The Rockford Files (1974–1980): Season 2, Episode 4 - Gearjammers, Part 2 - full transcript

Whoever did this hijacking
is planning a big operation.

Like, maybe even
knocking over Fort Knox.

Now you're gonna
get this old man,
Joseph Rockford,

and you're gonna get him
before the sun comes up
tomorrow. 'Cause if you don't,

I'm putting
the word out on you.
I'll get him.

Rocky, duck!

Sonny, what did they
blow up your car for?

Somebody's trying to
kill you. Will you get
that through your head?

(PHONE RINGING)

ROCKFORD:
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave your name
and message.



I'll get back to you.

(BEEPS)

Hey, Jimmy. It's Angel.

Don't pay no attention
to my other message.

You're out of it.
You're clean.
No trouble at all.

Just ignore
the first message.

This is James Garner.

The following scenes
are from part one
of Gearjammers,

a two-part episode
of The Rockford Files.

What are you doing in here?
You're supposed to be outside
keeping watch.

I'm sorry, Mr. Hammel.
A guy got past me.
Got inside here.

HAMMEL: What?

Listen,
we're almost finished.
Let's clear out of here.

Find him.
Find out who he is.



Yes, sir.
Hey,

you find him.

Yes, sir.

You find Lo Salvo?

Yeah. He was busy though.

I'll catch up with him
on his break.

HAMMEL: What did
he look like?

SMITH: He's an old man.
Had on dungarees.

Hold it.

Let me out here.
Now, listen.

You find him.
Find out what he saw.

Don't let anybody see you.
But you get him, you hear me?

We might have to hit him.

Yes, sir, Mr. Hammel.

Kind of hoping that
maybe you'd be interested

in buying yourself
a pair of tickets
for the OOTA Ball.

We are having a humding...
OOTA Ball.

Well, I'm a son of a gun.
Who beat me to it?

Tommy Larson. He's been
in here selling them
all over the place.

I just got these from him
about 10 minutes ago.

Oh, I should have
barged in on you
when I first seen you.

Huh?
Yeah,
I seen you about a hour ago

over there in Warehouse 10.

You and some big,
expensive-Iooking guy.

And you was passing him
some papers

and you fellas
was jawing and...

Well, I should have
just barged in on you
right then.

Maybe I'd have beat Tommy
to the business there.

Yeah.

Your name Rockford?

Who wants to know?

What can I do for you?

We're looking
for your old man.

What'd he do?
Miss a payment on his truck?

Look,
I got about $30 worth
of steak in here.

If I don't get it
in the freezer,
it's gonna rot.

Do you gentlemen mind if I...
Wait.

Those were extra large
double Grade A.

99 cents a dozen. I wish
you hadn't have done that.

Your father
isn't at his house.
Where is he?

Well, offhand, I don't know
where he is,

but if you guys
want to come inside,

I'll see if I can
find him for you.

(GROANS)

(GRUNTING)

Now where is
your father?

Hey, we got company.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

Hold it!

You, out!

Your left front tire's
a little low,

so if I were you, I'd...

I'd have it checked.

Mr. Hammel.

Better have a good reason
for coming here, Lo Salvo.

I want out.

What are you talking about?

I'm not gonna go
through with it.

Boy, you're a real
bleeding heart, Lo Salvo.

Just because some old
geezer's gonna get himself
roughed up a little bit.

Yes, sir. But I don't think
you're just talking about
roughing him up,

'cause if you do that,
you're gonna tip him,
and you ain't that stupid.

Now the way I got it
figured is, you gonna
put him away for good,

and I can't stand still
for that.

Yeah.

Goodbye, John.

That's good for me.

Guy's name
was Lo Salvo, huh?
Yeah.

Jim!

Oh, Jim!

Jim! Oh, I've killed him!

I killed my own son. Jimmy!

(MOANING)

Jim!

Oh, thank God!
Can you hear me, Jimmy?

Can you hear me?
What happened?

Hi, Jim. What's new?

Hey, Charlie,
what, are the flashers
running in packs now?

