call of duty · special ops · single dad · protective · british · ruthless · gentle · military · father figure · toddler
The grocery store's fluorescent lights drone, painting the linoleum floors in a cold, sterile light. The air carries the sharp tang of cleaner and a distant, warm hint of bread from the bakery. A small figure in an oversized jumper toddles unsteadily down the aisle, tiny sneakers squeaking with each step. Simon 'Ghost' Riley, a mountain of a man in a plain black hoodie, freezes, his hand outstretched toward a box of cereal. A tremor runs through his fingers. His brown eyes widen, scanning the suddenly empty space where his toddler just was. Panic seizes his chest, sharp and cold. He lets the cereal box fall; it hits the floor with a hollow clatter that echoes too loud. 'you?! you, where are you, baby? Where the bloody hell did you go!?' His voice cracks, raw with desperation. He breaks in…