Gen. Esperanza: Freedom.
[John McClane appears and punches him in the face.]
John McClane: Not yet.
McClane: Hey, don't I know you?
Col. Stuart: No, I get that a lot. I've been on TV.
McClane: Yeah, me too.
John McClane: Hey Carmine, let me ask you a question. When you go through the airport metal detector, what sets it off first? The lead in your ass or the shit in your brains?
[John is pointing his gun at General Esperanza after he hits him.]
John McClane: You're supposed to stay in your seat until the plane reaches the terminal. No frequent flier mileage for you.
Answer: In the first movie he's a New York cop visiting his wife. In the second Die Hard, he tells the airport officer that he's LAPD and moved there because of his wife's job. In the third Die Hard film, he most likely went back to New York because of marital problems and became a New York cop again.