(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(GUN SHOTS FIRED)
Jesus!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
You sons of bitches!
-You almost blew my head off! -Sorry, Beckett, we didn't mean to!
What's wrong with you?
I saw something.
I thought I saw it too.
Christ, man.
You thought you saw something?
I saw a deer, maybe.
BECKETT: A deer, maybe.
Do I look like a fucking deer to you, asswipe?
-Where are they? -Probably lost. No, they are lost.
-Shit, now I've gotta go find them. -Shouldn't be too difficult
you being the great white hunter and all.
-You can't just leave like this. -Watch me.
They'll want refunds. It's coming out of your check.
Fine. I'm tired of dealing with assholes who pay to shoot caged animals.
Oh, not sporting enough for you, eh?
I suppose the people you picked off had a better chance?
Every man I killed could as easily have killed me.
Ahh, Military Intelligence.
Thomas Beckett?
Do I know you?
I'm Colonel Dan McKenna. This is James Eckles. He's with the...
BECKETT: CIA?
How'd you know?
I don't know. You just kind of got that look, you know.
Do you have a minute for us, Mr. Beckett?
Sorry.
Boy, you've bounced around a bit since your discharge.
Had trouble holding a job.
Trouble holding a relationship, trouble sleeping past 6 am in the morning.
Trouble adjusting. Trouble with my pension...
Mr. Beckett.
Sir.
I understand the transition can be difficult, and I'm sorry.
But that's not what we're here to discuss.
You won the Kodiak marksmanship tournament last month.
You beat the Marine Corps team and seven SWAT members.
So?
What are you, the awards committee?
-No. We need a sniper, a good one. -The best.
Didn't my dossier happen to mention my medical discharge, unfit for duty?
Apparently they made a mistake.
How is it your proposition entails hiring a 50 year-old former scout sniper?
Can we talk about this?
Everyone figures the Balkans are clean since we took Milosevic down.
But there are others like him waiting for us to turn our backs.
Our Intelligence has tracked resistance mobilizing in what NATO calls ''no man's land.''
They're led by a rogue general named Mulik Valstoria.
He's commander of what he likes to call the ''23rd Home Guard.''
Look, this guy is running a stealth operation
of ethnic cleansing in Muslim towns along the border.
We're removing the general before it escalates into something bigger.
Well, why me?
Why not Heister or Baker? Those two jarheads are still doing tours.
-This one's off the books. -You've got an impressive career.
Former record holder on the long shot, 1.1 miles.
Baker broke it. Hit an al-Qaeda guard at 1.24 miles.
No, the record's 1.47.
A Cuban general near Guantanamo Bay.
A Cuban general hit a man at a mile and a half?
I killed a Cuban general at a mile and a half.
That's the record, for the record.
Look, I'm not gonna bullshit you.
This is gonna be tough.
You mean suicide.
ECKLES: We've got good intelligence.
There's a group of separatists in Gilau that'll help you.
I used to do this because I was following orders
but what's in it for me?
The risk is great. We're authorized to offer you anything you like.
Anything. Anything?
Look here.
If you're willing to offer me anything
then I have to assume that you don't plan to pay off.
You've already chalked me up for dead.
Yeah.
But then I look around here, and...
So you'll do it?
You know, whenever I do die, I want it to be as a Marine.
So, what I want is my former rank back.
I wouldn't expect you to understand that, but I know you do, sir.
So do we have a deal?
(SIGHS)
Yes, we do, master gunnery sergeant.
Roger that, sir.
All right,
a mission like this into hostile territory, gotta be a two-man operation.
So, what I want is a good observer.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Colonel McKenna.
Good. Send him in.
He's here. They brought him straight from the plane.
How is a man in the joint for killing a federal officer is suddenly cut loose?
It's not easy, believe me.
It seems to me he'll stick out like a sore thumb.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come in.
Good Afternoon, sir. Reporting with Mr. Cole as ordered, sir.
Thank you, gunny.
(DOOR SHUTS)
Sit down, Mr. Cole.
Freedom.
Shall I refresh your memory?
I don't need no refreshing.
One mission.
