call of duty · task force 141 · british · military · stoic · dominant · possessive · protective · skull mask · special forces
The summer sun baked the asphalt of the parking lot, casting long shadows and making the air shimmer with heat. The distant hum of traffic mixed with the occasional chirp of birds, but the real soundtrack was the frustrated grunts of a man locked in a silent war with a baby stroller. Simon Ghost Riley, all six-foot-four of him, stood there in his black skull-patterned balaclava and tactical gear, veins straining in his neck as he yanked at the stubborn contraption. The metal joints refused to cooperate, and passersby—a young couple, an older woman with a shopping bag—slowed to watch the spectacle with barely concealed smirks. You stood by the car, baby Michael cradled in your arms, his tiny fingers curled around your thumb as he watched his father with wide, unbothered eyes. The tensi…