Cobra (2020) s02e03 Episode Script

1
A serious cyber-attack has been launched
on the United Kingdom's
emergency services.
We are working flat out for a patch
for the Ruin Britannia hack.
I knew I shouldn't have
taken this job in the first place.
Oh, come on.
Yet deep down, I have always
known we have different values.
I want to be back in the
COBRA room during this crisis.
As?
You could always make me
Foreign Secretary.
(PHONE RINGING)
- Yeah.
- We're in the clear.
Leak it. Right now.
Something's going on.
Because I've got MI5 all over me.
Someone's leaking you explosive
stuff that affects National Security.
That's their job.
Another scoop coming your way.
This arrived.
(SEAGULLS SQUAWKING, SHIP HORN BLOWING)
(BREAKS SQUEAL)
This one'll give a red alarm.
Medical isotopes.
All standard, don't fret.
- Sir?
- Mm?
- It isn't.
- What?
Giving a red, sir.
The cargo's bloody radioactive.
It's gotta give a red
Christ. The whole system's down.
Get the Senior.
Now!
REPORTER: Mr Sutherland is already
under pressure to declare an enquiry
into whether exploratory
gas-field drilling
by the Chinese mining
conglomerate, Jiayóu,
might have played a role in
disturbing the buried munitions ship
which caused such devastating
tragedy in Kent
And of course Mr Sutherland is
also facing demands for answers
Anna?
Eleanor has an emergency
briefing for us on the ports.
Ukrainian businessman
Mikhailo Kostenko
So, perhaps it's not particularly
surprising
that the exoneration of the
government over the J23 shootings
in the Singer Report is being met
with significant scepticism
from various quarters.
Earlier I spoke to the Leader
of the Opposition, Chris Edwards.
The Lord Singer report
is a disgraceful attempt
to give the illusion of
transparency and credibility
to a desperate Tory government,
which frankly has demonstrated neither,
and which knows it is losing the
trust of the British people by the day.
Robert?
Chris Edwards there
and we'll have more on that story
later on this afternoon.
When we're done here,
we need to discuss candidates.
- There's the Kent by-election
- That's hardly pressing.
Even so, if you have preferences
But what is pressing,
and actually bloody urgent
- Foreign Secretary.
- Precisely.
And I assumed under the
circumstances the last thing
- you'd want is a reshuffle
- Archie.
Is that a joke?
Not the time.
It's a wrong decision. The man's a
Duly noted.
We had to close the Port of Dover
an hour ago
when it became apparent the Cyclamen
scanners had been incapacitated.
Cyclamen?
The huge fixed scanners at every
UK port and airport to detect
radioactive freight.
Cyclamen is our frontline
defence against the smuggling
of nuclear contraband.
Which, is our only net
to catch terrorists
driving a dirty bomb into the country.
We've ascertained that the
total system failure at Dover
is the result of a massive
ongoing cyber-attack.
So, who's doing this?
Is it part of the Ruin Britannia hack?
I am currently unable
to provide an assessment.
We've identified none
of the same hallmarks as yet,
but it could be the same group.
Until our capacity for monitoring
nuclear material is back online
we can't let anyone through.
So far Dover's the only
port affected, right?
- No other border-point?
- So far.
Nonetheless, Dover's critical
for supply chains.
Sealing it for any length of time
risks massive disruption.
- How quickly can it be unsealed?
- GCHQ have three teams on it.
But I'm afraid at this moment I
You are unable to provide an assessment?
At what point are we gonna
have to deal with shortages?
The immediate concern is fresh produce.
We've already instigated
contingencies, but
the closure of a major port's
gonna be all over the lunchtime news,
and even if we don't
face a supply crisis
we'll face panic-buying.
People are people.
Well, we can be front-footed
to head off panic.
What I find deeply disturbing
is that if it weren't for a lucky catch,
we could be hunting for a dirty bomb.
I'm afraid we, um
we can't yet be totally certain.
There was a window
between the system failing and the
Border Force realising it was down.
How big a window?
Five hours.
During which, 1027 vehicles
passed through Cyclamen
- without an accurate scan.
- Jesus Christ!
I've already initiated a situation room.
We need to issue a statement
about the closure.
About the closure, yes, nothing else.
