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thechaoticcheese · 4 days ago

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TWs: Cursing and Canon Violence

‘This isn’t right.’ Roach finally signed, his gaze returning to Cupcake as he shifted himself to make sure the blond could see him. “I know… But… Orders are orders… We stick with Shadow Company, we stay alive, and we get out of here. We can put this behind us, Roach. Never set foot in or near Mexico…”

Word Count: 7,162

Shadow Company Roach AU - Chapter 11 - Detainment

With a deep breath to ground himself, Roach left the room. He, Jet, and Skunk would take one half of the hall while Crash, Cupcake, Rico and Void took the other half. But the doubt of this takeover weighed heavy on Roach’s mind.

Just minutes before they were given a handful of zip ties, just in case, from Jet. Use as many as needed. Jet’s words echoed in Roach’s mind as the seven made their way through the hallway. There shouldn’t be too many Los Vaqueros in this hall, so seven should be easily enough for their section of the takeover. Especially since this was the barracks. It was late in the day, there would be almost no one around. It seemed a bit overkill to Roach. But with Alejandro off base along with Graves, Ghost, Soap, and Shadow team 1, 2 and 3, it only left three teams to round up any Vaqueros left on base and bring them to wherever they were destined to be.

Roach had no doubt that this was the plan all along from the moment Graves got back from that mission where they lost a good bunch of soldiers, especially all of the original Shadow 3. The plan was to find Hassan, take back or destroy what missiles he took and bury anyone that stood in the way or had even a chance of getting the word out to what had happened.

Roach wasn’t sure exactly who the missiles were for, but it was obvious that it was from the U.S. Government. Specifically from General Shepherd. He was the contractor that got the previous Shadow 3 buried and Roach couldn’t entirely forgive their contractor for it. Even if he had unlimited access to the funding for the U.S. Defenses. You could never put a price on a person’s life. It felt ironic just momentarily thinking about it as Roach watched Jet quietly open the door to the barracks, Roach and Skunk behind him. He slowly and carefully stepped into the room that held the bunks for the Vaqueros.

‘There are two in here. Skunk, clear out the rest of the hall, Roach and I will take them.’ Jet signed, glancing at the two men behind him. Skunk nodded before he moved slowly through the rest of the hall. Roach held his breath for a moment as he followed Jet in. ‘I will take the one on the right, you take the left.’ Jet signed before Roach responded with a nod as the two Shadow Company soldiers quietly made their way through the barrack.

The sun had started lowering itself on the horizon. The room being bathed in an orange-ish hue that was let through the windows spaced between the bunk beds. It gave the two soldiers plenty of light to see what they were doing, but also didn’t really hide them well. Jet kept moving forward as Roach paused seeing his target asleep on the bed, no doubt sleeping due to an early patrol or something of the likes.

Roach’s footsteps were silent as he slowly approached the sleeping man. His breathing was loud to him, it being paired with the thrumming of his heart as it demanded to be let out of his ears. The Vaqueros soldier was curled up with his back to Roach, but he had started to stir, as if he knew something was up.

Roach shifted quickly to the side of the man's bed, no doubt he looked like some sort of shadow demon to the man as his eyes slowly opened and his body turned to the Shadow Company soldier as the taller male quickly went into detain him. Roach’s gloved hands grabbed the Vaqueros’ wrists as he tried to shoot up from the bed. “Mierda!(Shit!)” He gasped as he struggled against Roach as the American wrestled with the Mexican off his bed and onto the floor. The man grunted as his back hit the floor, being pinned down between the bunks that offered little space for a continued wrestling match. Roach’s legs went over the man’s hips as he quickly turned the man over and zip tied his hands behind his back. The masked man then grabbed a shirt that was haphazardly tossed on the floor nearby. The operator quickly wrapped it around the man’s head, then tying it before he stuffed some of it into the soldier’s mouth to keep him from making any more noises loud enough to startle any of the other Vaqueros that might be present in the hallway. Though it felt like it didn’t matter. The anger that pulsated from the man beneath him told Roach that the Vaquero was cursing the Shadow Company soldier ten ways to Sunday. “Lo siento mucho. (I’m very sorry.)” Roach softly spoke to the man before hauling him up. He could tell right away that this man would be a struggle to get out of the room that was tightly packed with bunks.

