Original subtitles

I want that kid.

Forget it. I'm not going to start chasing pigeons around.

I'll take the reins on this one, McCall.

Ruffy's the only one who knows how to run the bird.

Police!

All right, where is she?

This girl has been kidnapped due to your negligence.

They got Ruffy.

Hit it, man. Pack!

Looks like our little bird's boon, too.

Works for me.

No cheating, Ig.

You gotta circle till I get on my bike, okay?

Good luck.

I'm gonna beat you home, Yang.

Hey, yo. Yak, looks like you found me.

Don't you know that a gentleman always lets his lady win?

Do you think you let me win, Uncle Pete?

Gee, I figure a win is a win, Ruffy, no matter how you come by it.

That's not why I always take your socks and gin rummy.

Come on, we've got to feed the birds.

Look at them. No matter how much you feed them, they always act like they're

starving to death.

Well, maybe they're just tired of being cooped up, Pete. Maybe I ought to let

them out for a while. Oh, sure. So they'll all fly back to their old roost

Agoura, huh?

Why don't you train him to fly here like King?

I'm gonna do that, Ruffy, pretty soon.

Pretty soon.

Uh, Ruffy, uh, look, honey, why don't you, uh, go down to the market and get

a couple of big, thick, juicy steaks for dinner, huh?

Steaks? Yeah.

Sure!

Did you get an exact or something, Pete? Yeah, I got an exact thing. Hey, I

can't get with you. Come on.

Hey, turn around, okay?

Go. Get going.

Here's your stuff.

We're even, and I'm out.

It's all there. I wouldn't touch that stuff.

Look, I'd appreciate it if you were out of here by the time the kid shows up.

You know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking what a shame it is you went to all this

trouble to train these smart little birds that fly in our merchandise for

And now you want to retire him.

I'm done.

Through? Where even?

For how long?

Till your next year thing breaks down in a stretch?

You know so much about running birds.

Do it yourself.

You know what I think, fellas?

I think old Petey boy here is looking for a bigger piece of the action.

I think so.

The last thing I want to hear is some horse -playing rummy getting greedy.

So from now on, you're going to do what I say, and you're going to do it for

free. You can't do a thing without the birds. If I say no, it's no.

You don't even know where they land.

Grab them. Grab them.

He

was

trying to let the birds go. He saw it.

Grab those damn cages, load the birds up, and let's get the hell out of here.

But we don't know how to run them.

I think I know someone that's going to help us.

You wouldn't want to do me a favor, would you, Nicole?

You want to do my nails over, I'll type your report.

You're a police officer. You shouldn't have nails.

Sergeant Hunter, I'm Rusty.

Rusty Collier.

and I want to file a stolen property report.

Well, honey, you're in the wrong place.

I wore a helmet today. Do you want to talk to somebody in burglary?

You are Sergeant Rick Hunter, aren't you? I was this morning.

Your cousin, Jilly, my bookmaker, he said that you were the best cop on the

force and that I should talk to you.

Jilly's your bookmaker, too?

Actually, he used to handle some of my Uncle Pete's actions, and I used to help

him make his picks.

But Uncle Pete fell off the roof and was killed, and somebody swiped the rest of

his pigeons.

And I want to file a complaint so that you can help find them.

Pigeons, huh?

Okay, who put her up to this?

Delgado?

Look, honey, I'd like to help you out, but I'm real busy right now.

They stole the rest of his pigeons, and nobody wants to help me.

Nice going, Hunter.

Your Uncle Pete gambled a lot?

I guess.

Benny called him a degenerate. I think that means he gambled.

Who's Benny?

A friend.

So Uncle Jilly's taking bets on pigeon races, huh?

Uncle Pete never bet on pigeons.

He bet on horses and football and basketball.

Lucky for them, those birds can live on chicken feed, considering the odds Jilly

pays. Hunter.

Look, honey, I know how important these birds are to you and we'd like to help

you out and all, but I gotta be honest with you.

