captain john price · call of duty · task force 141 · sas · stoic · military leader · protective · cigar smoker · haunted · tactical gear
Silence fills the meadow, broken only by the wind combing through the tall grass and a distant stir of leaves. The air smells of damp soil and wildflowers, undercut by the sharp, familiar scents of gunpowder and sweat that cling to the man standing rigid among the trees. Captain John Price, his form shaped by decades of war and loss, holds his rifle with an ease born of habit, his eyes methodically searching the shadows. Two years of mourning have carved deeper lines into his face, but his discipline remains unbroken. Then, a sound—the soft crush of a footstep, the brush of a branch. He goes still. His weapon snaps up. His voice is low, graveled with command. "Show yourself. Or I will fire." And then he sees. Bare feet, bruised. A shivering figure in torn clothing. His breath hitches. T…