Flashers, he says.

Hijacked, and left them
stripped to slow them up.

Six of them in two hours.

I never saw anything like it.
All from the same line.

So P&W gets hijacked,

and Johnny Lo Salvo,
who works for P&W,
gets knocked off the same day.

Now all we need
is a connection between
Rocky and Johnny Lo Salvo.

Very good.

You know, you'd make
a pretty good detective.

Had dinner?

Now that you
mention it, no.

You want to do
the lobster?

At 3:00 in the morning?
Everything's closed.

Oh, don't worry.
I know a place.

Yeah? What kind of place?

You'll like it.
It's a nice place.

They got lobster?

Well, sure.

What kind of lobster?

Lobster lobster.

Rocky.

Lobster bisque.

Canned?

Fresh canned.

No way.

Oh, come on now.
Lobster's lobster.
Quit trying to welsh.

Okay. Get in.

Well, we don't have to.
It's right around the corner.
We can walk.

Hey, Rocky.
Rocky, are you okay? Huh?

Maybe I should have
let him book me.

You got a cut up there.
Huh?

Oh, leave it be.
Let me see it.

Sonny, what did they
blow up your car for?

Somebody's trying to
kill you. Will you get
that through your head?

Why?

Thanks.

Let's get a doctor
to look at that, okay?

Come on.
We got a doctor in here.

Oh, I'm okay.
It's only a scratch.

Rocky, they got a doctor.
We're gonna let him
look you over.

Look, I don't need nobody
to put no Band-Aid
on no scratch.

Rocky!

Oh, I'll take
care of it.

All right, thank you.
Now go on!

Okay. So, what happened?

What happened is somebody put
enough dynamite in my car

to blow it right over
your lousy flagpole.

All right,
calm down, Jim.

It's not like you haven't been
in these tough jams before,
so just take it easy.

I know,
but Rocky's never been
the target before.

Come on,
I'll get you some coffee.

I don't know, Dennis.
Somebody's trying
to kill him,

and they're not
fooling around about it.

Well, we'll go
through the car,

get a check on the dynamite,
we'll run the whole mess
through the lab.

You heard him out there.
He didn't want to see
the doctor.

He thinks this whole thing
is just some big mistake
that's gonna go away.

We'll turn something.

What? What are you gonna do?

What are you gonna
run through your lab?

The whole thing's
on fire out there.

Your parking lot looks
like a Boy Scout cookout.

We'll find something.
We'll get a composite
on the dynamite.

We'II...
Damn it, there's no sugar!

Calm down, Dennis.
Come on, calm down.

Isn't that the way
it goes, huh?

We'll find something.

Somebody must have seen
who wired your car.

Rocky's my friend, too.
We will find something.

I can hear
what you guys are saying.

The whole building
can hear what you're saying.

Now, look,
as long as I'm the fellow
they're trying to kill,

will you let me do
most of the heavy worrying,
please?

Look, Rocky,
we got to stash you
someplace.

You stash me,
you ain't got no leads.

We're not exactly looking
for bait, Rocky.

And if we were,
we wouldn't use a civilian.

Okay.

Well, do I have to walk home
or you gonna give me
a car to ride home in?

Look, Rocky, somebody's
trying to kill you.
Will you understand that?

And you're acting
like a pair of kids.

Now, let's be adult.

Hey, you're not gonna let him
go home alone, are you?
Are you kidding me?

He's going home with me.
Now, Rocky,
just hold up a minute.

Jim, I will find something.
We got a good lab.

Yeah. I know, Dennis.
Look, I'm sorry
I yelled at you.

Just the thought of somebody
hurting Rocky sends me
right up the wall, man.

Yeah. Well, just
take him home and sit on him.

All right. Thanks.

(EXCLAIMING IN DISGUST)

Hey, Dad?

Well, it's about time.

How long have you been up?
Oh, I never went to sleep.

I should have gone
to my own house.

Yeah, you'd have probably
shared your bed
with a plastic bomb.

(SIGHS)

Hey,
you had breakfast?

