The Ipcress File (2022) s01e06 Episode Script

1 One squadron of F-11's is all it would have taken.
Next month, JFK will be paying us the honour of a visit and your disruptive theories will not be welcome.
The Americans know where he is.
Not according to them they don't.
Then they are lying.
There is nothing we can do.
He's a grown man, he doesn't just go missing.
Let's talk about that English spy.
There must be a use for a man like that.
William, move on.
This new defector, for example.
Dr Lavotchkin? Sounds promising.
Did you have a boyfriend? Well no-one special.
I think she's lying, sir.
She says that her brother will be safe.
We all know that's not true.
I will do whatever I need to do.
You will send me every secret that crosses your desk.
There's something he's not telling us.
There's no way out.
'When you kill the enemy, the pain will stop.
' 'They can make you do whatever they want.
' We have a problem.
I am confident we will locate him.
I am confident that with some modifications to the plan, our operation can take place, and I am confident that we will be successful.
'We are delighted to hear of your confidence.
' However, the fact remains, the subject escaped, and our primary concern is to ensure that, should he surface, there is no connection to us.
'He should have no memory of the treatment, General, 'or the Chinese cover operation.
' See you in London, Mr Maddox.
You can keep this one.
I know what he looks like.
Anything else you need? I will find him.
Thank you.
Your Majesty.
Come on in.
Can I take your coat? Thank you.
Nice place.
Thanks.
Red or white? White, please.
Thank you.
Hope you're hungry.
You look great.
But I think you should stand well clear.
Mind if look around? Be my guest.
OK.
Pulled a lot of favours.
Got this from the base.
This here is American beef.
Sounds delicious.
How do you like your steak? Medium, please.
Ready in five minutes.
So Miss Courtney what do you think? It's a beautiful flat.
'Apartment.
' We have an induction team ready to guide you through every step.
Six months' time, you could be back here.
We could work together.
On what? Missions.
Exciting stuff.
Defending civilisation.
Like invading Cuba with a bunch of mercenaries? And no air cover.
You've done your research.
How did you feel? Angry.
Let down by our president.
What do you think of him? He's a good leader.
He pursues better relations with the USSR and at home.
So far as I can tell, he favours progress.
Progress? Hm.
Yeah.
He does.
And about a week ago, my best friend wounded in action, shot himself in the head.
Is that progress? This is a chance to get away from what's going bad.
Dalby's outfit is an anomaly.
It has no future.
The ship is sinking.
It's time to jump.
What I really want right now is to find out what happened to Harry.
Maybe it's time to move on from Harry.
Operator, I'd like to make a call.
Reverse charges.
There's the clothes you asked for.
I'll make you a cup of tea.
I can't stay long.
Contrary to the national interest? Thank you.
I shall make my recommendation.
In doing so, sir, I'd ask that you set aside any other influences or personal inclinations, as I'm sure you would, sir.
I have great respect for everyone in my department, but I do feel that in this case, they may perhaps have given too much weight to intangible suspicions, instincts, if you like, at the expense of objective criteria.
I believe we should accept her application.
Your department is being wound up.
What? It's still to be rubber-stamped at Cabinet, but as far as I can tell, it's a fait accompli.
I don't understand.
Treasury, Home Office, you can imagine.
I was outmanoeuvred, I'm afraid.
I had no ammunition.
Nothing I could point to and say, "Look, here's the value.
I sat there and I could no longer justify the existence of your department.
'What does it mean?' It means I'll struggle to deliver what Stok demands.
Then what? I don't know.
Perhaps I can find some other job at the ministry, but there's no guarantee I'll have access to anything he doesn't already know.
Commander of the Royal Laundry? Beefeater at the Tower of London.
You could offer him the Crown Jewels.
Yes.
But as a good communist, do you think they would suit him? As a good communist, I would say something will turn up.
Exhibit A, 1:33am last night.
'You got him? 'Good.
' So, who was he talking to? Exhibit B, 8:24am this morning.
'How is it going? 'Are you OK? 'No, he won't remember much.
'No, that's just the programming, that's what he's trained for.
' Mr Carswell, is it Now listen.
Maddox dialling out starting with zero.
0-7-7-8-1-4.
Do you have an address? Thank you, Mr Carswell.
And? Short of anything to do this morning, I went to the German embassy.
Because I wondered if they might have any information on Dr Lavotchkin.
You never know.
Anyway they are a terribly obliging bunch.
Yeah, they weren't in 1943.
Well, that was during the war, Alice.
Gestapo.
Half of them went to work for the Americans.
The others went home and acted like nothing ever happened.
Not the ones who met you.
No.
Anyway turns out they did have a file.
