Chapter Text
The military aircraft that was used for your transport out of the States slightly shook as it prepared for a landing, the motion responsible for waking you up from your very short nap. Your chest heaved with confusion in regard to your whereabouts. Your nap might've been short but that didn't mean it wasn't effective. Sleep had been a rarity the past three days.
The back of the aircraft was dark, a big empty space in the middle, as the walls were lined with seats and more room for storage. All it took was a few seconds before you remembered where you were headed and felt yourself calm down.
You were about to touch foreign ground any minute, surrounded by strangers and a few family friends. For the first time in your life you were about to do something very stupid and reckless as it seemed. Your sweaty palms gripped the edge of the seat, its material was rough and upon contact with your fingernails a feeling you hated. It was the same icky feeling you get when someone scratches chalk at a specific angle down a blackboard.
As a CIA agent that stepped into the footsteps of your mother as a data analyst and therefore helping with task force 141, you thought you were easily prepared for such a mission but your nerves had you thinking the opposite. Your heart was beating rapidly, so rapid it was steadily climbing towards your throat, on the verge of jumping through your mouth and into your waiting hands.
All you were used to until now was your small and decent office and maybe the CIA's training grounds that were used to prepare you for these scenarios from time to time. Not to forget all the stories your mother told you about, which were no help at all for the moment.
The smaller aircraft touched ground and immediately went into the process of turning off its engines. You were given the green light to unbuckle out of your uncomfortable seat.
Giving a thumbs up to the coordinator you took a deep breath in and made sure that all your gear was sitting in its rightful place before you grabbed your backpack to wait for the hatch to open. You fastened all the straps, checked the CIA patches on your shoulder and chest and double checked the laces of your boots. Everything was in place.
Another big reason for you to be this nervous was that your mother would be in for a big surprise as soon as she would notice you're gone on a mission without her explicit permission to do so. If she had this her way you would still be sitting at headquarters in your small office typing away on a keyboard all day until it was time to go home late in the evening.
General Shepherd was the one to personally call you up to his office. He was the one filling you in on the operation and briefing you with everything necessary. There simply was not enough time to go over all the details with your mom. The blonde was still operating overseas with Price since being kidnapped and neither of you have had the chance to talk yet.
It was either you leaving his office right away to get prepared for take off to Las Almas or you would return back to your office, vowed to never mention another word about the operation. General Shepherd was fine with either way. He didn't care much about how you would decide, he only knew what you were capable of and how you could benefit the whole thing– but it mattered to you. You needed this. You needed the challenge and change of scenery.
Maybe this was all thanks to your big ego. Going against the will of your mother, trying to prove whatever it was that you had to prove to her. It was ridiculous anyways. You never really had the urge to do so until recently. Not until after you learned of her capture while being away on a mission with Price and Gaz.
How scared you had been at the time when the news reached your ears. Her first time on a mission with both of them and it had gone so horribly wrong. Al-Qatala henchmen had taken her captive on a boat, just as she was busy providing recon to the boys, leaving Price and Gaz behind, unable to help her out in any way, therefore leaving you just as helpless when the word spread to you.
That was your wake up call. You wanted more, more with your life and career. Just like she had done years before. You desperately wanted to be more for her and protect her. Why should she be on the field when it could be you instead? Rather you than her, is what you always told yourself. Time to act on it.
As the hatch opened up, you noticed the last rays of sunshine and what was left of the sunset and the dust that came with it. Not to mention the humid air that immediately hit your face like a brick wall. All that added a new layer of sweat under your clothes and had you rearranging and pulling your sticky tactical gear.
One smug face, one masked face and one stoic face greeted you just outside where the ramp met the concrete ground. You were relieved to see Ghost and Soap. With them stood Alejandro, the Commander of the base you flew into. He was the first to move towards you.
