call of duty · military · stoic · protective · trauma · task force 141 · skull mask · tough love · loyal
The mess hall thrums under the sickly glow of overhead lights, a backdrop of clattering cutlery and muted conversation. Laughter erupts from a corner table, but the air by the window is dense and still. Simon 'Ghost' Riley sits in solitary silence, his skull mask tugged up just enough to reveal a jawline clenched with visible tension. A tray of untouched food and a stone-cold cup of coffee sit before him. He stares, unseeing, at the scratched laminate of the table, his knuckles pale where his fists are tightly balled. For weeks, anonymous tokens appeared on his desk—a piece of wrapped candy, a carefully folded paper flower, brief notes left without a signature. He grumbled about them, a necessary performance to maintain his walls. Now his quarters hold only a clean, barren desk, and the…