DECODE ~ GHOST [Editing]

27| After

My hands shook with uncertainty as I faced the reality of what had just happened. 

Dawn broke over the skies above, and mist rolled in from the nearby coast. As the sun caressed the ground, it caused steam to billow up from the pools of watery blood that surrounded me and seeped through my clothes. And, as the heat kissed my face, I relaxed. 

My body succumbed to the tension and just completely relaxed, my heart rate dropped, my blood pressure returned to normal, and I was no longer in fight or flight mode as I sat on my legs as I knelt in the middle of Credenhill's SAS base.

Ghost patrolled along the line of Shadow Company, and he dropped my phone to the ground in front of me, "You get one phone call." he said, and I could tell he didn't want an explanation. I wanted to ring him, I wanted him to listen as I explained something, but he'd probably think I made it all up in order to get what I wanted and get out of jail free.

My hands were shaky as I turned on the phone. The lock screen broke my heart as I was faced with the photo of me and Ghost cuddled up together in the back of an SUV, back when we stormed a Narcos mansion and found El Sin Nombre inside. Back when we had Alejandro and Rudy with us. I wondered if anyone had told Alejandro and broken his heart at the thought that a friend could betray him, the person he was going to teach Spanish when this was all over. And Rudy, the sweet, sensitive soldier who always listened no matter what, he'd always make sure you were heard.

I didn't know who to call, Laswell would listen to me, especially if Kyle had made contact with her first. She was the safe bet.

The phone unlocked as it recognised my face, and I noticed the home screen. It was me and milk, back in Ukraine when we'd been giving mutual aid to the people of Kyiv. He was laid back, his mouth wide open as he snored in the briefing room, and I'd convinced Grass to help me put as many fruit loops on his forehead as I could before he woke up. The photo captured me attempting to place the last one, right as Milk woke up. It was a happy memory, one that plagued my mind with the thought of how vulnerable I was back then.

My contacts list was full of unsaved numbers, ones people had given me when they needed to call me. Most of them were British, and then I scrolled across Laswell's number. Her contact photo was one of her and her wife, Melanie. I pressed call, and brought the phone up to my ear.

"Spencer?" She asked groggily, and I realised it must be the middle of the night for her.

I cleared my throat, "Kate, something bad has happened..." I said and my voice was a ghost of me, "Did Kyle ring you?"

She shuffled around on the other end of the line, and I could hear her wife protest as she got up and walked around, "No, he's not called me. What's up?" She asked, concerned.

In all my years of knowing Kate Laswell, I had never known her to sound worried. She was cool in every sense of the word, she never let her emotions better her, and she was a hell of an agent in the field, too. We had a sort of mutual respect for each-other, one that recognised that we were both women in the military, and that we had to stick up for one another.

"Graves is K.I.A." I stated blankly, "He brought Shadow Company here to Credenhill, but the Marines are here now. I'm being taken prisoner by Norris' men, please tell me you know about this?" I rushed out my words, conscious that there were other Marines patrolling the lines.

Kate gasped on the other end of the line, "Fury, get out of there now." she commanded, "Norris is not cleared to be leading, this is a set-up, you need to get out of there." She had her voice raised now, and I could hear as she ran down the stairs of her fancy house in Virginia. She grabbed a set of keys, and twisted them in the lock, "Find somewhere safe and sit tight," she instructed.