Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001): Season 2, Episode 16 - The Prodigal Son - full transcript

A boy from a broken home wants to impress his father by stealing drugs. But the drug dealers are now after him and Walker helps him. Also, Trivet and Walker find the men who robbed a store and shot one of the employees.

In the air!

All right, old man,

push the button on the
machine, real swift-like.

In the bag.

Damn!

She sure is a
pretty young thing.

All right, old man, if you're
plannin' on living long enough

to pick up a social
security check,

you'll open the night
safe just as swift.

Dallas county to all units,

silent alarm at the Easy Go
on Greenville at Park Lane.

This is Walker. I've got it.

Ten-four, Walker.

Easy come, easy go.

Come on, let's get out of here.

Little Daisy's goin' with me.

She's much too
good for you, junior.

Come on, let's go. No.

Get back! Get over there.

He's got a gun! He's got a gun!

Texas Ranger!
Please don't hurt him!

Drop the gun and
raise your hands!

Drop the gun, or I'll
kill the kid! Drop it now!

All right.

Let the boy go.
I'll drop the gun.

On the ground.

All right.

Easy.

There you go. There
you go. There you go.

He's all yours.

All right.

You'll remember this, Ranger.

Aagh!

Someone in there
call an ambulance now!

Don't move, son.

Okay, stay down, son.

It hurts.

An ambulance is on the way.

You'll be fine.

Let's go, bring him in!

We'll need blood
work done, stat.

Make a left.

We've got a gunshot here.

We've got him. Go,
go. WOMAN: Okay.

Right away.

Vitals... steady.

Paging Dr. Smith, line 1 please.

There it is.

Okay. I need
some irrigation here.

How y'all doing?

Thanks. Come and see us again.

Yeah, thank you.

Hey.

Thought I could borrow
your van while you're working.

Maybe a couple bucks.

Last time you borrowed it,
you wound up in juvie hall.

Uh-uh.

Now, why you always
ragging on me like that?

My old man left 'cause of you,

and you... You got nobody
but me to take it out on?

Duwayne, you are headed
down the same gravel road as him

if I don't keep
you straight, okay?

This ain't no daycare
center, Elena.

You got customers.

Okay, yes, sir, I know.
What about the van?

No. No van,

no couple of bucks. You
got time on your hands?

Go home, do the work you
missed when you were cuttin' school.

Wait till I tell my dad
how you been treatin' me.

Tell him he owes three
years of child support,

that I'm tired of
working two jobs,

tired of living in a trailer.
You tell him that, okay?

Walker.

Got word you were
involved in a shooting.

Convenience store heist.

Hostage situation.

The young man in there?

Yeah, he can't be
more than 16 years old.

You know, a hostage situation

is always a judgment call.

You never can make sense of it.

What about the family?

They're being contacted.

I got a message.

It sounded like you'd been shot.

Oh. No, I'm fine.

It's always a crapshoot
with that dispatcher

whether she's gonna
get anything right.

Look, I'm gonna...

see if they notified
the parents.

That's a nice dress.

Cocktails at the mayor's.

Nice jammies.

Yeah, well, there's a PBS
documentary on jazz coming on,

so I was... kicking
back a little bit.

With your neat slippers.

Thin blood runs in
the family, all right?

The parents are on their way.

I'm just glad you're okay.

What happened?

That boy in there's
the one that was shot.

How bad is it?

The bullet's near the spine.

That's not good.

No, it's not.

Nobody said it was good.

Man, this is stupid, Duwayne.

Relax, okay?

You wanna drum
up some cash, right?

Yeah. Well, I need some too.

All right? I know a
way in through the back.

We're gonna be okay.

That's it.

All right.

Here.

Let's do it.

All right, look for the, uh,

packages with "Grade
A" stamped on 'em.

All right.

Mr. Mancini. How was your trip?

Enjoyable. Thank you
for asking, Anthony.

But I'm not here
to make small talk

in this damn mud hole.

So where's the smack?

I know it don't look like much,

but that's the beauty.

We got product
runnin' out of here

to a couple of good old boys.

They got a truck
route to the border.

It's the perfect front for
our southwest pipeline.

Yeah, who's got the
beef? Heh-heh-ha-ha!

You get it?

So are you two auditioning
to open for Sinatra,

or you wanna show me the place?

Come on.

Keep an eye out.

Hey, man, here they are.

Oh. Yes.

