#gas code

In the morning, Honey woke up with a pounding headache, a black eye, and a few other bruises. She opened her sore eyes, watching Ben’s chest rise and fall. Tears pricked her eyes as she tried to move, but her body was far too sore to want to work. She powered through, gritting her teeth and getting out of bed. She went into the bathroom, shutting the door. Glancing down, she noticed the dent in the wood of the door, from where her head had been slammed into it months ago. She glanced in the mirror, taking in the bruises and marks. The broken blood vessels that wrapped around her green irises, the purple that marred the skin around her eye, going up onto the bridge of her nose. There was no way of hiding this.

She shed her clothes, starting the shower, getting it warmed up. While she waited, she looked at the big bruise on her upper thigh, which would be easier to hide. She let out a sigh, stepping into the shower. 

As the hot water pounded against her skin, leaving it red and irritated, she sat down on the floor, curling her knees to her chest. Tears stung her eyes before rolling down her cheeks, mixing with the water that poured down around her. She rested her forehead on her knees, tearing herself apart internally. 

Was zum Teufel habe ich getan, um das Universum so zu verärgern? (What the hell did I do to piss off the universe like that?) 

About 20 minutes had passed before the water had started to run cold. She got out, got dressed, and put her uniform on. She covered the bruises on her face to the best of her abilities, but the broken blood vessels in her eyes were a dead giveaway. She shook her head, trying to get her mind in the right place. She had to go to work. She needed to get ready. She went into the bedroom, gently placing a soft kiss against Ben’s cheek before leaving. She got onto base, and into the briefing room. The rest of the team was already there and waiting, so Honey found a spot away from the team as much as possible. “Good morning, Sergeant.” Laswell smiled softly. Honey gave her a nod in response, mumbling a greeting back. 

“So, to start the briefing, we have intel that there has been a connection between Makarov and someone close to the team. We aren’t sure yet, so whatever you do: do not point fingers.” Laswell started. Everyone in the room looked over at Honey, and it made her gut sink. This was the last thing that she needed. 

Honey choked back the whimper that was threatening to escape, closing her eyes.

“Now, because Makarov is eliminated, we are unsure who the intel is going to and who is in control. The Konni group has attachments, and we are aware.” Price said, his voice gruff. He cleared his throat, crossing his arms. Honey could feel everyone's eyes digging into her, and that’s when she broke. She stood up, leaving the room, tears racing down her cheeks. To the team’s surprise, Ghost was the one to stand up and go after her. Chasing after her, he quickly caught up, grabbing her by the shoulders and pinning her to the cold, brick wall. The back of her head slammed against it as she was forced to look up at him. “Fuck you. Fuck you.” Ghost growled, his voice deep and full of hurt. “I didn’t do anything!” She whimpered, trying to push him off of herself. “That’s bullshit! You fucker. I knew we never should have recruited you. Fuck you.” Ghost yelled, making the team rush out of the briefing room. Soap immediately shoved Ghost off of Honey. “Back the fuck up! We don’t know if it’s her! We don’t have any proof!” Soap growled, grabbing Ghost by the shoulders. 

Ghost let out a growl, pushing Soap off of himself. He grabbed Honey by the jaw, making her look up at him. That’s when he noticed the bruising around her eye. He let go of her, stepping back. “You’re not off the hook.” He muttered, walking away. The team checked up on Honey, but she was too shaken to explain everything. 

“What happened to your eye? Was that Ghost?” Gaz asked, gently guiding her jaw upwards to look at him. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “No, my.. My boyfriend.” She sniffled softly, wiping her tears away. “I’m sorry.” She added, starting to sob. Gaz pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly and running his hand along the slicked back portion of her bun. 

“Why don’t ya move in wit’ me fer the time bein’? Just till ye get back on yer feet.” Soap offered softly. She looked up at him, desperately wanting out, but not wanting to be a burden. She slowly nodded, letting out a breath. “I’m so sorry.” She sniffled, wiping her tears away. Soap gently brought her into a hug, rubbing her back. 

About a week later, Honey was moving out from her house. She was packing her things, grabbing her stash of money that was under the mattress. Ben was at work, so she had a little bit of time to get her things packed and ready. As she lifted the mattress, she saw a few manilla envelopes that were new. She grabbed one of them, opening it up. 

Ben. 

The next words she saw were Vladimir Makarov. 

Her breath caught in her throat, grabbing all of the files and immediately calling Soap.

“Hey. Can you come over? Please.” Honey panicked, her breaths coming in heaves. 

“Aye, I’m on my way. Jus’ gimme 10 minutes.” Soap replied, standing up and rushing out of his house. He barely had time to put his shoes on or anything, but he got there within the 10 minutes that he promised. When he got there, Honey answered the door, leading him upstairs. 

“Ben and Makarov.” She whispered, tears pricking her eyes. 

"Alrigh’. Let's grab those files and get out of here. I'll call tha others and have them meet us at tha base. We cannae stay here any longer." Soap says calmly, trying to reassure Honey.

