Author's Note: If you have any writing tips, please feel free to comment.

Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills as a writer.

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Chapter 19

Williams stirred on the bed and raised her head so she could see what time is it from the clock that was resting on the bed stand. Six o'clock. She slid off from the bed as quietly as possible so she won't wake up Ghost and collected her clothing from all over the room and got dressed. She tiptoed near Ghost and kissed him gently on his forehead. As she turned around she felt a hand grabbing her arm.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked her sleepily.

"I need to go to my room and pack," she whispered in reply.

"You still have two hours and a half until you depart. Don't leave yet love," he pouted and Williams giggled.

"I gotta go; I'm sorry..."

Ghost sat up and hugged her tightly to him. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," she said, her head buried in his neck. He felt her shaking and pulled away.

"You're crying," he whispered softly as he saw tears streaming down her face. He wiped them away and smiled at her. "Don't be sad."

Williams cried harder and Ghost held her close to him and whispered in her ear, "Charlene, your codename is not Fox for nothing."

They pulled away again and he winked at her making her smile.

"There it is, the smile I love!" he cheered.

"Simon, every second I passed with you were heavenly. Thank you for everything," she said looking deeply in his eyes.

"Why are you telling me this? We'll keep in touch marine don't worry."

"In case something happens to me-"

"Nothing will happen to you!" he replied firmly.

"No, listen to me Ghost," she said grabbing his hand, "we may be sent on a mission tomorrow and I may die. I don't want to go from this world knowing that I didn't tell you how I felt about you. That's why I'm telling you this."

Ghost grasped her softly by her face and kissed her intensely on the lips while Williams slipped her arms around his neck. After a few minutes, they pulled apart both gazing into each others' eyes.

"I like you a lot, Fox. You'll always be my marine," he said smiling.

"Goodbye Simon," she said and left his room without looking back.

"Goodbye Charlene," he whispered sadly as he rested his head in his hands.

--- --- --- --- ---

Breakfast was very silent and solemn when compared to other times where everyone is usually shouting and laughing. The ETF did not join them that morning; the 141 were on their own.

"Where are they?" asked Ozone chewing on some scrambled eggs.

"I guess they're not coming," replied Roach playing with his food.

"Maybe they're not hungry," said Price who was reading the newspaper.

"It's half past eight lads," said Archer sighing, "let's go outside so we can tell them goodbye."

They went out of the mess hall and saw the ETF apart from Malloy and Williams standing near a bus which will transport them to the airport.

"Wow! Look at you!" exclaimed Toad observing the women.

They were all wearing their Service uniforms rather than the usual ACUs or casual attire. Daniels was wearing the Marines green blazer and skirt with a khaki shirt underneath, a green neck tab and a green soft garrison cap with the insignia of the marines on it: the globe, anchor and eagle. Collins was wearing the army blue uniform which consisted of a navy blue blazer with a skirt and a white shirt underneath with a black neck tab. Allen was wearing the Ranger tan beret and the green army uniform. They all had military insignias according to their rank on their sleeve and military decorations on the left of their chest depending on the awards and where they served when in the military and a name tag on the right. Red was wearing a black suit rather than the uniform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation seeing that America is in a war with Russia, it would not have been the best idea to parade around in uniform.

"You look great," said Roach to Collins.

"Thanks," she said shyly.

"There they are!" shouted Ozone.

Malloy and Williams walked towards them and put down their duffle bags next to the others. Malloy wore the same uniform as Collins except for the Captain Bars and Williams the same as Daniels except for the Bar showing her rank as First Lieutenant.

"I'll get them on the bus ma'am," said a soldier to Malloy.

"Thank you, Corporal."

Williams automatically walked towards Ghost and everyone started chatting away. Price and MacTavish approached Malloy.

"This is goodbye then," said Price.

Malloy nodded and hugged Price. "I'll miss you Price."

"I'll miss you too lass. Stay out of trouble ok?"

"No promises old man," Malloy grinned.

"Goodbye Captain," said MacTavish hugging her tightly.

"Bye MacTavish," she said hugging him back.

"Before you go, Price wants to ask you something," said MacTavish and Malloy turned to face Price.

"Since you have worked with the CIA, I wanted to ask you if you knew someone by the codename Tiger," Price whispered.

Malloy stared at him puzzled. "How do you know her?"

"We... worked together. So you know her?"

"Of course I do. She was my mentor when I first started at the agency."

"She's still alive?" asked Price and Malloy nodded.

