Original subtitles

I'm sorry.

I have to go so often.

It's one of the many indignities of old age.

Please, don't apologize.

I'm so grateful you agreed to do this.

It's a story that needs to be told. And it needs to be told now, before this

election takes place.

It is not something I want to take to my grave.

You're actually doing me a favor, Ms. Manalo.

Where were we?

Your unit had just reached the coast near Davao.

Davao.

The submarine was there.

But intelligence was not good.

Not good.

You talked about the unit spitting up. You stayed with your leader, Alejandro

Fernandez? Yes, and that's when it happened.

Dinner's here, Mr. Calendas.

Take it away.

I need to talk to Ms. Manalo.

It's okay, Victor.

You can start again in the morning.

You need to eat.

That's right, Mr. Calendis. You need to keep your strength up.

I so appreciate that you're speaking with me.

The pieces of the story are beginning to come together.

I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early.

Perfect.

Be quiet and be quick.

It's done.

Good. What are you so happy about?

I found this.

Cool, yeah?

Then it's worth big bucks.

I said not to touch anything.

I didn't touch it. I took it.

You have to get rid of that.

It's evidence, you jackass!

Fine.

My name

is Alex Walker.

I'm ex-DEA.

One of my first assignments took me to an isolated beach right here on this

island. Sold what little I had and bought myself a gift shop.

Just peace, no stress, no drama.

Boy, was I wrong.

This is...

Every time I kill one of them, three more pop up.

Technically, for every one termite you see, there are 200 more you don't see. I

mean, you have an infestation.

I have an infestation?

It's the worst I've seen in my 25 years in the job. I'm thinking it'll take

four, maybe five days.

Days? Days in a row? Use your little sprayer thing.

Oh, no, I won't be using that.

This is a tent job.

You'll have to move out and close shop for a while.

Do what?

For a few little bugs?

Few bugs that are eating the wood, holding this place together.

With an infestation this bad, it's only a matter of time before... How much is

this going to cost?

You see that?

That's a soldier termite.

They guard a colony with those big pinchers of theirs.

You might want to be careful with those guys.

Should I start today?

Yeah.

Hey!

Alex Walker, welcome to my house.

You made it. I did.

Thank you.

Only took you two years. I think that I made it, all right? Thank you again,

man, for letting me stay while attending my place.

Of course. Only one more can't hurt, right?

Yeah. One more.

All these people live with you?

You take care of all these people. No, Alex, we take care of each other.

Is everybody a family member?

Pretty much.

Meet my cousin Angelo.

Hey, what's up, Angelo?

This is Alex.

Cool.

I wonder what he thought I was.

Hey, normally I'd have you bunk up in my room, but Linda's coming over for the

weekend. Dive shop owner? Mm-hmm. Is that really a thing now?

So far.

So good.

You're gonna bunk with my grandpa, Silvio.

Angelo!

Where's my wallet?

It's on your desk.

And my glasses?

Um... Kitchen.

Are you wearing my army jacket again?

Clean it and put it back.

Yes, sir.

Why does Angelo know where all your stuff is at?

Angelo puts those tracking things on all my stuff so he can find them with his

phone. Because Angelo is helpful.

He doesn't bring me roommates.

He can be a little cranky.

No, it's a fact.

We need security and economic opportunity.

And I come from a family that has provided both their countries with its

funding. Starting with my grandfather, Colonel Alejandro Fernandez.

Did you all see that? She did it again.

Talking about her grandfather's accomplishments like they're her own.

They're politicians.

No matter where you go, they're all the same, aren't they?

Lolo, let me help you to your seat.

The food is ready.

That was

the best pancetta palabocca I've ever had.

Thanks, Alex.

It's my family's secret recipe.

Yeah, does Ernesto know how lucky he is to be with you?

Well, listen, I would like to thank all of you for taking me in and...

Making me feel like it's home.

Sir, let me help you to your room.

I'm going to the bathroom.

You want to hold it for me?

No.

All right.

All right.

Sorry about earlier.

Yeah, well, isn't everything against me, does he? No.

He has a thing with Americans.

I thought Filipinos liked Americans.

It goes back to his service during World War II.

For any Filipino alive at that time, the war never leaves them.

See, it wasn't just Pearl Harbor that was attacked in December of 1941.

