Original subtitles

This programme contains some scenes of a violent nature.

In the Service, dependence can be a risk.

Have you any idea... how horrible these things sound?

Tessa's running phantom agents.

I think I'll kill him.

You've laid this on me - now I'M involved.

You're despicable. I'm in love.

How are we doing? Nearly there. She not happy, then?

I just want her to feel safe. You think someone's gonna come for you?

Any of them can come for any of us. Security's in the mind, isn't it?

You wanted Fort Knox - you got it. What have you done to my front door?

Ah, well, now, you see... Reinforced steel.

Works with a swipe card. State-of-the-art, will not find this in Banham any time soon.

No key code, it's in the strip. We'll keep a spare set in case you lock yourself out. This is the business.

Universal swipe. Central locking, all doors and windows. Security glass.

Think BMW in Jo'burg. Come inside a sec.

Right, check it out. Windows, french doors, even the roof access.

All fail-safe, all through this key. ..I hope this works with her, Tom. She's a great person.

I know. How reliable is the strip? Ah.

Sorry, mate.

Watch this.

BEEPING Would I give you anything but the best?

Hold your nose back. Oh, good girl. Ugh! That should help.

MAISIE COUGHS

I didn't mean to let you in. My hand slipped. Look, take this.

New front door key.

At the Hilton now, are you(?) I know how you feel about living with me and being safe. I've changed things.

Come back, please.

You can't stay here.

Go and have a look...

please.

How does it...work? Well, it's just like a key on the outside. Swipe it through the slot.

Light goes green, you're in. Coming out it's the same, swipe it like a credit card. OK? Go and see. Please.

I'd rather you showed me. I will, I will, but...

But...? But...I have a very importan project on right now...

Mm-hm? So... What is it? Are you gonna do some spying?

Be careful! I will.

HEAVY BREATHING

Right...

Go ahead. Hello, this is Jodie from the Sovereign Guest House in Ealing.

I need an urgent credit-card check on a Mr Patrick McCann.

One moment.

Encrypting Red channel. This is really quite urgent.

McCann, Patrick. Section commander in splinter Republican group, active Service Unit leader for many years,

responsible for the murder of 20 RUC policemen

and two Security Service operatives in the late '70s. Why?

DOORBELL RINGS Uh...he's ringing the doorbell.

You went over Tom's head on this?! Tom wasn't here.

Tom handles McCann. You know that. I had to act at once.

You let a known terrorist into a safe house. He said Azabia, Harry. Azabia. This isn't about Ireland.

The consequences could be horrendous. Who knows how many safe houses will have to be closed down,

housekeepers retired? This could push the budget over the abyss! You've called the cavalry?

Anti Terrorist Unit and Special Branch will be six minutes. Are they getting a tram(?) That's fast!

He'll be gone before then, and all we'll be left with is the smell of sulphur. ..Is this live? Yes, sir.

'Did you want a cup of tea? I want to exchange information and I want a favour in return.'

What's that?

A grenade.

I want a meeting with an officer who knows enough about Azabia to know THIS isn't a bunch of paddywhack.

If you want special terms, I'll have to talk to the landlord. You will.

Tell him I know what Azabia's been planning in the Sudan. 'I don't think he'd believe you.'

'Well, he'd better. Cos what they're planning affects him and his employer in a very big way!'

This is a SIM card. Stick it in a mobile phone.

Call the number in the address book between 11.51 and midnight tonight. Nine minutes only.

You said you wanted a favour in return. Brave woman.

'Do you want to say what it is? That's for the landlord.

'Let me out of here. Now!'

How the hell did he know about the safe house? Never underestimate Patrick McCann.

This is information from a highly suspect source.

Not all of you were need-to-know about Azabia, for good reason. Tom.

Azabia is an ultra-extremist cell hiding out in the Sudan, a fragment from the Al Qaeda fallout.

The group has been yellow-tagged, so MPs, Foreign Office, most of Downing Street and the Press do not know,

repeat, do not know of the group's existence. No knowledge, no leaks.

Azabia are Bin Laden's most loyal followers, believed to be behind both US Embassy bombings in 2000.

So far, they have been impenetrable. They work in couples, family units.

