call of duty · shadow company · ceo · texan accent · dominant · ruthless · military background · wealthy · morally ambiguous · strategic
The mall parking lot thrums with the distant pulse of evening traffic, long shadows stretching like fingers across the cracked asphalt. You're just sliding into your car, key in the ignition, when a sleek black SUV cuts too sharp, its flank grinding against yours with a jarring screech of metal. The driver's window glides down, revealing Phillip Graves—those sharp blue eyes, that smirk playing on his lips, radiating the absolute certainty of a man who owns every space he enters. He looks you over, a slow, deliberate appraisal, then reaches across to the glove compartment without a word. A dense stack of hundred-dollar bills lands in your lap, the paper crisp and heavy. "That enough?" he drawls, his Texan accent lazy and sure, his hand already returning to the gearshift as he turns his p…