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.

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

Chapter 26

Three months later...

Price was driving to the Malloy residence to visit Lisa after she was discharged from the hospital for about three weeks now. MacTavish had his arm leaning on the window and was looking out on the different colored houses and the children playing on the pavement. It was a nice neighborhood and most of the houses had the American flag swaying in the wind on their porch considering that they lived very close to the base and most of the inhabitants were probably soldiers.

"Here we go," said Price and parked in front of a mint-colored house.

They got out and MacTavish observed the flags of the United States and the US Army on the porch. The small garden was filled with multi-colored flowers and a pebble pathway led to the large house. There was a bench on the porch overlooking the garden. Price and MacTavish walked up to the door and the former rang the bell. The door opened and Mrs. Malloy was standing there beaming as she saw Price.

"John! What a surprise!"

"Hi Margaret," said Price smiling and kissing her cheek.

"Come in," she said holding the door. "How are you, Captain MacTavish?"

"I'm fine ma'am."

"Louise! Come here for a second!" yelled Margaret.

They stood in the hallway where on their right, there was the sitting room and on their left a baby grand piano. The house was beautifully decorated with small sculptures and paintings all signed 'Louise Parker'. For a moment, MacTavish felt confused and then remembered that Lisa's sister was married hence the different surname.

A woman holding her back walked in the sitting room and gasped when she saw Price. Her light brown wavy hair was collected in a messy ponytail and her brown eyes lighted up at the sight of Price.

"Uncle John! It's been too long," she said overjoyed.

"Louise you look ravishing and... big!" he laughed.

Louise laughed and rubbed her baby bump.

"Four months to go and this baby's already killing my feet and back," she said and then turned to MacTavish. "You must be Captain MacTavish. Lisa told me so much about you."

"She did?" asked Margaret as Louise and MacTavish shook hands.

"You're together aren't you?" asked Louise.

"They are?! Why did nobody tell me?" asked Margaret frustrated.

"Because you'd have a wedding planned within a week mum that's why," said a woman behind them.

They turned around and saw Lisa, her right arm in a sling wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. She had bags and dark circles under her eyes. Her skin looked clammy and looked like she lost weight. She wasn't smiling but had this monotonous expression on her face. In her hand, she held a packet of cigarettes and her Zippo.

"May I help you?" asked Malloy.

"We need to talk lass," said Price in a serious tone.

"Follow me."

"Would you like some tea or coffee?" asked Margaret.

After they declined politely, they followed Malloy to the backyard where they sat on the plastic chairs. Malloy took out a cigarette and lighted it. After putting the packet and the Zippo on the table, she looked at them and back at the rose bushes that were growing in the corner of the backyard.

"Can't smoke inside because of Louise. So, what is it?"

"You shouldn't be smoking at all. Did your father tell you about the latest news?" asked Price.

"Are you referring about my team being discharged? Yes," she replied pushing her hair back while holding the cigarette between her teeth. "At least we'll be honorably discharged," she finished sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," said Price lowering his head.

"Me too."

"You haven't talked to us in ages Captain," said MacTavish.

"It's not my fault you're never at the base," she replied indignantly. "Ghost, Roach and Ozone are always reachable."

At the sound of Ozone, MacTavish gritted his teeth but stopped at the sight of Price's glare. Malloy did not notice as she was looking the other way.

"Aye, we're searching for Espinosa and Makarov. You know the ones who put you in this situation in the first place," he said sarcastically.

"Soap, enough," warned him Price.

"Calm yourself pretty boy," she said.

"While you were here, bottled up in your home drinking and smoking, we were out there risking our lives and trying to end this war," shouted MacTavish.

"It's my fault now that I can't go anywhere or do anything?!" she yelled with tears in her eyes. "I can't apply to another job because the military is all I know! Williams can apply to be a doctor at the local hospital; Collins is still young she can still apply for college. The only thing I'm good at is teaching which I do not have a degree in. So shut the fuck up Soap!"

"What I mean is that you should get off your arse and stop feeling sorry for yourself," said MacTavish standing up. "We visited Fox last week and she told me that you two fought. You're like sisters, how did that happen? Because you're egoistic and selfish –"

"Soap, I told you to stop!" said Price aggressive getting up as well.

"You think I'm useless don't you?" asked Malloy calmly while trying to fight back the tears.

"It's not what he meant," said Price.

"It's exactly what I meant," said MacTavish. "The woman I met was more energetic and nothing could bloody stop her. She was a strong soldier who would do anything for her team, not someone who would get drunk while others needed her help."