How do you come between brothers that write nothing down? A CIA proxy agent got near, but was blown.

What was left of his genitals was posted to the American Embassy in Paris. Ouch! As far as we know,

Azabia has shown no interest in any action in the UK yet. Mostly India, Indonesia. The clock is against us.

I think this offer's real. McCann wants to trade. Trade what?

Got to be big to do a walk-in. Even with a grenade. If Azabia are going to attack the UK, we must act

He went to a safe house. Must mean he has something. And the fact he knows Azabia exists! What do we do?

We do what he's asked us to do. We try and deal with him.

Come on, come on, group dynamics! It's too dangerous. Oh, is it?! Why?

He's way ahead, calling the shots. It's our job to catch up. I agree with Tessa. I agree with Zoe.

So we do nothing? We do something. We set up the meeting with McCann and kill him. This isn't Guatemala!

Let me rephrase for faint hearts. We bring about a curtailment of his continuing existence through proxy.

Are you saying we hand McCann over to the provisional IRA?! You know what they do with people who leave them.

Let his ex-comrades beat the shit out of him and get the truth on Azabia.

We liaise with the Provos whilst they torture a suspect?!

- A Belfast officer is liaising now. - This is grotesque!

Grotesque is taking McCann at his word! You're out of your depth. He wanted an officer who knows Azabia.

It'll be on the critical list. This is not THE truth, it's THEIR truth. We have no way of verifying it.

So I need to meet him. Not you. I know enough about Azabia to confirm his intentions. No-one else can.

I want a collective decision. We must agree. I say burn him. McCann's an old dog. You won't get near him.

I'm an old dog, too. ..Danny? Meet him, see what info he's offering. Even if the info is contaminated?

Tessa? Danny's right. We can't afford not to. Zoe? Meet.

So be it.

Tom, if you get to McCann,

no deals. Nothing.

This is strictly information-gathering.

I just hope you know what kind of a bastard we're dealing with.

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

MCCANN: 'Go north on the A11, in a white Ford Mondeo, till the meter reads 68.5.

'There's a works unit road, cross the field and I'll meet you there. Dress for the country, Davy Crockett.'

Tessa gave you money. I didn't know what for. To shut you up! What do you think it was for?! I don't know.

I can't get my head round it. Maybe it's part of something bigger, an op. A big op. Or she's testing me.

It's a scam! A senior officer, sitting in this room, running false agents and trousering the cash.

You have to pass it through Harry. I know. So do it. Now! Well, I can't! I've left it too long. Here we go.

Meet is rural, tomorrow afternoon. Isolated. Complicated. Lots of open ground, so no ambushes, no backup.

Send a messenger. Wire them. You can hang back, listening. Prompt him when the subject moves to Azabia.

He'll check for wires. Can you sort out the transport? A white Mondeo.

THEY SPEAK IN IRISH

Keep it English. No use drawing more attention to ourselves.

Anyone seeing this would think we're in some fecky farmer's porn video. YOU picked the spot. Let's walk.

Let's not.

I guess this wasn't easy for you, Mr Crockett. Had to pull a few strings? I know I certainly did.

Something like that. The secrecy's for MY benefit, too. There's people' fry my balls if they knew about this

Suddenly grown a conscience?! I'll let you know what it feels like when I've worn it in. Rich.

It's the same for us, you know. I don't like breathing the same air as YOU, either. D'you follow?

Azabia.

We've had a minor corporate cash-flow problem, thanks to certain recent events. So we've been freelancing.

Bit of management consultancy. Few hard lads down in Columbia, the odd mercenary in Somalia.

And then we get a call from a couple of hard-nuts in the Sudan.

Needed a how-to on some anti-tank weaponry they'd acquired. State-of-the-art, the dog's bollocks.

So we sent a couple of our lads over, but we weren't taking any chances. So we had them checked out.

Those boys would kill you as quick as look at you. ..Nothing new to speak of. Till last week.

Another check.

And suddenly, there's this very detailed aerial schematic of a large-scale Brit facility.

A power station.

A nuclear power station.

Sefton B.

They do what I think they're gonna do, and most of Ireland's uninhabitable for the next 200 years.

