Original subtitles

[horse neighs]

[neighs]

[speaking native language]

[hissing]

Aaaah!

Guys, you're gonna have to move.

[indistinct talking]

Guys?

- [explosion] - Down!

- Get down! - [gunfire]

You guys stay in the vehicle! Get back!

- Shots, man! - Get down!

- Getting out! - Jimmy!

- Jimmy! - [gunfire]

Aah!

[panting]

Luck of the Devil himself.

[Gillian] Try and think, Mum.

Did anyone come here and ask you for your notebook?

Because if they didn't ask you, they stole it.

Has, um...

Has anyone been here asking about my mother's belongings?

Or -- Or asking about me?

Not that I know of. But...

Your mother...

She wouldn't know even if they had, yeah.

I'm afraid not.

[door opens]

Haven't you sold that thing yet?

Hey, babe.

You said we were going to France.

The Riviera.

You owe me, Jimmy.

Yeah, well, if I'm right about this thing,

I'll buy you a house in the Riviera.

How about that?

Ooh! I like that.

Does it come with matching earrings?

Get your paws off.

[hissing]

- Do you hear that? - What?

I don't know. It sounded like gas escaping.

[hisses]

Don't do that.

[digging]

[Gillian] Toothpicks.

4,000 years ago the Egyptians were building cities of gold.

The Greeks -- temples of marble.

What were we doing?

We were picking our teeth.

What about Stonehenge?

Stonehenge?

Well, it's pretty impressive, isn't it?

A bit?

The Pantheon is impressive.

The pyramids at Giza.

The Nabataean temples carved into the rock at Petra.

They're impressive.

You want to compare these wonders

to a rockery off the A303?

Here endeth the lesson.

Come on.

Let's get back to work.

[indistinct talking]

Oh, come on.

She tends to bite hardest on those she's most fond of.

Then she must really love me.

I'm sorry -- I'm trying-- but it's not happening, Viv.

You don't give good "victim."

So any more mysterious phone calls from anonymous men

asking if I've received packages?

What did he send you?

My mother's old notebook.

Really? Can I see it?

No.

And you're absolutely sure

that you know nothing about the person who called?

No. Nothing.

I swear.

Okay. Okay.

You're not on trial.

[Gregory] Gillian!

You'll want to see this.

Cultural delegation from Iraq.

Doing the grand tour of our dismal wee island.

They're visiting the private Babylonian collection in Bath.

Look at 'em.

Government's latest poster campaign

for the glorious new future.

Doctors, philosophers, film directors.

Even a child chess genius.

And?

And a doctor of archaeology turned peacemaking politician.

Oh, it's wonderful to be back here, yes.

I've been here a number of times.

No, we hope to be able to clear some of that up.

[door opens]

[footsteps]

Dr. Hammadi?

Rachel Highgrove.

I'm coordinating the visit from this end.

You're late. Were you lost?

Only in thought.

Ah, that's very poetic.

But we must keep the delegation to the itinerary.

[Daniel] Dr. Hammadi?

Dr. Hammadi!

Excuse me, please.

Allahu akbar.

Can I tempt you to recite the talk you gave in Cairo

on the Ishtar Gate?

It would coincide with the relaunch of my old DVD.

You may remember, when this arch was first installed here...

In which you describe Babylon as

"Alexander the Great's bisexual stop-off point."

Well, one must have an angle.

As the conqueror said to the catamite.

[Khanna] Kahmil!

[Daniel] Behold the chess champion.

I feel a photo opportunity coming on.

Would you...

Gather 'round, please.

[courier] Excuse me, mate.

[Kahmil] Ali! [speaks Arabic]

[Daniel] No need for panic, everybody.

[Ali] KHANNA.

[Daniel] No need for panic, everybody,

A slight fracas, that's all.

She's a war orphan.

Our government had him assigned to protect her.

Tell him we could do without the cultural histrionics.

- [cellphone rings] - I have to take this.

Um, just... Excuse me.

I'm so terribly sorry.

[Gillian] Beautiful.

So much history.

[beeping]

Catalog it.

Ah, yeah.

archaeology -- One part scrabbling around in the filth

to 10 parts bookkeeping.

Are we having fun yet?

I see a figure emerge from the sun and dust.

Gregory.

