Jesse and Shawn pulled up to the field tent, climbed out of their Jeep, and walked inside where Colonel Paul Bennett, the Commanding Officer of the MACV-SOG unit, and General Le Minh Dao were holding their meeting. They were fifteen minutes late and were met with some glares, catcalls, and good-natured ribbing from the assembled group of a dozen men as Colonel Bennett stared at Jesse and Shawn with a, where the hell have you been? Look.

  Air and ground reconnaissance maps were hung on a large board behind General Le with NVA troop movements shown in large red arrows with probable engagement points marked with X’s. Colonel Bennett was going over enemy troop strengths and movements when Jesse and Shawn walked in and disrupted the meeting. After the two men settled in, Colonel Bennett continued with his recommendation of AVRN troop and equipment deployment points. The Tiger Force Ranger units had engaged four enemy recon teams in the past two nights, killing sixteen of their members. It was noted that there was a probable Chinese intelligence agent among the dead. General Le made the comment that the Communist backers were pretty sure of the outcome if a Chinese advisor was doing reconnaissance work up close and personal.

  After the meeting broke up, Colonel Bennett approached the two latecomers. “Nice of you boys to join us this morning,” Colonel Bennett said in a tone that showed his displeasure.

  “Sorry, Colonel, we were delayed by the crowded roads,” Jesse said, slightly embarrassed.

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  Although it was true that the majority of the population was fleeing the city, he was hoping that the Colonel would buy his story. But from the look he gave him, he wasn’t. The simple fact was that he didn’t want to tell him the truth.

  Colonel Bennett looked closer at Jesse’s face, and a tight grin formed on his stern face.

  “It looks like you ran into more than just a traffic jam this morning, soldier. I suggest you wipe off whatever that is on your mouth before someone gets the wrong impression of you.”

  Jesse wiped his lips with the back of his hand and glared at Shawn.

  “You boys can sit this one out if you’d like, or you can go out one more night with Captain Hung and his Tiger unit. We have a pretty good picture right now, but I’ll let you make the call, Sargent.”

  It didn’t take long for Jesse to give him his answer. He looked at Shawn, who just gave a slight nod. “Colonel, Shawn and I would like to go out one more night with the Tigers if nothing more than to say goodbye to those good men before we head back to Saigon.”

  “Good, then report back to me when you return. Godspeed, soldier.”

  As they were walking back to their Jeep, Shawn looked at Jesse and said, “I think you missed a little spot right here,” pointing to a spot on his own mouth.

  Jesse smiled at him and then waited for Shawn to look forward again. When he did, Jesse came across with his right fist that landed squarely on Shawn’s shoulder.

  “Ouch… that hurt you, asshole,” Shawn said, feigning pain.

  “You’re the asshole…you could have said something about the lipstick.”

  Shawn slightly chuckled, “Well, you would have done the same thing to me.”

  Jesse thought about it for just a second, “Yea, you’re probably right, slick.”