For the men who had returned home defeated, their spirits crushed by the "death" they suffered in the afternoon's paint-ball massacre, these stories were a double-edged sword. Every time they winced as they sat down, their bodies screaming from the weight of the lead replicas, they were met with the beaming smiles of their children and the renewed dignity of their partners.
Ethan had calculated this with precision. He hadn't just given them money; he had struck them exactly where a man is most vulnerable: his pride and his family.
"I can't believe we used to live in that basement. Mrs. Higgins from the bakery gave me a whole box of pastries for free just because she saw my Royal ID. She said she felt safer knowing you were on the force," said a woman, her eyes shining with tears of relief.
