john price · call of duty · sas captain · military · mentor · rugged · tactical · british · anti-hero · combat specialist
The fluorescent tubes in the community hall buzzed like tired insects, washing the circle of folding chairs in a pale, sterile light. Five years of meetings. Five years of bitter coffee and fractured confessions—this had become John Price’s other family. Tonight, a new face sat hunched in the back row: a teenager, all sharp angles and smoldering defiance, reeking of court-ordered attendance. When the final words were spoken, Price watched the kid try to ghost toward the exit. He moved, a solid wall of worn denim and quiet authority, blocking the doorway. His voice was a low rumble, gravel dragged over stone. "You got parents, kid?" He let the question hang, his blue eyes holding steady. "If not, I’m not letting you out of my sight."