Capt. Phillips steps out of Central Command to a waiting jeep surrounded by a group of gawking soldiers. His training at West Point and his years of command in various Army units never prepared Capt. Phillips for what he saw in that jeep.
A four hundred pound lion was stuffed in the back. A lanky black soldier tied to the passenger’s seat with duct tape across his mouth and eyes.
“What’s the meaning of this?” demanded Capt. Phillips.
Standing at the front of the jeep, Sgt. Psycho saluted the Captain. “We have a problem, sir.”
“What’s the problem?”
“This soldier, sir. Attempted to interfere with me carrying out your orders.”
“Release that soldier,” Capt. Phillips ordered. “I want both of you in my office. Right now!”
Capt. Phillips turned to a Sergeant that stood nearby. “Take care of the disposal of that lion.”
A smirk came over Psycho when he said, “Be careful, he’s only sleeping.”
That sergeant took two quick steps back from the lion.
A few minutes later, Sgt. Psycho and the black soldier were standing in the Captain’s office. Phillips motioned to the soldier to close the door.
“Okay, why don’t the two of you fill me in. Starting with you, Sergeant.”
“You assigned C4 to eliminate the lion that was harassing villagers and the officers’ club on the outer edge of Dogpatch.”
“Sir,” the soldier interrupted. “You assigned me to do the same without telling me about this psycho having the same orders.”
“I gave you duplicate orders because C4 had not seen or heard from their sergeant for over twenty-four hours. They said he went out with two other men from his squad, and since they have not heard from him, I had to assume that the lion or the Viet Cong had killed them. So I assigned you to take out that lion.”
“Sir,” Sgt. Psycho began his explanation with signs of frustration at his Captain. “It took me more than twenty-four hours to get in place what I needed to get the maximum benefit from the elimination of the lion to the United States government and the Vietnamese people.”
“What were you going to do with a dead lion?”
“I wasn’t going to kill it. I sedated him and was going to transport him to where he would cause the most trouble to the Viet Cong.
Turning to the soldier, Capt. Phillips asked, “How did you end up tied up in the jeep?”
“Well, sir, I found the lion helping himself to a couple of steaks. Before I had a chance to pull my rifle out, he fell over. To make sure he was dead, I took my sidearm and prepared to shoot him. That was when I felt an M16 to the back of my neck.”
Looking back at Psycho. “Why didn’t you just continue with your plan, instead of bringing the lion on base?”
“After having a conversation with Leroy,…”
“You mean the Corporal?”
“After having a conversation with Corporal Leroy, I thought it best to bring the lion and him to you and find out what you want me to do.”
The room remained silent while Capt. Phillips mulled over in his mind what to say. He broke the silence with a question. “What happened with the other two members of your squad who went with you?”
“Pham and Ruben are back at the hooch. They are getting ready with the rest of C4 for some field training and team building.”
Capt. Phillips waved his hand to send Psycho on his way.
“What about me?” Corporal Leroy asked.
“You have a sniper rating, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go with Sgt. Psycho. His team needs a sniper. Maybe you can take him out when he is not looking.”
Sgt. Psycho had barely opened the door when he overheard his Captain’s comments. Psycho made a comment of his own. “If you try it, I’ll send you home in a body bag.”
