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Slow Horses – S03E04 – Uninvited Guests | Transcript

Tearney takes bold decision. Unaware of their hidden agenda, slow horses assists the tiger team. Meanwhile, Lamb and Ho Goes on a road trip.
Slow Horses - S03E04 - Uninvited Guests

Episode Title: Uninvited Guests
Series: Slow Horses
Season: 3
Episode: 4
Original release date: December 13, 2023
Plot Summary: Tearney reasserts control over MI5. She plans to allow Donovan access to the Grey Books in return for Standish’s release and then have him arrested by Duffy. Meanwhile, Sturges escapes from the safehouse, where Donovan reveals that he is working with Dunn’s siblings, Ben and Sarah, seeking justice for her death. Standish sympathises and tells them where they can find the file they are seeking. Meanwhile, Dander and Longridge are fired by Lamb, and River comforts his grandfather, who is suffering from memory lapses. Ho locates the safehouse and sets off with Lamb to rescue Standish. River and Guy escort Donovan and Ben into the file-storage facility, where Ben reveals that the Grey Books were a ruse and that he is seeking a different file. After a conversation with Doran, Tearney deduces that someone in the Park has hidden a particular file inside the facility for Donovan to find. Duffy takes charge of a team of Chieftain mercenaries and is ordered by Tearney to kill everyone inside the facility.

* * *

[reporter] The Metropolitan Police are yet to comment on the incident, but details are starting to emerge.

The body was reportedly thrown from a vehicle outside Anna Livia’s, a restaurant frequented by stars and politicians.

Home Secretary Peter J–

[TV switches off]

[Ingrid] Sit down.

I won’t be here long, so I’ll stand.

I know what you’re going to say.

Then why don’t you say it for me?

That I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

That I’m meddling with things that don’t concern me.

That I’m dangerously out of my depth. Close?

Bang on.

You set a team on MI5 to test our security defenses.

And now that team has gone rogue.

Well, more than rogue.

They dumped a fucking body outside my favorite restaurant.

It’s gonna have a seriously detrimental effect on the restaurant bookings.

That’s really what you want to focus on?

I know the owner.

And I’m also one of the investors. But that’s not the point.

No, it isn’t.

Point is, this can’t get out.

I’d have to resign.

And it would completely undermine Chieftain’s viability as a business.

In which you also have a financial stake.

You understand my predicament.

I’d love to let you drown in your own swill.

But you have tarnished MI5 with this nonsense.

So I will clean it up and make it go away.

How? We can’t give in to them.

Leave it to me, the professional.

[phone buzzing]

Ingrid.

I’m going to let the tiger team into the facility to see the Grey Books.

Really? You don’t have to do that.

You could stall them, track them down.

This way, the Home Secretary’s tiger team genuinely breach a secure MI5 location

in a way that’s harmful to him but not to us.

There’s nothing of any value in the facility.

No, but I am in charge of the facility. Is this gonna come back at me?

Of course not, Diana. You have my word.

[keyboard keys clacking]

[door opens, closes]

[chuckling]

Cartwright?

Upstairs.

I found out where Donovan’s keeping Standish.

[Jackson] No, you didn’t.

[Roddy] Not exactly,

but I’ve got a list of properties on Chieftain’s books.

I’ve narrowed it down to these four.

Time frame means she’s within 30 miles of London.

But Donovan won’t be using any Chieftain properties.

Because?

Because then they’d know where he is, dipshit.

[sighs]

[River] I’ll do it.

[Louisa] Okay.

Show me that picture you got of Standish with a gun to her head.

Uh, right. There’s been a bit of a development.

Spider works for Chieftain.

Thank you.

No problem.

Yeah, well, they’re not gonna let Standish go,

so I’m gonna have to get her myself.

Here. Put that on, um-on your laptop. Blow it up. Make it bigger.

So think. [sighs]

Was there-Was there any background noise when they rang?

No. Nothing.

But did you hear what she just said?

Spider was in on it, the tiger team.

Yeah. [stammers] What was the message?

The message was, you know, “Don’t tell anyone.

Be at the Barbican Bridge or Catherine Standish dies.”

And Spider was there. He’s in on it.

[stammering] Yeah.

