Apocalypse Now Redux Page #28

WILLARD:

You still got a commanding officer

her?

SOLDIER:

Beverly Hills.

WILLARD:

What?

SOLDIER:

Right up the road there's a concrete

bunker called Beverly Hills. Where

the f*** else do you think it would

be?

Willard turns and moves away from the two soldiers. Lance

follows.

The CAMERA FOLLOWS them as they proceed down the long

trench. They pass a group of black G.I.s. Suddenly Willard

trips over a body, and falls right into a mud puddle. The

body stirs.

SOLDIER:

You stepped in my face!

LANCE:

We thought you were dead.

SOLDIER:

Well, you thought wrong, damnit!

They come to another gun emplacement, where two BACK

SOLDIERS are at a fifty-caliber machine gun. The GUNNERS

blast away into the night, walking and swearing at Vietcong.

The SPOTTER is feeding the bullets into the gun.

Psychedelic guitar music plays on a portable radio.

GUNNER:

(to enemy)

I told you to stop f***ing with

me! You think you're so bad, huh,

nigga?

Willard watches for a while, then shouts over to him.

WILLARD:

What are you shooting at, soldier?

GUNNER:

Gooks! What the f*** do you think

I'm shooting at?

(turns and sees

it's an officer)

I'm sorry, sir. There are gooks

out there by the wire. But I think

I killed them all.

SPOTTER:

You ain't shot sh*t! Listen!

The enemy's yelling continues.

GUNNER:

Oh, sh*t, he's trying to call his

friends. Sen up a flare.

The spotter reaches over and picks up a flare pistol, and

fires a FLARE into the air. The gunner starts blasting

away again,

GUNNER:

You think you so bad, nigga? You

think you so bad?

He stops firing. The yelling continues.

SPOTTER:

They're all dead, stupid. There's

one still alive underneath them

bodies.

WILLARD:

Who's the commanding officer here?

GUNNER:

Ain't you?

(to enemy)

You think you so bad? I got

something for your ass! I got

something for you now!

Lance climbs up on top of the sandbags with the puppy and

looks at the pyrotechnics. Explosions go off all around

him...space city.

SPOTTER:

There's nothing but bodies, man!

GUNNER:

(to spotter)

Go get the Roach, man. Go get the

Roach, nigga!

The spotter moves down the trench, to where a tall lanky

black soldier wearing all sorts of beads and trinkets leans

against the ditch, sleeping.

SPOTTER:

(calling out)

Roach! Roach!

THE ROACH gets up somewhat annoyed, but very cool, and

saunters up toward the machine gun. Willard looks over

and sees Lance up on top of the sandbags.

WILLARD:

Lance!

Lance climbs down back into the trench. The Roach and

spotter move back to the machine gun, where the gunner

waits. The Roach turns off the radio, sits down, and

listens.

SPOTTER:

Do you hear them? Well, bust them!

VIETCONG (O.S.)

Hey, G.I., f*** you!

GUNNER:

You hear him out there on the wire,

man?

ROACH:

Yeah.

VIETCONG (O.S.)

F*** you, you G.I.

GUNNER:

You need a flare?

ROACH:

No.

(listens)

He's close, man. He's real close.

VIETCONG (O.S.)

G.I., f*** you!

The Roach opens the breech of his shotgun-like weapon,

plunks a big slug into it. He snaps it closed, then turns

and wraps the strap around his arm. He points the weapon

up into the air listens to the YELLING, calculating, then

fires. The grenade whistles off into the night. There is

a sharp EXPLOSION that cuts off the scream. Then the thud

of bodies.

ROACH:

Motherf***er.

WILLARD:

Hey, soldier. Do you know who's

in command here?

ROACH:

Yeah.

He turns and walks away.

CUT TO:

FULL SHOT - PBR - BRIDGE - NIGHT

The PBR stands in the shadows. Chef, the Chief, and Clean

are waiting for Willard and Lance. SHELLS WHISTLE BY and

CRASH in the distance as the welding continues on the

bridge.

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