The Kollective (2025) s01e02 Episode Script

1
[indistinct chatter]
[tense music]
[engine revving]
[siren wailing]
[indistinct yelling]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[engine revving]
[engine revving]
[indistinct yelling]
[tense music]
[indistinct yelling]
[speaking in foreign language]
[music continues]
This way. This way, this way.
[gunfire]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[mellow music]
[camera clicking]
[theme music]
[singer vocalizing]
[siren wailing in distance]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[sobs]
Did you know he was here?
[sniffles]
You're Delia?
[mellow music]
Hi.
I have to warn you, because
what you're about to see
might be hard to take.
[music continues]
[indistinct whispering]
[sniffles]
[siren wailing in distance]
MAN 1: Abasi Ngoy
and his brother Tresor.
These are the men
who robbed the victim.
They come from a-a district
that is extremely poor.
Where a hundred dollars
can last you for months.
Let alone a computer.
Merci.
[speaking in foreign language]
They fired at my officers.
So they had to retaliate.
These men are part
of the Kulunas gang.
Very violent.
MAYA:
What is confusing for us
is that if it was a robbery,
even a violent one,
why there were cigarette marks
on Josh's eyelids?
We found traces under
Mr. Moore's fingernails
that show that
he tried to resist.
So, we can assume
the robbers became impatient.
-Mm.
-Mm.
A crime of opportunity.
A tourist with potentially
expensive goods,
walking through
a neighbourhood like Matete
-This is bullshit.
-Shh, shh, shh.
Please. Go ahead.
No, enough of this.
You think we will believe this,
and then go home,
and let you close the case.
But a man has died here.
People die here every day.
Now, his backpack was found
in the possession
of the culprit.
I need you to sign here
so I can release
Mr. Moore's things.
Huh.
Thank you.
A phone a wallet,
and a backpack.
DELIA:
This isn't his wallet.
[groans]
MAN 1:
Take a look.
It contains his driving
license, credit cards,
family photograph.
Look, there is no mystery
to solve here.
Your friend underestimated
the dangers of Kinshasa.
He was my boyfriend. I know
that this wasn't his wallet.
-You've been--
-Let's go, let's go.
Case is closed.
[indistinct chatter]
[suspenseful music]
[inaudible chatter]
Delia, what the fuck?
-You blew that.
-I blew it?
Didn't you notice that he was
just putting on a little show
just to intimidate us?
Did it ever occur to you
that perhaps
I was letting him
incriminate himself?
That guy was never gonna
tell us the truth.
But his lies,
we could have used those
as leverage down the line.
I'm sorry if I don't have your
natural knack for manipulation.
That is unfair and you know it.
Josh is like family to me.
Well, then, you know what
his real wallet looks like.
And why it was
so important to him.
Yeah.
I bought the wallet
for his father as a gift.
Okay.
There was a lot
I didn't know a-about Josh yet.
But I do know that
That wallet was
like a lucky charm,
he would rather
have lost an eye.
You have to understand, there
are other ways of working.
There is value in listening,
which is precisely
what I was trying
to do before you
messed everything up.
Delia
-We are on the same side.
-Josh is dead because of you.
So we're not on the same side.
We never will be.
I will mourn Josh
in my own time.
Josh did understand the cost
of finding out the truth.
So the moment that
he got on that plane,
he accepted that
that was a possibility.
He died as a journalist.
[pensive music]
[exhales]
MAYA: If you are gonna
follow in his path,
please don't act like
a bull in a China shop.
Because let me tell you,
those people,
they will go to any length
to silence the truth.
Thanks for the pep talk.
You need it.
[sighs]
[instrumental music]
[door opens]
AARON: Hey.
[scoffs]
-How is Josh's mom?
-Broken.
But I promised her that
that we will stay here
until he's ready to go home.
What happened at
the police station?
[sighs]
The men they claimed did it,
they're both conveniently dead.
