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shellofashadow · 4 months ago

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list of fundraisers that have reached out to me

As of 10/10/2024

VETTED:

Amjad Al-Shaltawi- $10,113/97,000 euros. Vetted by @el-shab-hussein @nabulsi & @gaza-evacuation-funds (line #250 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @amjadshiltawu for more info.

Nevin Al-Sir- $2,298/50,000 euros. Vetted by @gaza-evacuation-funds. Share and donate here!! Follow @nevinalser for more info.

Fidda-family2- $41,790/75,000 USD. Vetted by association: Fidaa is the sister of fellow Palestinian bloggers @wafaaresh6 & @mohiy-gaza2. Share and donate here!! Follow @fidda-family2 for more info.

Abdul Salam Al-Anqar- $2,875/50,000 euros. Vetted by @gazavetters (line #4 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!!

Amir Ayyad- $2,116/60,000 euros. Vetted by @gaza-evacuation-funds. Share and donate here!! Follow @mohammed-ayyad24 for more info.

Ahmed Al-Habil- $9,393/81,000 British pounds. Vetted by @el-shab-hussein. Share and donate here!! Follow @ahmedkhabil for more info.

Muhammad Al-Habil- $32,096/50,000 euros. Vetted by @nabulsi @el-shab-hussein & @gaza-evacuation-funds (line #166 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @alhabil for more info.

Muhammed Atalla- $19,777/82,000 euros. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @atalah-mohammed for more info.

Mahmoud Ayyad- $6,605/55,000 euros. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!!

Khaled Altaban- $3,293/10,000 British pounds. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @khaled-eltaban for more info.

Mohiy- $57,938/63,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @mohiy-gaza2 for more info.

Intisar Abushammaleh- $21,530/40,000 USD. Vetted by @nabulsi. Share and donate here!! Follow @bshaeromars-blog for more info.

Falestine Jad Al-Haq- $25,057/40,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @falestine-yousef for more info.

Hani Yasser- $1,478/25,000 euros. Vetted by @gazavetters (line #5 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @haniyasser for more info.

Ahmed Abu Al-Rish- $18,306/31,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @ahmadresh2 for more info.

Maram Nabulsi- $553/70,000 USD. Vetted by @beesandwatermelons (line #196 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @maram-gaza for more info.

Aseel Asad Mohammed- $38,940/50,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here. Follow @aseelo680 for more info.

Mona Al-Yazji- $5,791/200,000 Swedish krona (or $561/19,400 USD). Vetted by @gazavetters (line #87 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @monayazji for more info.

Hamdi Al-Shiltawi- $2,169/20,000 euros. Vetted by @nabulsi @el-shab-hussein & @gaza-evacuation-funds (line #285 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @hamdishiltawi for more info.

Yahya Bkheet- $5,366/30,000 euros. Vetted by @nabulsi. Share and donate here!! Follow @yahyabkheeblog for more info.

Mahmoud Helles- $25,488/37,000 euros. Vetted by @nabulsi. Share and donate here!! Follow @hillesmahmoud for more info.

Ashraf & Abeer Alserr- $2,623/50,000 euros. Vetted by @gazavetters (line #79 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @abeer-adel for more info.

Safa'a Abd- $40,537/90,000 euros. Vetted by @90-ghost @nabulsi & @northgazaupdates2. Share and donate here!! Follow @safaabed8 for more info.

Wafa Abdul Karim Abu Al-Rish- $33,031/50,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @wafaaresh6 for more info.

Yousra- $4,428/30,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @yousra-maryam40 for more info.

Mahdi Jad Al-Haq- $6,886/300,000 Swedish krona. (Or $665/28,980 USD, 10 SEK= 0.97 USD). Vetted by @gazavetters (line #72 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @moh26666 for more info.

Belal Salem- $225/20,000 USD. Vetted by @gazavetters (line #41 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @savebelal-family for more info.

Balsam Ibrahim- $17,505/100,000 euros. Vetted by @bilal-salah0, Share and donate here!! Follow @balsamibrahim for more info.

Mahmoud Alkahdi- $16,895/50,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost. Share and donate here!! Follow @mahmoudnasser for more info.

Sondos Jad Al-Haq- $485/30,000 CAD. Vetted by @gazavetters (line #70 in spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @sondos2201 for more info.

Nour (@noor120abd)- $25,773/45,000 USD. Vetted by @90-ghost (the vetted post was on Nour's old blog that Tumblr deleted). Share and donate here!! Follow @noor120abd for more.

Ahlam Mahdi- $750/50,000 USD. Vetted by @gazavetters (line #73 on spreadsheet). Share and donate here!! Follow @ahlam910 for more info.

VETTED BY ASSOCIATION:

Maria-gaza1- $7,148/30,000 CAD. Vetted by association, by vetted Palestinians @wafaaresh6 & @mohiy-gaza2. Share and donate here!! Follow @maria-gaza1 for more info.

Firas Almashni- $421/45,000 euros. Vetted by association, Firas was vouched for by vetted Palestinian @asmayyad. Share and donate here!! Follow @ferass97 for more info.

