Eyeball, be sure to get me in focus, man.
Make sure you take the lens cap off this time.
- Let's play some spades. - Hey, Tommy's gotta go.
All right.
You out, Tommy?
When we see Old Glory flying
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night
When we lay down our head
My daddy served in the Army When he lost his right eye
But he flew a flag out in the yard
Till the day that he died
He wanted my mother My brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy In the land of the free
Now this nation that I love Has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flyin' in From somewhere in the back
Soon as we could see clearly Through our big black eye
Man, we lit up your world Like the Fourth of July
And Uncle Sam put your name At the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty Started shaking her fist
And the eagle will fly And it's gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom Stan' ringing her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world
Is raining down on you
Okay, open door. Open.
Brought to you courtesy Of the red, white and blue
What is that?
- Any Mexicans in there? - Fucker.
- What's that? - No.
- Okay, okay, close. - Nothing.
- Hey. - Get these guys the fuck out of here.
Just pop shots, guys. Stay alert.
- Get these guys out of here. - It's a go.
Yeah, sarge, just waiting around to get blown up, huh?
Cool.
Yo, check this out. Mich, she just sent this to me yesterday.
Damn, sarge. Your fiancée is hot!
- Appreciate it. - Heh.
She and I will make some cute Tex-Mex babies.
That's it. Now you cleaning the shitters. Keep it up.
Just keep it up. Go ahead.
- Oh, that's personal. - Oh!
Sergeant King, I just saw Michele's tits.
- Congratulations, private. - Whoa, titties?
All right, Steve, deal with that car. Eyeball, take your post. Come on.
- All right. - Whoa! Stop! Stop!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Hold your fire!
Two Apache gunships are on their way for support. Do you copy?
We have two men wounded, one killed.
We need emergency medevac immediately. Over.
Checkpoint 2, we confirm your transmission.
Medevac is on its way. Sending a Quick Reaction Force to your POS at this time.
Roger. Quick Reaction Force to our position. Over.
Make it quick. I have two men shot up! I need help now!
- Units are on their way. - All right, send it through.
Get out of here. Get out of here.
Mount up! Mount up! Let's go!
We requested a Quick Reaction Force. Over.
We are pursuing insurgents in white taxi north through the city. Over.
Frank, do you see anything up there?
North! He's turning north!
- He's on our 11. He's on our 11. - Rico! You see it?
- Fuck! Damn! - Steve, you stay on him.
- Can we hit him on the .50? - Not yet. Too many civilians. We cannot fire.
I got them on my 11.
You okay, Tommy? Hold on, here we go!
Look for a clear shot, Frank. I will give you an order.
Fuck!
- Randy, Frank, cover high. - Roger.
Come on.
- Open door left. - Stack it up.
Go! Straight ahead! I got stairs!
Stay there! Stay there!
Stay calm! Stay calm!
- Adjacent room! - Rico, clear?
- Clear! - Clear!
Stay calm! Corning out! Rico, coming out!
- Shrive, that's a dry hole! - Coming out!
All right, move!
Tommy, let's move.
Move.
It's an ambush! Let's prepare to move back!
Ready! Move back!
I got two hajis right across the street!
Smoke! Smoke!
Preacher, call in! Tell them we need immediate extraction!
Tell them we've taken enemy fire! Two went down!
Shadow 6, this is Shadow 3, Lollipop Quebec Romeo 133.
Pinned down. We need extraction. We have two KIA.
RPG!
Preacher, are you hit?
- I got two guys up front. - Rico's hit!
- Hey! I need help! - Is he all right?
Come on!
Preacher, get Tommy!
- Tommy, come on. Get up! - Get him out of the street!
Come on, get against the wall. You okay?
Rico, no sleeping on the job, buddy. Come on.
Contact in the front of the street! Somebody get some smoke in that alley!
Get that door open!
Stay with me. Can you look at me?
- Is he breathing? - Yeah.
Help me get him in here!
Preach? Preacher?
- Preacher's hit! - Get him out of there!
Tommy! Get your ass inside right now! Come on.
Tommy!
Tommy, get your ass in there now!
Get down! Get down!
Steve, don't go in there!
Goddamn it.
Steve?
- Steve? - Man, I'm hit! I'm hit!
- I'm on my last mag! - How many?
Got a guy that's on the stairs!
There's another guy at the end of the fucking hall!
Coming straight up.
Steve?
- You all right? - I'm all right. I'm all right.
All right, Steve-o. Let's get you out of here.
- I'm all right. - Come on.
- I'm all right. - You got it.
Look at you, man.
All right, we're coming down. We're gonna need cover.
Sergeant Shriver, I saw your last range scores.
You ever thought of sniper school?
- I used to. - But?
I'm getting out. I'm getting married, sir.
- You're a hell of a shot. - I know, sir. Thank you, sir.
Puffing on Boot's cigar pretty hard, ain't you?
"I know, sir. Thank you, sir. I know, sir. Thank you, sir."
All right, listen up!
We have a bit of a surprise for you.
