"Poachers." " Oh, my gosh." " Do you like it?" "I love it." " Your bird." " What?" "You take her." "Her?" "Okay, Mac, give me a roll." "Okay, here goes." "Harm." " Harm." " Yeah." "I got her." "What's wrong?" "I don't know." " Stop trying to scare me." " I'm not." "Can we make it to the field?" " Negative, I've gotta put her down." " Where?" "Following in his father's footsteps as a naval aviator," "Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr." "Suffered a crash while landing his Tomcat on a storm-tossed carrier at sea." "Diagnosed with night blindness," "Harm transferred to the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps, which investigates, defends and prosecutes the law of the sea." "There, with fellow JAG lawyer Major Sarah MacKenzie, he now fights in and out of the courtroom with the same daring and tenacity that made him a top gun in the air." "There." "There's a clearing." " Not big enough." " It's better than the trees." "Come on, Sarah." "Bingo." " Thank God for tailwinds." " And grassy meadows." "How did you know it was here?" "I didn't." "We lucked out." "Lucked out?" "Why didn't you set it down at the other clearing?" "I could have squeezed her in, but we'd have never got out." "This clearing's big enough for take-off." "You didn't even know this clearing was here." "Sorry, Mac." " I wasn't thinking clearly." " Yeah, obviously." "You wouldn't have called me Sarah." "Not you." "Her." "Her name is Sarah." "It's a coincidence." "You carry binoculars?" "They're in the emergency kit behind the rear cockpit." "Damn it." "The fuel line is split wide open." "I don't suppose you carry a spare." "Hardly." "I should have seen that in preflight." "You checked the engine." "I saw you." "Not close enough." "I saw a cabin to the left of that ridge we nearly hit." "Maybe they have a phone." "First rule of survival." "Never leave the crash site." "We didn't crash." "We got lucky, remember?" "We have at least five hours of daylight left." "If we can't find it, we'll double back." "What, you're afraid someone's gonna steal Sarah?" "Don't go feminist on me, Mac." "Men have been naming their airplanes after their women since the Wright brothers." "Harm, it's not nineteen-aught-eight." "Three." "They flew in aught-three." "I'll go myself." "No." "We should stick together." " This way, seaman." " I'm thirsty." "Watch it, son." " You're still in the Navy." " What are you gonna do?" "Court-martial me for unauthorized water consumption?" "No, but I'd be happy to kick your butt." "If it was up to me, you'd already be on that bus back to East L.A." " Hey, man, I'm from Echo Park." " Whatever." "Excuse me, sir." "Where can I find Lieutenant Commander Rabb?" "He's on leave today." "Can I help you?" "He's supposed to interview him at 1300." " Today?" " Yes, sir." " What's the name?" " Munoz." "Angel Munoz, sir." "Apparently, Commander Rabb agreed to try to block his administrative separation." "What did he do?" " Tell the lieutenant." " What?" " When were you born?" " August 17th." "1980." "What does that make him, sir?" "A Leo." "Sixteen, sir." "He used his brother's social security number to get in." "Wow, you look at least 20." "Thank you, sir." "Here it is." "Munoz." "Fraudulent enlistment, 0800 tomorrow." "No, my hearing's tomorrow, sir." "Commander Rabb wanted to go over it with me the day before." "He had me make an appointment with his clerk." "Assistant." "And I don't remember making one." "No way, lieutenant, I made it." "Well, let's page him." " How long have we been hiking?" " An hour and 43 minutes." "We must have circled around it." " Who is it?" " Bud." "Well, at least someone will start missing us." "Did you tell him you were taking me flying?" "No, I didn't want to hurt his feelings." "You?" "Same reason." "Just the same, maybe we should head back." "I'll tell you what." "You head back to your precious airplane." "I'll keep looking." "Hey, I said I was sorry." "But, yeah, the plane is important to me, all right?" "It was my father's." "Still, you took a big risk." "Well, at the time, I didn't feel it was." "Forget it." "It's too hard to explain." " Try me." " No, let's just try to find your cabin." "You know, it isn't hunting season." "There probably isn't anybody there." "Not hunting season?" "Probably target shooting." "Game warden." "One of the world's