Blue Lights (2023) s02e04 Episode Script
The Stamp of Nature
1
Today we're flying the flag
in Mount Eden.
If you're not on
another specific call,
I want you out
patrolling the estate.
Anything of interest, you feed it
back to me immediately. OK?
Your district has put
a call out for volunteers
to help out in response.
It's only for a few days. 100%.
I'm just remembering
your face, mate,
for the next time I see you.
You're done, Dixie.
Dead man walking.
Close your eyes. It's easier.
One for the road?
No! Would you get away?
The thing is, Shane, right now
we've a murder on our patch,
and the one guy
I thought I could rely on
is standing in front of me,
sweating buckets, stinking of drink.
Look, I won't let you down here.
We have a statement from a former
officer who was involved
in this case.
They knew. My superiors.
Of course they did.
They're going to fight you
on this every step of the way.
I think we should just take a beat,
work-wise, everything-wise.
OK.
I want to take over
the whole supply.
I've got good people around me.
Taxi business.
You pay that back double
in a month.
We're seizing this money under
the Proceeds of Crime Act
until such a time as you can
provide an explanation for it.
Can I help you?
Can I have my money back?
So, you're seriously telling
me that this £30,000 in cash
was charity fundraising
for a new community centre?
Who donated?
Everybody.
I have a statement here
from the chairman.
It says exactly
what the money was for.
And this just happened to be
in the back of your taxi?
Is that right?
My driver was on his way
to the credit union.
Aye, dead on.
I actually have another letter
from the manager,
says she was expecting it.
We're going to need to verify these
before we can give you
your money back.
That looks pretty bad, doesn't it?
What does? PSNI seizing money
that belongs to the community.
Not exactly winning back
hearts and minds.
Hearts and minds?
Maybe we could get you
to make another wee speech.
I served in Afghanistan.
Two tours.
Towards the end, they ordered us
to burn their poppy fields.
The farmers pleading with us,
saying it was their
only source of income.
Begging with us,
saying that their children
would starve if we did it.
We did it anyway.
And there was one farmer.
He said that for every field
that burns
..you create 100 new enemies.
My advice? I take the money now,
and if you have any concerns
about those statements
..I think you can get back to me.
Who do you think's
giving him orders?
I don't think that boy
takes orders from anyone.
What now? Leave that to me.
Morning, ma'am. Morning.
Morning, ma'am.
Right.
Where are we on the Dixon murder?
DCI Damien Marshall, ma'am. I'm SIO.
Congratulations.
So, it's a bit of
a slow burner, ma'am.
Some unidentified fibres
found at the scene.
No forensics giving
a link to a suspect.
No witnesses.
Any leads from the community?
They're kind of
not talking to me, ma'am.
This Lee Thompson character,
where does he fit in?
I'm working on it, ma'am.
So
..you're a murder cop
with no suspect.
You're a neighbourhood cop
with no neighbourhood.
You're an intelligence cop
with no intelligence.
And you're in charge of all this.
Is that right?
Yes, ma'am.
Wonderful.
Good to see the boss.
For fuck's sake!
What's wrong?
Annie?
This.
Is that? Me and Shane. Yeah.
He must have shared it.
Shared it? What, on social media?
No. Like, on a WhatsApp group
or something.
It's doing the rounds.
Right. You have to report him.
For that? Yeah.
Nah. I'll deal with it.
Uniform to 7-0.
Domestic disturbance
at Hemsworth Close. Over.
So, er, what's the deal
with Annie Conlon?
What do you mean?
Like blows a bit hot and cold,
doesn't she?
Shane, she's a friend of mine.
All right. Jesus!
Just making conversation.
Give us a minute here,
mate, will you?
What?
I need to make a call.
Mate, it's bucketing. It's private.
Prick.
Sarge. Sober today?
Yes, Sarge. OK, listen to me.
Looks like there might be
a completely new player in town.
Guy by the name of Lee Thompson.
Right.
I need some intelligence confirming
that and I need it today. OK.
I'm going to send you
the details of a mid-level dealer,
Sandy McKnight. You need
to put the squeeze on him,
get him to confirm
Thompson's the new wholesaler.
Put the squeeze on him?
Yeah. He lives with his ma.
She has a record for dealing
from back in the day.
Do you get me?
Taking the gloves off here. Right.
Gloves off. We need a result.
Mate, they're dealing.
Great. Get in the car.
What? Get in.
We've just had a task in
from Canning.
Intel work.
We don't do Intel work, Shane.
We're we're response.
Listen, you just follow
my lead today, all right?
We're taking the gloves off.
What?
Just watch and learn, all right?
Uniform from 7-0. That's arrival.
Received, 7-0. Over.
Hello! Police.
Anyone home?
Is anybody hurt?
Hello?
Police!
Hello?
Anyone home? Hello?
Show yourself!
Hello?
Anyone home?
Police!
Hello?
"I have of late -
but wherefore I know not -
"lost all my mirth"
Jesus, what?
Oh, God
Hello?
It's all right. It's OK.
Is that your blood?
Aye.
What are you doing?
It's a barbecue.
Well, I can see it's a barbecue.
You barbecuing clothes?
Yep.
Are they yours?
No. My wife's.
Where is she?
Is she in the house?
Is she safe?
She's left me.
Here, yous know something?
Yous are very good-looking girls.
Gary? Gary?!
What in the name of God
is going on here?
Oh, shite!
Of the sleepin' city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin'
comin' down ♪
What's your favourite gun?
Well, young man, that depends.
On what? On lots of things.
Did you ever kill anyone?
What do you mean?
When you were in the Army
with my Uncle Lee.
Oh. Aye.
That's mad.
How many?
Davy.
Tina shut everything off on me.
Told me you're the new man now.
I'd like to stay here, Lee,
in Mount Eden.
My kids are here,
grandkids.
It's home, you know.
I won't cause you any trouble.
When I got back, I went for
a wee walk around the estate.
Couldn't believe it, Davy.
Just couldn't get over it.
