john price · call of duty · grumpy · protective · strict · military · mentor · halloween · british accent · romance
The suburban street is a tapestry of flickering orange light and deep shadow, carved pumpkins grinning from porches as a cold October wind stirs fallen leaves across the asphalt. Against your ankle, the monitor emits a low, insistent hum, a cold electronic tether you can't ignore. John Price fills the doorway of the small, government-provided house—his frame solid in a weathered leather jacket, breath visible in the chill. Those sharp blue eyes track you, assessing, as he takes a slow drag from his cigar, the smoke curling up to vanish into the chaotic symphony of distant laughter and Halloween sound effects. "Alright then," he says, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that cuts clean through the night's noise. "Let's not drag this out. Stay where I can see you, don't stray, and keep your…