Over There (2005): Season 1, Episode 9 - Spoils of War - full transcript

- Previously on Over There.
- The good news is you can go home.

The bad news is
your son's got an illness.

Mrs. Brenda Mitchell
to see prisoner B-H-8-9-9-4.

If anything happens to me,
you stay away from Thomas.

- You even gonna see your boy?
- I'm goin' right now.

- How do you get to Hollywood?
- Hollywood?

The city of dreams?
Doesn't exist.

- I'll buy you dinner.
- You must think I just fell off the turnip truck.

- I like turnips.
- You think you could fit one up your ass?

I think I killed
a cousin of yours in Iraq.

Staff Sergeant,
I need your help.



- Shit.
- Yeah, I'm AWOL.

There's a guy who runs here.

- He has a false limb.
- What time of day does he run?

Whoo!

Aw, man, that was intense.

- Your mom's a whore.
- She gives good head.

- Her legs are spread.
- Shut up!

- I'm suspending Eddy.
- You're an asshole, Mr. Howard.

I've been drinking all day, and I can
still list everything that's gone wrong.

Oh, sweetie.

Are there any other
alcoholics in the room?

I know I call a lot, sweetheart.

You just feel so far away is all.
I just wanna know you're there.

Eddy's good? Can I talk to him?



Well, it's almost midnight,
so he's down like a sack of rocks.

- I can wake him.
- No, don't wake him.

Well, he wouldn't want to miss you.

He needs his sleep.

So, you okay?

I'm going to A.A. Meetings every day.

That's good.

Yeah, it's, um-
It's not easy, but.

Part of the program
is that you have to tell people

the things you did
while you were drinking

and-and make amends
if you hurt them.

What'd you do?

I did bad things, Frank.

I was drinking. I'm not proud.

What'd you do?

Bad things, okay?
The worst things I could do.

Another guy?

I love you so much.

That's not an answer.

Please. It's in the past.

I guess that's an answer after all.

Clear!

The smell about
to make me puke, man.

What the hell
is wrong with you, man?

Feeding the goddamn
chickens, man?

They're starving.

- What the hell do you care about that for?
- 'Cause I'm starving.

We clear every house,
we spend the night back at the base.

What about the people who live here?
Where do they spend the night?

When the town's clear of insurgents

the civilians come home.

- To this shithole? Why?
- 'Cause it's home.

Shit, Compton's home to me.
I ain't goin' back there.

Let 'em know we're here.

Wait! There's a wire in the wall.

Booby trap?

Well, nobody in this dump
has electricity.

Can we get
some engineers out here?

Negative. We live to wait. Out.

They found six I.E.D.'s since sunup today,
so the engineers are busy

which means we find a way
to either clear the house ourselves,

or we spend the night.

- I do not wanna stay here, man.
- You wanna clear the house?

Me? Why me?

Courtyard walls
are higher than the others.

The yard's bigger.

Someone could be hiding
something in there, you know.

No, Smoke volunteered
to check it out.

- Didn't you hear?
- No, no, no. I ain't volunteered for nothin'.

I just don't wanna-I just wanna.

- What the hell was that about?
- I don't know, Sergeant.

I'm just-
I thought it needed doin'.

- You thought it needed doing?
- Yeah.

- Are you trying to get yourself killed?
- No.

On the other hand, it might be
an interesting experience.

It's not a booby trap.
It's a generator.

Clear.

This is gangsta.

- This is tacky.
- This is Beverly Hills.

This is where we'll be setting up.

All right, check out that last room.

Now we'll see if this guy
has any class at all.

- Meaning what?
- Meaning did he leave a cigar for me or not?

That's an electric heater right there.

More than big enough for a hot bath.

Yeah, and it's gold,
in case you hadn't noticed.

Sergeant wants us to clear
the rest of the street.

Check out the gold bathtub, man.

Get your ass over here now!

Private Mitchell?
Private Brenda Mitchell?

Set it down.

Private Mitchell, sir.

At ease.

I understand you had
some trouble at home.

Yes, sir.