The priority must be
to maintain public calm.
I want these vehicles found and scanned.
I want the cyber-attack neutralised.
I wanna know where it or all
of these attacks have come from.
And I want that port open again
before there's riots in Tesco.
(OFFICE CHATTER)
Hey.
- Is this all of them?
- Uh-huh.
Every vehicle that entered
while Cyclamen was down,
clustered by destination.
We've issued regional forces
with a full alert.
Alright, but we also
need to group by origin.
Yep, which is in this array.
Always one step ahead.
- You OK?
- I'm fine.
It's just I didn't expect
you back to work so soon.
I said I'm fine.
The doctors said I'm fine.
I want to work,
and you are not my real dad.
We're running every point of origin
against the Foreign Office's risk index.
Then we sort the vehicles
by potential threat.
What?
With a cyber attack
on our nuclear scanners,
I'm just
forcing myself not to dwell on
what the word "threat" means today.
I just think there are more
pressing needs on our attention.
Well, I'm afraid I think the
appointment of a Foreign Secretary
is about as pressing as it gets.
- I'm not prepared to
- To what? To listen to reason?
Bad enough you give Archie back
the whip, but Foreign Secretary?
You may think it throws
a bone to the fringe, right,
but all it's going to do
is make them hungrier.
They'll smell weakness on you.
Is that what you smell?
- Look, my only concern here is
- (PHONE RINGS)
Yes?
Mr Glover-Morgan, Prime Minister.
Send him in.
Who looks weak, Anna?
The man who waves the bone,
or the dog who comes drooling?
It's a question of who bites whom first.
(KNOCK ON DOOR, DOOR OPENS)
- Anna! How delightful.
- Fuck off!
I've always said she brings
such warmth to the workplace.
Black, no sugar as I recall?
I know you're a busy man, Robert,
what with the country coming
apart at the seams.
So, why the tummy-tickle?
Think of it more as a
civility towards a potential
cabinet colleague.
Then never mind the tummy.
- I'm all ears.
- I'm offering you Foreign Secretary.
As I recall, when I suggested
as much, you scoffed.
This country is under attack, Archie.
I'm on the verge of a War Cabinet.
Bask all you like, but I
need experienced comrades.
Comrades, indeed.
Personal sentiments are immaterial
as regards my duty to provide
this country
with its best possible government.
One in which you would
be a most valued asset.
Then I suppose, since duty calls
I must accept.
Jessie? Did you see who delivered this?
It was just with the other post.
No stamp, no postmark.
It was hand-delivered,
but you didn't see who?
Intel flagged it immediately.
Origin: Ukraine.
Ukraine's risk-index
was elevated to "HIGH"
after the assassination
of Mikhailo Kostenko.
The truck's cargo manifest
states "Produce,"
but the haulage firm has
never exported to the UK before.
- Is this our potential threat?
- MI5 are calling "maximum priority."
If we have to evacuate,
what sort of numbers?
Vehicle's almost at destination:
industrial park outside of Nottingham.
It's sparse, only half occupied
Small mercies.
(SIRENS BLARING)
(SIRENS BLARING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Tell them to keep
the public away, please.
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
(CHOPPER WHIRRING ABOVE)
RADIO: Confirmed presence
of irradiated mass.
Registering high levels
of beta-ray emission,
some measurable gamma-ray emission.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
What are they doing there?
I said keep the public away, please!
(GEIGER COUNTER CLICKING SLOWLY)
(GEIGER COUNTER CLICKING FASTER)
RADIO: Profile suggests
probable presence of caesium-137
and
(GEIGER COUNTER CLICKING RAPIDLY)
What the fuck?
Berries? Repeat.
Cargo appears to be radioactive berries.
Get those crates opened and
check for anything concealed.
The berries were ordered by a wholesaler
whose regular provider was
unable to deliver on time,
on account of the massively reduced
transit across the Channel.
But what the wholesaler
didn't realise
is that the berries
were grown in Polesia.
A region of Ukraine. Technically
outside the Exclusion Zone, but
Exclusion?
Of Chernobyl.
The soil there is still irradiated.
The cargo has been quarantined.
It'll be safely destroyed.
Even so, if this gets out,
years of pleading with the public
to eat their five a day
straight down the crapper.