Not to mention everything north of Bristol. Not that we'd miss Wales. ..Oh, don't look at me like that.

This is a holy war. They're serious. And when a man with my experience tells you that, you should listen.

They scare the shite out of me. You could..."disincentivise" them. Kill them, you mean?

Great minds think alike, Davy. Sadly, my branch chief had other ideas.

Wanted his money up front. But by the time he realised he was an eejit, they were already on their way.

And so I had to come crying to youse. For help. You do what I ask, and you'll get it all.

Names, routes, dates, everything we've got. We've got access. We've got trust.

Jesus, Mr Crockett, I'm your man in the Sudan. When did they leave?

They're already here?

How much money do you want? Money is not our only concern.

What do you want? Today is Tuesday... I want a blind eye kept till sunrise Thursday.

We're doing a bit of business here, and we'd rather you kept your noses out of it.

No police, no Special Branch, no uniforms. 30 hours. Special offer.

This is a...technical matter, but how can we trust you? We should just let you commit a terrorist outrage?

Trusting your enemy's a fine art, Mr Crockett. We're not planning a "terrorist outrage"!

All right? You're forgetting it's OUR country on the line here, too.

New SIM card. Call the number in the address book between 1651 and 1700 tonight.

Nine minutes only, then I dump the phone. Why the rush? Why d'you think?! You mean it's soon?

I mean you'd better get back in your car. We have a deal?

Bit unfair, really. You know MY name, and I know YOURS ain't Davy bloody Crockett. Call me Dave.

How many times do I have to tell you? This is contaminated truth! It's a hook.

If we ignore the activities of McCann's group for 30 hours, you know what we'd be doing?

Trading an attack by a splinter Republican cell for a fantasy about Sefton B! I disagree.

Why? The stakes are high. Dissident IRA commander comes alone to a safe house. Follows up with a meeting.

Keeps to his word about backup AND time and place. We know that the word of the IRA, whatever faction,

is as permanent as a fart in a wind machine. We've no choice. We have to deal. We have four hours to agree.

We have a potential moral horror here. I do not like moral horrors. I prefer facts. Danny, Zoe,

how vulnerable is Sefton B? And what anti-tank weapon could Azabia have gotten hold of? Right. Right.

We have ONE ace in the hole. ..I've been dishonest, Tom. When you met McCann, you DID have backup.

It worked rather well. They followed you, then followed him...to his hideaway.

Thanks to you, we have a dissident IRA commander under surveillance.

He's over here on his evil business. He must be stopped.

That's what's going to happen. There'll be no deals with McCann.

NUMBER IS DIALLED

Zoe, call.

Where are you? Almost there. I need an urgent appointment with the DG. But cover for me for an hour.

You and Danny do exactly as Harry told you, find out about the weapon.

When's Tom due back? Not for an hour or so.

I've been to Sefton B. It's hard. Two reprocessing plants, four reactors, Britain's main plutonium stockpile.

They've not got a sign saying "Bewar Of The Sheep"! It's protected. It's not the main site I'm worried about.

Area D421. It houses about 20 tanks containing liquid high-level radioactive waste.

A leak would release a cloud 45 times as deadly as Chernobyl. No wonder the Irish are up in arms.

They've concrete coming out of their arses. You can't do anything except from the air, and the RAF cover that.

Normally, half the tanks are empty. But with increased capacity, the stand-by tanks are almost all full.

Two intermediate level tanks have thin concrete containment, about a metre.

They're being refurbished, especially their roof.

To hit the roof, you'd need something to fly up, then strike straight down.

Most mobile anti-tank units fire direct, they do not have a top-attack mode. So SOME do, then.

I'll get the MOD on the blower.

Mr Quinn, the DG has asked me to say that it's best he doesn't see you.

This is a matter of national... Please let me finish.

Best he doesn't ACTUALLY see you. However, at the moment, there is a window.

Would you follow me?

I'll just take your blood pressure. There'll be a little discomfort.

Yes, Doctor. Well, get on with it. I haven't got all day!

SHE CLEARS THROAT

So, you are here to complain about your superior in the Service?

