JAG (1995–2005): Season 8, Episode 18 - Fortunate Son - full transcript
Commander Lindsay concludes his investigation of the JAG office. Harm investigates a helicopter pilot accused of taking bribes from a person involved in human trafficking.
( speaking Vietnamese )
( speaking Vietnamese )
Second floor, go!
Let's go, let's go!
( metallic
clattering )
( door bangs open )
INS! Don't move!
( speaking Vietnamese )
Go, go, go!
( panicked shouting )
INS!
Stop or I'll shoot!
All right, all right,
don't, don't shoot.
Don't make me.
You want to show me
your green card, pal?
My ID's in
my left coat pocket.
I'm Lieutenant Bao Hien.
United States Marine Corps.
Well, Semper Fi,
Lieutenant.
You're under arrest.
CHEGWIDDEN:
Last night the INS raided
a warehouse in Baltimore.
The building was vacant, except
for the teenage girls sewing.
A, uh, sweatshop
was uncovered,
third one in the
last six months.
16 undocumented aliens
from Vietnam were detained,
along with one
Marine Lieutenant Bao Hien.
INS doesn't figure him
as a ringleader,
so they kicked him back to us,
ah, for an investigation
in possible people smuggling.
Lieutenant Hien was
a decorated aviator.
He was a helicopter crew chief
and a gunner in the Gulf War.
He completed the enlisted
commissioning program,
he went to flight school
and flew humanitarian missions
as a pilot in Somalia.
Not to mention being
a Marine Corps poster boy
for pulling yourself up
by the bootstraps.
Lieutenant Hien was on
one of the last helos
out of Saigon in '75.
He started his life in America
as a child refugee.
Inspired to become a Marine
by the Marines
who rescued him.
What does the lieutenant
say he was doing
in that warehouse, sir?
"Looking for something
to steal."
Maybe choosing the lesser
of two evils.
Commercial Burglary carries
a lighter penalty
than people
smuggling.
A guy like this
just doesn't wake up one day
and decide to be a criminal.
Well, what he's already
admitted to
is an Article One-Thirty
violation
and conduct unbecoming.
Obviously, the Marines are
watching this closely.
That's why I want
both of you on it.
Lieutenant Hien's
stationed in Pax River.
He's, uh, grounded
pending the outcome.
And take Petty Officer Coates
with you.
I want her to get
some field experience.
That'll be all.
Yes, sir.
Oh, and, uh, let's get
to the bottom of this quickly.
Uh, with Mac on the bench,
we're kind of short
of lawyers around here.
Understood, sir.
Yes, sir.
( knocking )
Enter!
Excuse me, Admiral.
SECNAV is here, sir.
Hello, gentlemen.
Good to see you.
I want to thank you
for your fine work
in the friendly fire case.
And yours in
that Empty Quiver matter.
Thank you, Commanders.
Thank you, sir.
Appreciate that, sir.
Admiral.
Secretary.
I came here myself,
because I wanted to make sure
that you didn't read about this
in some memo
and draw the wrong conclusions.
Read what, sir?
Well, this business with you
ejecting out of an F-14.
The Washington Post wants
to know what a two-star Admiral
is doing tooling
around the friendly skies
with a lawyer at the helm.
This kind of thing
gives CHINFO a bad rash.
Commander Rabb had taken me up
to demonstrate a flaw
in the heads-up display
in the plane.
It was JAG business, sir.
I assumed that there was
a good explanation.
And it won't take long
to clear the matter.
Beyond that, there's just
some housekeeping
that bears examination.
So, you want to send
an investigator?
Just to pacify
the powers that be.
I have full confidence
in your ability to stand up
to scrutiny, A.J.
MAN:
Prints from several of the girls
we have in custody
were matched to this container.
I've seen these babies with
plumbing, air conditioning...
TURNER:
Sounds like a real
pleasure cruise.
What are we supposed
to do?
Give out tickets
at the border?
"Free show,
standing room only."
RABB:
Have you found anything
to directly tie Lieutenant Hien
to these crates?
MAN:
Not yet. We're still
combing the warehouse.
We figure the lieutenant
was just there
picking up his percentage
of the profits.
You arrested the lieutenant
based solely on the fact
that he was there that night.
There was no evidence
of a payoff.
Ah, if it walks like a duck.
Hardly a legal argument.
Well, I'm hardly a lawyer.
That's why I gave
the lieutenant to you.
The fact is, Commanders,
there is nothing
worth stealing
in that warehouse.
Your lieutenant's either
a bad thief or a good liar.
RABB:
You've noticed
nothing suspicious, Mrs. Hien?
Nothing to suggest
your husband was involved
in the smuggling
of foreign nationals?
No, nothing.
You know he's admitted
to breaking and entering.
And I can't explain to that.
Ah, it's just not like Bao.
Not at all.
How long have you been married?
For over one year.
Mrs. Hien, has your husband
ever lied to you?
If my husband
lied to me, Commander,
I never find out about it.
I thought Navy here
was to help my husband.
You two sound like
you're out for some blood.
We're just trying to discover
the truth, Mrs. Hien.
I'm done?
For now.
Thank you.
CHEGWIDDEN:
Enter.
Excuse me, Admiral.
You have a visitor, sir.
From the SECNAV's office.
Send him in.
Do you know who
the SECNAV sent, sir?
Just send him in, Tiner.
Aye, sir.
Commander.
Admiral.
Commander Lindsey.
That'll be all, Tiner.
Aye, aye, sir.
I wasn't told that you'd
be conducting our audit.
Well, who better, sir?
I mean, I have spent
some time here at JAG.
Well, let's get to it.
What specifically
are the complaints
against our office?
Misallocation of personnel.
Lawyers traveling as tour groups
when one would do.
Sleight of hand
with TAD requests.
Misappropriation
of government property.
Misappropriation?
A recent example:
Commander Rabb's
commandeering of a Humvee
in the George Washington
National Forest.
He was assisting
Search and Rescue.
A search for and rescue of you,
sir,
making disciplining him
difficult.
By the way, how's your back?
Fine, thank you.
Do what you have to do.
You can use the conference room.
Just steer clear
of all JAG business, Commander.
Aye, aye, sir.
Uh, sir?
I don't want you
to worry about that business
with the promotion board
you headed--
passing me over for captain?
COATES:
This is Suong Khoi, 15,
Ly Truong, 14.
Ask them who brought them here.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Was it this man?
( speaking Vietnamese )
They want to know
if they will be deported.
In all probability, yes.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Then...
we not have reason to tell.
You tell them that I wish there
was a way for them to stay here.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Please!
Make a way.
Then we tell.
RABB:
Lieutenant Hien?
I'm Commander Rabb.
I'm with the JAG Corps.
Commander.
You're an aviator.
Well, not today, Lieutenant.
Well, I guess
that's me, too.
Grounded as Safety Officer
until further notified.
Take a walk,
Lieutenant.
Okay.
I've read your
service record.
It's impressive.
You received
an air medal
as a door gunner
in the Gulf War.
Yes, sir.
You held off enemy ground fire
while your helo rescued
the survivors
of a downed Black Hawk.
Those men were going
to get picked off
one by one, sir.
We didn't see any option
to our actions.
You got your wings,
you received
an Aerial Achievement Citation
and a Purple Heart
all on your first
combat mission.
Srebrenica, sir.
Transporting
civilian wounded.
You took shrapnel
and you kept flying, Lieutenant.
