Original subtitles

Ever been in this part of the country before?

I used to work summers up here during college.

Yeah? It's changed a lot since then.

Clear-cut.

See those trees down there?

The ones right alongside of the road?

They're only a couple of hundred yards deep, and just behind them,

that's all clear-cut.

They call that a visual corridor.

Most of the main roads here in Oregon are lined like that.

Why do you think they do that?

Well, some say it's good forest management.

Others say it's fire protection.

And then there's those that say it's so the public will think

they're driving through a big, healthy forest.

But I guess we can make our own minds up to all of that, can't we?

More people should see it from up here.

You know, they say 85% of the old growth forest has already been cut.

If it wasn't for the Forest Service protecting public lands,

there'd be nothing left.

Who knows when it's all gonna stop?

There's got to be an answer.

A timber summit was planned, but it got cancelled.

Yeah, I know. That's why I'm up here.

And to find out why an old friend let me down.

Amy Chandler. You know her?

Mister, everybody knows Amy Chandler.

Even your own people know you're cutting illegally!

That's why Lopez was killed! To shut him up!

Out of the way, lady!

Not until you stop raping the forest!

You're ruining the watershed.

You're silting up the river.

Hypocrites! You live in wooden houses!

Your paychecks are printed on paper pulp!

Break it up.

You people are neighbors.

You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Tree-killers. Tree-killers!

Braddock, you want to sign a complaint?

Damn right, sheriff.

And then I'm gonna deliver these logs to the mill.

Amy, I'm gonna have to take you in.

I warned you about breaking your restraining order.

What about them? You tell me, huh?

Who's restraining them from destroying

one of the last virgin forests in the Pacific Northwest?

My men replant what they cut, lady.

I want those trees to grow as much as you do.

So you can cut 'em down again!

A tree farm is not a forest, Foxworth!

So what do you suggest? That we just shut down the entire industry?

Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

What about the people in the towns of this state

who depend on logging for their survival?

What about the spotted owl?

The marbled murrelets, the whole damn ecosystem?

I said that's enough. Amy, get in the car.

Now the rest of you clear out of here or I'll throw you all in jail!

When are you gonna do something about that wife of yours, Jack?

I'm not.

That's why we're separated, remember?

Just let me go. I can do it, okay?

Well, as if this town ain't hurtin' enough,

with costs goin' up, the mill goin' automated.

That lady and her tree-head cost me two hours.

You tell her next time she tries to block my truck,

I ain't stoppin'.

Hi, I'm looking for Amy Chandler.

I just saw her come in.

Yeah, she's with Sheriff Delaney.

Come on, I'll show you.

Come on, Bill, where's your guts?

Can't you see what they're doing?

What they're doing is perfectly legal.

Since when is murder legal?

Look, we've been through this before.

What happened to Lopez was an accident.

Logging is dangerous.

Now, I'm warning you.

One more time and I'm keeping you here.

Then you better clean out that cell, Bill,

because until they stop clear-cutting or you re-open that investigation,

I am going to be out there every day!

Same old fire.

MacGyver, what are you doing here?

Oh, guess.

The timber summit.

So I pulled out and canceled it. So what?

I wouldn't mind knowin' why.

Ask the loggers.

Now, what is that supposed to mean?

It means I'm tired of waiting for the system to work

while they keep strip mining the forest.

Amy...

Amy,

the Phoenix Foundation worked for months

to put this summit together. And you supported the idea.

That was before the cover-up.

What cover-up?

Look, not here. We'll talk at my house.

Come on.

He was killed the day before yesterday.

And everybody's chalking it up to an accident.

His name was Lopez.

He was a chokerman up at the Half Moon Logging Camp.

Anyway, three days ago, he calls me up out of the blue

and said he might be in danger because of something he had found out.

He told me he had proof, that his boss, Foxworth,

was violating his cutting contract with the Forest Service.

Proof?

Well, that's all he told me.

And then he suddenly said, "Check out Betsy,"

and he hung up.

Who's Betsy?

I don't know.

And the next morning, I look in the paper and I find this.

And that's why you pulled out of the summit?

Don't you get it?

That slimeball Foxworth must have had him murdered to keep him quiet.

No, it says here, it was an accident.

It was no accident.

And there's no way I'm gonna sit down and pow wow

with the animals who did it.

Amy.

Even if you're right about Lopez,

declaring war on the loggers is not the answer.

Then what is?

Compromise.

Finding a win-win solution so they'll listen to you.

And so the hundreds of good, honest people who depend on logging

don't get wiped out overnight.

You sound just like my husband.

Well, he sounds like a smart guy.