Price smiled slightly and turned solemn again. "Years back she went silent, I stopped hearing from her. You know what happened?"

"Way before I joined the CIA, someone hacked into the system and identities were compromised. Some Agents were executed and others were pulled out from the field just in time. Tiger was part of the latter. In order to protect herself, family, friends and the agency, she told me that she had to terminate every contact possible."

"That explains it..." said Price to himself.

"You want me to tell her about you, Price? It's no problem at all."

"No, don't bother. Thank you for the information, Lisa."

"Don't mention it," she smiled and then turned to the others. "Squad! Atten-hut!"

The ladies fell in line and Malloy turned to MacTavish.

"Captain MacTavish, Captain Price; on behalf of the Elite Task Force and the United States, I thank you for your disponibility these past months that we were stationed here. I wish Task Force 141 good luck in your capture of Makarov and would like to inform you that we are always available whenever you need... assistance," said Malloy flashing a smile towards MacTavish's direction in which he chuckled in return.

The women saluted them but were interrupted by Archer.

"Aaaahhh forget the formalities!" he shouted and jumped on Red hugging her and others did the same on the others leaving Malloy and MacTavish facepalming and Price shaking his head laughing.

"Before you go, we have something for you," smiled Ghost. "Roach!"

Roach approached the women and gave them a box with a ribbon on top of it. Allen opened it to reveal an assortment of sweets; brownies, cookies, chocolates and much more. The women all cheered and gasped at the surprise.

"I don't know if you can take them on the plane though," said Roach scratching his head.

"Don't worry Roach. I have a feeling they will be long gone before we board the plane," said Williams.

"Let's move ladies because we're going to be late," said Malloy checking her watch.

They boarded the bus and they waved at each other. The 141 stood there until they saw the bus disappear.

"This sucks!" said Ozone kicking the dirt off the floor.

"Come on guys it's not the first time we said goodbyes to other squads," said Toad.

"It's the first time we're saying goodbye to an awesome squad," said Roach bitterly.

"Come on bug, let's go play billiard," said MacTavish patting his Sergeant's back.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Hey, guys wake up! We're here!" shouted Daniels from the front of the bus.

From Credenhill, they went to Cardiff airport which took them about five hours to arrive at JFK. They had finally arrived at base which was situated near the Military Academy at West Point. However, their base wasn't like the others. There, they trained soldiers which have been exceptional when they finish BMT, graduated with high honors, or have done something crazy like Malloy, Williams and others did and are recognized by the big heads; lucky them.

Fort West is surrounded by tall trees and a lot of greenery with the base spanning out on a vast amount of spatial area. Two military barracks, one for the males and another for the female soldiers, an enormous mess hall, a recreation room and there was even a bar on base. Furthermore, there was also a track around the base going in and out of the woods for jogging and a gym near the barracks. There was also an open shooting range and a military hospital a few kilometers away. There is always a confusion of soldiers; Rangers, SFOD-D more known as Delta Force, Green Berets, Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and more.

Major Stevens and General Malloy were there to greet them. The ETF went out of the bus, put on their headgear and fell in line and at attention to salute them.

"Welcome home," said the General.

"Thank you sir!" they said in unison.

"How was the trip Captain?" asked Major Stevens.

"Very tiring sir," said Malloy.

"Why don't you go and settle down? We'll talk later," said General Malloy.

They all grabbed their duffle bags and dragged their feet to the barracks exhausted from the long journey. As they walked, there were soldiers who greeted them cheering apart from a particular Officer who eyed them in a not so positive way.

"Thompson doesn't look too happy," murmured Allen.

"That's because her face is always stuck on that smug expression," joked Malloy.

"The Angels are back!" shouted a man running towards them.

"Ramirez! 'sup?" asked Red.

"Hey there Russian. Did the Brits have vodka over there?"

"Vodka is everywhere James," she replied sticking her tongue out.

"Hey Mac," he said smiling to Allen, "you ok?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"She constantly talked about you when we were in the UK," interrupted Collins.

"Yeah, couldn't get her to shut up," teased Daniels.

"Not true!" said Allen fuming and blushing.

"You free tomorrow night?" he asked Allen and Malloy whistled flirtingly as a joke.

"Come on guys let's leave them alone to discuss their meeting," said Williams winking at them.

They entered the barracks and everyone went to their rooms. Unlike in the UK, Malloy and Williams had their own quarters and the former had her own office in the administration building rather than a desk crammed in where she slept. The first thing Williams did was place photos of her and her sister and her with Ghost on her nightstand. She smiled sadly thinking about every minute she passed with him, especially the night before. They shared something special; something that they may not have the opportunity to share again.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Espinosa has prepared a present for you," said Major Stevens sarcastically.

