Falling in love was a very similar feeling to taking a leap of faith into the water below.

Falling in love with Everett Saunders was one hell of a ride. It was intense, blowing up in her face like a firework, all the pink fog over her eyes, clouding her mind, making her do stupid things. She had a very impulsive personality, but Everett just doubled things: whenever he had an idea, she was eager to stick with him, through good and bad.

The two of them were like the perfect match: both of them fiery, impulsive, and way too reckless for their good, with a sharp mind. They had nothing to lose apart from each other, their will to make the most out of their lives grew by each day. They felt like they had all the time in the world until Everett got addicted to drugs.

Heroin ripped him out of her loving arms, twisting his soul in such ways that in the end, she could barely recognize him. Still, his death couldn't have been more painful than it was, the guilt chasing her into the cold arms of the US Army.

Slamming into the cold water was like the first night in the army, that changed everything. One of the many reasons that lead up to the very night another man decided to take a piece of her, forcing her to leave the army life behind.

Her booted feet touched soft soil, pushing herself off the bottom of the river, swimming upwards. With a gasp, she welcomed air in her lungs, her trauma clinging to her skin like her clothes, making her shiver despite the water being an okay temperature.

„You okay, Rora?" Alejandro's eyes met with hers, worry and urgency glistening in his eyes as he took in her appearance. Locking her cold eyes with his, she tried to embrace the warmth of his gaze, trying to grasp a recent good memory.

°•○●⸸●○•°

„Alejandro!" Soap greeted with a grin as they approached a man, getting off the helo they flew to Mexico.

For most of the ride there she was asleep, her head propped against the rifle that was cradled in her arms, missing her black German Sheppard, Kilo dearly. Usually, she slept with Kilo in her bed, his warmth and weight being the only thing that could calm her down after a nightmare or a panic attack, but right now, she had to sort it out by herself.

„Sergeant MacTavish," the dark-haired man beamed, his hands clasped behind his back, posture straight. Her eyes scanned his body, noticing the authority in his stance, his eyes being warm despite the cold exterior.

„Call me Soap," the Scotsman shook hands with the man, called Alejandro by Soap. His dark eyes quickly jumped to Ghost, then Rora, standing at the side, watching the interaction silently.

Rora stood between the two men, her hands clasped behind her back, straightening her spine, coming to her full height. Despite her attempts and a few extra inches because of her booth, she was still the smallest member of the group, Ghost towering over her at least by a head, while Soap was more of a friendly comparison to her height. He was still tall, but it wasn't as menacing as Ghost on her left.

„Lieutenant..." Alejandro's eyes snapped back to Ghost, his gaze lingering for a moment on his balaclava. In the sunlight, he looked slightly less scary. „Laswell says they call you Ghost."

„Actually, I believe he prefers to be-" Soap started, excitement glinting in his eyes as a small smile pulled at his lips.

„That'll do!" Ghost bellowed, his loud protest cutting off Soap in whatever he was saying. Shooting the male Sergeant a death glare, he managed to shut Soap up, earning a low chuckle from Rora.

God, it was amusing to watch when he got to the edge of his patience when his sudden anger wasn't directed at her.

Alejandro's brow slightly creased at the weird behavior, but the sound of a light chuckle directed his gaze to Rora, her biting her bottom lip, trying to hide the grin that was pulling at her lips. With the heavy gaze of Ghost burning a hole in the side of her face, it still proved to be a difficult task.

„You must be Scorpion," Alejandro declared, the smallest smirk mirroring hers.

„Yup, that's me," her smile widened, the nickname she earned in the army filling her with pride. „But call me Rora."

„Welcome to the 'city of souls'," the man turned around, leading them to a car.

„Scorpion, huh?" Soap taunted, a playful smirk plastered on his face. „How'd you earn that?"

„'Cause everybody that dared to cross me, I made them pay twice the price," Rora answered with the sweetest tone, her signature smirk on her lips. „Sometimes their life was enough."

„Bloody Jesus..." Soap muttered under his breath, a light-hearted chuckle leaving her lips.

°•○●⸸●○•°

„Where's Ghost?" the sudden question came to her mind as she swimmed closer to the others, eyes scanning the water.

Just as the sentence left her lips, said person emerged from the water, silent as an actual ghost. His dark eyes immediately locked with her icy blue ones, the fact that she was finally able to look him in the eyes somewhat easing her nerves. The shades looked good, but she preferred eye contact since that was the most important thing pulling him apart from Everett.

