Original subtitles

[CAR MOTORS PURRING]

[TIRES SCREECHING]

ANNOUNCER [OVER PA]: And the winner is...

[CROWD CHEERING]

ANNOUNCER: Up next, the event you've all been waiting for,

the stock drag racing finals.

That's Lou Comstock in the Texas Roadrunner.

And behind the wheel of a Skyhawk last stand,

Buddy Skyhawk.

[CROWD CHEERING]

He's going to win. I just know he is.

He's one heck of a driver, all right.

I remember teaching him how to shift gears on my old tractor.

He crashed into your barn the first time you let him solo.

Yep! Heh, heh! I'm just so proud of Buddy.

I love him so much.

[ENGINES REVVING]

[TIRES SCREECHING]

[CROWD CHEERING]

ANNOUNCER: There he is. The winner of the 10,000-dollar first prize

is Buddy Skyhawk!

[CROWD CHEERING, WHOOPING]

WOMAN: Nice going, man.

[CROWD WHOOPS]

We did it, lady--

You, me, and Blue Heart. Blue Heart?

Yeah, Linda made it for my birthday.

Blue Heart was pulling for me.

Always knew you had it in you, Buddy.

I guess you'll make the last payment on your rig now.

That's right.

Well, let's all go celebrate.

You got it. Oh, Buddy...

Oh, yeah. I can't.

I got this great job tomorrow.

Big computer outfit, they're trying me out.

This could be the turning point for me.

No more chickens. No more sugar beets.

No more 28-hour days or three-hour turnarounds.

BUDDY: Yeah. That's great, kids.

MAN: Well, we'll take a raincheck on it.

We got to get you out of the rain. Come on.

[♪]

Hey, could you fill 'er up? You got it.

Hey, Skyhawk, I heard you done real good today!

Yeah. Fooled them again.

Say, Skyhawk, I'm looking for a load. I need one.

Got any ideas?

No. I'm lucky to have one myself.

There's a load of alfalfa cubes

looking for a ride to Wichita.

Talk to Ben over at P&G Freight.

Oh, yeah, I'll do that, Callie. Thanks.

Sure.

You still hauling chickens for Riskin Farms?

Maybe tomorrow, but not today.

I got a load of computers from Bellwood Electronics--

All-night run down to Corpus Christi.

There's a major tie-up on the freeway.

Just before the scales.

It's gonna be at least a three-hour delay.

Damn.

I got to be there by sundown.

Hey, no big deal.

Why don't you take the 171 cutoff?

That'll run you down through Hubbard.

And then catch the 31. It'll deliver you back to the 35

just north of Waco.

Thanks, Callie.

Hey, Buddy,

what are friends for?

[♪]

Bird Dog to Hammer.

We've got a fat rabbit running southbound.

[♪]

MAN [ON RADIO]: Rabbit's half a mile from the Hubbard cutoff.

He's changing lanes. Looks like we got a go.

[♪]

Bird Dog to Dragnet.

Rabbit's on the 171.

He's all yours.

What's going on, officer?

Bridge up ahead took some slight damage

during yesterday's storm.

What's your gross? Fifty ton.

Son, I'm sorry. You'll either have to go back the way you came

or take the detour.

What's the detour?

The old quarry road.

Bring you back to the highway in five miles.

What shape's it in?

We've sent quite a few rigs down today.

You won't have a problem.

Okay, great. Thanks, officer.

Dragnet to Hammer.

Rabbit's on the platter,

and we're on the back door.

[♪]

What the hell?

Get out!

Aw, come on, man.

I'm just a poor guy trying to make a living.

Well, you want to live through this, don't you?

Hmm?

[GRUNTS]

Frisk him.

Come on,

Don't shoot me.

Please. I got a wife, I got a k-kid on the way.

You're breaking my heart.

These guys, they got sad stories to tell,

don't they? Huh?

Hey, these guys are hijacking my rig!

They're trying to kill me.

Really?

Well, if they don't,

we will.

Lose something, Frank? Why don't you walk

his sorry butt off the edge of that cliff.