What do you mean?
The dirt.
The debts.
The drugs.
But sure, you're selling drugs.
I am. Aye.
Everywhere but here.
You and Dixon destroyed this place.
Lee Oh, you had your chance.
You did what you did.
And that means you don't
deserve to live here any more.
Lee, please You came here
and looked me in the eye.
I respect that.
But if I lay eyes on you again
..you'll go the way Dixon went.
Did my Uncle Lee ever kill anybody?
He's better at saving people.
Who did he save?
Me.
Really? How?
You can't save this place.
Nobody can.
Watch me.
What's happening?
What's happening, Henry,
is that all the bad people
are leaving this place.
Because you told them to?
Yeah.
Uniform from 7-0.
Received, 7-0. Over.
Roger, Uniform.
We have a male at this location.
We're just, er
We're just talking to his wife.
Wait out for an update.
Thanks.
I'm so sorry about this.
I should never have
left him last night.
I just went to my sister's.
I needed a break, you know.
He's just
Well, he's been
He's been what?
On one of his binges.
OK. Erm
I can see you've got children.
Kelly.
She's away at university now,
thanks be to God.
I'm sorry,
I have to ask you this, but
..has he ever hurt you?
God, no.
No. He's a good man.
He'd never do that.
He was a teacher?
He taught English.
He was good at it. Loved it too.
Hmm.
It took everything from him,
you know - the drink.
Everything.
I just
I couldn't stop him.
What can you do?
You could leave him.
What?
You don't have to stay with him.
You could leave him.
Annie What age are you?
Sorry?
You don't have a clue, love.
Not a clue. How could you?
But someday you will.
Stamp of nature, girls.
Stamp of nature.
Sit down, love.
Right. Let's go.
Mate.
Police! Open up!
You all right?
What are you doing?
Where's Sandy?
I don't know! What's happening?
We just need to have
a quick look around,
and then and then we'll be gone.
Quick look? For what?
What do you think you're
going to find? Well
Where's your warrant?
Don't need one. Stay with her.
You don't need one?
What are you talking about?
Look, do you maybe
want to put the baby down
and we'll have a chat? Yeah.
That's us now.
I want you both to get out.
What is he looking for?
We'll be gone soon.
This is what you're doing? You're
just barging into people's houses?
Look what I found.
I've never seen that before
in my life.
Doesn't matter.
It's in this house.
Where is he?
Where's Sandy?
Hello?
Hello?
Hello?
MUSIC, FAINTLY: Plastic Skeletons
by Jealous Of The Birds
Do you wanna meet
on the cold concrete
Outside our favourite diner?
Do you wanna wrap me up in suede
Smudge off my black eyeliner?
Notebooks filled with dirty poems
All slanted like hipbones of women
Who stand and twist
the cords of telephones
I kiss your microphone
and blame it on hormones
Oh, I've become addicted
to the smell of your cologne
But why can't we just keep it
our little summer secret? ♪
Excuse me. Can I help you?
Drink your margarita ♪
Mmm.
Er
Mmm.
Mmm!
Constable Byrne?
Hmm.
How are you doing
..ma'am?
OK, so, as you can see,
everyone's out on the ground.
Just give me a call sign, ma'am.
Ready to rock.
Not today. Grab a desk, log in and
complete your online safety course.
I've done that already, ma'am.
When? Last year.
I like everyone in the section
to refresh it every six months.
So now you get to do it again.
Ma'am.
Central custody full, as usual.
This reminds me of
queuing to get onto a ferry.
The worst ferry in the world.
This is ridiculous.
Sleeping like a baby.
Do you think he'll remember
what he did?
The state we picked him up in,
probably not. Hmm.
How are you?
Me?
Yeah You know.
Yeah, I suppose I do.
So, you're still definitely
going back to London?
Back to the Met or something?
Nah.
I think I'm done
upholding the rule of law.
I was thinking maybe
..librarian.
Librarian?
Right. OK.
Let me hear your "shush".
My what? Your "shush".
Oh! My "shush".
OK. Hang on.
No talking.
Very impressive!
How about you?
How do you mean?
Well
I have two cons
who work well together,
who enjoy working together,
asking to be separated
on the rota.
Am I allowed to ask why?
It's complicated.
I still think we should
have arrested him.
We've already arrested him.
What do you mean?
Me and Stevie, we booked him
last year for drink-driving.
Not that he'll remember.
Why did I say that to his wife?
I just I just need
to sort myself out, Grace.
Do you know that? Like you.
Like me? Yeah. Like you.
You think before you do things.
Like, I mean, you and Stevie,
right, deciding not to do anything,
because of work or being sensible.
I'm sorry, what?
Sorry.
Sorry. I shouldn't have
mentioned that. Sorry to
Do you really think that I've got
everything sorted, that I know
..I know exactly what I'm doing?
Er, yeah.
Yeah. I mean Annie, no, no.
My son has buggered off to England
because I didn't see
how unhappy he was.
I had to sell my house
because it wasn't secure any more.
And now I'm living with
With me. Yeah, yeah. No offence.
Stevie's barely talking to me.
Yeah, and last week
..Jesus Christ, last week,
I almost shot someone.
Does that sound sorted to you?
No.
I mean
It sounds batshit freaking crazy,
to be honest with you. Yeah.
Everything I do these days
goes wrong.
Oh, fuck it.
Where are we going?
Let's try and get
one thing right, shall we?
Shane, this isn't even
admissible as evidence.
Yep. I know that.
So what are we doing with it, then?
Leverage.
You go to the front door,
make a fucking racket.
Give me that.
Police. Open up!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Open up! Police!
What's the craic, lads?
What are you doing?
You can't break in here like that.
What are you doing, mate?
Good man.
Oh!
Get away from me.
Oh!
Jesus
I'm not looking for any trouble!
Fuck off!
Hello. Open the door!
It's the police!
Don't move!
Sorry. I couldn't find the key.
They had a wee fall.
You've asked
a suspect to confirm their name
and date of birth in order
to complete a background check.
