A few hours later…
Soap gazed silently out into the distance as Nikolai flew them to site Hotel Bravo. Soon he would be facing Shepherd, and he could make him pay for what he had done to his team. Everyone was dead, and it was because of that cold hearted murderer. Soap tightened his grip on the Intervention he was holding. The tense movement didn't go unnoticed by Price who was sitting across from him. Price gazed at his ex-subordinate noticing the hardened gaze in those blue eyes and the way his jaws seemed to be clenched tightly together. He knew what it was like to lose an entire team, and to lose a lieutenant who was more of a brother than a fellow soldier there to lend a hand. Price had noticed the undying loyalty that shone in Ghost's eyes whenever the lieutenant's attention was turned to Soap. It was hard to find good men like that. Price wanted to reach out and comfort Soap but he knew that's not what the Captain wanted or needed at the moment. As he watched Soap stare unblinkingly out across the large expanse of desert below them, he could tell that there was only one thing on the man's mind. Revenge.
Ghost groaned softly as he opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, and there was a distinct painful throbbing throughout his body that was timed with his heartbeat. After a few seconds of rapid blinking, his vision cleared and he instantly recognized the strange musty smell of the safehouse. Ghost let his eyes roam over the small room he was in. It was practically empty save for a small table nearby and the assortment of medical supplies and machines at his bedside. He winced when he spotted the needles and iv's stuck in his arms, but more so when he spotted the long six inch stitching along the right side of his chest. Ghost wanted to touch it, to check the tenderness but he gasped as he felt a sharp pain caused by moving his right arm. He turned his attention to the limb and realized it was wrapped in white gauze from his wrist to his elbow. Seems he had suffered quite an extent of damage. Ghost held his breath and attempted to sit up. He got a couple inches from the bed before falling back down. The motion caused more pain to issue from behind, on the exact opposite side of where the stitches were. The bullet must have gone straight through me… There was a tightening around his neck and Ghost reached for his dog tags to turn them back to the front. He was confused for a moment when his left hand grabbed another pair along with his. Ghost turned them to the front and gazed at them.
Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson
542-74-0976
AB Positive
Ghost closed his eyes as he clasped the tags tightly in his hand. After a moment, he released Roach's tags and allowed them to fall on his chest next to his own. Ghost wasn't entirely sure what was going on at the moment, but he knew he had to leave this place and go after Shepherd. Archer had to still be alive, otherwise Ghost wouldn't be alive right now. But where was he? Ghost shuffled as he heard footsteps approaching. He wasn't sure what to think when a medium height Russian man entered the room. His eyes were dark and he gave an evil looking sneer when he noticed that Ghost was conscious. Ghost felt a sudden pressure in his head and a raging heat fill his chest. He's first…
Ghost wasn't sure if it was his voice he heard in his head or Roba's, but regardless, he agreed. This man, whoever he was, would die by Ghost's hand. Ghost hated him before he could get a single word out.
"Well, well. Look who has finally waken up." The man said in his thickly accented voice as he approached Ghost's bedside.
"Who the hell are you?" Ghost grumbled in a raspy voice as he watched the man closely.
"Kirill," The man said as he flicked one of the iv's in Ghost's arm causing the Lieutenant to flinch in pain, "soon you will fear the sound of my name."
Ghost smirked as he tried to hold in his laughter. He didn't hold it in to keep Kirill from becoming angry but because a sudden burst of laughter would hurt like hell in his condition.
"You find something funny?" Kirill asked with a touch of venom in his voice.
Ghost merely raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly. In a flash Kirill was over him, one hand squeezing Ghost's throat while the other restrained Ghost's right arm. The humor in Ghost's eyes vanished and was replaced with- not fear as Kirill was expecting- but rage and hatred. Ghost held his breath to keep himself from gasping and, ignoring the pain, jerked his free arm up. The iv's ripped out of Ghost's flesh as he clenched his hand into a fist and sent a hard blow to Kirill's right eye. The Russian instantly released Ghost and stumbled backwards, clutching the right side of his face.
"Care to try again?" Ghost asked calmly.
Kirill lowered his hand to reveal an already blackening eye and a drop of blood running down his cheek. Ghost's knuckle had broken the skin above Kirill's eyebrow. Kirill released a raged yell and drew his knife, but before he could make a move, a taller Russian stepped into the room followed by three others with Archer in tow.
"Enough Kirill!" The taller man shouted out as he snatched the knife away.
"Look what he did to me Sergei!" Kirill protested.
"A strong blow." Sergei replied as he looked over the swelling blackened eye. He then turned his gaze to Ghost who evenly met his eyes. There was blood dripping from Ghost's arm where the needles were in, but everyone seemed to ignore it, everyone but Archer.
"Are you alright mate?" He asked Ghost softly.
Ghost turned his attention to his comrade and his eyes softened.
"I'm fine. Are you hurt?"
"Both of you shut up." Kirill said as he grabbed Archer's shoulder and roughly pulled him into a chair and held him there while another Russian tied his arms and legs. Ghost struggled to rise from his bed to come to Archer's aid, but he was too weak to do anything. Ghost felt a bloodlust rise in him as he watched Kirill pace around Archer, that snug evil sneer on his face.
Bide your time English….then kill them all….
"I am going to ask you some questions," Sergei said suddenly, "if you refuse to answer your friend will suffer."
