Pattern Breaker

A Joint Venture

It was a quiet return to the base, the entire team understandably exhausted from the mission they now seemed to be driving to escape from. Ghost was tired, his grip on the steering wheel lazy as he followed behind the other men. He allowed himself a moment to look in the rearview mirror, searching out Soap's face. As if he knew he was being stared at, Soap's eyes met Ghost's with a glimmer. He broke eye contact, returning his attention to the vehicle in front of him. As they approached the gates, the hair on the back of Ghost's neck began to prickle.

Something wasn't right.

One of the guards held his hand up to stop.

"What the fuck?" John said under his breath, taking in the scene in front of him. Alejandro was the first one out, his shoulders squaring back strongly as Graves exited the vehicle in front of them.

"What's this?" He called, gesturing to the men scattered around– their hands resting threateningly on their weapons. Graves looked back at him, and Ghost wanted nothing more than to smack the smug look off of the other man's face.

"This is the immediate future." Graves responded, his own grip already firmly on his weapon. "Step away from the gate."

"What?" Soap exclaimed incredulously, positioned just a few feet behind Alejandro.

"You heard me."

"You're crazy. This is my base." Alejandro's voice was calm, but laced with disbelief. Ghost remained next to the driver's side door, hands hanging loosely next to his body as he slowly took in the scene in front of him.

"It's not a base. This is a sizable covert facility and I admire it- So I'm taking it." Graves said.

Bastard.

"You boys have been relieved," He continued. "Thank you for your service."

"No, no, no." Alejandro responded, "I don't take orders from you."

Graves slowly stepped forward, his voice low and threatening. "Didn't Valeria say that? Now that makes me wonder what else I don't know about your affiliation with a drug lord?" Alejandro looked back over his shoulder at his men in disbelief at the accusation.

"What the fuck did you just say to me, pendejo..." He asked, stepping forward to stare down at the shorter man. Soap dove forward, one hand on Alejandro's shoulder as he tried to place himself between the two men. Ghost shuffled on his feet, wanting nothing more than to place himself in front of Soap and separate him away from Graves.

"You're out of line, Graves," Soap warned. Graves stepped back.

"Don't do that. Don't.... Do that. No one needs to get hurt here." Ghost used this as an opportunity to come closer, his hands twitching.

"Are you threatening us?" Ghost asked, trying to ignore the flex in his jaw when he saw Soap's hand resting on Alejandro's chest. It dropped only moments after Ghost took note of it as Graves spoke again.

"I don't make threats. I make guarantees." Ghost almost snorted at the cheesy line. "So let's not do this."

There was a brief moment of silence before Soap turned his back and began walking away, his shoulders stiff. "I'm calling Shepard."

"General Shepard sends his regards." Graves called to the man, his voice icy. Ghost watched as Soap froze in his tracks. "He told me y'all wouldn't take this well."

"He knows about this?" The masked soldier asked.

"He's put me in command of this operation from here on out." Graves responded. "So y'all need to stand down. It's time to let the pros finish this."