My German isn't very good, but even I can read that.
Her brother died in '47.
Are you going to tell him? Or shall I? Hello, Jean.
Thought you might turn up.
Thought you might be here when I did.
You armed? What do you think? It's OK.
Miss Courtney won't shoot anyone unless she absolutely has to.
Looking for Harry, right? May as well come in.
He's all right.
But he's tired.
He's been through a lot.
Most of it my fault, but he'll be OK now.
Harry, are you all right? I'm fine now.
You look just like Professor Dawson did.
You used the same technique? I owe you an explanation.
Two years ago, I was an angry man.
We got shot to hell, because our president lied to us.
I hated him and I didn't care who knew it.
I mixed in circles that were talking about revenge.
Then one day, out of nothing, I get a call.
They get me on the line and they connected me to someone.
It was Bobby Kennedy.
He was straight.
No apologies, no excuses, but he spoke to me about the vision he and his brother had for America.
It was a vision that I could share.
As you put it, progress.
And then he spoke to me about people who wanted to destroy that vision.
A loose conspiracy of men who did not want progress.
He asked me to join a deep-cover operation to infiltrate that conspiracy.
I got in, and then they came to me with this plan for Palmer.
What was Harry supposed to do? If he hadn't escaped, he'd have been on the roof of the airport taking out JFK on the tarmac.
And now? Harry isn't going to kill anyone.
His programming was incomplete.
But my instructions are to stick to my contact and his people for as long as I can, learn as much as possible and gather evidence for future proceedings.
What have you done with Harry since you brought him here? We've tested him.
There's some memory loss from the treatment, but he's getting better every day.
I'm taking him away.
Good.
And we will inform Dalby of everything that has taken place.
Jean, this works for me.
I stay undercover, you guys blow the plot.
Just here to collect some things.
Were you in Vienna for her? Yes.
Good.
I mean I'm happy for you.
In that case, I won't mention it.
Mention to whom? The people who pay me.
Which people? British? Yes, of course they are.
Government, Home Office, MI something-or-other.
They sat me down and went all through it.
Told me what you do for a living.
Asked me if I wouldn't mind reporting on your activities.
And since you'd been lying to me, I thought it was fair enough.
£18 a week, by the way.
Into an account at Barclays on Park Lane.
I like that.
Gives me a sense of independence.
Like a modern woman.
What sort of information? Your comings and goings.
Phone calls.
Tittle-tattle, that's all.
We've lived a lie.
Each in our own way.
And now it's over for both of us, and thank God for that.
So I won't tell them about your other woman.
It's none of their business, I'd say.
'I don't trust you.
' I could hardly expect you would.
So what are you going to settle for? I don't understand the question.
I mean, you can have revenge or you can have what you were promised on that phone call.
But, you know you can't have both.
So I just wonder which one you want more? Take Harry back.
He's safe now.
Dr Lavotchkin's brother goes on trial in Moscow at the end of this month.
He will be found guilty and sentenced.
After that, his family will get evicted from their apartment and they will have nothing.
And the winter is cold.
I need more time.
Our agreement depends on your accessing confidential information.
Now, I hope that is not going to be a problem.
You know, over the years, I've done so much for my country.
Turns out they never trusted me anyway.
Thanks.
No problem.
Maddox Even though I'm freed, it doesn't mean he's not lying.
No.
It's just a question of how much.
Or else he doesn't know the full story.
Whoever recruited him may well have other plans still in place.
There's just too much we don't know.
Did he show you the gun? No, why? It's a Mauser C96.
Semi-automatic, 9mm parabellum.
Detachable stock to increase the effective range.
Fits inside a small case.
Harry.
Er Just came into my head, that.
They kept it in a sort of cupboard.
Under a seat, next to the window.
Why did they do that? I don't know.
All right, Harry? Get yourself inside, mate.
General.
Welcome back.
How was the flight? Not bad.
The President is fine company.
So I hear.
Are we OK, Paul? We're good, General.
Good man.
Sir? He's read the report.
Let him do the talking.
Any questions, save them for after.
Actually, sir when I was missing, were you What? concerned? I assumed that the Americans, having uncovered your purpose, had either taken you into custody or killed you.
I see.
And that is what happened.
Yes.
It's a hard game, Palmer.
Harder than you can imagine.
So, a cabal of senior military officers, disgruntled intelligence agents, and other shadowy figures, sought to assassinate the elected head of state? Yes.
And they begin by running a secret programme of brainwashing, which they use to control the scientist from their closest ally.
And then to cover this up, they frame our friend here with murder and espionage and apply similar practices to him? Yes? And I'm expected to believe this? Yes.
