Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Impossible Dream (2015) Movie Script
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presentation is rated pg.
This presentation deals
with mature subject matter.
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[]
[Woman gasping
and sobbing in pain]
[Gasping and groaning]
[Man barking in dari]
Salaam.
[Speaks dari]
[]
She has been in labor 15 hours.
[Guard shouts in dari]
You speak English.
We have a television
in our village.
I know who you are.
You brought medicine
to our village once.
[Sudden pained gasping]
Hold on tight.
[Panting]
What's her name?
My daughter is nilofer.
I am asad.
And her husband?
The father wants a son.
A girl can accomplish
great things
when she's free to do them.
[Praying silently]
Freedom...
Is not impossible...
But it may take time
and you do not have much.
[Bag thuds]
[Newborn bawling]
[Shouts in dari]
You looked at me
and you smiled a while
and it's never been the same
[]
I wanna know...
I wanna know you well
[]
This could be good
but you can never tell
[]
So, come on, come on
we're just getting started
all rise.
[Hushed]: This better be good.
Madame chairman, this committee
is called into emergency session
in light of new and
time-sensitive information
that may involve
military action.
Thank you, senator.
Before we begin,
let me reiterate
that this is a closed session
regarding national security,
and all testimony given
here today is sealed.
Let's see...
Mr... O'Toole?
Yes. I'm Oliver O'Toole.
These are my
colleagues, Ms. Mcinerney,
Ms. Haywith, Mr. Dorman.
And I understand you
comprise a task force from...
The d.L.O.?
That is correct.
Is this c.I.A.,
f.B.I., or n.S.A.?
U.s.p.s.
We work at the post office.
[Reporter]: That's right, Bob.
This was the image we
saw nearly two years ago,
when 12-year-old Phoebe
amidon tied a yellow ribbon
around the tree in
her grandfather's yard,
awaiting news of her mother.
Lieutenant randilynn
amidon went missing
while serving with
American troops
in Afghanistan, near
the Pakistan border.
But now, 22 months later,
with amidon still missing
and the circumstances of
her disappearance still sketchy,
and no answers in sight,
this "welcome back" ribbon
is a sad reminder
of the reputation
lieutenant amidon may
never return home to defend.
I would like to
know what bearing
four postal employees
from Denver
have on the status
of a missing American
soldier in Afghanistan.
[Oliver]: Yes, well.
Several months ago,
in the course of
performing our duties
as postal detectives
in the dead letter office,
we became acquainted
with a Phoebe amidon,
the 14-year-old daughter of
lieutenant randilynn amidon,
as well as her grandfather,
Mr. Harper Ferguson.
We came to believe
that lieutenant amidon
did not abandon her duties
the night she went missing,
and, in fact, she
conducted herself heroically
and yet, uh, sadly,
most likely, was, uh,
probably not living.
And to that, of course,
we have no comment.
Of course.
However, we now have
information to suggest
that lieutenant amidon
may well be alive
and urgently in need
of your assistance.
And that is based
on the contents
of the letter we have here?
Yes.
And you came to this
conclusion last night?
Yes, and if I may, I need
to go back a few days.
Please.
Last Thursday,
we were preparing to
travel to Washington, D.C.,
for the national miss
special delivery pageant.
Is that a real thing?
I was finalizing some
paperwork before our trip...
One of these days
my time will come...
I understand you have
something very unique
planned for the pageant.
Oh, well, this year's theme
is "delivering inspiration."
And for my talent,
I will be doing a
dramatic reading
from my unpublished
historical romance novel
renita hayweather:
Frontier duchess.
A dramatic novelist!
Amazing! Brilliant.
No one can compete with that.
We'll all be
crossing our fingers
for you this Saturday.
Thank you, Ramon.
That was very nice,
miss Rita.
- [Smooching]
- Thank you.
[]
[Nervous chuckle]
Time for us to go on our
trip to Washington, D.C.,
together.
- Oh, yeah, okay.
- Goodbye!
As always, miss
Rita... A pleasure.
[Giggling]
[Chuckling]
Oh, it must be very
hard to say goodbye.
Oh, not really.
No, not to me, my friend.
Goodbye to miss Rita.
She will win, of course,
and then she's off
traveling the world
on her triumphant goodwill tour.
[Chuckles]
Just imagine all the
places she will go...
All the people she will meet...
Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.
[]
Just a couple
more things to sign,
then it's all yours.
I am sorry for your loss.
But at least your
father made sure
that you'd be
well taken care of.
My biological father.
I never knew him.
I have your skinny
caramel steamer coming,
just the way you like it.
Oh, that's so sweet, Norman.
Who's Oliver talking to?
[Norman]: His lawyer.
He inherited so much money,
she comes to see him now.
With all of this money,
I suppose you will want to start
talking about early retirement.
And quit the post office?
Well, why not?
You're young, you're
single, and you're rich.
Ms. Bullock,
the only thing Harvey
schmidtz gave me,
besides this inheritance,
was a piece of advice.
"You never have enough
money if all you have is money."
What does that mean, anyway?
It means...
It's time to get back to work.
Have you seen your
itinerary, Ms. Mcinerney?
I'm sorry. What?
[Oliver]: Well, I made
copies for all of us
and highlighted
the events pertinent
to each of us
in corresponding colors.
You're yellow.
[Laughs] Yellow! Huh.
We arrive at 3:56.
Check in the hotel at 5:10,
arrive at the capitol grill
at 6:45 for a quiet dinner
before curfew at 10:30.
And tomorrow morning,
Rita... Right here in pink...
Registers for the
pageant at 9:00,
and you and I and
Norman leave at 9:30
to take a tour of the
library of congress,
Ford's theater, and, uh,
the national postal museum.
Postal museum?
Uh, think you're
ready to go back there?
It's time.
I'd like to get it over with.
Of course.
And then I can show you
around my old stomping grounds.
Oh. I-Is there a museum
you'd like to add?
Or... or... would you like
to visit old postal friends?
Well, Rebecca starkwell
was my only friend
at the D.C. office,
and she's on her honeymoon.
Oh. Is there an old boyfriend
to visit at the post office?
I'm not in the habit of
calling up old boyfriends.
And even if I were,
his work is...
Well, he's hardly ever in town.
Great!
It's settled then.
Taxi should be
arriving any minute.
Almost forgot!
What?
Don't ask. Can't
tell. It's a surprise.
Ahh!
Field kit!
Norman! We're going on holiday.
All you need is your suitcase.
Uh-oh.
I know it's a horrible thought,
veering off your blue itinerary
into my yellow itinerary,
but I was wondering
if we could make a tiny
detour on our way to the hotel?
A detour?
I wanted to...
Drive by the house
where I grew up,
for old time's sake.
Please?
[Exhaling]
[Norman]: Okay!
All set. Let's do D.C.
Has anyone seen my crown?
Oh! Ah.
[]
[Rita]: Where's your house?
It's gone.
Are you sure this
is the right street?
Of course I'm sure.
That's the tree I used to climb.
The garden where
we planted the...
Those bricks were
the fireplace where my
mother and I always...
[Deep breath]
18 years...
And now it's like
we were never here.
Did you plant those?
[Shane]: For mother's day.
[Quiet chuckle]
Every fall, after all the
other blooms would die,
my mom... my mom
would take the last one,
and put in a vase and say,
"look. It's the last
Rose of summer.
Still holding on."
[Chuckles softly]
Then, every fall...
Even after I went
away to college,
and every September after
that, until she moved away,
I would get an
envelope in the mail
with the last Rose of summer
wrapped in wet paper
towels, in a plastic bag.
She was sending you a message.
"Pay attention
"to the simple, little
things right in front of you...
or they could be gone
before you know it."
Forgive me, Mr. O'Toole,
but other than the sad truth
that we can't go home again,
we've still heard
nothing to shed any light
on the letter that I hold here,
addressed to the
secretary of defense
of the United States of America.
With respect, madame chairman,
uh, it was stopping
at the site of Ms.
Mcinerney's former home
that put us in the lobby of
the Franklin Adams hotel
at the exact moment
we crossed paths
with Phoebe amidon
and her grandfather.
If that letter is
what we think it is,
then it's compelling us to
pay attention to the details,
or the chance to bring
lieutenant amidon home again
will also be gone
before we know it.
So your presence
here today, Mr. O'Toole,
is the result of a
prior relationship
with Phoebe amidon
and her grandfather?
Well, that,
and the prior relationship
of Ms. Mcinerney with, uh...
Actually, I'd like to turn
this part over to her now.
My name is Shane mcinerney.
I provide I.T. Services
for the dead letter
office in Denver.
I used to work right
here in Washington
in direct line operations.
When we arrived at
the hotel on Thursday,
we were checking in and...
Rita was registering
for the miss special
delivery pageant.
Oh, wait.
[]
Ms. Mcinerney.
Mm?
Uh, I was thinking,
perhaps this week
might present an
opportunity for...
For... for an evening out.
We're in Washington,
D.C., Oliver.
We're already spending
the whole week out.
Yes, but I was thinking,
um, you and I might
have dinner together,
just us, to...
To talk and...
Perhaps I can offer
some perspective
on the recent loss of
your childhood home.
You're asking me...
Out...
For dinner?
Yes.
Yes!
I'll put it in the schedule.
Do that.
In yellow.
Of course.
[Host]: Next... Miss Oklahoma!
[Contestant mindy]: Oh,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
[Perturbed huff]
Are you okay?
Well, they've got me
scheduled for my talent rehearsal
at the same time I'm
supposed to get my nails done,
but if I move the nails,
then there's no time
for some fitting
they've got me down for.
Or maybe I
shouldn't do my nails.
Maybe I shouldn't rehearse,
but if I don't, then... oh!
This is worse than a
stampede on Sunday.
No. No! This is wonderful.
You're miss...
Wyoming.
You're miss Wyoming!
And look where you are.
Well, that's the problem!
There are more
people in this hotel
than there are in big piney.
Oh, big piney,
Wyoming. Population 576.
How do you know that?
Oh, I have a
photographic memory.
I remember everything I read.
Well, as long as I
remember to remember.
[Laughs] It's hard to remember
anything in a place like this.
I'm afraid, when
I get up to sing,
there'll be so many
people in the room,
I'll forget the words.
And the notes.
And the song.
Look.
I don't have to
rehearse tomorrow.
Why don't you take my time?
I don't mind.
- Really?
- Yeah!
Miss Colorado.
We're practically
neighbors, right?
Okay, Ms. Mcinerney,
you are on the eighth floor.
Thank you.
Norman, you are on the sixth.
Oh, my goodness.
[Man]: Thank you very much.
Oh!
It's Phoebe.
Hey! What a surprise.
I can't believe it!
- For heaven's sake.
- Hi!
Harper. Oliver O'Toole.
For heaven's sake,
what are you guys doing here?
- Are you staying here?
- Yeah.
Where's Rita?
Oh, she's in the pageant.
We came to cheer her on.
And what brings
you to the capitol?
Oh, we're trying to get some
answers about randilynn.
See if there's any...
Resolution.
We had an appointment
with someone from the
state department tomorrow,
but it looks like
they've had to postpone.
Not again.
[Norman]: Well, that's a shame.
[Harper]: Well,
that's Washington.
We've spent two years,
but we always seem to
knock on the wrong doors.
Isn't there anyone else
that you can meet with?
Mm, we've run out of ideas.
I've got a standing appointment
with a dialysis
machine back home,
so we can't extend the trip.
[Oliver]: Of course.
Would you excuse
me for just a minute?
[]
So, we have you penciled in
to join us at 9:30 tomorrow.
Excellent.
Can't have you heading back
without having at least
some good memories
in Washington.
Sounds like a plan!
Okay, well, we'll see
you guys tomorrow, then.
- Okay, great.
- Bye.
Bye.
Wow.
What a coincidence, huh?
I don't really believe
in them, Norman.
[Chuckling breathlessly]
Is that who I think it is?
Yeah! It's Phoebe amidon.
No way!
You've checked in?
Oh, yeah, I've got my room key
and my roommate...
Miss Louisiana.
It sounds like you have some
pretty serious competition.
Oh, I don't mind.
There's more to life
than winning, right?
Right. Um, speaking of which,
I was thinking
that, before dinner,
um, you and I could...
[mindy]: Rita!
We're going out for
yogurt. You wanna come?
Oh! Um...
Yeah! [Giggles]
Bye, guys!
She seems happy.
