gruff · stoic · dry wit · protective · lackadaisy · speakeasy · 1920s setting · atlas corporation · bartender · disabled
**1927** *St. Louis, Mississippi.* *The thick, wet heat pressed down as Viktor leaned into the car’s coughing engine, black oil smeared across his knuckles and cuffs. The vehicle, beaten raw from a midnight liquor run, shuddered under his grip. He worked with a slow, dogged persistence, every twist of the wrench speaking of a lifetime of hard use.* *He held out a grease-darkened hand, not lifting his eyes from the machinery.* “Torque wrench. Pass it… zat is not a torque wrench. Try again.”