The Dogs of War Page #2

a scientific name...

for the great crested grebe.

Yeah?

Maybe some other time.

Just for you.

Podiceps cristatus. Right?

And the storm petrel?

Hydrobates...

there's more... Pelagius.

Right?

And what about

the bubbling cisticola?

The esmaralda troglodytes.

And there's

my absolute favorite...

and yours... Nectarina famosa.

Here's to them, God bless them.

Drink.

Public drunkenness

is a crime in Zangaro.

Who's that guy?

Woody Woodpecker?

Good evening, Miss Dexter.

Mr. Brown...

I'm Gabrielle Dexter.

My father suggested I show you

around Clarence tomorrow.

Sounds good.

Meet me in the lobby at 8:00.

That's the only sight worth

seeing in this bloody town.

It's friendly, too.

I wouldn't know.

It doesn't talk to me.

One for the road?

No, thanks.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Around here...

even the birds know better

than to be out at night.

What do you know about birds?

Well, I'm no expert... either.

What did you guys do

to get in trouble today?

A bunch of soldiers

were hauling off a young kid.

He was scared out of his wits.

Finally, he managed

to pull himself free.

One of the bastards drove

a bayonet through his throat.

We were right there

with the camera.

We got it.

Then they ripped the film

out of the camera...

and herded us back here.

I'm surprised Kimba

I ets you people in here.

I'll be more surprised

if he lets us out.

How'd he get the job?

Well, after

they won independence...

there were three candidates

for the presidency...

General Kimba...

a Colonel Bobi...

and a physician,

a moderate called Dr. Okoye.

Okoye wanted to maintain links

with the mother country...

while our two gallant

freedom fighters...

ranted about

neocolonialism, et cetera.

Kimba got elected.

Don't ask me

why he won over Bobi.

From what I've heard,

nothing to choose between them.

A week after

Kimba took office...

he forced Bobi into exile

and threw Dr. Okoye in prison.

Any opposition left?

You don't oppose Kimba.

That's treason.

For that, he has

your entire family murdered.

Nobody really knows

what's going on here.

You'd think

whatever his name is...

would come in here

and kick him out.

He's no threat

to any other country.

He's content to stay

within his borders...

and slaughter his own.

I mean slaughter.

Can't you smell it?

Trouble is...

there's so much of it

everywhere else in the world...

nobody wants to know.

Right. You're a quiet one.

Bird-watching's

a quiet business.

How would you know?

You're not CIA, are you?

You're hardly KGB.

Thanks for the drink.

You are, aren't you?

You're f***ing CIA.

This is President Kimba's

official residence.

It belonged to the British

governor in colonial times.

You live in a place like that,

I'll bet you stay home a lot.

The president

no longer lives here.

God spoke to him in a dream.

He told him he should live

among his warriors.

Where is that, the jungle?

He lives at the garrison.

In 1937,

the colonial government...

erected new ministerial offices.

It was the first electricity

in Zangaro.

A year later,

the Grand Pavilion was built.

At the spring assemblies...

as many as a thousand people

would dance inside.

The chandeliers

were shipped from Europe.

You got a passport?

Why do you ask?

I can't believe you stay here.

This is not America, Mr. Brown.

What I do is never governed

by choice...

only by circumstance.

That's not true.

Is Kimba Christian?

He's head of our church.

I saw a couple of nuns

and a priest when I got here.

How do they feel about that?

They went away,

but they're coming back now.

There were some difficulties.

I'll bet.

But now that

President Kimba's name...

is included

in the Lord's Prayer...

there are no more problems.

Is that where he lives?

Details regarding the garrison

are not available to anyone.

Stand there.

Say "Cheese" for the scrapbook.

The scrapbook?

It's where

you keep your memories.

And what's in yours?

Not too much.

Mr. Brown,

what are you really doing here?

I told you.

I'm studying birds.

Birds are smart. They migrate.

They know when

things are gonna change...

and they fly away.

Why don't we have dinner?

I'm late. Excuse me.

Whoa! Wait a minute!

Wait...

Mr. Brown.

Mr. Brown, can you hear me?

OK.

Mr. Brown, what are you

doing in Clarence?

Water.

Just tell me,

what are you doing in Clarence?

Water.

You are a naturalist,

are you not?

Right.

Why did you take

this picture of the garrison?

She's pretty...

isn't she?

Mr. Brown...

I am a doctor.

I was told to clean your wounds.

You are being deported.

Released.

Why?

One of the guards said...

an Englishman

has been here all day...

trying to talk with you,

interview you.

He also filed a formal protest

with the Swiss consul.

You have a friend, Mr. Brown.

You a prisoner?

Over four years.

What'd you do?

Bad judgment.

I was a candidate for president.

Dr. Okoye.

How would you know that?

The English... man...

my friend.

How long have I been here?

Since yesterday.

Why did they do this?

Possibly for being

in the wrong company.

The guard said

you were with Gabrielle Dexter.

She's one of Kimba's mistresses.

She... It was her?

No.

She's beautiful...

not treacherous.

Beauty is a currency.

Unfortunately,

here in Zangaro...

it only has value

in the presidential palace.

Have some of these.

Painkillers.

They'll help you.

Okoye.

Mr. Brown, can you tell us

why you were arrested?

What were conditions like

inside the prison?

Were you able to see

any other prisoners?

Mr. Brown...

they say Dr. Okoye is,

in fact, dead.

Can you confirm that?

Mr. Brown...

you can't leave Zangaro without

your passport, a**hole.

No fractures,

but I don't understand...

why the hell you didn't

see the doctor in Paris.

Still got blood in the urine?

Yeah.

Four, five, six.

Six healthy concussions

in the last three years.

Two crushed disks,

two temporal fractures...

one major pneumothorax,

perforated stomach...

a hundred bouts with

unheard-of tropical diseases...

a shitload of

arm and leg fractures...

dyscrasia, dysentery,

dyspepsia, dysuria...

dysphoria!

Anything starting with "D"

I didn't get?

Yeah... dead.

Henry, you've got to get

some new jokes.

I don't know what you got

planned for your old age...

or who you figure

on spending it with...

but I suggest you get at it.

You've taken a lot of years

off the back end of your life.

Thanks.

Why didn't you call me

as soon as you got back?

I was busy.

You got the money?

No, no.

Don't take your coat off!

There, that's for you.

What does it mean?

Can Kimba be replaced?

Just read the report.

Is there any chance of a coup?

No, not now.

He don't trust his own army.

Rations the bullets.

He's crazy, see?

So, unless there's some

guerrilla army building up...

outside Zangaro

I don't know about, forget it.

The people I represent

won't do business with a madman.

He's obviously got to go.

What'd you say?

Could a well-trained...

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