The Honourable Woman (2014): Season 1, Episode 2 - The Unfaithful Husband - full transcript

Who do you trust?
How do you know?
By how they appear?
Or what they say...
what they do?
We all have secrets.
But sometimes...
...rarely...
...something can happen that leaves you no choice...
...but to reveal it...
...to let the world see who you really are...
...your secret self.
But mostly we tell lies...
we hide our secrets from each other...
from ourselves.
So, when you think about it like that...
it's a wonder we trust anyone at all.
Modeh ani I'faneykha.
Don't be afraid.
I'm safe.
I can't do this.
If it's the price...for a nation.
Hang on! What are you doing?
- Wait. - What?
Um...
Oh, where's the...?
Where is it?
Where's what?
What?
Fuck. Who was that?
After this...
you and I are going to have to have a straight talk.
What?
You know who that was.
I don't think there's much about me you don't know.
Who do you work for?
You.
No.
A real bodyguard knows how to keep his distance.
Are you MI6?
You work for Hayden-Hoyle.
Fuck!
Tell him thank you.
Tell him, "Tighten up on the training."
Yeah, well, don't you worry.
I've got more than I need.
What did you get?
Get off me.
Easy with your body.
Dead behind the eyes.
Oh...don't even start.
Kasim?
Kasim!
Kasim!
Modeh ani I'faneykha...
melekh chai vekayam...
she-hechezarta bi nishmati bechemlah...
...rabbah emunatekha.
I thought you were going to leave it.
I can't.
Thank you.
I don't trust her.
Because she caught you with your pants down...
literally?
That was my job...sir.
- Nice work if you can get it. - It wasn't hers.
So what do you want me to do - commend you for the effort
or sack you for the result?
Go on, get lost before the boss sees you.
- Too late. - Shit.
And here comes a chopper to chop off....
My dick.
Hugh.
C.
Where are you on Samir Meshal?
About to interview his wife.
And the Stein kidnap?
The police are handling that.
Really?!
Yes, really.
Are you suggesting
we took the child?
No, of course not.
But I am aware of the visit made by you
to Nessa Stein before his disappearance.
- I went to warn her. - Of what?
- The Israelis. - Why?
We have never tried to influence Nessa Stein, and we never will.
So you don't have any idea who may have abducted the child?
Because the Palestinians think it was us.
Your..."informant" is all too transparent, Commander.
It's not beyond your history.
And what do you know about our history?
Be very careful.
The story you've just stepped into, it stretches back thousands of years.
All I rely on is what I can see with my own eyes.
Then I hope you read Braille.
Sir?
The kidnap driver.
He is awake.
Press 1. There's an answerphone message.
Listen to it, then delete it.
- Who are you? - Take it.
Delete it.
Third floor. Doors opening.
Wait here, please.
You lost him.
We did everything we could.
Except keep him alive.
Who was he?
His name was Michael Gatz. He was ex Intelligence Corps.
So was the man your security officer killed.
You're suggesting
- this was a military operation. - No, no, no.
They left four years ago and functionally disappeared. Until now.
Too late.
Clearly, they're a team that leaves no trace...at all.
So, where next?
Given what's happened, I have to suggest the possibility
that our most likely point of first contact
will be when Kasim's kidnappers choose to make it with us.
So the long arm of the law has just come up short.
Is that what you're telling us?
And how do you expect us to react to that?
He doesn't.
He expects us to wait.
The Palestinian funding debate - do you still want to speak?
Yes, but no questions on this.
There won't be. There's a complete blackout.
Are you sure?
It's a kidnapping. The outside world is always the last to hear.
But mostly, they're never even told.
All right?
How long do I have to put up with these monkeys in my house?
What?
There is urine all over the floor in the cloakroom.
If they aim like they piss, someone tries to kill us, we're done for anyway.
Well, we have to have them.
- Why? - Because you know why.
- So, are you coming to this lunch? - Uh-uh.
Are you getting something out of this?
What?
We go to that lunch, we'll be turning up in a fucking motorcade.
Is that something you want?
I'm an educational fundraiser, Rachel. I have been for seven years now.
Yes, but are you missing it?
Of course I'm not missing it.
There's a big streak of vanity running through your family, Ephra,
and it appears to be growing.
First your father wants to save Israel,
now your sister's trying to save the Middle East.
What's your plan for my daughters?
Is kryptonite involved?
I gave it all up! It's not my fault.
It was you who insisted on taking them to that fucking concert.
Now you're blaming me?