You say it was with your child,

but if anyone presses you,
you admit that it was really your ex.

He's a shit. Always was.

Am I right, Private?

That's not what happened, sir.

No?

I went AWOL. When I came back,
they told me I'd be reinstated.

They told me all I'd lose is some pay.

Did they mention that they wanted you
to keep your mouth shut?

- Yes, sir.
- Did they make it clear

that we don't particularly want it known
that a soldier can take a few days off

without permission
and get away with it?

- They did, sir.
- So would it be any help to you to have a ready answer

to the questions your fellow soldiers
might ask when you get back to your unit?

It would, sir.

Then you better thank me, soldier.

- Thank you, sir.
- Anytime.

Dismissed.

Raghead think he can dance.

That's a cigar box, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

Dare I open a cigar box
in some bizarre party house in Iraq?

Cuban.

You stay here with me.

I'd ask you what's going on in your
personal life, but that might mislead you.

'Cause I don't give a shit.
Understand?

Except when it impacts
the squad. Understand?

You take one more stupid chance
around me or my men,

and I'll kick your ass.

So however much you think
you're suffering now

it'll only get worse.

Understand?

I'm not kidding, Dim.

I missed the marathoner
with the prosthetic leg again today.

But... I benched 180 at the gym.

Mm, big muscles.

Yeah, I'll be benching
my body weight again inside a month.

Physical therapy said they
ain't never had a patient like me.

I told 'em I'm just
used to hard training.

I'm used to hard trainin' too.

Oh, baby.

I'm wiped out, babe, all right?

The physical therapy,
jogging, lifting weights

I'm done.
I need to get my sleep.

Well, you get your sleep then.

Everything okay back home?

What?

You were gone, M.P.'s came asking if you
said anything about where you were going

boyfriends or whatever.

And a week later, they come back
and tell us there was a paperwork snafu.

I guess so.

So, is everything okay?

Medical complications
with my kid, all right?

- Sorry.
- Damn it!

I'm sleeping in Intensive Care
'cause I don't want to leave my son

wakin' up in the middle of the night
just to see if he's still breathing.

When am I gonna find time
to call the army, huh?

I'm sorry.
I just thought, you know.

My ex is a real problem anyways.

- What's up?
- Humvee's down. Need a couple of mechanics.

We're transporting these guys.

All right. Find us after.
We got a place with a bathtub.

Man, your Humvee's
broke down real bad.

I doubt you'll even
get it running today.

Amen.

The town's clear.
Company's moving out.

They need a detachment to stay the night,
keep a presence until the civilians come back.

I volunteered us.

Master's mine.

Sergeant, uh, we're having
some trouble with the Humvee.

Doublewide and Mrs. B. Should probably
stay too, make sure it's working right.

All right. Just make sure there's enough
hot water waiting for me in the morning.

- Thank you, sir.
- And don't call me sir.

And put the hood up on the Humvee.

If you're gonna lie, lie right.

Think they're havin' fun?

Take it from me, the party's never
as much fun as it sounds from the outside.

I never got to tell you I'm-
I'm sorry about your kid.

Yeah?

At least you got home to see him.

Yeah.

What's that? Is that the drain?
Don't let it drain.

- It's dirty, Smoke.
- Shit, only used once. You ain't that funky, are you?

Look, come on. It's gonna take all night
to heat up the sergeant's bath.

I'll just use your water in the meantime.
Go ahead! Stop it up!

I'll just use your water in the meantime.
Go ahead! Stop it up!

Okay. It's all yours, bro.

There's room in there for two, mama.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, my God.

Stay down!

Dim!

Hold on, Dim!
We'll get you out of there!

- What the hell are they yelling?
- They're yelling, "Get out of my house!"

- Get down!
- We've gotta get the hell out of here!

They want their damn house back!
Let's give 'em back their damn house!

Won't be anything left
by the time they're done.

- Don't have much cover here!
- We gotta get him outta there!

- Angel, can you get a shot?
- There's three of 'em behind a wall.

I can't get a good line on 'em.

