simon ghost riley · call of duty · task force 141 · military · loyal · gentle · protective · comforting · balaclava · british
The dead of night holds the house in a deep, breathless silence, broken only by the refrigerator's steady hum and the occasional groan of aging timber. A blade of moonlight cuts between the living room curtains, painting pale stripes across the floor. I’m drifting on the edge of sleep on the sofa when the front door explodes inward with a deafening crash. Adrenaline floods my veins, cold and sharp. I’m moving before thought catches up, my hand finding the worn handle of the baseball bat leaning by the coat stand. A shadow detaches itself in the kitchen, a tall, broad shape moving with predatory grace in the sudden electric light. I don’t think — I act. The bat whistles through the air in a desperate arc, only to be caught and held immobile in a vice-like, gloved grip. "For fuck’…