Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980): Season 3, Episode 17 - To Kill or Be Killed - full transcript

Croyden, something's
happened here.

I'll have to pull out. I'll
explain when I see you.

General Rigney.

Thank you for coming, McGarrett.

Two years in Vietnam.

Two years.

Dac To, Ben Cat,
a hundred hot spots,

he lived through
them, to come home,

to this.

Have you any idea how

or why this might have happened?



No.

Apparently your son fell

or was pushed from the
window of his apartment.

It just doesn't make sense.

Death seldom does.

Dying for something worthwhile,

but this after everything
he lived through.

Only home... two days.

Have you talked to
him since he got back?

Only briefly.

Men coming back from
a long period in combat

don't feel like talking much.

He, uh, wanted to be alone.

His mother and I respected that.



So he took the
apartment by himself?

Yes.

Did he mention seeing anyone
or wanting to see anyone?

A friend? A girlfriend, maybe?

He didn't have a girlfriend.

The girl he was going
with married somebody else

while he was fighting
for his country.

He lost touch with most
of his college friends

doing his time in the service.

Did he have any enemies
that you can think of?

Only the Vietcong.

McGARRETT: But it's all in the
report you gave to H.P.D., Mrs. Jessup.

You were positive.

You said you heard
the sounds of a struggle.

You said that you
saw a man leaving here

carrying a handgun.

I'm just not positive anymore.

I was upset.

I'm not certain.

It could have been
a different apartment.

The gun could
have been anything.

But we found it out
back in the trash can,

exactly where you said
you saw the man drop it.

You gave us a detailed
description of the man.

I'm just not sure anymore.

I'm not.

Please leave me alone.

Let me go home.

All right.

All right, you can
go, Mrs. Jessup.

But I may have to
question you again.

Maid sure shot out
of here in a hurry.

What's with her?

I don't know, Danno,
but I don't like it.

She completely changed her mind

about all the things
she told H.P.D.

Or somebody changed it for her.

Here's the file on
Lieutenant Rigney.

Hm.

Football, track,

honors in high
school and college,

top of his class, ROTC.

Let's go over what
we've got so far.

Jack Rigney falls or is pushed

from the window
of his apartment.

No bullet holes in the body,
even though a gun is found.

Cause of death,
internal injuries

from multiple
contusions, nothing else.

And the maid, Mrs. Jessup,

tells H.P.D. she saw a young man

leaving the apartment
carrying a gun

just before the fall.

She gives us, uh, an
exact location of the gun.

Also an exact time, 10:13 a.m.,

because she just happened
to look at her watch.

Right. Very precise.

But Jack Rigney's watch
smashed on impact,

stopping it at exactly 10:17.

So there's a
four-minute difference.

Then the man she saw
couldn't have pushed him.

Unless...

Unless her watch
was wrong, or his.

Or unless she was
mistaken, as she now claims.

But she was so positive,
so precise before.

Ballistics report this is a
Russian-made 9-shot Tokarev.

Lots of the boys
smuggle them back

as Vietcong souvenirs.

There were another set
of prints besides Rigney's,

but FBI has no records of it.

The boys have
checked all the tenants

in the building, Steve.

There's only one
curious item I can see.

A man named Johnson
rented the adjoining apartment

and moved in the same
day as Lieutenant Rigney.

He hasn't been seen since
Lieutenant Rigney's death.

Find him, Chin. Track him down.

Keep a man on the apartment

to question him when
and if he comes back.

Who's this?

That's his brother Mike.

Brother?

General didn't say anything
about having two sons.

Should he have?

I don't know, Danno.

Take a good look at this
picture of the other brother.

The description Mrs.
Jessup gave us of the man

who came out of the apartment,
it's almost a perfect match.

What's his name? Mike Rigney.

Kono...

have H.P.D. check
the second set of prints

they found on that gun.

Tell them to try the
Division of Driver's Licenses.

Let's see what they
can come up with.

Right.

Hang on.

Where's Anne?

She went down to
the Student Action Hall

to talk to some kids.

See your brother?

Yeah, I saw him.

Was he all right?

He's fine.

