As Grim as the Reaper | PREQUEL Simon 'GHOST' Riley

TWENTY

Once again, you found yourself stood in front of a helo, strapping on tactical gear.

There was no cheerful greeting for you this time.

No tease from Stevens about your knives, no cocky comment from Orlando about how he'd out-stealth you one of these days. No sweet talk from Trace about how much he looked forward to missions with you, and how he finally felt like part of the team.

You were alone now.

Tight, black clothes sucked onto your body. There was no room for the rustling of loose fabric on a solo stealth mission; you were lucky you got a tac-vest and a small pistol 'just in case'.

Your hair was tied back in two braids, woven tightly to keep it at bay. Small wisps of hair too short to stay put framed your face elegantly, and the black of your mask made the outfit look somewhat fashionable.

If you didn't have the job you did, dare you say, you looked fucking hot.

With one final run through your mental checklist, you patted yourself down before slipping your comms into your ear, throat mic strapped securely around your neck. No room for bulking radios, either.

The sun was starting to set, casting a beautiful orange glow over you.

"How is it possible for someone to look that good in a tac vest?"

"Not now, Graves." you mumbled.

He approached you slowly, hands landing on your arms, rubbing up and down. "You don't gotta do this, baby. Say the word and I'll give Shepherd a piece of my mind I swear-"

"I do." you cut him off, moving to latch your hands to his elbows. "I have to do this. I have to know why they came for us, why they knew our names...I need it."

"And what happens if you don't get those answers?"

You frowned, not having thought that far ahead.

"If not, then...I-I don't know-"

"Hey, hey..." Graves spoke, taking your head in his hand and pressing you against him, "Shhh, don't get upset darlin'...it's alright, we're gonna be okay."

"You promise?"

He took a deep breath, before releasing it with a "Yeah." but you were too consumed in his comfort to notice.

It didn't take long for the two of you to be interrupted, with Laswell coming over saying it was time to leave. This only sparked Graves' anger once more, leading him to yet another rant about how ridiculous it was that you were being separated.

"It's only a few hours, she'll be fine, you know that. I'll call you as soon as we're extracted." Laswell tried to reassure him.

"See?" you spoke, "Simple recon. Gonna be fine."

"That's what you said last time." he whispered under his breath, but you caught it.

Of course you did.

The way your eyes widened told him you heard it, too. He let out a sigh, placing a kiss to your forehead and walking away, not once looking back to you.

You didn't utter a word, shocked at your fiancé's behaviour. Laswell placed a hand on your shoulder, urging you forward with small steps, uttering words of support and wisdom to you. 

God knows you fucking needed it.

In no time at all, you were approaching the location of the AQ safehouse. You knew as much without seeing, because you could already hear the multiple voices of the soldiers echoing through the trees around you.