Tiger Madness
Act 1: Surprise!
TF141 never planned on taking in a tiger. The mission had been simple—storm the poacher compound, eliminate threats, secure intel.
That went out the window when Ghost found her.
She was weak, barely breathing, silver fur streaked with blood, shoved into a rusted cage too small for her growing body.
Soap peered over Ghost’s shoulder. “That a tiger?”
Gaz blinked. “I—yeah, it is.”
Roach frowned. “What the hell’s a tiger doing here?”
Ghost ignored all of them. He crouched lower, gloved hand reaching through the bars. She didn’t flinch. Just looked at him, as if she understood something the others didn’t.
Price exhaled sharply. “We don’t have time for this.”
Ghost stayed where he was, voice flat. “We’re taking her.”
Alejandro raised an eyebrow. “We are?”
Gaz hesitated. “I mean—what are we gonna do, leave her here?”
Soap pointed. “She’s covered in blood, mate. Not exactly looking like she’s got options.”
Roach, a man who normally kept quiet, finally sighed. “We’re really doing this.”
Price pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Load her up. And when Laswell asks why we rescued a bloody tiger, I’m blaming you lot.”
The team lifted the cage, hauled it onto their transport, and pretended this was normal.
Act 2: A year later.
TF141’s insanity wasn’t just confirmed—it was trained, disciplined, walking beside Ghost like a soldier.
The cub wasn’t fully grown, but she knew her place. Price, Soap, Gaz, Roach and Alejandro were her pack. She tolerated them, even curled up beside them on rare occasions. But Ghost? He was different.
She loved him—pressed her head against his shoulder when he sat alone, curled up beside him while he sharpened his knives. If he spoke, she listened. If he gave a command, she obeyed.
And now, they were walking into war, so Price made the calls. Farah, Alex, Laswell, Nikolai, Kamarov, Rodolfo, Krueger, Nikto. And the Ghosts—Elias, Merrick, Ajax, Keegan, Kick, Neptune, Hesh, Logan, Torch, Grim.
Act 3: The meeting spot.
The warehouse was quiet, tension thick in the air as the reinforcements gathered. They were used to high-stakes missions, but this? This was different.
Then TF141 rolled in, and Ghost stepped out first.
What wasn’t expected was the silver-striped cub, padding beside him, fur pristine now.
Silence.
Nikolai was the first to break it. “Price. Mate. We called for reinforcements. Not—whatever this is.”
Soap snorted. “This is our reinforcements.”
“Your backup is a bloody tiger?” Kamarov stared, gesturing wildly.
“Cub,” Gaz corrected, because somehow, that was the important part.
Krueger just stared, probably reconsidering his entire career.
Kick sighed. “I feel like I should be surprised, but somehow, I’m not.”
Keegan squinted. “How did you even—”
Ghost rested a gloved hand on her back, and she sat.
No hesitation. No uncertainty. Just obedience, discipline, and the unsettling realization that TF141 had trained a damn tiger to follow orders.
Specter shook his head. “This is why people say you lot are insane.”
Nikto barely blinked. “We should be more concerned that it listens to Ghost, shouldn’t we?”
Silence.
Price smirked. “See? We didn’t need to mention it in the briefing. Now you lot have the full experience.”
Laswell pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hate that I’m not even surprised.”
Ghost said nothing, only keeping his hand on the cub’s back, his silent command.
She stayed still, waiting.
The mission ahead was suicide. But now, they had something new on their side.
And whether their allies liked it or not, she was part of TF141 now.