Yes. She does.
I suppose it's just the
three of us for dinner.
Yeah. Yeah.
Where is Ms. Mcinerney?
Hi. It's Shane.
I'm in town at the
Franklin Adams and...
[Takes a breath]
Steve, I-I need to see you.
I'd like another Arnold Palmer.
A little more Arnold than
Palmer this time, please.
Why do they put tiny
umbrellas in drinks?
Why not tiny cars?
Or tiny cats?
Something on your mind?
I just keep thinking about
Phoebe coming all the way here
to find out if anyone knows
what happened to her mother.
Everything else just seems
so... Trivial compared to that.
The miss special
delivery pageant
is perhaps not an
event of great import
to the world at large, Norman,
but the world is a
terribly complicated place,
and so much of it can be ugly.
That's why what is
gentle and beautiful
and joyful is worth
fighting to preserve.
And it's also why we
honor those who fight.
Yeah.
So, Norman...
What's in the envelope? Hmm?
Well, it's a surprise f...
[heels clopping]
[]
Ms. Mcinerney.
Hello, beautiful!
- Ooh!
- Oh...
Look at you!
Whoo. Look at you...
I got your call.
Yes, and I thought
you were going to
call me back.
[Steve]: I was just
right around the corner.
I couldn't wait, so I
staked out your hotel,
figured you'd show
up sooner or later.
[Shane, awkwardly]:
Yes, well, good timing.
Uh, Steve marek,
these are my co-workers...
My boss, actually...
Oliver O'Toole
and Norman dorman.
Denver d.L.O., right?
Yes.
I heard about you
guys. You do great work.
Oh, thank you.
And what is it you
do for the post office?
Oliver, Norman, would it be okay
if I begged off of
dinner tonight? Um...
Steve and I have...
Some catching up to do.
I can see that.
But perhaps we could meet later?
Later?
Tonight? A-After Mr. Marek?
For a nightcap? In the lounge?
Yes. All right.
[]
Norman.
Shall we dine?
Yes. Dining.
Starving.
Mr. Marek.
[]
So that was Oliver O'Toole?
Yes.
Does he know?
No.
But after tonight...
We may have to tell him.
[]
[Mindy]: And one, two, three...
[Contestants]: down by the old
mill stream
- where I first -[Knocking]
Oh! The pizza!
[Excited chatter]
Oh!
Hi. It's Norman.
[Overlapping]: Hi, Norman!
He's cute.
Thank you!
Uh, Rita, sorry to interrupt.
Oh, you're not! We were
just sitting around and stuff.
I-I didn't know that
you played that.
Well, my parents
were flower children.
Right.
I was born under the
Pepsi challenge tent
in sedona, remember?
[Rita chuckles]
[Whispers] Was there
something you needed?
Oh. Uh...
No.
Aww.
[Awkward chuckling]
See ya tomorrow.
Okay.
Sleep tight!
[Ladies]: Bye, Norman!
[All giggling]
[Laughter and chatter carrying]
[Woman]: Aw, he
looks like a Teddy bear!
[]
I think that was our song.
We never had a song.
We should have had one.
So why'd you leave D.C.?
To get away from you.
Mm. Ouch.
I always know where
I stand with you.
But I never knew where
I stood with you, Steve.
And then I finally realized
that's bad for relationships.
But it's what makes
you so good at your job.
Betrayed by my own excellence.
And your humility.
But you came back.
On vacation.
I wasn't going to call you.
But now...
I guess I need you.
Good.
I'll see what I can do.
Am I... early?
No. No, I was just leaving.
How was dinner?
Fine, thank you.
Okay.
I'll see you tomorrow?
Okay.
Tomorrow?
Oliver.
I will just adjust my itinerary
to reflect that you will not
be joining us
for our tour in the morning.
No, I will. I'm coming.
We just have to adjust
our plans for the afternoon.
I couldn't bear
to see how disappointed
Phoebe and her grandfather were.
She's lost her mother,
he's lost a daughter...
And I guess...
After seeing...
Or not seeing my house today...
[sighs]
I just felt like, at least...
at least, with them,
maybe...
Maybe there was
something that I could do,
maybe I could...
Help them in some way.
Well, that's admirable,
but I'm afraid lieutenant
amidon's situation
does not fall under the purview
of the United
States postal system.
I don't see how you or I
or your friend, Steve, can
hope to make a difference.
Well...
You or I can't, but...
Oliver, I haven't been
completely honest
with you about Steve.
He's not exactly
with the post office.
So, Ms. Mcinerney,
it was you who made the
initial contact with agent marek?
[Shane]: Yes.
And it's not something
that I did lightly,
but now I'm glad that I did.
Sir, can I assume that
you are agent marek?
Yes, I am, senator.
And has the testimony
you've heard so
far been accurate?
Yes, ma'am.
All right. Continue,
Ms. Mcinerney.
[Shane]: Thank you.
Well, needless to say,
this was all news
to Mr. O'Toole.
The clandestine services?
One of them. Yes.
You... [scoffs] You dated a spy?
An intelligence analyst.
Officer.
Agent.
Kind of a spy, yeah.
You lied to me.
I didn't lie to you.
I like to think that you were on
a need-to-know basis,
and now you need to know.
And what else do I
need to know, hmm?
That Steve has agreed to
meet with Harper and Phoebe
if we take them to the
Pentagon tomorrow.
It seems he'd agree to anything
if it meant re-igniting
the flames of...
You know, whatever, with you.
First of all, Oliver,
my flames are none
of your business.
And second, you
don't have to like him,
but he's a good man,
and whatever he may have
meant to me in the past,
all he means now is a
chance to help Phoebe.
Really.
[]
Really.
[Madame chairman]: Mr. O'Toole,
I am due at the senate
ways and means committee
in an hour.
Now, can I begin to hope
that there is a way or a
meaning with this story of yours?
Hmm?
Oh, absolutely.
[Flash pops]
- The next day...
- Hi!
We took Phoebe
and her grandfather to
the national postal museum,
where Rita and the
other contestants
were making an appearance
and I was...
Well, I was on something
of a sentimental journey.
[Flash popping,
contestants giggling]
[]
[Takes a shaky, deep breath]
[Sighing]
You seem...
Deep in thought.
Three years ago,
I, uh, stood on this
very spot with my wife...
Expounding on the early
days of the pony express.
I turned around and, uh...
She wasn't there.
I stood here waiting and
waiting until they closed,
but, by then,
she'd already left me and
caught a plane to Paris.
That must have
been very painful.
Why did you come
back here today?
Closure.
You remind me of randilynn.
When she was... Not even two,
she could barely talk,
but she could walk.
We couldn't keep up with her.
One day, I turned
around and she was gone,
then I heard this huge bang.
I went running into the
bedroom and there she is,
on the floor, sobbing.
I said, "honey, what happened?"
Well, she was crying so
hard, she couldn't tell me,
so she... she
climbed up on the bed
and rolled off again
just to show me.
[Both laughing]
That kid...
She was always going back
to the most painful
places in her life
to make some sense of the pain.
All four verses?
Yeah. And if that didn't work,
she'd do every verse
of the star-
spangled banner, too.
Wow. That is pretty patriotic.
She was.
Hey! Phoebe! How are you?
- I'm good.
- How's lib?
- She's getting fat.
- Oh!
I made the neighbors
promise to walk her
twice a day while we were gone.
I love your crown.
Oh, thank you!
I have to wear it everywhere.
Photo shoots, interviews,
even a lecture on sportsmanship
by last year's miss
special handling...
What's that?
Oh, it's like miss
congeniality, only postal.
[Rita]: Anyways,
I am free as a bird
for the rest of the day.
Great, uh, because
I have something
back at the hotel that...
[Shane]: Phoebe!
[Shane rushes up]
After lunch,
I would like to take you
and your grandfather
to meet a friend of mine.
I can't promise anything, but...
[Oliver]: Ms. Mcinerney.
[Quiet gasping]
Grandpa! Are you all right?
Grandpa?
[Door bangs]
I think he just
overdid it a bit,
but we'll have him
checked out just in case.
Thanks, Norman.
Get some rest, Harper.
Well, I guess it's up to us
to keep that appointment.
What appointment?
So you attended this
meeting yesterday
as well, Ms. Hayworth?
Uh, it's "haywith," with an "i".
Oh.
Yes, I did.
I had a free afternoon
off, so I went along.
And I am very glad that I did.
I think. [Nervous chuckle]
Am I in trouble?
Just give us the
facts, Ms. Haywith.
Oh, okay.
Well, first of all,
I had to leave my
crown at the door.
Oh...
I feel so naked without it.
Here he comes.
Oh.
[Footsteps approaching]
I did some digging.
I got ahold of the file...
It's an active, working case.
Now, we never
give up on our own,
no matter how long it takes,
but, after reading through this,
we might be running out of time.
So you don't believe she
was killed in the mission?
Look, I can't read
you into the file,
but I can say that,
as of six months ago,
I personally believe
lieutenant amidon was alive
and being held
somewhere near Pakistan.
Likely by the insurgents
that attacked her team
when she disappeared.
Then you think she was captured?
Off the record?
[Shane]: Go on, please.
[Exhaling deeply] Well,
lieutenant amidon was a medic.
She trained for the
cultural support teams,
who interface with the Afghans,
collected intelligence.
See, the male soldiers
couldn't talk to Afghan women,
but the female soldiers could.
What seemed like
suspicious activity...
Going off-base,
consorting with the locals...
Had actually been covertly
sanctioned by the army.
See, we can't always
answer allegations
without putting other
people in danger,
so the whole truth
about lieutenant amidon
is, really, yet to be told.
Is she alive, Steve?
[Sets glasses down]
She went back
for two of our own,
who were cut
down in a firefight.
Now, the insurgents
had withdrawn,
but they waited, as they do,
for the rescue team to
come back for the wounded.
And then they ambushed them?
[Gunfire exchanging]
Hang in there,
costas! You hear me?
We're gonna get you out of here!
Evac!
[Shouting]
Move out! Move out!
[Rotors beating,
gunfire continuing]
[Rocket exploding]
Randi!
Get up! Randilynn!
[]
And then she was wounded?
And captured.
But not by any central group,
otherwise we would've
known more by now.
There was a rescue
attempt last year.
After that,
it appears that she was moved.
The drones haven't
been able to find her.
We followed up on a
sighting, but that didn't pan out.
Then there's this letter,
which may or may not
have been written
by lieutenant amidon,
but that's gonna take
some time to confirm.
I'm sorry, did you say a letter?
A letter. Yeah.
A point of clarification,
please, madame chairman.
Ms. Haywith, have we finally
come to the reason for
this hearing this morning?
You mean the letter?
Yes.
Oh, yes. That's when
Mr. Marek showed us the letter.
Well, he actually
didn't show us the letter,
that was the problem.
That's when I did the bad thing.
Go on.
This arrived almost
two weeks ago
from Afghanistan,
made its way to us.
It's not in an envelope.
It's all Jerry-rigged
together with tape,
it's addressed
"f-e-e-b."
"By the American secretary
of the military embassy,
"Washington, D.C., u.S.A.,
from soldier female."
Now, the handwriting
on the outside is different
from the inside.
Lieutenant amidon
may have written this,
but somebody else mailed it
and routed it through Kabul.
Kabul has mail?
Ah. You'd be surprised.
They have quite an efficient
postal system in Afghanistan.
[Rita]: Oh.
And with all the
cellphones and laptops
being hacked so often out there,
this may have been a good way
to get a message
through unmonitored.
I have always maintained that
mail is still the gold standard
of human communication.
Right.
The problem is,
I mean, except for
something in here
about the fourth of July,
it all really just
appears to be gibberish.
But that's what
we do every day...
We figure out letters
that don't make sense.
Let's see.
Oh, I-I can't let
you look at that.
Oh, for heaven's sake, Steve.
We're all on the same side!
It's classified. I've shown
you too much already.
[Oliver]: Well, not to put
too fine a point on this,
that was not addressed
to the secretary, but
someone named "f-e-e-b,"
which I submit is someone's
idea of how to spell "Phoebe,"
and, therefore, still
has yet to be delivered
to its intended recipient,
and, therefore,
falls clearly under
the jurisdiction of the
united states postal service.
Is he kidding?
I'm sorry, he's not.
[Sighs]
Well, that's just
not gonna happen.
There's too much analysis ahead.
There's handwriting,
DNA, cryptography.