As far as the police department's concerned and the law, this is a very

crime. Do you understand what I'm saying?

You're not going to help me find out who took him and get him back.

The captain wouldn't authorize this, sweetheart.

The birds aren't worth enough to justify the time of two police officers.

Those pigeons are worth from $100 to $300 apiece. And Yank, I could get $700

him as a breeder.

How many birds did you say there were again?

McCall. About 30, not counting Yank.

Well, I think we could go by the loft on our way home. Come on. Hunter.

Forget it. I'm not going to start chasing pigeons around.

I want you to go on up.

I'll check in.

This is L -56, McCall. I need some information on somebody. Patch me into

records, please.

L -56, standby.

Ruffy, isn't it possible that somebody left the cage doors open and the birds

flew away?

Somebody took them. The carrying cages are gone, and anyway, if somebody did

them go, only Yank would come back.

Because, you see, Yank was retrained to this coop, and if something happened to

this coop, Yank would fly back to his old home. And the other birds wouldn't

back here?

Not yet. They hadn't been here long enough to find out that this is their

home. Uncle Pete just got them.

Ruffy, you said your Uncle Pete gambled a lot.

Was he a hawk to the bookies?

For a long time, but he got healthy again just before his accident.

He'd been living on beans for a month, and then all of a sudden he sends me out

to buy some steak.

He must have hit a big one.

Hunter?

I ran a check on the girl's uncle, Pete Collier. The autopsy report showed that

he died of a broken neck, probably the result of the fall.

He had an open pint of bourbon in his pocket, but the blood test showed under

.01.

So he wasn't drunk.

So we've got a degenerate gambler who, according to Ruffy, was tapped out. And

he happened to own $9 ,000 with a racing pigeon.

Can you help me find my pigeons for me?

Well, I think it's time we take you home now, Ruffy.

Well, we can't run a police investigation with you tagging along,

Investigation? Come on, those birds are probably... Those birds are probably

somewhere by now.

Come on, let's go.

Do we get to ride in the police car again?

Can we run the siren this time?

We'll be lucky if the lousy car starts this time.

You don't have to walk me to the door. I'm ten, you know. And besides, I don't

want to worry my parents coming home in a police car and all.

Bye.

I'll hardly recognize this as a police car.

You think we're saps for running this down?

I'm a homicide detective, not Dr. Doolittle.

Well, we may have a homicide. It's obvious what could have happened.

One of Pete's gambling debts caught up with him, and they grabbed his only

assets. Ruffy said those birds were worth over $9 ,000.

Well, I wouldn't believe everything she said.

She's not going home.

There she is.

Hey, sweetie, should you be on your own like this?

4062 Territon Road. And you don't have to drop the meter if you don't want to.

Yes, ma 'am.

Police! You

okay? Yeah.

What do they want with that kid?

Good question.

No good question.

What do you mean you don't know where she is?

What kind of answer is that?

We got to make that run or they're going to full up shop on the other side of

the border. Then we'll be out the money and the shipment.

Which one of you two guys wants to explain that to our creditors? You don't

understand. These two are cops. You don't understand.

What, the two of you just float out of the sky?

Huh? What, do you think they're going to slap our wrists for this?

We're going to all wind up as mincemeat in some local butcher shop.

Now, you two hid every place where that kid might be and then some.

I want that kid.

She's the only one that knows how to run those birds and where they're going to

fly into.

And those two gunslingers we ran into, we just forget about them?

That ain't so easy.

Listen, man, I've heard about Hunter.

I don't care what you heard.

You two guys find that kid.

This is what she said.

6042 Tiverton.

What do we owe you?

Always wanted to help so long.

Besides, the kid took care of it.

Here you go.

Thank you. Yeah.

Okay, Wags. Ten across on Rubberneck in the third.

Can I help you?

Yeah, is your name Benny?

Yeah, uh, what do you want?

We're looking for a little girl named Ruffy Collier.

