Original subtitles

help me up my legs

can't move

Your Honor, my client fears for her son's life.

I doubt that, Counselor. You want to hear it under oath?

Your Honor, surely a man responsible for the lives of several thousand Marines

can be entrusted with the care and well -being of one ten -year -old boy,

especially when that boy's his own son.

Evidently not, since your client apparently violated my custody court

Judge, he wanted to spend a few extra days with his son before the boy's

moved him a thousand miles away. And the boy's mother said no. Which she had

every right to do, Counselor. I'm not defending my client's action, Your

I'm asking for the court's understanding, given the situation.

Do you know the whereabouts of your client and his son, Mr. Rapp?

No, Your Honor, I do not. Your Honor, do we have to wait till this boy's a

victim on the 6 o 'clock news? That's uncalled for. This is not a case of

abuse. This is a bird colonel in the Marine Corps who's... Who is in contempt

court.

Counselor, your client leaves me no choice but to issue a warrant for his

arrest. Thank you, Your Honor.

How will that help me get Trevor back? When the police spot your ex -husband,

they arrest him.

And then return your son to your custody.

But I don't know how Matt's going to take to that. What do you care? You want

your son back, don't you? Yes, but arresting Matt could ruin his career.

Most ex -wives would pay me double for that.

But I don't understand.

So, how does it feel being a divorce lawyer?

I'd put it on par with being a proctologist.

Ouch. So far, defendant Stryker's buddy has cost me $3 .50 for a new suit, 12

days of leave time, and a bruised ego. You lost?

Judge issued a warrant for the colonel's arrest.

Wow.

Look on her face. I never would have guessed that.

Maybe she's realizing what she's just done.

It is his fault, Harm, not hers.

She could have given him a couple of lousy days, Meg. Maybe not. She is

I thought you were here to lend moral support. You're starting to sound like

opposing counsel.

Sorry.

What's Trevor going to think when he sees his father being arrested?

Do you want your son back or not, Mrs. Anderson?

Of course I want him back. Then go home and wait for the police to do their job.

I don't have a home. Everything I own is on a van to Wisconsin.

Then I'd make sure the police have some way to reach you.

Now, I have another case, but even if I didn't, you don't want me holding your

hand for $150 an hour, huh?

Cheer up, Mrs. Anderson.

You won.

Mrs.

Anderson.

Is there anything we can do, ma 'am?

You're his lawyer.

Yes, ma 'am, but we are military officers.

We look out for our own.

Why did he force me to do this?

Well, ma 'am, you're taking his boy away from him. I had to. He didn't give me a

choice.

Yes, ma 'am, I understand. I just wish you could have given him a little more

time. All Matt ever wants is time.

When he asked me to marry him, I told him I didn't want to be a military wife.

He said he had six years to go until he got his 20, and if I promised to hang

around till then, he would retire.

Well, the six became eight, and the eight became ten, and he still hasn't

retired. Why should I think it's going to be any different with Trevor?

You shouldn't.

Do you have somewhere to stay until the colonel brings his son back?

I hate spending the money, but I guess I could find a motel.

How about the hostess house at the base? It'll cost a lot less than any decent

motel.

I'm not a dependent anymore, Lieutenant.

It's Meg.

And under the circumstances, that's not going to be a problem.

Why don't I ride along with you and help set it up?

Thank you.

Mrs. Anderson, did you tell your lawyer you believed Matt might hurt Trevor?

No, not exactly. I told him that Matt sounded confused about Trevor and that

that frightened me.

How was he confused?

Twice he referred to Trevor as Digger.

Digger?

Who's Digger?

What? You said, how can you do that, Digger?

I did?

Yeah, you did, Dad.

Must have been thinking of an old buddy of mine.

He used to pour mustard all over his french fries, too.

Neat. Good to know somebody else does it.

Kids at school think I'm weird.

We said the same thing about Digger.

Can I phone Mom?

Oh, she's probably busy packing for the move.

We packed last week.

