Magnum, P.I. (1980) s01e09 Episode Script

Missing in Action

Oh, wow! This is beautiful! Well, it has its drawbacks.
Like what? Like that.
Higgins.
! Why would there be a Delta block on a Marine M.
I.
A.
? He didn't die.
He's alive.
- Let your mind reach out to him.
- Eric? Shh.
! Delta Section wants him, Magnum.
It's up to him how we get him.
I know what outfits like Delta Section can do to men.
Think he'll be on time? I have no doubt he will.
Yeah, but he's really been running scared lately.
Doesn't matter.
He's a Delta agent.
His mental discipline won't allow him to be late.
I hope you're right.
I am.
- Tobin? - What's the answer? - Now, Tobin, listen to me for a minute.
- Delta One said no.
Is that the answer? The answer is I can't get an answer.
No one can.
There aren't more than three men in the country that know Delta One's identity, and I'm not one of them.
Now, Tobin, for God's sakes, be reasonable.
- There isn't such a word anymore, Newton.
- I know how you feel.
You pencil-pushing- How would you know? You ever been out there? You ever had your cover blown? No, no, I haven't.
But listen to me.
Now, just listen.
You come in.
I'll debrief you.
That's the only way I can set up a meeting with Delta One.
The only man who's going to debrief me is Delta One.
Delta One.
? Dena vu? Hey, Moki.
? Could you be the dream that I once knew? Who's that? Her name's Laura Frasier.
Rick hired her this morning.
I guess he figured we needed a little inspiration around here.
? Could you be the dream that might come true? ?Shining through? ? I keep remembering me? ? I keep remembering you? ? Ah? ? Déja vu? - Laura! - Eric.
It's all right.
It's okay.
Come on.
Drink this.
Who are you? I'm Tom Magnum.
I'm a friend of Rick's.
Shall I call a doctor? No! I'm- I'm all right.
You're sure? just felt a little faint, that's all.
Who's Eric? You called his name just before you came around.
It's not important.
Laura, are you all right? What happened? I'm fine.
What are you doing here? Now, listen, don't mess around with something like this.
I mean- I'm all right, Rick.
I promise.
I just felt a little faint.
Must be this stupid diet I've been on.
Guess it finally caught up with me.
You just tell me what you want, and I'll have it here in two minutes.
Lickety-split, pronto, just like that.
Some chicken soup.
But I can fix it at home.
Don't worry about me.
I'm fine.
Chicken soup? You'll have a steak with vegetables and all the trimmings.
And I'll fix it at my place.
And a nice quiet swim goes with it.
Oh, wow! This is beautiful! Well, it has its drawbacks.
Like what? Like that.
Higgins! Zeus! Apollo! Halt! Higgins.
! Enough is enough.
Those dogs are beginning to make me lose my sense of humor.
Thanks to this young lady, that's all you're losing today.
I'm sorry, miss, if the lads frightened you, but security here is quite stringent.
We're just here to have a swim and dinner.
just a swim and dinner.
Carry on then.
Aren't you gonna get wet? Maybe later.
This is beautiful.
How'd you know this is just what I needed? Oh, it's just a hunch.
Do you get hunches often? No, but when I do, I usually go with them.
How about you? You asked me who Eric is, remember? Yeah.
Well, our families lived next door to one another in Webster Groves, Missouri.
Eric and I grew up together.
We always knew what the other one was going to say even before we said it.
We even knew what the other one was thinking or what the other needed.
Some people call that E.
S.
P.
And some people just laughed at you if you say that.
No, I'm not laughing.
No, you weren't.
Anyway, Eric and I were engaged in college, but before we could be married, Eric joined the Marine Corps and was sent to Vietnam.
And in 1972, in August, he had an R & R here in Honolulu at Fort DeRussy, and I joined him.
A couple of weeks later, I was back in Missouri, and he was back in 'Nam.
And the Marine Corps notified his mother that he was missing in action.
She finally gave him up for dead, but see, I knew he was alive.
I just knew it.
Then about a month ago, I saw him.
Where? In my head.
just like today.
When you passed out? He's in something.
Somewhere up high.
I can't make it out, but he's got a rifle, and he's shooting at someone.
And then he's falling.
He just keeps falling and falling like he's been shot into the sea.
Anything else? just that when that happened, I had this feeling that he was here in Honolulu.
So you came out here looking for him.
Yes.
