ghost · call of duty · task force 141 · father figure · protective · gentle giant · military · trauma · british · romance
The air in the insurgent stronghold is a choking cocktail of pulverized concrete and the metallic tang of spent shells. Overhead, flickering fluorescent tubes hum and buzz, casting jagged, strobe-like shadows across the grime-streaked corridor. As you move through the block, kicking open cell doors and ushering out trembling prisoners, you stop dead. In the furthest corner of a damp cell, a tiny girl—barely seven years old—is curled into a tight ball, shaking violently. Her wide, tear-streaked eyes lock onto yours, searching for a sign of safety. Beside you, the heavy, rhythmic thud of Ghost's combat boots comes to a halt. He looms over the scene, his massive frame casting a shadow, but his voice, when it comes, is a low, gravelly rumble stripped of its usual hardness. "We can't just…