Author's note: I am extremely sorry for not having updated in so long (a week, about). Last week was REALLY hectic for me. Someone commented, I don't remember who, said they would have liked Mactavish's girlfriend to have been described more. Well, merry Christmas! He actually describes her, and it's not just completely random...OK, maybe a little random. Oh, and I may have messed up on the gun names so I apologize in advance. (Hell, I don't even think there is such as a silenced pistol but whatever! Erin's just awesome and gets one) so, without further pointless ranting, please enjoy this chapter!
The next day, I'm on a submarine, suiting up in a wet suit and oxygen mask completed with tank. The rest of the team has done the same, waiting till the actual moment we're in the water to place their masks on. Mactavish is staring at a photo reflectively, most likely of his girl Cynthia. Someone, though, is stupid enough to actually ask what the picture is of. Piece it together, idiot, it's not that hard.
"It's of my lass, Cynthia Marcello. She's the most gorgeous girl in the entire world. Her golden locks radiate like sun rays and her blue eyes are as deep as the ocean and-" he rants on lovingly.
"SHUT UP MACTAVISH!" everyone yells in unison, not the less bit interested in hearing him drone on about his girlfriend.
Mactavish shrugs, placing the photo back into his pocket. "Hey, you asked." He replies defensively.
I roll my eyes, "I'm pretty sure they just asked who the photo was of; not for you to go into intimate detail about her!" I said, placing my hands on my hips.
A creepy smile crosses across Mactavish's face that worries me and the rest of the team. "Oh I didn't even get to the best part! When we make lo-" he starts.
Jumping back, I wave my hands in front of me, "Whoa! Don't you DARE finish that sentence!! We honestly DON'T need, or want to know about your bedroom stories!" I retort, voicing everyone's opinion.
He's about to make a comment, but we receive information that we're close to the oil rigs. That's when we go to our mini submarines and set off.
A couple minutes later
I watch as Roach and Mactavish take out two guards swiftly. With that, the rest of the team pulls themselves out of the icy water. I hop up, struggling to get on deck till Roach extends a hand. I take it generously, thanking him once he's yanked me out of the water. Like the rest of the team, I shed my wet suit and tank. I pull my hair into a short ponytail and clip the silencer on my M4A1 carbine. With that, the team moved up the stairs with little radio chatter. I ended up in the back, watching our backs.
Mactavish made up the front with Roach, "Alright people keep it tight and advance to the upper decks. Remember, there are hostages so don't shoot them." He warns. The sounds of the team's footsteps on the stairs remain light but they still cause a quiet metal sound as we follow the Scotsman into a room. Taking cover behind a gated in oil tank, I see a guard taking a smoke. Mactavish mutters something to Roach and the next thing I know, the poor unsuspecting guy gets shot in the head and tumbles into the cold, unforgiving waters below. We all surround the room, splitting into two groups to take the two doors. I take the far door with Roach and Mactavish just as Roach was placing the door charge. Once it blows the door in, everything turns slow motion. I slide in on my knees, aiming specifically and shoot the captors. One has grabbed a hostage, intending to us him as a human shield but I shoot the guard right between the eyes. Then I switch to my silenced pistol as a guy comes up on my right, causing him to fly back in a hail of bullets.
"Room clear, hostages secure! Great shooting, by the way Erin." Ghost commented, off handily. I jump up, switching back to my M4A1. A smile appears on my face as I look over at Ghost.
"Thank you very much. I mean, I learned from the best." I teased, clipping a fresh mag into my gun and starting to the door.
Ghost stifles a laugh, "Who, Texas Ranger?" he asked, following me.
I roll my eyes, fake surprise on my face. "Oh how did you know?" I remarked humorously. Following the team, we halt when the sound of rotor blades cutting the air catch our attention. We hug the wall and come upon the next room of hostages. I take the first door with Roach and some member of the SEALS whose name escapes me. Roach plants the charge and it starts all over again. The slow motion hits as the door blasts inward. I slide in on one knee, looking for my target. One guard has kicked a seated hostage over, intending to kill the innocent man. But I beat him to the draw, shooting the guard. It's like the slow motion suddenly switched back to regular speed and this surprise me. I hear an angry Russian yell from the right of me and a Russian runs out from behind a vending machine towards me, knife at the ready. I raise my gun, determined to shoot him but the sound of empty clicking in my guns tells me it has different plans. The Russian takes a swing at me with his knife, and I shut my eyes in expectation of the painful slice. When it fails to occur, I open my eyes to see the Russian lying in a pool of blood, staring blankly up at the ceiling as blood trickles out from the gun shoot wound to his head. My savior, standing a couple feet away, is Roach, gun smoking. Roach extends a hand to me and I take it, my mind still replaying how I cheated death by only a few inches. I missed him…how the fuck did I miss him?!?!
