] WHISTLE BLOWS Come on. Back to work, you two. Keep those hammers working. Rambo! Let's go. How are you, Johnny? Good. That's all. John, I'm sorry you're here. I've seen worse. Yeah. You have, haven't you? I told you I'd help you. Are you interested? You can't want to stay here for another five years. At least I know where I stand. Hear me out. An operation's being planned in the Far East. You were one of three suggested to complete the mission. The mission? Finding POWs in Vietnam. Why now? Why me? No one knows the terrain around the camp you escaped from better than you. The risk is high. You'll be in the forces. If you succeed, there may be a pardon. Are you interested? Yeah. Good. I'll get the necessary clearance. We'll meet in Thailand with a special designate who haunts the operation. Yes, sir. All clear? Yes, sir. I tried keeping you out. I know. Yeah. Sir? Will we win this time? This time it's up to you. DRAMATIC MUSIC www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2015 ORIENTAL-STYLE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES . . MUSIC BUILDS . . That will be all. Rambo, I'm Ericson. Let's go over to the hangar. So you're the chosen one, huh? You've one hell of a reputation. I'm glad we're working together. At least you're out of the joint. He's here. Morning, John. Sir. This is Marshall Murdock, head of Special Operations. Thanks, Colonel. Rambo. Any problems with your trip? No. Except for the damn heat, right? Let's get down to business. I was glancing over your files. It makes for some interesting reading. Rambo, John J. Born 7/6/47 in Louis, Arizona, of Indian-German descent. That's a tough combination! Joined army, 8/6/64. Accepted into Special Forces - light weapons. Trained as medic, pilot. Language qualifications. 59 confirmed kills, two Silver Stars, four Purple Hearts, Distinguished Service Cross. You got around, didn't you? Incredible. There's 2,500 Americans missing in action in South East-Asia. Most are presumed killed. But to the families and Congress, it's an emotional issue. Give me something cold, please. I know you, Rambo. But you don't know me. 2nd Battalion, Marines, Cong Tum, 1966. I lost good men - I share your feelings. Maybe the government and some people didn't care. My committee cares. He needs proof Americans are being held. We'll get them back. If there are men at this POW camp, take photographs. Photographs? Just photographs - under no circumstances will you engage the enemy. I leave them there? Do not engage the enemy. Colonel Trautman will lead a rescue assault team. OK? I feel that your participation gives the mission a good chance of success. We'll meet at Operations Centre in one hour. ..Thailand across Laos to the mountain drop zone. Bail out at 250 feet. Can you handle it? I'll try. Since you're going in solo, you'll have to rely on more equipment. No blood and guts - let technology do the work. Try to forget the war, remember the mission. The old Vietnam is dead. I'm alive, it's still alive. All this is for you. Impressed? Besides these monitoring devices, there's ultra-modern equipment to ensure your safety. You can feel safe - we have the best weapons in the world. The mind is the best weapon. Times change. For some people. Carry on, Colonel. Upon insertion, go to base camp. Proceed to Hawk September - rendezvous with your contact. Indigenous Agent Co Bahl. Is he listening? Indigenous Agent Co Bahl. Colonel. You sure he's OK from the war? He might crack under pressure in that hell. Pressure? Rambo's the best combat vet I've seen. A fighting machine who wants to win wars. Even if it means death - no fear, no regrets. And, one more thing - what you call hell, he calls home. Stand by - start APU. PA: T minus 20. Switching now. T minus five. You have 36 hours to get in and out, OK? Yeah. Any trouble, go to the hill marked on your map. Ready to roll, Colonel. Good luck, son. Thanks. Let's go. Remember Murdock said he was in Cong Tum in 1966? Yeah. His battalion was at Cut Senk. I only trust you. Think he'll find someone? POWs? Doubtful. But there's people to satisfy, questions to answer. You don't sound too emotional. It wasn't my war, Colonel. I'm just cleaning up the mess. . . . They have arrived. They're holding time. Affirmative, Wolf Den. Over. Back in the badlands. Stand by your position. Insertion minus 15 seconds. Party time. Five seconds...four... ..three...two... ..jumper away. What's happened? Turbulence - he's hung. He'll be torn apart! Condition red - he's hung up. What? What happened? He's being dragged! Cut him loose. I'm trying. Pull out. He'll be torn apart. He's cutting his equipment. He's off! This is Dragonfly. Do you read? Come in, Dragonfly. Any visual bearings? Negative. We didn't see anything. We should abort before there are any other complications. Who could've survived that? He deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has 36 hours - we owe him that. Of course we do. But understand that in 36 hours, we pull out. Huugh. Rambo! (Speaks Vietnamese) (Answers in Vietnamese) You didn't expect a woman, no? We'd better go. We go to river. How come you so late? I got hung up. I have arranged a boat. Old way is not safe. You've come for an empty camp. (Both converse in Vietnamese) You're using pirates? Best way down river - not get army suspicious. (Speaks Vietnamese) What about patrol boats? Russian. 