The good folk of Sergeant King and Sergeant Shriver's hometown, Brazos...
are throwing them a getting-out parade.
You represent the United States Army!
Hooah!
I expect every one of you to be on your best behavior.
Here's a list of things you will not do while on leave:
You will not drink and drive.
You pick up a young lady, let her drive.
Let her get the DUI.
You will not beat up civilians!
You will not fuck anyone underage.
I say again, you will not fuck anyone underage.
You will not beat your wife, you will not beat your kids.
You will not kick your dog. Am I understood?
Hooah!
Okay. I'll see you in Monday's formation, 0700. That's it.
Oh! Enjoy your stay in Brazos.
Did you get her on tape, man?
- No, I didn't get her on tape. - It's incriminating.
She said she was 18, so fuck all y'all.
Welcome home, Brandon!
- Well done, Shriver! - Guys, welcome back.
Whoo-hoo!
Brandon!
- Thank you, boys! - Thank you.
- Hey, baby! - Hey, baby!
Ow!
Beauty.
God bless the U.S.A.!
Two boys from Brazos.
Best friends since they were kids...
distinguished themselves by leading Brazos' High football...
to a memorable barn-burning division championship...
All right, Steve! and have gone to war...
and returned as heroes.
Staff Sergeant Brandon Leonard King.
We honor his exceptional courage, loyalty and selfless service...
with this Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor.
Let's hear from one of Brazos' own.
- Yeah! Speech, Brandon, speech. - Speech! Speech! Speech!
Come on, Brandon.
Sign them up, sergeant.
Come on, Brandon.
I was... Ahem. I wasn't planning on giving a speech.
I was just...
I was just over there trying to do my job like everybody else.
Trying to bring my men back safe.
You know, most of my men ain't from Texas.
Uh, it's kind of hard for me to describe to them what I love most.
Ribs at Smitty's...
or the way they keep the beer in tubs at the Ajax Bar...
being out at the ranch with my folks.
On the bus ride over here, I saw a truck hauling onions.
And I couldn't get the window down, because I wanted to smell them.
See, onions smell like home to me.
- They smell like Texas. - That's right, Sergeant King.
We're over there killing them in Iraq so we ain't gotta kill them in Texas!
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
Brandon.
Ma!
Oh, God! Let me see you.
- Oh, you're home now, baby. - I'm home.
- Let him breathe, Ida. - Oh, he can breathe.
- Dad. - Good to have you back, son.
Thank you, sir. Thank you. It's good to be back.
- Brandon King! - Yes, ma'am.
Mr. King. Good to see you, sir.
Good to have you back.
Yeah, well, baby.
Hey, Thomas? You going with us?
- Yeah, I'll be there in a second. - All right.
I am real proud of you, son.
I'm pulling some strings trying to move your Private Rodriguez...
from the hospital in Germany to an Army hospital stateside.
Anything else you need, you call me.
Thank you, sir. I will.
I'm real grateful about Private Rodriguez. I plan on seeing him when I get out.
If you come to Washington, you call me.
I'll take you around Capitol Hill...
and show them what a real Texas hero looks like.
I'd love that. I'd love that.
Private Rodriguez's family could use a word of encouragement.
We are going to take very good care of your son.
Thank you.
- Your brother's gonna be fine. - Thank you.
All right, Augustin. You stay out of trouble.
- Shorty Shriver! - Hey!
I got some making out to do. Sorry.
Aw, you're so cute!
From where I stand On the silver moon
- Have a seat. - Welcome back, baby.
- Thank you. - We missed your fine ass.
- Oh, man. - Here, soldier.
Get you some tequila.
Oh, look, it's Brandon, king of Texas.
Come on, Brandon!
- Whoo! - You back in Texas now.
- I love Texas! I love Texas! - Welcome home, boy.
It's good to be home.
All right. Y'all listen up.
To Steve and Michele.
Finally!
Give it a spin on the dance floor. Come on.
- I wanna dance. - I formally release him into your custody.
- Thank you. - Whoa!
I'm all right. Don't worry about old Steve.
Are you okay?
You know, you go ahead. I'm gonna sit this one out.
But we ain't danced yet, babe.
I know. Just you go. I'm gonna sit this one out, all right?
It's dance time in Texas
And they're striking up the band
Real honky-tonking Honey, take my hand
You and Brandon kill a bunch of those Iraqis over there?
Yeah, Steve, we winning this thing?
What we need to do...
is just drop a 10,000-pound bomb on one of their cities...
every time they hit us.
No more of this urban combat bullshit.
I'm tired of going and killing a Haji in his kitchen and his bedroom.
- Fucking A. - When you going back, Steve?
I'm done.
Me and B.K. are getting out.
You know, but if I had to do it again, I'd be a fucking sniper.
One shot. One kill. Let me be the faceless enemy.
I'd go back tomorrow to get that Haji bastard that killed Preacher.
- Hooah. - Hooah.
Preacher was Tommy's friend.
Fucking loved that guy.
He took a round in the face. It blew his jaw all the way off.
- Then he took one in the neck. - Hey, Steve.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
Yes, sir?