The man squirmed a lot, flailing his restricted body in any way he could, kicking his legs, throwing his head back. The American cursed softly underneath his breath as he dodge the thrashings. He glanced over to Jet, making sure he had also captured his intended target. Jet had him secured in the zip tie as well, the shorter man having been a little ruffled up from detaining his assigned target. “Let’s get them out.” Jet ordered before Roach nodded once more before bringing his captive to the entrance of the room. He could hear Jet following him as the two men struggled in the Shadows’ grasps. “Roach, Wait-” Roach wasn’t able to respond or even acknowledge what Jet had just said as his eyes locked onto another Vaquero that looked out of breath and absolutely startled. The man had tried to run in through the door before he skidded to a stop, seeing Roach and a fellow Vaquero that was detained.

He was trying to warn people. Without a second thought, Roach shoved the detained man in front of him into the one who had just tried to enter the room. The man caught his teammate and staggered back. It bought Roach enough time to rush forward, pushing the detained man away before using the remaining momentum to continue his stun streak with the other man. His shoulder collided with the Vaqueros’ chest right as he heard boots stomping towards him. “Roach!” Cupcake’s familiar voice greeted Roach’s ears. He glanced over at the man.

He seemed worried.

The Vaquero soon got his footing back and started to push back against Roach, the American’s attention going back to the man he was facing. The Vaquero huffed and growled as he glared into Roach’s dark visor that only reflected the man’s own angered expression. When Roach felt his feet starting to slip against the floor, he quickly maneuvered to the side. His hands gripped the man’s wrist and arm, letting him stumble forward and using that force to spin him around before Roach made him collide with the wall. Roach pushed into him before the freckled soldier wrapped a zip tie around his wrists, just like the previous man. He kept the man pressed against the wall before his attention went to Cupcake who was bringing up the man that was left on the floor from when the dirty blonde shoved him. “The rest of the section is clear… Now… Did you forget to turn on your radio?” Cupcake informed, his blue eyes glancing over at the taller man with a questioning, albeit teasing look. Roach blinked before realizing that he had forgotten to turn on his radio. He nodded slightly, before clicking it on.

Cupcake snorted as Jet exited the barracks with his captive and continued the conversation, “It’s alright, I was with him at least. Let’s get these guys to the cars. They seemed to be the only ones stationed in this area so we should be good. We’re bringing them to a prison just outside of Las Almas. I’ll be leading the way.” Roach let out a long sigh with a nod as the three pushed forward the detained men. Roach stayed a few steps behind Cupcake and Jet, not daring to get close enough for the Vaquero he was forcing to move forward to hurt either of the men.

“You son of bitches will pay for this!” He spat as he fought against Roach. “Los Vaqueros will spill your blood for betraying us. ¡Malditos pendejos!(Fucking assholes)! ¡Arderás en el infierno!(You’ll burn in hell!)” The man cursed and it made Roach’s mind falter a bit. He’s heard insults and curses before, even some more loaded from those vowing revenge before he himself had put a bullet in their head. Though the tone in this man’s voice wasn’t just bloodlust, anger, or sadness. It was betrayal. Roach pushed forward however. The guilt had started to eat away at his stomach as the man kept cursing and swearing at the three bringing him and his fellow soldiers to the cars. His mind was elsewhere as Jet spoke through the man’s cursing, the freckled man not absorbing any of it as they walked through Los Vaqueros’ base.

The vehicles were parked up front, they had been made into a makeshift prisoner transportation. The back seats were stripped of the cushions along anything that could be used to harm someone. A clear see-through plastic that was installed and screwed into place on the side of the car to separate the front and backseats.

