Miami Vice (1984–1989): Season 2, Episode 10 - Back in the World - full transcript

Crockett.

Hey, you're not gonna
believe this.

Okay.

Some N.C.O. out of Da Nang.

That's about
as weird as it gets.
I don't wanna see this.

Yeah, I know. It's too much.

It's irony, man. Dig it.

Shepherd.

Hey, wasn't there some guy
named Shepherd in your unit?

Yeah, I knew him.

Say hello to white death, man.



I knew him.

This is DEA.

Cut your engines
and ext from the plane. Now!

Step down with your hands
on your head.

Don't shoot,
don't shoot.

It's my dad's plane.
We're not dealers.

We were just gonna
keep it for ourselves.
Shut up, Randy.

You don't have to
say jack to them.

Somehow they don't strike me
as the major smack dealers...

we waited in the woods
all night to grab.

There's nothing in the plane
but a few pounds of pot.

Be advised you are now
under arrest for trafficking
in controlled substances.

And don't forget
smoking in the bathroom.

Read them their rights.



You have the right
to remain silent.

If you give up the right
to remain silent, anything you
say can and will be used....

Well, you gotta
hand it to them.

When the DEA makes a bust,
they come prepared, pal.

Two tons of press coverage
for two pounds of grass.

Well, look, if they don't
get their faces on camera,
on TV or in the newspapers...

how are the bad guys
gonna know who to respect?

Crockett.

Stone?

Get the camera out of my face.

Ira Stone.

Long time.
Oh, yeah. Forever, man.

So?

So, you don't look
much like a high school
football coach to me...

or is this how
the youth of America prepares
for the post-season?

Wait a minute, pal.
At least I got a job.

I've been missing your byline
for say, the past 10 years,
right?

Or did you come here
to record this
for some teen magazine?

Dope bust of the month.

No, this isn't my story, man.

I came along for the ride
'cause I heard you were
gonna be here.

You know what
my real story is, Crockett?

No, but I can't wait
for you to tell me.

Come on, Crockett.
It's the primo dope story
of the decade:

The Sergeant lives.

He's back in business,
right here in South Florida.

Let me get my gear.
Lunch is gonna be
on my publisher.

Background on this
is gonna blow your mind.

Who's the U.F.O.?

A combat reporter I knew
in Saigon. Ira Stone.

You happy to see him?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm just surprised.

Danger junkies
usually don't live this long.

What's this about a sergeant?

There was this one top kick
supply sergeant in Vietnam...

who was said to be the major
heroin connection in Nam.

Stone always wanted
to investigate it.

What did he find out?

Well, right before
Saigon fell, The Sergeant...

was supposedly to have
arranged getting his stash
out of Vietnam...

in K.I.A. bags.

It was like the final
slap in the face.

Can you imagine
being sent overseas
to fight for your country...

getting killed in action
and then end up...

becoming somebody's container
for their stash?

The whole damn thing was sick.

Nobody believed it.
I know I didn't.

Until....

Until Stone showed me
this body bag
during the evacuation.

It was packed with heroin.

Man, I was so freaked out
I didn't even...

submit my article...

which my man Crockett
will testify, takes a fair
amount of freakiness.

And you gave this information
to Army Intelligence?

Yes, sir.
In a sworn statement.

And then I split
for New Mexico to cool out...

and all the army
ever came up with was...

some junkie grunt up in Frisco
who did himself in
with a shotgun in his mouth.

And they tell me this is
The Sergeant, and they close
the case and it's no way.

We're ready, gentlemen.
Yeah.

Well, how do you know
this guy's still alive?

Let alone doing business here
in South Florida.

Couple of months ago,
a major shipment arrives
from the northeast...

and a lot of people
are getting sick off it,
which, in itself...

is not all that unusual.

But my ears perk up,
because I hear
this stuff is Laotian, right?

So I cop and I take the stuff
to a chemist,
and he tells me.... All right?

Hey, dig this.

The stuff is not heroin,
it's six-acetyl-morphine...

which is a breakdown product
of the old heroin
and the kicker is...

what is making
all these people sick is,
it is loaded with methanol.

Wood alcohol.

It's what they used
to preserve the corpses
in Vietnam.

And what The Sergeant's stash
was soaking in...

all the way from
Tan Son Nhut to Tacoma.

How do you know
that this contaminated stash
came from Florida?

Beaucoup sources, man.

It figures.

He would want to move
the stuff up north and not
dump it on his own doorstep.

Yeah.

Well, Saigon fell
10 years ago. Why wait
till now to move it?

