JAG

CAPTAIN, I AM PUTTING YOU

ON A NEW PRISONER.

COLONEL, I'M ALREADY WORKING A DOZEN CASES.

CAPTAIN, FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS

HE WILL BE YOUR ONLY ASSIGNMENT.

HE MUST BE VERY IMPORTANT.

BEIJING WENT TO EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS

TO PROCURE HIM.

HE WILL KNOW WHETHER THE AMERICANS WILL INTERVENE

IF WE TAKE BACK MATSU AND QUEMOY.

THAT'S ALL I NEED TO EXTRACT FROM HIM?

YES. HE WILL RESIST AND TRY TO TRICK US.

HIS ANSWER WILL BE "YES" WHEN HE MEANS "NO"

AND "NO" WHEN HE MEANS "YES."

YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON YOU GETTING THE TRUTH, CAPTAIN.

YES, SIR.

ZANGFU, HOY MOON.

WELCOME TO HONG KONG, SECRETARY BAIR.

I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER LIEUTENANT AUSTIN

FROM OUR MISSION IN CUBA.

YES. I REMEMBER THE ENTIRE THREE-RING JAG CIRCUS

INCLUDING LIEUTENANT COMMANDER RABB.

WHERE IS HE?

MISSING.

TAIWAN'S DEMANDING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

IF THE CHINESE INVADE MATSU AND QUEMOY

AND JAG'S MARITIME LAW EXPERT HAS GONE AWOL.

NOT AWOL, SIR, MISSING.

SINCE WHEN?

I LEFT COMMANDER RABB SATURDAY NIGHT.

HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SAIL WITH A FRIEND...

MARIA ELENA CARMELITA...

MORENO GUTIERREZ.

AN IBERIAN AIRLINE STEWARDESS

HE EVIDENTLY FINDS ATTRACTIVE.

HER FLIGHT SCHEDULE CHANGED, AND HARM

SAILED ALONE SUNDAY MORNING.

NO ONE'S HEARD FROM OR SEEN HIM SINCE THEN.

IF THIS IS ANOTHER JAG GAME TO HUMILIATE ME...

THIS IS NO GAME.

THE SAILBOAT HE RENTED WAS DISCOVERED THIS MORNING.

RATHER, WHAT WAS LEFT OF IT WAS FOUND FLOATING

ON THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.

WAS HIS BODY RECOVERED?

NO.

BUT I'M GLAD TO SEE

YOU'RE AS CONCERNED ABOUT COMMANDER RABB AS WE ARE.

OF COURSE I'M CONCERNED.

HIS OPINION OF OUR LEGAL POSITION

ON THOSE ISLANDS IS A MAJOR FACTOR

IN FORMULATING MY RECOMMENDATION TO THE PRESIDENT.

THAT'S THE OTHER REASON I'M HERE.

I, TOO, AM AN EXPERT IN MARITIME LAW.

THEN YOU CAN LEAVE THE SEARCH FOR COMMANDER RABB TO LIEUTENANT AUSTIN

WHILE YOU AND I DRAW UP A POSITION PAPER

FOR THE PRESIDENT.

I ASSUME YOU'VE SET UP AN OFFICE?

I'VE RESERVED AN OFFICE

WITH A SECURE LINE

TO TAIWAN AND WASHINGTON.

THEN LET'S GET TO IT.

WONDERING WHY YOU'RE HERE?

WONDERING WHY I HAVEN'T SEEN SOMEONE

FROM THE AMERICAN EMBASSY

WHICH I'VE BEEN DEMANDING FOR THE PAST 24 HOURS.

PROBABLY BECAUSE

YOU'RE BEING ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE.

THAT'S RIDICULOUS.

I AM AN AMERICAN CITIZEN WHO WAS PLEASURE SAILING

IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS

WHEN CHINESE NAVAL FORCES DESTROYED MY BOAT

AND KIDNAPPED ME.

AND HOW DO YOU DEFINE INTERNATIONAL WATERS?

I DON'T DEFINE THEM.

THE LAW OF THE SEA DOES

WHICH MOST COUNTRIES ACCEPT AS CUSTOMARY LAW.

YOU SEEM TO KNOW YOUR MARITIME LAW.

EVERY BLUE WATER SAILOR DOES.

ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE A JAG OFFICER

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER RABB.

YOU WERE OBSERVED THE MOMENT YOU

ARRIVED IN HONG KONG.

OUR INTELLIGENCE PEOPLE KNOW WHY YOU CAME TO ASIA, COMMANDER.

TO SPEND MY LEAVE SAILING.

YOU WERE ON YOUR WAY

TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE TO YOUR STATE DEPARTMENT

ON UPCOMING TALKS

WITH THE TAIWANESE RENEGADE GOVERNMENT.

YOUR INTELLIGENCE IS MISTAKEN.

AT THESE TALKS

TAIWAN WILL LEARN IF AMERICA WILL INTERVENE

WHEN WE RECLAIM QUEMOY AND MATSU...

SOMETHING YOU ALREADY KNOW.

I DO?

YES, YOU DO.

AND THAT'S ALL YOU WANT FROM ME

IS AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION?

