scars do heal

10. the company of whiskey

The helicopter ride was fairly quiet, only the whirring of the blades filling the sound of the metal compartment. The helo swayed slightly every now and then with the weight of the missile suspended below. It made you nervous. Such a deadly weapon only held up by metal ropes and hooks.

Gaz sat opposite you, and you swear you saw him looking at you when he thought you didn't notice. But then again, you felt eyes on you constantly while in that helo. From everyone. Price was sat up at the front with Nik, you couldn't hear what either of them were saying, but you wished someone would say anything back here. It was eerily silent.

The plan was set. There was an old rig out at sea that Hassan had used a few months ago when he transported the missile between his men. They used it as a safe house of sorts, nobody able to track him out there or see what he was doing. It was the perfect place to detonate the missile safely and out of the way of innocents.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Ghost kick Gaz in the ankle, and you were growing tired of whatever secrets they were keeping. "Got something on your mind, Gaz?" You asked, quirking an eyebrow at him, seeing him look at you like a deer in headlights.

"Nah, no. Nothing," he shrugged off, looking to the ground. But you saw Ghost's mask twitch upwards in a grin. Something was going on here. But pressing him on it wasn't going to help the mission at all. You had to stay focused.

-

"I'll keep her down here until you guys are done," Nik shouted over the helicopter blades. He'd set the helo down on shore back on land after dropping both you guys and the missile on the rig. Soap had managed to rig a time-lapsed detonation, accessible from the control room at the rear end of the rig. Ten minutes was the maximum it could give you. Ten minutes to get off the rig, onto the boats still tethered to the lowest level, and as far away as possible.

You and Soap were in the control room, you observed as he sorted out the detonation. You didn't really know how he did it, but it was fascinating to watch him excel at something besides being a fucking idiot. Price was pacing, his phone ringing constantly. It was Shepherd. It had been Shepherd blowing up his phone for the past few hours, but he had been ignored, which enraged him even more.

"For fuck's sake," Price growled, pulling the phone from his pocket and answering it. Finally. Putting it on speaker, you all gathered around the cell, listening in closely. You could have been in a different room and still have heard him. His bellows could have shattered glass.

"Price where the fuck are you?! My missile is gone. The Shadow Company is gone. And you left Graves handcuffed to a fucking pipe like a stray dog." Soap chuckled quietly at that last one. That was his idea.

"You're lucky we didn't kill him, General," Price spoke lowly, his tone dangerous. "It's not your missile. It never was. You're not using this to weaponise your army, to wipe out a whole fucking country."

"You've got no authority here, Captain. You'd do well to remember that."

"You act as though you've got a say in this, Shepherd. You're not starting a war, not while we're breathing."

"You're going to regret this, Price. I'll have your command, your task force. Everything."

Price grinned, but you could tell he was furious. You all were. "Once we've done this, we're coming for you, Shepherds. You'd do well to remember that." Not really the time to be having these thoughts, but it was so attractive the way Price held himself through that conversation. So commanding. Authoritative. Jesus, you needed to pick a time and place and this certainly was not it. Hanging up on the General, Price motioned for Ghost and Gaz to follow him, leaving you and Soap alone. You stood by the door, clutching your weapon tightly in your hands, eyes peering out into the darkness. The others had gone to check on the lifeboats, doing a sweep of the rig as they went. You were stationed in the control deck while Soap finished up. The waves lapped at the sides of the metal structure, and it sounded as though the rig swayed with violent waves crashing up on it.