Ghost Recon
By: Austin Loveland
The First Ghosts
January 13th, 2014
0600 hours, Eastern Time
Austin woke up in the back of a cargo plane to the sound of sirens as he jumped to his feet, already in full gear. "What's going on?" Stephen was standing in the doorway. "Come on Austin, we're above our target." They put on parachutes as Austin rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. "He wasn't kidding when he said we would start right away, but H.A.L.O. jumping, really?" Stephen shrugged and made sure his gun was loaded as Austin did the same. "It's better than going in by sea, they would have filled us with lead in an instant." The ramp started lowering and they moved closer to the edge, preparing to jump.
"Ready?" asked Austin. Stephen nodded before they both ran and jumped off the plane, hurtling towards the Earth. They were dropping in on Cuba, where they were to kill Castro's brother, the new leader of Cuba. If they could kill him, they would pass their test and become official members of their new boss' team. He never gave them his name, so they decided not to ask.
They pulled the cords on their parachutes and drifted down into the jungle, quiet as...well, ghosts. They ditched the parachutes, burying them to avoid detection before disappearing into the jungle. A jeep full of soldiers came down the jungle path, stopping at the spot Austin and Stephen had buried their parachutes. Two soldiers got out and knelt beside the path, looking at the slightly disturbed ground.
While they were busy taking a look at the ground, Austin and Stephen had slit the throats of the two other soldiers and taken their uniforms. They took the soldiers' places and waited until the other two soldiers got back in the jeep, continuing down the path. The jeep came up to a huge compound and went past dozens of guards at the front gates. Austin nudged Stephen and pointed towards a window on the second floor.
They could see through the window and watched Castro's brother undressing a woman. "Well I'd hate to ruin his fun, but we should stop him right?" whispered Austin. Stephen whispered back. "Yeah, let's do it now, else we won't be able to get out before they close the gates." Austin moved just enough to pull his gun out from under him. Stephen shielded the gun from view as Austin aimed it up at the window and fired.
The bullet traveled into the temple of Castro's brother, killing him instantly as the guards started running for the building. Austin and Stephen jumped out the back of the jeep as it sped up, and nobody noticed them slip out of the front gates. They quietly made their way down to the beach and got into the awaiting boat with the same suited man who gave them the mission, but he was now in full combat gear. "Good job, you earned yourselves a place on my team. Welcome aboard Ghosts." The boat sped off as the island lay in chaos. With no evidence to suggest otherwise, it was like they had never been there at all...
Backstabbing 101
March 24th, 2014
0900 hours, Eastern Time
Two months after their raid on Cuba, Austin and Stephen had gone through dozens of stealth missions, becoming the best at what they did. It was just the two of them, until one day the man decided to bring in two more Ghosts. The two he brought in shocked Austin and Stephen more than anything else could have. It was Sharon and Jacob! "Sharon? But you're dead! We saw you die!" said Austin. Sharon shook her head. "No, you saw my doppelganger die. Tom here wanted me to be his personal flier, considering how good i was at flying in undetected."
Jacob nodded. "And he wanted me because he knew all four of us work great together." Tom, the suited man, smiled and clapped once. "Well, now that you've been happily reunited, it's time for your first mission as an official squad of Ghosts!" During the briefing, Austin couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. Tom had never told them his name, or the fact that Sharon was a fellow Ghost.
Their new mission was in Afghanistan, where a high-priority target named Raheem Kellsid was hiding. "Now normally when I send in Ghosts I want it to be stealthy, but this time I give you permission to kill him in anyway you deem necessary. Loud or otherwise." Austin and Stephen looked at each other. "Why are we allowed to go in loud for one man?" Tom looked up at them. "Because if this one man doesn't get killed, we may be plunged into another world war. Can you be ready in five?" They all nodded. "Good, dismissed."
They went to the barracks and quickly suited up, though Sharon and Jacob had a hard time getting ready so quick. Austin looked through his locker and pulled out an RPG-7. "Stephen, you think I'll need this?" Stephen shrugged and hefted his M60 Light Machine Gun. "That's a little out of date, don't you think?" asked Jacob. Stephen laughed and replied. "Let me put it this way, how much do you know about the average light machine gun? Magazine size, it's weight, and rate of fire right?" Jacob nodded.