[Aaron scoffs]
Why would they torture
Now, all we have
is his rucksack,
his phone, and this wallet,
which isn't even his.
I have nothing.
Maybe, maybe not nothing, Delia.
I texted Josh's local contact.
-Claude?
-Yes.
DELIA: When I find out
what happened to him
who killed him,
who decided that
he had to die, and why
[dramatic music]
[indistinct chatter]
-Claude?
-Yeah.
Hi.
I'm Aaron. We texted.
-Nice to meet you.
-Delia.
Uh, thanks for agreeing
to meet us.
And, um
Yeah, anything that
you can tell us is helpful.
Look, we know that
Josh and you,
you talked for
a long time, so
we can only assume
that he trusted you.
-Because he--
-Why should I trust you?
DELIA: Because we're here.
Because we haven't
gone back home.
Perhaps you should.
It is not safe for you here.
I don't care about safety.
Only a privileged person
would be foolish enough
to think that.
Okay, Claude, we know that
the Rina Air flight
that Steve Lush was on
was shot down.
We know about
the satellite images,
the missiles that
they're linked to Ivanov
and that he's involved with
the murder of coltan miners.
So, I'm asking, begging,
really,
if you remotely cared
about Joshua--
Did you know that just
six years ago
Lusamba used to drive
taxis, too?
Look around you.
This is where Lusamba
held his first rally.
And for a long time, this was
his campaign headquarters.
-I did help Joshua.
-We know that--
But every time I help someone,
they end up dying.
But Lusamba,
this whole movement,
we have come too far together.
I need to look at the future.
We are too close now to
get distracted by the past.
No matter how unfair
that may be.
We are on the cusp
of something here.
A new way for the Congo.
One free of corruption
and foreign influences.
If Lusamba wins this election,
the Russians
will have to leave.
But until then,
you are not safe here.
Wait, Claude,
if you don't help us,
then Josh died for nothing.
I came here to warn you.
Go home.
[soft music]
[birds cawing]
If you used my birthday,
I will never forgive you.
[beeping]
[exhales]
[mellow music]
[sniffles]
[beeping]
[suspenseful music]
Did Joshua ever lose things?
[indistinct chatter]
Yeah, he did.
I think he got a tracker
sent into his wallets.
So when they swapped
it out and gave us
this piece of crap instead,
somebody fucked up.
Big time.
Enigma Club?
[indistinct chatter]
You're crazy.
[upbeat music]
Okay, we'll both go in.
I'll, uh, try to spot him.
Keep an eye on me.
You got the phone?
-Yeah.
-Great.
Uh, if the tracker moves,
follow it.
[singing in foreign language]
What's up, guy?
Hey, hello.
How are you?
Do you want to buy me a drink?
No?
[beeping]
[music continues]
[camera clicking]
You saw him?
I found a guy with
Joshua's wallet.
But that's not Ivanov.
Okay.
Wait.
What are you doing?
I'm gonna find out
more about him.
He's a good-looking guy
in a club, it'll be easy.
-Trust me.
-But, but
We don't know
We don't know they
[speaking in foreign language]
No, I know him. Hi!
[music continues]
[inaudible chatter]
I'm Anna.
Sure you are.
Then I'm Henry.
DELIA: Sure you are.
So who are you?
Are you famous or something?
Not yet.
But maybe soon.
-Maybe soon.
-What?
-Maybe soon.
-I can't hear you.
[music continues]
Why, are you a musician?
A model?
I work for the future president
of this country.
[speaking in foreign language]
Lusamba?
Right.
Hey, why don't we just
stop lying to ourselves
and just, uh, skip to the point?
Depends on what that is.
That I hate places like this.
When I come in,
all I wanna do is leave.
Yet, here you are.
Well, I was going to leave,
but then I saw you.
My friends will be
disappointed.
I think they'll get over it.
Let's see.
Nice to meet you, Omar Fidele.
Nice wallet.
It's a gift.