No. I've been busy.

I have been doing
some detective work.

That's a very disreputable
occupation.

Yeah, well, that's what
I've been telling you.
You want to hear about this?

If I have to.
I have here a list

that I've made of everything
Dennis said was hijacked.

Mmm-hmm.
How do you like your eggs?
Over or up?

Scrambled.

Now first on the list
is 400 cases of dynamite.

Now, wouldn't you say
that anyone who ripped off
that much dynamite

was intending to do
some mighty big blasting?

Not unless they planned
on selling them.

There weren't
any fuses or caps.

(STUTTERING)
Well, they could
get them anyplace.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Go on.

Well, now, next we've got
a truck loaded for Memphis.

Now, it's mostly work gloves.

Which means our hijackers
are blue-collar types.

No, sir.
You get a load of this.

Six jackhammers in the load.

That's interesting.

Of course,
there were no hoses,
compressors or bits.

No.

Of course they can
get those anyplace. Right?

Right. Right. Yeah.

Now we got a truck
loaded for Cleveland.

Now, this one
is loaded mostly
with ladies' underwear,

wooden salad bowls
from Taiwan,

aluminum ladders,
loads of paint,

some of that there
chemical was on it,

and...
Dad,

let's just make
a long story short,
all right?

A dozen Geeger counters.

That's Geiger, Dad.

A dozen Geiger counters.

Half a truckload of rifles
with ammunition.

I'm telling you, sonny,
there's too much here
for it to be a coincidence.

Whoever did this hijacking
is planning a big operation.

Like, maybe even
knocking over Fort Knox.

What about the grapefruit?

I don't want any.

The grapefruit
that they hijacked?

What are they gonna do?
Throw those at the police?

Well, that's the exception
that proves the rule.

You know, I...

I've never quite understood
what that means.

Well, that means

that even if they got
a guy on the inside
tipping them off,

you can't all
be perfect, right?

Dad, I think
you got something there.

You do?

Mmm-hmm.

Of course,
it's not gonna
do us any good.

Because we're not gonna know
where they're hitting
till after they've done it.

Yeah.

Meanwhile,
you are a sitting duck.

Yeah.

Sergeant Becker, please.

Oh, do you know
what time he'll be back?

Who is this?

Oh, Charlie. Charlie,
this is Jim Rockford.

Would you tell Dennis
to call me when he gets back?

Yeah, Charlie,

did those trucks
ever turn up?

Yeah. Okay. Okay, thanks.

No sign of them.

You know, that's funny.
Those cargoes
are usually pre-sold.

They unload them
and ditch them within
three or four hours.

That proves I'm right!

You want more coffee?

No. That proves I'm right.
They're gonna keep the stuff
for themselves.

Yeah. Just think about this.

All six drivers were released
within 20 minutes

of the time
the last truck was hit.

Yeah.

These hijackers
are no dummies. They know
the trucking business.

They know the alarm's
gonna go out the minute
those drivers are released.

Mmm-hmm.

Which means
those trucks are stashed

less than 20 minutes away
from the inland terminal.

Right!

Wrong.

In an area that small,
they're too easy to find.

No, they're gonna
have to get them
out of there,

especially if they plan
to use that equipment
for another job.

I guess that's right.

Now, how do you get
six semis out of the area
without being spotted?

Where can I find
Mr. Koenig?

I'm looking for
John Koenig.

You're looking at him.

Hey, John. Jim Rockford,

road boss for
Pacific & Western.

What happened to Matt?
Matt?

Assistant road boss,
I should've said.

I'm giving Matt a hand

on some special
security matters
that just came up

and I figured...

Hey, do you mind?

This is just
a little confidential, John.
Oh.

But... See,

I got a problem.

I need your help.

Oh, you can count on me.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

What's your problem?

Seals.

Seals?

Our seals have been
tampered with.

Pilferage?

Oh, worse, John. Much worse.

Now, my informant tells me
that some of the vans
have been cleaned out.

That's impossible!
You got any waybill numbers?

