Silver-Lining (Ghost Riley x Reader)

Chapter Thirty-Six

A/n: Fun fact: Not sure if you guys know this, but Knives' callsign was named after Knives from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

It was only a small mission that contained Alejandro, Javier, and I. Our mission was to steal some files from a small campsite consisting of only seven soldiers, located only miles away outside of Las Almas in an isolated area only consisting of tall trees. What could possibly go wrong?

My nerves ran high as I hopped into the backseat, allowing Javier to be Alejandro's passenger princess. "Seven soldiers? Shouldn't we bring a few more soldiers of our own?" Javier looked down at the map that Alejandro had marked. I could tell that the uneasiness of this so-called "small" mission had dawned on him also. "Three soldiers is enough. No queremos demasiada gente." Alejandro fired up the car, and the loud roar of the engine made my stomach sink. (We don't want too many people.)  "¡Debes tener un deseo de Muerte!" Javier slightly raised his voice. (You must have a death wish!)

Although I had been practicing my Spanish, and learning my way around the language, I still couldn't understand what the two were saying. I leaned back in my seat, deciding to mind my business. Their voices gradually grew louder as they both started yelling at each other. I rolled my eyes, already feeling a headache coming on. "Ladies! Ladies! You're both beautiful alright? No need to fight." I placed my hands on their shoulders, giving them a small squeeze. "I'm prettier," Javier remarked in a joking manner. "As if." Alejandro rolled his eyes jokingly, sharing a few chuckles with his soldier.

"Alright then... The files. Why are they so important?" I asked. It was usual for smaller jobs to consist of grabbing files or hard drives that contained intel. I figured this one would be no different. We would go in there, lay down some fire, and take what we needed.

"These files consist of their plans to attack different bases. We believe one of the bases includes ours." Alejandro spoke shortly, keeping his eyes glued to the busy road in front of him. "Why? What do they want from us?"

"They want control- power. And they will take over any base they can." Javier took it upon himself to answer my question. "I hate power-hungry assholes," I grumbled. "Same here," Alejandro, too grumbled. I couldn't wait for this mission to be done and over with. If we were lucky enough, we could make it back to the base by nighttime.

"Why didn't we listen to some music?" Javier suggested, turning on the radio. "It'll calm the nerves." He added.

"Nervous?" I asked him. He turned in his seat, looking directly at me. "Aren't you?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders only slightly. I've learned to not let my panic get in the way. Sure, I still feel fear. But I never allow it to control me or my thoughts in decisions. "I'll be your knight in shining armor if I have to." I gave him a smile as I threw on the sunglasses beside me. "So what? You don't ever feel fear?" Javier asked me.

I almost laughed at his question. Almost. "Of course, I feel fear. Everyone does." I told him. "A man who says he feels no fear is either a fool or a damn liar," I added. That had to be my favorite quote. Fear is part of humanity. And no matter how many times I questioned if that part of me even existed, the fear always reminded me that it did. When I questioned whether or not I even was human at all when looking at those dead bodies made me feel nothing. It only made me realize just how desensitized to violence I became. But the fear that sparked inside of me, when I realized that maybe I had been too far gone- became a reality check. I wasn't too far gone. I happened to be a marine who was used to the violence that surrounded the majority of my life.

"¡Adiós Las Almas!" Alejandro said once we exited the city of Las Almas. The hot air sooner turned cool as the sun slowly began to dip into the horizon. Light hues of orange and pink dabbled into the sky like a fresh painting made by a skilled artist.