Author's Note: Hello you lovely people! :D I have read your comments and have made me the happiest person on earth :3 I'm publishing this chapter on Valentine's Day 2019 so happy Valentine's Day to everyone! :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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 29

"We've got one good UMP they've got a thousand. We don't even know if Makarov's intel is any good," said MacTavish frustrated. "Price?... Price?"

"The healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is its last day on Earth. But I think that's a luxury. Not a curse. To know you're close to the end is a kind of freedom. Good time to take... inventory. Outgunned. Outnumbered. Out of our minds. On a suicide mission. But the sand and rocks here, stained with thousands of years of warfare... They will remember us. For this. Because out of our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the Earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight: We. Will. Kill him."

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Landing at Site Hotel Bravo in Afghanistan, tension started settling in MacTavish's stomach. Allen, Daniels, and Red stayed with Nikolai so that he could transport them somewhere safe. Price knew what he was doing and Soap agreed. It is better to have two soldiers dead rather than five. For Ghost and for Roach. Also, for Charlene, Lainey and above all, Lisa.

After hours of battling with Shadow Company, Soap and Price managed to locate Shepherd. They were covered in sweat and sand coated their gear from head to toe. They managed to get on a Zodiac and were in pursuit of Shepherd on a wide river surrounded with cliffs. Soap tried to block out Lisa from his mind. It is too distracting; he needed to concentrate to take down the bastard.

"How did you know that you would fit in the military?" asked MacTavish.

They were cuddling on Malloy's bed at Fort West. Her head was resting on his chest and he was playing with her hair.

"I didn't," she replied. "I was too determined to graduate from BMT that I didn't even care that the DIs were picking on me because I was the General's daughter. I was blinded by revenge."

"Isn't it exhausting lass? To carry that burden around?"

"How did you feel when Zakhaev killed your mates?"

MacTavish stayed silent and rubbed the back of his head. Malloy raised her head from his chest and glanced back.

"I'm sorry hun, I didn't mean to-"

"It's ok sweetheart," he said, grinning.

"How do you deal with... loss?" she asked as she ran her fingers through his Mohawk.

He gazed into her eyes and felt a bubble rise from his stomach and burst into his chest.

"I think of my loved ones and how I cannot give up for them," he said beaming, but the smile was wiped off of his face. "Though, I do admit, getting over PTSD was not easy."

"It never is..." said Malloy burying her head in his chest.

"Aye, but I was determined to become stronger both physically and mentally. And now, I am near the most beautiful lady in the world. I guess it was worth it."

Malloy looked up at him again. He winked at her and she blushed and giggled.

"Goddammit John; I am supposed to be a tough soldier. You're turning me into a giggling idiot."

"It's not my fault I'm irresistible," he teased.

She started tickling him and he yelled as he was caught by surprise. He grabbed her by her waist and slammed her on the bed. He kissed her softly on the lips and gazed into her eyes.

"What would I do without you?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I don't know," he replied. "But I would be lost without you. So don't you dare die or something because I would kill you."

"You're such a loving person," she said sarcastically and kissed him softly.

"Soap! Shepherd's trying to get into the Pave Low! We must stop him at all costs before he gets away!"

MacTavish snapped into his senses and concentrated on keeping the Zodiac steady as Price aimed his M4A1 at the helo. Firing three shots, the Captain managed to damage the rotors and observed the chopper going down.

"Soap, back up! Back up!" roared Price.

"Shite!" yelled Soap.

The Zodiac fell in the waterfall and they braced for impact. The sound muffled as they went underwater. Dazed and confused, MacTavish tried to grab on to something as he was carried by the current. He found himself on the river bank and coughed up the water and started breathing heavily. He lost all of his weapons in the river and was only equipped with his combat knife. That was all he needed to bring Shepherd down.

He felt heavy and in pain as he dragged himself through the sand. He lost Price but he couldn't afford to lose precious time searching for him. MacTavish shook his head to try and clear his vision; everything was a blur but he could still make out the helicopter wreck and the half-dead soldiers. One of them pointed a gun at him but there was no more ammo in the mag. Soap lunged at him and slashed his throat. Fury was building up inside him and he clenched his teeth as he eliminated more soldiers of the Shadow Company.

