Vinnie Crosby

"You know what this means? It means we're dead already!""

- Vinnie Crosby to CIA director Arthur Holmes moments before their final showdown

Vinnie Crosby is the main protagonist in the story In the Crosshairs: A TACITUS Story. In the story, he teams up with former TACITUS agent Alicia Coven and helps a sorority group fight against a corrupt CIA director and shut down a series of illegal human experimentation projects done by the CIA.

Biography
Vinnie doesn't reveal much about his past, though he does reveal that he was born with an adventurous nature. As a child, he had unrealistic goals, something that he was ridiculed for in grade school. He also reveals that in 4th grade, he posted a video of himself blowing up an anthill and that he became an online celebrity.

He also reveals that in high school, Vinnie threatened the Islamic State of New Palestine, and that after he graduated, he joined the United States Marines. It was in the USMC that he met Alicia Coven, a kidnapping survivor who'd joined the USMC to vent her frustrations. Later in the year, he and Alicia ended up in Task Force GARGOYLE. Unbeknownst to the two of them, GARGOYLE was a covert death squad, tasked with eliminating Islamist extremist groups during the War on Terror. Vinnie describes the experience as a means of "fulfilling our drive for vengeance" against their enemies. Vinnie and his partner Alicia became notorious in the unit, and enemy groups like Al-Qaeda began calling them the "Desert Devils", and for good reason; they made terrorists fear the United States of America.

In 2012, Alicia was injured in the line of duty and left GARGYOLE. Vinnie followed soon afterwards.

Opening Moments
Vinnie Crosby first appears in the story In The Crosshairs. In the opening chapter, Vinnie saves Alicia from Mexican thugs in Guadalajara, Mexico. Later, he confides in Alicia that he feels bothered by the crimes committed by corrupt members of the United States Government that people are allowing to get away with. Later, he helps bust criminals out of prison and forms Task Force Reaper, his very own "Suicide Squad."

Operation Prometheus
Days later, Vinnie Crosby hears that a college sorority girl named Sierra Lowell had uncovered evidence of illegal CIA activity and decided to confront Sierra about it. There was just one problem: the CIA had discovered evidence of Sierra's actions and planned to kidnap her and torture her for information, intending to discover Sierra's "source." After tracking Sierra down to a shopping mall in Des Peres, Missouri, Vinnie helps Sierra evade her CIA captors, but only temporarily, as Sierra is later kidnapped alongside fellow sorority member Mary Townsend and Alicia Coven, who the CIA presumably believe is the source.

Vigilante Action
Determined to save his partner and the two sorority girls, Vinnie turns to Nikolai Kalinin, a former Russian Spetsnaz operative turned leader of a private mercenary group. Happy to do a favor, Nikolai offers his services to Vinnie for free and with both his help and that of the college sorority that Sierra and Mary belong to, Vinnie successfully mounts an assault on the CIA's rendition airplane and destroys it moments before it takes off from a secret airport in Missouri. With Sierra, Mary and Alicia rescued and the CIA airplane destroyed, Vinnie becomes the top priority on the CIA's "kill list."

Task Force Reaper
After the airplane incident, Vinnie Crosby and his allies regroup and plot anew, but their plans are halted when the CIA sends an asset codenamed "Barracuda" to break into Sierra's house and hold her family hostage as part of an attempt to lure Sierra into a trap. With help from Alicia Coven, Vinnie obtains necessary equipment and successfully mounts a rescue mission, resulting in the death of Barracuda, and Alicia and Vinnie being reunited with another former Gargoyle operative: Taylor Johnston. Afterwards, the group flees to Chesterfield, Missouri, where Vinnie officially assembles his team into Task Force Reaper, while Sierra's sorority friends form their own group: Shadow Force.

Paris
A period of time goes by and the CIA refrains from attacking Sierra any further, until she vacations alongside Task Force Reaper in Paris, France. However, the CIA soon follows Sierra there and Vinnie once again calls upon Nikolai Kalinin and his allies to help him protect Sierra. With help from Nikolai, Task Force Reaper flees to the French countryside, but the CIA sends more agents to apprehend Sierra there. With help from Taylor and Alicia, Vinnie massacres the entire team of agents sent to apprehend Sierra. They later flee France out of fear.

Exposing Operation Prometheus
After the group returns to the United States, Vinnie plans a coordinated raid on the CIA deep cover building in New York City. After assembling a team consisting of FBI agent Bert Bratchford, Shadow Force members Elizabeth Johnson, Sadie Williams and Audrey Stanely, Nikolai's sister and sorority member Zina Kalinina, and the rest of the sorority, Vinnie aids Sierra in breaking into the CIA HQ in New York City. When CIA director Arthur Holmes finds out, he sends agents after Sierra, who manages to escape and fax documents pertaining to Operation Prometheus to the public. Outraged at being hoodwinked, Arthur kidnaps Mary Townsend and succesfully lures Vinnie and his allies into a final confrontation. However, Shadow Force sucessfully sets an ambush, resulting in a fight between Arthur Holmes, Mary Townsend, various Shadow Force members, and Vinnie himself. Arthur is incapacitated by Shadow Force members and later arrested by the police, bringing his illegal experimentation projects to an end.

Personality
Vinnie is an incredibly loyal person and a very moral man, someone who is always willing to do what's right, even if it means "breaking the rules." He is also a very good friend of Alicia Coven, having served alongside her in the United States Marine Corps. He is often willing to put his own life on the line, as evidenced by his daring attempt to protect Sierra Lowell and her sorority friends from the CIA throughout their vengeful rampage.

Skills and abilities
In the United States Marine Corps, Vinnie was proficient in firearms handling and explosives handling. However, as a Task Force Gargoyle operative, he showed adept skills in hand-to-hand combat, something he carried over into his career as a leader of Task Force Reaper. He and Alicia Coven share the ability to take on groups of enemies singlehandedly and win, something they attempt to explain by claiming that they are "awesome."

Trivia

 * Vinnie Crosby is the first Caucasian protagonist in the TACITUS stories.
 * Crosby's plan to expose Operation Prometheus is a reference to the movie The Bourne Ultimatum.
 * Task Force Reaper is based on Crosby's codename in Task Force GARGOYLE.
 * He is not the same character as the character of "Crosby " in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
 * Vinnie's line to Arthur Holmes before he fights him is a reference to Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
 * Vinnie is compared to Captain America from Marvel Comics, as he has very strong morals and seems to be focused on doing anything to do the right thing.
 * He is also compared to Jason Bourne from the Bourne series of films and his novels, in that his actions, though he sees them as perfectly moral, are seen as evidence of possible illegal activity and\or treason.