MI-5 (2002–2011): Season 7, Episode 8 - Episode #7.8 - full transcript
With the Russian mole inside MI-5 now in custody, the team tries to decipher the information Lucas North obtained in Moscow. It is apparent that the Russian intelligence service had their own equivalent to the British Sugar Horse network and have sleeper agents across Britain and throughout the various security agencies. Information from the mole indicates that a thermonuclear device will be exploded in central London and offers to reveal the identity of all sleeper agents in the UK if they agree to provide protection and a relocation package. The Russians have issued instructions to kill Harry Pearce and all of the members of Section D so getting to the mole's information will be difficult. Harry decides to meet his Russian counterpart to ensure he knows that they will all die if they don't work together to stop the bombing.
Russian leaders reacted to
the announcement of US plans
to place missile defence bases
in eastern Poland.
The world is on the edge
of an abyss.
I need you to meet a contact
in Moscow.
I had to plant the package.
This is too important to lose.
Connie is the mole.
She is a Russian mole.
- Almost made it.
- Almost?
We remain at a state
of heightened alert
- ready for imminent Russian reprisals.
- Then we need to deal with this.
"Tiresias wakes 3 pm tomorrow."
What the hell is Tiresias?
We have a serious problem.
What's this?
Tiresias.
Sugarhorse is an MI5 operation
in place for 20 years.
It was designed to warn us of any
forthcoming Russian attack on Britain.
We've just ascertained that the Russians
have an equivalent operation
but it's bigger and better.
For perhaps 25 years,
the Kremlin has had a network
of sleepers,
high-level assets, in
place throughout the United Kingdom.
The Russians call
this operation Tiresias.
"Tiresias wakes."
Exactly how big is this?
It's everywhere. All political
parties, civil service,
police service, armed forces,
security service, MI-5 and 6.
- All of them infiltrated?
- All of them! How is that possible?
It was there, all the time. Everything
we ever did, everything we gave.
This was waiting for us.
Operation Tiresias,
like a node of cancer,
biding its time.
There could be hundreds of sleepers,
motivated by greed,
ideology, hatred,
all unknown, even to each other.
And now Tiresias wakes.
What does that mean?
Tiresias has a single purpose -
to wait until activated,
- and then cripple the United Kingdom.
- What kind of attack can we anticipate?
We don't know
but we're about to find out.
Tiresias wakes at 3pm... today.
That's it. That's all we've got.
The fact is, if the Russian's
have sleepers spread that wide
and buried that deep, we have no way
of knowing who we can trust.
If we sound the alarm on this,
we let Tiresias know we're on to it.
If that happens, best case,
they change their plan of attack.
- Worst case, they bring things forward.
- Which is why we need Connie.
She's a traitor.
She knew the day was coming
when her cover would be blown and she'll
have prepared, stashing intelligence
gathered from various Russian
operations including Tiresias.
We need a way inside Tiresias quickly.
She's our best hope.
But Connie's in custody,
awaiting due process.
Given the circumstances, we have
to assume Tiresias will be watching her.
No choice.
So we make it look like the Russians
took her. Where is she?
Awaiting transportation
to Nemworth Interrogation Unit.
She knows what goes on at Nemworth.
She'll cooperate.
OK.
Do it. Pick her up.
I'll meet you later at Ottawa Bravo.
Home Secretary?
I know you.
George Redman, counter-espionage.
Ms James, I'm here as a courtesy,
to inform you
that the service is determined
to prosecute you
to the full extent of the law.
- You'll be charged with treason...
- And the murder of Ben Kaplan, yes.
But first, you'll be transferring
me to Nemworth for interrogation.
- Can I finish my tea?
- I'm sorry, no.
Harry, I think you've yet
to meet Marina Connolly.
- US Defence and Intelligence Liaison.
- Congratulations and welcome to London.
Thank you.
- Sir Harry, isn't it?
- Just Harry.
Harry, I hope we can work together
to improve the relationship
between our two intelligence
communities.
- In the spirit of which, Marina...
- Absolutely.
This meeting is by way
of a heads-up.
Today the Russians will call
an extraordinary session
of the UN Security Council,
where they will announce
that in 1996,
a portable nuclear device
went missing
from an American Air Force
base in southern England
and has since fallen into
the hands of terrorists.
The American response would be?
Come on, gentleman,
we all know this is an absolute crock.
The Russians, in your view,
stand to gain...?
What they want - they want America gone
by any means necessary,
so they discredit the US military
presence on European soil,
- force us to withdraw.
- So,
you're assuring me,
without equivocation,
- that there is no such missing weapon?
- Categorically.
What we're talking about here,
back in the day,
the KGB call "dezinformatsia".
Disinformation
and it's gonna cause trouble.
So don't let them capitalise on it.
Just don't let them.
"American tactical nuclear weapons,
- stolen from British bases"?
- Unlikely.
Tactical nuclear weapon is the holy
grail of international terrorism.
Such a prize would lead to chatter.
There's been no such chatter.
So... best guess?
Misdirection.
Russians make a big noise over here,
we all look towards the noise.
But we're looking the wrong way.
- What do you know?
- What do I know?
As yet, not enough.
I urgently need you to establish what
Russia's going to pull out of its hat.