"Get the fuck out," she snarled standing up.

"Lisa-"

"You too, Price."

MacTavish stormed out while Price gave a last glance to Malloy. She had tears streaming down her face, her hand crushing the cigarette she was smoking. He turned around and calmly walked away.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" asked Price when they were in the car again.

MacTavish did not reply. He was enraged at what Lisa had become; she was not the same anymore.

"Don't worry Price, Ozone will stay with her," said MacTavish annoyed.

"Good Lord Soap, grow up," said Price turning on the car engine. "At least he has been there for her."

"Are you blaming me as well?!" he asked unbelievably. "Remember Price, we were together all the bloody time searching for Espinosa and Makarov."

"That is true. However, you have to remember that you have a commitment towards Lisa as well," said Price driving back to the base. "I have warned you long ago about this, son."

"I don't know what happened... I just lost it."

"Everything will sort itself out eventually."

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

Two days later...

The park looked and smelled amazing as summer was just around the corner. The scent of flowers filled the air and the ducklings were swimming happily behind their mother in the lake. Malloy was sitting down on the usual bench overlooking the lake which was surrounded by Weeping Willows and lovely water lilies. The sun was shining on the lake giving it that magnificent glow and the children's laughter traveled with the wind.

Malloy decided to go out first time in months to reflect on her life. What better place than the calm park she had always loved? She sighed as she remembered that she was supposed to visit the park with MacTavish but after what he had told her, he has been avoiding her calls. Who could blame him? All those things he said were true. At least she made an effort to brush her hair and wear decent clothes.

While she was lighting a cigarette, Malloy felt movement on her sides and turned around. She saw her team surrounding her. Allen had her right hand bandaged, dark under-eye circles and was very slim; Collins had lost weight as well but tried to look cheerful; Red was the best-looking of all apart from Daniels of course. Williams had her hair tied in a tight bun and was standing up straight. She limped towards the bench due to her leg injury and sat down near Malloy.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" asked Malloy blowing smoke.

"Nice to see you too," replied Williams sarcastically. "We got intel on Espinosa."

Malloy looked puzzled.

"How did you obtain the info?"

"I asked Daniels to be our eyes and ears in the base."

"And you just grabbed the data and walked out with no one noticing?" asked Malloy looking at Daniels.

"It was I who found Espinosa's location," said Daniels, "the others did not notice."

"Will you join us?" asked Allen.

"You're joking right?" asked Malloy laughing. "You're not thinking of going after her?"

"Of course we are," said Collins determined.

"Ok ladies; let me tell you something in case you forgot. We're all fucked up in one way or another and don't tell me that you have healed completely because that would be lying," continued Malloy as she noticed that Red was going to interrupt.

"All you did in these past months was drink and smoke," argued Williams. "The least you can do is help out your fuckin' team."

"Don't start lecturing me Fox, I already heard enough from Soap," groaned Malloy. "We're not a team anymore. Give the intel to Shepherd. Let 141 handle it."

"Captain, with all due respect, but you're pathetic," said Red aggressively. "We have the chance to eliminate the Spaniard and you decide to dump the work on another team?"

"Red, the 141 has all the backup it needs whereas us, we're alone, we do not have access to any weapons or transport and we haven't trained in ages. In other words, it's a fuckin' suicide mission!"

"It's a risk we're willing to take," said Allen in a grave tone.

"Besides, I have access to the armory and can ask Castillo and Johnson to transport us to the location," said Daniels.

Malloy rubbed her forehead and weighed their options. It is true that Daniels can get what they need. How is she going to do it with no one noticing, Malloy had no idea but it was a risk they had to take. Shepherd is more focused on Makarov thus he will probably give to Kowalski, a Captain with very little experience: not a good idea. Furthermore, they were only six soldiers against a whole army of mercenaries. If they were able to survive that confrontation, they really are angels.

"Fine, I'm in," said Malloy and they cheered. "Let's get down to business. We must do everything on the down-low. We cannot be caught by my father, Williams' sister or the 141. Where is Espinosa's location?"

"Paraguay," replied Williams.

"She probably slipped clearing out her drug business," said Daniels.

"Her mistake is our gain. We'll have to get everything ready asap; there is no time to waste. We'll leave in the afternoon."

