Date: March 14, 2020

Location: Nighthaven HQ, somewhere in Singapore.

The midday sun shone bright over the large facility that Nighthaven housed on a small rock island a few miles away from the Singaporean coast. Its structure was all white with a near futuristic light architecture, platformed over the edge of the rocks and with a view out to the open waters. Most of the facility however was constructed inside of the large rock hill and down underground as well. Inside this portion was the Nighthaven R&D facility where currently a pair were inside. A man and a woman to be more exact. The woman was busy tinkering with a helmet and visor with the man chatting to her about subjects that she had very little interest in. in. While being able to tune out most of what he said, it was a losing battle. Finally the woman let out a frustrated sigh and stopped what she was doing to face the man.

"For the last time, Hero. No, I will not have Colton do a photo shoot for you." Anja "Osa" Jankovic blurted out, clear frustration in her tone before quickly going back to work. The blonde man, social media influencer Harvard Haugland from Norway, took a small step back from the lead R&D agent's outburst before he had a small pout on his face. Part of her refusal and the other for the nickname he had earned from a long time back within the private group he was not all thrilled with. He would rather go by his main callsign of "Ace". The Norwegian thought for a moment before speaking once again to try and change Anja's mind on his proposition.

"Aw, c'mon now, Anja. Tech is so in right now; on top of that, retro 80s is at an all time high for nostalgic interest. Plus, your little boy toy in that suit would fit perfectly!" Havard attempted to convince her, with no success at all apart from getting her flustered at the comment of her not so secret boyfriend. Anja puffed her cheeks and let out a huff before turning around to face Havard with an unamused glare.

"Let's be clear." She started sternly and jabbed her finger at his chest; "Do not call Colton that ever again! This also means you will not be getting that photo shoot."

"(Oh for the love of…) Just think of how good a publicity stunt it would be to have for all of our tech to be front and center on my socials. It could break the internet!" Harvard tried for one last time to change the Croatian woman's thoughts, earning only a stern shake of her head. She set her equipment aside and picked the helmet and visor and carried it in her hands. Anja walked away from the R&D lab and over to the large elevator platform, Harvard following behind. There was silence between them while it moved up, Harvard instinctively patted his hands on his lap while waiting, eventually breaking the silence. "So…what's the helmet do anyway?"
"It's a secret, Hero." Anja said as she looked down at it. Silence fell between them again, the sense of regret creeping up to her almost immediately, Anja took a glance up and let out a small sigh. "It's a prototype visor that can help Colton out on the field. Still early in development."

"Think the boss would let me give it a try?" Ace had a small grin on his face, making Anja give out a half hearted scoff at the thought. Amusing as it was, Harvard was the last person she would trust her early gear with. With clear look of disapproval on her face, Harvard had a small pout once again; "I'm sure Kali would–"

"Kali would very much not be with you on this." She quickly answered back, an amused look on her face as the elevator reached the top. A small walk over to the range was a set of quick bursts of fire. Inside of the range was a mall dressed in the usual Nighthaven color scheme of a navy blue uniform with light gray armor. Unlike other agents however, the armor was more bulky, the shoulder pads on larger in size from the others and most of his gear appeared to be more rugged as opposed to the more sleek designs. In the agent's hand was a custom pistol, one that was based off the m93R. Different however was the addition of a thicker and more block shaped barrel, making the pistol larger in size as well as the magazine being extended. After finishing off the targets he was shooting at, the man holstered his side arm by twirling the pistol by its trigger guard before sticking the futuristic pistol in his holster. Anja looked at the trick the man preformed and rolled her eyes. 'Always the showoff' she thought to herself as she made her and Havard's presence known to the man; who in turn greeted Anja with a toothy grin.

"Howdy, Angie. Harvard." He waved over to them, his southern accent was clear as day in his tone. He gave Anja a quick hug and in combination of calling her by 'Angie' made the Croatian's heart skip a beat. Harvard meanwhile chuckled seeing the couple interacting.

"Colton." Anja smiled, eagerly lifting the headset up to his view; "I have the newest version up and ready for you to try out."

"Well I'll be…" he smiled and held it in his hands for a moment to inspect it, there were many different small buttons and still exposed portions on the visor, however it still had the neat design that Anja was known for, and the small toy robot QRC logo pressed on its side. Colton put the helmet on and adjusted for the visor before pressing it on. After a moment the controls powered on and he smiled for a moment before dropping it for a completely neutral tone and motioned around in a robotic form. "Step aside, citizen. I must go. Somewhere there is a crime happening."

"Seriously?" Anja snorted at her boyfriend's imitation of his favorite film's main character. Harvard only rolled his eyes, the only thought that could come to his mind to describe the two of them: nerds. Anja composed herself after a moment, she pressed a few buttons on the firing range and motioned for Colton to get in one of the stands. "Well, let's give that new visor a try now."