You haven't aged a bit.

I bathe in ass's milk.

Ben.

And this is our new intern, Viv Davis.

Nice to meet you.

[Gillian] We were all students together.

Oh, wow,15 years ago.

Pleasure.

Uh, Kahmil needs our help.

[Kahmil] Here is one of many sad sights from modern Iraq.

A Hellenistic temple destroyed by mortar fire.

2,000 years. And now it's gone.

The bombs blow open the ground

and bring new treasures to the surface

from when Iraq was Babylon and a wonder of the ancient world.

Yes. We were great once.

And, of course, the Baghdad Institute of Antiquities

has an insidious enemy.

Nighthawkers.

Night--

[Ben] Looters.

Smuggling finds out of the country for private collectors.

String 'em up by their Buster Browns.

Now, we've traced one of the Nighthawkers back here.

We don't know his name.

What does he have to sell?

Oh, wow. A brick.

[Kahmil] Perhaps from the Hanging Gardens.

It's inscribed by the king who commissioned the building.

"Built by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon."

Oh, come on. The Hanging Gardens are a myth.

[Gillian] He needs our help.

Can I have a word with you?

Please?

Excuse us.

Kahmil is loaded.

With his family connections, he can sort out his own problems.

And if he's now this big peacemaking politician,

why's he worrying about some brick?

If you ask me, he's got an ulterior motive.

Well, maybe he just wanted to look up some old friends.

Yeah, I bet he was gagging to see me and Dolly.

Oh, come on. You used to value hooky gear.

You could look up a few old contacts.

Hey, I was a student. I was broke.

That was another time.

Comes in here in his '90s suit and his gelled hair?

I mean, he has gel!

[sighs]

You're jealous?

You and I split up.

Right? That's one thing.

My decision. Given.

You were devastated. Sorry!

But within six days?

Six days, and you're doing the fandango with him?

I was a kid. You dumped me.

And he told me how well he could dance the fandango.

[sighs] Oh, this is great.

A brick from the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon,

and you're turning it into an episode of "Hollyoaks"!

So this is an academic decision?

- Yes. - No.

The academic decision

would be to focus on the dig we're being paid for.

Neolithic toothpicks aren't glamorous,

but they pay the rent.

He doesn't!

[Max] This is fun.

[Jimmy] Check out the inscription.

[Max chuckles]

Very good fun.

Give you £200 for it. No more.

Ah.

That's better.

Babylonian.

Fourth century B.C.

Tiamat. Goddess of evil.

What a lovely bitch she is.

I could move this on to a German collector I know.

No questions asked.

£15,000.

I'm not done yet, Max.

[Max gasps]

I-I've never seen anything quite...

Yeah?

It's nice, but my clients tend to prefer a little more

[clears throat] "bling."

Job lot -- £20♪.

I'll give you the necklace and the brick, Max, but not this.

Not at that price.

It's only a bit of old carved stone, Jimmy.

[Jimmy] This is an ancient cuneiform script.

If you can't find the cash, I'll find another buyer.

So now you're reinvented in the world of politics,

what are you trying to achieve back home?

Well, later this week I will sit down in private

with fund-raisers for the Sunnis and Shiites.

I will be asking them to redirect their war chests

into unifying Iraq.

We must put an end to sectarian violence

if we are to be a great nation again.

Yeah, well, good luck with that.

Did you order food in? 'Cause it might take a while.

How long has Vivienne been working with you?

Well, it's just a temporary thing.

We don't really have the funds to keep an intern.

Oh, look, I've got it. Got it.

Dr. Colloway. Middle Eastern specialist.

[Gillian] But he only does Saracen stuff.

First and Second Crusades.

But before he lost his college post,

he was writing a book on the sacking of Babylon

by Alexander the Great.

Well...

Thanks for everything.

Uh, Kahmil...

What if you get caught in a compromising position?

Such as?

Well, such as beating the crap out of an antiquities thief.

Is that likely?

You were always pretty quick with your fists.

We were kids, Ben.

The position I caught you and her in was distinctly adult.

Well, then you shouldn't have let her go, should you?

Oi! What's wrong with you, girlie?

Me? Nothing.

Well, do what you're best at and put the kettle on.

When they said archaeology was a science,

I didn't know they meant domestic science.

