Protocols & Hearts

Chapter 4

August 27, 20XX. Approx. 8:03 a.m. Ecuador.

The team was anxious as they moved into position. This was the payoff of tracking leads trying to locate Brȧulio. Task Force 141 had been tailing Brȧulio's movements and had finally tracked him to this seemingly non-descript safe house on the outskirts of the city.

It was nearing dusk as the men surrounded the property. Tech specialist Aelia had set up her surveillance station down the way in an unmarked van. From there, she had a good vantage point to monitor the security cameras and other electronics in the safe house while maintaining distance for her own safety. Unfortunately, there weren't as many cameras installed at this location as some of the cartel's other compounds. She would have to get creative. Aelia booted up her laptop and began hacking into the mobile phones and radios of the few armed guards patrolling the perimeter. Through some clever coding, she was able to trigger false alerts that would call the guards away one by one on ghost tasks. This opened pockets of opportunity for the team to quietly breach the property.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of Task Force 141 had stealthily taken up positions around the safe house. When Ghost radioed that a guard rotation had left an opening, Captain Price gave the order to advance. Aelia watched tensely on her laptop as blips representing the team approached the front door. Suddenly Ghost's gruff voice crackled in her headset "We're at the door, kill the lights."

Aelia took a deep breath to steady her nerves before responding calmly "Copy that; going dark guys." Her fingers flew deftly across the keyboard as she executed the command to cut power to the entire safe house, shrouding it in darkness and giving the team the critical element of surprise. The mission was underway.

Aelia instinctively winced as a burst of gunfire erupted loudly in her earpiece, followed by shouts and sounds of struggle. Her heart raced as she desperately hoped her teammates were managing to gain the upper hand in the firefight. After an agonizing minute of chaos, she heard Ghost's gruff yet assured voice come over the radio - "All clear."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and flicked the switch to restore power to the safe house. Pulling up the security camera feeds, she scanned each room anxiously until she spotted the squad. Brȧulio and his men lay disarmed on the floor, while Task Force 141 had their weapons trained on the cartel boss. A small smile of relief crept across Aelia's face - the direct action phase was over and they had their target in custody.

She zoomed in her camera feed to observe the interrogation closer. Price laid out their intel they had gathered about Brȧulio's narcotics operations and associates. But when they confronted him about planning chemical attacks in Mexico, the kingpin seemed genuinely confused and dismissive. "I don't deal with chemicals, I'm not that crazy." He simply pointed out. "Mexico is my home, you really think I'd gas it? I sit on a throne there!" He scoffed smugly.

Unsatisfied with his response, Soap roughly grabbed Brȧulio by the collar and got in his face. "Someone in your organization is planning to use the gas, and we know you know who. Tell us what you know about them now before things get unpleasant.." He growled through gritted teeth. Aelia watched intently, hoping the cartel boss would crack under the pressure and provide a new lead to help dismantle the terrorist plot.

But Brȧulio shook his head. "No sé..." ["I don't know..."] He shrugged. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you.." He chuckled.

Soap maintained his steely glare as he weighed Brȧulio's response, suspecting the cartel leader may be withholding key information. After a tense moment of silent interrogation, Ghost casually strolled over, ever the cool and collected operative.

"Seems the kingpin here is having trouble remembering any details that could help us. And if he can't provide intel, well.. that just makes him useless baggage now, wouldn't it lads?" Ghost said with an indifferent shrug as he withdrew his sidearm from its holster. His movements were perfectly poised, exhibiting the poised efficiency of a well-trained soldier. Brȧulio's smug smile faded as Ghost pressed the cold muzzle of the pistol firmly against his temple. The cartel boss's eyes widened slightly, betraying the first crack in his mask of arrogance as a bead of sweat began to form on his brow. Ghost tilted his head curiously. "Something in that thick skull of yours jogged loose yet? I'm not one for wasting bullets on dead weight."