Of course.
I'll be in contact.
MI5.
Tiresias.
A seer,
condemned by Dante to spend all eternity
with his head twisted round.
A prophet who could
only look backwards.
I'm tired of the dance, Connie.
- What do you want?
- Somewhere temperate.
Too much heat is intolerable.
It dulls the wits.
- New Zealand sounds nice.
- I'll see what I can do.
I thought the dancing had stopped.
Don't see, just do.
Alternatively, I could always break
your fingers one by one.
- You don't think so?
- You don't have the balls.
Judging by the way you snatched me,
this is a black op.
Which means you don't trust MI-5.
Which means you've grasped the scale
of Tiresias, and you're very frightened.
So don't be coy.
What do you have for us?
All of it.
All of it?
I've had 25 years
to put it together, Ros.
On and off, bits and bobs,
here and there.
And of course,
all the motivation in the world.
You know what I want in return.
I spent eight years
in a Russian cell.
Eight years! Because I stayed
loyal to my country.
I still chew it over,
when I'm lying awake at 3 am,
wondering was it worth it?
But, yeah...
It was.
Because I look at you,
with all your brilliance
and all your treachery,
and I see everything
that I've ever fought against.
Your situation is more precarious
than you realised,
so stop pressing buttons
and give us something.
Threats don't work with a person
who has nothing to lose.
Oh, you're too ingenious to think
that I'm threatening you.
I'm offering you a simple choice.
Help us... or don't.
I'll leave you
to compute the implication.
- Has Tiresias gone live?
- We believe so.
Then have you checked
the number stations?
Malcolm, do we still check
the number stations?
GCHQ does, yes,
as a matter of course.
But it's years since they broadcast
anything germane.
Check them now. Tread lightly.
No one should know you're looking.
Get back to me as soon as you can.
- I've never heard of number stations.
- They're a curio,
a hangover from the old days.
They're codes broadcast daily
on civilian radio frequencies.
Snippets of music, random words,
number combinations,
meaningless to anybody
except the recipient.
All you need to pick them up
is a short wave radio.
They've been repeating the same 20
or 30 messages since, the mid-'80s.
- Hang on...
- What?
That's a new one.
What is "Rain from Heaven"?
A ticket to New Zealand,
a new identity, protection.
"Rain from Heaven", Connie.
- What is it?
- If it's big and you give it to us,
- you'll get what you want.
- And protection from the Russians.
- I gonna need it.
- It's yours.
Because one is familiar with
the benefits of Russian hospitality.
What is it, Connie?
What is Rain from Heaven?
When the KGB knew
the Soviet Empire was falling,
it put in place
certain contingencies.
One of them, "Rain from Heaven",
involved secreting portable
nuclear devices
around the United Kingdom
for use in future deployment.
- I beg your pardon?
- Portable nuclear bombs.
Whatever happened in Russia,
whoever was running it, the KGB knew
they could strike with devastating
force at the heart of Britain.
With a nuclear weapon?
All they had to do was
broadcast the right code
to the right sleeper.
Rain from Heaven is the "go" code
for a nuclear attack on London.
If the sleeper received
the "go" code this morning,
you have a matter of hours before tens
of millions of people are annihilated.
How many hours?
We have till 3 pm.
Even if we could evacuate
London in time,
It's not possible.
9 or 10 million, it'll take days.
If we sound the alarm, the panic
alone could kill thousands.
We need to locate this device without
signalling to Tiresias that we know.
- I need to ear the number station.
- No.
Have you have any idea
what time it is?
Tick, tick... TICK.
Each sleeper is assigned
a six-digit reference.
250025.
Finland red, Egypt white
is a status code.
Followed by a time
and location modifier.
- It's twice blest?
- This is a specific instruction
to a specific sleeper
to place the bomb in a specific
place, to detonate
at a specific time.
I happen to know "Rain from Heaven"
is a nuclear suitcase bomb
because that's the kind of thing
one finds hard to forget.
- And the rest?
- I don't have it all memorised.
- It's written down and stashed.
- Your insurance policy.
- We all need an exit plan.
- The Tiresias dossier is mine.
Where is it?
- Dead drop. London Bridge.
- Where?
Oh, most amusing.
Get me there, give me what I want,
and I'll give you
the whole of Tiresias,
I'll give you every
Russian spy in London,
I'll tell you who is going to detonate
a tactical nuclear weapon and where.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Do you think the Russians
don't know you've got me?
Do you think I haven't let them
know where every safe house is?
He's speaking Russian.
Run! Go! Go!
- We need to split up.
- Rendezvous at Catherine Wheel Alley.
- How many?
- Six,
heavily packed,
maybe more on the way.
Malcolm? We've got some exigent
circumstances developing.
- Exactly how exigent?
- On a scale of what?
- I need an escape route.
- That could be tricky.
6 heavily armed moving in from our east.
A kill-squad.
Harry, it's a maze. There's half
a dozen ways they could cut you off.
So where do we go?
Move, Harry, move!
Keep heading west
via Brushfield Street.
It's heavily populated.
That will afford the best cover.
Do you copy?
Harry?
- Well, bring them back!
- Yeah, I'm trying!
Stop.
I'm gonna send in CO19,
special forces, anyone.