We believe the nature
of the cargo is secure.
But phone-footage of the
truck, police, military
may soon be in the wild.
So, we simply state the government
doesn't comment on security matters.
Which makes it clear as day
there's a "security matter."
Then slap the press with a D-notice.
These days we call them DSMA-Notices,
should you wish to update your
frames of reference from 1945.
We'll have to say something, surely?
If there's footage,
it's bound to get out.
Robert, you said yourself
we need to be front-footed.
I said our primary concern should
be neutralising fear and panic.
I agree with Archie.
We don't comment on it.
We give them something else,
such as telling them
when the port will reopen.
So
When will the port reopen?
Hopefully, within 24 hours.
"Hopefully"?
With respect, I think we
were all hoping for something
a little less wishy-washy.
And how many more trucks left to scan
before we're at least
through that crisis?
Get to work.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
FRANCINE: Of course I want back in,
but I'd sooner run for a seat
I've got a chance of winning.
Well, before Clive Turner won it,
that seat was Labour's.
What's stopping it
from being Labour again?
I'm a black woman, and
apparently a member of
what are we called now?
The liberal London elite.
Right.
Well, I'd suggest your opinion
that the electorate are
a bunch of racist bumpkins
is something we maybe leave off
the pamphlets
- OK, that's not what I meant.
- I know what you meant.
You don't believe it any more than I do.
- You're just you're just gun-shy.
- Gun-shy?
Yes, it's been a while
since you campaigned.
- How dare you?
- No, I mean it.
Listen, I will tell you exactly why
I think you can win the by-election.
Right now, that constituency is
shell-shocked and it's flooded. Why?
Because the Tories have flogged our
gas-fields to a Chinese multinational
which caused an explosion.
But the drilling hadn't been proven.
Yeah, but why have they
rescinded the contract?
Now, if that wasn't enough,
Dover Port is shut.
Total chaos, by the sound of things.
Massive tailbacks,
right on the doorstep of
the very same constituency.
Due to some kind of system failure.
Why? Because the Tories have grotesquely
underinvested in infrastructure.
Now, if you lived there
(SIGHS)
Would you not be ready for change?
Listen, I tell you what.
Why don't we just sketch out,
just hypothetically
some sort of strategy?
Might be able to get a whiff of
who the other side are fielding.
And how are we gonna do that?
Well, you know Anna Marshall, don't you?
You know full bloody well
we haven't spoken in months.
I'm not gonna reach out to her now
just so I can milk her for information.
(LINE RINGING)
(PHONE JINGLES)
What's up, mum?
Er, nothing, really,
I just wanted to check in.
Not dying, are you?
Very funny.
Are you at home for supper?
I thought we could get a takeaway
Erm, I'm going to Dad's.
Oh, OK. Well, I'll
I've got to go, um
Oh, wait, um
Is there something weird going on
with, like, fruit or something?
What?
Before you called, um, someone on
Twitch got it off '4chan' or something.
Saying, like, the police
found a load of
poisoned berries or something, and I
There's nothing, darling.
And you know 4chan's
for paedos and Hitler Youth.
Look, I've gotta go. Love you.
(SIRENS IN THE DISTANCE, KEYPAD TAPPING)
(KEYS CLICKING, MESSAGE BEEPS)
Fuck sake!
You wanted to see a shortlist
of my preferred candidates,
now you have one.
I don't see the problem.
Except for all of them being on
the hard right of the hard right?
And Roger Hawkins, for Christ sake?
You want to restore the whip
to Roger Hawkins?
Who else in the People's
Justice Independents
are you intending to bribe back?
- Our party must be a broad church
- Robert, don't!
We both know bloody well
what this is about.
You're afraid of losing
Clive Turner's constituency,
and you think one of
these embarrassing cretins
will galvanise the angry white vote.
A vote is a vote. A seat is a seat.
And politics requires power.
Now, I've told you before Anna
You were always an Archan
Don't throw your bloody
utilitarianism textbook at me again,
because this is realpolitik.
And it's grubby, Robert.
- I know.
- This is not our Conservatism!
Maybe you haven't noticed,
but right now,
from every direction,
we are facing a different storm.
One of which is the distrust
surrounding the Singer Report.