Well, did you tell
him how you feel?

Yeah. Yeah, I told him.

Well, what'd he say?

Look, I-I don't want
to talk about it, okay?

Okay, I'm sorry.

I just thought that...
Just drop it, will ya?

What are you gonna do?

You've gotta report on Monday.

I'm not gonna show
up. I'm not goin' in.

That scares me, but I'm glad.

Look, I'd be willing
to fight for my country

if I thought it was a
just war, but I don't.

Oh, Michael, you don't
have to justify yourself to me.

I love you.

I believe in you.

I'll have to go to Canada.

Maybe not.

There are people
who help draft resisters.

No, Gail.

You can't be opposed
to just this war.

You still have to be
religious or a total pacifist,

and I'm not either.

Well, then we'll try.

There's gotta be some way out.

Yeah, there's a way out.

Spend a few years in jail.

I think that's General
Rigney's car, sir.

McGARRETT: Yeah.

Michael Rigney live here?

Yeah. Third
bungalow from the left.

McGARRETT: Thank you.

Where is he, general?

I don't know. He was
gone when I arrived.

Why didn't you
tell us about him?

I didn't think it was
important at the time.

Do you now?

He's run away.

Is there any reason
why he should run away?

Strange how two children can...

turn out so differently.

You give them both

the same kind of
love and concern.

Try to teach them decent values,

build moral character.

One accepts what
you offer with gratitude,

the other rejects
it with total distrust.

Did you know that
Mike visited Jack

just before his death?

Yes, Mike told me that he
wanted to talk to his brother

before he made the final
decision on avoiding the draft.

What do you think Jack
would have told him?

Probably what I
said when he told me.

It was a cop-out to his home,

his family, country,
everything we hold dear.

General, would Jack
have been angry with him?

Probably. After all, he
did contribute his share

for three long, hard years.

Then there could
have been a fight?

I can't believe that Mike

would have hurt Jack
purposely in any way.

It might have been an accident.

General,

I'd like to ask you a
very difficult question.

Is there any possibility,
any possibility at all,

that Jack could've
taken his own life?

None at all.

He was the most levelheaded
person you could find.

President of his student
body at the university,

an exceptionally
well-adjusted young man

devoted to his country.

Do you know this girl?

No.

Danno, see if you
can find out who she is.

Put out an APB on Mike Rigney.

How do you do? Hi.

Does Gail Howard live here?

Yes, she does,
however she checked out

a little while ago.

You're looking for Gail?

Yes. I'm her roommate.

She's not here right now.

I see. We're with
the state police.

Do you expect her back?

I'm not sure. I don't
know where she went.

Is she on campus?

Uh-uh. She doesn't
have any classes today.

Do you know a Michael Rigney?

I met him a couple of times.

Was he with Gail today?

I really wouldn't know.

Thank you very
much for your help.

Would you ask her to call
me, please, at this number?

Come on, kid, we've
always had war.

What do you wanna
do, change the world?

No, I don't wanna
change the world.

I just think that
people can learn

to live with each
other without fighting.

Oh, that's beautiful.

And if someone comes up,
lets you have one on the chin,

you just turn the other cheek,

crawl into a hole.

No, that isn't what I mean.

That's different from
mass organized violence.

Then there's nothing
worth fighting for, huh?

According to you, we'd still
all be living under George III.

You're just trying to
twist everything I say.

I'm not trying to
twist anything, kid.

I'm just trying to find out

whether you care
about your country.

Sure, I care about my country,

but this isn't a
matter of whether

I care about my country.

Bull. All this bunk
about conscience.

I think you're just
being arbitrary

to suit your own inconvenience.

That's not true. I
think you're scared,

just plane scared to die
and you're trying to cop-out.

Look, you haven't
understood a thing I've said.

Maybe you just haven't
made yourself clear.

This is pointless.

Mike, wait a minute.

I'm just asking the things
the draft board will ask.

They'll try to... To catch you,

to hang you on every
word, every intonation.

Well, I'm not gonna
give them the chance.

Michael, what happened?

It's no use. I'll never get
past the shanghai brigade.

