To be fair, there are a lot of military personnel who will never shoot anyone. One of my employees worked for the Army with some fancy title that translates to “He acquires gas and puts it in your vehicle.” While he was certainly trained on firearms, it would be one seriously bad day for everyone if the staff at the fuel depot had to start fighting off enemy forces.
On the other hand, I have met people who served in other areas of the military where they did kill people and they’re not necessarily psychos. The military doesn’t even want psychos if they can possibly avoid it.
I know, right? You had a good thing going, Chris–you have the skills and you used them to take out the dregs of humanity. One botched job and you give up? And then get all PTSD about it. Weaksauce, Chris. We’re through.
She isn’t comfortable with the idea of killing people any more. The OP specifically says that Chris(tina) has sworn off killing and didn’t kill any one in the adventure in which she saved “your” life and took down the drug gang.
I left butterscotch out by accident; it’s supposed to be where the second whipped cream is. I blame the Welsh.
It might have, if I’d written this months ago. I actually had in mind an episode of Leverage.
Yes, but why haven’t you made a ice cream topping recommendation?
Like a couple of others, I don’t make much of a moral distinction between joining the military and being a killer for hire. (As in, I find both distasteful.) However, I am a sucker for a good redemption story, so I’d probably stay in. It would depend in part on how much time has past. Chris quit killing 6 months ago? I’m skeptical about permanence. It’s been 8-9 years, as in the OP? Seems like a real life change.
The hypothetical seems similar to A History of Violence, and obviously I’m staying with Viggo.
Please step away from the window. Rhymer rule something or other requires me to ritually spit at the mention of the Strider-beast and I should not wish to spray you ac accidentally.
Serious question to all of the responses that said they would stay with Chris: If, instead of contract-killer Chris admitted to physically harming former mates (“but they were all awful people and deserved it…”), would your response be different, and why?
Meh. My Father was an Airborne Ranger who served three tours in Vietnam. Yes, I can love a killer. No, I wouldn’t choose to involve myself with anyone currently making a living in that fashion.
Also, Chris is going to be spending a great deal of time in the near future giving me boatloads of detail on who he may have pissed off during his former career, what organizations they are with now and establishing the best possible risk assessment on which of them may one day come after us. We’ll be making bug-out plans and Celtling’s riflery training will get moved up a year or two.
Chris and I are done. I have a strict policy of not dating meta-humans. Your descriptions of her abilities are so far above what even trained humans can do that she must, obviously, be a mutant.
BTW, didn’t I see this hypothetical used in every action/adventure show ever made…ever? It’s the Very Special Episode made for the Sweeps and the scene where Chris is overcome with tears is submitted for an Emmy. It’s as hackneyed and inevitable as the A Christmas Carol episode.
But people have gone to war for forever, and people manage to love them. And some of us might find the parts not about killing innocents interesting and even hot. Hey, My Chris would be a woman, and who can resist a murderous woman? Or is this another one of those things about The Crazy I keep getting warned about?
Based on the OP I would assume I had been somehow transported to a formulaic action thriller, since absolutely no one in this world has the ability to taken on multiple armed assailants and disarm them without killing them. I would be filled with woe. Being rescued by Chris should happen sometime in the first act. At the end of the second I will almost certainly be killed, in order for Chris to come out of retirement for one last rampage of vengeance against my killers. I don’t have a lot of hope here.
1.) If the movie is part of a series, maybe I’ll survive this one and we’ll be hiding in, say, Goa. Of course then I’ll be killed with a bullet meant for Chris at the beginning. This only postpones my doom.
2.) Find Chris’s old mentor. Perhaps he can be the necessary revenge fueling sacrifice.
3.) Pray desperately it’s an action-comedy, which makes my death much less likely. I will start quipping incessantly. Help me sense of humor, you’re my only hope.
I see I have been ninja’d (Hey, are there ninjas in this flick?) somewhat by Scumpup, but I’m still posting this.