I think you wanted to present my Jewish daughters with Atika's Palestinian son...
just so the world could see the United Colours of Stein.
- That's not... - It was a vanity. It's all vanity.
And having men with guns
pissing all over my cloakroom is not a price I'm going to pay.
Is she sedated?
I don't know. I don't think so. Why?
If it was me, I'm not sure I'd be so calm.
You mean like she's not behaving the way you'd expect?
Well, nothing's happening the way I'd expect.
I mean...where's the father?
Dead, Frances, in a car crash eight years ago.
Right. I didn't know that.
- You didn't? - No!
Um...yeah, he worked as a driver for us in Gaza, so...
after it happened we brought Atika back with the baby.
- OK. So, if I'd known that... - Now that you know that,
you're OK with her reaction?
Why, when something like this happens,
do people expect you to behave a certain way
and then, when you don't, everyone gets suspicious?
I'm not suspicious.
Good.
So...
...these are the, er, potential bullet points for the debate.
- Right. - But obviously,
which way it goes
- depends entirely on who's dominating. - Yeah.
On the one side, you've got Margaret Andrews, who's rabidly pro-Israeli.
Refreshingly unfashionable!
On the other side, you've got Angela Roberts.
Just a couple of steps away from a Holocaust denier.
That's why, with everything that's going on right now...
No, no.
No, no. I want to go. I have to go.
Do you really think that's the right choice?
Are you suspicious of me now?
I'm just mindful of avoiding an overtly flammable situation.
And you think I'm not?
Frances, why don't you just tell me what you expect me to be doing here?
OK! Everything we can to get that little boy back.
That is the job of the police.
The British bobby against the Middle East?
So you think we should be doing it for them?
This is your world, Nessa, no-one knows it better than you.
Where does the corruption start, Frances?
In the boot of a car, if that's where we find him.
You don't think I want to be tearing this place apart,
do everything I fucking can to get that boy back?
Of course I do!
This is exactly why they took them, I know this,
to make me react in the way that people like you expect me to.
Nessa, I am not people, I'm your advisor, I have been...
Well, then, will you stop telling me to curve-ball around the police?
Nothing can change because of this.
I'm sorry.
Nothing can change.
Except it has.
It's changed everything.
And that's why Number 10 want her out.
They've only just put her in.
Kidnap, suicide, shooting.
I think they were hoping for an insight into the Middle East,
not a practical demonstration.
Which only goes to show how much she needs our support.
Or what a mistake we made in making it so public.
I still think it was the right thing to do.
Is the right thing.
And you are...?
The best person to advise this government
on Anglo-American relations in the Middle East.
I've been there eight years, Julia.
I know when the President farts.
And yet I'm the one who had General Berkoff
sitting in front of me, right where you are,
two hours ago.
And he told you he wanted her to remain in the House of Lords.
I'll admit I was a bit surprised to hear an American give
such wholehearted support to a non-elected chamber.
Be careful, Monica.
Just because you think you've got the protection of the playground bully
doesn't mean that people won't be waiting for you on your way home.
The only person I think needs protecting is Nessa Stein.
Samir Meshal.
His suicide note -
no fingerprints on the envelope.
It's about to be discounted.
- Why? - Fingerprints wouldn't necessarily
have been carried onto it.
But a suicide? Right at that moment?
He had a mistress in Washington.
She broke up with him the evening before he flew back.
In the note, he apologises to his wife.
I'm letting Hayden-Hoyle take a look.
Let's not forget the long ball here, Julia.
"The long ball"?
Isn't that an Americanism?
It's what it's always been and what we all want. Peace in the Middle East.
And you think Hoyle is standing in the way of that?
Actually, yes, I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to get rid of him.
So that you can step into his shoes.
Lady Roberts.
I am surprised
a historical scholar of such standing appears to need reminding
that the presence of Arabs in Israel long precedes the state of Israel itself.
Hear, hear.
And I am surprised to have to remind the noble Baroness,
who purports to be such an expert,
that the 12 tribes of the Israelites
were in fact first united into the kingdom of Israel
over three thousand years ago.
On that argument,
does this give the residents of Normandy the right to repatriate Kent?
Perhaps the noble Baroness would be a little less willing
to make a joke if in fact rocket bombs were falling on Dover.
I don't make jokes,
Lady Andrews, not while Israel uses phosphorus.
Baroness Stein.
I welcome this government's
continued financial commitment to the Palestinian Authority
whilst reminding my noble Lords that if this bill were to collapse,
there is a serious danger
that all prospects of proper peace negotiations would collapse also.
