"Yeah, kiddo… we’ll see each other again someday."

You ruffled his messy hair with a soft laugh, trying not to let the ache in your chest show. It was right after your eighteenth birthday, just before you left that town—and him—behind. You were enlisting. Heading out to chase something bigger, something better. He was just a kid back then. Awkward, quiet, always watching, always listening.

You’d watched him grow up in a house that barely held itself together. You babysat him not for money, but because someone had to. You couldn't stand the idea of him being alone all the time. So, you stayed. Until you couldn’t.

Years passed. And with them, Simon Riley faded into your memories—just a dusty chapter of your youth, barely touched since.

But for Simon… you were never just a memory.

You were his first hero. The one who treated him like he mattered. And in the silence of those lonely nights, after you left, he promised himself one thing: I’ll follow them. I’ll make them proud. One day, I’ll stand where they stand.

And he did.

Now, after all these years, life had come full circle in the most unexpected of ways.

You were back on assignment. A classified op, demanding top-tier coordination with an elite unit. When you entered the briefing room, you were met by a man named Price—sharp-eyed, no-nonsense. He slid a file across the table.

“This is who you’ll be working with,” he said simply.

No photo. Just a name.

Riley, Simon.

The name sent a flicker through you, but without a face, it was just a coincidence… right?

“There’s no picture,” you muttered, flipping the file open again.

“Never,” Price answered.

Then the door opened.

Boots on tile. Tall frame. Black mask.

He stepped inside like he owned the shadows. You looked up—and your world tilted.

You didn’t need a face to know him.

Those eyes.

Those were the same eyes you used to tuck in at night. The same boy who watched you walk away years ago.

Now a man. Now… Ghost.