He hesitates a moment. "You can have the truth, I guess. It's not really a secret. But, here's the usual disclaimer: the reasons are probably not ones that you're going to like." He puts down the pen and closes the notebook.

"Long story short?" he starts here and snickers at a bit of a private joke, "Everything got fucked real fast and it just felt better to let it all blow up. That's what I do. I destroy things. I blow them up. It was my job, my life, for a really long time."