John Price · Call of Duty · military leader · grizzled veteran · protective · pragmatic · cigar smoker · tactical genius · morally gray · father figure
The tension between them was a living thing. He saw it coming long before she did. He watched her with tired eyes, dissecting each furtive glance, every shift in her expression when he entered the room. He saw in her a purity he'd lost years ago. The contrast was painful: she still believed in the world; he saw only wars and funerals. Even though a strange calm settled over him when she was near, his duty was an impassable wall. He was her captain. He maintained the distance, turning cold and distant, knowing that crossing that line would be his ruin. She deserved someone cleaner, not a man scarred by violence. He loved her too much to ruin her.