War Dog

Chapter 47

A/N: Just to clarify, the hoody she's wearing in the second image is what Soap is talking about. I generated the pictures on AI, and they were not playing nice. I have a full faced picture of what her wolf features look like fully, but it's more a drawing/cartoon style... I prefer it as it's more of an accurate depiction, but just not a photo level quality image. If you're lucky, I might post that at some point too.

We stood casually some distance away from the house our target had entered. After a couple of hours of waiting he exited the house and began making his way back down towards us. Ghost and I turned our heads slightly to hide our masked faces from his direct view as we continued to chat idly between us. Our target didn't even notice us, too busy in his own world. As soon as he was far enough away, we began following him at a distance, the afternoon had grown late and the streets had become bustling again as everyone came out to enjoy the cooler afternoon air. 

This time he did go his usual route and went home. "Tomorrow Wolf, I think you need to find your way inside and see if you can find anything about who or what he knows." Ghost grumbled next to me. 

"Of course," I respond easily. We'd been waiting to enter to establish some sort of routine, but after today I knew Ghost would want to know what our mark had been up to. When we sure that he had settled in for the night and had no plans of leaving again. Ghost and I made our way back through the city on foot to where we'd left the humvee Alejandro had let us borrow. 

"Got everything you need for tomorrow Wolf?"

"I should do. I'll double check everything when we get back. If I'm missing anything, I'll just ask Alejandro for it."

"You're getting awfully close to Alejandro, aren't you? What would Soap say if he saw how close you were getting?"

"I'd remind Soap," I say giving Ghost a hard glare, "That I am a pack animal that enjoys physical closeness with others. It is not romantic in the slightest. Perhaps old man it is you who is jealous."

"Excuse me?" Ghost spluttered, shock running through his system. "I'm not old. I'm thirty-seven."

"That's old."

"I'm only seven years older than you are!"

"Exactly, old man."

"That's it. We're sparring when we get back. I'll show you. Old, my ass." 

"Yeah, your ass is pretty old." I grin smugly at having managed to rile him up.

"Mutt."

We make it back to the Mexican special forces base, the entire time Ghost is simmering in irritation and eagerness to get on the sparring mats with me. It had been a while since we'd sparred together. Primarily because we always ended up at an impasse. I could read Ghost like a book and move faster than he could react. He had the technical ability and size that on the rare occasion he managed to catch me, he got me hard. So I was faster, he was better. 

I slinked alongside him shedding the excess equipment I'd been using on the mission and shoving it onto the little backpack I'd had with me. Entering into the training room, we drop our gear by the edge of the mats and square up against each other. Our shoulders relaxed and we eased into our combat stances, eyeing each other off warily. I stepped forty-five degrees to the front intending to feint a roundhouse kick with my left leg. Instead of being able to switch legs like I'd intended, Ghost rammed into me. The unexpected manoeuvre had me flying back onto my ass. I used the momentum to roll backwards standing back up again to see Ghost coming towards me intending to tackle me to the floor. I sidestep him at the last moment and hook my fingers into his tactical vest, leaping up onto his back. The momentum of his forwards tackle combined with my own body on top of his forces him to the ground. I manage to wrap my arms around his thick neck intending to put a figure four choke hold on him, however he stands up with my clinging around his neck hanging there like a furry accessory. His strong fingers grip and squeeze my fingers tightly enough that I let go with a yelp and back away when he let's go of me. I cradle my sore fingers against my chest and I watch and wait for Ghost to make the next move.