1 Rambo. Want to eat? Maybe later. How you get into this? It's a long story. Long ride. Well...after I left the Special Forces, I moved around a lot. Why you leave army? I, uh... came back to the States and found there was another war on. What war? Kind of like a quiet war. A war against the soldiers returning. You don't win them. But...that's my problem. How did you get into this? My father worked for intelligence agency. He got killed - I take his place. There's too much death here - death everywhere. I want to live. Maybe go to America - live the quiet life. What do you want? Oh, to win...survive. Not easy to survive - still war here. To survive war, you have to become war. Were you picked because you like fighting? Nah...I'm expendable. Expendable? What mean expendable? It's like someone... ..invites you to a party and you don't show up. Doesn't really matter. What is this? It bring me luck. What bring you good luck? I guess this. No further report. I'm going in at dawn. Denied. Denied? It's unnecessary. There's a schedule. Rambo could be dead! It's likely. You said we'd go through. OK, if you want to, we will. The Colonel is joining the extraction team. You're a damn good man, Trautman. (Speaks Vietnamese) See, camp empty. We move closer. Wait! MOTORBIKE (Speaks Vietnamese) Cycle-girl whore from village. Come on. What is it? A bow - no sound. But I thought you only take pictures. What about orders? No more orders, Co. (Grunts) (Speaks Vietnamese) COUGHING I've come to get you out. Don't talk. There are others. I'll be back. (Coughs) Hey... (Speaks Vietnamese) (Answers in Vietnamese) (Groans) (Coughs) (Girl speaks Vietnamese) Come on. All right, let's go. DRAMATIC MILITARISTIC MUSIC BIRDSONG WATER RUNS (Speaks Vietnamese) (Blows whistle repeatedly) (Blows whistle repeatedly) WHISTLES BLOW REPEATEDLY, SHOUTING You have clearance. Minus one hour to extraction. I hope for his sake we're not just wasting fuel. Let's get movin'. SHOUTING TENSE ORIENTAL MUSIC Good thing you came when you did. Why is that? Moves around a lot, harvesting crops. Only been there a week. When was the last time you were in that camp? A year, yeah. What year is it, anyway? 1985. Camp supposed to be empty. Yeah, supposed to be. (Speaks Vietnamese) We go up river! (Speaks Vietnamese) (Speaks Vietnamese) What's happened? We've been betrayed. You're a bastard! (Speaks Vietnamese) (Speaks Vietnamese) All right, jump! I fight. Jump! Go on! The boat, Rambo! Jump! You made it, Rambo! Come on. Come on. Here, you take this. We'll go on. I stay till end. This is the end. Come on, let's go. Rambo. You not expendable. Colonel, three minutes. Left! That's Rambo! Christ, he's found one. Report Rambo's found one! Mr Murdock, Dragonfly reports that Ground Crew has an American POW. What did you say? They've got one of ours. This station's closed! Miles, Harrison, everybody out! Come on, move!! All right, give me the mike. Dragonfly, this is Coach-one. This is a command priority! Come on! I want you to abort the mission immediately! Confirm! Say again, Coach-one. You are to abort! Colonel, I've been ordered to abort. Murdock! Murdock, he's in sight! Do you read? Come on! We're going down. No! You goddamn mercenaries. There's men down there! Our men! No, your men. Don't be a hero. Down! Don't leave! Come on! 1 What are you doing? Do you know what the hell you've done?! Don't act so innocent, Colonel. You had your suspicions. You're an accessory. Don't include me with your scum! It was a lie, like the goddamn war! What are you talking about? That camp was supposed to be empty. Rambo goes in, he finds no POWs, Congress buys it - case closed. If he's caught, no one knows he's alive - except you. Who do you think you're talking to? A bureaucrat covering his ass. Not just mine, Trautman - a nation's. Besides, it's your hero's fault. If he'd followed orders it'd be finished. He was just supposed to take pictures. Those pictures would have been lost, wouldn't they? You don't understand what it's all about. Yes I do - money. In '72 we owed the Cong reparation money. We reneged. They kept the POWs. Now you're doing it again. What would you do, Trautman? Pay money to finance the war against our allies? What if some POW does show up, what do you want? Start the war all over again?! You think the Senate's going to pay billions of dollars for ghosts?! Men, goddamn it! Men! That's enough! Trautman, I'm going to forget this conversation. You bastard! If I were you, I'd never bring this up. You're making a mistake. Yeah, what mistake? Rambo. (Slams door) Damn Russian bastards! He's dead now. Bring him up! (Speaks Vietnamese) The knife. These people are so vulgar in their methods. They lack compassion. I am Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky. I do