They got him covered, Sergeant!

Every time he moves,
they pin him down tighter, Sarge!

Angel, you got a shot?

No, the wall's too high! It's built
so no one can see in! Works both ways!

Help that boy!

They're gonna kill that boy!

Mrs. B.!

Where the hell is she going?

Hold your fire!

Mrs. B.!

Mrs. B.!

Look out!

Shit.

Halt! On your knees!
On your knees!

Get up.

Check it out.

It's the guy that think
he could dance.

Maybe he did just
want his house back.

We can bury him in the yard.
He can stay here forever.

- Bush good.
- All right, get the prisoner inside.

Bush good. I like Americans.

What the hell was that all about?

- The Humvee was right out back.
- You're a goddamn mechanic.

Somebody had to do something.

- I'm a goddamn staff sergeant!
- I don't see what that has to do with

I will tell you when
to risk your sorry ass!

You will not go off and be a hero
on your own goddamn schedule!

I will pick the time and place!

I'm putting you in for a bronze star
anyway, you dumb-ass.

Angel, you come with me.
We're scouting a new perimeter.

The rest of you,
keep your eyes peeled.

What's his problem?

Says he's not an insurgent.
None of this is personal.

It was personal when he was trying
to stick a grenade up my ass.

Saying he's friends
with the guy whose house it is.

Very important man. Very rich.

Runs the stables for Saddam.
Lots of cash.

He keeps saying he runs
the stables for Saddam.

He was in charge of the horses?

Not the horses. The hos.

He ran a stable, man.
He was a pimp.

He was a pimp,
and he still couldn't dance.

Just like every other pimp I knew.

Lived in a dump
and still had a 60-inch Sony.

He's telling us why they came back,
why they attacked us.

- He's saying there's cash in the house.
- What?

- Millions of dollars.
- Where?

- Whoa! Hey!
- Hey!

It's behind there.

- Hey, it could be booby-trapped.
- Yeah, let him do it.

Kamisa millio'an dollars.

Kamisa millio'an American dollars.

Kamisa millio'an American dollars.

- That's five million dollars.
- Holy shit.

All for you.

He says it's ours now. If we let him go,
he's not gonna say a word.

So after he's discharged, he still has
access to the physical therapy, right?

- That's important to him.
- He'll have to go through the V.A. It'll be their call.

But the nearest V.A. Hospital
is like an hour from base housing.

I recommend people with your
husband's kinds of injuries

they try to move near to the hospitals
they'll be working with.

- You do, do you?
- You're not gonna be living on the base after he's discharged.

We are for six months.

Don't we get 180 days
before we get kicked out?

I thought families got 180 days.

Families get 180 days
if the designated provider's killed.

This is only an injury.

If you can fill out that separation
pay work sheet I gave you

we can get you a final paycheck, and you can
use that to help defray the moving costs.

There is the matter of this
$2,500 for missing items.

Uh, that's the non-returned
equipment inventory, is it?

- Yes, it is.
- What didn't he return again?

Looks like a PVS-14 night vision goggle.

Checked outJuly 12.
Never checked back in.

After all this time,
that's gonna be tricky.

How about I make you a deal?

What kind of deal?

Well, you get him back his right leg,
and I'll get you back your goggles.

Till then, you can stick it up your ass.

- There's no reason to be rude, ma'am.
- Oh, there is. There is.

You call me by this time tomorrow and give
me a discharge program that makes sense,

or, so help me God, the next
call I make will be to a lawyer.

We could load it all up
in a Humvee, in the fuel cans.

Yeah, if you wanna go to the brig
for the next 30 years.

Ain't nobody goin' to the brig
unless somebody squeals.

Look at it, man. Feel it.

And Mrs. B.'s got a sick kid.

I got a sick kid. I got
a whole neighborhood full of sick kids.

Muhammad got a problem?

He's saying he wants
a taste when we let him go,

for his troubles.

Getting greedy, Muhammad?

Might not be a bad idea though.
Help him keep his mouth shut.

