"9male narrator) This briefing is from File A56-7W, classified top secret." "Subject is Airwolf, a Mach 1-plus attack helicopter with the most advanced weapons system in the air today." "It has been hidden somewhere in the western United States by its test pilot, Stringfellow Hawke." "Hawke has promised to return Airwolf only if we can find his brother St. John, an MIA in Vietnam." "We suspect that Archangel, deputy director of the agency that built Airwolf, is secretly helping Hawke in return for Hawke's flying Airwolf on missions of national concern." "Stringfellow Hawke is 34, a brilliant combat pilot and a recluse since his brother's disappearance." "His only friend is Dominic Santini, whose air service is the cover for their government work." "With Hawke and Santini flying as a team at speeds rivaling the fastest jets, backed by unmatched firepower," "Airwolf is too dangerous to be left in unenlightened hands." "Finding it is your first priority." "[men chattering]" "Attention." "Attention." "Border violation, Section 6." "Intruder aircraft." "Contact, 030 degrees, northeast." "Eight miles and closing." "Condition red." "Repeat, condition red." "[alarm sounding] [men shouting]" "This is Bo-Dai." "Set up the gauntlet, kids." "Daddy will be right back with our guests." "And bad luck to us all." "[laughing]" "9pilot) Chopper at two o'clock!" "[guns firing]" "Bo-Dai to group." "I'm in the groove and slamming the door." "Raise the gauntlet." "Five choppers, straight ahead." "[guns firing]" "9Reed) The sucker is still coming in." "Ready to fire in sequence." "My mark." "No, no." "Cease fire." "This jockey's got guts." "He's mine." "9Vidor) Stay out of this, kids." "All of you." "Aerial combat, Reed." "Not high-tech slaughter." "[laughing]" "I'm hit!" "Come on, kid, get out." "Bailing out." "9Vidor) Come on!" "Yeah." "Steadman, Delaney, get down there and make sure he's okay." "Bring him back to the base." "We'll wine and dine him tonight." "He can play POW tomorrow." "[sighing] Okay, Reed, take over." "[thunder rumbling]" "Yesterday, Seko Logana's North Limbawe Air Force attempted to knock out the South's new missile sites." "They're a couple of antique Corsairs." "The one shortage the North doesn't have is guts." "But they'll need more than guts to eliminate those missiles." "(Marella) lnter-range ballistic." "They're not in place yet, but very soon." "How close to ready are those silos?" "72 hours." "Our reports indicate that once they are operational," "South Limbawe will use them to attack the North." "And we can't let that happen." "Gen. Ali Butami." "Soviet-trained and educated." "The real power behind South Limbawe's president." "Harold Ngomo." "He's your basic figurehead statesman, but very popular with the people." "Former history professor." "A nice guy with a Hitler calling the shots." "(Marella) Seko Logana, North Limbawe's president, and his wife, Lea." "He's been in contact with" "To tell you the truth, honey, politics and crisis are beginning to bore the hell out of me." "Yeah, Dominic's right." "You're just setting us up for the big pitch." "(Dominic) Sure." "The good guys in the North are on the side of apple pie and baseball, and the bad guys in the South" "Are sipping vodka, waiting to push all the wrong buttons." "I haven't asked you to do anything." "Oh, don't bother, 'cause the answer is no." "I haven't asked because I didn't think it would be necessary once you saw this" "photograph." "(Marella) Taken last week." "The commanding officer of Gen. Butami's mercenary Helicopter Corps." "That's Col. Vidor." "Marty Vidor." "(Marella) Col. Martin James Vidor, to be precise." "Your commanding officer in Southeast Asia." "He calls himself Bo-Dai-Thung nowadays." "Thought he was dead for sure." "He went down in some heavy ground fire..." "Yes, he did." "...in the same operation as my brother." "If anybody knows where St. John is, he does." "There's not enough to go around, Delaney." "And I outrank you." "There ain't no rank in this outfit, Reed." "Yeah?" "Well, I'm pulling rank." "Come on!" "Nice flying yesterday." "(Vidor) Lighten up, Reed." "It's a party." "That goes for you, too, sucker." "Hmm." "[laughing]" "Okay, you're right." "I am drunk." "Shot to hell, but not a drop of blood showing." "That's not bad, Mamma?" "Right." "Right." "Maybe I should write my memoirs, huh, Mamma?" "What do