You're supposed to move Saturday.

Remember?

Right. Saturday.

You didn't tell her we were taking extra days, did you?

Yes, I did.

And she said okay?

Not exactly.

Look, Trevor.

I don't know when I'm going to be seeing you again.

I know.

And I thought it would be nice to spend a couple of days together doing

something special.

Since you've never been hunting.

Are you serious?

Well. I was about your age when my father took me on my first hunt. This is

cool. What are we going to hunt?

Bears?

Deer.

Why not bears?

Not these.

But what if a bear attacks us?

Then we'd have to shoot it, right? It'd be like self -defense.

Oh, definitely self -defense.

So where's my gun?

Well, you're still a little young.

How can I hunt if I don't have a gun?

Well, I hunt and you're the bait.

See, I tie you to a tree.

When a deer's come to eat you, pow.

Deer don't eat people, Dad.

They don't?

Must be thinking of bear hunting.

Dad.

Colonel Anderson requested an emergency leave for personal reasons, sir.

Did he say what those reasons were, Captain?

Not to me, sir.

And you have no idea where he went?

No, sir.

Isn't he required to leave a phone number?

Yes, sir.

He left his own phone number.

Well, we know he's not there, Captain.

That's the number he left, sir.

Look, I'm here to help Colonel Anderson, not hurt him, but I can't do that if

you stonewall me.

I honestly don't know where he went, Commander.

Maybe, honey.

I know he checked his rifle out of the armory before he left.

What kind of rifle?

Browning .308.

Said it was his father's deer rifle.

Oh, God.

I got her into the hostess house. I thought you might have some news, so I

brought her along.

What is it, Mrs. Anderson? The rifle?

Matt's father committed suicide with that rifle.

That was your daddy's gun?

Yes.

And he gave it to you?

Mm -hmm.

So someday you'll give it to me.

Someday.

Get in the truck.

Morning.

Morning. Can I see your driver's license, please?

Sure.

Going to school today, son?

No.

No what?

No, sir.

Can you step around to the rear of the vehicle, sir?

I was in the Corps myself, sir.

Served three years in the 1st Division.

Lance Corporal Terrence Hodge.

Pleased to meet you, sir.

Ah, well, it's Deputy Hodge now, sir.

Loden County Sheriff's Department. I see.

Any problem?

Well, there seems to be a warrant for your arrest, Colonel.

Hands on the vehicle.

Do you have to do this in front of my son?

Please, you don't have to do that.

This ain't a Marine uniform I'm wearing, Colonel. I'm the one giving orders. No!

Let my dad go!

Trevor, stay in the van! Get back in!

Help me up!

Help me up! Help

me up!

Go tell me!

I got you, Digger.

I got you.

I got you.

A Loden County deputy sheriff stopped a colonel outside of Ridgecrest, 70 miles

east of Bakersfield.

He tried to bring him into custody and says he resisted.

Oh, Matt, what are you doing?

The deputy was injured.

The colonel got away.

What about Trevor?

He must still be with him.

Did they say which way he was headed?

No, sir, but it's escalating into a manhunt.

We better head up there.

I'm going with him.

With all due respect, Mrs. Anderson, You had the arrest warrant issued. Your

presence there may aggravate the situation.

I know Matt better than anyone.

And if my son is in danger, I should be there.

That's a pretty good bump there, Marine, but I think you'll live.

We're in trouble, aren't we?

Well, one of us is.

Your mother called in a cavalry.

Can I arrest you?

No.

Nobody's going to arrest anybody.

I don't want you to go to jail, Dad.

I'm not going to jail.

Don't worry.

I'll get us out of this.

I don't know, Gooch.

Go around us.

We got him where we want him, buddy.

How bad is it?

Just bad enough for a ticket home.

I'm scared, Coach.

Don't leave me. Hey, have I ever left you? You're hurting in the snow.

Damn near froze to death before I found the cabin. Yeah, well, not today. Where

I go, you go.

I can't feel my legs.

