Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish sighed as he set his duffle on the bed, a small plume of dust flew through the air. He choked, fanning the dust from his face as he sat on the bed. He was so lost with what to do next, being discharged from service felt like the final nail in the coffin. Useless, damaged, and civilian. Soap fell like an alien in his own skin, this was not the field. He sorely missed his team. Captain Price and Gaz. After he was honorably discharged, he heard that the team was getting resigned, wasn't that just a kick in the arse.
He looked around his desolate aflat, not much in it as he never really came back between missions. Soap sighed as he ran a rough hand over his face, scratching at his scruff. He had yet to trim it up, they had escorted him from the base quickly after his discharge papers were signed. "No use is sitting here, I need to find myself a car." He muttered to himself.
Soap braced himself, gathering his strength he hauled himself up praying his knee wouldn't give out on him. He walked out to the living area, where he had left the mail and daily paper, having grabbed one from the shop. First things first, he needed a car, then a job, he needed something to keep him busy. He looked through the classifieds to see if there were any cheap cars, he just needed something to get him from point A to point B. He slowly flips through the pages, until he spots one that stands out among the piles of scrap. The ad said old Chevy, someone was selling a classic!
They only wanted a thousand for the classic, it was worth a shot, it wasn't even far from the flat! He gathered his keys, his cane, and his jacket. Soap was never one to waste time, he never could sit till very long. He locked his flat, and limped over to the lift. He was thankful he lived in a newer building, many of the other flats around this area were old and only had stair access.
He made good time, the location was out a little ways on the other side of town. He had tracked terrorists through hostile territories further than that, his knee burned with fatigue but he pushed on. He wasn't going to let his injury stop him. Once he finally made it to the address, slowed to a shuffle, slightly winded from his rush. He calmed himself and walked over to the slightly overgrown path up to the home. It was a quaint little white home with powder blue shutters and little flower boxes on the windows.
He rang the bell and waited for someone to answer, he didn't wait long as an older woman came to the door. "Hello young man, can I help you?" She asked from the safety of the doorway. "I was here about the vehicle you had posted in the paper? Do you still have it?" He cursed himself silently, he hadn't quite thought that through. What if she had already sold it!
"Oh! Yes! I still have the vehicle. It was my nephews, he died serving his country you know. Such a brave lad. I miss him terribly." She said, tears in her eyes as she spoke of him. "He didn't really have a place to keep it so I let him keep it here in my old barn. Follow me, I'll take you to see it." She opened the screen door, motioning him into the home. The house was well lived in, little brick bracks littered the walls and shelves.
"It's just through her dear." She said as she led him to the back door, that led out into the back yard. Outback there was a brown barn with faded red paint, it might have been used for livestock at one point. She took him to the side and opened the doors revealing the covered vehicle.
"Here it is! He loved this car, it used to be his brothers, when he passed away Simon took over caring for it." She pulled the cover off, revealing a beautiful '66 Corvette. "It ran the last time he drove it, which was half a year ago, but give it a try." she said, handing him the keys. "I beg your pardon madam but you realize this car is worth some money right, you are cheating yourself by selling it that cheap!" Soap said, there was no way he could take this car for only a thousand. "Oh I know, but I really have no need for money, I just want this car gone, it holds too many memories. My poor nephew, I couldn't bear to keep it here." she said, tearing up again.
Johnny nodded walking over to the car, he leaned his cane against the front fender. Shuffling the last few steps, he opened the door and sat inside. He gripped the steering wheel and got a feel for the car. He put the key in the ignition, turning it over, the car came alive with a rumbling pur. "Wow, this beauty sounds amazing!" he says and he revs the engine a little to warm up the corvette.
After letting it run for a minute he turned it off. "Well if you're willing to still part with it, I will take it off your hands." Soap reached into his wallet and pulled the thousand out. "Alright let's go inside and get the title. I'll make you a nice cuppa, and we can sign the papers." She said ushering him back inside the house.
After chatting another hour or so, Johnny bid the older woman a goodbye. He tucked the bag of goodies into the passenger seat of the car. She mothered over him once he revealed that he was just discharged from the service. She made him swear to stop by every once and awhile.
The corvette drove like a dream, the vehicle was well maintained, and obviously this Simon character put some love into the work. Once Soap got home, he pulled the corvette into his private garage and shut it off. Sitting in the seat he got curious to see if the original owner's book was in there. He opened up the glove box and that's when he found the note.