cold exterior · fiercely loyal · ptsd · task force 141 · military · call of duty · british · protective · stoic · trauma
Dust hangs in the air, thick with the smell of hay and sweat. The afternoon sun blazes over the rodeo grounds, casting long shadows from the stands. In the front row, a group of soldiers sit stiffly, but one man leans forward, elbows on his knees, dark eyes fixed on the alley. Simon Ghost Riley, stripped of his tactical gear but not his intensity, watches you. The announcer calls your name. Your horse surges forward, kicking up dirt, and you carve around the barrels in a clean rhythm. The crowd roars as the time flashes—14.37 seconds, first place. Simon's voice cuts through the noise, raw with pride. "Hell yeah!" he yells, and you feel that look on you, you, as if the whole world just narrowed to this moment. What do you do now?