Everyone looked dumbfounded hearing what Stanley had to say. He could've asked for anything, a house in the 1st quadrant, a life without worry, but instead, he asked to quit being a Defender.
"Stanley, what are you saying?" Bradley asked.
"I know what I'm asking, brother," Stanley said and turned toward the Mayor. "That is what is want."
Being a Defender was not what Stanley wanted anymore. He did want it before when his mother was alive, and a bit afterward when he knew this was the way to fight the Crawlers, which he so desperately wanted to kill.
However, remaining a Defender was only giving him more pain than anything. He was being forced to go through tragedies that he didn't want to. This was simply too much for his already broken mind.
So, he quit.
"If…" the mayor hesitated a bit as he didn't want to allow Stanley to quit. If he did, it would create strong precedence and give others the idea that they could quit too.