"I know everything about this gun, I could tell you how many rounds it holds, it's weight, it's rate of fire, how many parts makes up the gun, how to take it apart and put it back together. Most importantly, I trust this gun enough to know that in the middle of a firefight, it won't jam when i need it." said Stephen before grabbing the rest of his guns. Austin grabbed his Barrett 50. cal sniper rifle, two Desert Eagles, and his combat knife before looking at his watch. "The five minutes are up, everyone ready?"
They nodded and went back to the briefing room, but Tom wasn't in there so they made their way to the hanger. In the hanger was the giant cargo plane that had dropped them into so many of the locations they needed to be. Tom was waiting outside of the plane. "Right on time, very nice. Good luck on your mission." He patted them each on the back as they climbed into the cargo plane. Tom opened up the hanger door and the pilot took off, flying the plane out of the hanger and into the wide blue sky.
As the plane made it's way to Afghanistan, Austin was busy using his knife to scratch a mark into the wall of the plane next to his seat. Dozens of other scratches were already there. "What are you doing?" asked Sharon. "Every time we go on a mission, he makes one scratch. Every time we come back from a mission, he makes another scratch. It's just a tradition." said Stephen. Austin and Stephen went through the usual weapon checks, making sure their guns were loaded and ready to use. Austin looked across at Sharon and Jacob.
"You might want to check your guns so they don't jam when you fire your first shot." They both shook their heads. "We'll be fine." said Jacob. The pilot called out to them from the cockpit. "Austin, you might want to see this." Austin put down his gun and hurried up to the cockpit with the pilot. "Why's he need Austin?" asked Sharon. "Austin knows how to fly this plane better than the pilot himself, but he only flies it when we're going in under fire." said Stephen as he stood up, checking to make sure the ramp was ready to be lowered.
The plane was rocked as Austin called out. "Stephen, hit the ramp! We're dropping in on something we don't want to fly over!" Stephen hit the button and dropped the ramp, staggering as it snapped off. "That's great. Austin, time to go!" They heard the sound of running footsteps as Austin came running by. He scooped up his guns and said "Catch ya on the flip-side!" before jumping straight out of the plane! Sharon and Jacob jumped up. "HE DIDN'T HAVE A PARACHUTE!" screamed Sharon. Stephen laughed and tapped his back. "We have parachutes built into our gear, saves us time on getting ready. You two should do the same." Stephen jumped out after Austin as Jacob and Sharon put on their parachutes before following him.
They watched as Austin and Stephen jerked their arms, deploying their parachutes and drifting towards the outskirts of the city. They did the same and landed beside them. Austin buried his parachute deep in the sand and looked out over the city as the others buried their chutes. "Do you need to borrow my binoculars Austin?" asked Jacob. "No, my goggles have built in binoculars, night vision, and thermal." "Wow, you two have some pretty sweet gear." said Jacob. Stephen nodded. "When we get back to base, we'll show you where to get the gear." Suddenly Austin stiffened. "What is it?" asked Stephen. Austin pointed to the tower in the middle of the city. "Look at the top of the tower, then look around it's base."
Stephen looked, and then started to laugh. When Sharon and Jacob looked, they couldn't believe their eyes. The entire city's population was gathered around the tower, partying. "Well then, I guess Raheem is in the tower, enjoying his party." said Jacob. He turned to see Austin and Stephen still laughing. "What's so funny?" Austin wiped a tear from his eye and said. "Every time we find a target, they're either partying or about to hop in bed with someone!" Stephen nodded and nudged Austin in the ribs.
"Oh, remember Castro's brother?" "Yeah! He was about to climb in bed with some woman. Oh and then there was that guy in Africa, the one with the funny limp." "Yeah, he had his whole crew partying with him. You can't forget that one woman who was raising a revolution in Mexico though!" Austin broke out laughing. "Oh God! She was such a freak! Hahahaha!" After they stopped laughing they waved Sharon and Jacob up.
