Original subtitles

I came to protect Tomas.

This tattoo represents the Darien Cartel.

I've done things that aren't right. You are a stranger.

I'm Tomas' father.

I don't want him for my father. I'd rather have you. This family's in

If Katero testifies, his family will be in even more danger.

Their lives have been ruined.

They are getting to know each other. Why? Because I love you.

They were after the kid.

Ray, welcome to New York.

How was the flight? Too long and too bumpy.

Where is everybody?

Upstairs waiting for you.

Where's our manager at? He couldn't make it. There are problems in San

Francisco, but everybody else is here.

Hey, Mr. Pintero.

Phone call.

Hello?

Who's that?

Tomasi is downstairs getting the laundry. He'll be ready to go in a

Can you help me put in this new light switch?

Just call me Mr.

Fix -It.

Is the power turned off?

Of course.

Okay.

Listen, Cecilia, there's a Big Brother ski trip up at Bear Mountain next month.

It's going to be a lot of fun, and about 20 members of the program are going,

and I was wondering... Oh, Jimmy, I don't know. It sounds terrific, but...

worry about the cost.

I can take care of it.

You are so good to Tomas.

But I do not feel right about letting you pay for everything. Look, look,

I'm 49 years old. I'm divorced. I got nobody else to spend it on.

And Tomas is a terrific kid.

He feels the same way about you.

I am really glad you were chosen to be his big brother.

Hey, Mom!

There you go.

Oh, thank you.

I left these boxes here.

How's it going, champ?

What's up, Jimmy?

We're going to a movie.

Looks like some kind of a computer to me.

Mom, look at this.

Somebody probably heard that Tomas needed a computer, and they had an extra

laying around.

Jimmy. Hey, this is the age of computers, right? You gotta know how to

in order to get a good job these days.

Oh, Jimmy.

I got a good deal on it.

Honest.

Are you serious?

This is really for me?

Well,

you already did to those guys.

You just want to in their history.

That's what I'm gonna do when I get older.

Just like my dad.

That's right. Your dad was in Special Forces, wasn't he?

Yeah, he joined right out of high school.

And after I was born, he went down to Honduras to become a freedom fighter.

That's where he was killed.

Boy, your dad must have been quite a guy.

He was a real tough dude.

Hey, there's a computer store over on 85th. I thought maybe we'd go check out

the software.

Yeah, they got this great video of the warlords of Atlantis.

Actually, I was thinking more of a program to help you with your

Excuse me.

Any witnesses?

Tell me what happened, sir.

We found a couple ounces of cocaine in the dead man's spot.

So I think what we have here is a drug deal gone bad.

The shooter got ripped off, so he pulls a gun.

Thieves grab the kid, try to use him as a hostage to get away.

That doesn't make any sense. Those guys were too slick to be pushers, and

besides, they were after the kid.

My mother's a waitress. I don't have any money.

Whatever was going down, it was no drug deal.

Yeah, well, if you got any more questions, you know where to get in

This is my friend, Robert McCall.

Mrs. Romero, from what Jimmy tells me on the telephone, it would appear to me

that you should certainly take your son Thomas, isn't it?

Take your son Thomas away from home tonight.

Robert's a good man, Sophia. You can trust him and you could both stay at my

place for a couple of days.

I don't understand this.

Why would somebody want to kidnap my Thomas?

Don't know the answer to that at the moment, Mrs. Romero.

Jimmy, why don't you take Mrs. Romero and Tom Musk back to your apartment?

join you there later, all right? Right.

Well,

I got to look at that guy's wallet.

The name on the light is David Lamb.

I'll get Jonah to run it through the computer.

What do you think about that tattoo?

Could be some kind of gang mark, huh?

Could be, but... I don't know. There's a bell ringing somewhere.

I think it's much more interesting than that.

Check it out.

Yes.

What we need is an expert on strange and esoteric information.

Oh, come on. How come I always get the good job?