You think we could just let him go?
Tell Scream he what-ran off?

I say we turn his ass in. Yeah?

Yeah, and the army's gonna hear the story,
and they're gonna want the cash.

So we leave enough that
they'll believe that's all there was.

I mean, we-we take maybe what-
10 grand each?

I'm not taking any.

More for the sick kids.
Am I right?

What do you think, Dim?

Shit, you're askin'Mr. Clean?

What difference does it make?

What the hell is that
supposed to mean?

It means everyone I've ever known is a liar
and a cheat. Why should we be any different?

At least we'll be liars and cheats
with a couple bucks in our pocket.

Only problem is it doesn't work
unless we trust each other.

There's a hole in your theory.

If we're all liars and cheats, how can we
trust each other enough to steal together?

Look, we all get burned
if anybody says anything.

So nobody says nothing.
That's all the trust we need.

- We're coming in.
- Give me that.

Well, I don't think we should do anything
till we think about it a little more, okay?

- Think?
- Yeah.

No, no, no. Don't think. Grab!

I got a guy in the mail tent
that could get stuff back home

no questions, no searches,
no trouble.

- I don't wanna know.
- All right.

All right. All right. Oh, yo.

But you ain't thinkin'
we leavin' all that behind, right?

I mean, look, man. Look!

You almost got capped right there.

You earned that money tonight,
the way I see it.

I don't care what you do, Smoke.

- Good.
- But here's the thing.

I don't wanna see it
the way you see it.

Okay?

Ten, 20 grand.
It'll go a long way for your kid.

Doctors, schools, tutors.

Fifty grand?

That'll put a down payment
on a house

on a lake...
with a babbling brook.

A hundred "K."
It's not stealing either.

The man's dead.

If I had a half million bucks?

Shit. I'd buy a convertible,

and just take off with no
particular place to go, you know?

If I had me five million dollars, man

I'd get me a record label.

I wouldn't hide it
in no goddamn wall.

What about you?

- I don't wanna think about it.
- The money?

The future. I don't wanna
think about the future.

Why not?

'Cause then I have to think
about the present.

I don't wanna think
about that either. Okay?

There's five million dollars
in that wall, huh?

When were y'all
gonna tell me about it?

I just told you, bro.

Why?

Uh-huh.

- We're switching up again.
- Now?

Yeah, now.

You don't trust me?

- It wasn't me, Angel. We all agreed.
- Who all? Smoke?

He got his head so far up his ass,
you can see his helmet when he smiles.

I gotta hear this shit from him?

- I'm sorry.
- You're sorry?

I got a lot on my mind.

What you got on your mind, Dim?

- You got stealing on your mind.
- I'm not in the mood.

Your mood is what
it's all about, ain't it?

Good mood,
you do the right thing.

Bad mood, the hell with it,
you do wrong. Is that it?

You know how much money
has vanished in this war already?

Generator's up. Back inside.

I ain't takin' no money.
Not today or any other day.

And I ain't lyin' about it neither.

But I won't say nothin'
unless someone asks.

I'm with him.

Bo? You home?

What are you sittin' in the dark for?

Mrs. Rider,
this is Sergeant First Class Nathan

calling about the inquiry
into your husband's discharge.

I found a few other options. Give me
a call back at the base when you can.

Discharge?

I thought we should know the options,

so we can make the right decision.

- Decision to quit?
- Baby, it's not like that.

What other kind of discharge
is there, Terry?

I'm working my ass off
every day to get back to my unit.

This is your unit.

I'm a soldier. I took an oath.

- You took another oath too.
- This has nothin' to do with you.

- It has everything to do with me.
- I am not a cripple, Terry.

You don't touch me anymore.

Baby, there was a time
when you'd see me,

and you'd just light up.

Light up.

You don't light up for me anymore.

You know when you light up?

When you talk about goin' back.

When you talk about leavin' me
and goin' back to war,

and maybe gettin' yourself killed.

So don't tell me it
has nothin' to do with me.

Hey, thanks
for bailing me out today.

I didn't know
you felt that way about me.