you think?" "The nine lives of Marty Vidor," "Professional Soldier," "Leader of [laughs]" "Men," "Killer of Brave," "Brave Kids." "It's high-tech slaughter." "I want pure aerial combat when I get aced." "Me against somebody as good as... [sighs] as good as me." "Chai?" "No tea, Mamma." "Whiskey." "9Vidor) MiG, 12.:00 high." "9Hawke) Got him." "That's Bo-Dai's plane." "9Vidor) All the better." "9Hawke) I'm on your six." "9Vidor) Bo-Dai's mine." "Stay out of it." "One-on-one." "That's what it's all about." "Hey, String, what's this Bo-Dai-Thung business, the name that Vidor's calling himself?" "Bo-Dai-Thung was a North Vietnamese flyer." "The colonel shot him down." "The colonel's chopper against his MiG." "Head-on." "Head-on?" "Mamma mia!" "[birds chirping]" "Another request from West Germany." "They want to establish a trade mission in the capital." "What else do they want?" "Agreements on imports, exports." "That's another name for oil." "Ha!" "That makes six contenders." "The Russians, Japanese, West Germany, the French, and now, of course, the Americans." "Oh, it's amazing how much they can love you when you have something they want." "And South Limbawe wants it most of all." "Speaking of which, where is this miracle worker from Archangel?" "He's late." "It's a long trip." "He'll be here." "No doubt." "Mercenaries are very dependable when money's involved." "Lea, I don't like it." "I don't like it at all." "Using outside forces for an African problem." "It makes us no different than the South and Butami's white killers." "Yes, but I don't like the idea of leaving your guard behind." "Butami has tried to kill you twice in as many months." "You must understand, my dear." "Less eyes to see, and less mouths to inform." "[birds chirping]" "[helicopter approaching]" "And these, of course, are machine guns, cannons." "But I ask you, Mr. President, is she a beauty, or is she a beauty?" "[laughing]" "And look at those lines." "Yes, Mr. Santini, it's very aesthetic, I'm sure." "But can the aircraft do everything you say it can?" "Absolutely, sir." "May I ask you, sir?" "How much is the Firm paying you and Mr. Hawke for helping we poor natives?" "We're here because..." "Well, it's not costing you." "Isn't it?" "So Mr. Hawke is what you would call a seat-of-the-pants flyer, Mr. Santini?" "That's right, ma'am." "l--l guess he is." "He's also my best friend." "Then, if nothing else, Mr. Hawke is a very lucky man." "[laughs]" "(Hawke) She may look big, Mr. President, but this lady's actually very light on her feet, right, Dom?" "Come on, give me a hand." "Right this way, sir." "Right here in the tail section, please." "(Seko) ls there something the matter, Mr. Hawke?" "(Hawke) Yes, sir, Mr. President." "Absolutely." "(Hawke) Just stay behind the tail, please." "You folks stay right here." "But, Mr. Hawke, please." "What are you" "Just get ready for the next demonstration." "(Dominic) Why don't we stand up against this tail over here?" "There we go." "There you are." "[guns firing]" "(Dominic) Yeah, he's out of range." "We'll never catch him now." "(Hawke) He's pretty fast on his feet." "Fast on his feet?" "Of course." "It must be his natural rhythm." "insensitive to pain." "I'll be at Airwolf." "It's time to get out of here." "Oh, Seko, you may as well have called him a racist." "(Seko) I thought I did." "Lea, I say what I feel when I feel it." "We're here to help you, sir." "You need our" "We don't need your kind of help." "You're right." "None of us need the wrong type of help." "Mr. Santini." "Please." "Now, Mr. Hawke is right." "It is time for us to leave." "But we'll split up." "Now, Lea, you will go with Mr. Santini." "I will accompany Mr. Hawke to the location that we discussed before, where both will meet in a couple of hours." "Seko, kiss me." "Mr. Santini, take good care of her." "She is Limbawe's only crown jewels." "Take care of yourself, Seko." "I will let Mr. Hawke handle that chore." "[beeping]" "9Seko) I apologized, damn it." "9Hawke) Yes, you did, and I accepted." "Never mind accepting it." "Ugh." "Slow down, slow down, please." "You did say you wanted to see Airwolf do Mach 1." "Yes." "I've seen it now." "I've seen it, I've felt it, and I've had enough of it." "Slow down." "Slowing down." "[beeping]" "[sighing] [laughing]" "I'm sorry about that, Mr. President." "Your apology is accepted." "[exclaims]" "So, now