Alejandro watched you closely, noticing the way you had to fight against this humid weather, it brought a slight grin on his face. He knew you came straight from the office job, a first timer sent here solely because they thought a woman was needed to help and secure the package. Just by taking a look at you he could easily see you lacked the experience on the field but were just as confident and capable as the rest of them. He respected that.
You jogged off the ramp and met them halfway to where they were standing, about three black SUVs parked right behind them. Your narrowed eyes gave the place a quick run down, it made this whole thing easier, knowing your surroundings. Another tick of yours that Alejandro picked up on but remained silent and wouldn’t tease you about it. He understood why you did this, but there wasn’t a reason to do so.
Random soldiers were sitting inside the vehicles, some standing outside of them– waiting for new orders. What caught you by surprise were the various PMCs littered all over the facility. Of course General Shepherd informed you about the cooperation with Shadow Company, as their leader Graves was also onboard for this mission. The amount of soldiers you saw was simply surprising.
"Alejandro. Nice to meet you. I've heard good things. Let's get this rolling." Walking further towards him you extended your arm to shake his waiting hand as he joined you. His handshake was definitely a strong and very firm one, lingering a second longer than necessary as his brown eyes studied your face, now that you were so close to him. In his eyes you were absolutely gorgeous.
It was not hard to understand why he was the Commander either. He radiated confidence with the way he held himself and stood there.
"Agent Laswell, welcome to my base." You cringed at the name he addressed you with, but your face remained neutral. "We've got some exciting news to share."
"Please, call me Y/N. Agent Laswell makes me feel like you're talking to my mother." You had to suppress a giggle. The realization made you cringe even more. You silently cursed yourself.
"Y/N. It's good to see you on the ground, eh!" Soap joined Alejandro's side and gently slapped your shoulder, saving you from further embarrassment. He hadn't seen you in a while. Over the years he had known Kate, she would always fondly speak of you to the team. He was almost the same age as you which made it easy to befriend him outside the job.
"Sergeant. Heard you were here and just couldn't wait to fly out. Nothing I could miss out on." You joked and immediately went to shake Simon's hand as he was the last to join your small circle.
"Lieutenant." You greeted the masked man and gave him another polite smile.
"Y/N. No complications on the way here?"
"Negative. All went fine. What exactly are your exciting news then, commander?" The four of you then went on to walk towards the waiting vehicles. You came to a halt in front of the middle one, Alejandro turning towards you once more, a big grin on his face.
"To find our special target we're going to a party. Graves is waiting for us at the site." His grin widened. He opened the door to the passenger seat and motioned for you to do the same for the backseats, at the same time signaling the departure to all his men responsible for the other vehicles. "Vamonos!"
The backseat was packed tight with Soap and Ghost caging you in from both sides, your backpack resting in between your legs, your arms and shoulders caving in on yourself due to their shoulders touching yours.
"A party?" You questioned, ignoring the minimal space, you've had it worse before. "That's not exactly what I expected but I'll take it."
"Heh, I knew you'd like it." Alejandro laughed, he had a feeling the two of you would work very well together. "This is Sergeant Major Rodolfo Parra, my second in command." He pointed at his driver. Your eyes met in the rearview mirror. You gave him a nod of acknowledgment as he did the same.
The car ride was mostly silent. From time to time Alejandro and Rodolfo would talk in Spanish and snicker about like little children, which made you grin as well. Other times it was the four of them talking about whatever or Las Almas. You zoomed out of their conversations at one point. The outside world seemed that much more interesting.
Las Almas had a beautiful city despite being so heavily infested with drugs, cartels, corruption and violence. You were already falling for this region and you didn't even see half of it. Soap, who was sitting to your left side easily spotted your dreamlike-state. He turned towards you in amusement as you were unaware of his actions.
He was certainly surprised to learn that out of all people it would be you that would pose as the chosen one, to be sent inside the lions den to offer intel. The five of them went over the details already– one could call it a change of plans– something you had yet to learn about.
