"You know, you can't blame MacTavish for sending you all the way to Dushanbe," Ghost told Ryuka as they started packing up the equipment they needed in the armory. Ryuka had taken an M4A1, an Intervention, and the ammo enough for a maximum of four days… If it was enough for four days, that is. "If I had a girl out here, that's what I'd do too."

She chuckled, and asked, "Are all men so block-headed?"

"Only the good ones, Reddie," Ghost replied. He did not say anything further. Whatever McTavish could have promised her, he would have already done so the night previous. He was sure of it. "I guess I'll be seeing you in Dushanbe, then."

"Take care of Roach, Ghost," Ryuka instructed. "I want him to live long enough to train another FNG." No matter what happened to Roach, he would always come back up on top. She did not want this time to be an exception. The Task Force 141, they were all her brothers, her friends, she did not wish to lose more of them, not at these times.

"You and I both, Reddie," he told her. There had been a strange bond between Ghost and Roach. The two of them had become inseparable ever since the kid entered the 141, and even until now, Ryuka could not find out why. They had completely different personalities, Ghost being dark, troubled and disturbed, while Roach was always a spot of sunshine… "Well, I gotta go," he said, and gave her a brotherly hug. "Good luck, Reddie."

Ryuka nodded. "You too, Ghost," she replied, and saw MacTavish at the doorway of the armory. The other Lieutenant nodded at their Captain and left, while MacTavish went in and immediately enveloped her in his arms. "John…" she murmured, the memories of the previous night were still fresh in her mind, and she had more than just the marks to prove it. He had left just before dawn to prepare for the mission, but not before waking her up first.

"Be careful," he told her. "We don't know what Makarov has in store in Dushanbe… Check your corners, and mind the children." They were sending her into an unknown territory and there would be a huge chance that Makarov could have pulled a fast one on them…

"I will, Captain," she promised. A kiss followed, one that was short, sweet and chaste. The time that they had left only allowed that, a different change from all their moments together, even right to the clothing that she was wearing... He was in a ghillie suit, while she, was in an ankle-length skirt and a modest blouse, suitable for a UNICEF volunteer in a Muslim country, with only a Desert Eagle holstered to her thigh (visible only to trained eyes) under her skirt as her only apparent weapon. Her katana and the other guns that she would bring to Dushanbe were all stored in luggage bags underneath her clothes.

MacTavish let her go, and the two of them walked towards their various helicopters hand in hand. "Hello there, Reddie," Nikolai greeted Ryuka. "Finally out there in the open, eh?" Ryuka smiled and nodded after sharing a knowing glance with MacTavish. "Don't worry, my friend, I will take care of Soap in time for you to slaughter him!"

"And don't you dare forget about Uncle Price, Nikolai," she replied, gesturing at her pseudo-uncle. "The old man needs some care as well." Price rolled his eyes and continued packing his equipment into Nikolai's Hercules. His goodbye with her was nothing more but a ruffle of her hair, but MacTavish and Nikolai knew that Price had meant much more than that, and Ryuka understood it more than they ever could.

"I will do all that you ask, do not worry," Nikolai replied. At that, they started to go to their different ways, Ryuka in a Little Bird, and the other two teams in their respective Hercules aircrafts. There was no parting prayer, no final briefing. All of them knew what they had to do, and they would see it done to the very end. The Task Force 141, they were a tight-knit bunch of soldiers, but sometimes, certain sentiments were not needed in times like this. Like in the case of Ryuka and MacTavish, everything had been done beforehand.

Lt. Ryuka "Red Dragon" Algren

Task Force 141

Abraham's Light Orphanage – Dushanbe, Tajikistan

"Well, a graduate from the London School of Economics?" the Matron asked Ryuka when she looked at the credentials that she had brought with her. Some of them were real, the others, for the most part, had been forged. Like the fact that she was holding a Masters in Economics, and that she was looking for news for her "husband" who was a soldier. "You certainly don't look like you belong out here, dearie."

The Matron was a British woman, middle-aged and homely. A simple woman who served a higher cause: to help the nation's many orphans and whatnot. "I will do what I can," Ryuka said. And she knew for that long moment when the Matron had started at her thigh, that she was not envying her young, sprightly figure at all. Taking out the Desert Eagle, easily one of the larger pistols to be found, and was easily recognizable, due to its "superstar status" for being portrayed in various mass media, especially in the entertainment industry, Ryuka apologized, and said, "I'm sorry for this, but a girl has to protect herself in these awful times."

Thankfully, it seemed that the Matron understood her. "Yes, yes, it is," she replied. "The war in America… terrible, isn't it? Your parents… are they safe?" She had looked at Ryuka's passports and found out that she was Japanese-American, so it was not a shock that she would ask such a question. Duly, Ryuka told her that her family was safe in Kyoto; the Matron heaved a sigh of relief."

"This war will claim more lives than it ever has," Ryuka announced, and fell silent after that. She continued to make small talk with the Matron after sipping some tea that she had made, but there was nothing more.

"Snipers in position…"

"Strike team go, engage Makarov on sight."

Good, Ghost and the others were already at the safehouse… The operation would go well. "Well now, why don't I show you your room so you can rest up a bit?" the Matron offered. Ryuka smiled and thanked her. It would be a good time for her to monitor the progress of the 141 as well, and seek out information of her own.

"Ambush! Targets… left side, left side!"