So, uh, am I supposed to... Okay, sport,

I'm looking for that girl, and I better find her in primo condition real quick.

Otherwise, I'm going to be sorry all over you.

No! No!

Please don't hurt him! Leave him alone!

Are you all right?

I'm all right, sweetheart. It's all right, baby.

It's all right, baby.

All right, sweetheart.

After her parents died, it was foster homes and juvenile hall. The usual bit.

Then Pete found them.

Nobody from the social welfare never came looking for you?

Sure they did, but Pete took care of them.

Pete was a warm, decent, wonderful human being. A sweetheart.

But he was a degenerate gambler.

Who did Pete owe, do you know?

Every book in town.

About three months ago, he told me he was stuck over $30 ,000.

He was in that deep and they still carried him?

Nah, they sold off his markers a quarter of a dollar to, would you believe this,

Jake Henderson.

Jake Henderson?

He breaks kneecaps for a living. Since when has he been buying up markers?

He bought up Pete's.

And a funny thing happened. The two of them wound up partners in a scheme that

Pete said would get him even. Like what?

He didn't say. And me, I don't ask such questions.

But it was plain that Pete didn't like it.

They're going to put Ruffy in another foster home, aren't they?

What else?

If you want her, you could file an application with the child welfare

department. I'd give my right arm.

But what happens when they investigate and find out what I did for a living?

Ruffy, it's time to go, sweetheart.

I want to stay with my Uncle Benny.

You will, sweetheart.

We'll work it out somehow.

You'll let me know where she is and what's happening, please.

Sure, Benny.

I'm going to turn on my answering machine, then I'll turn volume up, and

way if I call, you hear my voice, you'll be able to pick up the phone and talk

to me, okay?

You tired?

Ready for a nap?

I bet I have a lot of new stuff to dream about after what's happened today.

I bet you do, too.

Okay, come on.

Shut up.

Here.

Let's take a nap with you.

Sleep tight, kid.

You know, we really should turn her over to the child welfare people.

Been to juvenile hall lately?

Yeah.

All right, what do you say we go see what Jake Henderson was doing with Pete

Collier? Good idea.

McCall?

You know, maybe one of us better cover the back door in case Jake tries to

boogie out of here.

Okay. It's your idea, your job. I'll go in. Wait a minute.

It's a pretty rough place in there.

Okay, we'll flip a coin.

All right, we'll use my coin.

Head.

Head.

You cheat.

Next time we'll use your coin, the one with two tails.

Now come on, let's go.

Besides you look like a cop they'll never make me

I

Don't

think you're gonna get very far without this Jake

Okay, Jake, you want to tell me why you bought up all of Pete Collier's markers?

Pete Collier, I never heard of him.

How's your hearing now, Jake?

So I picked up a few of his markers, so what?

I figured Pete Collier was due for a change of luck, and at 25 cents on the

dollar, how much could I lose, right?

Yeah, well, his luck, it ran out altogether.

It happens.

You didn't get hurt, though, did you? The way I figured, you're just about

You spent $7 ,500 buying up those markers, but you must have pulled in at

that much when you unloaded Pete's birds.

What birds?

Oh, you mean the pigeons.

I heard they flew away.

Yeah, well, if you happen to see them flying overhead, you'll be sure to let

know, won't you, Jake? Yeah.

Get out of here.

I think it's going to go tell on you, Hunter.

Yeah, it'd be real nice to know to who.

This is how we used to do it when we were busting bookies in vice.

Here we go.

555 -7721.

Deacon.

Jake.

Hey, what the hell did you get me into?

What are you talking about?

I just got shoved around by a hard -nosed cop named Hunter.

I ain't standing still for this.

Deacon, I'm telling you. Cool it, Jake. Just cool it. Did he bust you?

No, but, uh... Now, what are you worried about? He's just blowing smoke.

If he flashes his badge again, call me.

You didn't tell him nothing, did you?

Of course not.

Hey, there's no connection to you at all.

Okay, I'll talk to you later.