"You lay a hand on him, and you'll suffer." Ghost replied calmly.
Sergei only smiled in response as he crossed his arms.
"Let's begin."
Two hours later…
Every member of the Task Force had been trained to remain completely silent in the process of an interrogation. Archer knew these guys were desperate for information to redeem themselves, so if he and Ghost remained silent, they remained alive. Unfortunately, Archer was the one receiving the beating. He gasped as another punch was landed on his left cheek. The questions had been simple, where are you from, where is the 141 base located, where is the rest of the team located, stuff like that. Regardless of the simplicity of the questions, Ghost and Archer remained silent. Ghost however, was desperately struggling to somehow help his comrade. His body was so weak and injured he couldn't lift himself but that didn't stop him from trying. Ghost was damned if he was going to lay there and watch Archer take a beating. Through much struggling and effort, Ghost had managed to roll to his side and prop himself up with his elbow. Shaking, he contemplated his next move.
"I will break your silence, even if it means I have to break a few of your bones first!" Kirill yelled before he landed another blow to the side of Archer's head causing his neck to jerk violently to the side. Blood was spattered all over Archer's smashed face and that recent blow caused him to release a pitiful cry of pain. Archer was breaking, he had managed to hold his silence but the pain was becoming too much for him to handle. Kirill realized this and smiled wickedly before giving Archer another hit, this time in the stomach. He chuckled as Archer gasped in agony and tried to double over. Hearing Archer cry out sent waves of fury through Ghost, and with some unknown burst of strength, he leaped from his bed and tackled Yakov, who was standing only a couple feet from Ghost's bedside. The two fell to the ground and Yakov gave a startled cry before Ghost landed two hard blows to the small man's face. Ghost felt someone grab his shoulders and roughly pull him backwards. He let out a pained groan as the back of his head connected to the floor, dazing him. Sergei had Ghost by the throat and was choking him in an instant. Ghost gasped and desperately groped at the other man's arm in an effort to lighten the grip, but it did no good. Ghost was too weak to throw Sergei off of him or fight back in any way. He could see black starting to cloud his vision and his head felt like it was about to explode. Through the roaring in his ears he managed to hear Archer cry out.
"Stop! Let him go!"
Sergei's grip only tightened, and Ghost managed one last strangled gasp before his world went black.
When Ghost opened his eyes his room was very dark. He realized after a moment of confusion that he was bound to a ceiling beam. His wrists were tied tightly above his head by a thick rope tied to a beam above him, forcing him to stand. Ghost arms were burning like wildfire and he realized that he must have been tied up for a while with all of his weight being held by his bound wrists. His thoughts were confirmed when he spotted dark drops of blood running down his arms after his eyes had time to adjust to the darkness. It was a challenge trying to hold his head up, and Ghost groaned as he felt waves of agony run through his entire body.
"Your awake…" a voice said softly from a short distance away.
Ghost painfully lifted his head and spotted someone seated in a chair across from him.
"Archer…"Ghost said in a weak whisper.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna get us out of here. I'm working my way out of these bonds. Just hang in there." Archer replied.
"No problem there…" Ghost replied glancing up at his bound wrists. He let out a sigh and let his head drop. He couldn't help feeling amazed that he was still alive, he was sure he was done for when Sergei had choked him.
"There's a phone in the next room. Only problem is that bastard Kirill is asleep in there. But once I get myself freed I'll sneak in and grab it. Maybe I can get in touch with Nikolai so we can get the hell out of here." Archer whispered.
Ghost coughed and groaned when he tasted blood in his mouth. Maybe he was dying. He felt so weak and helpless. Slowly, he let his eyelids shut and let out a shaky breath.
"Ghost?" Archer said softly.
There was no response. Archer hurried the process of freeing himself. They had tied him to a metal chair, and after much feeling around Archer had discovered a sharp edge on the side of the chair that he was now using to saw through the ropes around his wrists. It had taken him a lot of effort and time but with one last tug his wrists were freed. Archer quickly untied himself and hurried to Ghost's side. He felt his comrade's pulse and sighed in relief when he found it. Weak but steady. Archer wanted to untie Ghost and lie him down but he couldn't risk making the noise. With one last glance at the unconscious lieutenant, Archer turned and quietly made his way to the door. He pressed his ear to it and listened. No noise. With the upmost care, Archer turned the knob and slowly cracked the door open. He spotted Sergei and another Russian seated downstairs drinking what smelled to be some kind of coffee and intensely reading a Russian newspaper. Archer crept to Kirill's open bedroom door and nearly sighed in relief at the sight of the large Russian fast asleep, turned away from the cell phone lying on the table at his bedside. There could be no mistakes. This was it. If Archer failed to get this phone and call for help he and Ghost were as good as dead. This was his only chance to save them both and he couldn't mess it up. Walking as quietly as his body would allow, Archer approached Kirill's bedside and slowly reached for the phone. He held his breath as his alternated from the table to the sleeping form of his enemy a foot away. Archer froze in horror when Kirill suddenly shifted and turned to lay on his other side so that he was now facing the young Task Force member. Luckily, Kirill's eyes were still closed. With a quick jerk, Archer snatched the phone from the table and turned to leave. What he didn't realize, was that the phone was being charged, and by snatching it he had accidently unplugged it. The phone let out a loud beep as its power source suddenly disappeared and when Archer turned back around, startled, he was met with Kirill's dark eyes glaring back at him.
