Atomic (2025) s01e03 Episode Script
The End Of Days
1
The following programme contains
strong language and violent scenes.
Dr Cassandra Bryce?
I have some intelligence that needs
your particular nuclear expertise.
You told me it was gonna be
a quick job. In and out.
ALAM: The metal in the boxes
is uranium.
What do you want to return it to me?
I want a million pounds.
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
They're both carrying something.
CASSIE: They're keeping apart.
If there was two pieces of uranium,
you'd have to keep them apart
to stop them reacting
to each other - they might explode.
(ON PHONE) Go to a location
I will send you.
There will be consequences
if you don't deliver.
Max. Do what they say. No!
We're gonna make her suffer.
Chop her into pieces.
(GUNSHOT)
(BODY THUDS)
Get to Syria, Max.
I will arrange transport
to Marrakesh.
Your girlfriend will be here
when you arrive.
We're going to Syria.
(MAN SPEAKS ARABIC)
(CONTINUES SPEAKING)
(CONVERSATION IN ARABIC)
(CUTLERY CLATTERING)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
What's your name?
Janat.
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
# RADIOHEAD: Bodysnatchers
# I do not
# Understand
# What it is
# I've done wrong
# Full of holes
# Check for pulse
# It is the 21st century
# It is the 21st century
# All the lines
Wrapped around my face
# All the lines
Wrapped around my face
# And for anyone else to see
# And for anyone else to see
# I'm a lie #
You're not saying much.
I'm driving.
Usually can't shut you up.
I thought you wouldn't wanna talk.
You're on a comedown.
I feel fine.
(PHONE BEEPS)
Alam.
He wants us to go to an airfield
to catch a plane to Morocco.
To deliver the uranium.
We're here because of Baal.
That's why we came here.
Butafter we go to the plane.
We have to take the uranium to them.
You killed one of them last night.
So what?! Alam doesn't know that.
All he knows is that people
showed up and we had to run.
OK, OK. Calm down.
That's him.
Mohamed Azizdestroyer of worlds.
And he quoted the Gita?
Misquoted.
Oppenheimer was paraphrasing.
Did he strike you
as the literary type?
No.
But he seems like a textbook case.
Hardcore jihadi. He went to Syria
after his release from jail.
And according to the Brits,
he hasn't been seen for seven years.
There was something about him, Mark.
I saw something.
He's dangerous.We still don't know
if they have real uranium.
Khaled's source said they do.
Fifty kilos. In two pieces.
I struggle to see how a Venezuelan
drug cartel fits into this
when we have a known
jihadist involved.
Well, the cartels
control Highway 10 -
the smuggling route between
the Mediterranean and West Africa.
They can move the uranium
through the desert for the jihadis.
OK.
But where to?
So it could be going to Mali.
I mean, the insurgents there have
practically taken over the country.
(PHONE VIBRATES)
Although, with this
Aziz guy involved, I think it's much
more likely a group in this area.
We think we've identified
a car they're in,
which has crossed the border
into Syria.
MAX: Who are they?
They're soldiers.
The new governmentor militia.
We have to be careful.
We need to turn off. We need petrol.
Yeah, anything that's available,
I'm standing by.
I need to get on the ground.
WE need to get on the ground.
I don't wanna jeopardise your cover
in Beirut. You're doing vital work.
No, there is nothing more vital than
trying to prevent a terrorist group
getting their hands
on a nuclear bomb, Mark.
That's the whole reason I'm here.
Whoever this Mohamed Aziz is
however dangerous he may be,
he's not gonna be assembling a bomb.
Not even
when he quoted the Gita to you?
There has to be
somebody building the bomb.
OK? Someone that knows how to do it.
I got a name for you.
Sayed Ahman. He's a physicist.
He went missing a couple of years
ago. I actually reported him.
Um He disappeared
a little bit after that.
I'm sure it was followed up.
Well, maybe I should
check into that.
(PHONE VIBRATES)
Yeah?You weren't expecting him,
were you?Talk to me.
You know him well?
Where?I know him.
Yeah, I'm on my way.
I got us a plane
but we need to leave right now.
I thought you didn't want me
to come?You told me I need you.
But if you wanna come catch this
jihadi, we need to leave right now.
It was great to meet you.
Yeah. Um Hey.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Take care of yourself.
Let me know where they're headed.
And no-one interferes with their
journey until I am on the ground.
That is imperative.
They're on the move again -
going further north.
And the Brits are sending someone to
liaise with us about Mohamed Aziz.
Oh, so he must
mean something to them.
We'll find out.
Did you mention the uranium?
No, I did not.
If they're gonna hold out on me,
I'm gonna hold out on them.
You're not holding out on me here,
right, Mark?
What do you mean?You're telling me
everything I need to know?
Of course. You think not?
No. I just wondered why you're here
in Beirut at this moment in time.
It's
It's a It's a happy coincidence.
(EXOTIC AMBIENT MUSIC)
(MUSIC FADES)
Hello. Bonjour.
English? Francais?
English.
You need petrol, sir?
Yes. Please.
