"You hear something, Rafael?" "Grenade!" "No!" "Somebody..." "Private First Class Rafael Jesus Rivera filed for his VA benefits three months ago." "Private Rivera served during the Chosin Reservoir campaign." " One of the Chosin Few." " Correct." ""The night of 28 November, 1950, during the battle for the high ground on Fox Hill," "Private Rivera acquitted himself with distinction." "He was wounded three times."" "So, what's the problem, sir?" "When the Veterans Administration went to process his 21-526, they discovered that Private Rivera had never been discharged from the Marine Corps." "He deserted?" "April 4th, 1951." "Walked away from Kirkland VA Hospital," "Albuquerque, New Mexico, never to be heard from again." "And now he's filed for Veteran's benefits?" " Why would he do that?" " Don't have a clue." "Does anyone care at this late date, admiral?" "Care to answer that, colonel?" "There's no statute of limitations on desertion, Bud." "You run away from the Marine Corps, we chase you all the way to hell." "See, Private Rivera's being held by the sheriff at Angel Falls, Tierra County, New Mexico, pending our instructions." " Colonel?" " I'll take care of him." " Thank you, colonel." "That'll be all." " Aye, aye, sir." "Seems like our week for deserters." "Seaman Owen Zuggler." "He was picked up for running a red light." "Apparently he had an unauthorized absence from his ship at Norfolk." "Spent 30 days in the brig, during which time he claimed he was not in the Navy." "That seems like a pretty lame excuse, sir." "Easy to check." "It turns out the man who spent 30 days in the brig is indeed a civilian." "An unknown man stole his Social Security number and used it to enlist." "Mr. Zuggler has retained counsel." "Since you'll be acting JAG while I'm gone," "Lieutenant Roberts will handle the case under your supervision." "Yes, sir." "Colonel filled in last time, did an excellent job." "Yes, sir." "And I filled in the time before that, sir." "A car and driver are waiting outside, admiral." "Here's your plane ticket, sir." "Row 12 on the aisle." "There's a rental car waiting at the Albuquerque International Sunport." " Have a good trip, sir." " Thanks, Tiner." "Morning, sir." "New rod?" "Scott Eclipse." "Weighs 2.9 ounces." " Medium, fast action?" " Highest line speed." " What kind of flies are you using, sir?" " Well," "I was thinking about a blue-winged olive and a pale morning dun." "Outstanding choices, sir." " Tell my sister hello." " I will." "Gunny, I really appreciate you setting this up for me." "Maria's the best guide in the state." "She booked you on a private lake." " You won't be disappointed." " Great." "How would you like me to handle this case, sir?" "Cheaply." "Sir?" "The admiral's on a cost-cutting jag, Bud." "No pun intended." "He's counting the paperclips." "So we are gonna show him how much money we can save." "Sir." " Sir, are you all right?" " I'm fine." "Here, sir." "Come on." "Are you sure you don't wanna lay down and put some ice on it?" "Commander, I am fine." "Lieutenant, have a seat." "Sit down." "Good." "Make arrangements for the Unit" " to bring Private Rivera back." " Yes, ma'am." "I want everything you can find on him." "Service records, medical history." "In particular if there's incidents of mental illness." "Locate anyone who remembers him from the Marine Corps." "Where are we going with this?" "I wanna know why Rivera deserted." "And if I don't like the answer, I'll see to it that he's dishonourably discharged so he'll never receive benefits that should rightly go to men who met their full obligations." "Ma'am, the men who served at Chosin Reservoir are the bravest Marines who ever wore the Eagle, Globe and Anchor." "They were outnumbered ten to one, ma'am." "They suffered 7,000 casualties out of 15,000 men." "And it was so damn cold there that the water in their canteens froze." "They couldn't eat their C-rations so they existed on a diet of Tootsie Rolls." "And they fought to the last man." "I know the history, gunny." "I don't think a Marine who served at Chosin would just walk away from the Corps, ma'am." "Well, it looks like that's just what he did." " Good day, Bud." " Oh, Mic." "She's not here." "It's you who I came to see, lieutenant." " Really?" " I represent Owen Zuggler." "I came by to see if we could reach a settlement and save the Navy the cost of going to trial." " How did Mr. Zuggler find you?" " Actually, I found him." "I saw the news reports and gave him a