The suspect refuses to comply
and becomes verbally aggressive.
Do you, A, immediately
arrest the suspect,
B, call for a backup call sign,
C, warn the suspect that
you intend to arrest them
if they do not comply?
Or option D -
kick 'em in the balls.
Constable.
Sir!
Who are you? Aisling Byrne, sir.
Temporary transfer.
Inspector Johnston.
I thought I met
the inspector already.
Yeah, it's
Well, it's complicated.
She make you do
the safety course, aye?
Yeah. Woman loves a safety course.
I have a couple of statements here.
You wouldn't mind
verifying one of them for me?
It's from a manager
of a credit union.
You can do it over the phone.
I'm going to do
the other one in person.
No bother.
What should I tell
Inspector McNally?
You could tell her
..Inspector Johnston is very sorry,
but she still owes me a drink.
By the way, pretty sure
it's not option D.
Alexander Gareth Kyle McKnight.
You know it's a proper record
when you have to scroll down it
to get to the fucking end.
Right. I need to speak
to Sandy - alone.
That's no problem, mate. I can go.
Yeah. You can. Cheers.
What are you at? Let me go!
Let me go!
Ow! Let me
Are you serious? On you go.
Good man. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
What'd you shut the door for?
Mate, please!
I don't like small spaces!
Come on, mate, please!
You're fucked. That's not even mine.
This isn't even my house.
Just open the door! It's his.
This was in your house, bud.
Open the fucking door!
Under your bed, in fact.
Not mine. That's all right, then.
Let's just say it's your ma's.
I'm going to go back, call it in,
say it's your ma's.
She's going straight back to prison.
You know it's not hers.
Who's going to look after
your wee brother then? You?
Nah. That wee fella's
going straight into care.
You know what care's like?
It's fucking shit, mate. OK.
It's mine. What do you want?
Constable, could you go and
check the back door, please?
See if I've broken it?
Check the back?
Yeah. Go on and check the back
there, Tommy. Cheers, mate.
Come on, open the door!
You tell me where
the gear comes from,
and I'll walk out of here
like nothing ever happened.
You what? Haven't seen anything.
Haven't done anything.
Fuck it - haven't even
been here, mate.
I'll flush those bags
down the toilet.
They'll kill me.
Who?
Huh?
Promise I won't tell.
Look, I don't have a name.
They don't tell us the names.
You know who you're buying it from.
Of course you fucking do!
All right, right, right.
The Factory Faithful.
That's not a name. It's a nightclub.
What about it? On Friday nights,
every dealer in Belfast is there.
So?
You go in,
leave your money upstairs,
walk out with the gear.
Look, I swear to God,
that's all I know.
I swear.
How's that door? It's broken.
Ah, you need to get that fixed.
Any old fucker
could just walk in here.
Oh, and tell your ma
I was asking for her.
What the hell was that?
That was taking the gloves off, mate.
For God's sake, Shane!
What? You can't do that.
We just got the first bit
of valuable intel
that anyone has been able
to turn up in months.
What would you rather do?
Go round and round
on the hamster wheel
or actually make a bit of
difference once in a while?
Oh, fuck's sake.
So, you've finally hit
rock-bottom, have you?
Getting there.
I have, er, a statement here,
signed in your own hand,
saying the money that we seized
from Lee is legitimate fundraising.
"Chairman of the community centre."
There's a wee wee letterhead and
everything. It's very convincing.
Except I thought you'd be
wise enough to know better.
Get out.
You're not going to stand over this.
What's he threatening you with, Rab?
Only people who threatened me
recently have been your lot.
Sorry?
I was stopped - two of yours.
Wee Henry in the car.
Taken out, humiliated.
The wee lad was traumatised.
And now do you know what?
He hates the peelers,
and I don't blame him.
So I tell you what,
Inspector Johnston -
you take that statement
and shove it up your bony wee hole.
I didn't call yous.
No. We know.
Look, Marilyn,
if we keep tolerating this
then some day, somebody's
going to get seriously hurt,
or he is going to hurt himself.
Now, every time this happens,
he needs to face the consequences.
He's been arrested before.
It doesn't change anything.
Well, then we can keep arresting him
until one day maybe it does.
If you give us a statement,
then we can arrest him on
suspicion of criminal damage.
OK.
Yeah.
OK.
Can I ask you a personal question?
As long as it's about
cooking, dogs or music, yes.
It's about Sarah.
Would you have
Would you have been with her?
Like, I mean
..would you have married her
..if you'd known at some point
..you were going to lose her?
Is it OK if we talk
about something else?
Yeah. Yeah.
Sorry.
Boss.
Sir!
Constable Byrne.
Hi. I checked out that statement
from the credit union manager.
And it stood up?
Yep. Cheers.
Sir.
See, when I talked to her,
she seemed a bit scared.
Scared? Like she had to say it.
OK. Thank you.
So, I did a bit more digging.
Right.
Sorry. It was better than doing
that safety course again. Yep.
You see the taxi company
that the money was found in?
They have to register
all their drivers
with the Belfast Carriage Office
for safety reasons.
We have access to that system.
We do. So I went into it
and I found the names
of all the drivers.
And then I ran them through
Niche and PNC.
And? They're nearly all
..military veterans.
Some from here,
some from England, Scotland.
It's weird. It's like
Like what?
It's like a wee private army.
So, dealers pick
the stuff up inside.
They come out the back door.
We'll be waiting here.
We take them where they need to go.
They pay us on arrival.
Keys.
I don't like this. What?
Using the same set-up
Dixie and Hamill used.
I'd rather we used our own.
We will.
Soon.
I need to talk to you.
Give me 20 minutes. Now.
Davy Hamill's left the estate.
Yeah.
What are you doing?
Do you think you're a gangster?
Is that it?
No. Well, what, then?
What are you, Lee? Tell me.
I'm someone who wants
to change things.
Well, you're doing that, all right.
You're definitely delivering there.
You're going to get us all killed.
No, I won't.
No.
