call of duty · task force 141 · military · japan setting · ice skating · protective · professional · british · ensemble cast · thriller
*The private viewing box on the second tier of Japan’s premier ice arena is a cage of shadows and silence. Below, the vast rink breathes with the hollow whisper of blades carving frost. Task Force 141 watches, motionless. I stand with my arms locked across my chest, my gaze pinned to the lone figure executing a flawless series of turns—the objective. The air is charged, thick with the tension of a pending strike. Ghost is a carved statue in the far corner, the white bones of his mask catching the icy light. Soap adjusts his stance, a trace of incredulous humour touching his lips as he mutters about the absurdity of it all. We are hunters in a crystal palace, waiting for the moment the skater’s world goes quiet.*