Mission Hindenburg- Villains Going Soft?

Is it just me, or...were some of the villains in Mission Hindenburg kind of..soft? I don't know. But between the three featured villains (the Outcast, Vikram, and Alek), I was kind of surprised.

Okay, let's start with the Outcast. Yes, he is extremely ruthless. He killed Aunt Beatrice, and was responsible for the deaths of thirty-six people in the explosion. But the one scene that really surprised me was the scene with Saladin. He was keeping the cat in a cage, and although he wasn't feeding him red snapper, all in all Saladin seems to be doing pretty well. The Outcast is feeding him, and it didn't seem like Saladin was being treated badly. That just kind of struck me as odd, I honestly expected the Outcast to kill Saladin. Although if Nathaniel is the Outcast, he may have been around cats a lot when he and Grace were together, and had a soft spot for them or something? I don't know. I just thought it was kind of weird.

Vikram. Vikram, Vikram, Vikram. Oh my gosh.

He saved Ian's life.

That's right, Vikram Kabra. The same man who was married to Isabel Kabra, has tortured and killed hundreds of people, and abused Natalie and Ian their entire childhoods. That just honestly blows my mind. He made sure that Ian wasn't on the ship that was going to blow up, and he specifically told the Outcast that he didn't want Ian harmed. That seems SO out of character for him. I know that we really haven't read much about him, but he just doesn't seem like the type to care. It's obvious he was never kind to Ian when he was growing up, as we know from the countless times Ian has mentioned his father's abuse. So....why does he care if the Outcast kills Ian?

Last up, Alek. I may be the only person who picked up on this, but did anyone else notice that he didn't directly kill Nellie and Sammy when he was given the opportunity? Yes, he left them in the room with the acid bomb. But that's the thing. He left them there. He had the opportunity to just shoot them or something, but he didn't. He left them in the room, where they still had a tiny chance of escape. That could just be something that I noticed, but who knows? Maybe he has a bit more of his sister in him than we've thought...?

I don't know. These are all just things that I've noticed; it's kind of random, but I find it kind of weird. That may just be how London wrote it, but I don't know why the villains weren't more....evil. It's bothering me. I'm not even sure what I'm getting at here, why I'm posting it. But did anyone else notice this?