Beadie leaned back against her seat and tried not to wince again. She was still a little sore from the previous night and the fact that they almost got blown up with a missile in the middle of the ocean didn't really help.

"Are you alright?" Graves glanced her way from the driver's seat, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"Yeah," Beadie gave the short answer and turned to look out the window on her side, watching the rainfall. It was warm and welcoming for all their stay, but the rain drumming against the top of their car was anything but.

Like they didn't get soaked enough in the ocean before.

He tried to make small talk with her about the mission but the tiredness suppressed the words from her. She couldn't wait to get back to the base and sleep this off, all of her muscles crying in protest whenever she moved. Even the ones she didn't know could hurt.

Alejandro made sure she would remember their night together. Besides the marks on her thighs and the ones she left on his collarbone.

Beadie's eyes started to close, the mixture of pouring rain and the rhythmic purring of the car lulling her to sleep. But it lasted for only a few minutes when a faint touch on her left knee shook her awake.

She looked at Graves with one of her eyebrow raised, not really understanding the situation. The base was already in view, the soft lights of the gate shining brightly, giving her Commander's face a glow. The shadows reached high, giving him a menacing aura.

"You have to promise me something," his soft voice broke the silence, the undertones of his words making her uneasy.

"What do you mean?" Beadie sat up straighter in her seat, his hand slipping away from her knee. "What-"

"Just promise me you'll do as I say," Graves cut her off with more force this time, his blue eyes meeting hers for a few seconds. His face was set hard, his jaw clenching under the weight of her gaze.

Her mouth opened to question his weird behavior, but the car in front of them came to a stop, meaning they arrived. Graves slowed their car down and stopped eventually, not far from the other car and the Shadows already slipping out of it. Graves sent another look to her before he pushed the door open and hopped out of the car.

There was something off about him and how the two Shadows behind her didn't say anything else as they left, too. In the rearview mirror, she caught sight of Alejandro talking to Graves, his face contorting with anger as he looked down at the blond man.

There stood Soap behind him, utter shock and confusion written over his face.

That was enough for Beadie to leap out of the car and follow after them, a few Shadows standing behind their Commander in a line of walls. They blocked out most of the view in front of Beadie, and she let out a few silent curses under her breath for being so short. It looked like she could only rely on her ears.

"No, no, no. I don't take orders from you," Alejandro's low voice reached her, clearly upset.

"Didn't Valeria say that?" Graves asked as he took a step forward, the tension around them rising. "Now that makes me wonder what else I don't know about your affiliation with a drug-lord?"

"What the hell, Graves?" Beadie whispered to herself as her eyebrows furrowed. She leaned from side to side to try and get a better look at the scene in front of her, but she only caught a glimpse of Graves' blond head.

"What the fuck did you just say to me, pendejo..." Alejandro's tone darkened, the undertones making her shiver.

She had a very bad feeling about this. Beadie had no idea what Graves was doing, but pissing off Alejandro was clearly not a good decision. She wanted to get between them and defuse the situation before it could get any worse, but the burly Shadows standing in front of her didn't budge.

"You're out of line, Graves," Soap hissed at her Commander, rightfully so. She was just as upset.

"Don't do that. Don't... do that. No one needs to get hurt here."

"Are you threatening us?" Ghost's voice cut through the storm around them, making her blood run cold. Beadie knew the Shadows were good and she thought she wasn't bad either. But she didn't want to be on the team that pissed off the huge man.

His reputation lived up to him really well and she would rather not piss him off. But Graves was on a good path to lose his head.

"Soldier, I don't make threats. I make guarantees. So let's not do this," Graves tried again, and now she could hear the slight desperation underlying his voice.

"I'm calling Shepherd," Soap commented lowly, his words barely reaching Beadie's ears. But her Commander's next words were clear as day.

"General Shepherd sends his regards. He told me y'all wouldn't take this well."

Beadie's mouth dropped open in shock, her wide eyes snapping towards her Commander. No, she must've heard that wrong.

"He knows about this?" Ghost's voice held the same shock she was feeling, but it was a little hard to hear his words above the loud drumming of her blood in her ears.

General Shepherd. As the General that leads the mission. The one that got them to work with 141 and the Vaqueros, and was now asking them to turn on them. Beadie pinched her underarm to test if this was just a bad dream or something, but sadly this was reality.

"He's put me in command of this operation from here on out. So, y'all need to stand down. It's time to let the pros finish this."

Beadie pushed against the back of the Shadow in front of her, trying her best to get to Graves before anyone else could. But the Shadow only pushed against her harder, almost sending her flying back on her ass. The man hissed at her in annoyance, sending her a glare above his shoulder before he turned back around and tightened his grip on his gun. Beadie flipped him the bird in a swift motion and she started to search for an opening among the men.

"And why the hell are we talking like this is some kind of a negotiation?" Graves raised his voice, making her stop. "It's not. I've got my orders and now you have yours."

"And who the fuck do you think you are, cabrón? My men are inside!" Alejandro snapped at him, the rage in his voice making her heart beat faster. Things were going downhill fast, and if she didn't do something right now it would be too late.

