Original subtitles

In the city of angels, under cover of night, people are drowning in

a sea of light.

The devil holding your life on the line.

Angels are calling, praying for time.

Something's gotta give.

Everything keys on me. You must adjust.

You were fine, but it's kind of hard to do when you're in midair. He's right,

Dieter. You missed your mark. Keep your mouth shut. There's no place for a woman

on this job.

Enough!

That was sloppy.

Very, very sloppy.

It would go smoother if you wouldn't have this green kid.

I'm sorry, sir, but he... Sorry.

Sorry gets us all killed on payday.

You spoil one more rehearsal and you're out, is that clear?

Yeah, but he... You are

nine seconds

off the mark. You have got to be over that fence in under one minute.

So when are you going to tell us what our target is?

When you need to know.

$100 ,000 apiece should purchase a little patience.

You're all supposed to be the best there is.

But frankly, I haven't seen it.

Again.

This time with the lights out.

So you'd better be sharp.

What's the deal, huh? We've been here for 40 minutes.

Well, I'm sure she's a very busy woman.

An empire like Sandring Cosmetics doesn't run by itself. Well, she's the

said 10 a .m. to shop. I mean, hey, I have better things to do than stand

around. Name one.

Evelyn. Evelyn. That is definitely one.

I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

Hello there.

I'm Ryan McBride. We spoke on the phone. Uh -huh. These are my associates,

Garner Ellerby. How do you do? My other partner, Mitch Buchanan.

Hello. Hello.

Sit down. Sit down.

So, what can we do for you?

You can help me get my son back.

How long has he been missing? Oh, he's not missing.

He's, uh, lost.

And I really don't know what to do.

is Todd.

His father died when Todd was seven, and I was just starting my business back

then. So, well, typical story, I guess. I was just too busy to spend a lot of

time with him.

He went to several private schools, got kicked out of a couple of them.

He tried college, and that didn't seem to work out.

I'm afraid he's heading for trouble again.

Again?

He's had some trouble with the law.

What kind of trouble?

Oh, minor infractions, really.

Drunk driving when he was 14.

Armed robbery when he was 17.

Mrs. Sandrine, armed robbery is hardly a minor infraction.

Oh, it wasn't his fault. Oh, no, no, no. He just was hanging out with the wrong

crowd. My lawyers got him off with probation.

Mrs. Sandring, what exactly is it that you want us to do for you?

I want you to find out what Todd is into now and what's wrong

with him.

What he needs to get his life back on track.

When was the last time you saw your son?

This morning.

3 a .m.

He had some bruises.

Like he'd been in a fight?

Who knows? He wouldn't talk to me about it.

But then we don't talk that much anymore.

Why us?

Your agency is on the beach, and Todd spends most of his time there.

You have to know your competition to win.

And I want to win my son back.

You double your going rate.

Do we have an agreement?

That's fine.

Keep in touch.

Uh, we haven't met.

I'm, uh... Guess we're not going to.

I double the rate?

Who cares?

There's an expression.

Throwing money at a problem.

I understand it. I'll just probably never be able to afford it. I think

Van Green has a very tired arm.

First the gym, then sailboarding, then a massage and manicure, and hanging with

his buds at the yacht club.

Tough day.

What, where's he going next? To get his Rolex polished?

Are we a little cranky today?

Boy, that kid doesn't have a silver spoon. He's got a silver shovel.

I know a sugar cutter. Tell me how you really feel.

Mitch, I had a pal at the department for the check. That boy should have done

hard time for that armed robbery. But his mother's high -priced lawyers got

a get -out -of -jail card. Same with that drunk driving beef and a few other

busts she conveniently forgot to mention. That kid is a knucklehead.

Eh, he's finding himself.

Maybe he just needs a little time.

Yeah, he needs a little time.

About a year in the county jail.

Here you go.

Interesting group, huh?

Looks like he's slumming. Yeah.

Shall we?

Think we can make it?

I can.

I mean, I can't. I can't.

What the hell was that?

I don't know, but it hurt my knees just to watch.

You know, everyone in that group looked like world -class skaters to me. Oh, the

term is inline skaters.

There were a lot.

The point is, they must have been in some kind of competition in their life.

So? So, if there was an event to see... Somebody would be selling tickets.

Somebody's taking action.

Who'd bet on inline skating?

Are you kidding? People bet on which pigeon poops first.