No luck? The Marine Corps won't tell me anything because I'm not related to Eric.
Well, maybe I can help.
- You mean that? - Laura, I am a private investigator.
I don't know what to say.
Why don't you get wet? Come on.
Let's go for a swim.
Come on.
We'll go for a swim, and then we'll have some dinner.
Come on! I started working on the case the next morning, if you could call it a case.
Laura had hired me to confirm that Eric was actually missing in action.
It wasn't a big deal if you had access to the computers at Pearl, but I didn't.
However, Lieutenant MacReynolds did, and I had a feeling he'd help me out.
Get lost, Magnum.
The answer is no.
Okay, MacReynolds, you're not the only friend I've got on this base.
Magnum, you're about as popular around here as Legionnaires' Disease.
Yeah? Well, that'll change soon.
What do you mean by that? Admiral Sturdevant.
Admiral Sturdevant? Yeah.
He's being transferred out here from Washington to take over CI NCPAC.
Now, how do you know that? Well, Admiral Sturdevant and I were real tight in 'Nam.
We still are.
He sent me a letter saying that he'd be seeing me soon.
It's funny.
I guess I have a lot of leverage with Old Iron Pants.
Old Iron Pants? That's what his buddies call him.
Magnum, you're conning me.
Hey, if that's what you want to think, it's fine.
It's not a problem.
M- M-Magnum, come back.
I know you're conning me.
Aw, come on, Mac.
just push the buttons.
What's the name? Tobin.
Eric Tobin.
He's still missing in action, okay? Hey, you can't do that! - A Delta block? - That's it, Magnum.
Why would there be a Delta block on a Marine M.
I.
A.
? I don't know, I don't care, and neither do you.
just get out of here and keep your damn mouth shut.
If you show up here again, I'm gonna have to take you to security, okay? His file was blocked by Delta Section.
Well, who are they? It's a spook outfit.
Nobody knows much about 'em.
Nobody wants to, considering the kind of work they do.
Such as? Such as sabotage, terrorism, assassination.
Eric couldn't have been a part of anything like that.
Laura, his file has what they call a Delta lock on it.
Well, there must be some mistake.
Delta Section doesn't make mistakes.
Not that kind anyway.
But why would it be on his file? Either Delta Section wants someone to think he's dead- Or? Or it doesn't want anyone to know how he died.
But he didn't die! Laura.
He's alive right here in Honolulu.
I know it! Attention, all military personnel leaving for Hickam Field, the bus will depart in 10 minutes.
Eric and I said good-bye there.
Laura, you know, sometimes a person can want something so much they really can't see the truth.
I can still remember the date.
August 8, 1972.
July 15th, 1967.
A lot of people said good-bye there.
Were you in love with her? Yes, as a matter of fact, I was.
Maybe you were right.
Maybe I do want Eric to be alive so badly that I'm just not facing reality.
Laura, don't be that hard on yourself.
The important thing is just to face that possibility.
But we're gonna keep on looking.
M- A-G-N-U-M.
And who's the girl? Laura Frasier? Okay.
It won't work, Magnum.
But you said you'd done it before.
Yes, but those were merely parlor tricks.
Things I picked up while serving in India in '48.
Of course, it did work when my sister lost the family brooch.
I put her into a trance, and she remembered leaving it in the- Well, it's not important where she left it, is it? The important thing is that under trance she did remember where she left it.
Then you'll give it a try with Laura.
- The Ferrari.
- The Ferrari? As long as you're utilizing the vehicle, you should at least be responsible for its upkeep.
Well, I am.
I have the tires checked regularly.
I added a quart of oil just the other day.
How extravagantly decent of you.
Magnum, the car is overdue for servicing.
For servicing? You mean you want me to get a tune-up? Precisely.
Is that all? That's all.
Higgins.
Higgins, how much does a tune-up cost? Higgins, how much does a Ferrari tune-up cost? Sleep.
Deep, deep sleep.
The colors wash through you, refreshing your body, refreshing your mind.
So soft, so warm, so gentle.
You hear only my voice, so nothing disturbs you.
Sleep, sleep.
Sleep.
- Is she? - Shh! Can you hear me, Laura? Yes.
When I count three, you will open your eyes and look into the crystal.
One, two, three.
Look carefully.
Eric is in there.
Let your mind reach out to him.
Eric! Laura, do you see him? Yes.
He's up high with a rifle.
He's shooting.
He's falling! No! Laura.
