Chalice of Revenge (Ghost X Ruby Laswell)

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We all position ourselves outside of the door, listening to the mumbled words behind the thick door.

"Holy shit," Soap looks at us as he pulls back the under door camera.

"Do you see El Sin Nombre?" Ghost asks.

"You've already met her," he breathes as he looks to Alejandro.

"We need to get in there before she evacuates- they know we are here." I say strictly. I grab a gun from Ghost's duffel bag, bringing it up to my shoulder. I nod to everyone, Alejandro busting down the door within seconds.

Guns started to blaze, and yelling started to make my ears ring. I begin to shoot at every guard I see, perched behind a wooden storage container that wouldn't hold up for much longer.

I look over to Soap, who's across from me. Alejandro is behind a pillar, shooting at Sin Nombre's guards. That leaves-

"She has a chopper!" Ghost yells behind me.

I look around. "Shit, hurry!" I run out of hiding, making a bold move and diving for the woman who interrogated me. Needless to say, it wasn't much of a plot twist.

"Shit, Laswell!" Soap yells.

"We can't let her escape, not like Hassan! We need this!" I fire a bullet into a guard's head, then run towards the woman who is trying to run to the roof.

I hear everyone file in behind me, Alejandro taking front. The woman turns around slowly, her hands up as she looks up at the chopper.

"Already called in air support, no escaping now Valeria." Alejandro says with a smirk as he almost spits his name.

"Guess you caught me.. what now, kill me?" Valeria smirks as she speaks heavily. She looks to me, giving me a grimace.

I look behind to Soap and Ghost. Alejandro must have worked with her in the past, she was too smart for just being a mob killing junkie. Soap shrugs, and I take place in between the both of them.

"You okay, Laswell?" I notice Ghost talk to me, looking down.

"Yeah, I'm-" I look down, seeing the left side of my abdomen slowly leak blood. "Shit. Must have been grazed."

"Shit, Red; I said be careful!" Soap exclaims.

"I'm still breathing, aren't I?" I cross my arms.

"For now, yeah?!"

"How about you just—"

"Enough arguing you two, we need to get back and get you patched up." Ghost says flatly.

"I'm not some child," I state.

"Children obey authority. I suggest you do the same, lieutenant." Ghost looks to me one last time, as we walk to board the chopper.

I put a hand over my graze, finally feeling the adrenaline numbing go down and reality set back into my pain receptors.

________

"Alejandro and Graves are questioning Valeria as we speak," Soap pats on the sheet metal storage container they're in, as I lean against it.

"You need to get that cleaned," Soap points.

"I will once we are back to the safe house." I say straight.

I hear mumbled yelling emerging from the container, then a voice entering the outside. A head peers around the corner, Graves looking at me directly in the eye.

"We got intel on the missiles and even more on Hassan. We need to focus on detonating those next." He walks up to Soap and I, giving Soap a certain look causing him to leave. Graves points to my wound, leaning against the container. "I see you got a beauty mark out there," he says in a stern tone.

"Yeah. Graze. It's nothing, really." I turn away from him, feeling the anger and discomfort radiating in the air.

"I need you alive, Laswell; you're all I have." A finger positions itself under my chin, forcing it up to look at him.

"We tried it, Graves. We kissed a few times. It was never anything more, what can you not understand?" I grit.

"Dawson, you see.. he was a nuisance. Who was there for you when he was blown into chunks? Who was there for you the mission before that, and before that? Me." Graves leans in, making me turn my head. "Reject me all you want; but you'll see where it gets you." I feel his hot breath on my face, making me want to crawl out of my skin.

"Everything okay here?" Ghost approaches us, his stance in a defensive position. I hated to say it, but I was glad to see him.

"Peachy," Graves releases his grip on me, flashing me a smirk before walking away back into the container.

"I know consent when I see it. That wasn't it, was it." Ghost says. He doesn't ask, he says things. Because he knows.

"Does it matter?" I scoff as I look up at the stars and dead trees.

"I've killed for a crime such as that, Red." I look to him as his eyes search me through that thick mask. "And I won't hesitate to do it again."

"I can defend myself, Simon Riley." I sarcastically say. I catch his eyes widen a bit before returning to the ground.

I then am taken surprise when I look to my left, seeing Ghost take a couple of steps towards me. He leans down, meeting my eye level.

"They call me Ghost. Not Jesus. I kill, I don't save. Need I see that again, I will do what I have to do. I've seen too much in my lifetime, Laswell. And I won't let it happen to anyone if I have to help it." He stands back up tall, simply walking away from me.

My heart felt in my chest and a lump was in my throat. I knew Ghost probably had a dark past- but I didn't know how vicious he could be. He was the silent killer behind the mask no one could ever expect.

I follow after, seeing Alejandro exit the crate with Rudolfo seeming frustrated and stressed. Hell, if I found out someone I worked with operated a dirty mission and killed people from my country I'd be pissed too. Beyond it.

I hiss as I put my hand to my graze, feeling the skin become raw around it. Maybe I could suffice for a few of those bandages Ghost threw to me last night.

"Alright, Task 141." Graves calls out as he heads over to his truck, in between two of his guards. "We go after these missiles tomorrow. There is a big ass oil rig that is headed towards the U.S. you can expect GPS coordinates from Laswell." Graves looks to me, making my teeth automatically grind and my fists clench.

We all turn around, but I slowly do so as I look at Graves. There was something that didn't feel right; something wasn't adding up. Why did he beg for so much intel? What was being lost in translation? We weren't with the Shadows, so it made no sense as to why they haven't handled these things by now.

We all load up into the car, Soap allowing me to take the window so I could brace myself against something. I look to Ghost, who looks tense as he states out of the window. I wonder if he felt the same way I did, or if he was into Grave's forceful tendencies.

Either way, a shit show was going to go down sooner rather than later. I felt it.