We lift 50-some of these
babies, we'll get top dollar...

Yeah, watch out for the
pipes here on the floor,

you don't trip.

Hey, man, what's that?

You said there was only
one guy working here.

There was only one guy a month
ago when my dad was working.

Let's get the hell out
of here. Wait, wait.

We get what we can now
and come back later for more.

Mr. Mancini, are you cold?

Come on, come on.
Let's get this over with.

Third stack is where
the merchandise is.

I marked 'em "special delivery."

Three keys, number
four China white. Hey.

This is junk of the
month, baby, huh?

That's only half, Nicky,
where are the other three kilos?

Hey, relax.

It's right over here.

Oh, man!

What the hell's going on?

Well, I... They
were right over here.

They're gone?!

Come on, man! Come on!

Hey, you kids!

What are you doin' there? Hey!

Cowboy, did you get
the license number?

Yeah, I got it.

We just talked to the doctor.
He said it's gonna be a few days

before we know anything
one way or the other.

You better get you some rest.

You don't wanna end
up with a 2000-yard stare.

I can't sleep right now, C.D.

You're not God,
Cordell. None of us are.

How are you supposed to know
what that psychopath's gonna do?

Yeah, we booked him
downtown. He's got felony wants

and warrants from
here to Kansas City.

But it was my job
to save the boy.

Hey, you saved his sweetheart.

Without you, she'd
be dead as a hammer.

I just feel there is something I
could have done to save him.

You think I've never
felt that way, son?

Second-guessing myself?

A hostage situation's a
nightmare for any lawman.

Let me tell ya one thing.

That doctor goin' there,

people put their lives

in the palm of his
hands every day.

He loses a patient,
but he goes on.

He doesn't give up.

He doesn't give up his
drive or his confidence.

And you know damn well

that's what it takes
to be a Texas Ranger.

Now, let's get with
the program, Cordell.

I know you're right, C.D...

but just looking at
those parents in there...

That's their only son.

It just doesn't help.

I've got to be alone
for a while, guys.

Dr. Caro. Surgery,
please. Dr. Caro.

Hey, Walker.

You wanna talk about this?

Look, Trivette, I'm going
out to the badlands for awhile.

I'll call you when I get back.

Communing with
nature, I like that.

It's right on the money.

So why don't you take me along?

You wouldn't like
it. I would like it.

I promise I won't
get in the way.

I promise.

I promise.

Meet me at the ranch.

Yeah.

Hey, what time?

Five.

A.m.?

Holy mackerel, it's cold! Whoo!

Here comes GI Joe.

Been up all night
getting all my stuff ready.

Anticipating the
call of the wild, man.

Whoo!

I think I got it all set.

I'm all outfitted in the latest

featherweight, all-terrain gear.

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

You sure you got everything?

Oh, I got everything.

I got foam pads, bat
bags, propane stove,

insect repellent.

I bet you even got a
snakebite kit in there.

Snakebite kit,

and a hand-held water purifier.

I thought all you drank

was those little green
bottles from France.

Well, a man's going
to be roughing it,

he has to make compromises.

Look, Trivette,

every year I go to the badlands

for a whole week.

I take no food, no water.

Now, if you want to
learn how to survive,

this is all you get.

This is it?

Yeah, we travel light.

Eat whatever we can find.

"Eat what we can find"?

We'll be be out in
the middle of nowhere.

Yeah, but there's
beetles, there's grubs,

there's even snake meat.

I'm a semi-vegetarian, Walker.

Well, then you got
shrubs and roots.

Shrubs and roots?

Actually, it's
pretty good eating,

once you get past the
grit and the maggot larva.

What?

That's sickening.

What's in that bag?

That's my telephone.

Yeah, Trivette.

Trivette. Alex.

Listen, I know how much
you were looking forward

to going out with Walker,

but Dallas P.D. just
picked up Brady Riggs.

Really?

Yes.

We need you to ID him
at the suppression hearing.

Gee, Alex, that's a shame.

Brady Riggs.

Duty calls.

Guess I'm gonna have
to stay back this time.

Hey, you sure you can go alone?

Oh, I'm sure I can manage it.

Hey, Alex, all this talk
about the great wide open

has made really me hungry.

How about I buy you
breakfast this morning?

Well, you know,

like Jarlsberg
and scallion omelet

with some brioche.

Maybe a... decaf cappuccino.

I'm looking for
Duwayne, Mrs. Parsons.