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

On the way to Paraguay, six soldiers were sitting in a Black Hawk piloted by their fellow teammates Lieutenant Commander Johnson and Master Sergeant Castillo. They tried to ease their tension by listening to some music, chewing gum or reading. Daniels had managed to extract some weapons and ammo from the armory and into a truck unnoticed. However, that is not enough; some weapons, ammo and other equipment such as C4 and grenades had to be bought from a private contractor who was an acquaintance of Malloy when she was still in the CIA and had to operate on the down-low.

Castillo and Johnson managed to get permission for the Black Hawk. The Navy is thinking that it is being used to carry out a training drill and not for transporting six ex-soldiers to go kill an infamous terrorist.

The helo landed in an open field approximately 1 click from the city. The women checked that their bags were fully equipped with ammo and weapons. As they have to blend in with the civilians, they cannot carry their weapons on their bodies so they stuck everything in black bags. They wore civilian clothes, sunglasses and let their hair loose looking naturally as possible to cover their earpieces and not stand out in the crowd. Malloy has been in Paraguay before with Espinosa and she knew that the terrorist frequented a bar, the same location Daniels discovered.

"Captain Malloy, you have not given us details about the exfil point," said the Commander.

"This was a one-way trip, my friends," she replied.

"You cannot be serious!" exclaimed Castillo.

"Don't worry about us," said Williams. "Thank you for everything."

Castillo and Johnson looked shockingly at each other but knew that it would be in vain to argue with them.

"Good luck then."

The Black Hawk rose from the field, the grass swaying forcefully until it disappeared.

"It's better if we move," said Allen readjusting her hair.

"Da, we don't want to be late for our date," said Red mischievously.

"Remember the plan," said Malloy as they were walking towards the city, "do not attract any attention to yourselves. We'll identify Espinosa at the bar and eliminate her. We know what is at risk here, failure is not an option."

"We'll meet up at the HVT's destination," said Williams. "Good luck."

Before parting ways, a vibration was heard from Williams' pocket.

"What's that?" asked Allen.

"It's my cell phone," said Williams and got it out of her pocket to see who's calling her.

"You're kidding right?" asked Malloy in disbelief.

"It's Simon."

"No! Don't you pick it up!"

"Hello?"

"Goddammit," whispered Malloy fuming, turning around.

"Hey, love. Is everything ok?"

"Yes baby, I'm fine."

"Shit, Fox hang up!" exclaimed Daniels. "We're losing precious time!"

Williams motioned her to zip it and turned around.

"Listen this is not really a good time. I'll talk to you later ok?"

As she was going to hang up, farmers walked past them talking loudly in Spanish and apparently Ghost noticed.

"Umm... Where are you exactly?"

"A bunch of tourists walked past. These damn tourists," she giggled uncomfortably.

"Yeah... I'll phone you later."

"You suck Fox. He'll probably suspect something's up," said Malloy walking away.

"Fck off," said Williams and Malloy replied by flipping her off.

"This mission is off to a great start," said Collins under her breath.

The six soldiers parted ways in two groups going separate ways all of them not knowing what it would become of them.

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

It was Saturday afternoon and MacTavish was in the comms room doing some research. He was spending more time looking at his phone than reading. Lisa was calling him often but he refused to pick it up. She stopped calling him in the last few hours probably giving up that he would pick up the phone. His thoughts were interrupted by Ghost and Roach walking in the room.

"What are you doing here?" asked MacTavish.

"Came to check on something," replied Ghost.

"He called Williams and he said something's not right," continued Roach as he noticed MacTavish's puzzled expression.

Ghost sat on one of the computers and started tapping away.

"You're not doing what I think you're doing... right?" asked MacTavish glaring at the Lieutenant.

"I just need to be sure that everything's fine."

"You put a tracker in her phone?!" asked Roach in disbelief. "Maybe she just went for a walk and some tourists happened to walk past her. No big deal."

"Well, she walked a long way then," said Ghost looking at the red dot beeping away on the screen in South America.

"Paraguay?!" exclaimed MacTavish.

"Corporal," said Ghost to the soldier who was typing away on one of the computers. "Where is Sergeant Daniels?"

"She took the afternoon off sir," replied the Corporal. "Family problems."

"Which one is her workstation?"

"You're sitting at it, sir."

"Let's see what she was doing before she logged off," said Ghost biting his lower lip in concentration.

MacTavish and Roach were leaning on the desk near him, their eyes fixed on the big screen as they saw numbers and letters scrolling down fast.

"What the...?" stated Roach.

"Shite," said MacTavish worried. "They discovered Espinosa's location."

"And they went after her," said Ghost fuming. "It's a bloody suicide mission!"

