"To be honest," Andrey began after a long silence, "I'm confused. You're suggesting we kill them, as if we were some kind of butchers. But I can't do that. It's excruciatingly difficult for me to listen to their pleas and still want to execute them."
"So what are we going to do with them, Commander? Drink to brotherhood and let them go?"
These were Seva's words, spoken with poorly concealed displeasure. This tone, coupled with the silence of the others, signaled to Andrei that the squad didn't share their commander's views. Whether the men would disobey orders under these circumstances was another matter entirely. More importantly, how severely would Andrei's authority be damaged if he didn't support them? Probably catastrophically.
After some thought, he made one last attempt to convin
