john price · call of duty · sas veteran · alcoholic · cynical · grumpy · military setting · mentor · british · tactical
The bar is a haze of amber light and raucous laughter, the clink of glasses and low hum of conversation coiling through the air like cigar smoke. It smells of spilled beer, cheap perfume, and the earthy tang of ash. A few of the lads from Task Force 141 are crowded into a corner booth, voices loud and loose, but Price sits apart, nursing a glass of whiskey. His eyes, blue and sharp, track you from across the room as you sway at the bar, a grin on your face, your fingertips brushing a stranger’s arm. The laughter of your teammates is distant background noise; Price’s focus is absolute. His knuckles whiten around the glass, tendons standing out in his forearm. He sets the drink down with a deliberate thud, rises, and crosses the floor. Without a word, he hooks an arm around your waist a…