"I know you had to do it." The woman takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "My husband was a death row convict. But still... you could have done it in a more... merciful way. Why did you have to slash his throat like that? It was so... barbaric!" She cries and trembles.

  "I didn't know your son was hiding in the room. If I had known... I'm so sorry. It's all my fault," Gabriel desperately apologizes. "We tried to use guns and tranquilizers, but your husband was too strong, so..."

  "Stop it! Please!" The woman collapses to the ground, devastated. "Nothing can be done now. You don't need to do this. Just... leave us alone!"

  Gabriel doesn't know what to say. He doesn't dare to touch the woman to console her. Too ashamed and guilty, he turns away. The Ashtons, wife and son of the first death row convict Gabriel executed, have changed their names and location many years ago. Gabriel managed to find them and has been secretly sending them donations since he made the mistake of not checking for civilians on the site, causing an 8-year-old boy lasting trauma.

  ___

  It was a summer night four years ago, the kind of night perfect for lying in the front yard, enjoying the cool breeze. Letting out a long yawn, Nathan, positioned on a nearby rooftop, scanned the area through his super eyesight and made a dry comment into his mic. "The target is sighted, let's roll, gentlemen!"

  Fixing his earpiece to better receive Nathan's instructions, Gabriel slowly followed the action team toward the massive villa of Nicolas Ashton, the highest boss of a notorious underworld organization at the time. He was a dominant, but the number of lives taken by his orders was uncountable. The court had sentenced him to death in absentia because all attempts to capture and transport him had failed. After numerous escapes that left painful casualties among the police and agents, the government decided to eliminate him to prevent further damage.

  "Keep close, newbie," the execution team leader, Henry, an ex-soldier, whispered in front of Gabriel, holding his rifle tightly. "Focus on my commands, got it?"

  Gabriel looked around tensely, clutching his handgun. "Yes, sir!"

  An hour later...

  "Gabriel... Gab! Wake up!"

  A distant voice jerked Gabriel's eyes open, returning him to the horror of his reality. Gabriel staggered to stand back up in the middle of the fight that had knocked him unconscious some minutes ago. In the blurry view and the ringing in his ears, Gabriel saw his team leader and other members engaging with Nicolas's numerous henchmen. They were the reason why the mob boss could stand fearless before the law and order.

  "Careful!" Henry shouted, wrestling with a huge gangster. "The dominants are weakening us so the recessives can kill us!"

  The execution team was holding their ground with all their strength and skills, but the situation was dire. They were clearly outnumbered. At that moment, Henry grabbed Gabriel by his collar, whispering in his ear, "You go look for the target! We will keep his men busy. Go now!"

  "What?" Gabriel's face turned white. "But I'm just a newbie!"

  "So what? You were trained for this, weren't you?" Henry wheezed. "He's a dominant; he can't kill you. Now go!"

  He pushed Gabriel's back violently, saying into his mic, "Nathan! Back him up!"

  "Roger!" Nathan answered, firing at those standing in Gabriel's way with his sniper tranquilizer gun. Gabriel swallowed, running from the battle, slipping through all the hands that tried to grasp him, to get to the room where Nicolas was staying.

  Gabriel took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he approached the door. With a swift kick, he burst through it, his gun raised.

  Inside, Nicolas Ashton stood with a cold, sarcastic smile. "Look, they must be desperate, sending a greenhorn to kill me," he sneered. "How old are you, son?"

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  Gabriel didn't respond. He aimed his gun at Nicolas, but before he could pull the trigger, Nicolas moved with lightning speed, disarming Gabriel and throwing him across the room with his super strength. Gabriel hit the wall so hard that there was a cracking sound from both the bricks and his body. The shooting pain made him crawl on the ground, unable to get up.

  Nicolas advanced on him, squeezing his thick hands around Gabriel's neck, draining all the air from it. When Gabriel thought he was about to die, Nicolas's face started distorting as he tried to fight back his killing barrier. But after a brief moment, he screamed in agony, letting go of Gabriel's neck, cursing, "Aghhhh! This goddamn barrier!"

  Gabriel seized the opportunity. He tackled Nicolas to the ground. With a swift motion, he drew a dagger from his side and slashed at Nicolas. Gabriel tried to aim for his vital points, but the knife was not long enough, and Nicolas dodged it too quickly, resulting in only a shallow cut on Nicolas's arm.

