Howl [COD Simon Ghost Riley & John Soap Mactavish AU]

Tear My Way In

The next morning, everyone ate on their own, pouring strong coffee in silence.

At the specified time, they stood in the meeting room again and Ghost laid out the plan for them. They were fully dressed, ready for the harsh terrain, ready to search. They had several points laid out and a couple of days to do recon, find possible drop locations and make a plan for interception.

Only four of them had been sent in so that it wouldn't be seen as a full operation and it was up to Ghost to determine whether they act or call for backup.

Their Russian companions were chattier that morning, amongst themselves anyway, but they were obedient and they led the men as they exited their base and climbed into a vehicle more suited for the snowy forest.

One of the men rode up front with Ghost. Dmitri. The other went by Alex and he took his seat next to Soap. He was the taller of the two men and it seemed his English was good. He had a trustworthy face, Soap thought, although he had been burned plenty of times by that notion in the past. And he didn't like that Ghost was driving while he hung back, it was more risky and he didn't trust Dmitri to watch out for them like Soap knew he could. The man was there to navigate, not cover. So who was covering, then? Something in him felt they shouldn't be parted, even like this. The other part of him told him to calm the hell down. This wasn't warfare, open combat. No one was shooting at them.

Being in a tight space, even for a short time often got him worked up, put him on edge. That was the deeper, darker reason he wished he was beside the Lieutenant. Ghost let off of calm that helped him regain focus. He never got worried, he never hesitated, questioned himself. He was steady, never changing. Few things in life were and Soap chased it shamelessly.

It wasn't a particularly risky mission, not like some of the others they had faced, but they did feel especially exposed against the monotone landscape. They soon entered the cover of trees and forest brush. Ghost stopped the truck and looked at his coordinates. They weren't far from what was supposed to be some kind of marker. That's where their foreign friends came in, they would be able to identify it.

Ghost climbed out of the car and Soap slipped out the same side.

He had been able to hear Soap's nerves grow as they drove. He knew whatever form of PTSD Soap couldn't admit to had something to do with tight spaces. He also knew that the fact that it gripped him now had nothing to do with lack of control and everything to do with lack of action.

Soap caught Ghost watching him and nodded, walking to the back of the vehicle. He didn't want the man's pity. And as intimidating as he was, he was just that. A man. Soap didn't need to know his face to know that. They might differ in size and skin tone and god knows what else but he was willing to bet their hearts were quite similar. The way he watched though made him somewhat curious, made him wish more of his expression was free so that Soap could have an easier time understanding if it was just habit or if it meant something.

He shook his head as he pulled open the door to the weapons storage. It didn't mean shit except that they were meant to watch out for each other, meant to know each other's status at all times. It meant Ghost was doing his job.

Soap needed to clear his mind and the silent chill of the forest surrounding them provided that ability. If small spaces made him antsy, then this was the place for him to find reprieve. Above the trees was a grey-white sky, not so different from the plains beyond them as if the earth itself had forgotten where the horizon lived. His thoughts had nothing to echo against out there, they just floated away, landing softly in the snow.

They fell into formation, Soap and Ghost hanging back. Ghost hanging back slightly further. It felt natural, to watch the backs of the men before him. A bullet could kill him, blood loss, head trauma, hypothermia, he wasn't invincible. But he was a little more invincible than they were, a little tougher, a little quicker to heal. His belief that he was superhuman had been wiped off the face of the earth years ago. Many, many years ago. He shook off the memories and let them bury themselves beneath his feet.