Steve readjusted himself in his chair and looked at Alex very seriously. "So what you're saying is that you never would have felt guilty if Claire didn't humanize the victims for you."
"Exactly," he replied heavily, still unable to meet the other man's eyes. "We were told that we were better than everyone else. That agents were different from targets and potential targets. That we were the better part of humanity.
"I know now that it was all lies. People like Claire are the better part of humanity. The kind that knows how to love everyone they meet even if it's inconvenient. But I didn't know any better at the time and it allowed me to do a lot of horrible things and feel nothing about it."
Alex didn't like talking about this. He didn't want to think about it at all because he would have to go home and face Claire as she smiled at a monster like him. He didn't deserve it.