Well, that is the nature of our relationship, my dear Mickey.

I'll remind you of that.

Paul Zarin. Boy, Mickey Costmeyer.

Don't tell me another one of your clients is in trouble. You need my

encyclopedic expertise.

What is it this time?

Religious pulse?

Egyptian artifacts?

South American poisonous insects?

Tattoos.

one of my favorite subjects.

A few people give body art the aesthetic value it deserves.

You know, there's a man in Tokyo that's got tattoos on. If I wanted a lecture,

I'd have gone to Harvard.

Yeah, and I don't need to put up with any of your insults. You're the one that

came to me for help, smart boy.

Tell McCall I don't deal with errand boys. If he wants my help, he can come

me himself.

You think in control, Layton?

Yeah, I did a job for him about three months ago. Why?

Just asking.

How about your buddy Kalenkov?

Who? You know, the cultural attaché at the Soviet embassy, who also just

to be a colonel in the KGB. I don't know what you're talking about.

Come on.

Now, we both know that you occasionally help the Soviets export certain items

out of the country.

Like that job you did last year.

Rare books make such good hiding places for microdata.

How did you know that?

The point is, I do, but you all don't.

Slime ball cost Meyer the worst.

I won't.

Tell me about your lousy tattoos.

It's a serpent with a dagger in its mouth.

Are you sure that it's a serpent?

Yeah. I didn't see the whole thing because it was partly hidden by its

but yeah.

Take my advice.

Forget about it.

I don't want to forget about it.

I want you to tell me all about it.

Otherwise, you better have a real good explanation about your woman's role.

Tomas is asleep.

So what did you find out, Robert?

The man who was shot.

A man called David Lance.

criminal, long arrest record, no convictions.

It sounds like he had friends in high places.

Seems like it.

This tattoo was found on his left arm.

Turns out that it is a symbol for a group calling itself the Darien Cartel.

What is that?

International crime syndicate.

Finances narcotics, smuggling arms to various revolutionary groups.

One of the members...

Of this cartel, there's a man called Ray Quintero.

A shadowy figure who lives somewhere in Central America.

Name me nothing at all to you, Mrs. Romero.

No.

I don't get it. Why would a bunch of big -time criminals be interested in Tomas?

Indeed.

Do you know the answer to that, Mrs. Romero?

Then, of course, your name is not Mrs. Romero, is it?

That was your maiden name. Your married name was Quintero.

Yes.

Ray Quintero is... Thomas's daughter.

And one day, Ray walked in.

Very charming.

And dangerous.

I found that exciting.

When my parents told me not to see him again, that was all I needed to marry

him.

Everything was fine at first.

One night, a stranger came to our house to meet with Ray.

I heard them arguing in the city.

A week later, the man's picture was in the newspaper.

His body had been found in the trunk of his car.

The paper said he was some kind of criminal.

I asked Gray about him.

He told me to mind my own business.

For a while, I tried to pretend that things were normal.

Then about...

Six months after Thomas was born, Ray came home one night with blood on his

shirt, and I knew it was not his blood.

After that, things just got worse.

We lived in the same house, but we hardly talked, hardly even saw each

And then one day, he didn't come home at all.

Some people showed up from the FBI with a warrant saying that Ray was wanted

for...

Murder. Drug smuggling.

Later, I learned that he'd gone to Central America.

For a while, he sent money.

Eventually, it stopped.

And you didn't tell your son who his father really was?

I wanted Ray to be dead.

So that is what I told Thomas.

Hello. Jimmy, Jimmy McCall.

Yeah, hold on. Robert, it's for you.

Yeah, McCall.

Hey, McCall. How's the weather up there? Nice and cozy?

Just fine. How is it with you?

Couldn't be better.

Listen, I'm down in O 'Fallon's and I ran into a couple of lonely ladies who

really interested in meeting you.

Two lonely ladies, you say?

And they just couldn't take their eyes off you.

