LT. Simon "Ghost" Riley

Cpt. John "Soap" McTavish

Somewhere in Russia

"Ghost! Target at two o' clock!" Soap's voice rang out.

Ghost whipped slightly to the right and took the man out with one bullet.

"He's down," Ghost replied into his headset.

Ghost and Soap had been ordered by Shephard to retrieve an Intel hidden somewhere in this Russian base. It was suppose to be a stealth mission, just a simple grab and go, but somehow the Russian soldiers knew they were coming and had ambushed them as soon as they had the Intel in their hands. Ghost ducked down as a bullet flew past his head narrowly missing him. The Intel was believed by Shephard to contain information on an upcoming terrorist attack, probably being led by Malkorav, the newest terrorist threat to the US government, so he left it to the Task Force to get a hold of it.

"Tavish! Where's the bloody chopper?!" Ghost yelled into his headset as he shot of a few more rounds to keep the enemy suppressed.

"Shephard says it'll be another twenty minutes before it arrives!" the Captain responded.

"Bullocks!" Ghost yelled as he took out another Russian soldier that dared to get too close to the overturned jeep he and Soap took cover behind, "There's no way we'll last that long, in twenty minutes we'll be overwhelmed!"

"Aye mate," Soap answered from beside his comrade, "But we don't have a choice. We need to move to the LZ just outside the base come on!"

Ghost tossed a smoke grenade as he and Soap dashed from cover and sprinted out of the base. Bullets flew by them thudding into the snowy ground and striking against nearby rocks. Soap ran slightly in front of Ghost at an even pace until suddenly there was a whistle, a ripping sound, and a grunt from Soap as he instantly reached for his arm.

"Are you alright?!" Ghost called over the sound of gunfire, his voice filled with worry.

"A bullet nicked me, I'll be fine, just keep going, we'll take cover behind that circle of rocks there until the chopper arrives!"

"Copy that, I'm right behind you!" Ghost called.

The two men leaped head first behind the rocks as more bullets flew over head. Ghost rose to his knees and tossed a stun grenade. He quickly raised his gun and took out three Russian soldiers who were a bit faster than the rest. The others, seeing their comrades fall, took shelter behind other rocks and laid in the snow to make themselves a more difficult target. Ghost sat beside Soap with his back to the rocks and reloaded his SCAR-H. Soap twisted his arm to get a better look at the wound. It was a shallow cut but it still needed stitching. Steam puffed out of where Ghost's mouth was from behind his mask as he tried to catch his breath. He turned his attention to his Captain as the gunfire died down. His eyes, hidden by the sunglasses covering them, surveyed his captain's wound for a moment to make sure it wasn't anything serious. When he was satisfied it wasn't anything to stress over he sighed and laid his head back on the large boulder his back was rested against.

"They have us pinned." He said in a calm voice.

Soap looked up at him and sighed, then turned and stared blankly in front of him.

"I still can't figure out how they knew we were coming." Soap said as he reached for his M14 laying beside him in the snow.

Ghost shook his head and glanced back over the rocks, "I hear ya mate, we didn't kill a single guard or alert them in any way, it doesn't quite add up."

"We'll worry about it later, let's focus on staying live." Soap glanced at his watch. "Five minutes, I'm popping smoke. Cover me."

Ghost nodded and crouched, he tensed his muscles so he could spring up. As soon as Soap rose to get a good throw Ghost rose as well and sprayed bullets at the enemy. They blindly fired back missing their target completely. A shine and a movement caught Ghost's eye. He glanced up at the top of a ridge and saw a Russian lift an RPG and take aim at Soap.

"Soap! RPG! Cover!" Ghost yelled.

The missile launched heading straight for Soap but he couldn't get out of the RPG's range fast enough. Ghost launched himself at Soap throwing them both to the ground as snow and rocks exploded around them. When the smoke settled Soap coughed and crawled out of the debris covering him. He turned to lie on his back and placed a hand to his head feeling warmth spread around the side of his head. When he pulled his hand back his glove was covered in blood. He coughed again and slowly sat up scanning the area for Ghost.

"Ghost? Ghost! Are you alright mate?"

No answer.

Cursing silently to himself Soap dug around the snow looking for his comrade.

"Ghost come on answer me! Where are you?"

Soap's heart started to fill with dread as seconds turned into minutes and he still failed to find his friend. A groan behind him caught his attention and he whipped around to see Ghost struggling to rise to his hands and knees. The left side of his jacket was ripped up and covered in blood. Soap crawled to the younger man's side and placed a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder.

"Stay down, let me take a look." He said as he pulled Ghost's shoulder and slowly turned the younger man until he lay on his back. Soap gently pulled the ripped edges of Ghost's jacket open to get a better look at the injury. The explosion had severely burned Ghost's side and there were bits of debris from the RPG missile stuck deep in the wound. Ghost groaned again and let out a shaky breath.

"Easy Ghost, your gonna be alright." Soap told him.

