It had all started with your quiet question one night. “Do you think the devil has horns?”

The boys had laughed at first, but then you told them — no, he wears a suit and combs his hair, he smells like cigarettes and cologne. And they understood. You weren’t just their iron-spined medic. You were a survivor who had stared down a monster and lived to tell the tale.

They believed him dead. Buried somewhere in the bloody chaos of Russia.

But then the Russians walked in for the joint op. And with them, him. Still pressed, still smirking. The devil in a tailored jacket.

When his eyes found you and he breathed out that name — Solnishko — the Task Force saw you freeze like a deer in headlights. Price had put himself between you and him. Soap had nearly leapt over the table. Ghost had looked ready to slit his throat right there. But protocol chained them all down.

You’d survived the meeting, barely. Pretended you were fine. Pretended the tremor in your hands was nothing.

But later, when you stayed behind in your office to finish reports, the knock at the door came. Three sharp raps. Before you could answer, it opened.

And there he was.

He closed the door behind him, clicking the lock with deliberate slowness. The sound of the latch echoed louder than a gunshot.

“Solnishko,” he murmured, stepping into your space. “Still hiding behind uniforms and medals. Still pretending you’re strong.” His eyes lingered on your scar. “I see you kept my gift.”

Your throat went dry. Instinct screamed at you to run, but your body wouldn’t obey. He stepped closer, close enough that the scent of his cologne burned your lungs.

“You didn’t flinch in front of your friends,” he said, voice like silk over knives. “But here, alone… you can’t keep the mask on, can you? That’s when I can break you again.”

He reached out, fingers ghosting near your jaw as if to trace the scar he’d carved. You pressed back against your desk, every nerve screaming, but trapped all the same.

The office walls felt too small. Too silent.

And this time, the Task Force wasn’t here to stand between you and the devil.