Too Late the Hero Page #8

There is no longer a choice for any of you.

Either you surrender and live...

or if you attempt

to postpone the inevitable...

then I shall withdraw my offer...

and your two comrades will die tonight.

The decision is yours.

You have until nightfall to decide.

Please, Lieutenant...

do like he says.

Tosh, please!

I couldn't care less

what they do to those two.

Whatever that Jap's gonna do,

he's gonna do.

It's got nothing to do with

what we're gonna do.

If you mean

it ain't gonna make us surrender...

I'm with you.

But if you think we're gonna

try and get back to camp by tomorrow...

you must be bloody mad.

That's exactly what we're gonna do.

We hit that clearing

on the edge of that camp...

if there are two of us...

we're gonna have twice as much a chance

of getting through.

And, buddy boy...

you're going with me every step of the way.

Listen, Lieutenant...

neither of us wants to get killed, right?

I've never believed any of the guff

that Jap's been giving us, either.

I know once he lays his hands on us...

he'll finish us off, no matter what he says.

So, up until now...

the only way of staying alive

was getting back to camp.

But now there's another way.

Something that nobody else thought of.

Nobody except me, that is.

- What?

- It's very simple.

We double back,

head north for two or three hours...

duck off the trail,

sleep for a couple of days...

and we'll be laughing.

- Laughing?

- Yeah, laughing.

Because once the Jap dive bombers...

get stuck into the Yank ships

Monday morning...

the Jap Major

won't be looking for us anymore.

Right?

He couldn't care less where we are then.

We can just lie low for a couple of days...

stroll back into camp...

and nobody will say a dickie bird.

What's so bad about that?

I never asked those idiots

to send me out here.

But if I ever get back, it'll be:

"Well done, Hearne.

"Jolly good show.

"Now you can piss off home...

"back to whatever dirty little hole

you came from."

And what are they

gonna do for you, Lieutenant?

Make you the bloody President?

No.

Getting ourselves killed...

isn't going to make any difference

to anybody except us.

Look, Yank...

the last thing that Jap Major

is gonna be looking for...

is us heading north.

So what do you say?

You got any idea how many guys

will get killed on those ships...

if we haven't got the guts

to try and stop them?

Okay, so a couple of hundred Yanks

will get the chop.

- They shouldn't have joined, should they?

- Hundreds?

Thousands.

In any case, it's not the bloody Yanks

you're worried about...

because if their chances

depend on us getting back...

they've just about had it in the first place.

No, what's got you jumping about

like a frog with a bullet up its ass...

is old Fairy Feet Hornsby...

because you reckon you let him down.

And that's the one bloody time

you've been right.

You did.

You might just as well

have killed him yourself.

But getting us killed

isn't gonna make up for that.

So Hornsby is your problem.

And those Yank sailors are your problem.

And if you wanna start playing

bloody heroes...

I've got another problem for you.

I'm not bloody well coming with you.

You forgot your problem.

Me.

I told you before...

one of us has gotta get back there alive.

And if you don't go with me,

I'll have to leave you here.

Dead.

Understood?

Understood.

Just don't forget.

Gentlemen, your time is up!

I shall give you 30 seconds.

If you do not give yourselves up...

I shall be forced to execute

your two comrades.

Let me talk to him.

Listen to me, Lieutenant, please.

You've gotta listen to me.

They're gonna kill us.

Just like they killed Campbell.

Please, Lieutenant, don't let them do it.

Do you really find it so easy to believe

that I would shoot you?

Keep going.

Get up.

There's not much further to go.

How the hell would you know?

There can't be.

No more, thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir.

Get up, you limey son of a b*tch,

or I'll kick your head in!

Get up.

Good morning, again.

You must be very tired.

You have come a long way during the night.

A truly remarkable effort.

Remarkable, but to very little purpose.

Shut up, you slimy yellow nob.

You have moved fast...

but we have moved faster.

You will find that you are now

very near the open field...

that serves as a perimeter to your base.

But some of my men

are already on that perimeter.

In short, you are now totally surrounded.

You are now at the very tip of the funnel

I have talked about so often.

I can understand your determination...

but to give up your lives for an objective...

which cannot be won is a foolish waste.

You have shown yourselves

to be brave soldiers.

It shows us

that you are intelligent ones also.

Give yourselves up and live.

I assure you, the medals they give

to dead heroes are made of brass.

All they do is add weight to your coffin.

You bloody idiot!

Believe me...

your situation is truly hopeless.

All trails leading back into the jungle

are under guard.

This means...

that you can no longer hide...

you can no longer double back

on your tracks.

What's that all about?

Better get the Sergeant Major.

I shall give you three minutes

during which time...

you will wish to confirm for yourselves...

that what I have said is true.

At the end of that time...

you must either surrender or die.

You will fire a single shot to indicate

that you have surrendered.

Or my men will close in and kill.

Stand to!

- What is it?

- Don't know what it is, Sergeant Major.

Get Col. Thompson! Double!

- Get the Color Sergeant.

- Yes, Sergeant Major.

What the hell is it?

- What is it, Sergeant Major?

- I don't know what it is.

I've sent for the old man.

- You better man the weapon pits.

- Right.

Come on, let's have you fast now!

What do you think this is,

Kensington Gardens? Come on!

- Get in with that gun!

- Get in there.

Make sure the men stay back, Sergeant.

You men know the drill!

Keep back!

Stay out of enemy range!

Laid on!

- Morning, sir.

- Morning, Sergeant Major.

- Everything in order?

- Yes, sir.

- Mortars?

- All weapon pits are manned, sir.

Sounds like loudspeakers of some kind.

Got any more bright suggestions?

My patience is growing very short.

He must think we've still got a chance.

- Who must?

- Guchi.

Why are they giving us three minutes?

Why don't they just come and get us?

Yeah.

Why?

I don't know.

Maybe they're spread too thin.

Maybe they're afraid to come in,

for fear of chasing us out in the open.

Yeah, and having to waste

all those bullets to shoot us?

Maybe.

But there's still two of us...

and one of us just might make it.

You now have

only two and a half more minutes.

We could sure use some covering fire.

- Think your guys will be doing anything?

- Yeah.

Having breakfast.

We could use all the help we can get.

Maybe if we fire that shot...

- Why waste a bullet?

- What do you mean?

Fire one shot

and maybe we'll confuse the Japs a bit.

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