The Scotsman noticed how your eyes studied the outside and began telling you about his earlier adventures with the boys. He described the heavenly scenery and nature up in the mountains and rivers. He described every detail and left nothing to the imagination on how they chased after Hassan Zyani in hopes of catching him before he could disappear and how it was all for nothing.
"Sounds like you had one hell of a time the past few days." His eyes lit up at your words. Damn right you were.
"Heads up. We're here." Alejandro's deep voice traveled through the vehicle as the outside world went from day to night and interrupted your conversation with Soap. The sun had set on your way to the destination. For a moment your heart made a leap at his words. This was it.
Rodolfo and Alejandro were the first to exit the vehicle and walked up to the viewpoint ahead of you.
"Ma'am. After you." You playfully rolled your eyes, your hands simultaneously reaching for your backpack while Soap had opened the car door and held it open for you, the smuggest grin plastered on his face. "Careful, wouldn't want yer to kiss the ground on the way out."
"You're an idiot, MacTavish."
Your playful banter was cut short when you laid sight on Phillip Graves. The smile vanished from your face, now replaced by your typical work face, a serious expression– one similar to his.
"There she is." Graves opened his arms wide when you walked closer, his smirk could only be described as arrogant and made you shudder with slight disgust. You internally rolled your eyes as you prepared for one hell of a pretended conversation. "Y/N Laswell, our special guest."
"Sir." He grabbed your extended hand and shook it with grace. "Ready whenever you are."
"That's the spirit." He exclaimed. Oh, how much you despised his little ass already. Without any further words he passed a spotter scope and pointed in a specific direction. You nodded and went into stance to follow his instructions.
The viewpoint was located high up in the mountains on the outside skirts of Las Almas, offering an excellent view onto the city skyline and all of its surrounding neighborhoods. What you saw was a luxurious neighborhood, its highest point being one fancy mansion.
"What am I looking at." You questioned, your eyes remained glued to the binocular as you studied the building and its premises.
"La casa de Sin Nombre?" It was Soap, taking a guess.
"Not quite. One of his Lugartenientes." You hummed in response to Alejandro's words and passed the scope on to the man next to you.
"A cartel lieutenant." Graves was stunned by your answer. "You know Spanish? Quite impressive, my dear."
"I figured." You were quick to answer, not meeting Graves' eyes and instead smiling at Alejandro, who nodded proudly.
"My soldiers tell me all the VIPs in Las Almas will be here tonight. Our chance. Some are invited, others are–"
"Volun-told?" Graves finished Alejandro's sentence.
"Yes."
You just stood there and watched them talk back and forth.
"What's the meet about?" Graves asked.
"Nosotros." Now you were actually left wondering what that meant. "Las Almas is burning and they want to know who lit the fire."
"So, this is the party you told me about?" It was starting to make sense. Why you were up here, looking down onto the mansion was still unclear as your mission briefing had been a much different story. Nervousness was slowly starting to creep into your bones.
"Sí." The Commander was staring straight ahead to the mansion, appearing deep in thought as his eyes narrowed.
"Sin Nombre will be there, yeah?" You haven't heard much from Ghost throughout the time you've been here.
Alejandro turned towards him. "No guarantees but this is our best shot."
The more time passed the more you were questioning this whole operation. What exactly were they planning and what would be your part? Everything else seemed to be completely blown out of the window, just scratched to nothing, back to zero.
"Then we take it, just like we spoke about. I have enough Shadows here to take over the whole damn country." That was no lie at all. Graves wasn't joking with his words. The amount you'd seen out in the open at the base earlier already scared you. Now it was confirmed that were more than the eye told.
"I'd prefer if you didn't."
"I'm just sayin'. One house shouldn't be a problem."
Ghost did not miss the fact. The thread lingered in the air, a constant reminder just how powerful Graves' presence really was. "We need Sin Nombre alive." Another reminder.
"Well, we all know what that means. We need to meet him." As Graves finished his sentence all eyes landed on you. You gulped. Alejandro saw your eyes widening in surprise.
