We Who Serve

Chapter Eleven

"Graves, Take that fucking water tower out now!" Ghost yelled down the comms as they still didn't hear anything from Grimes. Every time the men tried to go to where Grimes was, they had a rain of bullets fly at them. Ghost was getting increasingly worried about her as the second ticked on. "I fucking swear to God, Riley, you better answer me!" Ghost continued to yell down the comms. His heart was pounding in his ear with anxiety. 

"Graves, do you have eyes on?" Soap asked the bird above to look for her.

"Too much smoke, no visual." Graves answered just as the last round was sent down to wipe out the cartel attacking from the water tower. This gave Ghost a chance to run to where they last saw Grimes. His heart feared the worst, but his head tried to keep him sane as she ran over, not caring if any enemy was around. Just as he looked around, he saw her boot poking out from under a pile of broken wood. 

"No, no, no, no." He muttered as he slung his rifle around his back and grabbed the largest piece of wood there, but even with his strength, he struggled. Then, Soap grabbed a part to his left, Alejandro grabbed it to his right, and the three pulled it off her quickly. As soon as the wood was lifted, they heard Grimes let out a cough due to the dirt and dust around her. Ghost reached down, grabbed her by the jacket around her collarbone, and lifted her. She pulled in deep breaths as she tried to recompose herself, as her eyes fluttered open.

"Call me by my name again; I'll hang you by your balls." She groaned in pain as she moved. Soap visibly relaxed, knowing she was alive.

"You gave us a right good scare there, lass." He sighed, tilting his head slightly. 

"You alright?" Ghost asked with concern; he could see while she was alive, she wasn't intact. She had a gash to her head just above her hairline on the right of her face, bleeding enough to trickle down her face—minor cuts around her visible skin but nothing serious.

"May have a broken rib, but I'll survive." She muttered as Ghost helped her to her feet. 

"Where's your mask?" Alejandro asked as he looked at her. The blast had caused her hood to fall back. 

"I took it off before the blast; it would have caused more damage." She told him as she reached into her pocket to pull it out. It had several bends, showing just how much of a hit she had taken. "I'll get another, maybe not a metal one next time." She chuckled as she chucked it into the pile of debris from where she had just been pulled. 

"Stay behind me; let's get this shit done." Ghost muttered as she dusted herself off. Her dark blue jacket is now covered in dirt, dust and blood. She didn't bother pulling her hood back up, as it would stick to the blood on her face. Her hair was tied up in a small low pony with baby hairs hanging loose at the back of her head. Ghost called from Graves to make us an entry point into the compound, and he happily obliged. 

"Ghost, doors open. You're clear to proceed." Graves called out as the four began to run towards the compound. Graves cleared out the courtyard just as they entered through the gate. 

"Ghost, no movement detached." Graves called down as Ghost quickly acknowledged. They rushed up to the door, and Ghost placed the charge. Graves updated them that the convoy was getting closer and they needed to haul ass. 

"Breaching," Ghost called as he detonated the charge. The blast hit Grimes's ear, causing a ringing to sound through them. She turned away from the explosion, reaching her left hand up to her left ear to hold while her right kept a grip on the rifle. The ringing had disorientated her causing her head to throb. The men rushed in, leaving her outside as she shook her head, trying to get her hearing back. To blasts right after each other had done some damage. 

Her senses returned just as she heard Ghost informing her about Hassan being located upstairs on the roof. She slung her rifle around her back as she began to run along the ground towards where Hassan was heading. Running towards the wall, she kicked off the stone and pushed herself up, grabbing a loose brick. She looked left slightly to see a ledge just slightly up and pulled herself up. She kicked up to grab the stone railing of the balcony and pulled herself up just as Hassan entered the building.

"He's just gone inside the building," Grimes called over the comms and Ghost and the other caught up with her. Graves said he had then covered from the outside as they rushed the door.

"Get down on the ground!" Grimes yelled as she was first in the door. She didn't hesitate to drop the only cartel member who lifted his weapon to her. She then turned the muzzle to face Hassan while waiting for one of the men to grab him. It happened quickly, and Hassan's hands were locked behind in a zip tie. 

"Shadow-1, Bravo 0-7. Jackpot. I say again, jackpot. Target is secure." Ghost called down the comms as they began to get ready to dash to exfil.

"0-7, solid copy. What's the status of your exfil?" Graves asked with worry in his voice. The convoy was closing in on them fast. Alejandro confirmed that exfil was two minutes out. Graves men began to drop all types of ammo down to take out the convoy as their exfil appeared. Once Graves gave the all-clear, they made their way out of the back of the compound, where Rodolfo was waiting with the vehicle. The Soap had Hassan as he led him over to Rodolfo's vehicle. Hassan was spouting a load of rubbish as he fought against Soap. He threw him in the open door as Ghost and Grimes both jumped in the boot. They sat on the floor, and even with his large structure, there was enough room to move. 

"Let's move!" Grimes called out as she shut the back door behind them, Rodolfo hit the pedal, and they were off.

"Shadow-1, Package secure. We're RTB." Ghost called to GRaves as they drove off. Ghost looked at Grimes as she reached up and gently touched her head where the gash was. She hissed in pain and retracted her hand to see it covered in fresh blood.

"You need to get that bleeding under control." Ghost spoke softly as he reached into a pocket in his vest. He pulled out a gauze and unwrapped it before handing it to her. 

"Thanks," Grimes muttered as she took it from him. She hissed deeply as she pressed against the gash trying to stem the bleeding.

"We got movement up ahead," Alejandro called out as Rodolfo pulled the vehicle to a stop.

"Can we never catch a break?" Grimes muttered as she pulled her hand away from the wound and pulled out the magazine from her rifle to check her ammo. She had twelve rounds left in this mag, with only one left. That gave her just over fifty rounds. She quickly replaced the magazine into the weapon and held it close, ready for what was about to come next.