Hey, it's going to be all right. I got you. It's okay.

I'm going to die today.

No, you're not. Now you look at me.

Now you're not going to die.

I'm going to get you out of here, okay? I'm going to get you home.

We'll be deer hunting this fall.

I promise.

Promise what, Dad?

That we're going hunting like I promised.

Come on. Let's go.

I'm standing in front of a gas station off of Pinecrest Highway where an

of the Loden County Sheriff's Department has just become an apparent victim of

an attack.

The alleged attacker has been identified as... Sir, where can I find Sheriff's

Deputy Hodges with paramedics? I don't have time for that. I have to wait.

Deputy Hodges?

You must be damage control.

Something like that. What happened?

What happened?

He resisted arrest. That's what happened.

If he didn't use his son as a shield, he'd be in custody right now.

What? Colonel would never use his son as a shield.

You weren't there, Commander.

I was.

Colonel tried to kill me.

Is that how you got this?

Hit me with his rifle.

If he was trying to kill you, he'd have shot you.

I got a fugitive to catch.

I think his ego hurts more than his head.

Miss Anderson, I don't know exactly what happened.

But that deputy's only telling half of it.

What happens when they catch up with Matt?

Let's hope we find him before they do. If Matt wants to commit suicide, he

decide to fight. Who knows what could happen to Trevor?

Colonel Anderson was being questioned, became violent, and attacked the officer

with his rifle, then escaped in a red 4x4. The suspect is considered armed and

dangerous. Police are asking anyone with any information to contact them

immediately. This is...

Can I call Mom?

Not right now.

She might be worried about us.

Are you okay, Gooch?

What'd you say?

I said, are you okay?

No, no, no. A name. You called me a name.

A name that only Digger called me.

A friend who put mustard on his french fries?

That's right. My friend who put mustard on his fries, like you.

What made you call me Gooch?

What? Damn it!

I saw the deputy's car drive up, and it looked like a routine check until he

slammed that guy up against the blazer.

The guy didn't assault?

Yeah, after the deputy backhanded his kid, then the guy lost it. He dropped

cop like a box of rocks.

I just stayed out of the way, man. I mean, that guy looked dangerous, you

like some train killer kind of con, you know.

You see what direction they're headed?

Yeah, they went northbound.

Thanks, Pete.

Name's Randy. Oh, hey, these are just Pete's overalls. Listen up, don't I,

Get some kind of reward for this or something?

That's... I knew that deputy wasn't telling the truth.

Colonel did assault him, sir.

Sounds to me like he was just protecting his son.

He's unstable at best. He may even be suicidal. Either way, his son's in

There's a white earth on his trail.

Grab him. I didn't want to hurt anybody, Commander.

They have this all wrong.

Where are you, Colonel?

I'd say somewhere in the middle of Indian territory.

Sir? That's what we used to call the Bush and Nam.

Looks like I got myself into a real mess, Commander.

Yes, sir.

How's Trevor?

He's a little worn out, but he's all right.

Well, you have left one very angry sheriff's deputy here, sir. He's got a

out looking for you.

I figured that.

I blew it, Commander. Lost control.

They say stress kills, but nobody talks about it making you crazy.

Uh, is Joyce there?

Yes, sir.

Look, tell her that Trevor's all right.

I'd do it myself, but I don't have the energy to fight with her.

Colonel, you need to tell me where you are.

Look, you're gonna have to trust me, sir. I may be your only safe way out of

this.

I'll turn myself into you, Commander.

But I don't want to be arrested in front of my son.

I understand, sir. That might be difficult. The minute I leave here,

deputies will follow.

Even if I lose them, they have roadblocks for a 50 -mile radius.

I'll take care of that.

As soon as I'm gone, let Mrs. Anderson know Trevor's safe.

Harm, you've gone far beyond your responsibilities to your client.

The police are involved. I think you should let them handle it. Handle it?

Meg, it's going to be a lynching. Yeah, with you in the middle.