- Harry said "no".
- Sod him.
Look, CO19, the police,
special forces, anyone,
they could, in complete ignorance,
be taking orders from Tiresias.
We need to cross London
to get the Tiresias dossier.
If we do that, we need someone
to act on that intelligence.
We're not gonna stop this from happening
if you're not back on the grid.
We'll be fine. All we need to do is
cross London. How hard can that be?
They'll have people listening in.
Keep comms to a minimum
and watch the rooftops.
Don't worry, I've got
another route in mind.
Good luck.
Harry Pearce.
Anything yet?
No news. They're maintaining
comms silence.
Let's hope comms silence
is all it is.
They were in Spitalfields.
They need to get to London Bridge,
- nearly a mile away.
- What's their likely route?
It's the City, the highest density
of CCTV cameras in London.
Above or underground,
they'll be under constant surveillance.
- Of the two?
- They should go for the tube station.
Crowd cover and the possibility of
changing route at the last minute.
- Our comms won't work underground.
- They're alone.
- You trained them.
- I trained Connie, too.
Well, if anyone's going to survive,
it's that treacherous cow.
I need to speak
to the Home Secretary.
- The moment you have anything...
- The moment.
Does "Rain from Heaven"
mean anything to you?
Should it?
The Russians are mounting an attack on
London using a tactical nuclear device,
which the Kremlin will then claim was
stolen from a US base within the UK.
Their thinking being,
that after such a catastrophe,
Europeans will no longer tolerate
US installations on their soil.
How long does it take
to evacuate Parliament?
10-12 minutes.
- There's a drill, a regular drill.
- Then at 2.45 this afternoon,
you'll receive a call from me,
or one of my officers.
If that call comes,
you must evacuate the Government
and the Royal Family
into their deep-level shelters.
There will be no time
for a public warning.
Unprecedented scenes
at the United Nations today,
when a Russian delegation accused
the US of failing to report
the loss of several
tactical nuclear weapons
from an American air force base
in southern England.
Russia claims the devices
may have fallen into the hands
of terrorist organisations.
The Government has been quick
to deny the allegations
that any weapons
have gone missing in Britain.
Contrary to what the media would
apparently prefer to believe,
communications between British
and American intelligent services
are second to none.
However vivid and newsworthy it is,
there is no substance whatsoever,
to Russia's bizarre
and irresponsible accusation.
- Well, where is he?
- He'll be here.
- We haven't got time for this.
- He'll be here!
Why did you do it?
Why do you think?
People usually turn traitor
for fanaticism, or reward.
- I can't imagine either applies to you.
- No neither did.
After Gorbachev, the humiliation of
the Soviets, we were expected to watch,
While America became
a global hyper-power.
- No wonder they called it Tiresias.
- I'm no friend of the Russians.
- You just hate America?
- No, I just hate imbalance.
You and I both think the same, Ros.
Always have done. It's why you hate me.
Not because I'm a spy.
Because you're looking in a mirror.
- Did you lose the eyeball?
- If I did, not for long.
- We need to move.
- They'll be watching the station.
They're watching everything.
This way.
London's riddled
with disused tunnels.
We can use them to get
to London Bridge undetected.
- That way.
- How bad is it?
It's fine. It missed all the
important stuff. I'll live.
Don't speak too soon.
That's live.
Shit!
- Whose idea was this?
- I forget.
Leave it alone! Leave it alone!
It's fine. We don't want your stuff.
We just want to pass.
It's not your stuff, it's mine.
Leave it alone!
Here, take my watch.
- Leave it alone.
- Whatever.
Move.
This is the service tunnel we need.
It'll take us directly
to London Bridge.
Malcolm?
Nothing yet.
Right, well we're not going to stand
around here and wait for this to happen.
The FSB came after us in numbers.
Their orders were to assassinate
Connie and the rest of us.
Do you think they know
what's about to happen?
Do you think they know
about "Rain from Heaven"?
An operation of this magnitude
would be classified above Top Secret.
Well above even a Station Head's
security clearance.
But the FSB are here
in London with us.
They have families,
people they love.
- Can we arrange a parlez?
- The handshake protocols change weekly.
Can you access them
without alerting anyone?
- I shouldn't be able to.
- But you can.
- Of course I can.
- What are you planning?
Truth or dare. I need to have a chips
down conversation with Viktor Sarkisian.
I've contacted the Russians
using the emergency handshake.
I've got a car waiting for you.
Harry, you're walking directly into
the arms of people who want you dead.
Then I'll try my best
to be charming.
- My God, then we're in trouble.
- Come back.
Malcolm,
I know I can rely on you.
Some things change, that never will.
Good luck.
- What time is it?
- Half past.
You're not going to make it.
- Your best chance of survival might be
- Might be what?
- To go deeper.
- You'd do that, would you?
- Burrow down here like a rat?
- Like a mole.
And wait for Central London
to be annihilated?
Yes.
And here's you
with no love for Russia.
What happens if they're waiting for us
when we surface at London Bridge?
- Do they know where the dead drop is?
- Of course not.
That dossier is my insurance.
Why would I let them see it?
- They seem to know everything else.
- Do you think I want this to happen?
A nuclear weapon in London?
