Hey guys! I know...it's been way to long since I've last updated. I know this isn't the longest, but just you wait ;) This chapter is going to be two parts; I just felt so bad since it's been months and everything, and I just felt that I should give you guys at least something! Anyways, onto the story!
It was a boring day on the SAS base. Many of the soldiers were just doing hard work, or lounging about in the mess hall. It was freezing though. A huge blizzard was making its way to surface. That was because Christmas was three weeks away.
So right now, John "Soap" Mactavish and Simon "Ghost" Riley were trying to do a difficult task. Orders from their Captain, John Price, they were now out in the freezing cold trying to put up Christmas lights around base.
"I don't get it. Why us? It's like, below zero out here!" Ghost grumbled, trying desperately to untangle a jumble of lights.
"Beats me mate. Maybe the other guys are busy" Soap suggested lightly.
"Gaz is taking a NAP! And Meat's listening to rap music with Griggs!" Ghost yelled.
"Well there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, Price has seemed a little...down lately. I mean, you know how he's been feeling. And we just have to be there for him, even if it means following his commands of hard labor" Soap told him.
That was when Foley came outside, tripping and stumbling the whole way. He did a face plant into the snow, and didn't get back up, groaning. He was the one of the base with the worst coordination. He could be walking down a hallway, and the American would still fall over nothing at least five times.
"You all right?" Ghost asked, giving the man a hand and helping him back up.
"Ugh yeah, it's nothing some band aids won fix. Anyways, Price wants to see you Soap. He said you both could be done for today" Foley informed them, before limping his way back to the mess hall entrance.
Soap knocked on Price's office door. For a moment, nobody answered, but a few seconds later, the Scot was greeted by a large stache-faced man.
" Hello Soap. C'mon in" The captain said. Soap sat in the chair located directly across from Price's desk. Price sat in his chair as well, folding his hands in a business like manor.
"You remember awhile back when I was in Prison? You took over as Captain for me for a short while" Price said.
"Y-yes sir" Soap was a little taken back. He had no idea that Price would start the conversation with something like this. That event was barely even spoken of now, unless they talked of how much they hated sneaky lil Makarov.
"Well Soap, you know how old I'm getting. I've got so many things I've wanted to do, and so little time to do it" Price said.
"Sir, your really not that old. Shepherds at least five years older then you" Soap said, shocked that his 'Tough and rough around the edges' Captain would talk about such a thing.
"Well, it's made me decide something. From life in the army, I've traveled to just about any country or place you can name on the map. Every place but Jamaica" Price explained, pulling out a dusty old map from his desk drawer.
"So your saying that you want to go to Jamaica?" Soap asked. Price nodded.
"That's great then. I'm sure the whole base would love a vacati-" Soap started, but was interrupted.
"Oh, no no no. I don't mean the whole team. God only knows what sort of mischief you men would come up with there. I need alone time. I need to find myself" Price said, pounding his fist on the desk with determination
"Wait a minute...can you explain a little better? Find yourself? Price do you have any idea what your saying?" Soap was in shock.
"Yes, in-fact, I've thought about this a lot. In two days, I'm going to travel to Jamaica." Price told him.
"Excuse me? What the...for how long?" Soap asked, alarmed.
"Not for long mind you. Only for two weeks" Price said, smiling.
"Two weeks? B-but what about the base? You cant just leave us here! Your our Captain!" Soap shouted.
"Now now Soap, calm down. I've decided that since you did such a great job last time I was gone, you can take over as Captain for the time that I'm gone" Price said, smirking. Soap's eyes instantly widened.
"NO! You cant really be serious! I-I'm-It's, no I cant be captain again!" Soap said, going into panic mode.
"Relax Soap. It's only for two weeks. That's just 14 days" Price said comfortingly. "Now go take a shower while I inform everyone else!" He snapped. Soap stood there stuttering over nonsense words coming out of his mouth, before turning to run form the room without a look back.
At dinner, the whole cafeteria was talking about Price's 'Vacation'. Some said it would rock, some said it would suck, and some said it was going to be a nightmare. Or at least the last bit was Soap's words.
"Relax mate, this is gonna be fun. We can get away with anything with you being captain" Ghost said, smiling as he bit into a cheeseburger.