not know who you are, yet. But, I will. Clean him up! That's all. Thank you, Captain. Leave one guard, please. (Speaks Vietnamese) You're no stranger to pain. Have you been among my Vietnamese comrades before? No answer? What is your name? Now, what possible harm can that cause? Pride is a poor substitute for intelligence. You must understand that we must interrogate you. To Sergeant Yushin, you are a piece of meat - a laboratory experiment. To me you are a comrade like myself, opposed by an act of fate. I know you want to facilitate the release of war criminals held by this republic. I can appreciate this. But this incident... ..your capture is... ...embarrassing. You must have explanation. Radio your headquarters and say that you have been captured and condemned for espionage activities. And no such criminal aggression should be attempted in the future. Or they will meet with your fate. Fuck you. You wish to test your strength. Good...good. Yushin. (Co speaks Vietnamese) THUNDER ELECTRIC CURRENT Ah...ah. Ahh! (Soldiers murmur) (Speaks Russian) Comrade, here is something that might be of interest to you. Transcript of the conversation between your helicopter pilot and his commander. We intercepted. "Dragonfly, Wolf Den." Colourful names. Here we are. "We have them in sight." And the reply... "Abort the operation immediately. "This is a recall. "Confirm." Ugh. It seems you were abandoned on direct command. These are the people you protect with your pain. (Speaks Russian) You may scream. There is no shame. AAAHHHH! Ugh! Eurgh! Urgh! You are strong. Very strong. The strongest so far, but you're nearly dead. For what? Make a radio call. THUDDING To talk, to obey would be much easier. Yushin! (Speaks Russian) Yushin has a memento for you of this occasion. Put it in his eye. Huh. Your life means nothing to you. But his might. Don't tell them anything. You will talk. Yes... (Speaks Russian) Ahhh! Oh! THUNDER Ugh! Do it. Now! 220... ..56... ..Lone Wolf...receive... This is Lone Wolf...22056. Lone Wolf, this is Wolf Den. Transmit location, status. Over. What is it? It's Rambo, sir. We read you. What is your position? Over. I say again, what is your position? Over. Ugh! Your friend dies if you do not answer. Johnny, where are you? John, come in. Murdock. He's here. Rambo, we're glad that you're alive. Where are you? Give your position, we'll be there. Murdock... I'm coming to get YOU. Come on. (Shouts commands) Come on! (Yells in Vietnamese) Get down! This way! We safe for now. You look like hell, Rambo. Tough night. Maybe need this. You hurt bad. It's all right. Listen, er... ..what you did back there... I won't forget it. Thanks. What you do? Try getting across through Thailand? Yeah. Then go America? Yeah. You take me with you? You take me? Yeah. I think you make good choice. Yeah. We go? Let's go. Aaah! You all right? You all right? Ram-bo... Yeah. Yeah. You...can't...forget...me... No...no. (Gasps for breath) Get the rescue team ready. You're risking your reputation and family - is he worth it? Yes. I'm ordering you to withdraw. I'll go over your head. I'm in charge here. You're just a tool. Place him under arrest. He's not to leave the base. He never had a chance. Like you said, he went home. THUNDER AGHH! (Yells instructions) (Yells warning in Vietnamese) DRAMATIC MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES . TENSE MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES (Gives instructions) (Yells warning) (Shouts in Russian) AGH! AGHH! (Prisoners cheer) Get back! Right! Move! Move! Move! Keep going! Move! Get to the chopper! Come on, get up! Keep moving! Come on! Move it! Man the gun! Guys, we made it! Chopper on our tail! Hang on! Hold on! Lone Wolf calling Wolf Den. Over. Lone Wolf calling Wolf Den. Over. Wolf Den, this is Lone Wolf. Do you read? This is Lone Wolf. We hear you! Over. Prepare for emergency landing. Arriving with American POWs. Prepare for emergency landing. Arriving with American POWs. (All cheer) You heard! Prepare for landing POWs! Let's move! 1 . . Get in there! Let's go! Easy, now. Glad you made it! OOF! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Rambo, I don't make the orders. I take them - like you. I swear I didn't know this would happen! It was supposed to be just another assignment. Mission... ..accomplished! There are more men out there. You know where they are. Find them...or I'll find you. John! Where are you going? I don't know. You'll get another Medal of Honour for this. Should give it to them. They deserve it more. You can't keep running, John. You're free now. Come back with us. Back to what? My friends died here. Part of me died here. The war was wrong, but don't hate your country for it. Hey! I'd die for it. What is it you want? I want... ..what they want. And every other guy who came over here and spilt his guts and gave everything he had WANTS! For our country to love us as much as we love it! THAT's what I want! How will you live, John? Day by day. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2015 FRANK STALLONE'S 'PEACE IN OUR LIFE'