Rick takes his shot
Rick & Timoteo get word of a Nx (Nationalist) fuel convoy inbound. Timoteo is laying out a (Spanish Civil War equivalent of an) IED at a tight junction/pass/turn.
The IED’ss intended to bracket the convoy so Ozquierda’s (deranging Spanish Republican colonel) troops can ambush, kill soldiers and drive the fuel trucks away. Rick & African cur dog, Alcotàn (Spanish for “falcon”), are in overwatch from the ridgeline.
Nx convoy arrives early, spots Timoteo priming charges. Nx soldiers dismount and arrest Timoteo.
“¿Como se llama, campesino?”
“Me llama Sordociego, hijo de puta.” (“Sordociego” made-up word, means DeafBlind in Sp)
(Nx soldier sees T’s missing earlobe, this indicates Timoteo was in the Asturian uprising that Franco suppressed back in 1934)
“¡Ay, no estas campesino! Mira el oreja. Estás minero Asturiano!”
“¡Que lástima para Vd amigo! El comandante estaba aquí en el 1934, mi negro carbón.”
(Nx troops take Timoteo to Brigade Combat Trains in back of a fuel truck.)
Next morning, sunrise, from ridge, Rick, gypsy boy Nin-Nin and El Pastor (shepherd) see Timoteo tied against front grill of a Dodge truck, diesel, running with radiator grilling his back. The truck engine generates power for the radios. He is faced into the scalding sun, wearing only flannel boxers. Looks like Jesus after a break-bottle barfight.
The 3 talk hurriedly. Within minutes, El Pastor drives his sheep down goat trail onto the trains, 222 sheep amok on the Assembly Area (AA). Chaos. Gypsy boy Nin-Nin acting as shepherd too.
Nin-Nin winds through sheep & dust over to truck where Timoteo is tied. While attempting to cut Timoteo free, a Nx colonel sees this and executes gypsy boy Nin-Nin at pistol-point (scene like the classic one where Vietnamese colonel executes guy, pistol to head.)
Timoteo hopes Rick and Alcotán are still be up on the ridgeline. He looks up at the ridge, gives Rick the look.
(Scene shot from back of Rick’s head only. Also see back of dog Alcotán’s head. Sheep, dogs, goats chaos, noise cacaphonic, very loud in the Brigade Combat Trains AA Assembly Area. )
Rick takes his shot. Black smoke slumps out the rifle barrel.
Timoteo’s head snaps back against the hood of the truck.
Rick methodically slides the bolt back, single round ejects.
Rick disassembles rifle, pulls bolt out. Lays rifle down, chest pockets the bolt, starts walking east down the mountain. Looks back for dog. Alcotàn The African Cur sits next to the discarded rifle, looks right at Rick, rises, walks west up the mountain.
Soldiers chase El Pastor & gypsy boy Nin-nin out the of the AA. Moro shoots one of El Pastor’s sheepdogs in the process.
After hub-bub subsides, colonel yells out
“Sargento, vayate. Búscalo el niño al lado de la camioneta telefónica.”
“¿Que?”
“El niño gitano encuentra una accidente.” (colonel tells nco that the kid had an accident.
(NCO returns, tells colonel of dead prisoner.)
“¡¿Oye?! Which one of you fuckers shot my Asturiano?”
…
Later scene, as Zup flies Rick from Spain into France, they fly over the miles of Spaniards fleeing Barcelona; Rick drops bolt & 3 remaining rounds out window of Exupery’s Aeropostale plane into the night air.