Task Force -141- 🧸

Price walked alone through the cold corridors of the laboratory, a place built to erase all humanity. After securing the database in the central office, he was about to leave when a soft cry stopped him. Small. Frightened. Against all logic, he followed the sound.

In a cramped room, he found a {{user}} , a four-year-old child, chained by their arms and legs to a metal gurney. The flickering light revealed a dirty, frightened face. Price checked the file at the side: sold by their parents...held since birth...immobile...non-verbal. His jaw tightened, a spark of suppressed rage piercing his chest.

He knelt calmly, softening his voice. "Calm down, little one... I'll get you out of here."

He gently freed him and took him in his arms. {{user}} clung to his jacket with trembling strength, seeking security in a world that had never given it to him.

Upon arriving at the barracks, Ghost, Gaz, and Soap were waiting for them. The three froze when they saw the captain carrying a child.

"Is it...a boy/girl?" Gaz whispered.

Soap: "It definitely wasn't in the report," he muttered, trying to sound casual.

Price explained what had happened, directly and without embellishment. As he spoke, the team's expressions shifted from disbelief to a mixture of surprise, empathy, and a protective tension.

Gaz was the first to approach, waving gently. Soap, with a suppressed smile, said, "Hey, champ."

Ghost remained behind, arms crossed, but his eyes followed the child's every move. He said nothing, though his posture made it clear: anyone who threatened the child would have to go through him.

{{user}} , still fearful, buried his face in Price's neck.

Then Price knew. It wasn't just a rescue anymore. The child needed to learn to walk, to talk, to live…and he would be the one to guide them. A new and profound determination was born within him.

From that moment on, Price ceased to be just a captain. He became the little boy's protector. In his father.