Okay, that's neighbors feeding grain off San Fernando Road, right?

That's a Roger, L -56.

Thanks, Lucille. L -56 out.

Oh, whoa, whoa, no, no, no, whoa.

You are not getting into my car with that. It doesn't go with the

You're so picky.

You know, this sauce is going to eat right through my paint.

Why do you have all of that?

I bought a couple extra chili dogs for Ruffy. She doesn't have it tough enough

being a homeless orphan?

All right, look, I ran that number down that Jake called. Are you ready for

this? It belongs to a neighbor's feed and grain out in the Northwest Valley.

It's owned and operated by a guy named Carl Deacon. You know what else?

There was a sack of pigeons feeding Pete's loft with their name on it.

Okay, well, why don't you finish your... whatever, and we'll go check it out.

L -56, stand by for a patch call from your precinct, Captain. Stand by,

Hey, where are you?

Uh, Captain, this is McCall. Hunter is, uh, out of the car right now. Can I

help? Yeah, I got a real... upset lady from child welfare on my phone wanting

know what you two have done with one of their charges. I suggest you explain it

to her. Hold on while I patch a call into you. Great.

Okay, now what do I tell her?

Tell him you can't hear her because your radio doesn't work.

Hunter, this is my car, not yours. In my car, everything works.

Except the radio.

I'll take the reins on this one, McCall.

You didn't even want this case. Remember you said, I'm not going to go chase

after a bunch of birds. You remember that? This case is obviously bigger than

bunch of missing birds.

I think we should do it my way, McCall.

Otherwise, somebody's going to find out you've been harboring a child that

should be in the custody of the child welfare department.

You went along with it. You were an accomplice.

But she's in your apartment.

Would you like to come in and watch?

Carl Deacon?

Yeah. What do you want?

A mutual friend sent me over to see you.

Jake Henderson?

About what?

Well, he said he'd make me a heck of a deal on some pigeons.

I don't sell pigeons.

Only feed, a few quail, and some loft equipment.

That's all.

Oh, come on. I was standing right there when he made the phone call.

You're a cop, right?

He made you, too.

What do you think tipped it off? Was it something you said or did, or maybe it

was just instinct?

Oh, I think it was instinct.

Like me, I've got it, too, only on the other side of the fence.

Like right now, I think you're lying to me about those birds and that maybe

they're right here.

I don't have to dance around with you, cop, so get lost.

We'd really like to see those birds, Deacon. They belong to a little girl.

you don't mind if we look around, do you?

If you got a warrant, you can look till your eyes pop out. If not, there's a

door. You want a paper?

I'll get the judge to issue me a paper.

But I got to be honest with you, Deacon, the next time I leave here, this place

isn't going to be this neat.

And if you lie to me about what you had to do with Pete Collier's dying from bad

credit and a broken neck, you're going to need some rearranging, too.

What did you tell Miguel?

Well, tell him we're going to be down there tomorrow like we said.

And he better have the stuff ready.

Yeah, yeah, I'll sell a bye -bye to you too.

How are we going to do that?

Do what?

Go down there tomorrow.

We're going to fly down there in the airplane. How else?

You know what I'm saying. Without the kid?

She's dropped into a black hole.

She shouldn't be that hard to find.

Where the hell could that kid be?

At a friend of Pete's, right?

And how many friends can a deadbeat like Pete have?

Uh, I don't know, Deacon. Ah, another country you heard from. What's your

problem? Look, she's just a little girl.

You're kidding. I thought she was your grandmother.

Let me tell you guys something.

The people that put up the money for this run want that dope.

And if we don't deliver it, we're all going to wind up in a cemetery.

Any other problems?

Okay, let's go.

Captain looking all over for you two. Been running down those missing pigeons,

have we been?

Captain, huh?

Uh -oh.

Vogue is at 12 o 'clock.

Hunter, McCall.

This is Miss Rankin.

These are the two officers you want to talk to. Miss Rankin is with the Child

Welfare Department.