[speaking in foreign language]
[singing in foreign language]
[indistinct chatter]
Delia!
It's fine.
You know this guy?
He's a friend from the NGO
who thinks he has to look
after me, but he doesn't.
She's alright.
Goodnight.
[engine revving]
I've got big things
you can come to my crib ♪
Big-g-g-ger
Big-g-g-ger bigger
Big-g-g-ger
Big-g-g-ger
big car ♪
Big gal
big house ♪
Big cash
big mind ♪
Big ego big man
big things ♪♪♪
Hey, hey, hey!
[engine revving]
[indistinct song on stereo]
[liquid pouring]
I'll be right back.
[tense music]
[breathing heavily]
Fuck! Fuck.
[water running]
[music continues]
[phone chimes]
[speaking in foreign language]
[blows air]
Can I get a drink?
Coming right up.
You've got a really nice place.
-Vodka, it's okay?
-Yeah.
DELIA:
Have you just moved in?
Something like that.
So you've got all your
past lives in these boxes?
What are you trying to get at?
Oh, well
I just wanna know who the guy
is in the VIP area of the club
who orders champagne
has an expensive watch,
a snakeskin wallet.
I'll just say,
I'm a man full of mysteries.
Well, I'd like to uncover them.
[suspenseful music]
Maybe some ice first.
[phone chimes]
Um, I'll give another 100
if you wait for me, okay?
-Okay.
-Great.
[music continues]
[muffled music on stereo]
[singing in foreign language]
[phone chimes]
[sighs]
-You okay?
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
-Hm.
[grunts]
[exhales]
[suspenseful music]
[grunting]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[Omar groans]
[panting]
[insects chirping]
Now, we have access to all the
contents of that man's phone.
[pensive music]
Take us to the Ambassador Hotel,
please, yeah?
Thank you.
[beeping]
Mm. Yeah, we're in.
I'm sending you the data now.
Okay, L-Lucas, please, uh,
let me log in, too,
so we can explore together.
Uh, let's start with the basics.
I'm going to create
a full scan of the phone.
That way, if he gets suspicious,
we'll have a full forensic
backup before he wipes it.
[dramatic music]
I'll take a look
at his, uh, texts.
Are we doing
keyword searches, or
No, no, we don't know
what we're looking for.
Uh, not exactly.
So, uh, let's just do this
the old-fashioned way.
[chuckles]
That might take a while.
Well, it's good thing Delia and
Aaron are still sleeping, then.
Come on,
it's the least we can do.
Yes.
Omar
I hope you have
a good data plan.
[both chuckling]
[keyboard keys clacking]
[suspenseful music]
[yawns]
[speaking in foreign language]
Alright.
[speaking in foreign language]
ETIENNE:
Here is what we know.
More likely than not, um,
"Moscow" is Boris Ivanov.
The texts between him
and Omar suggest
that Ivanov, uh, has paid Omar
for what he called
"a press pass."
-Yeah, for Lusamba's junket.
-Wait, wait, wait.
But I-I thought
the whole Ivanov
journalist story was bullshit.
Yeah, of course, but Lusamba
doesn't suspect it,
and he won't,
because Ivanov
is probably credited
as a journalist
by his friend Omar.
Uh, wait a moment.
Take a look at the-the photos.
[pensive music]
[indistinct chatter]
LUCAS: Look, Omar may just
be an opportunist
because everything we've read
on the phone just suggests
that Omar's simply,
uh, arranging access.
In return for what?
A bribe?
Uh, Omar called it a fee,
and, uh, it's a pretty big one.
More than $50,000.
You'd never pay that
just for a press pass.
-No.
-Why would he do that?
Because they're going
to kill Lusamba aren't they?
Uh
Oh.
Uh, when is the press junket?
-Uh, it's already started.
-Where?
Kinshasa Convention Centre.
Maya.
[crowd clamouring]
[upbeat music]
Hey! These-these two,
they're with me.
[speaking in foreign language]
Show me.