[♪]

You guys aren't gonna get away with this.

You know, they didn't even have truck rodeos

when I was pushing a rig years ago.

I didn't know you drove trucks back then.

Yeah. Is that when they ran on steam?

Did I ever tell you about the time

that I lost my brakes on the grade?

No, but I'm sure you're getting ready to.

Well, I had a load of sticks comin' out of Provo.

I hit the top of the gorge comin' down--

Excuse me, C.D.

I'm sorry to bother you, Walker,

but it's about Buddy. What happened?

It's just that I don't know.

He always calls to say when he's coming home.

He didn't call? No.

He should have been heading back from Corpus Christi hours ago.

Maybe he broke down.

Not the way he keeps his rig tuned.

There's more.

I just got a call from the dispatcher.

He said that Buddy never delivered his load.

He was awful mad.

He said he was gonna call the police

and report Buddy for hijacking it.

C.D.: Shoot. He wouldn't do a thing like that.

I hate to say this, Linda,

but maybe he had an accident.

Could you check for me?

Yeah, I'll check.

Look, why don't you go sit by the phone.

We'll call you as soon as we find out anything, okay?

Don't worry.

Thanks, Walker.

TRIVETTE: All right. Yeah, thanks.

Highway Patrol has no record

of any big-rig accidents yesterday.

No Buddy Skyhawk in any hospital or jail

between here and Corpus Christi.

No record of Skyhawk's rig coming through

the weigh station on the interstate, either.

That means he had to turn off before he got there.

But why? It's a straight shot down the interstate.

The only other route is the Hubbard turnoff.

Let's take a ride.

[♪]

Now, why would he take the cutoff?

That would add two, what, three hours to the trip, right?

Look at this, Trivette.

There were flares across this road.

I'll call in and find out what accident they had out here.

Okay.

Yeah. This is Trivette.

DISPATCHER [ON RADIO]: Go ahead, Ranger.

TRIVETTE: We're out at the 171.

You got any accidents

in the last 48 hours out here?

DISPATCHER: Stand by, Ranger Trivette.

We'll run a search on traffic incidents.

No, ranger, state police report nothing in that area.

No reports of accidents in this area.

A heavy rig went down this dirt road.

Why would it do that?

Let's find out.

[ENGINE TURNS]

The rig slammed on its brakes here.

Looks like they locked up.

Looks like the big rig was cut off by another vehicle

coming from the other direction.

The fatter tire's probably a pickup.

Four-by-four.

Judging from the footprints,

three men.

Four.

It looks like we got another vehicle

stopping the rig from behind,

with two men in it.

Yeah, I know.

All right, that's seven men altogether.

But only one of them's wearing cowboy boots.

Buddy Skyhawk wears cowboy boots.

So do we.

And half of Texas.

[♪]

Trivette!

Is he alive?

Barely.

Get a medevac chopper here now.

Hang in there, Buddy.

[SIREN WAILING]

[PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]

Did you find out anything?

I checked the police-impound yards,

truck stops, maintenance centers.

No sign of the rig?

Like it vanished off the face of the earth.

How's Buddy?

They're still working on him.

Let's get out of here.

Nothing we can do.

You said "hot"? Now listen, that truly offends me,

because-- I'm gonna tell you why.

Fact is, my brother-in-law owns a pawnshop.

Business is booming. I'm just helping out here.

Now, I got a terrific buy on an eight-speed blender,

still in the box. No? Okay, uh...

How about a, uh, ...45 automatic, huh?

Can't be too careful. A lot of bad guys around these days.

You, sir, you look like a portable CD type of guy.

Am I right, am I right? Hey, take a look at this.

Where are you going?

We're just getting started.

What's the matter? Deer rifles--

Aah!

Hello, Cobalt.

Oh. Rangers Walker and Trivette.

What a pleasant surprise.

Nice to see you again. Nice to see you again.

You got my hand-- Right where I want it.

I thought we agreed you wouldn't do this anymore.

This was the last time-- Honest.