Forget about fucking Spider.

He’s dead.

[chuckles]

What?

Wait, are you-[stutters] We were just with him.

[stammers] Uh, yeah. But shortly after that,

he was rolled out of a car in front of a restaurant

where Judd and Monteith were having lunch.

Wait. Who killed him?

Uh, looks like Donovan.

[phone buzzes]

I imagine he felt he wasn’t getting anyone’s attention.

[Louisa] They’d kill for the Grey Books?

Yeah, it would seem so.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

[Roddy] Looks like she’s in a house.

[stammers, sighs] Well, that narrows it down.

Employee of the week.

[sighs] She’s flinching.

She’s got a gun to her head.

Mm-mmm. No.

She-She wants to show us something.

Zoom in right there on that bit of the wall.

Now that does narrow it down. Clever girl.

Find the house where those three kids grew up.

Oh, come on. Cheer up. He was an absolute prick.

Where are you going?

Church.

[“Strange Game” playing]

[siren wailing]

[blows]

All right, make this quick. I’ve got underlings to bully. I’m busy.

No one in Slough House is busy.

[sighs] Come on. Get on with it.

The tiger team has killed one person and taken two hostages.

I don’t know what they think they’re going to find in the Grey Books,

but there’s nothing of any value in them.

So, I propose to give them what they want so we get the hostages freed quickly,

and deal with them later.

Okeydoke.

I’d like you or your people to escort them in and out.

Oh, you would, would you?

It’s win-win. Trust me.

Trust you? Well, that’s a topic for another day.

You get Standish back quickly.

And a favor from me you can call in at anytime.

Nah.

Nah, I’m good.

You know, I’ve been caught like this before.

“Oh, sorry, Jackson. We fucked up. Do us a favor.

Go through this door, and everything will be sweet.”

The last time I did that,

I walked in and found a severed head on a fucking table.

You can clean up your own shit.

It’s not my shit.

No, it’s Judd’s.

And I think you want me to help you roll him in it.

[“Dance Hall Days” playing]

What are you gonna tell your wife?

About what?

About being fired.

I wasn’t planning on telling her anything.

Surprisingly, my wife has very little interest as to whether you’re fired.

She doesn’t even know who you are, mate.

We were both fired.

Why would he fire me? I wasn’t the one caught with coke on me.

“You’re fucking fired.

I’ve got fucking hemorrhoids that are more fucking use than you.”

That was the message.

I know what the message was.

He was talking about you.

But you’ll find out when we get back to Slough House.

Hemorrhoids is plural.

You don’t get single hemorrhoids.

Yeah, you do.

[stammers] All right. Well, you’d know.

[scoffs]

Why would he fire me?

Well, because you’re a degenerate gambler for one thing.

You got repetitive strain injury from spinning roulette. Both hands.

No… [chuckles] …the players don’t actually spin the roulette themselves.

And my little hobby doesn’t affect my work unlike your drug habit.

No one can tell when I’m high.

You do realize that’s a bad thing, right?

Hundred quid says it’s both of us.

[scoffs]

500.

Really?

You know what, fuck it. A grand.

[scoffs] Done.

Yeah. Done.

There’s no milk.

That’s because Catherine always gets it.

So what do you think Lamb’s got planned once Ho finds the house?

Um, well, I guess we ride in and-and get her.

You’re actually upset about Spider?

[chuckles]

I mean, I fucking hated the man. I fucking hated him, but…

you know, we were friends once.

[Louisa] Really?

[clicks tongue] Yeah.

I think he used you a lot.

And I think if it was the other way around, he wouldn’t really care.

Hmm.

[phone ringing]

Yep?

River Cartwright?

[River] Yeah.

I’m calling from the St. Joshua Club where your grandfather was a member.

Is a member.

There’s been a dispute over his membership status–

Why are you calling my grandson? Don’t you believe what I’m telling you?

Oh, yeah, yeah. I-I know what that’ll be.

[concierge] Do you want to speak to him?

[sighs] No, no, it’s fine. I’ll just, um–

I’ll come down. It’s not far.

[concierge] If you don’t mind.

Okay. Thanks.

Um, I’ve got to go and sort my grandfather out.

What? Now?