I am what I am, but I've done more
for this country than you'll ever know.
- You ever hear of Bridget Driscoll?
- Should I have?
First person ever to be run over
and killed by a car.
She was a daughter, a wife, a mother.
But all that's faded away now.
All Bridget Driscoll is,
is a single moment.
Whatever you've done for this country,
Connie, is gone.
What's lost can never be found.
Leave me alone! Leave me alone!
What would you do if you were them?
- Send in a runner.
- So would I.
Move!
What are you doing?
This circle represents a 1.5 mile
blast zone from central London.
All buildings within will be destroyed,
all life extinguished.
Then comes this great heat
and blast,
It's incredible, we have no more
protection now than we did then.
... to the ground.
This is what is called fallout.
So these are the two dangers.
First heat and blast,
which is followed by fallout.
The heat and blast is so severe
that it can kill
and can destroy buildings for up
to five miles from the explosion.
Start looking now for materials
for your fallout room
and inner refuge.
Here is a list of things
and some ideas to use.
Bricks, concrete blocks,
bags or boxes
filled with earth or sand.
If you cannot get
hold of sandbags...
Do you realise your kill-squad
is trying to hit my officers
before they can prevent a nuclear weapon
from being detonated in London?
In an hours time, tens of thousands
of people will be dead.
If your officers succeed
in killing mine,
you will have succeeded in nothing
except killing yourself and your family.
Your country, your own country
is about to kill you, Viktor,
and I'm here alone to tell you that.
If I'm lying...
Well, keep me, ship me to Russia.
If the best you can hope for
from this operation is Connie James,
I'm a much bigger prize.
The FSB can do with me whatever it is,
it does with people like me.
Viktor, look at me!
We're short of time.
If I'm lying,
what's the worst that can happen?
You can make a gift of me
to your superiors,
a senior British
intelligence officer.
If I'm not lying, your children
have less than an hour to live.
OK.
OK.
I believe you, Harry.
They've gone underground.
The old Tube tunnels.
Communication is impossible
so I need to know their destination.
Where are they headed?
Harry, come on.
You came to me for help,
so accept it.
What is their destination?
Get me a map.
Service tunnels will take you
to the surface, that way.
- What are you gonna do?
- Beretta 9 mm, standard NATO issue.
Two rounds expended.
I'll draw them off to the platform.
Shit!
- Da?
- Andrei.
It's your lucky day.
Which one is it?
This one.
It's fine.
It's fine. They're here to help.
How nice. What's the code?
34590X
/Falls The Shadow.
It's all here.
Every sleeper they've got.
The bomber?
2-5-0-0-2-5.
The bomber's name is Walter Crane.
- The bomb's at Grosvenor Square.
- Wait.
By the time you've mobilized the Broken
Arrow Unit, it'll be too late.
Even if they arrive in time,
which they won't,
they're dealing with a Cold War
weapon they've never experienced
and don't know how to work.
Bring it to me, I'll do it.
- What?
- I'll do it.
Have you got anyone
in Grosvenor Square?
It's the American Embassy.
We practically live there.
- Bring us the bomb.
- Are you insane?
No time to do anything else. Bring us
the bomb, we take it underground.
If the bomb detonates,
we lose central London
but we minimise radioactive fallout.
And I need a working light
and a tool kit.
And a bottle of gin.
Mr Home Secretary.
This is MI-5, Section D.
Harry Pearce told
you to expect a call.
This is that call.
You know what to do.
- Very well.
- I'm sorry, sir, you do need to hurry.
- Yes. Of course. I...
- Good luck.
And to you.
- Anyone you need to call?
- Well.
Mum will be watching
"A Place In The Sun"
and waiting for "Countdown".
She loves "Countdown".
Why spoil it, eh?
This is the Home Secretary.
I'm invoking protocol Landslide.
That's right, Landslide.
Now.
The major incident alert
has been activated.
Please make your way
to your designated deep-level shelter.
The major incident alert
has been activated.
Please make your way
to your designated deep-level shelter.
The major incident alert
has been activated...
Come on, Harry.
Nervous?
Should I be?
Right.
You should both leave.
Hurry up, please.
- I thought you weren't nervous.
- I'm not.
Fine. Stay.
Connie?
This isn't an improvised
explosive device
cooked up by some halfwit undergraduate.
There are fail-safes and back-ups.
By cutting that wire,
I've initiated a secondary countdown.
A conventional explosive would go off
in less than two minutes.
If I haven't removed the uranium,
it will cause a chain reaction
and a nuclear explosion.
I need to remove the shell
from the central housing
and separate the two isotopes.
When I do that,
the bomb cannot reach critical mass
and will no longer be nuclear.
It will, however, go up in my face.
The bomb kills whoever disarms it,
so go,
please.
Both of you.
What you've lost
can sometimes be found, Lucas.
I remove the uranium.
It's just a bomb.
I'm not scared of bombs.
Connie.
Oh, Lucas.
At 3 am, when you can't sleep
and the nightmares come,
who do you blame
for what happened to you?
Eight years in a Russian hell?
Who do you blame?
I blame Harry.
Then it's time to let it go.
It wasn't Harry's fault.
Who was it, Connie? Who sold me out?
- You have 10 seconds.
- Who was it?
