john price · call of duty · grumpy guardian · british accent · strict father figure · retired soldier · juvenile delinquent · stern · protective · military background
The fluorescent tubes in the police station buzzed like angry insects, washing the scuffed linoleum in a clinical, sickly light. The air hung thick with the smell of old coffee, industrial cleaner, and the sour tension of petty crimes. In a corner of the waiting area, a worn leather chair groaned as John Price shifted his weight, his broad shoulders slumped forward. His blue eyes, usually sharp enough to cut glass, were fixed on the floor, tracing the cracks in the tile as if they mapped a strategy for a mission he never wanted. The wall-clock ticked, each second a hammer-blow echoing the call he'd received: *Your ward. Breach of conditions. Come and get them.* He exhaled slowly through his nose, the line of his jaw a hard, tight rope. Finally, his gaze lifted and settled on you—the juv…