top ten thankless jobs." "Before or after JAG officers?" "It's a tossup, really." "It's locked." "Police radio in here." "Do you think someone actually lives here?" "Yeah." "He's probably a member of the Kaczynski family." "Very funny." "Shouldn't we say a few words?" "I mean, he's dead." "Sure, Denny." "Bless him, O Lord, for he is a gift from our bounty." "Amen." "Happy now?" "Yeah." "Okay, drive his jeep back to Beaver Creek." "We'll pick you up behind the diner." "Lee, you clean out the cabin." "And make sure you don't miss anything." "What's the matter?" "I think his keys are still in his pocket." "Good move, jackass." "Well, don't just stand there." "Get them out." "Hey there." "Howdy." " Is that your cabin back there?" " No, I think it's abandoned." "We just thought it could be a good place to camp out." "How'd you find it?" "Lost, I'm afraid." "Our plane had a mechanical." " Yellow biplane?" " That's us, yeah." "We had to set it down in a clearing a couple miles back." "You a military pilot?" "Navy." "Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb." " This is Major MacKenzie." " It's nice to meet you." "Likewise." "You guys wouldn't be able to give us a ride into town, would you?" "Sure." "I would hate to put you out." "I mean, we can probably catch a ride from the game warden." "That's his jeep back there anyway, isn't it?" "No, it's mine." "I bought it in auction." "I never bothered to get it repainted." "Really?" "You kept the police radio too, huh?" "Kent, get down." "What the hell are you doing?" " They were on to us." " I had it under control, you idiot." "Now what?" "Now we don't have a choice." "Now we have to kill them." " Can you see them?" " No." "I think they killed the warden." "It looked like they were burying something." "Must be poachers." "This isn't working." "Come on, grab the radio." "I'm not getting this, Mac." "Let's get out of here." " What are you doing?" " Returning fire." " With a flare gun?" " You got anything else?" " All right, cover me." " What are you doing?" "Mac." "Go." "Back, get back." "Which way did they go?" "I don't know." "Those things keep repeating themselves." "It's the same stuff over and over." "Don't you get cable, lieutenant?" "How many times are you gonna page him, lieutenant?" "I'm not paging him." "I'm going straight to the top." "Yes, admiral, sorry to bother you, sir." "But where would I keep a juvenile in temporary JAG custody?" "Lieutenant J.G. Bud Roberts, sir." "Well, I took responsibility for him." "Well, he's a minor, sir." "Fraudulent enlistment." "Commander Rabb was representing him in a case that..." "I did, but he's not home." "I left four messages and called his satellite pager three times." "I can't find the major either." "Yes, sir." "Admiral, what should I do about the kid?" "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "No, sir." "Yes, sir." "That was good, Bud." "Real good." "Sounds like you're stuck with me, sir." " Great, that's great." " Shut up, Denny." "Well, how are we supposed to ditch his jeep now?" "You should have thought of that before you shot at them." "You should have thought about it before you killed that warden." "Me and my brother aren't doing time, you got it?" "Well, then we'd better get the hell out of here before they get to someone." "Who are they gonna get to, Einstein?" " They're on foot." " Hey, bro." "Take a look at this." "Do you know how to track a wounded animal, Denny?" "Sure." "Well, then, get tracking." ""Hey, Mac, why don't we play hooky on Monday." "I'll take you flying." "There's nothing quite like it." "The open air, the adrenaline rush."" "I'm two for two, aren't I?" " How bad?" " Looks like a buckshot wound." "I can't tell how deep." " Deep enough to hurt like hell." " Mac." "I'm gonna have to pour this on to sterilize the wound." " It's bourbon." " Harm, I'm not swallowing it." "Just do it before it gets infected." "How far do you think they're behind us?" "I don't know." "But they still have the truck." "We should stay as far away from the road as possible." "Keep them on foot until we can circle back and get to the plane." "What good is the plane gonna do?" "Is there a machine gun mounted on it that I didn't notice?" "I grabbed the fuel line from the jeep." "And I may be able to use it as a temporary fix." "Well, it's a good thing we landed it where we could take off again." "Psychotic poachers weren't my concern when I landed." "Harm, I don't think I'll make it there before dark." "We'll have to head to high ground, dig in for the night." "Okay." "All done." "Think you can stand, Marine?" "Unless you plan to carry me." "Well, maybe if you'd laid off the Beltway Burgers." "And you worked out more." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "He doesn't give up, does he?" " Commander Rabb." " Are you sure this guy's a lawyer?" "This place is a dump." "Well, he's a Navy lawyer." " Commander Rabb." " He's not answering." "He's either not at home, in the shower, having sex or dead." "Or a combination." "It's not like him not to answer his beeper." "Could you do me a favour and turn around?" "I have to get the commander's spare key." "What do you think, lieutenant?" "I'm gonna come back and steal his television?" "I just wanna respect the commander's trust." "Yeah, that's why you're breaking into his apartment, sir?" "Oh, that's right." "He changed it." "Try taped inside the mailbox slot." "It's here." "Commander Rabb?" "What are we looking for, lieutenant?" "A body?" "No, something that would give me a clue to where he is." "I thought lawyers were anal." "This place is a mess." " Well, he's fixing it up." " Yeah, I hope so." "You have 12 new messages." "9:09 a.m." "Yeah, ten of them are from you." "Sir." "Harm, it's me, Mac." "I'm at the airfield." "It must be the right place." "I see your plane." "I guess you're en route." "Nine and a half minutes late and counting." "Why wouldn't he tell me he was going flying?" "Hello, sir." "You didn't answer your page." "I thought..." "He knows I love to fly." "Don't kill me, but I think I made a scheduling mistake." " It's so much fun." " Call me as soon as you can." "I had three personal days on the books." "I could've taken one of them." "No offence, sir, but if you had the chance to take a woman, would you take you?" "Come on, let's go." " Where are we going?" " Airfield." " but I'm gonna call the admiral and ask him what to do." "Where the hell are you?" "Wait, I didn't mean to "hell" you, sir." "Shoot." "Can I rewind?" " Hold on." " What?" "Hold on." "You got it?" "Yeah, what's wrong?" "I need a break." "How long did we hike along the road before we came to the top of the ridge?" "Fifty-two minutes." "So that means the plane is, what, about three miles from there?" "You are more worried about that damn plane than us." "That damn plane is gonna get us out of here." "We could double back and try to take their truck." "No." "You know, I have heard of pilots being in love with their planes, but you are getting ridiculous." "My grandfather earned his Navy wings in a Stearman like Sarah." "My dad and I were gonna restore her." "But he was shot down in Nam." "So you and your grandfather restored her?" "No, my grandfather was killed flying off the Horn in '42." "My grandmother kept it tarped on the farm." "After my crash, I spent a lot of time up there." "At first, I..." "I didn't wanna take it off." "But when I did, restoring her became everything." "It was like Dad was with me again." "With the way that clearing appeared out of nowhere," "I think he still is." "Yeah." "Something's moving down there." "Maybe it's an animal." "If it is, it's wearing yellow flannel." "Come on." "I can't outrun them, Harm." "You go." " Like that's really gonna happen." " I can hide." "Mac, they're poachers." "They've managed to track us this far, they'll find you." "Well, believe me, if you have a better option," " I am open to suggestions." " Okay." " We misdirect them." " How?" " Wait here." "I'll be right back." " What are you gonna do?" "Stay out of sight." "There." "He's a smart bastard." "Come on, we'd better get out of here." "I was careful not to leave a trail, but they're probably doubling back by now." "Are you gonna be all right?" "I'm gonna have to be." "Hey, it was you or him, right, Mac?" " I know." " Let's go." "Excuse me, sir?" "I am a friend of Lieutenant Commander Rabb." "Harm?" "Yeah, nice kid." "That's a great-looking Stearman he got there." "Yes." "I noticed that his car was still parked out front." "I take it he hasn't come back." "Boy, you naval officers just keep getting smarter." "You don't know what time he took off, do you?" "Ten, 10:30." "Shouldn't he be back by