It's Canada or jail.

Well, then we'll go to Canada.

We can go right now.

Listen, I got some money...

Gail, it's not that simple.

You're not going without me.

Listen, you don't
know what it means,

giving up everything.

Everything.

Your school, y-your way of life,

maybe even your citizenship.

I don't care.

I just wanna be with you.

Nothing means
anything without you.

Please, don't leave me behind.

Hey, your name Gail Howard?

Yeah. Telephone call for ya.

Oh, that's Anne.

I told her where we were.

Hello.

Yeah.

Oh, hi.

What?

The police?

Wh...?

Yeah, okay.

Okay. Well, I'm glad
you let me know, Anne.

Okay, um, okay,
I'll see you in a bit.

Okay. Bye.

That was Anne.

She said the police came
by the house asking for us.

Michael, why would the police

be looking for you now?

I mean, you don't
report for induction...

He's dead.

Oh, my God. He's dead.

But you just saw him.

What happened?

Oh, God.

Michael?

Did something happen?

Listen, it's okay.

Mike, it's all right.

Please.

Michael, you can tell me.

Nothing happened.

Come on. Let's get out of here.

Where? Where are we going?

I'm going to Canada.

Well, I'm going with you.

No, Gail. Not now.

Mike, please.

You gotta take me with you.

Come on.

No sign of the missing neighbor?

Not a thing, Steve.
Nobody's seen him.

All right. We'll
check the apartment.

Chin, did you get the
key from the manager?

Got it.

Chin, take a look
in the bathroom.

Danno, get the kitchen.

Steve, whoever was here
didn't plan on staying long.

There's no coffee,
no food. Nothing.

Nothing personal in here either.

Bathroom's empty.
No toilet articles.

Looks like he moved out.

Or never really moved in.

What is it, Steve?

Looks like a piece of
insulation from an electrical wire.

Oh.

The plate on this,
uh, outlet is loose.

Looks like the
wires have been cut.

Yeah, looks like this

has been used for
something besides lighting.

Looks like a common outlet

for this and the
apartment next door.

Yeah, you've got it, Chin.

I'd say whoever was in here

was bugging Jack
Rigney's apartment.

He even left these
wires disconnected

in his hurry to get out.

That's pretty
sophisticated stuff, Steve.

Who do you think it was? FBI?

CIA? Army Intelligence?

I don't know.

Chin, get the lab boys in here.

I want this place gone over
with a fine-toothed comb.

Prints, hair, anything
they come up with.

Okay.

Look, Anne James said
that you could help me out

because I don't have enough
fare for myself and my girl.

She told me that you
helped get her brother out.

It's up to you, baby,

but don't get the idea

that Trudeau turf
is a pacifist's Eden.

Anything's better
than jail for three years.

How much bread you got?

Just over 100.

That might be able to cut it.

Leave me your phone number.

Look, I've got to get out of
here as soon as possible.

I don't have a phone.

So call me in about an hour.

His name is Mike Rigney.

Has he ever been in here?

Over a thousand young
men have come in here

during the past
year for information

concerning conscientious
objection to war.

I can't remember them all,

nor would I betray
their confidence if I did.

Now, if you'll excuse
me... Look, Mr. Heller,

we're interested in helping
this particular young fellow too.

When he disappeared,
he left some suspicion

that he'd been involved
in the death of his brother.

The longer he hides out,

the worse he's gonna
make it for himself.

All right. He was
here yesterday.

Did you counsel him?

Thanks, kid.

We try to make them
understand that they have to

bear the consequences of a
stand that requires openness,

instead of duplicity.

And, uh, what did
he decide to do?

I'm not sure.

It isn't easy for a
20-year-old to decide

between going to jail
or leaving his country.

To kill or to be killed.

Sure you kids don't
want some soup?

It's really groovy.

Meat, bananas,

and a little Asiatic ginseng.

Guaranteed to blow your stomach.

No thanks. We're not hungry.

Did you ever wonder

why bananas grow
here and not in Alaska?

It's because they
contain one part sodium

to every 850 parts potassium.

Look, uh, we don't
have a lot of time.

