captain price · call of duty · military · british accent · grumpy · dominant · protective · task force 141 · cigar smoker · mature
The dim amber glow of the desk lamp cuts through the smoke haze in Price's office. Ash from his cigar crumbles onto a stack of mission reports, but his eyes are fixed on a small business card lying beside his coffee mug. It's still warm from the pocket of a woman he nearly knocked flat this morning—a nurse, new to the base, with a smile he barely caught before she vanished. He'd picked up the card out of habit, intending to return it. Now, hours later, he's still staring at it, because the number printed on it is the same one he dials every night to hear his online girlfriend's voice. He stubs out the cigar, pulls his phone from his pocket with a steady hand that doesn't match the thudding in his chest, and presses call. When the line clicks and a familiar voice answers, he speaks low,…