Mohammed (@mohammed-rh09)- $7,284/40,000 CAD. Vetted by association, Mohammed is the brother of vetted Palestinians, @mohiy-gaza2 and @fidaa-family2 (here and here). Share and donate here!! Follow @mohammed-rh09 for more info.

UNVETTED, BUT LEGITIMATE (NEW FUNDRAISERS):

Mostafa Majayda- $4,759/150,000 euros. Currently unvetted (new fundraiser), but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results. Follow @mostafamajayda for more info.

Amany Ayyad- $434/50,000 euros. Currently unvetted, but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results. Follow @amanyayyad11 for more info.

Asala Almashni- $3,051/30,000 euros. Currently unvetted, but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results. Follow @asala-almashni for more info.

Osama Almoghani- $30/90,000 euros. Currently unvetted (new fundraiser created 5 DAYS AGO), but has a donation protected campaign. Follow @osamaalmoghani for more info.

Yasmin Salah Mahmoud- $1,664/40,000 euros. Currently unvetted, but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results. Follow @yasminsalahmahmoud for more info.

Sameer Al-Nasla- $1,847/50,000 euros. Currently unvetted, but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results. Follow @sameer-gaza00 for more info.

Samira Al-Hapil- $2,140/20,000 euros. Currently unvetted, but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results. Follow @samiraayman for more info.

Akram Aldwaik- $0/25,000 USD. Currently unvetted (new fundraiser), but has a donation protected campaign and 0 reverse image results.

@neptunerings @twinsfawn @ismatscaff @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @gazavetters @dlxxv-vetted-donations @springacres @queerstudiesnatural @appsa @friendshapedplant @ibtisams @northgazaupdates2

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fixfoxnox · 2 years ago

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Something In The Orange - Part 2

Chapter Summary: As Roach's return to the military continues, he learns he isn't as alone as he thought. Time passes, and he gets closer to the 141.

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, sorta graphic depictions of violence

Note: This fic is also being posted to my Ao3 if you would prefer to read it there!

Word Count: 7k

"Hold on don't let go

It's worth the climb

These mountains become

Hills over time

And when the what if's

Outweigh all the knowns

You're right where you wanted"

"Hold On" - Cawlings

Getting his name back was the shock that Roach needed to pull that uncertainty that realizing Griggs didn’t remember had brought to him. All at once he felt filled with hope, hope that he didn’t think he’d truly had until that moment. He was one step closer to being himself again, and it felt good.

As the years went on, Roach’s name stuck, and along with his actual name, he and Jackson made names for themselves within their unit. In fact, they were considered good enough that when Griggs was placed in charge of the Demon Dogs, he requested that Roach and Jackson be transferred to the unit with him. It was a step in the right direction for Roach and he couldn’t help but be pleased. He felt closer than ever to the 141, he just didn’t quite know how close he was.

“I don’t feel good about this.”

Roach turned to raise an eyebrow at Jackson. “Nervous?”

Jackson snorted, “When am I ever nervous?”

Roach gave a chuckle, “Fair point, but hey,” he nudge his side, “You know if you are you can talk to me about it.” Roach pushed himself up further in the back of their transport. He and Jackson sat side by side, whispering to one another to avoid being heard by their teammates across from them. They were being transported to meet up with a soldier by the name of Alex and some resistance fighters. They were supposed to aid them in capturing the elusive Omar Sulaman, also known as the Wolf. “Even if you’re not nervous if you want to talk to me about anything, you can.”

Jackson had been seemingly lost in thought the whole journey to the meetup area. Roach had never seen him like that before, the man almost always seemed to have a rather cool and collected air surrounding him.

Roach watched with a raised eyebrow as Jackson glanced around the transport almost skittishly before his eyes found Roach’s again. “Okay, but listen, you’re not allowed to say I’m crazy.”

Taken aback, Roach responded, “Of course, what’s up?”

Jackson leaned towards him, “I feel like I’ve been here before.”

Roach shook his head, “I mean, Jackson we’ve been in this area before-”

“No! Not like that, I mean,” Jackson shook his head, “This all feels so familiar to me. The location, the situation, Griggs, being Sergeant Paul Jackson. Hell even the hunt for the Wolf,” he stopped then and muttered something to himself that Roach only just barely caught but was enough to send a shiver down his spine: “at least it isn’t Al-Asad again.”

“Al-Asad?” Roach questioned, “Khaled Al-Asad?”

Jackson stared at him in surprise and disbelief, “Roach? How do you know that name?”

Roach sat up fully then, staring Jackson down, “Al-Asad was a puppet in the middle east, he was being used by Imran Zakhaev. Marines were sent to hunt him down in the middle east but nearly thirty thousand of them died because of a-”

“Nuclear bomb,” Jackson finished for him. The two stared at each other in shock for a moment, understanding slowly filling both of them. “I died when the nuke went off,” Jackson admitted.

Roach sucked in a breath, no wonder he hadn’t ever heard of Jackson in his old life. There were so many names on that list, and Jackson had never been mentioned in any of the lists of important people who’d died. “I was killed too,” Roach admitted, “Betrayed and shot years later while trying to hunt down Imran Zakhev’s successor.”

“Holy shit,” Jackson muttered, “But you remember. Like me, you remember?”