call." "I've started my own firm." ""Brumby and Brumby."" "I do the work of two men." "As you know, there are people who have grievances with the Navy." "So I'm gonna become their voice." "Does the colonel know about your new speciality?" "No." "So far it hasn't come up." "Mr. Zuggler is suing the Navy for false arrest and imprisonment, loss of wages and damages to his physical and mental health." "He wants compensation for his pain and suffering, Bud." "And punitive damages." "He's willing to settle the case for $2.5 million." "The Navy made an honest mistake, Mic." "We're prepared to offer a settlement, but Mr. Zuggler is a short-order cook." "He makes $6.72 an hour, which works out to $268.80 a week." "He was out of work for four weeks, which comes to $1,075.20." "I'll double that to 2,000, I'll add $500 for his inconvenience." "Inconvenience?" "My client was in the brig for 30 days." "Where he was housed and fed at government expense to the tune of $43 a day." "Which, you'll notice, I am not deducting from his lost wages." "Two million." "Five thousand." "Ten." "Twenty, tops." "That's chump change, Bud." "Is that the best you can offer?" "I can arrange a meeting with Commander Rabb if you would like." "Tomorrow at the latest." "The night of November 28th, 1950," "Fox Company was dug in on the ridgeline a mile east of the Chosin Reservoir." "Temperature was 35 below that night." "We had to work the slides on our carbines to keep them from seizing up." "We had 13 cases of frostbite." "Chinese threw a whole damn regiment against us." "No one expected to get off alive." "We just wanted to kill as many gooks as possible so as not to let down our fellow Marines." "Colonel Hazard, what part did Private Rivera play that night?" "I'd put Private Rivera, Private Barksdale and five others out on the perimeter with good fields of fire." "Private Rivera was wounded three times that night, but fought the enemy off." "And Fox Company was the only thing that stood between the gooks and what was left of 1 st Division." "I guess you could say he saved a hell of a lot of lives that night." "Him and Barksdale." "I was gonna put Rivera up for the Navy Cross." "I even filled out the paperwork." "But when I found out he deserted..." "I kept hold of this." "Kind of a souvenir." "What kind of man was Private Rivera?" "He wasn't a man, colonel." "He was 18." "He was 17, sir." "He lied about his age to get into the Marine Corps." "I didn't know him all that well." "I didn't speak Spanish and he didn't speak a hell of a lot of English." "The Corps took them like that back then." "As long as they understood Semper Fi and "follow me."" "Were you surprised when he deserted, colonel?" "I was remembering what Bill Mauldin said:" ""Look into an infantryman's eyes and you can tell how much war he's seen."" "Well, at Chosin, we all saw too much." "Well, that doesn't excuse Private Rivera." "No, but it may explain what he did." "There were Marines at Chosin who fought on Iwo Jima and Tarawa." "They said Chosin was the hardest battle they'd ever been in." "Even Genghis Khan didn't go there." "Ma'am, I'd like orders to New Mexico to pick up Private Rivera." "Let the Absentee Collection Unit handle it." "It'll be low priority for them, ma'am." "It'll be weeks before they can pick up the prisoner." "Meanwhile, Private Rivera just sits in his cell." "Why is this so important to you, gunny?" "I looked at his paperwork, colonel." "He's old, poor, Hispanic." "Because he's a Marine, ma'am." "And there's no statute of limitations on heroism." "I'll have to clear it with Commander Rabb." "He controls all the assignments this week." "Thank you, ma'am." "It's gonna rain this afternoon." "It's perfect weather for making love." "Well, you ought to know, sweet thing." "Harm?" "Harm?" "What are you doing?" "Just checking." "What happened to your head?" "The admiral's chair fell out from under me." