It was 0315 hours, and Soap really wanted a Babybel cheese.
He didn't want a protein shake. He didn't want an MRE. He wanted the tiny, wax-wrapped circle of synthetic dairy sitting on the middle shelf of the team’s communal fridge.
Soap padded down the hallway in his socks and a pair of loose grey sweatpants. He didn't turn on the overhead lights. He didn’t need to, he could navigate the fifty feet from his bunk to the kitchen completely blindfolded. He moved with practiced, absolute silence. Not a single floorboard creaked. He was a ghost.
He reached the kitchen. The stainless steel of the refrigerator gleamed faintly in the moonlight filtering through the security blinds. Soap reached out, his hand closing around the cool metal of the door handle. He pulled.
Soap’s brain, trained by years of counter-IED warfare, registered the sound exactly one tenth of a second before the trap deployed. He didn't even have time to swear.
The gap in the fridge door erupted into a localized retinal apocalypse.
It was a non-lethal tactical strobe, engineered to deliver nine million candela directly into the optic nerve. It made no sound.
In other words, Soap was being absolutely fucking blinded by a light so white he for a second thought he had finally reached heaven afteral.
"Jesus wept!" Soap yelled, throwing himself backward.
He hit the linoleum floor hard, scrambling backward like a crab, his hands clamped over his eyes. His retinas were screaming.
"My eyes! I'm blind! I'm actually, permanently blind!" Soap thrashed against the lower cabinets, trying to find his footing. "Base under attack! Gaz, get your rifle!"
Soap blinked. The world was a blur of purple and green sunbursts. He was sitting on the cold kitchen floor, hyperventilating.
Then, through the ringing in his ears, he heard it.
The soft, delicate clink of ceramic touching wood.
Soap dragged his hands down his face, squinting through the burning afterimages. In the pitch black of the kitchen, sitting at the small circular dining table, was a massive silhouette.
Ghost was wearing his balaclava and a black tactical fleece. He had his legs crossed at the ankles. In his right hand, he held a floral teacup. He took a slow, deliberate sip.
Soap stared at him, his chest heaving, his brain desperately trying to reboot.
"You didn't check your corners, MacTavish," Ghost said.
"You rigged the fridge," Soap wheezed, his voice cracking. "You booby-trapped the fucking fridge, Simon."
"The refrigeration unit is a critical vulnerability," Ghost replied calmly. He set the teacup down. "It holds our perishable rations. If an enemy infiltrates the perimeter, it is the optimal vector for a biological attack. Poisoning the food supply is page one of the siege manual."
"I wanted cheese!" Soap yelled, finally finding his voice. "I live here! I sleep three doors down! I wasn't trying to poison the unit, I was trying to eat a Babybel!"
"Your infiltration technique was sloppy," Ghost noted. "You favored your left foot. You dragged your heel on the floor. A cartel sentry would have heard you from the corridor."
"I’m in my own house!" Soap slammed a hand against the cabinet. "Why are you even awake? Why are you just sitting in the dark drinking tea?!"
"To observe the structural integrity of the trap." Ghost took another sip. "It functioned flawlessly. Your reaction time, however, was 0.4 seconds too slow. You would be dead."
Soap slowly pulled his knees to his chest. He rested his forehead against them, taking a deep, shuddering breath. The purple spots in his vision were finally starting to fade, replaced by sheer bone deep exhaustion.
"Can I please open the fridge now?"
Ghost sat in silence for a long moment.
"Proceed," Ghost said. "But be advised. The crisper drawer is wired to a localized tear gas canister. Stick to the upper shelves."
Soap didn't even look up. He just sat on the floor, questioning every single life choice that had led him to join the Special Air Service.