Meg, the colonel wants to surrender. He just doesn't want to be arrested in

front of his son. You can understand that, can't you?

Yeah, I understand it, but I'm not so sure that they will.

Exactly. The colonel's on edge. These guys might be trigger happy. Believe me,

wouldn't be getting in the middle if I didn't think it was the best way out.

Then you shouldn't go alone, sir.

No, no, no.

Sorry, Lieutenant.

You said yourself that Colonel was on edge. You don't know what state of mind

you're going to find him in. I'm already sticking my neck out. There's no reason

for both our heads to be on the chopping block. You may have taken this case pro

bono, sir, but I'm still your partner.

What are we going to tell Mrs. Sanderson?

I'll tell her to wait in the car and promise to phone when we find Trevor.

Give me some thought.

What the hell?

Hey, what do you think you're doing?

Come on.

Welcome aboard, sir.

There's choppers in the area. Must be a night mission.

I'll have to leave you here until I find the relic.

Back, I promise.

You gotta stay awake.

Do you hear me? You stay awake.

I promise I'll be back. You promise to stay awake, okay?

Colonel. That you, Gooch?

Digger.

No.

Don't shoot.

What's he saying?

Doc, don't wake him. He's having a nightmare.

Trevor?

Trevor, wake up.

No, my name's Meg.

Your mom asked me to check up on you.

You okay?

Yeah. Colonel.

Can I see your rifle, sir?

Browning, isn't it?

You heard him.

Yes, sir. He was having a nightmare.

He was speaking Vietnamese.

Was he, sir?

Sounded like he was mumbling something in his sleep.

What's the caliber?

.308.

It's a nice rifle.

Good and flat shooting.

It's his daddy's.

Someday it's going to be mine.

Meg, why don't you take Trevor down to the coffee shop?

No. Colonel, you and I have military matters to discuss.

Besides, Trevor's a growing boy. I'm sure he's starving for breakfast.

I am kind of hungry, Dad.

Can I bring you back something?

Coffee. Black.

Colonel? Uh, same.

Why'd Mom send you, Lieutenant?

Why didn't she come?

You know my rank?

I'm a military brat.

So was I.

Really? Mm -hmm. Did your folks get a divorce?

No. My father died in Vietnam.

That's worse than a divorce.

Yeah, it is.

My dad was in Vietnam.

I know.

Sometimes he acts like he's still there.

When he called you Digger?

Yeah.

How'd you know? Your mom told me. She's waiting for you to call her. Where?

Waiting in that car. You want me to dial it? I can do it. Okay.

Do you have any change mail?

I can't turn myself in.

Not now. Now that I know it's real.

Colonel. You heard him. Don't lie. Don't lie. Sir, he was having a nightmare. To

me, it sounded like don't lie. To you, don't lie.

He puts mustard on his french fries.

What?

Trevor. He puts mustard on his French fries, just like Digger did.

Sir, half of France puts mustard on their French fries. Does that make

French? He called me Gooch. That was my nickname in Nam. Now, how the hell do

you explain that?

Well, maybe you told him, or his mother... No! No!

Joyce doesn't know they called me Gooch. I never, never told her that!

She knew your best friend in Nam was Digger?

We talked a lot about Digger.

But I never told her that my nickname was Gooch.

Colonel, do you really believe your son is Digger reincarnated?

Sir, you've just gone through a divorce.

You're not going to see your son for a long time.

Isn't it possible that those losses have triggered the memory of losing your

best friend in Vietnam?

Digger and I made a pact in Nam.

If one of us bought it, the other would bring him home, bury him at the hunting

cabin.

Digger's giving me a second chance.

Sir, Trevor is not dead. You can't bury him at your hunting cabin.

I know that. My God, Commander, I'm not insane.

But I've seen things happen in that war.

Laws of physics and nature got all twisted up.

Way beyond logic and common sense.

Trevor and Digger are intertwined somehow.

Only in your mind, Colonel.

Even if you're right.

If it's only in my mind.