Yes. I never thought I'd have to talk about Harry like this. Why not? If he's going doolally, needs must!

Please, sir, this is difficult for me. Please don't emote. You're here to gripe, so spit. I'm not here to..

It's never my policy to listen to gripes. That's why this meeting isn't taking place. Open wide. Say "Ah".

Ah-h-h-h. You believe the Irishman? Yes. Why?

Three reasons. The personal risk he's taking by even talking to us.

The credibility of his story and the seriousness of what is at stake.

If they have no surveillance for 30 hours, what do you think they'll do? I think they'll keep to their word.

No, that's what you WANT to happen. But as the old KGB used to say, "Hope for the best, expect the worst."

Hence I ask, what is your worst fear in this scenario? They launch an attack on the mainland.

In which case we prevent a greater outrage, a possibility, by allowing a lesser, a certainty? Yes.

A moral twister. Terrible to decide. The art of dealing with your enemy is a fine thing. Bend over, please.

Do you...enjoy such decisions?

No. Wrong answer. If you don't, you have no business in the Service.

I'm going to overrule Harry on this occasion. Go ahead. Call Rosie when it's done, and I'll deal with Harry.

GLOVE SNAPS Thank you, sir.

Now, it's finger-up-my-prostate time, so I'd be grateful if you leave. Sir.

Work phone, we've put McCann's SIM card in here, all teed up. OK. How long do we have?

Four minutes to cut-off. OK, stay close.

Recording. 'Davy Crockett, I presume.' King of the wild frontier. 'Cutting it fine, aren't you?'

I'm going to give you a number, mobile number. This is my number. 07700 900 002.

Confirm that. 07700 900 002. No contact till sunrise Thursday.

Reckon they'll give us the information on Sefton B? They say... HE says. And I believe him.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

It's done. Thank you.

Brace for impact.

Tom Quinn!

You went over my head? I took a decision. The wrong one! GCHQ picked up a Pay As You Go mobile keyword.

Irish splinter group plans to hit Broad Street Railway Station tomorrow morning. Rush hour. A bomb!

MOD flash. 5lb of Semtex gone from an arms shipment in Newcastle. MO has McCann's group written all over it.

And this is the man in whom you've put your trust! You went over my head. Now I'm going over YOURS.

No more deals. We're going to stop that bomb.

Smooth bureaucracy away from now on. Total communication. We group-hug this one or we all fall down.

'Davy, I said no contact!' There hasn't been. 'So why tail me? Took me a bloody hour to shake them!'

I didn't want it. Sadly, my branch chief had other ideas.

'Problems upstairs, Davy(?)' You sai no acts of terror. You're planning to hit Broad Street Station.

Keep to the agreement. You said no acts of terror. 'We're at war with Britain.

'There's no such thing as terrorism in wartime. We're striking back. We're back in business in a big way.'

No warning? 'The rules have changed, Davy. The gloves are off.

'Try and stop our operation, the deal is dead, and damn the consequences for all of us.'

I know you think your boss is a little...emotional over Irish matters.

Well, I AM, and for the good of this team, I'd like to explain why.

I was in Ireland in 1978. My best friend was a man named Bill Crombie.

One day, we found ourselves in a rebel pub looking for an IRA brigade commander. Terrible mistake.

I left, he stayed.

Bravado. They shoved him in the boot of a car. I could do nothing - I had no field telephone, no weapon.

They dumped his body later. Hard to identify a body, most of which has been burnt away by a blowtorch.

The brigade commander's name was Patrick McCann.

This has informed my judgement on this matter.

I trust you'll all understand. Yes. Yes, Harry.

Absolutely, Harry.

Yes.

Thank you.

Their side, we know. They'll blow up one of London's busiest stations, unless we stop them. We can't.

They haven't told us enough about Sefton B. They could withdraw. If we don't stop the bomb, it'll explode.

We've been in this situation before. A source tips us off. Stopping the bomb compromises the source.

Letting it explode could help stop at least 20 others. It's a balance sheet of risks.

Lesser evil stops greater evil. Even when the greater evil is a fiction?

It's a chance we have to take. Not on MY watch. We move. This bomb does not go off.

