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“You’re the only one I trust.”
Trautman watches as Rambo climbs into the plane, and he hopes to God that the feeling in his gut is wrong. Rambo knew it too, apparently. Something was very off about this whole operation, and if this is the last time he’s able to see his Johnny, well…
Murdock wouldn’t see either of them coming.
When he’s leaning out the side of a helicopter, Rambo reaching up to him, and the helicopter begins to lift, Trautman realizes what a big mistake he’s made. He feels the cold metal of a handgun barrel pressing against his temple when he looks at the pilot, and he can only watch as they fly away from the man who was depending on him. He can barely hear Rambo’s shouting over the beating of the chopper rotors, but he thinks he knows what he’s yelling. He knows that Rambo won’t blame him for what’s happening, but that doesn’t stop the sickening lurch in his stomach. Rambo could die.
The danger wasn’t new; they spent many years together, and with other soldiers, surviving in a country where everyone wanted them dead. Then they came back to the States, and everyone still wanted them dead. It wrecked havoc on so many thousands of soldiers’ minds, Rambo’s included, and Trautman was barely able to rescue John last time. And that had been in some backwater town in the middle of bumfuck-Washington--not the very same country where Rambo’s nightmares came from in the first place.
What if he couldn’t help Rambo this time?
When he sees Rambo stalking towards him, massive M60E3 in his hands and the ammo belt wrapped around his wrist. A trick that Trautman himself taught Rambo, and now the young man might use it to kill a superior officer.
Trautman doesn’t stop Rambo from walking past him and into the warehouse.
He does follow him, though, and after Rambo yells and threatens and manhandles, he pulls him aside, into a smaller room, away from prying eyes.
He lets Rambo bury his face in his neck again, like the last time something like this happened. Rambo doesn’t cry this time; instead, he takes deep, steadying breaths. He’s wounded, he needs medical attention, he needs help. But he doesn’t ask for those things, so Trautman wraps his arms around Rambo like he did years ago in this same damn country, and lets Rambo lean on him.
And then he lets Rambo walk away, knowing he might not see him again, but knowing that at least John would be alive.
Because he trusts him.