Ghost gave another awkward breath and Soap quickly reached for the base of Ghost's mask. Soap had only seen his comrade's face a few several times in the year he had known him and fought by his side and it felt wrong to unmask Ghost, but the wound was severe and he needed the air to get to his lungs as easy as possible. Soap slid Ghost's sunglasses off revealing his shut eyes and his eyebrows creased in pain, he then pulled Ghost's mask up and off. Ghost had a handsome strong face the only thing obscuring his features was a nine inch scar that ran from beside his right eye down the right side of his face and neck almost to his shoulder. Soap remembered the story of how Ghost had obtained the scar all too well and it made him understand why Ghost always wore the mask. Ghost had explained that he wore the mask to hide it from himself, not anyone else. He told Soap how every time he saw the scar it brought back the memories that his mind refused to repress, horrible memories of torture and death. Soap shivered at the thought of what his comrade had been through. He was the only member of the Task Force that knew Ghost's past, and it wasn't a pretty one.

"Tavish?" Ghost whispered weakly.

Soap grasped his friend's shoulder to reassure him.

"I'm here mate. Hang in there." Soap said as he reached for his headset with his other hand.

"Shephard this is Soap, do you copy."

"Shephard here, what's your situation Captain."

"We need that bird asap. Ghost is down, I repeat Ghost is down. He's been severely wounded by an RPG and needs medical attention."

"There's been a delay on your evac chopper Captain, it will be about thirty more minutes until it reaches you."

"Thirty minutes?!" Soap exclaimed," Shephard we don't have time, the Russians have us pinned down and Ghost will bleed out if he doesn't get help!"

"There's nothing I can do. Hold your position until the chopper arrives and patch Ghost up the best you can, he's just going to have to hang in there. Shephard out."

"Shephard! Shephard!!"

Soap punched the ground angrily but then ducked down as a bullet flew overhead. The Russians were starting to move in. Soap crouched protectively over Ghost as bullets pounded into the snow dangerously near them. Some bullets ricocheted off the rocks and boulders that served as their cover. Soap grabbed a smoke grenade from his belt and blindly tossed it towards the direction of the gunfire. When he heard the hiss of smoke, he reached for the Intervention strapped to his back. Soap rose slightly and aimed through the thermal scope attached to the sniper. There were five soldiers coming slowly towards them, cautious and blind because of the smoke. Blood sprayed as Soap shot the nearest man in the head and sent his body flying backwards. The other four shot in Soap's direction forcing him to duck back down. Soap reached for one of Ghost's semtex grenades and threw it towards their hostile enemies. He was pleased to hear an explosion and screams of pain. As the gunfire died down once again Soap turned his attention to Ghost. His comrade wasn't moving.

"Ghost!" Soap called as he firmly shook the younger man.

Ghost weakly opened his eyes half way and looked up at his captain. A bit of blood was appearing in the corner of his mouth and his breathing was growing shallower. A cold breeze stirred up snow and smoke and Ghost shivered visibly. His heart slowing down was causing less blood flow making hypothermia become more of a threat. Ghost needed help and fast.

"Ghost you hang in there you hear me. Don't you dare die on me," Soap said desperately.

Ghost gave his captain a weak smile.

"Understood…" he whispered as his eyelids flickered.

"Focus on me. Just keep your eyes open, help will be here soon."

Soap gazed at his watch. Twenty more minutes. Twenty more fuckin minutes. There was a small pool of blood forming at Ghost's side. Another breeze whipped through and Ghost exhaled shakily. Soap was doing his best to the shield Ghost from the wind while defending their position. His mind raced as more and more smoke began to ebb away with the wind. He knew that when the smoke was gone the Russians would begin moving in again. Soap heard a loud whistle and threw himself on top of Ghost as the ground exploded three feet from their position. Soap cursed to himself. The son of a bitch that had wounded Ghost and nearly killed him was still alive. Soap eyed the trail of smoke that led up to the top of a ridge. He saw a soldier up there in clear view kneeling down in the snow loading another RPG missile. RPGs weren't very accurate, but it only took one good shot to destroy them. Soap aimed up at the ridge with his Intervention and at the same time the man raised the RPG for another shot, Soap put a bullet between his eyes. A sudden sharp pain in Soap's right shoulder caused him to drop his gun and fall to the ground beside Ghost. He moaned and gazed at his blood soaked shoulder. It had been a clean shot, seems the sniper wasn't shooting to kill or he just had bad aim. Soap's heart filled with hope as he heard the distant sound of a helicopter. Finally the evac chopper was there! He gritted his teeth in pain as he rolled to his side to face Ghost.

"They're here mate. Just hang in there a little longer we'll be out of here soon."

Ghost tried to answer but he found himself unable to speak and unable to move. His body felt cold and he suddenly felt an extreme fatigue flow throughout his limbs. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"Ghost?"

He heard McTavish's worried voice say his name but it sounded so distant, like an echo.

"Ghost!"

Ghost thought about his mother. He thought about his brother and his sister-in-law. He thought about his five year old nephew. What he would give to see them again, to be with them. To be with his family and to be happy again, that was what he treasured most, what he wanted most, more than anything.

"Ghost! Stay with me!" the echo called.

"Simon…" a new voice whispered. This voice was closer, whispering in his ear it seemed, and Ghost recognized it instantly.

"Mum?" Ghost thought to himself. Was he losing it?

"Go back dear…it's not your time…"

"Mum!" Ghost screamed in his head.

He was desperate to have her there, to simply just see her face. But her whispers vanished slowly as though being carried away by the wind and blackness overtook Ghost, leaving him unconscious and knowing nothing.