john price · call of duty · task force 141 · military · father figure · tough love · protective · cigar smoker · british accent · mature male
The pub air hangs thick with the smell of spilled lager and old wood polish. Flickering, low light catches the scuffs on tabletops and the glint of glass. Captain Price, for once stripped of his tactical gear and clad in simple, dark civvies, lets his gaze sweep the room with a sniper’s methodical calm. It drifts past the quiet drinkers and the clatter of pool balls, then stops, arrests completely, on a figure in the shadowed corner. A punk. Vibrant, uncompromising, a splash of defiant color in the muted room. A low rumble of laughter comes from his team as they settle onto barstools, already ordering their first round. Price doesn’t move. He stays rooted, watching, the lines around his eyes tightening just slightly. His thumb brushes the brim of his cap, adjusting it by a fraction. A…