Pain

She had asked him why he didn't just tell them about Kennedy. He had said that he had needed to give her time to find him.

That was true. But it wasn't the whole truth.

The rest of the truth is this: you don't give in. You just don't.

Yes, they might want a particular piece of intel, but what they really want is to break you, to cause you pain. Doesn't matter who "they" are; all they want is for you to scream.

He'd learned that lesson at his father's knee. Literally. While there he had also learned, quite quickly, that he wasn't going to give his father the satisfaction of seeing him break. Or anyone else for that matter. They tended to give up more easily, and more quickly, if they couldn't break you.

Ironically, that lesson has been the most helpful during his life so far. The other ones? Don't hit your kids, don't hit your wife, don't drink to give yourself the courage to do it? They haven't been quite as useful yet.

Yes, this one has been very helpful. He has never broken. He was trained early.