[laughs]

Yeah.

That's it.

This baby's going on the Web site.

If Max won't pay, somebody will.

[camera shutter clicking]

This Max Garris had better check out, Dr. Colloway.

Thanks for coming along.

You sure Scotland Yard have an ancient antiquities division?

I'll bet they do.

Anyway, it did the trick.

- Max Garris. You know him? - No, it doesn't ring any bells.

Hopefully I can find an address from this name.

Can I ask you something?

If you're organizing your own little peace conference,

then why are you wasting time chasing this brick?

One brick is how every city in the world begins.

Yeah, and many a mickle makes a muckle.

We get those Christmas crackers too.

[Gillian] We could find it for you.

In fact, I'd love to.

No. Thank you again for everything.

But I really must do this alone.

[mockingly] "I'd love to. We could find it for you."

[rewinding]

[Gillian] Anyway, it did the trick.

Max Garris. You know him?

[Kahmil] Hopefully I can find an address from this name.

[Gregory] Babylon.

Such a wealth of extraordinary history.

And then Alexander ransacked it in 331 B.C.

Uptight little bisexual.

Of course, he went on to rule just about everywhere.

Including Babylon and its Hanging Gardens.

Do you think Dr. Hammadi was right?

About a brick from the Hanging Gardens?

Well, my God, it would be a red-letter day

at Dolly Towers if it was true, but...

I sense this isn't about some brick.

I sense he's after something else.

What, Gregory?

I don't know. Yet.

[horns honking]

[Kahmil] Amwar, it's your brother.

I'm getting closer. I can feel it.

I have a name.

Max Garris.

Gillian Magwilde is helping me.

Gillian Magwilde.

Where is she based out of, again?

Wessex.

Yes. Right.

I feel bad, though, keeping her in the dark.

Well, first rule of business-- Keep everyone in the dark.

Yes, but this isn't business. It's not even politics.

It's a matter of salvation.

See, that's when you start to worry me, little brother.

When you start talking like a prophet.

Did you get the messages that I sent you?

Come back to New York.

But New York is not my home, Amwar.

I believe that Gillian thinks

that I am looking for something more than a brick.

If the tablet is half as important as you say it is,

no one can be trusted.

Not even the wonderful Gillian Magwilde.

Soon everyone will know what we have found.

Kahmil, even when we were kids

you were the one with the wild stories.

You kept the family enthralled.

Myths have their power, but they can be used in many ways.

For now just see Gillian Magwilde

in the same light-- not to be trusted.

[click, dial tone]

[Gregory] Kahmil comes from a prominent Baghdad family.

His brother is Iraq's answer to Rupert Murdoch.

Media baron. Lives in the States these days.

Arab TV stations, Web sites, newspapers.

The Hammadis have incredible influence

in both Sunni and Shiite worlds.

Many think Kahmil should have a much higher place

in the new Iraq.

Think he's a lech?

[chuckling] Did you see the way he was staring at me?

My dear, I beg to differ.

Now, this is leching.

Gregory. Don't you dare!

No. This. What's this?

[Viv] Oh. Just some other stuff I found on Babylon.

Apparently, the latest evidence suggests

there was a big meteorite crash in that region.

Assyria.

4,500 years ago.

Is it important, then?

No, not to us. But it might be to some.

Ooh, hive of activity, I see.

- Gilly. - Yes?

- Take this. - What is it?

I know this sort of development still matters to you.

You are still "following the gleam," aren't you?

Could meteoric iron have been used to make something else?

[laughing] Hey, hey! Look at this!

Is this yours, Gregory?

[Gregory] Ah, indeed.

You were post grads.

Uncovered a stockpile of Roman denarii.

- Oh, God. - [Viv] "Hail Caesar!"

[chuckles] You were so thrilled.

I remember you hollering "Hail Caesar!"

At the top of your voice.

Did he always take his shirt off?

Can we just leave it?

[sighs]

Mrs. Wilson!

Prepare to find your tabby swinging from his own entrails.

Here, puss.

Here, sweetie.

Come to me, you li--

That's the way.

Come to me.

Come on. Come on.

A meteorite crashes in Assyria.

2,000 years later,

Alexander is in Assyria.

Is it possible?

Is this where it started?