He wasn't in school today.

Oh, yeah?

When you find him, tell him

it's the last time he gets
his hands on my van.

I had to hitch a
ride home last night.

Hey.

Hey, man, you
guys better back off.

My dad lives a few
trailers up and he's gonna...

Sleep it off. Yeah,
we already checked.

Look, what do you
guys want from me?

We want what's ours, kid.

You were there last
night, Lone Star Packing.

With your friend's
van that drove away.

Now, we want our merchandise.

Well, I don't
know where it's at.

You guys in Texas think
you're really tough, don't you?

I liberated it from
a cop in Brooklyn.

Duwayne Parsons, he took it.

Is that where he
lives, over there?

Okay, look, he
has a secret place.

It's this old abandoned stable.

He... He goes there
when he cuts school.

Good. We go down
there, we find him,

we get back our merchandise.

And you get a reward.

What's the reward?

The reward is...
we let you live.

Hey, how you doin'?

Cordell Walker. I ain't seen
you in a month of Sundays.

It has been a while, Eldon.

If I had known you were coming,

I'd have held your booth,

but the youngster
beat you to it.

Wanted a view of the road.

- That's okay.
- But now, then,

what would you like to
have, Cordell? Wait a minute,

don't tell me.
Chicken-fried steak.

You got it, Eldon.

I'll get it.

All the kid had stashed
in there was in this.

What's that? That?

It's a motorcycle buckle.

His dad gave it to him
for winning the motocross.

Dad?

Yeah. He has a picture
of him with his motorcycle.

Where does he live? Where?

Out in the flats, by Jacksboro.

We know where you live, punk.

We don't recover our goods,
we're coming back for you.

There, kid, beat it.

Okay, that's gonna be 16.20.

Uh, plus the cigarettes.

Let's just make it an even 18.

Do you take credit cards?

Where do you think you are,

The International
House of Pancakes?

All right, can you, uh...

give me another
coffee and cherry pie?

Where's the bathroom?

It's down there.

All right. Thanks.

We'll square up in a sec.

Hey, kid.

That your van down the road?

Yeah.

You need help changing the tire?

Well, the pistons are shot,

brakes are gone, it's finished.

I'll be glad to
take a look at it.

No. I don't have
the time, all right?

I'm busy.

Kids today.

Well,

that's the best dang meal
I had in a long time, Eldon.

Thanks.

Yep, still the best
cook in the county.

Aw.

Hold on to this, and
I'll see you in a week.

Okay.

Sure you don't want
company, Cordell?

Must get lonely out
there in them badlands.

Well... that's
the idea, Lurleen.

If I was gonna share
those stars with anyone,

it would be you.

I guess you're right,
Eldon. Kids today.

Hell, if I'd had known
the kid was broke,

I'd have fed him for free.

Here, let me pay his tab.

Oh, thanks.

See you in a week. Okay.

You be careful, now, okay?

I know how you feel.

Hey, what do you
think you're doing?

If this fire catches, it'll
burn wild for 50 miles!

You owe me 20 bucks.

What for?

I paid for your
meal at the diner.

Right, yeah.

Let's see if I can't
take care of you, huh.

There you go.

How old are you, kid?

I'm old enough.

I don't think so.

Now, let's start
this over again.

Who you running from?

Who says I'm runnin'?

By the look on your
face in the diner,

and the van you left
on the side of the road.

Yeah, well, that's, um...

You see, this...
This biker gang...

they trashed my van,

and uh, stole all my
money, left me for dead,

so I crawled over to that cafe

and now I'm out here,

and I'm gonna settle the score.

Hmm.

Really? Yeah.

Hey, man, that's mine.

Where'd this come from?

I found that dope
out in the badlands,

and that is my dope.

Sure, you did.

Let's go.

We got that little sucker now.

Heh-heh-heh.

Do you know what the
penalty is for possession?

What do I care?

I'm a juvie.

With this amount of drugs, kid,

you're gonna be
tried as an adult.

What business is
this of yours, anyway?

You'll find out soon enough.

Now, how about tellin'
me the truth for a change?

All right.

All right, you want the truth?

The truth is... Is I thought

I was boostin' some
steaks from a packin' house,

and the stuff was
inside the packages.

And then these guys
with gland problems

start shootin' at me. What guys?

Looked like out-of-state hoods.

Did you hear a name or anything?

One guy called him,
uh, "Mr. Mancini."

