He pauses. "But it didn’t take me long to realize why he was good," he continues, voice softer now. "The same reason he got into it in the first place, I guess. Steel was a loner, the absolute lone wolf. Never had any friends, because he never wanted any, because he couldn’t let anyone in. He couldn’t drop the guard long enough to let anyone close." The runner chuckles wryly. "He had lots of acquaintances. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t a hermit or anything. Nova-hot with the ladies, too. Dozens of people considered Steel a friend, and thought he felt the same. But he didn’t. They were just there, they didn’t mean anything to him one way or the other, even though he always gave off all the right cues to keep them thinking he cared about them."