Maybe he's right. Or he's flipped. Do not talk about Harry like that.

What happened in Belfast could warp his judgement. Drop it! If Sefton B is gonna happen, we have to stop it.

Even if there's the remotest chance. We're going to. ..Zoe, every hour, you are going to rewrite Special Ops

on how we're supposedly stopping McCann's bomb...for Harry's eyes.

Fiction? Harry must think we're stopping the bomb. Look at old ops cables and strategy if you like,

but make it watertight. Harry is not easy to lie to. I can imagine.

Danny, find out which weapon Azabia plan to use. I've been screaming at the MOD, but they're snobby bastards

Then scream louder, pull files on their wives. We have to know the weapon.

Are we running an MI5 inside MI5?! Two projects in tandem. The real one and the decoy.

Decoy goes to Harry, reality stays here. We have the DG's blessing. Let's get this done quickly, OK?

Anything, anything at all, call my mobile. Say the word "bureaucracy", I'll know Harry's in earshot.

If we stop the blast, McCann will cut us off. We won't stop it, we'll smother it. No overt action.

It can be done, we've all seen it done before. McCann won't believe it. I don't need him to believe it.

I just need doubt in the equation for a barefaced denial. We're giving him craters, not corpses. Get busy.

I need a roof collapse at Broad Street Station. Think Heathrow tunnels in '94.

All trains divert to London Bridge or Clapham.

The roof will go at Broad Street. Never mind how I know.

It's '60s architecture - of course it's fallen down! Tarpaulin on the ceiling, cladding on the concourse...

Tubes must stop. Customer action. It has to look and sound perfect.

It's national security. You're going to sign the Official Secrets Act.

By courier from Special Ops. Thanks.

Double the watchers on the station. I've spoken to Security, and they'll use the conduit under the platform.

When they leave the package, they'll tell us what time it's set for, so start clearing the place.

'We regret to announce that all trains have been re-routed. Thank you.'

Infrastructure's fine, pedestrian routes fine, Station Road's closed.

Apart from bureaucratic wranglings. Absolutely.

Latest ops? Yup. Zoe?

For the record, I hate this as much as you do. Is that the REAL record, is it?!

PHONE RINGS

Yup? 'Device set for 7.30. Shall we lock it down?' Yes. 'Confirmed.'

So far so good.

Sorry, sir, you'll have to go...

Yeah.

That's just come in from the MOD.

Thanks.

Structural damage...no casualties.

We're in the clear.

Tom...

Mmm?

That anti-attack weapon... It's a Scimitar missile.

A batch of six were stolen back in the mid-'90s.

That's why the MOD were clammed up. I had to tell them. When I said the magic word "Sefton B", bowels opened.

A Scimitar. I've fired one of these. Not good. We were thinking lorries. This can be operated by two people.

My hourly report tells me the bomb has not been placed, yet the station is in pieces!

Somebody speak!

Right...

You lot.

Meeting room...NOW!

My department faked a cover-up. YOUR department?

You were fed false reports. And it's not in pieces - part of it's faked, the rest was them. Damaged one side.

Who was aware of this?

Harry, I'm sorry. I saw a mushroom cloud over the bloody country. I didn't...

You always taught me to keep personal issues away from judgement. YOU didn't.

I'm sorry. ..The attack on Sefton B is looking real. We even know the weapon they're going to use.

Shall we brief you?

Oh, well... Needs must.

I did a similar thing myself once to the DG.

No corpses?

You were lucky.

What weapon? What...?

Oh, uh, right. The Scimitar was actually a prototype built for the... Did you say Scimitar?

Mmm. ..built for the LFATGWS program, a horrible acronym for...

Light Forces Anti-Tank Guided Weapons System. ..Well, go on!

It's a variation on the Milan or the Javelin, with two parts - the command launch unit and the round itself.

Can be carried by two people. Range is just under 1.9km. This was filmed in Kosovo. Two warheads - correct?

One to breach reactive armour, one to pulverise base armour - in this case, concrete and the steel tank.

How did they find about D421? An Irish website monitors building at the plant. It's open source.

Their analysis and timing are accurate. Azabia may have someone on the inside, too - we can't be sur

till we re-vet the plant. We're only halfway through. The concrete should maintain integrity under blast.