What we need is a guy who takes a connection.

A sports promoter. I'll book him. Ah, Pebbles Runkin.

Pebbles Runkin?

Yeah, I pulled his thong out of a riptide a couple years ago.

He thinks he owes me.

Try to pick up Todd again and stick to him like... Yeah, and I will talk to

Pebbles.

In any business, who you know sometimes makes the difference between success and

failure. It's pretty much the same in the PI business, with one exception.

The who of who you know tend to be, how should I put it, colorful.

Take a look at this.

Anybody in here leave out at you?

No. Oh, God.

She's so gorgeous.

Who is she?

Margot Vander.

Army freestyle champ.

Still on top?

No, no, no. That was three years ago.

She got arrested for trying to rough up her nearest competitor.

Big scandal in Sweden, you know.

I never did know what happened to her.

Looks like she made bail. What about him?

Oh, Poncho Dawson.

Two -time National Inline Skate Series champ.

Yeah.

barged from competition because of reoccurring nose candy.

I sense a developing pattern.

Next. I can't believe it. What are all these people doing in one place?

Good question. Who is he?

Dieter, um... Dieter Gungle.

Dieter Gungle, yeah. Disqualified from the Nationals last year.

Why?

Tested positive for steroids.

For openers.

Then he beat the hell out of the doctor.

Last I heard, he was still on the lam.

What about him?

Ah, Sandrine.

Local up -and -comer.

Any good?

Look at him like this.

If you could buy him for what he's worth and sell him for what he thinks he's

worth, you could retire.

Why?

I don't know.

Something isn't right here.

Two jumbos with everything.

No, no, no. Nothing for me. I'm in training.

Heavy on the relish in both of them.

So, Mitch, how's the gumshoe business doing?

Okay.

Why?

It's three to five on the street. Your agency's going down to two. Do yourself

favor, pal.

Don't book it.

Thanks, Ben.

For nothing, Mitch.

Come on, load them up. Will you feed me?

How'd it go with Pebbles?

Well... gave me some names to go along with the faces.

Not a nice group.

What are you doing? You're supposed to be dogging Todd.

Well, he just cheated off at the country club. I'll pick him up in about three

hours. Let me tell you something. This kid is headed for the biggest trouble in

his life.

Just can't sit around here and wait for it to happen, huh?

We gotta start coming at him from all angles.

Well, what kind of angles do you have in mind?

For openers,

All right, I got five sixes. All I need is one.

All right, hate to quit a winner.

See you guys tomorrow.

Oh. Thank you very much for the contribution.

Excuse me.

Sorry.

You're Todd Sandring.

Yeah. Oh, thank God I finally met you.

Yeah, definitely thank God.

I'm a major fan.

Well, I saw you take third at the pro rollerblading championship last month.

thanks. You were fantastic.

I thought I should have won. Oh, definitely.

Judges were blind.

That tweaked invert fakie you did was unbelievable, really.

What'd you say her name was? Oh, I'm Lila Claire.

You ever need a president for your fan club? I'm applying for the job.

Fan club?

Yeah, you don't have a fan club?

No, I... Oh, we gotta talk.

Ouch, not too happy, huh?

Yeah, and then she was really pissed when I dropped out of college. I mean,

had fixed the whole cheating scandal with the Board of Regents, but...

You know, I just wasn't into it. It was, like, too regimented, you know? There

was no challenge.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean.

Oh, and then my mom wanted me to learn the cosmetics business. I mean, what a

joke. Who wants to devote their life into tricking old bags into thinking

could look young again?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Yeah, the blading thing's okay, but by next year I'll be champion, and then

what? You know, I've raced cars, I've raced boats.

You know, it all just gets a little bit stale after a while.

So what do you do for excitement? I mean, what's next?

Well, actually, I'm involved in something that is a real challenge. And

it big time.

Hey,

I gotta go, okay?

You can't go.

You haven't heard all my ideas for the fan club yet. Yeah, I know. Look, meet

here tomorrow, okay? Same time.

But, Todd.

Come on, please, Todd.

I really gotta go.

You're not good enough to blow off a half -hour of practice, Beach Boy.

Go to hell, man.

The young and the restless.

Well, I guess that settles that matter.

Whoever the gray -haired guy is, the word boss comes to mind.

Whatever the show is, looks like he's running it.

He kept them out till after dark. Todd went straight home after that.