Just take out Haji and his whole fucking family.
Send them right back to Bible times.
What about you, darling?
- No, thank you. - Sure? I'm one hell of a dancer.
- No. I don't doubt it, but... - Hey, hey!
My wife said no. You fucking deaf?
I get it, man, no problem. You're the hero.
Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!
- No! No! - That shit is on!
- Get him, Tommy! - Oh, shit.
Tommy! No, Tommy!
At ease, soldier.
Soldier, at ease!
Fucking A! Listen to me!
All right, you good? You good? Huh? You hear me?
All right. Calm down, let's get a drink. Come on, man.
Hey, it ain't a party without a fight!
Okay, it's midnight...
and all the shit the U.S. Army done issued to your ass...
still ain't accounted for.
When you turn the rest of this shit in...
you gonna have to owe about a thousand dollars.
- Oh, Eyeball, I am getting out. - Man.
- That's what's up, man. - Except I'm keeping this.
Good choice. Good choice...
as your face has been known to scare kids and make dogs bark.
You're funny.
Ow.
Where's my phone?
- Hello. - Brandon?
Hi, Mich.
Yeah, I'll be right over. Dude, come on.
You all right?
He's got a gun.
What you doing, Steve?
What the fuck do you think?
You hitting the rack?
Yeah, don't know...
What pisses me off is just...
Soon as I get dug in, those fuckers are gonna move us out.
I'm gonna have to do this shit all over again.
Roger that.
What the hell?
Your mama made all these by hand.
She loves you like a daughter.
Steve was yelling at them like they're alive.
Then he kicked over the table.
A lady at the base said not to rush the fooling around.
But you know Steve.
He'd been drinking.
He couldn't, uh...
He hit you?
- He got rageful. - Did he hit you?
I caught a backhand.
I told him get the hell out.
He's so goddamn drunk right now...
he thinks he's on a mission outside the wire.
You know he loves you more than anything.
What up, Tommy?
Hey.
I just woke up and I was here.
What are you guys doing?
Fucking RoboSoldier dug a ranger grave in Michele's front yard.
- You want a beer? - Yeah.
Ain't it time you and Jeanie open your wedding presents?
Jeanie threw me out...
until I get my shit together.
I was wondering, maybe I could stay out at the ranch, just a couple days.
I was thinking maybe we'd all go, get out of town for the day.
What about RoboSoldier?
Fuck that one!
- That's my boy. - Read the card.
Ah!
Uh, "Uncle Vern and Aunt Tilly...
hope you and Jeanie get a bun in the oven soon."
Out of the way!
Whoo!
- Whoo! - Aah!
You know, it used to be the protocol for a busted marriage...
was to return the wedding gifts.
Read the card, Shorty!
"To Tommy and Jeanie, for a long and happy life together.
- From Tom and Charlotte." - Out of the way!
Whoo!
There she is!
Morning, sweetheart.
- Aw. - Oh, yeah, baby.
What's the matter, Robo?
You wake up on the wrong side of the spare tire?
Shorty, read the card.
Hey, princess, don't throw up in there, man.
I'm gonna need a beer in a minute.
Shorty, read it!
"From Steve and Michele."
Can we fucking cease fire for a little while?
Yeah, sure.
Ah! Goddamn it!
- I'm sorry. - Brandon, you motherfucker.
Goddamn!
An old granddaddy rattler!
Right where you would have stepped, cousin.
- I should've let it bit you. - Goddamn!
Good shooting, B.K.
Ooh, she's beautiful.
I'm used to this shit, baby. Just because you all aren't.
- Mr. T. - "I pity the fool."
I pity the fool that let Preacher cut their motherfucking hair.
Let the bodies hit the floor
All right. You've been busting my fucking balls all day.
How are you gonna explain that black eye in safety brief on Monday? Huh?
I walked into a door.
You and Michele walk in the same door?
I fucked up. I don't even know what happened.
Okay, I kind of blacked out.
I remember waking up in the trunk of Tommy's fucking car.
Well, it ain't gonna happen again. You copy me?
- Do you copy me? - I said I know and I said I fucked up.
Let the bodies hit the floor
One, nothing wrong with me
Two, nothing wrong with me
- Come on. Watch the venom. - You watch it.
Don't fucking touch me with that shit.
- Watch the venom, man! - I think I broke skin.
- I'm gonna fuck you up. - Come on.
Look at y'all.
Crazy.
What's going now, baby?
What are y'all doing over here?
Hey. Tommy?
You all right?
I shouldn't have shot that shit up.
- Sarge Shriver. - Sergeant King.
Hooah!
Man, I'm gonna miss blowing shit up.
Next.
- Gas mask. - Check.
- Poncho liner. - Check.
Sergeant King.
- Waterproof bag. - Check.
Did you cover for me in formation?
Come here.
Me and Steve are getting out.
It's up to you and Eyeball to lead the recruits.
- All right. - This new squad leader, he's a Baptist.
- I'm a Baptist. - All right. He's a real Baptist.
Listen, man, you got to get a fucking grip.