You think it's a coded message?
[Steve]: I hope so,
otherwise, like I said,
it just doesn't make any sense.
I know.
I mean... I bet!
[Rita chuckles nervously]
We should go!
I have a big tap dance
number to learn tonight.
[Shane]: Steve...
I think I should tell you that
Rita has a photographic memory
and there's a pretty good chance
that she can remember
everything that letter said.
Ah, give or take a few
words here and there.
Your thumb was
covering some of it.
Sorry.
Well, let's just pretend
I didn't hear that.
Fair enough.
If you come up with anything,
I'd like to hear about it.
I didn't know the
"department of agriculture"
was so clandestine.
You'd be surprised.
Don't forget your crown.
Oh, right.
[Norman]: Wow.
A real spy. Steve?
Analyst.
A minor cog in the wheel.
How is Harper?
[Norman]: Oh, well, I wanted
to take him to see a doctor,
but he insisted on going
back to the hotel with Phoebe.
Harper's a tough guy, but he
could use some good news.
Then we need to
find him some, hmm?
Well, how?
We only had one... cog.
We are an elite postal
task force, Norman.
Wide powers of
postal discretion.
I think it's time we used them.
[Rita]: Okay, there
was only six lines.
The first one was, um,
"the day will end fast."
And then "the
birthday of Liberty,"
which is the fourth of July clue
that Steve was talking about.
Go on.
Then there was
this weird thing...
"return to the four-poster."
What?
Some kind of army post, maybe?
Hmm.
Then there was, let me see,
"song 5-9-1-6"
and "proverbial 1-8-1-0."
Anything else?
No, just half a word or two.
"Grim feet."
Grim feet?
That's what it said.
That's the part where
his thumb was covering it.
Steve's right. None of
this makes any sense.
Everything seems
like some sort of clue,
so it must mean
something to someone.
Mm-hmm.
Well, if it was
addressed to Phoebe,
shouldn't she know
what it means?
Someone else wrote
that on the envelope,
and I would hate to
give Phoebe false hope
if we don't have to.
We are professionals.
We should be able
to break this code.
[]
I hate to say this,
but I really do need
to learn to tap dance,
but I promise you,
while my feet are tapping,
my mind will be thinking.
Do you wanna come, Norman?
Oh, sure!
Okay.
Um, what was
that last clue again?
It was a partial. "Grim feet."
[Sighing]
We may be in over
our heads here, Oliver.
I mean,
the only thing that we have
is the fourth of July clue.
The fourth has come and gone.
If that day is important,
then this could all be too late.
By planes, trains
bus, mule, or livery
you bet she'll get
those letters through
so hail miss
special delivery
and all things coastal
from coast to coast'll sing
she's the damsel
we stamp and cancel
the holy grail
of first-class mail
miss special delivery
that's you!
Yeah!
Okay. Hold on.
[Weary gasp]
Miss Louisiana,
slide you over here...
[Dancers panting]
So much harder than you'd think!
Yeah. Everybody's
out of step but you.
How many people do you
think are gonna be there?
Oh, like 500.
I can't sing in
front of 500 people!
Oh, you'll be okay.
In Rita's book,
renita hayweather:
Frontier duchess,
renita has to sing "moon river"
while sitting on top
of a wurlitzer organ
in the last chance saloon
while a bunch of
cowboys eat pistachios.
But she knows that
it'll inspire Mr. D'lorman
before the big shoot-out,
so she does it.
Wow! I wanna read that book.
[Director]: Okay, ladies,
let's go back to fifth position.
Fifth?
My dogs are barkin' so bad,
I can't get back to first.
"My dogs are barking."
Don't you just love her?
- [Rita laughing]
- Yeah.
Five, six, seven, eight...
She's miss special delivery
yes, she's our
post office queen
"My dogs"?
From rocky mountain
to field and fountain...
Dog.
Dogs? Dogs!
Liberty! Let's go!
You bet she'll get
those letters through
so hail miss
special delivery
"Liberty"?
Yes, ma'am.
Randilynn wasn't talking
about the fourth of July.
She was talking about lib.
Their dog's name is "Liberty."
Are you telling me
that this committee convened
a special emergency session
because of the birthdate
of someone's pet?
The birthdate of Phoebe
amidon's German Shepherd
is of utmost importance,
madame chairman.
It turned out to be
the code-breaker,
the rosetta stone...
And the key to saving
randilynn amidon's life.
"The day will end fast,"
"the birthday of Liberty,"
"return to the four-poster,"
"song 5-9-1-6."
"Proverbial 1-8-1-0,"
and "grim feet."
Grim... feet.
Abraham Lincoln
slept in this hotel
after his election,
before he moved into
the white house in 1860.
I wonder what they
called the Lincoln bedroom
before it was the
Lincoln bedroom.
Huh.
May I use this?
[Rita]: Guess what!
Room 1201, please.
Oliver.
Harper. Oliver O'Toole.
When you told me that story
about your daughter
falling off the bed.
Uh, was it a four-poster bed?
And ask him when
Liberty's birthday is!
Harper, uh, I believe
we need to talk.
[Harper]: Well, I'm glad
somebody's going
to sleep tonight.
[Door shuts]
Well, so...
[Oliver]: Harper,
when randilynn fell out
of that four-poster bed,
she was two.
Do you think she remembers that?
It was a family joke, yes.
And you're sure
that Phoebe's puppy
was born on July 21st?
Yeah, can't forget that.
Do the words "grim feet"
mean anything to you?
Grim feet?
No.
And how about "the
day will end fast"?
Fast, "in a hurry,"
or fast as in "not eating"?
Hmm! Good point.
Um, "proverbial song"?
Proverbial...
Oh, my goodness.
Rita, we need a Bible.
There's one in the drawer there.
Proverbs and song...
"song" is the modern version
of the word "psalm."
Thank you.
Sir, is your daughter
a woman of faith?
Oh, yes. [Chuckles]
She even taught some
Bible study at the base.
So she knows her Bible?
Oh, chapter and verse.
[Rita]: Proverbs,
chapter 18, verse 10.
Psalms 59:16...
They both talk about...
Oh, wow!
Oliver... "the
day will end fast."
I think I know what it means.
[Rita]: Oh! Here we go.
"The name of the
lord is a high tower.
The just run to
it, and are safe."
I need to call Steve.
Who's Steve?
Well, he's not
with the department
of agriculture.
Mr. O'Toole and his team
contacted me last night,
they suggested
the letter was some
form of escape plan
and they made a
rather persuasive case.
But not a conclusive one.
No. But I felt there
was enough information
to bring it to your attention,
especially considering
the deadline.
Well, go ahead, Mr. O'Toole.
Make your case.
Actually, I'd like
to turn that over
to my colleague, Mr. Dorman.
Thank you, Mr. O'Toole.
Uh, as Ms. Haywith
explained, the second clue,
"the birthday of Liberty"
is in reference to July 21st,
which happens to be
tomorrow and, not coincidentally,
is also the birthdate of
the amidon family dog.
And that date is some sort
of "key" to the code, you say?
Yes, when paired
with the first clue...
"the day will end fast."
In Afghanistan, and
around the world,
the holy month of
ramadan is observed, uh,
with prayer, acts of
charity, and fasting.
This year, those 30
days of fasting ended
with a traditional festival of
fast-breaking four days ago,
and we suggest
that that is the day
that lieutenant amidon
chose to escape.
[Locals cheering
and celebrating]
[Celebratory gunfire popping]
[Shouting in dari]
[]
[Man]: It is time.
[]
[Speaking dari]
If she's actually escaped,
it's likely she had
help from a local,
someone willing
to risk their life,
most likely a pashtun...
They have a great respect
for their traditions and
hospitality and charity.
Even so,
it's hard to imagine,
because the punishment
for helping an American
is death.
Assuming she did
escape four days ago,
where is she going?
Well, that's the third clue.
"Return to the four-poster."
[Oliver]: A reference to
an amidon family joke...
A four-poster bed
where she fell as a child
and returned to
re-enact her fall.
[Steve]: Which would
suggest the village of darakht,
it was the site of
the original firefight
and the location where
lieutenant amidon was seen last,
falling out of a helicopter.
According to Mr. Marek,
darakht also has a
distinctive high tower,
and twice in her letter,
in clues four and five,
randilynn refers to a
biblical tower or fortress
as a place of safety and refuge.
Wherever she is,
we know she wasn't
trained in navigation
or advanced survival.
How can she possibly make
her way back to darakht?
[Shane]: Lieutenant amidon
is the daughter of
an air force captain.
Her husband was
killed in action in Kabul.
She is an American soldier,
but she is also an
American mother,
and nothing is gonna
keep a woman like that
from doing whatever it takes
to find her way
back to her little girl.
[]
We cannot go on.
There is a roadblock ahead.
Come.
It's too dangerous
for you to stay in the truck.
I must go on
before they find you.
It's okay.
Wait for me there.
I will try and return tomorrow
and take you to darakht.
I am sorry.
I have only a little
food to leave with you.
Please, no.
You take it.
You've done so much already.
No. The fast is over.
We must all celebrate.
Thank you.
If I am not back in two days,
please know that I have
tried, but I could not,
then you must walk
the rest of the way.
Always keep the
mountains on your right,
and at night,
the brightest star
over that peak.
It is very dangerous...
But god is good.
Yes.
But people, not always.
I think we are.
You... and me.
[]
Hold on tight.
[]
[Quiet sob escapes]
[]
[Gasps]
Ah!
[Groans] Oh!
[]
[]
[Sighs]
[Wincing]
[Oliver]: The letter written
by lieutenant amidon
is, in fact, a roadmap
for a rescue mission
that began four days ago,
and we hope will end tomorrow
in a rendezvous
with American troops
in the very same place
where she was first captured...
The "high tower" in
the village of darakht,
as indicated by the
clues she gave us.
Five out of six so-called
clues, Mr. O'Toole.
[Oliver]: Yes, well, uh,
the last clue was
partially obscured
when Ms. Haywith
glanced at the letter,
but she was able to make
out the words "grim feet."
We respectfully
request the opportunity
to inspect the actual letter
in order to decode
the final clue.
Ms. Haywith is fortunate
she hasn't been indicted
for reading and disseminating
the information she
has already seen.
And Mr. Marek may very well
be disciplined for allowing her,
or any of you,
to even become
aware of its existence.
Whatever "grim feet" may mean,
that is a matter
for our own intelligence
service to determine.
[Norman]: But there isn't time!
She took a huge chance
sending that letter.
And here we are,
maybe the only people
who could solve that
message in time to save her.
Why would a soldier
hoping for rescue
purposely write
something obscure
and run the chance that
it wouldn't be decoded?
To protect anyone
coming to help her.
Having spent quite a
bit of time in the military,
madame chairman,
I can attest
that lieutenant
amidon would know
that should someone
intercept a more specific letter,
that they could simply allow
her to reach her rendezvous point
and then wait to ambush
the entire rescue party.
It's what happened the
night she was captured.
She wouldn't allow
it to happen again.
We'll take a five-minute break.
I can't go to prison, Norman.
I think she was just
saying that you could,
but you won't.
That's what I got
out of it, anyways.
I mean, if anyone's in trouble,
it's probably that Steve guy.
I had you vetted.
It's what we do around here.
As it turns out,
you're what we
call "a solid citizen."
Oh, well, I take that
as a compliment.
I'm coming to suspect
that perhaps you
are one, as well.
Maybe Shane has good taste.
Hmm. [Chuckles]
I must confess,
at first, I was, um...
Suspicious of your
motives for helping us.
Look, I know it
sounds kind of corny,
but I still believe
in all that stuff
we used to sing
when we were kids...
The grand old flag,
Amber waves of grain,
"the halls of montezuma."
[Shane]: Excuse me, gentlemen.
Hate to interrupt, but
they're going back in.
We were just, uh,
discussing patriotism.
[Chuckles]
[Norman]: Phoebe
was telling me yesterday
her mom was so patriotic
that, instead of lullabies,
she'd sing all the verses to
"the star-spangled banner"
and "america the
beautiful" every night.
All the verses?
[]
It is the conclusion
of this committee,
that although you folks
have painted a very
entertaining story,
we are unwilling to
see American troops
put in harm's way at this time
for a rescue mission
based on a loose interpretation
of five so-called
clues in a letter.
Madame chairman...
If you can't tell us
what "grim feet" means,
Mr. O'Toole,
it renders the rest of
your conjectures useless.
