Setting an Example

Jacques pushed the barrel of Hilbert's gun and signaled him to stand down. He pulled his pistol out before turning to Leo and looking at him.

"Hijacking a truck and shooting at your fellow troops. Do you know how long the sentence for that is?" Jacques asks.

Leo just chuckled as a reply and raised his arms. Hilbert immediately climbed in and dragged him out before pinning him down on the ground.

"Does anyone have handcuffs or anything to restrain him with?" Hilbert asked.

"How about this?" Jacques says before handing Hilbert one of his extra shoelaces.

Hilbert nodded and tied it tightly around Leo's wrist and stepped on his back to keep him down. Roger arrived, out of breath from running and holding his pistol in one hand.

"You guys are always late! Is he the only one left?" Roger tries to catch his breath as he looked at Hilbert and Jacques.

"The driver is out cold and this one isn't going anywhere." Jacques answered as he holstered his pistol.

"That man is a criminal. He violated the Valentine treaty and killed prisoners who were unarmed." Roger added as he walked towards them.

"Even I wouldn't do such a thing." Hilbert replied before sarcastically chuckling and stepping harder on Leo's back.

"This is war...follow the rules of engagement or not, we'll still be killers." Leo replied before chuckling.

"A soldier fights with honor. You're no soldier." Roger angrily said back.

"Honor? Don't speak to me about honor when you fight behind impenetrable steel walls!" Roger shouted.

"Oi. Shut your mouth before I put a bullet in it." Hilbert threatened.

"Your records may be clean but you can never wash off the blood on your hands!" Leo exclaimed before laughing maniacally.

Hilbert kicked Leo on the head with his other foot and knocked him out before scowling at him. Jacques tapped Hilbert's shoulder and told him to calm down before walking to the front of the truck. Blood dripped from the floor of the onto the ground, small shards of glass pierced the face and arms of Will. Unconscious but gasping for air from the dashboard crushing his chest and breaking his rib cage.

"Poor guy. Mercy killing is an exception, right?" Jacques asked before turning to look at Roger.

"End his suffering now, the medics won't be able to save him anyways." Roger replies as he pulls Leo up and drags him to the corner of the street.

"You brought this upon yourself so I guess you deserved it." Jacques says before shooting Will in the back twice.

Roger dragged Leo's unconscious body down the road and towards where the convoy parked. He told everyone to gather around before resting Leo against a pole. Everyone watched as Roger aimed his pistol towards Leo.

"I want everyone to watch! Watch what happens to those who disobeys orders! This unit does not take mutiny lightly!" Roger shouted at the top of his lungs with rage.

"This is going to be fun, another public execution." Timothy mumbled before smirking.

"This will show the new kids how we work in this battalion for sure." James added as he leaned his elbow against Timothy's shoulder.

"We are soldiers! Not cold blooded killers! Even wars have rules, rules that you can not break without suffering the consequences!" Roger kicked Leo's leg causing him to wake up.

Leo looked around and gave a small chuckle before turning to look at Roger. He spat out some blood before taking a deep breath and sitting up.

"Killing me won't change anything...Many share the same thought, the Valentine treaty is only holding us back from ensuring a swift victory." Leo said as he groaned in pain.

"At least I didn't betray my own country and men to attain victory." Roger replied as he aimed towards Leo's head.

"We're all killers...the only thing that let's us do as we please is war." Leo added before looking Roger in the eyes.

"Don't compare us to the likes of you. We're not monsters." Roger slowly pulled the trigger and shot Leo between the eyes.

Hilbert and Jacques arrived right as Leo was executed along with the rest of the 116th. Roger holstered his gun and walked towards Jacques while fixing his uniform.

"I have a question. How did you know the truck was going to be turning at the junction?" Roger asked.

"It was pure luck, major. I just happened to be driving their way and saw the truck with men shooting from the back. No one informed us over the radio that you were under attack so I decided to ram into them." Hilbert replied.

"It was a split second decision but I trust Hilbert's intuition. I just went along with it and braced for impact." Jacques added.

"You have good judgement. Important traits that a soldier should posses." Roger commented before patting Hilbert's shoulder.

Roger walked past them and asked Jacques to go with him and discuss the plan for their upcoming operation. Hilbert stayed behind and waited as Jeremy and the others walked towards him.

"Where's the major? Do you know where he went, Hilbert?" Edward asked.

"He went with Roger, they're going to discuss the plans for the our next operation." Hilbert answered.

"If that's the case then we should settle down while waiting for the briefing." Richard butted in the conversation.

"I need some sleep. I might start seeing double soon." Jeremy said as he stretched his arms.

"Let's find a house to occupy then, we'll be here for a little while." Tristan suggested.

"I get top bunk!" Eugene shouted as he happily ran towards a house.

"Hey! I'm top bunk!" Richard screamed out.

Edward smiled and gave a little chuckle before following the others. He looked back at Hilbert before gesturing to him and follow them. Hilbert nodded and walked behind them as they headed in an abandoned house.

"Last one in has to treat everyone to beer!" Tristan cheerfully said as he ran inside, running past Richard and Eugene.

"They never grow up..." Jeremy mumbled before sprinting towards the house, wearing a grin on his face.