Hey guys,

Yeah I'm back with the first chapter of this story, since the first entry was just prologue, to give you some taste of what will await you in the future.

Thanks to Undead-Soldie01, PhantomxWolf and Arianna Annabel Walker for their reviews; I really appreciate your support. It really motivates me to keep on writing. ^_^

But now…Have fun reading!

ENSLAVED CITY

February 7th – 09:19:58 hours

Mexico City, Middle America

Lt. David 'Hesh' Walker

The silent beep from his stopwatch made Hesh wide-awake; he didn't expect it go off that soon. The moment had come to get ready. He still felt a little bit stiff from the flight, so he stretched his sore body. Riley, who had lain down beside him, followed his example, while bursting a yawn.

"I've been doing this job a lot longer than you, but I ain't looking as old as you." Merrick smirked, checking his rifle. It was a Remington R5 with a stock attached to the underside of the barrel. A silencer has been screwed on, to make it a silent but efficient weapon system. The last thing Merrick needed to do was too unsafe the rifle. Time to roll.

"Keegan do you copy?" Hesh radioed to Keegan, who had positioned himself, about 500 meters on the far end of the street. The only thing that stood between them was the target building. The 'Palacio National' was the building the US and Federation forces thought over the past few weeks. The federation had been severely crippled by LOKI, so there was a great opportunity to get the northern parts of Mexico back. The plan did work out so far and the Feds got pushed back into Mexico City. That turned out to be a big problem. The federation's soldiers were well trained and knew how to use the environment against the enemy. Hesh had heard stories about streets plastered with I.M.S systems, from Marines, who had entered the city first hand. Those brave men and women were fighting to give them the chance to take out the leader of the federation forces in Mexico City.

"Copy. Green Light?" Keegan responded almost instantly, though the signal appeared to be weak. Hesh peeked through the half burned shutters of the store they were located in. His sharp eyes saw how Keegan's scope blinked in the distance. Hesh felt a lot safer with Keegan on the rooftop above, giving them some over watch.

"Green Light."

Merrick, Hesh and Riley positioned themselves by the front door of the store, which was covered in wooden boards, since the glass was shattered to pieces. As the Feds came into Mexico all these years ago the people didn't want to leave their homes. They insisted to stay and not give up the city, even though the government of Mexico had listed the capital already as lost and occupied to the Federation.

Dust was everywhere around them, not to mention the horrible stench of the dead salesman's body. They left him to rod. The way the skeleton laid there indicated the man hadn't surrendered. It made Hesh sad and angry at the same time. The salesman must have been brave; he still kempt on fighting even though he was out numbered, out gunned. As everything seemed…

…Lost?

The words of the mysteries woman from a month ago still haunted his mind. Hesh found the evidence that something bad would happen in her voice. What did she mean by that? What did Merrick and Keegan keep a secret of him? He did ask them about those other 'Ghosts', but all he got was, that they weren't really Ghosts at all. Especially Merrick has avoided the topic ever since the incident.

Hesh paid his attention back to Merrick, who was about to kick the front door open. The younger Ghost moved his head up and down slowly, what Merrick returned in the same fashion. Just moments later the door was kicked down by Merrick, which led them outside. The street they crossed had craters plastered all over the place. Hesh had seen footage of the mortar fire of the feds on the news. Ever since the Feds came to Mexico it was a battlefield. The cities location made it strategically meaningful for both sites. Everything that reminded of a peaceful time was destroyed by the desire of both sites to win this war.

His boots pressed down on the cracked ground beneath him. Behind him he heard Riley's claws scratch over the asphalt with every step. Hesh sweaty hands gripped around his Vector CQB, as if he was afraid of dropping it. Dirty water from the puddle he stepped in splashed on his black and white painted face. The three reached the walkway on the side of the target building.

"Hold on…" Merrick commanded, kneeling down. He slung his rifle to his side, so he had both of his hands free. At the foot of the building, right at the corner, where they were, was their ticket inside. Surprisingly the small window was still intact, even though the glass was full of dust and dirt. Merrick brushed the lock on the frame free;

"Hesh, give me some cover."

Hesh did as he said and sharpened all his senses. It was silent only the distant gunfire of the Feds defending the city from the tanks that kind of served as a distraction for the Ghosts. The amount of firepower on the front line has been increased to force the feds out of their bunny holes.

Riley laid back his ears and growled dangerously as the bushes across the street. The fur under his west spiked up. He snarled his teeth ready for the kill.

"Keegan, 12 o'clock." Hesh radioed to the sniper.

"Copy." Again Hesh saw Keegan's scope sparkle. Two flashes went past Hesh's field of view, right behind the line of bushes and debris. Riley eased down again, so did Hesh. He looked over his shoulder to check on Merrick, who just finished breaking the lock open. With a slight push he opened it up. Leaving his weapon outside, Merrick slung through the gap.