Won't getting Trevor to that cabin put an end to it for me?

You know what to do when a bear attacks you?

Climb a tree?

Nope. Get in your car and drive?

Play dead.

Bear won't hurt you if he thinks you're dead.

I think I have a better chance of my Mustang.

Yeah, or my tree.

Tom.

Tuck your neck out. I won't forget it.

Any time, Colonel.

Well, we'll be taking off shortly, huh?

I'll go fire up, sir. Yeah, thanks.

Trevor behaving himself, Lieutenant?

Yes, sir.

Teaching me how to hunt bears.

Aren't you supposed to play dead if a bear attacks you, Dad?

Only if you're not faster than him. Nobody's faster than a bear.

Not the bear, the guy you're hunting with. He's the one you gotta outrun.

Meg, you forgot our coffee.

Oh, sorry.

Wasn't it, sir? Please.

Two coffees, please. Okay.

Talk about your mood changes. How'd you calm him down?

I agreed to go along with him.

To turn himself in?

To a hunting cabin outside of Bishop.

What?

Twenty -five years ago, the colonel made a pact in Vietnam.

If he or his body were killed, the survivor would bury the other one at

hunting cabin.

Colonel had to leave his buddy in the jungle.

Buddy named Digger?

Yeah. And he thinks his son is Digger?

In a way. And you believe him?

Here you go.

Thanks.

No, I don't believe Trevor's Digger. But the Colonel does, and that's all that

matters. All that matters is that you're aiding and abetting a fugitive. Meg, I

promised Stryker I would help him. Yeah, to handle his divorce, not to run from

the law. His career is over. We both know that.

I can't let him throw it away for nothing, and that's what it'll be if he

doesn't make it to that cabin. You could be court -martialed for this.

I'm willing to risk it.

Okay, forget you. What about Trevor? You're endangering him.

No, the colonel would never hurt Trevor. Besides, I've got his ammo. You don't

have it, Jared.

Meg, this can all be over in less than an hour. We fly the colonel and his son

to the cabin. He gets closure. We fly back to the base. He surrenders himself

the court. The closest Deputy Hodge will ever come to seeing us is on the 11 o

'clock news.

Want to bet?

How'd they find us?

Trevor called his mom and told her. She told them.

Don't let him leave.

Will?

Hey,

there's Mom.

Come on, Digger.

Harm. Meg, I gotta help.

No! My son's in there! I'm not gonna hurt your son, Mrs. Anderson.

Three. Three.

Go look at that.

Do it. For God's sake, let me ask Matt to send him out before you go in there

with guns.

Please. All right. You've got one minute.

Matt, please send Trevor out. I'll talk to the judge.

Just let our son come out.

Matt, please.

Get out of here. No, Matt, please.

Stay back. My son.

They're not in there.

They're headed for a hunting cabin?

Oh. Oh, he was always talking about the good times he and Digger had at some

cabin, but I don't know where it is. Does the colonel have any relatives in

Bishop Hood, no?

No. They've all moved away.

But I think that Digger's mother still lives there.

He took my cloak!

He left his rifle!

Check all the rooms!

Bard! Check the coffee shop!

Base. Deputy Hodge.

Call the airfield at Bishop.

See if they can track a helicopter on radar that just lifted off a mile south

Big Pine off 168, heading northwest.

Miles south of Big Pine and 168, heading northwest.

Roger. After you do that, get me Judge Hollick.

I need a warrant for the arrest of a Navy lieutenant commander.

Something like that.

The cabin's somewhere on this side of the mouth.

I thought it would be easy to find for the air, but I can't even spot the

logging road that goes to it. It's been 25 years, Colonel.

Probably both hit by tree growth.

You're right.

Tom, find the nearest LD. We'll hike in from there. Yes, sir.

Got left behind yesterday.

I got a buddy wounded bad about 500 meters back there.

Charlie's coming that way. I can't leave him. Look, our slick is less than five

minutes out. When it gets here, we gotta go. We'll be here.

