"_" "What you got there?" "Joni's first article." "Thought she was a secretary." "She got promoted." "And now she's a reporter." "Yeah, look. "By Joni Conway."" "How cool is that?" "What's a "Big Star"?" "I think it's some band, man." "I thought it was a goddamn grocery store at first." "She need to write about Al Greene." "Man, shut up." "Give me that back." "Thought she was mad at you." "No, she... she's still mad at me." "That's 'cause you're not throwing that ass right." " That's not why she's mad at me." " It is, too." " You ever see Ruth mad at me?" " I see her mad at you all the time." "Yeah, but she don't stay mad." "It's 'cause I throw that ass right." " Marines!" " Cappy-Cap." " Let's go." " Good luck, boys." "Good luck!" "Means you, too, Prewitt." "Come on." "Private, get this shit off here and fuck off." "Let's go." "Let's go, Private." "Move it, come on!" "Ahem, all right, here's what we're gonna do." "We're gonna round up a CAP and we're gonna check out this NVA ammo supply stronghold just outside of Banam, all right?" "It's a little commie shithole called Quan Thang." "I'm gonna need you three guys and Collins and Pizzuti." " Where the fuck are they?" " Hey, Pizzuti!" " Steamboat, come here." " Let's go, move." "Which of these other limp-dicks are worth a shit?" "How many limp-dicks you want, Captain?" "You know, there's Banks there." "He's solid." "And Baby-Face Strickland right there." "Okay, you grab them." "We leave at 1700." "That's all." "Hey." "Hey, Hall." "You think I'm carrying it?" "Come on." "Conway!" "The fuck?" "You know who I am." "Now put the goddamn gun down." "You need to get the fuck out of here." "I said put the goddamn gun down!" "Put it down!" "Raise your fucking hands!" "You have no idea what the fuck you're walking into, okay?" "You need to listen to what I'm telling you to do." "Yeah, I don't think so." "See, me and you are gonna have a little talk about Cliff Williams..." "No, you need to get the fuck out of here and how he was balls-deep in your wife." "Get the fuck out of here, man." "Hold still, now!" "Hey." "You want in on this?" "It's two-player." "No, I'm good." "Suit yourself." "The future is bright, Quarry." "You got here just in time for the special delivery." "Come on." "You sure we should be out in the open like this, huh?" "We'll be gone in short order." "You think this will work?" "This ain't our first production, Quarry." "We never did find out where he bought those pants from, did we?" "Are you feeling bad about the good detective?" "I think he should've left well enough alone." "Well, put it this way... you had a problem, you found a solution." "Karl!" " What's the hold up?" " Ah, fuck!" "You got a problem, Buddy?" "I just need a second." "You done good, son." "Done good." "I was a little surprised by the invite." "Well, we got business." "Did you know Faulkner drank Four Roses?" "Who's that, now?" "William Faulkner." "Oh, no." "No, I didn't know that." "Oh, hey, I found something." "I admire how far you've come in such a short time over there." "They keep me busy." "Well, I try to keep an eye out." "Your Brooks Museum article a few weeks back was very well done." "Well, thank you, Susan." "It means a lot." "Remember these?" "Mm!" "Yeah." "Mom's." "Yeah, I found them when I was cleaning out the attic." "I know y'all used to listen to them together whenever I was away." "Yeah, well, she knew how much you hated it." "I was always more of a Hank Williams/ Roy Acuff man myself." "Thanks for having us over." " I know it means a lot to Mac." " Of course." "We've been meaning to have you both over for a while now." " Here we are." " Here we go." "Oh." " Oh, my, look at this." " There you are, sweetie." "Well, it took some finagling, but, uh, I think these people have access to a lot of disposable income." "Parents are helping them." "I was able to get them to see the benefits of an all-cash offer." "Cash?" "Does that mean we can get the money quicker?" "Well, um," "I know a guy that could arrange for the inspection tomorrow." "Assuming that there are no major repairs that they want done, no reason why you couldn't close next week." "You could have the money a week from now, top of the following at the