Mr Palmer, would you excuse us for a moment? Of course.
He won't try to escape, will he? This is highly sensitive, William, so nothing in writing.
The Prime Minister must be informed as must the President of the United States.
Kennedy will be with us.
For 48 hours.
Meet the Queen, tour of the house.
Then down to Mac's place at Birch Grove.
Now, let's say I invite you to give a confidential briefing to the President's private secretary.
We will get this information to where it matters.
And, very possibly, save your neck while we're at it, Dalby.
'It's good news.
I think everything is gonna be all right.
'I'll come by later.
'Perhaps we could go out for dinner.
' What time? 'Eight o'clock.
' I wonder how I did that? When you were escaping? Nah, before that.
Sort of comes back, but never completely.
So much I don't remember.
Or at least I don't know if what I remember is real or imagined.
Or put there by them.
I'm still under their control, aren't I? We don't know that.
It's crossed your mind.
You told me about the gun.
Gun? They kept it in the seat by the window, you said.
I want to know what else there is.
I want to know what else they've left inside my head.
Maybe it's better to leave it.
No.
Whatever it takes I want to know.
'Brigadier General Henry Graham 'arrives to tell the governor, "It's my sad duty '"to ask you to step aside '"on orders of the President of the United States.
" 'Five minutes after the governor leaves, 'James Hood is the first of his race 'to become a University of Alabama student.
' 'This nation was founded 'by men of many nations and backgrounds.
'It was founded on the principle 'that all men are created equal.
' I knew the father, you know, before the stroke.
A bootlegger, right? Sure, but a patriot.
So when his son was elected president, I naturally assumed We all make mistakes, I guess.
But ours is the privilege of atonement.
Sometimes, Paul, I think you ought to take more interest in your place in world history.
My place in world history? Didn't do me any favours last time.
Now I just make things happen.
That girl, the smart one Uh-huh.
You sold her the story about infiltrating, about Bobby calling you up? Yeah, I did.
And she bought it? Maybe it's true.
Yeah.
Maybe it is.
'Maybe those scars you got from Cuba 'are just figments of your imagination?' I wonder if I could talk to you, sir? No, perhaps tomorrow, Chico, I'm just on my way out.
It's about Dr Lavotchkin, sir.
Oh.
I was expecting Mr Dalby.
He won't be coming.
'Her brother died in 1947, sir.
' Must be a mistake.
I don't think so, sir.
Alice has translated the entire file, if you'd care to read.
'I hope you're proud, deceiving a decent man like that.
' You don't think I have any feeling? What, for him, or in general? Will I see him again? 'I've been a fool.
' Right from the beginning.
I met him.
The brother.
She introduced me.
I remember thinking he seemed a decent sort.
You have to admire their patience, don't you? They waited ten years.
That's what I call good intelligence work.
So, what would you have done if we hadn't found out? I would have stayed with him.
With a man you didn't love? I'm a patriot.
And who are you to say who I do or do not love? That'll be the officers.
I'll be leaving you now.
I have a gift.
You can give it to him.
Oh, as you wish.
It is the name of a traitor.
A man who betrayed your country.
What, to the Russians? No.
Not to us.
Go on.
No, sorry.
What? I don't feel good about this.
Well, it worked on Dawson, didn't it? That was different.
He'd been damaged.
I don't want to damage you.
No, no, no.
Things have happened to me.
I can't remember them.
He wanted you on the roof of an airport.
You were going to kill.
Isn't that enough? Wh-What else?! What else is in there?! Would you open someone's mind? Would you open mine with all of this? I'm sorry.
It's so selfish of me.
Are you going to stay? She seemed quite certain of it, sir.
Alice.
Thank you.
Mr Dalby? I'm sorry to arrive so early and uninvited, but I wonder if I might have a word with your husband? Thank you, darling.
I understand that you're in the employ of the intelligence service of the United States of America? I understand that you regularly submit to them copies of all confidential communication between yourself and the Prime Minister, minutes of all Cabinet meetings, financial information, and so on.
And that, in return for this, you receive in the region of $30,000 per annum.
Of course, I may be wrong.
Dalby's here.
Very good Very good.
Am I? Wrong, that is? No, on the contrary, your information is perfectly accurate.
Your source is to be commended.
I will pass that on.
My great-grandfather settled in Kenya, a farmer.
He worked hard, as did his son and his grandson after him.
And, of course, yes, we reaped the rewards.
Then we had the fiasco of Suez.
Made us look weak, unfit to rule.
And now, Macmillan, a prime minister who has lost his nerve, bleating on about "a wind of change blowing across Africa," or some nonsense like that.
We have lost everything.