Ten hours later, they hit the Philippines.

By March, after Corredor, MacArthur retreated and we were occupied by the

Japanese. It was left to guerrillas, people like my grandfather, to keep the

fight going.

Lo, I was just telling Alex about your service in the war.

Did he care?

Of course I did. My grandpa was in a B-17.

They flew out of Foggia, Italy. I don't... I don't know a lot that

happened here in the Pacific, but he was... When was this picture

taken?

It was taken near Davao, before my last mission.

I don't want to talk about it.

Sleep well, Lolo.

I'll see you in the morning. All right.

All right.

Let the dead bury the dead.

I'll just sleep here on the floor.

Hey, what are you doing?

Hey!

Ernesto!

What? Hey, what...

Oh, fuck!

Thank you.

Oh, Silvio.

Good. Resting.

Finally. But I wonder if he's more shaken up than he's letting on.

He snuck into the house with all those people there.

Not anybody noticed it. It was like a professional job.

The signs are there.

He puts a hit on somebody in his 90s.

Why? I don't know. But I do know one thing.

It's not gonna happen again.

Hey. Hey.

What's this?

A list of Philippine World War II vets, like your grandfather.

Not a lot of them are still alive, but three of them died in Cebu in the past

two weeks.

Take a look at the cause of death.

Asphyxiation all while sleeping?

The coroner wouldn't certify them as natural deaths.

Now, with what happened with Silvio, it's pretty clear that they weren't.

Did anything else unusual happen in the days before he died? Any visitors,

perhaps? Yes, and did you get her name?

Okay. Thank you so much. You've been so helpful.

And I'm so sorry for your loss.

And you said that she was from the Sun Star.

And if I need to reach you again, is this the best number?

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you again.

Well, two of them got a visit from a reporter for the Sun Star.

Maria Manalo?

Bingo. That's the one.

Hey. Hey.

How's he doing?

He's fine.

He's mostly mad that he's confined to the house.

Everything okay out here?

Well, the family and, oh, half the neighborhood have this place on

lockdown. Navy SEAL team couldn't get through this, John. You know, it gives

Ernesto peace of mind that you're here.

Of course.

Because he's the American.

Lolo, he's here to help.

They're always here to help.

To help themselves.

And it always goes badly for the Filipinos.

You know, I did kind of save your life when that guy tried to kill you.

Ten more seconds and I have broken both his arms. I don't need help from any

American.

Silvio, what is it? Why do you dislike Americans so much?

Do you really want to know?

We're waiting for our next mission.

Eating sweet potatoes and rice.

And maybe we got a chicken from a local farmer.

I just received a package from Melbourne.

Melbourne? And it's directly from MacArthur's headquarters.

There's a German industrialist in Cebu working with the Japanese called

Luthner. But he's not German.

He's an American spy by the name of George Rowe.

And he has obtained detailed maps outlining the Japanese defenses from

Luzon to Mindanao. It's the key to the retaking of the islands.

Now MacArthur is sending a sub to pick him up at Bagakai Point near Danau.

That takes us through a heavy enemy concentration.

That's why Carlotte is coming.

The Japanese know that the map is missing.

We need to get Ro out of there before they realize that he has it.

Good afternoon, sir.

Where are you going?

To Mount Mayug, sir. We are bringing sweet potatoes to your headquarters.

Sweet potatoes?

Yes, sir.

Sweet potatoes.

Go!

And the door is tied.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Open!

Safe.

We'll arrive at the pickup point at 1100 hours tomorrow, just south of Danao. But

there's an enemy encampment in Danao.

Why not do the transfer off Bohol? Man, Bohol's too shallow to get a sub in.

Military intelligence needs this information if you want to retake the

Philippines. Victor, you must understand.

Everyone here must understand that getting this man and his map off the

island will be the most... important thing we do in this war.

I understand, Hebe.

Koloda is correct.

The mission is important, but we are not to engage the enemy unless absolutely

necessary.

Our mission is to deliver the American.

Did you not say that our mission is always the same? To kill the enemy.

Is that what she told you?

Well, when she's in charge, that's what we will do.

In the meantime, I will give orders.

Come with me.

What was that all about?

Alejandro is head of our unit, but that's because he has money and he went

to military school before the war.

But Carlotta is our true leader.

You'd rather follow a woman.