! Eric is not in the crystal now.
He's gone.
All there is is snow.
Just falling snow.
Soft flakes of snow.
Now, close your eyes.
I told you it wouldn't work.
It was working.
She saw Eric.
She only saw what she says she sees when she faints.
Nothing more.
When I count to three, you'll awake.
You will feel very calm, very refreshed, as if you've had a nice long sleep.
One, two, three.
Well? I don't know, Thomas.
I don't think this is gonna work.
Oh, come on, T.
C.
You're a good mechanic.
Hah! On helicopters, I'm king.
jeeps, I'm unbeatable.
But, man, there's so much unnecessary junk up under these things.
Unnecessary junk? T.
C.
, a spark plug is a spark plug.
You'll do a great job.
Okay.
I guess I'll need a ball peen hammer.
Throw it here.
Okay, fire her up.
That's great.
You did it.
Well, never doubted it for a minute.
- Hey, you're a genius.
- Yeah, well- - That'll be fifty bucks.
- Fifty bucks? What for? Well, there's something known as parts, man.
Fifty bucks for spark plugs? Come on! That's right.
Look, I gotta run.
I'll see you this afternoon.
It's Friday, Thomas.
I need the 50 bucks to buy a fuel pump for my chopper.
Well, all I got's a 20.
All right, man.
That'll do for right now.
T.
C.
! You mean you'd let me drive out of here broke? Well, that's the way you always drive in.
The money, Thomas.
Okay, I tell you what I'll do.
I'll loan you 10 till this evening.
You'll loan me 10? You owe me 50! That's right, which I don't have.
So I'll loan you 10 to keep you afloat.
You can pay me back when I pay you the 50.
Whoa.
! What's with this Abbott and Costello routine? You owe me 50, you'll loan me 10? Forget it! Oh, okay.
Thanks.
I owe you one.
You owe me one? You owe me 50! - Hello? - I saw the sign.
What do you want? I thought you might like to know Laura Frasier's in Honolulu.
She's singing at the King Kamehameha Club in the afternoon.
Spends the rest of her time looking for you.
Oh, and I guess you should know one of our agents is protecting her.
Pat, don't ever give work to your friends.
Ever.
Hey, Moki, is Laura in her dressing room? Yeah, but you got yourself a visitor.
He's up on Rick's terrace.
Who is he? Well, his name's Newton.
He says he works for a tourist agency.
Rick told me to tell you five will get you ten he's government heat.
Government heat, huh? Magnum? That's right.
Can I order you a drink? No, thanks.
Thanks, Sandy.
You're from Delta Section, right? Assistant chief of personnel.
I take it you have a rather jaundiced impressión of Delta Section.
Why don't you knock off the phony bull, Newton, and get to the point? Right.
I understand you're looking for a man named Eric Tobin and you're working for a woman named Laura Frasier.
- Next question's why.
- Yes.
Only that's my question.
Why are you looking for Tobin? - I didn't say I was.
- You wouldn't be here if you weren't.
Tobin isn't an M.
I.
A.
He's alive, he's in Honolulu, and he's a Delta agent.
Now, even if that were true, I wouldn't tell you.
That'd be top secret information and you know that.
Top secret information.
Right.
You guys live on a one-way street.
All questions and no answers.
Till you misplaced one of your agents, then you come to me for help.
Well, go suck an egg, Newton.
I wouldn't give you the directions to Diamond Head.
You know, Magnum, finding Tobin is a matter of national security.
As a former N.
I.
A.
officer- Don't wave the flag at me, Newton! I served! Besides, I'm not so sure helping Delta Section is in the best interests of the country.
Now, if you want to fill me in, fine.
Otherwise- Well, here's my telephone number in case you change your mind.
You guys really want him dead, don't you? Delta Section wants him, Magnum.
It's up to him how we get him.
In his letter, Mr.
Masters enumerates several points which he feels the board of directors should address.
- Point one is- - How you doing, Higgins? Let me proceed to point 10, which concerns itself with the increasing number of nonmembers who are using the club.
Laura? Laura, are you all right? Thomas.
Thomas, he's here.
Here? In the club? Yes, and somewhere very close.
Come on.
Eric! Magnum, this is outrageous! - No! Stay down! - What's going on? Eric saw it was me.
Why would he run? I don't know, Laura.
Which one was it, Pat? It's the black Mustang.
He said he was here to meet a member.
I didn't know.
It's not your fault.