All right, now here's where
I sell the movie rights,
right?

The Sergeant comes back
to the States...

maybe he buys himself
a big house,
he hides his stash.

What if he just sits around
waiting for inflation to rise?
I mean, think of it.

I mean like 10 years ago,
a cheeseburger cost
about 39 cents.

There is no telling
how much money this guy
is sitting on right here now.

Only now, his stuff is
starting to decompose...

and he's gotta move
his whole nest egg
before it rots.

Real drag, wait around
a decade and find out
you're sitting on nothing.

You ought to know.
You got it, Jack.

I've been sitting around
10 years waiting to get
a byline on this sucker.

Well, here's to you, pal.
I hope you get it.

I hope you help me.
Remember Maynard?

You mean your old buddy,
Capt. Real Estate?

The one and only.
I hear he's residing
in the area.

In fact I've been
having a little trouble
getting a hold of him.

It's really typical Maynard.
Very retired, very unlisted.

You think he knows something?
He knew what was
going on in country.

Maybe he knows about
what's going on back here.

In fact I was kind of hoping
maybe you could use a little
of your police pull...

maybe run him down for me.

Sort of an "old times"
type of thing.

I should've known.
I should've known
this was not a free lunch.

Listen, I'll look into
that number for you.
All right.

And thanks again for lunch.
Okay. Thanks, man.

Quite a little tale.

Yeah, pretty weird.
You don't even know
the half of it.

Yeah, one or two minor flaws.
So?

I'm just calling them
like I see it.

Rico, I shared some
rather radical times...

with this guy in Vietnam.

What am I gonna do,
tell him to get lost?

All right, Lieutenant,
these are last month's
homicide registers...

from Chicago, New York,
Boston and Cleveland...

which verify
what Stone said about
the unclassified deaths...

from methanol poisoning.

We even had
one here at the VA.

Now, maybe the idea that
The Sergeant is still alive
is a crazy one.

I'll grant you that.
But there's gotta be something
to what Stone said.

This guy was an ace reporter
in Vietnam and I'd like
to help him if I can.

I'll even take a couple
of days off and do it
on my own time.

Just run down
the VA connection.

Then let Stone do his job
so you can do yours.

Thank you.

What was he like
when you talked to him last?

Did he seem depressed or...

did he seem like
something was wrong?

Did he do anything strange?
Was he acting funny?

Look, I didn't know
your friend...

but I really think
I know how you're feeling...

because I had a lot of friends
in the war who ended up
tying off one too many times.

Then, why don't you go talk
to one of their roommates?

Hey, man, having somebody
out on the streets
selling bad news...

ain't doing anybody
any favors.

I told you,
I don't know nothing.

What, are you telling me
you don't know where your
best buddy scored bad smack?

I told you...

I don't know.

And I don't know nothing
about The Sergeant.

You're disturbing
our game, man.

Hey, take it easy.

You take it easy.

And you take
your questions elsewhere.

What's all this
friction about, man?

I'm trying to find out
the guy who scored
your best buddy poison.

No, you're trying to find out
how you can get
a cover story...

with your name in the credits.
No, I'm not.

Look, we're tired
of being used here.

The public is just starting
to remember who we are...

and then you want
to come in here with this...

story about some
whacko sergeant and bad smack.

The last thing we need,
the last thing anybody needs
to hear right now...

is one more bad memory.

That's what I'm talking about.
This is not a memory, okay?

This is a story
that is happening right now.

What are you guys trying
to prove? The guy was
a junkie and he died.

You need a story, man?

I'll give you a story.

I left half a leg in Da Nang.
Why don't you write
about that?

How they put
a pin in my hip...

that was two inches
too short...

'cause the VA
didn't have the funding
to carry the right size.

Or isn't that as colorful
as The Sergeant?

Look, man, I don't give a damn
about a sergeant
or any other story.

One of your buddies
out of this ward died...

of an overdose
of street drugs...

and it's my job
to investigate it.

We're just asking
for some help.
Just like you.

Now, if anybody
hears of anything
or knows anything...

I'd appreciate a call.

Come on, let's go.

They got a right
to feel that way, man.

They've been misrepresented,
exploited and forgotten
to the max.

Don't worry,
once they read your story...

and realize that
you understand,
you'll be the hero.

You'll show them
your Pulitzer.

Me again. Is he in
for Mr. Stone?

Just a second.

Hi, Stone again for Maynard.

I had to step out of my office
for a while and I thought
maybe I missed his call.

Well, no,
I had a weird feeling...

he's been trying
to get in touch with me.