The reinforcement may be corroded. I feel sick. Can't we shut it down? You can't shut down nuclear waste!

How will they deliver the ordnance? Don't know. That's where Patrick's information comes in.

IF it comes in. ..Surely even McCann wouldn't screw us on the timing,

which means tomorrow, sunrise, the clock starts ticking and only he knows when the alarm's set for.

Meantime, we need a buffer zone. Cleanse the area. Set up a scare.

Lean on every known extremist sympathizer on the critical list within 100 miles.

Presumably we've touched up every agent in the north-west? Didn't you mention a source in Bradford?

Well-placed, but sympathies unstable Don't care. You'll know his buttons. Push them. Money. How large? Large.

Throw it. Call the Anti-Terrorism Committee, get the PM on stand-by.

You'll forgive me if I don't hug you all(!) Get onto the news room.

Harry, I know this might not be a good time but... Office.

Tessa has been running agents that do not exist? Yes.

How long have you known this? For, um...

For...

I was too frightened to tell. But you ARE telling.

She gave me money.

It's in a safe place.

I'm sure it is. How much?

£10,000!

SHE SOBS

It's just that, uh...in the current situation, anything that she brings to the table from her agents...

Well, we can't know if it's the truth. You're at the frontier of this job, Zoe.

Because of what we are, we have to watch each other, painful though that can sometimes be.

Now, leave this office, go straight over to Tessa and chat, all bright and shiny.

Chat about what? Oh, me losing it?

You've done very well. Now get yourself together.

BEEP!

(You're here!)

Didn't you believe me? I didn't want to believe it till I saw it!

You look terrible! That's cos I'm a terrible man.

No, you're not. Not really.

God, I'm glad to see you!

I'm never gonna let you go. Do you understand me?

Never.

I understand.

'We are just getting reports of an isolated outbreak

'of foot-and-mouth disease on a farm in Holywell, very close to the nuclear power facility, Sefton B.

'If confirmed, this would be a devastating blow to the farming community. A spokesman says

'the situation will be monitored...'

Definitely sunrise out there - five minutes ago. He said he'd call at sunrise! Foolish youth! He'll call.

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

I understand.

He wants to deliver by hand. No backup. Naturally(!)

This is not what we agreed! Keep your mouth closed!

HE GRUNTS

Agh!

Come on - get him over here!

Come on, get him in here.

Agh! You messed up our operation. I dunno what you're talking about!

Sit him down there. You've got balls, Davy Crockett!

I'm not gonna shoot you. I'm keeping our end of the bargain. Lucky for you both our countries are at risk!

Give it to him.

Untie his hands!

All information on the attack is on the hard drive. Hidden camera record of our meeting with the bastards.

Headshots, scanned shots, a map of the area. The whole shebang. This is one patriot to another.

HE PANTS Right... Now, we must move.

We could be friends in another life.

We'll just have to wait till then.

Come on, come on, come on...

Jesus...

Danny, I've got it. It's today. It's all here. I'm mailing it to you now.

McCann found these three reccy shots of Sefton B, with D421 in clear shot.

PHONE RINGS

Understood. Boundary's secure. They're flushing out civvies from inside the buffer zone.

Face-matching from the laptop IDs check out. CCTV at a local Outward Bound Centre saw them. They're there.

They're actually there.

From the reccy shots and map, there's three possible locations for firing.

We need three teams to watch for movement, and move when they find it.

'Delta 1, Charlie 6 - what's your sit rep? Over. Charlie 6, Delta 1, moving to grid-scanning area.

'Say again! Over. Area scanning - access farm gate. Three o'clock, 500 metres.

'Roger, Delta 1.

'Delta 2, Charlie 6, engagement is green. Repeat, engagement is green. Over.'

Get this area secure - I nearly shot a bloody farmer!

'Charlie 6, Delta 3. Enemy located. Request ROE, over.

'Delta 3, Charlie 6, ROE is green - over.

'Charlie 6, Delta 3. ROE confirmed. Engaging.'

Yes.

Look, um, correct me if I'm wrong, but did we just stop half the country from being nuked?