Colton gave a small nod when he made his way to the stand. Unholstering his side arm and inserted a fresh magazine, the American raised his sights up at eye level and fired some bursts. Colton's visor gave him some small indicators of the best spots to shoot the targets, some notable glitches however with it as most aimed in not ideal spots. The former Ranger however was not taken back, used to some of the kinks in the early prototype of the Croatian's equipment. After all the targets were gone, Anja pressed a few buttons and soon a set of smoke screens entered the area and blocked the targets.

"What's up with this now, darlin'?" Colton turned to look at her, taking a moment to reload his side arm. Harvard let out a small snort, earning a side glare from a flustered Anja.

"Press the button on the right side of your visor." she motioned with her hand, imitating the button pressed in the rough area it was for him. The American did so and soon his vision was met with a yellowish filter over it, a transparent bar on the top filled up and after a few seconds, Colton was able to see the targets clear as day through the thick layer of smoke. A small smile grew on his face, taking the targets out once again like nothing was blocking them. Once they were gone, he powered the visor down and repeated the same twirl motion to holster his gun.

"Hot damn!" he cheered, handing it back over to Anja, who had a huge grin on her face. "Gotta say this right here is one of the best things ya ever made. Had a couple o' kinks, but I know you can fix 'em in no time."

"Of course she can. She is a nerd after all." Harvard shrugged his shoulders and glanced down on his phone. The comment earned him a small jab at his arm from the said nerd. Harvard let out a small ow and rubbed his arm. "Ugh…man you hit hard."

"Let that be a warning, Hero." Anja smirked. Colton let out a small chuckle, his eyes looking over to a new figure walking into the area, dressed in a light blue button up long sleeve that he had the sleeves rolled up with a pair of jeans on as well. Anja's smile dropped a bit seeing the man walking over to them. The man in question had a toothy grin on his face and clapped his hands while approaching.

"Well I got to say, that was some nice shots there soldier." the man told Colton, like him he also had a Southern accent as well. Anja let out a small scoff, getting his attention; "Hey now, is that the best way to greet your number one investor now?"

"Mr. Graves–"

"Philip, darlin." the man corrected; "Saying Mr. Graves makes me sound like some old timer."

Anja shut her eyes for a moment and used all her willpower to bite her tongue from saying something. After taking the break she opened them again and spoke. "Well then, Philip." she stated, putting some emphasis in the man's name. "Might I ask why you came here? Kali is not at base if you were not aware."

"Correctomundo, amiga, but I figured I should come down and see how Nighthaven is doing. Make sure my money is goin in well–which I reckon it has." Graves chuckled; "As for Jaimini–I'm sure we can set up a video call meeting with her here?"

"..."

"Fine, let's make this quick. I have a schedule to keep."

"That's what I love to hear now!" Philip laughed as he walked along with Anja, turning around to see Colton and Havard. "Hey, pleasure meeting ya soldier, make sure Kali gives you a raise with that aim! Make sure none of th"

"Uh, thanks…?" Colton gave an awkward chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. When the two were out of ear shot, the American let out a long groan. "Christ that guy…"

"I know, right?" Harvard chuckled; "Imagine working with a guy like that."

"..." Colton stayed silent and looked over at Havard for a moment with a deadpan expression. The Norwegian was none the wiser as he occupied himself in his phone, scrolling through the different social media apps he had open. The American rolled his eyes before shaking his head; "Yeah…I can only imagine."

"Graves, was it really necessary to head to my base when I am not there?" Jaimini pinched the bridge of her nose. She was sitting in a small office she had within Rainbow HQ with the curtains shut to hide the sun from entering the area. Graves took a seat, leaning back in a seat with a shit eating grin on his face. Anja was in the coroner, nearly out of shot in the web camera. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You bet that I had to." Graves chuckled. He leaned back and rested his feet on the table in front of him. "I have to say you did well here, Jaimini. Big facility, top of the line gear, great soldiers. Course we can't forget your little fuck up of yours back in Urzikstan."

Anja's jawline hardened at the comment to her friend, something that Jaimini was quick to note from her camera. Before the Croatian could do or say anything, the Indian woman spoke up; "Anja could you excuse Philip and I for a moment, please." Anja was close to opening her mouth in protest, but seeing jaimini's reaffirmation by her facial expression, she bit her tongue and proceeded to walk outside of the room. Just before leaving, she made sure to give the American a dirty glance while she made her way out the door. Graves took no offense to the look, rather laughed it off and motioned over at the door before speaking.

"I gotta hand it to you, Jai. That lapdog of yours, well...on top of being a smartass, she sure is loyal." Graves mused a loud, getting up from his chair for a near by water cooler in the room to pour himself some. He turned back over to see the very much unamused face Jaimini had over the comment. Unphased from it however, Graves just gave a mock hurt expression "Oooo, did I strike a nerve?"