"Alright, I say we go in quiet until we get to the party, then we'll take him out. Everyone agreed?" They nodded. The four of them snuck past the empty buildings and streets as they advanced towards the tower. Austin stopped them when they climbed on the roof of a building next to the tower. "Stephen and I will climb the tower, you two stay here and keep an eye out for the soldiers. They're bound to show up after we fire the first shots." Sharon and Jacob nodded, hefting their guns as Austin and Stephen stood up. They ran and jumped off the building, grabbing onto the side of the tower. "Thank God we had those suction pads put into our gloves." whispered Austin.
Austin pulled out his two Desert Eagles, Stephen pulled out his MG42, and they both open fired on the group. Outside the party had ground to a halt when the gunfire was heard. When they stopped firing, Austin and Stephen peeked over the balcony to see if they had been noticed. They both fell back as bullets riddled the walls around them. "Great, now we're stuck. Sharon, Jacob, do you copy?" asked Stephen. There was silence. Austin looked at Stephen and then glanced out at the roof of the building Sharon and Jacob were supposed to be on.
They were gone. Austin sat down and sighed. "Looks like we're being abandoned, again." Jacob's voice came over their radios. "Sorry, orders from Tom. He says you two have outlived your lives as Ghosts. Say hello to Gabriel for me." Stephen kicked Raheem's dead body. "AFTER ALL WE DID FOR THEM!" Austin was silent as the tower shook from an explosion. "Austin, what do we do now?" "We go down fighting, that's what." Austin hefted his Barrett and fired down on the soldiers at the base of the tower. Stephen went to go do the same, but a soldier fired an RPG-7 at the tower, causing it to lean forward. "Oh noooooooooo!" cried Austin as the tower crumbled to the ground and everything went black...
Stephen and him scaled the side of the tower until they made it to the top window, the only window on the entire tower. When they came in through the window they caught Raheem in the middle of partying with a few of his friends, both men and women. They all froze when they saw Austin and Stephen standing on the balcony. "Who are you, what do you want?" asked Raheem. Neither Austin nor Stephen said a word. Austin pulled out his two Desert Eagles, Stephen pulled out his MG42, and they both open fired on the group. Outside the party had ground to a halt when the gunfire was heard. When they stopped firing, Austin and Stephen peeked over the balcony to see if they had been noticed. They both fell back as bullets riddled the walls around them. "Great, now we're stuck. Sharon, Jacob, do you copy?" asked Stephen. There was silence. Austin looked at Stephen and then glanced out at the roof of the building Sharon and Jacob were supposed to be on. They were gone. Austin sat down and sighed. "Looks like we're being abandoned, again." Jacob's voice came over their radios. "Sorry, orders from Tom. He says you two have outlived your lives as Ghosts. Say hello to Gabriel for me." Stephen kicked Raheem's dead body. "AFTER ALL WE DID FOR THEM!" Austin was silent as the tower shook from an explosion. "Austin, what do we do now?" "We go down fighting, that's what." Austin hefted his Barrett and fired down on the soldiers at the base of the tower. Stephen went to go do the same, but a soldier fired an RPG-7 at the tower, causing it to lean forward. "Oh noooooooooo!" cried Austin as the tower crumbled to the ground and everything went black...
A True Ghost
September 2nd, 2016
2100 hours, Eastern Time
Austin stepped off of the plane and on to american soil for the first time in two years. After the tower had collapsed that day, he had been dragged out and arrested by the soldiers. The soldiers had thrown him in jail without hesitation, but Stephen had been killed from the collapsing tower. Stephen had been the lucky one. They had tortured Austin for a few weeks before finally giving up on him, he had not spilled any information, but he did lose his sanity.
He hadn't spoken a word since he had been arrested, and when he was released he had walked out without making any noise, not even his footsteps made a sound. The military already had him listed as dead, and Sharon, Jacob, and Tom all assumed he was dead. He decided it was time to prove them wrong. He had been given back his weapons before being put on a private plane by Raheem's general, who had wanted to get rid of Austin as fast as possible. It seemed that Raheem's general was scared of Austin and wanted to send him back to the U.S. soon, so that's what he did. That was how Austin ended up back in California, close to the hidden base of Tom and his Ghosts.
