Lake practically stormed out of the hospital.
After leaving the hospital, Lake officially placed George and Beckett on his list of friends under evaluation. Friends were supposed to have at least a shred of trust between them, yet they had none at all.
Fine.
Sometimes, he did change his mind for certain reasons, but there were always reasons behind it. At the very least, Lake had been serious this time. He would not get involved in this case.
Why?
Lake had once approached Frank Castle. It should have been when the Supervisory Bureau had officially opened for business. However, Frank Castle might have felt uncomfortable with the idea of going from being an instructor to a former student's subordinate, so he had refused.
But...
Lake was more inclined to believe that the reason Frank Castle had not joined the Supervisory Bureau was because of so-called procedural justice.
Put it this way.
Lake had no idea what Frank Castle's state had been before his wife and children died in the movie, but in this version of events, Frank Castle was a man who firmly believed in justice through the law.
Lake belonged to the kind of person who believed that anyone who did something wrong had to pay the price.
Frank, meanwhile, belonged to the kind of person who believed that only a just legal system could punish someone. If everyone resorted to vigilantism, what need would there be for laws? And if laws were no longer needed, what was the point of the Federation's existence?
Because of their conflicting philosophies, Lake had led the operation alone that time. However, their disagreement did not prevent him and Frank from being friends in private.
At the very least, during their occasional conversations, Lake had deliberately avoided clashing with Frank over their beliefs.