"They've got this area presighted for mortal fire!"

"This is you'll be staying dearie," the Matron told her, and she nodded, trying to keep her cool. Her in-ear comms system had been concealed by her shoulder-length hair, and she put up her bags on the bed while she quickly retrieved the laptop that she had brought with her.

She waited for the Matron to leave, and quickly plugged in a microphone. "This is Red Dragon, Archer, Toad, take down those armored trucks, quick!" she exclaimed, watching two red dots moving away from the safehouse fast.

"Yes, ma'am," both of them replied. "Firing Javelin, danger close!"

Within seconds, the two dots were off the grid, and Ryuka heaved a sigh of relief. "Moving vehicles have been neutralized," Archer reported. "Be advised, we have not, I repeat, we have not spotted Makarov, and no one has left the house. Those trucks might have been decoys, over."

"Reddie, keep your eyes open," Ghost warned her. "If Makarov isn't here…"

"Copy that, Ghost," Ryuka said, loading her Desert Eagle. "You boys just keep moving. I'll do what I can here, don't worry."

Ghost acknowledged her words and continued on the mission. "We're advancing on the house now, breach and clear the safehouse, go, go!"

Ryuka took the Desert Eagle and holstered in back onto her thigh. Alone, she ventured into the compound, and looked around warily. The children were all doing their homework, she had seen them but a few minutes ago, having just come back from school and their lunch. She was about to report that there was nothing there out of the ordinary, while Price and Ghost convened about the situations on both their ends, when she heard the Matron speaking to someone else in her office.

"Yes… she's here," the Matron said. "No, sir, she came with only a gun. Nothing out of the ordinary…" Who was that woman reporting to? Perhaps it was the owner of the organization. "What, dangerous? That little angel? She's only just graduated with her Masters, how dangerous can she be? Yes… yes… I'll keep an eye on her."

"Red Dragon here. The Matron seems to be in contact with someone," Ryuka whispered hurriedly. "Someone knows that I'm here…"

She heard Price's voice next. "Stay down, Reddie," he told her. "Don't make it too obvious. Get off the comms, this is an order, sweetheart." She had no choice then, since Price made it an order. He had his reasons, for if she listened in any more, her actions could give her away immediately.

"Very well, Red Dragon out," Ryuka sighed. Before long, she felt someone tugging on her skirt; a little girl, no older than she had been when her parents left for the Bosnian-Kosovo war. "Hello there, young one. How can I help you?" she asked in Russian, the second most predominant language in Tajikistan, as well as many other former Soviet nations.

"Big sister, can you please help me?" the child asked her. "Sasha was mean and took away my books…"

Ryuka smiled, and took the child's hand. "Alright," she said, granting the little one's request. Inside, deep down inside, she hoped that everything would be alright, despite something that had been gnawing at her...

The night brought no answers to her at all. Nothing, apart from silence on Ghost's end, no reply from Roach, Archer or Toad… Something had happened, something terrible. She knew it from that sinking feeling that she had in her heart. "This is Red Dragon on all Task Force 141 frequencies…" she said on her first attempt. There was no answer from their landbase… "This is Red Dragon calling Bravo Five Alpha… Ghost, come in!" Still no response. "Bravo Six Alpha… Bravo Six Charlie… anyone!"

Alone in the night, when the children had all slept, she had began to prowl the compounds of the orphanage, with nothing at all. Her katana was now by her side, and it gave her a sense of security. It had never left her side ever since she had the clearance to wear it with her constantly, and she would not want to make a first exception… As she waited for a response from the 141, she continued to stalk the orphanage, which seemed more and more like an ordinary orphanage…

"Reddie!" she heard Price's voice. "Reddie, get out of there right now! We've been betrayed…" The quality of the comms started to deteriorate, and she was not able to catch what Price had said after that. "Soap… heavily injured… Ghost… Roach… dead… Nothing in Tajik… Run!"

There was too much interference; she could not hear a thing… But if they were betrayed... There was already nothing else that she could do, but to find her way to Price and MacTavish as quickly as she could… How she was going to do that was another question, but she knew that she had to trace their location, and get to them as soon as possible.

Unsheathing her katana, Ryuka walked back towards the orphanage. The Matron's office was still-lit, and she might as well tell the woman who she really was. It was a matter of life and death, and she hoped that the Matron would understand… "Mrs. White, are you in there?" she asked, knocking on the door to the Matron's office.

"Come in, dearie," the Matron answered. There was a stark change in the quality of her voice, Ryuka noted. She was afraid, someone else was in that office. Closing her eyes, she remembered the training that she had received in her childhood. She could sense it, another person, another Ki. This one was strong, consistent, the Ki of a warrior. "Don't be shy…"

Ryuka took a deep breath and entered the office. Sitting in the Matron's chair was a man in a dark suit. A man with black hair, a slightly unshaven face and heterochromic eyes… Eyes of green and blue. She had seen those eyes before. She had seen them a year ago in Pyongyang.

"Ah, Lieutenant Ryuka Algren," the man greeted kindly, even going so far as to kissing the ridges of her knuckles as a formal greeting. "You are indeed too kind to grace my humble orphanage with your presence, darling."

"Vladimir Makarov…"

HAN: And here it begins. Bring on the Makarov hotness! ^.^ And I admit, Ryuka is a bit of a Sue, so what if she is?