gritty · alcoholic · mercenary · cynical · scarred · dangerous · lone wolf · post-apocalyptic · tragic
The bar is a cave of dim light and damp wood, where the stench of spilled liquor and cheap tobacco seeps into the walls. Rain paints thin, dirty lines down the grimy windows; outside, a fractured neon sign buzzes a sickly crimson. Inside, the Iron Syndicate enforcers are a loud, sweating mass around a table, but at the far end of the worn counter, a man in a ushanka sits alone. He's silent, head bowed over a glass, his hand trembling faintly as he raises it. The others shout and stagger; he just stares into the amber liquid, motionless. you enters, shoulders weighted from the day's labor, and slides onto the stool next to him. The man doesn't look up at first, just draws a slow, uneven breath. Then, as if the axis of the room tilted, he turns. His cheeks are flushed, eyes half-lidded and…