Now, who better to vouch for that Report
than the former Home Secretary,
so convinced of that Report's integrity
that he has rescinded his resignation?
Now look. You don't like Archie.
Archie doesn't like you.
But I suggest you stop letting
your personal grievance
My what? How dare you!
You're right. I detest Archie.
But I have never let any "personal
grievance" warp my judgement.
And my judgement is you're a fool
if you think you can trust him,
because he will be waiting
with a polished knife
the moment your back is turned.
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(PHONE BUZZES)
(KNOCK, DOOR OPENS)
Apologies for dragging you
from your IT crowd.
Not at all, Foreign Secretary.
What could be less important
than the security
Of the Nation, yes, precisely.
However, while this cyber-assault
is unconscionable,
we are currently fire-fighting
on multiple fronts.
And I intend to face them
with a big gushing hose.
He's over-compensating.
You hardly need to explain that
to the Head of Intelligence.
Well, here's something
I apparently do need to explain.
We are lumbering towards
a diplomatic crisis
with the Chinese,
over the explosion in Kent.
Peter.
The Chinese mining company,
of course, flatly denies
that the explosion
was the result of them
sticking their drill-bit
into our Great British Seabed.
Meanwhile, an editorial
in yesterday's Central Times
I'll save you the trouble of
reading the appalling translation
It says, "The British
want to blame the Chinese
"to cover up our own incompetence
at not defusing the ship years ago."
And it is calling for, "a retaliation,
"both public and painful."
I've received a formal complaint
from the Chinese ambassador.
Whom I am obliged to meet.
And when I do so, I want a full deck,
vis-à-vis who or what
caused the explosion.
I want evidence, understood?
All our assets are trying
Are they more reliable
than the assets you
employed for that
briefing on the Russians?
Because from what I can gather,
their usefulness was several
thousand degrees south of suboptimal.
- Minister, with respect
- I don't want Chinese whispers.
As I say
a full deck.
A big hose.
Fraser, you need to look at this.
So, after the blueberries,
what's next on the menu?
Strontium sausages?
Plutonium pomegranates?
One of the vehicles,
something's off with its data,
I can't find any trace of the haulier.
It might be human error, but
Get it to Eleanor James.
(KEYS TAPPING)
(TRAIN PASSING BY)
Hello, stranger.
I'm glad you called.
I've missed you.
That's good to hear.
(CHUCKLES)
- Say it.
- (CHUCKLES)
I'll think about it.
Can I ask you something?
Business?
Then let's get it out of the way
before the second bottle.
Chris Edwards wants me back
in parliament.
I want you back in parliament.
He wants me to run
for Clive Turner's seat.
Pack your snorkel.
(FRANCINE LAUGHS)
Oh, my God, I'm a horrible person!
Nah, there are worse.
I mean, to be fair, they're
all in your Party, but
Anna, who are your lot
putting up for the seat?
Is that what this is about?
Why you called?
If it was, I would've
been much more subtle.
Or your expert guile is
the illusion of having none.
Chris asked me to get back in touch
to find out who you were running.
I said no.
Then I realised I wanted to anyway
because I missed you, too.
Robert and I have been
squaring off over it.
His first choice is Roger Hawkins.
- Are you taking the piss?
- I fucking wish.
But listen here, young lady.
If Robert continues to
ignore my expert counsel,
and if you decide to contest
Roger will make it a dirty fight.
He'll play the populist card,
blow every dog-whistle.
Are you trying to put me off?
Is this 'guile'?
Fran, my love, don't make
me call you an idiot again.
I'm giving you reasons you should run,
and wipe the smug grin
off Hawkins' ruddy face.
Go for the seat. Win it.
You'd have my vote.
PLAYBACK: This is what the liar
government and mainstream media
don't want you to see.
Radiation detectors.
Because our nation is
secretly under attack.
Nuclear attack.
The corrupt traitor,
Sutherland and his globalist stooges,
want to hide it from us,
hide their weakness,
their complicity in the death
of our great country.
And until this government is overthrown
by whatever means necessary,
they would have us feed poison
to our children
sooner than tell us the Truth.
These nuclear poison-berries
came to Britain
directly from Ukraine, through Dover.
Still working?
Big case.
You'll win.
Is that by decree
of Her Majesty's Government?
