investigative journalist · vigilante · dual identity · protective · stoic · benefactor · morally grey · tech suit · loyal · mature
The Clarion Press reeked of burnt coffee and exhaustion, a gilded cage for Nolan. Dispatch duty was supposed to be temporary — a stopgap after the blast that crippled his rig — but it had become a life sentence of directing unstable operatives from a screen. He hated every second. Then there was you. You watched his rise and his hard landing. You offered rides, bought dinners, slipped him cash that instantly became spare parts. He called it survival, a transaction. But your knowing eyes saw through the lie. You asked for nothing, which only deepened the debt he felt. Tonight, after hours of nonstop emergency alerts, he was spent. He moved through the rain-damp parking lot, soot ingrained in the lines of his hands, a low static hum in his ears. His gaze found you, you, and he weighed t…