"It's been a tough week, gentlemen." Shepherd set a full glass of whiskey on the mantle at the back of the room under a large painting of an American flag and the silhouettes of five soldiers saluting it. "We've lost more than we ever dreamed. But we will recover. I've got a blank check. And we're gonna use every cent of it killing Makarov." He typed in something on his computer and scrolled the mouse across the desktop to search for some files. "Despite what the world may say, we are not savages, we don't kill civilians. We use precision. There's an evil man hiding in these shadows and we're gonna bring him into the light. Once his face is revealed, we will write history, gentlemen." He enlarged the images on a map and turned the computer for the rest of the team to see. "These are the last safe havens left on Earth for Makarov and his men."

Price leaned in, studying the locations, one in Russia, and the other in Afghanistan. "Sounds like we gotta be in two places at once."

"Impossible?" asked Shepherd, cocking a brow at the famously ambitious Captain.

"Not for the 141."

Ghost folded his arms, rocking his weight back and forth until they were evenly distributed between his feet in a comfortable position. "Fifty-fifty chance to take out Makarov, eh? Captain Price, request permission to take the safehouse with Roach and Lone Wolf."

"Granted," said Price, nodding his head. "Soap and I will take the boneyard in Afghanistan." 

Shepherd raised himself from his propped-up position on the desk to his feet, spine straight as he tugged the bottom of his jacket to smooth out the wrinkles. "Very well. We will cut off all avenues of escape." He turned back to look at the team once more before leaving the room, a sinister glow in his pale blue eyes. "This ends now."

The door closed behind him, and Price kept his eyes on the place the General had just stood as he spoke to Soap. "Strange," he said. "I could have sworn we ended this war yesterday..."

"If Makarov's still out there," said Soap. "We can't let him keep roamin' the world free. This war isn't over until Makarov's dead."

Roach set his brows. "But isn't it odd that he has a blank check, even after we nearly decimated the Russian army on the East Coast? Even if there's still a bounty on Makarov's head, this doesn't sit right with me."

Soap shook his head, a touch of ire in his voice. "I can't help what Shepherd and the Americans want. All I can do is work with them to achieve a common goal."

Jessica shifted her gaze to Price's face, seeing the muscles in his jaw working. "We do need Makarov gone, I agree," she said. "Because at least if he's gone, the Ultranationalists won't have a leader."

"They already don't have an army," said Price. "We don't need a blank check to hunt Makarov. I feel like Shepherd's up to something."

"I think he's just as ready to see Makarov dead as we are," said Soap. "Let's nail this guy and go home. Then we won't have to work with Shepherd anymore. A'ight?" 

They all nodded solemnly and headed for their barracks to prepare. "When do you want us back, sir?" asked Ghost.

"As soon as you can. I'm ready for this to be over."

Galaxy laid beside Roach as he stroked her ears, occasionally twining his fingers into her scruff. "I don't know why I'm so nervous about this," he whispered.

"I know," she replied. "My stomach is in knots, too."

"What if Makarov isn't here?"

"Then he'll be in Afghanistan, and Price and Soap will get him," she said.

He glanced down at her, then back through the trees at the house down the slope. "How do you know?"

She sighed quietly. "I've got good intel."

"Snipers are in position," said Archer, a Scottsman carrying a crossbow over his back and a rifle in his hands.

Ghost already sounded out of breath over the com. "Strike team, go. Engage Makarov on sight."

Roach and Lone swiftly crawled out of their position down the hill. Ghost came up beside them, and though he had his shades on, Roach could see that he, too, was anxious. He could help the uneasy shutter that rippled through him, starting in his stomach.

They cut through the shade of some towering pine trees into a grassy clearing just adjacent to the house when the earth exploded open. 

"AMBUSH!" Ghost grasped Roach and Lone by their packs and threw them down onto the ground as a bunch of mines hopped into the air at about eye level and exploded. "Targets!" he called to the rest of the team. "Left side, left side!"

Roach shook his head, dizzied from the blast and Galaxy hauled him onto his feet. "Let's go, let's go!" she barked. Her eyes widened as she saw ghillied soldiers rise from the grass and fire down on them. "Take cover behind that tree!" She shoved him forward and turned around, shifting as she pulled her rifle and took aim at a tango. 

"They've got this place pre-sighted for mortar fire!" exclaimed Scarecrow, an American from Shepherd's recruits.

As he spoke, a mortar bit into the earth, heaving up a bright red flame with it, and Ghost charged forward. "Counterstrike into the smoke, push, push, push!" 