latest." "And who... who are they?" "A younger couple." "About y'all's age." "Got a little girl." "Another one on the way, I believe, but they were very excited about the pool." "Yeah, well, Mac's handiwork paid off." "Well, we don't need to tell them that." "Where will you be relocating?" "We haven't, uh... we haven't talked about that part yet." "Well, you know, the flipside of closing quick is that you gotta get out and soon." " How soon?" " Couple weeks after we close." "But will you be staying in Memphis, though, or..." "Oh, who knows?" "Maybe we'll shack up with y'all till we find a place." "There's nothing wrong with the pool." "You said, "They don't need to know that,"" "like there's something wrong with how he built the pool." " Oh, no, I just..." " The pool probably sold the house." "Of course." "I just meant it wasn't professionally installed." " Well, the pool is perfect." " Well, I like the pool," " but you just don't want people..." " It's okay, Dad." "Joni, come on." "I can't..." "I can't do this." " What?" " Uh, I can't..." "I can't do this." "What's going on?" "I can't sell the house." "I'm sorry, Lloyd." "Sweetheart, maybe you didn't hear me." "This is a cash offer at asking price." "Not gonna get better, not in that neighborhood." " Hey, I thought this is what you wanted." " I know, I thought I did." "I thought it was the only way, but I can't do it." "I'm sorry." " It's our home." " Okay." " I'm sorry, Lloyd." " You've gotta be shitting me." " Hey, Dad, just calm down." " Y'all got no idea what I went through to sell them on that deal." " Dad, please." "Come on." " For no commission." "No, y'all got to get your shit together." " I mean it." "And pardon me for saying so." " I said that I was sorry." " I thought I could do it." " Oh, my God." "They're just looking for a handout." "A handout?" "Well, that is what this charade is all about, isn't it?" "Wasting everyone's time." "You want us to give you money." "If you had any idea what he's been through since he got home..." " No, Joni." "Joni, don't." " He doesn't need a handout." "He needs help." "Yeah, I imagine it's pretty hard on a war criminal." " Wow." " Okay." " Okay, okay." " No, you know what?" "He needed us." "He still does and we weren't there for him." "I wasn't and you weren't." "And you!" "You won't even let him see his own father?" " Oh, spare me." " All right, Joni." "Hey, we're gonna go." " Listen, can we all just take a breath?" " No." "Dad." " Mac, can y'all sit back down?" " We're gonna go." " Let's go." " Please?" "How much?" "How much?" "Lloyd says you asked him to borrow $4,000, is that right, Mac?" "Honey, please?" " Can you..." " All right." "You take this check... you cash it, and then we don't ever have to see or deal with you two ever again." " Why are you so mean to him?" " Because he's a disgrace!" "Here you are." "Come on." " 32, 33, 34..." " It's all there, Joni." "...35, 36, 37, 38, four." "How many times you gonna count it, honey?" "Just doesn't look like enough, does it?" "Well, money's never as big as people think." "Is this really gonna be over?" "When do we talk to him?" "Hello?" "I understand you've been trying to get a hold of me." "Yeah, I've got your money." " Is that right?" " Well, what's left of what I owe you." "Guess the open house was a success." "Look, you just meet me so I can give you your money." "Today's no good." "Well, I got 4,000 reasons that you're gonna make it good." "Hey, that's my line." "Tomorrow night, Chickasaw bar, 6:00 PM." "We'll raise a glass to democracy." "No, I don't want a drink, okay?" "I just wanna give you your money." "If you don't want a drink, maybe we can have coffee." "Okay, fine." "Tomorrow it is." "See you then, Quarry." "Quarry?" "What if it's a trap?" "Well, it's a public place." "Just don't even stay for a drink, okay?" "Just give him the money and go." "I plan to do exactly that." "Then this will all be over." " Bullshit." " I could, man." " You ever done it?" " No, never had a reason." "You cannot swim across the Mississippi River." "Tennessee High School state record in the 400 that stands to this day says that I could." "Can't be that fucking hard to swim across a river, man." "If it's anything like this