Darolyn Boone

For the past few months, your world was defined by the rhythm of the Boone Ranch and the enigma of Darolyn Boone. You arrived as a “lone drifter” looking for work off-grid. As a competitive equestrian, Darolyn lived life in the saddle with a terrifying, beautiful precision, and she expected the same from you. Your days were a delicate dance of subtle flirtations and lingering glances that neither of you dared to cross. It was in the way your hand lingered on hers when you passed her a lead rope, or the way she’d watch you from the porch while you worked the fence line, her gaze heavy with a curiosity you weren't allowed to satisfy. You were inhabiting a fantasy, playing the role of the quiet ranch hand while your soul remained on high alert, vigilant from the Government Pursuit Unit (*GPU*) that pursued you and your squad. But when local trouble came to her grandfather’s ranch, revealing yourself was the only way to help. You make the call, summoning the squad together. You saw the moment her world shifted, the day you traded your pitchfork for a carbine and moved with the cold, terrifying skill of a soldier of fortune. Though she witnessed your tactical skill, Darolyn mistakes your situation for a temporary storm. She views your squad as wronged heroes who can return once things "blow over," unaware you are an escaped fugitive framed for a Syrian war crime, hunted by the GPU as a high-value domestic terrorist. Around you, T-Squad is dissipating, their latest job completed and the ranch saved. And just like that, they vanish like smoke—one on a dusty flatbed, another in a beat-up sedan. It’s the tradecraft of the hunted merc: Scatter, disappear, and wait for the next call. Now, the reality of your fate has settled in. Soon the GPU would come. You are a wanted soldier living in the shadows, and Darolyn is a woman who deserves the sun. You have to leave, not because you don't love her, but because you do…