A/N: Hey there! Well, I got good news and bad news. Bad news is that I'm on a family trip to the Philippines for the entire the month of July. That means that the mission chapters will take a longer time to be written and chapter updates will be delayed a bit. However the good news, is that I have the latest updated back up file for my stories in a flash drive and I have internet connection.

Now that's out of the way, enjoy the new chapter!

It has been four days since the ACU mission. The infiltration team managed to get back to base safely, and a medical team checked up on all three men. John's injury wasn't severe; all he got were a fractured seventh and eighth rib and a…pretty bad bruise. Everyone else that didn't go with them asked them so many questions on how they did.

Anyway, today was Sunday; there was no training and everyone has a free day.

In the barracks, John was sitting on top of his bunk and was opening a wrapped box. It was a care-package from his family back home. He was excited to see what his parents, his brothers, and his sister put in the box. The only thing that was stopping him from tearing the box apart was the bandages wrapped around his torso. He mustn't over-exert himself, or risk straining his recently healed ribs and the bruise on his chest. John then opened the box and gave a wide smile on what he saw. There were small boxes filled with Louis's homemade coffee, a tin can filled with Katrina's hot cocoa, a pack of cigarettes from James's homemade special stash, photographs from his parents and his siblings, and—best of all—wrapped in a plastic wrap was John's electronic book tablet, accompanied with its charging cable.

I can't believe that I left this behind…John scolded himself.

Installed in the tablet was a collection of favorite Ebooks that John bought. There were many genres, from Mystery to Adventure to Horror. John turned it on and saw that his collection was still there, plus a few new additions. He put it on his pillow and started to take out the other contents. The homemade presents were just as special.

John was starting to put the presents in his locker as he heard someone walking towards him. He turned around and saw that it was Captain MacTavish.

The Captain gave a small smile. "Got a care-package, eh?"

John returned the smile and resumed putting the things in his locker. "Yeah, my siblings gave me a lot of homemade presents; cocoa, coffee, even a pack of cigarettes." He then closed the locker and put the padlock back on. "Is there something you want to say, sir?" John asked.

"As a matter a fact, yes," MacTavish replied, "We have a pair of new recruits coming in about ten minutes. I want you to introduce them to the facility and try to make friends with them. You up for it?"

"Sure thing, sir."

Together, the two men left the barracks and walked towards the Northern gate.

While they were waiting for the bus to arrive, MacTavish faced John and asked, "Is your brother Louis…the best choice to test the Warp Drive?"

John scratched the back of his head, trying to come up an explanation. "Well…I can see your point, sir," John admitted, "Most of the scientists and the Air Force personnel expected a…a pilot to volunteer. However…uh…well…they chickened out. No one expected a Marine—especially a grunt—to volunteer. Louis…well, let's just say that always likes a challenge and will always see it through."

"I know; I saw his courage during our Joint-Op," MacTavish replied, "I'm just a bit worried that a man with no flight experience test a highly expensive—probably one of a kind—prototype."

"Don't worry, sir. No matter what, Louis is always eager to learn something new. Let it be a new rifle or flight training."

"I hope you're right. It'll be horrifying if Louis gets killed in the process."

Soon, the bus drove down the road and glided to a stop in front the guard post. The door folded to the side and they saw a man stepping out, carrying a duffle bag. He was South Korean, dark brown eyes, black hair, and wore an ACU uniform. His rank insignia was different from the U.S. military. It was two horizontal black lines.

The soldier put his duffel bag down on the ground. He then bowed and said, "Greetings, Ildeungbyeong Matthew Hwang reporting for duty, sir."

As Ildeungbyeong Hwang got up from his bow, MacTavish cracked a small smile. "Please, Ildeungbyeong Hwang, we're not that formal here. Just a simple salute is fine."

"Oh, I'm sorry; old habits die hard," Matt replied, "Also, don't say Ildeungbyeong, you're having a hard time pronouncing it. I believe the equivalent is…Private First Class."

For some reason, John found this man strangely…familiar. It feels like that John met him before.

"Matthew…did you go to an American school in Daegu?" John asked, "…and were you in the school band…as a xylophone player?"

Hwang was taken aback. How does he know that? Hwang thought. "Yes…how do you know this?"

