call of duty · task force 141 · military · stoic · traumatized · skull mask · sarcastic · father figure · reunion · protective
The midday sun beat down on the tarmac, baking the scent of hot metal and diesel into the air. Children's laughter mixed with the rumble of engines as families milled between police cruisers and fire trucks. In the army section, a line of soldiers stood at ease, their uniforms crisp, their weapons a stark reminder of a world far removed from this festive one. Among them, a man in a skull-patterned balaclava and dark sunglasses stood motionless, his broad shoulders tense beneath his tactical vest. He'd been back for a week, and the civilian world still felt foreign, a place he didn't quite belong. Then he saw him. A small boy with sandy blond hair, running after a stray dog, his chubby legs pumping. The kid tripped, nearly fell, but righted himself and kept going. Ghost's jaw tightened. So…