“Or simple honesty,” Driscoll corrected him. “But it doesn’t matter. The penalty is no worse for a deserter, if you catch him.”
Mendez curbed his rage. He did not wish to lose this man. That is, he would regret deeply having to kill him.
“Why do you mean to change?” he demanded.
“Because I can’t feel right! It’s like–somehow it’s like being an accomplice of murderers.”
“Dios mio, I suppose Your Mercy and his tender heart refers to the Decree?”
“Partly. That thing is a blanket warrant of death. Just because your enemy can’t fight any longer––”
“But you forget, señor, the mines that exploded in the highways. You forget the poisoned springs, the ambuscades, the massacres. Would they not shoot prisoners too, your new friends?”
“Si señor, as you and others may some day experience personally.”
“Then, mighty judge, condemn them also.”
“Don’t I? But I can’t blame them. They are punishing crime.”