"Yes, don't you call her that again." She gritted her teeth. Philip gave a small scoff and shrugged it off, taking a sip of his water and leaned back on the desk while looking at Jaimini. She mentally swore before returning back to the topic at hand; "Also, that Urzikstan incident was resolved. We terminated the Wolf–"

"Shadow Company terminated him." Graves quickly countered her, riasing a hand up and pointing a finger at her. He set the cup aside and paced for a moment, he was savoring every moment of her silence. "I guess that just proves once again that you gotta trust me and my ideas more often, Jai."

"I have things under control here, Graves! You do not need to come here and act like I need you to lecture me how to run my own company!"

"Oh, now that is some Grade A bullshit. right there!" he snapped. His voice boomed and took Jaimini back for a moment, knowing he was now in control, he continued to apply pressure on her. He wagged his finger at the camera to help reinforce his words; "All you know what to do, is how to act like you know everything. I'm the one here really makin' this money machine work!"

"Graves, Nighthaven is mine." Jaimini's eyebrows narrowed and her mouth formed a snarling expression. If looks could kill, Graves would be dead where he stood. The American remained silent for a moment, a smirk deep down in her grew. She was back in control of the situation. Now it was her turn to try and keep it. "That includes your precious Shadows."

"You wouldn't have a damn thing if it weren't for me, Jai." Graves said in a low tone, showing her intimidation and look had not found it mark. Taking a few steps closer to the camera, his stone cold look in tandem with his tone was able to make the Indian woman fall silent. Jaimini quickly sunk back in her chair, shifting her eyes away from the camera. Graves smirked, he was back in control as before. He continued, this time hitting her where it would hurt the most; "That's right. You can't say a fuckin' thing cause you know I'm right. Ol' mommy and daddy didn't wanna help their daughter follow her real dream. Imagine–Jaimini Kalimohan Shah, the CEO of some shitty and rundown pharmaceutical company. Jesus..."

Jaimini took a sharp inhale at the mention. It was a low blow, no doubt, but it was an effective on as she was left speechless. Graves continued on, knowing his words were cutting through here with ease. "Yeah, that's right. You were stuck until Uncle Phil thought to step in and he saw who you were. He saw the fire in your eyes–the determination to be the best damn soldier-hell, the best Private Military on the planet! I took a chance on you and I swear you did not disappoint. Of course sometimes you just gotta remember one thing, Jaimini-Nighthaven is as much mine weather you wanna believe it or not, Jai. So don't you ever forget that!"

Jaimini continued to stay silent, she felt like a child who had been reprimanded at and felt empty. As much as she would say otherwise, each word Graves said cut through her tough exterior with ease. Every line he had said was true. The Indian woman continued to look down, not able to find her voice and speak. Philip could only let out a small chuckle knowing he had her right where he needed her. "Now that I got your attention. I got a tip that I reckon you wanna know." he spoke bac in a calm tone to lure Jaimini back from her verbal beatdown. She was silent for a moment looking back up at the screen. "I know we're playin' cleanup duty in Verdansk so here's something you may like. At the port, AQ got themselves a shipment comin' in. I want my shadows to be sent in and find out what that is."

"How good is this intel?" Jaimini could barely get out to be picked up from her microphone. Her glance was still not making eye contact with Graves.

"Oh it's about as actionable as it was to blow that stadium down to the ground. Hey–if you ask me, we should have just leveled the place entirely."

"The move was already questionable, Graves." Jaimini quickly answered with a small shake of her head. It was all too much for her at the moment, something that was not helped at the sound of the door knocking. Swearing under her breath, she quickly turned to face Graves; "I have to go now, but I will give the green light."

The screen went offline shortly after, leaving the American alone in the room. Graves smirked and turned around, tossing the unfinished water away. 'Hook, lined and fuckin' sinkered once again!' he thought to himself. He let out a whistle tune as victory while he opened the door to walk out the meeting room. Anja was leaning against the window on her tablet, scrolling through different projects and blueprints. When she saw the man walk out, she let out a mental sight and put her tablet back in her carrying bag.

"Are you done then Mr–" she paused when seeing the man make a face. Rolling her eyes and a small groan, she corrected herself; "Philip."

"Yes ma'am." he nodded. "Think Ima stick around here for a while. Least while the boss lady is away on whatever business she has."

"I would not recommend that, sir." Anja spoke up, with some degree of genuine concern as well as dread of the thought of the investor being on the base for more than he was now. She quickly tried to make up some excuse; "This is not an ideal place for an investor to–"
"Oh, trust me little girl. I know my way around a base." Graves quickly answered back. He closed the distance between them; "I was a soldier for one of these type o' set ups once upon a time. Way before your father even considered you. So don't you worry about it, alright?"

Anja knew that it was a losing battle trying to convince Graves, she had learned that enough with Havard. She finally caved in and gave a simple nod to him. "Follow me then, I can show you a place where you can stay in the meantime.."

A/N: Yep, MW2022's release def showing some of the influence that it'll have on mainline OA haha. Consider this a small tease for the main chapter coming...whenever I can stop playing the new cod or not be busy working. Anyway hope y'all enjoyed, this is Ghost, going dark!