Hesh peeked inside, to see that the room was pretty dark. The light from the sun only lightened it up a tiny bit. Merrick grabbed his rifle from below.

"Clear." He said as he lightened up a glow stick. Everything got wrapped into a layer of red light. Next he ditched it into the corner next to the window, Hesh was entering through.

"Wow, check pot." Hesh remarked, not really impressed. "The toilet." He held his nose, to not let the stench of nearly 10 year old excrements mixed with sewer water wander up to his olfactory receptors. Merrick shrugged his shoulders. He was oblivious to the window leading them into here.

"Very funny…" Merrick rolled his eyes. After further exclamation, they found that they door was blocked by something on the other side. Merrick tackled the door a few times. It was not affective.

Meanwhile Hesh had unrolled a plan of the building on the floor. It was a multiple storage building with a huge yard in the back. A courtyard was surrounded by the main building, which used to have a fountain in it's middle. Their current position was market with a small red cross.

"What do you think?" Hesh asked Merrick, who moved to his side. Merrick rubbed his chin, running down his fingers through his beard. It reminded Hesh of the way a wise wizard from a famous movie franchise always stroke beard. This is the first time Hesh saw Merrick without his mask on an op. He wondered if it had something to do with the incident, since Merrick had been acting quite strange from time to time since then.

"According to the plan the emergency staircase should be in the room to our right. " Merrick circled the room on the plan with his gloveless pointer finger. Merrick always whore gloves that haven't got a pointer finger. He says so that he has a feeling for the trigger. His finger slid up the drawn staircase on to the first floor, which was the one still intact. The other had been destroyed by recent airstrikes.

"We bust the right wall and with a little luck the staircase is still intact."

Merrick got up and marked the wall with the red pen. Hesh prepared the C4 for the breach. Riley sniffed around the place curiously. Right as Hesh wanted to plant the C4, Riley began to scratch against something.

"Hesh look at this." Merrick waved him over. The younger Ghosts also switched on the flashlight on his helmet. They threw a glance at each other. Riley must have found a secret passage in one of the cabers, but where was it? They started to sweep all across the wall and the floor.

"Looks like a false alarm." The elder one concluded. Just as Merrick switched off his flashlight a loud crack sounded. The last thing Hesh saw of him was the surprised face he made. Then he went downward. Hesh rushed to the hole Merrick had broken lose. The dog and his handler looked down the hole, that's when Hesh found Merrick.

"Merrick, are you alright!?" Hesh's voice drifted down what looked to be a long tunnel. Merrick, whose fall got cushioned by a layer of more 10-year-old shit mixed with stinky water, glanced up at Hesh. His expression was priceless. It was one of those 'Do I look alright' expressions. Hesh had to mentally slap himself not burst out in laughter. Riley came after Merrick and jumped down to him into the slurry, splashing a fare amount into Merrick's face.

Merrick got up and managed brush up some of the dirt. The last time he had stunk so badly was in SEAL training when he was trapped inside a cage for weeks. He didn't quite know what was worse. Meanwhile Riley made his way a little bit farther into the tunnel, escaping the light of the flashlight. Only the red blink-light on his west made him visible. Suddenly Riley's barks alerted them.

"Come on." Hesh jumped down beside Merrick. He passed by his superior, following his dog. Merrick shook his head and followed them." I think Riley has a spoor." Hesh wondered how the K9 could filter this scent from all the others in here. The further they got the deeper they bogged down. Both of the men held their weapons above their heads. The muddy stuff got thicker with every step. Riley on the other hand somehow managed to push forward, with a combination of jumping and kicking.

As the end of the tunnel seemed to approach, a staircase came into their view. This must be a way out. They took up in pace with the hope getting out of that hole. The staircase was built on an elevated platform, above their heads. Riley tried to jump out of the mud, with the help of a push from Hesh and Merrick. Next Merrick pulled himself out of there. He got up in a standing position. He grabbed Hesh's hand and strained the younger Ghost out in a single bound.

"You owe me something for that!" Merrick complained, showing of his in dirt-covered clothing. Just as he had put off most of it, Riley shook his fur and made the dirt sprinkle all over the place. "Let's move." Merrick growled at Riley, who sat down innocently.

They moved up the staircase, through a heavy metal door, inside a deserted room. There was not much inside there, except for debris and shattered glass. In the middle was a adorned heath surrounded by sleeping bags and supplies such as food and water. In the right hand corner beside the doorframe Hesh and Merrick stood in was an ammo crate. This must the camp of the feds.

"Keegan, we're inside the building. What's your status?" Merrick radioed, watching Hesh crack open the ammo crate. Merrick anticipated Keegan's voice to pop in his ear, but it only got filled of with static. He waited for another moment. Hesh on the other hand was more interested in the kind of weapons the Feds could possibly use against them. All he found was some empty magazines and boxes with ammo. Under those he noticed what looked to be a box for a Stinger launcher, though that was no news for them, since every drone they tried send in, got immediately shot down. So they didn't really have a chance of capturing any photographs to get a sense of the situation on their target. It was a jump in the cold water.