Don't tell anyone, remember. Can I tell you? You just HAVE. Can I tell you again? Go on, then!

So...what now? Uh...drink, I think. That's for sure.

You're shaking. What if we hadn't stopped? No...

The Special Forces have disincentivised the target, Harry.

"Disincentivised", Zoe? It's over. Tom made the mistake of saying that to me after his first probation.

I told him what I'll tell you. It's never over. We may dance with the devil, but it's always to HIS tune.

Hey, Danny, talk to me.

'Targets have been disincentivised, Tom. It's over.'

Go home... You've earned it.

My place.

< Hello! Anybody home?

< Tom?

Ha! You got presents? Hello! We're going to make Melting Moments! Are you now? What are YOU doing home?

I took the afternoon off. Surprised? You could say that! With chocolate! What have you done to your head?

Fight with a car door. I'm going for a shower, but first I wanna know the secret recipe for Melting Moments.

I know.

Know what?

You are a brilliant woman.

If you wanted to get into treachery, couldn't it be something ideological,

something grand?

But to invent bogus agents and pocket their payoffs?!

They WERE very good agents.

I know. They always told me what I wanted to hear.

They could, um...retire.

Have unfortunate deaths.

I'm sorry, Tess.

I know the Service's traditional approach to wrongdoers is to smother them with kindness...

..but...I'm going to throw you to the wolves.

You mean you only forgive sins...

if they're large?

Perhaps.

And that's how you forgave yourself for cowardice in Ireland?

What are you talking about?

Bill Crombie...in 1978.

You saw him die. You did nothing. Despite the pistol in your hand.

Not that you ever mention that you HAD a gun, of course.

Until you buried it. Deep.

Are you threatening me?

You threatened me from way up there on your moral high ground,

you hypocritical arsehole.

Sounds to me like you have an ejector seat.

Let's just say it would be better for you if I were to stay here.

Fair enough.

PHONE RINGS George...

'Yes, Mr Pearce?' Miss Tessa Phillip is to be paged to go to reception.

She is to be met and escorted from the building at once, then she's to be driven to safe house number 7

to await further instructions. She is to be allowed no contact with any other officer.

Do it immediately. 'Yes, sir.'

HER VOICE CANNOT BE HEARD

Fight...

Oh, goody.

Mmm, mmm, mmm! Look at these!

These are scrumptious. Look at those.

Mmm! Look at your nose. I'll pop these in.

PHONE RINGS

It's for you! Thank you very much, chocolate face. Ah, thank you - chocolate phone!

Ugh...! Oh, Tom...! Mmm? Oh, I'll take it outside.

Ugh! Let me do it!

PHONE RINGS

Thank you. ..Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

BEEP! BEEP!

Hello? Davey...it wasn't me, all right?

What? 'It wasn't...' Is that Patrick? What wasn't?

It was the other lads, they found out... My branch chief... You're breaking up.

The laptop's rigged. The bastards put a slab of C4 in it. ..Repeat that.

The laptop has 6oz of explosive in it. That's enough to take out half m street! Your street?! I'm at home!

Sorry, they thought you'd take it to work. Is it a timer? Aye, a timer. Near the motherboard, on the left.

Stay on the line. No, I can't. Stay on the line! I have to go. 'Patrick!

'Patrick!'

Ellie! Damn...

ELLIE!

Jesus, what?! Open the door!

Maisie, sweetheart, where's the...?

Oh, what have you done, you messy pup? Come on! OK!

Come on! Bloody key, it won't work! It's not... Try it slowly.

Still red, Tom.

OK, go to my jacket. My key's in the left-hand pocket. That should do it.

Quickly!

KNOCKING Hello? There's a gas leak.

What? Get everyone out of the house.

Still red, Tom! OK, pass it out the letter box.

Is there anything IN the lock? Can you see? Um...

Oh, there's... I made it sticky. I'm not sure.

Ellie, listen to me. Get out of the house now. Why? Just do as I say.

What's going on? There's a gas leak. A gas leak? Get away from the area.

I'm a manager for the gas company and I order you to leave the area! Moderate your tone.

Tom! Tom!