that we have put this aircraft through its paces," "I think it's best we proceed to our destination." "It would be a little embarrassing if my wife arrived there before we did, don't you think, huh?" "[laughing]" "(Ngomo) For the last three years, Gen. Butami, you have dominated the office of President with your advice and your views." "I must take responsibility for that." "And for the fact that what President Logana has accused us of is true." "I know about the attack you're planning." "I swore an oath to protect my country." "I have done nothing to betray that oath." "The offensive I've arranged is absolutely foolproof." "How can war be foolproof, if it takes a fool to start one, General?" "They started this war!" "Years ago." "There will be no war." "I will call a special session of Congress!" "There's not enough time, sir." "The attack will take place." "(Butami) You were very useful when we needed the missiles." "But now, if you reveal our plan, the North will be alerted." "So, I think it would be best if you remained here" "as our guest." "Now, wait a minute, General" "Sergeant." "No stomach for change, Colonel?" "Where's the officer-for-hire?" "Oh, he's still here, General." "And my stomach is none of your concern." "[birds chirping]" "Escort Mr. Ngomo to the guest quarters." "Stay with him." "You almost helped him, didn't you?" "I know it's only a small matter, General, but you could've informed me that you were about to overthrow the government." "Yes, well, I was inspired." "Oh." "Opportunity of the moment." "Are you questioning my authority to be inspired, Colonel?" "I never question anything that comes from the barrel of a gun." "Or a bottle, eh, Colonel?" "The country needs us now more than ever." "Don't fail me, Vidor." "Perish the thought, General." "I'm returning to the missile site." "Your Helicopter Corps will be at maneuvers?" "Yes, as planned." "(Vidor) We need to get practice for the boys." "Tomorrow is the big show." "I'll see you soon, Mr. President." "What?" "Oh!" "Oh, yes." "By the way, did I tell you I managed to talk our Eastern Bloc friends into testing their new nerve gas?" "It's being incorporated into the missile warheads even as we speak." "Excellent idea, eh?" "Oh, yes." "Excellent." "And yet another button for you to push, eh?" "[chuckles]" "Very good. I like that." "Yes. indeed." "Indeed." "This service road leads directly to the border." "10 miles on the other side is the base from which Col. Bo-Dai and his helicopters will attack us." "Unless you can stop them." "Well, I'll give it a try." "I think I need a better guarantee than that." "Mr. President, guarantees come with washing machines." "Well, yes, I understand, but I think I would feel much better if my own man was flying Airwolf." "If you had one that could." "Or if I had my own Airwolf." "I could take it if I wanted to." "You and who else?" "Perhaps them." "Tell them to stop." "And why should I do that?" "This is a detonating device." "Electronic." "I press this button, Airwolf goes up." "[sighs]" "Mr. Hawke, these men are here to guard us and to protect your precious Airwolf." "[chuckling]" "Your detonator?" "[both laughing]" "9Dominic) But I've never played mercenary." "Just let that old bad side out, Dom." "What bad side?" "I don't have any bad side." "I mean, I'm a nice guy." "Although I do have kind of a bad temper." "[laughing] [beeping]" "9Dominic) Vidor's field is just ahead." "But I got something else, String." "A few miles south." "The sonic sensors are reacting." "Someone's dropping heavy ordnance." "9Hawke) Practice." "The colonel always believed in staying sharp." "Ha!" "And I believe in staying alive, String." "So don't even think what I know you're thinking of." "Oh, hell!" "[guns firing]" "[guns firing]" "9Vidor) Commander to group." "That was lousy, boys." "Very lousy." "Just one hit." "All right, guys, let's make another run." "Radar says they've got a contact." "A jet." "Supersonic." "[screeching]" "[guns firing]" "9Hawke) Col. Vidor," "we have met the enemy." "And they are us." "Capt. Hawke." "Capt. Hawke reporting with a little present for the colonel." "Yeah, I see it." "I just don't believe it." "You're not the type for this kind of business." "And you are?" "I've been working at it." "I know." "That's why I'm here." "I want a piece of the action." "Okay." "You got