Platoon
Lerner groans. A fresh burst of AK fire rakes the area. Lerner jerks spasmodically with the impact of the rounds.
Chris spots the sniper. In a hole in the ground. Twenty-five meters off. Snapping the magazine out of his AK to reload. A live gook.
Chris tears off a volley at him but the gook disappears in the hole. This is the moement, Chris realizes it, it’s now or never if Chris intends to get the gook. He’s got to make a move before the man has reloaded his weapon.
He pulls his grenade, pops the pin. He lets the spoon fly off, activating the grenade-timer, as he humps to his feet and runs for the gook hole, concentrating, concentrating. That head is going to pop up any second with a freshly-loaded weapon and tear his head off.
Chris won’t make it back to the hole. The throw has to be perfect. He won’t get another chance. He heaves the frag, drops and rolls away. The throw is perfect, the golden arc of flight from the outfield nailing the baserunner. It twists cleanly in the hole. The explosion muffled but deadly.
Chris scrambles to his feet, a look of almost total surprise on his face. He can’t seem to believe he did it. Pointing his M-16 before him, he advances on the hole, looking over the muzzle to see the badly-mangled NVA man twisted at the bottom.
Chris hurries over to Lerner. He’s in bad shape, hit in several places, vaguely conscious.
CHRIS (CONT’D) Gator! Gator! (Lerner groans) I’m gonna get you out man. You’re gonna be okay Gator … okay?
Fu Sheng laying out fire to protect them, Harold splitting off to get more ammo.
Chris getting Lerner to his feet, hauling him back with all his strength, past Francis …
EXT. JUNGLE – WOLFE’S POSITION – DAY (RAIN)
Lt.Wolfe seems disorientated, struggling with the rain water washing off his map, trying to read the coordinates for an arty fire mission.
WOLFE (into the radio) Redleg, Redleg … Ripper Bravo Two Actual. Fire mission. Grid six-four-niner … four-zero-two. Direction six-one-zero-zero. Dinks dug in bunkers. Danger close. Adjust fire, over …
RADIO VOICE Rog, Two Bravo. Solid copy, stand by for shot, out.
ACE Sir, Bravo Three is inbound from the Sierra Whiskey. Should be here in two zero mikes if’n they don’ hit any shit.
WOLFE Fuckin’ A!
Elias runs up to him. Fire all around, incoming and outgoing, makes them yell to each other.
ELIAS Lootenant, they’re kickin our ass, they know we’re gonna bring heavy shit on ’em pretty soon so they’re gonna get in tight under the arty. I spotted a cut running around to the left. Lemme take some men and roll up that flank .. (pointing) I can work right up on ’em …
Wolfe unsure, looks up for the artillery.
WOLFE (to Ace) Get me Barnes … I don’t know ‘Lias, we got four down up there, if I split you off, we …
Elias grabs a stick, urgent, starts drawing their position in the dirt for Wolfe.
ELIAS Look, Lootenant …
Wolfe looks up, relieved as Barnes splashes into the CP group. Thunder peals.
BARNES (yelling at Wolfe and Ace) Where the fuck is red platoon! Tell ’em to get their asses up here! What the fuck you doin’ back here Elias? Round up your assholes and move ’em up front, we’re getting chopped to shit.
ELIAS (yelling back) Barnes, listen to me … there’s 5-6 spiderholes back there (points) next to the church. (draws it into the ground as he talks) Third Platoon’s coming up the stream to reinforce us. Flank’s wide open, dinks get 3-4 snipers in these holes, when Third Platoon comes up, they’ll get us in a crossfire with ’em. We’ll shoot each other to shit, then they’ll hit us with everything they got. It’ll be a massacre!
Barnes looking at the drawing.
WOLFE Sounds pretty far out to me ‘Lias.
ELIAS Maybe but I seen it happen at Ia Drang in ’66, First Cavalry and they cut us to fuckin’ pieces! (back to Barnes) Give me three men, if I’m wrong, I can still roll up that flank.
BARNES
(a look) Take off, but keep your radio here.
Elias goes, stops, looks at Barnes …
ELIAS … You keep pouring out that suppressing fire, Barnes. I don’t wanna be caught out there with my ass hanging out you hear me?
BARNES Don’t tell me how to fight this fucking war, ‘Lias, you go crying to fucking brigade on your time. Out here you belong to me. Now move.
A look. Elias goes fast. More thunder peals. As the 155mm howitzers – sounding like deep tom-toms some three miles distant – beat out their shells. An ominous sound. Closer.
ACE Sir! Shot out. Arty’s on the way!
BARNES (hurrying back to the front) Get that asshole O’Neill up here willya!
EXT. JUNGLE – FU SHENG’S POSITION – DAY
Fu Sheng is laying out fire when he senses something, looks up. The artillery shell sounds too close. Getting bigger and bigger on the horizon. Too big, too loud. A groan of fear on his face, then knowledge. Then … a huge EXPLOSION engulfs him.
