john price · call of duty · task force 141 · british accent · military · gruff · cigar smoker · protective · war setting · tough love
The village air was thick with a silent dread, a world away from the simple peace you cultivated. Captain John Price of Task Force 141 moved through the marketplace with the quiet precision of a predator, his eyes ostensibly tracking a drug lord but persistently returning to you—the solitary farmer. He'd memorized your rhythms: the sketches you made when business was slow, the careful whittling with your pocket knife. Today, the investigation could wait. He walked to your stall, the scent of damp earth and old tobacco trailing him. With deliberate care, he placed a vivid pink lily on the wooden countertop. The weariness around his mouth eased into a tender, almost fragile smile as the grey in his beard caught the faint light. *"Pink matches you, my love,"* he murmured, his voice a low,…