FADE IN: 74 EXT. HUE CITY RUINS--DAY The LUSTHOG SQUAD on patrol moves slowly in single file, fifteen yards apart, through the ruined, smouldering city. JOKER (voiceouer) Intelligence pa**ed the word down that during the night the N.V.A. had pulled out of our area to positions across the Perfume River. Our squad is sent on patrol to check out the report. 75 INT. BOMBED FACTORY--DAY The patrol moves carefully through the gutted shell of a building. The clink of their gear as they walk sounds loud in the unnatural silence. CRAZY EARL stops to pick up a child's stuffed toy. BANG! The toy triggs a b**by trap, blasting CRAZY EARL across the room. The squad dives for couer. COWBOY Face outboard and take cover! Do it! DOC JAY scurries up to CRAZY EARL, who is unconscious and gives him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. COWBOY scrambles up to them. He looks at CRAZY EARL. Then JOKER runs in. DOC JAY (stops for a second) He aidt gonna make it. COWBOY (to himself) sh**. COWBOY doesn't know, what to do. Then he fumbles for his field radio. COWBOY Hotel One Actual, this is Cowboy! DOC JAY continues the mouth-to-mouth. COWBOY Hotel One Actual, this is Cowboy! MURPHY (o.s.) Hotel One. Over COWBOY Murph, this is Cowboy. Craze is hit. b**by trap. MURPHY (o.s.) Roger. Understand. Wait One. COWBOY looks around edgily. MURPHY (o.s.) You're senior N.C.O. You take charge and continue on with the patrol. Call in at the next checkpoint. Over. COWBOY Roger. Out. COWBOY stares at the radio. He looks scared. He turns to JOKER. COWBOY I'm squad leader. JOKER punches him rea**uringly in the arm. JOKER I'll follow you anywhere, scumbag. DOC JAY stops working over CRAZY EARL and slowly looks up. DOC JAY He's dead. The three men stare at the body. 76 EXT. BURNING FALLEN BUILDING--DAY The squad moves past a burning five-storey building that has collapsed and is lying on its side. DISSOLVE TO: 77 EXT. LOW CONCRETE WALL--DAY EIGHTBALL, on point, studies a map as he walks. Then he slours to a stop and signals to halt the squad. The squad stops ancl crouches down in the rubble. EIGHTBALL gestures for COWBOY to move up. EIGHTBALL (quietly) Cowboy! COWBOY moves up and they kneel behind a low concrete wall. COWBOY What's up? EIGHTBALL I think we made a mistake at the last checkpoint. He shows COWBOY the map. EIGHTBALL Here ... see what you think. I think we're here and we should be here. COWBOY studies the map. COWBOY We're here? EIGHTBALL Yeah. COWBOY We should be here? EIGHTBALL Yeah ...yeah ... that's right. COWBOY is confused and scared. He checks his compa**. Then he peers over the wall through his binoculars. COWBOY looks back nervously at the squacl strung out behind him. COWBOY f** ... What do you think? EIGHTBALL Well, I think we should change direction. EIGHTBALL doesn't sound like he really knows what to do either. COWBOY knows he has to make a decision. COWBOY Okay. We'll change direction. COWBOY motions to the squad to come up. They rattle up and take positions behind the low wall. JOKER What's up? COWBOY Changing direction. JOKER What, are we lost? COWBOY Joker, shut the f** up! COWBOY (to squad) Okay! Listen up! Can you hear me? Adlibs of "Yeah!" COWBOY Okay, we're changing direction. We're heading over that way. COWBOY points over the wall to some ruined buildings across an open space to their Left. COWBOY Eightball's gonna go out and see if he can find a way through. EIGHTBALL shrugs, apprehensiuely. COWBOY Got it? Adlibs of "Yeah!" COWBOY Eightball ... let's dance. EIGHTBALL slowly gets to his Knees and peers over the wall. EIGHTBALL Put a n******g behind the trigger. 78 EXT. RUINED STREET HUE--DAY EIGHTBALL climbs over the low wall and moves cautiously out into the open, heading for the damaged buildings. The squad covers him. EIGHTBALL reaches the buildings and stops to study the smoke-filled square. 