I'm looking for Teresa Collier.

Have you tried missing persons?

Uh -uh. You two are not going to smoke this one past me. Now, everybody saw you

leave here this morning with the girl.

Oh, Ruffy.

They mean Ruffy.

Why didn't you say so?

I have a court order to pick up that child.

Do you have a foster home ready for her?

My job is to pick up Teresa Collier and take her into custody. The girl is a

truant and a runaway.

That's a laugh. She's got nothing to run away from or to.

A kid that age, a foster home could take weeks, maybe months.

Captain, I demand that you order these two to tell me where I can find that

girl. I'm sorry, but an attempt has been made to kidnap that girl. She's also a

possible witness in a crime.

So she's been placed under police protection until this investigation is

complete.

Unless you want to be responsible for what happens when the men looking for

find her.

Yeah. I didn't know anything about this. But I think under the circumstances,

the girl should remain under police protection.

Well, I at least have to see her first. I have to report back the conditions in

which she's being held and who will be the supervising guardian.

Teresa, it's Miss Rankin from Child Welfare.

Teresa!

All right, where is she?

Sergeant, this girl has been kidnapped due to your negligence.

Well, she wasn't grabbed.

And she took Yank with her.

Looks like our little bird flew the coop.

Why?

trying to raise you and your partner all day.

I still got that lady from the child welfare department, and we know you have

that girl.

Now call me or get your butt in here.

Hey, Dee Dee, I just wanted to give you a call and let you know that last night

was... Well, anyway,

at least we know she's all right.

Yeah, but for how long?

If she's in danger, the last place she needs to be is on the streets. A little

girl with a birdcage shouldn't be too hard to find, how should she?

Benny.

They got Ruffy.

Who? I don't know. They got it.

How many of them were there?

There were two. A big one and a bigger one.

Easy, easy. Come on.

Come on.

Okay. This is Sergeant McCall requesting an ambulance at 6042 Tiverton.

Right.

Ambulance is on its way. Go find her. Get her back, please. I'll be okay.

You sure? I'll be okay.

You can relax, McCall. Ain't nothing here but a chicken.

I'd have sworn they'd brought Ruffy here.

They probably did.

And where'd they take her?

Probably the same place they took those other pigeons that were in the coop.

And what do you suppose this is?

Looks like a life vest for pigeons.

You see, they put them on the birds when they have to fly over the water.

You know, this does look like something that would fit on a pigeon.

There's little pockets here.

This is heroin.

It's Mexican brown.

Hunter, that's what they're doing. They're using pigeons to transport

I guess that would work.

With Pete dead, Ruffy's the only one who knows how to run the birds.

I'll bet you they're on the way to Mexico right now.

Look, I'll get in touch with Immigration. They can contact the border

both Kiwan and Tecate.

They won't have enough time to drive to Mexico and back.

Hello? Yeah, Chuck?

Yeah, what can I do for you? Yeah, I'm calling about Mr. Deacon's airplane.

What's the matter with you people? How many times I got to tell you? It's all

gas and the pigeons are on board.

It is? Great. Thanks a lot, Chuck. Just checking.

Van Nuys Airport.

Quick.

the pigeons, but I don't know where Uncle Pete trained them to land.

Either you remember where Pete's place was in Agora, or we're going to drop you

out of the plane along with the pigeons.

Only you don't get no parachute.

Wait, wait a minute.

Uncle Pete gave me a picture of himself in front of his old place in Agora.

Hey, look at that, will ya?

Take it, man. Cut.

This is the last pigeon.

I'm telling you, I know this country.

There's a shopping center a couple miles this side of that hill.

And a new housing development going up five or so miles the other side.

All I hope is you can find the place.

It should be easy enough to spot from the air.

That is, if the kids tell us the truth.

Ah, she's too scared to lie.

If I didn't have the cash on my own hands, I wouldn't believe that anybody

his right mind would be doing business with you guys.

You hang a million bucks worth of dope on a flock of pigeons?