If I fail or try to escape or even take a shit where you say I can't,
it's back to death row, right?
Master Gunnery Sergeant Beckett, meet Jake Cole.
I don't think he likes me.
Must be that Army thing.
No.
Colonel, Mr. Eckles, may I have a word with this man in private?
By all means, master gunnery sergeant.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR SHUTS)
Says here you speak the lingo where we're going.
(SPEAKING IN HUNGARIAN)
-And you were an Army sniper? -Former Delta man, 85-41 out of Quantico.
Urban sniper, SOTG.
Seven real-world missions.
Four as an observer, three as a shooter.
Three confirmed.
Couple questions, sergeant.
We're at 750 yards at a 19-degree angle.
What's the difference between the points of aim and impact?
How tall's the target, man?
Five feet, 10 inches.
23.17 inches high.
And you'll need to dial six up three.
And when your time comes, what will you say?
I ain't gonna say nothing. I'll just shut up and die like a soldier.
PILOT: Roger. Verify touchdown of Snake Eater at ballpark at 1500. Over.
OBSERVER: Roger. Touchdown Snake Eater. Big Eye verifying ballpark is clear. Over.
PILOT: Roger. I copy. Out.
You ever try using one of these?
No. Still use a compass.
Just old-school, I guess.
Rendezvous points, radio freqs as per S.O.P.
PILOT: Two minutes out. Initiating approach.
Roger that.
Once again, we drop in here, seven clicks from Gilau.
At St. Stephan's church, we meet our contact.
The partisans will provide us with weapons and photos.
It's too bad it's not the Basilica. I'd like to see that.
Say again?
The Basilica of Gilau.
It's one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches in Eastern Europe.
I spent a lot of time reading travel books and shit in prison.
I must have read every AAA guide and National Geographic ever printed.
Why?
To keep the dream alive.
It's pretty easy to let them break you in the house.
Most guys on the row are actually looking forward to the day they die.
We're here to put a bullet in a man and let God sort it out.
You better just pray we get out of this country alive.
All your dream shit stops here.
PILOT: 30 seconds to drop.
Roger.
RADIO OPERATOR: Snake Eater, specify transmission. Over.
OFFICER: Getting a lot of interference.
PILOT: Home run. Snake Eater out.
Any problems?
Negative.
They should make contact at 1630.
Remove your cover.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SPEAKING IN HUNGARIAN)
She's our contact.
Goddamn!
Get on your knees, son,
while I pray for your soul.
My name is Sophia.
We were expecting someone older.
Not many people grow old in this business.
Did you bring our package?
The photo of Valstoria is only a few days old.
The others are of the buildings around the Ministry of Defense.
The one with the corner window is very high and close.
A clear shot.
I think maybe that is where you want to be.
I'll decide that.
It's nearly 300 meters away.
Maybe it's too far.
-Three hundred and twenty-six yards. -I agree with her.
As much as I don't like it, we should be closer to the action.
You just call it, I'll hit it.
Valstoria arrives at the ministry every other morning, 7:30 exactly.
He will walk up the steps.
It's six meters from the car to the building.
-And he's 184 centimeters tall? -Yes.
I'll need a guitar case.
As you can see, the streets in this part of the city are very narrow and old.
It will not be easy to escape.
(COCKING RIFLE)
Sergeant Beckett's rifle was our one priority.
That's the best we have with our limitations.
No, it'll do just fine.
I must leave to make sure everything is arranged.
The city will be in chaos. You need to get to the church.
It's built on top of Roman catacombs.
We can move beneath the city.
BECKETT: We'll get to the church on time.
You just make sure you're there.
What he means is, thank you.
(COCKING RIFLE) Okay.
(DOOR OPENS)
That Sophia...
Not what I expected. (DOOR SHUTS)
Stay in the bubble.
If the diversion device works, we've got five minutes.
I want you shadowing me. No sightseeing. Understood?
-Roger that. -Get your gear together. Let's go.
Three hundred and twenty-eight yards. Give me three up one.
I've got wind coming from the right at four to six.
Of course, that could change in the morning. East is at our backs.