[River sighs] Yeah, now.

[clicks tongue] Oh, um, thank you for the tea.

I actually prefer it without milk, so…

[chuckles]

So now we’re wanted for murder.

I am.

I’m not letting you go off on your own again.

It’s all good.

You killed someone.

And now we’ll get what we want.

Are you sure?

They’ll call.

And after that, what happens to you–

It doesn’t matter!

First, we get justice for Alison.

And once that’s done,

I’ll take whatever justice is coming my way.

[Catherine] What are you going to do with that man you’ve taken prisoner?

[Sean] Nothing.

Is he your boss? Is he your hostage now? He was going to let me go.

We have to keep you for a little while longer.

We picked you for a reason.

Oh, this? This is in the new storage facility.

And you know all about that.

You know what files are in what boxes in what rooms.

These are decommissioned documents. They’re of no interest–

They’re of interest to me.

This was part of a set of files originally marked for destruction.

Then there should be no trouble telling me exactly where it is.

I’m sorry, I can’t.

I’d be in all sorts of trouble if I did that.

You’re already in trouble.

I know what you’re capable of.

But that gun to the head was a piece of theater.

So you’re not going to hurt me.

Okay.

Everything I told you in that café was the truth.

Except your name.

My name is Sean Donovan.

I am an alcoholic.

And I did lose someone.

She was MI5.

Her name was Alison Dunn.

I loved her.

After she died…

I just fell apart.

Sarah downstairs and Ben, to some extent,

they picked me up, put me back together.

Said Alison wouldn’t want me to blame myself.

She’d want me to do the right thing like she was trying to do.

I worked with her at the embassy in Istanbul.

She was about to leak this top secret file.

Your people killed her for it. Made it look like a suicide.

It’s natural to blame yourself when someone takes their own life.

Especially when it’s someone you were close to.

I was with her right before. She did not kill herself. MI5 did.

No. No. We don’t do that.

We do questionable things, but we don’t do that.

And how would you know?

Before I worked at Slough House, I worked for the head of MI5.

For Tearney?

No.

Charles Partner. He was the best they had.

And a man like that,

he wouldn’t order a hit on one of his own agents?

No. Unless maybe they were a traitor.

She was not a traitor.

What’s in the file?

[stammers] I don’t know.

But it made her turn against the organization she worked for.

We need to know where this is.

Please, Catherine.

That would mean me going against MI5.

I can’t do that.

You wouldn’t be the only one.

The reason we know this is in the facility is because of a source at the Park.

Somebody else who doesn’t like the questionable things going on there.

[sighs] I spent my life working for MI5.

So did Alison.

And they betrayed her.

You still think these people are worth protecting?

[thudding]

[Sarah] Ben! Ben!

[Ben] Sarah? Sarah!

[panting]

[Ben] You all right?

[Sarah pants] Yeah.

[groans]

She went to check on Sturges.

He said he wanted some water. [grunting]

Get in the house and watch Standish. Come with me. We need to find him.

[Sarah pants]

Go that way. Meet me at the far gate. Go!

[Ben] All right.

[Sean panting]

[panting]

[grunts]

[grunts] Geez.

Ben!

[Sean panting]

[grunts]

[panting]

[grunting, panting]

[both grunting]

[grunting, choking]

[Sean panting] Let him go.

[Sturges grunts]

[Ben grunting, pants]

[Sturges grunts]

[Ben clears throat, coughing]

[Sean] Stop!

[grunts]

[grunting]

[panting]

[“San Francisco” playing]

[pants]

Uh. Bonjour. Can I get a-get a lift? Ah, fuck it.

What’s the French for “drive”? Drive! Go, go, go!

[grunting]

[club patrons chattering]

[David gasps]

You all right?

Ah, there you are.

What happened to your face?

Oh, um, it was a filing accident.

Oh. Tell that man he’s mistaken, will you?

Yeah, well, unfortunately, he’s not, is he?

What are you talking about?

I’ve been a member here for 50 years.

[River] Yes, and for the last few years, you’ve hardly been here.

What’s that got to do with anything? I still pay my dues.

No, you don’t.

[stammers]

[River] We talked about it, remember?

You decided not to renew your membership because you-you never use it.

