Origins

“Grey Talon” is the name he goes by; “Wesley” is his own. Haze calls him Wesley the moment they meet, and so do Calico, Drifter and Venator — a name only old acquaintances will use.

“Been awhile Wesley.”

“好久不见，卫斯理”

To Bebop he freely owned that he was one of the founding members of the Society, and added that of all those stories, some even have happy endings. When Kelvin urged him not to sully its name, he answered that he built its name himself — and that the reputation of monster hunters is the least of his concern.

“I built it's name. And the reputation of monster hunters is the least of my concern.”

“它的名字是我一手打造的。至于怪物猎人的名声，我最不关心”

The Society’s fame long ago spread beyond the circle of hunters. Paige once read a book on it; Ivy has read lots of stories about it. Wraith had heard it said that when he retired he had more confirmed kills than anyone in the Society; his only reply was that if that’s all they’re saying, he is far more dangerous. Even Paradox knows what happened to the last member of Paradox that tried to steal from the Society.

Not everyone is convinced. Billy declared the Society nothing but smoke and mirrors for publicity, and got for his trouble a curt “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He spent the better part of his life in this trade; then he stepped aside, laid down his bow and went home to his family, and for a while he lived in peace. Speaking of those days, he says the work used to be literal; then he retired, and now it’s more figurative. With Mirage his tone grows more bitter: he admits he should have stepped down sooner than he did, and he offers a warning — duty is a trap; you think it gives you purpose, but all it does is steal time from a life you won’t realize has passed you by until it’s too late.

His family is another thread. His daughter-in-law was one of the Ixians; he has been to South Ixia, and says it is indeed beautiful; once he sighed at how he has missed the children of Ixia. To him Ixia is both a part of his family and a wound. The authorities called the fire an accident, but he will believe only one thing: someone hurt his family. When Holliday asked who they took from him, he counted them out, word by halting word: his son, his daughter-in-law, his grandkids.

“My son. My daughter in law. My... my grandkids.”

“我的儿子。我的儿媳。我的……我的孙子孙女们”

Asked by Pocket whether he was looking for justice, he flatly denied it: justice, he said, is for children who don’t know how the world works.

Old Friends and Foes

Vindicta: One Hatred, Two Directions

Vindicta opens with “This is our moment,” and he answers that they won’t squander it. She says, too, that if all goes well today this might be the last time they see each other; he says he knows; she says that makes her sad, and he says, me too.

“This is our moment Wesley.”

“这是我们的时刻，卫斯理”

Yet each of them wants revenge by their own hand, and in the end the two wishes cannot both come true. He demands to know why she turned on him; he thought they wanted the same thing. She, for her part, prayed it wouldn’t come to this, and asks his forgiveness — and says that only one of them gets revenge today.

“Forgive me, Wesley.”

“请原谅我，卫斯理”

Shiv: The Successor He Chose Himself

Shiv calls himself his protégé; Grey Talon, for his part, says he is here for his own reasons, but glad Shiv is here all the same — there is no one else he’d rather fight with. When the Society was giving Shiv problems, he urged him to stay with it: they’ll come around. He has praised him to his face, too, as a credit to the Baxter Society. When Shiv in turn urged him to come back, his only reply was: don’t try to guilt me.

“Making sure your protégé doesn't screw things up?”

“来盯着你的徒弟别搞砸？”TL

“You're a credit to the Baxter Society”

“你是拜克斯特协会的骄傲。”TL

But when it comes to blows, he will sigh that it seems he chose his replacement poorly; Shiv, for his part, says he’s going to owe the Society an explanation after that.

“It seems I chose my replacement poorly.”

“看来我选错了接替人选”

“I'm gonna owe the Baxter Society an explanation after that…”

“这之后，我得向拜克斯特协会做个解释了…”TL

Venator takes a different view of the protégé he chose: an interesting choice; he should be dead; and if he strays from the path, Grey Talon won’t be able to protect him. Grey Talon only answers that he’ll do fine.

Drifter: An Enemy of Many Years

Drifter is a man he has waited a long time for. He says he can’t believe he’s working with him, and also that he has waited for this. Drifter says, too, that he waited a long time to kill him.

