Rubble lies scattered across the roads of a desolate city. Black smoke billows into the sky. These things serve as scars of the battle between the local military and a terrorist organization. Amidst the smoke and flame, a platoon leader gives orders to his wounded, yet victorious, squad.

Find survivors. Treat the injured. Watch for enemy remnants.

Once the orders are given, he leaves his post and begins aiding in the search.
Soon, he comes across a pair of trembling sisters in the tumbledown skeleton of a building. Despite the obvious fear on the elder girl's face, she wraps the younger in her arms and stares at the man with defiance. He gives her a soft smile, then dives into a pocket and produces a bit of candy that he hopes might serve as a peace offering. But she has gone through horrors he cannot even imagine, and the gift only serves to tighten her grip. The only sound is the lonesome howl of the wind.

...*Growl*

Suddenly, the silence is betrayed by the rumble of the young girl's empty stomach. The man snorts despite himself, then immediately regains his composure and apologizes for the disrespectful display.

"My sister is hungry," mutters the elder through flushed cheeks.
"She needs to eat. I'll do whatever you want. Just...please. Food."

The man smiles gently — a true smile, not a trick of the bargain. "In that case, I suppose we'll have to put you to work cleaning the base." The girl nods, her face softening slightly as she considers the prospect of keeping her kin safe. Despite her youth, the world has taught her she must fight for what matters to her, and she would do anything to safeguard her sister's life. Tasked with the lives of his troops, the man recognizes this instinct in her — and he swears then and there to show this small kindred spirit the utmost respect.

It has been several days since the older girl started cleaning the platoon's temporary base. She cleans and she cleans and she cleans. All for the sake of her sister. Her hard work brings considerable comfort to the troops, and she quickly becomes their star. Whenever they come across her, they make offerings of sweets and cookies and chewing gum. But she always turns them down with the same reply: "I am already being paid."

When the platoon leader sees one of these exchanges, he takes the candy he was about to offer her and puts it back in his pocket. Instead of a gift, he offers a simple word of thanks for her hard work before venturing to the communications room.

As he enters, one of his men is busy transcribing a new message that came across the wire. It is a report from headquarters regarding the terrorist organization. It details all the weapons their enemy has purchased, as well as an estimated date and location for their next attack. The man rubs at his chin as he considers this new information. Above all, he wants to keep as many of his troops as safe as possible.
As he mulls over his options, a second message comes across the wire:

ENEMY USING CHILDREN AS SPIES.
TAKE ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS.

The man's head whips around to focus on the girl cleaning in the next room. She nods politely at him and continues her work. Beside her, her little sister waves happily. He responds in kind before shaking his head in an attempt to clear away the doubts that are creeping into his mind.

Late that night, the man sits in his room planning their next operation. His pen dashes across the page with conviction. If he can pull this off, it will decimate the terrorist organization without claiming the lives of any of his platoon. As he finishes his work, the girl appears in his doorway. He quickly gathers his notes and shoves them into a drawer.
"How are you settling in?" he asks.

"Well, thank you. My sister is sleeping again. A smile has returned to her face, and it's all because of you."
Her gaze suddenly drops to the floor.
"But...I know you're about to go away. Is it somewhere dangerous?"

"Perhaps," he says with an easy smile. "But I'll come back. I promise."
"You have to," whispers the girl before scampering away into the dark.

Night passes. The sun rises. As the base stirs to life, the girl is nowhere to be found. She left behind only two things. The first was the mess she created while rummaging through the platoon leader's desk...

And the second was her little sister.

Though some of his men suffered minor injuries, the platoon emerges from their next fight victorious and whole. They whoop loudly and slap each other on the back, knowing this latest mission means certain destruction for their foe. From a distance, the platoon leader and abandoned girl watch the celebration with clouded expressions.

"Wh-where's my sister?" asks the child as she holds back tears.

The man pauses, trying and failing to find a way to tell her of the older girl's end. She had been a spy for the terrorists. She chose that path in order to protect her sister. But she failed. The information she stole from the leader's room was false. He had left it there on purpose. Her stealing it had been his plan all along. Acting on the false information, the terrorists arrived at what they thought was their own ambush only to find the tables turned. It all went exactly as he had planned it, save for the moment the terrorists enacted their revenge against the older girl.

No. Don't lie to yourself. You knew that was always a possibility.

He had weighed the lives of his entire platoon against that of a single young girl and made his decision. But as he stares at the little sister crying before him, he finds himself unable to tell her this truth. As his hand clenches into a fist, the cheering of his men and the sobs of the little girl blur into an endless wall of sound. These days, the man always keeps a piece of candy in his pocket. He does so in the hope he will never forget the weight of all his sacrifices.