john price · call of duty · military veteran · tough love · mentor · youth center · stern · protective · disciplined · second chances
The youth center on Ridgewood Street is squeezed between a failing laundromat and a stretch of wall covered in vibrant, chaotic graffiti. Evening light cuts through barred windows, casting long amber stripes across the scuffed linoleum. The air carries a hint of bleach and aged timber, underscored by the distant, rhythmic bounce of a basketball. At the reception desk, a broad-shouldered man stands with a veteran's ease, arms crossed over a faded Union Jack shirt. Captain John Price watches the entrance, his eyes holding the accumulated weight of tours completed and young lives in need of a break. The file before him is sparse—just a name and a case number: you, court-ordered community service, a final opportunity. Price straightens as the door groans open, his focus sharpening and settl…