You smell like a fucking brewery. Come on.
That's because we were drinking last night.
- Tommy. - Wait. Come on.
Okay. You're all good to go.
Says here you have orders to report to the First Brigade.
Not me. I'm getting out today.
- Brandon Leonard King? - Yes.
Out to the First Brigade on the 22nd.
This is a mistake.
It's all there.
You leave on the 22nd, shipping back to Iraq...
Sub-section 12305, Title 10.
By the authority of the president.
You've been stop-lossed.
- Lieutenant colonel? - Sergeant King.
I teed you up for a recruitment pitch in Brazos and you gave me an onion patch.
- It's what came to mind, sir. - What's your problem, sergeant?
I'm supposed to be getting out today. Now they're shipping me back to Iraq.
You understand why it's important we win over there?
- Why we need good soldiers like you? - Yes, sir.
You have extenuating circumstances? You gay or pregnant?
Sir, you know me. I'm a squared-away soldier.
Because I have an extenuating circumstance, sergeant.
It's called a war. It's in Iraq.
I know, sir. I volunteered to fight in it.
I ran over 150 combat missions for you, no complaint.
Contract says stop-loss is only in time of war. The president said the war's over, so legally...
- You a lawyer, son? - No, sir.
But after doing right by this Army...
I'm getting burned by some fine print in a contract.
The president himself said...
The president is the commander-in-chief. He trumps you either way.
With all due respect, sir, fuck the president!
- Fuck the president? - Yes, sir.
He's not fighting this war.
He's not there seeing his buddies burned alive in Humvees.
I lost three men last month, and I almost got the rest of us killed.
Those were my men too, and I lost more than that.
You're an excellent leader and you are going back.
For 11 more years?
- It won't come to that. - How do you know?
I think the president trumps you in this matter.
This, sir, is bullshit, and you know it!
Lieutenant, you just heard Sergeant King disobey a direct order.
- Yes, sir. - I also perceive him to be a flight risk.
Escort him to the stockade so he can readjust his attitude.
- You're making a big mistake. - I'm doing you a big favor.
End of discussion.
Make sure he ships to the First Brigade when it goes out on the 22nd.
Roger, sir.
- Come on, hotshot. - Don't fucking touch me.
- Steve. I fucked up real bad. - What? What'd you do?
I put down a couple guys and now I'm AWOL.
- What the fuck? - I got stop-lossed back to Iraq.
Shit! Okay. Look, take it to Boot. You're gold with him, he'll fix it.
Boot was trying to send me to the stockade.
I shook loose and I took off in your Jeep, man.
You definitely have fucked up, man!
I know. I know, I just got triggered. I lost my shit.
All right. Wait, look, all right. Get a grip, calm down.
I'll try to figure out what's going on here and cover your six.
Thanks, man. I knew you would.
I'll hit you later.
Come on in, sheriff. Ida, listen to this.
These MPs came to me and said Brandon's gone AWOL.
How in the hell can he be AWOL if he's getting out today?
Boot's hopping mad.
He called me personally to put out a statewide APB.
Get Brandon to turn himself in and get this thing sorted out.
I don't understand. They stop-lossed you?
- How can they do this? - They're doing whatever they wanna do.
With a shortage of guys and no draft they're shipping soldiers supposed to be getting out.
It's a backdoor draft, is what it is.
- What about Steve? - I don't know.
Some of us are, some ain't.
This cannot be happening. No! You almost died over there.
What do you want to do? Take you to Mexico till this blows over?
Out of the question. I ain't dragging my tail across to Mexico.
I'm getting my keys.
Brandon.
Listen to me. If you're spooked, it's okay.
- There's no shame in that. - I ain't scared. I'm pissed off!
This family is done fighting this war.
He ain't scared, Roy. He's being sensible.
I just don't want him to get in any deeper, is all.
- Maybe ruin his whole life. - I ain't gonna let it go that far.
Ruin his life? How about getting himself killed?
Hold on! Hold on! The senator said to my face if I ever needed anything, he'd help.
That is a big-ass mistake.
You go out of the chain of command, over Boot's head...
you're doubling your trouble. He'll make an example of you.
I ain't worried about Boot once I explain the whole thing to the senator.
I just need to run up to D.C. right now and get this sorted out.
Okay. I'll take you.
You can't. They're gonna be watching y'all.
They won't be watching me. I'll take you.
Michele, Steve would have my ass if I let you get mixed up in all this.
He could be next.
- Let's go. - This is wrong, Brandon.
Steve don't talk much about being over there.
Sand.
Fleas.
Flies.
Heat.
Boredom.
Or you can get shot at.
Or blown up.
That's pretty much it.
Sheep on the highway.
Where?
In, uh, Iraq.
- Big-ass flocks of them. - Yeah?
Jeanie, it's me.
I need you to cover my shift at work tomorrow.
- Sorry to wake you up. - No. No, I was up.
And, uh, covering your shift's no problem...
since neither one of us has a fucking job.
- What? - Tommy drove his car into our work...
drunk as fuck. Got two DUIs.
What the hell's happening to these guys?