Sunrise is at 0637.
We could have some shadows on the target from the buildings at 0730.
Rig the diversion device. Let's get out of here.
(SIGHS) Where do we take the shot from?
From the window she suggested.
It is the perfect position.
(SNORING)
Catch any Z's?
No.
All right.
And who are you, my friend?
Two hundred and eighteen yards. Give me two up one.
Full-value wind is one to three. Give me a half left.
-I got a five-degree angle. -Don't worry about that. It's not enough of an angle.
You never asked me why I did it.
-Did what? -Why I killed that motherfucker.
Well, I don't condone it.
I just don't care enough about you to want to know.
(LAUGHING)
-You got a real way about you, don't you, master guns? -Uh-huh.
They're here.
Black Mercedes with escorts.
Right on schedule.
Bastard doesn't know he's got less than a minute.
If he moves, give me half a mil lead.
Roger.
Same. Wind?
(CAR DOOR SHUTS)
Target's out and moving.
Ready.
Diversion's set. Head shot. Fire.
What's up?
Nothing. Ready.
Are you sure?
Just keep your eye on the scope and shut the fuck up.
Okay.
Center chest.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Fire!
Target's down.
Shit.
Shit, they made us.
There is no goddamn way they can see us up here.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
All right, let's break down the hide and didi out of here.
Four blocks, we reach the church.
Negative. We should spilt up.
Keep your sidearm in your hand hands in your pocket.
They're looking for two men. Maybe separate
They'll be looking at everyone. Stick together, we cover each other.
Three more blocks.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
What? Uh-uh.
Change of plans.
(TRAM DOORS OPEN)
(SPEAKING IN HUNGARIAN)
Cover him.
(COLE SPEAKING IN HUNGARIAN)
We've got company!
Coming up fast!
Left! Left!
Cole! What are you doing?
Get out of the street!
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
You dumb son of a bitch.
Beckett didn't make it to the extraction point.
Was he captured?
Negative.
Our people report only Cole in custody.
Is Beckett dead?
It doesn't really matter. Op's still on track.
Where are the others?
You're not alone.
No one takes a shot like that alone.
So who is with you?
I don't know what you're talking about.
So you think
being in here is
funny.
Not really.
United Nations?
Americans?
British?
Russian?
Do I look Russian to you?
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(BABY CRYING)
What are you doing? You shouldn't have come here.
We ran into a problem.
Come in.
(SIREN IN DISTANCE)
You should have gone to the church.
They took your partner.
Is he still alive?
Yes.
On TV, they say his capture will prove to the world
that we are the victims of United Nations atrocities.
Where are they holding him?
Sponza prison.
I've never heard of that.
No one has, not in your world.
It's a secret place where Valstoria's men imprison their special enemies.
We have to figure a way to get him out.
It's impossible.
Nothing's impossible.
Is there something you're not telling me?
Of course not.
Let me talk to some people.
Maybe there's a way.
(GROANING)
Pavel.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Pavel!
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(CONTINUES IN HUNGARIAN)
Don't say anything. Just nod occasionally.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
What did you say?
That if you got drunk again tonight and were a bad lover
I was going to leave you.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
BECKETT: All these arms are from World War II.
Some of it, yes.
What are they doing here?
My grandfather fought the Germans.
My father, against the Communists. Now it's our turn.
Mauser 792.
It's an antique, but one of the finest weapons the Germans ever made.
Yes.
I guess it'll do.
Cole's in.
The hit on Valstoria's got them running scared, as planned.
They should move our primary target soon.
-How do we know Cole made contact? -We don't.
All right. Let's finish this.
Will this do?
MAN: Sophia! I think it'll do.
It's okay. These are my brothers, Vojislav and Zoran.
This is Sergeant Beckett.
The American who crashes streetcars?
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Say again in English.
There is great concern over Valstoria's killing.
The American prisoner and several others will be moved to Pozarevac.
Pozarevac is a fortress, impenetrable.
Once they take him, he'll be executed.
Okay. Get me five men, your best shooters
and I'll need a map.
What's so funny?
There is no one to help you except us.
Yes.