"Don't think that. Besides, Shepherd is still going to be here as well" Soap said.
"Pshh, that old grandpa? He spends half the day reading old adventure novels, and the other half sleeping or high fiving Meat" Ghost said, chuckling at the memory.
While they were talking about that, Gaz was having a heated argument about Price, involving his vacation.
"I don't see why you have to go. Who am I gonna sit with at dinner? And who's going to make sure I shower, and make sure we do all our work?" Gaz asked.
"Soap's going to be doing all of that" Price answered, in the middle of chewing a french fry.
"Can't I come with you? I promise to be good!" Gaz pleaded. Price spat his french fry out in disgust.
"YOU? Come on a vacation with ME? No Gaz, that's not the way it works. You have your responsibilities here, whilst I go and find myself. Notice how theres no plural in 'myself'? It's just me" Price said.
"That's not fair! We never go on vacation!" Gaz said angrily.
"...We went to Joe's Funland just three months ago!" Price shouted.
"Ahem. Might I suggest something?" Shepherd asked.
"Make it quick!" Gaz snapped.
"Don't talk to a General that way!" Price yelled.
"Stop telling me what do do!" Gaz shouted.
"Idiot!" Price muttered.
"Old!" Gaz shot back.
"MIGHT I SUGGEST, that we all shut out mouths and eat?" Shepherd said coldly. Price and Gaz both froze, before going back to eating.
"...old ma-" Gaz started.
"Enough!" Shepherd yelled. Gaz quickly shut his mouth.
Soon, Price was all packed and ready for his little vacation. Everyone on base was saying goodbye, as their captain climbed into his truck, getting ready to drive to the airport.
"Good luck on your trip sir"
"Have a good time"
"Bring me back a souvenir" Were all the things they said. Soap was still scared about being Captain again. Last time he was, it was like his own personal hell.
"Price, if you would just reconsider this. Make somebody else Captain! I'm not cut out for the job" Soap tried to get Price to change his mind one last time.
"It's only for two weeks. Besides, I put the number of the hotel I'll be staying in, right in my top desk drawer" Price said. "Call only if there's a major emergency that you, or Shepherd can't handle"
"Ugh, fine! But if the place ends up exploding, then it's not my fault!"
"Actually, it would be your fault, considering that your to be the Captain for the next few weeks" Price added.
And so then, the old Captain drove away, his next destination being the airport, and then Jamaica. For a brief moment, everyone just stood there, unsure of what to do.
"FREEDOM!" Ghost finally shouted. Soap shot him an admonishing look, but Ghost just ignored him. Soap grumbled to himself, taking out his small notebook.
"Okay, so I was thinking that for starters, the old warehouse next to the shed could use a coat of paint. Meat, you and Griggs get to that. And then we have-" He started to say, but he then realized that everyone had ran away!
"Why me? Whyyyy?" Soap screamed, falling to the ground in an overly dramatic manor. Nobody came to his aid. Not even his best friend.
It was now dinner time. The cooks were serving chicken and dumplings, along with broccoli, and apple juice. It really was quite good, especially with the homemade chocolate cake for dessert.
"Lets watch a movie!" Paul Jackson shouted. Everyone agreed, except Soap.
"Er, I really think Price had some stuff planned for you. He wanted you all to wash the military trucks..." He said quietly. Of course nobody paid attention to him.
"Let's watch a horror film!" Roach spoke up.
"Ooooh, can we watch Shutter Island?" Nikolai asked. Once again, everyone agreed, except Soap.
"What's the movie even rated? I bet it's rated R. Remember the last time Meat watch a rated R movie?" Soap pointed out. Everyone though back to that day,,,,
flashback
The night before, everyone had watched Wolfs Creek. Now Meat lay curled up under Price's desk, muttering about how he was never going to go to Australia. It took about three hours and forty minutes to get him to come out
End of flashback
"So maybe pick a...less graphic movie" Soap suggested.
"...You suck! We wanna watch Shutter Island, and there isn't anything you can do to stop us!" Gaz yelled.
"Were with Gaz!" Everyone else shouted. Ghost came over, clasping a hand on his friend's back.
"I guess this captain stuff is working out for you once again, isn't it?" He asked, smirking slightly.