now?" "I ain't his babysitter." "Well, a Stearman can't carry seven hours worth of fuel, can it?" "Of course not." "And you're not concerned?" "I saw the woman he was with." "Commander Rabb and Major MacKenzie have a strictly working relationship." "Yeah." "Says you." "This ain't the first time he's flown out of here with a pretty girl and not come back until the next day." "Not when he's supposed to be in court first thing in the morning, sir." "Forget it, lieutenant." "He's gone Elvis." "No." "Not Commander Rabb." "He didn't happen to file a flight plan?" "Stay down." "It'll only make it worse." "I've gotta get to the top of whatever this is." "Give it a minute." "You wanna talk about it?" "Not particularly." "I'm sorry I left you there." "If you hadn't, we'd probably both be dead by now." "How did he lose his rifle?" "He set it down." "Opted for the knife." "He was gonna use it to intimidate me while he..." "Bastard had it coming, right?" "Right." "Who the hell are these people?" "Dead." "They're dead." "Wait a minute." "Let's think about this for a second." "There's nothing to think about." "They killed my brother." "I know." "But maybe we should just cut our losses." "We can't track them at night anyway." " Let's take his body and go." " Don't touch him." "I'll take him back to the cabin." "We'll stay there tonight, and we'll get them in the morning." "But they're military, Kent." "His rifle's missing." "One of them is hurt." "One of them is armed." "I'll take my chances." "What are you talking about?" "Look at Lee." "They gutted him with his own knife, for God's sake." "Exactly." "I was just gonna kill them." "Now I'll make them hurt." "Well, this is our home for the evening." "I'll insulate the inside." "But we're gonna have to use our body heat to keep warm." " Lovely." " Might feel differently when the temperature's dropped below freezing." "His blood's not coming out." "Hey, I'll buy you a new one." "I can't get it out." "Get me some water." "Mac, it's okay." "I can't get it off." "It's okay." "It's okay." "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine." "Did you see his eyes?" "When he knew he was gonna die?" "Yeah, I saw him." "All right, thank you." "If they're still missing in the morning, the FAA said they'll start a search." "But my hearing's at 0800 tomorrow, sir." "I'm screwed, huh, lieutenant?" "Honestly, it'd be a really difficult thing to fight anyway." "I mean, you are 16." "But if we can stall until I'm 17, I can stay with a parent waiver." "Well, not after lying to the Navy." "I had a good reason, sir." "Well, everybody does." "They're called "mitigating circumstances."" "You don't understand, sir." "I had to join." "My mother told me to." "My brother was killed in a drive-by." "My mother wanted to get me out of the neighbourhood, but we had no money." "She figured my brother didn't need his social security number." "So I used it to get in." "Commander Rabb said that if I really wanted to serve, he'd be able to keep me in." " Well, do you?" " Yes, sir." "Well, if that's what he said, then I believe him." "He's very good at impassioned pleas." "If he shows up, sir." "I don't know what happened out there." "It's not like me to freak out like that." "It's natural." "Not for me." "Mac, you've been through a lot." "Stress has to relieve itself one way or another." "I saw the blood again." "I couldn't get that look off my mind." "The same look as Eddie." "Who's Eddie?" "The closest thing I had to a friend growing up." "We were drinking buddies." "There was a huge party the night we graduated from high school." "We both got wasted." "I don't recall the accident." "Just the cool passenger window against my face." "And then we were on the pavement." "There was blood everywhere." "But the thing I remember is that look in his eyes." "He knew he was gonna die, and there was nothing I could do to stop it." "I spent a week at the hospital until Uncle Matt picked me up." "He took you up to Red Rock Mesa?" "They say every alcoholic has to hit their own rock bottom." "That was mine." "Eddie had to die before I finally faced it." "I guess, in a way, I killed him." "Eddie killed himself, Mac." "So did that man out there." "That depends on how you look at it." "Well, it's my fault we're here in the first place." "I should have checked that fuel line more