You're a brave man.
Not to mention your rapid rise
through the enlisted ranks.
You got your commission
and now you're a lieutenant.
That is certainly
a record to be proud of.
I'm proud to be
a Marine, sir.
Well, let me ask you this,
Lieutenant,
since you've waived
your Article Thirty-One rights.
Why the hell
would you jeopardize
such an exemplary career
to break
into a warehouse?
( sighs )
I don't know how to say
it in a way that, um,
you could understand,
Commander.
Lieutenant,
I want to believe
there's an explanation
for what happened that night.
Why, Commander?
Why do you want to believe
that I'm anything but a thief?
I guess I want
to believe, Lieutenant,
that your life experiences
made a difference.
April 29, 1975.
Fall of Saigon.
I was four years old.
My mother was a secretary
at the embassy.
The sound of the helos
over our heads were...
steady as a heartbeat.
Marine guards were shouting.
I didn't even understand
English at that time, but...
I knew what they
were saying was bad.
That we weren't safe.
I was fortunate.
Others weren't so lucky,
Commander.
That's why I had
to do something.
So you didn't break
into the warehouse
to steal something.
Not to steal anything, sir.
To save something
that was already stolen.
I thought I could just
get them out of there.
Why didn't you tell
all this to the INS?
Because, I didn't think
they'd believe me, sir.
But why should I believe you?
I'm guilty either
way, Commander.
I don't expect leniency.
RABB:
The guy should be
getting a medal
for trying to free those girls,
not facing a court-martial.
The lieutenant's record
speaks for itself.
He's based his career
on coming to the aid
of people in need.
The lieutenant acted
with blatant disregard
for the law,
and then lied to the
authorities about it.
You don't have enough
to recommend court-martial
based on a
people-smuggling charge.
And you don't have enough
to recommend against one.
Petty Officer Coates is pulling
invoices from the cargo company.
Let's find out who paid
for the containers
that brought the girls in,
and then we can decide.
What is your stake
in sending this thing
to court-martial anyway?
I don't have one.
No personal feelings at all.
Something about this guy
has touched you.
So, you want off this case,
Commander?
No, no, sir.
I was just wondering
why you gave it to me.
Do you mean, did I consider
Lieutenant Hien's experience
in Vietnam before I got
you involved?
Yes, I did.
I just want to believe
it doesn't make
a difference to me, sir.
And, uh... now it does?
I don't know,
Admiral.
The case seems
black and white to me.
But then it does
to Commander Turner, too.
Well, do the best you can.
Yes, sir.
How'd your meeting with
SECNAV go?
Well, Commander,
we're being audited,
and the investigator
he sent to do the job
doesn't like me.
I find that hard to believe,
sir.
It's Lindsey.
Commander Lindsey?
Mmm.
Lieutenant,
Lieutenant.
Please, let me
get that for you.
There you go.
Thank you, Commander.
It's been a long time.
Christmas last
year, I believe.
How's Lieutenant Sims?
She's great, sir.
How's your family?
Lieutenant, I have found
that one's family
can be of great comfort
during times of career
disappointment.
I was very sorry to hear
of your injury.
But you look as fit
for duty as ever.
As fit as ever, sir?
Oh, I bet the Seahawk
misses you.
You've turned out to be
quite a lawyer, Lieutenant.
Thank you, sir.
Seahawk has competent legal
counsel, I can assure you.
Lieutenant Singer, isn't it?
No, sir. Not anymore.
She... uh, became
physically unable
to serve aboard ship, sir.
Well, not another land mine,
I hope.
No, nothing like that, sir.
Lieutenant, Sims...
Nice lady.
I've always thought so, sir.
I just wonder how
the Inspector General
manages without her.
Sir?
Admiral Chegwidden
has permanently... temporarily
assigned her
to this office indefinitely.
Is there a problem
with that, sir?
Only that it stretches
the definition
of temporary additional duty.
That will be all.
TURNER:
Still waiting for manifests
from the cargo company.
In these days of dummy
corporations and
credit card fraud,
we don't consider
that reliable evidence.
The UCMJ gives us slightly
more latitude on that subject.
Tell me, what do you know
about this Lieutenant Hien
that we don't?
Well, the prelim
background check
came back clean
as a whistle.
The guy's a Boy Scout.
Did meet his wife in a mail
order service though.
Sunshine Brides-- right
here in Baltimore.
You'd think a Marine pilot
would be fighting them off.
You want to run me
off a copy of your
file on the Hiens?
Yeah. Have it tomorrow.
So how long before you
all wrap up shop here?
Well, there's no end in sight,
unfortunately.
We can't get a handle on who's
responsible for this mess
and how they're
covering their tracks.
Look, don't get me wrong.
I'm not anti-immigration.
I'm anti-illegal immigration.
That makes two of us.
My grandparents
got out of Poland
one step ahead of the SS.
Thank God they had
someplace to go.
What's your deal?
People come over
on the Mayflower?
About a year prior
to that actually.
Jamestown colony.
They were indentured servants.
My mother's side came later.
During the height of slavery.
Suffice it to say, under
conditions even worse
than that packing crate
over there.
You probably got
the same speech I did.
American first, minority second.
I didn't need that lesson.
My face tells the story
of who my forefathers were.
The uniform on my back
speaks to the level
of patriotism I was taught.
I'm trying to find out if that's
equally true of Lieutenant Hien.
Cargo company manifests,
Commander.
Four of the cargo containers
pegged as alien transports
by the INS were paid for with
Lieutenant Hien's credit card.
He wasn't trying
to free anybody.
He put them there himself.
Ah, Sturgis.
Harm.
Right on time.
Seems I'm on my way back to Pax
River to prove you right.
Lieutenant Hien paid for some
of those containers himself.
Luckily, I'm not one to gloat.
Can you tell me who
this Commander Lindsey is?
He's left me
three messages today.
Oh, Commander Theodore Lindsey.
He was Admiral Brovo's aide
when I first came here.
He then became
acting JAG TAD.
He moved into the SECNAV's
administration.
He seems to have wormed
his way into the new one
under Sheffield,
and now he's out to get us.
Can't wait to make
his acquaintance.
In the interim, I have
a little field assignment
for you,
Petty Officer Coates.
One for which you are
uniquely qualified.
Thank you, sir.
WOMAN:
Can I help you?
Investigator
Jennifer Coates
of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
I'd like to see
your records.
This is just a dating service,
okay?
We find wives for lonely guys.
It's all legal.
Well, I know lots
of lonely guys.
They're INS investigators, too.
I can have them here
in 15 minutes.
Look, I'm just a hired gun here.
Please, don't do that.
Okay, okay.
I'll show you the files
in the computer.
But I don't want to go back.
If you cooperate, I'll put
in a good word for you.
Thank you. Thank you for that.
In the file
called "clients..."
Please hurry.
How do I get
online?
It's DSL. You're
already connected.
Pretty high-tech
for a business that deals
in arranged marriage.
( door opening )
( speaking Vietnamese )
This lady, she...
Is your tech support rep
from Zell Computers.
You shouldn't have
any more problems
with those peripherals.
You ladies have
a nice day.
RABB:
Lieutenant Hien, you have
abused my trust.
I guess I wanted you to be
a good guy,
because I respected your record.
But your recent past
has erased all that, Lieutenant.
You paid for some
of the containers
that brought those
girls over here.
I have a good reason, Commander.
