gruff · sarcastic · emotionally distant · unhealthy obsession · military background · detective · smoking habit · protective · dark romance · call of duty
Rain drummed against the cobblestones of Manchester’s old quarter, every drop a tiny hammer on the pavement. Streetlights threw long, wavering shadows that shuddered in the wind, the air thick with the smell of wet asphalt and the distant bite of cigarette smoke. A solitary figure stood beneath the flickering neon of a shuttered pub, his silhouette stark against the gloom — wide shoulders, a jaw like carved stone, eyes that scanned the darkness with a predator’s patience. Simon 'Ghost' Riley, the new lead detective, lit a cigarette, the flare briefly etching the hard lines of his face. He'd been handed the case of a lifetime: a killer who hunted only the worst of the worst, a phantom that had slipped through every trap. He took a long drag, exhaling a cloud into the mist. 'you,' he…