gook piss, I could do laps." "We ain't talking about some little-ass creek." "We're talking about the Big Muddy." "And every year on the news, some stupid motherfucker pulled out of that river either right before he drowns or after." "Once that current gets a hold of you, you done." "Listen, man, I'll tell you what." "We get back to Memphis," "I bet you 100 bucks I can do it." " Done." " Done." "Steamboat." " Witnessed." " There it is." "I'll be on the other side waving at your dumb ass being swept down to Sugar Ditch." "You just make sure you're on the other side with my hundred dollars." "Yeah." "You did not fuck no girl with no true vagina." "You don't have to believe me." "I know what I stuck my dick in." "Sergeant Conway!" "Fall back." "Corporal." "All right, take point." "Yes, sir?" "This is your second tour, right, Conway?" "Yes, sir." "What about your friend Solomon?" "Him, too, yeah." "I see you got the second tour sideburns." "Yeah, that's what you get when you re-up, right?" "Come back and fight, they'll let you grow a mustache." "Well, you get this far out in the bush, they let you do whatever the fuck you want, I suppose." "Yeah, just wait till you see what I look like when I'm up for my DEROS." "How long you got?" "152 days and a wake-up." "You don't sound too excited about that." "Of course, a lot of men not coming back for encores." "That a question, Cap?" "Observation, mostly." "You see, you and Solomon there are cut from a different cloth than these other mooks." "That's why I wanted you guys on this." "Yes, sir." "Let me ask you something, Conway." "You believe what we're fighting for is a worthy cause?" "Depends on what you think we're fighting for, Captain." "Well, what do you believe that is?" "Prevent the spread of Communism." "Right, well, we secure this gook stockpile in Quan Thang, we secure the lives and safety of hundreds of Marines, maybe thousands." "Now, you believe that's worth something fighting for?" "Yes, sir, Captain, I do." "All right." "Whoa, whoa." "That can't be more than two klicks away, Captain." "Keep moving." "This ain't our problem." "Move!" "Let's go, T-bone!" "You heard the captain." "Move!" " Mr. Conway?" " Hello." "Hi." "Take a seat." "Hmm." "So, you got a passion for pools." "A pool passion." "Pool passion, pool passion, pool passion." "Can't say that 10 times fast, right?" "Yeah." "Yes, sir, I do." "Oh, please, call me Pete." "Mm-hmm." "Says here you got a lot of experience working on cars." " Mm-hmm." " What've you been up to the last few years?" "I went back to school some and traveled." " That... that sort of thing." " Mm-hmm." "Well, what do you know about pools?" "Well, I was a swimmer in high school and I was a state champion for 400 meter freestyle." " Is that right?" " I've spent some time in pools." "And I built my own pool in my backyard." " Really?" " Mm-hmm." "It seems odd selling pools this time of year." "That's not that I don't want the job." "Oh, it's a fair question." "Honestly, probably my best quarter every year." " Really?" " Yeah, without fail." "End of the year bonuses, family Christmas present." ""Get started now, be ready for the springtime."" "Works wonders." "Uh... so, uh, do... do you read the papers?" "What, newspapers?" "Sports sections, mostly." " Why?" " Uh, your... your ad was..." "I saw it in "Pr"..." "you know, "Scimitar."" " And my wife works for the paper." " Is that right?" " Yeah, she's a writer." " Well, I'll be darned." "Well," "I definitely understand you love swimming." "Be nice if you had a little more experience in sales." "But like I said, it's a busy time of year." "Oh, you got some?" "You want some more macaroni and cheese?" " Sure." " Lots more." " All right." "Mm." " Okay, you can rinse off now and come sit at the table." "This is a lot fancier than you said it was gonna be." "Well, I really go all out when we have company." "Tell me about it." "Nobody bought me flowers before." "Oh, they still haven't 'cause those are mine courtesy of my sweet, thoughtful son." "Oh, yeah?" "Well done, little man." "That's how you're supposed to treat your ladies, especially your mama." " And he fixed the TV." " Is that right?" "Mm-hmm." "Marcus has been doing some yard work