I don't want
to hear it,
Lieutenant.
What I do want to hear
is who do you work for?
Who runs this organization?
People with no names,
and a post office box.
Commander, you've seen
my credit cards.
You've seen the bills.
You know how much in debt
I am over this.
I have never made a profit.
I swear to you.
Then why'd you do it?
You remember what I said before
about Saigon?
I left something out.
We didn't make it
to the rooftop
until nearly the end
of the evacuation.
All right, that's it. No more.
There's no more room.
We can't take you.
There wasn't room
for the two of us.
Please! You have
to take us! Please!
Do not leave
us behind!
My mother had to make
the hardest decision
of her life.
Take my son!
Take him!
I never saw her again.
Once we got out
over the city,
the Master Sergeant said
to me that I was free.
I didn't feel free then,
and I don't feel free now.
So this is how you're
making it up to your mother?
Serving other mother's children
up as cheap labor?
Commander, what they left behind
is worse.
I've been to Vietnam,
Lieutenant.
No, not the part where
these girls are from, sir.
These girls are orphans,
castoffs.
They live in the streets
until they're old enough
for the brothels.
They wait on lists for years
for a better life, sir.
A life... a life here
in America.
A life like the one you're
throwing away, Lieutenant?
LINDSEY:
Colonel, let me carry that.
Oh, I can handle
it, Commander.
Why are you here?
I know what the SECNAV
said, but why you?
Apparently, the SECNAV has more
faith in me than some people.
Ah, you mean
the Admiral.
You're still sore about
not making captain?
No, not at all.
I do find it odd how
your career has flourished
despite the taints
of scandal.
The, uh, dead husband.
The affair with your CO.
How dare you?
I wonder what it is
the promotion board
sees in you
that they don't see in me.
Unless it's a special friend
who happens to be an admiral.
I don't like that
implication, Lindsey.
No, I don't suppose you do.
Perhaps we could meet later
for a drink, Colonel,
and work it all out
over a beer.
I think we're finished here.
I'm sorry.
You touch me like that
again and you will be.
TURNER:
I found out about
the Sunshine Brides
dating service.
I'm not ashamed
of the way
I met my husband,
Commander.
I'm not asking for your shame,
Mrs. Hien.
I'm wondering
what other services
Sunshine Brides
might be offering.
Sometimes these
bridal services
are fronts for
immigrant smuggling.
They lure women in
with a promise of husbands
only to place them
into backbreaking work.
How long ago did you leave
Vietnam, Mrs. Hien?
Um, about four years.
Gauging from your proficiency
in English,
I'm inclined to think you spent
that four years in the U.S.
But you didn't apply
for your green card
until just last year
after you were married.
What have you been doing for
the past four years, Mrs. Hien?
I can tell by your hand,
Mrs. Hien,
that you've done some
hard work in your life.
Maybe in a sweatshop?
If you're a victim
of this people-smuggling ring,
Mrs. Hien, we can help you.
You can't help me.
But you can help
my husband.
Do you love your husband,
Mrs. Hien?
Or are you just grateful
for him saving you?
In the beginning
it was gratitude.
I met this man, an
American and Vietnamese.
A real-life Marine hero,
like the one who take
my mother out of Saigon
after the fall.
It wasn't hard
after that
to fall in love
with this man.
Without him... I have nothing.
I am nothing.
( door opens )
Uh, tell them to have a seat.
( man speaks Vietnamese )
You can... you can tell them
that I'm ready to make an offer
for their testimony.
( speaks Vietnamese )
Hope for the Future
made the order,
courtesy of the INS.
It's translated in Vietnamese
on the back.
They are illiterate.
Well, ask her if she'll trust us
to tell her what's on the page.
( translator speaks Vietnamese )
You look at me. Why?
I'm sorry.
You remind me of someone
I used to know.
Tell them that they have been
recategorized
as refugee minors,
though if they cooperate
and answer my questions,
it will more than likely have a
positive bearing on their case.
( speaking Vietnamese )
They're willing to talk now.
Ask them who met them at the
cargo dock when they arrived.
Was it a man
in a uniform?
( speaking Vietnamese )
Was it a woman?
A Vietnamese woman?
This woman?
Yes.
Job in America.
LINDSEY:
Petty Officer Second Class
Jennifer Coates.
You served aboard
the Seahawk
after the nasty
near court-martial
for going UA from
the Gainesville.
I've had a change of heart
since then, sir.
You were Legalman for
Lieutenant Roberts
and then Lieutenant Singer.
Commander Rabb
and Colonel Mackenzie also
spent time on the vessel.
Yes, sir. When Lieutenant
Roberts was wounded
and when Lieutenant Singer
was investigated
for refusing to name the father
of her child.
I wasn't aware Lieutenant Singer
had a child.
She will any day now, sir.
She's on a five-month
maternity leave.
Five months?
We're shorthanded now as it is.
Uh... please,
extend my congratulations
to the lieutenant.
Yes, sir.
( sighs )
Now, after Lieutenant
Roberts' injury,
personal regs allow for
an equivalent replacement
to step in as
acting carrier JAG.
Yet, not one, but
two Oh-five lawyers
remained on that vessel.
That's a lot of seniority
to send in
to pinch-hit for a lieutenant.
If you say so, sir.
Dismissed.
Aye, aye, sir.
RABB:
Howdy, stranger.
I was waiting for you
to show up.
The case of
the infamous Lieutenant Hien.
So what's the rumor mill saying?
That you're chasing
your father again.
You know, this isn't
really about my father,
no matter what people
are saying.
When I was 16,
I went to Vietnam.
I had heard about
this retired Colonel.
His name was Striker.
He was a grave digger...
a bone collector.
He would, uh...
he'd go into the jungles
of Vietnam and Laos
and look for military
crash sites.
He lived with a woman he had
rescued out of Saigon in '75.
She had two daughters.
Is this about a girl, Harm?
Yeah. Her name was Gym.
She was 14.
I shouldn't have
taken her
to the jungle with
me, and, uh...
I mean, it was my dream
to get my father back. I...
She was killed
by Laotian border guards.
And those girls the lieutenant
tried to save from the sweatshop
remind you of her?
I guess the lieutenant's efforts
to save those girls
remind me of what I wish
I could have done for Gym.
You can't turn back the clock,
Harm.
For the lieutenant
or for yourself.
RABB:
Agent Roizman.
Commander.
Thank you very much
for your help
with the INS petition.
I wouldn't have been able to
talk to the girls without them.
Well, that almost
makes me wish
I wasn't here to
rain on your parade.
The INS finished processing
the warehouse scene.
They found something
you should see.
RABB:
Gentlemen, last
time I checked,
it wasn't a crime
to possess $5,000.
Then why did Lieutenant Hien
hide it when he heard us coming?
And the lieutenant's
fingerprints
were on the envelope
this was found in.
There was nothing altruistic
about Lieutenant Hien's
involvement in this.
He was getting his
cut of the profits.
TURNER:
I believe this new evidence
against Lieutenant Hien
is sufficient cause to
recommend a court-martial
to the convening authority.
And you've laid to rest
any suspicions of Mrs. Hien?
Lack of evidence, sir.
If they are in it together,
we can't prove it.
The INS will unravel it
eventually
and she'll get hers
in a civilian court
if she's got it coming.
Sounds like we're going
to an Article 32.
Turner, you'll prosecute.
Commander, I assume
you'll want to defend.
Aye, sir.