Hear, hear.
In this light, I equally welcome
the positive steps announced by Israel in the past days
towards assisting the Palestinian economy.
Measures such as the joint committees on water and agriculture
are positive signals for both sides
on their journey towards peace negotiation.
Hear, hear.
I congratulate my newly ennobled colleague's
expert display of fence sitting
whilst taking the opportunity to remind her
that a fence is only a fence...
until it turns into a spike.
Samiria belongs to Israel! Samiria belongs to Israel!
Oh, God!
There is no such place as Palestine!
Take this.
- We're fine, all right? - Oh, my God!
Um, it was just a silly game, all right?
Daddy was just playing a little game.
Don't let her see this.
I just need to...to clean it off.
Two seconds. It'll be fine.
Atika, take her away.
Hey, don't worry.
Atika, take my child out of this room.
- Now! - Rachel...
This is my house, not his father's.
Not any more.
- Mine. - It's all right. It'll be all right.
No, it's not. It's not.
Oh, Rachel, I'm sorry.
What does that mean? You're sorry for what?
For what you've just been through.
And you understand that, do you, what I'm going through?
You've got a big message, Nessa.
You want the world to hear.
What's that worth?
Is it worth a child?
No, of course not.
How do you know when you don't have one?
- That's not fair. - Really?
- You know what the police think? - They don't know...
They think they took the wrong one,
that they weren't looking for Kasim,
that they were looking for one of mine.
My child.
Mine.
Just to get to you.
How could you possibly understand how that makes me feel?
I don't believe it.
Why not?
My husband didn't have a mistress.
His autopsy revealed that he was gravely ill.
Did you know that?
Yes.
Secondary lung cancer.
But he didn't want anyone to know, so he...
Kept it a secret.
Yes.
But not from me.
Sometimes...ah-say-yeeda.
The wife is the last to know?
Yes.
Was yours?
And you think everyone is like you.
Not everyone.
But my husband.
Let me take another look.
Please.
And look hard...
...because I want everyone to know that my husband didn't have a mistress...
...and he did not write that note.
Samir Meshal came to my house and suddenly we were in this massive row.
And I told him how I felt and that I'd been feeling it for some time
and that it'd been great while it lasted, but.... You know.
And he was just devastated.
But what can you do?
And when did you last see him?
In the end I had to ask him to leave.
I mean, if I had known he would do what he did, I...
You don't believe her?
Single child, parents deceased,
unmarried, freelance...
international...
Lonely, disorientated jet-setter
makes disastrous romantic choice by...
trying to replace lost parents. Palestinian sugar daddy.
Could be.
- Could really be. - But could be not.
If I was going to construct a background that was hard to check up on...
...that's a good one to choose.
You think it's a legend.
- How come she's in the country? - Well, she flew in yesterday.
Because of Meshal's death?
I don't know.
Let's find out.
Well, you know, when it's all said and done,
we were still good friends and business colleagues.
And how did that work?
I made a few introductions to help his business, that sort of thing.
Do you mind me asking what you got in return?
20% of gross of whatever came of it.
And what came of it?
Well...
less than expected, actually.
OK.
That's fine, Ms Lantham. Thanks.
You have a lovely view here.
You must be a man worth knowing.
Do you mind if I ask you... a personal question?
Absolutely.
Did you love Samir Meshal?
I was very fond of him.
That's not my question.
Well, I ended the relationship, so obviously maybe I didn't.
And do you think he loved you?
What is this, The Love Boat?
Did he?
He wanted more from the relationship than I was willing to offer.
And what were you willing to offer, exactly?
What do you think?
I don't know.
That's why I'm asking.
Two lonely people meeting in hotel lobbies all around the world?
Sex.
And they call your line of work "intelligence"?
And this was full sex? We're not just talking holding hands?
"Full sex"? You mean like did we fuck?
Yes.
Well, then, yes, we fucked. A lot.
- How often? - Wait a second.
Do you get off on this?
Did you have sex every time you met?
What, because he was an old man? Don't sell yourself short.
You'd be surprised what you could do with the right woman.
And were you the right woman for Samir Meshal?
We fucked like rabbits.
You need a tissue now?
Did you know he was dying?
Excuse me?
It was a secret. No-one knew.
Except his wife.
So I thought maybe you did too.
I had no idea. None.
So obviously he didn't share his secrets.
No.
Secondary lung cancer.
