A/N
Hi guys!
I'm so sorry for the delay in posting, work's been a little crazy recently, but I'm back with this chap. As usual with the 141, the most difficult bit is always the exfil; look at leaving the favela ( HOW many times did I die? D:), and of course, Loose Ends ( just when you thought it was the last wave, it never was).
As always, enjoy, and R+R!
" All sectors, be advised, we have the target. I repeat, we have the target."
A whoop of joy echoed across the radio, and MacTavish suspected it was Roach; scrap that, knew it was Roach. Ghost stood up, Will in his arms, glancing over the bruises littering his son's chest and arms, and more worryingly, neck.
" Hey...what happened here, huh?"
He ran a gentle finger over the dark mark; Will's face instantly darkened and he looked up his father, worrying his lip. Simon paused for a moment, reading his son's face before alarm bells began to ring. He wasn't particularly surprised, it was war, not a fairytale, but still, to think that anyone had laid hands on his son made his blood boil. He went to question it further, but MacTavish cut in on his thoughts.
" Ghost, we gotta move. Incoming tangos. This is gonna have to wait."
Simon glanced over, before giving in with a sigh and a nod, mind back on the mission, heading after the captain back upstairs to where a gunfight was already in progress. Will instantly clung to his father, fear growing in his eyes; this was completely different to the shooting range on base. The rest of the force were already engaged, various shouts peaking over the gunshots. Typical that it would be a difficult exfil.
" MacTavish, this is Archer. We've got 40 plus mobiles en route, they're heavily armed! It's gonna be a bloodbath if we don't get out of here!"
Soap gritted his teeth, mind immediately trying to draw up a plan.
" They've trapped us. I knew it was a bait but I never thought Makarov would use it this heavily. He wants us all gone, and as soon as possible. Alright, we gotta move. Everyone, exfil at the LZ. Immediate pull out, I repeat, immediate withdrawl! Gather up the intel we've got and get moving! Nikolai! We need you now!"
" Da! I am near, landing is very hot! You'll have to get the situation under control and-"
" I know that, just get the damn chopper down and us out of here!"
" Sir!"
MacTavish turned, an unmasked Ghost looking straight at him.
" We'll need cover. Fire's too heavy for us to make it without some sort of backing fire."
" Aye. Get moving, that's what I'm here for."
Simon paused again, face frowning in thought. MacTavish noted how similar it was to Will's 'pondering' look. Without another word to the captain, he turned to Roach, murmuring something to the American before handing him Will. Will, for his part, looked positively terrified.
" Daddy..."
Simon turned to him, a smile on his face.
" It's okay. Roach's gonna take you to the chopper, I'll be right behind, yeah?"
The little boy worried his lip again, looking up at the man. Ghost sighed, pulling out the signature mask, and gently tugged it over the boy's head.
" There. Now, there's a lot of responsibility behind wearing that mask; you can't be scared, okay? And remember, you can't kill a ghost. So you'll be fine. Just make sure Roach doesn't chicken out and cry, huh?"
Gary opened his mouth to protest, but let it slide with a grin, already shuffling the boy in his arms and steeling himself at the door. He looked towards Ghost, taking the chance to actually try and read his face; it was a rare sight to see Simon mask-less. Thought time, however, was cut out as a loud bang rocked the house.
" RPG team! Moving in from the East! Suggest you start that exfil now sir!"
" Got it. Roach, get him out of here. The rest of you, Ghost and I'll provide cover. Nikolai's at the LZ, move move move!"
Roach was out of the door before Will could protest at being separated from his father, shots ringing as his protector ran, making a mad dash towards the approaching Pave Low. A hail of answer bullets rang out from behind them, taking out any approaching threats, as the group ran. Roach found himself almost tripping down the hill, shouts echoing behind him. He had to admit, the deja-vu was horrible; last time he'd been running down this hill, he'd almost been desecrated with a mortar, and then...well, everyone knew what had happened next. It had plagued him for months afterwards; the fear as Shepherd had pulled the trigger, and then he'd lay, watching them douse him in fuel and the sheer pain as that cigarette has hit. In all honesty, he'd thought that was it; life was over, and he'd almost begged for it to end quickly, anything to stop the pain. But Simon had appeared, like an angel, perhaps of death, and saved him from the flames. How, he'd never asked; if the man had buried the memories, he was ready to do so too. All he knew was that he owed him his life, one way or another. Hence why the bundle in his arms was all the more precious; he couldn't fail him now. As had been proven in his disappearance, Simon put Will far ahead of himself in terms of safety, and that Gary had been trusted to look after the child showed a deep trust of him that he was highly unwilling to betray. The thought alone pushed him on, over the endless boulders and long grass, relief swimming into his head as a large chopper began to lower itself.
