Clear and Present Danger Page #2

before I move an inch.

You got it.

- I need a Comsat link.

- You got it.

- An insertion team.

- You can have a brigade.

Just 12 men who understand

discretionary warfare.

Special Ops. Spanish speaking.

- How are you today, sir?

- Very well.

- The purpose of your visit?

- Business.

- What business are you in?

- I sell tractors.

Well, I build them, then I sell them.

- And how long will you be staying?

- A few days.

I know it's a risk,

but what's the alternative?

Zapping a retina with 6,000 rads

of cobalt? Not a pretty picture.

Prettier than a tumour

spreading in the cranial sack.

- What is her name?

- I'm trying to have lunch.

Listen... Hungry?

- Starved.

- We could forget about lunch.

- We did that last time, remember?

- Do I remember? Do you?

- Vaguely.

- Maybe I should refresh your memory.

- Maybe you should.

- Yourtable is ready now.

- We don't need it. I'll get a cab.

- Moira?

- Hi! How are you? How's Jack?

- He's great, just great.

- You still with the FBI?

- The Director's office.

- Who was that?

- My new friend.

Seor Roberto Landa.

- Doesn't he look like Jack?

- Does he? I can't quite see.

- Only Latin.

- A Latin Jack? This I have to see.

I have to go. Bye.

Well, we know it's not piracy.

Pirates steal boats.

They had plane tickets to Bogota

the morning afterthe killings.

- Hey, Dan.

- How's it going?

We're sneaking up on a motive.

Dan Murray, Bureau.

- Ralph Williams, DEA.

- Said anything yet?

- Yeah. "We're innocent."

- Till the DA offers them a deal.

He already has.

Regular or extra crispy?

Either referring to fried chicken

or the electric chair.

Are you picturing a hit?

On a respectable American

businessman and his family?

You're assuming he's respectable.

We have memos, letters,

credit card statements,

phone bills, everything

you could need to break his code.

- What's this?

- Old high school yearbook.

- Sweethearts, football team...

- You think?

- I don't know.

- OK, let's see what we've got.

- No cream?

- There wasn't any.

Let's startwith birthdays.

Bet your ATM code is your birthday.

- Close.

- In reverse?

Alright, his birthday is...

That would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Let's try it in reverse.

No. His wife's?

No. His son's?

- This could take...

- Months.

Son's in reverse. This is for you.

No. Wife's in reverse.

No. Daughter's in reverse.

You've got to change your ATM code.

No. Wife, daughter. Nothing.

Got it.

I got it!

Wife's birth month,

daughter's day, son's year.

But not in reverse. Sorry.

Print me out that one.

Good boy.

Three years ago, Hardin received

an infusion of foreign capital

which he invested in 20 major

shopping centres in the US.

In the middle of the recession,

he posted record profits,

at least to the IRS, who he feared

more than his own partners.

To them, according to the stockholder

statements he was giving them,

the shopping centres

weren't doing nearly as well.

But he wasjust skimming

most of the profits, $650 million,

and putting it in accounts

in Luxembourg, Panama

and the Cayman Islands.

They killed him for it.

Who?

- His partners.

- Who were his partners?

It seems clear that he was laundering

money for the Colombian drug cartels.

Jesus! I knew the man for 40 years.

We went to school together.

We almostwent

into business together.

That would have been good.

The press is going to

have a field day with this.

- No one outside this room knows.

- They will. They always do.

It will come up, you're right

about that. When it does,

we'll downplay your relationship

with Hardin somehow.

- What?

- What?

- We'll defuse it.

- Do you disagree?

No.

Well, actually, yes. I would go

in the other direction.

If a reporter asked if you and Hardin

were friends, I'd say "good friends".

If they asked if you were good

friends, I'd say"lifelong friends".

Give them no place to go,

nothing to report. No story.

I mean, it's no sense in

defusing a bomb after it's already...

...it's already gone off.

- Damn!

- Sh*t!

Do you see him?

Alright. Move your team

two metres to the left.

That's it. Stop.

Touch that light-coloured grass.

Sniper at your feet.

Nothing here, Sergeant Major.

- Damn!

- He is good.

Thatwas close.

How's he moving so fast?

I see him. Come in.

Straight in. Now. Run!

Keep coming.

Stop. To your left. To your left.

And stop. Sniper at your feet.

What is it?

He had lunch here.

McDonald's quarter-pounder.

With cheese.

Damn.

- Damn!

- That's four.

Alright, you won this one.

Come on out!

Soldier, how did you get

that close to me?

Sniper approached instructor by being

a sneaky bastard, Sergeant Major!

Do you know the fine for littering

in California, Chavez?

Yes, sir!

I saw you on the sniper course.

You looked good.

- Just about finished here, Sergeant?

- Yes, sir.

Looking forward to taking

some leave with your wife and kids?

- Don't have any wife or kids, sir.

- What do you have?

You don't call anybody often, you

don't write or receive many letters.

Who are you, sir, if I may ask?

Mr Clark and I are putting together

a mission. My team is a part of it.

You'd be gone up to six months,

after which, if you're not dead,

you'd have your choice

of assignments in Special Ops.

...defusing an issue that was

snowballing into another scandal.

"The New York Times"reports that

you and Hardin were good friends.

No, not good friends.

We were lifelong friends.

I said that. I said that.

I told him to say that.

- What?

- I didn't say anything.

- But you were thinking something.

- No.

I was just distracted by the trouble

you were having with your ensemble.

Well, it's not every day

you have to look trustworthy.

- Who told who to say what?

- It's not important.

- The President?

- Yeah.

Mom says she makes more money

than the President.

She's probably right. Bye.

Thank you, Dr Ryan, for the

information you've shared with us.

- Thank you, Senator.

- We have to help the Colombians

in their struggle to curtail

the drug cartels' activities.

However, I'm confused.

How do you see additional funds

advancing this programme

from the failure that it is?

- You see what I'm getting at?

- No, I'm afraid I don't.

You said this effort would be

totally benign on our part.

Our assistance is limited

to supply and advice only.

I've read that.

I've also read a similar finding

written 35 years ago

regarding a little-thought-of

sliver ofjungle in Southeast Asia.

You're comparing our request

for anti-drug funds to Vietnam?

I'm comparing it to every time

a committee such as this is asked

to render judgement

based on less than all the facts.

I'm afraid I don't know

what to say to that.

You can assure us

that we have all the facts.

I thought I had.

You can further assure us then

that this increase in funds

will not be used for

any covert military action.

I don't know how

you're getting to this.

Long experience, sir.

No troops then?

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