Jessica took off after him, the rest of the team shortly behind her. They made it to the other side to a long, paved driveway up to the house. Two black trucks blazed past them and Roach fired at them.

"Don't let those trucks get away!" bellowed Ghost, running after them, still firing. "Bloody hell, those damn trucks are bulletproofed..."

"Roger," said Archer. "Danger close, Javelin away!"

Ghost motioned them back. "Danger close, get back from the road!

A rocket plowed into the latter truck, then a second into the lead truck. Jessica was the first to dart out of safety to approach the destroyed vehicles. She pried open the door and looked inside. The occupants were dead, but none of them were Makarov. "Check that other vehicle!" she commanded.

Ozone, another American who had joined them, looked up and shook his head, tapping into the com. "Moving vehicles have been neutralized. Be advised, we have not, I repeat, we have not spotted Makarov, and no one else has left the house. Those trucks may have been decoys Over."

"Roger that," replied Ghost, kicking up his heels and heading up the driveway. "We're advancing on the house now! Clear the perimeter, then breach and clear the safehouse! Go! Go!"

Roach got ahead of all of them and downed three men bailing out of a truck parked in front of the house. "Cover me, I'm gonna breach the door!" he called out.

"Go, mate, I've got you!" replied Jessica, kneeling at the steps up to the front door and aiming at an advancing ghillie sniper up on the ridge. Roach blew open the door and killed the men waiting inside for him. 

Ghost, Lone, and Ozone came in behind him, sweeping the rest of the room. "Office clear," said Ghost. "Ozone, make sure no one leaves through the kitchen. Lone and Archer, check the upstairs." He turned his attention to the other remaining soldier on the team. "Scarecrow, you're with me. We're gonna sweep the downstairs."

"Roger, sir," Scarecrow replied. "Let's go."

Jessica looked at the Lieutenant. "Is that all that's left of us?" she asked.

He nodded solemnly. "'Fraid so."

She gave a stiff nod and headed up the stairs. "Archer, on me. You go left, I'll take the right."

"Copy." Archer drew the bow from his back and knocked an arrow. He smiled, knocking on the door before kicking it open and firing an arrow through the first man and into the shoulder of a second who now lay screaming on the floor. A third came up to him with a pistol in hand but stood no chance when Archer bashed his head against the wall and unsheathed a knife, jamming it into his neck and putting him to the floor. He knocked another arrow and silenced the second soldier. "Upper bedroom, clear," he said over the com.

Galaxy was pulling the throat out of a soldier in the other room, shaking her head to free her muzzle of a strand of sinew that stuck to it. "Copy, Archer. I've got these guys in this room, over."

"Roger that," he said. "About to breach this last room."

She left her room and regrouped with him at the next door, bursting into the room to take down the two that were inside. A bullet rang out and splintered a wooden dresser beside Archer; an enemy soldier was kneeling in the bathroom attached on the other side of the room, and he barely had a moment to blink when the Scotsman shot an arrow through his brow.

"Top floor, clear," said Jess, shifting to stand upright.

"Basement is clear," replied Scarecrow.

Ghost sounded relieved. "All clear. Team, regroup on me on the ground floor by the office." 

As they regrouped, Jessica saw Ghost staring at a pile of papers and a computer in the office. "Scarecrow," he said in contained excitement. "Pictures."

"Copy," said Scarecrow, slowly pulling out his camera to snap photos of everything before them. 

Roach was panting. "Holy shit, Ghost," he said. "Look at that!"

Ghost nodded, tapping into the com. "Shepherd, this is Ghost. No sign of Makarov, I repeat, no sign of Makarov. Captain Price, any luck in Afghanistan?"

Price chimed in. "Plenty...at least fifty hired guns here, but no sign of Makarov here either. Perhaps our intel was off..."

Jessica set her brows. "That bastard lied to me... Figures."

"What?" asked Roach.

"Well, the quality of the intel's about to change. This safehouse is a bloody goldmine," said Ghost.

"Copy that," said Shepherd. "Ghost, have your team collect everything you can for an operations playbook. Names, contacts, places, everything."

"Already on it, sir," said Ghost. "Makrov's about to have nowhere to run."

"That's the idea. I'm bringing up an extraction force, E.T.A. five minutes. Get that intel. Shepherd out."

Jessica shifted and looked over her shoulder at the front door. "I don't get it," she said. "I thought he was finally telling the truth..."

