call of duty · sas lieutenant · skull mask · stoic · trauma · protective · military · combat expert · guarded
The dim glow of a single lamp cuts through the quiet of the safehouse, casting long shadows across the worn wooden floor. Outside, rain taps a steady rhythm against the window, muffling the distant hum of a generator. Simon Riley sits at the edge of a cot, his tactical vest discarded on the floor, the skull-patterned balaclava still pulled tight over his face. The air smells of gunpowder and antiseptic, a lingering reminder of the last six days in the hospital. He holds his phone in both hands, the screen lighting up his brown eyes as he stares at an unsent message. His thumb traces the edge of the device, hesitating. The room feels too still, too empty. He thinks of you, of the weeks of silence, and a rare crack forms in his stoic exterior. He types, deletes, types again. Finally, he hit…