it." "Colonel." "It's good to see you, Hawke." "Boys, this is Capt. Hawke." "[chuckling] The second best chopper pilot in the world." "Let's get a drink." "(Vidor) Ice." "Hard to come by down here." "You earn it." "Sometimes." "We definitely earned our perks in Nam, didn't we?" "That's for sure." "Colonel, what do you know of St. John?" "Wasn't he repatriated?" "Still an mia." "Mmm." "I thought you might know something." "You went down with him." "I saw his ship go down, but, uh, then I took that SAM in the aft rotor and down I went, right into the arms of the, uh, North Vietnamese People's Army." "(Vidor) I never saw St. John." "Hey!" "Remember the day we brought old Bo-Dai down, huh?" "What do you mean "we"?" "You told us all to stay out of it." "I was just an observer." "uh-huh, I wish I had 50 observers like you." "(Vidor) Old Bo-Dai-Thung could not believe anyone would go right at him like that." "Least of all an imperialistic Yankee." "He paid for it." "Yeah." "He did." "I'm glad I could go down and pick up his helmet, though." "It's a good reminder." "How come you never went home?" "The squadron was my home." "And America had no war." "Besides, I kind of liked the idea of being dead." "Starting over." "A new chance." "I came down to Limbawe during the war." "And I've been here ever since." "It pays well." "What about you?" "For starters, nothing paid well." "[men chattering]" "(Hawke) What's going on out there?" "(Vidor) Firing squad." "The former President of this embattled country." "Does that bother you, Captain?" "This isn't the good old US of A, you know." "North and South Limbawe are emerging countries." "And birth is never an easy process." "Death is always a hell of a lot easier." "Well, answer my question." "Does that, out there, bother you?" "I came for the money." "I don't buy that for a second." "I know you, remember?" "And I know you." "There's still time." "Time for what?" "[speaking foreign language]" "There is no time, Captain." "No time at all." "Now, you tell me why I should risk what I've got here for you." "I can score big." "Get out of the business" "Tomorrow is not gonna be any different for either of us." "It's just a matter of who we're doing it for and why." "My faith's restored, Colonel." "I should have known you'd see through these recruits and take action." "Yeah, we all have our moments of doubt." "General, why waste a perfectly good firing squad on one traitor?" "Excellent idea." "Ugh." "[grunting]" "I won't miss tomorrow, up there." "I won't fight you." "Yeah, you will." "You won't have any choice." "Now get out of here." "Take Ngomo with you." "Move!" "[grunting]" "(Hawke) Get him in that ship." "Get it started." "Dom, go back." "Get it started." "[guns firing]" "Come on, kid." "Get up." "[guns firing]" "Okay, Dom. I got it." "You got nothing." "You're hit." "I'm okay." "Don't worry, General, your soldier-for-hire will take care of everything." "Shame they got the President, though." "Okay, kiddies." "Nothing changes." "All we gotta do is get that high-tech slick of Hawke's, blow it out of the air, and then Butami can push his buttons." "And tomorrow we all get our big, fat bonuses." "[all laughing] All right!" "I have really trained you well, haven't I, Reed?" "All of you." "[sighing]" "[men laughing]" "(Ngomo) I may have been ignorant of the intricacies of political power, but I was never dishonest." "Politically, I am opposed to you." "That does not mean I wish to face you with a weapon." "(Seko) Then perhaps I'm dealing with a coward." "(Ngomo) lt was not I who was willing to sacrifice his wife for peace." "I want no one to die." "Guns do not bring peace." "They bring bigger guns." "Such as your monster helicopter." "(Seko) One machine, two men, against your helicopter force?" "I would order them out of the country immediately, if I could be sure they're not needed." "[sniffling]" "Welcome back to the world of the living." "is the bullet still in there?" "No." "Passed through." "You're lucky." "How do you feel, eh?" "[groaning] How do I look?" "Like you've been shot, lost a lot of blood, and have a raging fever." "That's just what I feel like." "(Ngomo) ...people I represent are not." "They would never accept you..." "What's going on in there?" "[sighs] Politics." "It was quite a shock when President Ngomo stepped out of Airwolf." "For the first time since I've known