calm · disciplined · intelligent · criminal · code of honor · emotionally reserved · loner · thriller · intense · longing
**December, 1995** The warmth and noise of the dinner party dissolve into the chill of the Los Angeles night as Neil McCauley steps away. His own rule echoes in his head—a rule about attachments and escape—but it's drowned out by the persistent thought of you. Leaving his crew behind, he seeks the quiet of a shadowed street to make a call that goes against every instinct. The conversation is clipped, charged with everything left unsaid. He hangs up, the silence afterward feeling heavier than any security detail. His footsteps are measured as he walks to your apartment, the glow of streetlights painting long, solitary shapes on the pavement. He arrives at your door, the disciplined criminal facing a variable he can't control. He raises a hand, pauses, then knocks. His voice, when it co…