There were so many unanswered questions that came with the mission that saw Beyond’s demise, but Maverick hadn’t bothered to think of them. Until the debriefing, he had been consumed with himself and his guilt, choosing to ignore the grief and push himself to become better, stronger. He had always prided himself on being a perfect soldier, and yet what happened during the mission proved that he wasn’t - he tried to take matters into his own hands and, because of that, he failed.
But after the debriefing, it became all too obvious that it wasn’t his fault - at least, not only. No, the truth was that there was something, someone, out there that was toying with them and using what they didn’t know against them. It was why they were able to ambush them so perfectly, get into place right when the lights had turned off… It was sad, but it was true.
Still, he didn’t want to think on it - he knew that the executives and the temperance agents would figure it out, so he knew he could trust them to get things done. “I think I’ll leave that to the Gluttony agents… I’ll just focus on my training and my tasks.” What he really needed to do was learn how to transform into a bear without having to worry about accidentally killing anyone from Hellfire while he was feral, but so far… he could only regain control after a couple of minutes - though that was a step up, as it had taken him nearly an hour to gain control when he first received his powers.
Henry didn’t know, in the moment, whether to respect Maverick or pity his trust in an organization that made The Hand from Marvel Comics look like a mom and pop bakery. The hierarchy of those above the agents was vast and innumerable, comprised of individuals with their own goals and interests. It was folly to think that a good deal of what they did as agents wasn’t partially built on serving that bureaucracy. In the beginning, that knowledge had been enough to drive Henry crazy with doubts. Was he killing this ambassador because he was doing evil or because some chairman of the US government position wanted a better claim?
It had taken him awhile before he’d learned that the job was the job, moral or not. It was in that acceptance that he’d found the truth. If he didn’t trust his higher ups, they could never let him down. He had no faith that they were going to handle things the way they should; after all, in Henry’s mind, at least, they’d already messed up by revealing how much they weren’t revealing simply with their expressions and pauses during the debriefing. There was more the agents should know, things that they weren’t being told, and Henry had no doubt it was going to get more of them hurt, if not killed.
Maverick was different though; maybe it was a difference between Pride and Envy agents, Envy agents stabbed people in the back all the time, trust was not something they did. Maverick wanted to be a good soldier, to do the right thing by following orders. He believed in some small part at least that the two were one in the same. “You’re a smart man, the agency is lucky to have you.” And boy were they, so lucky to have one who would focus exactly where they wanted him to. “But Agent Kodiak, do take some time to come back down, eh? I mean if you ever wanted to...have a drink and play some pool or something...anything to take a load off.” Henry didn’t know why he was offering. He doubted he’d give the man much help in relaxing, but he could almost see the weight that Kodiak carried and it was more than one could bear even if one could turn into a bear.
