She's Bad News- Simon Riley x reader

Thirty Six

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{Simon}

"Your orders were to lay low, not engage with the enemy."

"Orders? I thought I was allowed a bit of creative freedom." I reply with sarcasm and playful arrogance. "And since when did you become such a stickler for the rules? Don't tell me you've gone soft on me, Captain."

"You were told to observe from afar. You disobeyed my direct order."

"Got a little bored just watching Price."

"Yeah? And look where that left you." He narrows his eyes over my fresh wounds as I lay in bed.

Both sides of my body felt like I had just stepped off a plane in Hell, each breath filling my lungs with fire as my cracked ribs moan out in protest. The sting eating away at my muscles and my wounds keeping me anchored to these sheets. The graze of the bullets that almost put me six feet under are like hot coals on my skin, and yet here I am, lying in this bloody, getting chewed out by Price. Talk about adding insult to injury.

"Chest plate took most of the damage." My voice is strained and rough, my tone trying to come across as nonchalant despite the pain I am currently in.

"And your leg?"

"Bullet only grazed. I can still walk."

"Barely." He can't help but roll his eyes. "You're pushing your luck, Simon. One wrong turn and it won't be 'just a graze' anymore. Do you honestly think the enemy will hold back their fire just because one of your legs is injured? You've been shot and still refuse to rest and recover. If that's not recklessness, I don't know what is." His response is angry and harsh, his eyes narrowing as his patience wears thin.

"I made it back here didn't I?"

"Damn it, Simon. I expected more from you. You know this is a dangerous job. You know that every move you make can have an impact, so why the hell did you let yourself become distracted and engaged with the enemy? You've been on countless missions, you should know better by now."

"Price, I've spent weeks just watching. I needed to know, I needed to know if this was really him."

"How could you go and act this reckless out there? You know how much this mission means to not only me, but to our entire team, to her. And yet, you still chose to chase your urge to fight rather than stay still like I ordered. I need to know why. Was it simply boredom, or was it something more? What made you so careless?"

"Look, Price, the intel on Caleb was solid, I know it. It was spot on, and I know that for a fact. But something must've happened between when the intel was gathered and when I arrived at the site. Or maybe the intel was bad to begin with and my gut was right all along. In any case, you have to understand that I did what I did for Y/n, to help search and find Caleb, not because I was reckless or careless." I try to explain my actions and choices, not wanting to be perceived as someone who acts without thinking.

"Any concrete evidence that will help us find him? That's what I sent you on this mission for in the first place, not to play action hero and take on a mission with reckless abandon. I don't want to hear your excuses, I want to hear the results of your mission." Price's tone is curt and stern. He's not interested in the emotional factors that drove me to go on this mission, he's solely interested in results.

"No...I didn't find anything. I knew it was a risk, but I had to try..." My words are heavy with regret and sadness, the knowledge of my failure weighing in.

My thoughts trail off, despite weeks of searching and risking my life, there was no sign of Caleb. As I consider the report of the sighting, I can't help but feel guilt and regret. Was it all for nothing? Is he really out there? The thought of Caleb being imprisoned in god knows where is heavy on my mind, but what I feel more than anything is the weight of failing Y/n.