Roach nodded and the two sat with the new information for several seconds, trying to take in the fact that they’d finally met someone else like them, that they’d been sitting beside each other as friends for years, never knowing that the other had suffered an eerily similar fate to them.

Just as Roach opened his mouth to ask a question, their transport stopped, the other members of their team climbing out of the truck with no knowledge of the discovery their teammates had just made. Knowing that the two needed to move, Roach settled on, “We’ll talk more later, and hey,” he made sure to look Jackson in the eyes, “I swear this won’t be the same as last time.”

The beginning of the raid was fairly easy thanks to the tanks and air support that followed the ground crew. Alex or Echo 3-1 proved to be useful when the group came to several booby traps set up. Roach made sure to watch Alex disarm them, trying his best to learn the process just in case they needed it later.

Once they’d made it through the alleys, they were able to meet back up with the tanks, one look at Jackson let Roach know how nervous the other man was becoming, even more so when the tanks were taken out by an IED and they were forced to find cover as they were faced with an onslaught of enemies.

Very quickly, both Roach and Jackson realized that the onslaught would be too much for the group if they kept on how they were. “Demon 1-2, this is Roach, we need to move now. If we stay here we’ll get pinned down.”

“I’m with Roach, we’ve got to move!” Jackson replied as well, popping up to take out a group of four enemies who had gotten dangerously close to their position. Roach did the same a moment later.

“I agree,” Griggs responded in their ears, suddenly they heard him shout, “Pop smoke and flank, up the high side!”

“Popping smoke!” Alex called. As soon as the grenade popped and smoke began filling the air the group pushed up and engaged the enemies that had been holding them back. They took them down fairly easily, but things could never truly be that simple, a mounted machine gunner coming through on a truck made sure of that. Only a second later and Alex had thrown smoke again, allowing the group to take down the gunner and push further up to flank the retreating enemies.

The next area came with a machine gunner hidden away in a nest in one of the buildings, his near-constant fire forcing the group to hide until smoke was thrown yet again. “Jackson, Roach, you two stay out here and cover us,” Griggs told them as he and Alex were able to push up to the building with the machine gunner’s nest.

Roach did as he was told, moving up a bit further to begin mowing down enemies in a way that he’d often been told left “no enemies for everyone else to take down.” Jackson joined him a moment later, their gunfire allowing them to continue to push up further until they’d pushed the enemies back past the building and closer to the hospital that they were aiming for.

Another moment later and they were joined once again by Griggs, Alex, and the rest of the squad as they continued to push towards the hospital, jumping from cover to cover and doing their best to thin the enemy forces out. As they grew closer, Griggs decided it would be best to call in one of the gunships to aid them, “Demon 1-2 to Red Hammer 7 - We're taking fire from troops defending the south entrance of the hospital - Request immediate suppression, over.” Then, moments later, “Marines! Hold up! We have overhead ordnance comin' hot on this grid!”

Sure enough, moments later and the group were all watching, some cheering as the building lit up with gunfire and missiles. The small break couldn’t last long though and once again the group was on the move up to the hospital, still having to fight their way in. It was once they’d cleared the lobby that Griggs stopped and made his way over to Roach and Jackson. “Jackson, you take three demons and make your way up the back, Roach, you stick with me.” Roach wanted to complain, but Griggs didn’t give any room for that, turning back to rejoin Alex.

“You gonna be okay?” He asked, turning towards Jackson who was looking rather uncomfortable with his marching orders. Roach couldn’t blame him, he was sure that if this mission had been similar in the slightest to the one he’d died on, he’d be nervous as well.

Jackson nodded to him after a moment, “I’ll make it.” He held a fist out to Roach, “See you on the other side.” Roach gave him a soft smile before bumping their fists together. They both gave each other one last nod before Jackson and his three men were taking off to the other side of the hospital and Roach was rushing to catch up with Griggs and the others.

The group pushed further into the hospital, suddenly coming face to face with several civilians and Al-Quatala fighters, Roach was quick to call, “Civies ahead!”

“Civilians,” Griggs mimicked, “Check fire! Check fire!”

Very slowly the group progressed, making sure to avoid hitting any of the civilians trying to escape the hospital as they pushed on. Eventually, they made it to the stairs of the second floor, “All stations, Demons are moving up to the second deck. No sign of the Wolf.” Roach could hear Griggs and Alex exchange some words after that, but he ignored them as the group came up to the second floor where they were faced with rooms of wounded and dead civilians.

“Shit,” Roach breathed out.

“Just… check ‘em,” Roach heard Griggs say, “Check all of ‘em.”

Roach watched carefully as the group made their way into the room, his eyes locking on to one of the civilians ahead who seemed to be more alert than the others. Sure enough, moments later and the “civilian” was jumping for a gun sitting next to him. Roach raised his gun to take out the target, but it seemed that Alex had been paying attention just the same and was quick to send the man to the ground.

Roach felt relief flood his system as Griggs called that the room was clear, but that relief was quick to fade as he heard Griggs ask into the comms, “1-2 to Demon 3, how copy?” That was Jackson’s group.

“Demon 3 dropped off, sergeant,” Another member of the team mentioned.