[stammers] And what, you’re saying I wouldn’t remember a decision like that?

We were in the living room, by the fire.

And how does that narrow it down?

And you said half a century of membership is enough.

[scoffs] I didn’t.

And you cut the card up and you threw it in the fire.

[phone ringing]

I’m afraid there are no phones in here.

Y-Yeah, yeah, no. I know that.

Yeah?

[Ingrid] This is Ingrid Tearney.

This morning was a disaster.

Are you there?

Uh, yeah, a disaster. I agree.

[Ingrid] There’s a way you can wipe your slate clean.

Okay.

The tiger team want to look at the Grey Books.

You walk them into the facility and then out again.

Is that it?

That’s it. Go there and wait for them.

You’re sure you want to involve Slough House?

Cartwright and Standish are already part of it.

If anything else goes wrong, it’s on them and Judd.

When do I step in?

Follow the tiger team when they leave the facility.

Once they release Standish, take them.

Use Chieftain.

They started this, so they can finish it.

[David] I’m sorry, my boy, to drag you here for this.

Oh, no. It’s an easy mistake to make.

It isn’t that. I’m slipping.

Here.

[grunts] Thank you.

You’re not slipping.

I am.

Names, faces, places.

They don’t come to me as easily as they used to.

Where’s my keys?

It’s okay. I’m sure it’s just a phase.

Right, let’s, uh-let’s get you a taxi back to the station.

Yes.

So I just had a call from First Desk, asking me for a favor.

What sort of favor?

To walk someone in and out of a secure location.

Ah. What happens after?

Well, then someone’s freed.

So why the hesitation?

Because there’s always another game being played, isn’t there?

[David sighs]

That will probably leave me worse off.

I just, you know, can’t quite see what this one is yet.

What do you think?

She’s First Desk. You’ll have already said yes.

You’re only asking me to make me feel better.

See? You still got it.

[clicks tongue] Oh, cute.

[River chuckles]

[Sarah speaks indistinctly]

[sighing]

[Sarah] Look, I’m sorry, okay? I’m not a fucking soldier.

[Ben] It’s never your fault, is it?

[Sarah] Why can’t it be both our faults?

[Ben] Because your fuckup was first and worst. As usual.

Why don’t you just say it?

[Ben] What? Say what?

That none of this would’ve happened if Alison was still around.

None of this would be happening if Alison was around.

We’re doing this because she was killed.

You were always closer to her than me.

But there’s no need to make me feel like shit because I’m the one left alive.

[Ben] I’m not saying that.

[Sarah] Yeah, you fucking are.

The perfect fucking older sister,

overachiever, always together, is murdered.

And you’re stuck with the crappy wayward one.

[Ben] That’s not what this is about.

I’m sorry I’m so fucking useless.

I thought Sean was crazy.

You went back to him.

You stopped him drinking his life away. You did that.

You said if there was any chance she had been murdered,

we shouldn’t let it be in vain. We should make it count.

[Sarah] Yeah, and how’s it fucking going, Ben?

I let one hostage go, and now we’ve lost Sean.

[Ben] He’ll be back.

And what if he’s been hurt or caught?

[knocking]

[Ben] What?

All I can give you is the room number. Narrows it down a bit.

Thank you.

[keyboard keys clacking]

[stair creaks]

[Jackson] Where you been?

[sighs]

Uh, I had to see my grandfather.

Well, I hope you gave the old bastard my disregards.

Okay, I found seven houses where kids with those names were raised.

It’s no fucking use. I don’t have seven good agents to dispatch.

I don’t even have one.

[Roddy] Only four of the houses are close enough to London to be viable.

Well, if this is going somewhere, great,

but I really don’t need to know the ins and outs of a cat’s arse.

[Roddy] And only one of the houses is secluded enough

to make sense as a hostage center.

And this is where it gets interesting.

Really?

[Roddy] The Dunn family that owns the house

used to hire out a bus for weddings.

Oh, get away.

[Roddy] Said bus is here.

[Jackson grunts]

Okay.

Yeah, we’ll take your car. I need a kip en route.

Hot Rod behind the wheel of the hot rod.

You will drive in absolute fucking silence.

Um, I think the Park are gonna give Donovan what he wants, by the way.