Are you all right out here?
I thought I saw somebody down by the drain.
You okay?
Yeah, sure.
You should try and get some sleep.
I'll be all right, Mich.
I know what I'm doing.
Listen, Mich, you need to be getting home.
You need some dry clothes.
Michele Overton!
You taught me everything I know. You made me everything I am.
Can't be anything else, sir. I'm no good as anything else.
- Then stop your drinking! - I will, sir!
All I wanna be is a soldier.
I just want to go back to Iraq. I want to be better.
- Hey, baby. - Put Brandon on the phone.
- Put him on the phone. - All right.
- Hey, man. - Where the hell are you, man?
I have a situation you need to step into right now.
I've been trying to reach you. Where you been?
At the fucking jailhouse all night trying to bail Tommy out of a DUI shitstorm.
- Goddamn it! - Boot is about to kick Tommy out.
The squad leader is supposed to be here, and that's you.
Steve, I can't.
I'm on my way to D.C. to see the senator.
You're what? You're fucking AWOL...
and you're taking Michele to fucking D.C.?
I'm gonna cut her loose at the state line.
You haven't proved it to me yet!
I need you to handle this till I get back. Just a couple of days.
- This better be the last time. - It can't wait that long.
- I am clone! - And you, my friend...
you are in deep fucking shit with Boot.
I'm gonna make this up.
It's all I got. It's everything to me. Army's my family.
I know I'm a little sideways, but give me one more chance, please.
What's up?
Gonna head north on the 55 to Memphis.
Long way around.
It's something I gotta do. I'll drive.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- Congratulations. - It'll take a lot more than water till I'm saved.
- Thanks, man. - Saved.
You need some more blessing, bro.
Preacher and the chaplain baptized a lot of guys over there.
Come on, sit down.
Just wanted to pay my respects, sir.
Very grateful that you came.
You said you had a bad feeling...
about Paul's last tour? - Mm-hm.
- Why'd he go back so many times? - He was stop-lossed.
Couldn't find a way out?
There were people right here in Memphis on the lay low.
Stop-lossed soldiers filing a lawsuit.
But he wouldn't listen.
Excuse me.
Uh, and how would someone find these guys with the lawsuit?
Depends on who wants to know.
I'd like to know.
It started out just like any other day.
We were manning a checkpoint, but we came under attack.
And, uh, standard operating procedure is to pursue the attackers, and...
Go on, we want to know.
We, uh, followed them into an alley.
I led my men into an alley.
Preacher... Paul, was covering our flank.
We got hit from both rooftops.
RPGs, small arms, bullets, explosions...
it was an ambush.
Leading your men into an ambush is standard operating procedure?
That's enough, Michael.
I remember I was yelling at him across the alley.
And he got on the phone to call for reinforcements...
and he must have seen somebody drawing down on Thomas...
because, uh, he fired a few shots in that direction...
and his rifle jammed.
That's when, uh...
That's when he got hit.
Did our son suffer?
Uh, no, ma'am.
No, he was, uh... it all happened real fast.
My brother's life was wasted over there.
Your brother died doing what he knew in his heart was his duty.
And he died in the arms of his best friend.
I can tell you that.
He's the one that sent the picture, right after we lost Paul.
Read the back.
"Your son, my brother.
PFC Tommy Burgess."
He calls sometimes late at night.
I think he's been drinking.
You keep that.
Thank you, sir, I will.
We want to thank you, Sergeant King, for coming.
I know that these meetings must be very difficult for you.
- Yes, ma'am. - Thank you, sergeant.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you.
And good luck getting out.
That was real nice, what you did back there.
So you wanna go find this place Preacher's brother told me about?
I'm going straight to D.C. End of discussion.
All right.
Damn.
- Wait here! - Brandon!
Wait here!
It don't matter.
You got my shit, asshole.
Get the fuck out of here, man.
I want my fucking shit.
Break yourself, fool. Break yourself.
- All right. All right. - Calm down.
Stay down!
Okay, Hajis.
On your knees! Hands behind your heads!
Now, I said.
Do it!
- Hands behind your head! - Aah! Aah!
You having fun, Haji? You having fun?
Who wants to play "Let's start shooting people"?
You're up.
You're fucking up.
Right in the back of your head.
Oh, yeah, yeah. You ain't dead yet?
- Just get your shit, man! - Come on, now.
- I'm just getting started here. - Your shit's over there.
Oh, yeah? I can't hear you.
What'd you say?
Who's next?
You, you're next.
- Y'all better start praying to Allah, son. - Man, please...
Brandon, don't shoot.
- Oh, shit! - Oh, my God!
I've got everything.
I've got all our stuff. Okay?
- On your faces. On your faces! - That's enough.
Put the gun down.
- Get away! - Don't you hit me!
Give me the gun.
Give me the gun, or I'm gonna leave you here right now.
- On your face. - I swear!
- On your face! - I swear I ain't kidding!
You're gonna need some stitches.
Here.
- Let me help you. - I got it.
Let me help you.
Before Steve came home...
they told us how a soldier could be a danger to himself...
or other people.
