Chapter 21:
Two days later they were outside the hotel. With support from the Rangers, they had surrounded the building but Makarov's remaining forces were making their last stand so entry wasn't going to be easy. Ghost had managed to persuade Soap to let Roach accompany them so he wasn't too worried as they exited the van. As long as he kept Roach in his sights the rest would be fine.
"They're putting up a good fight in the lobby," Sandman explained as they joined him. "You'll do better rappelling up to a higher floor. Most of their numbers are concentrated down here."
"Small team, in and out. Makarov will be dead before they know it." Price nodded. "Alright, any spare birds around?" Half an hour later they were alongside the building and strapped in. "Ready?" Price asked. "Soap, we'll go in first and make an entrance, you two follow in after us."
Roach squeezed his arm as the two Captain's rappelled out of sight. "Stay with me."
"As if I'll let you out of my sight." Ghost took up his position opposite Roach. "Let's get this done." The other man nodded and they rappelled down to the glass pane which had been cut open. Inside it was quiet, only the sound of gunfire below them permeated the silence. They were in some kind of conference room. "Stairs should be left outside."
Soap smiled. "So you did memorise the floor plan."
"I'm not one to cut corners."
"Alright, we head up to the top. Makarov should be there. We shouldn't need to sweep every floor, just slip past any guards." Price opened the door slowly and glanced into the corridor. "We're clear, move out."
The top floor was dominated by a restaurant with a scenic view of the city below them. It was quiet up here too and their footsteps echoed as they walked across the empty space. "We might need to sweep the floors after all." Soap said quietly.
Suddenly bullets tore through the room as several men appeared from behind cover. Quickly diving down, a fierce firefight ensued. Ghost ducked as bullets came his way and glanced around to see Roach taking cover behind the bar several feet away. He saw the grenade in the Sergeant's hand and quickly followed suit. The two explosions rocked the room but afterwards, there was no answering fire.
"Do you think we got them all?" Roach asked.
Before anyone could respond a blinding light shone in from the glass windows. It was another helicopter but not theirs, this one's guns were spinning up.
"Move!" Price yelled as bullets shattered the glass and started tearing up the restaurant.
Ghost dove for cover behind a pillar as the bullets hit the floor where he'd been crouched moments before. Debris and smoke clouded the room and it was impossible to hear anything over the helo and its guns. A loud explosion seemed to make to world shake and the next second the floor really did shudder as the helo crashed into the building. As the dust settled the four of them regrouped to find the helo had been shot down and it had collided with the hotel.
"Bloody hell, how did it even get this close?" Price cursed as he glanced over the edge of the burning, smoking hole that had been some sort of water feature minutes beforehand.
"They're distracted on the ground. Doubt anyone expected Makarov to have backup." Soap brushed dust out of his hair. "If one bird can get in, one can leave too. We need to get to the roof."
"There's a fire exit over there." Roach pointed at a glowing green sign.
It did indeed lead to the roof but as Price opened the door they all retreated several steps as bullets ricocheted off the frame. "Flashbang!" Price warned, tossing them out the open door and pulling it shut. He kicked it open moments later after the muffled explosions and they ran onto the roof.
Several men were lying on the ground dazed and were easy targets. But the sound of helicopter blades starting up made Ghost turn to see the helo behind the exit, and Makarov was climbing on board.
"No, you don't!" Price yelled and he sprinted for the helo as it took off.
"Price!" Soap yelled but the man had made the jump. Soap got down on one knee and took out one of the pilots.
Ghost turned around as the door banged open again and more men ran onto the roof. "Roach we've got company!" He was already firing at the new arrivals and Ghost started too.
Soap joined him a moment later. "We've got to keep the rooftop clear!"
"Working on it." The sound of a failing motor caught his attention and out of the corner of his eyes, Ghost saw the helicopter's blades failing. "Get down!"
With a loud crash, the helicopter smashed into the roof. Ghost stumbled backwards, his shades falling over the side as he hit the floor. To his horror, he saw the glass splintering underneath them. He had fallen away from the impact but Roach was stood right on the edge. Their eyes met and for a brief second, time paused. Then the glass shattered and Roach fell.
"Gary!" Ghost flattened himself against the edge and looked down. Roach was hanging on to an exposed beam but his grip was slipping. "Grab my hand!" Roach did and the beam fell to the lobby several floors below. Now he was the only thing keeping Roach from falling too. Ghost could feel the glass underneath him starting to crack and knew they didn't have long before it broke.
"Ghost!"
Looking over his shoulder he saw Soap had just run onto the roof. He took one step towards him. "Stop or the glass will break!"
Soap looked down and his eyes widened when he saw the cracks spidering across the floor. "You've gotta move!"
"Not without Roach!" Ghost looked down at him again. "Come on, Roach. Give me your other hand. He reached down for him but Roach didn't respond. He was looking down at the lobby far below. "Snap out of it Gary!"
Suddenly he looked up and Ghost was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "It's okay."
"Shut up and give me your hand."
"If you don't let go, we'll both fall."
