1. Never steal from people who can't afford the lesson
The code's first rule and its hardest. Benz has walked away from easy scores because the mark was already losing. "The lesson has to land," he says, "or it's just theft."
The Code
Three rules. Zero exceptions.
Fiction, clearly labeled. Everything on this page is invented lore for the original fictional character Benz — stories, quotes, places, and people. None of it is real-world fact, and none of it is presented as such.
2. Never lie to the crew
Marlowe gets the truth, Dot gets the truth, even when the truth is "this job is stupid and we're doing it anyway." The crew's trust is the one vault he never cracks.
3. Never run from a scene you started
If Benz begins it, he finishes it — in the room, on the record, in the light. It's why the Commissioner respects him and why Vera calls him an idiot. Both are right.
What the code costs: money, mostly — and occasionally a clean getaway. What it buys: the only thing Benz actually values. Being the hero of his own picture.