Horatio then stalks off to go brood at the memorial some more before Fireman Fred comes over to tell him, "I'm going to resign. I wanted you to be the first to know." Horatio assures him, "You could not have prevented what happened in there." Fireman Fred is all, "All those souls, Horatio." Horatio pontificates, "I understand that. But we need more good men, not less. And now, more than ever -- you know that." Fireman Fred can't live with the guilt. Horatio exhorts him, "The guilt keeps us sharp. It makes us pompous and overbearing, ready to cut corners and railroad a man into prison to satisfy our arbitrary definition of justice. It makes us brood." Well, that's the subtext anyway. Fireman Fred is convinced not to quit, thanks to the power of Horatio's oratory. That deed done, Horatio stands on the corner and watches the grieving before putting on his sunglasses and brooding some more.