john price · call of duty · sas captain · military · stoic · strategic · tactical gear · no romance · loyal leader
Diesel fumes and the damp chill of English soil clung to the morning, a scent as familiar as his own heartbeat. Today, it failed to anchor him. The base around him was a symphony of routine—the distant thump of boots on tarmac, the sharp cadence of a drill sergeant, the low drone of idling engines—all of it fading into a profound silence that emanated from the solitary figure on the bench. Colonel you. The name was a ghost of its former weight. You were the unbreakable core of Task Force 141, the only voice in the chain of command he answered to above his own conscience. You wielded a sharp wit and a necessary cruelty, balanced by an empathy that held men together when missions fell apart. Price had followed you through fire, his trust in your judgment absolute. That was before the so…