EXT. JUNGLE – HAROLD’S POSITION – DAY (RAIN)
BIG HAROLD Short round! It’s short, man! They fuckin’ got Fu Sheng! BARNES! OVER HERE!
EXT. JUNGLE – DAY (RAIN)
Barnes hearing it, starts forward. Another huge shell starting to whistle in on them.
BARNES That fuckin’ idiot!
It explodes. This is about three times the intensity of the RPG. The jungle floor shakes, trees splinter. Barnes is knocked to his knees, rimaces in pain. Hoyt, Barnes’ radio operator, screams out as a fist-sized chunk of hot shrapnel sticks in his back. He’s screeching, frantically trying to shuck the radio from his back, his fatigue shirt smoking.
Barnes jerks the radio off Hoyt’s back, knocks the man to his knees and unsheathes his bayonet. Ripping off the back of his shirt, Barnes sets to digging out the shrapnel.
EXT. MOREHOUSE’S POSITION – DAY (RAIN)
Morehouse is decimated by a third explosion, chunks of shrapnel whirring like battleaxes into the tree trunks.
EXT. JUNGLE – HAROLD’S POSITION – DAY (RAIN)
Big Harold is tearing blindly away from the front, helmet gone, rifle dragging in the mud when he stumbles, sprawling face down. He jumps up, looks back, sees now the wire over which he tripped. It takes a second to register. He shares a look with Bunny who’s already on the ground.
BUNNY Satchel charge! GET DOWN!
Harold goes for the ground the same instant the satchel explodes.
EXT. JUNGLE – CHURCH – DAY (RAIN)
Chris, further back, dumps Lerner with Doc who’s got more than he can handle.
CHRIS Take care of him Doc! Please!
Doc looking at him, a dark look of hopelessness. Lerner is a mess, groaning, reaching for Chris’ hand.
LERNER … don’t … don’t leave me man …
A look between them. Rhah instersecting.
RHAH Taylor – get your ass over here. Move!
CHRIS Hang tough, Gator. Hang in there, man, you’re gonna be OK … just hang on.
Feeling like a liar, peeling the man’s hands off him, leaving him there looking numb. Chris is shaken, Lerner’s blood all over him.
He tears out after Rhah, linking up with Elias and Crawford. Elias motioning them to hurry. Another huge artillery round exploding out to the front.
EXT. JUNGLE – O’NEILL’S POSITION – DAY (RAIN)
Sgt.O’Neill, scared out of his mind, hugging the earth, tries to crawl into a small cut in the ground but finds it occupied by a cringing Junior.
EXT. JUNGLE – WOLFE’S POSITION – DAY (RAIN)
Barnes rushes up out of the forest like Achilles, towering in his rage, at Lieutenant Wolfe, ripping his handset from him as the Lieutenant reads off the coordinates off his map.
BARNES YOU IGNORANT ASSHOLE! – What the fuck coordinates you giving! You killed a bunch of people with that fucked up fire mission! You know that? … ah shit!
Wolfe stares at him, open-mouthed. Disgusted, Barnes hunkers down to read the coordinates from his own map into the handset.
BARNES (CONT’D) Redleg Romeo .. Ripper Bravo Two. Check your fire, check fire, you’re short on our pos! I say again, check your fuckin’ fire! … From Registration point, add one five zero, left five zero, fire for effect!
New incoming fire drowns out Barnes.
EXT. JUNGLE – ELIAS’ POSITION – DAY
Elias – a defiant look on his face – moves fast but cautiously back across the Church landmarks. Chris following then Rhah and Crawford. The RAIN has now settled into a mist hugging the ground.
ELIAS Move it! Move it!
Elias comes to a stop, looks. Behind them we hear the sounds of battle, gauging their distance from the main body.
The spider holes are still empty. But he listens, senses something out there getting closer.
ELIAS (CONT’D) They’re coming …
Chris looking at Rhah. How does he know?
Elias points out an imaginary line across the breaking mist.
ELIAS (CONT’D) Stagger yourselves across this line, shoot anything that moves. They’ll be coming from here.
RHAH (team leader) Gotcha.
ELIAS One of them gets through it’s curtains.
RHAH Where you going?
ELIAS Down along the river ’bout 100 metres, ‘case they try to flank us there. Third Platoon’s coming up on our rear so watch for ’em.
CHRIS I’ll go with you.
ELIAS No … I move faster alone. (a grin)
Elias, his pack stripped, is gone, like a fleet leaf, vanishing into the Jungle.
RHAH (stringing them out) Okay Crawford – over here. Taylor – down twenty yards behind that tree.
EXT. JUNGLE – WOLFE’S POSITION – DAY (MIST)
Barnes has finished correcting the fire mission, hurls the handset back at Wolfe, a wild look in his eyes, studying the incoming fire. Makes a decision.
BARNES Let’s move back, link up with Three. Let the arty do a little work. (to Ace on radio, ignoring Wolfe) Push Two Alpha and Two Charlie. Tell’em to haul ass and re-group at the church. Tell’em NOT to fire. (Ace transmits)
WOLFE What about Elias? We pull back they’ll be cut off. He needs cover fire.
