rolls his eyes, takes a breath. scrambles into the gap. the other five right behind.
captain, if your mother saw you do that, she'd be very upset!
what the hell were you doing? drawing fire!
you tryin' to get yourself killed?
fertilizer, captain, i think we're in a cranberry bog.
who cares?
frogs?
yeah? so?
yes, sir.
caen?
you? leading a squad?
what about the company?
simpson? jesus christ on a fucking pogo stick!
beasley's dead.
fresh out.
twenty minutes ago. miller damn, i'll go see if i can find another one. you get reiben, jackson and wade, meet me at transport.
yes, sir.
you get a translator, captain?
we in radio contact with anybody up there?
what are we likely to run into?
hell of a mission.
yanks the wheel, driving the jeep off the road.
jesus christ!
turns shallow curves without slowing down.
captain, they got us zeroed.
uh, captain.
uh, captain.
oh, captain.
sssssh!
got it, sir. we gonna go take care of those eighty-eights?
he's right, captain, it might be kind of dangerous for those flyboys.
over three hundred bucks, last i heard. wade company's got a pool, five bucks gets you in, whoever guesses where the captain's from and what he did as a civilian gets it all.
somebody probably does.
i've been with him since anzio. i'm closer to him that i am to my own brother but i don't even know what state he's from. somewhere in the northeast as near as i can figure. i don't even have a clue what he did for a living as civilian.
damn fool. sir.
like hell they can't.
no one's bulletproof. no one. c'mon, stay low.
jesus, reiben, think of the poor bastard's mother.
i'm just here to keep a bunch of numb-nuts, including one certain, frequently suicidal, tempter-of-fate, from getting themselves killed.
you ever going to open those letters? miller keeps his eyes on the maps.
it's not normal, not reading letters from home.
you got me. afraid of bad news?
good news?
you think they'll be alright?
and what about you?
nope.
three for three.
you're kidding yourself.
i hope this boy ryan is worth it.
yup, hell of a mission.
makes you feel small, doesn't it?
is it getting worse?
you may have to find yourself a new line of work, this one doesn't seem to agree with you anymore.
rule of thumb, captain, says you ought to detail this one, instead of going yourself.
how about i go right, sir?
how about?
yes, sir.
fires a long burst from his thompson. no effect. pissed. pops the clip. slams in another. fires.
hold your fire!
roots through his medical kit as he runs. dropping and scattering inessentials behind him.
pulls wade's hands from the wound. pours sulfa powder.
fumbles with a second sulfa bag.
sulfa, more sulfa.
hesitates. then drops his sulfa. fumbles in his pack. finds the morphine.
you alright?
vecchio.
yeah.
bits and pieces.
and what about your own hand?
oh, yeah?
and how do you bluff yourself?
except this time, the mission is a man.
john, i've got to tell you, i think you're about used up.
you want me to take over?
just what i want to do.
i know.
i'll do my best.
you're welcome, john.
yes, sir.
looks like we're going to beat those kraut companies to ramelle.
what do you think they're waiting for, captain?
i do and personally, i'd rather get the hell out of here, but somebody's got to stay and take care of you and these pin-head privates of yours.
yes, sir.
what do you think?
what are we going to do?
uh, oh.
yes, sir.
private, i'm sorry about your brothers.
wade.
a good man, kind of cheerful, reiben, here, used to call him a happy idiot.
you didn't let anybody get killed, you didn't even know we were coming up here.
sees them in deep trouble. leaves ryan firing the rear machine gun. grabs the b.a.r. advances, firing cover. exposed.
sees they've made it. fires a final burst. races for cover. a trail of bullets right behind him.
is almost there.
five feet from the sandbags, his back is torn apart by germans fire. he looks down, stunned at his chest. amazed to see gaping holes. an instant of surprise, more than fear.