"That, was close…too close. Thanks, Roach. I owe you." I breathe, my heart pounding loudly in my chest.
Roach smiles sweetly, "We're on the same team, we have to look out for each other." He answers, patting me on the head. This causes me to smile, nodding in agreement.
"They'll be here soon." Comments Ghost, tapping into the enemy coms.
Mactavish nods seriously, "Roach, get some C4 on those bodies." Orders Mactavish. Roach obeys, quickly placing C4 on the dead bodies as team two leads the hostages out of the room. With that, we all scatter to watch the 'fireworks'. I chill with Roach and Mactavish who have chosen the working platform as the place to deliver the surprise for the Russian patrol team. An eerie silence comes over the radio as we wait. The patrol team finally comes into view, casting long shadows from where they stood. We watch, waiting as they enter the room. Once the chatter turns rash, Mactavish glowers at Roach.
"Now, Roach."
With that command, Roach unleashed the power of the C4 placed on the bodies. The explosion rips through the room, sending Russians everywhere. We return fire, exterminating to the small patrol. "Alright, they know we're here! Go to loud." Barks Mactavish as we jump down from our perch into the action. As we run pass some fallen Russians, my eyes catch the familiar shape of an Ak-47. I quickly exchange it with my silenced gun, stealing the rest of the dead Russian's ammo. I'm about to rejoin the group when a bullet hits the wall right by my head, deafening me for a minute. Taking cover behind an iron pillar, I peek around. A Russian has stepped out from his hiding place to see if he got his target. Without a moment's hesitation, I mow him down easily. I snake my way through until I finally meet up with the guys who are already heading off in different directions. My eyes don't spot Ghost so I decide to buddy up with Roach and Mactavish who are making their ways up a flight of stairs. Hm, I'm pretty sure they've become my official buddies…for this mission at least. Mactavish leads our small group with Roach and I race to be second. We enter a room and go towards some downward stairs. Bullets thud against the stairs and hit Mactavish, stunning him for a minute. Then, with agility I've never seen before, Roach already has his combat knife in the Russian's throat.
I blink as my mouth lies agape, glancing from where he had been standing to where he stood. "Holy hobo! That was fast!" I gasp, still trying to come to terms of how that happened.
Roach straightens up, taking his combat knife out of the guy's throat and putting it back in its holder. He smiles sheepishly up at us, "Not really, actually. I tripped. You OK cap-" starts Roach but Mactavish is already up and moving before Roach can finish his sentence. I follow his lead, joining Roach at the bottom of the stairs. Just then, a grenade rolls in. I quickly toss it away, the grenade exploding in mid air. Taking the far side of the opening, Roach and Mactavish take cover from the opposite side. I click the trigger, my gun suddenly jams. As I work to fix the jam, I see a Russian stand up with…AN RPG?!?! He shares a glance with me, a sick smile on his face before he fires it off in my direction. I dodge it just in time as it explodes against the wall, creating a small crater.
"OK, what the bloody hell?!?! Why are we shooting off RPGs and grenades…ON AN OIL RIG?!!" I shout, rolling onto my back. Just as I do, my gun gets un-jammed and I mow down the Russian who failed to kill me with the RPG. I let out a sigh of relief and pull myself up. By now, the rest of the team has joined us.
Roach is the only person who actually paid attention to my question, "Well, when you say it like that, it doesn't make sense. It sounded like a good idea at the time…" he mutters.
Ghost rolls his eyes, "Oh quit your complaining and let's just go get the last of the hostages." Adds Ghost, as we continue making our way upward. The sound of helicopter rotor blades catches our attentions.
"Enemy helio! Get some cover!" shouts Mactavish. I dash into a room and hug the wall, feeling the bullets from the heli strike the structure hard. After the initial attack, my ears pick up the sound of angry Russian coming from the opposite side of the room. I peek around the gated tank to see a group of Russians file into the room, intending to try and ambush us. What they fail to note is that they have to get through me. I toss a flash bang in their general direction, disorientating them for a minute. Jumping on this window of opportunity, I open fire at them. When the mag is done, I realize I only got two while the rest were smart enough to take cover. I jump back behind my cover, clipping a new mag into my gun. It's just then Roach runs in and straight into the line of fire, unknowingly. I grab the back of his shirt and pull him back behind cover just as a shower of bullets pepper the spot he would have been standing.