Rafe checked you out
to make sure you're legit.

He said you're on
your way to Canada

to avoid the rip-off artists.

That's right.

Beautiful.

Suppose they gave a war

and nobody came, right?

Can you get us to
Portland or San Francisco?

Yeah, I suppose we can filch ya

a couple of airline
tickets, uh, for 100 bucks.

I wouldn't charge you anything,

but then, uh, we gotta live too.

We can't leave
on a regular airline.

The fuzz after you already?

I thought that, uh, you
had to report next week.

They're not after
me for draft evasion.

Is that a fact?

Well, in that case,
it'll cost you 500.

Five hundred?

Well, where am I supposed
to get that kind of money?

I don't care where you get it.

Steal it.

McGARRETT: ID tags,

R and R papers, some bread.

Everything you need,

including a pack
of PX cigarettes.

Kono, did you get a
make on those prints

we took from the
neighbor's apartment?

No, not yet.

We got all the airports,
piers, and marinas covered.

Okay, we'll proceed
on the assumption

that he's still on the island.

Let's go over it
once more, Danno.

Name's Danny Morgan,
5564 Hilo Street.

Only living relative,
uncle, Ben Ames.

Graduated from the University
of Hawaii, June of last year,

enlisted in the
Army, April, this year.

Now on R and R in
Hawaii with six days left,

then back to combat.

But you said you
weren't going back.

Not on your life, man.

From now on, I'm over the hill.

Had enough, huh?

Yeah, you can say that again.

Like, I'm, uh,
splitting for Canada.

You know, Trudeau turf,

where it's cold and it snows
eight months of the year.

If I never feel the heat again

or hear the buzzing of flies

or smell the stench
of rotting bodies,

it will be too soon, dig?

I dig.

Danno, you should pass easily.

Got all the bases covered, Chin?

Yeah. Your uncle, school,
and service records.

All covered.

All right, gentlemen.

McGARRETT: Danno, be careful.

Keep in constant touch.

Anne?

You're Anne James, aren't you?

Uh-huh. My name's Danny Morgan.

Hi. Do I know you?

No, but I'm an old
friend of your brother's.

Oh, really? Yeah.

We used to surf together
a lot over at Waimea.

He's a great guy. You
hear much from him?

I get a letter every
now and then.

How's he like Canada?

Not too much, I don't think.

I don't think I will either.

Don't tell me you're
gonna be inducted.

You look too old
to be a draftee.

Yeah, but, uh, Canada's...

opening up to all
kinds of protesters.

Mine is based on experience.

You're already in the Army?

On permanent leave,
like, uh, A-W-O-L.

I'm gonna be needing...

Oh.

Did you see your mother?

I was so worried about you.

I thought for sure
you'd get caught.

No, it was okay.

You didn't get the
money, did you?

I couldn't ask her, Gail.

I just couldn't.

I kind of expected that.

I got it.

I got it. Five hundred dollars.

How?

With seven professors

and twenty-two students, man.

They started a kind
of sympathy fund.

But didn't they know me?

I mean, about what's happened?

Well, they know you.

That seemed to be enough.

Do you love me, Michael?

I must be crazy
taking you with me.

Uh-uh. It's gonna work.

You were right about the
prints on the gun, Steve.

They belong to the
brother, Mike Rigney.

Report from Danny, Steve.

He made contact with a guy on
an underground campus newspaper

through the girl.

Thinks Mike may have
sought out the same one

for help in trying
to get off the island.

But get a load of this.

It's the FBI kickback
of those prints

we took from the
next-door apartment.

Alan Croyden,

Army Criminal
Investigation Division.

How do you like them pineapples?

Well, things are beginning
to make some sense.

Like Mrs. Jessup's
sudden change.

I guess they got to her.

But why, Steve?
What's it all about?

I don't know, but
I'm gonna find out.

Lieutenant. Mr. McGarrett.

Where's Colonel Franklin?

Uh, he's in Washington.

He'll be back tomorrow.

Well, then I guess
you'll have to

provide me with some answers.

That might be
difficult, Mr. McGarrett.