She nodded, following Soap out. They grabbed what little she had packed, got it loaded into Soap’s truck, and made their way onto base. An emergency briefing was immediately planned, and as soon as they stepped foot on base, they were sent to the briefing room. 

“Alright. This changes everything. Honey is now a walking target, as well as the rest of us. Because Ben has been found out, that means he’ll be after Honey.” Laswell stated, looking at the files. “How do we know she doesn’t have a part in this? She could have planted the files. They could be faked. She could be trying to get us off of her ass.” Ghost muttered, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. He had an intense look in his eyes, something was simmering under the surface, and they all knew that dam was about to break. 

“You’re right, we don’t know, but we don’t have any proof of that. We will get the files authenticated.” Price replied, leaning against the table, his weight on his knuckles as he stood. Soap nodded, looking over at Gaz, who agreed. “Please, get them authenticated.” Honey replied, wanting them to see the truth. She wanted to be believed. 

“But what.. How did he know that you were joining the team?” Ghost questioned. 

“He’s the one who landed me the job.” Honey whispered. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as everything lined up and played out in front of her. 

The team went silent, the air thickening as they thought about that response. Was she telling the truth? That was the most pressing question in everyone’s mind. It all lined up almost too much. 

“Well, we’ll find out soon.” Price sighed, putting the files together and putting them in another envelope.

The following days, tensions got thicker and heavier, all of that weight pressing down on Honey’s chest. She laid in the bed in Soap’s guest bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. It felt like there was this ten ton weight constantly on her chest. She hadn’t really moved out of bed since Price excused her for the time being. She blinked away tears as bile bubbled up in her chest, threatening to spill. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she fought the urge to puke.  

There was a soft knock on the door, drawing her attention away from the ceiling. She glanced over as Soap came in. “They were authentic. No foul play or anythin’. Ye’re right.” Soap said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. Honey nodded, staring up at the ceiling again. 

“I’m sorry for all of this,” He added, rubbing his forehead. 

“At least ye’ll be out of here soon. You’ve got wha’? Three months left ‘ere on the team?” Soap asked. Honey nodded, choosing to stay silent. She felt hurt, betrayed, but she understood. She was the newcomer on the team, they had every right to think she was suspicious. But at the same time, she was sick of always being voted against, vetoed, thrown away at the last second. She just wanted to stay in one place for once, but everything felt so impossible. “I might leave the military.” She whispered, rubbing her forehead. Soap tsked at that. She was a good soldier, a good person, and she knew what she was doing, so for her to leave the military, that would be bad for everyone around her. But, he couldn’t be selfish. She had the right to choose what she wanted to do with her life, and he couldn’t choose that for her. 

“Hon, I understan’ but think about all the missed opportunities. Ye could get paid to see the world.” Soap said softly. 

“No, what I get paid for is taking the lives of people.” Honey replied, letting out a sigh as tears pricked her eyes. This was always the hardest part of the job, knowing that you’re a government assigned murderer. She knew that she only took out bad people, but one person’s enemy is another person’s hero. 

“These people have families, Soap. Just like you and me.” She whispered, her German accent getting a little thicker as she got emotional. 

“I understan’. And I think about tha’ a lot.” Soap replied, resting his hand on her arm. 

During the passing week, Honey laid low at Soap’s house, and they kept each other safe. The team had announced that Ben was now a target — and targets needed to be taken out. Honey was assigned with taking out Ben, which was a hard thing for her to do. 

This was the man that she loved, the man that also treated her like shit, but she loved him. They had been together for so long, but now, here she was, sitting on a roof with Ghost right next to her, watching as Ben made his coffee rounds. 

“Let me take the shot. You sit back.” Ghost murmured. “I was assigned to take the shot, I’m supposed to take it.” Honey replied, shaking her head as she looked through her scope. 

“I don’t care. You’re not going to shoot him. It’s harder than it looks.” Ghost replied. She let out a long sigh, feeling like this was a nasty game of ‘you took my kill, I’ll take yours’. She complied, scooting back a little. They waited until Ben sat down, focused on his phone. They waited for all of the civilians to move out of the way and clear before Ghost took the shot. Screams erupted as Ben’s head was literally blown off, and Honey let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. Tears pricked her eyes and she put her head down, resting it on the roof, next to her rifle. 

"Heilige Scheiße. (holy shit.)” She mumbled, taking a deep breath. Ghost watched the area, making sure that there were no other possible threats before he slowly looked over at Honey, putting his hand on her back.

“Time to move.” He said, guiding her to stand. She took her rifle, standing on her feet, looking down at Ben’s body that was across the street.

“Don’t look.” Ghost grunted, grabbing her bicep and leading her away. Honey felt sick to her stomach, her face paling as she let out a deep breath. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, but she kept moving. This was her job, Ben was a target, and this was necessary for more people to live and be safe. That didn’t get rid of the pain, though. It still hurt her.