Roach and Cupcake separated from Jet and made their way to the front car. The taller Shadow Company soldier gently made his captive duck into the vehicle, closing the door carefully so as to not hurt the man in case he tried to escape. Cupcake did the same with the man he was moving, making sure to do it at the same time as to not cause a potential runner situation. “You’ll be taking this car with Jet. Void and I will follow with the last pr… Person... While Crash, Rico and Skunk follow rear as defense.” Cupcake relayed the information they were told while the three were moving the men to the vehicles. Roach looked over at the blond with thankful eyes. It was as if the blond knew that his fellow Shadow wasn’t paying attention to Jet’s orders. The two got to know how to read each other very well. Roach could tell from the hesitation and refusal to call the men from Los Vaqueros prisoners, that Cupcake was having doubts too. They stood there in silence as they looked at the vehicle. Roach’s hazel eyes stared at the man trying to discuss something with the other in the back. ‘This isn’t right.’ Roach finally signed, his gaze returning to Cupcake as he shifted himself to make sure the blond could see him. “I know… But… Orders are orders… We stick with Shadow Company, we stay alive, and we get out of here. We can put this behind us, Roach. Never set foot in or near Mexico…” Cupcake’s voice was wavering as he looked behind them. Roach followed his gaze to see Void and Skunk loading in a car with their detained Vaquero, with Jet doing the same on the other side of the vehicle before he stalked his way around the car to the other two. “And never talk about this again. Like we agreed when we signed that contract.” ‘Cupcake…’ Roach signed, moving into view, his brows furrowed underneath his goggles. He knew his fellow soldiers, his friends. Cupcake was struggling with this and he wanted to help. “No, Roach. I… I understand. I get it.” His voice quivered, trying to harden it as he continued to speak. Cupcake’s hand moved to his goggles, moving them to then wipe away whatever tears had fallen. “I don’t like this as much as you, but this is our job. We can’t falter from our jobs. Our contracts. Even if we hate it. We have a job to do, Roach. Don’t skip town now.” Cupcake didn’t even dare look back at Roach as he put his goggles back on. He then turned and walked towards Jet, Skunk and Void.

Roach was left to wait alone by the car for Jet. He sighed and shook his head. His mind clouding up as his eyes barely let his brain register Cupcake going up to the trio and conversing with them. Roach couldn’t stomach this. It was wrong and he knew it. Taking prisoners for a war that wasn’t even theirs.

His mind snapped back to the present as he caught movement. Skunk had broken away from the group. He headed to the last vehicle out of the three that were parked. It already had Crash sitting in the passenger seat with Rico being barely visible in the back. Skunk climbed into the driver’s seat. His head slowly scanned his surroundings, not seeming to let his guard down, just like he always does on a mission. Then his blackened visor landed on Roach and gave him a small nod. It took a few seconds before Roach responded in kind before he looked over his shoulder at the car that carried the Vaqueros he and Cupcake captured.

The thoughts in his mind were back in full throttle, fighting in an all out war. And one side was clawing its way into being the clear victor.

On the one hand, Cupcake was right. All Roach had to do was just stay silent, do the job, and get out. That’s it. Simple right? Follow orders. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Follow orders.

He had to.

He… He would… He should…

Roach took in a deep breath as he realized that the two Vaqueros were looking straight at him with daggers in their eyes. If looks could kill, Roach would be labelled KIA right on the spot. And the looks made him rethink everything that has happened so far, made him think about the other side of the argument.

The side that's winning.

The side that kept that pit in his stomach from going away and slowly getting bigger and heavier as it devoured the side that told him to just follow orders. The guilt of making these men go through something that didn’t involve them at all. It was between General Shepherd, Shadow Company and Al-Qatala. No one else. These soldiers had nothing to do with it. And it devoured Roach’s mind and soul. His gut twisted as he tore his eyes away as he barely registered his call sign. The guilt ridden man didn’t even notice when his team leader approached.

“Roach.” Jet repeated, sounding irritated, “Did you even hear a damn thing I just said?” His eyebrow arched up as he tilted his head to his side. Jet never wore his goggles. Not unless it was in the field with enemies nearby. Since all of their enemies were captured by the team, there was no need for them. They rested on his helmet as his piercing icey blue eyes bore into his second in command. ‘No. I’m sorry, can you repeat?’ Roach signed. A different guilt hit him now. Not the pained guilt of his morals. Fearful guilt. Or maybe it was just fear.

Jet had his ways with his tone and cold blue eyes that made the team listen. It was like a mini Graves in training. Manipulation masked as charisma. One thing that Roach hated to admit, was that through the years, Jet had learned how to push everyone’s buttons in the way that made them tick how he wanted them to tick. How to make them listen or cower in fear beneath his words and stare.

Roach would argue that he didn’t need to do it. Jet was a natural born leader who most people naturally listened to. It was like he wanted to make sure he had some extra backup to make sure that the ones that didn’t listen naturally, fell in line.

