[Be sure to read the author's note before starting] [Read it!]
Charles Emerson has always known he's not a good person.
He lacks the compassion people are supposed to feel for ordinary people, and he has no particular desire to see criminals punished. He cares about them no more than he cares about what he's wearing today.
According to his psychological evaluation, he doesn't meet the standards for an FBI agent at all.
However, because of his talent and family background, he has to contribute to law enforcement in this field. Otherwise, he'll be kept under surveillance for the long term or forced to live like an invisible man. Staying under the radar until he achieves what he wants would make his goal harder to reach.
By his own account, Charles has kept the promises he made to certain people. But after dealing with psychopaths for so long, it's hard not to drift toward the boundaries. Usually, that doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't actually take that final step, he's still on the safe side of the line.
Until one day, on a whim, he "accidentally" let a bomber find out where he lived. Then he caught a gray-haired, unarmed man in his apartment. The man claimed he was in danger.
Charles thought it was another game played by the bomber, until the gray-haired man dragged him out of the apartment just as it exploded in a burst of sparks...
After that, fate was accidentally twisted into a tangled knot by a machine that could spit out Social Security numbers.
Today, be a good person...
And tomorrow, too.
Reader's note:
[Neither lead is a virgin. For readers who don't know Reese, here's a very important point: he has an ex-girlfriend. That's backstory from the original show, not something I made up.]
[Pairing: John Reese. A crossover between Person of Interest and Criminal Minds. No superheroes, and no in-depth discussion of artificial intelligence. The Machine doesn't feature much, it's just a useful tool.]
If you find anything you don't like, please feel free to run away.
The protagonist is not a good person and has a weak sense of right and wrong. With the guidance and help of others, he will learn how to love someone, while remaining on the side of order. The dragon-slayer will not become a dragon.
Theme: People grow silent after losing some things. Love can help you find yourself again