A few dates and a reference
to an old outpost with a tower
is no indication
of intent to escape.
- But we have it!
- Mr. O'Toole...
If Mr. Marek would just confirm
the complete
phrase in that letter...
The words ending in grim
feet... We can give you
lieutenant amidon's
promise to escape.
You've shared enough
already, Mr. Marek.
Do not respond.
Steve, the clue that
Rita couldn't read...
Was it "pilgrim feet?"
The truth, now, please.
Answer that, Mr. Marek...
And you may live to regret it.
[]
Only if he's wrong,
madame chairman.
Mr. Marek... that last clue...
Was it "pilgrim feet?"
Yes.
[Stomps foot]
Randilynn amidon...
Randilynn amidon
sang every verse
of "america the
beautiful" every night
as a lullaby to her little girl.
Every verse, including,
"oh, beautiful for pilgrim feet
"whose stern impassioned
stress a thoroughfare for freedom
beat cross the wilderness."
Ladies and gentlemen,
randilynn amidon is somewhere
in Afghanistan tonight,
beating a thoroughfare
across the wilderness
in search of that tower,
in search of
everything we stand for,
in search... in search of
the freedom that she
was willing to die for.
And somewhere near
that same wilderness
is a band of her brothers
with the courage
to die for her, for us,
to bring randilynn home...
[]
If you will just have the
courage to send them.
[]
[]
Have you heard anything?
[Shane]: Nothing.
I wish we could
tell Harper and Phoebe
what was going on.
[Shane]: You know we're
sworn to secrecy, Norman.
How is he?
He's fine.
We'll all be on the
same flight tomorrow.
We even made plans
to get together in Denver.
Think we'll have anything
to tell them by then?
I don't imagine we'll ever hear
what the committee
decides to do...
Unless, uh... Unless
the news is good.
But for now, however,
we must turn to the present.
Very best of luck, Rita.
Oh, thank you.
Yes, and have fun!
I will.
I think...
You might have a friend
that needs to be
reminded of that.
[Rita]: Oh! Oh, my goodness.
Okay. I better get going, guys.
Uh, I'll see you later.
Um... Rita?
I'll be right back.
[Heavy sigh]
Norman? You all right?
I have a present for Rita.
I just wanted her to know...
If she wins,
she'll be gone for a whole year,
traveling around,
giving speeches...
Shaking hands with people,
other people...
Are you afraid she'll forget...
Us?
There are a lot more
things on this earth
than being miss special
delivery, you know.
I think, after this week,
we all know that, Norman.
[]
Oh, Norman, thank goodness!
We've missed the bus
and mindy's having a
little trouble walking...
Forward.
Oh!
So are they going to
charge you with anything?
Probably not.
But if I do get arrested,
you'll bail me out, right?
I heard that Oliver came
into a good sum of money.
How do you know that?
Oh, never mind.
I don't think all that money's
gonna change him, though.
Well, that's too bad.
I was hoping you were going
to give me another chance.
Ah.
Well, there's nothing
actually official
between...
between Oliver and me.
But unofficially?
Steve, we're friends.
And a solid friendship
is a good way
to start anything.
You were always so unavailable,
for that... with all
that "agricultural" work
that took you away all the time.
I'm back. I live here now.
[Shane]: It's not about
where you live, Steve.
Home is more than
just an address.
It's...
It's roses that you stick
around to watch grow.
It's a porch swing...
And...
Taking the time to swing on it.
I can get you a porch swing.
[Laughing]
[]
I've already got one.
Mr. Marek.
[Cellphone vibrates]
Yeah. Hey, Oliver.
You, uh... Heard any news?
[Exhaling deeply]
Well...
Of course.
You can neither
confirm nor deny.
I can neither confirm nor deny
that, based on a recommendation
from the senate subcommittee
for military actions,
the president has approved
a plan for a special
operations mission
that commenced at 1600
hours Washington time
with the objective
of recovering a lieutenant
randilynn amidon.
So it's a go?
[Laughs]
[Exhaling deeply]
[Ramon]: That's right, Jennifer.
We are here in
the nation's capitol
as history is being made by
Denver's own Rita haywith,
the first Colorado
miss special delivery
to make it to the
final talent competition
for the national crown.
[Rita]: Take a deep
breath and trust me, mindy.
I swear, there are not
500 people out there
[voice shaking]: How... many...
Are... there?
473? [Chuckles]
Oh! It's okay, mindy!
Just think about big piney.
Just pretend you're singing
to your friends,
and your neighbors, and, uh...
And your livestock.
We should take our seats.
I can't sit.
I keep thinking
about the mission.
What time is it?
Eight.
It's happening.
Now, in just a few minutes,
she will step out
onto that stage
and hopefully into the
hearts of the judges,
and then perhaps,
tomorrow, into the headlines.
We'll have those
final results for you
tonight at 11:00.
[Emcee]: And we're back.
And next, in the
talent competition,
miss Louisiana, Peggy rhodes.
[Applauding]
[]
Rita?
Norman!
I just wanted to say...
Well, I, um, wanted
to give you something
before you go on.
Tsk! Oh! Thank you, Norman.
I sent chapter 14
of renita hayweather
into the postal living quarterly
and they printed it!
This is a copy of
their next edition.
You're a published writer, Rita!
See? Um, they wanted a photo,
so I sent that
picture that I took
at last year's
safety inspection.
I had to Photoshop
it a little. Oh!
And you get a
year's subscription
and a check for $500!
Norman... Wh-what have you done?
Oh, I just thought,
in case you win,
I didn't want you to forget
that you're a great writer,
and a postable.
[Takes a deep breath]
And you're my, um...
You're my...
But I can't win now.
I can't compete
without a talent,
and y-y-you just got
my talent disqualified.
What?
"No contestant shall perform
"using a talent
for which she has received
previous compensation."
But...
I'm in print!
And they've paid me.
I'm not an amateur anymore.
Norman... What
were you thinking?
[Crowd applauds]
[Rita]: Norman,
this is a disaster.
Can't you see?
[Applause continues]
Are we having our first fight?
[Sighs]
[Emcee]: Miss
Wyoming... Mindy maloney!
[Applauding]
Go on, mindy!
You can do it! Go!
[Applause subsides]
[Orchestra begins playing]
[Words fail mindy]
[Music continues]
[Orchestra halts]
[Silence falls]
[Rita]: No, no, no, no!
Everything is falling apart.
I'm sorry, Rita. I'm so sorry.
N... it's okay,
Norman. Never mind.
[Rita chuckles nervously]
[Whispering]:
It's okay. It's okay.
Um, uh...
[Rita chuckles awkwardly]
Ladies and gentlemen... heh.
My friend and
co-contestant, mindy,
just needs... She
just needs a moment.
This year's theme is
"delivering inspiration"
and... well, let's face it,
sometimes, inspiration
takes a little... time.
So...
I thought I would go first.
You know, for my talent,
I was going to do
a dramatic reading from
my unpublished novel,
renita hayweather:
Frontier duchess,
but it turns out that i'm...
Well, I'm published after all...
[Chuckles]
Which is really too bad,
because I really like the part
where a mysterious
cattle-bearing Mr. D'lorman
gives her his trusty
steed, Zephyr,
to pull her wagon!
You know, at first,
she doesn't understand
why he would give away
his favorite horse like that,
but then she realizes
he did it because,
no matter where she went,
Zephyr would always
find the way home.
Which is really
his way of saying
that he is in love with her!
Oh...
He's in love with her?
Oh! [Gasps]
[Relieved laughing]
Oh, that's so cool!
[Rita laughing harder]
[Scattered chuckling
amongst crowd]
Oh! [Whispers] You ready? Okay.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Miss Wyoming
is ready to sing now.
And for my new talent, I...
Well, I guess we're just
gonna have to do this together.
Peggy, can I borrow your guitar?
Thanks.
[Whispers]: You still
have a shot, mindy.
Take it.
[Takes a shaky breath]
[Shakily]: to dream
the impossible dream
[Gaining confidence]: to fight
the unbeatable foe
to bear with
unbearable sorrow
to run
where the brave dare not go
to right
the unrightable wrong
to love pure and
chaste from afar
to try
when your arms are too weary
to reach the
unreachable star
this is my quest
to follow that star
no matter how hopeless
no matter how far
to fight for the right
without question or pause
to be willing to
march into hell
for a heavenly cause
and I know
if I'll only be true
to this glorious quest
that my heart will
lie peaceful and calm
when I'm laid to my rest
and the world
will be better for this
[randilynn whimpers and sobs]
That one soul
scorned and
covered with scars
still strove
with her last
ounce of courage
to reach...
The unreachable
[belting it out]: star...
[Applause erupts]
[]
[Cheering and
applause continues]
There she is!
Miss special delivery!
Only because of
this lady right here.
Miss special handling!
Oh! No.
Thank you, Rita.
Oh, mindy. You deserve it!
The way you sang...
Well...
You'll never know
how much some of us
needed to hear it tonight.
Well, I guess I'll
be seeing you.
You really are "special," Rita.
Oh, thank you.
I'm so sorry for everything.
I really don't know
what I was thinking.
Oh...
Well, I think
you were thinking that...
You love me?
Yeah. I was
definitely thinking that!
[Quiet chuckle]
Oh... [chuckles]
Aww.
- I'll...
- Mm-hmm.
Okay.
[Chuckling]
Yeah.
We'll get it.
[Shane]: When you asked me
to have dinner with
you in Washington,
I was hoping for a little more.
You know, chips and potato salad
to go with the sandwich.
[Both laughing]
I owe you one.
You owe me nothing, Oliver.
Whatever happens now,
you gave me something
today that I'll never forget.
[]
A little hope for
this world again.
Believe it or not,
I used to know all the
verses to that song, too.
Mm.
"Thine alabaster cities gleam,
undimmed by human tears."
Harper told me
that Phoebe puts
up a good front,
but...
She still cries herself to sleep
almost every night.
[Exhaling heavily]
Oliver, when I think
about what's happening
over there right now,
I just hope we
did the right thing.
Oh, I think we did.
I think...
We were called
to be a part of...
A lot of little miracles
that had to happen
to get this far.
Well, now we just need one more.
[Sighs deeply]
[]
"In the morning,
I will sing of your mercy..."
"For you are my fortress,
"my refuge,
"my high tower
in times of trouble."
[Rotors beating]
[]
[Helicopter approaching]
O, beautiful
delta bravo, we have
eyes on soul sister.
I repeat. We have soul sister.
For Amber waves of grain
for purple
mountain majesties
above the fruited plain
America
america
god shed his grace on thee
and crown thy good
with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea
[]
Where's our taxi going?
Oh, you won't be needing it.
You must be Phoebe.
Yeah.
Hello, sir.
Steven marek.
Department of defense.
Former air force?
- Yeah. That's right.
- I thought you and Phoebe...
would like to see
what army rangers
are flying around in these days.
[]
Mom!
Mommy!
Oh, mama!
[Laughing and crying]
[]
[Phoebe keeps sobbing]
- Hi, daddy!
- Oh! Oh...
[]
[]
[]
We're heading to the airport,
with one stop on the way.
[]
What's this?
Uh...
This is the first acquisition
by the newly-formed
O'Toole foundation.
You bought this lot?
I did.
And you're building
retirement homes?
Oh... all sorts of things.
Maybe a... school
or a library in Afghanistan.
We're starting small.
I assume you can use
your computer to track down
the original blueprints
for your ancestral home?
[Laughing]
Probably!
It was a pretty
small house, though.
Oh.
Well, we'll just make it bigger.
There'll be a porch...
Uh, and a swing, of course.
Roses.
Oh, that reminds me.
Ahem.
What's this?
Is it...
I took a cutting from
your rosebush over there.
If you take it home, plant it,
next year, you'll have the...
First Rose of summer.
Yes.
[]
Are we all supposed
to move here?
[Laughing]
Not for a long time yet, Norman.
We all have a lot
left to do. Besides...
It's nice to have something
to look forward to, hmm?
Wow, Shane! It's so cool...
Your first house will
be your last house.
Ah, the great circle of life.
[Chuckling]
Can I have a workshop?
And a laboratory?
Maybe a little...
Mini-anti-matter
cyclotron in the garage?
No, Norman.
No cyclotron.
It's time to go.
[]
What a family.
The few...
The proud...
The postal.
And crown thy good
with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea
[]
presentation is rated pg.
This presentation deals
with mature subject matter.
Viewer discretion is advised.
[]
[Woman gasping
and sobbing in pain]
[Gasping and groaning]
[Man barking in dari]
Salaam.
[Speaks dari]
[]
She has been in labor 15 hours.
[Guard shouts in dari]
You speak English.
We have a television
in our village.
I know who you are.
You brought medicine
to our village once.
[Sudden pained gasping]
Hold on tight.
[Panting]
What's her name?
My daughter is nilofer.
I am asad.
And her husband?
The father wants a son.
A girl can accomplish
great things
when she's free to do them.
[Praying silently]
Freedom...
Is not impossible...
But it may take time
and you do not have much.
[Bag thuds]
[Newborn bawling]
[Shouts in dari]
You looked at me
and you smiled a while
and it's never been the same
[]
I wanna know...
I wanna know you well
[]
This could be good
but you can never tell
[]
So, come on, come on
we're just getting started
all rise.
[Hushed]: This better be good.
Madame chairman, this committee
is called into emergency session
in light of new and
time-sensitive information
that may involve
military action.
Thank you, senator.
Before we begin,
let me reiterate
that this is a closed session
regarding national security,
and all testimony given
here today is sealed.
Let's see...
Mr... O'Toole?
Yes. I'm Oliver O'Toole.
These are my
colleagues, Ms. Mcinerney,
Ms. Haywith, Mr. Dorman.
And I understand you
comprise a task force from...
The d.L.O.?
That is correct.
Is this c.I.A.,
f.B.I., or n.S.A.?
U.s.p.s.
We work at the post office.
[Reporter]: That's right, Bob.
This was the image we
saw nearly two years ago,
when 12-year-old Phoebe
amidon tied a yellow ribbon
around the tree in
her grandfather's yard,
awaiting news of her mother.
Lieutenant randilynn
amidon went missing
while serving with
American troops
in Afghanistan, near
the Pakistan border.
But now, 22 months later,
with amidon still missing
and the circumstances of
her disappearance still sketchy,
and no answers in sight,
this "welcome back" ribbon
is a sad reminder
of the reputation
lieutenant amidon may
never return home to defend.
I would like to
know what bearing
four postal employees
from Denver
have on the status
of a missing American
soldier in Afghanistan.
[Oliver]: Yes, well.
Several months ago,
in the course of
performing our duties
as postal detectives
in the dead letter office,
we became acquainted
with a Phoebe amidon,
the 14-year-old daughter of
lieutenant randilynn amidon,
as well as her grandfather,
Mr. Harper Ferguson.
We came to believe
that lieutenant amidon
did not abandon her duties
the night she went missing,
and, in fact, she
conducted herself heroically
and yet, uh, sadly,
most likely, was, uh,
probably not living.
And to that, of course,
we have no comment.
Of course.
However, we now have
information to suggest
that lieutenant amidon
may well be alive
and urgently in need
of your assistance.
And that is based
on the contents
of the letter we have here?
Yes.
And you came to this
conclusion last night?
Yes, and if I may, I need
to go back a few days.
Please.
Last Thursday,
we were preparing to
travel to Washington, D.C.,
for the national miss
special delivery pageant.
Is that a real thing?
I was finalizing some
paperwork before our trip...
One of these days
my time will come...
I understand you have
something very unique
planned for the pageant.
Oh, well, this year's theme
is "delivering inspiration."
And for my talent,
I will be doing a
dramatic reading
from my unpublished
historical romance novel
renita hayweather:
Frontier duchess.
A dramatic novelist!
Amazing! Brilliant.
No one can compete with that.
We'll all be
crossing our fingers
for you this Saturday.
Thank you, Ramon.
That was very nice,
miss Rita.
- [Smooching]
- Thank you.
[]
[Nervous chuckle]
Time for us to go on our
trip to Washington, D.C.,
together.
- Oh, yeah, okay.
- Goodbye!
As always, miss
Rita... A pleasure.
[Giggling]
[Chuckling]
Oh, it must be very
hard to say goodbye.
Oh, not really.
No, not to me, my friend.
Goodbye to miss Rita.
She will win, of course,
and then she's off
traveling the world
on her triumphant goodwill tour.
[Chuckles]
Just imagine all the
places she will go...
All the people she will meet...
Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.
[]
Just a couple
more things to sign,
then it's all yours.
I am sorry for your loss.
But at least your
father made sure
that you'd be
well taken care of.
My biological father.
I never knew him.
I have your skinny
caramel steamer coming,
just the way you like it.
Oh, that's so sweet, Norman.
Who's Oliver talking to?
[Norman]: His lawyer.
He inherited so much money,
she comes to see him now.
With all of this money,
I suppose you will want to start
talking about early retirement.
And quit the post office?
Well, why not?
You're young, you're
single, and you're rich.
Ms. Bullock,
the only thing Harvey
schmidtz gave me,
besides this inheritance,
was a piece of advice.
"You never have enough
money if all you have is money."
What does that mean, anyway?
It means...
It's time to get back to work.
Have you seen your
itinerary, Ms. Mcinerney?
I'm sorry. What?
[Oliver]: Well, I made
copies for all of us
and highlighted
the events pertinent
to each of us
in corresponding colors.
You're yellow.
[Laughs] Yellow! Huh.
We arrive at 3:56.
Check in the hotel at 5:10,
arrive at the capitol grill
at 6:45 for a quiet dinner
before curfew at 10:30.
And tomorrow morning,
Rita... Right here in pink...
Registers for the
pageant at 9:00,
and you and I and
Norman leave at 9:30
to take a tour of the
library of congress,
Ford's theater, and, uh,
the national postal museum.
Postal museum?
Uh, think you're
ready to go back there?
It's time.
I'd like to get it over with.
Of course.
And then I can show you
around my old stomping grounds.
Oh. I-Is there a museum
you'd like to add?
Or... or... would you like
to visit old postal friends?
Well, Rebecca starkwell
was my only friend
at the D.C. office,
and she's on her honeymoon.
Oh. Is there an old boyfriend
to visit at the post office?
I'm not in the habit of
calling up old boyfriends.
And even if I were,
his work is...
Well, he's hardly ever in town.
Great!
It's settled then.
Taxi should be
arriving any minute.
Almost forgot!
What?
Don't ask. Can't
tell. It's a surprise.
Ahh!
Field kit!
Norman! We're going on holiday.
All you need is your suitcase.
Uh-oh.
I know it's a horrible thought,
veering off your blue itinerary
into my yellow itinerary,
but I was wondering
if we could make a tiny
detour on our way to the hotel?
A detour?
I wanted to...
Drive by the house
where I grew up,
for old time's sake.
Please?
[Exhaling]
[Norman]: Okay!
All set. Let's do D.C.
Has anyone seen my crown?
Oh! Ah.
[]
[Rita]: Where's your house?
It's gone.
Are you sure this
is the right street?
Of course I'm sure.
That's the tree I used to climb.
The garden where
we planted the...
Those bricks were
the fireplace where my
mother and I always...
[Deep breath]
18 years...
And now it's like
we were never here.
Did you plant those?
[Shane]: For mother's day.
[Quiet chuckle]
Every fall, after all the
other blooms would die,
my mom... my mom
would take the last one,
and put in a vase and say,
"look. It's the last
Rose of summer.
Still holding on."
[Chuckles softly]
Then, every fall...
Even after I went
away to college,
and every September after
that, until she moved away,
I would get an
envelope in the mail
with the last Rose of summer
wrapped in wet paper
towels, in a plastic bag.
She was sending you a message.
"Pay attention
"to the simple, little
things right in front of you...
or they could be gone
before you know it."
Forgive me, Mr. O'Toole,
but other than the sad truth
that we can't go home again,
we've still heard
nothing to shed any light
on the letter that I hold here,
addressed to the
secretary of defense
of the United States of America.
With respect, madame chairman,
uh, it was stopping
at the site of Ms.
Mcinerney's former home
that put us in the lobby of
the Franklin Adams hotel
at the exact moment
we crossed paths
with Phoebe amidon
and her grandfather.
If that letter is
what we think it is,
then it's compelling us to
pay attention to the details,
or the chance to bring
lieutenant amidon home again
will also be gone
before we know it.
So your presence
here today, Mr. O'Toole,
is the result of a
prior relationship
with Phoebe amidon
and her grandfather?
Well, that,
and the prior relationship
of Ms. Mcinerney with, uh...
Actually, I'd like to turn
this part over to her now.
My name is Shane mcinerney.
I provide I.T. Services
for the dead letter
office in Denver.
I used to work right
here in Washington
in direct line operations.
When we arrived at
the hotel on Thursday,
we were checking in and...
Rita was registering
for the miss special
delivery pageant.
Oh, wait.
[]
Ms. Mcinerney.
Mm?
Uh, I was thinking,
perhaps this week
might present an
opportunity for...
For... for an evening out.
We're in Washington,
D.C., Oliver.
We're already spending
the whole week out.
Yes, but I was thinking,
um, you and I might
have dinner together,
just us, to...
To talk and...
Perhaps I can offer
some perspective
on the recent loss of
your childhood home.
You're asking me...
Out...
For dinner?
Yes.
Yes!
I'll put it in the schedule.
Do that.
In yellow.
Of course.
[Host]: Next... Miss Oklahoma!
[Contestant mindy]: Oh,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
[Perturbed huff]
Are you okay?
Well, they've got me
scheduled for my talent rehearsal
at the same time I'm
supposed to get my nails done,
but if I move the nails,
then there's no time
for some fitting
they've got me down for.
Or maybe I
shouldn't do my nails.
Maybe I shouldn't rehearse,
but if I don't, then... oh!
This is worse than a
stampede on Sunday.
No. No! This is wonderful.
You're miss...
Wyoming.
You're miss Wyoming!
And look where you are.
Well, that's the problem!
There are more
people in this hotel
than there are in big piney.
Oh, big piney,
Wyoming. Population 576.
How do you know that?
Oh, I have a
photographic memory.
I remember everything I read.
Well, as long as I
remember to remember.
[Laughs] It's hard to remember
anything in a place like this.
I'm afraid, when
I get up to sing,
there'll be so many
people in the room,
I'll forget the words.
And the notes.
And the song.
Look.
I don't have to
rehearse tomorrow.
Why don't you take my time?
I don't mind.
- Really?
- Yeah!
Miss Colorado.
We're practically
neighbors, right?
Okay, Ms. Mcinerney,
you are on the eighth floor.
Thank you.
Norman, you are on the sixth.
Oh, my goodness.
[Man]: Thank you very much.
Oh!
It's Phoebe.
Hey! What a surprise.
I can't believe it!
- For heaven's sake.
- Hi!
Harper. Oliver O'Toole.
For heaven's sake,
what are you guys doing here?
- Are you staying here?
- Yeah.
Where's Rita?
Oh, she's in the pageant.
We came to cheer her on.
And what brings
you to the capitol?
Oh, we're trying to get some
answers about randilynn.
See if there's any...
Resolution.
We had an appointment
with someone from the
state department tomorrow,
but it looks like
they've had to postpone.
Not again.
[Norman]: Well, that's a shame.
[Harper]: Well,
that's Washington.
We've spent two years,
but we always seem to
knock on the wrong doors.
Isn't there anyone else
that you can meet with?
Mm, we've run out of ideas.
I've got a standing appointment
with a dialysis
machine back home,
so we can't extend the trip.
[Oliver]: Of course.
Would you excuse
me for just a minute?
[]
So, we have you penciled in
to join us at 9:30 tomorrow.
Excellent.
Can't have you heading back
without having at least
some good memories
in Washington.
Sounds like a plan!
Okay, well, we'll see
you guys tomorrow, then.
- Okay, great.
- Bye.
Bye.
Wow.
What a coincidence, huh?
I don't really believe
in them, Norman.
[Chuckling breathlessly]
Is that who I think it is?
Yeah! It's Phoebe amidon.
No way!
You've checked in?
Oh, yeah, I've got my room key
and my roommate...
Miss Louisiana.
It sounds like you have some
pretty serious competition.
Oh, I don't mind.
There's more to life
than winning, right?
Right. Um, speaking of which,
I was thinking
that, before dinner,
um, you and I could...
[mindy]: Rita!
We're going out for
yogurt. You wanna come?
Oh! Um...
Yeah! [Giggles]
Bye, guys!
She seems happy.