“Shit,” Griggs said, “Find them!” he called to the team. Roach felt like his heart was in his throat. He nearly wished he had a cross around his neck then, some form of comfort that would help him feel as though his prayer for his friend's safety would actually work.

The group continued pushing up into the building only to be met with a long hallway where Al-Quatala had set up another machine gunner at the end of the hallway. The rest of the team held back, but Roach, determined to get to his friend quicker, and Alex alternated throwing out smoke grenades that allowed them to slowly move up, taking out enemies along their way to the gunner’s nest where eventually Alex dropped the man and the rest of the team was able to move up behind them.

Finally, the group pushed up to the room that held the man they’d come for, the Wolf. Griggs and Alex used the snake cam to see what was going on inside and after a moment Alex pulled back to report, “Positive ID on the Wolf, three marine hostages. He’s gonna kill them, we’ve got to breach.”

Roach felt his heart drop when he learned that there were only three in the room. He could only hope that one of them was Jackson. As Alex moved around the back of the room to flank them, Roach moved in position to breach.

When the go was called the group bust into the room and took about the Al-Quatala fighters that were left standing, Alex already pinning the Wolf to the ground.

Roach was quick to move around and help untie each of the Marines, noting with dread that Jackson wasn’t among them. “Sergeant, Jackson’s not here.”

Griggs turned from where he’d been speaking to Alex and after taking in the three marines he let out a curse. He walked over to one of the Marines who was a bit more present, “Hey, brother, where’s Jackson?”

The man took a moment to respond before, “Trip mine on the way up, the Al-Quatala fighters set it off while we were close to it. Jackson took the brunt of it so they left him behind.

Griggs was quick to look over to Roach, “Roach.”

That was all Roach needed and soon he was darting out of the room and heading as quickly as he could down the winding hallways of the path that the marines would have taken. He could feel his heart in his throat and he knew that a few other Marines were racing after him, but he wouldn’t dare stop to wait for them, not when Jackson could be dead on the ground at that point.

“Jackson? Paul!” Roach turned down one of the hallways and immediately spotted where the trip wire had been set off. It took him only a moment later to spot his friend. Sergeant Paul Jackson was laying in a pool of his own blood, one of his legs mangled beyond anything Roach had seen on anyone living.

Roach slid to his knees next to his friend, checking his pulse and finding a weak one fairly quickly. He moved as fast as he could then, kneeling just above Jackson’s bleeding leg, where he guessed the artery was, and placing his full body weight there. He was quick to pull his scarf out from around his neck then a carabiner from his belt. He wrapped the scarf around Jackson’s leg did his first loop and tightened it as much as he could. He looped the scarf through the carabiner next tying that as tight as he could. Immediately after he started to twist the thing around. Just as he continued twisting it two of the other marines ran around the corner, both stopping short at the sight of Jackson.

Roach continued twisting but quickly barked out, “Left, you call medics, right, see if you can find an actual tourniquet, NOW!”

As the two marines lept into action Roach turned his attention back to the task at hand and finished turning the carabiner to the best of his ability. Holding it as tight as he could, he pulled a rubber band off of his wrist and used it to secure the makeshift tourniquet before using the ends of his scarf to add another layer of security and ensure it stayed tightened.

He kept pressure on Jackson’s leg with his own body weight as well, hoping that it would help keep his friend from tipping over into death's arms. It wasn’t even ten minutes later and the medical evac team was swarming the hallway. One of the medics took over holding the pressure the same as Roach had and within a few seconds Jackson was being attached to a cot and moved outside to be airlifted to the nearest working hospital.

Roach followed the medics the whole way out, watching as Jackson was lifted up into the air and carried off. It wasn’t until a medic approached him that he pulled his gaze away from the chopper.

“Are you hurt?”

Roach looked down at himself, finally noticing the blood that soaked his hands and his clothes. “No,” he spoke quietly, “It’s not my blood.”

Roach didn’t get to visit Jackson until a few weeks later when he finally had a bit of leave that he immediately used up to rush to the hospital where his friend had found himself a resident for the time being.

The nurse was kind enough to point him in the direction of Jackson’s room. Roach walked as fast as he could to the room without running down the hallway, quite a feat in his opinion.

He stopped dead outside of the room when he arrived, finding that Jackson's room was nearly filled to the brim with people that he could only assume were the man’s family. Roach watched silently from the door, observing the way that Jackson laughed at something one of his family members said. It made the heaviness that had settled on his chest over the past few weeks disappear. Seeing his friend with color back in his cheeks and so full of life was enough for Roach.

Just as Roach turned to leave he heard a call, “Sanderson?”

He turned back abruptly to find the eyes of every person in the room looking at him. His nerves shot up, but he did his best to focus his gaze on Jackson who was giving him a wide grin. “You’ve not called me that in a while.”

Jackson shrugged, “I figured it would seem less rude to my family if I called you Sanderson, you know some people probably wouldn’t take too kindly to being called Roach.” Jackson turned to his family then, “Guys, this is Gary Sanderson, we call him Roach. He’s the one who applied the tourniquet to my leg.”