- Nine seconds.
- I need to know.
- 8 seconds.
- Just say it!
Leave now.
It was me, always me.
I need a Broken Arrow Unit
with full Hazmat Containment
with probable radiation leakage.
London Bridge.
You OK?
They'll never know.
No.
And that's a good thing, Lucas.
You know it is.
I need to talk to Harry.
Harry?
Has anyone made contact with him?
the announcement of US plans
to place missile defence bases
in eastern Poland.
The world is on the edge
of an abyss.
I need you to meet a contact
in Moscow.
I had to plant the package.
This is too important to lose.
Connie is the mole.
She is a Russian mole.
- Almost made it.
- Almost?
We remain at a state
of heightened alert
- ready for imminent Russian reprisals.
- Then we need to deal with this.
"Tiresias wakes 3 pm tomorrow."
What the hell is Tiresias?
We have a serious problem.
What's this?
Tiresias.
Sugarhorse is an MI5 operation
in place for 20 years.
It was designed to warn us of any
forthcoming Russian attack on Britain.
We've just ascertained that the Russians
have an equivalent operation
but it's bigger and better.
For perhaps 25 years,
the Kremlin has had a network
of sleepers,
high-level assets, in
place throughout the United Kingdom.
The Russians call
this operation Tiresias.
"Tiresias wakes."
Exactly how big is this?
It's everywhere. All political
parties, civil service,
police service, armed forces,
security service, MI-5 and 6.
- All of them infiltrated?
- All of them! How is that possible?
It was there, all the time. Everything
we ever did, everything we gave.
This was waiting for us.
Operation Tiresias,
like a node of cancer,
biding its time.
There could be hundreds of sleepers,
motivated by greed,
ideology, hatred,
all unknown, even to each other.
And now Tiresias wakes.
What does that mean?
Tiresias has a single purpose -
to wait until activated,
- and then cripple the United Kingdom.
- What kind of attack can we anticipate?
We don't know
but we're about to find out.
Tiresias wakes at 3pm... today.
That's it. That's all we've got.
The fact is, if the Russian's
have sleepers spread that wide
and buried that deep, we have no way
of knowing who we can trust.
If we sound the alarm on this,
we let Tiresias know we're on to it.
If that happens, best case,
they change their plan of attack.
- Worst case, they bring things forward.
- Which is why we need Connie.
She's a traitor.
She knew the day was coming
when her cover would be blown and she'll
have prepared, stashing intelligence
gathered from various Russian
operations including Tiresias.
We need a way inside Tiresias quickly.
She's our best hope.
But Connie's in custody,
awaiting due process.
Given the circumstances, we have
to assume Tiresias will be watching her.
No choice.
So we make it look like the Russians
took her. Where is she?
Awaiting transportation
to Nemworth Interrogation Unit.
She knows what goes on at Nemworth.
She'll cooperate.
OK.
Do it. Pick her up.
I'll meet you later at Ottawa Bravo.
Home Secretary?
I know you.
George Redman, counter-espionage.
Ms James, I'm here as a courtesy,
to inform you
that the service is determined
to prosecute you
to the full extent of the law.
- You'll be charged with treason...
- And the murder of Ben Kaplan, yes.
But first, you'll be transferring
me to Nemworth for interrogation.
- Can I finish my tea?
- I'm sorry, no.
Harry, I think you've yet
to meet Marina Connolly.
- US Defence and Intelligence Liaison.
- Congratulations and welcome to London.
Thank you.
- Sir Harry, isn't it?
- Just Harry.
Harry, I hope we can work together
to improve the relationship
between our two intelligence
communities.
- In the spirit of which, Marina...
- Absolutely.
This meeting is by way
of a heads-up.
Today the Russians will call
an extraordinary session
of the UN Security Council,
where they will announce
that in 1996,
a portable nuclear device
went missing
from an American Air Force
base in southern England
and has since fallen into
the hands of terrorists.
The American response would be?
Come on, gentleman,
we all know this is an absolute crock.
The Russians, in your view,
stand to gain...?
What they want - they want America gone
by any means necessary,
so they discredit the US military
presence on European soil,
- force us to withdraw.
- So,
you're assuring me,
without equivocation,
- that there is no such missing weapon?
- Categorically.
What we're talking about here,
back in the day,
the KGB call "dezinformatsia".
Disinformation
and it's gonna cause trouble.
So don't let them capitalise on it.
Just don't let them.
"American tactical nuclear weapons,
- stolen from British bases"?
- Unlikely.
Tactical nuclear weapon is the holy
grail of international terrorism.
Such a prize would lead to chatter.
There's been no such chatter.
So... best guess?
Misdirection.
Russians make a big noise over here,
we all look towards the noise.
But we're looking the wrong way.
- What do you know?
- What do I know?
As yet, not enough.
I urgently need you to establish what
Russia's going to pull out of its hat.
Of course.
I'll be in contact.
MI5.
Tiresias.
A seer,
condemned by Dante to spend all eternity
with his head twisted round.
A prophet who could
only look backwards.
I'm tired of the dance, Connie.
- What do you want?
- Somewhere temperate.
Too much heat is intolerable.
It dulls the wits.
- New Zealand sounds nice.
- I'll see what I can do.