Thunder, go with him. Yes, sir. He doesn't even have a weapon.

We never saw Matt after he got back from Vietnam.

And when his sister moved to San Francisco, we just lost track of him

completely.

How is he?

He's still in the Marine Corps, ma 'am. He's a colonel now. A colonel?

Oh, good for him.

Did he tell you anything about Digger?

Enough to know that they were good friends. Good friends?

More like Siamese twins.

They were born on the same day. Did you know that?

No, I didn't. Oh, they signed up together on their 18th birthday.

Digger wanted to go Navy, but Matt talked him into the Marines.

I never held it against him, but I'm sure Matt did.

He always felt so responsible for Digger. Once Digger got lost deer

nearly froze trying to find his way back to the cabin. Matt said that it was his

fault. Now, I never understood why.

They both knew that mountain like the palm of their hand.

Mrs. Cole, do you still have that cabin?

Oh.

I never had the heart to sell it. Of course, I could have used the money,

I don't know. Somehow, Tigger just loved it so.

Anything look familiar, Colonel?

Everything that's a problem.

A tree is a tree is a tree. But I'm sure I'll recognize something when I get to

the logging road.

Don't leave me again.

What?

I said don't leave me. Again? You said don't leave me again, didn't you? Take

easy, Colonel. You're frightening me.

Sorry, Trevor.

Come on.

Rose can't be much better.

Floating County Mobile, CHP Air. You're almost out of them.

You should have them in sight.

I don't have time for games, Captain. Tell me where they went right now, or

you're under arrest.

Bradley, Thomas, Captain.

United States Marine Corps.

855 -368 -400.

October 1, 1961.

This is it. This is the logging road to the cabin.

My God.

It's all grown over.

Which way now, Colonel?

I think, uh... This way.

Trevor!

Trevor I left them right here man right here

I can't leave Jacob.

There's nothing we can do. He's dead. No! I gotta get him home!

Andrew! Andrew!

Trevor!

Trevor! Up here!

There's a bear down there.

I know I'm supposed to play dead, but the tree looked like a better idea.

I told you you'd make good bait.

Come on down.

leaves a hot trail.

It's this way.

There it is.

It's it, isn't it?

It's it.

Freeze!

Dad? Take it easy, Colonel. I gotta get Digger home.

On the ground, now!

We're on our...

sit on the ground. Look, this is hard to explain.

You see that cabin there?

Colonel's been trying to get to that cabin for 25 years, ever since he left

best friend behind in Vietnam.

Now that we're this close, I can't let you stop him. I'll shoot you, Commander.

Get going, sir.

You do what you have to do, Deputy.

Maybe we ought to let him walk to the cabin. No.

Stop or I'll fire!

God's sake, Hodge! There's a kid with him!

We did.

Are you okay?

Mom.

I'm okay.

You can kiss your career goodbye, Commander.

He was only assisting his client to surrender.

Like hell. He was aiding and abetting a fugitive.

A kid at the gas station said that you hit Trevor.

You think a judge is going to believe a kid pumping gas?

Or a deputy sheriff?

I'd believe the video.

Video?

What video?

Oh, the kind that keep turning up on the 6 o 'clock news.

There's no video.

That gas station had a surveillance camera. You did get it, didn't you,

Lieutenant? Yes, sir.

Yeah, I'll tell you what, Deputy.

If you allow Colonel Anderson to return with us and surrender to the court, I'll

see that Lieutenant Austin loses that tape. I don't think I should do that,

That tape is evidence for when the colonel charges Deputy Hodge with police

brutality. Well, I'm sure if Deputy Hodge scratches the colonel's back, the

colonel will scratch the deputy's.

Are you going? What the hell does it look like?

Good bluff, sir.

What, you didn't get the video?

Here you go.

Thanks.

Tom, do you think there's any chance that what the Colonel believes is true?

What, reincarnation?

I don't think so, Meg.

I guess you're right.

At least it's true for him.

That's all that matters.