in the neighborhood." "Eat your food, baby." "Can I be excused?" "We just sat down." "It's like that?" "You won't break bread with me, man?" "I'm just not that hungry." "Well, we have company, so sit down and eat." "Ah, got a new ball." "I did some yard work for some people." "Oh, yeah?" "What kind of yard work?" "You know, raking leaves, mostly." "Yeah?" "Flowers for your mama, new TV antenna." "You're a regular man of the house, ain't you?" "Well, I had some birthday money, too." "Yeah, you got that hustle in you." "That's good." "Keep that." "Your mama wants you in the house." "Said it's time for bed." "Hey." "Don't lose that now." "You worked hard for it." "You got the job?" "Baby!" "Damn!" "All right." "All right." "If I'd have known it was gonna be like this," "I would've..." "I would've been applying all over town." "Baby... we're celebrating." "No, no, hey, there's nothing to celebrate yet 'cause it's commission-based, so unless I sell, I don't earn." "Well, you're gonna sell and we're gonna celebrate." "Gotta get you some new shirts and ties." " I have shirts and ties." " New ones." "Yeah, all right." "Whatever you say." "What?" "Nothing." "I'm just so proud of you." "You're gonna be proud when I can actually pay a bill." "Mm, hey." "Come on, we're going out." "♪ I count the corpses on my left ♪" "♪ I find I'm not so tidy ♪" "♪ So I better get away ♪" "♪ Better make it today ♪" "♪ I've cut 23 down since Friday ♪" "♪ But I ♪" "♪ Can't control it ♪" "♪ My face is drawn ♪" "♪ My instinct still emotes it ♪" "♪ I fought them cold ♪" "♪ I'll kill them dead ♪" "♪ I'll break the gooks ♪" "♪ I'll crack their heads ♪" "♪ I'll slice them till they're running red ♪" "♪ But now I've got the running gun blues... ♪" "♪ I'll slice them cold, I'll kill them dead ♪" "♪ I'll break the gooks, I'll crack their heads ♪" "♪ I'll slice them till they're running red ♪" "♪ But now I've got the running gun blues ♪" "♪ Ah ♪" "♪ Ah ♪" "♪ Ah ♪" "♪ Ah ♪" "♪ Ah... ♪" "What the fucking fuck, man?" "!" " Mac." "Mac!" " Bro." "Uh..." "Mac?" "I'm sorry, baby." " Hey, no." " I'm sorry." "I thought..." " Stop." " I'm sorry." " I'm sorry." " It's okay, Mac." " I'm sorry." " Hey." "Your eyes on the ground." "Eyes on the ground." "Pizzuti, Redbury, up here now." "Move." "I want you in the first door, go." " I want you in the second door." "Clear it out." " Yes, sir." "Banks, you go in the other tunnel." " Corporal, you're with me." " Yes, sir." "This place smells like five kinds of asshole." "And if there's one thing you know, it's all the different kinds of asshole." "I don't know gook asshole." "Captain!" "Y'all leave this alone." " Let's go." " Sir?" "I said leave it be." "Whole thing's close by." "Let's go." "_" "_" "What you got, Marine?" "Don't you fucking touch that." "What is it?" "Some kind of gook Halloween mask." "Fuck, Conway." "Almost made me soil myself." "Hey, Captain!" "We're all clear!" "They down?" "Finally." "And thank you for dinner." "You'll have to let me take you out next time." "I'd like that." "Hey." "Look at me." "I know what you're going through." "And it ain't easy." "But you're making the best of it." "You know, it's strange." "After his first tour," "Arthur almost took a job in Florida." "Reenlisted instead." "I spent so many nights since he died wondering what would it have been like if he'd taken that job." "What would it feel like waking up in that house?" "Would we have got a dog for the kids?" "Maybe even had another baby." "But then I realize that... this is where we are." "And this is what's happened." "There's no making the best of something so... so awful." "There's just realizing that the best you can do... try and endure it, I suppose." "Hope it's better for them." "Well, that was a mood killer." " It's okay." " I don't know where that came from." "I understand." "All right?" "You've been through it." "Okay, okay, okay, w-wait." " What?" " Wait." "Stop." "I thought I was ready." