Hotel Six: A Call of Duty Fanfiction

Chapter 31: Let You Down

Galaxy stood with her long tail swinging back and forth when the helo landed. The team stepped out, a man with salt-and-pepper hair and a blackened eye in their grasp. She came up to them, watching Roach and Buck take the hostage to the field hospital. 

"Looks like a success," she said.

"It was," replied Ghost. "And even better, we didn't have to beat anything out of him."

Her ears pricked and she tilted her head. "Really?" Ghost flopped her ears and she scrambled backward with a grumble and swiped at her head. 

Ghost chuckled. "Yeah. The guy just started telling us everything once we got him out of the plane."

Gal shook her head and sniffed. "Did you guys kill anyone of interest?"

"No," said MacTavish. "The only person of interest was Kreigler."

She nodded and sat down. "Well, beggars can't be choosers, I guess."

The Captain walked past them. "I'm gonna check on the rest of the team and make sure Kreigler is alright. I'll catch you in the mornin', Ghost?"

"Absolutely, sir," he replied. And he watched MacTavish leave.

"... Sooooooo, Lone," he said, turning his attention to the wolf sitting beside him. "You free tonight?"

She raised a single brow, ears angled back. "Got plans. Why?"

He folded his arms. "I thought we could get a drink or something. You free anytime soon then?" he asked.

Gal sighed and glanced away. "Tomorrow night I'm free, I suppose... Where are we meeting?"

"My place?" he asked, smiling under his mask. "I just bought a new bottle of Tullamore Dew, if you're up for it."

She nodded reluctantly and shifted as she stood up. "Well, can't say no to that. Let me know when you want me over."

The next day was spent mostly on circuits with hand-to-hand in the later afternoon. Jess wasn't joining the sparring either the rest of the team, however; with her wrists still healing, she had barely made it through circuits without absolutely dying. Instead, MacTavish had assigned her to moderate.

Ghost could see that she obviously wanted to join them, and was soon at her side demanding she faced him.

"My arms are still hurt, mate. I'm not doing anything to hurt them worse," she replied.

"Come on," he said. "Just go one round with me. I know you want to." He shot her a mischievous smile, hoping to entice her.

She growled. "You have your pick of anyone else. Pick on them, not me."

"But I want to fight you."

"Why?"

"'Cause, you've been in a mood. And, every other time you've been mad at me, fighting me got you to talk, so-"

She launched on top of him, shifting and snagging his sleeve in her jaws with a shrill bark. He, of course, was laughing, and rolled her off him, throwing her across the arena. Gal yelped when she landed on her arms, but still managed to get onto her feet. She bared her teeth in a wicked smile. "Alright, you cocky git, let's talk..!"

Ghost was just starting to stand when she grasped his leg and swept him off his feet. He shielded his face with his forearm and she bit into it, shaking her head back and forth. "'Ey, 'ey!" he exclaimed. "Watch the teeth, I've got skin under that sleeve!"

"Good!" she retorted, reaching over his arm to snap at his face. He used his feet and kicked her off, only for her to lunge again. He pulled his knife and slashed at her neck. She circled around him, giving him just enough time to stand, and went for his arm to knock the knife from his hand, only to catch the blade on her brow. Gal gave a cry and stumbled sideways away from him. Ghost pushed her over with his foot and held her down as she flailed, trying to escape him.

As he leaned over her, she craned her neck up to snap at him again, only for him to grab her muzzle and put the knife to her throat. In a desperate attempt, she stood up, throwing them both back. Her eyes seemed to roll to the back of her head, and she righted herself to clamp his head in her jaws, standing on him to keep him pinned.

"Alright, uncle, UNCLE! You win, let me up!" Ghost said frantically.

She released his head snarled in his face. When he flinched, she stepped off him with a snort. He was laughing to himself and it made her bristle. He was supposed to be scared, the dumb bastard. She walked away and reassumed her post.

"Come on, no talk?" Ghost jeered. "I'm disappointed." MacTavish said something to him in reprimand, but he didn't care. He was getting tired of being in the dark.

"So, what did your mirror say to piss you off?" he asked later that night, filling her glass. 

She took a sip of her whiskey. "Eh, nothing a swift punch to the face didn't fix," she snickered.

He sat down on the sofa and laughed. "She probably deserved it." Ghost took a drink and gave a satisfied sigh. "Speaking of, what did I do to piss you off? We haven't talked lately."

"Haven't had much reason to talk," she replied.

"We've had plenty of reason to talk," he scoffed.

"Such as?"

"We're friends, and friends talk."

"You're right, they do."

The air in the room suddenly seemed to turn cold. "... Are we not friends?"

Jess slid her hazel gaze to him. "You thought we were?" she inquired.

He looked her up and down. "The hell happened? I thought we were good." 

She set her glass down with a solid 'tac'. "Yeah, things were fine, and then our last mission happened."

"The raid on the compound?" 

Jessica squared herself to him. "Do you remember what happened?" she asked. "Soap stepped on that mine, we got inside the bird and suddenly I realized that Price wasn't behind us, and you remember what you did?" 

Ghost looked down at his hands. "I stopped you-"

"You stopped me from going out and defending my Captian." 

"On the Captain's orders," he replied.

"I don't care whose orders they were!" she roared suddenly. Her rage quickly lapsed into visible pain and betrayal. "I couldn't have cared less if I died; as long as it was at Price's side, it would have been okay..."

There was a pregnant silence. Not a word- barely a breath- shook the room. 

"I'm sorry."

Jessica's hazel eyes shot up to meet his.

Ghost steepled his hands in front of his mouth, deep in thought, and took a breath. "I'm so sorry," he continued. "I didn't want to leave Price out there. It aches even now that he demanded that I get everyone aboard and leave without him. But it would have killed me if you died with him." He scoffed sadly. "But I guess I was doomed to let someone down, no matter what I chose to do."

She blinked away traces of tears. "I didn't think I mattered that much to you."

There was a deep sadness in his blue eyes. "Of course you do. You're one of my closest friends; why wouldn't you matter?"

Jess folded her hands. "I'm sorry, Ghost," she murmured. They both heaved in a sigh. "Can... We start over?"

"How do you mean?"

"We finish our drinks, go to bed, and when we go to work again in the morning, we forget about tonight, and start again as friends."

He mulled over the suggestion, then nodded and downed his drink. "Alright... Mate... Let's do it."