SOW THE WIND

by

RICHARD KNIGHT

PART I

LOW HANGING FRUIT

Draft 3: 20th January 2009

E: farmboyrich@gmail.com
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1. EXT ROBERT’S BACK GARDEN DAY 1.

Sizzle. ROBERT (55) is cooking sausages on a barbeque.

The sun beats down on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the
English summer. In the distance, church bells ringing.

2. EXT CRICKET PITCH SAME TIME 2.

A cricket ball is bowled with a lazy-spin action. The

batsman fends the ball well. Applause from the laid-back
crowd.

Overhead, a 747 JUMBO JET begins its final descent into

HEATHROW. Its landing gear is lowered.

3. EXT RIVER THAMES DAY 3.

Rowers scull along the Thames, the surface of the water

alive with dancing insects and puffs of dandelion.

4. EXT RIVERSIDE PUB DAY 4.

A MAN walks from a pub with a tray of drinks, heading

towards his friends’ table.

5. EXT HOUNSLOW SEMI SAME TIME 5.

Young Asian children, AMIR (11) and CHOUDHARY (9) are

playing cricket with their friends SUNI (11) and MAL
(11).

AMIR bowls, the ball hits the wickets, a bread crate.

AMIR
Out!

CHOUDHARY, batting, isn’t keen to leave the crease.

6. EXT ROBERT’S GARDEN MOMENTS LATER 6.

A fly buzzes over the raw meat ROBERT is yet to put on

the BBQ. ROBERT pokes at the cooking sausages. Robert’s
wife YVONNE (48) slides over and tops up his wine glass.
 3

ROBERT
Almost there.

ROBERT swipes at the fly.

CUT TO:

7. EXT CRICKET PITCH SAME TIME 7.

The sweep of a CRICKET BAT as the ball is sent to the

boundary. More applause from the crowd.

In the distance, the 747 JUMBO JET is on final approach

to Heathrow. The church bells finally fall silent. A
skylark can be heard singing in the heat haze.

If this was a concert, this would be the pause after

tuning up, that moment when the orchestra ready their
instruments and the conductor raises his baton.

And then..

WHOOSH!!

A SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE streaks upwards from beneath the

jumbo jet

..and..

..MISSES the aeroplane..

..and..

explodes harmlessly in the air.

Some cricket spectators see the missile. They stand up.

SPECTATOR
What the..?

Other people start to turn and look in the direction of

the plane, shielding their eyes against the sun.

A STREAK OF SMOKE in the sky marks the path of the

missile.

8. EXT ROBERT’S GARDEN SAME TIME 8.

ROBERT deftly flips burgers on the BBQ.

 4

YVONNE
Oh God, Robert!

ROBERT turns, from his POV, the smoke from the missile
arcing into the sky.

He runs towards the house.

9. EXT RIVERSIDE PUB SAME TIME 9.

The MAN with the tray of drinks sees the missile, and
drops the tray. CRASHING of glasses to the ground.

10. INT SEJAD’S CAR – INDUSTRIAL AREA 10.

Three men, MOHAMMED (18), SEJAD (19) and GEE (34) are in
a silver Toyota saloon parked on a back road in an
industrial estate.

SEJAD in the driving seat, MOHAMMED in the front

passenger seat. In the back seat..

..GEE lowers a ROCKET LAUNCHER from the sunroof and sits

back down.

GEE
Drive!

The car screeches away.

11. EXT HOUNSLOW SEMI MOMENTS LATER 11.

Children AMIR, CHOUDHARY, SUNI and MAL are still playing

cricket. CHOUDHARY refuses to leave the crease. AMIR is
wrestling the cricket bat from his grasp.

AMIR
You’re out Choudhary.

CHOUDHARY
I want another go!

AMIR
You should have played it
more defensive.

Then..
 5

WHUMP!!

The spent MISSILE CASING smashes through the roof of an

old garden shed, smashing it to pieces.

AMIR
Fuckin’ hell..

12. INT ROBERT’S HOUSE – STUDY DAY 12.

ROBERT races into his study, home to an array of hi-tech

equipment, and switches on his computer screens.

13. INT MI5 OPS ROOM SAME TIME 13.

A quiet day in the world of homeland security. Agents

BILLY (28) and FIONA (35) are sitting in the comfy chairs
playing the board game “Risk.” Lower ranked employees
monitor various screens.

A telephone rings. Desk staff member DARREN (30)

answers.

DARREN
Hello Ritzy’s.

(beat)
What?

Then another phone rings, then another, and another.

BILLY and FIONA stop their game.

BILLY
It’s a fuckin’ Sunday!

FIONA (sarcastic)
Ah bless, why can’t they
attack Monday to Friday like
normal human beings?

BILLY heads to the desks.

BILLY
Don’t touch the game.

FIONA
Don’t need to Benito. You’re
screwed already.
 6

14. EXT HOUNSLOW SEMI MOMENTS LATER 14.

AMIR, CHOUDHARY, SUNI and MAL gather around the shed and
the SPENT MISSILE CASE. Lying amongst old chairs and
electrical equipment, paint pots etc. It is still
smoking.

SUNI
What is it?

CHOUDHARY reaches out to touch it.

AMIR
Don’t touch it!

CHOUDHARY does touch the hot casing, BURNING his hand.

He jumps back, screaming.

Their father, TARIQ (40), comes to the door of the house.

TARIQ
What’s going on?

AMIR (to Suni)

Didn’t I tell him not to
touch it?

SUNI nods in agreement.

15. EXT POLICE HELIPAD SAME TIME 15.

Two POLICE HELICOPTERS make for the skies.

16. INT MI5 OPS ROOM SAME TIME 16.

BILLY and FIONA stand at the bank of screens. ROBERT is

featured on one of them, standing in his study.

ROBERT
It was a SAM, fired close
range.

BILLY
At what?

ROBERT
A British Airways 747.
I saw it.
 7

BILLY
No shit.

ROBERT
Get Charlie and all spare
units and get out there.

FIONA
Where’s there?

ROBERT
Hounslow, about a mile east
of the airport. And get onto
the plods pronto. I want
everything they’ve got and I
want it as it happens.

FIONA
Yes Sir.

BILLY
Where did it come down?

ROBERT
Ground every single plane in
British airspace.

BILLY
But..

ROBERT
Do it right now.

BILLY
..where did it crash?

BILLY reaches for the phone and dials.

ROBERT (cont’d)
It didn’t – they missed.

BILLY
Jesus.

ROBERT
I’ll be in in 25 minutes.

BILLY
Dialling.. and Sir..?
 8

ROBERT
Yes?

BILLY
You might want to lose the
apron.
(into phone)
This is the Ritzy, we have
ourselves a situation.

ROBERT, on the screen, looks down. We now see that he is

still wearing his BBQ apron, which is in the style of a
FRENCH MAID.

17. INT SEJAD’S CAR DAY MOMENTS LATER 17.

SEJAD, MOHAMMED and GEE drive away from Hounslow.

MOHAMMED (to GEE)

You missed!

GEE smiles, giving nothing away. They see POLICE CARS

racing towards them, blue lights flashing.

SEJAD
Inshallah.

MOHAMMED
Shitting shit.

GEE lowers the rocket launcher out of sight and leans

forward between the seats. Cool.

GEE
Just drive, yeah?

SEJAD
I can’t do this.

The POLICE CARS go sailing past them in the opposite

direction. GEE watches them go, smiles.

GEE takes a tissue from the ORNATE BOX on the parcel

shelf and uses it to clean the rocket launcher.

GEE (to Sejad)

Got any dhal at the flat?
I could just go for a nice
bowl of dhal.
 9

SEJAD looks across to MOHAMMED, who is this psycho?

18. EXT HOUNSLOW/HEATHROW AREA DAY 18.

MUSIC – PROCESSED BEATS by KASABIAN.

Complete overkill as police stream to the Hounslow and

Heathrow area, locking the whole place down.

An armour plated van arrives at a junction, ARMED POLICE

disembark.

Overhead, at least two helicopters buzz the area.

An AMBULANCE, blue lights flashing, is allowed through by

the police.

19. EXT – HOUNSLOW SEMI DAY MOMENTS LATER 19.

The same AMBULANCE arrives at the Hounslow Semi.

The PARAMEDICS head into the back garden where CHOUDHARY

is crying with his hand in a bowl of water. TARIQ, AMIR,
SUNI and MAL all stand nearby.

As they attend to CHOUDHARY’S burn, the PARAMEDICS see

the STILL SMOULDERING MISSILE CASING.

20. INT MI5 OPS ROOM 25 MINUTES LATER 20.

On one of the screens, footage of the Heathrow area on

BBC NEWS 24

“BREAKING NEWS” MISSILE ATTACK ON 747.

ROBERT breezes into the OPS ROOM and puts on a headset.

BILLY is co-ordinating the response with DARREN and other
lower ranked agents. Phones still ringing like crazy.

ROBERT
Hit me..

BILLY points an electronic map on a screen.

BILLY
This entire area on total
lockdown.
 10

ROBERT
Good work.

BILLY
Every airport this side of
Berlin is fully grounded..
except for Charles de Gaulle.

ROBERT (exasperated)
The French.

BILLY
God love ‘em.
And they’ve found the spent
missile.

ROBERT
Where?

BILLY refers to the map.

BILLY
Zion Road.

ROBERT
Get the met office on the
phone. I want wind speeds,
directions.

BILLY
Already happening.

ROBERT
So get on to ballistics,
Walter Allen, find out what it
was and where it was launched.

BILLY (smug)
On his way there already.

ROBERT
Alright, don’t get too cocky
eh Billy, if you were that
bloody good we wouldn’t be
dealing with this mess would
we?

DARREN
Robert, Des on the phone.
 11

ROBERT
Yep, to me.

(into his headset)

Minister..

ROBERT’S gaze moves down to the game of “Risk.”

ROBERT (cont’d, into phone)

I’ll be over in an hour with
a full briefing.

(beat)
Yes minister..

(beat)
No minister..

ROBERT appraises the situation of the “Risk” game,

shaking his head at how one sided it is.

On the game: the only country in Europe still held by

Billy (playing blue) is England. Every other country is
red (Fiona).

ROBERT (cont’d, into phone)

Well we are on top of it now,
So why don’t you pop over to
Whitehall and I’ll give you a
full briefing in an hour.

He ends the call.

ROBERT (cont’d, to himself)

Muppet.

(to Billy)
..and get France on the phone,
tell them to close their
bloody airport!

21. EXT – HOUNSLOW SEMI DAY LATER 21.

Tariq’s garden has been turned into a full-on scene of

crime. Police tape cordons off the area where the spent
missile casing landed.

