Chapter Text
It was unbearably hot as you waited for Ghost and Soap, the desert sun soaking into the dark fabric of your uniform. You shifted uncomfortably in the direct light, no shade around you to offer relief from the heat. You were sitting on guard next to the object of your mission, the likes of which reminded you of a giant commercial printer on wheels. The black and grey metal of it was just drawing in more heat, much to your dismay.
Whatever information was stored in this thing, you hoped it was worth it.
This entire mission was a mess, and having to work with Ghost after the fight you two just had made it all the more challenging. Your commander had made it a habit to only tell you what was necessary, but at points like this you questioned if you had made the right choice in joining the 141.
Not that you really had a choice in the first place, but getting moved (Sold) from one squadron to the next had practically become your specialty. Contracted snipers were in high demand after all, even ones with a dirty record like yourself.
Your poor gun was in desperate need of cleaning from all of the sand that crept in. You hated the desert for this very reason, sand and dirt currently assaulting your eyes as a strong gust of hot air blew against you. Your dark red face mask protected your nose and mouth from the particles, but your [e/c] eyes were not as lucky.
“Fucking A.” You muttered to yourself, squinting your eyes as you stood up off of your sniper rifle case which had been acting as your seat. “This is fucking ridiculous. T.I. is late for data extraction, and not a single chopper in site. What a fucking mess.” You muttered, digging into your many pockets for the small USB drive you always carried. You plugged the device into the giant computer on wheels and took out your phone, using its smart connection to start the decoding process. You had only learned bits and pieces of what was important during the briefing, taking some liberties and educated guesses on which files to start and transfer onto your own personal device. It definitely wasn’t something they had told you to do, but at this point you were pissed enough to make such a stupid grab for information, and you were given the perfect opportunity.
Something about this mission wasn’t sitting right with you at all. Was it in your head, or was this gut wrenching feeling you suppressed trying to warn you?
Anytime you explored abandoned bases or ruins, you could never shake off the heavy feeling in the air. Sometimes the aftermath of destruction and gore felt even more real than the fresh blood and bodies did. The space was just like you. Once the adrenaline and rain washes away the blood and evidence, this was all that was left.
A reminder that even after all of the death, the places rotted away like this, just like the people. Tainted. The earth would scream and cry if you tried to take anymore. It had become a cursed land, a ghost town; and even as you found no hostiles the shadows watched in their absence.
You pressed on the screen of your phone, unsettled. You don’t know how Ghost and Soap could stand being in those buildings for any longer. You had been sent on five too many suicide missions, and this is exactly how they always started.
Isolated. Barren. Traps, waiting for your wrong step.
Your mind couldn’t help but drift back to your previous contract with Rainbow Six Siege as your body swirled with anxiety and paranoia. They had been the ones that sold your contract to 141, and you knew more than a handful of them that wanted your head on a pike.
You licked your chapped lips under your facemask, selecting more files. 141 Had been different so far, and you wanted to trust them, But for now, you would placate your nervousness.
As the data continued to transfer you took another moment to look over the map you had been given, taking a look at the three sites. While Ghost, Soap and you extracted this information on an underground black market merchandise, your temporary alliance group with the Shadow Company was 200 klicks away gathering intel into the black market operation and sales. You had worked with them a handful of times, but lately you had been having more and more collaborations. Kortac, which consisted of Konig, Fender and Stiletto, were North of your base right now. Probably in the midst of sorting through the abandoned bases' intelligence. You wondered if they also had drama in their midst, or if they worked together without any problems. They seemed to be a lot more disciplined than 141, which you both scoffed at but also admired. They were incredibly efficient.
“Oi! Widow!” Soap called out to your right as he and Ghost started to walk towards the extraction point, the likes of which you were currently standing in.
“Took you long enough. What the hell were you doing in there? Enjoying the shade while I suffer in the heat with the GPS signal?” you raised your eyebrow, unamused with them both as they joined you, finally having walked the long distance away from the buildings you had raided.
“Maybe.” Soap smirked at you, walking over to the super computer you all had just stolen. “You wheeled ‘er out here all by ya self? You’re stronger than I thought.”
You ignored his words, your eyes passing over him and onto Ghost. His eyes met yours easily, staring right through you. It made you madder than you would have liked to admit. It was as though you had gone right back to square one, like you were the same nothing teammate to him from the first day you jointed Specgru. You wished he would have avoided your gaze and ignored you, or maybe even have given you a piercing glare. Something, anything that showed you he still cared. That he felt remorse over his words.
You looked away first, unraveling your fingers from the fists they had clenched into. You stretched them out and curled them over and over, forcing yourself to put away your feelings. This wasn’t the time or place and you knew it, but fuck did it still hurt.
“No T.I. yet? Christ, Price is starting to slip.” Soap whistled as he hit the supercomputer twice with a closed fist, bringing his eyes to look for the helicopter. “They’re late as all hell. I wonder how Kortac are doing. I’m about bloody ready for a drink. Maybe a nice bourbon.”