It's sort of a "going out of business" sale. That's it.

How will I explain this to your parole officer?

'Cause he's gonna be very unhappy with you.

Come on, Trivette. Give me a break just this once.

Off the trunk, please.

Tell us who hijacked a load of computers.

Computers? Gee, you got me.

Yeah, we do.

Okay, okay, okay. Look, I was tellin' the truth.

But I do know somebody that bought a bunch of computers.

What kind?

Bellwood Electronics-- top of the line.

Keep going.

Ouch!

The Cuadroza brothers, all right?

They're gonna sell them

on the black market in Guadalajara.

Where are they located?

I'll write the address down for you immediately.

Please let me, huh? Ow!

Jeez!

[MAN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

MAN: Hold on a minute, boys.

We're looking for Manny Cuadroza.

Texas Rangers.

Yeah? What do you want him for?

Well, if you're Manny,

we want to know

who sold you these computers.

I've got nothing to say.

It's either here or downtown. [YELLS]

[GRUNTS]

[GRUNTING]

[GLASSES SHATTER]

Now do you feel like talking?

Yeah. Yeah, sure. All right, I wanna know

who hijacked those computers.

¿Quien Sabes?

You know how it works on the street.

Some middleman give you a call, cash changes hands,

And they tell you where to pick it up.

I never saw the hijackers.

What did you see? Nothing.

The only thing I know is they're bad.

And they're here to do big business.

[GRUNTS]

[♪]

[MEDICAL MACHINERY BEEPING]

[RASPILY] Walker, is that you?

Yeah, it's me, Buddy.

They took my load. Yeah, I know.

How did they get you on the old quarry road?

Cops had a roadblock.

Cops?

Cops were involved?

I think it started at the truck stop.

I saw a green van at my back door.

Okay, just take it easy, Buddy.

We'll check into it.

By the way,

I've got something for you.

It saved your life, Buddy.

It stopped the bullet.

I told you it was good luck.

Yeah, you did.

Cops, roadblocks...

Think he's delirious?

Well, maybe.

I think I know a way to find out.

Are you crazy?

What's so crazy about it?

All I'm asking for is a rig and 100 TV sets.

Where am I supposed to get the money?

From your sting fund.

But what if they don't even take the bait?

I mean, how are they gonna know about this shipment?

Oh, no,

Not him again.

You know, that's-- That's gratitude.

When I risked my life for you.

CORDELL: Okay, Cobalt, here's the deal.

I want you to put the word out on the street

that you can broker 100 TV sets,

and that your client is willing to pay top dollar

if he can take delivery by tomorrow.

Yeah? What's in it for me?

You get to have your merchandise back.

Hey, come on, man, look, I am a man of honor, okay?

Hey, Earl, get His Honor out of here.

EARL: Come on, let's go. Oof.

So who's gonna drive the truck?

[MOCK CRYING]

CORDELL: No, Trivette, when you downshift,

you have to double-clutch.

TRIVETTE: Okay, okay.

Okay, now apply the brakes gently.

[BRAKES SCREECHING]

[EXHALES AUDIBLY]

Well, that wasn't too bad,

but your "gently" needs a little work.

[♪]

How many times do I have to tell you?

pretend like you're going uphill.

Don't yell! You're making me nervous.

Who's making who nervous?

[TOOT]

You're doing all right.

But you can lose the horn.

[♪]

Whew.

Not bad, Trivette.

Well, is it over?

Now I'd like to see you back up.

Aw, I gotta back up?

Well, you should be able to. It's easy.

It's-- How easy?

Well, it's like, um...

roller-blading backwards through a revolving door

carrying three sets of skis.

Walker, I got a comment and a question.

What? One, I hate your guts.

Two, why can't you drive this tonight?

Because my face has been spattered all over the news.

Now, what's the first thing you do when you back up?

Pray.

Look in your rearview mirror.

You're late.

Sorry, Frank. I-- Sorry is

between "spit" and "sympathy" in the dictionary, Callie.