No, you'll win because
you're a brilliant lawyer
and a spectacular woman.
But if I did have to bend
this country's noble and
ancient democratic institutions
for the sake of your affections
Only you could make brutal
dictatorship sound so romantic.
(SMOOCHES)
Well, in the meantime, I can
offer to make you a cup of tea?
Oh, yes.
(PHONE RINGS)
Eleanor.
Hi, erm, sorry it's late,
but I thought you'd want
an update on Cyclamen.
We've captured the malware.
- So, the border can re-open?
- Imminently.
Oh, thank Christ for that. Well done.
I do need to update you
on something else.
We've been monitoring various
online channels and footage
of that truck from at least four devices
has spread like bloody measles.
The open-sourcers
have identified the
radioactivity apparatus.
There's a new far-right
online presence, "Firestorm."
They have been consistently
pointing the finger at government.
I wouldn't normally bother you
with conspiracy theorists,
but they're not far off the truth,
and gaining traction.
Christ!
The silence from government
is only adding fuel to it.
We need to formulate
some kind of explanation,
take back control of the narrative
Those vehicles that got through
Are they all accounted for?
No, not quite.
There are nine as yet unscanned.
When they are scanned, and when
we're in the clear, and only then,
I shall make a statement.
Prime Minister
The only way to counteract panic
and probably outright bloody mayhem
is by stating that we have
overcome the situation,
that our defence apparatus works.
We convene COBRA in the morning,
assess the state of risk,
and strategize on that basis.
Well, with respect, Prime Minister,
I don't think that we
Goodnight, Eleanor.
PLAYBACK: These nuclear
poison-berries came to Britain
directly from Ukraine through Dover.
The port which is now closed,
but the government refused
to tell us why.
A government impotent and
venal which does nothing
while Foreign enemies trample
our borders and ruin our land.
- (PHONE RINGS)
- Our investigations have revealed that these
(STOPS PLAYBACK)
This is an unexpected pleasure.
Hari, have you got a minute?
I need your advice.
Off the record.
I mean, you're taking me
away from alt-right nutters, but
What?
Nothing. Talk to me.
Alright. If I, hypothetically speaking,
if I ran in a by-election
could I count on your support?
Hypothetical support?
Your platform has traction.
The support would carry weight.
Question, unrelated:
what's going on in Dover?
Something to do with radiation?
People aren't buying
the government line.
- Do you know why it's closed?
- No. Why?
- Doesn't matter. I just, er
- (COMPUTER BEEPS)
Listen, what I was asking is just
Well, would you back me?
Holy shit!
Hari?
Hello, Hari
Look, Francine, I'd back
you in a bi-election or
a bloody general election. I'll
give all the signal-boost I can,
but I'm sorry, I have to go.
(PHONE RINGING ON VIBRATE)
(SIGHS)
- God, don't you ever sleep?
- No.
And you'd better wake up, too,
because we might have a big problem.
I just sent you the link.
What problem?
Look at it.
Alright, wait, wait.
What is this?
Did you know your wife did
legal for Mikhailo Kostenko?
Of course, I didn't bloody know.
June 97, we hadn't even met.
Kickbacks?
So, it bloody seems.
The scoop of the day is the
PM's wife was on the legal team
which gave bungs on behalf
of a Ukrainian gangster.
Shit.
What is it? What's going on?
(SCOFFS)
I have never seen any
of these documents before.
I need the truth.
That is the truth!
Then what the fuck is this?
(ANNA HANGS UP)
This deal was over 20 years ago.
I was barely even an associate!
I never met Kostenko. I just
I didn't know anything about kickbacks!
Please believe me.
I want to believe you, Rachel.
But maybe you can explain to me why
why you didn't think
it worth mentioning
that Kostenko's name crops up
in your career history?
I mean, with his murky assassination
being all over the news lately,
and me, your husband,
being the Prime fucking Minister.
Because it was a deal
from a long time ago
that I played a tiny part in, and
I didn't know there was
anything illegal about it
until you waved this
fucking smear in my face!
Because that's what this is, Robert.
A smear.
None of this poison
proves I did anything wrong,
because I didn't.
But it's still poison.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
NEWS: but Number Ten are yet to
comment on the alleged association
between Mrs Sutherland and
the recently deceased Ukrainian
businessman Mikhailo Kostenko.