“You can save the celebration for after we finish the mission.” Ghost retorted back, pulling out his own communications and checking for any new information.
“Oh come on Ghost, this was the most clean cut mission we’ve done in months. Not a single man to play target practice with. I can’t believe they sent us for such a simple mission.” Soap complained, bending his knees to sit down on your sniper rifle case. He stopped before he fully rested his weight however, immediately standing up when he saw the piercing glare from your person. “Come on Widow, it’s fuckin hot and I’m tired. It’s a hard case for a reason.” Soap muttered but got up anyways, not wanting the argument he knew he would have if he roosted on your favorite gun.
Again, you said nothing. You stood facing away from the both of them as your eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for any sign of life. Soap frowned, a bit disheartened by your lack of response. You had just started to warm up to the rest of the team, but he could feel the same icy wall between you and the rest of them that you had on day one. The same one they had been spending months trying to break through, and up until this point, he thought they had done so successfully. He could tell something was wrong, and he didn’t know what. Soap sighed but decided to give you space, instead going over to Ghost to continue to harass him. Ghost gave dry responses back as he always did, the two bantering back and forth as you waited for the helicopter. Well, mostly Soap talking at Ghost until he couldn’t help but respond.
Just like always. Not a bother to be had.
You wondered if Ghost would be bantering back with Soap if you didn’t come back from a mission. You wondered how much he really cared, because at this point you couldn’t help but spiral as your tired thoughts whispered doubts and mistrust.
Just like him, you had never asked to be in this situation. You felt like he forgot that often in his own plight. You had been just fine before you had gotten tangled up with Ghost, and before you both knew it, the two of you had been drawn to one another like an arsonist and a box of matches. Each of you knew deep down it would only lead to no good, but you just couldn’t fucking help but strike the end and lose yourself in the flames; fire be damned. You didn’t mind keeping things casual at first.
That was until you and Ghost started to act like more than just a lover, and yet refused to actually talk to you about it. Fuck buddies didn’t hold eachother while you sobbed, or whisper sweet nothings as you held eachother after the fact. Up until three nights ago you both practically shared a room, making tea together every night and playfully deciding which room to end up in. Either way was fine, as long as it meant you were in his arms.
But things were starting to get rocky.
The last time you had tried to talk about it, it ended atrociously. You knew Ghost was a heavily traumatized individual, and you didn’t expect perfection. Just honesty. That’s all that you had asked for.
You regret it now. Maybe he was just one hell of a liar, or maybe you really were nothing more to him but a warm body to hold on sleepless nights.
You weren’t sure which one you preferred. Deep down, you knew that he was just pushing you away for self preservation. But you deserve someone who gave back just as much as they took, and Ghost was starting to leave you high and dry. He was self sabotaging to the max, and you were so at your wits end that it was starting to work.
You steered your attention back to the computer you were tasked in guarding, frowning as you saw the colors on one of its many screens start to turn red. It was overheating, and so were you.
“Fuck, where the hell are they?” You muttered to yourself as you walked back over to the computer, pressing the back of your hand to the machine before pulling it away at the burning temperatures. This was definitely not ideal.
“Don’t be an idiot.” Ghost watched as you touched the hot metal and recoiled, crossing his arms as he stood firmly planted in the sand and waited. You looked him dead in the eyes with a blank look at his words, which unnerved him more than he’d like to admit. You wanted to say something biting back, but any thoughts or words that involved him weren’t about the mission, and they never made it past your throat. You turned away from him and sat back down on your sniper rifle case, ignoring the curious look of Soap as he looked between the two of you with a look that only meant trouble.
The entire squadron of 141 knew that you and Ghost preferred eachothers company on missions, so you supposed it was only a matter of time before one of them noticed your discord.
“Oooh, what did Ghost do?” He immediately called out the tension between you two, much to your chagrin. Soap walked over to you and crouched in front of you with a devious look, eyeing the two of you with misplaced mirth. You wanted to sock Soap in the face for trying to pry into this right now, but Soaps complete lack of filter was also something you appreciated. Just not when it was about your private life.
“Fuck off Soap.” You immediately responded back, pulling out one of your throwing knives as you cleaned your nails with the tip. Sand was caked in between all of your nails, and it was rather satisfying to dig out.
“Oh come on Widow, we’re all adults. Is he why you’ve been in such a sour mood for the last-” The beeping noise of Ghost’s tablet instantly silenced him, all three of you turning North as you all heard the distant sound of propellers.
“Finally.” Ghost muttered, starting to walk closer to you and Soap. “Mind your business Soap. We still have a mission to do.” Ghost frowned as he looked at his tablet, his eyebrows furrowing.
“What?” You stood up again off your sniper and picked it up with you, pocketing your throwing knife as you took two steps closer. You could tell from his eyes that something was wrong.
“It’s only extraction, T.I. collection is falling behind. But look at the fuel levels.” Ghost walked over to you and Soap and showed you the GPS coordinates of both helicopters, the altitude, speed, weight, and fuel levels all being displayed for both of them.