You want to be part of this outfit,

you'd damn sure better be here when the meeting starts.

MAN: So what do you got for us?

I got a reefer of pork, plumbing fixtures,

and a load of steel, but that's iffy.

That's not good enough!

I told you, I want things that I can turn over in 12 hours.

You keep your ears open for liquor and television sets.

I got major buyers waiting for both.

Okay.

Okay, well, what about those computers?

Oh, yeah.

Worked out real nice.

Here's your cut-- 10 grand.

We pass out the shares at the beginning of the meeting,

sort of an incentive to get here on time.

You didn't hurt that driver, did you?

Buddy Skyhawk-- He's a nice guy.

Trust me, Callie.

He didn't feel a thing.

Oh, God, Frank, I--

Hey! You came to me with your sad story

about getting your butt pinched

by guys with initials for first names.

Welcome to the club, sweetheart.

Liquor and television sets, Callie.

You get that through your birdbrain airhead?

[QUIETLY] Yeah.

Hey, good buddy, coming up on a truck stop.

Okay, go ahead and pull on in.

And don't hit the pumps.

Easy for you to say.

Yes, sir. Fill 'er up, good buddy.

I'll be back in a second.

Got a load of TVs bound for San Antone in there.

[KNOCKS ON TRUCK, CLICKS TONGUE] Okay.

♪ Yes I'm an ol' cowhand ♪

Boys, the bears are bad out there tonight.

I've seen at least 10 of them on my way in from Denton.

Yeah, them smokies are getting thick as thieves out there.

No doubt about that.

What you hauling?

I got enough TVs on board

to make couch potatoes out of half of San Antone.

[LAUGHS]

MAN: Who you hauling for?

Independent out of Tulsa. Thank you.

What else can I get you?

Could you wrap me up bear claws

and fill that up for me?

Say, they got any extra loads?

I really need one, I do.

Not that I know of.

Can you tell me the fastest way into San Antone?

San Antone? I haven't been out this way.

I usually run to K.C.

Well, best way to get to San Antone is to get on I-35

and go south far as you can till you get there.

Hey, Chilton, you might wanna check with Farley.

I thought I overheard him saying something about

needing someone to ride shotgun tonight.

Oh, that's good, Callie. Thank you.

Well, my friend,

keep them between the ditches.

Yes, sir.

Chilton, your hat, there. Oh, thanks.

CALLIE: You think those smokies were heavy south of Denton,

wait'll you see them on the 35 between here and Waco tonight.

Is that right?

I'd avoid it if you need to make good time.

I do need to make good time.

CALLIE: Take the Hubbard cutoff.

You know, highway 171 to the 31.

That ought to give you pedal to the metal right into Waco.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Here. Keep the change.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Pleasure doing business with you.

And thank you.

[♪]

Bird Dog to Hammer.

We got us a real fat rabbit.

Walker, that van's still following me.

Good. Looks like the hook is set.

The waitress at the truck stop's the one that baited me.

Could be.

The Hubbard cutoff's coming up in a half a mile.

What lane you in?

Middle.

Move over now.

All right.

[HORN HONKS]

Trivette, get a grip.

You said now.

Bird Dog to Dragnet, we gotta go.

Rabbit's moving toward the cutoff.

Should be easy. Looks like he's drunk.

[SIREN WAILS]

Bird Dog to Dragnet. Scrub the operation.

He's comin' right towards you with a real smoky on his tail.

[ENGINE REVS]

[SIREN WAILING]

What's going on up there?

A patrol car's stopping us.

All right, Buddy said cops were involved, so be careful.

All right.

[TIRES SCREECH]

[WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY OVER COP RADIO]

What seems to be the problem, officer?

License and registration.

Step down out of the rig, please.

Have you been drinking?

No, I haven't been drinking.

Straight line, heel to toe.

Great. Great.

Stand square. Put both hands out to your side.

Left hand, right hand, right hand, left hand.

Spell Mississippi.

M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.

Very good. Thank you.

No. Thank you, officer.

Guess you were telling the truth about not drinking.

