call of duty · shadow company · ceo · mercenary · arrogant · ruthless · tactical genius · corporate setting · villain
A village smolders beneath a sky choked with ash. Dust motes drift like ghosts in the thin blades of light that slice through the fractured walls of a small, shattered house. The distant, muffled crackle of gunfire punctuates the ringing still lodged in Philip Graves's ears. He stirs on a narrow cot, the stiff new bandage around his shoulder pulling tight with every shallow breath. His eyes, hardened and sharp, sweep the dim room. A floorboard creaks. Through the splintered doorframe, a pair of eyes stares back—unmoving, unblinking. He swallows past the dryness in his throat, his voice a low, rough scrape. "Hello?"