We being? Our nation.
I see.
What are we now? A second-rate power, no navy to speak of.
Can't afford our own bombs.
Reduced to begging De Gaulle for a place at the EEC, and he says, "non".
What humiliation! The future lies across the Atlantic, as any man can see.
So what I do, I do for the benefit of our nation.
And $30,000 a year.
Yes, of course, because I'd be a pauper without it! How else am I to pay for all this? The staff I employ.
The pile in the country.
10,000 square feet of dilapidating stone.
Who keeps the lights on? The Americans do.
So you assign my unit to investigate the disappearance of Professor Dawson so that you could block the investigation if it got too close to your friends? The cavalry? CIA, actually.
Two gentlemen to look after you for a little while.
You don't, of course, have to agree to go with them, William, but then there will be blood on the carpet.
And neither of us would wish for that.
Hello.
'Jean, Carswell here.
'I think you ought to listen to the tapes from last night.
' Gavin can meet you at Portland Street.
I'll be as quick as I can.
So, what's it gonna be? Gunshot to the back of the neck? You look like a strong chap.
How about strangulation? Ah.
Alice.
Chico.
Are you all right, Mr Dalby? Sir.
Birch Grove.
What, sir? Macmillan's residence.
According to Maddox, they'd abandoned the plan to carry out the assassination at the airport.
But Birch Grove, that's the place, you see.
The Minister was never gonna bring me there.
That was a lie, an excuse.
No, not me, but Palmer.
Hello.
Mr Palmer? Car for you, sir.
For me? To Birch Grove, sir.
The minister's arranged it for you to meet him and Mr Dalby there.
I don't think anyone is there, sir.
Thank you.
'And a friendly wave there from the President 'as his motorcade sweeps through the gates 'of the Prime Minister's residence at Birch Grove.
' Mr Palmer.
So glad you could join us.
Follow me, please.
After lunch, there's a photocall out front, during which, I will arrange for the President's Chief of Staff to meet you.
Now, you won't have long, so be clear, concise, polite, and be prepared to answer any questions he may have.
You will wait here.
Where's Dalby? Mr Dalby will be joining you later.
Harry? Hello, Paul.
'She knows.
' And soon everyone will know.
You have to cancel the operation.
'It's too late.
' You're not with us any more, Paul, I know that.
But that doesn't matter, because your work is done.
You cancel it or I'm calling security.
Your spirit is weak.
And I cannot abide weakness.
Argh.
Your very good health.
'That girl, the smart one, 'you sold her the story about infiltrating? 'About Bobby calling you up?' 'Yeah, I did.
' 'She bought it?' 'Maybe it's true.
' 'Yeah.
And maybe it is.
' 'Maybe it's true.
' Home Office Security, I have an urgent call for the Minister of Defence, please.
Telephone call for you, Minister.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
'Hello, Harry.
' 'It's been a while.
' 'When you are ready to kill the enemy, 'the pain will stop.
' Hello.
Get Paul.
Where is Harry? What have you done with him? 'Get help now.
' Paul! 'Paul!' Argh! Hello.
'Mr Dalby for you, sir.
' What? No! Argh! Where's Palmer? Ugh! 'Do you see your enemy, Harry? 'When you kill the enemy, 'the pain will stop.
' Palmer.
Palmer.
This is not you.
That man is not your enemy.
You do not have to do this.
Harry Harry 'Do You see your enemy, Harry.
' Listen to me.
Why don't I take that for you? 'Back to Birch Grove and those talks.
'The main achievement, agreement 'to go all out for a test ban treaty with Khrushchev.
'America had hoped at best for a partial ban.
'But Macmillan has convinced Kennedy 'that the chances of a complete ban are better than they have been.
'And on the question of a mixed-crew 'NATO fleet of nuclear survey ships, 'everything in the garden is less lovely.
' I didn't expect to see you.
Thought I'd say goodbye.
I'm sorry.
No need.
Perhaps we will meet again one day.
Perhaps we will.
Did you bring your gun this time? I seem to have forgotten.
You must learn, Palmer.
Someday you will pay for your naivety.
I can't believe you would ever harm anyone, Colonel.
Then you are mistaken.
We came to this place once, the girl and I.
Some film or other.
And I find that I have some sadness, memories that I didn't expect.
I used her as cover to engage in espionage.
She meant nothing.
So I assumed.
Yet our heart surprises.
Inside we are weak.
Human.
Like Mr Dalby.
'And I took advantage of her.
' 'Such is our business.
' It's not complete.
That would be too much.
Consider it a token of gratitude from Mr Dalby.
A professional courtesy? Exactly.
Let's go for dinner.
I know just the place.