I'm sorry I never met him.

What happened between you two?

We separated about six months ago.

I guess we couldn't find a win-win solution.

Tell you what.

I'll reschedule the summit on one condition.

You help me find out what happened to Lopez.

Amy, come on.

Look, they still need a chokerman up at the camp.

You know the work. No one around here knows you.

I came here to save the summit, not go undercover.

What kind of summit is it gonna be

if the loggers are being represented by criminals with something to hide?

Okay. If I do, you got to promise to sit down with those loggers

and stop fanning the fire on this thing.

The loggers won't come.

You just get your people there.

I'll worry about the loggers.

Okay.

It's a deal.

I promise.

Foreman around?

Yeah, that'd be Jack. Right over there.

Okay, Harry, cinch it down.

You Jack?

Name's MacGyver.

I understand you're looking for a chokerman.

Chokerman, huh?

You got any experience?

Well, I worked summers as a rigging slinger back in college.

Now, that was a long time ago.

Chokerman's the most dangerous job on the line.

I can handle it.

Okay.

Go sign up and get your gear at the supply shed.

But watch yourself.

Last chokerman didn't.

We had to scrape him off a log.

I'm telling you, Glass, I've pushed the limit.

You listen to me, Mr. Foxworth.

You're five loads behind

and we're floatin' those logs offshore tomorrow night.

And I'm telling you, I've diverted all the logs I can.

Our arrangement was for a million board feet in whole logs.

Now, that freighter only has four hours to load them

when it rendezvous for the pickup.

And I intend to satisfy my contract.

Look, I've got Forest Service inspectors crawling all over me since Lopez.

And I've got a lien on your equipment.

A snap of my fingers and I own your company.

- Just like the others. - Now, wait a minute.

The Yakuza have a saying,

"The wind does not wait for the tree to bend."

I don't like being threatened, Glass.

And I don't care about your gangster garbage.

The Yakuza is not garbage, Foxworth.

It's 1,000 times more deadly than anything you can imagine.

Can't breathe.

Now, my contract with them is worth $2 million.

But more important is my reputation.

So if you do not hold up your end

and deliver the number of logs that I require,

I will cut you down like one of your trees.

Take the next two loads to Glass, the usual system.

Are you crazy?

The inspector just checked my tags.

If he checks again on my next load, he'll know I'm re-using 'em.

You heard me, just do it.

Who's the new man? Haven't seen him before.

Chokerman. I just hired him.

I'm gonna break him in real good.

I saw that guy at the sheriff station.

He was there to see Amy Chandler.

What?

Must be another one of her spies.

What if Lopez told them something before we killed him?

You take care of those loads.

I'll handle the new chokerman.

Aw, now what's the matter?

Didn't get much sleep last night?

Come on, man, you're not wrapping a Christmas present.

Choke it off!

That's lunch.

Better get some grub. You're gonna need it.

You know, up in Washington?

The environmentalists are using the Endangered Species Act

to force injunctions on logging companies.

Them dumb spotted owls again.

I heard a rumor

that timber summit might be on again.

Couldn't hurt.

I think it stinks.

Those Bambi-lovers are trying to take away our jobs.

Maybe they just want the same thing we do.

Oh, yeah? And just what would that be?

Well, to plan ahead, work out a compromise.

Before we cut past our options.

I ain't got time for this sheep dip.

I gotta get these logs to the mill.

Awful lot of red tape, huh?

Control tags, brands, marker paint.

You'd be surprised how valuable these babies are in the wrong hands.

Chaser put the tags on?

No, usually the driver.

The inspector checks 'em?

If he's got time.

And assuming he's here, which he ain't often.

There's only a handful of inspectors for the entire state.

Oh, don't mind him.

This summit idea's got everybody a little edgy.

It's up to all of us to do something.

So our grandchildren can know what a forest is.

Yeah.

You can help put up these flyers.

Give them to your friends.

If enough people become aware of the problem,

maybe we'll finally see some change.

We need all the support we can get.

We have to do something.

We have to do something!

Yeah!

This is nuts.

I'll be lucky to get this shipment put together.

Another one next month is too big a risk for me.

My Tokyo buyers are paying three times

the domestic price for the logs.

They have no interest in your risk.

We've got problems.

MacGyver's been asking questions.

He's been nosing around my tags.

Who?

The new chokerman who replaced Lopez.

I checked him out.

He works for an outfit called the Phoenix Foundation.

The ones behind the timber summit.

Don't worry. I've got it under control.

Yeah, that's what you said about Lopez.

I won't stick my neck out for any more killing.

You'll do what I tell you!