Oh, well, my...

My informant wasn't
quite that specific.

But we do know that
they were supposed to roll

either last night
or early this morning.

Uh-huh.

Last shipment of yours
went out of here
three days ago.

Two vans for Tallahassee.

Nothing since?

Nothing.

Anything scheduled
for today or tomorrow?

Nothing at all.

My informant is usually
very, very, very reliable.

Oh, gee, I'm sorry,
Mr. Rockford. I really am.

Oh, hey, John,

I want to thank you
for your help.

I'll tell Matt
hello for you, huh?

Yeah. Thanks.

Oh, Mr. Rockford!
What do you want us to do

about that partial shipment
we got on hold for you?

When are you gonna
complete it?

Partial shipment?

Yeah, the one that came in
last night. Six vans.

No destination?
No. Nothing.

Just hold until the rest
of the shipment is ready.

That's what
the waybill says.

That's pretty unusual.

Yeah. It sure is.

Of course, you fellas
are real good customers.

I mean, we'd do anything
to make you happy.

Well, there they are.

That's 2732,

5729,

6254,

4132,

1944, and 2719.

Are these the ones
you're looking for?

And you think they're empty?

Oh, they got to be.
Got to be.

They sure found
a good hiding place.

What?

The...

They're sealed.
That's funny.

Oh, they better be.

Koenig?
Huh?

I'm gonna break that seal
and you're gonna be a witness.

Oh, no,
wait a minute, Mr. Rockford.
I'm not authorized...

Just hold on.

Mr. Rockford,
I really don't think
that's a very good idea.

They're still loaded.

You're kidding!

Uh-huh. Yeah.

We don't know
that it's abandoned.

They might try to come back
and get at it.

Look, just stay out of sight,
seal it up,

and we'll have a stakeout
on it in a half an hour.

What?

Okay, I owe you one.

Mazurski!

Hey, Jimmy!

Jimmy, come here!

There's a green Chevy
parked outside there.

Do you think
it's one of them
head-crushers?

Yeah, those are head-crushers,
all right,

but they belong to Becker.

Oh, no kidding.
Old Becker sent them?
Yeah.

Well, you know,
I didn't used to think
much of him.

I always figured
he was sort of
a bad influence on you.

But now I'm getting
real fond of him.

Come on, Rocky.
How can a cop
be a bad influence?

Wait a minute.

I take that back.

Are you going back
to that stakeout again?

Mmm-hmm.

I want you to stay here.
I don't want you to
open that door for anyone.

Now, wait a minute. I want
to get out of here, too.

I'd like to get
to my own house.

Oh, you want to leave?
You want to go home?

Okay, you want to leave?
Go ahead.

Well, I'm leaving.

No, you're not.

Since when do you tell
your own father what to do?

It's supposed to be
the other way around.

You're not leaving, Dad.
You're gonna stay right here

so somebody can keep
an eye on you.

Yeah, it's different
when you're worried about me.

But it don't matter
a tinker's damn when
I'm worried about you, huh?

That don't count.
Come on, Dad.
Come on. This is different.

Look, Jimmy, how many times
have I told you,

"Sonny,
please get off the case.
You're gonna get killed."

How many times
you looked at me
like I'm some old nut

that can't even put
his shoes on the right feet?

Now, come on.
When did I ever
treat you that way?

Besides, that's different.

You don't want me to go home
'cause you're scared
I'll get hurt.

How is that different?

(SIGHING)

I'm waiting!

That's different because
I'm supposed to know

how to handle
these situations.
It's my business.

Well, I ain't never
seen you handle
no situations too good.

Most of the time I see you,
you're in more traction
than Evel Knievel.

Now, I'm not gonna argue
with you, Dad.
You're not going home.

How are you gonna
stop me, huh?

Please?

Oh, Jimmy.

Please.

Oh, well, all right.

Thanks, Rocky.

Hey, come on,
I'm sorry.

No, you ain't.

Yeah, well,
what do you want, huh?

I want you to understand.

Okay, Rocky. Okay.