All right, why don't
you just tell him...

that I had a very interesting
story to tell him...

and I thought he would
like to know about it.

Thank you very much.

The last recon run
into Cambodia...

we got hit hard at dusk.

Heavy K.I.A.s on both sides.

Then, after dark...

shadows across the fields.

See, our team leader
slips outside the perimeter...

and locates their dead...

and starts screaming
insults at them.

The place is crawling
with V.C...

and he's out there
humiliating the dead.

Crazy.

Then I'm back in this
mud hole. Hell
they were all mud holes.

I see this kid...

this kid corporal and he's...

blowing away
these beautiful LRRP dogs.

I say, "What....
Man, what the hell
are you doing?"

And dig it, the deal is...

he's blowing away
these dogs...

because he's trained them
so righteously...

that they're too
damned dangerous to bring back
to the United States.

And I kept thinking...

I should blow him away
for the same reason.

Then someone should
blow me away.

Then he should be blown away.

Incoming!

Incoming!

Show them your evade, man!

Flash them some gone!

All right!

All right!

So, who?

We're talking about
someone very special.

It was mortar for sure?
Come on.

We got a very weird
weapon of choice
to start with.

Start at the other end.

Maybe the hit wasn't on Sonny.

It was on Stone.

We may have rattled
someone at the VA.

I'm already looking into that,
Lieutenant.

Good.

Work the back-story
on the dope.

Switek, you have a connection
on some old Laotian white?

Cross check with him.

Stay with Stone.

Don't let him lead.

Look, Tubbs, just because
a leather bar...

isn't the kind of place
you'd hang out...

doesn't mean it can't be
a gold mine of information.

Well, calm down, man.
I was just asking.

You know, you and Crockett
get to corner the market
on the high rollers...

but me and Lar
we gotta improvise.

You'd be surprised about
how much information...

you can get out of your
basic middle-class snitch.

Yeah?
Kind of like
a family sort of thing.

Family sort of thing. Okay.
Yeah.

A leather bar, right?

Sort of family scene?

Yeah. You know,
take this guy Harold,
for instance.

He's good people.

Harold!

It's Zoom.
I'm a friend of Thumper's.

Come on, man,
it's cool. Open up.

Harold.

Come on, man!
You promised me you quit.

He doesn't look so good.

Harold.

Harold.

Look at this.
Check that out.

I'll get an ambulance.
Harold.

I'm fine, man.

Feel great.

Harold, where'd you cop, man?

The End.

See Dakotah.

She'll take good care of you.

Hello?

Yeah, hi, Dakotah. It's Stone.

Yeah, I found you, baby.
Good. Right.

Yeah. Listen.

What? See,
I'd like to make a buy.

No, not information.

The bad thing, okay?

I don't know.
We're getting nowhere, man.

Well, one more little stop.
I got a surprise for you.

You know,
I'm getting bad vibes.

Here we go. Your old buddy,
Capt. Real Estate.

You wanted me to find him?
Well, I found him.

In the middle of a party?
It's very uncool, man.

Anyway, I already
talked to Maynard.
You did?

Yeah, I talked to him
this morning. Maynard's
useless, man. He's nowhere.

And you call yourself
a journalist? Come on, man.

Maynard was
a heavy spook in country.

You said so yourself.

Old Capt. Real Estate
had the listing on everybody.

What's he gonna not tell you
that he hasn't already
not told me, huh?

Well, I don't know.
But let's go lean on him
a little bit and find out.

Thank you.

Palm Beach meets the Cong.

Be cool, man.

Well, it's amazing how much
fun I'm having, you know.

Come on, I thought
you got along with this guy.

Hey, that was in country, man.
I got along with everybody
back there.

This is the real world.

Excuse me.

Sonny Crockett.

Hello, sir. How are you?

And Ira Stone.

My God, how long has it been?

Ten. Ten plus.

Nice little theme park
you got here.

Is there someplace
we can talk, sir?

Yeah, we can go
to my office. Follow me.

Thank you.

As far as I'm concerned...

all those rumors about
a Sergeant are nonsense.

Like so much of what
we did over there.

Probably what happened was,
suicide kid was
a Vietcong plant.

Set him up with the drugs,
connections...

then just wait
for the propaganda coup
it almost became.

That's a classic
Chi-Com strategy.

I don't know what else
I can tell you, except it was
probably a legitimate OD.

I beg your pardon?

In California.
It was a real suicide.

We didn't kill him.

My sources tell me
they didn't, either.
These things happen.

End of story.