You think I'm a danger?
I've been knowing you since third grade.
I think we've got both kinds of danger here.
I'm sorry.
Hey!
Come on!
No!
What's going on?
The same shit every night, drinking, fighting, hookers.
And I got babies in here.
Cops will be here soon.
Hey.
You laying low here?
Come on.
How'd you find this place?
- Brother of a guy in my squad. - Guy pushing a lawsuit in the "lay low"?
Didn't tell you about our first case, did he?
Army came down hard.
Locked the guy up, took everything.
Even his wife left him.
- I ain't got no time for no lawsuit. - Good.
There ain't a judge in this country going up against the military while this war is on.
Let me tell you something about laying low.
Can't get a job. Can't cash a check.
And they're probably tracing your calls.
Now go on in there and brush your teeth so we can leave, okay?
My youngest boy, we can't even take him to the doctor.
You're on the run 24/7.
God forbid you get pulled over for a busted taillight.
You going to jail.
- So where you headed tonight? - North. Canada.
I can't put my family through this no more. Thanks.
- What about you? - D.C. Going to see a senator.
Why don't you write a letter to the editor while you at it?
Listen, man, you should try to reach my guy Ron Carlson...
old peacenik lawyer, works out of New York, takes people north.
He'll help you get across the border.
Listen, man, I ain't interested in dealing with no shitbag coyote.
Suit yourself.
But we've been on the run 14 months, and I can't take it no more.
Here's the number.
Take it.
Keep it. I got it memorized.
Another way out of this, I would have done it.
- Good luck. - Y'all hurry up now.
You feeling all right? Yeah?
Let me see about you.
Oh, fuck!
You told him where we were?
He's come to take me home. I'll leave you my car, okay?
Thanks a lot.
Hey, baby.
Good morning.
Morning.
Goddamn, soldier.
What happened to you?
What you gonna tell Boot? You walked into a fucking door?
I ain't telling Boot shit.
Yeah, you are. I'm here to take you back.
You ain't taking me anywhere.
Okay, tough guy.
Let me lay it out for you.
Boot said if I get you back on base in the next 14 hours...
all charges are dropped, no stockade.
I don't need you making deals with Boot for me.
Hey!
You don't know what I've been through to scrape the shit off of your shoes.
You ought to be thanking me.
You steal my Jeep and you run off with my girl.
That ain't how it happened.
You know that. I was trying to help him.
And that's what I'm trying to do. This is a straight deal from Boot.
- It's what's best for him. - What's best for me?
What's best for you, Steve?
Showing up here in your class A's.
What kind of deal did you make with Boot? Huh?
You took him up on sniper school, didn't you?
Goddamn!
You re-enlisted?
- How could you? - How could you run off...
- and not call me? - We don't call...
and you re-enlist? That's bullshit! And you know it.
How could I not?
Michele, it got real clear to me that this, this is safe.
It's safe?
And when are we getting married, Steve?
When I get back from my next tour.
When you get back?
You've been saying that to me for five fucking years.
It's clear you've made your decision.
This is good for me.
I got a future in this.
This is something that I can be proud of.
Did you really see me selling cars for Rainey?
Get out of here.
Look, I'm sorry. Hold on. Please?
- Don't. - Please come here.
Don't.
- Please, just... - Don't. Get out of here!
Fucker, get out.
I said, get out!
Fuck!
Did that really just fucking happen?
Fucking motherfucker!
That was fucked up.
What did you expect?
Goddamn it. How did everything get so fucked up?
- You, Tommy, now Michele? - What's wrong with Tommy?
He's too messed up, man.
I can't get through to him like you can. He just won't listen to me.
Look, come on.
Come on. We'll go and we'll knock out another tour, and we'll come home.
Another tour? You're always talking about how snakebit this war is...
how they won't let us fight it the way we need to win it.
Now you want to go back?
That makes no fucking sense.
Like this makes any fucking sense?
This isn't who we are, man.
Man, we didn't get through all this together...
just for you to end up like one of these AWOL shitbags.
We ain't like these guys. We're soldiers.
We stand for something, man. We're from Texas.
All right. Stow the Boot talk, man.
You let him talk you into going back? That's fine. You got a right to be stupid.
Well, fuck you, man!
I did what I had to do for the time I had to do it...
and I ain't gonna do it anymore.
You can take that back to Boot.
You're the only person who thinks you're getting out of this!
Boot called the senator. He knows what you're up to.
You're AWOL, Brandon.
No senator is gonna help you. You're done!
Steve, you know what they're doing is wrong.
I'm not going back.
I'm fighting this thing.
Hey!
Watch your six.
It said three hours. What the fuck are we waiting on?
Sergeant, I've told you several times...
the senator cannot see you.
Ma'am, I'm a decorated soldier.
Now, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star gotta mean something.
I understand.
But you're a fugitive.
No U.S. official, no government official is gonna help a soldier on the run.
Go back to your base before you get arrested.
Now, when I was just a little boy
Standin' to my daddy's knee
- Tequila. - It's happy hour. You can get two for one.