Mancini.

If you looked at mug shots,

do you think you could
recognize any of these guys?

No. I-I...

I don't stick my
neck out for nobody.

You got that?

Sure, tough guy, I've got that.

But if you stole from
who I think you stole from,

you're gonna need
a friend real bad.

Here you go.

So, what are you
gonna say to Eldon?

I'm gonna tell him
to kiss my... Eh!

That I'll wash
every freakin' glass

in his place to
pay off the meal.

That's what I like. A
boy who's truly repentant.

Wait a minute. I
got to make a call.

Trivette.

Trivette, how'd the
hearing go with Riggs?

Piece of cake. The
judge denied the bail.

Hey, what are you
doing on a phone?

Well, I got a little delayed.

Have you ever heard
of a guy named Mancini,

possibly out-of-state,
maybe Mafia?

Mafia, huh?

Okay, there's a crime
boss out of New York

named Paul Mancini.

And DEA intel says
he might be out here

trying to push some smack.

Why?

What's it gonna be, old man?

Your waitress here, or that kid?

Look, all I know
is the kid come in

and sat in that booth.

He kept checking the window,

and then finally got up
and took off without payin'.

Which way?

Y'all just leave him alone.

I served the kid, he went north.

What's out there?

Just a lot of mesquite.

What else?

He's supposed to
be some kind of biker.

He's got some kind of
dirt bike. You know him?

No, I know somebody. I
don't know, it could be him.

Which way does he live?

Listen, man, I'm getting hungry.

Walker, who was that?

Oh, just a stray I found.

Go on inside, I'll
meet you there.

Ah-ah! Leave that here.

Look, Trivette, run a
make on this Mancini.

Listen, all I know
is there's a guy

that lives about 15 miles
out. Yeah, he lives in a bus.

It's off of a dirt path.
It's just north of here.

Is there an address?
No, there's no address.

It's... It's at the
end of a cow path.

There's a couple of...
Of Tecate cans on a pole

that marks the path.

Don't try it!

Walker, what's going on?
I just heard some shots.

Where'd he go?

There!

Hyah!

How bad is it, Eldon?

I'll live.

Three of 'em went after the kid.

Which way did they go?

Due north.

There's a biker
lives out that way.

The kid had a picture of him.

Those morons seemed
mighty interested too.

Okay, call the sheriff.

Keep an eye on this
guy until he gets here.

Two million miles
away from nowhere,

we lose the man's dope!

We don't know where this kid is

or his damn old man on the bike!

Hey, look at these tracks.

They got to be his, no?

Let's go.

Ugh!

You hungry?

I'm Ranger Trivette,
this is Captain Parker.

Looking for Cordell
Walker, he called from here.

Well, he'd be somewhere
between here and Lubbock by now.

About 100 miles of badlands,

and he's got three Italian
button men on his trail.

Kid's headed straight
for his old man's place.

Hey, wait a minute.

There's another set of tracks.

Looks like cowboy boots.

Looks like size
11, don't you think?

Which means somebody's with him.

It's time to call Mancini.

We need the bird.

Here you go.

You think I'm gonna put
that snake in my mouth?

Tastes just like chicken.

It's either that or the grubs.

What are the grubs?

I'll take the snake.

I figured you would.

This is... This is
just like chicken.

Let me ask you something.

Why are you doing
all this stuff for me?

Well, maybe it's
the right thing to do.

You tell me something, Duwayne.

What are you doing
all the way out here

in the middle of nowhere

with 3 keys of smack?

My old man lives out here.

Your father? Yeah.

Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy.

He's been in some
trouble with the law.

What about your mother?

She OD'd when I was 9.

I've been living with my stepmom

off and on for
about three years.

So you've come all the way
out here to see your father?

To drop that
dope off at his feet,

tell him I stood
up to the Mafia.

He said we're gonna
together someday.

He promised me.

Soon as he got
his life together.

So you think you're
going to impress

your father by dropping
this dope at his feet.

Well, I'm going to prove
to him, once and for all,

that his son is... Is no punk.

That I deserve his love.

How far away is this place?

Maybe a mile.

Think you can make
it on that ankle?

Yeah. Yeah, I think so.

What are you doing?

Well, if you're going
to impress your father,

you're gonna have to
do without the drugs.

Let's go.

You haven't said much
about your stepmom.

Well, we don't
exactly see eye to eye.

Why is that?