FIONA arrives and heads over to ballistics expert WALTER

ALLEN (60), who is seated on a low wall with his laptop.
 12

TARIQ appears at his back door with his sons AMIR and
CHOUDHARY, who now has a bandage on his hand.

ARMED POLICEMAN (to Tariq)

Step back inside Sir.

TARIQ does as he is told. Over to FIONA and WALTER.

FIONA
Walter..

WALTER
It’s an AX250 surface to air
missile, practically antique.

FIONA
Where has it come from?

WALTER
Originally Russia, or should I
say the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics – ah but
do you mean where was it
fired from today?

Yes she does.

WALTER (cont’d)
We can’t be one hundred
percent but from the eye-
witness reports we’ve got so
far, and plugging in the
figures for wind speed and
such like, it would appear
to have been fired from
somewhere.. here.

WALTER points on a map to FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

22. EXT HOUNSLOW SEMI – STREET 22.

FIONA heads back to her car, on the phone to ROBERT.

POLICE on the road are doing RANDOM STOPS of vehicles.

FIONA (into phone)

Freeport Industrial Estate,
heading there now.
 13

23. INT MI5 OPS ROOM SAME TIME 23.

ROBERT is at the bank of screens, speaking with Fiona via

his headset.

ROBERT
Freeport Industrial Estate.

DARREN at the desk keys the name in.

On the screen – Freeport Industrial Estate appears on the

map, overhead pic, like Google Earth but better defined.

ROBERT (cont’d)
But that’s..

FIONA (on phone)

..inside the Control Zone, I
know.

ROBERT
Right. Nothing goes in or out
of there until we get to the
bottom of this.

24. EXT - HOUNSLOW SEMI – STREET SAME TIME 24.

FIONA’S side of the call.

FIONA
Yes Sir. And Sir?
Walter ID’d it as an AX250.
(beat)
Russian.

FIONA ends the call.

As she heads to her car she notices the POLICE doing
their VEHICLE STOPS.

All of the vehicles stopped have ASIAN DRIVERS, FAMILIES,

CHILDREN, looking afraid.

Car boots open, menacing patrols of ARMED POLICE,

questions, suspicions.

FIONA (to POLICE)

Do you want to try stopping
some white people too?
 14

An ARMED POLICEMAN rounds on her. Prejudice dials turned

up to eleven.

ARMED POLICEMAN
What for?

25. EXT FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE DAY 25.

FIONA drives her CAR, followed by TWO POLICE CARS.

She stops at the entrance to a short road of industrial

buildings and exits her car. She sees.. on the ground,
tyre marks made by a fastly accelerating car.

She is joined by SERGEANT ERIC SMITH (51) and PC SLATER

(29), MET police. FIONA points to the tyre marks.

SERGEANT ERIC SMITH

Might just be kids.
Saturday night an’ all..

FIONA
Maybe, maybe not.

FIONA walks down the length of the cul-de-sac, pointing

at all of the CCTV cameras on the industrial buildings.

FIONA
I want that, that, that and
that. As far back as their
records go.

PC SLATER (aside, to SGT SMITH)

Who the fuck is she?

Too loud, FIONA has heard. She rounds on PC SLATER.

FIONA
“She” is the woman who’ll
have you in the dole queue
first thing Monday morning if
you don’t take your dick out
of your hand and start doing
your job.

PC SLATER
What?

FIONA (urgent)
Get rid of them.
 15

PC SLATER
Who?

FIONA
Them!

She points to the end of the cul-de-sac, where about

TWENTY PAPARAZZI are already in position, lenses poised.

At the far end of the industrial estate, tied to a chain

link fence, is a big banner reading “No to Terminal 5, no
to 3rd Runway”

FIONA looks up in the air, trying to imagine a jumbo jet

flying overhead.

FIONA (cont’d to Sgt Smith)

Where do you find them, Eric?

SERGEANT SMITH
You know what it’s like, we
take in all the waifs and
strays these days.

FIONA
Well I want your waifs and
strays to go through this
place with a fine tooth comb.

SERGEANT SMITH
Yes Ma’am.

26. INT HOME OFFICE DAY HALF AN HOUR LATER 26.

A plush office. ROBERT enters the room where Home

Secretary DES WALKER (50, a bit of a Boris) and king of
spin PETER BARBER (45, a lot of a Campbell) are seated.

On a big TELEVISION, images of the BREAKING NEWS, mute.

“HEATHROW TERRORIST ATTACK” – “NATION ON FULL ALERT”

DES
Ah Robert.

ROBERT
Minister.

They shake.
DES (cont’d)
You know Peter?
 16

ROBERT
We’ve met.

ROBERT sits.

DES
Do you want to tell me what
The bloody hell is going on?

ROBERT
Well..

PETER
Quick as you like, they want
him in the studio in two
minutes.

ROBERT
At precisely two minutes past
two an AX250 surface to air
missile was fired from an
industrial estate in Hounslow
towards British Airways flight
242 from Hong Kong, which was
on it’s final approach to
Heathrow. The missile missed
it’s intended target and the
shell case landed in a garden
half a mile away.

PETER
It was launched from inside
the control zone?

ROBERT
Yes it was.

DES
What’s the control zone?

The minister is clearly unaware of certain things.

PETER (to Robert)

Sorry, he’s new.

PETER(cont’d, to Des)
The control zone is a net of
high surveillance around
the Airport, in force precisely
to prevent this sort of thing
 17

from happening. At any given

time there are at least twenty
teams in the area.

ROBERT
Twelve.

PETER
Only twelve now?

ROBERT
Don’t look at me, you lot set
the budgets.

DES
The control zone failed?
Shit.

PETER
Don’t worry, just focus on the
twelve teams we have, not the
eight we no longer have.
(beat)
What next?

ROBERT
We work with the plods, the
Police, gather all of the cctv
footage, sweep the missile
casing for DNA, throw it all
in the mix and see what comes
out the other side.

DES
We’ve been very lucky.

PETER
Any idea where it came from?

ROBERT
Russia.

DES
Russia? Shit! Relations are
bad but would they really
stoop so low?

ROBERT raises his eyebrows.

PETER (to Robert)

Sorry.
 18

PETER (cont’d firm, to Des)

I know it’s a Sunday, Des,
but put your brain in, please.
The missile is merely of
Russian origin. Did you say
AX250? Never heard of it.

ROBERT
Discontinued 1978, Ukrainian
special edition.

PETER
Probably a throwback to the
war in Afghanistan, picked up
by the Mujahadeen. Which
gives your terrorist an Afghan
connection.

ROBERT
Good work Sherlock.

DES
Which narrows it down to..

PETER (shrugs)
..everybody.

ROBERT
Welcome to my world.

There is a knock at the door, it’s POLLY (24), assistant.

POLLY
Ready for you in the studio,
Minister.

DES
Shit.

DES stands up. PETER stands too, picks a piece of fluff

from DES’S jacket.

PETER
You’ll be fine.

27. EXT FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE DAY 27.

FIONA watches the team of POLICE sweeping the industrial

 19

estate for clues. She takes her ID wallet out of her

pocket and opens it.

There is the photograph of her, and then the wallet opens

one more fold. Behind her picture, a photograph of
LAWRENCE (8), her son. He is on a beach, somewhere.

28. EXT SHORT RENT FLAT – GARAGE - DAY 28.

MOHAMMED and GEE get out of SEJAD’S car. SEJAD parks it

in a lock-up garage by their flat in Greenford. An
anonymous urban area.

SEJAD exits his car. GEE heads towards the flat. SEJAD
and MOHAMMED exchange unhappy glances.

29. INT HOME OFFICE DAY MINUTES LATER 29.

ROBERT and PETER stand by the plasma screen TELEVISION.

PETER
Don’t suppose you’ve time for
a..?

ROBERT nods, yes he does. PETER pours a whisky and turns

the sound up on the TV.

On the screen: Home Secretary DES WALKER.

NEWSREADER (off)
Are we right in assuming the
missile was fired from inside
the special Heathrow control
zone?

DES (on TV)

That is our understanding.

NEWSREADER (off)
Is this the zone that’s
supposed to stop terrorist
attacks on low flying planes?

DES (on TV)

That’s right, at any one time
there are as many as twelve
teams of operatives patrolling
the control zone.
 20

PETER
Good boy.

ROBERT sips his whisky, watching with a little

incredulity.

PETER (to Robert)

Total idiot I know.

ROBERT
But such a winning smile.

DES (on TV - smiling)

The operation to catch these
terrorists will be swift.

30. INT SHORT RENT FLAT - GREENFORD SAME TIME 30.

SEJAD, MOHAMMED and GEE are in the lounge watching the

news on TV, DES WALKER is still being interviewed.
GEE has his lap-top open. He is printing something.

DES (on TV)

Their sheer audacity will be
their undoing. I’m confident
that we’ll identify them in a
matter of days, hours even.

SEJAD and MOHAMMED look at each other. GEE sees their

discomfort.

GEE
He’s just bullshitting.

MOHAMMED
Gee..

SEJAD
We want out.

A pause. Tension.

GEE
You want out? Ok.

Whew, relief between SEJAD and MOHAMMED, that was easy.

On the PRINTER, a PHOTOGRAPH printing. Remember this.

We only see the leading edge of it, a park, somewhere.

 21

31. INT MI5 MEETING ROOM EVENING 31.

ROBERT is in a debriefing session with FIONA and BILLY.

ROBERT
Billy?

BILLY
We’ve got John Carter from
special branch plus hangers on,
Stella Moran from MI6 and some
foreign office gimps all in
tomorrow at 8am sharp. Pete
Barber wants in on everything.

ROBERT
Of course.

BILLY
Imagine who we’d get if it had
actually hit the plane.

ROBERT
Hit, miss. It all amounts to
the same thing. Fiona?

FIONA
Charlie’s trawling through the
night with an army of cops,
mainly the CCTV and number
plate cameras.

ROBERT
Any DNA on the casing?

FIONA
Won’t know until tomorrow.

ROBERT
Right then team, we should
call it a night. Tomorrow the
real hard work starts.

BILLY leaves. FIONA lingers, packing away her file.

FIONA
I think you ought to know I
want out.

ROBERT
It’s not a good time for games.
 22

FIONA
I mean it. I’m sick of it.

ROBERT
What do you want to do, spend
more time with your family?

FIONA
Oh spare me the histrionics.
I’m a ball busting bitch and
whatever I do I’ll always end
up thrashing the shit out of
weak and feeble men.

ROBERT
So you’re already in exactly
the right line of work.

ROBERT begins to leave.

FIONA
I do miss him, Robert.

ROBERT
Alright, well, I tell you what,
lets get this mess cleared up,
and then you take a month off.
Fly out and see your boy.

FIONA
Huh, fly?

ROBERT
It’s still the safest way to
travel. It’ll be even safer
after this little episode.
For a while anyway.

