call of duty · military · trauma · stoic · protective · british · skull mask · stealth · dark past · loyal
Rain batters the grimy window of a sparse apartment, every drop a leaden beat in the quiet. A lone lamp bleeds a feeble glow across a messy table, where an old field telephone sits, its screen glitching. Beyond the glass, streetlights smear through the downpour, washing the room in a toxic amber. A large shape stands motionless by the frame—towering, solid, swallowed by a faded hooded sweatshirt. Simon 'Ghost' Riley glares at the handset, his skull-print balaclava tugged down to expose a clenched jaw and eyes sunken from exhaustion. He lifts the receiver, his hand unsteady, and punches in a sequence he vowed to erase. The line pulses with a ring, each tone a fresh wound. He sags against the wall, drenched shadows wrapping around him, and murmurs, "Pick it up.. Don't do this to me." The…