I don't.

Listen, we had
another little meeting.

Oh, yeah?

We agreed anyone who wants to
can take 10 grand before we call it in.

No one'll know.

You takin' it?

No. But I don't have a sick kid.

- So it's just me?
- And Smoke.

- Everyone pities me.
- Everyone understands.

They think I'm pathetic.

They're right.

They think you have guts.

That's a laugh.

I think you have guts then.

It's morning soon.

Not soon enough.

You know what's six inches long

two inches wide
and drives women crazy?

Money.

I don't want nobody risking
a court-martial for me.

Ain't no court-martial
gonna do nothin'

I'm out! You got it?

So don't go kiddin' yourselves.
You ain't doin' this for me.

- Then we're not doin' it.
- What?

I said we're not doin' it.
Everybody?

Yeah.

I'm gonna tell the sergeant.

Wait, wait, wait. Ho-Hold on.
Hold on, man. We had a deal, man.

Anybody that wants it
can take it. Just 'cause she's

I'm tellin' him.
You gonna stop me?

This is bullshit, man.

He just told you about this now?

While I was in the back?

Yes, sir.

Want me to bring another translator
in the morning to verify that?

No.

All right. I'll call it in.

Safe out here?

Well, they come now,
we'll see 'em first.

Could've taken
the money, you know.

Ten grand for your child.
Everybody would've understood.

It's gotta be hard.
If my stepson got sick

I went AWOL.

That's what happened.

I deserted on the army.

I deserted on my own son.

That's why I'm back late.

You came back though.

- This all of it?
- I've been here since it was reported.

Where are they going?

Back to the base.
Village is clear.

The cash is with you.
We're done.

Hold that truck!

Tell them to fall out.
Shakedown.

- Lieutenant, they've been at it all night.
- What?

You just turned in over five million
dollars in enemy contraband.

You get searched.

There's no regulation that says
we have to do a spot search here and now.

It's a spot search, Sergeant.
I choose the spot.

This is bullshit, man.

- Arms up, buddy.
- Sir.

What's this?

Cohiba Esplendido, sir.

You confiscating my cigar, Lieutenant?

It's not yours, Sergeant.

It's the U.S. Army's. Isn't it?

It is now.

They're clean, sir.

Movin' out!

Should've taken
the goddamn money after all.

Hello?

Frank? Is that you?

Yeah.

I was afraid you wouldn't call at all.

Yeah, well, I still
don't know what to say.

First time for everything, huh?

- You think this is funny?
- No.

I'm here getting shot at,
and you call to tell me you've been

been with another man.

What am I supposed to do?

I'm so sorry, Frank.

How many? Can you tell me that?

Oh, my God.

Jesus, did you even wait
for the plane to take off?

Frank, whatever you think of me.

I'm worse.

- And I know I don't deserve it-
- Vanessa.

If you could give me
another chance-Will ya?

I don't know if I can.

- I'm getting help.
- Yeah, well, I'm not.

See, that's the difference.

I'm so sorry.

Me too.

What?

First time I've seen you in shorts.

Do you wanna see how it works?

They, uh-They made a cast
so it fits like a glove.

Just snap it on here
and pull the Velcro.

Two straps. See?

Does it hurt... when you walk?

Yeah.

When I wake up in the morning,
I still think my leg's there.

Oh, Bo.

It takes a while to go away.
Or so they tell me.

Are you crying?

No.

Maybe.

It's okay.

I just.

When I see that

it scares me.

You and me both.

You'll get your taste.

The rest of it goes to this address.

You made Mrs. B.?
She carryin' your seed, man?

The day is comin'

The drums are drummin'

If you know one, say a prayer.

There's mothers cryin'

And fathers sighin', uh-huh.

War is in the air.

The trains are fillin'up with boys.

Who've left behind their favorite toys.

They're goin'over there.

Over there.

Where someone has to die.

Over there

- I don't want you to think-
- Shut up, Dim.

Over there.

Where ours is not to reason why.

Over there.

Over there.

Where someone has to die