Is this where it was made?

"Alexander's was the destiny of men.

In his sword and shield, the stars gave him his weapon."

The stars.

The answer must lie in the stars.

Or am I getting as mad as you, Mother?

[cellphone rings]

[sighs]

Gillian Magwilde.

[Kahmil] Gill, it's Kahmil.

I need you to come to Max Garris's place now.

[click, dial tone]

Come on.

Oh, my God.

What happened?

He was like that when I got here.

What did this to him?

Kahmil, it's like he's been bitten by something.

Look, I shouldn't have called you.

It's not fair.

Are you looking for the brick? Do you think it's still here?

No one will know you were here.

What are you so desperate to find?

I have seen this before in Baghdad.

Occultists.

Kahmil.

If this was a robbery, then why not take this?

It's solid gold.

Look, it's not about the necklace,

and it's not about the damn brick!

I am here for something so important--

So important a man has died over it!

I'm not gonna go away until you tell me

what the bloody hell it is you're looking for.

You see these?

Babylon had street lighting

when your ancestors were still running around in bearskins.

You know, we were the first people to irrigate our land.

To map the stars and name them.

We created the alphabet!

The days of your week are taken from our days.

We were the cradle of civilization!

And look at us now.

Ravaged. Burning. Dismayed.

What am I looking for? I am looking for hope.

The hope of a nation to be great again.

And peace throughout the land.

10 out of 10 for ambition.

KHANNA.

[speaks Arabic]

No -- English.

I need to do practice.

I like puzzles.

Me too.

My mum used to set me puzzles to solve.

That's why I love history so much.

'Cause it's a puzzle with lots of clues to find.

My mother is dead.

Well, I'm very sorry about that.

I hear her voice.

I hear my mother's voice too.

I beat the Russian man at chess.

I made him cry.

[laughs] Result.

KHANNA.

[speaks Arabic]

- Good night. - Good night, sweetheart.

Good night, heavenly princess KHANNA.

Thank you, Gillian.

But this is one puzzle you cannot solve.

I want to help you.

Then leave.

Before being with me gets you hurt.

[hissing]

Taxi!

The followers of Tiamat are here.

They killed a man.

[Amwar] Fanatics!

This is too dangerous.

Tiamat is a dark force

with a long, dark history.

If these people really worship Tiamat, they'll stop at nothing.

I will not be intimidated by superstition and occultists!

You don't have to be intimidated.

They'll do all the work. They'll kill.

Your credibility as a political figure

will seriously be undermined

with these crackpots on your tail.

I can't stop now. This is our country's future.

- Kahmil, come home. - You're in New York.

Well, I try to call it home.

I can't leave this to Gillian.

I know her.

She won't give up.

[beeps]

- [door opens] - [Daniel] Gillian.

Daniel.

Ms. Highgrove here represents the interests

of the Iraqi delegation.

What is your association with Dr. Kahmil Hammadi?

Hello. It's nice to meet you.

I'm Gillian Magwilde, and you're in my lab.

Rachel Highgrove. Nice to meet you.

What is your association--

I was at university with him. Uh, we had sex.

Uh, twice. In 1992.

Twice?

Once is never quite enough.

May I have a word? In private.

Twice.

Kahmil's an important man from an important family.

Many people think his obsession with these ancient objects

is just going to drag Iraq back into the medieval quagmire.

But what is it he's looking for?

- I don't know. - Or you won't say.

Who killed Max Garris? Cultists?

Maybe. It's happened before in Baghdad.

But you don't need to worry about Max Garris.

It's a diplomacy issue. Our people can handle it.

Look, I'm just trying to help Kahmil. He's a friend.

No, he was your friend twice. In 1992.

We'll look after Dr. Hammadi.

You dig up your medieval buckets.

Right. Yes.

Well, I have a bucket waiting in the lab right now.

So I'd best get back to it.

Max.

Tiamat.

A serpent who would enslave the world.

[hissing]

What is that?

What?

[hissing continues]

Do you know what? You used to be fun.

[Ben] My God, it's beautiful.

Babylonian, for certain.

Kahmil's after something else. Something much more important.

[Gregory] Than this?

I think the contents of this box is what he's after,

and that's why Garris was killed.

But he won't tell you what it is?

He doesn't want to draw attention.

