men are inside!" Graves nodded, "I'm afraid not," he stated as he angled his head downwards, "You're men have been..." his lips pulled together for a moment before he smacked them, "Detained." The second I saw Alejandro lunge forward, I already had my rifle aimed upward, shooting down a Shadow that had his gun pointed out toward me, his body immediately dropping down to the floor in a pool of blood.

"Get that terrorist!" Graves ordered while one of his Shadows knocked Alejandro out with the butt of his gun before zip-tying his wrists together. Looking back behind me, my eyes widened when I saw Soap run behind a Shadow, using their body as a shield from Graves and his men's oncoming bullets. He had no weapon. A few bullets whizzed past me, but I was able to duck in time before firing off my own round of shots. The Shadows just kept on coming and we were becoming glaringly outnumbered. My breath became lodged in my throat when I noticed Soap's one protection source slipped from his grasp, he was left defenseless from the bullet flying his way. I couldn't lose him too, I just fucking couldn't.

Without a second thought, I lunged in front of the bullet, screaming out in agony as it pierced straight through the tender flesh of my waist. A sharp, searing pain erupted in my side as blood spurted from the fresh wound, coating my pants and torn shirt in its sticky, crimson substance. The smell of iron and burnt flesh filled my nostrils, almost making me gag. My legs gave out from beneath me, my body colliding harshly against the rough asphalt. Time seemed to warp, a surreal disconnect from reality plagued my mind as I stared up into the night sky. Ghost's voice ripped me from the blurred world that slowly became painted in a red hue, "Y/n get up!" He yelled out with horrified, widened eyes, blood dribbled from the corner of my mouth as I shakily looked over at him. 

More Shadows began to shoot, but the loud bangs were muffled by my brain frantically trying to keep me awake, to keep me alive. Soap's movements seemed slower and more choppy as he snatched the rifle from my hands, shooting at the Shadows approaching us before hoisting me up with one of his arms. My feet stumbled beneath me as I stood upright, my body leaned to the side before I managed to catch myself. "Stay with me Y/n," Soap pleaded as he dragged me to the edge of the road, shooting my gun until a dreadful click rung in his ears. No ammo. My eyes lazily looked down the steep hill before I toppled forward, rolling down it as bullets whizzed past my form. 

My momentum was halted by my back slamming up against a tree, a loud cry fell from my lips as wet dirt infested my wound. Soap instantly appeared next to where I laid, his eyes falling down to the gaping hole in my side, leaking continuous blood. "Stay awake Y/n," he begged, tearing off a piece of his shirt quickly, his eyes never leaving my half-lidded ones, "Do you hear me?" His hands pulled up my shirt, and by the way his eyes widened, I knew it didn't look good. Quickly he stuffed the piece of fabric into the jagged hole causing me to wail out in pain, and immediately exhaustion crept up on my bones. "Y/n?" Soap called out as my eyes slowly fluttered shut, his calls sounding more distant. "Y/n... do... hear... Y/n..." his voice slowly became lost somewhere in my mind, not fully registering until I just couldn't hear it anymore.

And then everything went black.