In a flash, Roach was being dragged into the hospital room with numerous people crying and pulling him into hugs. All he could do was look to Jackson for help, but the man seemed to find his awkwardness amusing as he just gave a shrug and a grin to his friend. Eventually, after hearing nearly everyone’s thanks for saving Jackson, the group decided to leave the two alone for a few minutes.

Roach sat down shakily next to Jackson’s bedside. There was a comfortable silence that filled the air for a moment, neither quite sure where to start. Finally, Jackson broke the silence. “What have you heard?”

Roach shook his head, “Griggs just gave us the basics. You were alive, stable, they had to amputate your leg.”

Jackson nodded, taking in Roach’s words for a moment, “The doctors said if it hadn’t been for your tourniquet I would have been a goner.” Roach felt nauseous at those words. If he’d been any later or hadn’t been able to stem the bleeding…the thought of what could have happened sent a shiver down his spine. “I’ve been honorably discharged, of course.”

“How do you feel about that?” Roach asked after a minute. Jackson took a second to answer, considering his words carefully.

“Honestly?” He asked after a moment, Roach encouraging him with a nod, “Honestly, it's a bit of a relief.” Jackson turned to look fully at Roach, “I joined the military again because, well, I thought it would be the only way I could get back to normal.” He shook his head, “Then when I got back into it, I just felt…afraid. Afraid and sad I guess.” He let out a sigh, “I think I’m ready to live a life outside of the military, to really use my second chance.”

Roach nodded, fiddling with his hands for a moment, “I’m gonna miss you in the squad.” He paused, “I know that’s a bit selfish, but it’s the truth.”

Jackson let out a barked laugh, “It’s not selfish, I’ll miss seeing your dumb ass on the daily too.” Roach let out a chuckle at that, “And hey, I expect some phone calls, and maybe even some visits from time to time.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Roach threw out playfully. There was another bout of silence for a moment before suddenly Jackson was fixing Roach with a hard and serious look that took most of the air out of his lungs in an instant.

“Listen to me Roach, I know what it feels like to be you, desperately reaching for the normalcy of a life that's gone. Do not let it consume you.” Roach looked away, “I’m serious Roach. I know that you think getting back to some semblance of your old life will help, but that may not be an option. If you let your old life control you, you’ll get yourself killed.” There was a pause, “Tell me you understand.”

Roach gave a hesitant nod, but it wasn’t until he gave a fully confident one that Jackson leaned back in his bed, tiredness in his eyes but satisfaction clear on his face. After a moment Roach stood, “I’ve got to get back to base. Get some rest, Paul.”

He moved to leave the room only to be stopped by a call of his name from Jackson. He turned only to be forced to catch a box the man threw at him. “A replacement,” was all Jackson said in response to his look of confusion, “Stay safe, Roach.”

Roach didn’t open the box until he was back on base and in the safety of his bunk. It was a nice little red box, nothing fancy aside from the ribbon that kept it closed. He carefully pulled the ribbon to the side, setting it down beside him before lifting the lid off the box. A small smile crossed his face as he took in the contents.

Folded neatly in the box was a scarf, meant to replace the one he’d used to make the tourniquet for Jackson’s leg. It was a similar beige to his last one, though this one had a few more embellishments, particularly a few embroidered bugs that decorated the edges of the scarf.

He pulled it delicately from the box and saw that one corner of the scarf had also been embroidered with “Roach” in black.

Roach set the scarf out on his lap, observing it for a moment longer with a smile on his face before his eyes trailed up and locked on to the bunk next to his, where Jackson had slept for the past several years. He felt the smile fall from his face as, for the first time in years, a feeling of loneliness settled onto his shoulders.

The next three years were rather lonely for Roach. He continued to make visits with Jackson, his friend having been released from the hospital a few months after the hunting party for the Wolf. Roach couldn’t spend all of his time with Jackson though, so he decided it was time to refocus himself and return to the reason he’d come back to the military in the first place.

Soon after the end of the operation to capture the Wolf, Roach decided he needed to leave the Demon Dogs. While he appreciated being brought onto a specialized team with Griggs, Roach also recognized that he was unlikely to be scouted out of the group. Military respect went a long way and almost no one would be willing to swipe up a member of another team. So, he returned to a regular squad with glowing reviews from Griggs added to his file.

While Roach couldn’t exactly check to see if the 141 had already formed, he could keep an ear to the ground and piece things together with his own knowledge, which is exactly how he learned that this world had its own Shepherd, and the man had already betrayed his country.

“...officials are saying a power surge is to blame for an explosion over downtown Chicago last night due to severe winds leaving thousands of residents in the dark.”

Roach found that listening to the radio in between missions wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t the real reason he’d taken to sitting at the second level of the training complex. No, the real reason was quite simple. Roach found that the second level of the training complex was the perfect area to listen in on others' conversations. Particularly some of the higher-ups on the base, as well as the soldiers who liked to use an area nearby for their breaks.

At first, he’d felt bad about the practice, eavesdropping wasn’t exactly something he liked to do. Soon that guilt disappeared. He found that people on base knew that he would frequently sit and rest at the training area, but none of them thought it wise to move to different locations for their conversation. If his fellow soldiers weren’t bothered, then Roach wasn’t either.

“Yeah sure, power surge.”

“What? You think something else was going on?”