Well, lucky me. Double, double.
'Cause he'll get you
'Cause he'll get you now, now
And I can remember the Fourth of July
Runnin' through the backwood, bare
Can I join you?
And I can still hear My old hound dog barkin'
Chasin' down a hoodoo there
Born on the bayou
The way I see it...
Steve's married to the Army.
It's everything to him.
I can't go another year without having him touch my face.
I can't be a military wife.
I just ain't that strong.
Well, Michele...
you know, life is very long.
And, uh, you're very young.
Shut up and drink.
- Yes, ma'am. - We're both fucked.
Same again.
All right, man. You all straighten up and walk sober, all right?
Yes, sir! Sergeant Shriver, the man in charge.
What you doing with a fucking bottle? You ain't supposed to be drinking.
Come on, man. What are you...?
Where are you going?
Going to Jeanie's.
Jeanie don't want you, dummy. That's what a restraining order means.
Come on, Tommy. You can stay at my house, man.
I'm gonna make it better.
Swear to God.
Just propose again. We'll get married again.
Only thing you proposing is to get locked up, man.
Let's get out of here.
Come on, man. You know I ain't gonna let you go over there. Let's go.
Talking about Jeanie? You can't manage your own woman.
No, I didn't mean it like that, Steve. Steve. No, seriously. No, come on.
I'm sorry!
Steve, come on. I'm sorry.
I smell a woman, and it ain't a nurse.
Then who?
Hola, Private Rodriguez.
Sergeant King!
My first visitor.
You found me!
I did.
And who?
Michele.
Hey, Rico.
Sergeant Shriver's Michele.
Sunny blonde hair, green eyes.
Steve showed us your picture a million times.
Sergeant King came to see me with his best friend's girl!
- It's a long story. - Yes, sir, I bet it is.
Sit, man. I got time.
- Good to see you. - Good to see you.
- How's my mother? - She's good. She's missing you.
Yeah. And my brothers?
They're getting big. Growing up.
- Strong? - Seem to be.
- Taking after their brother. - Not as handsome.
Ah, close.
I'll let you guys talk.
- All right. - Thanks for coming to see me.
She sounds cute.
- How are you feeling? - Feeling good, sir.
- Just as comfy as a Humvee. - You think?
I wouldn't have thought, but... They taking good care of you?
- First class treatment, sarge. - So I don't have to talk to anybody?
- No, sir. - All right.
Nice break.
Thank you.
- Ha, ha. That's impressive. - Sloppy.
- Heh, heh. - What can I say?
You're in, though.
- Come on. - I think she's a butter face.
- Yeah? - She's hot, but her face...
- But does she give a good bath? - She's got some soft hands.
There you go. That's what matters.
I haven't felt anything else, but that'll change.
Soon as I get the rest of this.
Man, I had this thing, like a dream, all right?
You're at the bottom of a swimming pool...
and I dove in to try to save you.
But I couldn't.
It's okay, man.
You did save me.
I'm right here.
And seeing stuff, man?
Here, at night?
Sounds like a fucking horror movie.
Guys screaming, nightmares...
Sarge, we got out just in time.
I mean, Hajis' new bombs...
you don't want to survive, man.
Sounds crazy, but I feel lucky, you know?
They wanna send me back.
I hope you told them no fucking way.
I mean, I might go back...
because if I got killed, my family would get green cards.
Sir, could you move me out of the sun?
Okay.
So I'm sorry, but I gotta ask.
What you doing with Sergeant Shriver's fiancée?
They broke up. She's just giving me a ride.
Oh. She was giving you a ride before or after they broke up?
Not like that.
Michele's close to my family.
She's just helping me out. S... She's somebody...
What?
You should hear the way you sound, sarge.
You a Jody.
It's time for you to go back to your room, Private Rodriguez.
Jody got your girl and gone
- Sing it. - I don't know the words. You sing it.
Ain't no use in going home
Jody got your girl and gone
- You watching this one? - Mm-hm.
- Nice shot. - Now we're even.
What you laughing at? You lost.
That's pretty funny.
- Give you a hand. - Dumbass.
- Help me push it. - Yeah.
Thank you.
- It's fucking strong. - Is it?
I'll be in touch, Rico.
- Tell the boys I said, "What's up?" - I will.
I signed up...
thinking I was gonna go over there and protect my country.
My family.
We wanted payback for 9/11
and you get there...
and you realize the war wasn't even about any of that.
The enemy ain't out in the desert.
They're in the hallways and rooftops, living rooms, kitchens.
Everybody's got a weapon.
Everybody. Nobody knows who's who.
The only thing you can believe in is surviving.
Protecting the guy to your left and the guy to your right.
Side by side, willing to die for each other.
By the time you start seeing...
good friends' bodies held together by a belt after a car bomb...
you get a "kill or be killed" mentality.
It's okay.
No, it ain't.
Michele, I'm worried if I tell you these things you're gonna think differently of me...
and I couldn't stand that.
I ain't gonna think that.
Our last mission, in the alley...
when Rico got hit...