They're interviewing the whole Iraqi delegation

over Max Garris's death.

They're talking about cultists.

Says here that when Kahmil starts promoting

Iraq's Babylonian inheritance,

it draws out all these wackos who follow Tiamat.

Tiamat -- That's like the--

That's like Babylonian devil worship, isn't it?

Oh, I love it.

- Tiamat... - Oops, I've set him off.

In Babylonian mythology there was Marduk, the god of goodness.

And the goddess of evil was Tiamat.

A giant serpent.

That's what this is.

And I would say Dr. Hammadi

is searching for something of great importance

that has drawn out forces of darkness

who are trying to stop him.

Babylonian legend says that the god Marduk

took on human form and slayed the evil serpent-god Tiamat

and ruled over the Earth.

Then Marduk dictated stone writings

that told of his deeds but also predicted the future.

How do we know? The "Enuma Elish."

Ancient scriptures detailing the history of Babylonian gods.

It tells us of a tablet that has never been depicted--

the holy writings of a Babylonian god.

Well?

Sorry, I'm just trying to get my eyebrow to raise cynically.

No, no, Gilly. This is what our boy is after.

The prophesies of a god. He always liked to think big.

And, you know, where there are gods, there are always devils.

[man] I'm sure we can come to some agreement, Jimmy,

but the price has dropped.

It's three, not five.

Three? Three?

Jesus Christ, man, I just come down to five.

It's all we can do, Jimmy. I'm sorry.

Call me if you change your friggin' mind!

Our looter found the Tablet of Destinies.

[Gregory] The Tablet was hidden after Alexander entered Babylon.

It was supposed to have predicted many troubles.

The closest comparison I can make

is that the Tablet Of Destinies

is a Babylonian Ten Commandments.

This would be the greatest Babylonian artifact of all time.

No wonder Kahmil lied to us. He's after glory.

Don't be so ridiculous.

If anything, he was trying to protect us.

From the cultists?

Or from himself?

[knock on door]

You have to go.

Not until we find the Tablet of Destinies.

Kahmil, this is amazing.

[Kahmil] It was put on the Web anonymously.

He put these pictures up to attract buyers.

I'm sure of it.

Now, I have analyzed every cuneiform symbol I can see.

This thing talks of the rise of a tyrant from Tikrit.

Saddam.

It talks about the invasion from the West--

the Gulf War.

It gives dates. It's -- It's incredible, Gilly.

You can't really believe this is a genuine prophecy.

A person is supposed to rise at this time -- our time--

called the "Gate."

He will reunite the country.

I believe the other side of the tablet reveals who the Gate is.

Is this why you've been hosting peace talks?

You think these writings predict that you will reunite Iraq?

Do you get to wear a cape and a mask?

It's about hope.

Our country has been raped and beaten into submission.

By Saddam. By the West.

By insurgents.

This tells us who we were and who we can be again.

Kahmil, this is arcane stuff.

You want a modern Iraq.

I want a proud Iraq.

My brother controls the media.

We have connections to both Sunnis and Shiites.

Maybe -- just maybe--

people will believe these writings

and that things can get better.

You'll get a whole nation of Muslims

to follow the god Marduk?

Marduk. Yahweh. Allah.

There are so many different names,

but it all boils down to one God.

One hope, one chance.

A unified Iraq.

[hissing]

[Daniel] Alexander's army was exhausted,

suffering from heatstroke and the injuries of battle.

But this beautiful, young god

inspired them to march double-time across the desert,

following him.

I don't believe it.

Shout, "Damn that woman!" Expunge the bile.

- She's not answering her phone. - Go on. Expunge!

I'd let her get on with it.

She reckons she's so right all the time.

The pair of you-- "Damn that woman!"

If she's with him, then her life is at risk.

[hissing]

These photographs we found at Max Garris's--

It makes sense that, coming from Iraq,

they were taken by a photojournalist.

[Kahmil] Yeah.

These digital frame stock numbers,

well, they'd be registered.

Reuters?

Reuters. On their Web site.

[beeping]

If we can find a match,

then we'll get the name of the person

who still has the tablet.

Here we go.

Look.

Jimmy Paul.

- Freelance photographer. - [Kahmil] That's it.

We have to stop the tablet

getting into the hands of the occultists.

