"NORAD was able to say conclusively: the missile launched in the Yucatan did not hit the USA."

"Well, where did it go?"

"That's exactly what I'm sending you boys to find out. The President has authorized, "Operation Clockwork", an assault on a Fed facility high in the Andes that could give us the answer. You will infiltrate the facility and gather any information you can on their missile program."

"What about your old friend, Rorke? He won't stop coming for us."

"Rorke will get his, but as of now, "Clockwork" is the priority."

OOOOO

The beauty of being on the Ghosts was one day you could be sweating your ass of running through the jungle and jumping off of waterfalls and the next you could be freezing your ass of in the Andes Mountains which is where the team was now. One of the problems though was Alex was in a men's uniform that was a bit too big for her. It wasn't huge but she had to alter the sleeves and pant legs a bit. She was just worried someone would notice.

After they took the guards out, Alex cleared the bodies with Hesh and Logan when Kick came over the radio. "Patrol inbound." He reported. "Showtime." Keegan said. "These uniforms better work." Hesh added. The patrol truck drove up and Merrick began speaking to the Feds in fluent Spanish while Hesh told Logan he had the driver to take out. Logan jammed his knife into the Fed's throat and Merrick took out the other in the passenger seat. Keegan and Alex then pulled the bodies out of sight before loading their bags and then themselves into the truck.

Keegan got behind the wheel and Alex hopped into the truck with the bags since Logan and Hesh took up the backseat. "Hey Keegan," Alex said. "If you're driving again, try not to almost kill us like you did back at the stadium."

"No problem Princess." He replied in his deep voice. Alex sat back and knew that behind his mask there was a small smile. When she first got brought onto the Ghosts, Keegan was the first friend she made. She and Merrick got off to a rough start at first, but Keegan was always there. Both of them just got along better with each other than the other Ghosts and neither were complaining. They had a good friendship.

"Once inside keep your spacing and minimize shots after the black out. Hesh, be ready to hook into their system when we hook into their security." Merrick's voice sounded. Alex looked at him and the Walker boys as he spoke. After they all confirmed that they knew what to do and when, Merrick contacted Elias. "Scarecrow we're at the clubhouse. We've secured a vehicle and are moving to Blackbird."

"Copy Actual." Elias responded. "Blackbird is quiet. You are go for insertion and data retrieval."

When they got to security, Alex's heart began to beat faster. No matter how many missions she's gone on, one's like these only required one mistake for the whole thing to go South. She hopped out of the trunk with her duffle bag and the others grabbed theirs as well. The walked casually over to the security and when Kick gave them the fifteen second mark, Alex began counting down in her head. Fifteen fourteen thirteen twelve eleven. Alex got to the metal detectors and x-ray scanner. Ten nine eight seven six. She pulled her bag over her head. Five four three two one. The power was cut off and left everyone in complete and utter darkness. The team took out all the Feds at security and quickly pushed forward to where Hesh was able to patch into the system an import the bug. "I'm patched in." he reported. "Once the power's back on we'll have their eyes and ears. Running static test pattern now and confirm signal."

"Check." Kick confirmed. Now that they has the enemy's eyes and ear, the mission would go a lot smoother.

The next part of the mission was to get through a heavy metal door before the power came back on in thirty seconds. Hesh marked for Logan to drill and Merrick set the charges while Alex stood to the side with Keegan. Once the hydraulic seals were down, they blew the door which alerted every hostile on the base due to the very loud noise that most would go and investigate.

The team had to fight their way through and being in a fire fight always made Alex go on an adrenaline high. Everything about a firefight did. The running for cover, reloading, taking out enemies, throwing grenades and flash bangs…all of it made Alex feel like a soldier. And a great soldier when she and her team walked away from a successful mission.

When they got through all the Feds, they reached a door they could use to get to where they needed to go. Alex went to open it, but it was jammed. She tried kicking it in, but it wouldn't budge. "Step aside Princess." Keegan said. Alex moved out of the way and on his second attempt, Keegan got through. Alex just rolled her eyes and allowed Keegan to take point. She followed behind and listened as Kick informed them that they were off the radar and free of enemy activity as Keegan opened the door to the outside, a cold gust of snow and wind blowing into their faces. It felt nice for Alex and it calmed her down from her adrenaline rush.

The team followed Keegan and ran into one guard which Keegan took care of by simply slamming him into the railing and then throwing him into a window before the Fed fell down the mountain. Alex looked down and watched him fall. "How far do you think it is down?" Hesh asked her.

"Not far enough." She answered before the team resumed on their route.

They got into the building they needed and Keegan went ahead and began speaking to some Feds in Spanish. Alex felt like she was the only one who wasn't fluent in Spanish. She knew a few terms and a few sentences, but Keegan and Merrick could hold full length conversations. Alex watched Keegan talk to the guards for about five seconds before he kicked the crap out of them before putting a bullet in them. "Pick it up!" Keegan ordered. Alex noticed the staircase next to her and the walkway above and knew she could get a vantage point from above. She ran up the stairs and took out the Feds below from above which some of them picked up on and ran up the other stairs. She took a stance and fired at them as they walked up the stairs. She reloaded twice before the Feds were cleared in the area. She regrouped below with the others and then all of them got to the area that they needed to be where Hesh could do the download. Alex entered first and aimed her gun at ceiling before firing a few rounds off to get the scientists who were there out so they didn't get caught in the cross fire.