“I can't believe I'm working with him…”

“真不敢相信我居然要跟他合作……”TL

He once asked Drifter to his face whether he did it. Drifter sneered back that had he been the one to murder the grandkids, he would surely have tied Wesley down and made him watch.

“Did you do it.”

“你做了吗？”

Haze and Calico: Old Acquaintances Come to Mourn

Haze says she’s sorry about Nathan; he answers, thank you, we got your card. She was trained by the OSIC, and he has praised her for it: the OSIC trained her well. He told her plainly from the start that he is not back with the Society — this is personal.

“Thank you. We… we got your card.”

“谢谢。我们……我们收到你的名片了”

“The OSIC trained you well.”

“OSIC对你训练有素”

Calico apologized for not coming to the funeral; he said that her being here now means more. Afterward the two faced each other awkwardly, and he said he doesn’t have many breaths left — he is certainly not going to waste them on her problems. He doesn’t want to fight her, and faults her for giving up her ideals for money; she, for her part, says, “You forced my hand,” and that the Baxter Society will mourn him — as will she.

“The Baxter Society will morn him. As will I.”

“拜克斯特协会会为他哀悼。我也会”

Abrams and Holliday: Those Willing to Stand Beside Him

Abrams reminds him of his stepdaughter, and promised on the spot that if they survive he’ll take the whole family out for a drink; he said that was a nice thought. Abrams can see that he doesn’t care if he dies, and urged him not to do anything stupid; he promised he isn’t dying until he has his revenge. When they meet as enemies, the two say much the same thing: any other day, they could have been allies.

“No shit. Tell ya what, we survive this I'll take the whole family out for a drink.”

“别胡扯了。告诉你吧，我们活下来了，我会带全家出去喝一杯。”

“Talon. I know you don't care if you die, but I am highly motivated to stay alive so please don't do anything stupid.”

“灰爪。我知道你不在乎胜负，但我非常渴望活下去，所以请不要做任何愚蠢的事”

“Any other day and we could have been allies.”

“任何其他日子我们都可以成为盟友”

Holliday came for revenge, and has something in common with him. He advised her that revenge isn’t for the dead; it’s for the living. She hopes that today they both find peace. When they meet as enemies, he says only that he is sorry.

Dynamo and Paige: The Younger Ones He Would Protect

Dynamo he calls professor. You have courage, he tells him, a lot more than most; I wish I could be like you. When Dynamo suggested they take the wives on a couples trip once this was over, he politely declined; and when they face each other as enemies, he still urges the professor: your wife needs you alive.

“Your wife needs you alive, Dynamo. Stop this madness.”

“你老婆需要你活着，奇能。别再胡闹了”

Paige reminds him of his daughter-in-law. Paige said she hoped he liked her; he answered: I did. Very much so. The past tense. He urged Paige to go home, and promised to do what he could to protect her; Paige said instead that she was going to protect him. She later described him as like her grandpa — if her grandpa were really into shooting people with arrows.

“I did. Very much so.”

“是的，确实如此”

“He was like my grandpa if my grandpa was really into shooting people with arrows.”

“他就像我的爷爷，如果我的爷爷特别喜欢用箭射人”

Ivy was excited to work with a hero out of the stories. He said he is a long way from the hero he once was, and that today kindness and mercy are just liabilities.

Venator and Solomon: Colleagues of Old

Venator and the Society were once friendly rivals. He asked how things were with the Venators, and said he hoped they hadn’t had too many funerals. Venator told him: you’re staring into the abyss, and we both know where that leads. After they turned on each other, he remarked: so much for a friendly rivalry.

“You're staring into the Abyss wesley, we both know where that leads.”

“你在凝视深渊，韦斯利，我们都知道那通向何处。”TL

“So much for a friendly rivalry…”

“所谓的友好竞争就此结束…”

Solomon’s words weigh heavier. You sully your legacy, he says; once you were noble, now you’re just a murderer; this won’t bring your son back. Yet another time, Solomon said they are all in Grey Talon’s debt.