As a matter of fact,
I've been instructed

to suggest to you that
you cool your investigation

of this Army matter.

Well, that might be very
difficult for me, lieutenant.

Actually, it's the
Pentagon that's asking.

They want you to back away
from any public disclosure

of our intelligence agent's
involvement in the case,

until the Army completes
its own investigation.

Investigation of what?

I'm sorry, it's classified.

Well, you see, lieutenant,
I have a duty also,

to the public and
especially to the family

of Lieutenant Rigney
to bring out any

pertinent information
surrounding his death,

you understand?

Look, I applaud your
conscientiousness,

Mr. McGarrett.

I sympathize with the family.

However, I have my
orders, which I reiterate.

It has been suggested that you

cool your investigation
into this matter.

Lieutenant, I am not
about to be pressured

into cooling any or
all of my investigation

in this case.

And you can tell
your superiors that.

I work for the State of Hawaii,

not the federal government.

Now, are you gonna tell
me what's going on here?

I can't do that, Mr. McGarrett.

Hey, Charlie.

This is the cat I
told you about.

Oh, the deserter. Mm-hm.

Peace, baby. Come on in.

You've arrived at the DP heaven.

You check him out?

Yeah. I called our contact,

had him check the AWOL list.

He's cool.

So you wanna
flee the scene, huh?

You got it.

Well, we can get you
as far as the coast,

but after that,
you're on your own

with the FBI nabbers, dig?

How much bread you got?

How much do you need?

Oh, it'll be tough.
About, uh, 500.

Cool.

You just make
yourself at home, now,

and, uh, we'll
get to work on it.

That guy in the other room.

What about him?

I saw him yesterday talking
to one of the counselors

at the C.O. Committee Place.

So?

So he's fuzz, man. Fuzz.

The fuzz. Let's split.

How are you, general?

Colonel.

You've met Steve
McGarrett, Five-0?

Colonel. Yes, certainly.

How are you, McGarrett? Fine.

I was, uh, terribly sorry
to hear about your boy.

Yes, I, uh...

Let's get right to it, Colonel.

I don't mind telling
you I'm plenty upset.

I hope it's not with me, sir.

Well, since you're responsible

for investigating
activity on this island,

I would consider you
directly in the line of fire.

If there's anything I can do...

You can start by giving
me some straight answers

about the electronic
eavesdropping

of my son's apartment.

General, I w...
I... I'd be happy...

Straight answers, colonel.

Alan Croyden is one of your men,

am I right?

Yes, he...

He was in charge of
bugging my son's apartment?

Look, general, I have orders.

I don't give a damn
about your orders.

I want to know why your
men were sneaking around

a Vietnam hero like he
was some commie spy.

It's nothing like that, sir.

You can say that again, mister.

Now, I wanna know
what this was all about,

and I wanna know now.

I just can't tell you, general.

Well, there must
have been a tape made

of everything that went on in
Lieutenant Rigney's apartment.

That was sent to Washington.

And you didn't keep a copy?

That's standard procedure.

Well... RIGNEY: Was
there a copy or not?

Yes, but... Well,
I wanna hear it.

I wanna know what the
charges are against my son.

I wanna know why the tape
was made in the first place.

General, your son may have
been involved in certain incidents.

Believe me, sir, the Army is
not trying to suppress anything.

W-We're simply trying to
protect everyone involved

by not releasing
incomplete information,

such as that on the tape,

pending a full-scale
investigation

of certain incidents.

Incident...? What incidents?

Name me the charges
against my son.

I just can't tell you that, sir.

Franklin, I'll have
your hide for this.

It would be my hide if
I let you hear that tape.

Colonel, I don't
think you realize

just how important this
is to General Rigney.

Now, there's a
possibility of homicide

in the death of his
son, Lieutenant Rigney,

and his other son, Michael,
is the prime suspect.

Now, that tape could
shed an awful lot of light

on exactly what happened.

I'm sorry. It's out of my hands.

Mike's disappearance has
made it look all the worse.

If my son had a hand in
the death of his brother,

I wanna know.

I've got to know.

Will you take my
word that he didn't?