He took a taxi down to the beach, still carrying his duffelbag full of weapons, and payed the driver without a word. He walked down to the beach and threw his duffelbag on the ground, staring out at a nearby cove. As he was staring at the cove, a little girl came up and tried to open his duffelbag. He turned at the sounds of her struggle and crouched beside her. He gave her a piece of candy and she ran away giggling, leaving Austin smiling as he grabbed his duffelbag. He went down to the cove and swam into it, making no noise as he entered and exited the water. Opening the duffelbag, he pulled out his combat gear and all of his weapons, making sure they were loaded and ready.
He left his rifle in the duffelbag while he put both his desert eagles in their holsters, grabbing his combat knife too. He plunged into the water, silent as a mouse, and dove down deep to the bottom of the ocean. On the ocean floor was a hatch built into a rock, hidden from the normal person's view. Austin wasn't normal though, not anymore, so he found the hatch easily and silently opened it. He eased into the small room and pushed the button to clear the room of water. After the water seeped back into the ocean, Austin crept out into the hallway, combat knife at the ready.
Up in the briefing room Sharon, Jacob, and two of their squad mates, were listening to Tom as he gave them their next mission. A screen to his left, showing the different camera views through out the complex, caught his eye. He stopped in the middle of his sentence and walked up to the screen. "What is it Tom?" asked Sharon. "I thought I saw something." Sharon came up behind him and looked at the screen. "What'd you think you saw?" Tom narrowed his eyes as something flashed across the screen. "We have an intruder! Sound the alarm!" Jacob pushed the button, but nothing happened! He slammed his fist into the button, but the alarm wouldn't sound.
"I don't know who it is, but they're pretty good at infiltration. Too bad we're better at defending." said Jacob. They all grabbed a gun and left, except Tom, who stood there watching the screen. The four Ghosts split up and each took a different section of the base, searching for the intruder. Sharon and Jacob met up in the hanger after twenty minutes of searching. "Where do you think those new recruits went off to?" asked Sharon as they searched the hanger. Jacob stopped her and pointed his gun towards their cargo plane.
The ramp, which had been fixed after that fateful mission, was lowered and the lights were on. They cautiously advanced up the ramp and what they found caused Sharon to bend over, vomiting uncontrollably. The two recruits were sitting in Austin and Stephen's old seats, but they were dead. They had their mouths' stitched shut and were cut from groin to neck, with their guts covering the floor of the cargo plane. On the wall next to Austin's seat was a new scratch, coated in fresh blood. Jacob grew pale as he figured out what the bloody scratch stood for. "Sharon, get up! We have to get out of here!" Jacob grabbed her by the arm and they both ran out of there, back to the briefing room. When they got there Tom was already gone.
They ran out of the briefing room and to the hatch leading up to the surface. They burst out of the hatch and sat down on the cliff, panting heavily from their run. "We have to hide where he would never find us." said Jacob between pants. "He? Who?" "AUSTIN YOU DOPE! DIDN'T YOU SEE THE SCRATCH ON THE PLANE?" "He can't be alive, it's been two years since he disappeared! He's dead, I know it!"
An explosion rocked the cliff and they ran to the edge to see that the hanger door, hidden by the cove wall, had been blown open. "We have to find someplace to hold up that he would never find." said Jacob as they took off their combat gear and put on civilian clothes. "We should split up, that way it'll take him longer to find us." said Sharon. Jacob nodded and said. "Good luck, I'll see you when this is all over." They hugged and went their separate ways. Down in the hanger, Austin was standing at the entrance and smiling. He had heard the entire conversation and was ready to begin his hunt...
A Deep Sleep
September 4th, 2016
0100 hours, Eastern Time
Sharon had chosen to hide in a Ghost complex just outside of Berlin, Germany. She thought she would be safe from Austin there, surrounded by her fellow soldiers. She was wrong. Austin stood outside of the complex, surrounded by fog from an early morning rain. He scouted out his possible entrances as Sharon slept soundly in her bed. Austin casually walked past each guard when they turned, making no sound as he made his way into the complex. He easily avoided each camera, until one camera caught a glimpse of his face and they sent a soldier to wake Sharon. The soldier never made it to her.
