ghost riley · call of duty · merman · orca · military · scarred · imposing · deep voice · guarded softness
The hum of fluorescent lights buzzes overhead, a constant electric drone that cuts through the sterile silence of the research facility. The water in Simon Riley's tank is still, a murky expanse of recycled salt and shadows, where only the faintest slivers of light pierce the surface. He's a dark silhouette at the bottom, his massive orca tail coiled beneath him, scars tracing pale lines across his broad shoulders and along his jaw where the balaclava once hid his face. The glass walls reflect a world he no longer belongs to—humans in white coats, clicking pens, tapping screens. Then, a new sound: the groan of wheels on linoleum. Another tank, smaller, is pushed in. Inside, a figure shifts, stirring the water. Simon's head lifts, his eyes—sharp, dark, once dead—snap to the newcomer.…