You people are the entire underground?
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Yes.
Okay.
Get me your best shooter.
It's me.
Hurrah.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
You're Pavel, right?
When the time comes, just do as I say.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
He's in the other truck.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Weapon!
Who the hell is he?
COLE: That's classified.
Classified, my ass. Get rid of him.
Calm down, Beckett.
No! We're on a mission.
We're not here to make new friends.
Your mission is over.
It ended when you killed Valstoria.
This man is mine.
What do you mean, yours?
My mission.
Get captured, find this man
and bring him out of the country.
Your mission was just a setup for mine.
Are you all in this together?
Don't act like this is the first time the government's ever fucked you over.
You made it out. Why'd you come back?
I had my reasons.
Yeah, well, I wouldn't have done the same for you.
I guess this is a conversation for another time.
Whatever your reasons, my friend, I'm grateful.
OFFICER: Satellite uplink beginning in three.
Yeah? Colonel?
This one looks interesting. Something coming out of the region.
This is a raw feed from Atlanta. CNN's on the scene.
Some kind of terrorist attack.
What do we know?
Four military vehicles, one transport...
Seven, maybe eight bodies.
Ours?
No. Soldiers.
-Scramble a chopper. We got an evac in three hours. -Yes sir.
What was this place?
An old ironworks.
The government brought Muslims here to work the ore mines...
and then killed them.
Generals and majors, fools and idiots.
What is it? What's the matter?
10 minutes. How much longer?
A long time in your word of precious seconds.
Yeah, too long.
There's a rooftop extraction.
Absolutely. Is it safe?
(GUNSHOTS)
Son of a bitch! Where to now?
The sewers will take us to the river.
BECKETT: They're sure interested in getting you back.
What did you do to piss them off?
I'm a writer. I challenge authority.
They put me away but they can't contain truth.
They can kill you.
I die, my words become more powerful. My thoughts become realities. They want me alive.
SOPHIA: Me too. I'm going back up.
No. You lead them out.
That's crazy, man. You can't help him now.
Maybe not, but I can slow them down for you.
That's suicide, man.
I don't care.
Dr. Pavel is my country. If I die, don't make it in vain.
Okay, this way.
WOMAN OVER SPEAKER: Though our nations are different, you have our heartfelt...
What is it?
MAN: Your condolences are appreciated...
but your help is unnecessary...
unless you can name the Americans responsible.
WOMAN: What are you saying?
MAN: They've taken something very important from us.
Something we want back.
When we find them They will be placed on trial...
and their executions televised worldwide.
I know American people's passions.
What will they say when their sons are hanging from the end of a rope?
(OFFICER GIVING ORDERS)
(SOLDIERS TALKING)
Come on.
What in the hell was that?
One of our birds picked it up about an hour ago.
A call from Leskovic, who says he's head of the NNB, whatever that is.
The other voice?
An aide who took the call from our Romanian ambassador.
Does the White House know?
Not yet.
-They will not be happy. -There's always a price to pay.
(SOLDIERS TALKING)
(MAN SPEAKING OVER WALKIE-TALKIE)
What's up?
Shoot him and you let everybody know where we are.
Okay.
(MAN SPEAKING OVER WALKIE-TALKIE)
PAVEL: We can go to Komra. It's a Muslim village.
My friend Nauzad is there to help us.
All right, wait a minute. How far is this Komra?
Maybe 10 kilometers.
If we leave now, we can be there before the sun rises.
ALL right.
It's time she goes.
No.
Look, I'm not gonna play fuck-fuck games with you.
She goes...
and you live to fight another day.
He's right.
Take care of yourself, Mr. Cole.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Goodbye.
Yeah. Good...
COLE: Got a light on upstairs.
BECKETT: Got it.
How well did you say you know this guy?
Nauzad and I are old friends.
The kind you trust.
Nauzad.
Pavel.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
Want to say again in English?
Of course.
We need some help, Nauzad.
We need to get to the...
Border.
There is a bus from the village that travels to Krizevci.
From there, the border's a few kilometers.
I will drive you to the bus.
Thank you.