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "Of course." "You called me "sweet thing."" "Now, why would I say that?" "And what exactly was it that I'd know?" "Did you want something?" "I want you to authorise orders." "I wanna send gunny to New Mexico to pick up my prisoner." "Fine by me." "No argument?" "Not at the moment." "But maybe something will come up." "Okay." "Sweet thing." "Look at that." "They sent a Mexican to pick up a Mexican." "Sheriff said we had two more weeks." "If Rivera makes it across the county line, we're ruined." "Only if he crosses the county line alive." "Mac?" "What are you doing here?" "Well, a girl can't get too much of a good thing, so I was hoping we'd pick up where we left off last night." "Harm?" "Mac." "Harm." " Did you just call me Mac?" " No." "Well, it sure sounded like that." "Why would I call you Mac?" "I mean, I know the difference between you and Mac." "And what would that be?" "Other than the fact that her boobs are bigger." "You're more entertaining." "Harm, don't ever tell a girl she's entertaining unless she's a stripper." " No, I meant..." " I know what you meant." "I've always been the class clown." "But actually, not everybody finds me to be entertaining." "Some people find me obnoxious." "Would you say something so I can stop babbling?" "Stop babbling, Renee." "Well, I suppose I should be counting my blessings." "Despite the blow to your head, you still liked me well enough last night." "I'm losing my mind." "Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez reporting, sheriff." "Wasn't expecting you, Galindez." "These are my orders authorising the transport of Private Rivera." "Last I heard, some chaser from the Absentee Collection Unit was due here 11 days from now." "There's been a change of plans, sheriff." "Seems like you're going to an awful lot of trouble for some borrachón." "Think you can handle him yourself?" "Well, he's 67 years old." "He'll be handcuffed." "I think I can manage." "When he was younger he'd have given you a run for your money." "I'm gonna need you to sign out the prisoner." " He's all yours." " He difficult?" "He's stubborn, like a lot of you people." "He and I, we've had our troubles before." "During picking season, Rivera'd get into fights on Saturday night and he'd sweat off his drunk in my jail cell on Sunday morning." "Back in the '70s, he stole a pickup truck." "He wasn't the kind of man that knew his place." "Now what place is that, sheriff?" "Angel Falls is my town." "This is my county." "I've been the law here for 33 years and I have a very low tolerance for disobedience, civil or uncivil." "We take care of our own here." "You sure there are fish in this lake?" "Got six trout here last week." "There you go." "Good stroke, admiral." "A nice, tight loop." "There's really no trick to it." "You just have to be smarter than the fish." "It was a lot easier to fish when I was young." "I used to catch 50, 100 fish a day." " You're kidding." " No." "Just throw a grenade over the side of the boat, have enough for lunch." "Hell, one time I threw in a stick of dynamite." "Killed enough fish to feed an entire Vietnamese village." "My brother told me you had a sense of humour, admiral." "I mean, not that we talk about you a lot." "I mean, of course, you are worth talking about." "Maria, I bore myself sometimes." "I wonder why anybody even pays attention." "Because you are the big fish." "There are several questions I'm required to ask you, Private Rivera, before you can be transported." "I have not been a private for 50 years." "Technically, you still are a member of the United States Marine Corps, subject to its rules and regulations." "You feeling depressed?" "You come 2,000 miles to ask me that?" "Have you had any thoughts of taking your own life?" "When you get to be my age, gunnery sergeant, every day is very precious." "Every breath." "No, I don't want to cut my life short." " Feeling angry?" " What does it matter?" "Is your anger so great that you're a threat to yourself or others?" "I have not killed anybody in 50 years." "Stand up, please." "Let me get this straight." "Marine Corps took Mr. Zuggler, put him in the brig for two weeks and knowing they had the wrong man, they held him for an additional two weeks?" "They tasked him with policing the area." "That's not hard time." "But you can't go around plucking civilians off the street and throwing them in the brig." "But, sir, the Navy made an honest mistake." "But it's not worth $2 million." " Brumby wants too much." " Oh, that's just Brumby." "What's just Brumby?" "Oh, I was saying that his reach far exceeds his grasp." "Not in my case." "So have you heard from New Mexico?" "The admiral checked in via cell phone." "He has caught three trout." "Yeah." "Apparently, the gunny's sister is a very good guide." "Valerie fishes?" "I never thought she'd leave the mall." "Not Valerie." "Maria." "Gunny has four sisters, Bud." "So counting airfare, car rental, fly rod and lodging, that comes to $400 a fish." "It's closer to 5." " Hi, guys." " Hey." " I