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." " Okay." " I'm sorry." "Okay." "Of course." " I got a little carried away." " No, no, no." "Stop it." "I kissed you." "I just..." "I should, uh..." "I should go." "You shouldn't." "Can we just... lay here for..." "Would that be all right?" "Yeah." "Not a sound, you understand?" "Do you understand?" "The money, where is it?" "Don't fucking lie to me, son." "Point to it." "Clever little nigger." "I didn't steal it from nobody." "I know." "Your mama don't know nothing about this, does she?" "Think it wouldn't be in no football helmet if she did." "This all of it minus your new basketball and them flowers?" "Okay." "What happened to your daddy?" "He got shot." "That's right." "Right here." "Right here." "Now, I want you to listen to me." "You not gonna tell nobody about this money or this little talk of ours." "Not your mama, not your auntie, not your little sister right there, not them white folks that keep coming around." "Nobody." "'Cause if you do, if you say anything to anyone, what happened to your daddy... that's gonna happen to your auntie and your mama and your little sister and you." "You get me?" "Attention, attention." "Veterans Affairs will be closing two hours early today to allow our employees the opportunity to vote." "I repeat, Veterans Affairs will be closing two hours early." "Thank you." " Hey, excuse me." " I was here before them." "You kidding me?" " Where'd you get it?" " Over... over there." "Thank you." "Hey." "Here you are." "Oh, thank you." " Last name?" " Wochinski." "_" "_" "I'm afraid I don't follow." "Is this about his insurance?" "No, there's something wrong with him." "Is he sick?" "He soaks the sheets with sweat at night." "He has waking nightmares." "He'll have a burst of anger and then, like that, he's fine." "It sounds like he's having a period of readjustment." "We see it with a lot of vets." "Okay, well, is there something you can do for him?" "Is there anyone he can talk to?" "You know what?" "I think I have something that'll help." "Thank you." "Um, when did he get back?" "This summer." " Two tours." " Well, I understand." "Oh, here." "This should give you some answers." " And that's it?" " What else were you thinking?" "Something that wasn't passed out after Gettysburg, for starters." " Ma'am..." " You don't understand." "Something happened to him over there and I'm telling you he needs help," " and you give me this?" "!" " You need to lower your voice!" "Ma'am, your husband, he have both his arms?" " Yes." " Both his legs?" "Now, take a look around this room." "Your husband's having trouble sleeping, ma'am." "Tell him we thank him for his service." "We have been able to project three states." "They give Mr. Nixon 32 electoral votes." "Oh, Lordy." "McGovern don't have the juice." "We needed a Kennedy." "Them Kennedy boys could preach the horns off a billy goat." "Of course, the government makes sure everybody worth a shit gonna be dead." "...keep you up to date all night on the popular vote as you've just seen." "The three states are Tennessee, where we..." "What's the matter, honey?" "You don't look good." "We... when I was a kid, what'd you... what'd you always call me?" "I called you my little miracle." "That's what I called you." "Your little miracle." "We're both miracles, Mama." "Everybody... everybody had to survive going back millions of years." "Not get hit by a comet or eaten." "Or get the fucking plague." "And they found somebody and fell in love, and then made a baby... that would make a baby and a baby and a baby and a baby and a baby that would make you." "Mm-hmm." "And then you and Daddy made me." "That's right." "And what am I doing with it, Mama?" "What am I doing with it?" "Baby, I'm trying to understand what you're telling me and I'm..." "I'm having a little trouble following." "Are you saying you want to have a baby?" "Is that what you wanna do?" "No, no, no, no." "Don't worry about it." "It's fine." "Hey, come on, now." "Where are you going?" "I'm just fine." "I'm gonna..." " I'm just gonna be clearing my head is all." " No." "Come on, now." "I want you to come sit back down." " I don't want you going out." " It's fine, Mama." "No." "You're in no shape to go out now." "What we got here?" "All we know is these soulless little fuckers got C-4 strapped to water buffalo." "All right, you get in there, Conway, and you kill anything that moves, you understand me?" " Yes, sir." " Intel says these are NVA allies and