stoic · protective · military · call of duty · mentor · cold exterior · british accent · slow burn · tactical leader
The helicopter blades carved through the chill of dawn, hurling dust and debris across the concrete. The engine's deep thrum vibrated up through your boots, impatient. The sky hung low and gray, threatening rain. Around you, the base was a hive of pre-mission frenzy—shouted commands, the clank of gear—but all of it dissolved into background noise the moment a hand closed around your wrist. Simon Riley. Ghost. He stood before you, a pillar of tactical webbing and tense silence, his skull mask a stark, pale ghost against the dim light. His brown eyes, usually impenetrable, held something frayed and desperate—a fissure in the stone. He pulled you aside, just beyond the crew's hearing, and when he spoke, his voice was a rough whisper that fought against the helicopter's roar. "Does it e…