The Grey Books.

They’re gonna let him into the facility under supervision.

So, there’s no need to go and get her. She’ll be released soon.

Had a call from Tearney, did you?

So Standish’s freedom is in your hands?

Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go get her myself.

But you’re fine with me going in?

[sighs] Yeah, if you fancy. Yeah.

She asked me. I t-told her to go fuck herself.

Hey, you, come on.

[groans]

[Shirley] Fucking hell. Here we go.

Come to clear your desks?

See? Plural.

[stammers] Hang on, what?

You’re honestly firing me too?

Christ. It’s like you can’t sack anyone around here without a phrase book.

No, this is just, like, a motivational scare, right?

If your desks are not cleared by the time I get back,

I will set fire to them. And you too.

What did I do?

You can’t follow simple instructions,

and her eyeballs are still spinning from whatever she shoved up her nostrils.

What instructions?

Didn’t get a chance to snort it.

You disobeyed a direct order.

I told you not to let anyone outside of Slough House know about that flat.

Within five minutes, you had PC fucking Plod stomping all over it.

So if it’s all the same,

I’d rather you piss off now before you put me in a bad mood.

[car alarm beeps]

Fuck me with a wire brush.

I know. Total pussy magnet.

[sighing]

Look, I just want to say this is an absolute honor

to be selected for fieldwork.

Shut up.

Got it. Strap in. This baby’s g-forces will hit you right in the tits.

No, s-seriously. Shut up. Or it’ll be me hitting you in the tits.

[Roddy] Liftoff.

Jesus.

Apologies.

Milady needs a gentle touch.

He got away. Flagged down a car.

So now we’re on the clock.

I got a call from MI5. I have to go to the facility.

So Standish needs to come through now.

Already has.

How did you get this out of her?

She just gave it up. We managed to get through to her.

Okay. [stammers] Well done.

So do we let her go?

No, they need to think that we still have her for leverage.

In case she tries to leave.

I won’t need it.

I can’t take it with me.

I’m more use with you than I am here.

No. No, no.

I’m just gonna walk in and walk out.

The last time you said that, there was a body left on the pavement.

I need to see this through.

Okay then.

[Louisa] Hey.

Hi.

[Louisa] How was your grandfather?

Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Fine. Yeah.

What’s up?

Um, I’ve got an op. Kind of.

To escort Donovan in to see the Grey Books.

Right, who did that come from?

Tearney.

Okay, let’s go.

Uh, I’ve got an op.

Well, you can’t do it on your own, River.

Well, she asked me on my own.

Oh, you just wanna hog the glory for yourself.

It’s not about glory. I’m just doing as I’m told.

Mm-hmm. Play it down… [chuckles] …all you want,

but you are getting off on a secret solo mission for First Desk

without thinking what may go wrong.

Wait, what makes you think it’ll go wrong?

Your track record.

Right.

Look, I’m offering backup, that’s all.

Yes, and, uh, thank you, but I don’t need it.

I, uh-I don’t need babysitting.

My God, your ego is such a blind spot.

Uh, sorry, what? You-You wanna talk about blind spots?

No, I think I’m pretty self-aware.

Ironically, that statement demonstrates a complete lack of self-awareness.

Donovan is a dangerous man.

He killed Spider. You need backup. It’s as simple as that.

Sorry, since when did you start keeping a gun in the office?

[sighs] I think it’s pretty easy to track that moment.

Okay, fine. You can come, but I take the lead. And probably the gun.

Nope. I’m keeping the gun.

You can make yourself a little sheriff’s badge before we go,

if it makes you feel tougher.

Excuse me. Do you have an appointment?

Yes, love.

In what name?

James Bond to see Mickey Mouse.

No, thank you.

[elevator dings]

Attention, weekend warriors. Pack an extra pair of pants.

Your collective wet dreams are about to come true.

What the fuck is this?

General Monteith, your little outfit seems to have overextended. What?

Who the fuck are you?

Nick Duffy.

Dame Ingrid Tearney sent me. From the Park.

And in a bit of a switch,

the private sector is about to learn from the public.

Oh, really?

Well, thanks to our man escaping, we now know where Standish is being held.

