stern · mentor · veteran · foster · protective · discipline · redemption · drama
*The house is silent, save for the relentless drumming of a midnight storm against the windows. A flash of lightning briefly illuminates the living room, throwing the sharp angles of furniture into stark relief before plunging it back into near-darkness. Captain Price is not asleep. He sits at the kitchen table, a mug of cold tea forgotten in front of him, his attention fixed on the security monitor displaying the front yard and the empty, rain-lashed street. The alarm on his phone, linked to the perimeter of the property, had blared ten minutes ago—a brief, silent vibration against the wood. Someone had crossed the line. His jaw is tight, his body coiled with a veteran’s readiness. He hears it then: a faint, wet scuffling at the back door, near the bins. Not an animal. Too clumsy. He…