I looked in his face, and most of it was burned off.
I had to go in to get Steve.
I knew he was in trouble.
I'm done with killing.
And I ain't leading any more men into a slaughter.
You have to call Carlson.
I know.
Mr. Carlson.
- My name is... - No names.
All right. What's the problem?
I'm a staff sergeant, squad leader...
two tours, Afghanistan and Iraq, and I just got stop-lossed.
They're shipping me back at the end of the month.
There's so many of you guys out there.
I've heard it before. It's the same story, and you eventually call me.
Do you understand what I do? I strip away who you are.
I set you down in a foreign place where you're gonna live the rest of your life...
pretending to be someone else.
Do you want that?
I can't go home. I can't go back. I got no other options.
I need your services.
I won't be able to discuss this further over the phone.
Do you have some money, like a grand?
I have a few bucks.
Well, when you get a grand, start driving north toward New York City.
Seven hundred, 800, 900, a thousand.
- Not a bad price. - Thank you, sir.
Come on. This is a good opportunity.
Rainey said that people will just line up to buy a Cadillac from a vet.
Well, not with a BCD.
It's not like you're gonna hang it on the showroom wall, Tommy.
What's BCD?
It's the big chicken dinner.
It's what we call it in the Army.
It's a Bad Conduct Discharge.
We gonna shoot this shit up or what?
That shotgun loaded?
What's the first rule of weapon safety, Tommy?
Always assume every weapon is loaded.
Yes, sir.
Sorry.
Where are you going?
Going back to the bunkhouse, write a hit song.
Don't feel like shooting shit up today
'Cause it will put a boot in your ass It's the American way
Hey, Uncle Sam
- Later, guys. - All right, man.
Later, Tommy.
Brought to you courtesy
Of the red, white and blue
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Of my red, white and blue
Spotted you guys from a mile off.
What happened?
I just had a run-in with a couple guys.
That kind of shit happens when you're on the run.
All you guys get popped eventually.
Is this a package deal?
Just one for now.
- You thought about this? - Yes, sir.
Because one-way means one-way.
You go, you're going for good...
unless you get fucked with extradition.
Pardon my French.
I don't want you calling me up crying...
how you can't go to Grandma's funeral back in Tennessee.
Texas.
We're from Texas.
Whatever.
I just want it all laid out straight.
Canada's not that bad.
I just had a guy up there, got married to a real sweet local girl.
Loves Toronto.
Says it's a lot like New York.
I ain't so crazy about New York, so far.
You got any other options? Like, what about Mexico?
Look, I don't know shit about Mexico.
Here's your new ID.
They'll fix in the photos before you leave.
Day after tomorrow...
somebody will meet you at this address in Buffalo.
Take you over.
- You got the money? - Here.
No refunds, right?
Got it. Half now and half across.
Make your calls.
Say your goodbyes.
Hi, Mom?
He did what?
When?
I don't...
Let me call you back, Mom.
Tommy shot himself out at the ranch.
Left, face.
This flag...
is presented on behalf of a grateful nation...
and the United States Army...
as a token of appreciation for your loved one's...
honorable and faithful service.
Come on, Ida. Let's go.
Look who came home.
That's for fucking running out on us.
And that's for coming back too fucking late.
And that's on general principle.
Fuck you.
You're throwing everything in your life away.
You stupid f...
Y'all are gonna get yourselves killed, you know that? You hear me?
Shut the fuck up.
So you just go over there and you do your fucking duty.
Do you see this?
This is you next.
Steve?
You don't fucking belong here!
I don't... I don't even know you anymore!
Maybe you don't.
Bullshit! I've known every thought in your head...
since we were fucking stealing Playboys in the fucking bus station.
That was a long time ago.
Then please, tell me.
Tell me what you've been thinking, because nothing in the last few days...
has made any fucking sense to me at all.
You know that box inside your head?
That box inside your head where you put all the bad shit you can't deal with?
Well, mine's full.
And it's spilling out.
Steve, it is full of all the people I got killed.
Preacher.
Randy.
Harvey.
Thomas.
All the rest I've lost in this fucked-up war.
Think how many people would have fucking died if you wouldn't have been there!
- Including me! - Steve, I didn't do what I was supposed to do!
I fucked up!
If you don't fall in beside us...
it all comes apart.
The ranch always felt so safe.
You'll find another place and make it safe.
Sir.
Damn.
Are you okay?
Across that border...
I ain't gonna be me coming up the other side, Mich.
It's gonna be the ghost of me.
Brandon, please.
And never the ranch.
Never you and Dad, never Brazos.
This war ain't never gonna be behind me.
I'm sorry, Mom.
Bruckner...
Rodriguez...
Naughton...
Stevens...
- Williams... - Bye, sweetheart.
I'll be waiting for you. We love you, honey.
- Adids, Augustin. - Take care of her.
- Bye, sweetie. - Write to us.
I'll keep those e-mails coming.
We're proud of you. We love you!
Better e-mail me, Shorty.
Bye-bye now. - Take care.
Take care of each other.
All of you come back safe.
God bless you.