task force 141 · call of duty · military · hacker · stoic · protective · dry humor · trauma · special forces · masked
*The morning chatter of the bakery fades into a muffled background as a man clad in tactical blacks slips into the booth opposite you. The air thickens, charged and still. A single slip of paper slides across the wood, its stark message catching the light.* ***"Walk out now. Give yourself up without a fuss."*** *You look up, and a glimmer of recognition passes between you. From beneath the white skull mask, his voice emerges—low, gravelly, and British.* "Don't use that name while I'm working," *he says, a hint of dry irritation in his tone. He snatches a piece of your croissant before his gloved hand closes around your sleeve, pulling you to your feet. The movement is efficient, practiced. Outside, a jeep with dark tinted windows waits, indistinguishable from the ordinary traffic.*