Jet’s hand firmly gripped Roach’s shoulder as he leaned both of them closer to each other, starting to walk him closer to the car. “Look. Roach. I need you on this mission. Full attention. You can not falter, do you understand me?” Jet growled in a low tone by Roach’s ear before the taller man nodded. “Good. Now. You and I are going to take these sons of bitches to the prison. And we are going to lock them up. When we get through this, alive, you and I will have a chat about listening.” Roach felt his whole body shiver at the final words. He knew the tone and the wording well. It wouldn’t just be a lecture. The rest of Jet’s ‘problem solving’ with unobedient team members usually resulted in a brawl of some sort in the training ring, with creative insults or a worse punishment that made a person doubt their abilities. Provided that they had decided to do something that’s not according to Jet’s order and ended poorly or threatened to end the mission poorly.

Jet’s go to for Roach was how clumsy he can be. Sometimes the man was sloppy or had a bad luck streak during missions with falling or near death experiences that he always came back from. But it slowly started to not affect the freckled man as much as Jet would like. He was losing his grip on Roach. Even now, the taller male was slipping through his fingers and Roach couldn’t tell if it frightened the man or not. “Now let’s go.” Jet released Roach’s shoulder before he marched his way to the driver side of the car. He seemed tenser than usual. Was this getting to Jet? Was it that stressful for their leader that this goes well?

Roach didn’t argue though. Even if he wanted to, this wasn’t the time nor palace for it and he knew it. So he got into the passenger side of the car, making sure his ammo was good in his pistol and rifle as Jet started up the vehicle. It roared to life before the raven haired man started to drive it to the location of the prison. “What’s gotten into you Roach?” Jet asked in a softer tone. He always did a 180 whenever it came to Roach and going behind closed doors. Or at least closed doors when it came to their teammates. It wasn’t like the Vaqueros in the back would care about the two men’s relationship when they had helped capture Fuerzas Especiales and had detained them.

Sometimes, it felt like Roach was Jet’s favorite. “Nothing.” Roach responded monotonously as Jet started up the car.

He knew better than to sign when someone was driving, especially when it came to the pistol in his hand and his eyes out the window, making sure that as they left Los Vaqueros’ base, there was no one following them. Of course that’s also what Crash’s, Rico’s, and Void’s job was as well.

“You know I don’t like it when you lie, my little bug.” Jet continued. The pet name made Roach itch in all the worst ways. It caused his nose to scrunch up at the sickly sweet tone Jet was using. “Let’s just get this over with.” He responded back, having a firmer tone which only made Jet back off. At least for now. The drive was silent to the location. Or, well, silent between the two Shadow Company soldiers. Every so often their captives would bang against the plastic with their shoes or the one not gagged would yell swear or two at the men in front of them. Roach tried to not let it get to him as he made sure to memorize every detail of the drive. Every turn, every notable landmark, almost nothing went by him that he could see. He would need it. Either to return to Fuerzas Especiales’ base or just in case he needed to return to the prison.

As they approached the prison, the sun had started to set and the clouds had gathered, making the area darker. It felt like proper lighting as they pulled up to the tall walls that outline the complex. Towers about every 40 feet along the wall. Some bits of the walls had a v shaped crumble to it, the bricks and stone laying to waste on the outside. It was old and probably was abandoned for a while. That or, it was left to decay to avoid suspicion. After all, Roach had zero idea of how Graves found this place and took it over. But he did. And now, Shadow Company soldiers ran the complex. They were stopped at the prison gates by fellow Shadow Company soldiers to check and make sure it was indeed Shadow 7 with new and final captives.

“You guys didn’t happen to find Rodolfo Parra did you?” A Shadow asked all too casually after doing a quick check of who was in the cars. “No… Do we not have Rodolfo?” Jet questioned, his eyes narrowing. “Shit… Looks like we don’t. He’s just one man though right? As long as we have his team and 141 isn’t a problem, we should be fine.” The man responded with a shrug as he looked at Jet. “Yeah. We should.” The Shadow 7 team leader agreed, casting a glance at Roach. The masked man couldn’t read the expression. It was either accusatory or letting his second in command know that he didn’t believe what he agreed to. Rodolfo was a Sergeant Major and close to Alejandro. There was no way that he wasn’t a threat.