"Copy that…on my way." Finally Keegan responded, sending a sensation of relief down the spines of his teammates. The plan was to meet up with Keegan on the inside. He would take a different route from his position.

"Found something?" Merrick paid his attention back to Hesh. The younger Ghost made his point clear by shaking his head. They moved out of the room, through a gate, which led them into an alleyway. To their right were a dozens of pillars, which served as the wall. Archways ranged between the pillars, opening the way to the courtyard. Inside the courtyard, or what was left of it, was a patrol of feds minding their business. Hesh counted six guys, standing around what appeared to be a radio.

He and Merrick stooped behind the hip-high wall on which the stone pillars stood. If they would get compromised now, it would be over for them. With caution they placed every single one of their steps, one after the other. Hesh saw Riley crawl beside him. The canine held his head low. His ears searched for any signal of danger ahead, as did his nose. They reached a part, which was destroyed, the pile of rubble created by the fallen pillars and bricks, was just high enough to reach the second floor. That was exactly, where they needed to go. The only problem was that they needed to get passed the feds, to be able to get up there.

"Keegan, do you have sight on the six guys in the yard?" Hesh wanted to know.

"Negative." Hesh turned to Merrick, who apparently heard everything through the comm. The both tried to make up a plan to distract the feds, when Hesh's glance fell on Riley. The dog looked back at his handler curious.

"I think I got an idea." Hesh stated, putting off his dogs west, only leaving Riley's collar on, which had a build-in radio. Hesh has thought Riley a special command for distraction purposes. Merrick blinked, not really understanding what Hesh had in mind.

"Riley, poor dog." The younger Ghost commanded his dog. Not a second later Riley took up the task. The dog moved inside the yard, under the watch of Merrick and Hesh. Riley dragged his leg across the sandy ground, whimpering in pain to catch the attention of the federation soldiers.

It didn't take long for something to happen. Sweat build up on Hesh's forehead, since he had never used the command before and wasn't sure what would happen. It the best case they would swallow the trap and be distracted by Riley. They worst case Hesh's mind could make up was that they may shoot Riley.

The soldiers gathered around the 'injured' dog, not really knowing what to do. A few words in Spanish felt, then one of the soldiers patted Riley's head, ruffling up the dogs dusty fur. Some of them seemed to have noticed that Riley stinks like hell and held their noses as defence. Riley played his part well. All the attention was now on him.

They feds did not realize that Merrick and Hesh where now in a position to take them all out. Both Ghosts laid down on their bellies, peaking their rifles through a hole in the wall. Hesh laid his sight on the first one's head.

The first bullet left his honey badger. With the fall of the first man, Riley pierced his razor sharp teeth into the next ones neck. The dog was still chewing on the dead man's throat when Hesh and Merrick had already taken out the rest of the group.

"Let go, Riley." The dog immediately obeyed. He sprinted after the two Ghosts, which had in the mean time climbed halfway up the pile of debris.

"We don't have much time, before they will find the bodies." Merrick announced, togging his rifle to his side. He laid his finger on his earpiece. Meanwhile Hesh checked the area around the corner, since they didn't know how many feds were in the building. It was all clear. With them being in the second floor now, they had to just wait for Keegan. While they waited Hesh dressed Riley again and checked on his partner.

"You have trained him well." Merrick stated.

"It wasn't me alone." Hesh's glance drifted sideways, almost ashamed. They shared a moment in silence, remembering. Riley notched Hesh with his nose, what earned him a pet on the head. Ruffling the fur of his dog, sadness came across his features. The animal was loyal to him in any way; Riley would even take a bullet for his owner without hesitation. Hesh often wondered,

why he couldn't bring the ultimate sacrifice that day. Maybe than Logan would be here with Riley today.

The noise of something or somebody kicking away a small flint across the floor could be heard around the corner. The fragment of stone jumped over the dusty marble tiles. What followed were steps by a probably heavy person. The Ghosts were aware of the fact that it might be another patrol. The shadow of the person's shadow appeared on the opposite wall of the corner, slowly making it's way closer.

The two soldiers grabbed their side arms partnered with their combat knifes. Sharp blades reflected the sunlight that hit them. All senses were activated; Hesh could feel how his grip around his knife got sweaty. He exchanged a brief blink to the right. Merrick held his arms crossed; in one hand his blade in the other the pistol with a silencer. Both eyed the shadow casted on the wall.

Out of nowhere another shadow appeared behind the other one. Hesh could see how a knife was drawn into the throat of the first silhouette. Next the limp body dropped to the ground and the other one moved towards them. Hesh muscles tensed up, while his heart pumped more blood into his limbs. The fur across Riley's back spiked up. Merrick slowly drew the hammer of the pistol backwards.

That was that…

Now guys, how do think the situation will play out?

Leave your suggestions in your reviews! =)