Admiral, I would like
to continue the investigation.
It doesn't smell
right to me.
If this guy's getting paid
on a regular basis,
where's the money?
He's up to his eyeballs in debt.
Commander, will you excuse us?
Aye, sir.
His ghost still
bothering you?
How do you do it, sir?
You were in Vietnam.
You've managed to put
it out of your mind.
Have I?
Commander, that war cast
some long shadows.
Stay with your investigation,
but I reserve the right
to tell you when it's over.
Aye, aye, sir.
And thank you.
Commander.
I finally found something
in those files
I e-mailed from
the dating service.
The lieutenant's wife
owes them a lot of money.
For what?
I wish I knew, sir.
Commander Lindsey.
Sturgis Turner.
Been looking forward
to meeting you.
Commander, I'm sure you've
heard a lot about me.
Only what a capable
investigator you are.
Thank you.
Commander, you joined
this office recently.
What were your
first impressions?
To be honest, Commander, I could
not believe what I was seeing.
Commander Rabb dumping aircraft,
Colonel MacKenzie rerouting
an entire sea rescue
on a hunch.
It's outrageous.
Rabb and Lieutenant Roberts
flying to Australia
at the drop of a hat.
Excuse me.
Do you mind
if I record this?
Oh, I wish you would.
As you were saying.
I was saying that
this group of people
has one of the most unorthodox
interpersonal dynamics
of any I've ever worked in.
Which can be the only
explanation for
its exemplary track record.
You like working here?
I trust you're going
to add that to your report.
Don't worry, Commander.
Your voice will be heard.
Hello.
Hello.
Uh, my partner
was in here the other day.
You gave her
some computer files.
She say she INS.
But you Navy.
It's a joint investigation.
Now, miss, I'm willing
to believe
that you do nothing more here
than run the office.
Yes, that's true.
It's a woman-- she own it.
She call herself Danh Tu,
"Mother."
I don't even know
her real name.
Well, this woman who
owns the company,
she's going to jail.
So you have a decision to make.
You can choose
to cooperate
right now,
or you can risk
being her cell mate.
But I already gave the file.
You need
to give more.
For instance, I want to know
why a woman
who met her husband through here
could wind up owing the company
$30,000.
The woman from the INS,
she say she could help me
stay in this country.
Maybe we can... maybe.
I noticed a little while ago,
some of the women we marry off
to the Americans
they have accounts.
Every once in awhile,
a bunch of the debt
gets taken off the top.
You know, like they pay.
But none of the money
come through here.
We don't even have
a domestic bank account.
It is all based
in Vietnam.
None of this was in
the computer file.
She do not trust computer,
Danh Tu--
she keep everything
in a ledger
she keep locked up
in a safe.
Can you get into the safe?
Yes.
This is my card.
Take this.
Call me, we'll see what
we can do for you.
Take my advice now,
and leave here.
( knocking )
Got all the files from
the dating service printed, sir.
And the reports from the INS.
Nice work, Coates.
Do me a favor, would you?
Look in the INS report.
Give me the date of the first
cargo container they suspected.
Let's see here...
September 15.
September 15.
Mrs. Hien was credited
$2,000
by the Sunshine Brides.
The next time they took money
off her account
was November 19.
That's a match, sir.
A suspected cargo container
came in that day.
She's working off her debt
helping them smuggle in women.
( knocking )
Am I interrupting?
No, Commander.
Would you excuse us,
Petty Officer.
You can leave
the files here.
Aye, aye, sir.
Saving the best for last,
Commander?
Oh, I won't rehash incidents
like turning your hallowed halls
of justice here
into shooting practice.
Or mention the fact
that you personally
burned through
a quarter billion dollars
of military equipment
in your career.
Nine-tenths of that,
after you left flight status
to become a lawyer.
Well, thank you.
No, I came here
to thank you
for delivering the icing
on the cake, Commander.
You have more than enough
to recommend
your Lieutenant Hien
for court-martial.
What does any of this
have to do with you?
You're squandering
the Navy's time
by keeping
this investigation open.
As per usual, what you want
is what you get.
And the admiral thinks
I'm not captain material.
So that's what this
is about, huh, Commander?
The good child syndrome.
You keep your nose clean,
I don't,
but I catch all the breaks.
Oh, Commander,
don't worry.
Your days of catching
all the breaks are over.
My report on this place
goes to the SECNAV
at 0900 tomorrow.
I'm recommending that you
and your friends here at JAG
all be reassigned.
Reassigned?
You've all become
far too cliquish.
The interpersonal incest
that goes on around here
makes it impossible
for the chain of command
to function.
It was long overdue, Rabb.
You and I both know it.
Mrs. Hien, your account
with the Sunshine Brides
was credited money
every time
a new shipment of
teenage girls comes in.
Now, you've worked in
these sweat shops,
when you first came
here four years ago
until you were old
enough to get married.
Your husband was
charged money
to be introduced
to you.
What I want to know
is why you still owe
the Sunshine Brides money.
Look, is this secret
so important
it's worth sending
your husband
to prison
to protect it?
When I came here,
I work in sewing factory,
same as those girls.
And one day
this lady--
she call herself...
Mother?
Yes.
She take picture of me
and she tell me that
I look pretty enough
to marry off to American.
Then she tell me
she bring my sister over
and we can be
family again.
My parents are dead
and my sister is only 13.
She have no one.
To file paper to try to get
her transferred legally
takes years,
and I just feel
if I take too long
that she will die, too.
So you had your husband pay
for shipping containers.
She have us do it that way
so that it won't trace
back to her.
But she say
it's not enough,
and she bring my sister over,
but she keep from us.
Every time she make us pay
for another container,
she lower ransom
I must work off.
Where did the $5,000 they found
in the warehouse come from?
It was all
that we have.
Bao try to go to the warehouse
to make her offer.
To try to get my sister.
Your sister was there?
Agent Roizman.
Hey, Commander.
Thought the Navy
had just about
closed the book
on the Hien case.
Just about,
but not quite.
I have some additional
information for you.
Does it come
with a price tag?
Well, this time we both
get what we want.
There is this woman
who calls herself Mother.
Yeah, we know
about Mother.
Her real name's
Pham Ta.
She's managed to keep
the stink of all this
of herself though.
We haven't been able
to tie her to any of it.
This is your Holy Grail.
What is it you want from me?
( yelling in Vietnamese )
INS!
What is this?
Pham Ta, you're
under arrest.
Get her out of here.
Are you Nam Ha?
You Nam Ha?
No, it's okay. It's okay.
You're safe now.
RABB:
Lieutenant.
Lieutenant, I'm going
to be honest with you.
I've been under
increasing pressure
to recommend that you go
straight to court-martial.
Yes, sir.
You should have told me
why you did it, Lieutenant.
You should have told me
about your wife's little sister.
I knew if I had
gone to the police,
the INS would have found
Nam Ha
and sent her back to Hanoi.
Well, it might interest
you to know, Lieutenant,
the INS has arrested the woman
who owns the Sunshine Brides.
She's admitted she blackmailed
you into doing what you did.
And I have
a deal for you,
if you choose
to accept it.
You take
Non-Judicial Punishment,
a letter of reprimand
and a pay cut
and you can go back
to active duty
flying helicopters.
Yes, sir.
The civil authorities
have also agreed
not to press charges
against your wife.
She has a little sister
to raise.
Is that...?
Nam Ha.