thought our lunch was at 1." " Yeah, it is." "Lieutenant, have you discussed my offer with the commander?" "What offer?" "Mr. Brumby is representing Mr. Zuggler." "You didn't tell me you had a new job." "Small potatoes." "Two million dollars is not small potatoes." "So, commander?" "Not even in the ballpark." " Then make me an offer." " Twenty five thousand." "Out of the question." "Thirty." "Take it or leave it." "You have 15 seconds to decide." "If you wanna play hardball, mate, I'll see you in court." "I'll see you at 1, Sarah." "Brumby and Brumby." "1-800-sue-Navy." "It does not say 1-800-sue-Navy." "Commander?" "Sir?" "Are you all right?" "Of course I'm all right." "Why do people keep asking me that?" "Well, you look a little spacey, sir." "You ever see things?" "Like UFO's, sir?" "No, no, no." "I mean, like, you know, things that aren't there." "No." "Actually, no, sir." "Let's say that you did, and that these things challenged the assumptions by which you led your life." "They seem to lead you in a different direction." "What direction, sir?" "Away." "But none of it is real?" "Yeah, who's to say what's real and what's illusion?" "Moody Blues?" "Thanks, Bud." "You've been a big help." "Sir, have you considered an MRI?" "So should I congratulate you on your new career?" "Well, that's what I would expect." "This is the second time you've gotten a new job without telling me." "Sarah, every time I do something I don't want to have to climb over you." "You have to trust what I'm doing is the right thing." "Trust that I'm not working against us." "Besides, I'm only taking advantage of what I know best." "What, litigating against the Navy?" "What do you do, Sarah?" "You either prosecute individual servicemen and women, or defend them, often by attacking the institution of the Navy." "How is that different from what I'm doing?" "Except you get to wear the uniform." " Where you headed?" " Albuquerque International Sunport." "Have a safe trip." "Make sure they don't get there." "What about the Marine?" "Well, he may be a Marine, but he's just another beaner to me." " That new?" " Sheriff got it for me." "No paper trail." "We should have burned Rivera in that damn rusty trailer of his when we had the chance." "There was no point in killing him before it was time, Felton." "Hell, he's an old man." "He might have died natural before his case ever went to trial." "Besides, Rivera's not that bad of a guy." "Jim, the only reason that nice old man ain't dead already is he got arrested by the Marines." "There was no way the sheriff was gonna kill him in his own jail." "Loaded them myself." "Extra powder and ball bearings instead of buckshot." "Eight to a shell." "We can't just shoot them." "We only got between here and Albuquerque." "You kill a Mexican, the sheriff can fix it." "But you shoot a Marine..." "We gotta do this smart, Felton." "Rivera makes it out alive, he's gonna take your land and mine and the sheriff's and a lot more besides." "Take these damn things off." "It's against regs." "You don't trust me, why I should trust you?" "Because I'm on your side, Private Rivera." "And I have been from the start." "So what we have here is some wetback pissing by the side of the road." "Do whatever you want." "You're about to own half the county." "How I know you're on my side?" "Well, for starters I made the arrangements to come out here two weeks ahead of time." "Otherwise you'd still be cooling your heels over at that Angel Falls Jail." "Why?" "Why you helping me?" "Because, Private Rivera, at Chosin Reservoir you showed great bravery under fire." "Did you know Lieutenant Hazard submitted you for the Navy Cross?" ""For daringly exposing himself to machine guns, grenades and small-arms fire, and holding his position in the face of overwhelming odds."" "You were wounded three times but you kept on fighting." "You risked your life to save a wounded comrade." "I was young." "I didn't know no better." "Is that why you walked away from the Marine Corps, Private Rivera?" "Because you didn't know better?" "I was not educated when I joined." "My English no good." "Half of the time, I don't understand what they say to me." "Why did you enlist?" "Because all my life I wanted to get the hell away from New Mexico and see the world." "But all I saw was a lot of guys puking in the hold of some damn troop ship and the top of a freezing hill in Korea." "That was not the world I wanted to see." "Is that why you deserted?" "I am not a