You ought to come on down here.

That's very kind of you, Mickey, but I really am too busy at the moment. Some

other time, hmm?

Bye.

Mrs. Romero, why don't you tell me a

little bit more about how you met your husband, hmm?

Well, one night I was... ...working late, and this man walks in.

He was wearing a uniform, and he was

an army or a marine. I didn't know what, but he... Surprise!

Good evening, gentlemen.

I do hope you're not... Serving you? Who are you and what are you doing here?

I'm waiting for my sister to get home. We just got in from Boston for the

weekend. And you just happen to have surveillance equipment with you to

eavesdrop on her neighbours, is that it?

Eh? Do you know, there is a smell in the night air.

And that smell is the smell of the company.

Yeah, bullseye.

I thought so.

Young man, I'll tell you what you're going to do now. You're going to get

into your car.

And you're going to telephone your boss.

And you are going to say, control?

Robert McCall wants to talk to you one hour's time at the old Van Wick

That's what you're going to do. And I would suggest, young men, that you take

refresher course on surveillance techniques.

Come here to meet your sister. Do me a favor.

Hard to get good help these days, huh?

Get going.

you send your wonder boys sniffing around.

I will deliver them back to you stuffed and mounted.

Calm down, old son.

I am quite calm, haven't you noticed?

Especially considering I do not like being spied upon.

Yes, I'm sorry about that. That was actually done without my authority.

Come off it. Nothing is ever done without your authority.

It's a problem, McCoy. You got something to hide?

What is that?

This is Elliot Jarvis. He's an adjuster. Department?

Justice Department.

Harboring the want of felons against the law, McCall.

In this case, it's federal law.

I haven't got the faintest idea what he is talking about.

Last night, Ray Quintero arrived secretly in this country.

Our federal warrants are out with his name on it.

What is the company doing associating with the Justice Department and helping

them to apprehend a common gangster?

What's going on, Robert, is the Darien cartel.

For a long time, we have suspected that it has partners in our own government.

That's why it's always been so successful, so untouchable.

So now Justice and the company have joined forces to try to put it out of

business once and for all.

Now, Ray Quintero is caught in the middle of an internal power struggle.

Last night, two of his own people tried to kill him.

If we can find him before they do, maybe we can turn him around, all right?

You know where he is, you better tell us.

Quite frankly.

I'm not the least interested in telling him anything.

Robert, as long as Quintero's on the loose, his family's in danger.

...against the cartel.

His family will be in even more danger.

I will not have them useless pawns. They're already pawns, Robert. I need

help. Sorry.

No, Dean.

McCall, this is Federal now.

If you get in our way, your friends in the company...

No control.

Wasn't telling me the whole story. He was holding something back.

So what else is new?

We got anything to go on? Yeah.

Someone was watching me the whole time.

It was not one of Control's people.

There is a car following me.

Staying about a block behind me all the way. Sounds like a probe. Want me to be

here? No.

I'm going to make it easy for him to find me.

Take your hands out of your pockets.

Keep them where I can see them.

Good evening, Mr. Quintero.

Who are you?

My name is Robert McCall.

I know you're in a lot of trouble.

I want to try to help you.

I'm sure you do.

You and your friends from the company.

They're all so damned helpful.

I haven't worked for the company in years.

Is that right?

How come you met your pal Control tonight?

Well, well, well.

You know all about the company. You know all about the name Control.

You have, uh, obviously extremely good surveillance training, which is quite

extraordinary for a common criminal, isn't it?

And then, of course, you are not a common criminal, are you?

You work for the company, huh?

Agent. Deep cover.

That is what control held back from me.

Your assignment was to penetrate the cartel.

Only somehow...

Someone found out, didn't they?

Someone?

I was set up.

Somebody in the company sold me out.

So what are you going to do now?

What the hell do you care?

Oh, come on, come on, man.

I have been there.

