Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader

Twenty-Six

A dense shockwave chased through your entire body as you hit the ramp of the black truck.

At the impact, all the air got pressed out of your lungs. But there wasn't a moment to catch your breath.

With all his weight, Ghost landed right on top of you.

The pressure he cause made you feel like your ribs were about to crush your organs.

Tires squeaked.

Without stopping, the car made a u-turn and drove off.

"What the bloody fuckin' hell was that, Lieutenant?!", Ghost pushed himself off you.

His voice was louder than usual and filled with such an amount of anger that it almost vibrated.

Choking and coughing, you rolled to your side to catch your breath.

"Feckin' cryin' Jesus!", you gasped while the vibration of coughs made your lungs vibrate. "You're freakin' heavy!"

His hands reached down to grab you by the collar, but before his emotions could overcome him, he was interrupted by a knock on the window next to him.

Your eyes moved to meet Gaz's grinning face.

"Are you alright?", he asked, head hanging halfway through the window. "That looked fatal."

You leaned over the edge of the ramp and spit into the sand.

"I'm fine.", your hands patted down your chest. "Not broken. As far as I can tell."

"Good.", Price voice sounded from the drivers seat. "Lucky for you were came around. Sounds like the two of you barely made it."

A sound of displeasure could be heard from Ghost.

"100 decide to take a risk.", he snarled and let himself fall into a corner to catch a break.

Annoyed, you rolled your eyes and crossed both arms in front of your chest.

"I'm sure Gaz will tell us some sweet news to justify me pissing you off.", you replied. "Gaz?"

A finger rose to ask for a moment of silence.

Then he leaned to the side, a proud grin on his face, and showed you the screen of a laptop.

One of your eyebrows rose in a sarcastic manner as you gifted Ghost some kind of look.

"Look at that.", you leaned to the window to get a closer look at everything. "A hint to a secure line."

"We don't know if El Sin Nombre will be there.", Price explained. "Or if she even got the message herself."

Strands of thick cigar smoke seeped from his lips. It smelled of burned paper and tobacco.

You weren't much of a smoker, didn't mind when other did, but whenever Price decided to enjoy one of his cigars you couldn't help but feel disgusted.

The smoke scratched in your lungs with every breath you took and left a thick aftertaste on your tongue.

"It doesn't matter if she did.", you said and let your head fall back to smile at the sky. "Whoever did will be close enough to her. If we get them, we'll get her. Simple maths."

"Let's hope you're right.", Gaz mumbled. "I'm gettin' a little tired of this place."

You huffed.

"What, not a fan of Mexico?"

"Too dry. I miss the rain of London. Grey skies."

His words almost struck you right in the feels.

"I hear you.", you mumbled with lowered eyes and a sudden weight pressing down on your chest. "I do too..."

"Alright, let's get everyone up to date.", Price exited the vehicle. And then all we can do is wait. "Let's hope you did the right thing, 100."

With a smile that made his lips press into a thin line, Price gave you a bump to the shoulder and disappeared.

Gaz and Ghost remained with you.

Both looked rather gloomy, nothing special for Ghost, but surprising when it came to Gaz who usually had a lighter attitude.

"You alright?", you asked him with a nod of your chin.

Torn from his thoughts, his gaze snapped up to meet your eyes.

"I was just thinkin'...", he stopped himself mid sentence to see if it was wise to speak his mind with Ghost next to him.

It was an open secret that Ghost and Price were comrades from older days. Both shared a bond of loyalty and trust.

And you couldn't blame either.

The captain was a man you would have died for, a leader in the flesh.

And Ghost was Ghost. A man like no other.

But at the same time you could also relate to Gaz's worries. It was always wise to be careful what to say.

Especially when it was about members of a trusted team.

"Speak, sergeant.", Ghost simply said and crossed his arms on front of his chest.

He almost rolled his eyes, bored at the thought of you and Gaz sharing a conversation.

"Twat...", you hummed with a soft tsk. "Anyways. What's up with you? We can't use somebody with doubts."

Gaz pulled a face, almost offended, yet unable to hide his sarcastic smirk.

"It's not that.", he assured. "It's just, we've had her in our hand before."

"Who?", you frowned.

"Valeria."

"El Sin Nombre.", Ghost corrected.

Understanding, your eyebrows rose.

"So? If you had her once it's proof we can do it.", you shrugged.

"But she's a narco.", Gaz insisted. "They learn from mistakes. Especially her."

"Sounds like you admire her.", you almost laughed.

Baffled, Gaz frowned. His mouth opened to defend himself but he was too slow.

"She's not like other narcos.", Ghost admitted, not a hint of admiration or the feeling of being impressed in his voice. "She's smart. Probably won't make it that easy for us. Not like the first time."

Curling your lips, you listened while a thought crossed your mind.

"Why let her go in the first place?", you asked.

"She wasn't the target at the time."

"But you could have kept her anyways."

"Not without a war between Alejandro's forces and the Las Almas."

A soft hum escaped your lips.

"Then we need to make sure this won't happen now either.", as a wave of annoyance boiled up in you, you couldn't help but let out a low growl. "I can tell this will take a long ass time... Feckin' hell, I wanted to be home for new years."