He really caught Donny in a few lines, it was as if he loved Donny. Somehow you could feel the attraction.
The girl was next to him and the artist's feelings toward her were more complex. She was beautiful, hopelessly beautiful. A girl in a million. He felt a little part of himself die, knowing he'd never have a woman like that, it just wasn't in the cards. He'd be alone all his life, and maybe he preferred it that way.
'Hell of a nice picture,' said Bob, handing it back.
'It is. He really got her. I think he was in love with her too. Everybody who sees Julie falls in love with her. I am so lucky.'
'And you know what?' said Swagger.
'No, uh-uh.'
'She is a damned lucky woman, too. She's got you.
You are the best. You are going to have a happy, wonderful life back in the world.'
Bob lifted the bottle, took two deep swallows and handed the bottle to Donny.
'You're a hero,' said Donny.
'You'll have a great life, too.'
'I am finished. When you opened up on that bird, it come to me: you don't want to be here, you want to live.
You gave me my life back, you son of a bitch. Goddamn, I owe no man not a thing. But I owe you beaucoup, partner.'
'You are drunk.'
'So I am. And I got one more thing for you. You come over here and listen to me, Pork, away from these lifer bastards.'
Donny was shocked. He had never heard the term 'lifer' from Bob's lips before.
Bob drew him outside.
'This ain't the booze talking, okay? This is me, this is your friend, Bob Lee Swagger. This is Sierra-Bravo. You reading me clear, over?'
'I have you, Sierra, over.'
'Okay. Here it is. I have thought this out. Guess what?
The war is over for us.'
'What?'
'It's over. I'm telling you straight. We go out on three missions a week, see, but we don't go nowhere. We go out into the treeline and we lay up for a couple of days. We don't take no shots, we don't go on no treks, no long wanders, we don't set up no ambushes. No, sir, we lay up in the tall grass and relax, and come in, like all the other patrols. You think I don't know that shit is going on?
Nobody in this shit hole is fighting the war and nobody is fighting back in Da Nang. S-2 Da Nang don't give a shit, Captain Feamster don't give a shit, USMC HQ RSVN don't give a shit, WES PAC don't give a shit, USMC HQ Henderson Hall don't give a shit. Nobody wants to die, that's what it's all about. It's over, and if we get fucking wasted, we are just throwing our lives away. For nothing, you hear what I'm saying? We done our bit. It's time to think about number one. You hear what I'm saying?'
'Yeah, you'll do that till I DEROS out of here back to the world, then you'll go out on your own, and get more kills and go back to your job. You'll have to because by then the gooks will be getting very fucking bold and you'll be afraid they'll hit this place and take all these worthless assholes down, and you'll get hosed for them, and if that isn't the biggest waste there ever was, I don't know what is.'
'No, I won't.'
'Yeah, you will. I know you.'
'No way at all.'
'All right, I'll do this on one condition.'
'I'm your goddamned sergeant. You can't 'one condition' me.'
'On this one I can. That is: I go to Nichols, tell him you want on that Aberdeen team, but you got stuff to do first, and you can't go till a certain date. On the date I DEROS, you go to Aberdeen. Is that fair? That's fair!
Goddamn, that's fair, that's what I want!'
'You young college smart-ass hippie bastard.'
'I'll go get him now. Okay? I want to hear you make that statement to him, then I'll do this.'
Bob's eyes narrowed.
'You ain't never outsmarted me before.'
'And maybe I won't ever again, but by God, this is the night I do! Ha! Got you. Swagger! At last. Got you.'
Swagger spat into the dust, took a swallow. Then he looked at Donny and goddamn if the silliest goddamn thing didn't happen. He smiled.
'Go get Mr. CIA,' he said.