deserter." "Well, how do you explain the fact that you never reported back for duty?" "After they airlifted me back to the States, it took a long time for my wounds to heal." "In the beginning, I felt sorry for myself." "Then I saw men with no legs, no arms." "Some of them could not move at all." "So I stopped feeling sorry for myself." "After five months, the doctor told me I was discharged, that I was free to go." " You can go home." " I could return home." "Well, if you don't think that you were a deserter, how come you never applied for benefits until now?" "Because until now, I need no money." "Now I have to pay lawyers." "Just how much trouble are you in?" "Not too much." "I can handle it." "You think I have to do brig time?" "It's not for me to say, Private Rivera." "I'm only a gunnery sergeant." "No, señor." "Staff NCO's run the Marine Corps." "Yeah, don't tell the officers." "Look," "Rafael," "I'm gonna do everything I can to help you." " Really?" " Yeah, really." "Someday I hope Victor will come back to where he belongs and find a wife." "I wouldn't count on it, Maria." "He's excelling where he is." "Does he know that?" "Of course." " You've told him?" " Well, not in so many words." "But he'd know if he had a problem with you?" "Yeah." "They all know." "So have you ever thought about leaving here?" "No, not when I'm out here on this lake, admiral." "I can understand that." "It's A.J." "What do you do when you're not a fishing guide?" "I'm a paralegal with a law firm." "Spend my time going through dusty records in libraries." "All you see here was once owned by Spanish landowners, A.J." "It was taken from them by force a hundred years ago." "Now they're all fighting to get it back." "You're talking about land that's been owned by others for generations." "Not owned, A.J. Stolen." "Probably make a case both ways." "Yeah well, sometimes a little too forcefully." "A lawyer handling one of our most promising trials was shot to death last year." "I hate these damn things." "Then why do you carry one?" "Because I'm indispensable." "Excuse me." "Chegwidden." "I'm sorry to bother you, admiral." "We're about forty miles from Eagle Nest Lake, sir." "With your authorisation, I'd like to make a detour to Cibola." " Gunny?" " Yes, sir." "What the hell are you doing in New Mexico?" "I'm picking up the colonel's prisoner, sir." "Did Commander Rabb authorise this?" "Yes, sir." "What the hell did he do?" "Fall on his head?" "Pretty much, sir." "Sir, Private Rivera has requested the opportunity to return to his home in Cibola to retrieve certain personal effects." "Well, surely someone can forward them." "Well, he lives alone, sir, in a trailer out in the middle of nowhere." "And he's afraid his things won't be there when he returns." "Sir, Private Rivera is an old man." "He doesn't have much but what he does have means a lot to him." "This is a job, gunny." "Don't let it get personal." "Sir, I believe there's been a miscarriage of justice here." "It's my firm belief that Private Rivera did not desert from the Marine Corps." "All right." "You know Eagle Nest Lake?" "Oh, yes, sir." "I fished on that lake since I was a kid." "Go to Cibola." "Bring your prisoner to the trailhead." "Call me when you get there." "I'll come down." "Maybe we can work something out." "Yes, sir." "Roses?" "Okay, flyboy." "What's the occasion?" "Promotion?" "Birthday?" "Anniversary?" "Are you dumping me?" "I just spent 60 bucks on roses." "They're always nice to you right before they kick you out." " They?" " People of your gender." "I'm not kicking you out." "Harm, you called me Mac." "Is she your dream girl?" "You wanna know the truth?" "I can handle it." "I've been doing some thinking lately." "About Mac coming out of your shower clothed only in raindrops?" "Sorry." "Are you in love with her?" "Come on, Renee." "We fight like cats and dogs." "Besides, she's getting married soon, remember?" "Remember?" "I'm counting the days." "Harm, tell her to get out of your dreams and then you can have me and I can have my miracle." "I know one thing." "I want you in my life." "Not as second best?" "I wanna show you something." "They were beautiful." "You know what I remember most about them?" "The laughter." "The joy they took in one another." "It's the prize in the box of Cracker Jacks." "It's what every woman wants to be, Harm." "That's what she was to him." "We had a wet winter." "A lot of washouts." "What happens if we go right?" "It's the long way around." "But we'll