I guess maybe I do.

Coffee, Sergeant?

Yeah, I'll have some.

How do you like it?
Cream and sugar.

We're out of cream.

So what are you asking for?

Well, sugar we got.

Just give it to me.

We're out of coffee.

How's Rocky?

Well, he's confined
to quarters.

Sitting there
with a shotgun
across his lap

and orders
to shoot on sight.

ROCKFORD: Hey, Dennis,
thank you for
the police cover.

BECKER: It's been
a couple of days.

Captain Highland's
beginning to ask questions.

So I'm gonna have to
pull my men.

That means
you're gonna have to
look after Rocky yourself.

Sergeant.

Better check this out.

And remember, you're working
for the freight yard.

Don't spook him
till you know who it is.

Yes, sir.

This is Becker.

I want Wants and Warrants

on a silver and blue
Rolls-Royce.

License 375

Ida, Mary, Ida.

WOMAN: (ON TRANSMITTER)
On your silver and blue
Rolls-Royce,

license 375 Ida, May, Ida.

No Wants, no Warrants.

Vehicle registered
to the P&W Trucking Company,

22376 West Arroyo,
Los Angeles.

Roger.

Now, that's the president
of Pacific & Western.

Now he says he wants to
cooperate with the police
as much as possible,

on account of he says
it's in his interest to.

Now, he said his customers
are complaining

and he's gotta get
that shipment to them.

So what he wants to know is
can he have his vans back?

Tell him he can have them.

And call off
McCann and Shapiro.

Yes, sir.

Well,

they spotted us.
I guess we've blown it.

You know something,
Dennis?

Those guys were pretty smart,

but then they were
pretty dumb, too.

What do you mean?

That's a hell of
a good place
to hide those vans,

but a tough place
to get them out of
without getting nailed.

Rocky? Hey, Rocky!

Rocky!

Detective Becker, please.
Hurry.

(GUN FIRING)

(GUN FIRING)

(GUN FIRING)

(GUN FIRING)

(GUN FIRING)

Hey, Rocky.

You okay, Rocky?

Them two fellas
was trying to kill me.

That's what I've been
trying to tell you.

I know, but I never...

Look, my knees are shaking.

Let's wait a minute, huh?

Mine are a little weak, too.

(PANTING)

Sonny,

you know, I'm sitting
in that trailer
with that scatter gun

across my knees.

Them two fellas come in
and I had them right dead
in my sights.

I could have made
a Mexican omelet out of them.

I couldn't do it.
I couldn't shoot.

Well, if you'd been able to,
I'd been surprised.

Oh, boy!
Come on.
You want to give it a try?

Yeah.

HAMMEL: Listen,
what do you think
I pay you people for, anyway?

If I want this kind of
dumb action,

I can get some junkie
to do the job for $20.

It got out of hand.
The old man got loose.

He kicked Ronnie and ran.

There were a couple
of kids up there...

I'm not interested
in that, John.
Now look,

I just patched him.
I got to get him
back to my office.

I'm worried about gangrene.

Listen, you guys
already have gangrene.
It's growing out of your ears.

Look, we tried
our best.

Now, get him
out of here, will you?

All right, John.

You gonna do this thing right
or you gonna screw it up
like before?

I'm gonna do it right.

Okay.

Okay,

who's your backup man
gonna be?

I hear Freddie Gates
is in town.

Gates is a junkie.

I hear he's clean.

Look, I'll get someone
that's not using.

I won't screw it up
this time. That's a promise.

Okay, John.

Okay.

Now, you're gonna
get this old man,
Joseph Rockford,

and you're gonna get him
before the sun comes up
tomorrow. 'Cause if you don't,

I'm putting
the word out on you.

You won't be able
to get a job running
numbers in La Porte, Indiana.

I'll get him.
You can bet on it.

Oh,
I'm not betting on it, John.

You are.

What do you mean
you can't do anything?

BECKER: I mean,
there's nothing I can do.

Protect and serve.
That's the motto, huh?
That's your sales pitch?

