Leeching My Talent

Riley has spent twenty years honing her marksmanship, becoming the ace tactical shooter of an elite search and rescue squad. Then a supermarket cashier named Bella picks up a rifle and hits every bullseye, claiming that scanning barcodes is the same muscle memory as pulling a trigger. In her past life, Riley watched Bella replace her, soak up the glory and bonuses, and leave her as a pack mule mocked by the teammates she once protected. Only later did Bella admit the truth: every time she looked down a scope, she leeched Riley's hard-earned skills straight from her brain.

Now Riley has been reborn on the very day Bella first makes that claim. At the firing range, Bella grabs Connor's sleeve and begs for a turn, and the squad is dazzled when she shatters Riley's record. Riley warns that a civilian with no conditioning or field training is a liability in live wilderness operations, but Connor, her boyfriend and captain, darkens at every word. He names Bella the unit's new primary marksman, leaving Riley's place in the squad hanging on his next order.