DELIA: He found it.
The junket will be
in the conference suite.
It's not far.
You sure you can get us access?
Oh, yes, I'm not worried
about that. It's this, look.
We are asking Lusamba
to cancel today's junket,
and maybe tonight's rally
on the eve of the election.
That's like asking Mandela
to cancel his liberation
speech back in 1990.
It is not easy.
If he does the interview,
there will be no presidency.
Okay. Come.
[dramatic music]
Hi.
I need to speak to Mr. Lusamba.
Maya Jansen.
You're not on my list.
-George, George!
-Maya?
-Good to see you.
-Good to see you, too.
I think there's been
an oversight.
I'm not on the list.
Oh.
This is Maya Jansen.
You can let her in.
Thank you.
Sorry, not you. Only her.
I'll come back.
GEORGE: Okay, yes.
[speaking in foreign language]
Forgive me.
Uh, Maya Jansen.
I know who you are.
And I am honoured.
-Ladies, excuse us.
-Alright.
Forgive me.
To what do I owe the pleasure
of your surprise visit?
Is it possible to speak to you
somewhere more privately?
Here will be just fine.
We're among friends.
Um, I'm sorry, but perhaps
everything is not as it seems.
What do you mean?
We have reasons to believe
that there's a journalist
here with a fake identity.
Omar Fidele has provided
a press pass for Boris Ivanov,
who is not a journalist.
You need to cancel the junket.
[suspenseful music]
-No.
-No?
Mr. Lusamba, please,
I need you--
-Do you hear that?
-Yes.
[crowd cheering]
People have camped out
overnight.
Some, I'm told,
have been there for days.
I understand--
Asked your friend this morning
why he thought that was.
He told me,
"Because they love you."
But I don't think
that's the case.
Candidate Lusamba, please.
They may feel some
affection, certainly.
But far more powerful
is the fact they are angry.
Because every
other political option
leads them straight back
to the old ways.
The old corruptions.
The old guard.
So no.
The only thing I have to do
is listen to my people outside.
I do understand.
But your security,
Omar Fidele--
He's a loyal friend who made
disappointing decisions.
And I will talk to him
personally
about his indiscretion.
But I trust him.
And I am certain
this journalist
you describe poses no threats.
With the deepest respect,
we believe that he does.
You are in danger.
Jackie.
Miss Jansen says we have
a Boris Ivanov with us today?
Oh, yes.
-Go find him, please.
-Okay.
JACKIE: Mr. Ivanov?
Is there a Mr. Ivanov here?
-Here.
-You're up next.
That's not him.
[intense music]
DELIA: That's not the guy
from the missing truck.
Mr. Ivanov.
Would it be presumptive of me
to call you president?
[chuckles]
Please.
I'll be with you shortly.
AARON: What is he doing?
-An interview.
-What?
Is it possible that
you guys are wrong?
Fuck.
I'm sorry.
Can you wait with Lusamba?
Delia!
[intense music]
DELIA: That's him!
That's Ivanov!
[music continues]
Follow that black SUV.
Delia!
-Hey, that's him.
-What?
Get in!
What is our plan here?
Uh, I don't know.
What do you mean
you don't know?
Let's figure it out together.
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
Whatever you do,
don't lose him.
-Please, take a seat.
-Thank you, Mr. President.
I'm grateful for you bringing
our appointment forward.
Le Doute is but a
small publication.
I'd expected to sit
outside all day.
Consider me curious.
That suits me fine, because
you can consider me impatient.
We can speak
en Français if you prefer.
-No, English is fine.
-Madame!
-Hey, hey!
-Please, please.
This is a restricted
area, madame.
You can't go in.
Have a seat. Please.
[suspenseful music]
[breathing heavily]
Wait, wait!
Back up, back up!
-You-you just missed the car.
-We've lost the car.
Sir, we've lost the car.
Take the first exit
and follow the SUV.
-Sir?
-We-we're losing him!