FIONA
I don’t know.

ROBERT
That’s the difference with me,
Fiona. My family are all
right here in this office,
it’s all of you, my little
boys and girls, that make the
job bearable.

FIONA
You are so full of crap.
 23

ROBERT
Yes I am. Come on.

They leave. Seconds later, Robert returns and switches

the lights off.

ROBERT (cont’d)
Better do our bit to save
the planet eh?

Darkness.

32. INT SHORT RENT FLAT - BATHROOM SAME TIME 32.

Starting in darkness, GEE switches on the bathroom light

and stands in front of the mirror.

He washes his hands thoroughly. Is there blood on them?

He then takes a pair of scissors and cuts away at his

beard.

33. EXT STREET NEAR BILLY’S HOUSE NIGHT 33.

BILLY cycles along the street. He is wearing a

Palestinian keffiyeh (black and white patterned scarf)
across his face to shield against pollution.

He stops at a darkened area near to an alley. From his

RUCKSACK he takes a BRIEFCASE.

Quick change. He takes his keffiyeh off, revealing a

cheap shirt and tie combo underneath. He puts the
keffiyeh and his empty rucksack into the briefcase. The
final touch is a photo id reading “Naxos Communications”
with his name on it, which he hangs round his neck.
Billy pushes his bike towards home.

34. INT BILLY’S HOUSE NIGHT MOMENTS LATER 34.

BILLY enters his home.

BILLY
I’m home!

Billy’s Mum, Carla answers

 24

CARLA (off)
Is that you, love?

BILLY (to himself)

Yes.

35. INT BILLY’S HOUSE DINING ROOM NIGHT 35.

BILLY sits for a late meal with his Mum, CARLA, Dad
PARVEEN and sister, RUTH.

RUTH is asthmatic. She wears a MASK and has a

VENTILATION UNIT next to her. The family eat.

CARLA
Good day?

BILLY
Ok.

CARLA
Did you see the news?

BILLY
Yeah.

PARVEEN
Bloody Muslims.

CARLA (to Billy)

Hanish phoned.
(beat)
He’s just got a maintenance
contract, guess who with?

A bleep bleep of an alarm sounds, it’s Ruth’s ventilation

cylinder, it needs changing.

CARLA (to Parveen)

Change her thing, love.

BILLY (to Carla)

Who?

PARVEEN
Why don’t they just blow up
each other?

PARVEEN stands up, heads to the pantry.

 25

CARLA
NASA. Isn’t that amazing?

Bleep bleep. Ruth heavy breathing.

CARLA (cont’d)
He says if you fancy a career
change there’s plenty of work.

BILLY
I’m alright where I am, Mum.
PARVEEN
Where’s the new one?

Bleep bleep.

CARLA
On the shelf.

PARVEEN
Bloody isn’t.

CARLA
Bloody is. And less of the
swearing, you.

Ruth’s breathing gets heavier, more panicked.

CARLA (cont’d)
You don’t want to work in
network support all your
life, surely?

PARVEEN
I’m telling you it’s not
here.

Bleep bleep. CARLA heads to the pantry.

BILLY
I’m happy where I am, Mum.
Don’t keep going on.

Carla finds the cylinder, she heads to Ruth and starts to

change the unit.

CARLA (to Parveen)

What are you like? Useless.
 26

The alarm stops. BILLY stares at his asthmatic sister.

She stares back. Smiles, and shrugs. Family, eh -
whatya gonna do? Billy smiles too.

36. INT ROBERT’S HOUSE NIGHT 36.

ROBERT gets into his house.

His wife YVONNE is waiting for him in her nightwear. She

hands him a glass of wine.

YVONNE
I saved you a sausage.

He takes his jacket off and sits down. YVONNE sits

behind him on the sofa, wraps her legs around him and
kisses his neck. More caring than sexual.

ROBERT’S gaze drifts down to a pile of YACHTING MAGAZINES

underneath the coffee table.

ROBERT
You don’t have to.

YVONNE
I know.

She rubs the tension of the day from his neck.

ROBERT
You’re too good to me.

YVONNE
I am.

ROBERT
I’m going to be a bit..

YVONNE
..busy? Just try to relax
when you’re here then eh?

He closes his eyes.

37. INT FIONA’S OFFICE NIGHT 37.

FIONA sits in her office. Turning away from her

computer, she picks up the phone.
 27

The phone has a monitor function which is switched to the

“DISABLE” setting.

She dials. The phone is answered by a woman.

WOMAN (on phone)

Bonjour?

A pause. Fiona, confused, switches the phone monitor to

“ENABLE.” A red light flashes on the console.

FIONA
Hello.. is Michael there
please?

There is a pause on the line.

FIONA (cont’d)
Hello?

WOMAN (on phone)

Sorry, he’s out.

FIONA
And Lawrence?

WOMAN
Out too. With Michael.
FIONA
And you are..?

WOMAN
I’m Marie. The house sitter.

FIONA
OK Marie, if you could tell
them Fiona called, that would
be great.

WOMAN (MARIE)
Ok, I will, bye.

And the line clicks dead. On Fiona, in thought.

38. INT SHORT RENT FLAT LOUNGE NIGHT 38.

The TV is on silent, more news of the attack. Footage is

PASSENGERS STRANDED AT HEATHROW.
 28

In the half-light of the room, the outlines of MOHAMMED

slumped in a chair, and SEJAD on the floor.

Both quite still. Dead to the World.

In the background, GEE quietly exits the flat.

39. INT LOCK-UP GARAGE NIGHT 39.

GEE unrolls a patterned mat behind Sejad’s silver Toyota.

Only now do we see that, clean shaven, he is WHITE.

He kneels down on the mat. Praying..?

No. Swapping the number plates on the car.

40. EXT FREEPORT IND ESTATE CCTV FOOTAGE 40.

This is fairly low-grade CCTV footage of Freeport

Industrial Estate.

In the frame, Sejad’s silver Toyota. GEE, bearded face

mostly hidden behind the rocket launcher, standing up in
the sunroof.

Then that wonderful moment where the peace is shattered

as the missile is fired.

GEE sits back down in the car, the Toyota screeches away.
The footage is paused.

DES WALKER (off)

Good grief.

41. INT MI5 BRIEFING ROOM DAY SAME TIME 41.

The freeze frame of the footage on a TV screen. Police

Inspector CHARLIE ARCHER (55) has the remote.
In the room are ROBERT, BILLY, FIONA, king of spin PETER
BARBER, MI6 supremo STELLA MORAN (45) and head of special
branch JOHN CARTER (45). Home Secretary DES WALKER heads
the table. A few other foreign office people are in
attendance too.

ROBERT
Thanks Charlie. How shall we
play this? Questions from
the floor?
 29

CHARLIE
Fire away.

PETER BARBER
Easy one first. Who are they?

CHARLIE
We don’t know.

PETER
I assume you’ve got the number
plate?

CHARLIE
Yes.

PETER
And?

CHARLIE
It’s fake.

FIONA
Anything else of interest on
the CCTV?

CHARLIE
Some lines of enquiry. I’ll
show you the edited highlights
later.

FIONA
Ok.

PETER
Has anyone claimed
responsibility?

DES
We know who it is, surely?

CHARLIE
They’ve yet to claim it. Stella?

STELLA
No word from our end. They
might not wish to shout about
it, seeing as they missed.

DES
But look at the chaos.
 30

JOHN CARTER (to STELLA)

What are you doing your end?

STELLA
Putting out feelers in all the
usual places. Checking for
any unusual movements.

PETER
Looking for needles in
haystacks then?

STELLA
Yes, rather.

JOHN CARTER
The needles are always there
in the end.

STELLA
But the haystack grows by the
day.

FIONA
We’re checking immigration for
recent arrivals.

STELLA
We’ll work with you on that.

FIONA
Thanks.

BILLY
My question is.. how on earth
did they miss?

CHARLIE
Antiquated kit.

BILLY
Yeah, but a 747 a hundred
feet away. It’s a fuckin’
sitting duck.

ROBERT (scalding)
Billy.

BILLY
Well, it is.
 31

PETER
Do we have any idea where the
hardware came from?

CHARLIE
We suspect it’s been in the
country quite some time. But
we don’t know.

PETER
We don’t know much do we?

JOHN CARTER
Not yet, but the investigation
is still ongoing. We’re
putting maximum possible
resources onto this so over
the next few days..

JOHN is interrupted here by the arrival of MAX (25), a

young special branch suit. He is slightly out of breath.
All eyes in the room turn to him.

MAX (self conscious)

Sorry to interrupt.

JOHN CARTER
What is it Max?

MAX
We’ve found DNA on the casing.

CHARLIE
And?

MAX
Asian, male.

DES
Yes!

JOHN CARTER
There we are, instant results.

MAX
That’s not all.
He works at.. Heathrow.

BILLY
Jesus.
 32

42. INT HEATHROW AIRPORT DAY 42.

We follow an ASIAN MAN through the airport, we don’t see

his face. On the departure board, every flight CANCELLED.

MAX (v.o)
That’s how we id’d him so
fast. Yer man works in
maintenance.

ASIAN MAN passes DELAYED PASSENGERS seated on the floor.

PETER (v.o)
Maintenance?

He swipes a pass card at a door which reads “staff only.”

43. EXT HEATHROW AIRPORT DAY SAME TIME 43.

An armoured van screeches to a halt outside the terminal.

A team of ARMOURED POLICE jump out and head inside.

MAX (v.o)
Yes and mostly, get this,
baggage handling.

BILLY (v.o)
You’re kidding.

MAX (v.o)
I wish I was.

44. INT HEATHROW AIRPORT STAFF TOILETS DAY 44.

ASIAN MAN enters a toilet cubicle. We still do not see

his face. Trousers down. And sits.

45. INT MI5 MEETING ROOM DAY AS BEFORE 45.

Everything as before.

MAX
We’ve sent a unit down to pick
him up.

JOHN CARTER (smug)

Excellent. Can we get some
coffees in here please?
 33

A SERVING PERSON jumps to it.

46. INT HEATHROW AIRPORT TOILET CUBICLE 46.

ASIAN MAN seated on the toilet. Staying with him in the

cubicle, we hear noises the other side of the door. The
man tilts his head to listen.

CHARLIE (v.o)
Who is he then?

Then.. SLAM!! The toilet door is ripped open, ASIAN MAN

is dragged out, pants round his ankles, and pushed prone
by ARMED POLICE.

About SIX GUNS trained on his head, as..

MAX (v.o)
Tariq Hussain, of 65 Zion
Road, Hounslow.

ROBERT & FIONA (v.o)

Zion Road?

Only at this point do we finally get a clean reveal of

ASIAN MAN’S face.

