[*shudders to think how another ‘Con might have treated him*]
...especially since a 'con would have played on his ignorance and vulnerability the way that Inferno almost unwittingly did. Very nice piece, and you managed to pull it around to a palpable ending for all involved. The last line, I think, is what did it for me; what happened didn't simply go away, but the compassion left something good behind in Breakdown, even if Inferno hurt him badly.