Hotel Six: A Call of Duty Fanfiction

Chapter 40: Mind Your Rank

Shepherd walked beside Captain MacTavish at a brisk pace. "That sounds like a lot of fighting just for a thimble-full of intel, MacTavish," he grumbled.

"Sorry, General, but that's all we could beat out of him," he replied. "Can't squeeze blood from a stone, ya know."

The General scoffed. "I'm sure my Marines could have managed something."

MacTavish looked uneasy. "Seems bold to me, sir, that you think he would have told you anythin' different."

Shepherd stopped and turned to face him, leaning in threateningly. "All I'm saying is: it's sloppy work, son. You lost four men on that op, and all you could find out what that Makarov hates a guy in a dungeon somewhere."

"What else did you want me to get out of him, sir?"

"I don't know, maybe where Makarov is?  Anyone else who knows where he is? How helpful can a man in prison be, when he probably doesn't know where our most valuable target is?" he growled, eyes glinting dangerously. "If you ask me, this mission was hardly a success."

MacTavish was startled by the sound of a ravenous bark and he barely caught Galaxy by the scruff in time to stop her from snapping at Shepherd's face. "Gal, no!" he cried.

Her hackles stood high on her shoulders and her tail was raised. "Watch your damn mouth when addressing MacTavish," she rattled.

The General smirked. "You ought to muzzle your hound, Captain..."

"My actions are my own," she growled. "I'm simply standing up for my Captain."

"Did you forget that you're an American, Miss Repp?"

Her ears tilted forward and she snorted. "I'm not American or British; I'm a sovereign entity who happened to live in America for a time."

The Captain pulled on her, trying to get her to stand down. "Come on, Gal, this isn't necessary. Please..."

Shepherd shook his hand. "No, no," he said. "Let her speak, I'm curious now. Come on, pooch, speak your piece." 

"You and Captain MacTavish are partners in the 141," she said. "You don't outrank him, and he doesn't outrank you. You advise each other and agree to plans. So, General, if you would be ever so kind: address my Captain with the respect he deserves."

"Oh yeah? You got some motivation to back that up?"

Galaxy's mouth curved up in a crooked smile. "I once heard it said best: when you're the most wicked cat in the game, you don't make threats, you make observations... And I'm noticing that the only thing standing between me and ripping you into tiny pieces is MacTavish's hand on my neck."

"GAL," MacTavish barked. 

Shepherd straightened up, smoothing his jacket over his trim frame. "... Message received, Miss Repp."

"Sergeant..."

The General closed his eyes with a heavy, begrudging sigh. "... Sergeant Repp... I'll be more mindful of how I address Captain MacTavish going forward." He curtly dipped his head to the Captain and walked away toward the submarine at the dock, calling to a few of his men.

MacTavish released her with a tense breath. "Lone, what the hell was that?!" he spat. "I know you so much better than to break rank like that!"

"I don't care if he's the goddamn president, he's not going to talk to you like that," she replied.

He covered his face with a hand, shaking his head. "Look, I know you don't like Shepherd..."

"Did I make it too obvious?" she inquired quietly, a wry smile cracking her maw.

"But, I need you to clean up your act. Not only could I permanently dismiss you for your misconduct, but we could also lose America's aid, and we need that right now." 

Though she personally wasn't bothered by the threat, the pleading look in his eyes made her soften and she bowed her head. "Yes, sir. I understand. It won't happen again... But know that I don't trust or respect him. I caution you to inspect everything he says or does carefully."

He folded his arms with a nod. "You don't have to trust him; you trust me. His authority has been good so far, and I at least trust his intel. He's a General for a reason, Lone Wolf. I don't have to like him to accept his help."

She tilted back her ears with an uneasy whimper but saw his point no less. "Fair. I'll keep my mouth shut around him, but only because you said so."

"Good." He grinned tiredly and patted her shoulders. "C'mon. The sub's gettin' ready to load up." 

As he walked away she shifted and pulled her phone from her pocket. She was feeling guilty now for saying what she had to Shepherd and making MacTavish lose face; maybe calling home might take her mind off it. She might as well see if everyone was alright before she went on a sub and didn't have access to the outside world for who knew how long.

There was a voicemail.

Jess set her brows and opened it to listen. "Hey, baby," said the voice of Makarov. "I know I said I would wait for you to call me, but I'm looking at your car in a ditch right now, and I'm really worried... Please call me back." There was a pregnant pause, and he continued. "I love you."

She growled unhumanly at the phone and looked as if she were about to dash it against the ground when Ghost came up to her and she stopped. "Hey!" he said. "Captain told me what happened with Shepherd."

Jessica groaned. "Great, he told you?"

"Yeah... Heard you, uh... Took my advice." He was smiling under his mask.

She grinned back, feeling more at ease. "Yeah, told him what you told me that one time before we became friends," she said.

He laughed and swung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. "Adda girl!" he cheered. "Hell, you're ballsier than I am, by far. I can't believe you did that to the General."

"I don't put up with people disrespecting my team, especially Captain MacTavish," she said, looping her arm around his back. "He's lucky I let 'Miss Repp' slide for as long as it did."

"He didn't address you by your rank?" he asked. "Wow..."

She tilted her head back with a chuckle. "Well, I think he learned his lesson. He called me Sergeant before he walked away. Maybe from here on out, he'll keep his head out of his ass."