Up at the command platform everyone set their bags down and Hesh told them it would take about two minutes to complete the download. Alex set up almost all of the shockwave claymores and then set up the turret by the stairs. By then the Feds were making their entrance. Last minute, Alex threw out some mines before setting up by the one window with Merrick and firing at the incoming Feds.

When she was running low on ammo, Alex moved back near Hesh and grabbed a new gun. She put in a new clip and fired at the incoming Feds. "How much longer there Hesh?" she asked. "I'm almost done." He told her.

The Feds were coming in an endless stream and Alex's ammo was running too low again. She was in the middle of reloading when two Feds came up the stairs. She looked for a different gun and saw Hesh's secondary pistol in his holster. Not even thinking about it, she grabbed it and switched the safety off before sending two bullets at the Feds, landing two headshots. She used the pistol until the download was complete which took two minutes but felt like two hours. Once Kick confirmed the download, the team threw smoke to cover their exits and got the hell out of there. Alex gave Hesh his pistol back and he tucked it away in his holster again.

When they got to the elevator, Merrick told them they were going out the same way they came in. "Keep your weapons low, but ready. Time to blend in." he said. "Keegan, Alex. Limp. Logan supported Keegan and Hesh supported Alex as they pretended to be injured. Hesh had a tight grip on Alex and held her close to his side. When the elevator doors opened, Merrick had his hands raised and started speaking Spanish…again. Seriously how did he find time to learn Spanish?

While Merrick talked to the Fed, Hesh and Logan led Keegan and Alex to the side before they got cleared and were given the okay to move ahead. When they were far enough Alex and Keegan edged out of their fake injured poses and picked up the pace to the truck via Kick's advice.

On their way to the trucks, a very loud, very large German Shepherd began barking at them as they passed. Don't look at it, don't look at it, don't look at it Alex thought to herself. When they finally got to the garage, a breath of relief escaped Alex's lips. They weren't in the clear yet, but they were getting closer. The five of them piled into the truck, Alex sitting in the trunk again and Keegan was driving. If he got to drive again she may lose it.

They followed the truck in front of them and were told exfill was two minutes out. They didn't get very far before they were stopped by more Feds. Really? Really? Getting out was always harder than getting in in these kinds of situations. A few moments passed when Alex heard the click of a gun and saw Hesh was readying his pistol. She sank lower in the truck and then heard the shot get fired. "Punch it Keegan!" Alex yelled. He slammed on the gas and Alex hit the back of the back seat with her head. She rubbed it and then heard Merrick tell Logan to get on the turret. She got to the bottom of the truck and covered her ears since the turret was so close to her. She couldn't see what was going on, but due to the amount of explosions, turret fire, and loud crashed, Alex had a pretty good image in her head.

"Neptune we're at the extraction point now, over!" Merrick yelled through the comms.

"Neptune One is on station. Surfacing now."

Just then the submarine came up and broke the ice, Keegan slamming in the gas again to get us over it before coming to an erupt stop. Alex hit the back of the seat again and stood up. She got out of the truck and instantly felt sick from the car ride. "New rule." She said as they walked over to the ladder that led down in the sub. "Keegan doesn't drive under any circumstance."

OOOOO

After briefing with Elias, Alex went back to her room and took a very long hot shower before taking an even longer nap despite the fact that it was early in the morning. It was only noon when she woke up and she was cold. Freezing more like it so she headed down to the lounge area. She sat on the couch and wrapped a blanket around herself even though she was wearing long black leggings, a loose grey long sleeved shirt, and calf socks. She hated the cold more that the heat because she could never get warm enough. She flicked on the TV and started watching an old movie when Hesh came in. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt and Alex looked at him in surprise. "How are you now freezing to death?" she questioned.

"The cold doesn't bother me." he told her when he noticed she was wrapped up like a burrito in a blanket. He walked over to the small kitchen area and pulled two packets of hot chocolate out. "I'm going to take it you aren't a fan of the cold?" he asked as he poured the cocoa mix into two separate mugs. "I grew up in Sacramento where it was always warm." She told him. "I don't like the cold."

Hesh poured milk into the mugs and stirred it around before putting them in the microwave for a minute and a half. "I do miss San Monica. The warm weather was nice." He admitted. Alex smiled. "You know that was my first trip back to California for a long time." She told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I went a couple of years ago, but only for a few days."

"Maybe you'll get to go again sometime."

"I hope."

The microwave beeped and Hesh pulled the mugs out. He stirred it around a little and then carried them over to the couch where Alex was sitting. "Here." he said handing her a mug. "The perfect antidote for the cold."

Alex took the mug and held it in her hands. Hesh sat in the spot next to her and blew on his. "Hot chocolate?" she questioned. "Yeah. What?" Hesh questioned as he took a sip. "Nothing." Alex replied and took a sip, but burned her tongue. Hesh noticed and let out a small laugh.

"Shut up." Alex said through a smile.

"What are you watching?" Hesh asked.

"An old movie. Wanna watch it with me?"

"Sure."

Hesh and Alex spent the next hour sitting on the couch drinking hot chocolate and watching the movie. There wasn't a lot of talking, but it was comfortable. Normally Alex only hung around Merrick and Keegan and occasionally Kick or Neptune, so it was different being around Hesh. But in a good kind of way.

A/N: I wrote this chapter drinking hot chocolate. Is that relevant? It did give me the inspiration for the last part so yes, yes it is.