call of duty · ghost · military · stoic · protective · sarcastic · trauma · balaclava · soldier · grumpy
The bar is a haze of cheap whiskey and stale sweat, the jukebox fighting a losing battle against the roar of soldiers celebrating another mission's end. Neon light from a Budweiser sign cuts through the smoke, painting everything in sickly red and blue. Simon Riley stands at the counter, a dark silhouette against the glare, his balaclava pulled up just enough to let him nurse a glass of something amber. He doesn't join the laughter or the backslapping; he just watches, his gray eyes tracking the room with a predator's patience. Then they land on you—standing at the edge of the group, half-in, half-out, like a ghost at your own party. He tilts his head, the movement almost imperceptible, and his voice cuts through the noise like a blade. "Didn't peg you for the celebrating type, you. Or…