The son of Spanish immigrants in Pittsburgh, Gael was pushed from an early age to develop and realize ambition. His family believed in the American dream, but as something that had to be earned - his grandparents barely made it through the Great Depression, and his parents had to work nearly as hard to support themselves, their children, and help out their retiring relatives. They were frugal, but not to excess; anything they spent - money, leisure time - was carefully measured to support their rise up the ladder just as much as needed, without undermining what they'd already gained.
While his grandfather had worked in a factory, and his parents ran a hardware store together, Gael was encouraged to pursue college and the increased leverage it offered. He thrived as a business major at Penn State, keeping up a small but varied set of personal pursuits (including chess and jujitsu) while expanding his attention to the international economic and political situation.
An MBA and a couple of successful management stints later, Gael was recruited by Primatech Research in Hartsdale, whose pursuit of aggressive growth - especially for an offshoot of something as mundane as a wholesaler of paper supplies - he immediately appreciated. Within a year, though, he'd seen enough to realize that something didn't add up. They were indeed growing aggressively, and some of the setbacks along the way made sense, but others didn't - and someone was trying (not quite well enough) to cover them up. Embezzlement, perhaps?
He didn't have the specific training to investigate further on his own, and he didn't know any more who he would trust to do so on his behalf - and he couldn't do nothing, the risk was too great that the scandal would take down the entire division and him with it. After some consideration, Gael arranged for a sealed copy of his findings to be released publically unless he stopped it, then brought a second copy to Carlos Mendez.
Mendez patiently heard him out, then reassured him that he knew what was going on and it wasn't cause for alarm, and filled him in on the real goals behind the front operations, including some demonstrations of Evolved abilities. Gael was alarmed at first - politely excusing himself, then visiting a doctor to rule out the possibility that he'd been slipped a hallucinogen - but when he thought it over, Mendez's explanations did fit the evidence, in a way the original cover stories didn't. In fact, the flaws were said to have been set up on purpose as an initial test of his suitability as a Company agent, one he had passed. (And if he hadn't, or if he declined the position, then they'd erase the relevant memories and keep him on as an unknowing employee of the front operation… so they claimed.) Faced with the reality of the Evolved and the Company's self-appointed mission - and not quite trusting the alternative - he accepted their offer.
While Gael's business skills suggested an eventual supervisor role, he was first assigned as an agent so he'd understand what sort of operations he'd be supervising. He was partnered with Bill Fenway, another recent recruit with the ability to manipulate the strength and direction of gravity. In addition to their share of (relatively) routine bag-and-tag missions, they also spent weeks chasing down tattooed strongman Michael Fitzgerald - eventually subduing and capturing him when he tried to flee into the Pine Barrens - and later recruiting a couple of others - a then-paralyzed fireman and a young woman with X-ray vision - who seemed to have the right skills and enthusiasm for the job. After a few years in the field, Bill transferred to Primatech's Chicago office, and Gael was shifted to management per the original plan; the field agents under his supervision came to respect his quick and competent advice, though they resented being kept in the dark from time to time (a habit left undulled by his own time in the field; he firmly believed in telling people just what they needed to hear to make them effective, pointing to his own recruitment as an example).
With the bombing of New York and subsequent public disclosure of the Evolved, his career became at once more crucial, more complicated, and more wearying; with the status quo of ignorance and cover-ups thrown out the window, every person they met was a potential monkey wrench of prejudices or simply ill-considered attempts to be helpful. Under the increased stress, he started to become more ham-fisted, a trend that slowed - but never quite stopped - when he became involved with Bianca. Unable to retire in good conscience and start a family with her, he instead arranged for what out-of-town assignments he could manage, to break up the monotony. More than once, he was offered a promotion and transfer to another Company base of operations, but he invariably declined— even the stress of remaining on the front lines was preferable to starting over from a position of zero trust.
The eventual betrayal of the Company by its erstwhile allies was all the more damning because he didn't see it coming, despite having a direct hand in their communications - he'd always accounted for the possibility, but surely there was enough going on to keep both the Company and the Institute busy? Whatever selfish bastard was behind that power play can only go on to bigger and more disastrous things; he'll do whatever it takes to find him and pull him down, and lay low in the meantime. With Bianca taken away from him on top of it all (unless he somehow manages to locate and recruit a time traveler, and he's long since given up holding his breath on that one), it's about the only thing still keeping him going.