"How." The word left your lips faster than you could blink or remind yourself to keep your mouth shut when not spoken to. Graves' grin was confirmation enough and you assumed the worst.
"Excellent question, that's where you come into play." His grin widened. "We'll give 'em what they want. Intel. They wanna know who's here. I say, let's tell 'em."
"In person?" You weren't sure how to respond. This seemed like the easiest way to do so. The wheels were still turning inside your pretty head.
Graves laughed. "Correct. Get one of us inside, find the boss, roll him up. That person is gonna be you, Y/N."
For a second you were too stunned to speak. Your whole body prepared for the absolute worst, overcome by the sickening feeling to run away and get the hell out of here. Until you remembered why you came here. A determined look overcame your face. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Well." Graves clapped his hands, studying the others. "That was easy." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Listen, Y/N. You go in there, they'll kill you." Alejandro stepped closer to you. In no way would he ever let you step a foot inside there on your own.
Your answer surprised him even more. "I'll take my chances. I came here for one thing. So I'll do it. We have to stop a missile, no matter the cost. I'll offer intel for a meet with Sin Nombre."
All parties were impressed by how easily convinced you were about the change of plans. It was to be expected when they heard the name Laswell. Must run in the family.
"I'll tell you what, hermana. If you make it in, you'll need eyes and ears. I'm coming with you." Honestly, hearing Alejandro's reassuring words made you feel somewhat more comfortable with the fact you wouldn't be completely helpless in case of emergency.
"I'll go too. We could need another ear." Soap leaned his elbow on your shoulder and gave you a cheerful nod. Your gaze wandered back to the skyline of Las Almas, wondering what your mother would say about all of this.
"I'll take Overwatch. Shadow circles the target in a helo." "Roger that."
Having Ghost as Overwatch, Graves in a helo nearby and Soap and Alejandro on the ground with you made you feel invincible. It was risky, you knew that much but it needed to happen. You were needed or you wouldn't be here. If their chance of success meant a woman had to infiltrate, then so be it.
"They are going to want proof." Graves grabbed his Shadow Company patch and ripped it off his vest, extending it out towards you, for you to take. "Show 'em this." Shaky hands grabbed the patch. Looking down at it you saw and felt the well known insignia. You happily stowed it away into one your pockets and took a deep breath.
"Alright. Everyone on station and gear up. Vamos." Alejandro grabbed your shoulders and held you back as the others prepared for the operation to start. Soap was waiting not far from the two of you, Rodolfo with him. Ghost and Graves disappeared with one of the other vehicles.
"Y/N. Trust me. I'll be with you the whole time. You won't always see me, but I'm there. Don't worry about the Spanish. Keep your cool. I'll explain the rest later. Let's get ready, Agent."
"I trust you." Jogging back to the waiting vehicle you joined Rodolfo and Soap. The car ride was silent. Your nerves were catching up to you once again, despite his reassuring words. Something in the back of your mind told you this wasn't the most perfectly thought through operation.
Rodolfo drove the four of you close to the mansion. It would be your task to walk up to its gates and gain entrance. No weapons, no special tricks.
"Take off your vest and jacket. Empty your pockets. Make sure you secure the Shadow patch, don't lose it."
Following Rodolfo's orders would leave you in your compression shirt, trousers and boots. It didn't make a difference looks wise. In fact you welcomed this change. Even at night the temperature seemed through the roof. You wouldn't sweat as much now. Meanwhile Alejandro had changed into a fine black suit, a mask already covering his face. Soap hadn't changed much, the article of clothing he dropped was his vest. His face adorned by a simple worn down grey mask.
"Ready?" Alejandro asked. You nodded and gave each man a fist bump as you departed from the group to follow the directions to the mansion's gates. Alejandro had your ear piece ready for you once it was safe to get to you on the inside. Until then you'd be left on your own, practically in the dark as the others communicated amongst themselves.
Your heart was beating rapidly.