Yeah, yeah.

But I am gonna write you up for reckless driving.

Have a good evening, you hear?

You-- [CAR DOOR CLOSES]

Oh... [CAR ENGINE STARTS]

What happened?

Got a damn ticket.

[SCOFFS] You didn't want me to blow our cover.

[SIGHS] Bad break, dang it.

We probably scared them off.

What do we do now?

I'll think of something.

No chance. Absolutely not.

You blew your budget.

Alex, we were this close.

Are you brain dead? What in the hell ever possessed you

to let him drive a truck in the first place?

Hey! Really.

You broke my operational bank--

$5,000 on the truck and trailer rental,

plus $30,000 in damages from Phil the TV King?

Cordell, I should've been driving that truck.

You may not know this,

but I can push one of them big rigs.

I'll never forget one time I was a road in Arkansas,

just winding through the mountains,

slicker than a gut, rain everywhere--

C.D., are you sure you'd like to drive?

You bet your bottom dollar, I would.

If you're willing to drive, I think I know where to get a rig.

Where are you gonna get the truck?

At the impound. Dallas P.D. confiscated one this morning.

But there's just one other thing--

Yeah, what's that?

Didn't you get a load of liquor in this morning?

Yeah, I mean...

so what?

I'd like to load the rig with your liquor.

Oh... Heh, heh.

W-w-wait a minute.

If we lose that load of liquor,

I'm in a hell of a lot of trouble.

What's going to happen? You're gonna be driving.

If you're gonna be in the trailer,

why the hell does it have to be loaded?

I don't wanna take the rig over the scale empty,

in case someone's watching.

Well, that...

That makes-- Makes sense.

Besides, I'm not gonna be in the back of the truck...

Trivette is.

No end to the persecution.

I'll be following you guys in my truck.

Trivette, you still have that tracking device

that you keep wanting me to use?

Satellite triangulation?

It could follow a rat through a wall if it wanted.

It better. I want to take down the whole operation

instead of just the hijackers.

Don't bust them on the road.

Bust them on their home turf.

You got it. That's bright.

Why don't you guys go pick up the rig

and load it with the liquor.

I'll go talk to Cobalt about putting the word out.

Cordell, wait just a minute, would you?

Now, you're sure that liquor's gonna be all right?

C.D., nothing will happen to your liquor.

Coffee and a few kind words, honey.

We'll start with some coffee. Thank you.

Can I top that off for you?

You bet.

Haven't seen you through here before.

I generally run west out of Denver.

Who you hauling for?

Orsenoff brothers.

The liquor wholesaler.

C.D.: I'm taking over for their southbound driver.

He's getting married.

This guy weighs 120 pounds, about 6'4" tall.

Wouldn't make a racket trodding on dry leaves.

He's marrying this little gal about 5' tall.

She weighs about 5 pounds less than a baby grand piano.

Life's funny, ain't it?

Yeah. You know, I just heard.

Traffic's really bad.

It's a three-hour delay.

It's like a parking lot up at the scales.

Scales? It's bad.

Ohh...

There is a way around it,

if you're interested.

C.D.: Tell me about it.

CALLIE: Well, you just go down Route 131 to the...

[♪]

[TRUCK DOOR CLOSES]

[ENGINE STARTS]

There's green van on your back door, C.D.

Do you seem him?

Yeah. Yeah, I got him.

Okay. I'm pulling out.

Cordell, they're sending me

to the same place they sent Buddy and Jimmy.

CORDELL: Okay. I'm tracking him.

Bird Dog to Dragnet.

The rabbit's on 171. he's all yours.

Returning to base.

Cordell, this roadblock looks good to me.

CORDELL: Okay, be careful, C.D.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

but we have a damaged bridge up ahead.

What's your gross? About 20 tons.

[BEEPING]

It's only about 3 miles.

I hope it's in good shape.

I got some expensive glass back here.

Oh, yeah. County maintains it. You should be okay.

Good. Much obliged.

[BEEPING]

CORDELL: Okay, you guys be careful.