"You talked to Makarov?" asked Ozone. "Why didn't you just kill him instead? Could've saved us a lot of headache..."

"Hard to do when you're alone and have to fight at least as many people as were in this house to get out," she growled.

"No time to debate, guys," said Ghost. "Roach, get on Makarov's computer and start the transfer. Ozone, you're on rear security. I've got the front. Go."

Ozone nodded. "On it."

"Task Force, this is Price. More of Makarov's men just arrived at the boneyard... Soap, cover me. I'm gonna slot that guy over there and use his radio to tap into their comms." Price returned his attention to the team. "Ghost, we're going silent for a few minutes. Good luck up there in Russia. Price out."

"Thank you, sir," said the Lieutenant. "Roach, after you get the DSM hooked up to the computer, you and Lone go check out the arsenal downstairs, you're gonna need that ammo and probably a few more weapons."

He nodded. "Roger, sir."

Jessica looked at Archer. "You might want to stock up, too."

Archer smiled. "Don't trust my archery skills? I'm offended, truly."

"Get your ass outta here," he retorted, a smile of her own creeping across her mouth. 

Roach came back upstairs with full ammunition and three more rifles slung over his shoulder. He was walking bowlegged and hunched to keep them from falling off his back or rubbing against him. "Alright," he said. "Lone, you all set?"

"Ready as ever," she said.

Ghost nodded. "Good. The DSL is almost ready. Let's get ready to-"

An explosion rumbled the air and they all looked outside. "What the hell was that?" asked Ozone over the com from on the ridge above the house.

"Be advised," said Archer from his perch upstairs. "You have a large concentration of hostiles moving in from the southeast, they've just breached the perimeter! I'll try to thin 'em out before they get too close. Recommend you switch to scoped weapons, over."

Ghost looked outside. "Copy that, I see them, approaching from the field to the southeast." He looked at Roach. "Don't wander too far from the office, we can't let them get a hold of that DSM. Lone and I will cover the front," he said. "Scarecrow, stay inside and cover Roach."

"Copy!" replied Scarecrow.

Lone Wolf and Ghost raced out the door, picking off foot mobiles as they crested the hill. "This, oddly enough, isn't too bad," she said. "Hopefully this is all we'll have to deal with until Shepherd gets here."

"It's never that easy, Lone," he said. "And don't jinx us, I want to make it home today."

She chuckled quietly. "Sure thing, sir..." 

Archer tapped into the comlink again. "I have eyes on additional hostile forces moving in on your position. They're approaching from the solar panels east of the house."

Ghost nodded. "Roger, Archer. Team," he continued. "Start planting claymores if you have 'em. Use them along the trail east of the house." He reloaded his weapon and turned. "Lone, I need you to keep eyes on the southeast in case they keep coming from that direction."

"On it," she replied. "Let me know when you need me to cover you."

"I'm displacing," said Archer. "You're gonna be without sniper support for thirty seconds, standby."

As he finished what he was saying, a swarm of enemy soldiers rose up the hill and Ghost clutched Jessica's arm. "Need you to help me out here!" he said. "We've got more company incoming!"

"Soldiers are inside the house!" bellowed Scarecrow over the com. "Roach, cover me, I need to reload!"

Jessica's eyes rounded. "Shit!"

"Don't worry about them," said Ghost. "They'll call for us when they need it; I need you right now!"

She nodded. "I've got you, just tell me what you need."

Ozone made a panicked cry from the ridge. "I'm hit, I'm hit!" he wailed. "Need assist-"

He was cut off and she looked up at his location. "Ozone?!" she called. No response. "Fuck!"

Ghost pushed her back. "Get back inside the house!" he commanded. "Team, we've got enemy helos approaching from the north!"

"Solid copy," said Scarecrow. "We've got int under control in here, I'm gonna get an RPG!"

Galaxy slid to a halt inside beside Roach. "How are we doing in here?" she asked.

"Download is almost complete," he replied. "Scarecrow is getting an RPG to take out those helos."

She nodded. "Gotcha. What do you need from me?" 

Before he could respond, there was gunfire from downstairs. "More tangos in the basement!" cried Scarecrow. "I'm hit, someone help me out!"

Roach shot out of his position and down the stairs. "Don't let anything happen to that DSM, I'm gonna get Scarecrow!" He disappeared downstairs, and there was more gunfire. 

In breathless silence, Gal waited to hear him speak again. "Come on, Roach... Come on..."