“What the fuck is up with this mission?” You said with frustration. “It says you're the requester for Evac but I messaged T.I. hours before you sent for Evac.” You frowned under your mask as you leaned in closer and stared at the tablet, pulling out your own that was nearly dead. You turned it on and low and behold, the waiting symbol for comms was still circling. Again, you could feel a sinking cold sensation in your gut that something was wrong; but knowing when to differentiate between paranoia and intuition was always a coin toss for you. Ghost went to grab your tablet but you pulled it away before he could grab it, giving him an unamused expression.
“Use your words.” You said, handing the tablet over to him with a poignant look in your eyes. He knew your words were for more than just the tablet, but he ignored them still and snatched the device from you.
“You should know better than to leave with a half dead tablet.” Ghost scolded you as he checked your time receipt for your requested T.I. pick up.
“Did you know that excessive heat drains batteries?” you asked, but you said it more as a statement than a question. “The tablet doesn’t turn off when the connection is pending. Something is wrong with mine.” By now the sound of the helicopter was loud, the distant blur now a fast approaching air vehicle. Soap took a step closer, looking at both of the screens.
“This is bad. We can’t leave the computer unescorted but Evac doesn’t have gas to spare to wait around.”
“We can have it land and cut the engine, it’s vital that we don’t leave this information behind.” Ghost decided, handing you back your tablet that still circled with a pending notification. You shoved the small device back into your cargo pants pocket.
“That’s no good. It’s way too hot to have a helicopter with low fuel do a cold restart completely. Excessive heat means less air density, and strains lift off, which burns even more. One of us needs to stay behind with the computer and ride with T.I.” Ghost tensed at your words, his brown eyes narrowing at you. You held your ground, not letting yourself be intimidated. You weren’t saying that to spite him, and you were incredibly insulted that he thought you were petty enough to sabotage a mission to prove him wrong. You were a certified pilot and he knew this, but he was still having a hard time hearing your words.
“Specgru this is air support, do you copy?” All three of you could hear the static and voice that chimed in through your ear pieces. Finally, they were in close enough range for comms.
“Affirmative Phantom. I see you have low fuel but we have a bit of a situation. Can we afford to keep you grounded for another hour?” Ghost pressed into his ear piece and responded back. You crossed your arms and gave him a look that said ‘really?’
“Negative Specgru, I only have the fuel capacity of the job assigned, and that was a quick Evac of three.” Ghost cursed under his breath while you walked next to the computer, sniper rifle case still in hand. You knew it made the most sense to have Soap wait for T.I. and ride back with Ghost, and as much as you weren’t looking forward to it, you also wanted to try and break through the unbearable tension that was heavy between the two of you. Soap was the more trusted member of 141, and also a captain, which you forgot half the time due to his humor.
“Soap, you’re with me. Widow, wait for T.I. and keep the package secure.” Your head snapped to the left to look at him, your eyes wide with surprise by his words. He was already looking at you, brown eyes staring intensely into [e/c].
“What?” You couldn’t help but question. “But It makes so much more sens-”
“Out of all three of us, you have more experience with tech. Minimize damage from overheating the best you can for it. T.I. is only an hour behind, and there’s no hostiles.” Ghost countered, already starting to walk towards the helicopter.
“Ghost, my tablet isn’t even working properly, what if-” Ghost turned around and threw his tablet at you, your hands catching it before it could hit you in the face. Your eyes narrowed at him as you seethed with anger. You knew this wasn’t because you were more tech savvy, but solely for the fact that he didn’t want to endure the long ride back with only you. The least he could do was fucking tell you that to you face. Soap looked back and forth between the two of you, frowning.
“I agree with Widow, Ghost. She’s been waiting an hour longer in the heat than we have already. And T.I. is supposed to have someone with them to immediately begin decoding-”
“Widow already started the process anyways. Why don’t we let them finish it?” You bit your tongue at that, unable to retort back. You had been hoping that neither of them noticed the small usb you plugged in, but you had been too careless in that quick assumption.
Ghost had you right where he wanted you, because you were most definitely not supposed to be saving mission intel on a separate device.
“Fine.” You dropped your sniper case back onto the hot sand, sitting down on top of it. “But you and I are having a conversation when I get back to base, Ghost.” Ghost didn’t say anything, instead turned back towards the now landed helicopter with Soap. Soap rolled his eyes at both of you, but ran up to you quickly.
“Don’t overheat too much love, don’t want you even more crabby than you already are.” Soap winked as he threw you a tiny half empty flask. You didn’t think that Soap could still surprise you but low and behold. You raised your eyebrows at him, but he just gave you a wave and hurried after Ghost. You pocketed the flask and leaned back, watching the helicopter take off.
“Be safe you two.” You pressed into the earpiece on your left ear and spoke, having a bit of anxiety bubble up in your guts as they started to leave without you.
“You too Widow.” Soap responded immediately, almost singing the words back to you. You smiled slightly under your mask, but the smile fell fast as the helicopter got farther and farther away and Ghost never responded back.
Soon the connection was lost, and you were alone.