It is the same TARIQ from the Hounslow Semi at the start

of the story.

47. INT MI5 BRIEFING ROOM AS BEFORE 47.

Everything as before.

STELLA
You sound as if you know it?

FIONA
We do, as should they.

She means the police. Blank face on JOHN CARTER.

CHARLIE
Sir, Zion Road is where the
missile fell.

FIONA
On Tariq Hussain’s shed.
 34

STELLA
Ahh.. perhaps that explains
the DNA?

And now a look of realisation on John Carter.

JOHN CARTER
Shit. Max, call them off,
call them off now!

Max goes for his phone.

48. INT HEATHROW AIRPORT SAME TIME 48.

TARIQ is led through the terminal by the ARMED POLICE.

MAX (v.o)
It might be too late.

It is. Various PAPARAZZI start to notice TARIQ.

Camera flashes and general chaos. An ARMED POLICEMAN
answers his phone.

49. INT MI5 BRIEFING ROOM AS BEFORE 49.

MAX snaps his phone shut.

MAX
They’re bringing him in.

JOHN CARTER sits with his head buried in his hands.

PETER BARBER
Everything we do is in the
public eye. Everything.

DES WALKER
What’s the matter? Have we
arrested the wrong chap?

All eyes to Des. He’s so far behind in this that no-one

can bother to answer. JOHN CARTER looks to Max for help.

MAX
Let me explain, minister.

MAX walks over to DES. Their conversation peels off.

 35

STELLA
So we’re back to square one.

BILLY
Or square minus fifty-one.

PETER BARBER
Let’s start again then. I want
proper police work and I want
all of you, all of you, to
talk to each other but most
importantly to me, before doing
anything. Understand?

JOHN CARTER
Yes Peter.

John is gutted though, at his teams’ error.

STELLA
Oh look on the bright side
John, at least you didn’t
shoot this one.

50. INT SHORT RENT FLAT DAY LATER 50.

On SEJAD, still motionless on the floor in the lounge.

The curtains are opened. On SEJAD’S EYES, OPENING. He is

not dead. MOHAMMED works the curtains, light streams in

MOHAMMED
Get up Sejad, we can’t
stay here.

On the TV: The cctv footage of FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL

ESTATE.

SEJAD
Look!

He reaches for the remote, turns the sound up.

MOHAMMED
They already played it six
times.

NEWSREADER (off)
This is the terrifying moment
when terrorists fired at a
 36

British Airways 747 in broad

daylight yesterday.

Whoosh, the missile firing.

SEJAD
It’s us!

On the TV – HEATHROW AIRPORT, TARIQ being led away.

NEWSREADER (off)
And in what initially
appears to be a spectacular
blunder, a few hours ago
Police arrested Heathrow
Airport employee Tariq
Hussain, who’s garden the
missile landed in.

SEJAD
Who’s he?

MOHAMMED
Innocent bystander. Come
on.

NEWSREADER (off)
The blunder came after DNA
on the missile was
identified as Hussain’s.

Mohammed turns the TV off.

SEJAD
Where’s Gee?

MOHAMMED
Gone. He left our stuff.

SEJAD
All of it?

MOHAMMED
Yes!

SEJAD
So it’s over then?

MOHAMMED
I think so. He took the car.
 37

SEJAD
Shit!

MOHAMMED
I don’t think it matters
Sejad.

SEJAD
I’m gonna get killed.

MOHAMMED
Just keep your head down,
and your mouth shut.

SEJAD
So now what?

MOHAMMED
Let’s get out of here for
a start.

SEJAD rises, they start to empty the flat.

SEJAD
I can’t believe he took the
car.

MOHAMMED
You can get another car now,
easy. The car is the only
evidence they’ve got, remember?

51. EXT CAR BREAKER’S YARD DAY 51.

GEE watches as the SILVER TOYOTA is lowered into a CAR

CRUSHER, and pulverised out of existence.

52. INT MI5 REVIEW ROOM DAY 52.

CHARLIE sits with FIONA, reviewing the CCTV highlights

from Freeport Industrial Estate.

On the TV:

FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE – SEVERAL DAYS AGO. A silver

car is parked at the end of the estate. Three white men
are standing by it, one with binoculars and one with a
telescope.
 38

CHARLIE
So there’s these three.

FIONA
You know them?

CHARLIE
James Green, Darren Parker
and Adam Ball. Plane
spotters. Not exactly Al
Qaeda material, but we’re
bringing them in anyway.

FIONA
What constitutes Al Qaeda
material then?

CHARLIE
You know what I’m on about.
They get on our tits to be
honest, plane spotters. Give
us several scares a year.

FIONA
Good job it’s the preserve
of the white working class
then.

CHARLIE
Yeah. Are you taking the
mick?

FIONA
With you Charlie, never.

The CCTV footage jumps again.

FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE – SEVERAL NIGHTS AGO.

A red Nissan Micra parks at the end of the estate. Two
HOODED FIGURES emerge and attach the banner we saw
earlier to the chain link fence. “No to Terminal 5, no
to 3rd Runway”

CHARLIE
Then you’ve got these two.
Eco-warriors. Not on our
menu.

FIONA
Where are we with the car?
 39

CHARLIE
Nowhere really. There was
one stolen in Southall a few
weeks ago, but it’s unlikely.

FIONA
Southall?

CHARLIE
Now who’s jumping to
conclusions?

FIONA
Silver?

CHARLIE
Yeah.

FIONA
They wouldn’t be so thick
as to use a nicked car.

CHARLIE
Exactly, but I’m sending
Eric and that other idiot.
We’re looking into all the
sales of Carinas to likely
punters but I’m not all
that optimistic. If they’re
any good they’ll have
covered their tracks.

53. EXT CAR BREAKER’S YARD DAY 53.

GEE, carrying an army kit bag, walks out of the Breaker’s

Yard. There is a big sign on the gate of the yard – “All
Cars Recycled Here”

54. INT IMRAN’S HOUSE DAY 54.

Starting on a TV SCREEN, more news. Footage of Ascot

Racecourse.

Aston reads – “ROYAL ASCOT – RACES CANCELLED”

NEWSREADER (off)
This afternoon’s racing
at Royal Ascot was
cancelled after course
 40

officials found a suspect

package inside a toilet at
the main grandstand. Bomb
disposal experts were called
and the stand evacuated.
The package was later
found to be a box of race
cards left by an employee.
Police say the incident
only goes to show the
importance of remaining
vigilant at this time.

Off the TV to reveal that we are in a TERRACED HOUSE IN

SOUTHALL.

IMRAN (60) is drinking tea with some other old men. The
doorbell rings. IMRAN switches the volume down on the
TV. Imran’s wife, NARINDA (45) has answered the door.
She enters the room.

NARINDA (to Imran)

It’s the police, about the
car.

IMRAN
Finally!

He walks towards the door.

IMRAN (cont’d to the men)

I phone the police about
three weeks ago and finally
they send someone round. I
bet if it was a white
person’s car stolen they’d
have made a lot more..

And we cut to Imran’s POV;

two police cars in the street, blue lights flashing.

Five cops, two of them armed. SERGEANT ERIC SMITH and PC
SLATER on the doorstep. Chaos.

IMRAN (cont’d)
..fuss.

ERIC
Imran Ahmed? Inside please.
 41

55. EXT SOUTHALL IMRAN’S STREET SAME TIME 55.

At the end of Imran’s Street, SEJAD walks round the

corner, carrying a rucksack. From his POV;

The police cars as before. ERIC and PC SLATER entering

IMRAN’S HOUSE.

SEJAD sees this, backs slowly away, and then runs off.

56. EXT CAR BREAKER’S YARD DAY 56.

A silver cube of scrap metal is picked up by a huge

magnet and lifted onto a big pile of other scrap. The
cube of metal is the mortal remains of IMRAN’S SILVER
TOYOTA CARINA.

IMRAN (v.o)
I woke up the other morning
and it had gone.

57. INT IMRAN’S HOUSE SOUTHALL DAY 57.

SERGEANT ERIC SMITH and PC SLATER sit with IMRAN and his
wife NARINDA.

ERIC
Where was it parked?

IMRAN
Outside.. on the street.

ERIC
Do you think they broke in
to it?

IMRAN
How should I know?

PC SLATER
Any broken glass on the
street?

IMRAN
No.

PC SLATER
So that’s a no then.
 42

ERIC
Where was the key?

IMRAN
The key..?

Imran stops himself, thinks. Looks at NARINDA.

At this point we drift onto a PHOTOGRAPH on the
sideboard, of SEJAD in cricket whites, bat in hand.

IMRAN (cont’d)
It was on the stairs, at
least, I think it was.

ERIC
Could you see it from the
door?

IMRAN
Yes, definitely.

But he doesn’t sound too sure.

ERIC
That could be it, you should
keep your keys out of sight.

ERIC and PC SLATER stand to leave.

ERIC (cont’d)
That’s all for now. We’ll
keep you posted. In the
meantime, if you can think
of anything that might be
important, give me a call.

IMRAN
Yes, I will, thank you.

They leave.

58. EXT IMRAN’S HOUSE SOUTHALL STREET DAY 58.

ERIC gets into PC SLATER’S CAR. Eric on the phone.

ERIC (on phone)

I think it’s worth putting
some cover on this one.
I don’t know, you’ll just have
to trust me on it. Bye.
 43

He hangs up. PC SLATER looks across at him.

ERIC
What?

PC SLATER
He only had his car nicked.

ERIC
When you’ve nothing to go on,
you go on anything you’ve
got.

PC SLATER
He phoned us though,
remember?

ERIC
I know but when we were in
there, a moment passed
between him and his wife. I
couldn’t work out what it was
but it was definitely there.

PC SLATER
Well I didn’t see it.

ERIC
No, no you didn’t.

PC SLATER drives off.

59. INT POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM DAY 59.

Plane Spotter ADAM BALL (45) is sitting in the

interrogation room. FIONA and BILLY are working him.

FIONA
You know why you’re here?

ADAM
Yes, it’s regarding TK-321
otherwise known as Ruby of
The Skies, otherwise known
as BA flight 242 but
previously in service as
flight 2445, 361, 284 and..
B28, I think that takes it
as far back as ’95.
 44

BILLY (sotto)
Jesus.

ADAM
If you let me get my notes I can
go back further if you like?

FIONA
That won’t be necessary.

BILLY
Mr Ball – how often do you
hang around Heathrow Airport?

ADAM
It ain’t hanging around..
it’s important research.

BILLY and FIONA exchange looks, what’s the point of this?

FIONA
Where were you on Sunday?

ADAM
We was at the stand just off
the A4 Bath Road, waiting for
the Beluga with James, Sid,
Mary and I think her lad John
was there too, I forget.

FIONA
The Beluga?