Beadie didn't know what she could do. But she had to do something or they were going to kill each other.

"I'm afraid not. Your men have been... detained."

And with that, everything went to shit.

The yells of the others were drowned out by the rapid firing of the Shadows' gun. Beadie let out a panicked yell, her own hand drawing her pistol from the holster. Her wide eyes flickered between all the men, her blood rushing in her veins but her feet were rooted. She couldn't move. She didn't know what to do.

Both parties were her family. And everything happened so fast.

The rude Shadow in front of her suddenly collapsed on the ground, his dark blood oozing onto the rainy concrete. Beadie barely had any time to address his death as her eyes snapped up towards the busy scene not far ahead.

She watched as one of the Shadows whipped his gun and smacked Alejandro in the face, knocking him out cold. Beadie yelled out and raised her arm up, cocking off the safety as she pointed her gun. She's not going to sit around and watch this. Not a chance.

Not him.

Another Shadow chose this moment to step in front of her, her finger barely pressing down the trigger. To his luck, her gun didn't fire. But someone else did and hit him square in the head.

Just as he fell to the ground she saw a throwing knife sticking out of his head, one of his eye dripping out of its socket and hanging over his cheek. It was such a gruesome sight that she felt the bile rise in her throat and the urge to throw up made her gut tense.

Her eyes snapped from the body up, suddenly meeting the gaze of Ghost.

He stood there, right next to the car they came with, another knife ready in his hand. And his dead, cold eyes were deadset on her blood-drained face. His head cocked to the side slightly in a predatory way and he took a step forward, tightening his grip on the knife.

She looked Death dead in the eye, and he was ready to take her soul.

"Oh fuck!" Beadie gasped and she darted behind their own car for cover.

Her back slammed against the cold metal of the car, her hand shaking over her gun. Ghost never missed. And he always hunted down what he wanted. And he just saw her, a Shadow, with the other Shadows that betrayed them.

She was a dead man walking. The biggest target was now on her forehead and the if wasn't the question. The question was when will Ghost pull a trigger or slit her throat when she wouldn't look behind her back all the time. Because she was sure he will come for all of them; that man didn't take shit from anyone.

Beadie was scared shitless. The operators of 141 weren't somebody you would want on your bad side but Graves – more like Shepherd – just sentenced everyone present to death by this decision.

Ghost wasn't the only threat here. Soap was one of the best as well, despite his friendly nature. And the dark-haired woman Beadie caught a glimpse of before she slipped into the darkness seemed just as dangerous.

With her back thrown against the front of the car, Beadie pulled herself into a squatting position and tightened her grip on the pistol. But the rapid gunfire stopped suddenly, eerie silence falling on their heads like rainfall. The raindrops were cold against her heated skin, rolling down her cheeks and leaving a wet trail.

Beadie squinted her eyes to try and see better in the dark and through the rain, but couldn't see anybody besides the remaining Shadows and Graves. Their calmness lured the blonde out from her hiding spot, her knees shaking slightly as she approached them.

"You there, Ghost?" Graves called out louder, his slow steps carrying him towards a car's backside. Where Beadie just looked him straight in the eyes.

Just to be sure, the blonde stayed back a bit. She wanted to at least have a chance to run away.

"That was a big mistake, brother. It did not have to be like this."

Stop fucking taunting him!, Beadie wanted to scream at Graves, but the nerves made her mouth shut up.

What if he betrays me, too?

The realization made her stop in her tracks, her back stiffening. Subtly, the woman glanced above her shoulder. Three Shadows were standing behind her, nobody that she could recognize right now. If they were to turn against her, too, her chances weren't great right now.

She had to play along. Stall time if it was possible.

"Son of a bitch..." Graves cursed under his breath and let his hand down to his side, disappointment mixing with something else on his face. With a better look, Beadie could see in his eyes that he was scared. Rightfully so. "Find 'em!"

I will before you do, Beadie promised to herself as she raised her chin higher.

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

"What the hell was that, Graves?" Beadie hissed at her commander, who was currently busy arranging search teams.

Or more like execution teams.

"We have orders," was his only answer, the coldness in his tone taking her off-guard. The tick in his jaw made her take back her attitude. "You have a problem with that, Lennox?"

"No, sir," Beadie replied, her face void of emotions. "I just wish you told me about it beforehand. It took me by surprise."

"I told you," he finally glanced at her, his blue eyes finding hers.

A shiver ran along her spine but for completely different reasons than previously. She was disgusted by the man standing in front of her, but she couldn't let it show. He stepped towards her and raised his hand, touching her cheek slightly. It took all of her being to not flinch away from his touch.

"As long as you do what I say and stay out of trouble, nothing bad will happen to you, doll."

Beadie felt sick. But she forced a small smile on her face as she nodded, stepping away from him.

"I trust you to lead one of the groups," he gestured behind her, her head turning with him. There stood her four boys, her Lightsout boys chatting away in full gear with each other. "Lynch comes with me. Durnam takes patrol duty. Kelly and Driscoll will go with you. Take two more just in case."