get to the lake." "Gasoline." "Go!" "Go!" "I got him!" "Where the hell are you going?" "You don't hunt a wounded animal at night." "The Marine can still travel, Jim." "And the borrachó's not hit." "They won't get far, Felton." "We can track them at first light." "How many rounds you got left?" "Two mags of 15 rounds each." "Get my cell phone." "You got shot right through the phone." " You know what you're doing?" " I got practise getting shot." "Still no answer." "Out of service." "This is not like Victor." "A lot could have happened last night." "Flat tyre." "Could have run off the road." "Victor was a deputy in Taos." "He has friends in law enforcement." " I know they'll be able to help us." " Call them." "Tell them your brother was transporting a prisoner." "Rafael Jesus Rivera." "In the last contact, he was taking Private Rivera to his trailer at Cibola." " Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" " Well, it wasn't your business sooner." "I know where to find Rafael, A.J." "He was a client of the murdered lawyer." "One seventy-five." "Eighty." "Eighty thousand with the written understanding that Mr. Zuggler cannot disclose the amount of the settlement." "Done." "And give no interviews to any publications including but not limited to the National Enquirer and People Magazine." "Lieutenant, that may adversely affect the ability of my client to make up the losses he suffered at the hands of the Navy." "Come on, Mic." "We've heard all this." "Now, your client has a legitimate beef, granted." "But you were in the Navy." "You wanna see the service subject to ridicule?" "I need to think of my client." "Who is being well taken care of." "And now it's time to consider the greater good." "What are you, appealing to my better angels?" "Exactly." "Besides, you're not gonna do better than 80,000." "Done." "I'll see you, then." "At the wedding if not before." "You've set a date?" "That's what Sarah and I are gonna do at lunch." "Well the sooner the better, huh?" "Yeah." "Never too soon to hook up a good thing." "Lieutenant." "Cheers, mate." "That was masterful, sir." "You're his new best buddy." "You misjudge him, Bud." "Brumby's not so bad once you get used to him." "Is something wrong?" "Harm, why are you staring at me?" "You're out of uniform." "Right?" "I changed in the ladies room." "I'm going to lunch with Mic." "Did I tell you I'm taking the afternoon off?" "No." "No, you failed to mention that." "It's a big day for you two, huh?" "Yeah, it is." "You know, Mic said that you were "fair, friendly."" "Well, come on." "You and I are friends." "And, you know, Mic's gonna be your husband so it's only fitting that he and I should be friends." "Sir, about that MRI." "You've got fever." " Did you hear something?" " Yeah." "They're out there." " Hey, Rafe, who are these guys?" " Does it matter?" "If I'm gonna get killed, I wanna know why." " These men want my land." " What?" "A lawyer come to me two, three years ago and told me I have a claim to a hundred thousand acres that was given to my grandfather's grandfather." "The lawyer says I have good chance to win lawsuit." "That means I'm gonna be very rich." "You know, they say rich man dies just like poor man." " Thirty-ought-six." " Maybe they're hunters." "People hunt with 9-millimetre pistols around here?" "Call the Taos sheriff's department again." " Tell them we need a chopper, fast." " Okay." "Can you travel?" "No." "Listen, Rafe, just get the hell out of here." "Pretend you're a damn Marine and just follow orders." "I'm out of practise." "What the hell was that?" "Gunny." "Over here, sir." "Any more?" "No, sir." " You all right?" " I've been hurt worse before, admiral." "Sure am glad to see you, sir." "Who the hell are you?" "Private Rafael Jesus Rivera, sir." "Attention to orders." "The president of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Private First Class Rafael Jesus Rivera for extraordinary heroism as a rifleman with the 1 st Marine Division in action against enemy forces in Korea on November 28, 1950." "While severely outnumbered, Private Rivera continued to fight while exposing himself to intense machine gun, grenade and small-arms fire." "Although seriously wounded, he was able to hold his position, which was vital to the mission of his unit." "His great personal courage and valiant fighting spirit in the face of tremendous odds reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service." "Congratulations, Rivera." "Thank you, sir."