John was an eyebrow and grinned in triumph. "Don't you recognize me? It's me: John Ramirez! You know…first chair Alto Saxophone player?"

Hwang gave a wide smile as he remembered John. "John? It's really you!" Hwang shook John's hand and added, "How are you? I heard all about your brother Louis volunteering for the Warp Drive test!"

"I've been doing well, Matt," John replied, "Its damn good to see you again."

"So, I see you two already met," an old, low voice said behind them. They all recognized the voice. They turned around and saluted. Standing right in front of them was General Shepherd. The General returned the salute and ordered, "At ease. So, you two met before?"

"Yes, sir," John replied, "Matt and I were in Daegu American School for a year. We had the same classes, at the same periods."

"We had a….friendly rivalry and competition between us, sir," Matt added, "In the rivalry; we tried to be the first one to finish work with the best grade than the other."

"Back in school, our classmates usually call Matthew 'Gear', because of his ability to work efficiently with computers and other electronics, sir."

"Which is my nickname while I'm here, sir," Matthew—or Gear—concluded.

"Pardon me for asking, General," MacTavish interrupted, "But is there a reason you're waiting with us, sir?"

"I'm here to pick up the other recruit," General Shepherd replied.

After hearing that, the three men got a little confused. Why would the General be after this one recruit?

Then they heard someone walking down the steps of the bus. Gear, MacTavish, and John turned around to see the other recruit. However, it is not who they expected. The person wore a black cloak instead of an ACU uniform. It wasn't the cloak that surprised them, it was the person herself. Standing before them was a Caucasian woman around 24 years of age, blond hair tied into a ponytail, and sharp blue eyes. The woman put her bag down and saluted General Shepherd.

"Ah, welcome to Task Force 141, Claire," Shepherd announced, "Follow me to your accommodations."

Claire didn't say anything and just followed Shepherd to her quarters. As the pair walked past John, MacTavish, and Gear, the three men just stared at Claire, surprised and worried.

"Is it just me, or did General Shepherd do something…risky?" Gear asked out loud.

"Yup."

"You got that right, mate."

Later…

As soon as Claire was introduced to the Task Force, she was the topic on all of the men's conversations. Why is she here? Is it safe for her to be here? Will she carry on the mission? Is she single?

Claire avoided staying among the men of the Task Force. As John was watching a group of soldiers talking about her pass by, he doesn't blame her. God knows how long since any of these men ever saw a woman…John thought. However, John needs to practice what he preaches. He was mesmerized by her beauty.

She has beautiful eyes…fierce and wild…John thought. He then mentally kicked himself. Dammit John! Don't be a dog!

Then, he heard some yelling from the Intelligence Department. John and the rest of the Task Force looked at the building, trying to find the cause of the commotion. He saw Gear running out of the building, panting and panicking.

"There's been a massacre at the Moscow National Airport!" Gear screamed, "And Russia found an American accomplice!"

After hearing that, it was utter chaos. The Task Force men outside sprinted inside the Intelligence Department building, wanting to know what happened. Inside the main room, the monitor was showing a live broadcast from CNN.

"This is a breaking news alert," the news castor announced, "Earlier today, five heavily armed terrorists entered the Moscow Zakhaev National airport and killed hundreds of civilians. Although the airport security staff tried their best, they were no match to the weapons carried by the terrorists. According to Russian law enforcements, they found one of the terrorists dead in the cargo area. The results from forensics identified the man as Joseph Allen, a Private First Class in the United States' Army Rangers. Outraged, Russian officials demanded an explanation from the U.S. According to CIA director, Mr. Sullivan quoted, 'Allen was undercover to infiltrate Vladimir Makarov's defenses…' and that 'the operation was a blunder'…

As the news went on, the news station showed graphic pictures taken at the scene. Hundreds of mangled, civilian bodies littered the floor of the airport. No one was spared, not from the young to the elderly. John felt a tear rolled down his cheeks when he saw a picture of a mother huddling her son, their bodies riddled with bullets.

MacTavish's face was filled with rage and shock. He stared at the monitor with a sharp frown. General Shepherd was in the same state.

"The Russians isn't going to let this massacre go unanswered," Ghost said, "It's going to be bloody."