[hissing]

What was that?

We've got a clear path to the door.

No! We'd be dead before we reached halfway.

[Gillian whimpers]

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

Get back inside!

There's a killer snake on the loose!

I see you're in a hotel room with him.

Oh, not now!

No sudden moves.

[roars]

So what do we do?

Stand here till it dies of boredom?

Rudyard Kipling's gardener did it with a rake.

Why don't you just kill it?

I'm a nature lover.

[sighs] We found out who's got the Tablet of Destinies.

Right, then, let's go.

Cleve Farm.

This is the contact address on the Web site.

[Viv] Look at this!

No!

Hang on a second.

Why have an all-singing, all-dancing

electric oven installed

and then boil a kettle on a butane stove?

Oh, my God, it's real.

Please, please. Can I?

This section here is not on the photographs.

We must decipher it.

- [door opens] - Okay.

Now what happens is you give it back to me.

It was never yours.

Mate, you stole it first, we steal it second.

Call it quits. You can keep the box.

Sorry, "mate."

[hissing]

What the...

[Kahmil] Quick!

Come on, baby.

Look!

What the hell's he doing here?

[Kahmil] He works for our government.

He's been following me since I got here.

You check his flight bag for snakes?

Ali.

Ali could be working for the cultists.

What, and he's in charge of the little girl?

Little girl? What little girl?

- Kahmil... - Okay, let's go!

- There's a little girl now? - [engine turns over]

[Khanna] Where's Ali? What's happening?

[Kahmil] Need to get you somewhere safe, sweetheart.

[Khanna] Ali is protecting me. He keeps me safe.

[Gillian] Take her back to the university.

But Ali's my friend! He said not to trust anyone!

Least of all Ali.

- [breathing heavily] - [door opens]

When I meet Tiamat...

...I'll give her your best.

- Sir, it's me. - [man] Rachel, do you have it?

No. They're heading back to the city.

This is all so damn surreal.

Look, I think you should just tell him, sir.

Before he winds up dead.

[Kahmil] This doesn't make sense.

Part of the inscription isn't in cuneiform.

Is this thing really supposed to bring peace?

If it inspires my countrymen

the way it has inspired me, then yes.

It's brought precious little peace so far, though, hasn't it?

Look, can we just get back to the lab?

[Gregory] Look at it!

It's not every day you get to look upon writings

dictated by a god.

[Gillian] Right, let's clean it using low-grade acid

and then take a scan for a 3-D model.

[beeping]

[Kahmil] It gives a time

when the Gate will be revealed to the people.

Talks of them walking through the Gate to their new future.

But this side of the tablet I can't make out.

It looks like some kind of code.

We should call the police. We're in way over our heads.

But that would just undermine Kahmil further.

You don't really believe Iraq's answers lie here, do you?

His belief in this Babylonian prophecy

is never gonna be taken seriously,

in Iraq or in the West.

[Viv] You like him?

He talks about my country,

but really he's talking about himself.

[Daniel] And these markings are so rare

they have yet to be deciphered.

It's the same.

What's the same?

Those squares on the statue.

They are like... that.

So the decipher mechanism for this code

is etched into the base of a palace gate.

Maybe it was hidden on all the royal gates.

Now we have a problem--

gaining access to these markings.

That's the main atrium of the museum. Not a problem.

The markings are partially clogged with stone fragments.

We'll need to clean that

with low-grade acid or masonry bits.

Plus, we don't know how the cipher works.

I can do it.

Maybe you can.

Okay, so...

Assuming no one's brought their invisibility cloak with them,

how are we supposed to excavate in a public museum

without anyone noticing?

Professor Mastiff is an acclaimed expert

on Babylonian culture.

His DVD film on the fall of the city to Alexander

has been rereleased, and I--

I suddenly thought this was a good time

to highlight not only his documentary

but also my personal mission

to see greater cultural understanding

between our two nations.

Of course, all this is just a bit of fun.

The DVD points to a greater cooperation

between the Baghdad Institute and British academics

who wish to bring its treasures to a wider public.

And it's still at the special-offer price of £6.99.

And to celebrate Anglo-Iraqi relations,

the mayor will be holding a civic reception here tonight

before the delegation leave tomorrow.