I thought the dancing had stopped.
Don't see, just do.
Alternatively, I could always break
your fingers one by one.
- You don't think so?
- You don't have the balls.
Judging by the way you snatched me,
this is a black op.
Which means you don't trust MI-5.
Which means you've grasped the scale
of Tiresias, and you're very frightened.
So don't be coy.
What do you have for us?
All of it.
All of it?
I've had 25 years
to put it together, Ros.
On and off, bits and bobs,
here and there.
And of course,
all the motivation in the world.
You know what I want in return.
I spent eight years
in a Russian cell.
Eight years! Because I stayed
loyal to my country.
I still chew it over,
when I'm lying awake at 3 am,
wondering was it worth it?
But, yeah...
It was.
Because I look at you,
with all your brilliance
and all your treachery,
and I see everything
that I've ever fought against.
Your situation is more precarious
than you realised,
so stop pressing buttons
and give us something.
Threats don't work with a person
who has nothing to lose.
Oh, you're too ingenious to think
that I'm threatening you.
I'm offering you a simple choice.
Help us... or don't.
I'll leave you
to compute the implication.
- Has Tiresias gone live?
- We believe so.
Then have you checked
the number stations?
Malcolm, do we still check
the number stations?
GCHQ does, yes,
as a matter of course.
But it's years since they broadcast
anything germane.
Check them now. Tread lightly.
No one should know you're looking.
Get back to me as soon as you can.
- I've never heard of number stations.
- They're a curio,
a hangover from the old days.
They're codes broadcast daily
on civilian radio frequencies.
Snippets of music, random words,
number combinations,
meaningless to anybody
except the recipient.
All you need to pick them up
is a short wave radio.
They've been repeating the same 20
or 30 messages since, the mid-'80s.
- Hang on...
- What?
That's a new one.
What is "Rain from Heaven"?
A ticket to New Zealand,
a new identity, protection.
"Rain from Heaven", Connie.
- What is it?
- If it's big and you give it to us,
- you'll get what you want.
- And protection from the Russians.
- I gonna need it.
- It's yours.
Because one is familiar with
the benefits of Russian hospitality.
What is it, Connie?
What is Rain from Heaven?
When the KGB knew
the Soviet Empire was falling,
it put in place
certain contingencies.
One of them, "Rain from Heaven",
involved secreting portable
nuclear devices
around the United Kingdom
for use in future deployment.
- I beg your pardon?
- Portable nuclear bombs.
Whatever happened in Russia,
whoever was running it, the KGB knew
they could strike with devastating
force at the heart of Britain.
With a nuclear weapon?
All they had to do was
broadcast the right code
to the right sleeper.
Rain from Heaven is the "go" code
for a nuclear attack on London.
If the sleeper received
the "go" code this morning,
you have a matter of hours before tens
of millions of people are annihilated.
How many hours?
We have till 3 pm.
Even if we could evacuate
London in time,
It's not possible.
9 or 10 million, it'll take days.
If we sound the alarm, the panic
alone could kill thousands.
We need to locate this device without
signalling to Tiresias that we know.
- I need to ear the number station.
- No.
Have you have any idea
what time it is?
Tick, tick... TICK.
Each sleeper is assigned
a six-digit reference.
250025.
Finland red, Egypt white
is a status code.
Followed by a time
and location modifier.
- It's twice blest?
- This is a specific instruction
to a specific sleeper
to place the bomb in a specific
place, to detonate
at a specific time.
I happen to know "Rain from Heaven"
is a nuclear suitcase bomb
because that's the kind of thing
one finds hard to forget.
- And the rest?
- I don't have it all memorised.
- It's written down and stashed.
- Your insurance policy.
- We all need an exit plan.
- The Tiresias dossier is mine.
Where is it?
- Dead drop. London Bridge.
- Where?
Oh, most amusing.
Get me there, give me what I want,
and I'll give you
the whole of Tiresias,
I'll give you every
Russian spy in London,
I'll tell you who is going to detonate
a tactical nuclear weapon and where.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Do you think the Russians
don't know you've got me?
Do you think I haven't let them
know where every safe house is?
He's speaking Russian.
Run! Go! Go!
- We need to split up.
- Rendezvous at Catherine Wheel Alley.
- How many?
- Six,
heavily packed,
maybe more on the way.
Malcolm? We've got some exigent
circumstances developing.
- Exactly how exigent?
- On a scale of what?
- I need an escape route.
- That could be tricky.
6 heavily armed moving in from our east.
A kill-squad.
Harry, it's a maze. There's half
a dozen ways they could cut you off.
So where do we go?
Move, Harry, move!
Keep heading west
via Brushfield Street.
It's heavily populated.
That will afford the best cover.
Do you copy?
Harry?
- Well, bring them back!
- Yeah, I'm trying!
Stop.
I'm gonna send in CO19,
special forces, anyone.
- Harry said "no".
- Sod him.
Look, CO19, the police,
special forces, anyone,
they could, in complete ignorance,
be taking orders from Tiresias.
We need to cross London
to get the Tiresias dossier.
If we do that, we need someone
to act on that intelligence.
We're not gonna stop this from happening
if you're not back on the grid.
We'll be fine. All we need to do is
cross London. How hard can that be?