„You good, hermanos?" the Commander asked the two of them, since he already made sure Rora was whole and breathing.

„Affirm."

„Breathing."

Alejandro nodded, acknowledging their words, starting to swim towards the bridge. „Move down river to the bridge. Use the rocks for cover."

„I always wanted to be a mermaid," Rora muttered to herself, pushing herself further down the river, a scowl deepened her features when her hand touched some slimy thing in the water.

„All stations, this is Victor 0-1, how copy?" Alejandro pressed into comms, for the millionth time. Rodriguez has failed to catch any signal so far, but she admired the way the Colonel seemed to never give up.

And finally, his attempts weren't for nothing.

„--dow1! Do you--? -ay again, you—„

„Who the fuck is that?" Rora snapped her head towards Alejandro, hope gave her more strength to push herself harder in the water. It seemed to slow her down more than she thought it would, her heavy gear pulling her down. Her energy started to really run out.

„Something American," Ghost replied, surprising her by how far he had gotten ahead of her. The man was not only fast and stealthy on land, but in water, too.

Hearing that there were Americans, filled her with joy. As an American herself, she never ever got more excited to meet other Americans in her life.

„You know them, Wellsy?" Soap turned to her, his chin barely above water. Rora quirked one of her eyebrows.

„Just because I'm American, too, I don't fucking know every single American, MacTavish," Rora sneered his way, rolling her eyes. „You know every Scottish man?"

„Well, I know most of the town I'm from-"

„Save it for later, I see movement on the shore," Alejandro stopped swimming, his eyes scanning the trees. Taking a moment to take in her surroundings, she was quick to notice a man running through some trees, darting their way.

„How many fuckers are there still?" Rora let out an annoyed groan, pulling herself behind a smaller rock, just big enough to give her cover as she pulled her handgun from its holster, her almost empty rifle getting discarded just before she jumped into the river.

„We don't have time, hermana!" Alejandro yelled at her, motioning her to follow him underwater.

Taking a deep breath, she dived under, a bullet piercing the water, hitting the ground next to her. Suddenly, swimming underwater didn't seem that bad of an idea, but the urge to throw a grenade at the men on the shore grew simultaneously with the air fleeting her lungs, begging for more oxygen.

Seeing that Ghost has stopped in front of her, she emerged from the water, too, rapidly blinking away the water droplets, already drawing out her gun. Through her cloudy vision, she was still capable of seeing the man that just came from behind a tree, another man taking Ghost's attention.

„Down!" she shouted at him, and without hesitation, he ducked his head, her getting a clearer shot at the man behind the tree, shooting him in the head.

Ghost's head snapped towards the body, seeing it drop helplessly into the tall grass. Wiping away some excess water from her face, she quickly took cover next to him, flashing him a half-smile.

„I got you, Lt.," and she was pretty sure about herself, until his eyes caught hers. At that moment, time seemed to freeze, brown meeting ice.

Instead of the usual uneasiness he caused her by only looking at her, she felt nothing. The creepy shiver she felt when she first saw his mask, constantly bringing up memories of Everett, now was gone.

Now, it was only them, the numbness welcoming her in warm arms, her heart getting a little lighter as she was able to keep her smile while holding his gaze, being the only time she didn't have to force it entirely.

They broke from their special moment, Alejandro urging them to move up the river further, the current getting a little stronger, it slowing her down so much she decided to reach for the buckles of her vest, discarding it in the water. By the look she received from Soap, she knew it probably wasn't the smartest move, one layer that could save her life now missing, making her an easier target.

But if the whole vest, soaking up the whole ass river was dragging her ass back down, she would drown anyway, the outcome being the same either way. Rora preferred a bullet to the head instead of drowning.

Her feet finally touched the bottom of the river, she let out a relieved sigh, moving against the current getting a little easier. Just as her eyes found the sight of the bridge Alejandro had mentioned so many times before, that very same bridge symbolizing their way out, now seemed to be a little too crowded.

At the realization, her heart dropped to her stomach.

„Vehicles on the bridge!" Ghost called behind his shoulder to them, pulling behind a rock to cover him. Sadly, the Mexican Colonel didn't give them good news.

„They're not ours! Fuck- it's the army!"