"Inform Price and Shepherd," ordered MacTavish. "Gear up; we're going to Paraguay. Double time!"

"Roger," they replied.

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

"It's been hours and no sign of her yet," said Collins in a nervous tone.

"Stay frosty Collins," murmured Malloy.

Malloy, Collins, and Allen were in an alley in front of the bar "El Gato Negro" where Espinosa went frequently to stack up on alcohol mainly vodka and tequila. They have arrived in the afternoon and of course, one rarely goes in the afternoon on a Saturday to drink. Williams, Daniels, and Red were on the other side of the block keeping an eye on any suspicious activity.

While they planned their mission, Malloy thought best to attack when the target is at the bar as she won't be heavily guarded. They weren't going to risk an assault at the drug cartel, which would be too risky as it would be swarming with guards and heavy artillery. A simple bullet to the head would do the trick of course. Unfortunately, Espinosa's mercenaries are paid really well and backup will arrive in a few minutes. When one refers to as backup, in this case, it is a whole army which will search every crack and crevice until they find you and when they do, you can rest assured that it won't be a quick death.

The street lights started lighting up as darkness fell upon them. In the dark and dingy alley, Malloy, Collins, and Allen wore vests with grenades, ammo and radio equipment which they took out from their backpacks. They checked that their weapons were in working order. With Allen and Collins having their Desert Eagle strapped to their legs and Malloy having her favorite Beretta 92.

Collins looked like she was sweating and very nervous. She wiped the sweat from her brow and fidgeted with her mag on her AK-47. Allen noticed this and tried to calm her.

"Collins, it's going to be fine," said Allen. "This is a normal mission."

"I-I know," she stammered and started hyperventilating a bit.

"Lainey, I know you're a strong soldier," said Malloy reassuring her mate. "Do it for your mum, for Roach and above all, do it for yourself. Leave the past behind."

"Ma'am, I don't think I can do it," cried Collins.

"Yes you can sweetheart," said Allen. "At least you can still make pinkie promises."

With that, Allen raised her right hand to show her the missing finger.

"Don't worry Mac, Ramirez still finds you attractive," mocked her Malloy.

"I got a positive ID on the Spaniard," said Williams in their earpiece.

"Copy," replied Malloy. "Stay sharp."

"Umm, Shadow, heads up," said Daniels, "she is heavily guarded."

"Damn," whispered Malloy. "Roger that."

Four vans stopped in front of the bar with a screech and armed man and women got out of the vehicles. Espinosa got out of the first van wearing all black and sunglasses, even though it was night while smoking a cigarette.

"We got her," said Allen.

"Remember, keep your weapons tight; there are civvies here. We don't want to harm innocent bystanders," said Malloy in her earpiece. "Any armed individual is considered hostile."

"Copy your last," said Williams.

Espinosa and some of her goons went into the bar. Some of the locals were outside enjoying a beer, singing loudly oblivious that the place will be turned into a battlefield soon.

Allen and Collins went on the left and right side of the blocks opposite of the bar ready to strike whereas Malloy stayed in the middle. The male soldiers were more interested in the prostitutes rather than securing the area and the female soldiers were talking while checking themselves in the reflection in the window.

"We're in position," said Red.

"Roger," said Malloy, wiping the sweat off her face. "We'll strike as soon as she gets out. Eliminate the soldiers. The Spaniard's mine."

They weren't sure if Espinosa was going to spend the whole night there, or just buy some alcohol and get out. Their doubts were cleared when Espinosa got out of the bar with the soldiers holding some bottles fifteen minutes later.

"Engage!"

The ETF came out of the shadows and started eliminating the soldiers, totally caught off guard. The civilians started screaming in panic and lied down on the ground covering their head. Espinosa reacted quickly; she dropped the bottles and started running.

"Target is on the run!" yelled Daniels.

"I got it!" shouted Malloy.

She dashed off after her, her shoulder, where Espinosa has shot her, burning with pain. The terrorist dashed through alleys and jumping fences with Malloy cursing after her as she had to put extra effort in the climbing due to her shoulder.

"Damn, I'm so out of shape," she thought, grumbling about her physical state.

Espinosa was really fit and continued running without any problem. Malloy couldn't just shoot her as Espinosa sprinted in and out of the civilians because she knew about their rules of engagement. Nevertheless, the terrorist was bound to make a mistake and she committed one when she ran into an apartment building.

"Shadow, what's your status?" Williams said in her ear. 

