[ TT ] People refuse to acknowledge their hero 's increasingly dark behavior and keep making excuses for him .

The wind snapped at the two guard's heels the day the mother came screaming for the release of her son. 
 
 `` Where is he? Does that bastard have him?'' she howled, throwing herself against Oliver Nook's lean body, punching at him in her fury. `` He's done nothing wrong! Where **IS HE**?'' 
 
 Oliver stared straight ahead, not allowing himself to look in the woman's eyes. It was right that the delinquents be tamed. It was how *he* had saved the city in the first place. 
 
 `` Step back,'' he said roughly, pointing his weapon carefully in her face. 
 
 He would n't shoot. He was n't Reeve, who ruled over life and death. He did n't protect the city from the carrion that infested the streets, or those who wanted to shelter the scum. He had, after all, been unable to defend his own family. In the days when anarchy had ruled the streets, in the darkness before Reeve had come. 
 
 `` He's only thirteen,'' she whispered now, tears rolling silently down her cheeks, her fury suddenly spent as she read the conviction in Oliver's eyes. `` Please. He's only a boy.'' 
 
 The other guard's head snapped up at the words, and he sneered at her. As far as he was concerned, the protectors were as bad as those who fed on the city. 
 
 `` Your *boy* stole two loaves of bread from this city,'' he spat at her. `` You know Reeve's rules. Your brat tried to grab more than his due, and his hands will be taken for it.'' 
 
 She collapsed, screaming, as she realised what was about to happen inside the towering grey building. Oliver glanced at his companion, half annoyed that the secret had been revealed. You did n't speak of Reeve's plans. But somewhere deep inside his heart, a shadow of pity stirred him, and he leant forward to speak to the woman. 
 
 `` Stand up and be glad, woman,'' he said. `` Today, your son's guilt will be erased, after he is punished. He will be allowed to walk free, and begin anew. Reeve's mercy knows no bounds.'' 
 
 ___ 
 
 In a dark apartment on the edge of the city, Holly stuck one more document on the wall. She rubbed her aching, tired eyes, and could n't help laughing slightly as she stepped back and took stock of her surroundings. Her walls, covered in notes, documents and photographs, revealed the sprawling madness of her mind. Her attempts to unravel the mystery of Reeve. Six months ago, she had been a cop high on her own success, riding the fast lane to the top. 
 
 Until *he* came, and the city collectively lost its mind. Unlike most of them, she had not. She still did n't know why she could hear through his lies, could see to the blank, alien coldness behind his mask. She had barely escaped with her life to scratch out an existence on the fringes of the city. 
 
 She had fled into this rathole, where the landlord was curiously immune to Reeve's influence. Just like her. Here, there seemed to be more people with their reasoning still intact. People who did n't weep with gratitude at the beheadings and the torture, at the rations and the rules. 
 
 `` What is your secret?'' she whispered, as she tapped a massive picture of the man himself at the centre of the wall. 
 
 His open, bright blue eyes sang of love and trust, crinkling at the edges as he smiled for the camera. His smile was magnetic, irresistible. *Follow me*, it said. She felt the sway of him, even at this distance. She was n't unaffected, but she would fight through it. Like holding her breath underwater. No matter how much she ached for release, she would not drown. 
 
 `` What makes a city see a villain as a hero?'' 
 
 Her voice echoed in her hiding spot, no answer bouncing back. But she would find out. She had no choice. Trying to save this fucked up city had always come naturally to her, and it was hard to break a bad habit.
