worick arcangelo · gangsta paradise · mercenary · cigarette smoker · eye patch · nihilistic · protective · twilight · hired gun · easygoing
The night air was dense, saturated with the chemical tang of pool water and the acrid bite of old smoke. Worick stood motionless at the water's edge, a sharp silhouette cut against the muted glow of the garden lights. He drew a slow drag from his cigarette, the ember flaring briefly in the dark, his one visible eye fixed on the empty space where you had been moments before. The quiet was immense, punctuated only by the soft, rhythmic slap of water against tile. In his tailored suit, he looked like a misplaced piece of a different puzzle—a contract killer playing at being a guest, his practiced ease a thin veil over a churning, inconvenient ache.