And I'm telling you to eliminate this problem now.

Or believe me, you'll have a lot more to worry about

than losing your company.

Mr. Glass, recognize it?

This is what it looks like, thanks to you log brokers.

Hi, Meg.

I was wondering if you would put this poster on your front door.

It really tells the story of how the old growth forests have been wiped out.

Gee, Amy, I don't know.

A lot of my customers depend on logging for a living.

This might kind of upset them.

You know what I mean.

Wiping out the forest is what's upsetting, Meg.

I wouldn't eat in a place with a poster like that.

Nobody supports your cause here, lady.

Why don't you go out and save the whales or something?

She's not worth it, Braddock.

No wonder her husband left her.

You can say whatever you like, Foxworth.

But I'm gonna make you stop cutting

even if I have to sabotage your equipment to do it.

Are you sure you won't put the poster up?

That girl has a violent temper.

I hope she doesn't do something that gets somebody hurt.

Oh, you look terrible.

Oh, thank you. But I found Betsy.

Who is she?

She is a truck.

Belongs to a guy named Braddock.

Braddock? He was at the bowling alley today with Foxworth

and that tree pimp, Glass.

Who's that?

A log broker.

He's been buying up bankrupt logging outfits all over the state.

You know, come to think of it, Jack did mention something

about Glass having a hold on Foxworth.

Jack? Is he the foreman up at Half Moon?

Yeah.

So since when are you friendly with a logger?

MacGyver, Jack's my husband.

Oh. Great.

He didn't mention me, did he?

Uh, no.

Not that I care. I mean, I'm glad it's over.

A logger and an environmentalist?

Who ever heard of anything so ridiculous?

Yeah. Right.

Hey, it turns out we know someone in common.

Yeah?

Yeah. Your wife.

Amy and I went to school together.

We're old friends.

Yeah, well, it looks to me like you're more than just old friends.

I saw you together at her place the other night.

Now, wait a minute, Jack. Nothing happened.

There's nothing going on. We're just old friends.

Tell me another one, MacGyver.

You believe what you want, but it's true.

Matter of fact,

I think she's still in love with you.

I don't know.

I don't know what's going on anymore.

I guess Amy and I just let this logging thing come between us.

Well, it's never too late.

Just a matter of wantin' to work it out.

All right, go ahead on the main line.

You know, MacGyver,

while we're being honest with each other,

Maybe you ought to explain what you're really doing here.

And why you've been asking people about Lopez.

Jack!

You guys okay?

You all right?

You all okay?

Jack! MacGyver!

Yeah, we're okay.

They're okay!

I don't get this at all.

Hey, boss, check this out.

What happened?

- Rig snapped. - Wrong.

I checked this gear myself this morning.

Look, it's been cut.

It's that crazy ex-wife of yours, Jack.

She said she'd sabotage the equipment.

No way!

Hey!

Amy would not deliberately hurt anyone.

You don't know her as well as you think you do, Jack.

I heard her threats, too, at the bowling alley.

Along with a dozen other townspeople.

No. Amy would not do this.

I'm calling the sheriff.

We're gonna put that lady behind bars for attempted murder.

I got to be honest, Jack. Things don't look good.

My men found these in her cabin after I brought her in.

That's crazy.

And that's not all.

We found these steel spikes in her van.

One of Frank Green's men was killed last year

when a spiked tree tore up their mill saw.

Now come on, Bill.

You know Amy would never pull a stunt like that.

The hell she wouldn't.

You know, Foxworth, you're awfully sure of yourself.

You know something we don't?

Look, Amy Chandler started this war, now she's gotta pay.

And I'm not gonna let her take the rap for something she didn't do!

And I don't need my own employees working for the wrong side.

I want you packed and out of my camp by the end of the day.

That goes for you, too, MacGyver.

Take it easy, Jack.

Let's just get our stuff.

Who was that?

The man who raised me.

He's head of Yakuza.

It's because of your sloppiness he comes and questions me.

What are you talking about?

I solved the problem, set up the girl.

She'll be out on bail making more trouble before the day is out.

And that Phoenix man is still walking around.

I fired him and Jack Chandler.

Firing a man is not the same as eliminating him.

Look, Glass...

No, you look, Foxworth!

You take a good look.

It's called yubitsume.

I made a mistake once.

And to prove my loyalty, my worth,

I cut off my own finger while the oyabun watched.

You people are crazy.

No. We are disciplined.

That's why we'll control the entire logging industry within a few years.

And if anything should go wrong,

if a single log is missing,

I will show you the way of the Yakuza.

And you will welcome the shadow of death.

There's nothing in Lopez' locker.