I won't.
You wait and see, Mags.
Wait and see what I am
going to do with this place.
Everything is going to be different.
It's going to be better,
it's going to be cleaner,
it's going to be safer. You're mad.
Sure, we're all mad
in our own way, Mags.
Stamp of nature.
That's what it is, you know.
What's that, Gary?
"To the next abstinence,
"the next more easy,
"for use can almost change
the stamp of nature."
Hamlet.
School play.
I was Ophelia.
What does it mean?
Stamp of nature?
It means
..changing who you are is
..really feckin' difficult.
But worth a try.
Finally.
Un-fucking-believable!
Cheers.
Come on. Rise and shine.
Oh, where am I? What happened?
You don't remember?
You attacked a 14-year-old lad
on his way to school,
tried to steal his mobile phone,
broke his jaw.
No, I didn't. Aye, you did.
Jesus. I am sorry.
I'm I'm so sorry.
Well, sorry doesn't cut it.
Can you? Yeah. Thanks
OK. Sorry.
Sandra?
Yeah?
I would have.
You would have what?
Even if I knew what was going to
happen to her, I'd do it all again.
What about you with Gerry?
Yeah.
Same.
Wouldn't have missed a minute of it.
You don't have to do it, you know.
Do what? Get on that ferry.
Shh! No talking.
You didn't even ring ahead.
I didn't want to use the phone.
Right.
It's come to that, has it?
Er, look, don't take this
the wrong way, but I
Don't take this the wrong way,
but you don't quite believe me.
No, of course I believe you.
But it's about what
a judge will believe.
Wait there.
I took documents with me
when I left.
I could see the way
the wind was blowing.
I thought I might need
something to bargain with
if they ever came after me.
So that's?
That is agents,
handlers,
operations.
All the dirty wee secrets.
You can take notes,
but the documents stay here.
Wee bit more homework for you
if you're interested.
Right. Nice bunch of lads. Hmm.
That's for tomorrow, by the way.
OK. Thanks. Foster.
All right, stranger?
Are you OK?
I
Yeah. Just a tough day.
Bit mad?
You still up for a drink? Yeah.
See if you're going to send
pictures of us in bed to your mates,
you could have at least
picked a better one. Wh?
No. Hang on
You're not even that good.
Bradley, Foster - with me.
Murray Canning. What a prick!
Right, who took all my food
from the fridge?
Anyone? No?
Perfect.
Welcome to the section, by the way.
Hi.
Hey, it's Cal.
Leave a message after the
Hi, Cal. It's just me again.
When you get a sec,
will you just give me a call?
All right.
Hiya, Grace. How's it going?
Hiya. Are you OK?
Aye, not bad, not bad.
See you.
See you!
Brilliant work today, both of yous.
This is how we make
a difference, Tommy. Yeah?
Change into your civvies.
Stick around.
Hiya.
Hey. How was your day?
You know, same old, same old.
You?
Oh, you know. Same old, same old.
Goodnight.
Yeah. I'll see you.
I need you to authorise overtime
for two response officers tonight -
Bradley and Foster.
Why?
Look, I can't tell you.
Well, then I won't authorise it.
Well, do you want me to go
and speak to the chief super?
By all means. You can explain
the situation to her.
What's the view like
from your little ivory tower?
Clear. How is it
where you're standing?
Thanks for your cooperation.
Any time.
You know, it's easy to sit there
giving orders behind your desk.
When it comes down to it,
I'm the one that's going to
make a difference out there.
Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of.
Why are you waiting for him?
Come on.
Your shift's over. Let's just go.
He told me to wait.
Tommy, mate.
A wee word.
Sorry.
Look, there's something
I need you to do.
What?
A walk-through - this nightclub.
What's a walk-through?
It's exactly
what it says on the tin.
Stroll in like you're
on a night out, buy a drink,
you have a dance.
Just observe who's in there.
Look. It's fine. I've cleared it.
Look, mate, this is important.
We work out what's going on in there
and we can start taking scalps,
finally.
Good lad. Let's go.
What the fuck?
You all right, mate?
No. I
..I don't think I am, actually.
So
..you are only asking me
for about half the product
we were selling before.
Well, do you want to explain to me
how that works for me?
Short term, you'll take a hit.
In the long run, it works.
Why would I take any kind of hit?
It's the difference
between tactics and strategy.
It's the difference between
tactics and fucking strategy.
OK.
What I think we should do
is turn down the supply
for a while, let things settle,
and the peelers
will get off our back.
That gives us time
to look into new markets.
New markets?
Orders on encrypted messaging apps -
coke, edibles, prescription stuff,
but all top quality.
Delivers in 20 minutes, 24/7.
With a big mark-up?
Once things settle, we can
start to move outside Belfast.
Every major town.
Tina
..is he a drug dealer?
Or is he a CEO?
Maybe he's both.
Are you, Lee?
Three months.
Mount Eden Taxis.
That's Lee Thompson's firm.
Yep. When you go in there,
keep an eye out for Thompson.
Anyone from Mount Eden.
OK. Let's go.
No, no, no. You stay.
This requires a more
delicate touch. No offence.
Off you go.
Hiya. Are you booked? I'm booked.
I'm only going up the road.
I'm booked. They're all booked.
All these taxis are booked?
They're all fucking booked!
Dickhead!
Fine, off you go.
That's him in now.
Come in.
Er, ma'am, Tommy just left
with Canning and Shane
in an unmarked car.
He what?!
What car were they in?
Erm, I'll take a beer, please.
Here! Get me another fucking drink!
Here we go.
No prizes for guessing
what's in the bags.
What the fuck?
It's one hell of a taxi service.
Write down those plates.
I fucking told you, didn't I?! Hey!
Fucking!
You fucking limp prick! Fucking yes!
Something's kicking off in there.
Fuck.
Stop!
Shit. What are you doing?
We can't just leave him there.
I'm not going to be exposed here.
Shit, shit, shit!
Bollocks! That was Canning's car.
Check inside.