So what you’re telling me is that

you’ve finally managed to locate the whereabouts of a team that you hired.

Well fucking done, General.

We are going to go and apprehend them.

No. No, you’re not.

For a start, you’re out of your league. Yeah? Bloody cosplay-paras.

Oi, I’ve served.

[chuckles] Where? McDonald’s?

[shushes]

Besides, they’re not all gonna be there.

Some of them are headed to an MI5 document storage facility.

We are all gonna go there and pick ’em up after they’ve okayed Standish’s release.

Why should we do this?

Because of the mess you made. Your little company is toxic.

And we are very kindly offering you a way to rebrand. Take it.

So all you lot, saddle up. Whatever the fuck it is you do.

And you, spill your fat piggy guts about that tiger team,

’cause I want to know who they are so I can kick their bollocks clean off.

[phone ringing]

[blows, sniffs]

Ma’am, we’re en route to the facility.

[Ingrid] Good. I hope you put the shits up Monteith.

Yeah. We definitely gave him a spike in blood pressure.

Thank you for today, Nick. You’ve done well.

[Nick] Just doing my job, ma’am.

And I hope you’ll be doing it for a lot longer for me.

So you’ll be retaining command from Taverner?

Yes, think I will.

She’s got a lot on her plate.

I hope that suits you.

Yes, it does, ma’am.

[Ingrid] Good.

I’ve got some detail on the tiger team. There’s three of them.

The leader is this guy called Sean Donovan.

He’s ex-embassy security.

His last posting was Istanbul.

Istanbul?

[Nick] Yeah. So he’s a pro, but he’s using non-pros.

A pair of siblings.

Only one of them has got military experience, and it’s minimal.

Why would he do that?

The connection seems to be

that he’s been working with their sister out in the embassy.

What was the sister’s name?

[Nick] Alison Dunn. One of ours.

She died out there last year. Suicide.

Yes, the, um, name rings a bell.

Thank you, Nick. Speak later.

[sighs]

[whirring]

Dame Ingrid.

I don’t think you’ve ever been down here.

A visit was long overdue. How are you, Molly?

Being looked after?

No. But that’s the way I like it.

[chuckles]

Shelf 27 is empty.

Those are absolute dross. Half of them were in codes we’ve lost the cipher for.

So disposed of as requested?

Actually, they were given a last-minute reprieve.

They were moved to the facility.

Why the change?

No idea. A different box was ticked on a form, is all.

Is it a problem?

I hope not.

If you want a name to tear strips off,

Diana Taverner could probably point you towards the culprit.

She has oversight of the facility move.

Yes, I’ll check with her. Thank you, Molly.

[whirring]

You know that thing that Lamb said before?

[clicks tongue] About, um…

You know, the thing he said that crossed about 15 different HR red lines,

for a start.

What? About me sleeping around?

Yeah.

You wondering if he’s had me in the stationery cupboard?

[stammers] No. I would-No.

[scoffs]

What I was gonna say is that it’s fine.

It’s none of his business.

Because people process trauma in different ways.

What-I don’t understand. What-What’s fine?

That.

How you’re choosing to process your trauma.

Ugh. Cartwright, please stop talking.

Sorry, I should have said that maybe you should talk to someone.

About my sex life?

About Min.

Right, okay. I–

It’s so irritating when people say that.

Wh–

It’s just so simp–

What-What-What do I say?

I don’t know what you’d say.

Exactly.

What is there to say that’s gonna make any difference?

There’s nothing.

Shit happens. You-You pick yourself up and move on.

And, you know, that’s-that’s life. You move forward. That’s all you can do.

You mo-move forward towards your own death.

[sighs]

Yeah. No, you’re right. You-You-You do.

You sound like you’re in a great place.

Oh, what? And you are?

It’s not-[chuckles] It’s–

Why don’t you go and talk to someone

about your constant need to prove yourself to people?

They’ll tell you it’s because you don’t know your dad

and your mom abandoned you, so you never feel good enough.

And trying to live up to your grandfather’s legacy

only exacerbates your inadequacy.

[chuckles]

Wow. I was just trying-I was just trying to help you.

But I didn’t ask for your help, River. I don’t want any help.