Yes. She does.
I suppose it's just the
three of us for dinner.
Yeah. Yeah.
Where is Ms. Mcinerney?
Hi. It's Shane.
I'm in town at the
Franklin Adams and...
[Takes a breath]
Steve, I-I need to see you.
I'd like another Arnold Palmer.
A little more Arnold than
Palmer this time, please.
Why do they put tiny
umbrellas in drinks?
Why not tiny cars?
Or tiny cats?
Something on your mind?
I just keep thinking about
Phoebe coming all the way here
to find out if anyone knows
what happened to her mother.
Everything else just seems
so... Trivial compared to that.
The miss special
delivery pageant
is perhaps not an
event of great import
to the world at large, Norman,
but the world is a
terribly complicated place,
and so much of it can be ugly.
That's why what is
gentle and beautiful
and joyful is worth
fighting to preserve.
And it's also why we
honor those who fight.
Yeah.
So, Norman...
What's in the envelope? Hmm?
Well, it's a surprise f...
[heels clopping]
[]
Ms. Mcinerney.
Hello, beautiful!
- Ooh!
- Oh...
Look at you!
Whoo. Look at you...
I got your call.
Yes, and I thought
you were going to
call me back.
[Steve]: I was just
right around the corner.
I couldn't wait, so I
staked out your hotel,
figured you'd show
up sooner or later.
[Shane, awkwardly]:
Yes, well, good timing.
Uh, Steve marek,
these are my co-workers...
My boss, actually...
Oliver O'Toole
and Norman dorman.
Denver d.L.O., right?
Yes.
I heard about you
guys. You do great work.
Oh, thank you.
And what is it you
do for the post office?
Oliver, Norman, would it be okay
if I begged off of
dinner tonight? Um...
Steve and I have...
Some catching up to do.
I can see that.
But perhaps we could meet later?
Later?
Tonight? A-After Mr. Marek?
For a nightcap? In the lounge?
Yes. All right.
[]
Norman.
Shall we dine?
Yes. Dining.
Starving.
Mr. Marek.
[]
So that was Oliver O'Toole?
Yes.
Does he know?
No.
But after tonight...
We may have to tell him.
[]
[Mindy]: And one, two, three...
[Contestants]: down by the old
mill stream
- where I first -[Knocking]
Oh! The pizza!
[Excited chatter]
Oh!
Hi. It's Norman.
[Overlapping]: Hi, Norman!
He's cute.
Thank you!
Uh, Rita, sorry to interrupt.
Oh, you're not! We were
just sitting around and stuff.
I-I didn't know that
you played that.
Well, my parents
were flower children.
Right.
I was born under the
Pepsi challenge tent
in sedona, remember?
[Rita chuckles]
[Whispers] Was there
something you needed?
Oh. Uh...
No.
Aww.
[Awkward chuckling]
See ya tomorrow.
Okay.
Sleep tight!
[Ladies]: Bye, Norman!
[All giggling]
[Laughter and chatter carrying]
[Woman]: Aw, he
looks like a Teddy bear!
[]
I think that was our song.
We never had a song.
We should have had one.
So why'd you leave D.C.?
To get away from you.
Mm. Ouch.
I always know where
I stand with you.
But I never knew where
I stood with you, Steve.
And then I finally realized
that's bad for relationships.
But it's what makes
you so good at your job.
Betrayed by my own excellence.
And your humility.
But you came back.
On vacation.
I wasn't going to call you.
But now...
I guess I need you.
Good.
I'll see what I can do.
Am I... early?
No. No, I was just leaving.
How was dinner?
Fine, thank you.
Okay.
I'll see you tomorrow?
Okay.
Tomorrow?
Oliver.
I will just adjust my itinerary
to reflect that you will not
be joining us
for our tour in the morning.
No, I will. I'm coming.
We just have to adjust
our plans for the afternoon.
I couldn't bear
to see how disappointed
Phoebe and her grandfather were.
She's lost her mother,
he's lost a daughter...
And I guess...
After seeing...
Or not seeing my house today...
[sighs]
I just felt like, at least...
at least, with them,
maybe...
Maybe there was
something that I could do,
maybe I could...
Help them in some way.
Well, that's admirable,
but I'm afraid lieutenant
amidon's situation
does not fall under the purview
of the United
States postal system.
I don't see how you or I
or your friend, Steve, can
hope to make a difference.
Well...
You or I can't, but...
Oliver, I haven't been
completely honest
with you about Steve.
He's not exactly
with the post office.
So, Ms. Mcinerney,
it was you who made the
initial contact with agent marek?
[Shane]: Yes.
And it's not something
that I did lightly,
but now I'm glad that I did.
Sir, can I assume that
you are agent marek?
Yes, I am, senator.
And has the testimony
you've heard so
far been accurate?
Yes, ma'am.
All right. Continue,
Ms. Mcinerney.
[Shane]: Thank you.
Well, needless to say,
this was all news
to Mr. O'Toole.
The clandestine services?
One of them. Yes.
You... [scoffs] You dated a spy?
An intelligence analyst.
Officer.
Agent.
Kind of a spy, yeah.
You lied to me.
I didn't lie to you.
I like to think that you were on
a need-to-know basis,
and now you need to know.
And what else do I
need to know, hmm?
That Steve has agreed to
meet with Harper and Phoebe
if we take them to the
Pentagon tomorrow.
It seems he'd agree to anything
if it meant re-igniting
the flames of...
You know, whatever, with you.
First of all, Oliver,
my flames are none
of your business.
And second, you
don't have to like him,
but he's a good man,
and whatever he may have
meant to me in the past,
all he means now is a
chance to help Phoebe.
Really.
[]
Really.
[Madame chairman]: Mr. O'Toole,
I am due at the senate
ways and means committee
in an hour.
Now, can I begin to hope
that there is a way or a
meaning with this story of yours?
Hmm?
Oh, absolutely.
[Flash pops]
- The next day...
- Hi!
We took Phoebe
and her grandfather to
the national postal museum,
where Rita and the
other contestants
were making an appearance
and I was...
Well, I was on something
of a sentimental journey.
[Flash popping,
contestants giggling]
[]
[Takes a shaky, deep breath]
[Sighing]
You seem...
Deep in thought.
Three years ago,
I, uh, stood on this
very spot with my wife...
Expounding on the early
days of the pony express.
I turned around and, uh...
She wasn't there.
I stood here waiting and
waiting until they closed,
but, by then,
she'd already left me and
caught a plane to Paris.
That must have
been very painful.
Why did you come
back here today?
Closure.
You remind me of randilynn.
When she was... Not even two,
she could barely talk,
but she could walk.
We couldn't keep up with her.
One day, I turned
around and she was gone,
then I heard this huge bang.
I went running into the
bedroom and there she is,
on the floor, sobbing.
I said, "honey, what happened?"
Well, she was crying so
hard, she couldn't tell me,
so she... she
climbed up on the bed
and rolled off again
just to show me.
[Both laughing]
That kid...
She was always going back
to the most painful
places in her life
to make some sense of the pain.
All four verses?
Yeah. And if that didn't work,
she'd do every verse
of the star-
spangled banner, too.
Wow. That is pretty patriotic.
She was.
Hey! Phoebe! How are you?
- I'm good.
- How's lib?
- She's getting fat.
- Oh!
I made the neighbors
promise to walk her
twice a day while we were gone.
I love your crown.
Oh, thank you!
I have to wear it everywhere.
Photo shoots, interviews,
even a lecture on sportsmanship
by last year's miss
special handling...
What's that?
Oh, it's like miss
congeniality, only postal.
[Rita]: Anyways,
I am free as a bird
for the rest of the day.
Great, uh, because
I have something
back at the hotel that...
[Shane]: Phoebe!
[Shane rushes up]
After lunch,
I would like to take you
and your grandfather
to meet a friend of mine.
I can't promise anything, but...
[Oliver]: Ms. Mcinerney.
[Quiet gasping]
Grandpa! Are you all right?
Grandpa?
[Door bangs]
I think he just
overdid it a bit,
but we'll have him
checked out just in case.
Thanks, Norman.
Get some rest, Harper.
Well, I guess it's up to us
to keep that appointment.
What appointment?
So you attended this
meeting yesterday
as well, Ms. Hayworth?
Uh, it's "haywith," with an "i".
Oh.
Yes, I did.
I had a free afternoon
off, so I went along.
And I am very glad that I did.
I think. [Nervous chuckle]
Am I in trouble?
Just give us the
facts, Ms. Haywith.
Oh, okay.
Well, first of all,
I had to leave my
crown at the door.
Oh...
I feel so naked without it.
Here he comes.
Oh.
[Footsteps approaching]
I did some digging.
I got ahold of the file...
It's an active, working case.
Now, we never
give up on our own,
no matter how long it takes,
but, after reading through this,
we might be running out of time.
So you don't believe she
was killed in the mission?
Look, I can't read
you into the file,
but I can say that,
as of six months ago,
I personally believe
lieutenant amidon was alive
and being held
somewhere near Pakistan.
Likely by the insurgents
that attacked her team
when she disappeared.
Then you think she was captured?
Off the record?
[Shane]: Go on, please.
[Exhaling deeply] Well,
lieutenant amidon was a medic.
She trained for the
cultural support teams,
who interface with the Afghans,
collected intelligence.
See, the male soldiers
couldn't talk to Afghan women,
but the female soldiers could.
What seemed like
suspicious activity...
Going off-base,
consorting with the locals...
Had actually been covertly
sanctioned by the army.
See, we can't always
answer allegations
without putting other
people in danger,
so the whole truth
about lieutenant amidon
is, really, yet to be told.
Is she alive, Steve?
[Sets glasses down]
She went back
for two of our own,
who were cut
down in a firefight.
Now, the insurgents
had withdrawn,
but they waited, as they do,
for the rescue team to
come back for the wounded.
And then they ambushed them?
[Gunfire exchanging]
Hang in there,
costas! You hear me?
We're gonna get you out of here!
Evac!
[Shouting]
Move out! Move out!
[Rotors beating,
gunfire continuing]
[Rocket exploding]
Randi!
Get up! Randilynn!
[]
And then she was wounded?
And captured.
But not by any central group,
otherwise we would've
known more by now.
There was a rescue
attempt last year.
After that,
it appears that she was moved.
The drones haven't
been able to find her.
We followed up on a
sighting, but that didn't pan out.
Then there's this letter,
which may or may not
have been written
by lieutenant amidon,
but that's gonna take
some time to confirm.
I'm sorry, did you say a letter?
A letter. Yeah.
A point of clarification,
please, madame chairman.
Ms. Haywith, have we finally
come to the reason for
this hearing this morning?
You mean the letter?
Yes.
Oh, yes. That's when
Mr. Marek showed us the letter.
Well, he actually
didn't show us the letter,
that was the problem.
That's when I did the bad thing.
Go on.
This arrived almost
two weeks ago
from Afghanistan,
made its way to us.
It's not in an envelope.
It's all Jerry-rigged
together with tape,
it's addressed
"f-e-e-b."
"By the American secretary
of the military embassy,
"Washington, D.C., u.S.A.,
from soldier female."
Now, the handwriting
on the outside is different
from the inside.
Lieutenant amidon
may have written this,
but somebody else mailed it
and routed it through Kabul.
Kabul has mail?
Ah. You'd be surprised.
They have quite an efficient
postal system in Afghanistan.
[Rita]: Oh.
And with all the
cellphones and laptops
being hacked so often out there,
this may have been a good way
to get a message
through unmonitored.
I have always maintained that
mail is still the gold standard
of human communication.
Right.
The problem is,
I mean, except for
something in here
about the fourth of July,
it all really just
appears to be gibberish.
But that's what
we do every day...
We figure out letters
that don't make sense.
Let's see.
Oh, I-I can't let
you look at that.
Oh, for heaven's sake, Steve.
We're all on the same side!
It's classified. I've shown
you too much already.
[Oliver]: Well, not to put
too fine a point on this,
that was not addressed
to the secretary, but
someone named "f-e-e-b,"
which I submit is someone's
idea of how to spell "Phoebe,"
and, therefore, still
has yet to be delivered
to its intended recipient,
and, therefore,
falls clearly under
the jurisdiction of the
united states postal service.
Is he kidding?
I'm sorry, he's not.
[Sighs]
Well, that's just
not gonna happen.
There's too much analysis ahead.
There's handwriting,
DNA, cryptography.
