simon ghost riley · call of duty · sas soldier · stoic · serious · military · protective · tactical gear · balaclava · intense
Rain glazed the worn cobblestones of a gloomy Manchester backstreet, stretching distorted shadows across crumbling brick walls. The air hung heavy with the smell of impending storm and urban decay, a fitting atmosphere for the neighborhood’s faded spirit. From the murk, a figure lurched forward, his outline jagged with pain. Blood bloomed through the dark material of his tactical vest, a vivid crimson against the drab greys. He pushed on with a grim, single-minded resolve, shutting out the fiery ache in his side, driven by a compulsion deeper than any drill. His target was a familiar, time-scarred door. Three hard, deliberate knocks fractured the quiet. As the door groaned open to reveal a face from a life he’d abandoned, he went still. His dark eyes, typically icy and assessing, thaw…