(PUMP CLATTERING)
Journalist? Where are you from?
Where are you going, sir?
(SCOFFS)
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
My friend.
Do you have a map?
A map?
I can't even read that.
That's where Alam wants us to go.
That's here.
We're down here. That's Palmyra.
So, we go there,
then we go to the airbase.
We have to go back there
to get back to Marrakesh.
It's the only way
It's the only way we get paid.
I don't know.
Was that where you were
when you were here before?
No. Caliphate was in the east.
Fine. No problem.
Everything's all right.
(VEHICLE APPROACHES)
(TENSE MUSIC)
Get in the car. Slow.
Don't rush.
(EXHALES)
(FAINT CHATTER)
Start the engine.
(ENGINE SPLUTTERS, STARTS)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(MUSIC FADES)
That was close.
I told you - those soldiers
were government soldiers.
We have to avoid 'em.
Heading to Palmyra
takes us out of their territory.
Listen to what I'm telling ya.
I was here.
OK. I hear ya.
That bloke back there
at the petrol place -
he only had one hand.
Do you reckon
he got that chopped off by your lot?
In the caliphate?
That only happened
if you were a thief
or dishonest to people.
Did you ever do it?
You know, like, chop
chop people?
Or were you a suicide bomber?
A shit one, obviously.
Whatever you lot did,
the cartel are worse.
That's why we have to deliver
the uranium to them.
And to get paid.
Of course.
(SIGHS)
(EXOTIC AMBIENT MUSIC)
This it?
Why are we here?
This is Baal's temple.
It was blown up when I was here.
There've been people living here
for thousands of years.
Phoenicians, Greeks
Romans, Muslims.
Baths, temples, libraries.
Thousands of years,
and everyone built something.
And we destroyed it.
(EXHALES)
What, and you think bringing that
statue back here makes up for it?
Nothing makes up for it.
But I'm trying to be honest.
We can be honest with each other,
can't we?
Yeah.
Of course.
(PHONE RINGS)
(MUSIC FADES)
I have to take this.
ALAM: (ON PHONE) Where are you, Max?
Palmyra. We're on our way north.
So, you're making progress?
En route.
Make sure you don't miss
your plane, Max.
Your girlfriend will be here too.
And I look forward
to showing her my hospitality.
Is Laetitia OK?
(PHONE BEEPS)
Hello?
You don't want to mess this up, Max.
Hm?
Hello?
Hello?
We gotta go!
JJ, we gotta go. Come on!
Max, I need to tell you something.
(SOFT CLICK)
I have to
What?
Don't move.
Why?I stepped on something.
(TENSE MUSIC)
I think it's a mine.
(MUSIC STOPS) I stepped on
something metal. There was a click.
If it's a mine, there might be more.
Come back here.
You'll need to see what it is.
Ineed to see?!
Yeah.
I can't. If I shift my weight
too much, it might explode.
What if I stand on one?
Follow my footprints.
Follow my footprints.
(SOFTLY) There's one.
Hurry up!
I'm hurrying, mate.
(MUTTERS)
OK.
Now, have a feel under my foot.
See what's there.
What if it goes off?
Well, if it's big, we'll both die.
If it's small, you'll lose your hand.
Or your face.
My face?
Depends on the blast.
If it goes up in front of you,
could be your face gets it.
I don't see anything, mate.
Have a feel under my foot.
Just be careful.
I am.
This is fucking insane.
(GRUNTS)
Come on. Come on.
I don't feel anything.
(INSECT BUZZES)
Fuck off.
Max. Stop.
Get right back.
I'm gonna lift my foot.
No, you can't.
I know what this is.
Allah used Baal
to bring me back here.
To die.
He didn't bring you here. I did!
This was meant to happen.
It's written.
I knew it the moment I saw him
in Beirut.Bollocks!
We're here in Syria
so we can get to the airbase,
so we can get
the flight to Marrakesh
so we can get the money
he promised us.
Get back.
(YELLING) Get back!
(SOFTLY) Fuck.
Further!
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(EXHALES)
What is it?!
It's the top of a can!
Can we go now, please?
You didn't come here to die!
(EXHALES)
Yeah, you're right.
Not here.
(DOG BARKS)
(DOORS RATTLE)
CASSIE: This is who
I was talking about earlier.
The Turkish scientist
who went missing.
Sayed Ahman -
the one I filed the report on.
You think he was radicalised?I
thought he was a person of interest.
He'd been at the university
a few times. We met on conferences.
I just couldn't figure out
who he might be working for.
Even though I'm sure he knew who
I really was, he never made a move.
And why do you think that was?
(INHALES)
I would hope it was
because he liked me.
But I'm not that naive.
I liked him, though.
Then he was definitely an agent.
People in your line of work
only ever connect with people
who do the same thing.
I don't know
how you undercovers do it.
(CLOSES LAPTOP)
(LAPTOP CHIMES)
(SNIFFLES)
Satellite latest is they're heading
for the Deir ez-Zor province.
That's where the caliphate was.
Our jihadi is going home.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
We are going the right way?