THAT'S ALL.

THEN THE ANSWER IS YES.

PROVE IT.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED TO KNOW, COMMANDER

THAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES

HAVE BEEN PROCESSING AMERICANS THROUGH HERE

SINCE THE VIETNAM WAR.

PERHAPS SOMEONE YOU KNEW CAME THROUGH HERE.

MAYBE EVEN YOUR FATHER.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE

ABOUT YOUR FATHER?

OF COURSE I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY FATHER.

BUT HOW CAN I EVER KNOW

IF WHAT YOU WERE TELLING ME WAS THE TRUTH?

THERE IS A WAY.

HOW?

WILL THE UNITED STATES INTERFERE

WHEN WE TAKE BACK THE ISLANDS?

AND THIS TIME

A ONE-WORD ANSWER WILL NOT SUFFICE.

HARMON RABB, JR.

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

989-54-

8301.

OCTOBER 25, 1963.

IT'S TOO BAD TIME WILL NOT ALLOW US

TO PLAY OUR GAME MORE SLOWLY.

I WOULD HAVE FOUND THAT MUCH MORE PLEASURABLE.

A FISHING BARGE PULLED UP THE WRECKAGE IN ITS NET

AND CONTACTED THE HARBOR PATROL.

HAVE YOU DETERMINED WHAT HIT HIM?

PROBABLY AN OIL TANKER. IT HAPPENS QUITE OFTEN.

REALLY, INSPECTOR?

WE WERE ABLE TO PIECE TOGETHER ENOUGH OF THE HULL

TO IDENTIFY IT AS COMMANDER RABB'S BOAT.

AT WHICH POINT YOU CALLED OFF THE SEARCH.

YOUR COAST GUARD WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME.

NOT WHILE THERE WAS ANY CHANCE SOMEONE WAS STILL ALIVE.

SURVIVAL WOULD HAVE BEEN HIGHLY UNLIKELY

AFTER A COLLISION LIKE THIS.

BUT POSSIBLE... THE WATER'S WARM

AND COMMANDER RABB WAS AN EXPERIENCED TRANS-PAC SAILOR.

YOU MAY CHANGE YOUR MIND AFTER YOU SEE THE WRECKAGE.

IT'S BEEN CATALOGED AND PHOTOGRAPHED?

IT WILL BE, COMMANDER.

I'LL WANT EVERYTHING RELEASED TO OUR CUSTODY

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

EVERY NAIL AND SPLINTER.

I WILL DO WHAT I CAN.

WHATEVER COLLIDED WITH THIS BOAT WAS PAINTED GRAY.

ARE OIL TANKERS PAINTED GRAY, INSPECTOR CHANG?

NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, LIEUTENANT.

MILITARY FLEETS ARE GRAY.

CIVILIAN SHIPS STAY AWAY FROM THAT COLOR

JUST FOR THAT REASON.

MILITARY SHIPS HAVE EVEN MORE SOPHISTICATED RADAR

AND MEN ON WATCH THAN COMMERCIAL VESSELS.

IT IS UNLIKELY THEY'D BE INVOLVED

IN SUCH AN ACCIDENT.

UNLESS IT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT.

COMMANDER RABB, HOW ARE YOU FEELING?

FINE.

"COMMANDER"... IT SOUNDS SO FORMAL.

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS CALL YOU?

HARM, RABB

PAIN IN THE BUTT.

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHY YOU WERE IN HONG KONG.

MARIA ELENA CARMELITA MORENO GUTIERREZ.

A LOVER?

YEAH, SOMETIMES.

WHEN?

WHENEVER WE CAN GET TOGETHER.

DO YOU GET TOGETHER OFTEN?

NOT OFTEN ENOUGH.

SO, AFTER YOU MET WITH MARIA...

ELENA CARMELITA MORENO GUTIERREZ.

YOU WERE TO GO ON TO TAIWAN.

TELL ME ABOUT MATSU AND QUEMOY, HARM?

VERY DIFFICULT POSITION.

BOTH CHINA AND TAIWAN HAVE VALID CLAIMS TO THEM.

HOW WILL THE UNITED STATES RESPOND

IF CHINA TAKES THEM BACK BY FORCE?

RIGHT NOW THE NAVY HAS SIX CARRIER GROUPS AT SEA

TWO IN THIS REGION.

THE INDEPENDENCE AT YOKOSUKA, JAPAN

AND THE NIMITZ IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC.

WILL THEY USE THEM

TO DEFEND MATSU AND QUEMOY FOR TAIWAN?

WELL, THEY ALSO HAVE 27 ATTACK SUBS AT SEA

REPRESENTING 33... 34 PERCENT OF THE FLEET.

YOU'RE NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION.

THEY'RE ALL LOS ANGELES CLASS SUBMARINES...

360 FEET IN LENGTH...

ENOUGH!

He was resisting the drug.

I DISAGREE, CAPTAIN.

HE WAS GIVING INFORMATION.

YOU STOPPED TOO SOON.

Information I could get in five minutes

on the Internet.

The Navy teaches them to give information like that

in their P.O.W. training.

INCREASE THE DOSAGE.