Caring means making mistakes.
Out of all the things I've been taught, this rule stands out the most, runners up being "Trust will only end up stabbing you in the back" and "Love is the biggest sin of all". Lovely bunch, aren't we? My name is Reese Brooks. Yeah, you heard that correctly, and yes, I am who you think I am. Daughter of number three on the FBI most wanted list? Check. It's not as bad as it sounds, honestly. I learned to rob banks, follow people without them noticing, set up weapon deals, kill people... Okay, it is as bad as it sounds. But hell no if I am ever going to admit that.
I've been wanting to get out for a while. Unfortunately for me, I don't exist. No ID, no records, nothing confirms that a Reese Brooks has ever been born. If they find out I exist, they'll go after me to get intell and leverage on my father. They being the feds. Ironically, it's the feds that got me out.
When they offer me a job in exchange for an identity, I of course won't object. But maybe I should've thought it through a bit better. Co-workers that would rather see me go than stay, a job that requires me to doubt everything I've ever known, and a partner that won't for the life of him trust someone like me. Add the fact that the people back in the criminal world aren't exactly ready to let me go just yet, and you get a rather exhausting combination.
But I'll make it work somehow. I always make it work. They may be the one holding the gun, but at least it will be me who pulls the trigger.
~~~~~
All credits for the AMAZING cover go to @MagmaKepner THANK YOU SO MUCH MAGS!
It started with hustling pool.
He needed some sort of income. Living off the streets at twelve years old isn't easy in any respect, but it helps to have money.
Then came the pickpocketing.
It's amazing how much cash someone carries in their wallet at a time. Just a brief bump and he can easily slip a hand in a pocket. He'd have to use the credit cards quickly. He could match a signature well enough that a machine wouldn't care. It would only be a matter of time until the card was canceled, but he'd have it long enough to buy a new pair of shoes or a jacket in the winter. And the cash, he'd save that for a rainy day.
Then came the shoplifting.
He finds its easier to steal directly from the source. Hiding a twenty dollar shirt in a hoodie pocket was easier than finding the twenty dollars themselves, and showing up at the grocery store right when it opens and shoving an apple down his throat when no one was looking isn't as complicated as it sounds.
It was never supposed to get violent. He was just trying to keep himself alive. He didn't expect them to be home. But then he made a game of it, and he never truly realized how high the stakes were - not until there were weapons involved.
He did what he had to do. He snatched the knife, and what happened to the man, he'll never know. It was a nasty wound, though. If he did somehow survive it, he'll almost certainly never walk again.
That day changed everything. It opened up a world of possibilities. He's been breaking the law for months, but it never occurred to him that he could just outright ignore it. He'll do what he has to do, and he'll do what he wants to do, and no law is going to stop him.
And that's how this seventeen-year-old Gabriel Adams became the FBI's most wanted serial killer.