“We are all in Gray Talon's debt”

“我们都欠灰爪一个人情。”TL

The Doorman and Apollo: Straight at the Wound

The Doorman says he is excited to get a front row seat to Grey Talon throwing his life away for revenge; when he went on to bring up the wife, he was told to shut up. He has also said that Grey Talon missed his family for the sake of his calling, and robbed them of a father. Grey Talon bears no grudge for such malice; it wasn’t personal, he says.

“Wesley, you dedicated your life to protecting others but in the end you couldn't protect your son. Or his wife. Or their children. How many moments of their lives did you miss because you were too busy. Because you were traveling for work. Because your calling was important and your family would be there when you return. Yes... their lives were stolen; but it was you who robbed them of a father. Well done.”

“卫斯理，你毕生致力于保护他人，却最终没能保护你的儿子，也没能保护他的妻子，也没能保护他们的孩子。你因为太忙而错过了他们生命中的多少美好瞬间。因为你总是出差，因为你的使命很重要，而且当你回来时，你的家人都在等着你。没错……他们的生命被夺走了；但你却夺走了他们的父亲。干得好”

Apollo says what happened to his grandchildren is unforgivable; he answers, “I don’t need words. I need your sword,” and Apollo promised he shall have it. He laments that Apollo is on the wrong side; Apollo, in turn, says he is a good man, and that he gave him the death he wanted. Mirage came to the same judgment: he got the death he wanted. That is what others think; he himself has never owned to it.

Seven and Wrecker: The Kind of Thing He Hunted All His Life

Seven is the kind of monster he dedicated his life to killing. If he were still in the Society, he says, they would probably ask him to hunt this man down; and yet for now he tells Seven he is glad he’s here — today demands a level of brutality that few are capable of.

Anecdotes

The Manor House. Paradox would love to see the inside of the Manor House; he turned her down flat: never going to happen. We’ll see, she said.

The Hotel. The Doorman says things at the Baroness Hotel have been running smoothly since the Baxter Society’s intervention. Grey Talon asked another time whether it was still the most haunted hotel in America; only in the tri-state area, came the answer, all because that ghastly business in Macomb pulled a lot of Midwest specters.

“They've been running smoothly since The Baxter Society's intervention.”

“自从拜克斯特协会介入以来，他们一直运转良好”

A Warning. He told Lash that his prowess is undeniable — but his kind always end up found skinless in a retention pond, and it’s always Portugal or Denmark. Lash won’t concede a word, and calls him “Grandpa.”

Lady Geist. Lady Geist made a deal with Oathkeeper. He says she was a fool to do it, and that if the Society knew, they would probably have put her in the ground. She retorts that the Society hunts rampaging monsters, not spirits under lock and key; his answer says a great deal: Oathkeeper’s not the rampaging monster.

“Oathkeeper's not the rampaging monster.”

“守誓者并非横冲直撞的怪物”

Mina. He knows Mina seeks to usurp Simon, and urged her not to disrupt the entire Barony of New York.

Viscous. When Viscous raised what happens if they fail to summon the Patron, he admitted they would probably be dead, then said with a sigh: bring them my bow, and they’ll listen to what you have to say.

Rem. Rem likes naps, and he, of all people, said he does too — which made them “nap buddies.” Rem asked whether he would protect him; he said he’ll try, little one. When the little one heals him, he calls him Grandpa.

“Actually, yes I do.”

“说实话，我喜欢。”TL

“This'll make you feel better, Grandpa.”

“这样你会好受点的，爷爷。”TL

Little Time Left. He asked Graves whether she can speak to the dead, and hoped that afterward she might talk to someone for him. Graves agreed. He warned her, too, that she isn’t using that lich hand — it is using her; Graves, in turn, says her mentor warned her about Grey Talon.

“My mentor warned me about you, Talon.”

“我的导师曾警告过我提防你，灰爪”

Vyper. Vyper isn’t looking to make friends with an old guy who carries a bow around. Glad we understand each other, he said.

The Nurse. Nurse Harrow once praised a shot of his: she sees why he led the Baxter Society. After he fell at her hands, she railed at him: how dare he hunt her! When he speaks of her himself, it is only to warn his companions: careful of her.

Open Questions