I don't know what happened.
Go. Go, go, go!
Today we're flying the flag
in Mount Eden.
If you're not on
another specific call,
I want you out
patrolling the estate.
Anything of interest, you feed it
back to me immediately. OK?
Your district has put
a call out for volunteers
to help out in response.
It's only for a few days. 100%.
I'm just remembering
your face, mate,
for the next time I see you.
You're done, Dixie.
Dead man walking.
Close your eyes. It's easier.
One for the road?
No! Would you get away?
The thing is, Shane, right now
we've a murder on our patch,
and the one guy
I thought I could rely on
is standing in front of me,
sweating buckets, stinking of drink.
Look, I won't let you down here.
We have a statement from a former
officer who was involved
in this case.
They knew. My superiors.
Of course they did.
They're going to fight you
on this every step of the way.
I think we should just take a beat,
work-wise, everything-wise.
OK.
I want to take over
the whole supply.
I've got good people around me.
Taxi business.
You pay that back double
in a month.
We're seizing this money under
the Proceeds of Crime Act
until such a time as you can
provide an explanation for it.
Can I help you?
Can I have my money back?
So, you're seriously telling
me that this £30,000 in cash
was charity fundraising
for a new community centre?
Who donated?
Everybody.
I have a statement here
from the chairman.
It says exactly
what the money was for.
And this just happened to be
in the back of your taxi?
Is that right?
My driver was on his way
to the credit union.
Aye, dead on.
I actually have another letter
from the manager,
says she was expecting it.
We're going to need to verify these
before we can give you
your money back.
That looks pretty bad, doesn't it?
What does? PSNI seizing money
that belongs to the community.
Not exactly winning back
hearts and minds.
Hearts and minds?
Maybe we could get you
to make another wee speech.
I served in Afghanistan.
Two tours.
Towards the end, they ordered us
to burn their poppy fields.
The farmers pleading with us,
saying it was their
only source of income.
Begging with us,
saying that their children
would starve if we did it.
We did it anyway.
And there was one farmer.
He said that for every field
that burns
..you create 100 new enemies.
My advice? I take the money now,
and if you have any concerns
about those statements
..I think you can get back to me.
Who do you think's
giving him orders?
I don't think that boy
takes orders from anyone.
What now? Leave that to me.
Morning, ma'am. Morning.
Morning, ma'am.
Right.
Where are we on the Dixon murder?
DCI Damien Marshall, ma'am. I'm SIO.
Congratulations.
So, it's a bit of
a slow burner, ma'am.
Some unidentified fibres
found at the scene.
No forensics giving
a link to a suspect.
No witnesses.
Any leads from the community?
They're kind of
not talking to me, ma'am.
This Lee Thompson character,
where does he fit in?
I'm working on it, ma'am.
So
..you're a murder cop
with no suspect.
You're a neighbourhood cop
with no neighbourhood.
You're an intelligence cop
with no intelligence.
And you're in charge of all this.
Is that right?
Yes, ma'am.
Wonderful.
Good to see the boss.
For fuck's sake!
What's wrong?
Annie?
This.
Is that? Me and Shane. Yeah.
He must have shared it.
Shared it? What, on social media?
No. Like, on a WhatsApp group
or something.
It's doing the rounds.
Right. You have to report him.
For that? Yeah.
Nah. I'll deal with it.
Uniform to 7-0.
Domestic disturbance
at Hemsworth Close. Over.
So, er, what's the deal
with Annie Conlon?
What do you mean?
Like blows a bit hot and cold,
doesn't she?
Shane, she's a friend of mine.
All right. Jesus!
Just making conversation.
Give us a minute here,
mate, will you?
What?
I need to make a call.
Mate, it's bucketing. It's private.
Prick.
Sarge. Sober today?
Yes, Sarge. OK, listen to me.
Looks like there might be
a completely new player in town.
Guy by the name of Lee Thompson.
Right.
I need some intelligence confirming
that and I need it today. OK.
I'm going to send you
the details of a mid-level dealer,
Sandy McKnight. You need
to put the squeeze on him,
get him to confirm
Thompson's the new wholesaler.
Put the squeeze on him?
Yeah. He lives with his ma.
She has a record for dealing
from back in the day.
Do you get me?
Taking the gloves off here. Right.
Gloves off. We need a result.
Mate, they're dealing.
Great. Get in the car.
What? Get in.
We've just had a task in
from Canning.
Intel work.
We don't do Intel work, Shane.
We're we're response.
Listen, you just follow
my lead today, all right?
We're taking the gloves off.
What?
Just watch and learn, all right?
Uniform from 7-0. That's arrival.
Received, 7-0. Over.
Hello! Police.
Anyone home?
Is anybody hurt?
Hello?
Police!
Hello?
Anyone home? Hello?
Show yourself!
Hello?
Anyone home?
Police!
Hello?
"I have of late -
but wherefore I know not -
"lost all my mirth"
Jesus, what?
Oh, God
Hello?
It's all right. It's OK.
Is that your blood?
Aye.
What are you doing?
It's a barbecue.
Well, I can see it's a barbecue.
You barbecuing clothes?
Yep.
Are they yours?
No. My wife's.
Where is she?
Is she in the house?
Is she safe?
She's left me.
Here, yous know something?
Yous are very good-looking girls.
Gary? Gary?!
What in the name of God
is going on here?
Oh, shite!
Of the sleepin' city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin'
comin' down ♪
What's your favourite gun?
Well, young man, that depends.
On what? On lots of things.
Did you ever kill anyone?
What do you mean?
When you were in the Army
with my Uncle Lee.
Oh. Aye.
That's mad.
How many?
Davy.
Tina shut everything off on me.
Told me you're the new man now.
I'd like to stay here, Lee,
in Mount Eden.
My kids are here,
grandkids.
It's home, you know.
I won't cause you any trouble.
When I got back, I went for
a wee walk around the estate.
Couldn't believe it, Davy.
Just couldn't get over it.
What do you mean?
The dirt.
The debts.
