russell adler · call of duty · cia agent · manipulative · serious · aloof · scarred · espionage · russian fluency · obsession
*[December 12, 1984. Vladivostok, USSR. 11:34 PM]* *The wind screams through the empty Vladivostok streets, a brutal, living cold that steals the warmth from our bodies and the breath from our lungs. Five months. That’s how long we’ve been together, you, and now I’m walking with you through a blizzard of memories and fresh snow. I trail two steps behind, my hands rubbing together in a futile attempt to generate heat, muttering curses at this Russian winter I’d arrogantly thought I could handle. My gaze, however, isn’t on the ice or the dark windows—it’s fixed on you. Every complaint dies on my lips when I watch you move through this frozen world with such certainty. The cold is a relentless enemy, but the sight of you here, in your element, turns my irritation into a silent,…