ADAM
It’s the new A220 Airbus,
specifically built with a
large aerodynamic fuselage
which..

BILLY (interrupting)
We so don’t need to know.

ADAM
We saw the rocket!

FIONA
You and half of London.
What else do you know?

ADAM
Nothing.
 45

BILLY
Seen any radicals?

ADAM
What? Pakis?

FIONA
You can’t say that.

BILLY
Well?

ADAM
No Pakis, we seen them
protestors some days.
We hates them though, ‘cause
who don’t want another
runway? They must be mad.

BILLY, bored, ramps things up.

BILLY
Mr Ball, you love planes
very much yes?

ADAM nods.

BILLY (cont’d, a bit manic)

So wouldn’t you just love
to pluck one clean out of
the air? Bring it down
to the gutter and take it
home to your mum?

ADAM
No!

BILLY gets right in ADAM’S face.

BILLY
Would have made you famous!

ADAM
You’re scaring me now!

A pause. FIONA turns to BILLY shaking her head – BILLY

smiles, just his bit of fun. BILLY makes a slash sign
across his throat, cut this pointless interview here.
 46

60. INT POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM LATER 60.

This is more like it. Sitting in the interrogation room

is Radical Cleric DR WASIM AL AKAWI. He speaks very good
English. BILLY and FIONA are joined by ROBERT.

WASIM
Before we start I’d like to
congratulate the brothers
on a great act of vengeance
against the Imperialist
oppressors.

BILLY
They missed, Wasim.

WASIM
It is God’s will.

BILLY
How did they miss?

WASIM
It is God’s will.

BILLY
Not a very good shot though
were they, your brothers?

WASIM
It is God’s will.

BILLY
Is that all you’re going
to say, “it is God’s Will?”

Silence.

BILLY
Where were you on Sunday?

WASIM
You know where I was.

BILLY
Do I?

WASIM
Yes. You have a team of
watchers following my every
move.
 47

A look between BILLY and ROBERT, this is true.

ROBERT
Who are they Wasim?

WASIM
They are glorious martyrs
who will be welcomed soon
into Paradise.

BILLY
Even though they couldn’t
hit a barn door with a pea
shooter.

WASIM
Any act of aggression
against the apostate is
to be warmly regarded.

FIONA is fed up with this.

FIONA
Wasim I have a few general
questions for you about
the apostate and the
oppression.

WASIM mimes pulling a veil over his head, showing his

distaste at Fiona’s style of dress, angering her further.

FIONA (cont’d)
Is it not true that you are
currently living at 26
Victoria Road, Finsbury Park.
Whilst languishing here in
your country of choice you
are currently claiming
housing benefit and living
allowances totalling £250
a week, whilst at the same
time preaching and seeking
to destroy this very state.

WASIM
It is God’s will.

FIONA
Well in my book it’s called
biting the hand that feeds.
 48

ROBERT
I’ll ask you again Mr Al
Akawi, who are these people?

But FIONA hasn’t finished. She interrupts.

FIONA
The other thing that gets me
is your attire, never mind my
attire.

BILLY
Fiona..

FIONA
..no Billy. He sits there
preaching against the “forces
of oppression” in his brand
new cheap shit trainers,
which were no doubt made in
a Chinese Sweat Shop by a
highly oppressed workforce.
The hypocrisy disgusts me.

WASIM
They are not brothers.

FIONA
Bollocks, there’s 50 million
Muslims in China, most of
them shat on by the Han on
a daily basis, but you’re
happy to contribute to their
oppression for the sake of
your big lazy feet. Why
don’t you go there and save
all of them? Because you
know you’d get fuckin’
murdered within ten minutes
of being there! You’re
nothing but a hypocrite,
and a stupid one at that.

She storms out, slamming the door.

WASIM
Can I go now?

BILLY
Erm..no.
 49

61. INT MI5 FIONA’S OFFICE DAY 61.

ROBERT sits in Fiona’s Office. FIONA at her laptop.

FIONA
I tried to warn you.

ROBERT
Yes you did.

FIONA
I don’t know why we bother
with new legislation.
Forty-two days? We already
have all the law we need to
hold maniacs like that, it’s
called the Mental Health Act.

ROBERT
Fiona..

FIONA
He should be sectioned.

ROBERT sits back, FIONA stays at her laptop. A pause.

ROBERT
I’m looking forward to
Cowes Week.

FIONA
It’ll probably be cancelled.

ROBERT
Have you ever been?

FIONA
No.

ROBERT
I try to go every year.
There’s something
tremendously tranquil
about being under sail.
Beat the fuel crisis and
go wherever the wind
so happens to take you.

FIONA
I’m starting to curse the
wind that blew me here.
 50

ROBERT
I can see that. You know
it doesn’t do to get too
principled in our line of
work. You of all people
should know that.

They are interrupted here by king of spin PETE BARBER.

PETER (to Robert)

They said you’d be here.
Who the hell is Wasim Al
Akawi?

ROBERT is about to speak. FIONA gets in first.

FIONA
Wasim Al Akawi is a nobody,
A tiny little fish. Born
1976 in Northolt to wealthy
parents, father a locally
regarded pharmacist and I’ll
spare you the Mercedes
driving stereotypes.
Privately educated at
Deanswood where he was
subject to routine
bullying in the playground
thereby fostering a long
held resentment of “the
system” – his words.
Obtained a third class
honours degree from
Durham in chemistry
during which time he was
a vocal if somewhat
misguided member of the
University’s Islamic
Society. Disappeared off
our radar for two years
2004-2005 when it is widely
suspected he was in both
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,
a belief subsequently
confirmed by his resurfacing
at Riyadh airport on 26th
January 2006. Returned to
the UK radicalised later
that year living first off
his father’s handouts and
 51

later, once he’d got his

act together, off the very
system he seeks to annihilate.
One wife, Syreeta and at the
last count, six children.
Known associates – the
Kilburn Mosque crowd, but
most of our local extremists
have disowned him after
seeing his radical bullshit
for what it is. Unfortunately,
we have yet to reach the same
conclusions.

PETER
Is that all?

FIONA
That’s all.

PETER
He sounds perfect. Put a
team on his group.

ROBERT
We’ve already had three
teams on them since February.

PETER
And?

ROBERT
What she said. He’s clean
as a whistle.

PETER
Well hold him then, as long
as we can.

FIONA
Under what? Scapegoat
legislation?

PETER
What is this? MI-facetious?
Just do it, OK?

PETER leaves.

FIONA
What the fuck gives him the
 52

right to wander round our

building like he owns the
place? Where’s his remit?

PETER returns, he’s heard this.

PETER (to Robert)

Oh yes, pre Newsnight
briefing please, Des’s
office at 20.30.

ROBERT
I’m there Peter.

PETER (to Fiona)

Media relations, Fiona.
One of the many things
they failed to teach you
in Spy School, along with
interrogation technique,
it seems.

PETER leaves. For good this time.

ROBERT (to Fiona)

You know, I can’t save you
from the likes of him.

FIONA
I’m not asking you to.
Not at all.

FIONA’S attention wanders to a drawing on her desk, it

has been drawn by her son Lawrence, it is of some people
with a big mountain in the background.

ROBERT
I just want you to know
that I will be in a
position to accept your
resignation. Operationally
I think we’re covered.

FIONA
Well that’s marvellous.

ROBERT
Have you got the dailies?

FIONA
Printing them now, but I
 53

have to warn you, it’s all

a little on the thin side.

62. INT HOME SECRETARY’S OFFICE NIGHT 62.

Home secretary DES WALKER rests in a MAKE-UP CHAIR as two

MAKE-UP LADIES fuss around him. PETE BARBER, MI6 supremo
STELLA MORAN and head of police JOHN CARTER are also in
attendance. ROBERT enters.

DES
Here he is, the man who
knew too much.

DES takes a sip of coffee.

ROBERT
Minister.

ROBERT sits with JOHN and STELLA. DES isn’t happy.

DES
Could I get some sugar please?
I know I’m sweet already but..

A SERVING PERSON clicks two tabs of artificial sweetener

into DES’S coffee.

DES (cont’d)
What the hell is that?

SERVING PERSON
Sweet and low, Sir.

DES
Dear me. No, it won’t do.
Find some real sugar boy,
what happened to standards?
I don’t know, we turn our backs
for five minutes and the world
slips one step further into all
out anarchy.

ROBERT looks to JOHN – this is not going to be fun.

63. INT HOME SECRETARY’S OFFICE NIGHT 63.

A few minutes later, DES WALKER sits with PETE BARBER,

ROBERT, STELLA MORAN and JOHN CARTER.
 54

DES
OK, what’s hot, what’s not?

STELLA
Globally, six different groups
have claimed responsibility for
the attack. We’ve yet to find
concrete proof that links any
of them to it.

DES
John?

JOHN CARTER
Between ourselves and Robert
we have a total of sixty four
different radicals and groups
under permanent surveillance.
There’s a renewed chatter,
that’s for sure, but so far
none of our work has got us
any closer to identifying who
was behind the attack.

DES
Robert.

ROBERT
John’s right – we’re pursuing
multiple lines of enquiry, we
have new people deep inside the
seats of radical Islam.

DES
I think it’s for the best
that I don’t know about that.

PETER
Absolutely, the less you
know, the better.

DES casts a sharp glance to PETER, that’s actually really

quite insulting. Des lets it pass.

DES
Which brings us to Wasim
Al Aka.. what’s his name?

ROBERT
Wasim Al Akawi.
 55

PETER
He’s our focus this evening.

JOHN
But Pete – Akawi’s done no
wrong.

PETER
There’s no smoke without fire.
Besides, the Americans want to
extradite him over an incident
in Miami back in ’99.

JOHN CARTER
No they don’t!

PETER
Yes they do, as of half an hour
ago Akawi’s promoted to the top
of their most wanted list.

STELLA
In other words you’re creating
a shitstorm.

PETER
I like to think of it as more
of a shit-whirlwind.
A shit-fog, maybe.

STELLA
To hide the fact we’re still
some distance from the truth.

PETER
If you don’t give me results I
have to make some of my own.

STELLA
And how does that prevent
a future attack?

PETER
It doesn’t. That’s your job.
But Stella, in these testing
times the public demand results,
they want to see some action,
so above all else we have to
be seen to.. to act.
 56

JOHN CARTER
With a capital “A”.

PETER
Trademark cynicism John. Can we
re-open Heathrow do you think?

JOHN CARTER
Oh please Peter, I’d have
thought that would be
entirely your decision.

PETER combats this sarcasm in the best way possible, by

taking it literally.

PETER
Of course - leave it with me.
I wonder how that would play?

Raised eyebrows between ROBERT, STELLA and JOHN.

