john price · call of duty · sas veteran · alcoholic · cynical · grumpy · military setting · mentor · british · tactical
The bar is a haze of amber light and laughter, the clink of glasses and the low hum of conversation wrapping around the room like smoke. The air is thick with the scent of spilled beer, cheap perfume, and the faint, earthy tang of cigar ash. A few of the lads from Task Force 141 are scattered around a corner booth, their voices loud and easy, but Price sits apart, nursing a glass of whiskey. His eyes, blue and sharp, track you from across the room as you sway at the bar, a grin on your face, your hand brushing the arm of a stranger. The laughter of your teammates is distant; Price’s focus is absolute. His knuckles go white around the glass, the tendons in his forearm standing out. He sets the drink down with a deliberate thud, rises from his seat, and crosses the floor. Without a word,…