But you were still having sex right until the end?
Not the last time. He was too busy pitching glass at me.
- And when was the last time? - Couple of weeks ago, maybe a month.
You know, I forgot to keep a diary.
But that recent?
He came to my house in DC. We fucked three times in an hour.
Maybe that's when he knew he was running out of time.
Miss Lantham, why are you lying to me?
Oh, honey, trust me. I can get any man to do that.
Not this one.
Samir Meshal's primary cancer was prostate.
He had a radical prostatectomy
four years ago, which rendered him clinically impotent.
It was impossible for you to have sex with Samir Meshal.
The truth is, I don't believe you've even met Samir Meshal
and I don't believe your name's Rebecca Lantham.
We should end this...now.
Do you think that's wise?
- Are you holding me? - Of course not.
But I think you should let us.
Why?
Because you've just made a serious mistake.
So if you really want to get to know me...
...why don't you start by telling me who you really are...
and what really happened to Samir Meshal?
I've been holding for five minutes. I need to speak with her now!
Designation.
Topaz, 48427.
Are you using a company cell, Topaz?
Yes.
- Are you alone? - Yes.
Are you secure?
- I'm not sure. - One moment.
Right, go to your agreed rest point. Wait for further instruction.
If you think she's in danger...
why did you let her go?
She'll only talk to us if it turns out I'm right.
Well, what if you are?
Then she'll come to us.
What if she doesn't make it?
Then I'll still have been proved right.
You're willing to play a life to find out?
But if I am right,
Samir Meshal's life has already been played.
By them.
Who's "them"?
That's what I'm waiting for her to tell us.
- Tracy? - Yes.
It's Kate.
Thank God. I've been on this phone for ages.
Are you OK?
I got burned. British intelligence.
- What do they know? - I'm not sure.
But they know Rebecca Lantham's a cover.
Why are you calling?
Because of something he said.
What?
What did he say, Tracy?
Are you at your rest point?
Yes.
Do you think your life is in imminent danger?
What?
Is your life in danger, Tracy?
I don't know. Why would it be?
Sit tight. Call no-one. Someone will be with you shortly.
Oh, and, Tracy...?
Yes?
We graduated together and we both had the hots for Rick Carver. Remember?
Yes.
So trust me.
I'm your friend, OK?
OK.
Sit tight.
- Hello? - Rebecca Lantham?
Who is this?
I'm a member of the British Secret Service.
You spoke to my colleague in interview earlier today.
We have reason to believe your life is in danger.
This phone is not secure.
I know. But I need you to leave your room.
- Right now, please. - I can't do that.
Rebecca, I know you're an FBI agent.
Unfortunately, what you don't know is that your operation is off book
and now your cover has been blown they're going to cut the trail.
How do you know this?
Go to your window.
- Do you see a silver Transit van? - Yes.
I don't have to tell you what that's for, do I?
They're here to clean up...
you.
But you could be the one doing it.
And that's why we're not sending anyone to you.
We want you to leave the hotel, get a cab, go to a public place,
where we'll meet.
Rebecca, what you need is time, time to make your own choices,
and that's what I'm offering. But right now it's running out.
Believe me when I tell you
your life's in immediate danger. You've got to leave the room, Rebecca.
It's against my training.
It's the people that trained you who are coming to get you.
Copperhill Lane. It's off Wraysbury reservoir.
- What's out there? - Stop!
You're American.
- So shoot me. - How come you're here?
You're on my route.
No, I meant at all.
Well, we could start with the 2nd Amendment.
Come on, who do you work for?
Why, you want me to sound like Dick Van Dyke?
I work for Emperor Zod.
So, you want this lift or not?
Yeah, OK, fine, come on, let's go. Go, go, go.
Rebecca Lantham?
I'm with British security.
She's flown.
You want me to turn around?
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
Are we OK here?
- Hello. - We can see you.
Where are you?
What's that?
See the headlights behind you?
They're here to pick you up.
- What do you want me to do? - Walk over to it.
- I'm not going out there. - Why not?
- Why do you think? - Because you're afraid.
Duh!
I'm sorry, Tracy.
For us, a situation like this, it's all about logistics.
And when we're having to do it this fast,
the first thing that gets forgotten
is that what we're actually trying to move is a human being.
So I'm sorry, I understand how you feel.
Good.
In two hours' time, you'll be on a flight home.
But right now you just need to sit tight and we'll come and collect you.
Her name's Ann. She'll introduce herself to you.
There's a woman who's going to come over here.