Are there any questions?

[clears throat] Arsenal.

I'm here in case the press want a little tour of the relics.

If they do come through,

would you be across the security in a supervisory capacity?

I can spot a military man. Excellent!

[whirring]

[Ben] Why are we doing this?

For Kahmil? Iraq?

Ourselves?

Why go after toothpicks and medieval pots

when you can go after prophesies written by ancient gods, eh?

- Enough? - Okay, done.

Then let's get out of here before Mastiff

rides through those doors on his sodding chariot.

So these are the missing symbols from the arch in the museum.

Wow. Well, it all joins up.

But what does it mean?

It's a puzzle. I'm good at puzzles.

[laughs]

It's easy!

[laughter]

Hey!

[speaking Arabic]

[Gillian] Oh, my God.

Arrows.

But what are the arrows pointing to?

[Gregory] No, they're only there to line up the code.

This is the cryptic code found on the tablet.

And this, the section found on the stone arch in the museum.

When they have their new position,

the words are in a new order revealing a new text.

We've cracked it.

These are the words highlighted.

No, this is all wrong. We have to start again.

Viv! I need the toilet.

Sure. I'll take you.

- Aah! - You bastard!

- She's just a baby! - Five... four...

three...

[Khanna crying]

[man] You want to go to a party with Aunt Rachel?

Kahmil, whose identity is on that thing?

We need to go.

KHANNA and I. We need to go right now.

- No, no, no. Not until you-- - He's taken her!

[Ben] We might still catch them.

- Where is she? - Get off me!

[Kahmil] [speaks Arabic]

[speaks Arabic]

It wasn't him! It was a white guy took KHANNA!

The one that came with Rachel Highgrove.

Ask him why he was at the caravan.

[speaks Arabic]

I protect KHANNA. I protect everyone.

You dangerous! That's why I followed you.

He didn't want your search to endanger the delegation.

That's why he's been tailing you.

- What are you doing? - You are dangerous to us!

- Don't be crazy. - No, no, no. He's right.

You've pulled us all into this

based on your arrogant obsession.

Don't take your eyes off him.

We're gonna gate-crash Ms. Highgrove's party

at the museum.

You don't know what's at stake.

Kahmil, it's okay.

You don't know what I know!

The Gate is KHANNA.

Now, I am leaving here alone, with the tablet.

I know what I have to do.

[cork pops, champagne pours]

[indistinct talking]

[cellphone rings]

[Kahmil] It's Dr. Hammadi. I'm outside.

I'll be right out.

I knew you'd understand what needs to be done.

May I please, Doctor?

She's fine.

But if you don't hand over that wretched thing, then who knows?

Now what happens is you join the party and you tell everybody

that you got caught up in a wild goose chase

for a silly mythical artifact.

And you realize, in so doing, you have belittled

the contemporary political purpose of this visit.

Who are you working for?

Shall we?

[beeping]

Oh, please tell me that's not his phone.

He dropped it. I picked it up.

There's a message on here from his brother.

So what?

- [scoffs] - What?

It needs a security code word.

[beeping]

You should have known better, Gilly.

Kahmil was always arrogant

and could always twist you 'round his little finger.

People change.

Sometimes not that much.

Pack it in, you little bitch!

Now, we're gonna wait upstairs, well out the way.

And if you're good, we'll play cards.

You like cards?

[Gillian] We're gonna break the news to Kahmil

and get the tablet back.

Hang on.

"R.H." Rachel Highgrove.

No.

Surely she would never be that...

...stupid.

Turns out she is.

Dr. Hammadi has been involved in the hunt

for a spurious stolen artifact.

His actions have, as they have in the past,

done nothing except provoke violence.

Rather than inspire, Dr. Hammadi has undermined Iraq

and reminded us all

that it can still be a country living in the Dark Ages.

Doctor, will you make your statement now?

Dr. Hammadi's a crackpot

obsessed with ancient curses and magic prophesies.

Hoo! Heavy stuff there, Rachel.

Be warned, Doctor. You're on thin ice.

I live on thin ice, love.

I listened to your brother, Kahmil.

[beeping]

He likes to speak to you from on high, doesn't he?

[Amwar] I have painful news for you, my brother.

I did everything in my power to stop you from your quest.