We can't get out, it's all locked. What the hell is going on?! Try the attic, get onto the roof.

Ellie, come on! Is there a problem here? I'm Security Service There's a bomb in my house.

You're the fourth I've met today. My ID's inside. I'm locked out. Ring the bloody number. What number is that?

7946 0001.

Ellie, come on!

7946 0001!

Right. And get him out, too! Right! Oi!

Battering ram, torches! Get a drill team out here, now! Ellie... Ellie!

SHE PANTS It's all blocked off, it's sealed.

We did that. Shit! I'm not doing a thing till you tell me what's going on! Listen...

There's a bomb in the computer I brought home. Did you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying?

I heard you! I've locked the compute in a filing cabinet in my office. Listen to me... Go to my jacket.

In my jacket pocket are my car keys. There's a red key on there. Get the red key, go upstairs to the office.

It's the bottom right-hand drawer of my filing cabinet... It's too much! There's a box... Too much! Call me.

OK, I'm calling you now! PHONE RINGS

Is it my fault, Mummy?

In the bottom drawer!

SIRENS WAIL

PHONE RINGS

Hello? 'Zoe, get me Danny.' Tom.

Hey. 'Danny, Patrick's rigged the laptop. It's packed with C4.'

It's a Notebook, a year old. C4's on a timer near the motherboard. The internal clock's on a battery.

If they've set it up on that, you can take the battery out. What? Great. On the other hand, removing the battery

CAN break the connection and set it off. What? As can a jarring movement Shit! Conferences to my home line.

'Ellie, be careful with it. Keep it flat, no sudden movements.'

NOW you tell me!

Tom? Tom!

Tom? Maisie, darling, we're going to play a game. I want you to do something. Piggy in the middle?

No, hide-and-seek. I want you to go to the cupboard under the stairs, go inside and get blankets and clothes

and overcoats, and wrap yourself up then curl up like a little hedgehog. Why? Because I'm telling you to!

If you tell me where to hide, you'll know where to find me. Mummy's going to try and find you. OK! OK? Go on.

Ellie?

Ellie? I'm here! Danny is on the line. He'll talk you through it, OK?

'Ellie, do everything I say and we'll be OK.' Put it down gently, sweetheart.

'The bomb's on a timer, so it should be safe to open it. We need to get to the motherboard.

'Gently and slowly, OK?'

- Shall I turn it on? - No!

Do exactly what he tells you. You should be able to lift the keyboard.

'There should be insulation under there. Lift it up.'

- There's a metal plate or something. - Lift that, too.

Hey...!

'What is it?' What? There's no bomb.

- There's no bomb. - There's... It's fine.

How do you know? I know a little about computers. There's a hard drive, memory chips, motherboard,

clock... It's all there. No wires, Tom. No wires at all, just a little LCD clock.

There's no clock on a motherboard. Ellie, where's the clock?

Right beside the motherboard. What does the clock say? It's just a clock with the time - it says 1:15

14...

13...

12...

It's going backwards, Tom.

SIRENS WAIL Tom, it's going backwards!

ALL TALK AT ONCE

OK, they're going to bust the door down. Step back!

Do not touch that clock yet!

Let me move it. Stand back! Christ, what's this made from?! Reinforced steel. Where's the cutters?

Do the window bars! Next door! Get a team next door. Two next door - now!

Danny, talk to me. - Zoe's got something. - It's on 46, Tom!

Stop counting! 45 seconds, we have to clear the area. NO! Danny? If that's C4, we HAVE to clear the area

The clock might have a separate battery. Then she can disconnect it.

Ellie! Can you see a screw anywhere on the clock? What screw? It'll have a cover and the cover's got a screw.

There's got to be a screw somewhere!

We're clearing. NO! ..Ellie, a screw! What screw? I can't see any screw!

Listen to me, sir. This goes off with all these men here, that's 20 dead! Pulling back, it's two. I'm staying.

Your choice, sir - we've got to move. Pull back 50 metres, everyone! Ellie...I love you!

There's got to be a screw! There has to be a screw on the clock!

I can't see any screw on the clock! Oh, no...

Why haven't you come to find me?

Subtitles by Annelie Beaton BBC Broadcast 2002