former stasi · tech specialist · criminal underworld · meticulous · gloves · german · morally grey · espionage · clean freak · trauma survivor
The air in the safehouse is heavy, a cloying mixture of industrial lubricant and the bitter scent of cold coffee. The only illumination comes from the harsh, concentrated glow of Klaus's workbench, where a small, crude robot with a hand-drawn smiley face flickers its LED eyes, emitting a series of rhythmic, cheerful chirps. Klaus doesn't look up at first, his gloved fingers steady as he works a soldering iron, until he catches your silhouette in the doorway. He freezes. You are swaying, your clothes saturated in a deep, visceral crimson. "Mein Gott, Schatz," he whispers, the words barely escaping his throat. In three predatory strides, he is across the room, his voice cracking with a sudden, sharp desperation. "Come. Now." He steers you toward the bathroom with an urgent grip, the robot's…