79 SNIPER P.O.V. -- DAY P.O.V. from a concealed position on the second floor of a building on the square, an AK-47 rifle is slowly raised and aimed at EIGHTBALL. EIGHTBALL turns back to wave the rest of the squad up. BANG! The SNIPER fires. EIGHTBALL is hit in the leg. Seen in slow motion, EIGHTBALL twists and crumples to the ground. The LUSTHOG SQUAD fires blindly, wildly, at every door and window in the direction of the shot. COWBOY Okay, cease fire! Cease fire, goddamn it! Some of the squad keep firing. COWBOY Cool it, goddamn it! Cool it! Cease fire! AdLibs of "Cease fire!" The firing stutters to a stop. COWBOY Okay, listen up! Did anybody see a sniper? Did anybody see anything? T.H.E. ROCK (down the line) Did anybody see a sniper? DOC JAY No! DONLON Nothing! RAFTERMAN Negative! T.H.E. ROCK Nothing! Adlibs of "No!" COWBOY Okay, then save your ammo! Nobody fire till I tell you! Seen, in slow, motion, the SNIPER fires again and hits EIGHTBALL in the arm. He screams in pain. The squad opens fire at buildings facing them. COWBOY No, no! Cease fire! Cease fire! Animal, cease fire! Keeping low, DONLON comes up and hands COWBOY the radio. DONLON Cowboy, it's Sergeant Murphy. COWBOY (into radio) This is Cowboy. Over. MURPHY (o.s.) This is Murphy. What is your present position? Over. COWBOY Murph, we're receiving enemy sniper fire. Eightball is down. Our position is about half a klick north of checkpoint four. Believe pos- sible strong enemy force occupying buildings in front of us. Request immediate tank support. Over. MURPHY (o.s.) Roger. Understand. I'll see what I can do. Over. COWBOY Roger. Over and out. COWBOY (to Donlon) Stay close. DONLON Got it. COWBOY thinks hard for a few seconds. COWBOY (to squad) Okay, listen up! I think we're being set up for an ambush. I think there may be strong enemy forces in those buildings over there. I've requested tank support. We're gonna sit tight until it comes, but keep your eyes open. If they decide to hit us, we'll have to pull back fast. The SNIPER fires, wounding EIGHTBALL again, this time in the foot. He shrieks in agony. Again the squad opens fire. COWBOY Goddamn it! Hold! Cease your fire, Mother! Cease your f**ing fire! The firing stops. DOC JAY Cowboy! COWBOY What? DOC JAY We can't leave him out there! COWBOY We're not leaving him! We'll get him when the tank comes up. DOC JAY He's hit three f**ing times! He can't wait that long! COWBOY I've seen this before! That sniper's just trying to s** us in one at a time! The SNIPER fires and hits EIGHTBALL in the thigh. His cries echo across the open space ground. ANIMAL MOTHER fires madly. COWBOY (shouting) Goddamn it! No! The squad continues firing. COWBOY Goddamn it, cease fire! The firing trails off: ANIMAL MOTHER He's out there alone! COWBOY Cease fire! The firing stops. DOC JAY Man, f** this, f** this sh**! I'm going out to bring him in! COWBOY No! You stay the f** down! DOC JAY Cover me! DOC JAY jumps over the wall and, ducking low, zig- zags across the open ground. The squad fires to cover him. DOC JAY gets there safely and momentarily drops out of sight. COWBOY Goddamn it! Goddamn it! Okay, cease fire! He's there! Adlibs of "Cease fire!" 80 SNIPER P.O.V.--DAY DOC JAY, Seen over the sights of the SNIPER's AK-47, drags EIGHTBALL toward cover. 81 EXT. THE SQUARE--DAY The SNIPER fires. DOC JAY is hit and falls next to EIGHTBALL. The squad opens fire again. COWBOY Hold your fire! Hold your fire!!! Cease fire! You can't see the sniper! Save the ammo! Nobody fire till I tell you! Nobody! ANIMAL MOTHER What the f** do we do now, Cowboy? COWBOY Gimme that f**ing radio. DONLON scuttles over with the radio. COWBOY (into radio) Murph? This is Cowboy. Over. MURPHY (o.s.) This is Murphy. Over. COWBOY Murph, we're in some deep sh**. I got two men down. What's the story on that f**ing tank? Over. MURPHY (o.s.) Sorry, Cowboy. No luck so far with the tank. Will advise. Over. COWBOY Roger. Out. (muttering to himself) Numbnut ba*tards! (to the squad) Okay, listen up! T.H.E. ROCK Listen up! COWBOY Can't afford to wait for the tank. I think