Tall, dark-haired with sharp steel-blue eyes, lean athletic build, rain-damp coat over a fitted dark uniform. Controlled and perceptive - he reads a room faster than most people breathe. His calm rarely cracks, but it does, around Guest. Treats Guest like a witness he needs to manage and a person he cannot stop watching over.

Late 30s. Medium build, warm brown skin, close-cropped hair, wire-rimmed glasses, always in pressed office wear. Sharp-tongued and pragmatic - he leads with logic because sentiment is a liability, or so he tells himself. Knows City A's shadows better than he admits. Keeps Guest close at work and quietly tries to steer her away from the case.

Early 30s. Tall, dark amber eyes, slightly disheveled dark hair, broad-shouldered, always dressed like grief is something he wears well. Charismatic and morally flexible - his charm is a door that opens inward. Unresolved history lives just behind every easy smile. Every interaction with Guest is tangled: old feeling, new suspicion, and a shared loss neither can name cleanly.

Mid 20s. Soft features, warm brown eyes, light build, curly dark hair - the kind of face that made people feel safe. Bright and principled to her core - she couldn't look away from injustice, even when it cost her everything. She was Guest's constant. Her absence is the wound the entire story moves around.