The perils of obedience

Obedience is the mother of success and is wedded to security.

-Aeschylus



Orders are orders. One must follow them. If the sergeant asks you to kill a man, you kill him. That's how I was raised by my father. You are not to question your superiors, no matter what they ask you to do. My father lived by that rule and I was going to prove that the apple hadn't fallen too far from the tree.



In my line of work, I had seen dozens of folks lose their lives merely on account of failing to do what was asked of them. Was it not obvious then that I, in order to avoid suffering a similar fate, was to carry out orders unquestioningly?



Besides, what had made me accept the job was the fact that the sergeant had shown a great amount of faith in me by entrusting me with a task that was usually reserved for the high-ranking gentlemen. A humble orderly like myself seldom got to lay his hands on something of substance. I knew there was something special about me and the sergeant must've felt that way, too.



To be honest, I was initially repulsed by the impassivity of the sergeant's words but the sergeant, a man hardened by years of performing physically taxing and perilous jobs, couldn't be expected to be otherwise. At that moment, I had made up my mind to model myself after this great man and be an instrument of service to him. His words had transformed me from a measly orderly into the quintessential man on a mission.

  


At exactly half-past two that night, I left my quarters with a sharpened knife, a small file, and an old piece of cloth, securely tucked under my shirt to accomplish the task I was entrusted with. I had pinched the aforementioned items from the pantry that night.



My target was housed in a two-storey building right across from mine. A couple of young cadets were on patrol near it; both novices. I had full faith in their imbecility, they were no threat to me. The two of them were soon engaged in a tete-a-tete as I had predicted. I couldn't quite hear what they were chatting about—owing to my damaged inferior colliculus which caused me to have subpar hearing ability—but they did seem to be cracking jokes. I quickly made a dash for the building and arrived at its rear side facing a lake, and squatted down. My heart pounded so hard against my rib cage that for a moment I felt it would give away my location to the two patrolmen. The cool breeze blowing over the lake and brushing my face did quite a good job of calming my nerves. I took a few deep breaths until I could hear the sergeant's voice clearly in my head.



Eliminate Andrew Higgs.



I was standing right under Andrew's window. It wasn't off my reach so I easily managed to slide the file under it, push the lock upwards, and unlock it in one fell swoop. I pulled it open and climbed in through it.



The faint white glow of the crescent moon couldn't do much to disturb the darkness inside the room. I looked at the bed and found Andrew lying face-down, with a blanket covering only his head. I do not intend to be disrespectful, but at that moment Andrew did look like a headless chicken, waiting for its turn on the barbeque. As I was taking the knife and the piece of cloth out from under my shirt, my gaze fell on a radium clock by the window. Andrew was due to wake up in an hour and a half, just like all the other cadets. Which meant I could take as much time as I needed to do the deed and escape without a scratch. Just then, I heard Andrew move.



The sudden creaking of the bed startled me and I froze in terror, fearing the worst. Luckily for me, Andrew had merely turned over on his back and the blanket over his head had slipped off, making my job a whole lot easier. Without wasting any more time, I balled up the piece of cloth with my right hand and pressed it on his mouth. Then, almost instantaneously, I jabbed the knife into his neck. I felt the knife traversing a thick network of arteries and veins in his neck, severing several of them as it emerged through the other side. He jerked once but that's about all I had rendered him capable of. His body went limp. Blood oozed out of his neck and onto the clean white bed-sheet, like rose syrup on vanilla ice cream. I stood for a few seconds looking at his body, making sure he was dead. There was no way he, or anybody for that matter, could've survived an attack as vicious as that, but I like to be thorough. I grabbed a nearby blanket, threw it over his body, and left the room just as I had entered it. By three in the morning, I was back in my room thanking the Lord for this opportunity, before going to sleep.



I must confess that I didn't think Andrew deserved it. But, like I always say, orders are orders. For all I knew, he might've been a traitor, selling inside information to some devilish individuals with nefarious motives.



Besides, the sergeant didn't come across as unreasonable to me. He was as able-minded and intelligent as a sergeant is expected to be, and I trusted the man's judgment. As to what would happen to Andrew's body, I hadn't the foggiest. That wasn't my concern, however, and I was sure that the sergeant would've had someone take care of that aspect of the task. I had not a thing to worry about.


       

After having slept for a mere two hours, I was up again, looking forward to briefing the sergeant on how I had accomplished the task he had entrusted me with like a veteran. Now, I am not one to fish for compliments, but in this case, I think I deserved at least a 'Well done,' if not a 'You genius!'. After all, as per his orders, I had killed a man.



By five forty-five, I was standing in front of the sergeant in his office, ready to answer in the affirmative were he to ask me about having done the job. The anticipation of getting to hear words of a congratulatory nature must have caused me to daydream as once again, I saw the sergeant's command flash in front of my eyes.



Eliminate Andrew Higgs.



The sergeant was having his daily cup of green tea while going through several documents laid out on his desk, all in perfect alignment. He took a sip from his cup and looked as if he had just noticed me. He raised his eyebrows, clearly trying to figure out why I was in the room. He put down the cup, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said,



"That's quite some time you've taken to apologize, orderly."



"I beg your pardon, sir?"



"Do you mean to say you're not here to apologize for your discourteous behavior?"



I was naturally perplexed for I couldn't recall behaving in a discourteous manner with anybody, let alone the sergeant himself.



"I do not follow, sir," I confessed.



He banged his fist on the table. "Is that so? Well, allow me to narrate exactly what happened yesterday."


 He got off his chair and began walking towards me. My heart pounded rhythmically with his footsteps.



"Yesterday, at 1300 hours, did I not summon you here?"



"Yes, sir."



"After I was done instructing you about what was to be done, did you not ask me if I needed anything else?"



"I did, sir."



"If you remember that, then how is it that you cannot recall what I said after that?"



"What, sir?"



"A lemonade and two figs."