| General Fiction posted August 27, 2018 | Chapters: |
1 2 -3- 4... 
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Our story goes back to the last days of the Vietnam conflict
A chapter in the book Baker's Dozen
Flashback
by Bill Schott
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.
| Background Ben Baker, a low-level cabinet worker on the White House staff, has been sentenced to fight for his life in a northeastern forest. He must find and eliminate twelve others, before they kill him. |
Years before Ben Baker had been dropped into a wooded area in the northeast, the framework for this ordeal had been laid out in the humid, deadly fields of Vietnam.
North Vietnam DMZ 1973
POW interrogation
Two Viet Cong interrogators, two VC guards, and two American soldiers stood or kneeled in the center of an elevated grass hut. A captured American soldier, Corporal G.I. Joseph, crouched before a flimsy wooden table. His arms were tied together behind him and attached to his ankles. He was naked, other than an assembly of leaves woven on his head. Guards were spread eight feet apart, the width of the hut, while two interrogators sat in flimsy chairs on each side of the soldier. Directly in front of him was another soldier. He was dressed in a t-shirt and trousers. His name was First Lieutenant C.C. Connors.
An interrogator on his left spoke first, "Ban ten gi?"
Lt. Connors leaned in. "He asked your name, soldier."
"You speak their lingo, el tee?"
"Just answer, dipshit, before he kills you."
"Corporal Gregory Ira Joseph. United States Army. Serial number 37 --“
"Cut that bullshit, corporal," said the lieutenant. "Just your name. Now, which unit are you from?"
"Who's askin' questions, sir? You or these zips?"
The interrogator on the right asked, "Ong tu dau den?"
"He wants to know your unit."
"This is horse shit, Lieutenant. I ain't tellin' them nothin'!"
" You will soldier," said the officer.
"You're collaboratin' with the enemy, Lieutenant."
"Actually, Corporal, they're helping ME. I'm leaving this hole in one piece -- as a hero. Turds like you will end up here."
The corporal spit on the floor, "I'll eat fish heads and sit in a cage 'til we kill all these devils."
"No, Corporal," said the Lieutenant. "They've got a game for you to play. If you win, you go free."
"What game?"
Smiling, the company grade officer knelt down to the other man's level.
"They'll send you and a few other prisoners out with a bayonet or a machete to kill each other. The winner goes home with me."
"That some crazy VC game?" asked Joseph.
"Actually, it was my idea. We played something like it at the academy."
"You killed each other at the academy?"
"Not for real, Corporal Joseph. That's why it wasn't much fun. Here, the winning is real, and the losing is for keeps."
"You're bat shit crazy and a traitor, Lieutenant. I'll survive this and see you shot."
"I know I'll survive, soldier. My plans are to be a politician. I'm going keep this war going for twenty years."
"Why?!"
"Peace is for queers, Corporal."
Corporal Joseph hardened his expression. "I ain't tellin' them nothin' and I ain't playin' your friggin' game!"
The lieutenant sighed and stood. Nodding to the guards he said, "Lam ngon tay cua manh." (Do his finger.)
With that, the guards grabbed the corporal's hands and isolated his smallest finger. Pushing it down on a table, a knife point was placed above the quick on the nail and pressure applied. The corporal screamed and defecated.
The lieutenant kneeled in again. "That was a tiny point on a little spot, hero. Tell me everything you know, or even suspect, or they will make that pain seem like a feather tickle."
"Go to hell!"
"Okay Joseph," said Connors. "When they're done with you, you will have told them where everyone is and where you buried your pet hamster when you were ten years old."
Three hours of torture revealed nothing.
Finally, the lieutenant had them stop. "Anh ta khong biet ga ca."
(He doesn't know anything.)
The guards dragged the corporal out of the hut and threw him down into a rice paddy. A heavy object landed next to him wrapped in a sateen shirt. It was a bayonet.
"Len duong binh an," said the lieutenant. (Have a good journey.)
"Where do I go?" asked the weak and trembling corporal.
"Head south, soldier. In about an hour, you'll meet up with someone like yourself. He'll be expecting you. You'll kill him or he'll kill you. Whoever is still alive will get a nice cage to sit in and all the worms you can dig up."