She's no ordinary woman.

Already she's a legend in the resistance.

The entire Japanese officer corps fear that she will appear and slit their

throats in the night.

She did that seven times.

Well, it seems you're positively moony over it.

Don't worry, Mr. Rome.

Carlotta will get you to your submarine.

I promise you, Washington is going to honor each and every one of you when

this damn war is over.

Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Let me guess.

The American government didn't honor your men. They are not some.

Where are you going, Lolo Silvio?

Angelo, where is my rich swatch?

One second.

He left it in the kitchen.

I mean, I guess he has his reasons for being bitter. Bitter isn't the right

word.

Disappointed, maybe.

The U.S. government hasn't exactly been great about keeping its promises.

Maria Manalo?

Maria Manalo is one of our best investigative reporters.

And when was the last time you heard from her?

Maybe three or four days ago.

She's been in the field working on a story. Can you tell us what the story is

about? I only know some of the broad parameters at this moment.

But you understand it would be a violation of journalistic ethics to talk

to you about it. Mr. Basilio, we have reason to believe that several recent

deaths have a connection to visits.

for Miss Manalo.

You can't think she's responsible?

Not necessarily, but she might be in danger herself.

I only know that she was working on a human interest piece on the last of the

World War II veterans.

How they'll all be gone soon.

This is her desk.

She keeps it neat as a pin. My guess is she won't find much.

Does it mean anything?

It does to me.

It's my address.

If you hear anything from Ms. Manala, please have her contact us immediately.

Absolutely, Detective.

And you do the same.

I hope you guys find more out there than you did here.

Thank you again, Mr. Basilio.

Thank you. Thank you.

Let's put a plainclothes stakeout on our apartment.

Already done.

I'm Mendoza speaking.

I hear you're looking for me.

Maria?

If you want to find out what's going on, meet me at the Solea parking lot in one

hour. Section C3.

Come alone.

Detective Mendoza?

It all started three weeks ago. A man at a nursing home reached out.

He said he had an important news story.

But when I went to see him, he refused to talk.

He seemed scared.

But he slipped me a list of names.

I began contacting them.

All old men. In their 90s. But none would talk to me. Was Silvio Alamarez on

it? He was.

But one of the others agreed to talk.

His name was Victor Calendas.

We spoke briefly, and the bones of the story began to emerge.

A big story.

A career maker.

But before we could even speak again, he died.

Two of the other men on the list died under identical circumstances.

Then they came to my house.

They? Two men.

Scary-looking guys.

Drove a black van.

Like that one?

Of the vehicle!

I said get out now!

That must be one hell of a story.

Journalists have been killed for less.

We need to get you somewhere safe.

These are professional killers.

I can't think of anywhere that's safe.

Don't worry. I know a place.

The time is 10.58 p.m.

Sir, will you please provide your name and your consent to be recorded for this

interview? Silvio Alamares.

I consent.

So, just to confirm, in early 1944, you

were attached to Awarai Guerrilla Platoon, commanded by Alejandro

Fernandez. I was.

And you participated in the mission to deliver the American operative George

Roo to the U.S. armed forces in the Far East near Danao. We did.

And the mission was successful?

Only for the Americans.

Our friends in the village left us a banka boat tucked away just off the

shore. We will take him out a half mile off the reef.

where the sub should be waiting. But when we reached our destination, we made

a terrible discovery.

What did you see out there?

The enemy has moved closer.

They're just two kilometers away.

But, Jeppe, the bad news is they have a machine gun nest on the next bluff

overlooking the shore.

We'd be dead before we got halfway to the boat.

How many men were there? Two men and a Type 96 gun.

We will need to split up.

I will go with the American down to the boat. I need one volunteer to go with

me.

You will take the rest of the men. Go inland. Approach from the rear.

And take out that machine gun nest.

We should wait until nightfall.

Do it silently.

Cut their throats while they sleep.

You keep the subway not longer than I began.

Then we'll be stuck with the American. With the entire Japanese army looking

for him.

It's nice to be wanted.

It's a suicide mission.

And we can switch positions.

You can take the American down to the boat with Silvio, and I will go with the

men.

Now, you've got this.

Let's synchronize.

The machine gun will be neutralized at 1050.

Follow me.

We're just going to wait here until 10.50, then we go?

That is right.