they're gonna hit us any minute. When they do we won't have time to pull out. We gotta do it now. Let's get ready to move. No one moves or says anything. T.H.E. ROCK Get ready to pull out! ANIMAL MOTHER Wait a minute! Hold it! Hold it! Nobody's pulling out! There's only one f**ing sniper out there! COWBOY Back off, Mother! I'm calling the plays! I say we're pulling out! ANIMAL MOTHER Yeah, well, what about Doc Jay and Eightball? COWBOY I know it's a sh**ty thing to do, but we can't refuse to accept the situation. ANIMAL MOTHER Yeah, well, we're not leaving Doc Jay and Eightball out there! COWBOY Doc Jay and Eightball are wasted! You know that! ANIMAL MOTHER Bullsh**! Come on, you guys! We gotta go bring'em back! Let's go get 'em! Let's do it! COWBOY Stand down, Mother! That's a direct order! ANIMAL MOTHER f** you, Cowboy! f** all you a**holes! ANIMAL MOTHER jumps over the wall and runs screaming and firing his M-60. The squad fires to cover him, blasting chunks of mortar and concrete from the buildings. ANIMAL MOTHER (screaming) f**ing son-of-a-b**h! You motherf**er! Aaagh! Whooo! ANIMAL MOTHER reaches the buildings and drops down against a shattered wall. He calls across the open street. ANIMAL MOTHER Doc! Doc! Doc! Where's the sniper? DOC JAY tries to speak. ANIMAL MOTHER Doc, where's the sniper? Barely able to move, DOC JAY tries to point in the direction of the SNIPER. Suddenly he and EIGHTBALL are riddled by a burst of automatic fire from the SNIPER, k**ing them instantly. ANIMAL MOTHER's eyes widen in horror. ANIMAL MOTHER (under his breath) sh**! ANIMAL MOTHER gets to his feet and edges forward to the corner of the building. He carefully looks around the corner across the square at the black building, from where he thinks the shots were fired. BANG! A shot from the SNIPER ricochets off the wall a few inches from his head. He ducks back around the corner, breathing hard. ANIMAL MOTHER looks around and carefully works his way to a safer spot behind another building. He shouts to the squad. ANIMAL MOTHER Hey, Cowboy! COWBOY Yeah! ANIMAL MOTHER Doc Jay and Eightball are wasted! There's only one sniper, nothing else. Move up the squad! You're clear up to here! Come on! COWBOY isn't sure what to do. COWBOY (mutters) Son-of-a-b**h. The squad look to him. He takes a couple of thoughtful breaths and decides to go. COWBOY Okay, listen up! No-Doze, Stutten, Donlon, Rock--you come with me, we'll take a look! The rest of you stay put and cover our a**! We may be coming back in a big hurry! JOKER I'm going with you. RAFTERMAN I'm coming, too. COWBOY Okay. (To the others) You all set? Adlibs "Yeah!" COWBOY Let's move out! T.H.E. ROCK Let's do it! The five men clamber over the wall and dash across the broken ground to the smouldering cluster of buildings. When they reach ANIMAL MOTHER he leads them to a street off the square where they duck down against a shattered building. They catch their breath and move forward to the next building, where they crouch down against the wall. ANIMAL MOTHER (pointing) Cowboy .. . top of the black building, around the corner. COWBOY cautiously moves to the corner of the building and studies the strange-looking black building which commands the square. Then. he ducks back around the corner, more uncertain than ever what they should do. COWBOY Donlon ... give me that radio. COWBOY moves to DONLON to take the radio. Facing away from the black building, COWBOY does not notice that from the place he has moved to he can be seen. by the SNIPER through a jagged hole in the building. 83 SNIPER P.O.V. OF COWBOY The SNIPER's P.O.V. --COWBOY's upper body is just visible through the hole in the building. 