A short one unfortunately,
for you.

I know how disappointed
you must be
after all these years.

You know what you are, man?
You're a pig.

A U.S.D.A certified P-I-G.

The world is a very
complicated place, son.

The world is a world of hurt
because guys
and guys like you...

are always
spooking around in it
with your duplicitous games...

and your assassins
and your extreme prejudice.

If you say so, Stone.

I say so!

You better take care
of your friend, Sonny.

Let's just forget
about the whole thing,
man, all right?

What's the matter with you?
It don't mean nothing.

What kind of a game--
Let's just let it die.

I was a little strung out,
okay? Maybe I didn't
want to tell you about it...

'cause I was a little bit
embarrassed about it,
all right?

But now we're here where
we are right now and I'm sick
of this whole movie, okay?

It don't mean nothing.

The only reason I believed
The Sergeant was alive...

is 'cause I wanted
to believe it...

'cause it was a good story
and it was gonna get
my career back on track...

but it don't mean nothing.

Wait a minute.
You're telling me
some stuff...

that I need to know
the insides of.

I am telling you, man,
it don't mean nothing.

Wrong, man.
It does mean something.

You're telling me something
here, man,
because my partner found...

some contaminated heroin
out on the street right now.

And you still get high...

but it's like shooting
a syringe full of bacteria
at the same time.

So The Sergeant may be dead...

but his stash is still
very much alive
and killing people.

It was all a lie, man.
I made it all up.

Well, you didn't make up
Scotty Shepherd.

You didn't make up the fact
that we found that smack...

in the body bags
on that ship, man.

We pulled it right out
of his chest!

Now, look, if you're sick,
if you need any help,
I'll help you, man.

Whatever it is,
I'll take care of you.
Whatever it is.

Look, man, you leave me alone.

It's damn sad.

Maybe the war
covered Stone, Sonny.
You ever think about that?

Stone? Hey, man.

I'm Dakotah.

You say Harold sent you?

Yeah, he said that
you and I might have
mutual interests.

Mutual interests?
Yeah.

Of the downtown area.

Why don't we move
to a safer neighborhood?

Boy, I sure hope that cop
didn't follow me in here.

I'm assuming here that
you guys have more for me...

than a tour
of the corporate headquarters.

I'm trying to get in touch
with an old Laotian
friend of mine.

I'm sure he'll be
very happy to see me.

Oh, yeah? Why is that?

'Cause I hear that
he's getting older
by the minute.

Now I can afford
his company and your fee.

No, thanks, but I got my own.

Construction blow?
Working man's caviar?

No? All righty.

I can put you in touch,
but you'll have to
get in line.

What are you telling us,
we got competition?

Well, then why are you
talking to us?

Unless you think that
he won't come through.

Hey, the man said
he was a journalist.

I don't know where his money
is coming from.

Maybe he's stealing
from his magazine.

These days, money comes from
all kind of places.

Yeah, well, my money
comes from my pockets.

Now, if you want
to do business....

Okay.

Let me get in touch
with my source.

What about the journalist?

He's my problem.

How much do you really know
about your man Stone?

Save the dance
for the nightclubs.

How come he didn't let us know
he contacted Dakotah?

How come he wanted us to think
that he was cribbing uptown?

What are you talking about?

He's staying in a joint
near the causeway.

At least that's where Gina
spotted your car.

Show me.

Yeah?

Who are you?

You're supposed to ring
before you come up.

Have you seen
a cab downstairs?
Is there a cab waiting?

I'm a friend of Stone's.

Great. I'm his
soon-to-be ex-wife.

Can we talk a minute?

So, what do you guys do
besides feed fantasies
about friendship?

Import, export.

No kidding. What, glue?

You guys look like
a couple of heavy duty
glue dealers to me.

No, I'm a friend.
I knew Stone in Vietnam.

I wanna help.
You wanna help? Get me a cab.

Look--
No, you look.

Stone is a liar
a junkie and a'fool...

and he's never even
had cab fare for as long
as we've been together.

He got out of detox
last month.

Seventh time.
Guess who paid again?

He called me down here
from New York.

He said this trip was
gonna fix everything for us.
Ha-ha!

A second honeymoon, he said.

Now that all the work is done
on his big secret story...

all the suffering
from the war is finally
gonna amount to something.

Yes, oh, yes.

Poor Stone and all
his psychic wounds.

I get here
and all he needs
is money.

I can't even believe
I spent a night in this place.

Then there's some bimbo
calling all the time.

Probably his connection.
It's unbelievable.

