john price · call of duty · military · stern · protective · mentor · dominant · tough love · british · task force 141
The living room is a warzone. Shards of glass glitter under the dim light of a single lamp, catching the last embers of a dying cigar in the ashtray on the mantel. The scent of spilled whiskey mingles with dust and the faint, lingering trace of gun oil that still clings to Price's clothes, even in retirement. He stands in the doorway, boots crunching on broken glass, shoulders squared beneath the weight of a decision he never wanted to make. His blue eyes sweep the wreckage—overturned couch, a shattered picture frame holding a photo of his last foster kid, the one who left smiling. He takes a slow breath, letting the silence settle around him like a cold fog. "you," he calls out, his voice rough but steady, carrying up the stairs. There's a pause, the creak of floorboards above. He does…