there are gonna be NVA among them." "They got a cross, though, Captain." "They're Catholic." "Yeah?" "Horseshit." "If you're a goddamn gook Communist sympathizer and you don't want the American Army coming down here to kill you, what's the first thing you're gonna do?" "We'll go with the intel, not some bamboo cross, if you don't mind, Corporal." "Strickland, get your ass up here!" " Sir, yes, sir." " What are you packing, son?" "I got six gallons of earth-scorching, dragon-breathing, gook-melting destruction strapped to my back." "If I'm not the goddamn God of Fire himself." "How about you be the God of Shut the Fuck Up and you keep that shit away from the tree line, you understand?" "You have it contained to the huts on my orders." "Fire don't work that way, Captain." "Well, you make it work that way, son, okay?" "You start in the hooches." "Now, there might be ammo and actual VC hidden in those walls." "The first sign of any rat-fucking thing, you fire, then you ask questions." " Are we clear?" " Yes, sir." "Fall back, fan out, let's go." "Come on." " Are you ready?" " Yep." "On my signals." "Let's go." "He's going for something." "Mac!" "He's going for something." "Move!" "Get the fuck away!" "Move!" "Move!" "Move, move, move, move!" " Hey, you stay back!" " Step away, you gook bitch!" "Step the fuck away!" "Step away!" " Oh, shit!" " Step back!" "Fuck, Cap." "Where the fuck are we going?" "Take cover!" " VC!" " Take cover, cover!" "Get down!" "Near the tree line!" "Near the tree line!" "Go, go, move it!" "See those two going left around the hooch?" " Go left, go left!" " The hell them things get up to anyway?" "If you don't get them before they climb out, he'll be stuck out there." "All right, I'll flush them out." "Oh, shit!" "Stay there!" "Banks, get over here!" "Get your fuckin' ass over here, Banks, now!" "Where the fuck did that come from?" "Fuck!" "God damn it." "Come on!" "Fuck!" " I got shot." " Oh, shit!" "Fuck!" "Come on!" "Get over..." "Banks!" "You're fucking out of here, Banks!" "You're fucking..." "Fuck." "Aw, there's a fuckin' lake." "Let's go." "Come on, let's go." "Let's go." "Come on, Art!" "Bravo-Delta 1-9, this is Foxtrot 7." "Verify..." "Bravo-Delta 1-9, we are inbound to your location, over." "Reload." "What the fuck are you doing, Prewitt?" "Did I tell you to call in air support, you fuck?" "Strickland, light up the fucking hooches!" "Do it!" "Light up the fucking hooches!" "All right, let's go!" "Move!" "Fuck!" "Get the fuck out of the way!" " Go!" " Man down!" "Man down!" "Arthur, get over here!" "Get over here!" "You all right, man?" "All right, look." "I'm gonna go around hooch right, all right?" "Yeah." "I'm gonna flush them out left." " You gonna get them." " Copy." " Okay?" "Get ready." "Get ready." " Yeah." "Yeah." " Are you ready?" " Oh." "Come on!" " I got you." " Give it to me." "Coming fire." "Come on." "Motherfucker." "Get down!" "Get the fuck down!" "Fuck!" "Motherfuck." "Fuck you, you fuck!" "You fucking shit." "You fuckin' pull my knife?" "You fuckin' pull my knife?" "You fuckin' pull my knife?" "Fucker!" "Torch the fuckin' thing!" "Get the fuck back." "Get the fuck back." "Arthur." "Come on!" " All right, here we go." " Come on, get up!" "Move in." "Jesus Christ!" "You want fuckin' some of this?" "Cease-fire!" "Cease-fuckin'-fire!" "Cease-fire, Conway!" "Cease-fuckin'-fire!" " We got napalm!" "Everyone down!" " Take cover!" "Cover!" "Fuck!" "Fuck." "♪ ...all my ribbons ♪" "♪ For thee... ♪" "♪ If I ♪" "♪ If I have been unkind ♪" "♪ I hope you ♪" "♪ Would just let it go by ♪" " ♪ If I... ♪" " What can I get you, son?" " ♪ If I have been untrue... ♪" " Whiskey neat, please." "All right." "♪ I hope you know ♪" "♪ It was never to you... ♪" "Oh, thank you." "Whiskey, neat?" "Here you go, son." "♪ Stillborn ♪" "♪ Like a beast... ♪" " Ho-ho!" " ♪ With his horn ♪" "♪ I have torn ♪" "♪ Everyone... ♪" " ♪ Who reached out to me... ♪" " Conway." "Long time, James." "I thought you lived in Minneapolis or some shit." "Close." "Well, hell, son." "You can buy your captain a beer." "You, um... what are you doing here?" " I'm meeting somebody." " No, I mean in Memphis." "What are you... what are you doing in Memphis?" "Well, I got