The drugs.
But sure, you're selling drugs.
I am. Aye.
Everywhere but here.
You and Dixon destroyed this place.
Lee Oh, you had your chance.
You did what you did.
And that means you don't
deserve to live here any more.
Lee, please You came here
and looked me in the eye.
I respect that.
But if I lay eyes on you again
..you'll go the way Dixon went.
Did my Uncle Lee ever kill anybody?
He's better at saving people.
Who did he save?
Me.
Really? How?
You can't save this place.
Nobody can.
Watch me.
What's happening?
What's happening, Henry,
is that all the bad people
are leaving this place.
Because you told them to?
Yeah.
Uniform from 7-0.
Received, 7-0. Over.
Roger, Uniform.
We have a male at this location.
We're just, er
We're just talking to his wife.
Wait out for an update.
Thanks.
I'm so sorry about this.
I should never have
left him last night.
I just went to my sister's.
I needed a break, you know.
He's just
Well, he's been
He's been what?
On one of his binges.
OK. Erm
I can see you've got children.
Kelly.
She's away at university now,
thanks be to God.
I'm sorry,
I have to ask you this, but
..has he ever hurt you?
God, no.
No. He's a good man.
He'd never do that.
He was a teacher?
He taught English.
He was good at it. Loved it too.
Hmm.
It took everything from him,
you know - the drink.
Everything.
I just
I couldn't stop him.
What can you do?
You could leave him.
What?
You don't have to stay with him.
You could leave him.
Annie What age are you?
Sorry?
You don't have a clue, love.
Not a clue. How could you?
But someday you will.
Stamp of nature, girls.
Stamp of nature.
Sit down, love.
Right. Let's go.
Mate.
Police! Open up!
You all right?
What are you doing?
Where's Sandy?
I don't know! What's happening?
We just need to have
a quick look around,
and then and then we'll be gone.
Quick look? For what?
What do you think you're
going to find? Well
Where's your warrant?
Don't need one. Stay with her.
You don't need one?
What are you talking about?
Look, do you maybe
want to put the baby down
and we'll have a chat? Yeah.
That's us now.
I want you both to get out.
What is he looking for?
We'll be gone soon.
This is what you're doing? You're
just barging into people's houses?
Look what I found.
I've never seen that before
in my life.
Doesn't matter.
It's in this house.
Where is he?
Where's Sandy?
Hello?
Hello?
Hello?
MUSIC, FAINTLY: Plastic Skeletons
by Jealous Of The Birds
Do you wanna meet
on the cold concrete
Outside our favourite diner?
Do you wanna wrap me up in suede
Smudge off my black eyeliner?
Notebooks filled with dirty poems
All slanted like hipbones of women
Who stand and twist
the cords of telephones
I kiss your microphone
and blame it on hormones
Oh, I've become addicted
to the smell of your cologne
But why can't we just keep it
our little summer secret? ♪
Excuse me. Can I help you?
Drink your margarita ♪
Mmm.
Er
Mmm.
Mmm!
Constable Byrne?
Hmm.
How are you doing
..ma'am?
OK, so, as you can see,
everyone's out on the ground.
Just give me a call sign, ma'am.
Ready to rock.
Not today. Grab a desk, log in and
complete your online safety course.
I've done that already, ma'am.
When? Last year.
I like everyone in the section
to refresh it every six months.
So now you get to do it again.
Ma'am.
Central custody full, as usual.
This reminds me of
queuing to get onto a ferry.
The worst ferry in the world.
This is ridiculous.
Sleeping like a baby.
Do you think he'll remember
what he did?
The state we picked him up in,
probably not. Hmm.
How are you?
Me?
Yeah You know.
Yeah, I suppose I do.
So, you're still definitely
going back to London?
Back to the Met or something?
Nah.
I think I'm done
upholding the rule of law.
I was thinking maybe
..librarian.
Librarian?
Right. OK.
Let me hear your "shush".
My what? Your "shush".
Oh! My "shush".
OK. Hang on.
No talking.
Very impressive!
How about you?
How do you mean?
Well
I have two cons
who work well together,
who enjoy working together,
asking to be separated
on the rota.
Am I allowed to ask why?
It's complicated.
I still think we should
have arrested him.
We've already arrested him.
What do you mean?
Me and Stevie, we booked him
last year for drink-driving.
Not that he'll remember.
Why did I say that to his wife?
I just I just need
to sort myself out, Grace.
Do you know that? Like you.
Like me? Yeah. Like you.
You think before you do things.
Like, I mean, you and Stevie,
right, deciding not to do anything,
because of work or being sensible.
I'm sorry, what?
Sorry.
Sorry. I shouldn't have
mentioned that. Sorry to
Do you really think that I've got
everything sorted, that I know
..I know exactly what I'm doing?
Er, yeah.
Yeah. I mean Annie, no, no.
My son has buggered off to England
because I didn't see
how unhappy he was.
I had to sell my house
because it wasn't secure any more.
And now I'm living with
With me. Yeah, yeah. No offence.
Stevie's barely talking to me.
Yeah, and last week
..Jesus Christ, last week,
I almost shot someone.
Does that sound sorted to you?
No.
I mean
It sounds batshit freaking crazy,
to be honest with you. Yeah.
Everything I do these days
goes wrong.
Oh, fuck it.
Where are we going?
Let's try and get
one thing right, shall we?
Shane, this isn't even
admissible as evidence.
Yep. I know that.
So what are we doing with it, then?
Leverage.
You go to the front door,
make a fucking racket.
Give me that.
Police. Open up!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Open up! Police!
What's the craic, lads?
What are you doing?
You can't break in here like that.
What are you doing, mate?
Good man.
Oh!
Get away from me.
Oh!
Jesus
I'm not looking for any trouble!
Fuck off!
Hello. Open the door!
It's the police!
Don't move!
Sorry. I couldn't find the key.
They had a wee fall.
You've asked
a suspect to confirm their name
and date of birth in order
to complete a background check.