"Shut up!" Soap growled.
"You shut up!" Ghost replied playfully.
"No you!" Soap said back.
While the two best friends were in that argument, Gaz put Shutter Island in, whilst Kamarov dimmed the lights. They then all sat in their movie positions, all ready for a terrific night. Soap finally realized what was going on, and decided to stay and watch it as well, since he had never seen it before.
Finally it ended.
"T-that was so amazing!" Foley said, wiping his eyes and tripping over nothing as he stood.
"I dunno. I thought it was a little creepy" Paul Jackson.
"Well, we should all get to the barracks. It's back to work tomorrow" Soap informed them. A few men sighed, but most of them walked to their beds with little complaining.
Price stepped off of the the plane. He had taken a first class seat, so the ride had been splendid, much to the Captain's content. Now he was headed for the airport security, so that he could then head off to the hotel he was staying at. The place was called, Pinky's Paradise, and despite the name, the place was a five star vacation spot to stay.
Jamaica was indeed a lovely place. The street's were a lit with dozens of people, and the sun shone brightly. Price breathed in the fresh air, smiling happily.
"This is the life..."
Back at the base, things were going pretty okay..so far. Some men were taking weapon lessons, while others just hung about. Take Paul Jackson, James Ramirez, and Foley for instance. They were standing on the roof of the mess hall.
"See how awesome my gun is? I just got a new red dot site attached, it's so beautiful!" Jackson said, showing his gun to his other two friends.
"Can I hold it?" Ramirez asked hopefully. Jackson gave it to him. The yank held it up high, tossing it into the air and catching it. Then it slipped from his finger tips, falling far down to the ground. Jackson stood seething, his fists balled up angrily.
"Ramirez...I'm gonna kill you!" He screamed, making a grab for the startled American. Ramirez screamed, making a mad dash for the ladder. After climbing down it, he ran wildly to the outside track, Jackson right at his heels.
"Help me! Heeellllp!" He screamed, running to where Soap, Gaz, Ghost, and Nikolai were standing.
"What's the issue Ramirez?" Soap asked, holding a struggling Paul Jackson.
"I-I-he...I accidentally dropped his gun and now he's going to kill me!" The American stuttered, shielding his face with his hands.
"Oh no he's not! If Jackson want's to hurt my pal Ramirez, he'll have to go through me!" Gaz stated proudly, stepping in front of Ramirez with his arms folded. Ghost observed the scene for a few seconds before going into a fit of laughter.
"C'mon you idiots, let's go eat lunch"
For lunch there was grilled cheese and tomato soup, sided with milk and watermelon. None of the other men got any melon, for Gaz went around grabbing the slices off everyone's plates. He then sat in his seat, eating watermelon by the dozen.
"Gaz, you'll make yourself sick eating melon that fast!" Soap exclaimed from his seat across from the Lt.
Gaz didn't reply, too busy eating. That was when the watermelon lover got an idea. He stood up, making his way over to where Ramirez sat with Griggs and Meat.
"Hey Ramirez, how would you like to go on a nice outing?" He asked.
"Outing?" Ramirez questioned through a bite of grilled cheese.
"Yes outing. We can go to Joe's Sprinkles and get some after lunch dessert" Gaz answered.
"Hey that sounds like fun! Can Griggs and I go? Can Shepherd come too?" Meat yelled excitedly.
"Yeah, that sounds awesome!" Griggs added.
"Sure thing! C'mon, let's go!" Gaz said, making way to Shepherd's office. Before he made it out of the cafeteria, he paused before bending over, and puking all over the table that Soap and Ghost ate at.
"Oops, sorry sir! Well, see ya!" Gaz said cheerfully, running out with the three Americans.
"I told him he shouldn't have eaten 100 pieces of melon. He would have listened to Price...how do I make people listen to me Ghost?" Soap asked.
15 minutes later:
"I can't believe your making me drive you all just for ice cream..." Shepherd grumbled behind the wheel of his silver Toyoda jeep.
"We really appreciate it Sir" Gaz happily thanked his general. "Hmmph" Was all Shepherd could reply with.