84 EXT. SQUARE--DUSK COWBOY Murphy, this is Cowboy. Over! A gunshot reverberates. In slow-motion COWBOY falls. JOKER Cowboy! ANIMAL MOTHER starts firing his M-60. RAFTERMAN (shouting) Holy sh**! The sniper's got a clean shot through the hole in the wall. Much yelling, shouting and confusion as the men realize where the shot came from. JOKER (shouting) Get him! Get him the f** outta here!! COWBOY is carried behind the building. All talk at once. JOKER Easy! Easy! DONLON Get him on his back. Adlibs. COWBOY (weakly) Oh, I don't believe this sh**. Adlibs, fumbling for bandages, etc. JOKER Shut up! You'll be all right, Cowboy. T.H.E. ROCK Take it easy, Cowboy. Four pairs of hands doing things. COWBOY (moaning) Uhhh, that son-of-a-b**h! JOKER You're gonna be all right. T.H.E. ROCK You're going home, man. You're going home. DONLON Easy, man. Easy. Easy. COWBOY Ohhhh, don't sh** me, JOKER! Don't sh** me! JOKER I wouldn't sh** you, man. You're my favorite turd. COWBOY begins to lose consciousness. JOKER Cowboy... DONLON Hang on, man. Hang on! COWBOY (coughs) I ... I can hack it. T.H.E. ROCK You can hack it. COWBOY I can. I-I... COWBOY spits up some blood and dies in JOKER's arms. JOKER bends down and hugs COWBOY. Nobody moves. Then, one by one, they slowly get to their feet. JOKER is the last to get up. They stand looking at the body. ANIMAL MOTHER leaves two men to continue firing at the SNIPER, and he scuttles around the corner to the group around COWBOY's body. He looks at COWBOY and then at JOKER. ANIMAL MOTHER Let's go get some payback. JOKER looks up slowly. JOKER (in cold anger) Okay. ANIMAL MOTHER leads then down a narrow street. They stop to take cover behind a building just off the square. They have to cross the open. square, ruhich would give the SNIPER a clear shot at them. ANIMAL MOTHER Give 'em some smoke. He and JOKER toss three smoke grenades into the square. They explode ruith a dull bang. They wait while the square slowly fills with smoke. ANIMAL MOTHER waves and they run out blindly through the thick smoke to the other side of the square. 85 INT. BLACK BUILDING They work their way into the shattered, burning building, past twisted steel girders and huge broken chunks of concrete. They come to a place where they have to split up. ANIMAL MOTHER points one way. ANIMAL MOTHER Donlon, Rock--that way. You two with me. DONLON and T.H.E. ROCK move off as ordered. JOKER and RAFTERMAN follow ANIMAL MOTHER the other way. They come to another place where they have to choose which way to go. ANIMAL MOTHER (pointing) JOKER, in there! New Guy with me. JOKER cautiously enters one door. ANIMAL MOTHER and RAFTERMAN disappear through the other. 86 INT. WRECKED AND BURNING LOBBY--DAY JOKER finds himself in what was the lobby of the building, a large room, which is on fire, with shattered columns, oriental arches, and windows with large decorative grillwork. JOKER inches slowly into the room. He hears a noise, ducks behind a column and peers around it. He sees a small, b lack-clad figure standing at a window - the SNIPER. He raises his rifle, aims and squeezes the trigger. A loud click. In slow motion the SNIPER turns to face JOKER. We see the startled face of a beautiful Vietnamese girl of about fifteen. In slow motion JOKER frantically works the bolt of his M-16. With the hard eyes of a grunt, the SNIPER fires her AK-47 rifle. In slow motion JOKER ducks behind the column, desperately trying to unjam his M-16 rifle. In, slow motion the SNIPER fires and runs down a few steps to get a better shot at JOKER. The bullets from her AK-47 tear large chunks of masonry from the column shielding him. Suddenly the SNIPER's body seems to explode as she is hit by a burst of automatic fire. RAFTERMAN has come up and fires his M-16 into the girl's body. JOKER stands trembling against the shattered column. RAFTERMAN snaps another M-16 magazine into place, gestures JOKER to stay put, and moves forward like Supergrunt to check out the rest of the room. It's clear. He moves to the window, and shouts to the two men in the square. RAFTERMAN We got the sniper! The SNIPER lies on the floor, writhing in pain. JOKER and RAFTERMAN cautiously approach her. RAFTERMAN kicks away her AK-47. The two men stare at her in disbelief: The SNIPER is a