The INS is willing
to overlook
the way she came
into the country.
She's eligible to stay.
I don't know
what to say.
I'm sure you'll
think of something.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Second floor, go!
Let's go, let's go!
( metallic
clattering )
( door bangs open )
INS! Don't move!
( speaking Vietnamese )
Go, go, go!
( panicked shouting )
INS!
Stop or I'll shoot!
All right, all right,
don't, don't shoot.
Don't make me.
You want to show me
your green card, pal?
My ID's in
my left coat pocket.
I'm Lieutenant Bao Hien.
United States Marine Corps.
Well, Semper Fi,
Lieutenant.
You're under arrest.
CHEGWIDDEN:
Last night the INS raided
a warehouse in Baltimore.
The building was vacant, except
for the teenage girls sewing.
A, uh, sweatshop
was uncovered,
third one in the
last six months.
16 undocumented aliens
from Vietnam were detained,
along with one
Marine Lieutenant Bao Hien.
INS doesn't figure him
as a ringleader,
so they kicked him back to us,
ah, for an investigation
in possible people smuggling.
Lieutenant Hien was
a decorated aviator.
He was a helicopter crew chief
and a gunner in the Gulf War.
He completed the enlisted
commissioning program,
he went to flight school
and flew humanitarian missions
as a pilot in Somalia.
Not to mention being
a Marine Corps poster boy
for pulling yourself up
by the bootstraps.
Lieutenant Hien was on
one of the last helos
out of Saigon in '75.
He started his life in America
as a child refugee.
Inspired to become a Marine
by the Marines
who rescued him.
What does the lieutenant
say he was doing
in that warehouse, sir?
"Looking for something
to steal."
Maybe choosing the lesser
of two evils.
Commercial Burglary carries
a lighter penalty
than people
smuggling.
A guy like this
just doesn't wake up one day
and decide to be a criminal.
Well, what he's already
admitted to
is an Article One-Thirty
violation
and conduct unbecoming.
Obviously, the Marines are
watching this closely.
That's why I want
both of you on it.
Lieutenant Hien's
stationed in Pax River.
He's, uh, grounded
pending the outcome.
And take Petty Officer Coates
with you.
I want her to get
some field experience.
That'll be all.
Yes, sir.
Oh, and, uh, let's get
to the bottom of this quickly.
Uh, with Mac on the bench,
we're kind of short
of lawyers around here.
Understood, sir.
Yes, sir.
( knocking )
Enter!
Excuse me, Admiral.
SECNAV is here, sir.
Hello, gentlemen.
Good to see you.
I want to thank you
for your fine work
in the friendly fire case.
And yours in
that Empty Quiver matter.
Thank you, Commanders.
Thank you, sir.
Appreciate that, sir.
Admiral.
Secretary.
I came here myself,
because I wanted to make sure
that you didn't read about this
in some memo
and draw the wrong conclusions.
Read what, sir?
Well, this business with you
ejecting out of an F-14.
The Washington Post wants
to know what a two-star Admiral
is doing tooling
around the friendly skies
with a lawyer at the helm.
This kind of thing
gives CHINFO a bad rash.
Commander Rabb had taken me up
to demonstrate a flaw
in the heads-up display
in the plane.
It was JAG business, sir.
I assumed that there was
a good explanation.
And it won't take long
to clear the matter.
Beyond that, there's just
some housekeeping
that bears examination.
So, you want to send
an investigator?
Just to pacify
the powers that be.
I have full confidence
in your ability to stand up
to scrutiny, A.J.
MAN:
Prints from several of the girls
we have in custody
were matched to this container.
I've seen these babies with
plumbing, air conditioning...
TURNER:
Sounds like a real
pleasure cruise.
What are we supposed
to do?
Give out tickets
at the border?
"Free show,
standing room only."
RABB:
Have you found anything
to directly tie Lieutenant Hien
to these crates?
MAN:
Not yet. We're still
combing the warehouse.
We figure the lieutenant
was just there
picking up his percentage
of the profits.
You arrested the lieutenant
based solely on the fact
that he was there that night.
There was no evidence
of a payoff.
Ah, if it walks like a duck.
Hardly a legal argument.
Well, I'm hardly a lawyer.
That's why I gave
the lieutenant to you.
The fact is, Commanders,
there is nothing
worth stealing
in that warehouse.
Your lieutenant's either
a bad thief or a good liar.
RABB:
You've noticed
nothing suspicious, Mrs. Hien?
Nothing to suggest
your husband was involved
in the smuggling
of foreign nationals?
No, nothing.
You know he's admitted
to breaking and entering.
And I can't explain to that.
Ah, it's just not like Bao.
Not at all.
How long have you been married?
For over one year.
Mrs. Hien, has your husband
ever lied to you?
If my husband
lied to me, Commander,
I never find out about it.
I thought Navy here
was to help my husband.
You two sound like
you're out for some blood.
We're just trying to discover
the truth, Mrs. Hien.
I'm done?
For now.
Thank you.
CHEGWIDDEN:
Enter.
Excuse me, Admiral.
You have a visitor, sir.
From the SECNAV's office.
Send him in.
Do you know who
the SECNAV sent, sir?
Just send him in, Tiner.
Aye, sir.
Commander.
Admiral.
Commander Lindsey.
That'll be all, Tiner.
Aye, aye, sir.
I wasn't told that you'd
be conducting our audit.
Well, who better, sir?
I mean, I have spent
some time here at JAG.
Well, let's get to it.
What specifically
are the complaints
against our office?
Misallocation of personnel.
Lawyers traveling as tour groups
when one would do.
Sleight of hand
with TAD requests.
Misappropriation
of government property.
Misappropriation?
A recent example:
Commander Rabb's
commandeering of a Humvee
in the George Washington
National Forest.
He was assisting
Search and Rescue.
A search for and rescue of you,
sir,
making disciplining him
difficult.
By the way, how's your back?
Fine, thank you.
Do what you have to do.
You can use the conference room.
Just steer clear
of all JAG business, Commander.
Aye, aye, sir.
Uh, sir?
I don't want you
to worry about that business
with the promotion board
you headed--
passing me over for captain?
COATES:
This is Suong Khoi, 15,
Ly Truong, 14.
Ask them who brought them here.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Was it this man?
( speaking Vietnamese )
They want to know
if they will be deported.
In all probability, yes.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Then...
we not have reason to tell.
You tell them that I wish there
was a way for them to stay here.
( speaking Vietnamese )
Please!
Make a way.
Then we tell.
RABB:
Lieutenant Hien?
I'm Commander Rabb.
I'm with the JAG Corps.
Commander.
You're an aviator.
Well, not today, Lieutenant.
Well, I guess
that's me, too.
Grounded as Safety Officer
until further notified.
Take a walk,
Lieutenant.
Okay.
I've read your
service record.
It's impressive.
You received
an air medal
as a door gunner
in the Gulf War.
Yes, sir.
You held off enemy ground fire
while your helo rescued
the survivors
of a downed Black Hawk.
Those men were going
to get picked off
one by one, sir.
We didn't see any option
to our actions.
You got your wings,
you received
an Aerial Achievement Citation
and a Purple Heart
all on your first
combat mission.
Srebrenica, sir.
Transporting
civilian wounded.
You took shrapnel
and you kept flying, Lieutenant.
You're a brave man.
Not to mention your rapid rise
through the enlisted ranks.
You got your commission
and now you're a lieutenant.
