"Captain Price?" The Officer asked him as he offered him a handshake.
"Yes, that´s me." Price answered shaking the offered hand.
"Good to see you. I´m Sergeant Miller." The man introduced himself.
"Your Chief told us you found the truck." Price asked the young, auburn haired Sergeant, as they started walking.
"Yes, we´re about to bring him up. They drove it into the river, I´m sure they thought it would freeze soon." The Sergeant explained, stopping a few meters away from the river.
"And how did you find it?" Price asked doubtful.
"We got a call from a group of teenagers who saw the truck floating on the water surface."
"A group of teenagers out here?" Price raised an eye brow looking around.
They were two kilometers out of town. Far and wide he only saw some fields, the river and the federal highway. Price couldn´t imagine what a bunch of teenagers was doing out here. It was a bleakly place.
"The teenagers meet here often to party. Out here no one would disturb them and they could be as loud as the want to be." The Officer answered his question, smiling weakly as Price shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze back to the crane, which was bringing the truck out of the water.
As the truck touched the shore Price stepped up to it and first checked it from the outside. The number plate revealed to him this was the right truck. He rounded the vehicle, looking in every ran down window, if some signs were left in it, but he had no luck. If they left something in it, it was washed away by the ingress of moisture.
He opened the front passengers door and stepped back to let the water come out of the truck. As the water stopped running out he tried to open the glove compartment, but it was locked. He pulled harder on it but couldn´t open it. He let out a sigh, erected his head and searched for Scarecrow, who had come with him. He found him a few meters away from him, talking to a Police Officer.
"Scarecrow? I need you to open the glove compartment, it´s locked." Price shouted to the soldier.
Scarecrow nodded, thanked the Officer and walked up to Price. Price stepped aside and let him do his work. A few minutes and a few swears from the soldier later Price heard a click and Scarecrow opened the compartment. Price looked into it, but it was empty. The only thing in there was an accurate folded piece of paper. Price reached for it and unfolded the note. On it was just the number 2601 and a hangman below it. Price couldn´t understand the meaning of this number but decided to take the note with him.
He once more checked the whole vehicle before he stepped back to the Sergeant, who welcomed him. He told him about the note and the Sergeant assured him he would give Price a call if they found something, after they dismantled the vehicle and checked the river. Price thanked him and was looking for Poet, who was also with him and Scarecrow.
He found him in front of the road block, arguing with a woman in a red cabriole. As Price stepped closer he could hear her say that she needed to drive through the block to go back home. Poet just wanted to tell her she couldn´t pass the street as Price put a hand on the soldiers shoulder and gestured him he would take care of it. After Poet had left the car and walked away Price leaned down to look in the eyes of the woman.
She was in her late twenties with short blond hairs and blue eyes. She was looking very angry at Price but he smiled at her, rubbing his neck.
"Where do you want to go?" He asked her in a friendly tone.
"I just want to drive home Officer." She answered still angry. Price recognized she was speaking with a Russian accent.
"You´re not from here?" He asked her still smiling.
"As you can hear no. I moved over to England only a few weeks ago."
"Really? Why?"
"That´s none of your business, Sir. Would you know please let me drive through?"
"As you see the road is closed. What were you doing in the town anyways?"
"I went shopping." Was her short answer.
Price sighted heavily and took a look on her backseats. He saw some shopping bags from a nearby supermarket. He turned his gaze back to the woman, which was now looking out of her windscreen.
"Did someone get murdered?" She asked not turning her gaze.
"No, just some investigations." Price answered following her gaze.
"About what?" She now asked very interested.
"None of your business ma'am. " Price told her and he could hear her sigh in disappointment.
He studied her a few seconds before he took in a deep breath.
"You can drive through if you want." He told her, getting her attention back.
"Well thanks Mr." She answered, turned her car on and without another word she drove fast past the block.
Price watched the car disappear, called Poet and Scarecrow and the three men left the scene too. They had to go back to base. Maybe the others had finally found something important.
"Hey Meat? The General had told you to check on some doctor in the hospital Soap was in." Roach asked as they sat together in the dining hall for breakfast.
"Aye." Meat answered, shoveling some scrambled eggs into his mouth.
"Do you know why?" Roach kept on asking.
Meat swallowed his meal, drank some water and started talking.
"He wanted to know if the doctor really worked in the hospital. As I called they told me they had a doctor called Kucera but he wasn´t at work the last few days. I was about to ask them for his home number as the nurse on the phone told me to wait a sec and as she came back to the phone she told me the dead body of the doctor was found. She also told me he must been dead for a few days, that´s what the doctor who checked the dead reported her."
Meat took another sip from his water and continued.
"As I told it to the General he mentioned that he got a call from this Kucera the day we recruited and he told him about Soaps mental state. He also said he´s sure now that it was Andrew who called him and that it was part of his plan to get Soap captured."
Meat ended his explanation and looked up to Roach. The Sergeant rubbed his chin in deep thoughts.
"If that´s true and it was Andrew who called the General then it could be that he captured Anna only to lure us away from base. So he had enough time to capture the Captain without any incidents."
Roach locked eyes with Meat and his teammate nodded in response.
"That´s all well and good but it doesn´t helps us to find the Captain." Toad joined the conversation.
"You´re right. That´s why we had to find out what the meaning of this papers is." Ghost throw in as he stood up and started to leave the hall.