"Roach! What the hell?! Do you realize you could have been killed?!?" I scream in a more of a shocked voice than a pissed one.
He gulps, realizing how close he was to being picked off, "S-sorry….I didn't see them." He breathes.
I let out a breath, expelling the anger of myself, "Just be careful…" I said, then looking back at him with a smile on my face, "And we're even." Roach and I end up flanking the Russians; I distracted them while Roach shot at them from across the way. He mows down the remaining tengos as I deliver a killer slice to the last one. He rejoins me on my side, high five-ing me. "Go us and our awesome team work!" I whooped, feeling pleased with mine and Roach's planning.
Out of no where, Mactavish appears, "Great job you two." He comments, nodding approvingly.
I jump a little, "Holy crap, how'd you get there?!?!" I question, trying to calm my pounding heart.
"I never told you guys….but I'm a ninja." He replied light-heartily.
But of course I take him seriously, "Whoa, I sooo didn't see that coming." I gasp. We continue to the upper deck where the last room of hostages sits. But it's going to be hard since the Russians already know we're here and have thrown smoke grenades to mess us up. Mactavish, Roach and I take the left flanking route. By then, I switched to thermal and aim accordingly. It's then I see a guy aiming for Roach who is busy reloading. "ROACH LOOK OUT!" I cry, pulling him back just as a bullet whizzes past his head. I let out a sigh of relief as I see he's unharmed and Mactavish takes out the would-be assassin.
"Come on Roach, get your head in the game." Growls Mactavish as he continues shooting down Russians who are stupid enough to pop up and shoot at us.
I pout, slapping him lightly on the back of his head, "Yeah because I will start singing that high school musical song!" I hiss, joining Mactavish in killing the advancing Russians. Roach gulps, fearing my singing more than the Russians.
Once the area is cleared, we go to breach the door. Roach sets the charges and like the other times, the slow motion kicks in as soon as the door is down. Suddenly, I see something out of the corner of my eye. It's a Russian, cleverly hidden, running towards Roach with a combat knife, who is preoccupied with shooting the rest of the tengos in the room. I act fast, shooting him between the eyes. Roach is deafened for a second. The slow motion changes and Roach stumbles around a bit. He looks at me then the dead Russian and his face drops, draining of its color, as he realizes if I hadn't been there, the Russian would not have hesitated to end Roach's life. I blink, placing a hand on Roach's shoulder, "Roach? You OK?" I ask, concern sitting heavy on my face.
"How did I miss that…" he mumbles, having troubles accepting this. We follow the rest of the team, making our way to the helicopters. After a moment of silence, I finally sigh, "Look, Roach….that was the third time I saved your ass for this mission. You gotta remember to keep you head in the game, OK? But I won't hold this against you, since everyone has bad days where they're just completely out of it." I reply shortly. Roach nods, unable to come up with words to describe how he's feeling right now.
My radio crackles to life, a familiar voice coming from the other line. "Erin?" questions Shepard.
I blink then answer quickly, "Oh-yes, sir!"
"You're being pulled from the mission. You're needed at the base ASAP." Orders Shepard and I felt like he wasn't telling me something. I slow till I stop, Roach looking at me questioningly.
"And what are the reasons, sir?" I ask, nervousness dancing in the pit of my stomach.
"It's your friend Archer….seems he's gone suicidal." Answers Shepard plainly. I gasp, my worst fears being realized.
I compose myself before speaking, "Sir, what is my ETA?" I ask darkly.
"Five to ten minutes." He concludes before ending the conversation. I follow Roach as he jumps on the helicopter with Mactavish, waiting for me to join them.
When Roach extends a hand, I shake my head, "Sorry, seems Shepard's got a different mission for me. Good luck guys." I breathe, stepping away from the helicopter as they take off, not letting either of them ask the question of what my mission is. The wait felt like forever as I paced, waiting for my ride. The marines were working to gather Intel and kill any remaining Russians. But I my mind is else where, thinking to Archer and praying he won't do anything stupid. I bite my lip till I taste my own blood, my patience wearing thin. Finally the heli appeared and I jump in, "Fly, I got a life to save!" I demand, not wanting to waste any time as Archer's seemed to be ticking away slowly.