How to Love the Stars | Ghost (Simon Riley)

Chapter 14

The moment Althea stepped out of the vehicle, a gnawing feeling crept over her -something was amiss. Two guards from Shadow Company awaited them and stopped the vehicles at the gate, halting their progress. Graves climbed out of the frontmost car. The air was tense, a palpable sense of uncertainty hanging over the group. Alejandro climbed out of the car.

"What's this?" He narrowed his eyes at Graves.

Graves responded cooly, "This is the immediate future. Step away from the gate."

Althea, taken aback, sought clarification, her tone edged with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Graves reiterated his demand. "You heard me."

Alejandro scoffed, his eyes piercing into Graves. "You're crazy. This is my base."

But Graves wasn't swayed. "It's not a base. This is a sizable covert facility, and I admire it. So, I'm taking it. You boys" He glanced at Althea, a slight smile touching his lips, "have been relieved. Thank you for your service."

Defiance smoldered in Alejandro's eyes. "No, no, no. I don't take orders from you."

Graves took a step closer to him. "Didn't Valeria say that? Now, that makes me wonder what else I don't know about our affiliation with a drug lord?" He cast a condescending gaze downward at him.

Alejandro's temper simmered. He stepped closer to Gravesl, laughing coldly. "What the fuck did you just say to me, pendejo?"

Meanwhile, concealed behind Alejandro and Ghost, Althea kept her hand on the handle of her knife cleverly concealed in her sleeve. Things were about to get nasty.

Soap stopped Alejandro from advancing further. "You're out of line, Graves."

Graves gestured with a pointed finger. "Don't do that. Don't... do that. No one needs to get hurt here."

Ghost spoke, his voice firm. "Are you threatening us?"

Graves' retort came swift, his words carrying an air of finality, "Soldier, I don't make threats. I made guarantees. So, let's not do this."

Althea was glad she was behind Alejandro because she could see Grave's face from here, and he looked terrified of him.

Soap turned. "I'm calling Shepherd."

As Soap turned, Grave's tone shifted. "General Shepherd sends his regards."

A chill ran down Althea's spine, realizing the implication. "Ah l'enculé."

Graves continued. "He told me y'all wouldn't take this well."

Ghost's incredulity hung in the air. "He knows about this?"

"He's put me in command of operations from here on out. So, y'all need to stand down. It's time to let the pros finish this."

Althea couldn't control her temper any longer. "Like hell, you will." She started forward, but Ghost stopped her with a pointed look. Althea gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stop. Ghost and Soap exchanged a look. "And why the hell are we talking like this is some kind of negotiation? It's not. I've got my orders and now you have yours."

But nobody could silence Alejandro. "And who the fuck do you think you are cabron? My men are inside!"

"I'm afraid not. Your men have been..." He thought of the right word, his mouth twisting. "Detained."

To say Alejandro was angry would be a huge understatement. There seemed to be a tempestuous storm gathering in his gaze. "Cabron!" In the blink of an eye, he lunged at Graves.

Graves and his men swiftly moved to subdue Alejandro, overpowering him and restraining him with a firm zip tie. A wave of chaos erupted. Soap shouted. "Graves, what the fuck?!" Graves raised a gun to fire at Soap, but Soap grabbed one of Graves' men to use as a shield. Althea knew the odds weren't good. It was an entire force of soldiers against three soldiers. They were lucky they weren't already dead. Surviving this far felt like a stroke of luck. She quickly analyzed the situation, slitting the throat of the shadow closest to her. She grabbed his pistol out of the soldier's holster and picked off a few more with precision.

In front of her, Ghost dispatched his assailants with swift, deadly precision. He elbowed one, plunged his knife into another, and threw his knife to silence a third, hitting each mark with accuracy.

Althea quickly changed her target, her eyes fixating on Graves. He was focused on the soldiers securing Alejandro, barely noticing as she swiftly ran in his direction and attempted to throw a knife to hit him in the eye. However, she didn't account for the added weight of the gun she had taken from the soldier, and it threw her off balance enough to only be able to hit him in the shoulder.

Unfortunately, more soldiers were running in from inside the base, and one of them hit her over the head with the butt of their rifle, making bright colors bloom in her vision. A grunt escaped her lips as pain exploded, time seeming to dilate. She watched sluggishly as a soldier reached to zip-tie her hands together. Swiftly dropping to her knees, she executed a fluid leg sweep, toppling him to the ground.

Althea stumbled down the path, her vision blurring. She was vaguely aware of someone dragging her down a steep hill, a distant voice yelling at her to run, but she was so tired. She just wanted to go to sleep. Exhaustion dripped from her limbs, in a daze as she was dragged through a section of woods. She felt something wet at the back of her head, and when she touched it her hand came back covered in red. The world became darker and darker. 

A/N: Omg I had so much fun writing this scene. I watched the playthrough like a thousand times. Thanks for reading!! Have a great day!