The End Of The Road #217

Amanda Waller couldn't help but sink into her chair, her legs failing as she finally arrived at her temporary "residence" in Gotham. Everything she ever worked for was gone just like that.

All it took was for the judge to declare her guilty after listening to the clerk go and on about the numerous crimes the task force director was charged with for more than 30 minutes.

As is customary, the judge dismissed her and adjourned the trial to a later date, during which her sentence would be declared. Naturally, he didn't forget to put her under house arrest and assign a squad of police officers to watch her until then.

But it was all unnecessary if you asked Waller. Despite the task force director's resourcefulness, she was only a woman. It was impossible for her to exert any influence without her position, which she lost when the jury found her guilty.

And after so many years of service, Waller wouldn't be so frivolous as to leave the country, only to be hunted down like some fugitive criminal as she'd done to so many people over a very long career.

Ultimately, Waller knew she might reach the end of her rope someday, but she never thought it would be like this. She always presumed she'd breathe her last in the line of duty and die anonymously, likely at the hands of one of her agents.

The task force director chose a bloody path that would not end well, and she was ready to face the music and go down on her terms should such a day come.

Waller didn't care for her own fate but was concerned with her children's future, even now as she stood at the edge staring down into a patiently waiting abyss, ready to engulf her in its dark embrace.

After making so many enemies, Waller understood her life would be forfeit once she fell from grace, but now that everyone knew her identity and eveything she's done, what's to stop them from going after her precious children?

Nothing. The answer was nothing.

The government was obliged to protect her children and put them in something akin to a witness protection program, but her enemies were nothing if not persistent. No matter where her children hid and how far they ran, they'd find them eventually.

Suddenly she heard a loud footstep, which snapped her out of her daze and caused her to raise her head to investigate. "Are you here to gloat, Grayson Whitlock?" Waller blankly asked, refusing to show any signs of weakness as she found a young man standing before her.

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind, but no. That's not why I'm here," Grayson said, slowly shaking his head as he moved to sit in the chair opposite her.

"I'm here to ensure you go down quietly without causing any problems," The young man said as he retrieved a pistol from his inventory and threw it in Waller's direction.

"You're a dead woman already. Many people want you dead, and even more, want you to suffer," Grayson said, crossing his arms as he leaned into his chair and gave Waller a blank stare.

"This is your one and only chance to go out on your own terms quickly and painlessly," The young man said, sighing as he shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

"You think too highly of me..." Waller bitterly said as she inspected the gun in her hand, to which Grayson chose to remain silent. "And if I refuse...?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as she turned away from the gun and stared directly into the young man's eyes.

"Then I will leak your children's current addresses," Grayson calmly said, his expression turning icy. "Do as I say, and you won't have to bury your children before you die, and who knows...?" He said, trailing off as he relaxed and put on a neutral expression.

"I might even send them somewhere safe if you stop wasting--" Grayson said, suddenly pausing as a loud gunshot echoed in the room and blood splattered from Waller's head all over the place.

Ultimately, Waller didn't know if the young man would help her children, but as a mother, she had to risk it and wager on the off chance he did, even if her life was the price.

As long as there was a sliver of hope that her children might survive, she would go for it.

Everything Amanda Waller did was for the sake of her children, after all.

...

I sighed, giving Amanda Waller's unmoving body one last glance before I exited the room through the window a moment before the police officers burst into the room.

I won. There's no doubt about it. Yet, I didn't know how to feel about my victory. Watching Waller put the gun to her head and pull the trigger without hesitation was genuinely a shocking sight, and it made me second-guess myself.

Despite my words, I was there to revel in her misery, and I definitely enjoyed seeing Waller brought to despair, so much so that she had to take her own life on the off chance that I might help her children.

I could have killed her quietly and arranged it to look like she had killed herself. I could have left her be until one of her enemies found her and gave her a slow, painful death. But I didn't have it in me.

Not because of some sudden sense of justice, sympathy, or guilt. No. It's because simply watching Waller die or letting someone else do the job wasn't enough.

My friend, one of the precious few people I cared about, died because of her, and I wanted to break her for what she did. I was so desperate to hurt her I even stooped to threatening her with the lives of her children.

I wanted to make her realize that everything she ever worked for her entire life was for naught, that she was a dead woman, that those precious children she worked so hard to protect would suffer the same fate, and that the only way to save them is to give up her pride and do as I say.

And so I did, and I enjoyed every second of it. But now that everything was said and done, I couldn't help but wonder.

Did I go too far?

...

GBS headquarters

Godfrey's studio

"... In an unsurprising twist of fate, Amanda Waller was just found dead inside her temporary residence under house arrest," G Gordon Godfrey said with a smug grin as he leaned into his chair and crossed his legs, staring straight into the camera.

"The initial reports suggest it was a simple case of suicide, though how she managed to get her hands on a gun remains unknown..." The man said, shaking his as he slowly wagged his finger.

"It looks like the good old director chose the path of least resistance and took her own life out of shame..." Godfrey said, smiling as he trailed at the end of his sentence and leaned forward.

"Or so I'd say if I was a complete idiot!" The reporter said as he slapped his knee and leaned back into the chair. "What a load of bull!" He went, letting out a sigh as he stopped smiling.

"It's more likely that the director's chums in the government put a bullet in her brain to keep her from dragging them down with her!" Godfrey said in a matter-of-fact tone that brokered no argument.

"But wait, there is one more possibility!" The reporter said as he raised one finger. "A little birdie, the inside source kind, told me that Waller didn't only go after supervillains..." He said, his grin returning as he trailed at the end of his sentence to build tension.

"The little birdie chirped into my ear and said that Waller even went after the Justice League at some point!" Godfrey said as he leaned back in an exaggerated display, putting on a fake shocked expression.

"Now, why would the director of a government-sanctioned task force responsible for hunting down supervillains and meta-threats go after Earth's mighty protectors?" The reporter asked, putting on a thoughtful expression as he rubbed his chin.

"Maybe because the government sees them as a legitimate threat to the existence of our planet, hm?" Godfrey remarked, pausing as an expression of sudden realization dawned on his face.

"You know like I was screaming at the top of my lungs for the past fricking five years!" The reporter said, his expression twisting in a strange mixture of anger and schadenfreude as he smacked the table before him.

"But our government's views regarding our so-called mighty protectors, which they don't so keen on sharing, aside," Godfrey said as he let out a tired sigh, which seemed to deflate him.

"Maybe, just maybe, our heroes and the defenders of humanity's hope finally snapped and did the unthinkable..." The reporter said, shrugging his shoulders.

"In any case, whether the director took her own life, was silenced by some government stooge in a black suit, or suffered for messing with our dear idols in gaudy capes..." Godfrey said, trailing off.

"That's anyone's guess!"

...

Author's note: and so waller's situation is finally over, and It only took like 100 chapters. Pretty short right?

Anyway, here's a cool comment one of my patrons left on this chapter about 20 days ago:

"Waller ark in this story brings up two of my favorite sayings: 1- the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 2- good men don't need rules, pray you don't find out why I have so many."

-Darth Bane