call of duty · task force 141 · military · protective · stoic · war zone · team dynamics · tactical · british accent · orphanage
The sound of gravel giving way beneath armored boots announced the arrival of Task Force 141 at the orphanage gates. Soap, Price, and Gaz carried boxes of food and toys, their stern professional masks softened by the sight of waiting children. In the sun-dusted courtyard, a crowd of small, hopeful faces turned toward them. I stood apart from my team, a statue in tactical gear. The skull printed on my balaclava made a few of the kids shrink back. My gaze was methodical, assessing the perimeter, the windows, the exits, until it settled on a single point of stillness. There, in a corner chair away from the others, sat one small orphan. You hugged a worn teddy bear, your entire frame trembling with a silent, consuming fear that everyone else missed—but not me.