And with that, Graves whistled to catch the attention of the four men standing a few feet away. He gestured for Jax Lynch to come with him. Jax fist-bumped his friends before he jogged over to their Commander, giving a small salute to Beadie as he passed her.

Devon Durnam got into a jeep with two more Shadows, leaving Emerson Kelly and Sam Driscoll to her. She took a moment to look at the two remaining men of her team. Emerson was a head taller than Sam, but both of them were in good physical shape. Usually, Emerson was the clown of the team, always joking around – which could come in handy right now. And Sam's golden retriever personality could be a breath of fresh air despite everything.

"C'mon boys," Beadie waved them over, already looking for two more Shadows to fill up her team. She needed ones that wouldn't particularly notice or comment when she would wander off on her own.

She heard a muffled groan and a thud behind her, and then the chuckling of Emerson reached her ears. Beadie turned her head in their direction only to see Sam punch Emerson in the side, earning a yelp from him. Now it was Sam's time to laugh.

"Stop it!" Beadie hissed at them, which caused them to spring away from each other and put a foot of distance between them. "Now get going, idiots."

"Yes ma'am," both of them echoed back to her, Beadie shaking her head at them.

This will be a long night.

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

The echoes of gunshots and screams chased after their little team. Sam glanced back above his shoulder for the thousandth time, another Shadow letting out a sigh. Everyone was on edge and not even Emerson could find the strength to lighten up the mood.

"This is not right," Sam mumbled under his breath right behind Beadie.

"I know," Beadie replied back softly, her heart breaking when she heard a woman wailing a few streets down.

"We got orders," the Shadow sighed before commented, his voice emotionless.

Yes, we got orders. That didn't mean it was right.

"I just don't want to cross paths with the big boy with the skull mask," Emerson cleared his throat and earned a chuckle from the fifth Shadow that joined them. Beadie didn't catch his name.

"I value my life, too," he replied.

Beadie's eyes were starting to dry out because of how hard she was searching for any clue about 141. She started thinking with their heads: where she would go if she was trying to escape them and was probably injured?

She would try to find supplies first probably. She didn't know the state of their weapons, but judging by how suddenly they ambushed them, it was probably not good. Beadie didn't have any weapons on her besides her combat knife and a pistol before Graves supplied them with assault rifles.

Chances were 141 needed weapons. And if they were injured, they needed something to patch them up quickly.

"We should split up," Beadie called to her team as they stopped at a crossroad.

The streets here were narrow, the buildings surrounding them making her feel like they were closing in on them. They couldn't just stand here in the open streets for long, they were vulnerable out here.

Maybe they were the hunters, but Beadie sure felt like the prey out here.

"You guys go south," the woman pointed down the more open, bigger street that branched to their left. "I go north."

"I'll go with you," Sam stood beside her, his tone holding more confidence than ever.

"Sam-"

"With all respect, ma'am, no," Sam cut her off, her mouth falling agape in shock. "This is a dangerous mission. I couldn't feel good about myself if I let you go alone."

"Good point," Emerson nodded, backing him up.

Fuck. Why didn't they just do something as I say for once?

"Fine," Beadie said, clearly not happy about it.

So they split up, the two of them walking down the narrow and dark streets in silence. Beadie wasn't in the mood for talk and Sam was shut off enough times to finally shut up. Or so she thought.

"I like baking," Sam piped up again, earning a sigh from the blonde woman. "Especially sweet things. I just have a sweet tooth. But I think pies are superior to cakes. Like, pies are so much better and easier to make because..."

Beadie tuned out his voice as he continued to debate with himself about whether pies were superior to cakes when the woman caught movement in a nearby house. Its window was broken and a torn curtain blocked out most of the inside, but a lamp was on inside.

And she saw a moving shadow of a man inside.

"You should check over there," Beadie finally cut him off, drowning his words out. She pointed towards a nearby shop down the street and he nodded. "Be careful, Sam."

"I always am," he saluted towards the woman before he turned around and headed down the cobblestone street, towards the seemingly empty and dark shop.

Beadie's eyes followed Sam's figure for a few more moments before she let out a sigh and turned around, heading in the opposite direction. Towards the dark house where she saw the figure.

The woman slowed her steps down and with slightly bent knees she approached the main door. Listening in, she couldn't hear anything besides the pouring rain and the shouts of other people far away. She took in a deep breath to steady her hands and pushed open the door with a quick motion.

Beadie pointed her rifle around, her flashlight pacing around the dark and disturbed room. It was a living room before, judging by the torn-up couch and flipped-over chairs. The TV was broken and laid on the floor, the only thing surviving the chaos being a sole lamp in the corner.

Next to the broken glass, there were blood splatters on the floor.

With slow and careful steps, Beadie approached the trail of blood with a footprint in it. Judging by the size it was a man's. Crouching down, she dipped one finger in the blood, it coating her finger in dark red. It was fresh.

Then she heard rusting behind her, coming from the dark room on the left. With lightning speed she whipped around and aimed her gun at whoever was inside, her jaw set tight.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the person emerging from the dark, her hand letting her rifle fall lower.

____________________________

i love the whole betrayal scene and the alone mission sm

so who do you think beadie found in that house?