Ramblers In the Wilderness

Backstory

Ghost 

Ghost drops Cade on the floor in her room.

He is pissed. Unsure if it's the fatigue, hunger, or perhaps, it's because she hasn't been here all of two hours and already under his skin. Her snarky demeanor and smart-ass comments rubbing Ghost the wrong way.

Whatever the reason for his anger, Ghost figures it's time to nap it out back to his room. Which just was down the hall from hers. Room 16.
He walks in and throw himself on the bed. Listening to it creaking under his weight. Stare up at my boring white ceiling, focusing on the miss matched white paint once used to patch up a hole.

Cades glare is in imprinted into his mind. Those grey blue eyes sparking and glaring into Ghost like a spark turning into a flame. Despite her attitude, she was stunning. Probably the best thing he had set his eyes on in years.

But the good-looking ones never lasted. Either they were too dumb to survive, or they promoted from between their legs. It would be interesting to see what kind of fighter she would turn out to be. She had looked strong and well built, but she was small in stature.

The 141 team was comprised of tall, muscled, fighting men. She would barely reach our shoulders. At least if she got too annoying, she was small enough to shotput over the bases barbed wire fences.

Ghost let his mind drift from her and the team and let it daydream about the real world. Not the world filled with people, but the one of seclusion. Living a life alone at the base of a mountain in a cabin. Hunting, wood chopping, and living off the land for survival.

Ghost had an image in his brain since he was a kid. A place far away from civilization. A day's journey in an old Chevy truck to town to buy supplies. A dog by his side. Something hearty but loyal. The most talk back you could get with a dog was a bark or howl. Otherwise, they just wanted to be loved and with their person.

A wrap around porch where he could watch the sunrise with his coffee on one side, and sunset with whisky on the other. Throw in a rocking chair and some fireplaces around. Stream running out back where one could fish.

These thoughts helped to drift him into a light slumber.

---

Ghost had only been out for about an hour and a half give or take. But the smell of food woke him up. He started down to the canteen to grab some food before heading to the gym.

"Ghost." Price caught him just outside his office.

Walking in, Price had been Ghosts Captain going on nine years now. He was a solid leader and a man Ghost looked up to with the greatest respect. He use to join the team on missions, but now played more of a role in the command post, taking up eyes and communications from the side lines. Ghost could swear Price regretted not being in the field as much, but he had taken on an injury several years back which inhibited his ability to keep up as much.

"Ghost, I need you to understand and know the decision to bring another Lieutenant aboard was nothing to do with your ability as a leader."  Price held Ghosts gaze, his eyes stern but kind per normal.

"She has skills which I valued, and thought would contribute well to upcoming missions." He goes on. "Laswell trained her for hacking and working intelligence. She said Cade showed significantly fast learning and retaining abilities. Quickly becoming one of the best code breakers the CIA had seen."

"So why is she with us and not behind a computer?" Ghost inquires gruffly.

"Because she is all around a fighter. Despite her size she could take down people twice her size in the mat room. She graduated sniper school at top marks. She also led her out squad for years. Infiltrating's different missions between Iraq and Afghanistan."

Why Price seemed to be selling Ghost on her was beyond him. Price knew Ghost and knew he wouldn't welcome anyone with open arms into their unit. Especially a female.  

"Why do we have her then and not her old unit?" But Ghost assumed knew the answer.

"Laswell recommended her to me partly to help her through recovery." Prices demeanor seems to shift slightly to a hint of remorse, "Her team had been tracking a group and taking them down slowly. However, a mole in the midst ratted out the teams safehouse. As retaliation, the group they had been hunting ambushed one night."

'Definitely not what I was thinking', feeling only slightly guilty for thinking it was whoreish ways which got her kicked out of a team.

Price continued to talk his voice low, "The house was hit with RPG's. Destroying most of it and killing several. The Lieutenants room had been hit; she took on severe injuries but survived. Apparently, the team came in and executed anyone who survived the blasts. The LT watched it happen and watched her team die, but her injuries took her down so she couldn't do much."

"So, she survived how?"

"Sounds like she was close enough to death the other team just left her to die. Medics found her and brought her back from the brink. But it took about six months before she was mostly recovered." Price poured a couple finger fulls of whisky into some glasses and offered one to ghost.

"I thought it would be good to bring her onto the team for a bit. One because of the skills she possesses, and two because this team understands what it's like to lose and rebuild. It will help regain any confidence which might be lost and bring her back to what she knowns."

Ghost shrugs, "She sounds like a liability. Fragile."

Price squares his shoulders and looks at Ghost, "She will do fine on the team. I won't tell you to go accept her right away. But she is here with us. So do what you can to not be the cold-hearted asshole you pretend to be."

Price signals to dismiss Ghost.  Ghost was still irritated at the thought of an outsider coming in. but the member on this team is more family to him than he ever had growing up. They saw every side of Ghost and vice versa. Task Force 141 had been through a lot and would continue to do so together.

Ghost proceeded to the canteen where he could hear Soap excitedly chatting with the new Lieutenant. Ghost walks to the doorway and leans in to listen. Soap had asked her to tell a bit about herself and Ghost noted how she deflected the question to answering about her military career rather than her personal self or interest.

Her back stiffened ever so slightly, and she cracked her neck as she brought up her old team. Perhaps these were some give aways of hers. Little movements to pick up on when she was talking about something difficult to her.

Soap picks the conversation back up. His face is beaming, and he is either stoked on new blood in the group or the fact it's an attractive female. Knowing him, it's both. He was a true Scotsman who preferred his women wild. Usually with red hair and green eyes but it had been a while, and he didn't discriminate.

The team all got into line and to get food. Cade is in front of Ghost and Soap in front of her. He asked if she had gotten a tour to which she smugly replied, "No, my tour guide 'ghosted' me."

'This bitch.' Ghost glares down at her, unable to see her face but he had a feeling she was relishing in the feeling of being witty.

Soap laughed back a response and winks at Ghost. As if that would deescalate how he felt and then offers to take her on a tour.

Hearing him offer to show her around adds another needle of frustration into Ghost. Less than an hour after meeting her and he is already laying it on thick. Soap was generally good about keeping it in his pants. But our missions had been in rapid fire succession recently with no real down time or ways to feel any sense of...release. The thought of it made Ghosts blood boil. He wanted the team to stay away from the new blood.

Ghost glared at him briefly before going to the corner to eat his meal alone. Ghost wouldn't be a part of whatever shitty complicated love fling those two would start.