Yeah.
The airbase,
you said it was in the north.
Yes.
So why is the sun behind us?
If we were going north,
the sun would be to the side.
I drive for a living.
I know where the sun is in the sky.
We have to stay out of government
territory for as long as possible.
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
Really fucking hope we're en route.
Turn left.
You better not be lying to me.
Stop there.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
Where are you going?
This is where I'm supposed to be.
Go on with your journey, Max.
This is where mine ends.
No.
You have to take me to the airbase.
JJ, you can't just leave me here!
My name's not JJ.
(SIGHS)
Where the fuck did he point to?
(MEN SPEAKING ARABIC IN DISTANCE)
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
(GENTLE MUSIC)
(SIGHS)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(BABY BABBLES)
This is for Kamal.
(BABBLES)
Mwah.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)
(CRIES)
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
I can get us out of here.
(CONTINUES CRYING)
How?
How?!
(CONTINUES CRYING)
(PLANE ENGINES ROAR)
(ALARM WAILS NEARBY)
(MISSILE WHOOSHES)
(YELLS)
(HIGH-PITCHED TONE)
(FAINT SIREN)
(GASPS)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
(HIGH-PITCHED TONE CONTINUES)
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC)
(INAUDIBLE)
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC CONTINUES)
(FAINT SIREN)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(MUSIC FADES)
(DEVICE BEEPS)
(SOLDIERS CHATTER IN ARABIC)
(TENSE MUSIC)
(EXHALES)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
What the fuck are you doing?
(MUSIC FADES)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
This is where I was supposed to die -
always was.
This is what God wants.
It was written.
This is Janat's grave.
That's not my boy's. Where is it?
We have to go to the airbase.
I'm running out of time.
It must be here somewhere.
I have to find Kamal's grave.
No! JJ, please. I'm begging you.
They've got my girl.
I lied to you.
The cartel have Laetitia.
They kidnapped her.
They're going to kill her
if I don't take the uranium to them.
What?
I've got no choice.
I have to go.
You have to come with me.
Why didn't you tell me?
I didn't think you'd help me.
Why would you help me?
(YELLS IN ARABIC)
You should have told me.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Just put it down, mate.
I knew you were lying.
Just put it down!
(HELICOPTER WHIRRS)
You should have told me the truth.
US SOLDIER: Drop your weapons!
Drop your weapons!
(YELLING IN ARABIC)
Put your guns down!
Get the fuck away from them!
I'd like to go and see
the scientific side of our project.
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
You don't trust me.
I'm just very hands-on.
As my father wishes.
I'd like to go now.
(DEPARTING FOOTSTEPS)
Dr Ahman.
AHMAN: Please, call me Sayed.
Oksana Shirokova.
What do you think?
It's exactly to my specifications.
All it needs now is the uranium.
When will it arrive?
(DEVICE CHIRPS)
It's the real deal.
Khaled's source was right.
I'm almost certain it comes
from the Miazov processing facility
in Russia.
Stolen?I don't see how
it could be stolen. Not now.
Not with the security measures
the Russians have in place.
It's impossible.
You think they released it?
I don't see
any other way to explain it.
It's all ready
to be put into the casing too.
Which means whoever is doing this is
at an advanced state of readiness.
(TENSE MUSIC)
Where did the uranium come from?
Was it Russia?
Is that why it was in Syria?
Came from one of their bases there,
right?
If you don't co-operate,
we'll take you to Jordan
and they'll put a diaper on you
and go to work.
You'll break very quickly.
Mohamed. Look at me.
(MUSIC BUILDS)
You're gonna speak to me, asshole.
You're gonna do
exactly what I tell you to do.
(MUSIC STOPS)I'll do whatever you
want.Max. Do what they say. No!
Anything, but I have to get in touch
with the cartel.
If I don't speak to Alam, she dies.
She's my girlfriend, you know? I -
Slow down! Slow down.
Now, just
just tell us what you know.
Where did it come from? All right.
We know you picked it up from
Rifaat Atallah in Beirut.(SCOFFS)
Who did he get it from?
I don't know.
I need to get in touch with him.
I need to get in touch with them
and tell them I'm on my way.
First off, you need to tell us
about your friend Mohamed.
I'm not a Muslim, mate.
I ain't religious.
He's not talking about the prophet.
He's talking about your friend.
Mohamed.
Your partner? The jihadi?
JJ?
You don't know his name?
You know who he is, though, right?
I call him JJ.
(SCOFFS)
Like Jihadi John.
Because he was a jihadi.
And you can have a different life
if you help us.
That's what I want.
A new life.
A new identity.
We can do that.
Then you have to help me
save Laetitia.
Of course.
What would you say if I told you
that I want to let them
continue with their mission?
I'd say that's madness.
If we stop this now,
we miss out on vital intel
about who is really behind this.
We get the two assholes
we've got in there. That's it.
No Russians, no Islamists. Nothing.
This is an opportunity to roll up
the whole of this conspiracy
..from the source of the HEU,
to the jihadist group
who are buying the bomb.