Ghost walked through the corridors till he reached the conference room. He opened the door and recognized that the light was on. He was sure Roach turned it off as they left the room hours ago. He wondered if any of the other soldiers was in here as his attention got caught from a sleeping body on the table. He stepped closer and had to smile weakly under his mask. He took a seat next to the sleeping one and shook the person light on the shoulder.
He only earned a small moan for his action and the person kept on sleeping. He shook his head and shook the shoulder once more now with more power. It didn´t took long till the person woke up with a start and looked angry at Ghost. He could feel the person wanted to scream at him but as their eyes met and she recognized who was sitting in front of her she closed her mouth again and turned away embarrassed.
Ghost´s smile grew wider and he couldn´t hold back a giggle. Anna gasped loudly and tried to shoot Ghost a serious look. Ghost´s giggles turned down and he cleared his throat.
"Sorry for waking you up but what are you doing here?" He asked her, recognizing she slept on the papers.
"I just wanted to check if I could find out something." She shortly answered him and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Found something?" Ghost asked her very serious, leaning over the papers.
Anna looked at him confused. She didn´t think it would be that easy to talk to him. She thought he was one of those bad ass guys, who enjoyed to scare other people, but she had to admit that the man was very nice and handsome.
"Well, the only thing I figured out is that in every report the same place is mentioned." She answered him, looking at the papers too.
"Really? What place?" Ghost was amazed. Roach and he read over the papers for hours but didn´t recognized that fact.
"The place where your friend got promoted." She answered and showed him the lines the information was in.
Ghost read it and then got a clue.
"What if this is the place Andrew hold them captive?" Ghost spoke his thoughts loud, looking in Anna´s eyes.
She was about to response to him as the door to the room was opened and Price stepped in, followed by Mac and the rest of the Task Force. Ghost shot up from his chair, saluted quickly and sat down again. The others did the same and they all together sat around the table.
"John? Did you find something?" Mac asked and everyone turned his attention to Price.
The addressed stood up from his chair and gave the note to his old friend. "That´s the only thing but we haven´t figured out what this number means."
Price seated himself again, waiting for any response from the General.
"2601? I have no clue either. Have we something else?" The General asked looking around.
"Sir?" Ghost asked and stood up. He earned a nod from Mac and continued.
"Anna read over the papers and she found out that in every report the place Soap got promoted was mentioned. Could it be that he hold them captive there?" Ghost asked hopeful.
Mac thought about it for a moment and nodded.
"This could be. The place isn´t far away from here and it´s closed for five years now. It would be a good hideout but we can´t just go there without any concrete sign." Mac answered and Ghost sat back disappointed.
They all sat there in silence for a moment as Mac got a call from a member of his Task Force. He exchanged a few words with the person on the other side before he hung up again.
"I got a call from Angela. She told me they found out who´s this Natasha Andrew got help from. She sends me a picture." Mac announced and as he ended the picture was already send.
He opened the e-mail with the picture in it and the woman was shown on the screen. They all looked at the picture curious as Poet shot up from his chair fast, making it to crush on the floor. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.
"Captain Price? Isn´t that the woman we saw in the red cabriole?" Poet asked in disbelief.
Price turned his gaze away from Poet back to the picture and his eyes lightened up.
"You´re right that was she. Damn, why didn´t we stop her?" Price clenched his fist in anger.
"Cool down John. You didn´t know who she was but tell me do you remember where she drove to?" Mac tried to calm his friend down.
"She told us she wanted to drive back home. She left the city on the federal highway." Price answered still angry.
"On the federal highway you say?" Mac spoke more to himself then to Price and tipped something in his laptop, till he continued to speak.
"I think you were right about the place. If you follow the federal highway and then drive through a little village you get to the place where Soap got promoted." Mac said and the screen showed the building along with a report about the day Soap got promoted.
"Then we all know what to do right?" Price asked and stood up again, earning a nod from every soldier in the room.
Price was about to tell them they should gear up as he got interrupted by Mac.
"Wait! We can´t just go in there without a plan. This is more dangerous than Anna´s rescue. We first need to figure out the facts about the building and the environment. This is a big place and I´m sure Andrew´s got a lot of men on his side."
"Arthur, are you serious? We don´t have the time to bring up a big plan, who knows what he has already done to Soap!" Price yelled at his superior.
"We won´t help MacTavish at all if we don´t have a plan. I´m sure this Natasha wouldn´t have went to town if they killed him. I know Andrew, I know he waits for a special day or hour to kill him. He always was superstitious." Mac answered calmly.
"But we don´t know for what he waits. We can´t just sit around here and pray for Soap to be okay or do you have an idea for what he waits?" Price still yelled at Mac, keeping eye contact.
Mac replied his look for a short moment before he looked down and shook his head. He knew Price was right but he was the General. He was responsible for this unit. He couldn´t just let them go hoping they would all come back save. Mac shook his head, looking at Price again.
"We don´t go without a plan. That´s an order John." He stated, earning a reproached look from Price, who seated himself back, followed by the other soldiers.
Every one stayed silent for a couple of minutes, till Anna shot up from her chair and checked the note with the number on it. She turned her gaze from the note to the screen and back and then she froze, eyes wide open.
"I think he waits for a specific day." She stated staring at her father.
"Why do you think that?" Price asked her skeptical.
"Look at the date on the report. The day Soap got promoted." Anna told them and every man followed her demand.
Price read the date and then remembered the number on the note. It wasn´t just a number, it was a date. It was the date Soap had good memories with and at the same time it was the date Andrew wanted to set an end to his life.
It was January the 26th. It was tomorrow.