"I'll find you lieutenant and you'll pay."
"You'll find me in the White House, Joseph. I'll be your damn President."
North Vietnam DMZ 1973
POW interrogation
Two Viet Cong interrogators, two VC guards, and two American soldiers stood or kneeled in the center of an elevated grass hut. A captured American soldier, Corporal G.I. Joseph, crouched before a flimsy wooden table. His arms were tied together behind him and attached to his ankles. He was naked, other than an assembly of leaves woven on his head. Guards were spread eight feet apart, the width of the hut, while two interrogators sat in flimsy chairs on each side of the soldier. Directly in front of him was another soldier. He was dressed in a t-shirt and trousers. His name was First Lieutenant C.C. Connors.
An interrogator on his left spoke first, "Ban ten gi?"
Lt. Connors leaned in. "He asked your name, soldier."
"You speak their lingo, el tee?"
"Just answer, dipshit, before he kills you."
"Corporal Gregory Ira Joseph. United States Army. Serial number 37 --“
"Cut that bullshit, corporal," said the lieutenant. "Just your name. Now, which unit are you from?"
"Who's askin' questions, sir? You or these zips?"
The interrogator on the right asked, "Ong tu dau den?"
"He wants to know your unit."
"This is horse shit, Lieutenant. I ain't tellin' them nothin'!"
" You will soldier," said the officer.
"You're collaboratin' with the enemy, Lieutenant."
"Actually, Corporal, they're helping ME. I'm leaving this hole in one piece -- as a hero. Turds like you will end up here."
The corporal spit on the floor, "I'll eat fish heads and sit in a cage 'til we kill all these devils."
"No, Corporal," said the Lieutenant. "They've got a game for you to play. If you win, you go free."
"What game?"
Smiling, the company grade officer knelt down to the other man's level.
"They'll send you and a few other prisoners out with a bayonet or a machete to kill each other. The winner goes home with me."
"That some crazy VC game?" asked Joseph.
"Actually, it was my idea. We played something like it at the academy."
"You killed each other at the academy?"
"Not for real, Corporal Joseph. That's why it wasn't much fun. Here, the winning is real, and the losing is for keeps."
"You're bat shit crazy and a traitor, Lieutenant. I'll survive this and see you shot."
"I know I'll survive, soldier. My plans are to be a politician. I'm going keep this war going for twenty years."
"Why?!"
"Peace is for queers, Corporal."
Corporal Joseph hardened his expression. "I ain't tellin' them nothin' and I ain't playin' your friggin' game!"
The lieutenant sighed and stood. Nodding to the guards he said, "Lam ngon tay cua manh." (Do his finger.)
With that, the guards grabbed the corporal's hands and isolated his smallest finger. Pushing it down on a table, a knife point was placed above the quick on the nail and pressure applied. The corporal screamed and defecated.
The lieutenant kneeled in again. "That was a tiny point on a little spot, hero. Tell me everything you know, or even suspect, or they will make that pain seem like a feather tickle."
"Go to hell!"
"Okay Joseph," said Connors. "When they're done with you, you will have told them where everyone is and where you buried your pet hamster when you were ten years old."
Three hours of torture revealed nothing.
Finally, the lieutenant had them stop. "Anh ta khong biet ga ca."
(He doesn't know anything.)
The guards dragged the corporal out of the hut and threw him down into a rice paddy. A heavy object landed next to him wrapped in a sateen shirt. It was a bayonet.
"Len duong binh an," said the lieutenant. (Have a good journey.)
"Where do I go?" asked the weak and trembling corporal.
"Head south, soldier. In about an hour, you'll meet up with someone like yourself. He'll be expecting you. You'll kill him or he'll kill you. Whoever is still alive will get a nice cage to sit in and all the worms you can dig up."
"I'll find you lieutenant and you'll pay."
"You'll find me in the White House, Joseph. I'll be your damn President."
 Recognized |
Image from Google and Wikipedia.
Vietnamese derived from Google app. Pronunciation markings were removed.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Vietnamese derived from Google app. Pronunciation markings were removed.
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