Thanks to You
Thanks to Y/N's quick thinking, 141 escapes a sticky situation with their lives... Barely. pairing: task force 141 x reader wc: 1,320 warnings/notes: canon-typical violence, near-death experiences, my attempt at angst after mostly writing and reading fluff, incorrect military terminology probably.
Terrorism in Mali had been on the rise for months, and the team had been notified of a growing terrorist cell in Bamako, the capital. The team had arrived early in the morning, now you and the rest of 141 were waiting for exfil that night after successfully raiding the base of operations.
While you were inspecting some of the stolen weapons and ammo that was in the building, your radio along with everyone else’s crackles to life.
“Bravo team this is Watcher-1. We've got eyes on four vehicles heading your way. They’re not friendly. Stay alert.”
You look over at Price and the others, and Ghost lets out a huff in annoyance more than anything.
“Fucking hell.”
“They must have called for reinforcements once they knew we were here-” You say quickly as you look over at Price, and he nods in agreement.
“Precisely.”
Just as Price had finished speaking, the five of you heard the vehicles outside, along with dozens of voices speaking a language you didn’t understand. You had hardly any time to react before grenades were blasting the doors open, and you were ducking for cover. Quickly assessing the layout of the place, you identify three doors ahead of you, and you know there’s a door behind you. Hopefully you could use it to escape.
“We’ve got to get to the truck outside if we’re to catch the helo for exfil.” Soap calls as the five of you begin to fire your rifles at the combatants that were entering the building.
“We’re not going anywhere until these fuckers are dead!” Ghost shouts over the sound of gunfire, and you briefly glance at the double doors behind you. The truck was parked a few dozen yards away behind a treeline, if you ran, you could make it. It’s going to take quick thinking to get out of here with your lives.
“We take this back door to the truck- Go! I’ll cover ya!” You call out to them, and Price looks at you briefly before he tosses a frag grenade towards the other side of the building.
“Hell no, there’s too many of them Y/N.” Price says firmly, his knuckles turning white as he grips his rifle.
“We don’t have time to argue about it!” Ghost shouts, and your mind is racing, trying to think of how the hell you’re going to get out of here with the team.
“Wait- I- I planted C4 when we finished clearing the place-” You ramble quickly, and Soap’s eyes are wide as you explain.
“Laswell wanted us to destroy any contraband we found- I planted it to take this building down, I can detonate it if you guys go for the truck!” You say with wide eyes, and the corner of Soap’s mouth raises slightly. They hadn’t even noticed you had done it. Sometimes you were just that quick and quiet.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here then. Go! Go!” Price shouts, and the five of you move away from your cover and duck out of the back door of the building as the gunfire continues from behind you. Bullets whizz by, flying past you and hitting the concrete walls.
Once you’re out and a few dozen yards away from the building, you activate the detonator. The five of you duck briefly as a loud boom sounds through the area, and the building comes crashing down. The screams of the men inside nearly make you sick, even though they were just trying to kill you.
“Steamin’ Jesus Y/N- Can’t believe you thought of that. We all got outta there thanks to you.” Soap calls over to you as you all pile into the truck.
You gather your bearings once you’re seated, and you cough a few times to clear your airway of some dust and debris from your surroundings. When you pull your hand away, there’s a splatter of blood on the palm of your glove.
Fuck.
Gaz notices the way you briefly freeze, and he sits up in his seat stiffly.
“Y/N- You good? Hey-” He says before he turns on his flashlight to see you in the dark truck, and when the light shines on your abdomen and waist, Gaz and Soap see your uniform was stained with blood. Your dark blue coat was shining with the blood that was rapidly flowing from your middle.
You don’t know when it happened, and you didn’t even feel it until now, now that the adrenaline has worn off.
“Captain- Y/N’s hit, we gotta move fast.” Soap calls out, and when he leans over and begins to undo the velcro of your vest, you let out a whine as you’re slightly jostled by the motion. Searing pain was blooming throughout your body, and every movement made by the truck worsened it.
Soap moves your vest to the side before he unzips your jacket, and he sighs when he sees the lower half of your gray shirt was now almost totally soaked in blood. Amongst the blood, he sees two exit wounds; you had been shot from behind.
The pain was growing to be unbearable, and as you close your eyes, Soap gives your arm a firm squeeze.
“Hey- Y/N, you gotta stay with me, aye? It’s not your time yet. We’re gonna get you fixed up.” Soap speaks quickly as he leans over and begins to apply pressure to the wounds as best he can, and his heart breaks when he hears your cries of agony.
The truck soon comes to a stop at the set rendezvous point. Luckily for you, the lights from the helo soon appear as the helicopter begins its descent to get your team out of there.
“C’mon kid, you’re not getting away from us this easily. Someone’s gotta help me keep Ghost and Price on their toes.” Soap says as he begins to help you out of the truck. Ghost comes around the side to help Soap move you, and he puts his arm around your back so you could lean against him.
You’re the youngest of 141, and they were going to make sure that you had a future with them.
The next time you woke up, although your vision was bleary, you recognized your surroundings as the infirmary on the base. You remember what happened. Soap’s words, and him and Ghost loading you into the helicopter. The rest is fuzzy.
Considering you felt no pain, you could only guess what kind of cocktail of medications the doctors had you on.
As you regain consciousness, you hear voices nearby. You recognize Ghost first, followed by Soap and Gaz. You guessed Price was working on the debrief. How long were you out?
Just like that, a few pairs of footsteps approach, and when the nurse pulls back the curtain, you’re met with Ghost, Soap, and Gaz. Ghost has his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket, Soap is holding a stuffed dinosaur and Gaz is holding a few of your favorite candy bars.
“Maybe I should get shot at more often.” You murmur, and Soap grins while he hands you the stuffie and the candy that Gaz had been holding.
“Looks like you’re feeling good then. You gave us a scare back there, Y/N.” Gaz says while Soap sits down in one of the chairs near your bed.
“I feel okay- The drugs are helping.”
“Your quick thinking saved our asses back there. I wish you hadn’t gotten hurt though.” Soap says seriously, and you look down at him with a little smile.
“I’m young, I’ll heal in no time. At least it wasn’t one of you.” Ghost rolls his eyes at that, but you can tell he’s trying not to laugh.
“And… There it is.” He says, having been waiting for your smart ass to say something. That’s how they knew you were feeling like yourself again.