We'll be on top of them
every step of the way.
The moment the HEU reaches
the buyer, we intervene. It's over.
They need to realise
it's in their interest to help us.
And we need to move fast.
(DOOR OPENS)We need
to get this guy to cooperate.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Still no word from the Brits?
No.
We're running out of time.
I wanna speak to him alone.
Mohamed Aziz. Destroyer of worlds.
Is that what you wanna do?
You wanna destroy the world?
To you, I'm just a bad guy.
I'm a nuclear physicist.
I don't see anyone as a bad guy.
You're a CIA agent.
Why else would you be here?
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
You must have a family
..back in England?
What if this bomb ended up
where they are?
Do you ever think about that?
And the people
who are gonna use this uranium,
they're gonna send it somewhere.
What if it ended up
killing someone you love?
(DOOR OPENS)
(WHISPERS) The Brits
have sent their guy.
(DOOR CLANGS)
RAB: Al-Bukamal, 2018.
One of the last holdouts
of Islamic State.
A Mk80, laser-guided, 200lb.
Fuck knows how he survived.
You used a 200lb bomb when you knew
there were women and children there?
Are you fucking kidding me? The Yanks
worried about collateral damage?
The apple doesn't fall far
from the tree, so you might as well
take care of the next generation
while you have the chance, eh?
Hey, you can look at me
like that all you want, hen,
but he's on the list -
kill or capture.
But you don't wanna capture him,
you wanna kill him.
Capture bit's just for the
human rights people. You know that.
Well, it's a miracle he survived.
Do you think he's still a jihadi?
Definitely.
He's a piece of shit, this one.
He's evil.
There's no reforming him.
You don't think people
have the capacity to change?
Do you?
Of course.
He'll never change. A lead
sleeping tablet's what he needs.
Listen, I'm 100% with you on that.
But in this case,
we need him for something.
For what?
Well, I can't say that, but if
you could find a way to help us
make him co-operate,
we would be very grateful.
He'll no help you with nothing.
That's a double negative.
You know what I mean.
Well, I think I do.
But if I'm being honest,
I'm having a little bit of trouble
with your accent.
That's cos youse Americans
don't hear folk like me
on your tellies, do youse?
You think it's all
Pride And Prejudice in Britain.
Paddington Bear
and Hugh fucking Grant. But it's not.
It's cunts like me,
and it's cunts like him.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I get him when you're done with him?
He's all yours.
Here we go.
(CHILDREN CHATTERING ON PHONE VIDEO)
What is this?
It's his son.
Oh, and I've got
something else for ya.
(CHILDREN CHATTER AND PLAY)
If you help usif you carry on -
let this plan play out - we
will find a way for you to see him.
He's in Italy, in a refugee camp.
He's being looked after. He's safe.
No, that's a fake.
That could be anyone's kid.
It's your boy. It's Kamal.
I had it checked out.
You made it out of there alive.
That's a miracle.
Why shouldn't he have done the same?
He was found in the rubble
a few hours after. Where were you?
(HELICOPTER WHIRRS) (SIREN WAILS)
(PEOPLE CLAMOURING)
(WHIMPERS)
He's alive.
(SOFTLY) That's a fake.
That's fake. It's fucking fake!
(BANGS TABLE)
(SOBS)
Great work.
This isn't what I do.
No, but you do it very well.
I need to be in Marrakesh.
I have to see this through.
I wanna know who's behind this.
I have done everything you've
asked of me, Mark. You owe me this.
(LINE RINGS)
(RINGS)
ALAM: (ON PHONE) Max. Where are you?
We hit trouble. Car broke down,
and the phone ran out of battery.
It was a fuck up.
You have the uranium?
Yeah. We got it.
And I think
I've found a way to get back.
# CHASE & STATUS AND STORMZY:
Backbone
(HELICOPTER WHIRRS)
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
# You ain't got no backbone
I get it out the trap
# I ain't got a trap phone
I got P's
JJ: What did they promise you?
A new identity?
You and Laetitia riding off
into the sunset?Something like that.
CASSIE: We are gonna at least
try to get them out?
We're talking about
a drug trafficker and a jihadi here.
Who's gonna miss them?
'I have to go there.'Max!
'They've got Laetitia.'Tell them!
Not doing it. I know how the betrayal
happens - happened to me before.
This is about your chance to do
the right thing.This is for you.
And the other one?
I'll take you to it.
He's supposed to be here.
I'm not going to the riad.
You have to. Fuck. He's on the move.
(PHONE CLATTERS)
Don't follow me.
Americans? Perhaps this might be
a good time to leave?
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
Sayed. Thought it might be you.
I hoped it wouldn't.
Where are they taking us now?
I don't know.