In the name of God,
how can I take your word

for something like that?

General, believe me,

I am not trying to
make it tough on you.

There are... There
are just some things

that are better left alone.

Franklin, I'm not ordering
you as a superior officer,

I'm begging you as
the father of two sons.

Please let me hear that tape.

I just can't help you, general.

They weren't Army people,

maybe another branch
of the federal government.

As soon as I showed them my ID,

they let me go.

Mike's still in their custody.

That's terrible.

Holding him against his will.

Whatever's going on,
somebody's taking great pains

to keep it wrapped up.

Well, I'm plenty sick of it.

What are you going to do?

I can make waves
in high places too.

May I use your
phone? Long distance.

Please, please.

Operator, this is
General Earl Rigney.

I want to call the Pentagon
in Washington, D.C.,

area code 202-545-6700.

Earl, you know I'd
help you if I could,

but this is an extremely
touchy situation

with great repercussions.

I've been told that

till I'm blue in the
face, Jonathan.

I don't care how touchy it is,

I've got one boy dead,

and somebody's holding
the other one incommunicado.

But can't you just wait

until they complete
the investigation?

Would you be able to wait?

Could you live day after day
not knowing whether one son,

killed himself,

or was murdered by his brother?

My God, Jonathan,

I've never asked
one favor of anybody

in 30 years of
service to my country.

If I've ever earned anything
fighting in three wars,

it's the right to know
what happened to my boy.

All right, Earl,
I'll do what I can.

Mike.

Oh, Mike.

No, no, no. Oh, God.

Jack, don't.

Let me go!

Let me die!

Why, Jack?

Why?

Animals.

I'm just an animal.

What are you talking about?

Jungle.

It's just a jungle, you hate.

Oh, God, I hate.

It's all over now.
You're back. It's over.

Oh, no. No.

It stays with you.

It's inside. I
can't get rid of it.

Burns, like napalm.

Kids you've seen, man.

Women screaming.

Don't talk about it.

I've got to talk about it.

I've got to know
what I did, man,

what I'm capable of doing.

You only did what
they forced you to.

Forced me?

They never forced me
to kill women, old men.

But you didn't know.

I knew.

I knew. I just didn't care.

Then there was the sweep, man.

There was a stronghold,

a Vietcong
stronghold, they said.

So we knew we had
to go through the area

and kill everything, right?

Kill everything in sight.

God, help. God.

It wasn't a Vietcong stronghold.

It was a village, man.

A little village with people.

There was this old man.

Just a skinny little old
man in black pajamas.

He was running away, and I
cut him down with my automatic.

Why did I kill him?

He was just running away.

This woman, man... This woman...

His wife or his mother or...

I just shot, man, I just...

I didn't care.
Grenades went off...

Afterwards there was
nothing left. I just...

We didn't care
what we killed, man.

Peasants, kooks, anything, we...

We only cared
about our body count.

About our high kill ratio.

Look, I'd better call Dad.

Don't call Dad, man.

He can help you.

I don't even want him to know.

He'd understand, Jack.

If anybody would
understand, he would.

Not this, man.

He never fought
in a war like this.

He never had to
become an animal.

You've gotta talk to someone.

You can't keep it bottled up.

I'm all right, man.

I just must have lost
my head for a second.

Promise me, Mike,
you won't tell Dad.

I don't want him
to know about this.

Promise me.

You need help.

I'm okay. I'm all right.

I just don't want
Dad to know, man.

It would just kill him.

He thinks I'm a hero and...

Promise me, Mike.

Okay, I promise,
but on one condition.

You check in at
the Army hospital

and let someone look at you.

Oh, yeah. Yeah,
I'll do anything.

I'll call you first
thing in the morning.

Okay.

I have to talk to
you about something

when you're feeling better.

I need your help, Jack.

Look... Look, y-you'd
better lie down.

You'll be all right.

It's all over now, Mike.

Let's go home now.

No, Dad, it's not over.

They want me to
go there like Jack.

Isolated incident.

No, Dad.

I can't go.

I've made my decision.

I'll have to go to jail.

Then I've got... two dead sons.

Mike.