The suspect refuses to comply
and becomes verbally aggressive.
Do you, A, immediately
arrest the suspect,
B, call for a backup call sign,
C, warn the suspect that
you intend to arrest them
if they do not comply?
Or option D -
kick 'em in the balls.
Constable.
Sir!
Who are you? Aisling Byrne, sir.
Temporary transfer.
Inspector Johnston.
I thought I met
the inspector already.
Yeah, it's
Well, it's complicated.
She make you do
the safety course, aye?
Yeah. Woman loves a safety course.
I have a couple of statements here.
You wouldn't mind
verifying one of them for me?
It's from a manager
of a credit union.
You can do it over the phone.
I'm going to do
the other one in person.
No bother.
What should I tell
Inspector McNally?
You could tell her
..Inspector Johnston is very sorry,
but she still owes me a drink.
By the way, pretty sure
it's not option D.
Alexander Gareth Kyle McKnight.
You know it's a proper record
when you have to scroll down it
to get to the fucking end.
Right. I need to speak
to Sandy - alone.
That's no problem, mate. I can go.
Yeah. You can. Cheers.
What are you at? Let me go!
Let me go!
Ow! Let me
Are you serious? On you go.
Good man. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
What'd you shut the door for?
Mate, please!
I don't like small spaces!
Come on, mate, please!
You're fucked. That's not even mine.
This isn't even my house.
Just open the door! It's his.
This was in your house, bud.
Open the fucking door!
Under your bed, in fact.
Not mine. That's all right, then.
Let's just say it's your ma's.
I'm going to go back, call it in,
say it's your ma's.
She's going straight back to prison.
You know it's not hers.
Who's going to look after
your wee brother then? You?
Nah. That wee fella's
going straight into care.
You know what care's like?
It's fucking shit, mate. OK.
It's mine. What do you want?
Constable, could you go and
check the back door, please?
See if I've broken it?
Check the back?
Yeah. Go on and check the back
there, Tommy. Cheers, mate.
Come on, open the door!
You tell me where
the gear comes from,
and I'll walk out of here
like nothing ever happened.
You what? Haven't seen anything.
Haven't done anything.
Fuck it - haven't even
been here, mate.
I'll flush those bags
down the toilet.
They'll kill me.
Who?
Huh?
Promise I won't tell.
Look, I don't have a name.
They don't tell us the names.
You know who you're buying it from.
Of course you fucking do!
All right, right, right.
The Factory Faithful.
That's not a name. It's a nightclub.
What about it? On Friday nights,
every dealer in Belfast is there.
So?
You go in,
leave your money upstairs,
walk out with the gear.
Look, I swear to God,
that's all I know.
I swear.
How's that door? It's broken.
Ah, you need to get that fixed.
Any old fucker
could just walk in here.
Oh, and tell your ma
I was asking for her.
What the hell was that?
That was taking the gloves off, mate.
For God's sake, Shane!
What? You can't do that.
We just got the first bit
of valuable intel
that anyone has been able
to turn up in months.
What would you rather do?
Go round and round
on the hamster wheel
or actually make a bit of
difference once in a while?
Oh, fuck's sake.
So, you've finally hit
rock-bottom, have you?
Getting there.
I have, er, a statement here,
signed in your own hand,
saying the money that we seized
from Lee is legitimate fundraising.
"Chairman of the community centre."
There's a wee wee letterhead and
everything. It's very convincing.
Except I thought you'd be
wise enough to know better.
Get out.
You're not going to stand over this.
What's he threatening you with, Rab?
Only people who threatened me
recently have been your lot.
Sorry?
I was stopped - two of yours.
Wee Henry in the car.
Taken out, humiliated.
The wee lad was traumatised.
And now do you know what?
He hates the peelers,
and I don't blame him.
So I tell you what,
Inspector Johnston -
you take that statement
and shove it up your bony wee hole.
I didn't call yous.
No. We know.
Look, Marilyn,
if we keep tolerating this
then some day, somebody's
going to get seriously hurt,
or he is going to hurt himself.
Now, every time this happens,
he needs to face the consequences.
He's been arrested before.
It doesn't change anything.
Well, then we can keep arresting him
until one day maybe it does.
If you give us a statement,
then we can arrest him on
suspicion of criminal damage.
OK.
Yeah.
OK.
Can I ask you a personal question?
As long as it's about
cooking, dogs or music, yes.
It's about Sarah.
Would you have
Would you have been with her?
Like, I mean
..would you have married her
..if you'd known at some point
..you were going to lose her?
Is it OK if we talk
about something else?
Yeah. Yeah.
Sorry.
Boss.
Sir!
Constable Byrne.
Hi. I checked out that statement
from the credit union manager.
And it stood up?
Yep. Cheers.
Sir.
See, when I talked to her,
she seemed a bit scared.
Scared? Like she had to say it.
OK. Thank you.
So, I did a bit more digging.
Right.
Sorry. It was better than doing
that safety course again. Yep.
You see the taxi company
that the money was found in?
They have to register
all their drivers
with the Belfast Carriage Office
for safety reasons.
We have access to that system.
We do. So I went into it
and I found the names
of all the drivers.
And then I ran them through
Niche and PNC.
And? They're nearly all
..military veterans.
Some from here,
some from England, Scotland.
It's weird. It's like
Like what?
It's like a wee private army.
So, dealers pick
the stuff up inside.
They come out the back door.
We'll be waiting here.
We take them where they need to go.
They pay us on arrival.
Keys.
I don't like this. What?
Using the same set-up
Dixie and Hamill used.
I'd rather we used our own.
We will.
Soon.
I need to talk to you.
Give me 20 minutes. Now.
Davy Hamill's left the estate.
Yeah.
What are you doing?
Do you think you're a gangster?
Is that it?
No. Well, what, then?
What are you, Lee? Tell me.
I'm someone who wants
to change things.
Well, you're doing that, all right.
You're definitely delivering there.
You're going to get us all killed.
No, I won't.
No.
I won't.
You wait and see, Mags.