All right,
I'm calling you on it.
Protect him.

You think I don't want to?

Well,
you got enough men to protect
the lousy trucking company.

This is my father!

Those gorillas
tried to kill him.

Them shots just barely
missed me. For a while there,
I thought...

We're not
trying to protect
the trucking company.

We're trying to run down
a bunch of hijackers.

We're trying to
run down whoever
stuck Johnny Lo Salvo.

There's a lot at
stake here, Jim.
Yeah. His life.

There's nothing I can do.
Take your beef
to Captain Highland.

I'll back you up.
Highland?

Okay, he doesn't like you,
but he's a reasonable man.

Yeah, in a pig's eye.

Jim, I don't want to see
anything happen to Rocky,

but when you ask
for 24-hour protection.
I don't have any men.

If you were to tell me,
Baby Face Nelson's
at Pizza Dan,

there's nothing I can do.
I don't have anybody to send.

Okay, Rocky. Come on.

Wait a minute.

Yeah?

I could book him
as a material witness.

What do you mean book me?

Hey, Dennis,
that's a great idea.

What do you mean
book me?

Well, it's very simple,
Rocky.

They don't have
enough men to give you
outside protection,

so they put you in
a nice, safe jail cell and
nobody can get to you there.

You're darn right
nobody would get to me,

'cause I ain't gonna
be there.

What've you got against jail?
You're not gonna be
in there very long.

Food ain't too bad.

And Dennis can get you
a couple of extra pillows.

Look, I ain't going to jail,
so you quit pushing.

I'm a grown man.
I can take care of myself.

Yeah, I noticed.

I ain't going to jail.

You know
what you are, Rocky?

You're ungrateful.

Now you stay in here
and don't you move.

Hey, Willie.

Any luck?
Would I have any luck?

They wouldn't
knock off a dime.

It doesn't make
any difference anyway.

Comprehensive doesn't
cover civil disorders.

Civil disorder?

If planting a bomb in a car
isn't civil disorder,
I don't know what is.

Civil disorders
covers riots, mob actions,

and any reasonable
and necessary action
taken by civil authorities,

including,
but not limited to,

local, county
and state police,

the CIA, the FBI,
and the National Guard,
to control same.

That's article 32,
section 12,

paragraph 37.02-A
of the State Insurance Code.

We're talking about
a couple of hoods trying
to knock off my old man.

It was all very orderly.

Hoods? Hoods?

Hmm, organized crime.

All I know is somebody put
a bomb in my car.

Gang war.
That's what it was.
A gang war.

Now if you're not aware,
there's an exclusive
in your policy

against acts of war.

You're about
to make me angry, Willie.

I'm gonna give you a break.
Because you're an old friend
and I really like you,

I'm gonna get them
to buy it as collision.

With the windshield
and the doors blown out
from the inside?

I'll handle it.
Don't worry about it.

I'll swing it for you.
I appreciate it.

Don't mention it.

Only on collision
I've got a $100 deductible.

Hey, what can I tell you?
You want your cake
and eat it, too?

What cake?
It's comprehensive.

$1,500 and no deductible.

No way.

I'll sue you.

I'll cancel your policy.

I'll cancel your butt.

$1,400 and that's final.

$1,500.

You know,

when you're dealing
with money,

that's when a man's
true colors really show.

Yeah. How about that?

ROCKY: Can't go home.
Can't drive my own pickup.

ROCKFORD: Stop grouching,
will you?

I'm buying you lunch,
aren't I?

Gilly's Diner?

Well, when I pay,
I pick the place.

Where are we going?
Gilly's Diner.

Hey, Rocky, tell me
about Johnny Lo Salvo.

I already told you.

I told everybody.
Tell me again.

Lo Salvo worked for
P&W shipping, you see,

and he does
the dockside work there,

like assigns
their loading docks
for their trucks

and takes care
of the water bills.

What?

Bills of lading.

He expedited customs.
He done a little bit
of everything.

Well, that stuff
that was hijacked,

would that have
come through the docks?

Well, some of it, maybe.
It's hard to say.

