Hey, guys! Update is here, and it came two days early. I'd like to thank GamerGirl4Life for the first review of (I hope) many to come. This chapter happends near the location in which the original "Loose Ends" mission finished. I do not own CoD.
"Loose Ends",
Georgia-Russia border,
'That Guy'
Shepard's four men all belonged to the Shadow Company, but they were rookies. One of them, known among them as 'That guy', was the newest on the team. Shepard thinks these two burning bastards don't deserve his 'real' Shadow Company, he thought. He was snapped out of his thoughts when one of the older ones shouted: "Hey, That Guy! Go take a look at that... Ghost was his name? He isn't burning right." Sighing, That Guy walked up to the shallow pit in which Ghost and Roach lied. He frowned upon burning body of Roach, but when he turned his look on Ghost, he saw that somehow flames didn't spread on him. "Yeah, he isn't even burning.", That Guy shouted to the other one. Older man said impatiently: "Well, pour some gas on him. And make it quick." But That Guy just stood there, looking in Ghost. "Hey! HEY! Get that damn gasoline!", other soldier shouted, but That Guy didn't move. "F*cking rookie.", other man said, and lifted up another plastic canister. He walked up to Ghost's body. That Guy first turned around, to make sure other two men left, and then he hit the other man in the jaw. Man fell to the ground, and opened his mouth to call help, but That Guy stomped his face with his reinforced boots. Man let out a cry, and pulled his sidearm. His bullet barelly missed That Guy's head. That Guy then took out his own silenced sidearm, shot the man in his legs, and put him to sleep with a strong punch in the temple.
Ghost was between life and death, when he heard soft sounds of fighting. But he let go of his hope long time ago, and only from curiosity did he look at two men who fought at the edge of the hole. One tried to shoot the other, but missed, and then the other one knee-capped him. Whoa!, Ghost thought, and smiled weakly. The guy who was still standing rushed over to him, and whispered: "C'mon, man, let's go." But in the next second, Ghost pulled out his sidearm and aimed at the man. "Calm down. 141, man, 141.", he said to Ghost. Ghost warily lowered the barrel, and the man lifted him on his feet. A trickle of dark blood poured down his trousers, but Ghost didn't care. "Callsign?", Ghost asked. The mas shrugged: "No callsign. Didn't earn one. I'm just 'that guy'. Name's Matthew Reeds." "If you get me out of here, your callsign will be 'Magician'.", Ghost joked, as he climbed out of the hole. "By the way, I'm Ghost.", he added. Ghost quickly checked his knife, sidearm and his rifle; everything was perfect. Then his eyes fell on Roach's burned body, and on the canister. Before Matthew could stop him, Ghost popped open the canister and poured it entire on the unconcious soldier. "No.", Matthew whispered, "They'll be on our backs in no time." But Ghost took his lighter, and threw it on the man anyway. Now, it was his time to scream in agony, to feel fire peel off layers of his skin. Matthew and Ghost jumped in dense bushes just in time, since other two Shadow Company members were now running to their fallen friend. They looked around for water, but beside their bottles none was there. "Let's get them.", Matthew said to Ghost, and they locked and loaded. Other men didn't even turn as they were pierced by a dozen bullets each. Their limp bodies fell on the dirt, twitching. Ghost walked to them, and took their ammo and provisions. Matthew followed, and then looked at Ghost's wound. One sharp inhale of air was all Ghost needed to think: I'm done. But Matthew just pulled out some bandages, and wrapped Ghost up thightly. "Good as new!", he said. After they took all they could take, they started walking towards southern Caucasian peaks. "Where's the LZ?", Ghost asked, while they entered woody area under the mighty snowy peaks. Matthew smiled for himself, and said: "No LZ." Although he couldn't see Ghost's face, he knew Ghost just got a wish to go back to that pit. "No LZ?! What are we going to do, walk back to 141 base?", he said. "Well, that's the plan, unless we find a jeep or something.", Matthew sighed, and crossed over a fallen tree. Over the next hour, they hiked over hills and through forests, crossed rivers and avoided both Ultranationalists and Shadow Company.