Wait and see what I am
going to do with this place.
Everything is going to be different.
It's going to be better,
it's going to be cleaner,
it's going to be safer. You're mad.
Sure, we're all mad
in our own way, Mags.
Stamp of nature.
That's what it is, you know.
What's that, Gary?
"To the next abstinence,
"the next more easy,
"for use can almost change
the stamp of nature."
Hamlet.
School play.
I was Ophelia.
What does it mean?
Stamp of nature?
It means
..changing who you are is
..really feckin' difficult.
But worth a try.
Finally.
Un-fucking-believable!
Cheers.
Come on. Rise and shine.
Oh, where am I? What happened?
You don't remember?
You attacked a 14-year-old lad
on his way to school,
tried to steal his mobile phone,
broke his jaw.
No, I didn't. Aye, you did.
Jesus. I am sorry.
I'm I'm so sorry.
Well, sorry doesn't cut it.
Can you? Yeah. Thanks
OK. Sorry.
Sandra?
Yeah?
I would have.
You would have what?
Even if I knew what was going to
happen to her, I'd do it all again.
What about you with Gerry?
Yeah.
Same.
Wouldn't have missed a minute of it.
You don't have to do it, you know.
Do what? Get on that ferry.
Shh! No talking.
You didn't even ring ahead.
I didn't want to use the phone.
Right.
It's come to that, has it?
Er, look, don't take this
the wrong way, but I
Don't take this the wrong way,
but you don't quite believe me.
No, of course I believe you.
But it's about what
a judge will believe.
Wait there.
I took documents with me
when I left.
I could see the way
the wind was blowing.
I thought I might need
something to bargain with
if they ever came after me.
So that's?
That is agents,
handlers,
operations.
All the dirty wee secrets.
You can take notes,
but the documents stay here.
Wee bit more homework for you
if you're interested.
Right. Nice bunch of lads. Hmm.
That's for tomorrow, by the way.
OK. Thanks. Foster.
All right, stranger?
Are you OK?
I
Yeah. Just a tough day.
Bit mad?
You still up for a drink? Yeah.
See if you're going to send
pictures of us in bed to your mates,
you could have at least
picked a better one. Wh?
No. Hang on
You're not even that good.
Bradley, Foster - with me.
Murray Canning. What a prick!
Right, who took all my food
from the fridge?
Anyone? No?
Perfect.
Welcome to the section, by the way.
Hi.
Hey, it's Cal.
Leave a message after the
Hi, Cal. It's just me again.
When you get a sec,
will you just give me a call?
All right.
Hiya, Grace. How's it going?
Hiya. Are you OK?
Aye, not bad, not bad.
See you.
See you!
Brilliant work today, both of yous.
This is how we make
a difference, Tommy. Yeah?
Change into your civvies.
Stick around.
Hiya.
Hey. How was your day?
You know, same old, same old.
You?
Oh, you know. Same old, same old.
Goodnight.
Yeah. I'll see you.
I need you to authorise overtime
for two response officers tonight -
Bradley and Foster.
Why?
Look, I can't tell you.
Well, then I won't authorise it.
Well, do you want me to go
and speak to the chief super?
By all means. You can explain
the situation to her.
What's the view like
from your little ivory tower?
Clear. How is it
where you're standing?
Thanks for your cooperation.
Any time.
You know, it's easy to sit there
giving orders behind your desk.
When it comes down to it,
I'm the one that's going to
make a difference out there.
Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of.
Why are you waiting for him?
Come on.
Your shift's over. Let's just go.
He told me to wait.
Tommy, mate.
A wee word.
Sorry.
Look, there's something
I need you to do.
What?
A walk-through - this nightclub.
What's a walk-through?
It's exactly
what it says on the tin.
Stroll in like you're
on a night out, buy a drink,
you have a dance.
Just observe who's in there.
Look. It's fine. I've cleared it.
Look, mate, this is important.
We work out what's going on in there
and we can start taking scalps,
finally.
Good lad. Let's go.
What the fuck?
You all right, mate?
No. I
..I don't think I am, actually.
So
..you are only asking me
for about half the product
we were selling before.
Well, do you want to explain to me
how that works for me?
Short term, you'll take a hit.
In the long run, it works.
Why would I take any kind of hit?
It's the difference
between tactics and strategy.
It's the difference between
tactics and fucking strategy.
OK.
What I think we should do
is turn down the supply
for a while, let things settle,
and the peelers
will get off our back.
That gives us time
to look into new markets.
New markets?
Orders on encrypted messaging apps -
coke, edibles, prescription stuff,
but all top quality.
Delivers in 20 minutes, 24/7.
With a big mark-up?
Once things settle, we can
start to move outside Belfast.
Every major town.
Tina
..is he a drug dealer?
Or is he a CEO?
Maybe he's both.
Are you, Lee?
Three months.
Mount Eden Taxis.
That's Lee Thompson's firm.
Yep. When you go in there,
keep an eye out for Thompson.
Anyone from Mount Eden.
OK. Let's go.
No, no, no. You stay.
This requires a more
delicate touch. No offence.
Off you go.
Hiya. Are you booked? I'm booked.
I'm only going up the road.
I'm booked. They're all booked.
All these taxis are booked?
They're all fucking booked!
Dickhead!
Fine, off you go.
That's him in now.
Come in.
Er, ma'am, Tommy just left
with Canning and Shane
in an unmarked car.
He what?!
What car were they in?
Erm, I'll take a beer, please.
Here! Get me another fucking drink!
Here we go.
No prizes for guessing
what's in the bags.
What the fuck?
It's one hell of a taxi service.
Write down those plates.
I fucking told you, didn't I?! Hey!
Fucking!
You fucking limp prick! Fucking yes!
Something's kicking off in there.
Fuck.
Stop!
Shit. What are you doing?
We can't just leave him there.
I'm not going to be exposed here.
Shit, shit, shit!
Bollocks! That was Canning's car.
Check inside.
I don't know what happened.
Go. Go, go, go!