I'm gonna lay back and track you to their base.

CORDELL: You guys be ready.

How'd it go?

Smooth. You're working out a lot better

than that lady in Abilene.

Who knows? You may last longer.

Hey, Callie, what did that old Texas Ranger want?

What old Texas ranger?

C.D. Parker, the one in the green Mackinaw.

Boy, he was a pistol in his day, heh.

He's still working for them sometimes, I understand.

[♪]

Get out of the truck, old man.

Bird Dog to Hammer.

Scrub the mission. It's a setup.

The driver is a Texas Ranger.

Repeat. Scrub the mission.

Too late for that.

Hammer to Dragnet, did you hear that?

We copy.

Well, get in here and cover us.

Tell this johnny-come-lately to cool it, will you?

You got somebody watching your back door, ranger?

C.D.: You better hope somebody's watching yours.

Maybe they're inside, huh?

Come on.

Walker, we've been made. They got C.D.

I'm on my way.

[♪]

[BEEPING]

We're opening up the door, ranger.

Throw out your gun.

Get up inside there.

Drop it.

If you want him to live another day,

you throw that gun down.

[COCKS GUN]

Get this old man in there.

If you have rangers in there,

then there's probably more on our tail.

Check the rig. They're probably using a homer.

Good.

I got it.

[BEEPING CEASES]

Be careful, Fiske. He may still be alive.

[♪]

[GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS]

Where'd they go? I don't know!

Wrong answer!

Aah!

Where'd they go?

Okay! Okay!

[PEOPLE SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

Tell you, boy, you're gonna spend

a hell of a lot of time with Uncle Bud,

if you hang around with this fella,

hijacking, kidnapping two Texas Rangers.

Well, there's going to be two less Texas Rangers.

[BOTH GRUNT]

You all right? Yeah, I'm okay.

Take them down to the old post road. Cap them.

Drop their bodies in that mine shaft

we used for that gas truck driver.

It was almost a full minute

before I heard that dude hit bottom.

If you think that was a fall,

why don't we see how hard you can--

Don't do it, Jimmy, Don't.

You the best thing they could throw at us?

We'll be in business for a long time.

[CHUCKLES]

[♪]

What the?

[GRUNTS]

No! No! Not that way!

[GRUNTS]

No! Not again! Please!

[GUN CLICKS]

He's out of bullets. Let's go get him.

[GRUNTS]

[CHOKING]

[GRUNTING]

[♪]

Cordell, just look what's happened

to that truckload of booze!

I'm sorry about that, C.D.

You promised me that nothing would happen!

Can't be right every time.

Looks like Elliot Ness has been here.

Don't y'all be running off anywhere.

I'm gonna get a whole carload of booze in a few minutes.

I got California coolers,

Texas white lightning,

Oklahoma sooners back there.

We got chili, we got buffalo wings,

you can shoot pool.

There are all kinds of things to do here.

Why are you smiling like a damn Cheshire cat?

C.D., I said I'm sorry. What else can I do?

It breaks my heart for them to go to Flannery's.

Oh, they'll be back.

Good news. Buddy's out of the hospital.

With Callie Spangler turning state's evidence,

Slattery and his gang will never see the light of day.

This calls for a celebration.

With what?

This place is quiet as a buggy whip factory.

Here we go again, C.D.

Jimmy, I lost a load of booze

in the line of service.

I should be compensated. Well, the good news is

is that the DA and the mayor happen to agree with you.

Good. Yes,

and they're going to present you with--

Are you ready for this?

- an official commendation

and a certificate of gratitude

personally signed by the mayor to C.D. Parker

for his selfless service

and devotion to the community.

TRIVETTE: Hear! Hear! Hear! Hear!

Are they gonna mail me a check?

C.D., it'll look great above the bar.

Nothing looks great above the bar

unless you've got booze beneath the bar!

Where in the hell are you all going?

TRIVETTE: Flannery's.

For what?

For a drink... Celebrate.

Deserters. That's what they are.

Deserters.

[SIGHS]

[♪]