business in Memphis, which ain't none of yours." "And you can call me Captain." "Yeah, all right." "Okay." "All right, James." "Man, you always had more balls than sense, Conway." "So," "Memphis." "How can you stand this shithole?" "Well, it's not for everybody." "Well, what the hell happened here?" "Was it killing King?" "Christ." "You might as well kill all the rest of them, far as I'm concerned." "Take back your city." "What kind of business you, uh... you got here, hmm?" "You a nosy son of a bitch, you know that?" "Yeah, well, you always said" "I had more balls than sense, so..." "Well, I did someone a favor." "It was a big favor." "And I put my ass on the line and I'm owed something for what I done." "We're all owed something, I suppose." "So... what do you do for a job these days?" "I'm, uh... sell pools." "I'm a pool salesman." "Why?" "You, uh... you in the market?" " Pools?" " Yeah, that's right." "Pools." "No." "But someone actually fucking hired you, right?" "Yeah, that's right." "After all the press and everything." "Well, I'll be damned." "Now, tell me, you sell many pools here in November?" "Yeah, it's actually our busiest season." "Oh, shit." "Well, I did not know that I was dining with the John D. Rockefeller of pool boys." "See, I can't find a job to save my life." "Mm." "Fucking Hall Prewitt." "Scrawny-ass son of a bitch wants to sell his own brothers down the river 'cause we followed our orders." " We did our mission." " Oh, yeah." "Yeah, is that what they call it, James?" "Hmm?" "Well, you know what I hear?" "I hear that Westmoreland's gearing up for another Operation Linebacker." "Nixon gets reelected, we can all go back there, right?" "Well..." "I hear peace is finally at hand." "Well, I'll believe that shit when I see it." "Mm-hmm." "Christ Almighty, I wish I was still back there." "Get drunk... gamble some, and chase the trim." "None of that comes close, though, to being in it, does it?" "Not by a million miles." "Hey." "You ever hear from Prewitt?" "Or that mouthy nigger Solomon?" "Hey, James?" "It wasn't an NVA stronghold." "It was a fishing village with farmers, women, children." "Jesus fucking Christ Almighty, Conway." "And I'm not some snot-nosed journalist or a fucking hippie protestor okay, James?" "I was there." "I know what you did." "And I know what you did." "Well, I'm gonna go make that call." "But I'll tell you what." "You ever find yourself up in Cleveland... you give me a call and I'll make sure" "I'll show you better hospitality than you've shown me here tonight." "I'll see you later, Conway." "Get on your feet, you little gook fucker." "On your knees." "Get up on your knees." "Knees!" "On your fucking knees." "Shut the fuck up!" "Private Prewitt, get over here." "Yes, sir." "Did I give you an order to call an airstrike?" " No, sir." " No, sir." "Execute this Vietcong combatant." " That man ain't no VC." " You shut the fuck up, too, Solomon." "Are you going to obey orders or not, Prewitt?" " Sir, I don't..." " You called in an airstrike without orders, didn't you?" " I'm an RTO..." " What the hell you think happens when you do that?" "!" "People die!" "Take it." "Now, you wanna do the humane thing?" "You shoot this little fucker right in the head." "I care." " Sir, I can't." " Execute the fucking combatant, Private!" "Save my life." "Please." "Do it!" "Sir, don't hurt." "You do this, Prewitt, or I swear to fucking Christ" "I'm gonna kill you myself." "I'm sorry." "Now, his insubordination could've got us all killed." "A good thing this pier place was overrun." "There were three VC." " What did you say, Conway?" " I said there were three VC, Cap." "Bullshit!" "There's at least 20 VC right there!" "21, thanks to Prewitt, and a dozen over there in that bunker." "There ain't no weapons here, Captain." "Some fishing and farming supplies, but that's it." "Oh, they're here, Corporal." "You believe me." "Get in over there and you count the dead dinks, go." "Move!" "Give me the gun, Prewitt." "Hello, we are not available now." "Please leave your name and number after the..." "Fuck off, Conway." "Motherfucker!" "Motherfuck..." "Try to pull a knife on me?" "!" "Fuck it, I don't need no fuckin'..." "Fuck!" "Fuck." "Move!" "Come