Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 53: Strauss Plan

After that, Strauss talked with Photon Fury for a little while longer, then left the private patient room. Oldcowboy frowned at Strauss and only chimed in occasionally during the conversation when asked, but he didn’t contradict anything Strauss had said earlier.

The two men walked out of the hospital toward the parking lot. Once inside the car, and after ensuring no one was around or spying on them, Strauss began speaking.

"You must disapprove of what I said to Ms. Pamela in the patient room regarding Mr. Graham," Strauss said.

"Yeah... I’m not as smart as you, son, so I don’t know exactly what you’re trying to achieve. But you, of all people, know that lad Maximilian didn’t kidnap or kill any children. He used mice with bio-signatures to trick our girl into thinking he had child hostages."

"But what you said to Photon Fury only intensified her misunderstanding. Now that girl probably wants to tear him to pieces."

"Also... didn’t he give you evidence of that traitor faction hiding within the UEC? What were they called again?" the old cowboy asked.

"The Echelon," Strauss replied. freewebnσvel.cøm

"Yes, the Echelon! And you do this to that lad? What are you planning? Wasn’t he just helping us—no, helping you?" Oldcowboy asked. It was clear he had a strong opinion about Strauss’s actions.

Hearing this, Strauss let out a smirk.

"I wouldn’t be so sure he helped us, Mr. Blackwood," he said, starting the car and driving out of the parking lot.

"It’s true he gave us clues about what’s going on in the UEC. But what’s his objective? At what cost? From what we’ve investigated, he manipulated those hackers into becoming bait to lure out Mauler, and he didn’t even bother trying to save their lives. That’s not the behavior of a hero—it’s the behavior of black ops. As long as the collateral damage isn’t too excessive, everything is permitted," Strauss said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"If he truly wanted to help the UEC, he should’ve come to us, told us what he knew, and worked with us."

"Or maybe he doesn’t trust the UEC enough to come forward. Maybe he already knew the Echelon was hiding right under the UEC’s nose. They’re good at compartmentalizing, so maybe he doesn’t know who he can trust," Oldcowboy reasoned.

Strauss glanced at Oldcowboy before continuing. "Maybe you’re right, Mr. Blackwood," he said after a pause.

"But what he’s done is still illegal. He’s not registered as a hero, and he’s been using his abilities. That makes him a villain by default. That’s also the truth—he’s an unknown player in this boiling pot, Mr. Blackwood. Too reckless. Too unpredictable. Too much freedom. I can’t trust that he doesn’t have a hidden agenda."

"Sounds more like you want control, Mr. Strauss," Oldcowboy said, his tone serious.

"Yes... I want control. I admit that. As a government agent, I need to ensure I can control dangerous individuals, whether it’s Ms. Pamela or Mr. Graham," Strauss said, pausing briefly.

"Control is how we enforce peace. Do you think the UEC only has to deal with heroes and villains, Mr. Blackwood? There are thousands of factors beyond the UEC’s control, and any one of them could cause the peace we’re constantly fighting to maintain to collapse. One such factor is individuals like Mr. Graham," Strauss stated without any guilt.

For Strauss, helping the UEC maintain control was natural. The UEC was the organization holding this broken world together, providing a path for humanity’s survival. To help the UEC was to help humanity—this was Strauss’s belief.

"To me, it sounds like you really want to march into his house on the outskirts of the city and lock him in a maximum-security cell in the Purgatory," Oldcowboy said sarcastically.

"I want to do that, Mr. Blackwood. But I know better than to send a squad of UEC operatives his way only to get them back in body bags. That’s not something I want on my service record," Strauss said matter-of-factly.

"Then what’s stopping you from sending a powerful hero to capture him? He only has energy-draining EF. Shouldn’t it be easy to send someone with speed or strength enhancements to take him down?" Oldcowboy inquired.

"Maximilian has access to data from the IHB data center. He has information on about 95% of all registered heroes, including their weaknesses and limitations. I don’t know how many countermeasures or traps he’s prepared, but I’m not gambling with heroes’ lives.

Next time, Maximilian might not be generous, he might actually kill a hero, or worse, turn an entire city into a death trap," Strauss explained, then added,

"So until I have enough information and certainty that I can control the situation, I won’t take that risk."

"That’s a smart choice," Oldcowboy nodded in approval. "If Maximilian really is Blood Mongoose’s protégé... he’ll be very hard to deal with."

"Mr. Blackwood, I have a proposal," Strauss began.

"Huh?"

"Could you try being friendly with Mr. Graham? We’d like to record your interactions with him—every word and gesture. Our analysts need to study his mindset and worldview. We want to know if there’s a chance we can recruit him," Strauss asked.

"Why the sudden change of heart? Just a minute ago, you wanted the guy locked up in the Purgatory," Oldcowboy teased, though Strauss kept a straight face.

"Since Blood Mongoose’s death, the UEC hasn’t had any black ops operatives of his caliber. Our mission success rate has dropped, and casualties among black ops teams are starting to mount. The UEC can’t afford those losses. If this keeps up, we won’t be able to train operatives fast enough to replenish the teams," Strauss said.

Oldcowboy thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Fine, I can do that—but don’t expect me to ask him any of your test questions. You’ll have to work with whatever I can naturally get from him. I don’t want to be insincere."

"That’s fine for me, Mr. Blackwood." Strauss nodded.