-Hey, do you hear us?
-Hey, stop!
-Hey!
-Where are you going?
Infrastructural projects that
serve our poorest residents
are of course one of the
key tenets of my programme.
-Have you read our proposals?
-Indeed.
Now, if you don't mind,
I thought we might move on
to your economic policy.
I have a few questions about
what you see as
the DRC's ongoing role
in its various
trade organizations.
You know, I've had days
of these interviews,
and finally some
real substance.
Please. Carry on.
-Sir?
-Hey!
Dude, why are you ignoring us?
AARON: You know?
You know what, sir.
He's not talking to us.
The doors are locked!
The doors are fucking locked.
Why the fuck did
you lock the doors?
-Okay, okay, you know what?
-Stop the car!
-Stop the car!
-Hello?
[indistinct chatter]
MAN 2: Thank you for
the clarification.
Will that be all?
One more thing.
I was wondering
Would you kindly sign
your book for me?
Yes, of course.
Of course, absolutely.
[tense music]
[brakes squeal]
What is going on here? Sir?
Sir, who are you?
Who are those people?
[indistinct chatter]
-What do you want from us?
-Hey, we asked you a question!
-We have to wait.
-Wait-wait for what?
-We can get you money.
-We're no threat.
We have everything.
We can, we can negotiate.
Whatever you want.
If you do something, you're
in a lot of trouble, okay?
Oh, my God.
-Oh, my God!
-Jesus, God!
-Be quiet.
-What do you mean, be quiet?
Holy shit!
Do you know
what you just,
what you just cost us?
DELIA: We had him!
Claude, we fucking had him!
We were following Ivanov!
And you fucking ruined it!
No, you did!
The second you started
running around investigating.
I know you think you're being
smart, but I can assure you,
you're being
pretty damn conspicuous.
What do you
What do you mean, conspicuous?
Shit.
You had us under surveillance?
CLAUDE:
Oh, you make it sound so grand.
This is just me and my friends
keeping an eye out.
But if we can do it,
what do you think
your Russian friend can do?
With all his money and
powerful interests?
If we hadn't intervened,
what exactly was your plan?
Slam into Ivanov's car?
Knock him off the road?
And then what?
What happens when
he pulls out his weapon
or call in his friends?
I told you once,
but you wouldn't listen.
So I had to show you.
You are not safe here!
So go and publish your story.
Tell the world.
But please, just do it
somewhere else.
-Yeah.
-We already got your luggage.
I'll take you to the airport.
You've taken everything we had.
Claude, we had one lead!
[breathing heavily]
I might have just
saved your life.
But you can thank me later.
[car door opens]
[car door closes]
[sighs]
[tense music]
-Chief?
-Chief!
[clamouring]
-Let me in!
-Stay back, stay back.
Stay back!
[yelling in foreign language]
WOMAN 1: Mr. President?
Mr. President?
MAN 3:
Don't take pictures.
[reporters clamouring]
No, no, no.
Don' take pictures.
-Let's go.
-Don't take pictures.
[mellow music]
DELIA: Today, we're devastated
to announce the loss
of our colleague and Kollective
co-founder, Joshua Moore.
[siren wailing in distance]
I could tell you about all
the ways Joshua was remarkable.
[phone vibrating]
I could tell you how
his optimism, his hope
were such rare qualities.
[phone vibrating]
But I think
I'll just say this
Joshua was my friend.
I loved him.
And he didn't deserve
to die like this.
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
We've been investigating
his death in Kinshasa
and we have much to report
in the coming days.
So, consider this the
beginning of that conversation.
Because it cannot
possibly be the end.
[gunshot]
Whatever they throw at us,
we will fight back.
[siren blaring]
If they play dirty, which
they will, they should know
[gunshots]
we will fight fire with fire.
There might be lots of them.
[indistinct chatter]
But there are
fucking millions of us.
[singer vocalizing]
[vocalizing continues]
[theme music]