She's always on my case

about school or my dad.

She doesn't want
you to see your dad?

Yeah, something like that.

You said she's a waitress.

Yeah, she's got two jobs.

One during the
day, one at night.

She's got no time for me.

Well, since she
holds down two jobs,

seems like you'd
give her a little slack.

Well, I suppose she
means well enough,

it's just, we
don't... We don't...

We're from two different
planets, you know?

My dad and I... We connect.

Well, you know,

sometimes things don't turn out

the way we want.

And when that happens,

you just got to be strong
enough to deal with it.

Hm.

Well, it's just over the rise.

You know a lot about me, man.

What about you?

What are you doing out here?

Well, like I said,

sometimes things don't
turn out the way you want,

and you got to find the
strength to deal with it.

So you see, kid,
you're not alone.

Hey!

Dad!

I'm sorry, Duwayne.

They had me covered.

Who are you?

A friend.

Where's our goods, kid?

I want to know where you
stashed our merchandise!

He doesn't have it.

How'd you like a new face, huh?

Well, you're about to get one

if you don't give
us what we want.

Walker! Come on!

You know, when I
was a young Ranger,

this was the only
kind of road we had.

This is nothin' compared to
some roads I've been down.

You see anything yet?

Jackrabbits and coyote.

Walker's out here. We just
gotta keep going till we see a sign.

Do you see the chopper?

No.

Not since we cleared the trees.

So how much dope was there?

Three keys. China white.

Whoa, you done good, kid.

But I'm not sure it's
such a good idea.

Oh, man.

If it's pure, we can step on it.

Nine hundred thousand,
street value. Maybe a mil.

So where's this cave?

It's up that way by the gully,

but then you promise
we go back for Walker.

What is it?

Rattlesnake head, cut clean.

Two sets of tracks
off in that gully.

They're going to be
hell hard to follow too.

It's right... Right
over here. Right here.

Where is it?

It's inside.

Where? Over here?

Yeah.

We've been up here
an hour, we got nothin'.

And we're running out of fuel.

You wanna head for the
trees and find me that jeep?

Here it is,

right where you
said it was, Duwayne.

Oh, my ship's come in.

This is my big shot.

W-wait.

I can't let this happen again.

What are you talking about?

You getting in
trouble with the law.

Don't preach to me, kid.

I had enough of that
from your stepmother.

Well, maybe she's right.

Maybe I've had my ears
plugged this whole time.

That guy back
there saved my life.

We've got to go back for him.

We got the dope. We
don't owe him nothing.

Walker helped me,
and he saved your life.

There. There he is.

Come on.

No, I'm not going with you.

You're not going?
That's your problem.

Hey, Mancini!

Put your hands up on your head

or I'll blow wind under you.

You know, I've
seen your mug shot.

You're a lot more
impressive in person. Get...!

You know the drill.

Walker, are you okay?

I... Give me a hand.

So all he wanted
was the dope, huh?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's all he wanted.

It was all a sham,

him telling me he loved me,

and we'd be together someday.

I'm sorry, Duwayne.

Yeah.

Well, sometimes,

things don't work
out the way you want,

but you have to be strong
enough to deal with it, right?

Right.

Walker, this is
Trivette. Come in.

Walker.

Walker, where are you?
I got good news, man.

Your boy at the hospital,

the doctor says his
prognosis is a full recovery.

Ah, that is good news.

I think I'll go by the hospital

after I make a stop.

Hi, Duwayne. Hey, Walker,

what are you doing here?

I thought I'd drop by
and see how you're doing.

Oh, I'm doing good.

How's everything going
with your stepmother?

Much better. Much better.

Can I say hello to her?

Oh, yeah. Come on in.

Mrs. Parsons?

Uh, yes.

I'm Cordell Walker.

Oh, hello.

I've heard so much about you.

Well, Duwayne's told
me a lot about you too.

I, uh, have something
here for you.

Uh, actually, it's for Duwayne,

but I think he'd like
for you to have it.

Well, what is it?

Well, there was a reward
for the man that we captured.

Because of Duwayne's help,
we were able to apprehend him,

and so we hope
that will help you out.

Well, hah, thanks.

Well, it's a pleasure
meeting you.

Nice to meet you too.

Well, Duwayne, it's
good seeing you again.

You take care, okay?

Yeah.

You too.

Bye.

Fifty thousand dollars?!
Oh, my God, we're rich!