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~~The Valentine's Days Special -- (page 3 of 12)~~
'If I'm being perfectly honest,' said Garovel, 'Simon was always a bit mysterious to me. He was such a remarkable actor that I could almost never be sure of how he truly felt about any given situation, but this was one of the few occasions when the facade dropped, and I think I was able to understand him.

'Simon liked to play it cool. Be aloof. Detached. For the good of the mission, seemingly. But when he lost his team that day, he was inconsolable. I'd never seen him so demoralized. I think, deep down, he really did care about them like they were his family.'

Hector wanted to say something, but he didn't have the words.

'Looking back on it all now,' the reaper went on, 'Simon really was a hero in the most "classic" sense of the term. He was strong, smart, adaptable, compassionate, and had a strong sense of justice. And he had no real weaknesses. He was kind of perfect. To an infuriating degree, sometimes.

'But that loss changed him. I think the worst part of it for him was the realization that... it didn't matter how perfect he was. He could do his job flawlessly. He could make the best possible decision every single time with the information at his disposal. And it still wouldn't guarantee success. Everything could still go to shit for reasons that were completely beyond his control.'

Hector knew a thing or two about feeling that way.

'When I finally convinced him to quit the spy life and return to normal duty, I thought things would be better for him, but they never were again. I think he just stopped seeing people as people. I think they just became "objectives" to him. Or "tools," even. Save this person. Cooperate with that person. It was all just mechanical to him. Where before he would only pretend not to get attached, now he genuinely never did.'