  Nicolas roared in anger. Since he couldn't kill Gabriel, he decided to wound or disable Gabriel instead. But Gabriel's training had not been for nothing. He dodged and weaved, using his agility to stay out of reach. Spotting a decorative longsword on a nearby shelf, Gabriel grabbed it and swung it at Nicolas, catching him off guard.

  When Nicolas staggered, Gabriel lunged forward and pinned him down. Nicolas struggled, but the tranquilizer on the dagger started paralyzing him. Gabriel held him tighter, putting the sword to his neck.

  "Any... last words?" Gabriel asked, out of breath from the fight but still remembering the final etiquette.

  Nicolas glared at him, gritting his teeth. The pride and arrogance of a once-powerful man made him refuse to admit defeat at first. But when Gabriel thrust the sword forward, his eyes were as cold as ice, Nicolas's fear of death suddenly kicked in. He screamed helplessly.

  "Wait... wait! Please!"

  Gabriel paused.

  "You are an ex-criminal, right? I heard that many of you guys are." Nicolas used his old cunning negotiation skill again, hoping it would save him like many times before. "What do you want? I can give you anything if you spare me! You can also be free with a new identity, living comfortably and happily all your life!"

  Nicolas looked Gabriel straight in the eyes, trying to find this young recruit's weakness.

  "Living... happily?" Gabriel looked back at him.

  "Yes! Happiness! Love, family, friends!" Nicolas's face brightened.

  "Sounds tempting." Gabriel's eyes seemed distant for a second, then he shook his head. "But you can't give me that. Your time is up!"

  "No... hold on! My son! He's still..."

  Nicolas gazed at the closet in the corner of the room, his eyes filled with despair. But before he could finish his sentence, Gabriel slashed with the sword, ending the long and hard struggle of his first execution.

  Nicolas's eyes were wide with shock and pain. Blood pooled around him as his breaths came in ragged gasps, each one more labored than the last. His fingers twitched, grasping at the air as if trying to hold onto life. Finally, his body stilled, and the room fell into a heavy silence.

  "Ugh!"

  Just when Gabriel thought he could finally relax, the pain from his back came rushing back as he stood up, more intense than before now that the fight was over. He winced, limping towards the mirror on the walk-in closet in the corner of the room to get a clearer look at himself. There was a sharp piece of debris stuck in his back, which must have been from the hit to the wall before. Blood was oozing out from there, but pulling out the debris would be a bad idea.

  Gabriel spoke into his earpiece: "Target executed. Request for medical support."

  "Well done, newbie! You okay?" Henry's cheerful voice came through from the other side.

  Gabriel was about to answer, but a weak sobbing sound from inside the wardrobe made him pause.

  "Gab! Gab? You there?" Henry called nervously.

  Gabriel opened the wardrobe's door carefully, discovering a little boy trembling in there. Tears and snot covered his frightened face. The boy was holding a small knife in his hands, maybe as a protective weapon, but he was too scared and shaken to use it. His eyes were looking at Gabriel with indisputable fear and hatred.

  "Call an ambulance, sir." Gabriel slowly lowered himself in front of the boy, his heart throbbing. "I think... I messed up."

  ___

  Back to the present.

  Standing on a bridge, Gabriel silently flips a black badge in his hand, leaning against the railing. The badge has a silver logo of a sword in the middle of a scale, the acronym NET, and its full form surrounding the logo: "National Execution Taskforce." Gabriel bitterly looks at the badge he has been carrying for four years, determined to throw it into the river below. But his hand stops in mid-air, unable to move. After pausing for what seems like forever, he slowly crumbles to his knees with no power left, staring into the distance with empty, ash-colored eyes.

  This is Gabriel Lanes, who went to juvie at 16, trained for three years to become an execution officer at 19. Now, at 23, he has returned with the lie of serving his seven-year sentence in prison. The only ones aware of this fact are his parents, who agreed to enroll him in the NET training program. At the time, they hoped it would reduce his sentence and alleviate his guilt. However, the reality is that it was just another form of imprisonment for him, and he remains trapped in it to this day.