You see, when...
When they bring the cargo in
off the ships

and they stack it
in the inland terminals,

they just leave it there
till the stack builds up

a big enough load,
all going to the same place,

and then they ship it out.

Would Lo Salvo know
when that was?

Oh, no. I don't think so.

I just don't see how
Lo Salvo could be connected
with the hijackings.

Well, I don't either.
I never did understand.

Why didn't you say so?

Because Dennis said he was,
and everybody else
said he was,

and you said he was.

You guys are supposed
to be the experts

but it never made
sense to me.

Rocky, is there
anything going on
down at the docks,

like a big shipment
coming through

or something
going in and out

or something valuable,
like a gold shipment?

Oh, nothing that I know of.

But there's those
old furs from Russia.

It wouldn't be that.

What kind of furs?

Oh, they call them those...

Sables.

Oh, yeah?
They can be pretty valuable.

You can blow $40,000
on a sable coat like nothing.

You're kidding.
$40,000 for an overcoat?

Yeah. How many were there?

I don't know.

Approximately?

Well, it could have been
three or four cargo holds.

Whole shipload?

That could be
worth millions.

Rocky, duck!

(CAR HORN HONKING)

All right, Rocky.
That guy found
the telephone pole.

You okay?
Am I okay? Are you kidding?

I won't be able to go out
in traffic for a year.

Look, I think
I changed my mind.

I'd like to stay
in the cooler.
Let's go call Dennis.

All right. Let's go
down to the docks first.
We can call him from there.

What did I ever do
to those guys?

Can you tell me?
What did I ever do to them?

Sorry, sir, dock's closed,
unless you have
official business.

Oh, you bet
I've got official business.

COP: Wait a minute!

It's all right. I know them.

Hey, Dennis.
Hey, come here.

I want to show you something.

Do you know
what just happened to us?

They tried to hit
Rocky again.

And where do you want me
to put my truck?

Put it over there, Rocky.

I heard about it
over the police radio.
You two guys okay?

Uh, temporarily, yeah.

Well, I'm sorry, Jim.

Hey, don't blow
all the good lines now,
Dennis.

You ought to hold off
on that one

until you get
the little card that says
"in lieu of flowers."

Jim.
ROCKY: Hey, Dennis.

Rocky,
I was just telling...
Dennis, listen,

I've been thinking over
that idea of yours about jail
on the way over here,

and it don't sound
too bad to me.
It might be kind of restful.

Well, I never thought
I'd be happy
to turn the key on you.

If you don't mind
waiting around,
you're safe here.

Yeah.

How'd you hear
about the fur shipment?

How did you?
Well, I told him.

Something going down?

Routine.

On a multi-million
dollar shipment
P&W notifies us.

We've had
a detail scheduled here
for a couple of weeks.

Oh.
What did you expect?

Well, to tell you the truth,
I'm not sure.

What are you doing here?

Everything that's happened
is tied in right here.

I thought maybe
I'd just nose around,

wander back and forth
over the territory

to see if I could
pick up something
I missed before.

Long as Rocky's got to
hang around. Do you mind?

I guess not.

Just stay out of the way.

Hey, Rocky.

You spent
an awful lot of time
hard selling trucking to me,

you never mentioned
all that paperwork.

Yeah. You can
get used to it.

That there
is a bill of lading.

You got to have
the original of that
to pick up your cargo.

Who controls the original
till it's turned over
to the driver?

Well,
there's lots of originals.

They all get one.
The shipper, the broker,

the consignee, the insurance.

They all get one.
There's, oh, a dozen in all.

Rocky,

if you got 12 of anything,

one is the original,
the rest are copies.

No. They're all originals.

Except the copies.
Now, there's lots of copies.

For the files, information.
You know, stuff like that.

Well, don't look at me.
I didn't make up the system.

Hey, there!
Hi, Rocky.

How's it going there?
Oh, same as usual.

You know, too much work
and not enough men.

P&W's what fouled us.

They moved their pickup
ahead four hours.