Soon they had arrived at the wonderful ice cream store, and the men quickly got in line, Shepherd just waiting in the car. Meat had promised him his favorite, coffee ice cream with two times the cream, one times the sugar.
Gaz got watermelon flavored ice cream with strawberry syrup, and green sprinkles in a watermelon colored bowl. Meat got a chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles on a sugar cone. Griggs got moose tracks topped with whip cream on a waffle cone. Ramirez got a simple hot fudge Sunday.
They were all walking back to the car, Ramirez last. Little did he know that his shoe lace was untied. He stepped on it by mistake, and tripped forward. Before he knew it, his ice cream was out of his grasp, and went flying through the air. He heard a shrill scream.
"Um, Ew? This disgusting food landed on my new tank top!" A lady said, scrunching up her nose. Ramirez looked at her more closely, and his mouth dropped open. She was a Goddess, a model, an angel!
The woman had long blonde hair that had been clearly flat ironed. It went down to the middle of her back. She had bright blue eyes, outlined with a thick coating of eye liner and mascara. She also wore a tank top that showed her belly button, and the tank was clearly low cut.
The best part was her legs. She wore a bright pink minnie skirt, and her pale legs looked so beautiful. Of course the American could only stare for a moment, before realizing that his ice cream had upset her.
"Ma'am, I'm so sorry! I should have been more careful. Please let me go get you some napkins!" Ramirez said, quickly scrambling to his feet.
"Okay? Whatever. Gosh people are SOOO stupid these days" The woman said. Soon the American soldier returned with about twenty napkins.
"Ughh, you've totally ruined my new shirt! I spent like, forty dollars on this!" She whined.
"Oh no! Here, I can give you the money, it's the least I can do! By the way, my names James Ramirez" He said, handing her a fifty dollar bill.
"Tiffany Merlane" She answered, holding her chin up high.
"Yo! Get into the car Ramirez, we don't have all day!" Griggs yelled from Shepherd's car.
"Yeah, we have needs too! Get your ass in the car!" Gaz added.
"Well, I'd better be going. I really am sorry about all this" Ramirez said to Tiffany.
"Well obviously you should feel sorry! The least you could do is take me on a date!" Tiffany said, stamping her high heeled foot.
"Y-you want me to take you on a date?" Ramirez was shocked.
"Duh! That's what I just said, right? Here's my number, make it last" Tiffany said, shoving him a piece of paper. Ramirez could only stare at it until Shepherd's car beeped.
"Uh..see ya soon" Ramirez said, before running and getting into the jeep.
"What went on out there mate?" Gaz said, grinning whilst eating his ice cream.
"I just got that girl's number. She want's me to take her out on a date" Ramirez answered. The other men, including Shepherd, choked on their ice cream.
"That piece of trash? She is NOT your type dude!" Griggs said.
"Yeah! She didn't even have the decency to cover up her belly button!" Meat added.
"Some people are attracted to that!" Ramirez defended himself.
Price found his room at the hotel to be very nice indeed. There was a king size bed, a mini fridge with soda and various foods, and a perfect view of the Jamacia city below. After spending a few minutes getting settled in, Price was soon changed into his swim suit. His chest was coated with thick, grizzly hair.
"Ah..the beach. It reminds me of my younger days..." Price mused to himself while applying sunscreen to his nose and around his mustache. He was laying in a beach chair at the beach that was just in back of the hotel. He had a sun tanning thing over his face.
"Same here" A voice answered him.
He turned to look beside him. Another man way laying in a chair too, his face blocked by a huge hat-ish thing, resembling in a sunbrero, and he was drinking something in a coconut with an umbrella.
"I came here just to get away from it all, you know?" Price told the man, laying back into the chair with his arms behind his head.
"Ahhh, I completely understand. That's the reason I came too" The stranger answered. For a few minutes they were both silent.
'You know, you sound kinda familiar..." Price said, falling into a slight trance.
" You know what, you do too. Well,I guess I'll go get another drink" The man said, rising up form his chair, taking his hat off.
"Oh get me one too will ya?" Price asked, dropping his sun tan thing and reaching into his pocket for money. That was when he saw the man's face, and gasped.
"Sneaky Lil' Makarov?"
"Captain Price?" Bother men shouted at the same time.
"How dare you come and destroy my vacation!" The angry captain screamed.