64. INT FIONA’S OFFICE NIGHT 64.

FIONA sits at her desk. She is replaying the telephone

call she taped previously (scene 35). On the recording:

WOMAN (recorded)
Bonjour?

FIONA (recorded)
Hello.. is Michael there
please?
(beat)
Hello?

WOMAN (recorded)
Sorry, he’s out.

FIONA replays this section, super loud.

Replayed loud, in the gap between Fiona’s “Hello” and the

woman’s reply we hear, faint but audible:

MICHAEL (recorded whisper)

We’re not here!

On FIONA, slightly tearful. She stops the recording.

FIONA
I’ve had enough of this.
 57

She is comforted by a large pair of hands on her

shoulders. CHARLIE.

CHARLIE
Don’t worry about it.

FIONA
Don’t worry?!

CHARLIE
He’s moving on. People do.

Fiona jumps the recording forward to the Woman saying:

WOMAN (recorded)
I’m Marie. The house sitter.

She rewinds and plays this sentence several times.

CHARLIE leans over her and presses “Stop.”

He stays leaning over her. Caresses her shoulders.

FIONA
Barber’s a wanker.

CHARLIE
Yes he is.

FIONA
He’s such a misogynist.

CHARLIE
You shouldn’t worry about him.
Try to focus on what’s important.

Fiona stares at Lawrence’s drawings.

FIONA
I am.

65. INT BILLY’S HOUSE NIGHT 65.

BILLY sits with Mum CARLA, Dad PARVEEN and sister RUTH.
RUTH has her mask off, but she’s still wheezy.

CARLA
She’s had a better day today,
haven’t you love?
 58

RUTH
Yes Mum.

Newsnight plays on the TV, BILLY turns up the volume.

On the TV – NEWSNIGHT, and home secretary DES WALKER – a
reprise of an earlier moment.

DES
The operation to catch these
terrorists will be swift.
Their sheer audacity will be
their undoing. I’m confident
that we’ll identify them in a
matter of days, hours even.

CUT TO:

On the TV – THE NEWSNIGHT STUDIO, and this time live,

with DES WALKER, in a different suit.

NEWSCASTER
Minister that was your
interview in the moments
following the attack. Now
here we are three days
later – I take it we’re well
on our way to identifying
the attackers?

DES WALKER
That is correct Clive.
I’m pleased to announce
that we have a key suspect
in police custody.

NEWSCASTER
Dr Wasim Al Akawi?

PARVEEN (off)
Might have known.

BILLY (off)
He didn’t do it.

PARVEEN (off)
What do you know? Course he
bloody did.

DES WALKER
I’m sure you know I’m not in a
position to name names.
 59

66. INT ROBERT’S HOUSE NIGHT 66.

ROBERT sits with his wife YVONNE watching Newsnight. She

sits on the floor between his legs as he reads one of his
yachting magazines. On the TV:

NEWSCASTER
Is it not true that Dr
Akawi has in the last few
hours been the subject of
an extradition request by
the Americans, in connection
with a failed bombing attempt
at Miami airport in July
1999?

DES WALKER
That would appear to be
the case, yes.

NEWSCASTER
Business Leaders are
calling for the re-opening
of Heathrow as soon as
possible. By all accounts
this incident has cost the
economy many millions of
pounds a day. How soon do
you think before things can
return to normal?

DES WALKER
Well I’m glad you asked
that question Clive,
because I can also announce
that Heathrow Airport will
re-open in a limited
capacity tomorrow morning.

NEWSCASTER
Thank you Minister, I’m sure
that news will be welcomed
by the country.
Do you have any idea what
measures will be in place
to protect the public from
further terrorist outrage?

Click. YVONNE switches the TV off. Back in her and

ROBERT’S lounge.
 60

YVONNE
Well that’s good love. Things
getting back to normal.

ROBERT
Whatever normal is.

YVONNE
I’m off up, you coming?

67. EXT WHITEHALL STREET – NIGHT 67.

GEE, with his army kit bag on his back, CYCLES along a
street. He stops outside a large building, removes an
ENVELOPE from his bag and posts it through a letter box.

68. INT GOVERNMENT BUILDING NIGHT 68.

Inside the building, a NIGHT SECURITY GUARD sees the

envelope come through the letter box. The guard walks
over to the door, and picks up the envelope.

69. INT ROBERT’S HOUSE BEDROOM NIGHT 69.

Close on ROBERT, he wakes slowly. Slowly we realise what

has woken him up. His MOBILE PHONE, quietly ringing.

As YVONNE stirs, ROBERT looks at the bedside alarm.

3.09am.

He answers the phone.

ROBERT
Hello..?

VOICE ON PHONE
Come in please Robert, right
away.

70. INT MI5 MEETING ROOM NIGHT 4AM 70.

Bleary eyed staff sit around drinking coffee.

It’s still very early. ROBERT, FIONA, CHARLIE and a few

others are present. BILLY arrives, clearly annoyed.
 61

BILLY
What the fuck..?

ROBERT
Sit down Billy, and I’ll
show you.

BILLY
It had better be good.

CHARLIE
It is.

BILLY sits. ROBERT opens the ENVELOPE posted by GEE

earlier. He takes out the contents, some PHOTOGRAPHS.
He passes the photographs to the team.

On one of the PHOTOGRAPHS. This is the photograph GEE was

printing out in the flat back in scene 29.

All we saw of the photograph last time was one side of

it, a leafy park.

Now we see the photograph in its entirety. It is a

trophy shot.

The park in question is St James’s Park. In the

photograph, parked on the side of the Mall is
SEJAD’S SILVER TOYOTA. The boot of the car is open.

Standing each side of the boot, facing camera and

grinning, are SEJAD and MOHAMMED.

In the open boot of the car – SIX SURFACE TO AIR

MISSILES! In the background – BUCKINGHAM PALACE!

On the other PHOTOGRAPHS – pictures of SEJAD, MOHAMMED

and the car boot full of rockets outside other prominent
landmarks. THE LONDON EYE, ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL,
TRAFALGAR SQUARE.

BILLY
Jesus H Christ, now they’re
just taking the piss.

FIONA
Where did they come from?

ROBERT
Delivered an hour ago.
To the ministry of Transport.
 62

FIONA
Transport?

CHARLIE
As good a place as any.
And fewer questions to
answer than if they’d
dropped them here.

BILLY
These are dynamite.

ROBERT
Well they’re out in the
open now. How’s the id’s?

CHARLIE
We’ve never seen them before.

FIONA
So they’re no associates of
Al Akawi. What about the
courier?

ROBERT
The CCTV is on it’s way.
Some bloke on a bike.

FIONA
Any chance of a reg?

ROBERT
A push bike.

FIONA
Oh.

ROBERT
One thing’s for sure, we
need to keep a lid on this.

BILLY
Imagine the scrum if this
got out.

71. INT MI5 MEETING ROOM LATER 71.

On a TV screen, CCTV footage of GEE cycling away from the

Ministry of Transport. It’s very dark, he’s just a
 63

shadow on a bike. ROBERT, FIONA, BILLY and CHARLIE watch

the screen.

FIONA
Refreshingly inconclusive.

BILLY
Took the words out of my
mouth.

King of spin PETER BARBER enters.

PETER
Gentlemen, Fiona. We have
a problem.

With a big heave, PETER hefts a big pile of NEWSPAPERS

onto the table.

They are all running with one or other of the

PHOTOGRAPHS, splashed across the front page.

DAILY MAIL – “FACES OF TERROR”

THE SUN – “FIND THESE MEN!!”
THE GUARDIAN – “TERRORISTS REVEALED”
THE MIRROR – “THEY’RE HERE”
THE STAR – “PANIC ON THE STREETS”
THE EXPRESS – “WHERE NEXT?”

ROBERT
Ah.

BILLY
Fuckin’ hell.

PETER
Tell me that you know
these men?

CHARLIE
As of now they’re still
unknowns.

FIONA
Clearly this will change.

PETER
Too right it will.
I’m off to wake Des.

He begins to leave the room.

 64

PETER (cont’d)
Get ready to reap the
whirlwind.

72. EXT LONDON STREETS DAY 72.

So begins a MELTDOWN MONTAGE.

POLICE CARS drive down a London Street, blue lights

flashing.

NEWSREADER (V.O)
As Britain took a step closer
to complete meltdown the
number of racist reprisals
has risen to fifteen.

73. EXT MOSQUE DAY 73.

Three WHITE SKINHEADS being led away from the vicinity of

a mosque by POLICE.

NEWSREADER (V.O)
Meanwhile the entire Royal
Family have been evacuated
to a secret location.
Police are following many
hundreds of leads claiming
to identify the men in the
photographs.

74. INT POLICE STATION HOLDING ROOM 74.

Around 20 ASIAN MEN who all look a little like Sejad and
Mohammed are being watched over by POLICE.

NEWSREADER (V.O)
Doubts as to the
authenticity of the snaps
have been assuaged by
forensic reports that
prove they are real, but quite
how the attackers managed
to photograph a car full
of rockets in broad daylight
is still under investigation.
 65

75. EXT LONDON EYE DAY 75.

Outside the LONDON EYE – a sign reads “CLOSED UNTIL

FURTHER NOTICE”

NEWSREADER (V.O)
Many national sporting events
face cancellation this Summer
and Visit Britain are reporting
a 75 percent drop in the numbers
of overseas visitors arriving
to our shores.

76. EXT HOTELS EVENING 76.

A line of hotels, all of them advertising “VACANCIES”

NEWSREADER (V.O)
After opening last week for
just two hours, Heathrow and
all other airports remain
closed. Economists fear the
terror-induced slowdown could
lead the country into further
recession.

77. EXT LONDON STREETS NIGHT 77.

A NEWS REPORTER vox pops a MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC on a

street in London.

PUBLIC
I was supposed to be
meeting a couple of friends
for a beer but I’m heading
home early.

REPORTER
Why?

PUBLIC
I just, well, I don’t feel
safe on the streets after
dark, what with all this
paranoia.

REPORTER
What do you think of the
rumours of an eleven
 66

o’clock curfew being

implemented in our towns
and cities?

PUBLIC
Well, I ain’t gonna be out
there so, yeah, good idea
I reckon.

The REPORTER turns to camera.

REPORTER
I’m not sure civil liberties
groups will feel the same way,
but there you go Clive. The
mood on the street is one of
great fear. Assuming the
terrorists fired one of the
missiles at flight 242, the
question is, where are the
other five rockets and where
or when will they be deployed?

78. INT MI5 OPERATIONS ROOM NIGHT 78.

The room is a hive of activity. FIONA at one desk,

BILLY at another. PETER BARBER and ROBERT walk in.

On one of the screens, one of the PHOTOGRAPHS.

PETER
So..?

ROBERT
Positive ID on that one.