“I don’t think, I know.” Roach perked up a bit at the voice. Private Smith, a rather chatty and egotistical newcomer to the unit, but a newcomer with a lot of good information on things going on outside of the base. He was behind the training center nearly every night to smoke and chat shit with one of his friends on base. “You know my brother works at the pentagon?”

“Course, he’s pretty up there in rank.”

“Well, he told me that the explosion was actually from a missile.”

“No fucking way dude.”

“No seriously! Apparently, General Shepherd was illegally sending missiles to some guys in Russia, but Al-Quatala got a hold of them. They launched one at the Pentagon.”

Roach could feel his heart start beating faster at the mention of Shepherd, he’d hoped that Shepherd of all people wouldn’t have made it over to this new world. Or, that this world's Shepherd would be dead before he’d had a chance to come across him.

“Shit dude, tell me they brought the asshole in?”

“Nah, coward dipped before the guys could grab him.”

Roach felt his stomach churn at the news. He brought a hand up to his throat, hoping somehow the pressure would keep him from puking his guts up. Not only was Shepherd still alive, but he was missing. Out, somewhere in the world, was the man who’d killed Roach and the man he loved.

“Man, I wonder what squad got caught cleaning that mess up.”

“It was a multinational group,” Roach snapped back to the men’s conversation then, his entire world came to a stop as he froze completely, “My brother called them Taskforce 141.”

That day couldn’t really let Roach’s emotions rest. His luck had never been good enough for that.

With the hit that learning Shepherd was alive, came the warring feeling of joy in learning that Taskforce 141 was still around and already in action. Those two things alone would have kept Roach up all night, but the world decided that it wasn’t quite enough. That night, on a Russian plane, a terrorist attack occurred, with only one of the attackers left behind to be found, an American.

Luckily the attack hadn’t been enough to bring about WW3, something Roach was grateful to learn after weeks of anxiety after Makarov’s terrorist attack. No one but him and, maybe, Taskforce 141 knew it was Makarov, but Russia and the US were much more willing to try to avoid war in this life, something Roach was endlessly thankful for.

Over those weeks Roach had found himself clutching the cross necklace he’d made a point to get after that fateful mission with Jackson. He didn’t find himself returning to the religion that he’d abandoned before joining the military in his first life, he didn’t think he could ever do that. But, he found that the weight of the cross provided him with comfort and reminded him of the home and family that he had in this life. He was sure he’d switch it out eventually, but for now, it did the job he needed it to.

It was while fiddling with his cross and trying not to let his mind spiral during dinner that Roach overheard two of the cadets at one of the nearby tables discussing the new arrivals at the base. He didn’t pay any mind to them at first, knowing that people were constantly coming on and off of the base, and with that the soldiers were constantly gossiping. So it wasn’t the discussion of the new arrivals that caught Roach’s attention, but rather what they were saying about the new arrivals.

“You see those guys that touched down today?”

“The Europeans?”

“Yeah!”

Roach was already tuned in to the conversation at the mention of Europeans, it wasn’t every day that the base hosted SAS or other European forces. Still, he was only loosely paying attention.

“Yeah dude, those guys were weird as hell. And talk about breaking regulation?”

“I know! The guy with the mohawk? Like seriously?”

“The mohawk guy? I was talking more about the dude with the creepy skull mask. He caught me looking at him and I really thought he was going to shoot me.”

Standing from the table abruptly caught the attention of a good few people, but Roach paid them no mind, shooting out an excuse about feeling tired before oh so quickly leaving the cafeteria and rushing to the outside of the base. It was already late, so he did his best to quickly pinpoint where exactly the Taskforce would have gone.

There was no doubt that the team would end up speaking with the Platoon Sergeant of the unit Roach was on, and, knowing his SFC, the discussion would be likely to pass by Roach’s usual perch at the training area. So, taking a chance, Roach took off towards the training area, hoping above all hope that he wasn’t too late and would be able to catch sight of the people he’d spent his entire life trying to find again.

The rush up to the second story of the training area was nothing new, and nothing that had to be rushed as nearly an hour passed with nothing happening. Roach tried not to be impatient as he waited, but after waiting almost an entire life again to see them, he felt he had a right to be impatient. Luckily he didn’t have to wait much longer than an hour.

Just as he started to believe that he’d been too late, his straining ears could hear a number of people approaching, being led by his Sergeant.

“...up there is our training area.”

“We’ll want to see your men run it. Along with a few other tests.” Roach easily identified the voice as belonging to Captain Price. He felt his heart skip a beat, knowing that just below him were the members of Taskforce 141.

“Right. Listen, Price, I have to ask. What is this about?” Roach could hear the group stop just below where he sat. “You know you’re welcome here, but why exactly do you need to see my men run the training area? And you asked for their files? I’d like to not be kept in the dark on my own base.”

Roach could hear a bit of shuffling around below, his mind racing as he took in the information. Could Price be scouting for new members of the 141?

Finally, there was a sigh before, “You know about the terrorist attack right?”

“The one on the plane in Russia? What about it?”

“It was organized by a man named Makarov, he’d hoped to start a war between the US and Russia. It failed. For now.”

“...you’re going after him?”