They cost me my wife, a baby daughter, and they damn near cost me my

only son.

They own my soul.

Nothing matters to the company.

Nothing at all.

except their own dirty little games.

They try to make you believe that what you are doing for them is the most

important thing in the world, even more important than your own life.

They're pretty good at that, aren't they?

The company recruited me while I was in Special Forces.

I thought it was exciting.

Then I went undercover.

And I was just scared.

Just scared.

Yes, and how do you feel?

So when I had to leave the country, I figured they'd both be better off

me.

I've been living in the shadows so long, I... I don't even know who I am

anymore.

You'll have to choose.

You know what I would choose to do in your situation?

I would do what I set out to do.

Destroy the cartel and then walk away from it.

It's too late to walk away.

You know, the cartel does business with some of the most powerful men in

America, businessmen, politicians, generals.

One way or another, I'm a dead man.

Seems to me you'll have to try.

I don't believe in heroes anymore.

Really?

Your son does.

From what I hear, he thinks you're one.

He's wrong.

Is he?

Your son is ten years old.

Ten years old, and he's never seen his father.

I think it's time you went home, don't you?

Thank God it's you.

Why, what's wrong?

It's Thomas.

He's gone away.

So, what happened to Jimmy?

Apparently, Thomas told Jimmy that he wanted to go home.

So, obviously, Jimmy started from there.

I want you to keep an eye on these two while I'm gone, all right?

I want you to keep an eye on these two from outside while I'm gone, all right?

McCall, I'm going with you.

No, sir, you're not. You are staying here.

You see, when we find your son, I think that it would be rather good if he felt

that he had some sort of home to come back to, if you know what I mean.

Celia.

Why are you here?

Why? I came to protect you and to protect Tomas.

Protect us?

We are in danger because of you.

You do not belong here.

You are not a part of our lives anymore.

I'm Tomas' father.

You are a stranger.

When he was three years old...

And he got ear infection so bad he almost went deaf.

Where were you then?

When he came home from daycare and he asked me why he did not have a daddy.

Where were you?

When I lost my job.

And I did not have enough money to buy him a single Christmas present.

Where were you?

How did you get these pictures of Tamar?

I hired somebody to take them from a distance.

I've been looking at those pictures every night for the last ten years.

It's the one part of my soul they never got.

Tomas, are you here?

It's Jimmy.

Hey, Tomas.

I'm in here.

You gonna run away?

Maybe.

You got any money?

Ten bucks.

Well, that's not gonna get you very far.

Steal some.

Hey, how's your mom gonna feel?

I don't know.

But I bet my dad will be real proud of me.

Oh, that's what this is about. You heard us talking about your dad.

Just leave me alone, okay? Come on, Tomas. Back off, man.

You're not my father.

No, I'm not. I'm nobody's father.

Look, Tomas, I don't know why your father left, but I do know how you feel.

You don't know anything. That's where you're wrong. My dad took off when I was

seven, so I know what it's like.

I thought I'd done something wrong, that it was my fault, and I kept asking my

mom, when's he gonna come back?

But he never did.

So then when I grew up, more than anything else, I wanted a big family. I

that's half the reason I got married.

But it didn't work out, and we got divorced, and now I got nobody.

Most times, life doesn't give you what you want.

I know your dad isn't who you wanted him to be.

But you have to accept people for who they are, and they make mistakes.

That's right, I know about that. I've made some big ones. There's stuff I've

done I wish I could change.

Hey.

I think somebody just got the power. Let's get out of here.

You all right, Kenny?

Yeah, I'm fine. Every time I put on a good shirt, something happens.

Listen, I want you to contact Lieutenant Branigan.

Tell him exactly what's happened here.

Then I want you to take Thomas back to your place. Okay, where are you going?

I'm going to have a chat with a certain friend of mine.

Their lives have been ruined.

Ray Quintero made his own choice.

No, he did not.

He had no choice to make.