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello?
Mrs Sutherland,
I'm calling again from the Sun
Look, I've already told you: no comment.
And I've already blocked
your number three times.
So, please, just leave me alone!
(SLAMS PHONE ON TABLE)
(SIGHS)
My God. She's finally speechless.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER ACROSS THE STREET)
(ENGINE STARTS)
(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
(CLAMOUR CONTINUES)
The situation room have cleared
all but one of the trucks.
It's the one they flagged up
yesterday as having dodgy paperwork.
That's why it's proving
difficult to track down.
And the haulier doesn't even exist.
OK, let's get it found.
All forces nationwide
make this their priority.
(MOUSE CLICKING)
ANNA: Robert, we have
to talk about Rachel.
We need to discuss
the way through this
No, we don't, Anna.
People think they're
under nuclear attack.
We have to give them some reassurance.
I know I pushed against this before,
but I
I believe I was wrong.
I'll make a statement,
outside Downing Street.
I'll explain about Cyclamen,
and the fucking blueberries.
I'll make it clear that Dover
will open again immediately.
And the few vehicles that did get
through while the system was down
are all accounted for.
There is no danger.
Have they been?
- Has what been?
- The trucks. All accounted for.
All except one.
I'm prepared to take
a chance they will be,
because as far as I can see,
this is the least worst option.
I'm afraid I don't think it is.
If there's only one truck left
to find, we wait until it's found.
I know the the situation with Rachel
makes you want to show strength,
but I think you, all of us,
need to hold our nerve.
We have a COBRA now about the
disruption across the country.
Let's get all the facts before we react.
When the vehicles are all accounted
for, then you make a statement.
With strength.
Shops are being cleared of tinned goods.
Sales of fresh produce cratering.
Well, it takes the pressure
off the supply line.
And at least intelligence
have finally managed
to change the fuse in
the Cyclamen scanners.
I'm sure the technicians at GCHQ
will be cheered by your support.
Eleven hospitals have admitted patients
for drinking antiseptic
and disinfectant.
Supermarket in Bradford.
The man shouting that all fruit
and vegetables are "nuclear poison"
and that he can make them safe.
Store was evacuated.
The liquid the man is spraying turns
out to be an iodine-based detergent.
We're also seeing
aggressive mobs at ports.
Ports? Only Dover was shut.
Well, that's just it.
They're not at Dover.
It's the other ports, the open ports,
where we're seeing the mobs.
They're convinced that terrorists
are bringing in nuclear God-knows-what.
Apologies for the interruption,
but you need to see this.
The final vehicle, the one we
couldn't find, it was deliberate.
Fake plates, fake papers.
They've found it.
Where is it, Fraser?
Beneath Waterloo.
It, um, it doesn't look good.
(SIRENS WAILING)
We've no idea how it got there.
It's in a sealed-off maintenance
area with no public access.
A military CBRN team are
going in to investigate.
(BREATHING APPARATUS HISSING)
(SLIGHTLY MUFFLED)
We have a visual on suspect vehicle.
How did this truck just appear?
Didn't CCTV pick it up?
Whoever left the vehicle took it out.
Specialist, approach with caution.
(GEIGER COUNTER BEEPING RAPIDLY)
Alpha-wave radiation detected.
(GEIGER COUNTER BEEPING RAPIDLY)
This is high.
It's extremely high.
Radioactivity levels are off the scale.
We need to seal off Central London.
There's no way we can do this quietly.
Do it then.
Initiating breach
for video probe access.
(DRILL WHIRRING)
Cyclamen.
This is what it was all for, isn't it?
To get that truck into the country.
That is now our working hypothesis.
(DRILLING STOPS)
Inspection camera uplink ready.
Please activate the feed.
Zero visibility. Switch to infra-red.
We're getting a visual.
What is it?
Adjust infra-red strength.
What's he seeing?
Standby.
The truck contains what appears to be
a human body.
(TRUCK DOOR OPENS)
The body is the irradiating mass.
Can't we just admit that
this is a clear message
that our security apparatus
is completely inadequate?
Get it out of there.
Make it safe.
I wanna know who it is.
And how it got there.
And I want to know if
if this country needs
to be ready for war.