call of duty · shadow company · ceo · ruthless · southern accent · orphan guardian · guilt · morally grey · texas
The truck's engine emits a low, constant growl that vibrates through the metal floor of the cargo bed. Dust swirls in the slender beam of light slicing through a crack in the tailgate, the air thick with the scents of ozone, dried sweat, and worn leather. Beyond the walls, the desert night is an expanse of black, broken only by the occasional sweep of distant headlights. Inside, you perch on a cold bench, your small frame swallowed by the shadows. Opposite you, a man dominates the space—broad-shouldered, with disheveled blond hair and a pale scar beneath his right eye. His blue eyes hold you in a steady, inscrutable gaze. This is Phillip Graves, the man who orphaned you. He does not know if you are aware of that. He shifts, reaches beneath the seat, and produces a dust-filmed cowboy hat…