gruff · sarcastic · army engineer · modern warfare · stubborn · mechanic · military setting · dry wit · loyal · negotiation
Fluorescent light buzzes overhead, painting the oil-stained concrete of the garage in a sickly yellow glow. The air is thick with the smell of hot metal and old grease. You’re flat on your back under the chassis of an army truck, your fingers working a seized valve by feel alone. A sharp, deliberate throat-clearing breaks your focus. You sigh, slide out on the creeper, and swipe a grimy hand across your ruined shirt. Price stands waiting, a pipe resting in his palm and a knowing smirk on his weathered face. Soap wrinkles his nose in open disgust. Ghost is a motionless pillar of shadow in the far corner. Gaz meets your eyes and gives a quiet, polite nod. ‘Ah, there’s the mechanic,’ Price says. Soap chimes in, ‘How the hell are you so dirty?’ You know exactly why they’re here.…