"I won't." Ghost could feel Roach's hand slipping from his grasp. He grabbed his forearm and tried to lift him but couldn't. There was another sharp crack as the glass broke around him. "Either you get up here or we both fall because I'm not letting you go! I made you a promise, remember?"
Something shifted in Roach's eyes. With a nod, he reached out with his other hand.
"Grab hold of me and don't let go, no matter what happens." Ghost tried again, his shoulders straining with the effort of pulling the man up. Inch by inch, he started dragging Roach towards him. "Ready?"
"Do it."
With one final pull, Roach was back on the roof and in his arms. Without pausing he rolled backwards just as the glass gave way. Their momentum kept them rolling until they were suddenly stopped. "I've got you." Soap said. They were back on solid concrete.
He could feel Roach shaking in his arms. "We made it." He said in a weary voice, but his grip on the younger man didn't lessen. "That was too close."
Soap crouched down in front of him. "Everything good?"
"Sunshine and rainbows."
He smiled but then looked around with a frown. "Where's Price?"
"He was fighting Makarov. They must have fallen when the glass gave way."
"Makarov's dead," Roach said. He sounded like he was in shock but he looked up. "I saw him. Looks like he hung himself by accident."
Soap glanced towards the edge but had the good sense to stay put. "I'll go and see from the atrium. You two stay here." Then he was gone.
"How are you?" Ghost asked softly.
"I'm alive." He was still holding on tightly and the tremors hadn't stopped. "Thank you, for not letting go."
"We both know I couldn't. I would've rather fallen with you than watch you die like that." Ghost's throat tightened as he imagined for a moment if Roach had slipped from his grasp and fallen. "I can't let you go."
Roach sat up suddenly and their eyes met. At that moment, Ghost realised how close he had come to losing him. "Gary..." He broke off, unable to find the words to explain how he felt. He didn't need to though. Roach smiled, moving to take off his balaclava and then they were kissing.
The thought of never feeling this again threatened to overwhelm him but Ghost managed to push the panic away. He reached up to brush Roach's hair back as he shifted to sit on his lap. For a moment, they both seemed to forget where they were. The relief of being alive, of still being able to hold Roach was almost too much to bear.
"Do you two think you can hold it in a bit longer?" They broke apart to see Soap had returned, supporting an injured Price. It was Price who had spoken and he looked half-amused, half exasperated. "We're in the middle of a bloody war here."
"Right you are." Roach grinned and stood, holding out a hand to pull Ghost up.
"What's the plan?"
"Makarov's men are still between us and the ground floor." Soap explained. "We don't have any weapons and as things stand, no one has been successful at pushing them back."
"So we're stuck up here?"
"For the time being, yes."
"We need weapons." Price said. "There's more than enough dead soldiers lying about below us. Once we can defend ourselves we can fight our way back down."
"I need you two to cover us. I've got enough on my plate keeping Price on his feet." Soap rolled his eyes when Price scoffed. "Clear a path forward and we'll cover the rear."
"Alright, let's get to it."
Ghost glanced at Roach who nodded and they took the lead back inside the hotel. It was quiet, but the sound of gunfire could be heard down below. It looked like most of the firefight was being contained to the lobby level. It didn't take long to find some guns, several mercenaries were lying dead on the restaurant floor from their earlier passage. As Ghost crouched down, he glanced at Roach and saw his hands were still shaking.
"Can you do this?"
Roach glared at him. "I can handle a gun."
"That's not what I meant. You almost died up there, is your head in the right place?" Ghost grabbed his arm and spoke quietly so they wouldn't be overheard. "I know how it feels to come that close to death. It fucks up your head and you can't think straight. If you're not thinking clearly, it's not a good idea to have you pushing the front."
"It's not like we have much choice." Roach picked up one of the guns but gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I can keep it together for a bit longer."
"Just say the word if you start slipping, please."
"I will."
"Ready lads?" Soap asked and Ghost stood up.
"Let's do this."
When they got to the lobby it was in chaos. The soldiers trying to fight Makarov's mercenaries were doing a good job so they never even saw the four of them coming from behind. By the time they did, it was too late. Within minutes it was over.
Ghost glanced at Roach once the firefight was over to see him leaning against the overturned table with a grimace. "Roach?" He asked, worried the man had been shot.
"I'm ok." He replied, looking up with a smile. "My head's ringing though. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
"We're all good mate." Soap said as he helped Price to his feet and the reinforcements swept through the lobby. "It's over."
"Finally." The gun slipped from Roach's hands.
Ghost crouched down next to him. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe to rest." Helping him up, Ghost put an arm around his waist, pulling one of Roach's arms over his shoulder and leading him outside. People were running about and shouting orders so he lead Roach to a quiet spot by one of the empty vans and sat him on the ledge of it. "Deep easy breaths, don't go passing out on me."
"I'm still here." Roach chuckled. "Somehow..." He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out Ghost's balaclava. "You forgot this."
"Forget it." Shoving it into his pocket, he grabbed his hand tightly. "I don't need it anymore."
"Good, I like seeing your face." Tears were streaking down Roach's dust-covered face and Ghost gently wiped them away. "Is it over?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Good. I'm ready for a nice long vacation."