here!" "_" "Hello there." "Hey." "How's your evening?" "It's lovely." "How's yours?" "Can't complain." "Reckon nobody would listen anyway." " No, no, no." "Easy now." " What?" "What?" "Don't do that." "Don't do that." "I'm nervous, I guess." " Oh." " Let me look at you." "What you got there?" "Oh, it's my tattoo." "Well, this is cozy." "This is my buddy Mike." " Hey, baby." " Hello." "Come on." "Huh?" "I think he does like it rough." " Hey, come here." " Sit up, pretty." " Huh?" " Come on, pretty." "Sit up." "Sit up." "Oh, come here." "You ain't done yet." "What you think, Mike?" "I think his mouth is too small." "I don't think my dick will fit in there." "Oh, what you got, huh?" "What you got?" "Pulling your dick out?" "What are you reaching for?" "What are you reaching for, faggot?" "Holy shit." "What were you gonna do with that, huh?" " Get his fucking wallet." "Get his fucking wallet." " Look it here." " Look it here." " Holy shit." "Holy fucking shit." "Holy shit." "This motherfucker's loaded." " How much?" " Two, 300, easy." " Fucking rich faggot." " Look at me." "Huh?" "Huh?" "No." " No, no, no." " Shut the fuck up." "No." "Let's get the fuck out of here." "Money honey." "Hello?" "Limestone quarry." "Mile marker 97, 10:00 PM." "You got it?" "I do." "I'm impressed by your sense of poetry." "That's the rest of it." "Tough day at the polls?" "Ran into an old friend, but you already knew that." "Well, I figured you and the old captain could stand to clear the air." "Something needed to happen to offset your past." "Going by the look of you, I'd say I figured right." "So that's it." "Okay?" "You and I, we're good." "Got something for you." "What the fuck is this?" "For the next job." "I thought I was free to go." "You are." "You are." "That was my promise." "Now, I just figured maybe... you don't want to." "Good-bye," "Mr., um The Broker, whatever." "Hey!" "Who does a fellow like you vote for?" "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." "I wrote someone in." "Who?" "The late, great Otis Redding." "Well, yeah, bold choice." "Well, you know, I figured he's just as likely to do anything worth a shit as the other two, so..." "Who did you vote for?" "I ain't voted since Truman." "Come on, you're telling me that the last guy that you voted for dropped the atomic bomb?" "Twice." "See, now that figures." "You miss it?" "What's that?" "War." "Every goddamn day." "So, who says you have to give it up?" "Here." "Sent them back to the barracks." "Let me show you something." "Looks like it went well." "Well, more of them died than us." "One sergeant alone took out a dozen." "And them son of a bitches what was running the place." "He's a kid named Conway." "He's a good soldier." "So what do you think?" "I think it's the most beautiful thing I ever seen." "They really make heroin from that?" "Yes, they can." "If you say so." "Long as I get paid." "You'll get paid, Captain." "You will get paid." "...with 442 electoral votes, far more than he needs to win." "Oh, Jesus, Sebastian!" "What in the name of God?" "!" "Honey, I got to get help for you." "I got to call an ambulance." "Jesus!" "Jesus!" "Oh!" "Oh, honey." "Here, here." "Here, now." "Oh, oh." "...uh, we can see the dimensions of Mr. Nixon's landslide tonight." " John?" " There is Sioux Falls and George McGovern" " entering his headquarters at this moment." " _" "Mrs. McGovern with him..." "Eleanor McGovern." "Thank you very much." "I'm here among my friends in South Dakota where this campaign began almost 22 months ago." "It's..." "And, uh, we now... we now bring it to an end tonight, and I have just sent the following telegram to President Nixon." ""Congratulations on your victory." "I hope that in the next four years, you will lead us to a time of peace abroad and justice at home." "You have my full support in such efforts with best wishes to you and your gracious wife, Pat." "Sincerely, George McGovern."" "The first presidential concession that I remember hearing was that of Adlai Stevenson in 1952." "He recalled the old Lincoln story of the boy who had stubbed his toe in the dark." "And when the lad was asked how it felt, he replied, "Well, it hurts too much to laugh, but I'm too old to cry."" "_"