How are we going to know? Are we going to hope that there's dead men on that

machine gun?

If Fernandez says the nest will be cleaned out, then the nest will be

cleaned out. Again, how are we going to know?

Because we will hear two carbine shots and no Type 96 machine gun, Mr. Rowe.

We haven't heard any gunshots on our way here. They should have gotten there by

now. What do you think's happening?

I might have caught them by surprise using their blades.

It's Fernandez's specialty.

Well, it depends on how good you think Fernandez is.

One way or another, I gotta get on that sub.

I'll go first.

If anything happens to me, I'll take care of him and his information.

Do you understand?

Yes.

No.

Don't. Don't.

Private Alamares, that was an order.

Leave me!

No!

No! Get him to the ground!

We got him.

Hello, we got him.

Hey.

Come on. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. No. She's gone.

Help me.

She's gone. Help me. Let her go. Let her go. She's gone.

We got to get her to the boat.

Get to the boat. I can't believe it. Get to the boat. I can't believe it.

i spent the rest of the war in an australian military hospital but in the

end the mission was deemed a success according to macassar

the intelligence from roe was key to the retaking of the islands several months

later fernandez and the others were honored for their role in the mission

but i

They were heard from all over the American government again.

But more importantly, Carlotta's sacrifice

went completely

unrecognized, as

if it never existed.

Well, Silvio, for what it's worth, I am truly sorry.

No, I'm sorry.

You weren't even born.

Life works this way.

If we'd only waited a few more minutes for Fernandez to reach those guns.

I'm afraid it's not that simple.

What do you mean?

When you put this together with the pieces of the story that I was able to

get out of Victor Calendas and the others, I can tell you exactly what

happened that day.

Both.

You said two men.

The sentries weren't there when I spotted them earlier.

I told her it's a suicide mission.

At best, we can get one of them before they turn the machine gun on us.

What should we do?

We head back to base.

Let's head back to base. Sir, do we really leave Jeppe, Carlotta, and Silvio

to the enemies?

If we can get the gun, it will do Carlotto and the others no good at all.

There's still a chance they can make it down the hill and get out of range

before they are seen. But, sir, we can still... That's an order!

I am not giving up on all of our lives for no reason.

Let's head back to base.

Don't shoot all these phones.

Follow me.

Dived into the nest, both grenades went off and cleared the nest. He saved that

mission.

What was his name?

It has lost the history.

We need security and economic opportunity.

Oh, it's called family legacy. The love and sacrifice all for the Filipino

people.

Coward!

No, no, no, no, no, no.

So what you're saying is that Alejandro Fernandez Sr.

wasn't the hero he claimed to be.

The story had always been that Alejandro Fernandez heroically led a secret

mission during the war that led to the ultimate victory over Imperial Japan.

Over the years, as the family became more well-known, the legend grew.

As it always does.

That came to include Fernandez.

personally bayoneting two soldiers before throwing the grenades that took

out the gun emplacement.

What about these other guys, the guys that were there? Why didn't they come

forward? Mainly because Victor Calendas and the others were put on the family's

payroll for life, but also because of guilt.

So their empire was built on a lie.

I personally believe Victor Calendas and the other veterans were killed, and

Silvio was almost killed to protect that lie.

And to ensure the election of Rubi Fernandez.

Hey, how's it going?

I'm just writing to wrap up.

I called my boss.

He's going to meet me at the paper in an hour.

It's 2am. He wants to see the source documents and hear the tapes for

himself. He's nervous about libel.

Any mistake, no matter how small, could bring the newspaper down.

But what's the expression when you strike at the king?

You can't miss.

Okay, but Maria, you know you can't leave here until we've got those men.

Every minute counts.

The election's only days away.

It's got to be in the next edition.

It's too dangerous.

No story is worth your life.

You're obviously not a journalist.

How about I take those in for you?

It's not that simple.

I have to lay it out for him.

In person.

He's going to take a big risk running this story.

I have to appeal to him as a fellow journalist.

Okay, well, we all need a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow, Ernesto and I will go with you.

Do I have a choice?

No. Sorry.

Then I guess I have more time to nail the landing.

I'll even spend the night here, too.

Okay? We'll make sure to get you to the paper first thing in the morning.

Okay?

Bye, Angelo!

Los Angelo Eversley?