Stay here. I'll get my brother's van. Here are beds, a shower.
If you're hungry, I'll make something.
We can manage.
You go.
Any updates?
Not for an hour.
What's their secondary?
Simand.
I suggest we consider an abort.
Start working on a cover story.
No, not yet.
Those are American soldiers. We're not gonna abort.
I still don't trust old Nauzad. How about you?
I don't trust anybody. That's why I'm still alive.
Look, I still don't know why you did it...
but I owe you for coming back for me.
You don't owe me shit. Just leave me the fuck alone.
What, are you still pissed?
I had nothing to do with their decision.
The important thing is to finish the mission.
The mission? Mission?
You mean remission.
What?
Remission of sin.
That's what this is.
What are you saying?
That's what the spooks call it.
You kill someone, you make an act of contrition.
In this case, that would be your buddy Pavel.
Penance, and it doesn't matter whether he lives or dies.
The debt's paid and everybody walks away with a clean conscience.
That's bullshit.
Bullshit?
That's the nature of political killing.
Why do you think they picked us? Some kid on death row...
a beat-up, four-fingered sniper whose eyes are going...
and it doesn't matter if Pavel makes it or we die trying...
because it's a great story for CNN...
and they'll play it over and over, 24 hours a day.
In the end they'll forgive and forget...
there was some bad fucker named Valstoria...
that took a bullet in the chest in the name of freedom.
Hey.
I'm not pissed off at you, son.
I'm mad at myself.
I should have seen this coming.
I guess it's age.
Well, how about that, master guns?
You and me sharing a moment together.
Who knows?
If we weren't doing this, we might even be friends.
Friends...
Say, Beckett, how long were you in the service?
Twenty-six years.
You ever think about doing anything else?
Yeah. Yeah, I went to school to be an engineer...
but I didn't have the head for it.
So then I worked on a ranch in Montana.
It didn't work out, so I joined the Marines...
picked up a gun, and guess what? I was good.
From the shots I've seen, you're better than good.
Being a Marine is the one thing I've done well.
Is that something to be proud of?
Being the best at killing another human being?
I kill people so that others can live.
Like you, for instance.
PAVEL: There are other ways to achieve peace...
other than through force. Diplomatic ways.
BECKETT: Oh, yeah, the diplomats.
Without the diplomats, you wouldn't need soldiers.
We unscrew the problems that diplomats make.
We have the same goal, you and me. A world free of hate.
I just hope to get there without blood.
If you haven't figured it out, freedom isn't free.
You realize McKenna probably thinks we're dead.
Yeah, I guess so.
He's gonna shit when he sees me walk in with Pavel.
How can there be traffic in the middle of nowhere?
Nauzad.
He would die before he told them anything.
(MEN SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(CONTINUES SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
How far do we have to go?
Maybe two or three hours.
Just got word from Langley.
He's a bit cold on Pavel.
Why does this not surprise me?
Also reports of heavy military activity near the border at Simand.
They're coming home.
Scramble a chopper.
BECKETT: Pavel?
Yes?
I want you to think hard...
and tell me the truth.
When you were alone with Nauzad...
did you happen to mention Simand?
No.
Good.
It's a fucking ghost town.
Muslims lived around here for 600 years.
The Nazis tried to wipe them out...
then the Communists and the Serbs.
They were called the Modrus.
It means ''invincible.''
Why do this to them?
Language...
religion...
property, greed...
You choose.
Men kill other men...
and nobody knows why.
COLE: I don't care what he says.
If I see something moving, I'm shooting it.
PILOT OVER RADIO: Verifying touchdown of Snake Eater at LZ. Over.
OBSERVER: Roger touchdown, Snake Eater. LZ is clear at this time. Over.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(HELICOPTER PASSING OVERHEAD)
What do you think?
I don't know.
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
COLE: What is it?
What's the matter?
I don't know.
I don't see anything, but...
(SIGHS)
You like to hunt, master guns?
As a kid. I don't much care for it now.
Cole, I've got movement.
(GROANS)
COLE: Get up. Come on.
(PANTING)
How is he?
Flesh wound, upper arm. He'll be okay.
