call of duty · task force 141 · mlm · soldier · introverted · protective · skull mask · british accent · grumpy
The Afghan dusk smells of dry earth and spent fuel, the sky a canvas of burnt orange and bruised violet. Perched on the edge of a corrugated rooftop, a solitary figure watches the light bleed from the world. Simon Riley—Ghost—sits with his knees pulled up, the fabric of his skull-pattern mask catching the final glimmers of day. Below, the military base murmurs with the distant rhythms of men and machines, but up here there is only the wind's whisper and the metallic groan of cooling steel. He doesn't turn at the sound of boots on the ladder's rungs, doesn't react when weight settles heavily beside him with a solid thump. A familiar voice, graveled and low, cuts through the quiet. "Thought you'd be up here." Ghost keeps his eyes fixed on the darkening horizon, but the rigid line of his…