Platoon Page #13

EXT. COMPANY CP - DUSK -- MORNING

At the Company,l Elias, Captain Harris, Barnes, Lt.Wolfe are

huddled. Close on Harris, looking from face to face, assuming a

judicial attitude.

CAPTAIN HARRIS:

... and you Lieutenant?

LIEUTENANT WOLFE

I didn't see anything sir.

ELIAS:

I did.

LIEUTENANT WOLFE

That dink was reported to me as NVA sir by Sergeant

Barnes. Sergeant Barnes.

Squirreling out of any responsibility.

ELIAS:

My report sir, will include Lt.Wolfe as being witness

to the shooting ...

CAPTAIN HARRIS:

All right, Elias. Sergeant Barnes, I want a report

from you ...

BARNES:

You got it sir - and I can throw in plenty of eye-

witnesses if you want sir ...

HARRIS:

Not now. We'll get into this when we get back to

base camp. Right now I need every man in the field,

I want your guys to stick together ... Elias?

Barnes? ... You hear me? This is no time for

fighting with each other.

(pause, they nod)

Tomorrow we're going back into that bunker complex -

from the East.

(continuing)

First Platoon will lead ... Brigade thinks they might

be back there tomorrow. That's all ... Get some

rest.

(turns away)

Barnes, Elias eye each other and move off.

EXT. PERIMETER #2 - DUSK

Wolfe walks alongside Barnes.

WOLFE:

Don't worry about it Sergeant, he won't be able to

prove a thing, he's a troublemaker but ...

Barnes is obviously worried, although he doesn't let on.

BARNES:

Elias' a waterwalker ... like them politicians in

Washington. Want to fight their war with one hand

tied round their balls. Ain't no time or need for a

courtroom out here ...

Wolfe leaves him as Barnes turns into his foxhole where Bunny and

O'Neill await him anxiously.

O'NEILL

How'd it go.

Banres shrugs.

BUNNY:

Thataway Sarge, f***in' Elias man, f***in' squeal

that's what he is, gonna get everybody in the platoon

in sh*t. Somebody oughta fix his ass ...

Barnes fixing his coffee.

O'NEILL

(worried)

Gonna be an investigation or something Bob?

Barnes says nothing, a cryptic look.

O'Neill worried, Bunny, taking his cue from Barnes, slaps him on

the back.

BUNNY:

Ya worry too much O'Neill ...

EXT. PERIMETER #2 - CHRIS' POSITION - DUSK

Elsewhere on the perimeter, Chris is digging out a foxhole with

Rhah, as King and Lerner prepare the C's for dinner.

RHAH:

I know Barnes six months and I'll tell ya something -

that man is MEAN, red in his soul like a dick on a

dog.

KING:

Barnes gets killed, his jaws'd go on clacking ...

CHRIS:

Where's he form?

RHAH:

Barnes comes from Hell.

LERNER:

Tennessee someplace. Hill country.

RHAH:

Barnes took a bullet right there. At Ia Drang Valley

...

(points to his forehead)

And the cocksucker SURVIVED - that's BAAAD man.

That's his high, baby. High on WAR!

His eyes flare out dramamtically. Chris, enthralled in spite of

himself.

KING:

He done a year in Japan in the hospital, then when he

gets out, the first thing he done is re-up. Four

years he been in the field ...

RHAH:

... and you know how many times he done been shot?

(Chris shakes his head)

Seven times!

(with his fingers)

Seven.

CHRIS:

And he still wanted to come back?

LERNER:

Does a pee wee wanna take a wee wee?

RHAH:

The Good Lord works his revenge in strange ways.

KING:

Yeah, you done said it. Revenge on US.

CHRIS:

Does he have a metal plate in his head?

RHAH:

(smiles)

You mean he's crazy? No more crazy'n the rest of us

been out in the bush too long.

LERNER:

Well he ain't normal that's fosure.

RHAH:

That's what he is ... Baaaa!

His hand flashes forward in front of Chris. 'HATE' is written

across the left hand knuckles in a sloppy, purplish-black tatoo.

Chris looking at it.

RHAH (CONT'D)

... and he's FILLED with it. He's roaming these

jungles looking for little yellow devils to kill.

Remember the Devil does God's work too.

(pause)

... and this here's Elias ... Baaaa!

The other knuckle is out - 'LOVE' tattooed across it. Rhah

smiles his crazy smil. Chris stares fascinated at the two

knuckles side by side. A moment on his face.

KING:

Love, yeah!

LERNER:

(makes a cuckoo sign)

Here we go again with the crazy preacher stuff. Rhah

seen too many movies.

RHAH:

Baaa, got no time to go to the movies. Love and Hate

too busy fighting for possession of my soul.

CHRIS:

Where's Elias come from?

RHAH:

(interjecting)

'Lias come naturally.

LERNER:

... don't know. Done some time. Heard he worked the

oil wells in Oklahoma, made some bread and washed up

in El Lay.

KING:

Yeah, get married to some crazy El Lay b*tch, an

actress or somethin', she blew all his bread - LSD,

gurus, all that California sh*t, and then she turns

him into the cops on a drug rap.

RHAH:

Not the only man to meet his Jezebel either.

KING:

So he got a reduced and come over here. Nam's his

freedom man, Nam's his p*ssy. Three years he been

here.

CHRIS:

Three years, Jesus, he's crazy as Barnes ...

KING:

Well sometimes a man jes don' wanna go back. How you

gonna talk to civilians man? People back in the

world just don't give a sh*t, y'know what I mean, to

them you're a f***in' animal is all -

LERNER:

(to Chris)

I was home on leave y'know and everybody's just

worried 'bout making money, everybody's out for

themselves, they don't even want to talk about it

man, it's like the f***ing Twilight Zone back there -

you wouldn't even KNOW there's a war on here. My

sister says to me why you have to go there like I

started this ...

RHAH:

Baaaa! F*** it, they sold us out - so what! What'd

you'all expect? Civilian life is phoney BULLSHIT

man. They're ROBOTS man - watchin' dopey television

and drivin' dopey cars, and they f*** up, nobody

dies. That's all right, you keep f***in' up,

politicians keep lyin'. Cause it don't really

matter. Don't mean sh*t. So what! Whatcha want - a

parade! F*** that too! No war time no grunt never

got no respect. Till he was dead - and even THEN!

You're fighting for YOURSELF man! You're fighting

for your SOUL, dat's all. Remember dat. And it's

some goddamn battle too - if you'se a man, wrestle

with that angel ...

(swings his entrenching tool in a rhythmic chain-gang style)

... Love and Hate - the whole shitbang show, that's

the story then and now and it ain't hardly gonna

change ...

EXT. PERIMETER #2 - JUNGLE - NIGHT

The stars are out in magnificent splendor. A breeze rustling

through the trees.

EXT. PERIMETER #2 - CHRIS' POSITION - NIGHT

Chris is turning in his sleep, perturbed, writhing. The

whispering is more and more urgent. Death is all around. He

shoots up out of his poncho liner as if shot, stunned. Scared.

Looks around. All is quiet. Men sleeping.

Elias is huddled in his poncho on guard next to his foxhole.

Chris joins him, sitting, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

CHRIS:

... I can't sleep, why don't you get some sack time.

ELIAS:

... don't feel like it either.

CHRIS:

... beautiful night.

ELIAS:

Yeah. I love this place at night. The stars ...

there's no right or wrong in them, they're just

there.

CHRIS:

That's a nice way of putting it.

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