MacTavish saw Shepherd's outline staggering away. Wounded, in pain and trying to keep his balance, Soap followed him and blinked multiple times in order to clear his vision. The sandstorm was making it harder and all he could see was sand and the rocky landscape. Finally, he spotted the General leaning on a blackened and broken down car breathing heavily with what it looked like an abandoned building in the background.

'Gotcha motherfucker,' thought MacTavish vindictively.

He swung his combat knife at Shepherd but the General blocked him. He grabbed Soap by his arm and neck and crashed his head into the car causing the latter to fall down on the ground feeling his head explode. It was not over yet as Shepherd unsheathed his own knife and stabbed Soap in his abdomen. MacTavish groaned in pain and coughed up blood but he couldn't do anything else. His vision had started to blacken out and he felt frail and distraught that he couldn't finish the job.

"Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin' watched," said Shepherd livid.

He got out his magnum and emptied the chamber from the bullet shells and started loading it again.

"Tomorrow there will be no shortage of volunteers, no shortage of patriots..."

Shepherd pointed his magnum at MacTavish where he lied on the ground, wide-eyed and conscious of the fact that he is going to die in the next second and can't do absolutely anything about it.

"...I know you'd understand."

MacTavish waited for the bullet to penetrate his heart but as the chamber started turning, Shepherd was tackled to the ground by Price and the bullet missed him.

"Price!" he tried to say out loud but was too feeble to do so.

Price knocked the gun out of Shepherd's hand and started fighting each other. Without wasting any valuable time, MacTavish dragged himself towards the gun with the knife still stuck inside him. As he was going to grab it, Shepherd kicked it out of the way and planted his foot into Soap's face causing his nose to break and blacking out again. Price and Shepherd continued to battle each other using only their fists. With their face bloody and grunts of pain echoing through the Afghan air, none of them wanted to give up.

As MacTavish regained consciousness, he noticed that both of them were on the ground and Shepherd was overpowering Price, continuously punching him in the face. The knife in his stomach caught Soap's eye and he grabbed it with one hand.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

He started taking out the knife with one hand. His abdomen was on fire and felt like he was going to throw up due to the unbearable pain. He used his left hand together with the right and with all the strength he could muster, finally managed to free the knife from his body. With his fingers, he turned the knife so that he could hold it from the blade.

"Shepherd," he muttered weakly.

Shepherd looked up in surprise and MacTavish took the opportunity to throw the knife at him. It pierced into his eye causing the General to slump lifelessly on the ground.

Finally, he can rest as the wind is howling and the sand is whooshing near and around him as the sandstorm was increasing. He was drifting into a peaceful and serene sleep when it was interrupted by coughing. Price forcefully tossed aside Shepherd's leg which was resting on his body before turning around on his stomach and looking up at his mate MacTavish. In spite of being bruised and bloody all over, he beamed and coughed some more.

As Price noticed his mate's condition, he forced himself on his feet and staggered near MacTavish.

"Soap!" he croaked.

Kneeling near him, Price took out his bandages and gauze and started patching him up. The sound of a helicopter was nearby and Price shielded his eyes while trying to make out if the helo was friend or foe. He grabbed Soap's arm and swung it on his neck.

"It'll hold for now. Come on, get up."

MacTavish groaned as he stood up, holding onto Price for support and noticed a figure in the sandstorm. He still came back...

"I thought I told you this was a one-way trip!" said Price.

"Looks like it still is," said Nikolai. "They'll be looking for us, you know."

MacTavish stumbled and held on to Price to not fall over. Nikolai rushed to their aid and held him until they arrived at the helicopter.

"Nikolai, we gotta get Soap out of here," said Price, urgently.

"Da, I know a place..."

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"This is for the record. History is written by the victor. History is filled with liars. If he lives and we die, his truth becomes written and ours is lost. Shepherd will be a hero. 'Cause all you need to change the world is one good lie and a river of blood. He's about to complete the greatest trick a liar ever played on history. His truth will be the truth. But only if he lives, and we die."

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To be continued...

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Quick Author's Note: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the last chapter for "The Elite Task Force." However, this does not mean that this is the end. In fact, I have already started writing the first chapter of my next fanfic which will take Task Force 141 and the Elite Task Force into new missions! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my lovely readers. Your support was vital to me to inspire me to continue writing this fic.

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