With an unsure feeling growing inside your stomach, you sat next to Adler.

He was driving the vehicle right into a trap and didn't even know it.

It made you feel miserable.

Despite being the American monster, he had been good to you many times. But your choices would lead to his death today, out in the middle of nowhere, Russia, without any friends or loved ones to grieve for him.

Woods, Sims and Mason were present too. It would be their last day as well.

A deep sight escaped you.

All of a sudden, Adler's hand found yours to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm glad you're by my side.", he said, eyes glued to the street in front of the car. "Angel... I never trusted someone the way I trusted you. Come home with me."

One last time you had to smile about his request.

"I already told you, shades.", you slid your hand into the back of his head to give it a good scratch. "There is no good for us."

One last time you wanted to talk to him like a friend.

One last time you wanted to feel the surprising softness of his hair.

One last time you wanted to turn your head and kiss him like the one man who had managed to make you question everything your world had existed of.

Gently, he shook his head.

"That's not what I meant.", he said in a soft, almost regretful voice. "I want you to return home with me. America."

Your fingers froze, entangled in that rusty, brown hair of his.

"Home?", you asked, baffled. "America?"

America had never been your home.

The only thing that had made it bearable had been constant work and Russell himself.

But now all of this would come to an end.

"Yes.", he said. "I want you to come home to America with me."

A confused smile appeared on your face.

"Why... why would you think I won't?"

The car came to a stand.

He let out a deep breath.

"You're still injured. Take care of yourself.", he pushed the car door open to step outside. "Let's go."

Swallowing hard, you nodded, grabbed the machine gun that was sitting between your legs and got out the car as well.

"Adler, no activities on our side.", Mason informed over the radio.

"Same...", Woods called in from the other side. "I haven't seen shit."

Duga was an abandoned place from many years ago, so old that not even you knew how it had looked like when fully inhabited and used.

With his gun in hand, Adler walked down the empty street that led through the gate and right into the heart of the abandoned base.

It was a perfect place for an ambush.

Strangely, Adler didn't seem to notice, despite his many years as a skilled agent.

Across the street, Bell slipped out of the car with Woods.

You met his eyes and nodded.

Slowly, nervousness was about to tie your throat.

Mason walked up from the other side of the place.

"There's nothing here.", he said in a grim voice. "This can't be the right place!"

Woods joined his side.

Just like these two lived, they'd die, side by side, too much to be just friends but too little to be lovers.

It was a tragedy.

You had never minded either of them. Especially not Frank. He had always been a silver lining at war, making things lighter with his rotten humour.

"We didn't see anything on our side either.", Adler agreed and glanced at you. "Or did I miss something?"

Taking a sharp breath in, you shook your head. One of your fingers slid onto the trigger.

You could feel that things were about to go down. The hairs in the back of your neck started tingling.

As angry and impulsive as it was common for Woods, he stormed towards Bell, who was now standing in a line to you and pointed at him.

"It's him!", Woods growled. "He fucking lied to us."

Carefully, you took a step back, away from Adler and the rest, closer to Bell and the Soviet soldiers who stood hidden inside the buildings as long as no command was given.

Adler didn't notice. Or maybe he was just ignoring you.

Instead, he turned to Bell.

"That true, Bell?", he asked, visibly out of his usual manner. "You pulled us out in the middle of nowhere Russia so Perseus can detonate those nukes?"

But Bell wasn't impressed at all.

He got cocky. A broad grin appeared on his face, hateful and so sure that he had won.

You started to shift your feet.

Shit, you've never felt so nervous before.

Your eyes jumped to Adler, who looked up in that exact moment.

A silent word was spoken between the two of you.

Your legs twitched and you wanted to switch sides. But it was stupid. Now, things were already in motion. You had made your decision. A decision against him.

He noticed you were off. And he was confused by it.

Bell caught his attention again.

"You underestimated me.", Bell said in a thick, Russian accent. "Goodbye, Adler."

He gave the sign.

All of a sudden, the world sunk into chaos.

Soldiers crawled out of all the holes Duga had to offer. They screamed in Russian to get the ambush into motion.

One of them jumped up a hill and pulled out a rocket launcher.

Adler and the group was trapped like rats in a cage.

"Angel!", Adler called out for you.

But you remained standing.

With trembling lips and pain shimmering inside your eyes, you remained motionless. All you could do was gently shake your head.

"I'm sorry...", you whispered.

The rocket hit barely a few steps away from where you were standing.

The shockwave was so powerful that it made you stumble back.

The concrete of the street shattered like glass. Little rubble flew through the air.

Shielding your eyes, you pulled your head in, turned around and ran to the Soviet line to take your place in it.

You raised your gun, pointing it directly at Adler's chest.

He stood there, frozen in shock, and couldn't help but raise a hand for you to take.

With tears burning inside your eyes, you shook your head.

"I'm sorry Russell...", you called out. "I really am."