# You ain't go no backbone
This is drum and bass
# This ain't
All that fucking house shit
# I score a goal, and I do my dance
I Peter Crouch it
# Heard them brothers wanna
Do me somethin', but I doubt it
# Do me somethin', then
Do me somethin' if you're bad
# My mother calls me Mike
But I think I'm Jack-the-lad
# Tell us what you're workin' with
Don't tell us what you had
# I need to start my sentences with
'Sorry, may I add'
# Woo, you ain't got no backbone
# Do me somethin', then
Do me somethin' if you're lit
# My mother calls me Mike
But I think I'm the shit
# Don't tell us how it used to be
Just tell us what it is
# They never gave me nothin'
So it's fair I take the piss, pussy #
The following programme contains
strong language and violent scenes.
Dr Cassandra Bryce?
I have some intelligence that needs
your particular nuclear expertise.
You told me it was gonna be
a quick job. In and out.
ALAM: The metal in the boxes
is uranium.
What do you want to return it to me?
I want a million pounds.
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
They're both carrying something.
CASSIE: They're keeping apart.
If there was two pieces of uranium,
you'd have to keep them apart
to stop them reacting
to each other - they might explode.
(ON PHONE) Go to a location
I will send you.
There will be consequences
if you don't deliver.
Max. Do what they say. No!
We're gonna make her suffer.
Chop her into pieces.
(GUNSHOT)
(BODY THUDS)
Get to Syria, Max.
I will arrange transport
to Marrakesh.
Your girlfriend will be here
when you arrive.
We're going to Syria.
(MAN SPEAKS ARABIC)
(CONTINUES SPEAKING)
(CONVERSATION IN ARABIC)
(CUTLERY CLATTERING)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
What's your name?
Janat.
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
# RADIOHEAD: Bodysnatchers
# I do not
# Understand
# What it is
# I've done wrong
# Full of holes
# Check for pulse
# It is the 21st century
# It is the 21st century
# All the lines
Wrapped around my face
# All the lines
Wrapped around my face
# And for anyone else to see
# And for anyone else to see
# I'm a lie #
You're not saying much.
I'm driving.
Usually can't shut you up.
I thought you wouldn't wanna talk.
You're on a comedown.
I feel fine.
(PHONE BEEPS)
Alam.
He wants us to go to an airfield
to catch a plane to Morocco.
To deliver the uranium.
We're here because of Baal.
That's why we came here.
Butafter we go to the plane.
We have to take the uranium to them.
You killed one of them last night.
So what?! Alam doesn't know that.
All he knows is that people
showed up and we had to run.
OK, OK. Calm down.
That's him.
Mohamed Azizdestroyer of worlds.
And he quoted the Gita?
Misquoted.
Oppenheimer was paraphrasing.
Did he strike you
as the literary type?
No.
But he seems like a textbook case.
Hardcore jihadi. He went to Syria
after his release from jail.
And according to the Brits,
he hasn't been seen for seven years.
There was something about him, Mark.
I saw something.
He's dangerous.We still don't know
if they have real uranium.
Khaled's source said they do.
Fifty kilos. In two pieces.
I struggle to see how a Venezuelan
drug cartel fits into this
when we have a known
jihadist involved.
Well, the cartels
control Highway 10 -
the smuggling route between
the Mediterranean and West Africa.
They can move the uranium
through the desert for the jihadis.
OK.
But where to?
So it could be going to Mali.
I mean, the insurgents there have
practically taken over the country.
(PHONE VIBRATES)
Although, with this
Aziz guy involved, I think it's much
more likely a group in this area.
We think we've identified
a car they're in,
which has crossed the border
into Syria.
MAX: Who are they?
They're soldiers.
The new governmentor militia.
We have to be careful.
We need to turn off. We need petrol.
Yeah, anything that's available,
I'm standing by.
I need to get on the ground.
WE need to get on the ground.
I don't wanna jeopardise your cover
in Beirut. You're doing vital work.
No, there is nothing more vital than
trying to prevent a terrorist group
getting their hands
on a nuclear bomb, Mark.
That's the whole reason I'm here.
Whoever this Mohamed Aziz is
however dangerous he may be,
he's not gonna be assembling a bomb.
Not even
when he quoted the Gita to you?
There has to be
somebody building the bomb.
OK? Someone that knows how to do it.
I got a name for you.
Sayed Ahman. He's a physicist.
He went missing a couple of years
ago. I actually reported him.
Um He disappeared
a little bit after that.
I'm sure it was followed up.
Well, maybe I should
check into that.
(PHONE VIBRATES)
Yeah?You weren't expecting him,
were you?Talk to me.
You know him well?
Where?I know him.
Yeah, I'm on my way.
I got us a plane
but we need to leave right now.
I thought you didn't want me
to come?You told me I need you.
But if you wanna come catch this
jihadi, we need to leave right now.
It was great to meet you.
Yeah. Um Hey.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Take care of yourself.
Let me know where they're headed.
And no-one interferes with their
journey until I am on the ground.
That is imperative.
They're on the move again -
going further north.
And the Brits are sending someone to
liaise with us about Mohamed Aziz.
Oh, so he must
mean something to them.
We'll find out.
Did you mention the uranium?
No, I did not.
If they're gonna hold out on me,
I'm gonna hold out on them.
You're not holding out on me here,
right, Mark?
What do you mean?You're telling me
everything I need to know?
Of course. You think not?