Roach reached the Pave Low first, hoisting the child up through the door before pulling himself in. He turned, immediately helping the men behind him clamber in when his radio crackled into life.
" Ghost is hit, repeat, Ghost is hit! We're on our way to the LZ and- shit, I need covering fire! Hang on mate, I gotcha. Roach, you safe?"
" Affirmative, we're on board!"
" Good. Lay down some fire for us, they're coming in heavy! C'mon Ghost, we're nearly there!"
Roach grabbed the nearest gun he could lay hands on, turning to the fear-stricken child behind him, who looked at him with wide eyes.
" Daddy's hurt?"
" You gotta stay here bud, out of sight where its safe."
He slid back out of the helo, the team joining him, doing as MacTavish had instructed. There were several tense moments as nothing appeared out of the rising smoke aside from enemy bullets until a figure emerged, another slumped over his back, panting.
" Friendly incoming! It's MacTavish!"
" Damn right it's me! Give me a hand..."
Gary was first to jump, catching Ghost gently, the red seeping across his chest instantly panicking him. The man gave a groan, face curled in pain.
" He got a torso hit?"
" Aye. Nasty one too."
" Christ, you can say that again. Chemo! We need medic, stat!"
" Got it! Get him on the helo, I can look at it there."
" Right..."
There was another pained groan from the injured man, who looked up at Roach with worried eyes.
" Will...Where's...Will.."
Gary laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.
" He's safe, on board, in one piece and alive. Worry about yourself for once, eh?"
Ghost gave a weak grin, instantly flinching in pain as the troupe hauled him inside, feeling darkness claw at the corners of his vision.
" Ghost? Hey, stay with me! Ghost! Shit, Chemo, we're-"
" Yeah, I know! Captain, we need to move now!"
MacTavish pulled himself onboard with a quick nod, instantly scooping up Will and taking the furthest seat from the door possible, turning him away from the group of men. The boy squirmed, panicked.
" Daddy! Uncle Soap, what's happened to Daddy?"
" Nikolai, let's go before they decide to catch up! Will, he's just a little hurt, alright? Chemo's gonna look after him, just calm it."
The boy clung to him as the helicopter lurched from the ground, rising in the air quickly as the hail of enemy fire began to fall away. MacTavish was almost grateful for the noise of the chopper; the less the boy heard, and saw, the better. As soon as he could, he pushed forward, placing the boy in the co-pilot seat beside Nikolai with strict instructions to stay there and not look back. Looking back himself, it wasn't a pretty sight. Chemo was making quick work of Ghost's molle vest and shirt, blood quickly spreading around the wound and onto the medic's hands as he barked instructions at the men around him, ranks forgotten in the chaos.
" Get my medi-pack from that corner, Meat, I need the large gauze and the grips. We're gonna have to get this bullet out if he's living! Roach, I need to you to try and keep him talking here! It's gonna hurt like hell, but we ain't got time for anything else."
Roach nodded, his hands fumbling as they found Ghost's neck, feeling frantically for a pulse, eyes fixed on the drooping green ones in front of him.
" Ghost! Oi, did you not hear him? You gotta stay with us, mate. C'mon, you can't do this, we just got Will back for crying out loud!"
At the mention of the boy's name, there was a flicker of recognition in Simon's eyes, before they became unfocused again, colour draining from his face. Panic quickly found its way into Roach's voice as he spoke, the fear evident.
" Chemo, we're losing him!"
" I know! Captain, we need to get him to a hospital stat! He's losing too much blood!"
" We're in the middle of enemy territory, where do you suggest we go?"
" Any hospital, anywhere! I can try and stabilize him for now, but I can't stem the bleeding 'till that bullet's out, and it's deep and he's dropping fast!"
" My friend, I know a place."
MacTavish had never been more relieved to hear Nikolai's rather infamous line; he knew someone for anything, everywhere.
" Get us there Nikolai, pronto. We've got a life on our hands."
Well, if it was back to being happy-happy, it just wouldn't be me. I know, it's terrible. Till next time! (:
