A Man Called Hawk (1989) s01e11 Episode Script

If Memory Serves

[Theme music]
[Music continues]
[Instrumental music]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Laughs]
Ah.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
There it was in some magazine
on the floor of the prison
hospital for god sake.
You were telling
the truth, dessaline.
The bullion..
How the general
smuggled it out Everything.
So, now you know I was
not spinning the tall tales
to my cellmate.
What are you going
to do, bingham?
[Sighs]
You think, 'cause I'm
getting out of here tomorrow
I'm gonna beat you to it?
Nah!
When was the article published?
Couple of months back.
Wasn't really an article though.
A winning story
in a writing contest.
Something about a fable and..
An old man from Haiti.
But the part about the fortune
was almost verbatim
what you told me.
And the old man was a griot
just like your cousin.
[Chuckles]
What are your plans, bingham?
I get out of here
and I go to Brazil
[choking]
I can kill you
right now like that.
And I could choke
the life out of you!
I swear to god, I don't..
I wouldn't do that.
Why wouldn't you?
You should be my cross to
bear. I shouldn't have told you!
[Dramatic music]
[Clattering]
You're not here, my friend.
You have trouble, hawk.
I've seen trouble before.
Not like this trouble.
It is here.
But not of here.
What do you mean "not of here?"
It comes from a place
surrounded by water..
Warm water.
Hot days, dark nights
a bleak deserted place
surrounded by high walls.
The walls are there not
to keep corruption out
but to keep it in.
So, these walls have
not done their job?
Yes.
Should I be afraid?
Yes.
Because fear's what
keeps most men safe.
There's more.
Ahh!
But you are not like most men.
[Indistinct chatter]
[Upbeat music]
[Chatter continues]
[Knocking on door]
[Coughing]
Crawdaddy.
Please.
(Crawdaddy) Oh.
Now, you say, please.
You should've remembered
your humility weeks ago.
Get him out of my face.
[Groaning]
[Knocking continues]
Name's bingham.
Felix bingham.
Crawdaddy's expecting me.
[Dramatic music]
[Rattling]
(Crawdaddy) 'Come
in, gold digger.'
sit down.
Can we do this in private?
This is as private as
it gets, gold digger.
Cletus is, shall we say, loyal.
'He lives to do my bidding.'
you say, you knew
about the treasure?
Many doubt it's real.
Alex chavin doesn't.
How you know about chavin?
Like I said on the phone
dessaline told me everything.
How he got the money out.
How he left a map
with his cousin Alex.
And how Alex chavin
has the combination
to the vault in his head.
Why would dessaline
tell you all these things?
I was his cellmate.
He bragged, I listened.
He's dead now, tragically.
I intend to carry on.
H-How did he die?
Accident.
Which allows us to work together
split the money.
Why would I do that?
I'm useful.
Things just come to me.
Like I know where
Alex chavin is.
'You've been here
for three years'
'and he's been right
under your nose.'
Washington is a big place.
I can lead you to him.
If you can do all that,
why do you need me?
'Cause you can get the
combination out of him.
'You're the shaman.'
you can put him under one
of your spells or whatever.
It's called nomu.
I could speak the word and
have him reveal everything.
And I'll protect
you with this.
I don't form
partnership, gold digger.
'I don't use your blingy too.'
this one has eluded me.
We have deal then?
Yes, but don't turn your
back on me, gold digger.
I have no scruple.
Neither do I, mojo man.
[Laughing]
[Clock ticking]
[Wind whooshing]
[Drumbeats]
[Crowd chanting]
[Crowd clamoring]
[Woman screams]
[Music continues]
[Laughing]
No.
[Panting]
What was it, daddy? You alright?
I'm alright.
Nicole honey, I'm alright.
I'll be fine.
- Same dream?
- It's worse.
They want something. I
don't know what they want.
They want me.
Thank you very much.
[Bell ringing]
Howard thurman's
"disciplines of the spirit."
[Chuckles]
Look like a man who's just
found something to his liking.
I have indeed.
Good choice.
Not many are aware of him.
You know you
consistently amaze me.
I can always count on finding
a Jewel that you are here.
How do you manage?
Luck, persistence,
my daughter Nicole.
She's swears on par dog.
Always after the next bone.
'A compulsive
obsessive she calls him.'
perhaps, she's right.
Sounds like passion to
me. That's a good thing.
She's got a
passion for the word.
Unbelievable.
Just seeing her story
published was wonderful enough.
But to win first
prize to boot, ha ha.
I hate midterms.
- Hi.
- Hi.
We were just talking about you.
'Congratulation on your prize.'
oh, it was just a
newspaper competition.
She must've
remembered every story
I told her from
the little girl on.
Not only she can write,
she has a good memory.
She gets such from you as well.
Has she mentioned,
you were trained
as a griot in Haiti.
Now, that requires a
formidable memory.
It was a gift, or a curse.
It's with me since childhood.
Ah, they notice my
abilities early on.
Began feeding me the
entire history of the island.
From the age of 15
'my head was bursting
with the world of information.'
finally, I rebelled against it.
It was easy enough to do.
Not much call for
a tribal historian
'in modern times.'
I used that ability later
in collecting my books.
A griot
able to recite an
entire people's history.
What a thing.
I still can.
Things go in and stay in
the caverns of my head.
Will you recite something?
[Drumbeats]
"Second day of the storm
"the big ship comes.
"Nearly lost on the rocks.
'"The same monsoon
takes down 15 huts.'
"the ship's captain name brasia.
"On board, 42 nuba
people from the motherland.
"Part of the ivory
people from quadafan..
"also on board.
"The parties of 17
who didn't survive.
"Wind weeping..
"driving rain..
"can't see for many
parts of the day.
'"The birds of brasia's
lost on the rocks'
"in the storm the next morning.
"Year 1795..
Ship called edora.."
[Bell rings]
I'll go see what they need.
I can see why he said
it's a talent and a curse.
Can I talk to you?
Yes, of course.
I've had this bad feeling
like, like there's
death all around him.
My father is in terrible danger.
I know it.
But i don't know what to do.
I know someone who might.
[Instrumental music]
[Instrumental music]
[People chanting]
(Female #1) 'She
protected us all.'
now, she's gone.
Do you think this
is going to work?
You must not be afraid, Alex.
You must be brave.
[Singing in native language]
Is it crawdaddy?
It's crawdaddy, isn't it?
Haddie Mae
will be with you always.
[Woman mumbling]
[Indistinct chatter]
I must've seemed
irrational and overwrought
to your friend at the bookstore.
He used the word "concerned."
He's an excellent judge.
Tell me the details.
Well, that's why
I feel so helpless.
There just aren't many.
There's the nightmares.
And my father wakes up shaking
saying that someone's
trying to kill him.
Has he said who?
He won't say. He shuts down.
But whoever it is is
involved with voodoo.
How so?
He won't talk much about it.
But those dreams, they have him.
My father is petrified.
He's even talking about spells
and he says that the
dreams are premonitions.
How long has this been going on?
Last few months now.
And it's even gotten worse.
Now, my father's afraid
to go to sleep at night.
And sometimes I'll come in
and he'll just be..
Staring into space.
I know the religion.
I know it's not much to go on
and I would understand if
you don't wanna get involved.
I'm already involved.
I'll talk to your father.
Well, I haven't got much money.
I think it's about time for
you to get back to class.
I'm a man who's had
a few bad dreams.
What can I tell you?
- What are you running from?
- The past.
Everyone has a past
that gives them trouble.
I'm no different.
Not according to your daughter.
She's overreacting.
What about love, Mr. Chavin?
That ring a bell?
Your daughter thinks
someone's trying to kill you.
And the way you're
stonewalling me
I think she's right.
I can help you, but I
need some truth from you.
My original name was dessaline.
I changed it when I came here.
I wanted to Bury
the Haiti in me.
Things I had done there.
What things?
My cousin was part of
the general's special forces.
I worked for the general, too.
Because of my memory..
The general and my
cousin thought I'd be useful.
I hated myself for it,
but I had no choice.
The general never kept a
written record of anything.
Transactions, secret accounts
he engaged several
of us to keep his books.
- Other griots like yourself?
- Yes.
I was given a sequence
of numbers to remember.
I wasn't told why.
Later, before the fall..
My cousin, the
colonel, came to me.
Now, he gave
me a leather scroll.
He didn't tell me
the significance of it.
But I remember it.
I can still see it in my mind.
He said he'd come for it later.
Well, the general was
killed in the uprising.
My cousin has been in
prison in Haiti ever since.
After I came here
I heard that the
general smuggled out
a small fortune in bullion.
No one knows where.
How does this connect
to the nightmare?
I believe
I hold the key to that
fortune somehow.
Now, in voodoo
it's believed that
one can communicate
with someone
through their dreams.
Now, someone is
coming into my dreams.
They're talking to
me. They're calling me.
Who's calling you?
Crawdaddy.
A shaman in Haiti.
He worked for the general, too.
He is a vile man, a terror.
You probably think
these are the ramblings
of an ignorant islander.
But it's real.
No.
And I'm not ignorant
or afraid of the culture.
I'll see if I can put
these dreams to rest.
[Indistinct chatter]
[Dramatic music]
[Engine turns over]
[Music continues]
[Engine revving]
[Piano music]
You have entered
this man's nightmare.
The figures in his dreams are
not familiar to you, are they?
It's his religion, not mine.
I understand it, but
I'm not under its sway.
The force of belief
is powerful, hawk.
The people you are dealing with
believe in the power
of the ancestors.
'The life everlasting.'
'some of them like crawdaddy
believe that they cannot die.'
in the old ways before
christianity and slavery..
The power of the gods
was vested in our holy men.
'And they use that power
to nurture and protect.'
but as always
there were few like crawdaddy
who worked the
power of the spirits
in the service of evil
to harm and control..
'rather than
protect and liberate.'
'walk carefully, hawk.'
you are threading upon paths..
That only few of us
can remember now.
[Piano music]
[Bell rings]
I've never had the pleasure
of venturing into
this establishment.
Is Alex dessaline here?
I think he goes by
the name of "chavin."
He's, he's not here.
I'm an old acquaintance.
People call me crawdaddy.
He'll know the name.
I'll leave this for
Alex dessaline.
I mean chavin.
[Eerie music]
[Bell rings]
[Fire crackling]
(Alex) 'One of
crawdaddy's fetishes.'
'sort of a calling card.'
back in Haiti, they say he
has the power to will you to die.
He can hex an entire village
and have it do his bidding.
That's what he
did for the general.
He made conjurations,
destroyed his enemies.
Every magic potion
has an antidote.
Doesn't matter.
Crawdaddy's magic works
wherever he wants it to.
Nobody's immune.
He can cheat death itself.
How long has he been
here in Washington?
Three years, that I know of.
Before that he was in Miami.
Why didn't he find you before?
I had a woman working for me.
Shielding me. She
died some time back.
Mama haddie?
She was a shaman, too.
A powerful hogan.
Unlike crawdaddy,
she was a good spirit.
But she is gone now.
And he's stalking me.
He will get me, too.
'It's only a matter of time.'
I need to meet him.
It won't do any good.
Meanwhile, I'll try to find a
safe place for you and Nicole.
No place is safe.
Walls don't mean
anything to him.
Let me try.
[Dialing]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Upbeat music]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Inaudible dialogue]
[Dramatic music]
[Speaking in foreign language]
If he wanted you to find him
you would know where he is.
I'm not asking you for a riddle.
Just tell him a man called
hawk is looking for him
and that he desperately
wants to find me.
Merci.
[Indistinct chatter]
I heard you in the store. You
are looking for crawdaddy?
Yes, that's right.
You'll find him here.
And bless you.
Why are you doing this?
Because his evil is
sucking the people dry.
And everyone's afraid of him.
When you find him
though, give him a message.
Tell him, mama
haddie's sister sent you.
[Dramatic music]
[Knocking on door]
Name's hawk, I'm
here to see crawdaddy.
[Chanting in foreign language]
Cletus usually meets
people at the door.
He did.
- How can I help you, Mr..
- Hawk.
I have a thought for you.
What I have in my jacket
will put hole in your house
what do you think about that?
Put it away,
cletus. Put it away!
This man is not sane.
Ladies, please excuse me.
I wanna talk to
your shaman here.
You got a whole lot of
gumption coming in here like that.
Tell your man cletus
to move around
so I can see his hands.
You satisfied, Mr. Hawk?
Not quite.
I have a friend who's
afraid you are trying to
course certain
secrets out of him.
Your friend sounds like a
man familiar with my reputation
as a buquior.
I'm not familiar
with your reputation.
You don't want to be.
(Hawk) 'And you are
not conversing with mine.'
I'll explain.
Alex chavin and his daughter
are under my protection.
They are to be left alone.
'If you harm them in any way'
you will rue the day
you ever saw me.
If I want chavin
I'll get to him.
I can put a curse on you that'll
have you among the walking dead.
I don't think so, crawdaddy.
[Beads rattling]
[Dramatic music]
Nobody?
Where the hell are they?
Hawk's got 'em to
hide somewhere.
We gotta find a way to
draw 'em out of hiding.
I think I know a way.
[Indistinct radio chatter]
You'll be able to
salvage some old stuffs.
It's a warning,
you know. It's him.
[Dramatic music]
[Gunshots]
[Car revving]
[Tires screeching]
[Upbeat music]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Glass shattering]
[Grunting]
[Music continues]
[Grunting]
[Alex groaning]
[Wind whooshing]
[Instrumental music]
[Indistinct mumbling]
[Whimpering]
[Crawdaddy laughing]
[Indistinct mumbling]
[Laughing]
No, stop.
'Stop it. Stop.'
oh, my god!
What's the matter, daddy?
- Oh, no.
- Ahh!
(Nicole) 'Ambulance, please.'
'my-my father is
having a heart attack.'
oh! Dad.
Oh, no.
[Alex gasping]
[Dramatic music]
[Monitor beeping]
How is he?
Frankly, I'm at loss to
explain his condition.
He did suffer a
mild heart attack
but the damage shouldn't
have been sufficient
to induce a comatose
state like this.
What's wrong with him, doctor?
We've run a battery of tests.
Eeg, EKG.
We have the state of
the art equipment here.
There's no logical explanation.
'There's no brain
damage, no pathology.'
it's almost as if your
father is simply shut down.
[Beeping continues]
He's in danger.
It's hard to tell.
His vital signs are good.
Seems to have a
strong constitution.
We are following
another similar case.
Man came in with broken ribs
'in the same trance-like state.'
his name is cletus.
[Instrumental music]
Crawdaddy has the
whole community terrified.
That's the nature of it.
Crawdaddy is
every bit as powerful
as the people believe he is.
But he is misusing that power.
He's taken the religion
that liberated people
from slavery and
put them in terror.
He's got to be stopped.
And you would stop him?
I have to.
Crawdaddy is a master sorcerer.
He will test your strength.
[Indistinct chatter]
We are no closer to the bullion
than when we were
when we started.
I'd be better off in
that hell hole in Haiti.
You say it if it was my fault.
It was your mumbo jumbo
that put chavin in a coma.
(Crawdaddy) I am
a conjuror, not god!
How was I to know that
his heart would give out?
We should have snatched
him from the bookstore
like I wanted to.
Hey, why didn't you
when you had the
chance early on?
You knew where he
was long before I did.
It was your cowardice
that kept you from it.
Arguing is getting us nowhere.
We need to come up
with something that works.
[Dramatic music]
[Indistinct chatter]
Ms. Goddard is in the
anthropology department.
She studied the
Caribbean. Haiti in particular.
I've made several trips there
and kept up on
what's going on there.
Do you know anything
about a colonel dessaline?
Head of the secret forces
under general musa for years.
A ruthless cutthroat.
Worse than the general,
who was no sweetheart.
Dessaline just
recently died in prison.
Can I ask why you want to know?
Someone told me a story
about a missing fortune.
Ahh! The legend
Nicole wrote about.
Thirteen million in bullion.
