Wicked Chaos | COD MW2 SGR FF/AU

11 | THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS

Cartel Occupied Village, Las Almas, Mexico / 10-30-22 / 12:30
SPECIAL OPERATIVE LIEUTENANT "CHAOS" / TF-141 ASSOCIATE

The venomous sting of a thousand wasps and murder hornets. Blazing flames suffocating the inner confines of a fragile chest cavity. An uncontrollable wave of blinding tears that failed to free one's eyes from foreign bodies. In truth, the only testament Lieutenant Chaos could offer in the face of inquiries from non-military acquaintances regarding lachrymator agent. It had been years since the woman was last fully exposed to the debilitating haze without the protection of a sealed gas mask, however, the uncherished memories of her time in the gas chamber at Parris Island ignited a fresh recounting of the strangulating pain she nearly doubled over for. The sheer brutality of its conception would never grasp onto an inevitable fade into obscurity, forever engraved into the depths of her tattered mind as it was an essential piece of equipment in the Ghost's designated arsenal.

Despite the woman's first-hand experience with tear gas and the standards to combat its crippling effects, Chaos cursed herself for neglecting the decision to equip a gas mask. In fairness and in an attempt to forgive herself for her own misgivings, spontaneous warfare with the Mexican Army was not inked into the mission's daily agenda.

The valuable air within the woman's lungs incinerated as rapidly as raging wildfires, suffocating the scarce oxygen contained inside with a thick orange cloud of tear gas and forcing her into a vulnerable state. By some oddity and her worst luck, as she sprung up from her position below a shattered window, a canister of live lachrymator agent had managed to make direct contact with her face- certainly rendering itself into a story to be shared at the bar off Fort Santa Monica beach much to the amusement of the Ghosts. The impact momentarily stunned her with a direct burst of gas into her lungs and eyes, forcing her to the floor under an intensifying barrage of searing lead.

"L.T.! Pull yourself together!" Soap hollered in between his coughing, hooking his hand around the strap of her vest.

With minimal effort, the sergeant dragged Chaos away from the window under the guise of deteriorating cover fire provided by Ghost and Alejandro, propping her up under a boarded opening. Unfortunately, the very same window that offered any hope for escape was haphazardly boarded up, allowing small slivers of sunlight to shine through the gaps.

"Get that window open Soap!" Ghost wheezed out, breaking away from the exchange of gunfire.
"I'm working on it!" he grunted, repeatedly driving the butt of his rifle into the boards.

Pushing herself up to her feet, Chaos pulled out a roll of detonation tape that had sat unused within her vest pocket, roughly shoving Soap out of the way, briefly apologizing to the sergeant for the sudden act of aggression.

"Setting charges!" she declared.

Through her teary eyes, the woman managed to frame the window with the pocket-sized strip of bombs, pushing everyone back before setting off the explosives with a triumphant bang. The wall of the house they occupied was opened with a decimating hole, revealing the beckoning embrace of the cloudless sapphire sky with a gust of fresh air.

"Steaming bloody Jesus," Soap inhaled as Chaos jumped down first, softening her landing with a crouch.
The fresh oxygen stung the internal lining of Chaos' throat but the rush of relief was suffocatingly addictive, swallowing greedy gulps of air as she staggered to her feet. Ghost's firm hand landed against the small of her back, urgently nudging her forward as the voices of the Mexican Army grew in volume accompanied by sustained gunfire. The small action would never go unnoticed by the woman; he had become far more touchy since their interaction on the plane- not that she minded- but in the face of their situation, she would interpret it as a gesture to move faster.
"Det tape, nice touch Hermana," Alejandro commended with a brief pat on her shoulder and moved towards a pathway leading behind the village. "Stay on me, we'll lose them in the mountains!"