him, Seko was at a loss for words." "(Seko) We have too many differences." "Sounds like he got his words back." "With a vengeance." "He's a great leader." "Maybe so." "How is he in the human being department?" "I'll tell him you've regained consciousness and the use of your tongue." "I'm sorry." "I'm feeling better." "[chuckling] That's what Seko would say." "And neither one of you are good liars." "Did my husband apologize to you?" "Yes." "You see?" "He's a leader and a human being." "Wanna give me a hand?" "[laughing]" "[sighing] I really do feel better." "Well, laughter's supposed to do that, you know." "And tears?" "Yes." "Laughter and tears both." "You and I should live a long time, Mr. Hawke." "[both laughing] lt hurts." "What?" "[laughing] I can't laugh." "Glad to see you up and about, Hawke." "[claps]" "President Ngomo has agreed to form a coalition government with me." "But we need your help." "(Seko) Lea, if you don't mind." "Of course not, Seko." "Oh, Seko, it's wonderful." "For the first time, this country could really be united." "Ah, my dear, there's the slight matter of a war that must be stopped." "(Hawke) Sir." "Seko, how long have you been standing there?" "A little too long, I'm afraid." "But something very interesting happened." "What's that?" "I saw my wife with another man." "(Seko) A white man." "But instead of getting angry, I put myself inside both your skins." "And I knew then that as you, Hawke, I was too much of a man to betray a friend." "And as you, my dearest love, I knew that I love Seko too much." "How's that for ego, huh?" "[laughing]" "Now, now, now." "now, now." "Remember." "We must be heroes, and stop this war." "Hey." "How you feeling?" "I'll live." "That's debatable." "We've got to get those missiles." "Now." "And Vidor?" "What're you going to do about the colonel?" "String." "I know he was your friend before, but he's gone bad." "All these years doing these kind of things..." "That..." "He's sick inside." "I've seen them like that before, their guts twisted like, like barbed wire." "Everyday it twists a little tighter, and tighter." "[helicopter hovering] [guns firing]" "[guns firing]" "That's his gunship." "[guns firing]" "Hand-tossed mortars." "It's an old Nam trick." "[screaming] Lea!" "[gun firing] [screaming]" "I'm hit." "Seko." "It's all right." "It'll be all right." "It'll be all right, Lea." "Quick, Lieutenant, a doctor!" "Get a doctor." "[beeping]" "We're across the demarcation line." "He's still ahead of us." "9Dominic) Pretty as you please." "Playing." "He wants us to catch up with him." "And then he'll play his wild card." "9Hawke) I know." "9Dominic) Well?" "Well what?" "Nothing." "3,000 meters and closing." "9Dominic) Low hills." "Nothing else on the scope yet." "9Reed) 10 seconds from gauntlet." "And here comes another sucker." "[sighing] No, Reed." "I'm the sucker." "And so are you." "Bo-Dai to group." "Daddy's in the groove." "Stand by." "He's just about past those hills, picking up speed." "Ambush time." "9Dominic) No doubt about it." "9Vidor) Raise the gauntlet, kids, and aim straight." "Daddy's slamming the door." "Gen. Butami." "Butami here." "This is where you get your money's worth, sweetheart." "With interest." "There they are." "I have a visual." "[guns firing]" "[laughing] So much for the button-pushers, Hawke?" "Try to set her down, Colonel." "9Vidor) Nah, it's no use." "It's gone on too long anyway." "Games." "All games." "Playing soldier of fortune." "9Vidor) Playing you." "It's crazy." "You wanna know the truth, Hawke, the crazy, rotten truth?" "I know where St. John is!" "[explosion]" "Vidor was insane, damn it!" "The man didn't know anything about St. John." "What's your evidence?" "Me." "You?" "Yes. I'd rather believe I led you into all this knowing Vidor had no information than to think that we might have lost a clue that would finally and irrevocably get you off my back." "See you." "Oh!" "I almost forgot." "I came here to give you your unofficial report on Limbawe." "Oh, just what we need." "The coalition government is still holding very well." "Especially since the death of Butami." "Seko and Ngomo are even friends, in a manner of speaking." "And Mrs. Logana?" "She's, uh, fine." "A national heroine." "She sends her love." "And this." "Well, here's to Mrs. Lea Logana, all those who survived," "and those who didn't." "[inaudible]"