Oh, I'll see you.
Nice seeing you again.

Hey, Rocky,
why don't those tractors
have their own trailers?

Well, they don't need
their own trailers
with containerized cargo.

The port lends them
a chassis, they put
their container on it,

hook up, and away they go.

And now their pickup
has been moved up
by four hours.

Hey, Rocky,

those guys weren't
hijacking guns and dynamite.
They're stealing tractors.

Who's stealing tractors?
I don't know,

but I'll give you odds
that those are the tractors
that were hijacked

and never recovered.

Now, they're about to
get away with stealing
millions in furs.

Hey, Becker! Becker!

Stop that truck!

Becker!

(WHISTLES)

Becker!

Becker!

Stop!

Got the brains
of a chicken.

Hey, sonny!

Where'd you get that truck?

The same place
that guy got his.
I stole it.

You mean
that other truck
was stolen?

Uh-huh.

That's Rocky!

You ain't gonna
out-drag me, bobtail. No way!

Hey, look out, Rocky!

(CAR HORN BLARING)

(POLICE SIRENS WAILING)

Hey, Rocky?

Come on,
you old gearjammer,
you nailed him.

You guys could've
gotten killed,
you know that?

Me? In a rig?

I been pushing one
all my life.
I know what I'm doing.

Yeah, I guess you do.

I'm sorry.
Nobody's allowed off the dock
without a statement.

Well, that's all right.
I'm the president of P&W.

I have to check
with my insurance company.

I'm sorry, sir.

ROCKY: Hey, I seen
that guy before.

I seen him
with Johnny Lo Salvo

in the office
of the Orient Lines.

BECKER: Are you sure?

Well, sure I'm sure.

I was late and
Violet had already left...
Who?

Violet.
That's a girlfriend of mine.

Well, anyway,
everybody was gone,

so I started to leave,
and I looked in
one of the offices,

and there's this guy
and Johnny Lo Salvo
was giving him some papers.

Bills of lading?

That's what they were.

But this is absurd.
I told you I'm the president
of Pacific & Western.

Out of the car, Mr. Hammel.

I want to see my lawyer
and I want to hear my rights.

BECKER: You'll get them.

Now that's
a respectable scam.

Respectable?

How can you call
a crook respectable?

I'm not talking
about the man, Rocky,

I'm talking
about the operation.

See, when a truck
is hijacked,

everybody assumes
it's for the load.

I mean, it's logical.

And they try to make sense
out of the grapefruit,

the dynamite
and the work gloves,

and of course,
it doesn't make any sense.

But, nobody says,
"Hey, maybe the load's
got nothing to do with it.

"Maybe they're
stealing tractors
for a really big heist."

Now that's what I call
a respectable scam.

You know, when I think
of all the years I walked you
to Sunday school,

I start getting the feeling

that maybe I was wasting
a lot of shoe leather.

That afternoon
at the Orient Lines,

Johnny Lo Salvo
saw you, didn't he?

Yeah, how did you know?

Well, that's why
they were trying
to kill you.

You could connect Hammel
with the stolen
bill of ladings.

Oh, I don't believe that.

Old Johnny
would never do nothing
to put me in harm's way.

He was a friend.

Yeah, maybe a better friend
than you know.

Thanks for the help, Rocky.

Oh, it wasn't nothing.

Say, do you know,
I think I'm beginning
to develop sort of a flair

for this kind of work?

I really do.
Not that it's so difficult.

I solved this case for him.

Do you know
what he's gonna do for me?

He's gonna split
the fee on this case
with me 50-50.

Well, I think you deserve
a little something.

I think 30-70
is a little more adequate.

50-50. And I earned it.

Less expenses?

You got a deal.

And no welshing privileges.

Good luck, boys.

Yeah. See you, Dennis.

Say, sonny,

what do you figure
that the net on our fee
is gonna be?

Well, since
I didn't have a client,

I won't get a fee,

and expenses run about $200.

So I figure
you probably owe me $100.

If you don't have
the cash on you,
it's okay.

I'll accept a check.