Platoon Page #20

Chris, fighting his depression, slaps hands with King. A brief

moment, they look at each other. A friendship that was forever

and is now over. They both sort of know they'll never see each

other again.

CHRIS:

I'll walk you out ...

Francis coming up, hauling his pack.

EXT.PERIMETER #3 - JUNIOR'S FOXHOLE - DUSK

On another foxhole, Rodriguez positions his M-60, brings up his

ammo belts (no loaders left). Tony eating, nervous, watches him,

shakes his head.

TONY:

Rumor goin' round is they got tanks. Soviet sh*t, T-

34's ...

(pause)

Hey Rodriguez, don't you ever say nothing?

RODRIGUEZ:

(a thick Mexican accent)

What do you want me to say, it's all the same ol'

sh*t.

Tony shrugs, back to his food.

EXT. PERIMETER #3 - JUNIOR'S FOXHOLE - DUSK

On another foxhole, Barnes in full pack checks the soles of

Junior's bare feet. Bunny and O'Neill looking on. Junior is

moaning as if he's dying, overdoing it by a mile.

BARNES:

So what's the problem?

O'NEILL

Says he can't walk.

BARNES:

Sh*t. Get your boots on Martin, next time I catch

you putting mosquito repellant on your f***in' feet

I'm gonna courtmartial your n*gger ass.

JUNIOR:

(cracks)

DEN COURTMARTIAL ME MOTHERFUCKAH, bust my ass, send

me to f***ing Long Binh, do your worst but I ain't

walking no more. De white man done got his last klik

outta me. Get some chuck dude to hump this sh*t.

BARNES:

(suddenly soft)

Get me that centipede, O'Neill.

O'Neill is puzzled. What centipede?

O'NEILL

Sarge?

BARNES:

Yeah that long hairy orange and black bastard I found

in the ammo crate. I'm gonna put it in this

a**hole's crotch, see if he can walk.

Junior's eyes bulge with suspiscion and sudden terror, his

demeanor totally alert now.

O'NEILL

(understanding)

Oh yeah, right away Sarge.

JUNIOR:

No! Wait! I'll walk, f*** you I'll walk, I don't

need this sh*t! I don't need this sh*t!

BUNNY:

F***ing p*ssy, f*** it Sarge, I gotta have him on my

hole?

Barnes going. O'Neill catching up with him.

O'NEILL

Uh ... Bob. Like to speak to you. Take a minute.

BARNES:

(stops)

Yeah, what is it?

O'NEILL

(shuffles, reluctant)

Bob, I got Elias' R&R ... It's coming up in 3 days.

Going to Hawaii. See Patsy.

(pause, no reaction from Barnes)

I never asked you for a break, I was hoping you ...

you'd send me in on the chopper with King ... what do

you say Chief?

(a friendly punch)

BARNES:

I can't do that for you, Red ... We need every

swinging dick in the field. Sorry bout that ...

(starts to go)

O'NEILL

(pleads)

Hey Bob, come on! Talk to me hunh, it's your friend

Red, I'm only asking you for three days chief ...

BARNES:

I'm talking to you Red and I'm telling you no. Get

back to your position.

O'NEILL

(grabs him, desperate)

Bob, I gotta bad feeling about this, I ... I'm

telling you I got a bad feeling, man, I don't think

I'm gonna make it .. y'know what I mean?

BARNES:

(quietly)

... everybody gotta die sometime Red ... Get back to

your foxhole.

A look in his eyes. Very remote, very cold, silencing O'Neill.

Barnes walks off.

EXT. PERIMETER #3 - BATTALION LZ - DUSK

At the LZ, King runs out, gets on the last SUPPLY CHOPPER with

some other men. It lifts off, swirling dust, the last rays of

daylight.

Chris watches from a Battalion CP area, waves back - the chopper

sound receding in the horizon, the comparative silence of the

jungle now creeping up on the perimeter. He turns and starts

back to his foxhole.

A man is watching him. He's sitting on a sandbag, face in

shadow. It startles Chris, something about him. Something

different. A deep West Virginia drawl.

SMOKING MAN:

Got a light?

CHRIS:

Uh sure ...

Goes over reluctantly, flicks his lighter, cupping it from the

wind. The flame catches a sudden, uneasy expression in Chris'

face as he sees the Smoking Man.

We come around and see what Chris sees in the light of the flame.

A face that smiles at him like a death's head, a large ugly

blister on his mouth, whiskered, pale - but smiling. A sick man

wouldn't smile like this, but he is smiling too intimately, as if

he knows Chris from way back. But he doesn't. Or does he?

Perhaps it was the man Chris first saw at the airstrip when he

came in-country. The same expression of evil, of a man who has

seen too much and died, but still lives.

Chris feels an unnatural fear passing through him.

The Man stands, sucking on his cigarette, stretches. He is thin

and very tall, towering over Chris.

SMOKING MAN:

... later.

He goes. Chris watches him, wondering. The man never looks

back, a leisurely, confident stroll. In that moment, there is an

EXPLOSION from way out in the jungle, about a quarter of a mile.

Then another, then small arms fire. Chris looks, knows.

EXT. PERIMETER #3 - RHAH'S FOXHOLE - DUSK

On his foxhole, Junior listening to the distant firing. Bunny is

introspective - talking to Junior as if he were his best friend,

although they have nothing in common.

BUNNY:

... y'know some of the things we done, I don't feel

like we done something wrong but sometimes y'know I

get this bad feeling. Not all that sh*t the

Chaplain's jamming up our ass 'bout the Good Lord ...

just a f***ing bad feeling, y'know what I mean?

Don't know why. I told the Chaplain the truth is I

really like it here. You do what you want, nobody

fucks with you. Only worry you got's dying and if

dat happens you won't know about it anyway. So what

the f*** ...

(chuckles)

Junior looks at him like he's really crazy. Back to the distant

firing.

JUNIOR:

(pissed now)

F***! I gotta be on this hole with YOU man. I just

know I shouldna come!

Bunny finds it funny, laughs.

BUNNY:

Don't you worry bout a thing Junior, you with Audie

Murphy here, my man ...

EXT. PERIMETER #3 - COMPANY CP - DUSK

At the Company CP, Captain Harris is talking urgently into the

radio.

HARRIS:

Bravo Three Alpha! Send me a grid. Send me a grid,

over!

A young inexperienced VOICE screams back into the radio amid

intense background FIRING filtered by radio and sounding

disembodied.

RADIO VOICE:

We're pinned down sir, they're in the f***ing trees!

The trees -

HARRIS:

OK, Three Alpha, calm down now, son. I'm gonna get

you a fire mission ASAP. Smoke'll be first ...

RADIO VOICE:

(panic)

Lieutenant's dead sir, radioman look dead sir, I

don't know where the map is Captain! They're all

around us sir. They're moving! Hundreds of em! I

can hear em talking gook!!! Jesus Christ!

HARRIS:

(calming him)

... Just spot the smoke son and tell me where to

shift. We'll get you out of there. Just hang tough

and tell me where the rounds hit, over.

EXT. PERIMETER #3 - PLATOON CP - DUSK

At the Platoon CP, Barnes stands, legs akimbo, watching the

jungle, anticipating the coming fight as overhead we now hear the

155 SHELLS whistle from a 10-mile distance - passing above them -

then pounding down into the jungle in the near distance. Barnes

turns, glances at Wolfe, smiles.

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