closely." "You probably still wouldn't have seen anything." "Let's just concentrate on getting out of here." "I won't beat myself up if you don't." "Deal?" "Deal." "I can still bitch about freezing my butt off, can't I?" "Quit your whining." "You've got ten percent more body fat than I do." "Are you calling me fat, stick boy?" "Stick boy?" "Women just naturally have more insulation than men." "Don't think I'm gonna forget that Beltway Burger remark." "Hey, I don't force you to eat that crap." "Stick boy?" "Stick boy..." "Did you reach Earl?" "Yeah." "He said he'll have the dogs out here by first light." "I was hoping it was all a bad dream." "How's the leg?" "It's good." "I can't feel it." "You need to get up, walk around, and get the circulation going." "No." "What I need is a cappuccino, preferably in a nice warm bed." "Sorry, no room service here." "You really know how to show a girl a good time." "Most guys at least make me breakfast after I spend the night with them." "Really?" "And how many would that be?" " Earl." " Where's Kent?" "He went out at first light." "He wants us to drive them toward Buckley Meadow." "Shouldn't be a problem." "I put that file on your desk." "JAG Headquarters." "What?" "We were supposed to go up in front of Captain Gallagher." "It looks like he changed assignments with Morris." "Is that bad?" "Morris has been a hard case ever since that gun incident." "What incident?" "You don't wanna know." "You've got it covered, don't you, sir?" "I mean, you did everything right." "Well, I think so." "I mean, yeah." "Lieutenant Roberts." "Yes, they took off at 1000 yesterday morning and we still haven't heard from them." "Sit down." "I'm gonna check the leg." "Oh, man." "You're burning up." "This ain't no stroll in the park." "That leg is infected." "You're gonna need antibiotics." "You're gonna be okay, Mac." "I'm gonna get you through this." "I promise." "We should go." "Harm, there's something I gotta know." "What?" "Go." "Where is he?" "Two o'clock." "Two, maybe 300 yards." "Son of a..." "Come on, let's go." "I can't, I'm sorry." "I can't." "What do you mean, you can't?" "You're a Marine." "Come on, Mac, what happened to that gung ho, semper fi, kick-ass jarhead I used to know?" "Don't let me down now, Mac." "We've made it this far." "Damn it." "This is precisely why we shouldn't allow women in combat." "Because when it comes to the clinch, you know they're gonna fall apart." "If you were a real Marine..." "All right, already, shut up." "You made your point." "All rise." "As you were." "What's this?" "A motion to block an administrative separation?" "Yes, sir, but there are some circumstances..." "And who are you?" "Lieutenant J.G. Bud Roberts, sir." "Mr. Roberts, I don't get this." "What's the issue here?" "The defendant is a minor, sir." "However..." "You mean he lied on his enlistment contract?" "Technically." "Then he should receive a general discharge and be sent home." "Next case." "I've got mitigating circumstances, sir." "Mr. Roberts, your client seems to be well versed in legal argument." "What mitigating circumstances?" "He's not an attorney, sir." "Well, we've got them now." "They're getting desperate." "Denny?" "Denny!" "Mac, there's a mag switch on the left side of the panel." " You see it?" " Yeah." "Turn it to "both" and push the red button." "Got it." "Crack the throttle!" "Harm!" "Harm!" "Nice of you to join me." "I thought you said this field was big enough." "I'm an optimist." "Come on, come on." "Come on, Sarah." "Climb." "Thanks, Dad." "So now what?" "How should I know?" "I'm not an attorney, remember?" "I'm sorry, lieutenant." "I saw the opportunity, I had to take it." "We got the continuance, didn't we?" "Yeah, we got the continuance, and I got my butt chewed out." "If it means anything, I think you'll end up being a great attorney." " You think so?" " I'd hire you, sir." "Really?" "I'll be touching down in about 15 minutes." "Have an ambulance standing by." "I'll need to give the state police some information." "How are you doing, Mac?" "I think I'm gonna pass out." "You hang in there." "What did you want me to tell you?" "Lots of things." "You asked me something before we were shot at." "What happened to Sarah?" "Nothing." "She lives in Beallsville, Pennsylvania." "Do you still love her?" "I'm wild about her." "She's my grandmother."