We follow Robert’s point to MOHAMMED.

PETER
Good.

ROBERT
Mohammed Akhbar Akawi,
Regency Road, Barnsley.

PETER
Not another home-grown?

ROBERT nods, yes.

 67

PETER (cont’d)
No relation to Wasim Al
Akawi?

FIONA is grinning.

ROBERT
None whatsoever.

PETER (to Fiona)

And this is amusing how?

FIONA
Hearing you try to fit
reality into your grand
scheme of things.

PETER
Oh.

FIONA
A week ago you were happy to
make an innocent man the
villain of the piece. Now
here’s your real villains
and it’s all got messy.

PETER
This is no mess.

FIONA
But you have to admit, the
multicultural experiment
has come to an end.

PETER
Has it?

FIONA
Yes – they’re fucking
killing each other out
there.

ROBERT
John wants the military on
the streets.

PETER
No thank you, it’s a
terrorist plot, not a Coup
D’etat.
 68

ROBERT
Any thoughts on his request
for a curfew?

PETER
Over my dead body.

FIONA
Don’t get me excited.

PETER makes to retort.

FIONA (cont’d)
It’s alright Peter, I’m
leaving after this.

PETER
You certainly are Fiona.

(to Robert)
What about the other one?

We focus on the PHOTOGRAPH, and SEJAD.

ROBERT
Working on him. Not a
known associate of
Mohammed.

PETER
Work faster, we need to
re-open this country for
business as soon as we can.

BILLY
It’s likely that he’s being
harboured by his community.

PETER
So stick a reward on his
head. Start at a million
and work up from there.

79. EXT BILLY’S HOUSE NIGHT 79.

A figure cycles down a street and stops outside a house.

Gee? No - BILLY arriving home. He enters his house.
 69

80. INT BILLY’S HOUSE NIGHT 80.

BILLY enters the kitchen where his supper is on the

table. RUTH has no asthma mask on again.

CARLA
Another long day!
What happened our kid?

BILLY
The network went down.

CARLA
I didn’t hear you leave.

RUTH
I did. Five o’clock in
the morning.

BILLY (mock joking)

You spying on me?

CARLA
Five o’clock? Billy,
that’s so out of order.
I hope you’re not in any
trouble or anything.

BILLY
No Mum.

PARVEEN
He should get himself a
proper job.

RUTH
Dad..

PARVEEN
I’m only saying.

BILLY (to Ruth)

You’re looking better.

RUTH
I feel better somehow.

CARLA
Hey, you know Hanish is
doing the NASA job, guess
what? They’ve all had to
 70

be security checked, can

you believe it?

PARVEEN
Of course he can, it’s the
way of the world isn’t it?

CARLA
Our son getting clearance by
the CIA, amazing isn’t it?

BILLY
Yes Mum.

But of course it’s chicken feed to Billy. When he’s not

looking, Ruth steals a roast potato from his plate, and
stuffs it in her mouth, causing a small bout of wheezing.

BILLY (cont’d)
What?

RUTH (mouth full)

Nothing.

81. EXT IMRAN’S HOUSE BACK YARD NIGHT 81.

SEJAD, in the shadows, jumps over the wall into IMRAN’S

BACK YARD, clattering the bins.

SEJAD makes his way to the back door and lets himself in.

82. INT IMRAN’S HOUSE NIGHT CONT’D ACTION 82.

SEJAD eases in through the back door, in near darkness.

As he tiptoes into the kitchen, click, the light is

switched on.

SEJAD, very wild-eyed, blinks at the light. Across the

kitchen, his FATHER, IMRAN, stands by the light switch.

IMRAN
Son, you’re in big trouble.

83. INT IMRAN’S HOUSE NIGHT MOMENTS LATER 83.

SEJAD and IMRAN sit at the kitchen table. Sejad’s

rucksack is on the table. It is full of money.
 71

IMRAN
It was you who took the car.

SEJAD
Yes.

IMRAN
Where is it?

SEJAD
Gone.

IMRAN
I’ve seen it all over the
news, Sejad! What have
you got involved in? I
warned you about this sort
of business.

SEJAD
It’s not like that.

IMRAN
What about all this money?
Where has it come from Sejad?

SEJAD
I earned it, fair and square!

IMRAN
You bloody idiot.

SEJAD
You’re not gonna turn me in
are you?

Their conversation is interrupted by the pop of breaking

glass. Into the kitchen drops a canister of tear gas.

A POLICE TEAM, clad all in black, appear at the windows.

SEJAD
Help me, Dad, please!

But IMRAN can do nothing as the POLICE stream in.

84. INT TOP SECURITY POLICE AREA NIGHT 84.

SEJAD sits in a Police Cell. CHARLIE and FIONA stare at

 72

him through the small viewing window.

CHARLIE
Sejad Ahmed. 15 Empire St
Southall.

FIONA
How did they get him?

CHARLIE
You can thank Eric Smith for
that when you see him. He
decided to order a team to
look at Imran.

FIONA
The guy who had the Toyota
nicked?

Another POLICEMAN walks into SEJAD’S CELL with a prayer

mat and a copy of the Koran.

CHARLIE
That’s his son.

FIONA
So they were that careless.

CHARLIE
Or brazen.

The POLICEMAN walks out of the cell still carrying the

prayer mat and Koran.

POLICEMAN
He doesn’t want them.

CHARLIE
Oh. Got it memorised has
he?

85. INT INTERROGATION ROOM LATER 85.

SEJAD sits with BILLY and ROBERT.

Behind a one way glass screen, FIONA and CHARLIE.

On the table in front of SEJAD, his RUCKSACK full of

money.
 73

ROBERT
Hello Sejad.

SEJAD
Hi.

ROBERT
I take it you know why
you’re here.

SEJAD
Yes.

ROBERT
We need to know where
Mohammed is.

SEJAD
I don’t know.

BILLY
We think you do.

SEJAD
I think I don’t.

(beat)
He’s probably gone back
up north.

BILLY
How do you think he got
up there?

SEJAD
Erm, drove?

ROBERT
What does he drive?

SEJAD
A Nissan micra, red – V reg I
think.

Behind the glass, a flicker of memory from CHARLIE here.

CHARLIE
Excuse me.

He leaves.
 74

BILLY
So.. what’s with the money?

SEJAD
The money?

BILLY
Look at it, Sejad. Fifty
thousand pounds.

The money spills out of the top of the rucksack.

SEJAD
That’s payment.

ROBERT
What for?

SEJAD
Putting up with all this
hassle.

86. INT POLICE STATION OFFICE 86.

CHARLIE enters his office, digs around and finds CCTV

footage marked “Freeport Industrial Estate.” He loads
the footage into a machine.

Also in the office, another policeman is on a phone.

POLICEMAN
The APB is now for a red
Nissan Micra, Reg..Victor.

87. INT INTERROGATION ROOM AS BEFORE 87.

SEJAD sits with ROBERT and BILLY.

ROBERT
Sejad, you refused the
Koran earlier.

SEJAD
Yes.

BILLY
You Hafiz already?

(Hafiz = the name for those who have memorised the Koran)
 75

SEJAD
No.

ROBERT
So why refuse your book?

SEJAD
It ain’t my book.

ROBERT
Excuse me?

SEJAD
What do you want to know?
I ain’t religious ok?

BILLY
This is something of a
surprise.

SEJAD
No shit.

CHARLIE enters the room, carrying a TV.

CHARLIE
Sorry, I just think we all
ought to have a look at this.

He sets the TV on a table. On TV SCREEN – CCTV footage

of FREEPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE. Night time.

A Red Nissan Micra arrives and two hooded figures get out
of the car and pin a banner to the chain link fence. “No
to Terminal 5, no to 3rd Runway”

CHARLIE (to SEJAD)

Am I right in thinking that’s
you and Mohammed?

Sejad says nothing, just nods.

88. INT MI5 OFFICES NIGHT 88.

PETE BARBER is with ROBERT, FIONA and BILLY.

PETER
Well, well done Charlie.

FIONA smiles, basking a little in the praise.

 76

PETER (cont’d)
How long can we hold him?

ROBERT
Well, there’s no question of
not getting an extension.

PETER
I don’t understand the banner.

BILLY
Neither do we.

FIONA
I’m not sure it’s a Jihadi
attack.

PETER
Oh come off it darling,
who else could it be?

FIONA
Please, don’t darling me.

ROBERT
She may be right Peter.
Sejad refused the Koran.

PETER
He’s bluffing.

ROBERT
Maybe, but he’s not a
mosque regular either.

Peter hits his chest.

PETER
That’s because it’s here
in his heart, oozing up to
here and rotting his tiny
little brain.

ROBERT
Let’s just hold him and
wait for the other one to
turn up.

PETER
Whenever that turns out to be.
 77

89. EXT BARNSLEY BEAUTY SPOT NIGHT 89.

Two cars are parked at a leafy beauty spot. Two people

kiss passionately up against the Mondeo.

A police car approaches, it flashes it’s blue lights

once. The cheating couple break their embrace.

MAN
Shit!

The Police Car enters the car park and turns round. In
the opposite corner, a RED NISSAN MICRA is parked. TWO
POLICEMEN get out of the patrol car, totally ignore the
couple and head towards the red Micra.

They cautiously open the passenger door to reveal..

MOHAMMED crouched and shivering in the foot-well of the
car. THE POLICE immediately radio for back up.

90. INT INTERROGATION ROOM LATER 90.

MOHAMMED now sits in the Interrogation Room, with FIONA,

BILLY and ROBERT.

ROBERT
Mr Akawi you were found with
forty nine thousand pounds
and a plane ticket to Dubai.

FIONA
Was it your intention to
flee to Dubai?

MOHAMMED nods, yes.

BILLY
I can see a flaw in your plan.

FIONA
All the planes are grounded.

BILLY
Thanks to your missile attack
for some strange reason no
planes are flying.

FIONA
You really didn’t think this
through did you?
 78

Robert hands Mohammed a copy of the rocket photographs.

ROBERT
What do you make of these?

MOHAMMED
They shouldn’t have been put
in the paper.

BILLY
Why let them get taken then?

MOHAMMED
For the money.

ROBERT
Who took them?

BILLY
Who took the pictures, Mo?

MOHAMMED
Gee.

ROBERT
Did Gee give you the money?

MOHAMMED
Yes.

FIONA
Why did you put up a banner
in the industrial estate?

MOHAMMED
He told us to.

FIONA
Who?

MOHAMMED
Gee.

BILLY
Where is Gee now?

MOHAMMED
I don’t know. But can you
do me a favour?
 79

BILLY
For you Mo, anything.

MOHAMMED
Catch the lying cheating
bastard.

91. INT INTERROGATION ROOM LATER 91.

SEJAD has been asked the same question by BILLY, ROBERT

and FIONA.