The Elite Task Force was gathered in the briefing room with Major Stevens to discuss Intel. It has already been three weeks since they left Task Force 141 and they have not heard from them yet. The women have not contacted them either as they did not have any Intel on Makarov. Their patrol caps were on the table along with their notebooks to jot down some points.

"We have information on one of Espinosa's soldiers; a certain Veronique Marcoux."

At the sound of that name, Malloy snorted.

"You know her?"

"Yes, I do. She's one of Espinosa's bomb makers," replied Malloy. "She's a very dangerous individual and very unstable."

Major Stevens brought up two images on the screen; that of a woman and a man.

"Veronique Marcoux; ex-French military; age 36; light brown hair; grey eyes. As Malloy said, she is very dangerous; she blew up a whole platoon in Algeria. She has been supplying Espinosa with all types of bombs and has helped her create IEDs. Her assistant is Gautier Bellanger; ex-GIGN; age 29; dark brown hair and black eyes."

"It seems that Espinosa is concentrating on Africa," said Williams tapping her pen on her notebook.

"She started in Tunisia, then Algeria and lastly Niger."

"She's moving south," said Malloy and the Major nodded in agreement.

"Why shouldn't we go there then?" asked Collins.

"I assume it's because we don't know for sure about her next target that's why," said Allen and the Major nodded.

"We can't just stand here and do nothing either," said Red in her usual Russian accent.

"General Malloy sent AFO Neptune to gather Intel. He decided to give it some time and then he'll send you in."

"Navy SEALs huh? Mother and Voodoo must be ecstatic," said Williams sarcastically.

"They looked overjoyed last time we contacted them," replied Stevens smirking.

"I guess that for now, we wait," said Malloy sighing and rubbing her forehead.

--- --- --- --- ---

"I thought I'd find you here," said a man in a thick Scottish accent.

"What do you want?" replied Ghost upset.

MacTavish sighed. Ever since the ETF left, Ghost had been acting strange and distant; he talked even less. He had been wearing the mask and the glasses even when they were not on a mission; a clear sign that he did not want to be bothered with. He got even worse when apparently, Williams stopped contacting him. Ghost had texted, called her on her mobile and even at her base, before and after missions, but there was no reply. MacTavish had tried the best he could to cheer his best mate but to no avail. Ghost was leaning against the wall in Malloy's and Williams' old room. Price remained in his new quarters after he was rescued from the gulag; probably didn't feel right to sleep in Malloy's bed even though it was his old room. Sometimes Ghost would open the door and check in it thinking they would magically reappear. It was MacTavish's first time after three weeks to go into the room. He felt really uncomfortable about it considering that there he and Malloy shared a kiss. However, like the rest of his squad, they were trying to put it all behind them.

"Come on mate you can't go on like this," said MacTavish joining him.

Ghost did not reply but continued to stare at the ground. Something flashy caught MacTavish's eyes and he approached the bed and grabbed it.

"What's that?" asked Ghost.

"It's Malloy's Zippo," said MacTavish smiling slightly. There was the ETF emblem on it; dark blue background, brown eagle with crossed daggers in the middle and three stars above it. There was the word "ANGELS" written under it leaving both the Captain and the Lieutenant confused.

"Angels? Is it their callsign or something?" asked Ghost.

"We'll ask them when we see them," replied MacTavish and put the silver Zippo in his pocket and Ghost snorted.

"This is bollocks mate. Why the fuck am I getting worked up over a woman?" Ghost asked in frustration. "I'm an elite soldier for crying out loud."

"Ghost, it happens to the best of us. Now let's go and have a drink, Roach and Price are waiting for us."

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"ODA Foxtrot, this is Captain Malloy of the Elite Task Force. We understand that you have requested assistance to clear out Russian Forces."

"Yes!" shouted the Green Beret. "The Angels are here guys!"

"Hooah!" some of them shouted while suppressing fire.

"Another day at work," said Collins checking her AK-47.

"Ok ladies, it's the usual shit. Let's get these guys home quick. I want to finish this book by the end of the day," said Malloy checking her M4A1.

"Rog'" they replied lazily.

"Let's do this!" shouted Williams and they all slid down the usual rope, eliminated the usual enemy and proceeded for extraction. Even though they didn't like Shepherd very much, they all agreed on something that he had said: 'same shit, different day.'

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