Chalice of Revenge (Ghost X Ruby Laswell)

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"That was too fucking close, godamnit!" I say as I frustratedly pull my hair out of its now loose dark blonde braid.

"It's fine, Red. We got him next time." I look to Soap, raising an eyebrow.

"Red?" I question with a scoff.

"Yeah, Ruby Red. Also matches the uh.. flames you got coming out of the top of your head there," he points to me with a smirk.

I roll my eyes and push my eyes in with my finger and thumb.

"Who's gonna tell Shepherd, hm?" I clap my hands and look to everyone who stands in silence like kindergartners awaiting orders. I gesture my hand out to Ghost. "Maybe you, lieutenant?" I purse my lips, biting my cheek.

"I'll do it. Calling now," Ghost walks away, grabbing a computer from the back of the truck.

"We gotta crash here for the night, move in morning. We blew too much cover; they'll think we evacuated Las Almas." Alejandro says.

"And we are good to stay here," I affirm.

"Affirmative. This base is covered- we have our own espionage on the inside," Rudolfo says.

I walk over to the truck, pulling out a small trunk of MREs and granola bars. I pick up a bottle of water, tossing it beside me.

"Hey yo, what's wrong with you Laswell?" Soap leans against the truck, shoving a granola bar into his mouth.

"I'm trying to prove my point; I'm one fucking good LT." I say as I grab a granola bar myself. I stand up, leaning against the truck and watching Ghost talk to what sounds like a frustrated Shepherd and Graves, and Alejandro and Rudolfo eating MREs.

"You are; but you aren't a super human. A good lieutenant takes their time- shit happens." I take a bite of the darned bar, nodding slowly as my mouth salivates.

"Yeah. Guess you're right." I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "It's the uniform- it does something. It makes me someone different."

"Don't let it- be the Ruby I know outside of the uniform as much as you are in. Might take you a lot farther to think with your heart and head instead of just your head." Soap taps on his chest, smirking.

"Alright, Gandhi," I tease.

"Hey. You're still short now, don't test me." He points a finger at me.

"I may be 5'0", but I can kick all the Russian, Arabian, and Mexican ass I please." I start to walk away, and look back at Soap again, laughing.

He had a fair point. Inside the suit, I was nothing but a robot in the field stuck in default mode, repeating myself over and over again. And what purpose did that serve me besides just shedding blood?

I rub my eyes as I walk into a bathroom, slamming my duffel on the floor and grabbing a big black t shirt and baggy gray sweatpants. It was my ideal wear- I hardly left the house with anything other than men's or street clothing.

I find myself in the dirty and smudged mirror, staring back at my distorted reflection. My hair was in shambles, my face was caked with dirt. I turn on the faucet, splashing warm water over my cold skin feeling as if my face was ten times lighter. I look back up in the mirror, seeing my front curly hair strands dripping with water and my face dripping down dirt to my chin. I take me sleeve, rubbing it and revealing my true complexion- a face full of freckles, pale skin, a small cheek scar, one blue eye, and another blue eye- but with a brown streak through it.

A part of me always wondered who was my sperm donor- if any information was documented somewhere. I've always attempted to search for it, but Kate always went into defense mode and told me she tried to find out everything she could. All she told me was that my mother and father were involved in some sort of mafia scam and they were more than likely six feet under.

I slip off my heavy clothing, a feeling I had gotten used to, and switch it out for lighter clothing. It felt abnormal to be in street clothing after a day in this job but it was a weird feeling you got used to.

I open the door, immediately being met with a skull mask.

"Jesus, lieutenant." I jolt back, closing my eyes and sighing.

"Just Ghost is fine." He looks around, then back to me. "Shepherd and Graves are trying to find more hits on Hassan- we will probably have to fly out but I believe we have the upper hand this time."

I nod, pursing my lips. I felt stuck in my place as if my feet were glued to the ground.

"How come I've never heard of you before, Ghost?" I ask as I grip my wads of clothing to my chest.

"I prefer to keep it that way; my circle is small. And I don't intend for it to get any bigger," he says in an accusatory tone.

"I'm not asking to make friendship bracelets with you or anything," I scoff. He looks at me with zero to no emotion, a blank expression with no hints of body language. "Yeah well, self entitled prick isn't a good look on anyone, Ghost." I say as I walk away scoffing. He had some nerve- who just comes over to tell someone information then snap at them when they want to get to know you?

Hopefully this mission would end soon.. and fast. I needed to do what I did best- kill and onto the next.