"ME? Your the one ruining my vacation!" Makarov snapped back.
"This doesn't end here" Price said, snatching the hat off of Makarov's chair and storming away.
Soon they arrived back on base again, and of course Gaz was the first to tell everyone about Ramirez's 'date' wih Tiffany.
"Guess what everyone! Ramirez is taking some girl on a date tonight!" The watermelon lover shouted in between laughter.
"Really man? With who?" Paul Jackson asked, clasping Ramirez on the shoulder.
"Her name's Tiffany!" Ramirez stated proudly.
"Is she very ugly?" Ghost asked Gaz.
"I dunno mate. Didn't get a good look at her, but from what I did see from the van, she looked like a very high maintenance kinda person though" Gaz stage-whispered back.
"I don't think Ramirez could handle a girl!" Foley said, stumbling into the barracks.
"Can too!" Ramirez said defensively, blushing.
"Aw, go easy on the poor guy. I doubt any of you could get a date! You're all to ugly," Jackson said.
"Oh yeah? What do you call yourself?" Ghost said angrily.
Soap walked into the room, muttering about ranch dressing and pillows, looking very distressed.
"Hey Soap! I can handle a girlfriend right?" Ramirez asked pleadingly.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I guess," Soap said, shuffling through some papers in his hands.
"You're no help," Ramirez said, sulking out of the room, Paul Jackson at his back.
Soap groaned loudly as he flipped to another paper.
"What is it mate?" Ghost asked, a bit concerned about Soap's attitude recently.
"Price want's someone to rake the baseball field, change all the targets at the obstacle course, and help Meat with some fairy house project," Soap said.
"Sounds like you got a lot to do. See ya!" Ghost said, turning and walking out of the barracks.
Soap turned to Gaz, as everyone else left as well.
"Gaz, could you help Meat with that fairy house?" Soap asked.
"No way! I've got a brand new watermelon to eat. His name's Arnold," Gaz said dreamily, then turned to go eat Arnold.
Soap hung his head.
"How does Price do it?" he wondered out loud.
Ramirez looked at Tiffany's number, wondering if he should call her. He decided to, heading towards the phones. When he was there, he dialed the number, waiting a bit anxiously for the answer.
"Hello? Who the heck is this?" Tiffany's voice was clear as day.
"Tiffany? Hi, this is James Ramirez, we met at Joe's Sprinkles?" Ramirez said nervously.
Tiffany's voice went from bored to interested quickly.
"Yeah, your the guy who ruined my forty dollar shirt," she said.
Ramirez was surprised, not knowing what to say to something like that.
"Uh, yeah, sorry. Did you find a new one?"
"No thanks to you. Now, when is our date Jack?"
"It's James. And, uh, how about 7:30 tomorrow night? We can go to Nate's Restaurant," Ramirez said, praying she would say yes.
There was a moment of silence, then Tiffany spoke again.
"Sounds good. Here's my address."
Price sat in his hotel room, angry that Makarov had come to ruin his fun. He was invited to a party however, at The Juicy Coconut, a club about a mile from his hotel. He was even offered a ride in a limo by the guy who invited him!
"Hello, this is John Price, room 226? I'd like room service while I'm away please. I'll leave my key at the front desk," Price spoke to the kind receptionist over the phone.
"Of course. Have an awesome time at your party Mr. Price."
Price pondered the Makarov situation on his way out, wondering if he would show up at this party. He decided to ignore that thought however, leaving his key at the desk and walking out towards his limo.
Nates Restaurant was full of hustle and bustle. Ramirez wore a tight suit that didn't fit him to well, and the tie was tucked in all weird. He looked around for Tiffany, so nervous his face was green.
"Ummm, over here!" called Tiffany's unmistakable high pitched voice. Ramirez waved awkwardly and ran forward, tripping over his feet.
'God, now I know what Foley feels like all the time,' he thought as he straightened up. He sat down at the table, desperately straightening his tie and smiling lopsidedly.
"Hey goofball, wondered when you'd show up," Tiffany said, leaning forward on the table.
"Oh, sorry, it was a mess trying to find a car to use. I'm kinda new to this whole driving thing to. Shepard mostly does it for us," Ramirez explained, rather quickly.
