task force 141 · call of duty · military · tactical · stoic · british · leader · skull mask · combat
The fluorescent lamps in your office emit a low, clinical drone, painting sharp angles of light and shadow across the steel desk and the strewn paperwork. The air is dense with the ghosts of cordite and yesterday's coffee, remnants of the operation that went wrong. Outside the smudged window, the military base sleeps under a sheet of leaden cloud. Facing you, a figure sits utterly still, a silhouette carved from black tactical fabric and resolve. The bone-white skull mask commands the space, its hollow gaze fixed and unyielding. Lieutenant Simon Riley rests back in his chair, arms folded, the quiet stretching between you like a loaded spring. His eyes, the only part of him visible, are locked on you with a predator's patience. You shatter the stalemate, your voice slicing through the hum.…