That is certainly
a record to be proud of.
I'm proud to be
a Marine, sir.
Well, let me ask you this,
Lieutenant,
since you've waived
your Article Thirty-One rights.
Why the hell
would you jeopardize
such an exemplary career
to break
into a warehouse?
( sighs )
I don't know how to say
it in a way that, um,
you could understand,
Commander.
Lieutenant,
I want to believe
there's an explanation
for what happened that night.
Why, Commander?
Why do you want to believe
that I'm anything but a thief?
I guess I want
to believe, Lieutenant,
that your life experiences
made a difference.
April 29, 1975.
Fall of Saigon.
I was four years old.
My mother was a secretary
at the embassy.
The sound of the helos
over our heads were...
steady as a heartbeat.
Marine guards were shouting.
I didn't even understand
English at that time, but...
I knew what they
were saying was bad.
That we weren't safe.
I was fortunate.
Others weren't so lucky,
Commander.
That's why I had
to do something.
So you didn't break
into the warehouse
to steal something.
Not to steal anything, sir.
To save something
that was already stolen.
I thought I could just
get them out of there.
Why didn't you tell
all this to the INS?
Because, I didn't think
they'd believe me, sir.
But why should I believe you?
I'm guilty either
way, Commander.
I don't expect leniency.
RABB:
The guy should be
getting a medal
for trying to free those girls,
not facing a court-martial.
The lieutenant's record
speaks for itself.
He's based his career
on coming to the aid
of people in need.
The lieutenant acted
with blatant disregard
for the law,
and then lied to the
authorities about it.
You don't have enough
to recommend court-martial
based on a
people-smuggling charge.
And you don't have enough
to recommend against one.
Petty Officer Coates is pulling
invoices from the cargo company.
Let's find out who paid
for the containers
that brought the girls in,
and then we can decide.
What is your stake
in sending this thing
to court-martial anyway?
I don't have one.
No personal feelings at all.
Something about this guy
has touched you.
So, you want off this case,
Commander?
No, no, sir.
I was just wondering
why you gave it to me.
Do you mean, did I consider
Lieutenant Hien's experience
in Vietnam before I got
you involved?
Yes, I did.
I just want to believe
it doesn't make
a difference to me, sir.
And, uh... now it does?
I don't know,
Admiral.
The case seems
black and white to me.
But then it does
to Commander Turner, too.
Well, do the best you can.
Yes, sir.
How'd your meeting with
SECNAV go?
Well, Commander,
we're being audited,
and the investigator
he sent to do the job
doesn't like me.
I find that hard to believe,
sir.
It's Lindsey.
Commander Lindsey?
Mmm.
Lieutenant,
Lieutenant.
Please, let me
get that for you.
There you go.
Thank you, Commander.
It's been a long time.
Christmas last
year, I believe.
How's Lieutenant Sims?
She's great, sir.
How's your family?
Lieutenant, I have found
that one's family
can be of great comfort
during times of career
disappointment.
I was very sorry to hear
of your injury.
But you look as fit
for duty as ever.
As fit as ever, sir?
Oh, I bet the Seahawk
misses you.
You've turned out to be
quite a lawyer, Lieutenant.
Thank you, sir.
Seahawk has competent legal
counsel, I can assure you.
Lieutenant Singer, isn't it?
No, sir. Not anymore.
She... uh, became
physically unable
to serve aboard ship, sir.
Well, not another land mine,
I hope.
No, nothing like that, sir.
Lieutenant, Sims...
Nice lady.
I've always thought so, sir.
I just wonder how
the Inspector General
manages without her.
Sir?
Admiral Chegwidden
has permanently... temporarily
assigned her
to this office indefinitely.
Is there a problem
with that, sir?
Only that it stretches
the definition
of temporary additional duty.
That will be all.
TURNER:
Still waiting for manifests
from the cargo company.
In these days of dummy
corporations and
credit card fraud,
we don't consider
that reliable evidence.
The UCMJ gives us slightly
more latitude on that subject.
Tell me, what do you know
about this Lieutenant Hien
that we don't?
Well, the prelim
background check
came back clean
as a whistle.
The guy's a Boy Scout.
Did meet his wife in a mail
order service though.
Sunshine Brides-- right
here in Baltimore.
You'd think a Marine pilot
would be fighting them off.
You want to run me
off a copy of your
file on the Hiens?
Yeah. Have it tomorrow.
So how long before you
all wrap up shop here?
Well, there's no end in sight,
unfortunately.
We can't get a handle on who's
responsible for this mess
and how they're
covering their tracks.
Look, don't get me wrong.
I'm not anti-immigration.
I'm anti-illegal immigration.
That makes two of us.
My grandparents
got out of Poland
one step ahead of the SS.
Thank God they had
someplace to go.
What's your deal?
People come over
on the Mayflower?
About a year prior
to that actually.
Jamestown colony.
They were indentured servants.
My mother's side came later.
During the height of slavery.
Suffice it to say, under
conditions even worse
than that packing crate
over there.
You probably got
the same speech I did.
American first, minority second.
I didn't need that lesson.
My face tells the story
of who my forefathers were.
The uniform on my back
speaks to the level
of patriotism I was taught.
I'm trying to find out if that's
equally true of Lieutenant Hien.
Cargo company manifests,
Commander.
Four of the cargo containers
pegged as alien transports
by the INS were paid for with
Lieutenant Hien's credit card.
He wasn't trying
to free anybody.
He put them there himself.
Ah, Sturgis.
Harm.
Right on time.
Seems I'm on my way back to Pax
River to prove you right.
Lieutenant Hien paid for some
of those containers himself.
Luckily, I'm not one to gloat.
Can you tell me who
this Commander Lindsey is?
He's left me
three messages today.
Oh, Commander Theodore Lindsey.
He was Admiral Brovo's aide
when I first came here.
He then became
acting JAG TAD.
He moved into the SECNAV's
administration.
He seems to have wormed
his way into the new one
under Sheffield,
and now he's out to get us.
Can't wait to make
his acquaintance.
In the interim, I have
a little field assignment
for you,
Petty Officer Coates.
One for which you are
uniquely qualified.
Thank you, sir.
WOMAN:
Can I help you?
Investigator
Jennifer Coates
of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
I'd like to see
your records.
This is just a dating service,
okay?
We find wives for lonely guys.
It's all legal.
Well, I know lots
of lonely guys.
They're INS investigators, too.
I can have them here
in 15 minutes.
Look, I'm just a hired gun here.
Please, don't do that.
Okay, okay.
I'll show you the files
in the computer.
But I don't want to go back.
If you cooperate, I'll put
in a good word for you.
Thank you. Thank you for that.
In the file
called "clients..."
Please hurry.
How do I get
online?
It's DSL. You're
already connected.
Pretty high-tech
for a business that deals
in arranged marriage.
( door opening )
( speaking Vietnamese )
This lady, she...
Is your tech support rep
from Zell Computers.
You shouldn't have
any more problems
with those peripherals.
You ladies have
a nice day.
RABB:
Lieutenant Hien, you have
abused my trust.
I guess I wanted you to be
a good guy,
because I respected your record.
But your recent past
has erased all that, Lieutenant.
You paid for some
of the containers
that brought those
girls over here.
I have a good reason, Commander.
I don't want
to hear it,
Lieutenant.
What I do want to hear
is who do you work for?
Who runs this organization?
People with no names,
and a post office box.