You think it's a coded message?
[Steve]: I hope so,
otherwise, like I said,
it just doesn't make any sense.
I know.
I mean... I bet!
[Rita chuckles nervously]
We should go!
I have a big tap dance
number to learn tonight.
[Shane]: Steve...
I think I should tell you that
Rita has a photographic memory
and there's a pretty good chance
that she can remember
everything that letter said.
Ah, give or take a few
words here and there.
Your thumb was
covering some of it.
Sorry.
Well, let's just pretend
I didn't hear that.
Fair enough.
If you come up with anything,
I'd like to hear about it.
I didn't know the
"department of agriculture"
was so clandestine.
You'd be surprised.
Don't forget your crown.
Oh, right.
[Norman]: Wow.
A real spy. Steve?
Analyst.
A minor cog in the wheel.
How is Harper?
[Norman]: Oh, well, I wanted
to take him to see a doctor,
but he insisted on going
back to the hotel with Phoebe.
Harper's a tough guy, but he
could use some good news.
Then we need to
find him some, hmm?
Well, how?
We only had one... cog.
We are an elite postal
task force, Norman.
Wide powers of
postal discretion.
I think it's time we used them.
[Rita]: Okay, there
was only six lines.
The first one was, um,
"the day will end fast."
And then "the
birthday of Liberty,"
which is the fourth of July clue
that Steve was talking about.
Go on.
Then there was
this weird thing...
"return to the four-poster."
What?
Some kind of army post, maybe?
Hmm.
Then there was, let me see,
"song 5-9-1-6"
and "proverbial 1-8-1-0."
Anything else?
No, just half a word or two.
"Grim feet."
Grim feet?
That's what it said.
That's the part where
his thumb was covering it.
Steve's right. None of
this makes any sense.
Everything seems
like some sort of clue,
so it must mean
something to someone.
Mm-hmm.
Well, if it was
addressed to Phoebe,
shouldn't she know
what it means?
Someone else wrote
that on the envelope,
and I would hate to
give Phoebe false hope
if we don't have to.
We are professionals.
We should be able
to break this code.
[]
I hate to say this,
but I really do need
to learn to tap dance,
but I promise you,
while my feet are tapping,
my mind will be thinking.
Do you wanna come, Norman?
Oh, sure!
Okay.
Um, what was
that last clue again?
It was a partial. "Grim feet."
[Sighing]
We may be in over
our heads here, Oliver.
I mean,
the only thing that we have
is the fourth of July clue.
The fourth has come and gone.
If that day is important,
then this could all be too late.
By planes, trains
bus, mule, or livery
you bet she'll get
those letters through
so hail miss
special delivery
and all things coastal
from coast to coast'll sing
she's the damsel
we stamp and cancel
the holy grail
of first-class mail
miss special delivery
that's you!
Yeah!
Okay. Hold on.
[Weary gasp]
Miss Louisiana,
slide you over here...
[Dancers panting]
So much harder than you'd think!
Yeah. Everybody's
out of step but you.
How many people do you
think are gonna be there?
Oh, like 500.
I can't sing in
front of 500 people!
Oh, you'll be okay.
In Rita's book,
renita hayweather:
Frontier duchess,
renita has to sing "moon river"
while sitting on top
of a wurlitzer organ
in the last chance saloon
while a bunch of
cowboys eat pistachios.
But she knows that
it'll inspire Mr. D'lorman
before the big shoot-out,
so she does it.
Wow! I wanna read that book.
[Director]: Okay, ladies,
let's go back to fifth position.
Fifth?
My dogs are barkin' so bad,
I can't get back to first.
"My dogs are barking."
Don't you just love her?
- [Rita laughing]
- Yeah.
Five, six, seven, eight...
She's miss special delivery
yes, she's our
post office queen
"My dogs"?
From rocky mountain
to field and fountain...
Dog.
Dogs? Dogs!
Liberty! Let's go!
You bet she'll get
those letters through
so hail miss
special delivery
"Liberty"?
Yes, ma'am.
Randilynn wasn't talking
about the fourth of July.
She was talking about lib.
Their dog's name is "Liberty."
Are you telling me
that this committee convened
a special emergency session
because of the birthdate
of someone's pet?
The birthdate of Phoebe
amidon's German Shepherd
is of utmost importance,
madame chairman.
It turned out to be
the code-breaker,
the rosetta stone...
And the key to saving
randilynn amidon's life.
"The day will end fast,"
"the birthday of Liberty,"
"return to the four-poster,"
"song 5-9-1-6."
"Proverbial 1-8-1-0,"
and "grim feet."
Grim... feet.
Abraham Lincoln
slept in this hotel
after his election,
before he moved into
the white house in 1860.
I wonder what they
called the Lincoln bedroom
before it was the
Lincoln bedroom.
Huh.
May I use this?
[Rita]: Guess what!
Room 1201, please.
Oliver.
Harper. Oliver O'Toole.
When you told me that story
about your daughter
falling off the bed.
Uh, was it a four-poster bed?
And ask him when
Liberty's birthday is!
Harper, uh, I believe
we need to talk.
[Harper]: Well, I'm glad
somebody's going
to sleep tonight.
[Door shuts]
Well, so...
[Oliver]: Harper,
when randilynn fell out
of that four-poster bed,
she was two.
Do you think she remembers that?
It was a family joke, yes.
And you're sure
that Phoebe's puppy
was born on July 21st?
Yeah, can't forget that.
Do the words "grim feet"
mean anything to you?
Grim feet?
No.
And how about "the
day will end fast"?
Fast, "in a hurry,"
or fast as in "not eating"?
Hmm! Good point.
Um, "proverbial song"?
Proverbial...
Oh, my goodness.
Rita, we need a Bible.
There's one in the drawer there.
Proverbs and song...
"song" is the modern version
of the word "psalm."
Thank you.
Sir, is your daughter
a woman of faith?
Oh, yes. [Chuckles]
She even taught some
Bible study at the base.
So she knows her Bible?
Oh, chapter and verse.
[Rita]: Proverbs,
chapter 18, verse 10.
Psalms 59:16...
They both talk about...
Oh, wow!
Oliver... "the
day will end fast."
I think I know what it means.
[Rita]: Oh! Here we go.
"The name of the
lord is a high tower.
The just run to
it, and are safe."
I need to call Steve.
Who's Steve?
Well, he's not
with the department
of agriculture.
Mr. O'Toole and his team
contacted me last night,
they suggested
the letter was some
form of escape plan
and they made a
rather persuasive case.
But not a conclusive one.
No. But I felt there
was enough information
to bring it to your attention,
especially considering
the deadline.
Well, go ahead, Mr. O'Toole.
Make your case.
Actually, I'd like
to turn that over
to my colleague, Mr. Dorman.
Thank you, Mr. O'Toole.
Uh, as Ms. Haywith
explained, the second clue,
"the birthday of Liberty"
is in reference to July 21st,
which happens to be
tomorrow and, not coincidentally,
is also the birthdate of
the amidon family dog.
And that date is some sort
of "key" to the code, you say?
Yes, when paired
with the first clue...
"the day will end fast."
In Afghanistan, and
around the world,
the holy month of
ramadan is observed, uh,
with prayer, acts of
charity, and fasting.
This year, those 30
days of fasting ended
with a traditional festival of
fast-breaking four days ago,
and we suggest
that that is the day
that lieutenant amidon
chose to escape.
[Locals cheering
and celebrating]
[Celebratory gunfire popping]
[Shouting in dari]
[]
[Man]: It is time.
[]
[Speaking dari]
If she's actually escaped,
it's likely she had
help from a local,
someone willing
to risk their life,
most likely a pashtun...
They have a great respect
for their traditions and
hospitality and charity.
Even so,
it's hard to imagine,
because the punishment
for helping an American
is death.
Assuming she did
escape four days ago,
where is she going?
Well, that's the third clue.
"Return to the four-poster."
[Oliver]: A reference to
an amidon family joke...
A four-poster bed
where she fell as a child
and returned to
re-enact her fall.
[Steve]: Which would
suggest the village of darakht,
it was the site of
the original firefight
and the location where
lieutenant amidon was seen last,
falling out of a helicopter.
According to Mr. Marek,
darakht also has a
distinctive high tower,
and twice in her letter,
in clues four and five,
randilynn refers to a
biblical tower or fortress
as a place of safety and refuge.
Wherever she is,
we know she wasn't
trained in navigation
or advanced survival.
How can she possibly make
her way back to darakht?
[Shane]: Lieutenant amidon
is the daughter of
an air force captain.
Her husband was
killed in action in Kabul.
She is an American soldier,
but she is also an
American mother,
and nothing is gonna
keep a woman like that
from doing whatever it takes
to find her way
back to her little girl.
[]
We cannot go on.
There is a roadblock ahead.
Come.
It's too dangerous
for you to stay in the truck.
I must go on
before they find you.
It's okay.
Wait for me there.
I will try and return tomorrow
and take you to darakht.
I am sorry.
I have only a little
food to leave with you.
Please, no.
You take it.
You've done so much already.
No. The fast is over.
We must all celebrate.
Thank you.
If I am not back in two days,
please know that I have
tried, but I could not,
then you must walk
the rest of the way.
Always keep the
mountains on your right,
and at night,
the brightest star
over that peak.
It is very dangerous...
But god is good.
Yes.
But people, not always.
I think we are.
You... and me.
[]
Hold on tight.
[]
[Quiet sob escapes]
[]
[Gasps]
Ah!
[Groans] Oh!
[]
[]
[Sighs]
[Wincing]
[Oliver]: The letter written
by lieutenant amidon
is, in fact, a roadmap
for a rescue mission
that began four days ago,
and we hope will end tomorrow
in a rendezvous
with American troops
in the very same place
where she was first captured...
The "high tower" in
the village of darakht,
as indicated by the
clues she gave us.
Five out of six so-called
clues, Mr. O'Toole.
[Oliver]: Yes, well, uh,
the last clue was
partially obscured
when Ms. Haywith
glanced at the letter,
but she was able to make
out the words "grim feet."
We respectfully
request the opportunity
to inspect the actual letter
in order to decode
the final clue.
Ms. Haywith is fortunate
she hasn't been indicted
for reading and disseminating
the information she
has already seen.
And Mr. Marek may very well
be disciplined for allowing her,
or any of you,
to even become
aware of its existence.
Whatever "grim feet" may mean,
that is a matter
for our own intelligence
service to determine.
[Norman]: But there isn't time!
She took a huge chance
sending that letter.
And here we are,
maybe the only people
who could solve that
message in time to save her.
Why would a soldier
hoping for rescue
purposely write
something obscure
and run the chance that
it wouldn't be decoded?
To protect anyone
coming to help her.
Having spent quite a
bit of time in the military,
madame chairman,
I can attest
that lieutenant
amidon would know
that should someone
intercept a more specific letter,
that they could simply allow
her to reach her rendezvous point
and then wait to ambush
the entire rescue party.
It's what happened the
night she was captured.
She wouldn't allow
it to happen again.
We'll take a five-minute break.
I can't go to prison, Norman.
I think she was just
saying that you could,
but you won't.
That's what I got
out of it, anyways.
I mean, if anyone's in trouble,
it's probably that Steve guy.
I had you vetted.
It's what we do around here.
As it turns out,
you're what we
call "a solid citizen."
Oh, well, I take that
as a compliment.
I'm coming to suspect
that perhaps you
are one, as well.
Maybe Shane has good taste.
Hmm. [Chuckles]
I must confess,
at first, I was, um...
Suspicious of your
motives for helping us.
Look, I know it
sounds kind of corny,
but I still believe
in all that stuff
we used to sing
when we were kids...
The grand old flag,
Amber waves of grain,
"the halls of montezuma."
[Shane]: Excuse me, gentlemen.
Hate to interrupt, but
they're going back in.
We were just, uh,
discussing patriotism.
[Chuckles]
[Norman]: Phoebe
was telling me yesterday
her mom was so patriotic
that, instead of lullabies,
she'd sing all the verses to
"the star-spangled banner"
and "america the
beautiful" every night.
All the verses?
[]
It is the conclusion
of this committee,
that although you folks
have painted a very
entertaining story,
we are unwilling to
see American troops
put in harm's way at this time
for a rescue mission
based on a loose interpretation
of five so-called
clues in a letter.
Madame chairman...
If you can't tell us
what "grim feet" means,
Mr. O'Toole,
it renders the rest of
your conjectures useless.