They'll have people listening in.
Keep comms to a minimum
and watch the rooftops.
Don't worry, I've got
another route in mind.
Good luck.
Harry Pearce.
Anything yet?
No news. They're maintaining
comms silence.
Let's hope comms silence
is all it is.
They were in Spitalfields.
They need to get to London Bridge,
- nearly a mile away.
- What's their likely route?
It's the City, the highest density
of CCTV cameras in London.
Above or underground,
they'll be under constant surveillance.
- Of the two?
- They should go for the tube station.
Crowd cover and the possibility of
changing route at the last minute.
- Our comms won't work underground.
- They're alone.
- You trained them.
- I trained Connie, too.
Well, if anyone's going to survive,
it's that treacherous cow.
I need to speak
to the Home Secretary.
- The moment you have anything...
- The moment.
Does "Rain from Heaven"
mean anything to you?
Should it?
The Russians are mounting an attack on
London using a tactical nuclear device,
which the Kremlin will then claim was
stolen from a US base within the UK.
Their thinking being,
that after such a catastrophe,
Europeans will no longer tolerate
US installations on their soil.
How long does it take
to evacuate Parliament?
10-12 minutes.
- There's a drill, a regular drill.
- Then at 2.45 this afternoon,
you'll receive a call from me,
or one of my officers.
If that call comes,
you must evacuate the Government
and the Royal Family
into their deep-level shelters.
There will be no time
for a public warning.
Unprecedented scenes
at the United Nations today,
when a Russian delegation accused
the US of failing to report
the loss of several
tactical nuclear weapons
from an American air force base
in southern England.
Russia claims the devices
may have fallen into the hands
of terrorist organisations.
The Government has been quick
to deny the allegations
that any weapons
have gone missing in Britain.
Contrary to what the media would
apparently prefer to believe,
communications between British
and American intelligent services
are second to none.
However vivid and newsworthy it is,
there is no substance whatsoever,
to Russia's bizarre
and irresponsible accusation.
- Well, where is he?
- He'll be here.
- We haven't got time for this.
- He'll be here!
Why did you do it?
Why do you think?
People usually turn traitor
for fanaticism, or reward.
- I can't imagine either applies to you.
- No neither did.
After Gorbachev, the humiliation of
the Soviets, we were expected to watch,
While America became
a global hyper-power.
- No wonder they called it Tiresias.
- I'm no friend of the Russians.
- You just hate America?
- No, I just hate imbalance.
You and I both think the same, Ros.
Always have done. It's why you hate me.
Not because I'm a spy.
Because you're looking in a mirror.
- Did you lose the eyeball?
- If I did, not for long.
- We need to move.
- They'll be watching the station.
They're watching everything.
This way.
London's riddled
with disused tunnels.
We can use them to get
to London Bridge undetected.
- That way.
- How bad is it?
It's fine. It missed all the
important stuff. I'll live.
Don't speak too soon.
That's live.
Shit!
- Whose idea was this?
- I forget.
Leave it alone! Leave it alone!
It's fine. We don't want your stuff.
We just want to pass.
It's not your stuff, it's mine.
Leave it alone!
Here, take my watch.
- Leave it alone.
- Whatever.
Move.
This is the service tunnel we need.
It'll take us directly
to London Bridge.
Malcolm?
Nothing yet.
Right, well we're not going to stand
around here and wait for this to happen.
The FSB came after us in numbers.
Their orders were to assassinate
Connie and the rest of us.
Do you think they know
what's about to happen?
Do you think they know
about "Rain from Heaven"?
An operation of this magnitude
would be classified above Top Secret.
Well above even a Station Head's
security clearance.
But the FSB are here
in London with us.
They have families,
people they love.
- Can we arrange a parlez?
- The handshake protocols change weekly.
Can you access them
without alerting anyone?
- I shouldn't be able to.
- But you can.
- Of course I can.
- What are you planning?
Truth or dare. I need to have a chips
down conversation with Viktor Sarkisian.
I've contacted the Russians
using the emergency handshake.
I've got a car waiting for you.
Harry, you're walking directly into
the arms of people who want you dead.
Then I'll try my best
to be charming.
- My God, then we're in trouble.
- Come back.
Malcolm,
I know I can rely on you.
Some things change, that never will.
Good luck.
- What time is it?
- Half past.
You're not going to make it.
- Your best chance of survival might be
- Might be what?
- To go deeper.
- You'd do that, would you?
- Burrow down here like a rat?
- Like a mole.
And wait for Central London
to be annihilated?
Yes.
And here's you
with no love for Russia.
What happens if they're waiting for us
when we surface at London Bridge?
- Do they know where the dead drop is?
- Of course not.
That dossier is my insurance.
Why would I let them see it?
- They seem to know everything else.
- Do you think I want this to happen?
A nuclear weapon in London?
I am what I am, but I've done more
for this country than you'll ever know.
- You ever hear of Bridget Driscoll?
- Should I have?
First person ever to be run over
and killed by a car.
She was a daughter, a wife, a mother.
But all that's faded away now.
All Bridget Driscoll is,
is a single moment.
Whatever you've done for this country,
Connie, is gone.
What's lost can never be found.
Leave me alone! Leave me alone!
