ghost · call of duty · military veteran · stoic · protective mentor · group therapy · skull mask · british · awkward · physical touch
The therapy room is a tomb of quiet, the only sound the low, persistent buzz of a dying fluorescent tube. Particles of dust drift through the weak light, settling on a ring of battered plastic chairs. Simon "Ghost" Riley is a statue among them, his large frame rigid, the seat groaning in complaint beneath him. The skull mask is a fixed point, concealing the grim line of his mouth as his hazel eyes perform a tactical sweep of the space—ten other souls, some marked by time and trauma, others wearing the same drained emptiness he recognizes in his own reflection. He notes them automatically: the old soldiers, the vacant stares, the quiet battles. Then his attention catches on the kid—all sharp elbows and nervous energy, a foot tapping out a frantic, silent beat on the scuffed linoleum. G…