Don't worry about it.
Magnum, I want to talk to you.
No.
Later, Higgins.
Now! This not a hotel street saloon.
It's the most exclusive club in Honolulu, and your behavior is intolerable.
My behavior? I wasn't the one doing the shooting, Higgins.
Whoever was is not a member of this club.
Well, neither am I.
My point precisely.
I want you to take immediate steps to see that Magnum leaves the premises.
Wait.
He's your guest.
My guest? Well, Robin Masters's.
And you're Robin's surrogate to the board of directors, so technically, he's your guest.
Thanks, pal.
Anytime.
Can you do me one more favor, Rick? You got it.
Can you take Laura inside and keep an eye out on her? I mean, this guy's still out there somewhere.
Thomas, I- Look, you go inside with Rick.
Please? I'll see you later.
Okay.
Thank you.
Is this the one, Pat? Yeah.
Thanks.
The car had been sanitized.
No registration, nothing.
Or almost nothing.
Eric had been careless.
He'd left a claim check from a parking lot on Moana Street, and the date was for today.
The guy minding the lot had some information, which he wanted 25 bucks for.
I haggled him down to 20, which was all I had.
See? I hadn't been lying to T.
C.
The building was abandoned.
It was a perfect place to hide.
Eric had made a mistake leaving that parking stub in the car.
And in this business, mistakes are usually fatal.
The letter to the Washington Post was to be mailed in case of Eric's death.
According to Eric, he was part of a four-man Delta rescue team operating out of a small North African village called Rabal.
Since only Delta One knew of the team's existence, theoretically only Delta One could have blown their cover.
Hi, Rick.
Will you do me a favor? Sure.
I need the address that goes with this phone number.
Fast, I bet, huh? Well, like yesterday.
Where's Laura? She's in her dressing room.
I wouldn't even let her sing.
Laura? He was here again, wasn't he? He came to tell me to forget him, to go home.
Thomas, you should have seen him.
He was so cold.
His eyes and his hands when he touched me.
Hey, it's okay to cry.
It's okay.
I haven't cried for eight years, you know.
It would be like admitting he was dead.
I realize now that you don't have to have someone die to lose them.
Thomas, it's over now.
Promise me you'll let it go.
Laura, I don't think they'll let us.
What do you want, Newton? We're taking Miss Frasier into protective custody.
Like hell you are.
I warned you.
This is a national security matter.
I don't care what it is.
It's all right.
just stay in the car.
I have a warrant, Magnum.
Then let's see it.
Thomas.
! I thought for a moment about going to 5-0, then realized Delta Section would have that angle covered with a great big cloak called "national security.
'" No.
The only way to save Laura was to play Delta's kind of game, and to do that, I needed more information.
So I reenlisted, only I didn't bother telling the navy.
You might say I was officer of the day.
My luck was holding.
The computer room was nearly empty.
Now all I had to get was the code number for Delta Section's classified personnel file.
Even though it was classified, it wasn't top secret, so it wasn't Class "A" protected.
Magnum! MacReynolds, don't scare me like that.
What the hell are you doing in here? "Delta Section classified personnel.
'' You've got no right to be looking at that! Come on, Mac.
It's not even secret.
It's just classified.
It's for authorized use, and you're not authorized.
Mac! And look at that uniform.
You got no right to be wearing a uniform.
Look at your hair.
You look ridiculous.
- I warned you I was gonna do this.
- Mac, don't- Put down the phone.
Just put it down and listen to me.
This is about Tobin.
And yesterday was about some admiral named Iron Pants that's gonna take over CI NCPAC.
This is about Eric Tobin, the M.
I.
A.
, remember? Look, he's a Delta agent.
He thinks Delta One blew his cover.
Now, he may be right, he may be wrong, but either way he's in Honolulu to kill him.
He could take out a lot of innocent people in the process.
- Magnum, if you're conning me again- - Mac, I've been down that road.
Not all the way, but far enough to know what outfits like Delta Section can do to men.
Look, believe me, he'll kill whoever gets in his way.
Well, okay, but if anybody finds you in here, Thanks, pal.
I'm gonna be walking the shortest plank in the history of the navy.
Thank you.
- There he is.
- Newton? - Look at Newton's code number.
- What about it? Well, that's the highest I've seen so far.
What's that mean to you? That he just joined Delta Section.
According to his readout, he's been counting paper clips with Delta Section since '65.