Where is he now?

He had a standing massage appointment after that workout. I can see why he

needed it.

I'll pick him up in about an hour.

Yeah, his face froze when he saw the boss man.

I'm going to tell you something.

We never should have taken this job. The kid's headed for a big fall.

Yep. And we are his safety net. Oh, boy.

What's going on here?

You're all just strolling around the pier in the middle of the afternoon when

son has been injured.

Who are you?

I'm just saying, please, please have a seat.

Did Todd say how it happened?

He took a spill on his blades. Well, he lied to you, Mother.

It all has to do with some gang your kid's hanging out with.

Gang? Gang.

Yeah, he's in way over his head.

Todd wouldn't join a gang.

He's a little wild.

He's not a bad boy.

No, Mrs. Sandring, he's a very, very bad boy.

You know what? We ought to turn him in right now for his own good.

This is what I pay you for.

Mrs. Sandring, we searched his car.

The glove box is full of unpaid parking tickets.

There's probably a warrant out for his arrest right now.

Look, all we need to do is talk to his probation officer, maybe scare him a

little bit.

That'll get him off the streets and keep him out of harm's way.

He'd go to jail?

Yes, ma 'am, he'd go to jail.

Best thing could happen to him.

Look, if my son's in trouble... No, there's no if about it. He is in

Then you just get him out of it!

I'll get someone who can.

Well, I'll tell you what.

Garner. Hey, hey, hey.

I think we ought to tell her to take this job and... Hey, hey, hey. No, no,

no, no. Come on, you guys.

We promised this woman we'd find out what her kid was into, what's missing in

his life, and what he needs to get back on track.

Okay, okay. So what's our next move?

We gotta get Todd's attention.

Ryan already took the first step.

Yeah, I got a date with him in an hour.

Good. I'll take that date. You? Absolutely.

I am his new probation officer.

And she's got a zillion ideas.

Posters, rock videos, autographed sports cards, going international with the fan

club. I mean...

I can't wait till you guys meet her. This is one rap lady.

Whoa, dang it. Take it easy, ma 'am. I'm a probation officer.

Bull, Mark Haggerty's my PO.

Mark Haggerty is on permanent stress leave. You're going to the tank for 72

hours. 72 hours?

Outstanding parking warrant.

Hey, my mom bought Haggerty a new car. You're supposed to take care of things

like this. Really? I'll make a note of that.

I'd like to speak to my mom's lawyer.

Sorry, pal. Your mommy's not going to buy you out of this one.

Let's go. Bye -bye, Todd.

How much do you make a week? A thousand? A grand a week? What are you smoking?

I can give you 2 ,000 right now.

What are you doing? You offering me a bribe? Look, I have a long -standing

engagement tomorrow, okay? I can't break it. What engagement is that?

I'm first violin, L .A.

Philharmonic. You know, I've had enough of this. Knock it off, huh?

Lighten up, big guy.

You know what?

If you can make it two, maybe you could make it five.

How about ten?

Mommy doesn't like me to travel around without pocket change.

On a scale of one to ten, this is definitely a ten.

Ten thousand dollars, and we can't even afford a new lamp.

You're supposed to scare him, not shake him down.

Whatever's going down is going down tomorrow.

You take your finger off. You have taped my finger to the lamp. Oh, sorry.

Hey, guys.

He didn't by chance mention the names Maxie, Zinzipper, Grand, Osheroff, or

Robin Kemp to you, did he? No.

Who are they?

Well, they're all the same man.

I faxed this to my old mentor in New York, and he sent it to Interpol.

They came back with several hits.

Does the name Scarborough mean anything to you?

Come on, you guys, I'm serious. The Scarborough robbery three years ago in

Hague, remember?

Diamonds. That's the one.

Since here, they hit on snowmobiles and made off with the crown jewels.

Then there was the gold shipment stolen from the Italian treasury in Venice.

They got away on jet skis.

Unfortunately, several members of that team were expendable. Kent got away

clean.

So what do we got here?

Snowmobiles, jet skis, one -of -a -kind crimes.

Each with a different M .O. and each with a high body count among the

Ha ha.

Each time, Kemp gets away.

Says here he's number two on Interpol's list of the ten most wanted.

Todd Sandring could just be another sacrificial lamb.

And whether you like him or not, we can't just let him go out there and buy

ranch. Uh, it's by the farm, but we know what you mean.