A few dates and a reference
to an old outpost with a tower
is no indication
of intent to escape.
- But we have it!
- Mr. O'Toole...
If Mr. Marek would just confirm
the complete
phrase in that letter...
The words ending in grim
feet... We can give you
lieutenant amidon's
promise to escape.
You've shared enough
already, Mr. Marek.
Do not respond.
Steve, the clue that
Rita couldn't read...
Was it "pilgrim feet?"
The truth, now, please.
Answer that, Mr. Marek...
And you may live to regret it.
[]
Only if he's wrong,
madame chairman.
Mr. Marek... that last clue...
Was it "pilgrim feet?"
Yes.
[Stomps foot]
Randilynn amidon...
Randilynn amidon
sang every verse
of "america the
beautiful" every night
as a lullaby to her little girl.
Every verse, including,
"oh, beautiful for pilgrim feet
"whose stern impassioned
stress a thoroughfare for freedom
beat cross the wilderness."
Ladies and gentlemen,
randilynn amidon is somewhere
in Afghanistan tonight,
beating a thoroughfare
across the wilderness
in search of that tower,
in search of
everything we stand for,
in search... in search of
the freedom that she
was willing to die for.
And somewhere near
that same wilderness
is a band of her brothers
with the courage
to die for her, for us,
to bring randilynn home...
[]
If you will just have the
courage to send them.
[]
[]
Have you heard anything?
[Shane]: Nothing.
I wish we could
tell Harper and Phoebe
what was going on.
[Shane]: You know we're
sworn to secrecy, Norman.
How is he?
He's fine.
We'll all be on the
same flight tomorrow.
We even made plans
to get together in Denver.
Think we'll have anything
to tell them by then?
I don't imagine we'll ever hear
what the committee
decides to do...
Unless, uh... Unless
the news is good.
But for now, however,
we must turn to the present.
Very best of luck, Rita.
Oh, thank you.
Yes, and have fun!
I will.
I think...
You might have a friend
that needs to be
reminded of that.
[Rita]: Oh! Oh, my goodness.
Okay. I better get going, guys.
Uh, I'll see you later.
Um... Rita?
I'll be right back.
[Heavy sigh]
Norman? You all right?
I have a present for Rita.
I just wanted her to know...
If she wins,
she'll be gone for a whole year,
traveling around,
giving speeches...
Shaking hands with people,
other people...
Are you afraid she'll forget...
Us?
There are a lot more
things on this earth
than being miss special
delivery, you know.
I think, after this week,
we all know that, Norman.
[]
Oh, Norman, thank goodness!
We've missed the bus
and mindy's having a
little trouble walking...
Forward.
Oh!
So are they going to
charge you with anything?
Probably not.
But if I do get arrested,
you'll bail me out, right?
I heard that Oliver came
into a good sum of money.
How do you know that?
Oh, never mind.
I don't think all that money's
gonna change him, though.
Well, that's too bad.
I was hoping you were going
to give me another chance.
Ah.
Well, there's nothing
actually official
between...
between Oliver and me.
But unofficially?
Steve, we're friends.
And a solid friendship
is a good way
to start anything.
You were always so unavailable,
for that... with all
that "agricultural" work
that took you away all the time.
I'm back. I live here now.
[Shane]: It's not about
where you live, Steve.
Home is more than
just an address.
It's...
It's roses that you stick
around to watch grow.
It's a porch swing...
And...
Taking the time to swing on it.
I can get you a porch swing.
[Laughing]
[]
I've already got one.
Mr. Marek.
[Cellphone vibrates]
Yeah. Hey, Oliver.
You, uh... Heard any news?
[Exhaling deeply]
Well...
Of course.
You can neither
confirm nor deny.
I can neither confirm nor deny
that, based on a recommendation
from the senate subcommittee
for military actions,
the president has approved
a plan for a special
operations mission
that commenced at 1600
hours Washington time
with the objective
of recovering a lieutenant
randilynn amidon.
So it's a go?
[Laughs]
[Exhaling deeply]
[Ramon]: That's right, Jennifer.
We are here in
the nation's capitol
as history is being made by
Denver's own Rita haywith,
the first Colorado
miss special delivery
to make it to the
final talent competition
for the national crown.
[Rita]: Take a deep
breath and trust me, mindy.
I swear, there are not
500 people out there
[voice shaking]: How... many...
Are... there?
473? [Chuckles]
Oh! It's okay, mindy!
Just think about big piney.
Just pretend you're singing
to your friends,
and your neighbors, and, uh...
And your livestock.
We should take our seats.
I can't sit.
I keep thinking
about the mission.
What time is it?
Eight.
It's happening.
Now, in just a few minutes,
she will step out
onto that stage
and hopefully into the
hearts of the judges,
and then perhaps,
tomorrow, into the headlines.
We'll have those
final results for you
tonight at 11:00.
[Emcee]: And we're back.
And next, in the
talent competition,
miss Louisiana, Peggy rhodes.
[Applauding]
[]
Rita?
Norman!
I just wanted to say...
Well, I, um, wanted
to give you something
before you go on.
Tsk! Oh! Thank you, Norman.
I sent chapter 14
of renita hayweather
into the postal living quarterly
and they printed it!
This is a copy of
their next edition.
You're a published writer, Rita!
See? Um, they wanted a photo,
so I sent that
picture that I took
at last year's
safety inspection.
I had to Photoshop
it a little. Oh!
And you get a
year's subscription
and a check for $500!
Norman... Wh-what have you done?
Oh, I just thought,
in case you win,
I didn't want you to forget
that you're a great writer,
and a postable.
[Takes a deep breath]
And you're my, um...
You're my...
But I can't win now.
I can't compete
without a talent,
and y-y-you just got
my talent disqualified.
What?
"No contestant shall perform
"using a talent
for which she has received
previous compensation."
But...
I'm in print!
And they've paid me.
I'm not an amateur anymore.
Norman... What
were you thinking?
[Crowd applauds]
[Rita]: Norman,
this is a disaster.
Can't you see?
[Applause continues]
Are we having our first fight?
[Sighs]
[Emcee]: Miss
Wyoming... Mindy maloney!
[Applauding]
Go on, mindy!
You can do it! Go!
[Applause subsides]
[Orchestra begins playing]
[Words fail mindy]
[Music continues]
[Orchestra halts]
[Silence falls]
[Rita]: No, no, no, no!
Everything is falling apart.
I'm sorry, Rita. I'm so sorry.
N... it's okay,
Norman. Never mind.
[Rita chuckles nervously]
[Whispering]:
It's okay. It's okay.
Um, uh...
[Rita chuckles awkwardly]
Ladies and gentlemen... heh.
My friend and
co-contestant, mindy,
just needs... She
just needs a moment.
This year's theme is
"delivering inspiration"
and... well, let's face it,
sometimes, inspiration
takes a little... time.
So...
I thought I would go first.
You know, for my talent,
I was going to do
a dramatic reading from
my unpublished novel,
renita hayweather:
Frontier duchess,
but it turns out that i'm...
Well, I'm published after all...
[Chuckles]
Which is really too bad,
because I really like the part
where a mysterious
cattle-bearing Mr. D'lorman
gives her his trusty
steed, Zephyr,
to pull her wagon!
You know, at first,
she doesn't understand
why he would give away
his favorite horse like that,
but then she realizes
he did it because,
no matter where she went,
Zephyr would always
find the way home.
Which is really
his way of saying
that he is in love with her!
Oh...
He's in love with her?
Oh! [Gasps]
[Relieved laughing]
Oh, that's so cool!
[Rita laughing harder]
[Scattered chuckling
amongst crowd]
Oh! [Whispers] You ready? Okay.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Miss Wyoming
is ready to sing now.
And for my new talent, I...
Well, I guess we're just
gonna have to do this together.
Peggy, can I borrow your guitar?
Thanks.
[Whispers]: You still
have a shot, mindy.
Take it.
[Takes a shaky breath]
[Shakily]: to dream
the impossible dream
[Gaining confidence]: to fight
the unbeatable foe
to bear with
unbearable sorrow
to run
where the brave dare not go
to right
the unrightable wrong
to love pure and
chaste from afar
to try
when your arms are too weary
to reach the
unreachable star
this is my quest
to follow that star
no matter how hopeless
no matter how far
to fight for the right
without question or pause
to be willing to
march into hell
for a heavenly cause
and I know
if I'll only be true
to this glorious quest
that my heart will
lie peaceful and calm
when I'm laid to my rest
and the world
will be better for this
[randilynn whimpers and sobs]
That one soul
scorned and
covered with scars
still strove
with her last
ounce of courage
to reach...
The unreachable
[belting it out]: star...
[Applause erupts]
[]
[Cheering and
applause continues]
There she is!
Miss special delivery!
Only because of
this lady right here.
Miss special handling!
Oh! No.
Thank you, Rita.
Oh, mindy. You deserve it!
The way you sang...
Well...
You'll never know
how much some of us
needed to hear it tonight.
Well, I guess I'll
be seeing you.
You really are "special," Rita.
Oh, thank you.
I'm so sorry for everything.
I really don't know
what I was thinking.
Oh...
Well, I think
you were thinking that...
You love me?
Yeah. I was
definitely thinking that!
[Quiet chuckle]
Oh... [chuckles]
Aww.
- I'll...
- Mm-hmm.
Okay.
[Chuckling]
Yeah.
We'll get it.
[Shane]: When you asked me
to have dinner with
you in Washington,
I was hoping for a little more.
You know, chips and potato salad
to go with the sandwich.
[Both laughing]
I owe you one.
You owe me nothing, Oliver.
Whatever happens now,
you gave me something
today that I'll never forget.
[]
A little hope for
this world again.
Believe it or not,
I used to know all the
verses to that song, too.
Mm.
"Thine alabaster cities gleam,
undimmed by human tears."
Harper told me
that Phoebe puts
up a good front,
but...
She still cries herself to sleep
almost every night.
[Exhaling heavily]
Oliver, when I think
about what's happening
over there right now,
I just hope we
did the right thing.
Oh, I think we did.
I think...
We were called
to be a part of...
A lot of little miracles
that had to happen
to get this far.
Well, now we just need one more.
[Sighs deeply]
[]
"In the morning,
I will sing of your mercy..."
"For you are my fortress,
"my refuge,
"my high tower
in times of trouble."
[Rotors beating]
[]
[Helicopter approaching]
O, beautiful
delta bravo, we have
eyes on soul sister.
I repeat. We have soul sister.
For Amber waves of grain
for purple
mountain majesties
above the fruited plain
America
america
god shed his grace on thee
and crown thy good
with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea
[]
Where's our taxi going?
Oh, you won't be needing it.
You must be Phoebe.
Yeah.
Hello, sir.
Steven marek.
Department of defense.
Former air force?
- Yeah. That's right.
- I thought you and Phoebe...
would like to see
what army rangers
are flying around in these days.
[]
Mom!
Mommy!
Oh, mama!
[Laughing and crying]
[]
[Phoebe keeps sobbing]
- Hi, daddy!
- Oh! Oh...
[]
[]
[]
We're heading to the airport,
with one stop on the way.
[]
What's this?
Uh...
This is the first acquisition
by the newly-formed
O'Toole foundation.
You bought this lot?
I did.
And you're building
retirement homes?
Oh... all sorts of things.
Maybe a... school
or a library in Afghanistan.
We're starting small.
I assume you can use
your computer to track down
the original blueprints
for your ancestral home?
[Laughing]
Probably!
It was a pretty
small house, though.
Oh.
Well, we'll just make it bigger.
There'll be a porch...
Uh, and a swing, of course.
Roses.
Oh, that reminds me.
Ahem.
What's this?
Is it...
I took a cutting from
your rosebush over there.
If you take it home, plant it,
next year, you'll have the...
First Rose of summer.
Yes.
[]
Are we all supposed
to move here?
[Laughing]
Not for a long time yet, Norman.
We all have a lot
left to do. Besides...
It's nice to have something
to look forward to, hmm?
Wow, Shane! It's so cool...
Your first house will
be your last house.
Ah, the great circle of life.
[Chuckling]
Can I have a workshop?
And a laboratory?
Maybe a little...
Mini-anti-matter
cyclotron in the garage?
No, Norman.
No cyclotron.
It's time to go.
[]
What a family.
The few...
The proud...
The postal.
And crown thy good
with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea
[]