The Bullet's Whistle (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Fanfiction)

Chapter 18

    The hallway was empty except for myself as I turned to head for the command room. The whole sub felt lighter than the night before, a mental sign that I was in a better mood.
    Now that things had been settled with Soap—now that I knew what we were—I felt ready to handle the other things. Price was high on the list, as was checking in with Shepherd about our next moves.
    "Don't forget to lock that," a low voice hissed. "Shepherd will be visiting soon."
    I paused at the entryway to a smaller connecting hallway. Two men were exiting an unfamiliar room. They looked around mysteriously before hauling ass further down. I glanced at my six and then slowly treaded down the distance.
    The door hadn't been locked, leaving me to open it. To my surprise, it was Shepherd's recently-moved office; the plaque indicated so. I peered closer to see a display of files on the desk.
    I left the door open as I walked closer. The files looked oddly similar to the one Williams had been carrying not too long ago.
    "SC," I whispered, looking at the three labeled files.
    SC- Weaponry, SC- Soldiers, and SC- Strategy were the three titles. My palm touched the top one—Strategy by the label—and I noticed they were still warm from being delivered. It told me the files were freshly printed and new. It also meant they weren't in the system yet.
    I moved to lift the cover of the one on top, peering under. My eyes found the shape of a floorplan to a house, with symbols for trees all around it. Arrows were pointed toward the mansion, circling. My fingers moved to lift another sheet, but heavy footsteps made me snap back in defense. I recoiled back a good two feet away and then turned to face the incoming visitor. 
    "Oh, Sam, what are you doing in here?"
    I greeted him with a warm smile. "I thought you'd be in here, so I decided to wait."
    "What for?" Shepherd gradually went behind the desk and set a binder on top of the three files, quite obvious to me and subtle for himself. 
    "I want to check in about our next moves, especially against Makarov." 
    Shepherd gave a small smile, his silvery mustache shifting. "I'm proud of you for being so prepared, but the plans are still in progress. He isn't going anywhere, Sam."
    "I know that," I smiled. "I'm just doing what you suggested and trying to focus."
    "You're trying to forget," he mentioned. 
    "Or put them at the back of my mind."
    He let out a deep sigh, looking tired and worn. "You're my daughter, Sam," Shepherd repeated, leaning forwards. "I know we haven't been getting along. When Captain MacTavish came to me about our first outburst in front of everyone, I'd had a chance to settle down. I realized how terrible of a father I've been to you."
    I held back agreement. "No father is perfect." 
    "I can't change the things that have happened, but I hope that you are willing to also move past them." 
    "In time perhaps. They aren't easily forgivable things." 
    "I know that," Shepherd dipped his head. 
    I cleared my throat. "Before I leave you, I have one question."
    "Anything," his voice was confident and set on making things between us right.
    "What are those files? SC?"
    Shepherd let out a huff. "Oh those. Just another big company with a gig of rich people wanting to invest money into us...help us out a bit."
    "Are you going to accept?"
    "They hope so," Shepherd smirked, his eyes squinting as they always did when he was trying hard at something. "I've considered them a great deal. They would bring a lot of...opportunity."
    I nodded. "I see. I trust you'll make the right decision."
    Shepherd only briefly nodded and then motioned to the door. "If you please, daughter."
    I quietly backed out of the room and closed the door. Shepherd watched me up until the last moment he could me, as if waiting for me to be out of sight.
    As I began down the hallway to find a quick meal, I felt a tightening at my left temple. I paused at the end of the hallway and glanced back to his secluded office. There was something making my temple twinge and I didn't want to overthink what it was.
    I trusted my father, but I also trusted my gut and my entire gut was screaming that something was up with those files. Something devastating.