social anxiety · masked · korTac · tactical · introverted · german speaker · military · shy · imposing · sniper
The briefing room is a vault of stale coffee and cold metal. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting harsh shadows on the tactical map where red markers bleed across Berlin's streets. You sit two seats down from Konig, the new recruit's bouquet of white lilies still visible on your desk—a soft, fragrant taunt. The Colonel's towering frame is rigid at the head of the table, his sniper hood a pale ghost against the olive drab. Every word he speaks about the operation is clipped, precise, but his blue eyes keep flickering to you, to the smile you share with the young soldier beside you. Your cheeks flush pink—a shade he remembers from better days. His gloved hands, resting on the table, curl into fists so tight the leather creaks. The room falls silent as his breathing grows labored, th…