[River] Okay, yeah. No, you didn’t. No, you didn’t. Fine.

Like, why’d you have to bring that up? [clicks tongue]

[sighs]

What are you doing?

I do-I do-I don’t know.

[chuckles]

[mumbles]

Okay, well, now this feels uncomfortable and awkward, so-Okay.

[breathes deeply, sniffles]

Feel better though, don’t you?

[chuckles] Yeah, okay.

[sighs] Oh, Lord.

[chuckles, sniffs]

I miss him.

Just miss him. [sniffles]

Yeah, I know.

Wait. Who-Who have you lost?

Not lost. Losing.

Losing someone at the moment.

Really? Who?

Donovan.

What?

No. Donovan.

River Cartwright. Louisa Guy.

Once you’ve seen what you need to see, Catherine Standish is to be released.

Understood?

How is she?

Unharmed?

Of course.

You did a good job this morning, getting into the Park.

Sorry if it came back to bite you.

It’s fine.

Are you sure this is the place?

You sure lasers are controlling the weather?

Arms out.

Anyone?

Well, I’m not doing it. You.

I thought-You–

Yeah.

[buzzes]

[guard] Please present your Service IDs at the scanner.

[guard] Your hair is different on your Service photo.

I dyed it.

[guard] I prefer it natural.

Open the door.

[guard] You’re not on the list.

Well, I don’t give a shit. Open the fucking door!

Okay. Okay. Um, maybe let me try.

[Louisa] Jesus Christ.

[guard] Ah, Cartwright.

Sorry. Have we met?

[guard] No. No.

But I know your handiwork.

Your itemizing skills are, pardon my French, absolument merde.

Which is genuine French for “absolutely shit.”

Yeah, look, listen. We need to escort these men in

to take a peek at the Grey Books.

[guard] It’s unscheduled.

Ingrid Tearney sent us.

You know who that is? Head of MI5. You wanna give her a call?

[guard] No need.

Said it was unscheduled, not that it wasn’t possible. Entrer.

Welcome to the domain of Douglas.

[door closes]

Right. Would you like the full tour?

No.

Edited highlights?

[Louisa] No.

Point us towards the Grey Books, please.

Ooh. To my mind, they’re the highlights.

Crazy shit.

Kindly accompany me to the nerve center from where you may proceed. [chuckles]

Hey, your hair really has changed color, you know.

[Louisa] I know. I was there when it happened.

X marks the spot. Room.

And once in there, I’ve written the shelf and row number.

Have fun.

We will.

[grunts] And who might you be?

Right, so it should be up here. Yeah, here it is.

There you are. All right. As Douglas said, the shelf numbers–

What the fuck?

What are you doing?

[River] Donovan. The fuck you doing?

[Louisa] Stop.

[Louisa] I said stop!

[River] Oi–

Oh, my God. That was loud.

On your knees.

We came here to get something.

[Louisa] The Grey Books.

And we’re going to get it.

They’re in there. So where are you going?

[Sean] You can shoot me.

But it will be in my back, and I am unarmed,

which doesn’t look very good.

That said, you people are very good at covering up murders.

Now, we’re gonna turn around.

We’re gonna keep walking until we find what we came here for.

No, you’re not.

[River] Yes, they are.

I’m-[scoffs]

Well, they called your bluff and you were bluffing.

[sighs] Thanks for the collective responsibility.

[line ringing]

[Nick] Ma’am.

Are they out?

Negative.

[Ingrid] Donovan doesn’t want the Grey Books.

Someone’s put something in there for him to retrieve and it cannot get out.

Understood.

[Ingrid] Nor can he.

Nor anyone else he’s come into contact with.

I don’t know what he might’ve told them.

This is for the sake of the Service. You understand?

You saying, “Clear the board”?

Yes.

Clear the board.

[Nick] Change of plan.

[Hobbs] Every fucker out. Arm up.

Come on. Chop, chop. Leave if–

[Nick] You lucky boys.

You’ve got a chance to boost your kill count.

Jesus Christ, it’s like the fucking Red Arrows, but shit.

[Nick] Arm up. Live rounds.

You will take no prisoners. You will shoot to kill.

Everyone who went into that facility is coming out in a body bag.

[“Strange Game” playing]

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