The rumor's been
floating around for years.
'The general and dessaline
supposedly smuggled the bullion'
'out of the country
before the regime fell.'
the general was killed.
And according to Leslie
dessaline never told
anyone where the gold was.
Thirteen million could
feed a lot of people in Haiti.
If you could find it.
Thank you very
much, Ms. Goddard.
You've been very helpful.
[Monitor beeping]
- Doctor.
- Yes.
[Dramatic music]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Monitor beeping]
[Music continues]
Time's going Alex dessaline.
We both have waited
for this moment.
Haven't we?
Listen to crawdaddy, Alex.
Time to tell your secret.
You know how to do it.
Prayer.
Take me into your memory.
I call on all my noman force.
[Speaking in foreign language]
Take me back to
the time you want to.
He told you the secret.
I, crawdaddy..
[Speaking in foreign language]
It's time.
Tell me the tale.
Tell it!
Tell crawdaddy.
- Combination.
- Yes.
Secrets.
Tell me the
Combination, Alex.
The numbers.
Twenty six right.
Yeah.
Seventeen left hand.
Thirty-two right.
Will it open, Alex, the vault?
- Yes.
- Yes.
Where is the vault, Alex?
Tell me!
What better place
than sunny house?
[Monitor beeping]
No. No. No.
Numbers..
Combination..
Nu-nu-numbers..
'Combination..'
'sunny house..'
[Alex blabbering]
(Nicole) 'Oh, he's been
like this for past hour.'
he-he keeps rambling.
It's like he's delirious.
I've given him a sedative.
It will take effect soon.
Seems to be having
psychotic episode.
(Alex) 'Sunny house.'
'be careful.'
he's coming.
He's trying to kill me.
[Alex crying]
[Indistinct chatter]
My friend kept
saying, "sunny house."
"Sunny house." Do you
know what that means?
That's what the
caribbeans used to call
Fairfax hall here in Washington.
It was donated to
the diplomatic court
by one of the president's wives.
If someone were from Haiti,
would they know what that meant?
If he were older. It's
been closed for ten years.
They wanted to tear it down,
but this was too much red tape.
Uh-huh. Do you know where it is?
I can get the address for you.
Mm.
You got the combination?
[Chuckles]
And the location.
What's sunny house?
Sunny house is a nickname.
An abandoned mansion
located here in Washington DC
for the poor islanders
secretly housing
'thirteen million
dollars in gold.'
from a cell in a Haitian jail
to a millionaire 13 times over.
Ah, gold digger, your
tongue is slipping.
Your cut is six and a half.
What are you doing?
Making a hostile takeover.
[Gunshot]
Ah!
[Dramatic music]
One more.
Got it.
(Hawk) 'So you have.'
'step away from it.'
'now!'
what's your
business here, friend?
(Hawk) 'I heard about
your treasure hunt.'
'i decided to join.'
I can't let you out of
here, you know that.
(Hawk) 'How do you
fit into this puzzle?'
you don't need to know.
Gold digger.
[Dramatic music]
[Groans]
(Crawdaddy) 'Don't
even think about it, hawk.'
'i have a blade
here for you as well.'
now, open up the
vault, so I can see it.
Because I want it.
[Grunting]
Look.
[Panting]
[Groans] I, I..
I will return.
Death won't keep me long.
Crawdaddy will return.
[Speaking in foreign language]
Whatever you say, shaman.
So, it's in the works then.
Yes, to make sure it
gets in the right hand.
Oh, I see no problem.
Once cleared, the
money will be distributed
by our people to the poor.
It won't solve their
problem, but at least it'll help.
Just once in our lifetime.
Let's hope not.
You know I wanna thank you
for everything you have done.
We both do.
You know you have
unlocked the key
to feed a lot of
starving people.
And I feel good about that.
'But I do feel uneasy.'
I just don't think we've
heard the last of crawdaddy.
I'm beginning to understand
feel the depth of the old ways..
The old spirits.
That's what gives
religion its power.
To belief and to feel deeply.
That's easy for you to say.
[Chuckles]
[Theme music]
[Theme music]
Previous EpisodeNext Episode