No. I just wondered why you're here
in Beirut at this moment in time.
It's
It's a It's a happy coincidence.
(EXOTIC AMBIENT MUSIC)
(MUSIC FADES)
Hello. Bonjour.
English? Francais?
English.
You need petrol, sir?
Yes. Please.
(PUMP CLATTERING)
Journalist? Where are you from?
Where are you going, sir?
(SCOFFS)
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
My friend.
Do you have a map?
A map?
I can't even read that.
That's where Alam wants us to go.
That's here.
We're down here. That's Palmyra.
So, we go there,
then we go to the airbase.
We have to go back there
to get back to Marrakesh.
It's the only way
It's the only way we get paid.
I don't know.
Was that where you were
when you were here before?
No. Caliphate was in the east.
Fine. No problem.
Everything's all right.
(VEHICLE APPROACHES)
(TENSE MUSIC)
Get in the car. Slow.
Don't rush.
(EXHALES)
(FAINT CHATTER)
Start the engine.
(ENGINE SPLUTTERS, STARTS)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(MUSIC FADES)
That was close.
I told you - those soldiers
were government soldiers.
We have to avoid 'em.
Heading to Palmyra
takes us out of their territory.
Listen to what I'm telling ya.
I was here.
OK. I hear ya.
That bloke back there
at the petrol place -
he only had one hand.
Do you reckon
he got that chopped off by your lot?
In the caliphate?
That only happened
if you were a thief
or dishonest to people.
Did you ever do it?
You know, like, chop
chop people?
Or were you a suicide bomber?
A shit one, obviously.
Whatever you lot did,
the cartel are worse.
That's why we have to deliver
the uranium to them.
And to get paid.
Of course.
(SIGHS)
(EXOTIC AMBIENT MUSIC)
This it?
Why are we here?
This is Baal's temple.
It was blown up when I was here.
There've been people living here
for thousands of years.
Phoenicians, Greeks
Romans, Muslims.
Baths, temples, libraries.
Thousands of years,
and everyone built something.
And we destroyed it.
(EXHALES)
What, and you think bringing that
statue back here makes up for it?
Nothing makes up for it.
But I'm trying to be honest.
We can be honest with each other,
can't we?
Yeah.
Of course.
(PHONE RINGS)
(MUSIC FADES)
I have to take this.
ALAM: (ON PHONE) Where are you, Max?
Palmyra. We're on our way north.
So, you're making progress?
En route.
Make sure you don't miss
your plane, Max.
Your girlfriend will be here too.
And I look forward
to showing her my hospitality.
Is Laetitia OK?
(PHONE BEEPS)
Hello?
You don't want to mess this up, Max.
Hm?
Hello?
Hello?
We gotta go!
JJ, we gotta go. Come on!
Max, I need to tell you something.
(SOFT CLICK)
I have to
What?
Don't move.
Why?I stepped on something.
(TENSE MUSIC)
I think it's a mine.
(MUSIC STOPS) I stepped on
something metal. There was a click.
If it's a mine, there might be more.
Come back here.
You'll need to see what it is.
Ineed to see?!
Yeah.
I can't. If I shift my weight
too much, it might explode.
What if I stand on one?
Follow my footprints.
Follow my footprints.
(SOFTLY) There's one.
Hurry up!
I'm hurrying, mate.
(MUTTERS)
OK.
Now, have a feel under my foot.
See what's there.
What if it goes off?
Well, if it's big, we'll both die.
If it's small, you'll lose your hand.
Or your face.
My face?
Depends on the blast.
If it goes up in front of you,
could be your face gets it.
I don't see anything, mate.
Have a feel under my foot.
Just be careful.
I am.
This is fucking insane.
(GRUNTS)
Come on. Come on.
I don't feel anything.
(INSECT BUZZES)
Fuck off.
Max. Stop.
Get right back.
I'm gonna lift my foot.
No, you can't.
I know what this is.
Allah used Baal
to bring me back here.
To die.
He didn't bring you here. I did!
This was meant to happen.
It's written.
I knew it the moment I saw him
in Beirut.Bollocks!
We're here in Syria
so we can get to the airbase,
so we can get
the flight to Marrakesh
so we can get the money
he promised us.
Get back.
(YELLING) Get back!
(SOFTLY) Fuck.
Further!
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(EXHALES)
What is it?!
It's the top of a can!
Can we go now, please?
You didn't come here to die!
(EXHALES)
Yeah, you're right.
Not here.
(DOG BARKS)
(DOORS RATTLE)
CASSIE: This is who
I was talking about earlier.
The Turkish scientist
who went missing.
Sayed Ahman -
the one I filed the report on.
You think he was radicalised?I
thought he was a person of interest.
He'd been at the university
a few times. We met on conferences.
I just couldn't figure out
who he might be working for.
Even though I'm sure he knew who
I really was, he never made a move.
And why do you think that was?
(INHALES)
I would hope it was
because he liked me.
But I'm not that naive.
I liked him, though.
Then he was definitely an agent.
People in your line of work
only ever connect with people
who do the same thing.
