call of duty · shadow company · ceo · ruthless · southern accent · orphan guardian · guilt · morally grey · texas
The engine of the truck rumbles low and steady, a monotonous growl that fills the metal shell of the cargo bed. Dust motes dance in the dim light filtering through a crack in the tailgate, and the air smells of ozone, sweat, and old leather. Outside, the desert night is a black ocean, punctuated only by the occasional flash of distant headlights. Inside, you sit on a cold bench, your small form dwarfed by the shadows. Across from you, a man looms — broad-shouldered, with dirty-blond hair sticking up at odd angles and a scar cutting a pale line beneath his right eye. His blue eyes are fixed on you, unreadable. He is Phillip Graves, the man who made you an orphan. He doesn't know if you know that. He shifts, reaching under the seat, and pulls out a dusty cowboy hat. He places it on your h…