What would you do if you were them?
- Send in a runner.
- So would I.
Move!
What are you doing?
This circle represents a 1.5 mile
blast zone from central London.
All buildings within will be destroyed,
all life extinguished.
Then comes this great heat
and blast,
It's incredible, we have no more
protection now than we did then.
... to the ground.
This is what is called fallout.
So these are the two dangers.
First heat and blast,
which is followed by fallout.
The heat and blast is so severe
that it can kill
and can destroy buildings for up
to five miles from the explosion.
Start looking now for materials
for your fallout room
and inner refuge.
Here is a list of things
and some ideas to use.
Bricks, concrete blocks,
bags or boxes
filled with earth or sand.
If you cannot get
hold of sandbags...
Do you realise your kill-squad
is trying to hit my officers
before they can prevent a nuclear weapon
from being detonated in London?
In an hours time, tens of thousands
of people will be dead.
If your officers succeed
in killing mine,
you will have succeeded in nothing
except killing yourself and your family.
Your country, your own country
is about to kill you, Viktor,
and I'm here alone to tell you that.
If I'm lying...
Well, keep me, ship me to Russia.
If the best you can hope for
from this operation is Connie James,
I'm a much bigger prize.
The FSB can do with me whatever it is,
it does with people like me.
Viktor, look at me!
We're short of time.
If I'm lying,
what's the worst that can happen?
You can make a gift of me
to your superiors,
a senior British
intelligence officer.
If I'm not lying, your children
have less than an hour to live.
OK.
OK.
I believe you, Harry.
They've gone underground.
The old Tube tunnels.
Communication is impossible
so I need to know their destination.
Where are they headed?
Harry, come on.
You came to me for help,
so accept it.
What is their destination?
Get me a map.
Service tunnels will take you
to the surface, that way.
- What are you gonna do?
- Beretta 9 mm, standard NATO issue.
Two rounds expended.
I'll draw them off to the platform.
Shit!
- Da?
- Andrei.
It's your lucky day.
Which one is it?
This one.
It's fine.
It's fine. They're here to help.
How nice. What's the code?
34590X
/Falls The Shadow.
It's all here.
Every sleeper they've got.
The bomber?
2-5-0-0-2-5.
The bomber's name is Walter Crane.
- The bomb's at Grosvenor Square.
- Wait.
By the time you've mobilized the Broken
Arrow Unit, it'll be too late.
Even if they arrive in time,
which they won't,
they're dealing with a Cold War
weapon they've never experienced
and don't know how to work.
Bring it to me, I'll do it.
- What?
- I'll do it.
Have you got anyone
in Grosvenor Square?
It's the American Embassy.
We practically live there.
- Bring us the bomb.
- Are you insane?
No time to do anything else. Bring us
the bomb, we take it underground.
If the bomb detonates,
we lose central London
but we minimise radioactive fallout.
And I need a working light
and a tool kit.
And a bottle of gin.
Mr Home Secretary.
This is MI-5, Section D.
Harry Pearce told
you to expect a call.
This is that call.
You know what to do.
- Very well.
- I'm sorry, sir, you do need to hurry.
- Yes. Of course. I...
- Good luck.
And to you.
- Anyone you need to call?
- Well.
Mum will be watching
"A Place In The Sun"
and waiting for "Countdown".
She loves "Countdown".
Why spoil it, eh?
This is the Home Secretary.
I'm invoking protocol Landslide.
That's right, Landslide.
Now.
The major incident alert
has been activated.
Please make your way
to your designated deep-level shelter.
The major incident alert
has been activated.
Please make your way
to your designated deep-level shelter.
The major incident alert
has been activated...
Come on, Harry.
Nervous?
Should I be?
Right.
You should both leave.
Hurry up, please.
- I thought you weren't nervous.
- I'm not.
Fine. Stay.
Connie?
This isn't an improvised
explosive device
cooked up by some halfwit undergraduate.
There are fail-safes and back-ups.
By cutting that wire,
I've initiated a secondary countdown.
A conventional explosive would go off
in less than two minutes.
If I haven't removed the uranium,
it will cause a chain reaction
and a nuclear explosion.
I need to remove the shell
from the central housing
and separate the two isotopes.
When I do that,
the bomb cannot reach critical mass
and will no longer be nuclear.
It will, however, go up in my face.
The bomb kills whoever disarms it,
so go,
please.
Both of you.
What you've lost
can sometimes be found, Lucas.
I remove the uranium.
It's just a bomb.
I'm not scared of bombs.
Connie.
Oh, Lucas.
At 3 am, when you can't sleep
and the nightmares come,
who do you blame
for what happened to you?
Eight years in a Russian hell?
Who do you blame?
I blame Harry.
Then it's time to let it go.
It wasn't Harry's fault.
Who was it, Connie? Who sold me out?
- You have 10 seconds.
- Who was it?
- Nine seconds.
- I need to know.
- 8 seconds.
- Just say it!
Leave now.
It was me, always me.
I need a Broken Arrow Unit
with full Hazmat Containment
with probable radiation leakage.
London Bridge.
You OK?
They'll never know.
No.
And that's a good thing, Lucas.
You know it is.
I need to talk to Harry.
Harry?
Has anyone made contact with him?