Jet rolled up his window once he and his group were given the clear to enter the complex. “I feel like whoever was tasked with taking out Rodolfo’s section should’ve captured him. He’s going to be a problem.” Jet grumbled as they drove down the dirt path. Roach agreed with a nod as their car went through the gates.

Roach hadn’t met the Sergeant Major himself, but the respect the men he interacted with had for him was strong, not as strong as Alejandro. Though a good leader usually has a good second in command.

The inside of the walls had multiple smaller buildings that needed a touch up. It felt on par with the area because there was a maze of decaying smaller walls throughout the area. One big building flanked the side. There was no doubt that’s where Shadow Company would be keeping who they rounded up from Los Vaqueros. It seemed like the main building of the prison, the grey wall having small pebbles lining it from the decay of the tops of the walls. It sent an invisible shiver down Roach’s spine as he wondered how cleaned up the place was or if they had just snatched it up and made sure the controls worked.

The cars stopped as close as they could to the building. They were lined up almost bumper to bumper, allowing some space for a person to get through as the vehicles were positioned in front of a set of two doors. There were a couple of Shadow Company soldiers positioned by it, looking bored as they looked around, one gently nudging a small pebble with his foot. Shadow 7 all left their respective vehicles, with Jet and Roach grabbing the two Vaqueros from the backseats of their car, Void and Cupcake doing the same. Roach tugged out the one he gagged, giving a sorrowful glance to the man who only shot daggers back. The Shadow Company soldier then forced the man over to the entrance, falling instep with Jet. Cupcake and Void followed in behind the two while Crash, Rico and Skunk brought up the rear.

Roach let himself slip back into his thoughts as the group made their way into what seemed to be the cafeteria. It was a good size given the building felt massive, but it was barren, chairs left in their original position by the last prisoners who had had their last meal in these walls. A couple of Shadows speckled on the walkway above, hinting at future use of the empty room, or perhaps just making sure that the group of seven were indeed with Shadow Company and bringing the captives to the correct spot. Something didn’t feel right. There were too many Shadows here for it to just be the 3 teams. Did Graves bring the rest of the PMC strictly for this? The best of the best would be stationed to capture and detain Los Vaqueros alive and bring them to the prison while the rest would be brought in to guard the prison and be stationed elsewhere? Roach couldn’t believe how secretive Graves was about this. Sure there had been secretive missions beforehand, but nothing this big. Nothing that brought the entire fleet of soldiers trained underneath the man’s watchful eyes. They usually all had different missions they would complete. How much was General Shepherd paying Graves to pull this off?

The seven made their way through the rest of the prison silently. Each person that was pushing forward a Vaquero moved their respective soldier into an empty cell. The group had to do it systematically, the control panel being further down the hall for the doors to open and close. The Vaqueros were surprisingly silent for the time being, as if each one was trying to work something out. Before Roach put his in, he took the t-shirt off, figuring it would at least feel better before he got the information over the comms to remove their zip ties. Roach obeyed before pushing the man in, hearing him curse as he rubbed his wrists. The door quickly closed behind him before the Shadow Company soldier regrouped with the rest of Shadow 7.

“Alright. Crash, Rico, Skunk and Void, you four will stay here. Cupcake, Roach and I are heading back to the Mexican Special Forces’ base to help make sure that Graves can either successfully detain or discourage Alejandro, Ghost and Soap from doing anything. Rico will be incharge until we return, any orders he gets or gives follow to a T. Good luck.” Jet ordered before gesturing for Cupcake and Roach to follow him. Roach casted a glance to the four they were leaving behind before he nodded his head in a farewell. The rest did the same before Cupcake and Roach followed Jet back to the vehicles. Roach hopped back into the front passenger seat as Jet climbed into the driver’s side, Cupcake taking a different vehicle with a few other Shadow Company soldiers.

