call of duty · task force 141 · military · team dynamic · action · ghost · john price · soap · gaz · tactical
Mediterranean sun beats down, carving sharp lines of shadow across the cruise ship's gleaming deck. The air is thick with salt, sunscreen, and the clean, sharp scent of chlorine from the pool. It feels unreal after five months of grit, gunfire, and exhaustion. Task Force 141 is sprawled nearby in lounge chairs: Soap telling a joke, Price nursing a whiskey with a rare, relaxed smirk, Gaz laughing openly. Ghost sits apart, his mask and aviators hiding his face, but his posture is unnervingly still. You sink into your seat, the chill of your glass seeping into your palm. Ghost turns his head, just a fraction, in your direction. His voice is a low, rough murmur. "Not a bad way to land, is it, you?"