Stay. (GROANS)
(SCREAMS)
(GRUNTS)
(SCREAMS)
(GASPS)
(PANTING)
They're definitely not conventional infantry.
Roger that. You okay?
-Yeah, but they're crawling over us. -Let's move out into town.
That town's gotta be hot.
You look here. We got 30 minutes to our rendezvous.
Now, you either go with me or without me.
(BREATHING)
(YELLS)
(PANTING)
COLE: You ever seen anything like this before?
Yeah, Lebanon...
when the Hezbollah took out the Marine barracks in Beirut.
And the Nam. Hue City, Tet Offensive.
Three weeks of sleep deprivation, endless rain...
endless death. Just shit.
(PANTING)
That ought to be on the recruiting poster.
''Join the Marines.
"Travel the world.
"Make new friends and kill them.''
You look at this shit. Buildings down, people dead. Women, children...
You gotta draw the line somewhere.
So does that make us the good guys?
There are no good guys in a war.
(PANTING)
Knock off that shit. We're going down there.
-Move out. -Not the shitholes again. Goddamn.
(WATER DRIPPING)
ALL right, this way.
Anybody know what day it is in the real world?
Wednesday?
I'm supposed to die on a Wednesday.
The first thing I'll do when I get home...
is take a shower, and get laid.
Not necessarily in that order.
(MINE EXPLODES)
(GRUNTS)
(PANTING)
Think that was just some shit somebody left behind?
I don't know.
Claymore!
(BEEPING)
(EXPLOSION)
Goddamn it, my ears.
-They're gonna bury us down here. -Negative.
I put us somewhere just outside the rendezvous point.
You take Pavel. You get up top.
I'll provide cover for extraction.
-That's suicide. -I've said that since the beginning.
Now, don't fight me on this, son. Just do it.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Roger that, master guns.
Cole. Com-techs.
Cole, good to go?
Clear.
BECKETT: There's only one shooter, middle of the block, southeast corner.
Got you. Inside the church.
No.
Negative.
I want you to stand by.
You're here to protect the package.
What did you mean, you were going to die on a Wednesday?
I was sentenced to death for killing a man.
(PANTING)
I went through selection with three other guys.
We were like brothers.
Called ourselves the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Couple of years back, we went into Rostock to help the DEA...
take out some big-time Russian heroin drug lords.
Two separate missions.
We got ours, but their mission was compromised.
My guys...
Left their heads in an alley.
So who's this man you killed?
The DEA who betrayed us.
I can't prove that he did it, but I know it was him.
Which one were you?
What?
Which horseman?
The fourth one, I guess.
''And his name was Death...
"and hell followed with him.''
''People sleep peacefully in their beds at night...
"only because men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.''
No. You write that?
Something by George Orwell.
He abhorred violence too.
But I guess he understood when it became necessity.
(PANTING)
(GRUNTS)
Got you.
BECKETT: Cease fire!
You just gave away your position!
We don't have much time!
Get back!
Pavel!
Oh, shit.
Talk to me.
(GASPING)
Talk to me, kid.
I'm hit.
How bad?
My friend.
COLE OVER RADIO: It wasn't supposed to end like this.
(GROANING) Today was going to be like my birthday.
Well, hang in there, son. The helo's inbound.
(COLE GASPING OVER RADIO)
COLE OVER RADIO: You never told me...
why you came...
back for me. (GASPING)
I was in Panama...
captured and tortured...
and a young operative
like yourself saved my life.
I figured I owed him one.
But you came back for me.
BECKETT OVER RADIO: You'd do the same for me.
(PILOT SPEAKING OVER RADIO)
(GASPING)
(BREATHING)
(GASPS)
Here he comes.
Let's go.
(GRUNTS)
Look at me. I'm a mess!
Belay that. We're gonna get you out of here.
Roger. Good to go!
(SPEAKING HUNGARIAN)
(GROANS)
(GASPS) I'm so warm.
I thought I'd be cold.
Shouldn't I be cold?
The mission's over, son. You're going home.
I don't mind dying.
I just didn't want to die in that cage.
Freedom!