I don't know
how you undercovers do it.
(CLOSES LAPTOP)
(LAPTOP CHIMES)
(SNIFFLES)
Satellite latest is they're heading
for the Deir ez-Zor province.
That's where the caliphate was.
Our jihadi is going home.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
We are going the right way?
Yeah.
The airbase,
you said it was in the north.
Yes.
So why is the sun behind us?
If we were going north,
the sun would be to the side.
I drive for a living.
I know where the sun is in the sky.
We have to stay out of government
territory for as long as possible.
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
Really fucking hope we're en route.
Turn left.
You better not be lying to me.
Stop there.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
Where are you going?
This is where I'm supposed to be.
Go on with your journey, Max.
This is where mine ends.
No.
You have to take me to the airbase.
JJ, you can't just leave me here!
My name's not JJ.
(SIGHS)
Where the fuck did he point to?
(MEN SPEAKING ARABIC IN DISTANCE)
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
(GENTLE MUSIC)
(SIGHS)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(BABY BABBLES)
This is for Kamal.
(BABBLES)
Mwah.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)
(CRIES)
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
I can get us out of here.
(CONTINUES CRYING)
How?
How?!
(CONTINUES CRYING)
(PLANE ENGINES ROAR)
(ALARM WAILS NEARBY)
(MISSILE WHOOSHES)
(YELLS)
(HIGH-PITCHED TONE)
(FAINT SIREN)
(GASPS)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
(HIGH-PITCHED TONE CONTINUES)
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC)
(INAUDIBLE)
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC CONTINUES)
(FAINT SIREN)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(MUSIC FADES)
(DEVICE BEEPS)
(SOLDIERS CHATTER IN ARABIC)
(TENSE MUSIC)
(EXHALES)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
What the fuck are you doing?
(MUSIC FADES)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
This is where I was supposed to die -
always was.
This is what God wants.
It was written.
This is Janat's grave.
That's not my boy's. Where is it?
We have to go to the airbase.
I'm running out of time.
It must be here somewhere.
I have to find Kamal's grave.
No! JJ, please. I'm begging you.
They've got my girl.
I lied to you.
The cartel have Laetitia.
They kidnapped her.
They're going to kill her
if I don't take the uranium to them.
What?
I've got no choice.
I have to go.
You have to come with me.
Why didn't you tell me?
I didn't think you'd help me.
Why would you help me?
(YELLS IN ARABIC)
You should have told me.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Just put it down, mate.
I knew you were lying.
Just put it down!
(HELICOPTER WHIRRS)
You should have told me the truth.
US SOLDIER: Drop your weapons!
Drop your weapons!
(YELLING IN ARABIC)
Put your guns down!
Get the fuck away from them!
I'd like to go and see
the scientific side of our project.
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
You don't trust me.
I'm just very hands-on.
As my father wishes.
I'd like to go now.
(DEPARTING FOOTSTEPS)
Dr Ahman.
AHMAN: Please, call me Sayed.
Oksana Shirokova.
What do you think?
It's exactly to my specifications.
All it needs now is the uranium.
When will it arrive?
(DEVICE CHIRPS)
It's the real deal.
Khaled's source was right.
I'm almost certain it comes
from the Miazov processing facility
in Russia.
Stolen?I don't see how
it could be stolen. Not now.
Not with the security measures
the Russians have in place.
It's impossible.
You think they released it?
I don't see
any other way to explain it.
It's all ready
to be put into the casing too.
Which means whoever is doing this is
at an advanced state of readiness.
(TENSE MUSIC)
Where did the uranium come from?
Was it Russia?
Is that why it was in Syria?
Came from one of their bases there,
right?
If you don't co-operate,
we'll take you to Jordan
and they'll put a diaper on you
and go to work.
You'll break very quickly.
Mohamed. Look at me.
(MUSIC BUILDS)
You're gonna speak to me, asshole.
You're gonna do
exactly what I tell you to do.
(MUSIC STOPS)I'll do whatever you
want.Max. Do what they say. No!
Anything, but I have to get in touch
with the cartel.
If I don't speak to Alam, she dies.
She's my girlfriend, you know? I -
Slow down! Slow down.
Now, just
just tell us what you know.
Where did it come from? All right.
We know you picked it up from
Rifaat Atallah in Beirut.(SCOFFS)
Who did he get it from?
I don't know.
I need to get in touch with him.
I need to get in touch with them
and tell them I'm on my way.
First off, you need to tell us
about your friend Mohamed.
I'm not a Muslim, mate.
I ain't religious.
He's not talking about the prophet.
He's talking about your friend.
Mohamed.
Your partner? The jihadi?
JJ?
You don't know his name?
You know who he is, though, right?
I call him JJ.
(SCOFFS)
Like Jihadi John.
Because he was a jihadi.
And you can have a different life
if you help us.
That's what I want.
A new life.
A new identity.
We can do that.
Then you have to help me
save Laetitia.
Of course.
What would you say if I told you
that I want to let them
continue with their mission?
I'd say that's madness.