Commander, you've seen
my credit cards.
You've seen the bills.
You know how much in debt
I am over this.
I have never made a profit.
I swear to you.
Then why'd you do it?
You remember what I said before
about Saigon?
I left something out.
We didn't make it
to the rooftop
until nearly the end
of the evacuation.
All right, that's it. No more.
There's no more room.
We can't take you.
There wasn't room
for the two of us.
Please! You have
to take us! Please!
Do not leave
us behind!
My mother had to make
the hardest decision
of her life.
Take my son!
Take him!
I never saw her again.
Once we got out
over the city,
the Master Sergeant said
to me that I was free.
I didn't feel free then,
and I don't feel free now.
So this is how you're
making it up to your mother?
Serving other mother's children
up as cheap labor?
Commander, what they left behind
is worse.
I've been to Vietnam,
Lieutenant.
No, not the part where
these girls are from, sir.
These girls are orphans,
castoffs.
They live in the streets
until they're old enough
for the brothels.
They wait on lists for years
for a better life, sir.
A life... a life here
in America.
A life like the one you're
throwing away, Lieutenant?
LINDSEY:
Colonel, let me carry that.
Oh, I can handle
it, Commander.
Why are you here?
I know what the SECNAV
said, but why you?
Apparently, the SECNAV has more
faith in me than some people.
Ah, you mean
the Admiral.
You're still sore about
not making captain?
No, not at all.
I do find it odd how
your career has flourished
despite the taints
of scandal.
The, uh, dead husband.
The affair with your CO.
How dare you?
I wonder what it is
the promotion board
sees in you
that they don't see in me.
Unless it's a special friend
who happens to be an admiral.
I don't like that
implication, Lindsey.
No, I don't suppose you do.
Perhaps we could meet later
for a drink, Colonel,
and work it all out
over a beer.
I think we're finished here.
I'm sorry.
You touch me like that
again and you will be.
TURNER:
I found out about
the Sunshine Brides
dating service.
I'm not ashamed
of the way
I met my husband,
Commander.
I'm not asking for your shame,
Mrs. Hien.
I'm wondering
what other services
Sunshine Brides
might be offering.
Sometimes these
bridal services
are fronts for
immigrant smuggling.
They lure women in
with a promise of husbands
only to place them
into backbreaking work.
How long ago did you leave
Vietnam, Mrs. Hien?
Um, about four years.
Gauging from your proficiency
in English,
I'm inclined to think you spent
that four years in the U.S.
But you didn't apply
for your green card
until just last year
after you were married.
What have you been doing for
the past four years, Mrs. Hien?
I can tell by your hand,
Mrs. Hien,
that you've done some
hard work in your life.
Maybe in a sweatshop?
If you're a victim
of this people-smuggling ring,
Mrs. Hien, we can help you.
You can't help me.
But you can help
my husband.
Do you love your husband,
Mrs. Hien?
Or are you just grateful
for him saving you?
In the beginning
it was gratitude.
I met this man, an
American and Vietnamese.
A real-life Marine hero,
like the one who take
my mother out of Saigon
after the fall.
It wasn't hard
after that
to fall in love
with this man.
Without him... I have nothing.
I am nothing.
( door opens )
Uh, tell them to have a seat.
( man speaks Vietnamese )
You can... you can tell them
that I'm ready to make an offer
for their testimony.
( speaks Vietnamese )
Hope for the Future
made the order,
courtesy of the INS.
It's translated in Vietnamese
on the back.
They are illiterate.
Well, ask her if she'll trust us
to tell her what's on the page.
( translator speaks Vietnamese )
You look at me. Why?
I'm sorry.
You remind me of someone
I used to know.
Tell them that they have been
recategorized
as refugee minors,
though if they cooperate
and answer my questions,
it will more than likely have a
positive bearing on their case.
( speaking Vietnamese )
They're willing to talk now.
Ask them who met them at the
cargo dock when they arrived.
Was it a man
in a uniform?
( speaking Vietnamese )
Was it a woman?
A Vietnamese woman?
This woman?
Yes.
Job in America.
LINDSEY:
Petty Officer Second Class
Jennifer Coates.
You served aboard
the Seahawk
after the nasty
near court-martial
for going UA from
the Gainesville.
I've had a change of heart
since then, sir.
You were Legalman for
Lieutenant Roberts
and then Lieutenant Singer.
Commander Rabb
and Colonel Mackenzie also
spent time on the vessel.
Yes, sir. When Lieutenant
Roberts was wounded
and when Lieutenant Singer
was investigated
for refusing to name the father
of her child.
I wasn't aware Lieutenant Singer
had a child.
She will any day now, sir.
She's on a five-month
maternity leave.
Five months?
We're shorthanded now as it is.
Uh... please,
extend my congratulations
to the lieutenant.
Yes, sir.
( sighs )
Now, after Lieutenant
Roberts' injury,
personal regs allow for
an equivalent replacement
to step in as
acting carrier JAG.
Yet, not one, but
two Oh-five lawyers
remained on that vessel.
That's a lot of seniority
to send in
to pinch-hit for a lieutenant.
If you say so, sir.
Dismissed.
Aye, aye, sir.
RABB:
Howdy, stranger.
I was waiting for you
to show up.
The case of
the infamous Lieutenant Hien.
So what's the rumor mill saying?
That you're chasing
your father again.
You know, this isn't
really about my father,
no matter what people
are saying.
When I was 16,
I went to Vietnam.
I had heard about
this retired Colonel.
His name was Striker.
He was a grave digger...
a bone collector.
He would, uh...
he'd go into the jungles
of Vietnam and Laos
and look for military
crash sites.
He lived with a woman he had
rescued out of Saigon in '75.
She had two daughters.
Is this about a girl, Harm?
Yeah. Her name was Gym.
She was 14.
I shouldn't have
taken her
to the jungle with
me, and, uh...
I mean, it was my dream
to get my father back. I...
She was killed
by Laotian border guards.
And those girls the lieutenant
tried to save from the sweatshop
remind you of her?
I guess the lieutenant's efforts
to save those girls
remind me of what I wish
I could have done for Gym.
You can't turn back the clock,
Harm.
For the lieutenant
or for yourself.
RABB:
Agent Roizman.
Commander.
Thank you very much
for your help
with the INS petition.
I wouldn't have been able to
talk to the girls without them.
Well, that almost
makes me wish
I wasn't here to
rain on your parade.
The INS finished processing
the warehouse scene.
They found something
you should see.
RABB:
Gentlemen, last
time I checked,
it wasn't a crime
to possess $5,000.
Then why did Lieutenant Hien
hide it when he heard us coming?
And the lieutenant's
fingerprints
were on the envelope
this was found in.
There was nothing altruistic
about Lieutenant Hien's
involvement in this.
He was getting his
cut of the profits.
TURNER:
I believe this new evidence
against Lieutenant Hien
is sufficient cause to
recommend a court-martial
to the convening authority.
And you've laid to rest
any suspicions of Mrs. Hien?
Lack of evidence, sir.
If they are in it together,
we can't prove it.
The INS will unravel it
eventually
and she'll get hers
in a civilian court
if she's got it coming.
Sounds like we're going
to an Article 32.
Turner, you'll prosecute.
Commander, I assume
you'll want to defend.
Aye, sir.
Admiral, I would like
to continue the investigation.
It doesn't smell
right to me.
If this guy's getting paid
on a regular basis,
where's the money?
