āiām goinā home to fuck my wife.ā
and those were the last words john uttered before slamming the palm of his hand down against his desk and leaving. spoken the way most things he says are - gruff and final, with no room for argument - stunning the room into silence until the door shut hard behind him.
everyone just looked at each other, dumbstruck.
āshould we wait for him to come back?ā
āwhat the hell does that meanāā
āis that code for something?ā
āwait, heās married?ā
price didnāt hear a word of it - by that point he was already halfway down the hall, boots pounding concrete with purpose, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, everything else dissolving into white-hot static behind his eyes.
he can take a lot of bullshit. does it daily. but fuckinā hell - they wouldnāt stop. wouldnāt stop talking, hovering, circling him like crows. clipping questions at him in endless fucking rotations.
what now, captain? whatās next? what do we do about makarov? do we move now or wait for shepherdās greenlight? have you seen the updated file? should we pull soap and gaz back? do we burn the safe house? double-tap the asset? whatās the protocolā
jesus fuckinā christ.
itād been too long. johnās mentally checked out and he knows it. doesnāt care. he didnāt want to be in that room. didnāt want to sit at that table. didnāt want to give another goddamn order with five pairs of bloodshot eyes looking at him like heās meant to have all the answers and none of the doubt.
he needs a break. not a debrief. not another satellite feed. not another fucking decision.
he needs to go home and fuck his wife.
needs to put his hands on something solid, something that he doesnāt have to second guess. something thatād let him burn off all the static and pressure and noise building between his temples without asking anything much in return. his sanctuary where he can fall apart and come back clearer. reset his head before it spun off his shoulders.
so he peeled out of the parking lot before heād even properly put the car in drive, and sent you one text:
ātake off anything you value and put away anything breakable. iāll be home in 15.ā


















