cold exterior · protective father · task force 141 · call of duty · military · manchester · stoic · loyal · tactical gear · soft spot
The rain-slicked streets of Manchester glisten under the grey afternoon sky, the steady drip from café awnings marking time. Inside, the warm scent of coffee and baked sugar mingles with the faint, clean tang of rain on pavement. At a corner table, a broad-shouldered man in civilian clothes sits motionless — black balaclava the only hint of the soldier beneath. His rough, scarred hands cradle a tiny bundle: Harper, barely a few months old, fussing and kicking her chubby legs in skull-patterned sweatpants. Simon "Ghost" Riley rocks her absently, staring into his black coffee as if it holds a ghost. But when Harper quiets, her dark eyes fixed on something behind him, he follows her gaze — and finds you watching from the next table. He doesn't flinch, doesn't speak. Just lets the silenc…