Because when he wanted to get out, the company made sure that he was accused of

murder, which meant that he had to leave the country.

And he went in even deeper.

The company continuously perverts the truth.

And in the end, only the company has a choice.

Albert, you know I don't apologize for the company. The cartel is a vicious

conspiracy. We've done what we had to do to end it.

Now it's blown up in your face, hasn't it?

Because the person who betrayed Quintero is within your own organization.

It's a possibility we're checking into.

Because his cover has been blown, Quintero is now expendable.

So you are now using him as a bait to draw out the mole, right?

The possibility of a mole jeopardizes the whole organization.

All right, all right. Maybe I am not the original knife guy.

Oh, I'm sure that's what Judas must have said.

I am no Judas, Robert.

This philosophical debate is getting us nowhere.

There's a closed federal hearing convening day after tomorrow. We need

Quintero's testimony. Now, where is he, McCall? You want a deal?

You got a deal.

Here are the terms.

Quintero will hand himself over to you on the day of the hearing only.

And in exchange, when it's all over, he will be free of you and the company.

responsibility for security at the hearings with your people. Is that all

All right.

Quintero's safety is essential.

People in high places who are very nervous and control already suspect that

something's dirty.

I want this thing ended.

Don't worry.

Quintero never testified.

Come on.

I don't want to go in there. Why not?

Just don't feel like it, okay?

Look, I know it's scary, but at least give him a chance.

I don't want him for my father.

I'd rather have you.

That's probably the most terrific thing that anybody has ever said to me.

But, Tomas, remember how I told you life usually doesn't go the way you want it

to? Well, this is one of those times.

I'm not going up there.

Look, Tomas, I got to get going. I got important stuff to do.

Let me come with you. No.

Come on, Jimmy.

I can't be your father. Don't you understand that?

Why not?

Because I don't have time.

I won't be any trouble.

You already are.

Look, Tomas, being a big brother once a week is one thing. Being a father every

day is something else.

You understand?

If you want a father, you've got one inside.

Get going.

Go on, Tomas, go.

You're tall.

So, what are you, in the fourth grade?

Fifth.

Good student?

Okay.

You like baseball?

Yeah.

What's your team?

Yankees. Is there?

Mine too.

Mine too. Maybe we could go to a game sometime.

You know, that's when they would get to know each other.

You know, I used to think of all the things I'd like to say to you when we

finally met.

I'll explain.

But I've got no excuses.

Maybe it's too late.

But I think I'd like to try.

Try what?

To be your father.

Why?

Hey, buddy.

You're on demand!

That was close.

Was he worth it, all this?

Was he really worth it?

Bring down the cartel, yes.

It had to be done.

It is not the principle with which I disagree.

It's the method.

If there had been another way, I would have used it.

It may well be that one day you are forced to pay the same price that you

from others.

I already have.

Here he comes. Can we have a meeting with your associates?

Behold, I show you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet

shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall

be changed.

Thank you, Mr. McCall.

You are very kind. Timmy was right.

Thomas.

Don't you think there's someone to whom you should say goodbye?

Before.

You know, he had to say the things he did. He just had to.

Sometimes the hardest part of loving someone is letting go.

That's what he's feeling now.

You might not see him again.

Take care of yourself.

Yeah, you too.

I gotta go.

You can tell her. Good luck.

The bird tells me that two congressmen and a high -ranking officer in the

Pentagon are about to resign before he's sent on indictment.

Ah, yes.

And that's only the surface where it's beginning.

You suspected Jarvis from the start, did you?

Well, there's an old adage, Robert. You keep your friends close and your enemies

closer.

Yes. Is he talking?

The rumor is that the cartel has a contract out on him. I think he may be

best witness yet.

Sometimes this job makes me feel like Santa Claus.

So long, Robert.

Jimmy?

You all right?

No.

Can I buy you lunch?

Thanks, Robin, but I think I'd like to be alone.

Take care.

Bye.