You paid no heed to my warnings or to the occultist attacks

that Rachel Highgrove stage-managed

to frighten you away.

We have to talk, Kahmil, before any more die.

I have powerful reasons why it is best

for the tablet to remain buried.

He set up these ritualistic attacks--

to so totally undermine you

that your Sunni-Shiite peace conference would be ruined.

He doesn't want a strong Iraq at all.

He doesn't want his Western interests disrupted.

He doesn't want his people to have hope.

It's bad for business. Western business.

The business he's invested in.

He set it all up, didn't he?

Belittling your validity

and the importance of the tablet.

[crowd murmuring]

The tablet was gonna be your guiding light

at the peace table.

You know, he's not the first to be scared.

There are records that show that Alexander's men

found the Tablet of Destinies.

But Alexander knew that it offered the Babylonians hope.

And a people with hope can rise up.

He didn't want his rule threatened,

so he had the tablet taken back to its hiding place.

[Gillian] Do you think your brother

and his friends in the States

really want everything to change?

[muffled shouting]

[man] Ooh!

- Hey! Hey! - Aah!

Dr. Hammadi has brought this-- this shame upon himself.

And he will be making a formal statement to that effect.

My own brother would see me shamed and ruined...

...all to keep Iraq lowly

and to preserve his business interests?

Kahmil...

Whatever is written on this thing,

it will either happen or it won't.

My little brother went in search of hope and found you, eh?

Shame for both of you.

Let's get her in the car.

- Ms. Highgrove wants her. - We need to get her out of here.

[man] Wait.

Wait.

[Kahmil] Bring me back KHANNA, or I will be forced to shoot you!

- [Amwar] I'm sorry. - No!

Why do people not want us to have hope?

[crowd gasps]

[gun thuds]

[Khanna screaming]

[Amwar] No!

Amwar? You're here.

Amwar, what are you doing?

Aah!

[Kahmil] Stop, stop!

Oh, God, no! No.

Please! Don't.

Why, Amwar? Why?

They need the West to survive.

Not superstition. Not more beliefs.

"They"? Aren't you an Iraqi too?

You plan to do what Alexander did?

Extinguish a nation's hope?

[Gillian] It can't be done.

One gate will close and another will open.

I mean, you are greedy, Mr. Hammadi,

and supremely manipulative and unimaginably selfish.

But you're not a child killer.

Are you so intent on going to Hell?

Hell?

[sobbing]

Ah, Gillian.

I think we have a claim

to hold on to the tablet for a few months.

Will you back me up?

No. But thanks for thinking of me.

We are going to tell all sides

that there was once a prophecy about our country

that had a happy ending.

Do you think a little girl really can help a whole country?

It's a puzzle. I'm good at puzzles.

You gonna be okay?

I'm sorry I stared when we first met.

But it was obvious to me.

I know. And you do, too, don't you?

Go well.

You too.

Look, mate, you're loaded.

You could live anywhere in the world,

but you choose to live there.

And you choose to work with Gillian Magwilde.

Which one of us is the bravest?

Bye, then.

[Gregory] That bumf about the meteor in Assyria--

any help to you?

[Gillian] Yeah, maybe.

It may be the breakthrough your mother never had.

Oh, Dolly, why would I follow my mum's obsession?

It was all madness, wasn't it?

Of course.

Come on, keys. Come to Gilly.

Very funny, Dolly.

"I would love to talk to you.

By the way, I'm next door."

[door closes]

[door closes]

Hello?

Dolly, is that you?

Because it's been a long day, and I'm not in the bloody mood.

I should warn you.

I've got a Etruscan spear in my hand,

and I'm not afraid to use it.

[Ben] Look at this. First World War. Mark I.

I think it's been buried.

- [clink] - Oh.

[Ben] Clear the area! Back! Back!

- Oh, my God. - [man] No!

[Gregory] Marmite.

- Magwilde. - Becker.

Well, they're Germans. Doesn't have to make sense.

[Viv] The man on the right-- He's that body there.

[Gillian] This isn't just a war grave, it's a war crime.

We've all got them.

[Gillian] These men were obsessed with Joan of Arc.

Doctor Magwilde, I need to have access!

Danke!

[Ben] Hell of a thing, being around you.

Well, I'm a hell of a ride.