Then let's check out old Betsy.

Answer somethin' for me.

What's Foxworth's connection with Glass?

Aw, Glass bailed him out when he was going bankrupt.

So he could get his logs from here?

No, no, no. See, Glass only sells whole logs to Japan,

so he has to fill his orders from private timber cuts.

But most of the private lands are all logged out, right?

Which is why the demand keeps going up.

And why the Japanese will spend almost anything for logs.

Especially prime grade like these,

to keep their mills in business.

Well, why doesn't Glass get his logs from here?

Because he can't.

See, it's illegal to export whole logs

from public forest service land.

What if Glass found a way around that?

What do you mean, like stealing these logs?

Yeah.

Too complicated.

See, even if he bought off a driver,

he'd still have to get rid of the control brands,

the marker paint, then there's the tag receipts.

One of those goes to the scaling station, one of them to the mill.

Nah.

What if the loads never reached the scaling station?

And they re-use the tags.

Like these.

Old staple holes.

But the owner controls the tags.

Which means Foxworth's gotta be a part of it.

Benny, is my rig ready?

All locked down and ready to go, Braddock.

Jack, get to the sheriff.

Tell him to check with the scaling stations

and the mills.

See if they got any receipts for Braddock's loads.

And try and find out where Glass could hide stolen logs.

If Braddock is avoiding the scales,

chances are it's somewhere in the opposite direction.

What about you?

I'm gonna hitch a ride with Braddock.

I am telling you, Delaney,

we don't have time for all this red tape.

And I told you, I can't go charging in on Glass

just because you think he might be dirty.

Now, you just stay here.

I'll call and check on those receipts.

- Hey, Will. - Hey, Jack.

Amy's lawyer's in with her.

Bond's posted. She'll be out soon.

Oh, good.

Uh, listen, could you do me a favor?

Could you find out what properties Glass owns in the area?

It's, uh, kinda urgent.

I'll see what I can do.

There you go.

The only place that Glass owns in this part of the state

is Cal Harding's old saw mill.

Cal Harding?

I thought he was fighting the bank for his place.

Glass bought him out. About a month ago.

Thanks, Will. I owe you one.

Thanks for your help, Howard. I'll give you a call later.

Hi, Amy.

What are you doing here?

You were right, Jack.

The scaling station hasn't had a single receipt

from Braddock in the last two weeks.

What are you talking about?

MacGyver thinks that Braddock has been smuggling logs to Glass.

I knew it! Didn't I tell you, Bill?

But now he's hitched a ride on Braddock's truck

and if my hunch is right,

he's going to be at Cal Harding's old place.

So, come on. Let's go.

Now hold it right there.

Nobody's going anywhere till I get a proper warrant.

Oh, that could take forever.

It'll take two hours.

I'll go find a judge.

You two stay put, understand?

This could be it. I can prove what's been going on.

- Amy! - I'm not waiting.

Amy, slow down.

This could be dangerous.

He's right.

I always told you she's trouble, Jack.

You should have left while you still had the chance.

No, the freighter made its offshore pick-ups

in Alaska and Washington exactly on schedule.

You can tell our friends in Tokyo that I expect my money

as soon as they confirm the logs on board.

No, this is the last load, this month.

The shipment will be going directly to Japan.

What is this?

I found them snooping around.

What about the guy from the Phoenix Foundation?

Didn't see him.

MacGyver's the least of your worries.

The sheriff knows we're here.

When he shows up, you're history.

Not when he learns how you broke in and sabotaged my equipment.

Unfortunately, you had a little accident.

Stop!

Jack!

Hold her hands so I can tie her up.

Let go! Let go of me!

Recycling happens to be one of your concepts I agree with.

Put them on the conveyor.

You can't do this!

Watch me.

You. Get up.

I told you to get up.

Come on. Come on.

Come on!

Hey!

We intercepted this log boom halfway out, sheriff.

Uh, Coast Guard reports boarding the Kogo Maru.

She was crammed full of logs.

Roger, Will.

Well, I'd say that just about does it.

Nice work, sheriff.

It would have been a lot easier if you'd listened to me

instead of taking the law into your own hands.

Don't blame Jack. It was my fault.

I guess that's my problem. I act before I think.

Maybe it is time I start listening to what other people have to say.

And try and work things out.

Maybe if we stop making short-term demands,

We can find some long-term solutions.

What do you think about bringing this new-found philosophy

to a timber summit, huh?

I made you a promise, MacGyver.

I'm ready to sit down with the loggers whenever they want.

I'll get 'em there.

How about tomorrow night, at town hall?

You got a date.