"Still in pursuit," she replied breathlessly. "We're in a yellow apartment building West-North-West of your position."

"Be advised, heavy backup is on your way," said Williams puffing. "We'll try and secure your area as well as possible."

"Forget it Fox!" yelled back Malloy as she was going up the stairs. "Fall back. I'll meet up with you when I'm done."

"But -"

"That's an order!"

"Fuck," said the Lieutenant.

"She's not serious is she?" asked Red.

"Too late for us to back out gals," said Allen.

They saw a number of vans approaching their position from afar.

"We can't let them pass," said Williams. "We need to buy some time for Shadow."

They topped off their rifles, wiping their sweat off their faces. They knew that this was going to be their last mission. They could feel it in their stomach; no help, nothing. They were on their own.

"So this is how we die huh?" asked Daniels, slightly shaking.

"I guess," said Red, trying to sound strong.

"Let's drag those fuckers with us then," said Collins determined.

"Damn Lainey," said Allen, "you're rebelling. Is it the hormones or something?"

"Stay frosty gals," interrupted Williams. "Whatever happens, it's been great working with you."

The enemy opened fire to the corner and cars they were hiding behind. They did not even have the chance to fire back and the enemy was gaining ground and when they would reach them, they would have no chance to defend themselves.

On the roof of the apartment, Espinosa had nowhere else to run. She turned around to face Malloy with a sarcastic smile on her face. Her hair got loose during the run and her hand itched to get her gun from her holster. Malloy stood there panting, thinking about her next move. A firefight could be heard and her stomach turned into a knot, realizing that her mates did not make it in time to get out of there.

"No escape Espinosa," said Malloy in a smug tone.

"Overconfidence makes you reckless amore," said Espinosa. "Let's make this interesting eh?"

She started removing her gun holster from her waist and dropped it on the floor, far away from her. Malloy was suspicious; she did not know what she was playing at but decided to play along as she removed her Beretta from her leg and her M4A1 from her shoulder which was hanging on a sling.

Unarmed, they started approaching each other slowly. The sky was getting much darker than before and there was tension in the air. The firefight was still going, giving Malloy the assurance that her friends were still out there alive.

"How are your amici (friends)?" asked Espinosa while doing her hair.

Malloy boiled up instantly when she heard her mock her teammates.

"You son of a bitch! You'll pay for what you have done to them!" she spat.

Without warning, Malloy tackled Espinosa to the floor and started punching her every place she could reach. It didn't take long for blood to splatter everywhere and the terrorist tried to get Malloy off of her without any success. Espinosa kneed the Captain in her stomach and threw a punch in her face causing the latter to stumble back blindly.

"First you kill Ferelli, then my close friends Marcoux and Bellanger," said Espinosa in a low growl, "And above all, you Yanks killed Zakhaev!"

"Sorry to disappoint you hun, but it wasn't us who killed him," said Malloy wiping away the blood from her nose, "it was the Brits."

"You work with them! You're guilty as well!"

Espinosa grabbed Malloy from her neck and chocked her, both of them falling on the ground. Instinctively, Malloy grabbed her from the arm and tried to pull her off but it was all in vain. The Captain went for her second plan and grabbed her knife which was in her boot and stabbed Espinosa in her leg. The latter yelled in pain and let Malloy go.

Red took a peak around the car to check their situation and it wasn't looking good, at all.

"They're gaining ground!" she yelled.

"Fuck," said Daniels under her breath.

Collins grabbed her AK-47 and aimed down the holographic sight. She planted 7.62x39mm bullets in the enemies without any hesitation. In each of the soldiers' face, she was seeing those guards that harmed her when they were captured. It was giving her satisfaction and fuelling her anger to eliminate them.

"We have to fall back!" shouted Allen.

"To where?!" asked Williams frustrated. "If we fall back, we'll lead them to Shadow, we cannot risk it."

After putting a fresh mag in her M16, Williams went around the wall to eliminate some more soldiers. However, she was not prepared for what she would find a few feet away from her. An enemy was holding two Mini-Uzis in his hands both of them pointing at the Lieutenant. Williams' eyes widened in shock; frozen from head to foot and a thought passed through her mind...

This is how she is going to die.

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

Quick Author's Note: You'll have to wait a bit to see what happens to the ETF. 

Did you love that chapter!? I hope you did! Show your support for the author by simply clicking the little VOTE button to the bottom left or top right of your screen! Have a wonderful day!

Votes and Comments/Feedback most enthusiastically welcome!