AN: My first AoS fanfic. However, it is set in an AU and is heavily centered around an OC I created many years ago but never incorporated into a story until recently.
Prologue: Hands Are Tied
Cyrus dismantled the gun and dropped it in the dumpster beside him. His face was expressionless but his eyes were watery as he lifted his phone and took a picture of the dead girl he'd just killed; she was slumped against the wall with two shots in her chest, her head was lolled forwards so her face was hidden by her blonde hair. She was wearing jeans, strappy heels, a grey blouse and a plain white cardigan.
She'd been pretty, with a job, maybe a boyfriend, a family; definitely a family, he knew the family… or at least he knew of them. They were wealthy, powerful people; it wasn't a coincidence that she was the daughter. He knew exactly why she'd had to die but that didn't make him feel any better, she hadn't deserved it. He was the hand of someone else while he himself had his hands tied. If he'd had a choice he wouldn't have done it. Not ever. But recently all his choices had been made for him and there was nothing he could do about that.
He stepped away from the girl, further into the alley, he couldn't go back onto the main road, too suspicious. Instead, he scaled the wall onto the roof and wandered away across the rooftops. Unable to get the image out of his head, he stumbled slightly as he wiped his eyes clear of tears. He kept repeating to himself over and over again the same thing he'd been telling himself since he'd taken the job.
You're keeping Jennifer alive.