SEJAD
I don’t know where he is.

FIONA
Has Gee got the rocket
launcher?

SEJAD
Yes.

FIONA
And the rockets?

SEJAD
I suppose.

BILLY
Tell us everything you
know about Gee.

SEJAD
That won’t take long.

92. INT MI5 MEETING ROOM LATER 92.

ROBERT sits with BILLY and FIONA.

BILLY
They’re thick as two short
planks.

FIONA
They’re definitely not
Jihadis.

ROBERT
You were right.
 80

BILLY
So the banner was just a
diversion?

ROBERT
No – the entire religious
fanatic angle, that’s been
the diversion. These kids
have been stirred by nothing
other than money.

FIONA
I think we need to find
the brains of the outfit.

BILLY
The mysterious Gee.

FIONA
On his bike, somewhere.

The penny totally drops with Robert..

ROBERT
Yes, because, you know, I
think we should consider the
possibility of Gee being an
Eco-Terrorist.

BILLY
A what?

ROBERT
Eco-terrorist.

BILLY
Not a Jihadi?

ROBERT
Get the Environment Agency
on the phone, please.

BILLY
Why?

ROBERT
Why? Everything’s “why?”
Just do it please.
(beat)
I want some figures.
 81

Billy reaches for the phone.

BILLY
They’re going to love this.

Robert shakes his head at Billy’s cheek.

93. INT MI5 BRIEFING ROOM LATER 93.

ROBERT presents his findings to PETER BARBER, Home

Secretary DES WALKER, with JOHN CARTER from the Police,
FIONA, BILLY and CHARLIE present too.

ROBERT uses the TV to illustrate his points. On the TV,

the CCTV FOOTAGE of the banner being put up in FREEPORT
INDUSTRIAL ESTATE “No to terminal 5, no to 3rd Runway”

ROBERT
The banner goes up in
Freeport Industrial Estate
two nights prior to the attack.
We find the launch site and the
World’s media gets an infinite
number of photographs of the
place. Only, they’re not just
photographing the estate,
they’re photographing the
banner. The banner is
publicity, for the eco-
warrior movement.
What happens next?
The airport stays closed more
or less permanently for the
entire time, along with every
other airport in Western
Europe for a while. Next, our
man Gee releases photographs
designed to cause maximum
panic among the nation.
Tourist numbers fall to more
or less zero, and we embark on
a fruitless search of every
religious nut and radical
between here and Islamabad.
This is why our intelligence
failed. We were looking in
the wrong place.

DES WALKER
So what did he achieve?
 82

ROBERT
What he achieved is this..

ROBERT flicks his remote to reveal a graph on the TV, the

graph on the screen shows a downward trajectory.

ROBERT (cont’d)
The least amount of air
pollution over Central
London for 34 years.

Crucially, we see BILLY’S REACTION here. He can’t hide a

degree of pleasure. This is why his sister Ruth feels
less asthmatic, the air is cleaner.

ROBERT clicks the remote, another downward graph.

ROBERT (cont’d)
The loss of some two hundred
and twenty eight thousand air
miles, amounting to a saving
of thirty five million tons of
carbon dioxide.

ROBERT clicks the graph once again, yet another graph.

ROBERT (cont’d)
A reduction in hotel bed use
in the capital amounting to
approximately 100,000 room
nights, saving six million tons
of CO2 in terms of lighting,
taxi use and the like, and
three million litres of water.
Total cost to the economy of
one failed missile attack plus
a few racy photographs, two
point five billion pounds.

BILLY
Jesus.

DES
Wow.

PETER
He’s an eco-warrior?

ROBERT
Yes.
 83

PETER
Maybe he meant to miss?

ROBERT
It’s a theory.

DES
So his other five rockets
are not a real threat?

ROBERT
Can you afford to take
that risk?

A glance between PETER and DES, no they can’t.

PETER
So where is he now?

ROBERT
Still at large. Sejad and
Mohammed are helping us build a
picture, but it seems he may
have specifically chosen them
for their intellectual
deficiencies.

BILLY
They’re trying, bless, but
they’re not much help.

DES
I don’t understand.

FIONA
They’re thick as pig shit
Minister. Mohammed bought
himself a plane ticket out of
here, not realising his actions
would ground all of the planes.

DES
I see.

PETER
What a shocking grasp of
cause and effect. He could
almost be a politician.

FIONA
Or a king of spin.
 84

DES
What route forward then?

ROBERT
We stay on high alert, and
follow up the leads.

94. EXT NEWSAGENTS DAY 94.

On the news stand, the papers run with a Photo-Fit of Gee

with his beard.

DAILY MAIL – “The New Face of Terror”

THE SUN – “Find this man”
THE STAR – “Rocket Man”
THE INDEPENDENT – “Fresh Appeal as Eco-Warrior Revealed”

POLICE CARS pass the stand.

95. EXT GREENFORD FLAT DAY 95.

The POLICE CARS arrive outside the short rent flat in

Greenford, the one hired by Gee earlier.

96. INT SHORT RENT FLAT GREENFORD DAY 96.

Inside the Short Rent Flat, POLICE gather whatever

evidence they can, emptying the bin etc.

97. INT SHORT RENT FLAT BATHROOM DAY 97.

CHARLIE stands alone in the bathroom of the flat, as

other POLICE keep searching.

CHARLIE looks at himself in the mirror. Thinking.

He looks down at the sink and finds a tide mark of foam.

He puts his hands in the plug hole, and lifts up a matted

bunch of long dark hairs.

98. INT MI5 OPERATIONS ROOM DAY 98.

FIONA marches into the operations room. DARREN is at the

screens.
 85

FIONA
Lose the beard.

Darren strokes his stubble.

FIONA (cont’d)
Not you, idiot. Him.

She refers to the photo-fit of Gee which is on one of the

screens.

FIONA (cont’d)
Charlie’s got some DNA
too, we’ll get him sooner
or later.

99. EXT UNIVERSITY BIKE SHEDS DAY 99.

GEE places his bike in a bike rack. We pull out to

reveal the rack is enormous, there are hundreds of bikes.

GEE walks off, army kit bag on his shoulder.

100. INT POLICE LAB LATER 100.

DNA chromatography in action, meniscus lines rising and

depositing lines on the indicator paper.

101. INT MI5 BRIEFING ROOM LATER STILL 101.

ROBERT in a final briefing. DES and PETER only.

ROBERT
We have a positive ID.

The TV screen flicks to an image of A CLEAN SHAVEN GEE.

ROBERT (cont’d)
Georgi Romanov. Otherwise
known as Gee.

DES WALKER
Erm Robert – he’s white.

ROBERT
Yes, yes he is. He’s the
son of Constantine Romanov.
 86

PETER
The oil magnate?

ROBERT
The same. He fell out with
his family several years ago.
His own radical path, if you
can call it that, came from a
gap year in Siberia where he
witnessed first hand the
effects of global warming.

PETER
So what you’re saying is –
he’s Swampy – with a rocket
launcher.

ROBERT
Oh he’s potentially
dangerous, absolutely.

DES
And white.

ROBERT
Yes. If by that observation
you mean he doesn’t fit into
an easy to follow demographic,
I couldn’t agree more.

DES
We must catch him, before
he strikes again.

ROBERT
Yes we must. But, that’s
going to take a whole new
rethink of strategy. Now
if you’ll excuse me.

ROBERT leaves.

102. INT MI5 FIONA’S OFFICE DAY 102.

FIONA is packing her stuff into boxes. ROBERT enters.

ROBERT
You don’t have to do this.
 87

FIONA
I actually want to.

ROBERT
The likes of Pete Barber
won’t be around forever you
know.

FIONA
Yes they will. If not him
then another, younger,
thicker Pete Barber.

ROBERT
So now what? Off to write
your revealing memoir?

FIONA
Something like that.

ROBERT
So long as I come across as
the dashing rugged boss with
his finger on the pulse.

FIONA
No Robert, no memoir.

(beat)
Actually, I’m moving in with
Charlie.

ROBERT
Really?

FIONA
Yes. Don’t sound so
surprised. It was you who
said your family was right
here in the office. Turns
out my new family was right
here too.

ROBERT
Well who’d have thought it?
Congratulations.

FIONA
Thanks.

She continues to pack.

 88

ROBERT
I’m pretty useless at goodbyes.

FIONA
I know.

ROBERT
Don’t you want to stay to
help catch Gee?

FIONA
You’ll get him without me.

ROBERT
I admire your optimism.

FIONA
You do realise in ten years
time it will all be Eco-
Terrorists?

ROBERT
What do you mean in ten
years? It’s happening now.

FIONA
The cynic in me thinks these
terror laws will end up being
more for them than the
religious zealots.

ROBERT
I couldn’t possibly comment.

FIONA heads out of her office.

FIONA
Well, goodbye Robert.

She kisses him, awkwardly. They leave. Seconds later,

FIONA returns and switches the lights off.

103. INT HOTEL ROOM NIGHT 103.

GEE arrives in an anonymous hotel room and sits on the

bed. He is wearing a crisp new suit and looks
indistinguishable from any other white city gent.

He switches on the TV. Newsnight is playing.

 89

104. ROBERT’S HOUSE NIGHT 104.

ROBERT sits reading a yachting magazine, sharing wine

with YVONNE. Newsnight is also on.

105. EXT HOME OFFICE NIGHT 105.

This is what is playing on Newsnight. DES WALKER

standing outside the Home Office reading a statement.

DES WALKER
I can confirm that the
ringleader of the failed
attack on flight 242 from
Hong Kong was Georgi
Romanov.

JOURNALIST
The son of Constantine
Romanov?

DES WALKER
That is correct.

JOURNALIST
Is it your intention to
deport the Romanov family?

DES WALKER
No. The Romanovs are
great friends of Britain.
They have entirely disowned
Georgi and everything he
stands for, repeatedly and
over many years.

JOURNALIST
Are we any closer to
catching him?

DES WALKER
At the moment no. The two
other suspects are assisting
with our enquiries but
Georgi’s location remains
unknown.

JOURNALIST
So what you are saying then,
Minister, is that amongst
 90

us there walks, and I do

mean walks, a very wealthy
white man, with a bag full
of rockets and a chip on his
shoulder?

A pause while Des gathers himself. And the look on his

face is one of fear and dejection.

DES WALKER
That would appear to be
The case, yes.

And the cameras flash wildly as Des steps down from the
plinth looking like a very broken, defeated minister.

And click.

106. INT HOTEL ROOM NIGHT 106.

GEE has clicked the remote to switch off the TV.

He sits on the bed polishing the ROCKET LAUNCHER,

surrounded by the five remaining rockets.

A picture of brooding menace.

End of Part One.