[ TT ] `` You do what 's right . I do what 's required . ''

For the first time in my life, it was difficult to imagine killing the target. I have killed many in my life. Some of whom I am quite sure deserved it, and some who just so happened to be on the wrong side of a conflict, but I never thought that I would have to kill a man who I so profoundly respected. 
 
 We had been on the same squad, James and I. We had performed more than 30 combat missions together and I had always had his back. I had never imagined that one day the mission would be to kill James. But James was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, and the reputation of the entire armed forces was at risk unless James was brought to `` justice''. 
 
 We had been chasing a terrorist who called himself `` Endplan'' inside of our own territory. We found out that he had plans with a foreign power to destroy entire cities in our country. Millions of lives could be lost. We almost had him and then... it was my fault. I let one of the guards see me and the Endplan started getting away. I was still fighting off guards, but James had already come up with a contingency plan. 
 
 Endplan had run into a great crowd of people and was likely moving toward shelter, lowering our chances of finding him. But James, unbeknownst to me, had control of a combat drone. He painted the target with a laser, a large building near the crowd, and seconds later the building came crashing down, onto the crowd. Endplan's corpse was found among the dead that day, and perhaps James had saved millions of lives, but he now had the blood of hundreds of innocents on his hand, and the wrath of a nation screaming for justice. 
 
 I looked down at my assault rifle. It had mostly been polished out, but there was still a hint of a scratch from the time it had been knocked out of my hands. I would have been dead that day had James not saved my life, he was always looking out for me. 
 
 We had found out that he was staying in a small cottage in the mountains. I wondered if he had purposely left a trail for us to find him. He was too smart to be careless enough to lead us straight to him. Still, it was our best lead so we were going in. The rest of the squad busted straight through the front door, but 2 of us stayed in the small surrounding wooded area, one going to the left, and I to the right. 
 
 As I was there, alone in the woods, James stepped out right in front of me. `` Tom,'' he said solemnly. 
 
 `` James,'' I replied quietly, `` you know why we are here.'' 
 
 `` I know. From the moment I lit up the target I knew that eventually this moment would come to pass.'' I did n't lower my weapon but I was ready to use it. We just stared at each other, what else was there to do? 
 
 `` The whole country wants to see your head on a pike, you know,'' I finally said. 
 
 `` Yeah, they do... I'm not going to trial, Tom. You're going to have to kill me.'' 
 
 I knew that would probably be the case. But it did n't feel right. `` You know, I believe you did the right thing. I might have done the same thing if I were in your shoes.'' 
 
 `` Perhaps, but you were n't. That means that you do what's right, I did what was required... Tom, you need to shoot me before your absence raises suspicion.'' 
 
 James was right, com chatter was already picking up with teammates asking for my position. Still, it did n't feel like I was doing what was right. `` I'll see you in the afterlife,'' I said. 
 
 `` For our sakes, I hope that there is n't one.'' I slowly raised my gun, James fired his gun missing me by almost a foot ( quite obviously on purpose ), but I did not miss. I hit him straight between the eyes. He was dead before he hit the ground. It was the only death which dignified a man like James.