The air was thick between the two like it usually was after a small disagreement. Roach kept his gaze away from Jet as the raven haired man started to drive the car back to the base location of Fuerzas Especiales. “We can’t keep doing things like this Roach.” Jet’s voice, that was for once soft, broke the silence. “You’re my second in command. If I have you doubting not just my decisions, but Graves’ orders. It’s not going to look good for us.” He huffed slightly. “I know you don’t agree with what is happening. It’s unfair. But we’re paid to do a job and then leave. Nothing more. Nothing less. So help your team do their job so they won’t end up dead by the hands of the enemy.” His voice started to harden by the last sentence, the man’s eyes darting over to Roach before returning his attention to the road. Jet’s words shouldn’t have hit Roach as hard as they did with the way his mind was teetering back and forth between following orders or not. He knew that via the contract that kept him employed at Shadow Company, yes. He shouldn’t disobey orders. However there was a clause, a clause that he knew well mainly because he gets bored easily and would reread the contract to keep it fresh in his memory. Roach would not be punished in any way for disobeying orders if it meant saving more lives, especially of his fellow soldiers. But this mission felt like one where that would be broken and the dirty blond couldn’t entirely figure out why.

“Bug-” “-I understand.” Roach was quick to respond, harshness filling his tone as he didn’t want to hear more of Jet’s coaxing to follow his command. It wasn’t often that they’d have this much static between them on a mission, but it was building. Once again the ride was silent as Jet drove the vehicle back to the base, Roach keeping his eye on his surroundings as usual.

It wasn’t raining yet, but when Roach stepped out of the vehicle, he could smell it through his mask. It spelled heavy rain.

Jet and Roach silently met up with Cupcake, who glanced at the two tense men before asking, “So what’s our post, Jet?” The blond asked in a cautious tone, clearly seeing the strain between the two as if it was a string in front of him. The line being pulled taut. “Cupcake, you will be sweeping the buildings with Shadow 4 and Shadow 5, checking to see if Rodolfo was stupid enough to stay here. Roach and I will be by the main gate for when Graves, Alejandro, Ghost and Soap arrive. Keep an ear out on your radio. I doubt these men will go easily.”

Cupcake nodded before parting from the group. He headed towards the building as the other two walked to the gate. Rain had just started to drizzle down as the men made their silent trek to the guarded entrance to Fuerzas Especiales.

Bright lights were shining in the distance, indicating that the duo got back just in time to see the four men return. The two glanced at each other, a silent agreement to get their rifles ready, so they slung them from over their shoulders into their hands, pointing the barrel down before they started to jog. They were still a distance away from the gate and they could not be late for the inevitability that Alejandro, Ghost and Soap wouldn’t go down without a fight. Their boots hitting against the blackened and soon wet road as the rain started to slowly come down heavier.

The gate had two lanes, one for going in, one for going out. The ceiling was propped up with eight steel beams, four being above each building that were on either side of the road. There were two barrier gate arms, one for each road, alternating in white and red, one was down, the other was up as the vehicles pulled to a stop, one under the cement cover that was lifted many feet above the vehicles.

Then they saw Alejandro, Graves, Soap and Ghost exit the vehicles. Graves was first, his rifle pointed down at the ground before his head looked over at the Colonel as he spoke. “What’s this?” Alejandro’s voice was barely heard as he quickly closed the car’s door and started towards Graves. Jet and Roach had just approached the gate, the Colonel’s arm gesturing to the Shadow Company soldiers that were stationed at the gate instead of his men.

“This is the immediate future.” Graves responded calmly. The pit in Roach’s stomach worsened as Jet and Roach took up positions by the black vehicle. “Step away from the gate.” Graves’ words weren’t a suggestion, they were an order. Roach could see Ghost glancing over at Soap and Alejandro, his eyes carefully sweeping the area as he did so. The masked man was smart, Roach had to give him that, but until he reacted, the freckled man couldn’t do anything.

“Waht?!” Soap’s disapproving and confused word rang through the rain as it continued to pour down.

“You heard me.” The Shadow Company Commander responded, keeping his tone cool and collected.

“Are you crazy?” Alejandro sounded like he didn’t believe what the blonde was telling him. His voice started to get agitated as his arms gestured to the buildings behind Graves. “This is my base.”

“It’s not a base.” Graves corrected as he shuffled forward slightly. “This is a… Sizable, covert facility. And I admire it.” A slight smile parted his lips before he continued to speak. “So I’m taking it. You boys have been relieved. Thank you for your service.”

“No no no. I don’t take orders from you” Alejandro’s eyes were focused on Graves, brow furrowing. Disbelief and pure hatred written all over his features at the gall that the American had for taking over his base. His voice was quiet as if he was trying to keep his cool, his arms fidgeting forward as if he was trying to work out some of his anger while he spoke.

