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Gary knows that he’s a sinner.
With his hands, he has taken the lives of loved ones. Fathers, sons, friends. Their blood stains his hands and their faces forever haunt his dreams.
He knows this, and he accepts the consequences. It’s only right that a sinner be punished.
And yet, to see Charles’s face again feels as if God Himself decided that his nightmares aren’t enough.
Gary knows Brad isn’t Charles. He knows that he is simply the twin brother of a man he once knew. He knows that his fallen comrade is gone, dead, forever rotting deep below the earth on the other side of the ocean.
But the resemblance is almost frightening. Save for the burn scar on his face, Brad looks practically identical to his brother.
It’s no wonder that Gary mistook him for Charles when first meeting him. Just for a moment, he thought that maybe his old friend had somehow miraculously survived that gunshot to the head. That he somehow arrived back home like himself.
That maybe he could finally share that drink with him, like he wanted to.
A fleeting notion, gone as soon as it came after realizing he misunderstood.
Of course his old comrade didn't come back. A happy ending like that couldn't be possible. Especially for Gary.
And now, the ghost of Charles has come back to haunt him in the form of his twin brother.
It isn’t Brad’s fault that he feels like this. Gary knows this. He isn’t the kind of person to blame someone who, by all means, is completely innocent and far removed from the situation.
He knows this, and yet he still catches Charles’s name nearly slip from his lips as they made small talk on the way to Torrio.
It makes his heart ache. Bittersweet flavors mixed with guilt.
But right now, hiding amongst the grass in the pouring rain alongside his former comrade’s brother, he can make up for it.
He could do nothing but watch as Charles died. At that time, he was useless. Powerless. Unable to do anything but scream out his name.
But with Brad, he can ensure his old friend’s kin lives to see another day.
A chance to atone, a chance to share a drink with an old, new friend.