He's up to his eyeballs in debt.
Commander, will you excuse us?
Aye, sir.
His ghost still
bothering you?
How do you do it, sir?
You were in Vietnam.
You've managed to put
it out of your mind.
Have I?
Commander, that war cast
some long shadows.
Stay with your investigation,
but I reserve the right
to tell you when it's over.
Aye, aye, sir.
And thank you.
Commander.
I finally found something
in those files
I e-mailed from
the dating service.
The lieutenant's wife
owes them a lot of money.
For what?
I wish I knew, sir.
Commander Lindsey.
Sturgis Turner.
Been looking forward
to meeting you.
Commander, I'm sure you've
heard a lot about me.
Only what a capable
investigator you are.
Thank you.
Commander, you joined
this office recently.
What were your
first impressions?
To be honest, Commander, I could
not believe what I was seeing.
Commander Rabb dumping aircraft,
Colonel MacKenzie rerouting
an entire sea rescue
on a hunch.
It's outrageous.
Rabb and Lieutenant Roberts
flying to Australia
at the drop of a hat.
Excuse me.
Do you mind
if I record this?
Oh, I wish you would.
As you were saying.
I was saying that
this group of people
has one of the most unorthodox
interpersonal dynamics
of any I've ever worked in.
Which can be the only
explanation for
its exemplary track record.
You like working here?
I trust you're going
to add that to your report.
Don't worry, Commander.
Your voice will be heard.
Hello.
Hello.
Uh, my partner
was in here the other day.
You gave her
some computer files.
She say she INS.
But you Navy.
It's a joint investigation.
Now, miss, I'm willing
to believe
that you do nothing more here
than run the office.
Yes, that's true.
It's a woman-- she own it.
She call herself Danh Tu,
"Mother."
I don't even know
her real name.
Well, this woman who
owns the company,
she's going to jail.
So you have a decision to make.
You can choose
to cooperate
right now,
or you can risk
being her cell mate.
But I already gave the file.
You need
to give more.
For instance, I want to know
why a woman
who met her husband through here
could wind up owing the company
$30,000.
The woman from the INS,
she say she could help me
stay in this country.
Maybe we can... maybe.
I noticed a little while ago,
some of the women we marry off
to the Americans
they have accounts.
Every once in awhile,
a bunch of the debt
gets taken off the top.
You know, like they pay.
But none of the money
come through here.
We don't even have
a domestic bank account.
It is all based
in Vietnam.
None of this was in
the computer file.
She do not trust computer,
Danh Tu--
she keep everything
in a ledger
she keep locked up
in a safe.
Can you get into the safe?
Yes.
This is my card.
Take this.
Call me, we'll see what
we can do for you.
Take my advice now,
and leave here.
( knocking )
Got all the files from
the dating service printed, sir.
And the reports from the INS.
Nice work, Coates.
Do me a favor, would you?
Look in the INS report.
Give me the date of the first
cargo container they suspected.
Let's see here...
September 15.
September 15.
Mrs. Hien was credited
$2,000
by the Sunshine Brides.
The next time they took money
off her account
was November 19.
That's a match, sir.
A suspected cargo container
came in that day.
She's working off her debt
helping them smuggle in women.
( knocking )
Am I interrupting?
No, Commander.
Would you excuse us,
Petty Officer.
You can leave
the files here.
Aye, aye, sir.
Saving the best for last,
Commander?
Oh, I won't rehash incidents
like turning your hallowed halls
of justice here
into shooting practice.
Or mention the fact
that you personally
burned through
a quarter billion dollars
of military equipment
in your career.
Nine-tenths of that,
after you left flight status
to become a lawyer.
Well, thank you.
No, I came here
to thank you
for delivering the icing
on the cake, Commander.
You have more than enough
to recommend
your Lieutenant Hien
for court-martial.
What does any of this
have to do with you?
You're squandering
the Navy's time
by keeping
this investigation open.
As per usual, what you want
is what you get.
And the admiral thinks
I'm not captain material.
So that's what this
is about, huh, Commander?
The good child syndrome.
You keep your nose clean,
I don't,
but I catch all the breaks.
Oh, Commander,
don't worry.
Your days of catching
all the breaks are over.
My report on this place
goes to the SECNAV
at 0900 tomorrow.
I'm recommending that you
and your friends here at JAG
all be reassigned.
Reassigned?
You've all become
far too cliquish.
The interpersonal incest
that goes on around here
makes it impossible
for the chain of command
to function.
It was long overdue, Rabb.
You and I both know it.
Mrs. Hien, your account
with the Sunshine Brides
was credited money
every time
a new shipment of
teenage girls comes in.
Now, you've worked in
these sweat shops,
when you first came
here four years ago
until you were old
enough to get married.
Your husband was
charged money
to be introduced
to you.
What I want to know
is why you still owe
the Sunshine Brides money.
Look, is this secret
so important
it's worth sending
your husband
to prison
to protect it?
When I came here,
I work in sewing factory,
same as those girls.
And one day
this lady--
she call herself...
Mother?
Yes.
She take picture of me
and she tell me that
I look pretty enough
to marry off to American.
Then she tell me
she bring my sister over
and we can be
family again.
My parents are dead
and my sister is only 13.
She have no one.
To file paper to try to get
her transferred legally
takes years,
and I just feel
if I take too long
that she will die, too.
So you had your husband pay
for shipping containers.
She have us do it that way
so that it won't trace
back to her.
But she say
it's not enough,
and she bring my sister over,
but she keep from us.
Every time she make us pay
for another container,
she lower ransom
I must work off.
Where did the $5,000 they found
in the warehouse come from?
It was all
that we have.
Bao try to go to the warehouse
to make her offer.
To try to get my sister.
Your sister was there?
Agent Roizman.
Hey, Commander.
Thought the Navy
had just about
closed the book
on the Hien case.
Just about,
but not quite.
I have some additional
information for you.
Does it come
with a price tag?
Well, this time we both
get what we want.
There is this woman
who calls herself Mother.
Yeah, we know
about Mother.
Her real name's
Pham Ta.
She's managed to keep
the stink of all this
of herself though.
We haven't been able
to tie her to any of it.
This is your Holy Grail.
What is it you want from me?
( yelling in Vietnamese )
INS!
What is this?
Pham Ta, you're
under arrest.
Get her out of here.
Are you Nam Ha?
You Nam Ha?
No, it's okay. It's okay.
You're safe now.
RABB:
Lieutenant.
Lieutenant, I'm going
to be honest with you.
I've been under
increasing pressure
to recommend that you go
straight to court-martial.
Yes, sir.
You should have told me
why you did it, Lieutenant.
You should have told me
about your wife's little sister.
I knew if I had
gone to the police,
the INS would have found
Nam Ha
and sent her back to Hanoi.
Well, it might interest
you to know, Lieutenant,
the INS has arrested the woman
who owns the Sunshine Brides.
She's admitted she blackmailed
you into doing what you did.
And I have
a deal for you,
if you choose
to accept it.
You take
Non-Judicial Punishment,
a letter of reprimand
and a pay cut
and you can go back
to active duty
flying helicopters.
Yes, sir.
The civil authorities
have also agreed
not to press charges
against your wife.
She has a little sister
to raise.
Is that...?
Nam Ha.
The INS is willing
to overlook
the way she came
into the country.
She's eligible to stay.
I don't know
what to say.
I'm sure you'll
think of something.