He should have one of the lowest code numbers, not one of the highest, right? Mm-hmm.
Doesn't make sense.
Unless it was put in his file recently as a cover.
- Hello.
- You're getting mighty talkative, Newton.
You lonesome? I got it.
A meeting with Delta One.
Did you hear me? I heard you.
I'm trying to decide if I believe you.
I managed to make contact.
He'll be arriving in Honolulu at 9:00.
He said you could pick the place for the meeting.
Doesn't that reassure you? The abandoned dredge opposite the reef runway, 8:00.
just the two of you.
Is Rick in his office? Yeah.
Hey, T.
C.
, you' re just the man I want to see.
Have you got that address for me, Rick? I'll have it for you in a second.
I been waiting for you.
Or more accurately, I been waiting for my 50 bucks.
What for? That Ferrari runs like an old washtub.
I told you I wasn't the one to fix your old washtub.
But you still owe me 50 bucks for the spark plugs.
T.
C.
, I'll need your van.
My what? I mean, you already owe me 50 bucks, which you aren't gonna pay me already.
And you want to borrow my van? No way.
- Please, T.
C.
This is important.
- Yeah, it's always important.
I'm not kidding, T.
C.
Honest.
Thanks.
I owe you one.
Thanks, Rick.
Has it ever occurred to you that boy cannot count past one? Shall we talk in your office? Why not? Go to your desk, sit down, put your hands where I can see them.
The hands.
- What do you want, Magnum? - Laura Frasier.
And you're gonna give her to me, or Delta One is gonna be dead long before Tobin ever takes a shot at him.
What are you talking about? You, Newton.
You're Delta One.
See, I read a letter that Tobin wrote to the Washington Post in case you got him before he got you.
And then I took a look at your personnel file.
You've been in the outfit since '65, and you've got a 1981 serial number.
That's very good.
Thank you.
Where's Laura? Newton, I'm gonna ask you one more time, and then I'm gonna blow your brains out the window.
- Where's the letter to the Post? - I got it.
You give me the letter.
I'll give you Laura.
No.
You give me Laura, and then I give you the letter.
That's the way it works this time because I've got the warrant.
It's all right.
Tell him to put the rifle down now.
Put the rifle down.
All right, you know the routine.
All right, get out of here.
Come on, Laura.
Eric's on that barge over there.
They want me to talk to him.
You've got to get him to come in, or they'll kill him.
You were gonna use her to divert his attention? Maybe even his fire? What I was or wasn't gonna do doesn't matter.
You've got Laura.
Now give me the letter and move out.
But they'll kill him! It's all right, Laura.
You just stay here.
- What are you doing? - I'm gonna try and talk Tobin out.
If you interfere, I'll kill you.
Tobin! All right, Tobin, throw the rifle down.
Eric, don't run.
! I don't want to have to shoot.
- Eric! - Laura! You had to finish what you started in Rabal, didn't you? Eric's letter was the truth.
You got 'em killed.
You blew their cover.
Magnum, you don't understand.
Someone on that team in Rabal was a double agent, but I didn't know who.
It could've been Tobin or Dietrich or Marks or Deploma.
I couldn't find out who.
So you blew the cover on all four of 'em.
I had no choice.
No choice? You killed three innocent men.
Three white hats.
Three on our side who risked their lives for their country, and their country blew 'em away.
No choice.
Where's the letter? I'll give you anything.
I mailed it.
You mailed it? You're damn right I did, to the Washington Post.
It's over, Newton.
It's over.
It's what I saw.
What you saw? In my head.
It's what I've been seeing all these months! Thomas, I could've stopped it! No, you couldn't.
It's all right.
But he could.
God, it runs great, T.
C.
just great.
Why didn't you tune it like this in the first place? Well, because this time, I had a little bit of motivation.
Hey, Higgins, this is great! Listen! You ever heard anything more beautiful in your life? It sounds adequate.
Adequate? Man, I just added - You did the tune-up? - Yep.
Are you an authorized Ferrari mechanic? A what? Higgins, what are you trying to pull? Nothing.
Only if this car is so much as touched by an unauthorized mechanic, the warranty is voided.
You know what happens when you void a warranty, Magnum? Kind of.
You're responsible for all repairs and maintenance from there on out.
Yeah, but what if T.
C.
is an authorized mechanic? Impossible.
T.
C.
, show him your papers.
You mean you're not an authorized mechanic? Then give me that! Well, give me that! Give me that.

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