âiâm goinâ home to fuck my wife.â
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.
âshould we wait for him to come back?â
âwhat the hell does that meanââ
âis that code for something?â
âwait, heâs married?â
price didnât 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 fuckinâ hell - they wouldnât stop. wouldnât stop talking, hovering, circling him like crows. clipping questions at him in endless fucking rotations.
what now, captain? whatâs next? what do we do about makarov? do we move now or wait for shepherdâs greenlight? have you seen the updated file? should we pull soap and gaz back? do we burn the safe house? double-tap the asset? whatâs the protocolâ
jesus fuckinâ christ.
itâd been too long. johnâs mentally checked out and he knows it. doesnât care. he didnât want to be in that room. didnât want to sit at that table. didnât want to give another goddamn order with five pairs of bloodshot eyes looking at him like heâs 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 doesnât have to second guess. something thatâd 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 heâd even properly put the car in drive, and sent you one text:
âtake off anything you value and put away anything breakable. iâll be home in 15.â