Roach tried to ignore the way that his nerves had been set alight at the confirmation of Makarov's existence in this world. Needing a distraction, he began slowly peeking over the edge of the training area, hoping that if he moved slowly enough, he would go unnoticed. It seemed to work as soon he was looking over the edge of the training area and down at the group below him.

The first person his eyes locked onto was Captain Price. The man looked exactly the same as Roach remembered, though maybe a bit younger than he’d been when Roach had met him in his first life. Still, he was eerily similar to the way he’d been when Roach had last seen him, all the way down to the facial hair and hat that Roach had always secretly thought was a bit silly. It was, oddly enough, nice to see the man. Even though Roach hadn’t spent much time with the Captain, he was a friendly face from the 141 and a man that Soap had trusted more than anyone else.

The darker-skinned man next to him was unfamiliar to Roach, so his eyes skipped over to the next person who happened to be none other than Soap. Soap also looked extremely similar to how Roach remembered him, though he had to admit, far younger. The most notable difference was that his beard wasn’t fully grown in, instead being nothing more than what Roach would call a bit of scruff. The sight of Soap had a happy feeling fluttering through Roach’s chest. The two had become close friends during Roach’s time on the 141, and the man had been one of the few people that Roach worked with who had never abandoned him during a scenario where lady luck tried to take him out.

Soap was standing quite close to another person, and it wasn’t until Roach locked his eyes onto the different, yet easily recognizable, skeleton mask that he realized exactly who it was. Ghost.

Roach couldn’t see his face, but that didn’t matter, this was how Roach knew him to be a majority of the time. He felt his heart pick up the pace and his cheeks flush. After all the years Roach had spent trying to hold on to the memory of the man he loved, he’d been terribly worried that when he finally saw Ghost again, things would be too different. Seeing Ghost and feeling that rush of affection through his body was one of the best feelings in the world.

Roach couldn’t pull his eyes away from the man, trying desperately to commit the sight of him to memory as Captain Price continued to speak.

“Aye, we’re going after him. It’s an assassination mission at its core, but the unfortunate fact is that we need another person.”

“Why?”

Price glanced back at his team, “We’re only four. While we’re experienced, we don’t know the area and Makarov is clever. We want one of your men to be our guide.”

“If they’re just a guide, then why the pickiness on who you choose?”

“They’ve got to be able to hold their own,” The darker-skinned individual chimed in. Based on his voice, Roach connected that he was British and started to run through the names of possible people who he could be. The closeness to Price rang in his mind. He remembered Soap mentioning an old teammate who’d died in the hunt for Zhakaev. Was it Gaz?

“This is a very dangerous op, if they aren’t good, it might be that none of us make it out alive.”

This was Roach’s opportunity. Though it was supposed to be temporary, perhaps if he proved himself it would turn into something a bit more permanent. It was exactly what he’d been waiting for. The conversation continued between the group, but Roach’s eyes moved back to Ghost, once again taking time to just watch.

Ghost’s mask looked different, though Roach was sure it was something that the Ghost from his past life would have loved to have. He couldn’t help but wonder how this Ghost had made the mask.

It was while Roach was absentmindedly following this line of thought that Ghost began looking around the area, as though alerted to a pair of eyes baring down on him. It didn’t take very long for his eyes to drift up to where Roach was peeking out from the training area.

When their eyes met, Roach was quick to drop back down so he couldn’t be seen, an icy feeling flooding his system at the knowledge that he was caught. Sure enough, only a second later and he could hear Ghost’s voice.

“Quiet! We’re being watched.”

“What?”

“Training area, second floor.”

“Woah, Woah! Put the weapons up!” Roach could have laughed. Of course, the taskforces first reaction would be to pull their weapons.

“We need to go see who that is. It could be one of Makarov’s men!” Price’s voice was hard. Roach could hear the hatred for Makarov in his voice, a hatred that was similar to what Roach had heard from the man in his past life.

“It’s not one of Makarov’s men! Just, just hold on.” The Sergeant sounded a bit tired and Roach winced, knowing exactly what was about to happen. “Sanderson?”

Roach considered his options. He could just run off back to the barracks, but with his luck, he’d get caught and be in more trouble than it was worth. His Sergeant already knew it was him, so what point was there in trying anyways? So, with those quick thoughts in his mind, he decided to just bite the bullet and stand. He didn’t quite like that this was the 141’s first time meeting him, but he couldn’t control everything.

He pushed himself to his feet and ever so hesitantly peeked out from behind the wall of the training area until finally he could be fully seen. “Sergeant,” he nodded meekly.

“How long you been up there soldier?” Came the harsh-sounding question from Price.

Roach winced a bit. He’d always made an effort not to get in trouble on base, he absolutely despised being yelled at. “About an hour and a half sir.” He responded.

Price seemed a bit surprised at that answer, but Roach’s Sergeant chimed in on his behalf, “There was no malicious intent or following Price. Roach likes to sit up on the second deck of the training area. Everyone on base knows that if you stop here to talk he may overhear you.” The Sergeant ran a hand down his face, “It’s my fault for not remembering.”

“Roach?” Came the question from Soap.

“It’s what everyone calls him, he’s had the name practically since he enlisted.”