Graves took another shift forward, eyes narrowing as he cooly taunted, “Didn’t Valeria say that?” There was a pause that made the air stiffen with tension, a firm and subtly accusatory tone filling his next words. “Now that makes me wonder what else I don’t know about your affiliation with a drug lord.” Alejandro glanced back at Soap, clearly trying to keep his cool while also silently asking the 141 member if Graves’ was out of his mind as the PMC leader pointed at the Colonel with two fingers near the end of his sentence. Roach could feel the straws being gripped with his superior’s words. This was insane. Was this practiced? It had to be. Everyone knew these men wouldn’t go down without a fight. So why was he choosing such antagonistic words?

A disbelieving huff left Alejandro before he softly asked, “What the fuck did you just say to me, pendejo?” He took a few slow steps forward, looking down at the man with a strained smile as Soap came up behind him. He gently put a hand on Alejandro’s shoulder, slightly tugging the taller male back as if to warn him to back off.

“You’re oot of line, Graves.” Soap said, jabbing a finger at him. Roach shifted nervously. The three were all within a foot or two of each other. If Alejandro wanted, he could disarm the American, but he didn’t. “Don’t do that.” Graves said, pointing his finger back, choosing to take a few steps back. “Don’t… Do that.” His voice was somewhat playful, before it turned firm, his pointing hand moving to insinuate his words. “No one needs to get hurt here.”

“Are you thre’tinin’ us?” Ghost asked, his voice loud and echoing through the air to make sure he was heard from the other side of the front of the second parked vehicle as he shuffled forward. The Shadows had slowly started to herd in, not enough to cause suspicion, but enough so that they could glance over at each other and silently communicate, making sure each person knew things were escalating to a not ideal point.

“Soldier, I don’t make threats.” The American paused, his eyes sweeping over the three opposing men. “ I make guarantees.” Graves paused, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked between Alejandro and Soap, the Scot’s hand sliding off of the Colonel’s shoulder “So let’s not do this.”

There was a pause that felt like it lasted a long time despite only being a few seconds. “I’m callin’ Shepherd.” Soap sourly replied, only able to turn around and take a few steps before Graves responded. “General Shepherd sends his regards.” The mohawked man then stopped. Roach couldn’t see his face, but the way the conversation was going, he could only guess the disbelief written on the man’s face because of the situation. “He told me y’all wouldn’t take this well.” “He knows about this?!” Ghost’s words seemed to echo the men’s thoughts, his voice annoyed to the degree of anger that had been boiling over for a while. “He’s put me in command of this operation from here on out.” Graves quickly said as Soap shuffled back around, his attention full on the man with still muscles. “So y’all need to stand down. It’s time to let the pros finish this.” Roach had to stop himself from letting out a laughing huff. In his mind Task Force 141 and Los Vaqueros were the professionals. Shadow Company was just a bunch of hired men who didn’t want to go into the military for their own reasons. Then the freckled man’s attention went to Ghost and Soap, they had exchanged looks. Something was up and Roach shifted into a more readied position. Jet noticed, glancing at Roach and following suit, making his way around the front of the black car to get closer to Graves. “And why the hell are we talking like this is some kind of negotiation? It’s not.” Graves continued to speak firmly and quickly, raising his voice at the last word. Authority and threats thrown with just the sound of his voice. “I’ve got my orders.” He said, gesturing to himself with his hand before pointing back at Alejandro and Soap. “And you have yours.”

“And who the fuck do you think you are, cabrón?” Alejandro matched Graves’ energy, his voice having a bit more anger in it as he said his last word a bit louder. “MY MEN ARE INSIDE!” Despite the attempt at keeping his voice calm, the man roared out those four words. The fire inside the Colonel could be labeled as a forest fire, and Roach only hoped the next thing out of Graves’ mouth wouldn’t add fuel to it.

“I’m afraid not.” He was throwing a canister of gasoline towards the roaring flames and Roach’s hands gripped his rifle tightly. “Your men have been…” Graves paused, no doubt thinking of how to ‘calmly’ put his next word, his lips smacking slightly “Detained.”