I paid for the
first honeymoon, too,
by the way.

Do you know where he is?

I paid for everything.
It's pathetic. He's pathetic.

I'm sorry.
Don't patronize me.

I'm not patronizing you, lady.

He's in trouble...

and if you ever cared for him
for even a little bit...

you better be straight
with me now.

When was Stone ever straight
with anybody?

He's always gonna be the same,
and he's always
gonna be a loser.

And you know what I hope?
I hope he dies.

You always this hard, lady?

Gee, whiz.

Dime says that
the bimbo is Dakotah.

Let's run her down.

Who are you?

I wanna know
where Stone is right now.

You guys are cops, aren't you?

I asked you a question.
I'm thinking.

Think faster!

1445 Rosario Drive.
It's a warehouse.

Who's he meeting there?

I don't know.
Take a guess!

I've never met my source.

He's got some chow
with pointy teeth.
That's his middleman.

That's the only man I've met.

Is she telling the truth?
Absolutely.

I have been laying for you
for 10 years, Sergeant.

Only thing that stops
this story now
is American cash.

I know you can handle it
because you already started
laying the stuff off...

and all you gotta do
is lay it off a little faster,
okay?

Then you can afford
to pay me and the story
will never see print.

I mean, you know
what I'm talking about, right?

Which one?

The supplier.
We gotta put him
with the product.

You okay?
Yeah.

You all right?

Yeah, I'm just
a little shook up.

You didn't happen to get
a look at him, did you?

Yeah. 50, with a moustache.

What the hell's
going on here, Sonny?
Is Stone buying or selling?

Yeah, he's selling, all right.

Selling out.

It's the American dream,
Tubbs.

It's about time.

Take me to the airport.

You do know
where the airport is,
don't you?

Is that the guy you saw?
Yeah.

The Sergeant...

alias Maynard...

alias good old
Capt. Real Estate.

He got his name because...

every area
he got interested in
back in Vietnam turned hot.

Everybody made him
for a CIA heavy.

He was always asking me
about football and...

what I was gonna do
back in the world.

God, I sort of liked him.

And he was this
tremendous source
of information for Stone.

Maybe Stone knew that Maynard
was The Sergeant...

before he came down here.

I don't want to think
about that.

But I gotta believe...

that he knew he was gonna
blackmail The Sergeant
if he found him.

All he needed
was for somebody
to lead him to him.

What are old friends for,
right?

What he said was:

"Tell Mr. Crockett
that I really need
to talk to him alone.

"Because I'm extremely worried
about our mutual friend,
Mr. Stone."

Those were his exact
words and inflections.

Where did he go?

Fishing. He's got
a favorite spot in the Keys.

There's no phones.

You'll have to go down there
if there's anything important.

Men and their
rugged fantasies.
When did he leave?

This morning before I got up.
He took Mr. Hmung with him.

Hmung?
Our gardener.

Very attached to my husband.
They knew each other in Laos.

Mr. Hmung was left
in one of those
terrible prison camps...

till my husband was able to
get him out just last year.

My husband and I
have sponsored
17 Vietnamese so far.

But Mr. Hmung is his favorite,
and I must say...

his Chinese peonies
are spectacular.

I think you're making
a big mistake here, Stone.

What this would really make
is a great pulp novel.

Well, 20 minutes and my people
put a manuscript in the mail.

Look, we both know
we're sitting on a story...

that's very big,
very painful for all of us.

For you and for me.

And from
the patriotic perspective
you love so well...

this wonderful
country of ours.

You know, of course,
that in most parts
of the world...

pain is a second language.

People understand it
better than words...

because you can get
right to the point.

But in this country, we don't
really have very much pain.

So the second language
is money.

Naturally, you'd expect
to receive money
for what you know...

instead of pain.

How ironic.

Nineteen minutes, Maynard.

The manuscript. Yes.

You mean this manuscript?

The one you gave to your
loyal wife, just in case?

The big, painful story?

Good news.
Your divorce came through.

Mr. Hmung made it very final.

Medic!

Medic! Medic!

You ain't great...

but you'll make it.
If I feel like it.

Do me a favor, feel like it.

I'll be waiting for you here.

Could have gone anywhere.

They're not trying
to get away.

They know they gotta kill us.

We'll put in a call
to the Coast Guard.

Come on.

Take it easy, buddy.
It's all amazing.

I think we got
an ending to my story.

Don't talk.

I'll radio MedEvac.

It's real ironic.
Isn't it ironic?

Isn't it ironic?

Take it easy, buddy.

Take it easy.