And she's gonna try to kill me.
What?!
- And if she does, then she'll kill you.
Why?
They called me Tracy. They shouldn't know my name.
Don't start the car! Not yet. That'll just fire it up.
Look at me.
They wouldn't have brought us here if they thought all I had to do was drive out.
You wanna survive this, you gotta do exactly what I say. OK?
This is exactly what I came here to get away from.
Yeah, well, some things just can't help but catch up with you.
What's your name?
What?
What's your name?
Paul.
Where do you come from, Paul, originally?
Montana.
Good. Country kid, like myself.
- So, Paul...
...you wanna catch a turkey, you got to show it the grain, OK?
- Here she comes.
Come on...
- Come on...
You wanna catch a turkey, honey,
you just blow its head off.
Well, if it isn't Mary Poppins.
At least we'll be able to tell Mrs Meshal she was right.
That she had a faithful husband?
No, Max, I don't think we'll be doing that.
Why not?
It was a robbery that went wrong.
The taxi driver was employed by a gang to bring her to a spot to be mugged...
things got messy, it all lit up...
Mostly because two of your nationals were carrying firearms, Harlan,
on British sovereign territory.
What can I say? First you took our Big Macs...
And now we have your gun crime.
And none of it's good for our health.
In fairness, I believe we're still the world leaders
in the export of cranberry juice.
And the policies of neo-conservatism.
Julia...I need to leave this room
knowing this situation's been contained.
Completely contained.
And I'd be happy to agree.
Good.
Except...
Except what?
Well, if I don't know where not to look,
how can I tell other people not to look there?
I think events have made that perfectly clear. Don't you?
No.
Right now, General, I'm doing that thing
where you pin the tail on the end of a donkey,
only I'm worried that if you don't cut me a little hole in my blindfold
I might just end up sticking it on your bollocks.
Look away from Samir Meshal.
Which bit?
All of it.
That's it?
That's it.
Happy to agree.
I suppose there's simply no point using locks in a place like this.
There was a time when you had the key to my front door.
- And it cost me my marriage.
If that were really true, Hugh,
I think you would've tried a little harder to keep a hold of it.
I didn't have you as a woman scorned, Julia.
I don't think you had me with any feelings at all.
Is that why you're looking to let me go?
Now that you no longer wish to put your feet under my table?
And there was me thinking C stood for Cumming.
If you'd been in the meeting that I had with Brigadier General Berkoff,
you'd know that I just saved you from having your balls cut off.
And what's the going rate for an ageing penis these days?
Yes, they did.
No, you can't.
But, yes, you should.
See?
I can read your mind.
So what's the answer to my next question?
Oh, well, that's easy.
Nessa Stein.
Ah.
Not quite the woman she appears to be.
Is any woman, Hugh?
The police don't have a clue and they're not likely to find one.
Such a masculine institution.
There's only one set of eyes seen this file. Yours will be the second.
I'll be back to pick it up in half an hour.
Your children are safe.
I know.
A team that leaves no trace, they're not gonna make a mistake like that.
They meant to take Kasim.
Yes.
Rachel thinks we should tell the police.
About what?
About what happened to you and Nessa.
No. You mustn't.
- You promised. So did Rachel. - Yes, but what if it helps find him?
We don't know it will.
We don't know anything!
And...until we do, we must say nothing.
For Nessa. For me.
Please...say nothing.
Promise me.
Promise me.
Promise me.
I promise.
Be quick.
Wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
Get in! Get in! In one!
So, these aliens decide to invade earth.
And to show they mean business, what they do
is first they destroy London and New York and Paris...
and then they land...
...right on the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank.
And they decide to call a meeting between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
And their message is simple.
"Resistance is useless. Lay down your arms."
And...I can't really tell you the detail of what happened next,
but basically, by the end of it all,
your sympathy was with the alien.
Would someone mind telling their deaf partner that their phone is ringing?
Unless, of course it's mine.
It is mine!
If this is a wrong number...!
Hello?
We know your secret, Nessa Stein.
And we know you will do anything we say just to keep it.
Go to reception.
Um, I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen.
If you'll, er, excuse us just for a moment...
Excuse me. Excuse me.
Do you have a...?
Yes.
- Where is she? - In the ladies'. I've blocked it off.
- What's wrong? - I don't know. She won't tell me.
Nessa?
Nessa?
What's wrong?
He's alive.
Oh, thanks, God!
Where is he?
Mummy, I'm safe.
I'm safe.
They know.
They know.