Chapter 49: No Mercy, Fight Violence with Violence
David neither nodded nor shook his head, but instead asked:
"Before we discuss this matter, a difficult choice lies before you."
"The social security numbers provided by the Machine every day represent a massive amount of data."
"So you and Finch can never save everyone."
"The question is, are you willing to sacrifice the time it takes to save one person in order to save multiple others?"
David's question was the famous philosophical trolley problem.
One person and ten people are tied to two separate train tracks.
And the authority to control the switch is in your hands.
At this moment, a train is approaching, and you have no time to do anything else—you can only choose to pull the lever or not.
Now holding that lever are Finch and Reese.
This question is equally difficult for them to answer.
To be honest, both of them have strong moral compasses.
Even if the target who is about to die is a mob boss, they will protect them out of their inner sense of justice.
Their approach is more like traditional superheroes, who only choose to send criminals to prison instead of executing them.
This is not what David wants to see.
When facing the High Table, mercy will only lead to one's own death.
Only operatives like John Wick, McCall, Frank Castle, Root, and others can truly achieve fighting violence with violence.
So David was very curious about what choice the two would make.
The first to make a choice was Finch.
Finch first glanced at the dense wall of photos behind him, and then a look of deep regret appeared in his eyes.
Because those were all the people he had missed the opportunity to save.
Then Finch said to David:
"If I can't save them all simultaneously, I will choose to save the greater number."
David nodded, then looked at Reese.
Feeling David's gaze, Reese's lips moved several times, but in the end, he did not voice his choice, only saying:
"As long as I can save people, I can accept it."
As a former CIA Special Activities operative, he was more accustomed to following orders than making command decisions himself.
Since Finch chose to save more people, he would simply follow that lead.
Although if he had the chance, he would definitely not miss the opportunity to save anyone.
But Reese also understood that there is no perfect solution in this world, and he cannot save everyone.
David, having received his answer, did not say much more, but instead took out several photographs.
The photos were of McCall, whom he had encountered at Tom's Restaurant earlier.
"So let's talk about the vision I've foreseen recently."
"This person is Robert McCall, a former Defense Intelligence Agency black ops operative, who faked his death to retire. But he will soon be hunted down."
"Because he's about to single-handedly dismantle the entire Russian mob's operations in the Boston area—oil smuggling, illegal weapons, prostitution rings, and every criminal enterprise they control."
"According to conservative estimates, the number of deaths in Boston each month due to their presence is as high as a hundred people."
"All of this has been covered up by the cops they've bribed under various classifications—missing persons, suicides, accidental deaths."
"It's no exaggeration to say that half of the police force is on their payroll, and the other half who refuse dirty money are gradually being pushed out, reassigned to desk jobs, or forced into early retirement..."
Reese's jaw clenched when he heard what David was describing.
His fists also tightened unconsciously.
He really hadn't realized that organized crime had become this brazen.
Is there really no line between law enforcement and criminals anymore?
Are these corrupt cops worthy of the badges they wear?
Have they all forgotten the oaths they swore?
But since this David Wells knows about this, why doesn't he submit evidence and send them to prison?
Just as Reese formed this thought, David addressed it.
"...So it's virtually impossible to punish them through the legal system. They're either released due to insufficient evidence, or their trials are postponed indefinitely because witnesses disappear or judges are threatened—or worse."
"To deal with them, fighting fire with fire is the only effective option."
"Avenging angels like McCall are exactly the kind of team members we need."
"Therefore, I need you to ensure he survives when the Russians inevitably retaliate."
Hearing this, Reese let out a long breath.
Although he hated unnecessary violence, if killing was required, he would be the best at it.
He just needed authorization.
Seeing Reese's expression, Finch did not immediately respond but looked at David and said:
"Is Frank Castle here for the same reason? Have you already selected all the candidates?"
David didn't hide it:
"Yes. When John Wick breaks with the High Table, that's when we make our move to dismantle them."
"As for who John Wick is, I'm confident the Machine will help you find him."
"By the way, help me keep an eye out for a few more people—Bryan Mills, Eddie Morra, Frank Castle, Matt Murdock, Sameen Shaw..."
David rattled off a string of names rapid-fire, leaving Finch momentarily stunned.
With McCall and Frank Martin as references, he naturally understood that these were all highly skilled individuals operating under the radar across the country.
Come to think of it, when he was searching for potential collaborators using the Machine, he had observed quite a few similar profiles.
But the names David just listed still felt unfamiliar to him.
These people seemed to barely exist in surveillance footage.
There were no clear profiles in his database.
However, since David mentioned them specifically, Finch would naturally monitor for these individuals.
At least Frank Martin, the transporter David mentioned, was clearly not an ordinary delivery driver.
Because Finch had noticed this guy's delivery completion rate was an impossible 100%.
How could someone with such a flawless record be an ordinary person?
This further confirmed that David had learned of these people's capabilities through his visions—or whatever connection he had to the Machine.
Then the abilities of everyone else on that list were also beyond question—they were all potential future assets.
But in reality, David hadn't overthought it.
He just listed all the capable operatives he could remember from various action franchises.
Whether these people would actually exist in this particular world, only time would tell.
After explaining everything, David swallowed two bottles worth of painkillers, stopping the throbbing pressure and the impending migraine threatening to split his skull.
Then he asked Finch to arrange a car to take him back to Princeton.
After he left, Reese couldn't help but voice his concerns:
"Finch, do we really have to trust him? A guy with terminal brain cancer who claims to see the future?"
Finch's fingers drummed thoughtfully on the table:
"At least so far, everything he's told us has been accurate."
"Besides, he doesn't need to go through such elaborate measures to harm us—simply revealing my location to certain parties would naturally lead to someone else eliminating me."
"So, I'm willing to believe his stated intention is genuinely to save people."
"As for whether his motivation for saving people is to redeem his soul before death or compensate for some inner emptiness, that's irrelevant to me."
"As long as the end result is saving innocent lives, then I'm willing to cooperate with him, and even... follow his lead when necessary."
As he finished speaking, Finch's gaze fell on the surveillance photo showing the bald man reading his book in the corner of Tom's Restaurant.
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