What's this robbing Kemp up to now?

We don't know.

Whatever it is, It is. It's big and it's going down tomorrow.

Then we'll be there.

And I... Three small packages were carried from the car to the stairway

down into the building. And that is the only time they were going to have an

opportunity to strike.

You're going to hit the Treasury Department and relieve them of some $20

So as you can see, timing is everything.

Sorry I'm late.

You all have your individual assignments.

Once Dieter blows the gate, you're to go to your designated pickup points and a

van will collect you. Are there any questions?

Shoot up.

Mr. Kim.

This guy's going to screw us up bad.

After the hit, kill him.

Mrs. Sandring, there's $10 ,000 there.

I can't believe it.

He actually tried to bribe someone he thought was his probation officer?

I wonder where he gets that.

You did buy his probation officer a new car, didn't you?

I just wanted to be sure Todd was treated fairly.

You know what the problem with Todd is?

You.

Me? Yeah, you.

You bail him out of everything.

The kid has no idea how to go through life without a mother bailing him out of

problems. Isn't that why you hired us? To make sure if the kid gets in trouble,

we're there to fix it?

I just want to know what's missing in his life so I can provide it. He's

for a challenge and he never gets one.

Now he's involved with an international group of armed robbers.

I don't believe that.

I think you're wrong.

No, no, no.

That's what you want to think.

I'm going back to work.

I told you the boy's a knucklehead. His mother's been buying him out of trouble

all his life.

I think she's a good mom.

She just started 15 years too late.

If brains were leather, that boy couldn't saddle a flea.

Here we go.

You know, being a P .I. isn't like the movies where the good guy always has the

right answer.

I understood that we would make mistakes and learn from them.

What I didn't count on were the mistakes that make you cringe.

Please stop it.

Richard, what's that?

If that's Todd, I got a problem.

Excuse me.

Who are you?

FBI.

CIA.

FBI and CIA.

What are you doing driving Sandrine's car?

He gave me $100 to drive it around town, charge up the battery a little, so I

thought I'd do a little shopping.

Where's Todd?

I don't know.

Am I in trouble, or...? Well, not exactly, but...

I'm not crazy, that's what.

Let's try the door.

Stop!

Beautiful, huh?

Stay late, dollar short.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

So this is what they're up to.

What? Uh, let's see.

Fifth.

What's that? James. James. Jameson.

Fifth and Jameson. Wait a minute.

Fifth and Jameson.

Fifth.

Treasury Department.

Listen up, it's two minutes away.

Remember to pick up the...

That goes to the L .A. River.

That's where they were practicing the other day, but we'll never catch them on

foot.

We can't own that.

So who are we, FBI?

No, CIA.

FBI, CIA.

This is ridiculous.

We need your bike.

Wait a minute. Who the hell are you?

You tell him.

CIA, man. You stand back or you face imprisonment.

Okay, okay.

And call the cops.

on the right.

Whoa! That was a close call, man. Let's get the hell out of here.

I saw John Wayne do that.

In the movie. On a horse.

With a pillow.

Okay, keep it steady.

The job's over, Beach Boy.

Yeah.

And so are you.

Hey, hey, hey.

You want them?

Fuck, man.

Hey, your escort show is this way.

Yeah, ended up with a two -year suspended sentence.

With one hit.

Yeah, a hitch in the Marine Corps.

Yeah, do you good, make a man out of it.

I think you're right. I hope so.

Listen, this might sound weird, but thanks.

Thanks for busting me.

Best of luck.

My man. Hey, Semper Fi.

Semper Fi.

He just might make it.

I tell you something, I cannot stop thinking about those brand new crisp $20

bills. I mean, wouldn't you just love to have one of those Treasury Department

printing plates?

I'd love a 20 right about now.

Which reminds me, you owe me 20. I paid you back.

Where? This morning.

Left it on your desk.

I didn't get it. Yeah, I know. I did.

Give me my money.

Hey, you owed me 20. Now we're even. Don't forget, you owed me 20.

Oh, I did.

What? You paid me back?

No, I forgot. Give me that thing.

All right, let's see. That'll be $17 .50.

Or an even $20 if you're a compassionate sipper.

Don't look at me.

Don't even think about me.

Semper Fi, Mac.

Thanks, Mitch.

In the blink of an eye, the devil is watching

as we fly.

angels.