Que estupidos.

You don't even know where they're going to land.

Let us worry about it, okay?

You'll see us in a couple of days after we turn this deal.

Maybe you'll turn this load over, and maybe I'll hear from you.

Amigo, I got other customers who are more of a sure thing.

Adios.

Let me tell you something, cucaracha.

You want to trade bad attitudes?

I got one with your name on it. All you got to do is show when and where I tell

you to, or my pigeon -toting friends and I are going to come back down here and

stomp on some sombreros.

Comprende, amigo?

Hey, I got all the dope you can buy, amigo.

Now, if that stuff don't reach the people who are bankrolling you, it ain't

neck.

Vamonos.

Let's finish up here and get out.

What the hell is this thing?

It's a vest they put on pigeons so they can carry things.

You see, it's got these two little pockets here.

We got it in the warehouse where they were keeping the pigeons.

Pigeons with their own little vests. It's cute, Hunter. But what's all this

to do with whether or not the girl was kidnapped?

We think the people using these birds are smuggling narcotics up from Mexico.

And they kidnapped the girl because she's the only one that can manage the

birds. Using pigeons to smuggle narcotics?

If you're putting me on, Hunter... Really, if you are putting him on,

the police chemist ran a check on this vest.

The preliminary report shows traces of pure, uncut Mexican brown.

How many birds did you say there were involved?

There's 30, give or take.

Each bird can carry two ounces.

Two ounces, big deal.

30 pigeons, each carrying two ounces of pure heroin.

28 grams to the ounce, cut at seven times.

and sell it on the street for $100 a gram, and we come up with... $1 ,176

Exactly.

That would look pretty good on our precinct report.

So across that side... Well, we might have a problem with that. You see, this

the only bird we've got, and he was trained to land in the city. Now,

to Ruffy, the other birds were trained to land in an entirely different

location. We think that's out at a coop in Ogura.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go out and pick him up. We can't. Only Pete

Collier and Ruffy knew the whereabouts of that coop.

He's dead and she's been kidnapped.

Obviously because she can take Deacon Wright to the coop.

Well, after we run a house -to -house through Agoura, Deacon and the dope will

be long gone and the kid will be stuck in a well somewhere.

You could have talked all day without reminding us, Bernie.

Just being realistic, McCall. There goes our big bust.

You know, Captain, I think Yank can help us. If he was half parrot and could

talk. Captain, according to Ruffy, he was originally trained to the Agora

Now, if we could make him go back there, we can hang a radio direction finder on

him. If? If your aunt had wheels, she'd be a wagon. Now, look, Pete trained this

bird to land in the city coupe.

Pigeons are like cats.

They never forget where they lived. And if a current loft isn't acceptable,

they'll always return to their former roosting play.

How are you going to get him to move out, Hunter? Move in a noisy neighbor

door to him?

That's very cute, Bernie.

But I've got something else in mind.

Let him fly.

Run, Mr. Willigan.

Okay, right there.

Take her down to the barn right there.

I'm going to go around the back and create a diversion.

Yang! Hold it, kid.

What the hell is this?

That looks like a transmitter.

You okay, honey?

Yeah, I'm fine, but I don't think he's doing so good.

Hunter, you all right?

I think I sprained my back.

That was a dumb stunt. You could have gotten killed.

Well, it worked for her.

guys will come see me, won't you? We sure will.

You betcha, Ruffy. Just as soon as you get into your new foster home.

And you'll be sure to tell them where, huh, Miss Rankin?

Quite.

Time to go. Give me a hug.

You take care, huh? You too.

Bye, Ruffy. Bye.

So long, Ruffy.

You too, big guy. Ow!

There ought to be a law.

Kids and animals don't belong in a police station anyway.

Vern, you better get a shot for that right away, otherwise you might come

with spikinosis of the mucket.

You must really think I'm stupid, don't you, Hunter?

Well, when you've got me, you've got me, Vern.

Hunter, you ever think about having kids?

No.

Neither.