„I miss my fucking RPG," Rora commented, her eyes filling with fury as she looked at the bridge in hopes that her hatred alone could cause it to combust. Sadly, it did not happen.

„Me too," Soap groaned, frustration radiating off him like the waves of the river past them.

„This is Shadow-1!" the sudden voice coming through the comms almost made her jump, completely forgetting that it worked again. The urgency in the man's voice caused her heartbeat to quicken. „Engaging the bridge north of your position. Danger close!"

„Who the hell is that?" Alejandro's voice was laced with suspicion and frustration, his eyes snapping to Ghost.

„Commander Graves. Shadow Company. They're with us," was his answer, his gaze wandering back to the sky above the bridge, an unfamiliar plane getting in sight.

Within a moment, it fired a few rockets at the bridge, hitting it dead center, the poorly structured bridge collapsing on itself, Rora watched the scene unfold in front of her in awe.

God, she loved explosions.

And only a few seconds later, there were only small remains of the bridge, it hanging from the air into the water like a skeleton, blown-up vehicles falling under, landing with a splash of water in the river.

„My fellow Americans," Rora beamed, a smile plastered on her face as she watched the chaos. „This is the American way, boys."

„More like Wellsy way," Soap retorted, flashing her a quick smile before he stood up, water dripping from him.

„It's basically the same thing at this point."

Ghost just shook his head at the pair, fully emerging from the water, making his way to the shore with ease. He made it look so easy, with all of his gears still attached, the heavy water making his clothes to clung to his body. He almost looked graceful, bringing his rifle to his shoulder, eyes scanning the trees.

Rora dragged herself to solid ground, almost tripping on her own foot as she cursed under her breath, shaking the water off her arms. Her dark grey undershirt clung to her body like a second skin, several shades darker because of the water. With every step, her boot squeaked, her dark cargo pants weighing her down. With a determined look on her face, she marged after Alejandro, eager to hunt down that bastard they came so far for.

„Be advised, we got a possible hit on Hassan, two clicks north of your position." Graves informed through the comms, firing the rage inside her.

„That's cartel land. They have a compound here," Alejandro spoke up.

„He can be on the fuckin' Moon for all I care," Rora snapped, picking up pace. „I'll hunt his bald ass down either way."

„That's the spirit," Ghost commented, his voice tinted with the smallest layer of amusement as he watched the small woman cut through the trees, heading towards a camo-printed car.

Soap was the second to reach the car, already ripping the door open, patting her on the shoulder in a friendly way when he bypassed Rora.

„Let's roll."

„I'll drive," Alejandro threw himself behind the wheel, a faint smile appearing on her lips. Since she couldn't drive, she was glad they didn't ask. If her life depended on it, she could probably drive a car, or die in a car crash.

„You guys good to roll up Hassan with some fire from the sky?" Graves question was rather an encouragement to her as she slumped down on the back seat, dropping her pistol on the middle seat, Ghost taking the remaining seat beside her.

All of them shared a look, a sinister smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she imagined shooting the bastard in the head after the interrogation.

„Let's wrap this fucker up, Graves," Soap announced, the same determination glistening in his eyes as in Rora's.

Rora leaned back in the seat, her eyes involuntarily wandering to the man sitting beside her. Without Soap, they actually fitted well, his knee only a few inches away from hers, but his proximity didn't bother her anymore. He proved many times now that she could count on him, truly looking out for his squad.

Her eyes traveled to his rifle, propped between his legs, his right hand resting on top of his knee, clutching the rifle with the left gloved one. But one thing, in particular, caused her eyes to widen.

„You're bleeding," her voice came out softer than she thought it would, her gaze following the blood streak on his arm, the crimson blood showing through his shirt, dripping under his glove. His head turned to face her, eyes unreadable. „Was this when-"

„It's fine," he dismissed her quickly, turning his head back forward, shutting her out.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she let her eyes linger on his bleeding arm before she let her head fall back on the seat, letting out a sigh. She could kill for a warm bath and for 6 hours of undisturbed sleep.

„Solid copy. We are pushing to the target directly. Shadow-1 out."

Hey guys!

I'm considering publishing chapters more often, since I have a few written out in advance.

Also, tell me what you think of the lenght of the chapters! Are they too long? Or would you like to read a slightly longer one? Feel free to comment your opinions!

And btw, thank you for 4k! I love you all, and this is a safe place guys, so I'd love to hear from you! ❤️