“I remember your file,” Came the voice of Price. Roach’s eyes shot over to him. “You used to be on Grigg’s squad right? The Demon Dogs?”

“Yes sir,” Roach responded.

“You were on one of the teams that helped with the initial capture of the Wolf. What are you doing back on a basic squad like this? No offense Sergeant.” Roach watched as his Sergeant waved Price off before everyone’s gaze was once again directed at him.

Roach shuffled for a moment before clearing his throat. He couldn’t exactly tell them he’d left the Demon Dogs in hopes of eventually joining their task force, so instead, he offered the next available truth he could. “I joined the Unit with Sergeant Paul Jackson. He was the reason I joined. During the mission for the Wolf, he was injured, an injury that resulted in his discharge. I didn’t really have a reason to stay anymore.”

There was a moment of silence before Price nodded to him. “How much of our conversation did you hear, Roach?”

There was silence for a moment as Roach shuffled awkwardly. “Almost the entire thing sir.”

Price nodded, “Can I trust that you won’t go sharing this around the base?”

Roach nodded rapidly, “Wouldn’t have anyone to tell even if I wanted to sir. And even if I did, you’d know it was me who spread the word.”

Price gave a bit of a chuckle, “I suppose that’s true. Go to bed, Roach. I want you at the top of your game for the tests tomorrow.” Price gave a dismissive nod and, with one last look to Ghost, who was giving him a rather scrutinizing look, Roach gave a salute to his Sergeant before turning and scurrying down the training area, his heart beating rapidly in his chest the entire way back to the barracks.

“You’re thinking about the eavesdropper?” Gaz asked with a bit of surprise as he spotted Price looking over the file of one Gary “Roach” Sanderson.

“The lad seems a bit meek to help us out on this Price,” Soap called from his place beside Ghost. Ghost wasn’t very touchy, but he’d allowed an exception for Soap who was pressed right at his side with his head on his shoulder tiredly.

“Only meek because we caught him out I think,” Price responded. Roach’s file was filled with glowing reviews from practically anyone and everyone who’d met him. He had a number of amazing accomplishments in his file as well. Price was quite surprised to see that he wasn’t a higher rank, that and that he hadn’t already been scooped up by a special ops team. Of course, there were the Demon Dogs which, according to Griggs’ letter in Roach’s file, he’d excelled in. According to his file, he’d turned down only a few offers to join special ops teams and all but ignored applying for promotions. “Kids file is insane.”

“Good insane or bad insane?” Gaz questioned, leaning over Price’s shoulder.

“Look for yourself.” Price slid the computer in front of Gaz, allowing the other man to see the file better.

Gaz let out a low whistle, “And the kids only on a basic team? The fuck’s wrong with him?”

Price chuckled, “Nothing wrong with him, apparently it's more like what’s wrong with the teams. He’s turned down offers from six different ones.”

“I wonder what he’s waiting for.” The line came from Ghost, ever the silent member of the team. It was a bit of a surprise to hear him speak on the subject.

“Maybe people?” Soap questioned, “Kid said he only joined the Demons cause of that Sergeant Jackson and left after he did.”

Price let out a humming noise and used the database to pull up the file of one Sergeant Paul Jackson. “Let’s see here. According to Jackson’s file, the two were essentially partners on their teams. They were with Griggs before he formed the demons. Hold on…shit.”

“What?”

“During the hunt for the wolf, I thought the kid was on one of the Demon teams that were covering from the outside.” Price turned the computer to Gaz again and pulled out his phone, “The kid was on the primary team. With Alex.”

“Who are you calling?”

“I’m getting the opinion of someone I trust.”

The room was quiet as the phone rang for a few moments, finally, on the last ring, someone answered. “Price?”

“Alex. Don’t worry, the world isn’t ending.”

“Well, that’s a relief. What do you need?”

“I was wondering if you remembered a Gary Sanderson, would’ve been called Roach, he was one of the Demon Dogs that was with you and Griggs when you went after the Wolf. He would have been with a Sergeant Paul Jackson.”

“Scouting for new members?” Alex chuckled for a moment, “Yeah, I remember the kid. Hard to forget someone with skill like that.”

“Yeah?” Price asked, “Tell me.”

“Kid was good, really good. Helped me push up a blocked hallway with a machine gunner nest at one end without taking a shot kinda good.” He paused for a moment, “I think the biggest thing from that mission though was the deal with Jackson. Guy got injured and would have bled out if it wasn’t for Roach. He applied an emergency tourniquet to the guy's leg, was good enough that Jackson got out with only losing his leg. If anyone else had found him? I’m pretty sure the guy would’ve been a goner.”

Price took in the information with a nod, “And his shooting?”

Alex let out a low whistle, “He’s good, really good. Have you watched his end-of-basics test yet?” Alex responded, “Watch it. That was the kids shooting after basic, imagine how good he is now.” There was a moment of quiet before, “Hey, I hate to do this but I gotta go, something just came up with Farah.”

“Alright, thanks for the help.” Price was already pulling up the video from Roach’s file before he hung up.

“A glowing review from Keller too,” Gaz commented. “Kid must be good.”

“We’ll see,” Price said simply.

Prev: Part 1

Next: Part 3

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