The first village they encountered was razed to the ground by battles, but still some people stayed in their homes. One elderly woman came to Ghost and started shouting something unrecognisable. "Um, I guess she thinks you are guilty for destruction of this village.", Matthew whispered. Ghost just pulled out a handfull of dollars, and said in Russian: "We need a vehicle." Womans eyes shined greedily, and she took them to one of the rare uncollapsed buildings. There, under a half torn cover was a old Soviet truck, olive green and with rusty bars supporting gray cloth over its back side. "You drive. Magnum hits hard.", Ghost said, entering the front seat. Matthew placed the key in the ignition, and the engine roared back to life. "Thanks", Ghost said, and passed cash to the woman. Matthew carefully drove out, and pressed the pedal to the metal on the dirt road. Old truck was shaking violently, lifting gusts of dust in the clear air. "Slower! I'll die out here.", Ghost said, pressing his bandages thightly. Out of boredom, he turned on his radio. After a minute or two of silence, a deep voice was heard: "Group 'Bear' to any available 141 group... Cap. Price... Ultranat... taking hea..." "Increase range, Ghost.", Matthew said, now driving even faster. Ghost quickly pulled out an antenna, pressed a button a few times, and waited for the man. "...I repeat, Group 'Bear' to any available 141 group in the Caucasian region; you are requested by Cap. Price to help us in figting three dozens of Ultranationalist soldiers. Village of Gayotze. Out of eight men, three are KIA, and two are wounded. Taking heavy fire right now! Requesting help ASAP!...", his voice faded. Matthew made a turn to the left, as he said: "There is our LZ."
Pvt. Marconi smiled as he reloaded his MP5. "Nine o'clock, Marconi!", he heard Sgt. Oliver shout. His next bullet hit an Ultranationalist straight in the head, sending him to the ground. Marconi wiped sweat off his forehead, and asked: "How're the choppers? When will we go?" One of the mechanics turned to him and said: "Five minutes!" "What!? We'll be f*cking dead in five minutes!", Sgt. Oliver roared, knifing an enemy. Gunshots ringed all around Marconi, so he first thought it was his imagination. But the next time he heard a truck engine, he was positive that someone was coming down the road next to the lake. "Sir! Vehicle inbound!", he said, shooting two more Ultranationalists. Soon, they saw an old olive green truck driving down a dirt road. Through its windscreen, Marconi saw two men with rifles, shooting Ultranationalists on their way. "I have visual on the truck, sir!", Marconi yelled, slamming the but of his rifle in an enemy's face. The truck came to a halt just a yard away from Marconi, screeching and lifting dirt and grass. "Are we late for help?", said a man wearing the fabled skull mask. But nobody said a thing. "What?", Ghost asked jokingly, "Is there something on my face?" "That's Ghost!", one young Private voiced everybody's thoughts. "No shit, Private.", Ghost laughed, and continued: "Let's kill these bastards." But the Ultras have also heard of Ghost, and they were already retreating back to the village. Broken remnants of Group 'Bear' gathered around their savior, cheering. Only Sgt. Oliver kept cool, and asked the mechanics how long do they need. One of them, the taller one, said: "Just... a... moment... Done!" As others boarded the choppers, Ghost opened his mouth to say something, but he sank to his knees, coughing out blood. Matthew ran to him and gave him a pat on the back, and asked Oliver: "Can we ride back with you?" "Sure. Marconi, patch this man up!", sergeant ordered. When he was safely tied up to his seat, Ghost relaxed at last. He heard Reeds and Oliver talk about their route: "No. We'll have to make a fuel stop in Thessaloniki, before we reach..." Oliver's last words were lost to Ghost, as mighty blades lifted the two helicopters in the air. Even unwillingly, his eyelids closed. But before he fell asleep, he said: "You, Mr. Reeds, earned the right to call yourself 'Magician'."
There you go. I tried to expand the plot a bit with Group 'Bear' and their mission. Next chapter will most likely focus on 141 base and backgrounds of OCs. Please review!