"Is that that old guy who brought you to that dumpy ice cream place? What is he, your great great great great grandfather or something?" Tiffany asked, not really seeming to care.
"No, he's my- uh- boss," Ramirez said. At that moment, the waiter came over to the table. He looked old, and kind of scary.
"Your orders...?" he said, cutting off and staring at them intensely.
"Um, a cheese-burger with extra pickles please. And Tiffany will have, um..." Ramirez glanced at her nervously.
"A small salad please. Watching my figure," she said, tossing her hair behind her ear.
"Will that be all? I'll be right out with that." The waiter wandered off, saw this guy leave for the bathroom, stopped and poured his soda on his meal, then continued to the kitchen.
"So, do you have anything interesting to say?" Tiffany asked. As Ramirez opened his mouth, ready to tell her all about Gaz's antics, she cut him off.
"Actually, I'll just talk about me."
Ramirez sighed. This was going to be a long night.
Soap was panicking. Gaz had started a 'rebellion against the man' rally in the mess hall. The men were all currently shirtless, screaming at the top of their lungs as Gaz, who was standing on a table and only in his underwear and wearing black war-paint, was preaching about the evils of rules.
"Gaz, get off that table!" Soap yelled, but to no avail.
Gaz cried out dramatically, "Look here! The hater has joined us! Let us drown him in the sea of a thousand melons, and send a message to the skies by burning down the guard towers!"
Soap's eyes widened. He thought burning all the guard towers sounded a bit extreme, but he had no idea what the 'sea of a thousand melons' was. It turned out that the men had all filled a small kiddie swimming pool with watermelon juice. They all tied up Soap and threw him in, then set off screaming about eternal glory, carrying dangerous looking torches.
"You know the men haven't showered all day. Its getting bad again." Soap looked up to see Shepard, standing there in a bathrobe. Luckily, and rather oddly, he was wearing silk pajama pants as well.
"I know. How do I control them Shepard?" Soap asked as Shepard helped him up, untieing the soaked and sticky Captain.
"What you need is some soap," (Pun intended) Shepard said, sounding serious.
"Anyways, be harder on them. Start dishing out the punishments, and start getting loud. Make yourself heard, that will set them straight. Come on, I'll show you," Shepard said.
Soap followed Shepard out of the mess hall, quite interested in just how to control these savages.
Ramirez and Tiffany had a very awkward dinner-at least awkward for Ramirez, that is. Tiffany never seemed to stop talking. The trouble was, everything she said was so utterly unimportant. All about her dog, Trixy, and her cat, Toodles. How she walked them both at the same time, how she fed them the same meals, how she gave them daily baths and how they were so cute and fluffy. Sometimes, she would ask Ramirez a question, and when he started to answer, she would start talking again. At the end of their meals, which seemed to take forever to finish, Ramirez was almost happy it was over.
"Ug, now I've got to call a taxi home, those things smell so bad," Tiffany complained as Ramirez dug out the last of his money to pay for the meal.
"Well, I have a truck, I can take you home," Ramirez offered, trying to be nice.
"Sounds good. Come on Josh," she said. Ramirez tried to tell her his name was James, but couldn't, as she was already walking out the door. When they got outside, Tiffany gasped.
"Oh - my - god! You didn't tell me you were in the ARMY!" Tiffany said excitedly, pointing at the truck.
"Oh yeah, well it's kind of a secret task force thingy, but yeah, its kinda like the army, I guess," Ramirez said grinning, happy he was finally impressing Tiffany.
"Can you show me your base?" Tiffany asked, jumping in the passenger seat. Ramirez knew civilians weren't allowed on base, but Tiffany was so pretty, and he wanted her to think he was cool.
"Can't hurt."
Dun Dun Dunnnn! Part two will be out soon, VERY soon in fact. By the way, you can thank my idiot brother for making me update. So yeah, thanks Eric. I would like to thank all of you for your reviews, they are what made me update. It motivated me, so even though my brother made me, the reviews were what really touched my heart. Aww now my brother laughing at this authors note. Mean Eric! *Slaps him across the face*
So yeah, I'll be in touch! Stay on your toes, cause this story is going to be E-P-I-C with a capital E!