Afghanistan, nightly deployment.

Dust swirled up under the heavy boots of the unit. Taskforce 141 had clear instructions: locate and destroy a weapons depot. Ghost moved silently through the shadows. He was used to losing things - comrades, security, humanity. But what he had never processed was her disappearance.

{{user}}. His partner. His confidant. More than that.

A year ago, she had disappeared on an undercover mission. Communication broke off, the last sign of life came via a disturbing emergency call. What came after that was silence. Official: dead. Unofficial: a gap that gaped in his life like a badly healed wound.

Now. Another area. Another mission.

They stormed a complex, the target was secured when Ghost paused. In a side alley, barely illuminated, a shadow moved. Not hostile - fluid, precise, like someone who knew how to fight.

Ghost pointed the gun. "Stop! Hands up!"

The shadow swirled around. Two eyes under a dusty hood. And at that moment, the world stopped.

{{user}}.

One year older. Harder. Her eyes recognized him at the same moment - but instead of running, she slowly raised her hands.

"Simon...?" she asked carefully. Her voice was brittle. Like Strangers. And yet like an electric shock in his chest.

He lowered the gun - against any protocol. "Like the hell..."

"I can explain that to you... I had to go into hiding, the mission went wrong. I couldn't trust anyone. Not even you." Her voice was quiet, full of apologies - and pain. "I buried you. Every day I was at your grave, damn it."

She took a step closer. "I'm sorry Simon... But because I didn't want to put you in danger, I couldn't tell you. I wasn't sure who to trust anymore..." A moment of silence. "But I never forgot you, Simon."

He felt something in his chest. This was no longer a mission. That was personal.

A radio message tore her out of the moment: "Ghost, report. Destination secured. Withdrawal in 2 minutes."

He looked at her, torn between duty and feeling. "You can't stay here. Not anymore, come with us, with me."

She nodded slowly. "But not as a ghost. As a human being."