"Scarecrow is dead," said Roach, a tight note of pain in his voice. "I'm coming back up with an RPG. Ghost, I'll need you to cover me!"

"Copy, Roach," said Ghost. "Hurry up, we've got more soldiers converging on our position!"

Roach ran up the stairs and knelt on the porch aiming at a helicopter dropping off more men. In a bust of white flames and black smoke, it spiraled out of control and into the trees. The men who'd been dropped quickly advanced on Roach, only to be picked off one by one by Archer. 

"The transfer is complete!" called Ghost. Before he could get into the office, more tangos burst in through the kitchen, Galaxy seized one by the knee while Roach shot another. "Roach, grab the DSM, we'll cover you; we need to get out of here!"

Roach nearly tripped rounding the corner into the office, and he grabbed the device. "I've got it, let's go!" he barked over the com.

"Ghost, this is Shepherd," said the General. "What's your status, over?"

Ghost rammed the butt of his rifle against the head of another tango and looked up the stairs to see Archer descending after them. "We're on our way to the LZ, over!" He pushed Roach ahead of him. "Let's go, let's go!"

They streaked out of the house and down the hill toward the southeast. The whooshing of a mortar gave only a moment's warning before it exploded the ground but a few meters away. "They're bracketing our position with mortar fire! Whatever you do, don't stop moving; we have to keep pushing until we get to that LZ!"

Galaxy pelted ahead, keeping Archer in her peripheral. Another mortar came down, and in a burst of flame and earth, the sniper was gone. "Shit!" she yowled. "Archer!"

"Don't stop!" roared Ghost. "Keep going! Keep going!"

She came up beside him and Roach only to veer away when she heard another mortar coming down. Lone looked over and saw Roach lying on the ground, dazed, but still alive. "Ghost!" she howled. "Roach is down!" 

The Lieutenant turned back and hoisted him up. "Hang on, Roach!" he cried. "I've got you! Get up, get up!" He tapped into the com, dragging a wounded Roach with him. He tossed a smoke grenade and turned back to watch the plume roll out into the air. "Thunder Two-One, I've popped red smoke in the treeline! Standby to engage on my mark!"

Galaxy looked over her shoulder as more tangos advanced on them. "Damn it, Shepherd and his team better get here soon..."

"Roger that," came Thunder Two-One's response. "I've got eyes on the red smoke. Standing by."

"Clear, fire away!" As the small bird flew over, firing on the incoming enemy, he looked down at the young Sergeant. "Hang in there, Roach," he said, his own voice weak with worry.

Gal shifted and kept her steps in time with Ghost's firing at any remaining soldiers. "I'll cover you Ghost, just get to the LZ!"

"You'd better stay right behind me!" he growled. 

She met eyes with him and nodded. "I will," she replied, offering him a reassuring half-grin.

Ghost picked up Roach and slung his arm over his shoulder. "Come on, Roach," he said. "We're almost there!"

Roach looked up through a wash of blood over his eyes. "Is that Shepherd?" he asked tiredly.

"It is. Hang on, we're almost out of this," said the Lieutenant reassuringly.

The tail of the bird opened and Shepherd stepped out, hurrying when he saw that Roach was bleeding heavily. "Do you have the DSM?" he called over the whirring of the blades.

Ghost nodded, handing off the wounded man to the General. "We got it, sir!"

"Good, that's one less loose end."

Jessica shifted as the world seemed to go into slow motion. The familiarity of the scene hit her in the face like a punch and she turned around just in time to see Shepherd put a Desert Eagle under Roach's ribs and pull the trigger.

POW!

Roach fell back with an alarmed gasp, blood spurting into the air on impact. 

Ghost's eyes widened and he reached for his own weapon. "NO!" 

Lone Wolf pinned her ears back, feeling her throat tighten around her vocal cords. "GHOST! GET DOWN!" Before she could get to him in time, a bullet passed through his neck and he fell in a limp heap. 

Shepherd knelt down and grabbed the DSM off of Roach's person, flinching when the Sergeant grasped him by the wrist. "Shepherd..." rasped Roach. "... Why..?"

The General yanked his arm away and stood. His pale blue eyes rotated up to see the large blue-grey wolf charging toward him with her white teeth bared.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" she howled, plowing into his chest and angling her face to tack a bite out of his throat.

POW!

She flew back with the shot from his Desert Eagle, landing with a whimper. Galaxy scrambled to try to get to her feet when the General walked up to her and put the barrel of his gun against her head.

POW!