child, no more than fifteen years old, a slender Eurasian. angel with dark beautiful eyes. They are startled by a faint sound. They dive for cover. They listen. ANIMAL MOTHER calls from behind cover at the other end of the room. ANIMAL MOTHER Joker? JOKER Yo. ANIMAL MOTHER What's up? JOKER We got the sniper. RAFTERMAN and JOKER circle around the SNIPER as DONLON and T.H.E. ROCK and ANIMAL MOTHER walk up. RAFTERMAN I saved JOKER's a**. I got the sniper. I f**ing blew her away. RAFTERMAN laughs hysterically, and kisses his rifle. RAFTERMAN Am I bad? Am I a life-taker? Am I a heart- breaker? No one pays any attention to RAFTERMAN. The SNIPER gasps, whimpers. DONLON stares at her. DONLON What's she saying? JOKER (after a pause) She's praying. T.H.E. ROCK No more boom-boom for this baby-san. There's nothing we can do for her. She's dead meat. ANIMAL MOTHER stares down at the SNIPER. ANIMAL MOTHER Okay. Let's get the f** outta here. JOKER What about her? ANIMAL MOTHER f** her. Let her rot. The SNIPER prays in Vietnanese. JOKER We can't just leave her here. ANIMAL MOTHER Hey, a**hole ... Cowboy's wasted. You're fresh out of friends. I'm running this squad now and I say we leave the gook for the mother-lovin' rats. JOKER stares at ANIMAL MOTHER. JOKER I'm not trying to run this squad. I'm just saying we can't leave her like this. ANIMAL MOTHER looks down at the SNIPER. SNIPER (whimpering) Sh . . . sh-shoot . . . me. Shoot . . . me. ANIMAL MOTHER looks at JOKER. ANIMAL MOTHER If you want to waste her, go on, waste her. JOKER looks at the SNIPER. The four men look at JOKER. SNIPER (gasping) Shoot . . . me . . . shoot . . . me. JOKER slowly lifts his pistol and looks into her eyes. SNIPER Shoot . . . me. JOKER jerks the trigger. BANG! The four men are silent. JOKER stares down at the dead girl. RAFTERMAN (laughs) JOKER ... we're gonna have to put you up for the Congressional Medal of... Ugly! (laughs) JOKER looks at RAFTERMAN, blankly. DONLON Hard core, man. f**ing hard core. 87 EXT. BURNING CITY--NIGHT. The platoon moves through the city, silhouetted against the raging fires. A scene in, hell. JOKER (narration) We have nailed our names in the pages of history enough for today. We hump down to the Perfume River to set in for the night. The marines start to sing. MARINE PLATOON Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. You're as welcome as can be. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.) Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.) Forever let us hold our banner high. High. High. High. Come along and sing a song and join the jamboree. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Here we go a-marching and a-shouting merrily. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. We play fair and we work hard and we're in harmony. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.) Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.) Forever let us hold our banner high. High. High. High. Boys and girls from far and near you're as welcome as can be. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Who is marching coast to coast and far across the sea? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.) Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.) Forever let us hold his banner high. High. High. High. Come along and sing a song and join the family. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. JOKER (voiceover) My thoughts drift back to erect nipple wet dreams about Mary Jane Rottencrotch and the Great Homecoming f** Fantasy. I am so happy that I am alive, in one piece and short. I'm in a world of sh** . . . yes. But I am alive. And I am not afraid. MARINE PLATOON (singing) Come along and sing this song and join our family. M-I-C-K-E-Y- M-O-U-S-E The marines march off into the distance. MARINE PLATOON (singing) Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! You're as welcome as can be. Mickey Mouse ... The sound fades away as the scene fades to black.