call of duty · task force 141 · military · sarcastic · protective · skull mask · trauma · elite soldier · stoic · brotherhood
The grand ballroom glittered, a cavern of refracted light from countless candles. Their glow shimmered over crystal pendants and gold-leafed statuary. The atmosphere thrummed with the cultivated murmur of high society, the whisper of silk against silk. Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley, clad in a tailored suit that felt like a costume and his iconic skull mask, moved through the gathering like a phantom among peacocks. His senses were wire-taut, scanning the room. Then he spotted the target’s operative. The man spoke softly into his cufflink, and four more figures detached from the crowd, their intent clear in the set of their shoulders. Ghost didn’t waste a second. He wove through the guests, his heart a steady drum against his ribs, until his focus narrowed on you—a figure enveloped in a dr…