"I wasn't there," snapped Ocelot. "But no one was under any orders to injure Borishnakov. Shame him, yes. Punish him through the denouncement of brotherhood, yes."

Ocelot reached for his gun and paused with his hand gripping the stock tightly, but didn't deholster the weapon.

"Kolyin swears Borishnakov was alive and whining when they were all finished. Every Ocelot down to a man knows what's expected in these cases. They go like clockwork, no mishaps."

Icy, sadistic clockwork, but nonetheless.

"I gave the signal. I cleared them to discipline him according to tradition. But I had no part of the actual event. I was not the CO."