They found his body handing from a ceiling light, swaying back and forth. They also found four other soldiers, all with their throats slit and mouths stitched shut. A group of soldiers quickly ran to Sharon's room, praying that she was still alive. She was, but she was sitting up, awakened by the sound of running feet. "What's going on?" she asked. "There is an intruder in the base, we think it's the man hunting you down." She grew pale and stuttered, pointing behind them. "H-H-H-H-He's behind you!"
Not a single one of them were able to turn around before he had slit their throats. Sharon jumped out of her bed and grabbed her gun, but he threw his knife, pinning her hand to the wall. Sharon screamed in pain and tried pulling the knife out, but it was buried in deep. "Please Austin, don't do this! It was all Tom's fault, he forced us to betray you!" Austin pulled out another knife and slid it along Sharon's arm until it reached her neck. "Please, Austin..." whispered Sharon. Austin flicked his wrist, slicing Sharon's neck open and spilling her blood all over him. When more soldiers arrived, they found Sharon sitting up in bed, eyes wide open and her mouth stitched shut...
Dead Silence
September 5th, 2016
0900 hours, Eastern Time
Deep within the bowels of a Ghost complex in Washington DC, Jacob was standing in a security room with Tom, going over the security video's from Sharon's assassination. "How does one man sneak into a military complex, kill ten soldiers and Sharon, then escape without leaving a single shot of him on their cameras!" said Jacob. Tom replied as he pointed to a screen. "No, he left behind one shot, when a camera caught part of his face." "He did that on purpose, he would never reveal his position unless he meant to!" said Jacob. There was a beep as a security camera caught something.
When they looked, Jacob started shaking uncontrollably. The camera had caught Austin's face, he was clearly staring straight at the camera. Jacob grabbed his gun and headed for the door. "What are you doing?" asked Tom. "I'm going to kill him for good!" said Jacob without turning around. Jacob left the room and Tom sighed as, a few minutes later, Jacob screamed in pain before the scream was cut short. Austin had shot him in both knees, then taken his knife and slit him from groin to neck slowly, just like he had done to the recruits. When the security team found him, he was sitting in the security room, with his mouth stitched shut...
Can You Really Kill a Ghost?
September 5th, 2016
1200 hours, Eastern Time
Tom had left the complex and gotten into a car with other Ghosts, trying to escape before Austin could reach him. The car sped out of the parking lot and onto the highway, going far over the speed limit to put distance between them and the complex. They didn't go far before the car's tires blew and the car flipped, spinning on it's roof for a few yards. Austin shouldered his Barrett and slowly made his way to the car. One of the Ghosts that survived the crash limped out of the car and pulled up his gun, but Austin fired once, blowing a hole in his chest. Austin came up to the car and put his Barrett to the head of a wounded Ghost. Tom woke to the sound of the Ghost's brains being blown out of his skull.
He crawled out of the car, but Austin used the barrel of his Barrett to flip him on his back. "Austin, glad to see you. I'm guessing your not here to ask for a job?" said Tom with a weak laugh. Austin put down his Barrett and pulled out his knife, still covered in Sharon and Jacob's blood. "Austin come on, let's talk about this!" Austin grabbed Tom by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up to eye level.
Tom got a close look at Austin and became as white as a ghost. Austin's mouth had been stitched shut a year before his release, and when they pulled out the stitches he chose to remain silent and leave the scars there. "So it hurts to talk doesn't it? Good! I hope it kills you." Austin grinned and put his knife to Tom's throat. "Do you really think you can kill me? I'm a Ghost, I always will be!" Austin grinned evilly again and said in a hoarse voice. "So am I." Tom's scream echoed over the highway.
His body was found two hours later, hanging from the highway overpass. His hands were pinned to the highway using huge combat knives, and his mouth was stitched shut like the other's, but it was stitched in a smiling position. Austin disappeared from the public eye, having satisfied his thirst for revenge. He found a nice woman and settled down with her, starting his own little family. He lived a normal life, with everything put behind him, but he did keep the knife he used to slit their throats. It was a souvenir from a dark history...
The End