Chapter Text
Freedom was something which meant a lot of different things for different people. The freedom to be themselves, the freedom to do what they wanted, the freedom which a wide open space presented them with. For you it almost meant something similar. For you, freedom was to be without shackles, without weight, without responsibilities. The wind on your body when you ran, the calculating of routes in your head to ensure that you never had to slow down unless you wanted to and the burning in your lungs. You longed to be free, to run and run and run, but it was the cities which you craved, not the open road. Man-made structures which only seemed to be there to slow you down, an obstacle an open road would never offer and something that almost screamed at you in challenge.
Compared to cities, open landscapes gave you nothing. It was the small alleys, the rooftops, the decaying structures which gave it all meaning. To still move as fast as you could, overcoming obstacle after obstacle. Usually people felt oppressed by the large, lumbering and unmoving buildings, the hustle in the streets, the darkness of impasses. They longed to get out of there, to at least retreat to the suburbs. For you however it was liberation, for you it was freedom. Especially after you had realized that there was nothing the cities could throw at you that you couldn't overcome. There were no dead alleys for you, only opportunities. Running, sprinting, jumping. Whenever you felt the rush of wind in your hair and the burning in your lungs and muscles you felt at ease with the world.
Always having longed for your own form of freedom, there was hardly anything that could keep you from it anymore. No cuffs, no bars, no fences were enough to hold you. While running had come as naturally to you as breathing, escaping had been something you had to train yourself in if you wanted to keep your freedom. By now no locks, no doors and no walls could keep you back anymore. Sometimes you had learned because you had felt like it, sometimes you had to learn because there had been no other way.
These days you prided yourself in being not just a natural runner, but also a natural escapist. And that had been how the jobs had come pouring in. And combining your lust for freedom with money came too easy. Your eagerness to run and move you started combining with transporting. What you transported you never asked. Climbing and twisting and jumping rooftops were combined with breaking in and stealing. What you stole never interested you. And escaping through bars and over walls you had learned was the most sought after and well paid. Taking the fall for someone else - whatever it was, you never really bothered about - only to escape prison whenever you felt like it, only to be caught again when you needed a break from the world. It had become second nature.
You had killed your fair share of people over the years, but it had never brought fulfilment or enjoyment. While payment may have been good when compared with your other abilities, there was no pride in it. So far it had only been in self-defence. One time even in revenge. But even if people came to you with good money in exchange for an assassination, you usually declined. There was more freedom in the other jobs you did. A heavy conscious would only slow you down.
While you felt most at peace with burning lungs, there were times when you grew bored. Almost listless, as if you had overdosed. Those were the times when you accepted to take the fall for someone else. It had been a while since someone tried restricting you with simple bars. But you needed it, you needed to feel trapped only to once again appreciate the small alleys and rooftops calling for you.
It was in Detroit where you let herself get caught, the cuffs rubbing against your wrists as someone escorted you into the small room. You had familiarized herself with the accusations against the person you would be taking the fall for. Knew what to say, knew what you had supposedly done. But expecting to see the familiar face of the court appointed attorney in the interrogation room, you stopped in your tracks when your eyes settled on the woman seated at the table.
Your brows narrowed in irritation, this wasn't the time for any complications, but you complied when the escorting police officer pushed you towards the empty chair. "Who are you?", you asked as soon as she seated herself, idly playing with the cuffs around your wrists. Neat black hair, glasses and lavender dress - only smiled sweetly as she slid a business card across the table. Brows still furrowed, you studied the card. *'Ms. Pauling, Assistant, TF Industries'*, was all it said and you felt your jaw click in annoyance. "I don't understand, Miss Pauling. What do you want?"
"We want to hire you," she answered, a smile on her lips which reminded you more of a shark than an innocent assistant. "For Reliable Excavation Demolition. In short RED." Cocking your head slightly, you started feeling uneasy under the woman's eyes. "You would be in charge of rapid recovery. As I understand - running and evading are your specialty. Over the years your crimes seem to have added up, adding more and more time to your sentence. Especially if you keep escaping every time. As I understand you were already under a 25 to life sentence the last time."
"Miss Pauling, while I appreciate the offer, I am perfectly fine with where I am right now. I seem to have noticed the error in my ways and am okay with atoning for what I did.", you found yourself answering, a glint of anger in your eyes. Something was throwing you off, something was telling you that lavender dress was dangerous. "You are only planning to escape again, are you? And start it all over again. Almost always two years until you get tired, let yourself get caught for some crime that doesn't seem to fit your MMO, serve a few weeks or months until you're gone again.", Pauling summed up and you merely shrugged your shoulders. "We can offer you a far more interesting way to atone for your sins. You come work for us for five years and after your contract is up you are free to do as you will. A clean slate so to say. No open warrants for your capture, no record of your person. And enough money to do with as you please. We offer you the guarantee of freedom after this. If you decide to stay here however, who knows how many more prisons you can manage to escape until you're trapped for good. Until the urge to run makes you itch until you claw at your own skin?" Lavender dress smiled once more. She did seem to have a point.