If looks could kill, Alejandro would be labeled with first degree. But no one had time to register that before the Colonel grabbed Graves by the shoulders, the man then acted in kind and shoved Alejandro into the nearby vehicle. Jet then quickly went and detained the taller man with a zip tie. “Graves, What the FUCK?!” Soap yelled out the last word, another Shadow going around Graves as the commander readied his weapon. Shots were fired at Soap as the man went behind the Shadow that was slowly creeping up on him this whole time. His beefy arm wrapped around the man’s neck as he used the soldier as a body shield while the Shadow Company soldiers struggled to free himself.

Roach stayed beside the car, rifle up and pointed at Soap, eyes narrowed with caution, but his finger never even hovered over the trigger. Roach’s attention was brought to Ghost, the masked man quickly elbowing the Shadow behind him before taking out a knife. He slashed at another soldier that was nearby, the man dodging back as he went to fire at Ghost before being shoved against the car. The blade soon found its place in the Shadow’s neck. Movement drew Ghost’s gaze to the man he had stunned before removing the knife and throwing it at the soldier who was trying to charge the man. Roach stood frozen though, his eyes on the fight as his brain took the worst time ever to stutter. Alejandro had managed to get his arms around Jet, who had him pressed against the car, and was choking him. “Get your fucking hands off of me-” He growled out. Before Roach could react, Graves hit Alejandro in the head with the butt of his rifle, sending the two men to the floor as Jet gasped back to life. Roach was quick to go over and help Jet out from behind the Colonel’s hands as he heard a gun fire by him. It was returned by Soap as he unholstered a pistol from the Shadow he was holding hostage. The bullets landed into the Shadow Company soldier and he went down. Roach then shot at Soap from his crouched position, one of the bullets hitting the man in his arm. A gasp of pain left Soap and sent him to the ground before Graves took it as an opportunity to go check in on Ghost. The masked man had maneuvered to the back side of the car. “Go Johnny! Get out of there!” Roach could barely hear his panicked voice as the freckled male stood up, carefully moving forward to the man on the ground. “Soap- Go!” There was desperation in the English accent before the mohawked man shoved the Shadow Company soldier off of him. The movement made Roach shoot at Soap, and whether on accident or on purpose, none of the bullets hit the fleeing man as he launched himself over the cement barrier.

Graves looked over, displeasure clearly etched on his face as his lips were pulled in a tight line. “Get him- Now!” He barked as Roach quickly moved forward, but the Shadow that was on the ground moved faster, popping up over the barrier to shoot at Soap and getting a face full of lead as Roach positioned himself right besides the now deceased man, shooting at the fleeing man, watching as his silhouette soon blend in with the trees. Roach cursed underneath his mask, feeling Graves approach his side as their eyes scanned the trees. He could hear the disappointed sigh from the man before the Commander turned his attention back to where he had left Ghost. “You there, Ghost?” He asked, trying to keep his voice calm as he raised his rifle to the rear of the car, slowly approaching it as he continued to speak after a short pause. “That was a big mistake, brother.” His voice was irritated, masked beyond what he actually felt as his last word uncovered some rough twang in his voice. “It did not have to be like this.” The man sideshuffled, leaning to the side as he poked over the corner of the vehicle to find nothing. Somehow, the masked man snuck away. “Sonuvabitch.” Graves cursed before shouting to Roach, “Find ‘em!” The freckled man nodded before checking on Jet, bringing him up. “Are-?” He started to speak. “The fuck was that, Roach?” Jet gasped softly as he stood up with the help of his second in command. The dirty blond didn’t respond as he looked away. “Doesn’t matter.” He gruffly responded as he panted, looking at the passed out Alejandro on the ground, icy blue eyes searing with hatred. His hand rubbed his throat that had a bruise starting to form the Colonel choking the American out. “Shadows, this is Graves. Shadow 1 I want you to take Alejandro Vargas to the prison. Shadows 2, 3 and 7, you’re with me. We’re sweeping Las Almas for Ghost and Soap. They are to be killed on sight.” Graves’ voice rang out in the rain as well as being echoed on their radio.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Omg this was such a long chapter holy shit. Let me know if you want me to keep longer chapters like this together or separate cause I'm kind of on the fence about it. Either waaaaaay. Tension is building and we're finally intertwining with the in game lore! Hope y'all enjoyed!

@fastleopard1521 - @whateverdraws1008 - @glitter-anon-asks - @olibird - @chaosgoblindoodles

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