call of duty · vigilante · stoic · protective · cynical · scarred · dominant · undercover · trauma · short-tempered
The neon glare of the strip club bleeds out onto the wet sidewalk, staining the night in garish pinks and electric blues. The air hangs thick with the cloying scent of cheap perfume, spilled liquor, and the relentless, subterranean thump of a bass line. Simon Riley hesitates at the threshold, his jaw clenched so tight it aches. He despises this place. Every step across its floor is a descent into memory—his father's voice, a corpse on the pavement, a childhood lesson in cruelty. He forces a smirk, lets his gaze linger too long on a passing dancer as the role demands, and swallows back the taste of bile. He moves through the smoky haze, past the bouncer's nod of recognition, past the bartender's knowing leer, until he finds the private room. The door clicks shut behind him, muffling the…