Thank you for meeting me so late. Of course, Maria.

Let's see what you have.

Everything's there.

More than I need for the article.

Enough for follow-up pieces too.

And the audio recordings?

All in here.

Angelo, what's going on?

Somebody stole my bike.

My helmet and even great-grandpa's jacket is gone too.

She's gone?

She must have disguised herself as Angelo who stole his bike to get past

the sentries.

She went to the office.

That's exactly what I told her not to do.

You've done incredible work, Maria.

You are a first-rate reporter.

And I'm sorry I have to do this.

Do what?

What are you doing?

You

know

what you have to do, do you?

Yes, sir.

So you're on the Fernandez family payroll too?

Let's just say it's definitely not in my interest to see them brought down.

You're a journalist.

You're always telling us about ethics, about standards.

Yes, but you haven't learned about power and the lengths people will go through

to get it and keep it.

Let's go.

Excuse me. Have you seen Maria Manola? She hasn't come in yet. Are you sure?

You might want to check the managing editor's office.

Locked.

Guess I'll never get her right this part of the story.

But I gotta know, how does it all work?

Who gives the orders?

Ruby Fernandez?

For someone who's seen what you've seen, you're so naive, Maria.

The people of the tavern are kept clean.

They do not know what's been done in their name.

It's called plausible deniability.

How does anyone become so corrupt?

Well, you know what they say about corruption.

It all starts with a cigar.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hey, what's this?

This... This is a broken phone piece.

Purple casing.

It's like Maria's phone.

She kept everything on that phone.

Recordings, photos.

Excuse me, what does this door lead to? The back stairs to the parking lot.

Well, we know she didn't leave the way she came. I told her not to come here

without us. Hey, grab this. She could be anywhere right now.

Helmet is here. The motorcycle is here.

But didn't you say she was wearing Silvio's jacket?

Angelo. Angelo, listen.

You know how you put those tracking things in all of great-grandpa's stuff?

Did you happen to put one in Lolo Silvio's jacket, too?

How much farther?

No more than two kilometers.

It looks like they're parked at the edge of the jungle.

He's investigating something in the jungle, swallowing up on a story she was

told, or what?

Either that or somebody's got a warped sense of poetic justice.

They want to end this story where it began.

Now.

I need you to tell me who else knows the whole story.

No one. At least no one left alive.

You're lying.

What would I tell you so you can kill them too? If you don't tell me, I will

have to kill your friends and family on the chance that you told them.

Isn't it better to sacrifice some people instead of all your loved ones?

You have one last chance.

Who have you spoken to about this?

I will never tell you.

What a fool you are.

A noble journalist willing to die.

To protect your sources.

At least I won't die a disgrace like you.

I will shoot her.

Put down your gun.

I'm gonna need your car.

Are you all right? All right?

Are you kidding me?

I forgot the story of the year.

Damn.

What about your phone?

Backed it all up on Angela's system.

He's got everything in that room.

You got him.

Congratulations, Maria.

Thank you. It really was the story of the year.

And it's still unfolding.

We've got two great young reporters full-time on the Fernandez family beat.

Forgive me for interrupting.

Alex, Kai, Ernesto, this is Mrs. Aurora Velasco. Hi. The owner and publisher of

the Sun Star.

Hello. I'd like to personally thank you for what you have done for Maria, for

the paper, and for journalism.

Our job is to give the public the facts and let the chips fall where they may.

And they always fall eventually.

Trust me.

Okay, I will.

Since we are thanking people, you saved my life.

I will always be in your debt.

And I especially want to thank you.

For using your contacts in Washington to finally put things right The

package arrived this morning

Your

grandfather's finally gonna get the recognition he deserves

Lolo Silvio?

Rach.

There's also back pay on his military pension.

And... there's one more thing.

So once the records were found and Maria was able to supply the whole story, the

Department of Defense issued the medal and the check.

I don't know what to say.

Well, there is one more thing.

I couldn't believe this.

That's true.

Carlotta survived.

She was found by villagers and taken to safety.

It was a long recovery.

But after the war, she went to the United States, married, had a family.

She taught high school history.

In the 1960s, she became a U.S. citizen.

She died in 2010 at the age of 81.

She lived a good life.

I love you, Doc.

Come, boy.

Come here.

Jolo!

I want you to put that tracking thing on this.