MacTavish gave out a small sigh. "Too right, mate. Now, in the eyes of the world, they're the victims," MacTavish agreed, "No one is going to say a word when the Russians club every American they can reach."

"Makarov was one step ahead of us," Shepherd said, "Now he's left thousands of bodies at the feet of an American."

"We're the only one's who know it was Makarov's op. Our credibility died with Allen. We need proof," MacTavish said.

"Follow the shell. Gear!"

"On it, sir," Gear replied. He was typing fast on a keyboard. He did a trace analysis on the shells that were collected at the airport and he tried to find a match in the database. He then got a 99.9% match from a shell collected from a guns dealer in South America. "Got it; bringing it onscreen now."

The monitor then showed two mug shots. On one picture, it showed a Caucasian man in his early thirties, wore a hunter's jacket and a red cap. On the other picture, it showed another man, but he was Brazilian and he wore a simple t-shirt and jeans. It looked like that he was in his late twenties.

"Alerjando Rojas," General Shepherd announced.

"Never heard of him, sir," MacTavish admitted.

"You know him as Alex the Red. He supplied the assault," Shepherd pointed to the man with the baseball cap. "His base of operations is at Rio de Janeiro."

"One bullet to unleash the fury of a whole nation," MacTavish murmured, "Which means…"

"He's our ticket to Makarov. Is your men ready for the assignment, Captain?"

"The 141 is ready for anything, General."

Meanwhile behind MacTavish and General Shepherd, a man named Joker saw John standing behind Claire. He thought it would be funny if he pushed John into Claire. When he thought not no one was looking at him, Joker quietly walked behind John and "gently" shoved him forward.

John stumbled forward a bit and braced himself by putting his hand on anything in front of him. He looked behind and glared at Joker. "Joker, what was that for?" John growled. He saw Joker holding back laughs, biting his lower lip tightly. Wondering what Joker found funny, John looked forward and saw Claire glaring at him, angrily. Her face flushed red. John's face turned pale, and he slowly looked down to where his hand was.

His hand was on Claire's butt…

He immediately jerked his hand back and stepped a few steps back. John's face reddened from the embarrassment and he started to sweat. "W-wait!" John stammered, trying to come up with an explanation. "Joker pushed me into you! I didn't do it on purpose…it was an accident!"

"You better hope it was," Claire threatened.

John looked back at front and saw that everyone—including Shepherd and MacTavish—were all staring at him.

"Everyone is dismissed to prepare," General Shepherd ordered. As John started to turn around, Shepherd added, "Except you…John. The Captain and I need a word with you."

John's face even got paler and he felt miserable. I really hope I'm not going to get court martial for this…

As everyone else started to leave, John's hands fumbled around each other nervously. He tried to come up with an explanation before the General and the Captain reach him. When Joker was starting to leave, John couldn't hold back his temper. As Joker walked past John, John gave a hard, painful slap to the back of Joker's head. Joker didn't say anything and just left. As the Captain and the General reached him, John got on his knees and stammered, "I-I didn't do it on purpose, sirs! Joker…he pushed me into her!"

General Shepherd put his hand up, interrupting John. "Relax, we saw what happened," Shepherd reassured John. "The Captain and I wanted to talk to you about…Claire."

"Um…what about her, sir?" John asked as he got up.

"Claire is a Corporal in the Army Rangers, she was transferred into our unit while we were at the Tian Shan Mountains," MacTavish said.

"But sir…is that really wise to transfer a woman into a Task Force, completely made out of men?" John asked, "God knows how long since any of these men have seen a woman."

"That's why we asked you to stay, Corporal," Shepherd announced, "We think that you're responsible enough to handle this job I'm about to put you through. We want you to be her 'bodyguard'."

John's fear kicked in. "B-but sir…I don't think that she'll appreciate that. She threatened me for that…little incident a few minutes ago."

"She won't hurt you, least the Captain or I'm around. Besides, she knows about your position," General Shepherd replied.

John stayed quiet for a few brief moments. "I don't have a choice in all this, do I?"

"You sure don't."

John gave out a small sigh. "Well…is there anything else I should know about her, General?"

"Well…her mother disappeared when she was young, about 10 years old. She takes orders very seriously and always places the mission first. Oh…and John…"

"She's my daughter."

Things…just got a lot harder for John Ramirez.