If we stop this now,
we miss out on vital intel
about who is really behind this.
We get the two assholes
we've got in there. That's it.
No Russians, no Islamists. Nothing.
This is an opportunity to roll up
the whole of this conspiracy
..from the source of the HEU,
to the jihadist group
who are buying the bomb.
We'll be on top of them
every step of the way.
The moment the HEU reaches
the buyer, we intervene. It's over.
They need to realise
it's in their interest to help us.
And we need to move fast.
(DOOR OPENS)We need
to get this guy to cooperate.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Still no word from the Brits?
No.
We're running out of time.
I wanna speak to him alone.
Mohamed Aziz. Destroyer of worlds.
Is that what you wanna do?
You wanna destroy the world?
To you, I'm just a bad guy.
I'm a nuclear physicist.
I don't see anyone as a bad guy.
You're a CIA agent.
Why else would you be here?
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
You must have a family
..back in England?
What if this bomb ended up
where they are?
Do you ever think about that?
And the people
who are gonna use this uranium,
they're gonna send it somewhere.
What if it ended up
killing someone you love?
(DOOR OPENS)
(WHISPERS) The Brits
have sent their guy.
(DOOR CLANGS)
RAB: Al-Bukamal, 2018.
One of the last holdouts
of Islamic State.
A Mk80, laser-guided, 200lb.
Fuck knows how he survived.
You used a 200lb bomb when you knew
there were women and children there?
Are you fucking kidding me? The Yanks
worried about collateral damage?
The apple doesn't fall far
from the tree, so you might as well
take care of the next generation
while you have the chance, eh?
Hey, you can look at me
like that all you want, hen,
but he's on the list -
kill or capture.
But you don't wanna capture him,
you wanna kill him.
Capture bit's just for the
human rights people. You know that.
Well, it's a miracle he survived.
Do you think he's still a jihadi?
Definitely.
He's a piece of shit, this one.
He's evil.
There's no reforming him.
You don't think people
have the capacity to change?
Do you?
Of course.
He'll never change. A lead
sleeping tablet's what he needs.
Listen, I'm 100% with you on that.
But in this case,
we need him for something.
For what?
Well, I can't say that, but if
you could find a way to help us
make him co-operate,
we would be very grateful.
He'll no help you with nothing.
That's a double negative.
You know what I mean.
Well, I think I do.
But if I'm being honest,
I'm having a little bit of trouble
with your accent.
That's cos youse Americans
don't hear folk like me
on your tellies, do youse?
You think it's all
Pride And Prejudice in Britain.
Paddington Bear
and Hugh fucking Grant. But it's not.
It's cunts like me,
and it's cunts like him.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I get him when you're done with him?
He's all yours.
Here we go.
(CHILDREN CHATTERING ON PHONE VIDEO)
What is this?
It's his son.
Oh, and I've got
something else for ya.
(CHILDREN CHATTER AND PLAY)
If you help usif you carry on -
let this plan play out - we
will find a way for you to see him.
He's in Italy, in a refugee camp.
He's being looked after. He's safe.
No, that's a fake.
That could be anyone's kid.
It's your boy. It's Kamal.
I had it checked out.
You made it out of there alive.
That's a miracle.
Why shouldn't he have done the same?
He was found in the rubble
a few hours after. Where were you?
(HELICOPTER WHIRRS) (SIREN WAILS)
(PEOPLE CLAMOURING)
(WHIMPERS)
He's alive.
(SOFTLY) That's a fake.
That's fake. It's fucking fake!
(BANGS TABLE)
(SOBS)
Great work.
This isn't what I do.
No, but you do it very well.
I need to be in Marrakesh.
I have to see this through.
I wanna know who's behind this.
I have done everything you've
asked of me, Mark. You owe me this.
(LINE RINGS)
(RINGS)
ALAM: (ON PHONE) Max. Where are you?
We hit trouble. Car broke down,
and the phone ran out of battery.
It was a fuck up.
You have the uranium?
Yeah. We got it.
And I think
I've found a way to get back.
# CHASE & STATUS AND STORMZY:
Backbone
(HELICOPTER WHIRRS)
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
# You ain't got no backbone
I get it out the trap
# I ain't got a trap phone
I got P's
JJ: What did they promise you?
A new identity?
You and Laetitia riding off
into the sunset?Something like that.
CASSIE: We are gonna at least
try to get them out?
We're talking about
a drug trafficker and a jihadi here.
Who's gonna miss them?
'I have to go there.'Max!
'They've got Laetitia.'Tell them!
Not doing it. I know how the betrayal
happens - happened to me before.
This is about your chance to do
the right thing.This is for you.
And the other one?
I'll take you to it.
He's supposed to be here.
I'm not going to the riad.
You have to. Fuck. He's on the move.
(PHONE CLATTERS)
Don't follow me.
Americans? Perhaps this might be
a good time to leave?
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
Sayed. Thought it might be you.
I hoped it wouldn't.
Where are they taking us now?
I don't know.
# You ain't go no backbone
This is drum and bass
# This ain't
All that fucking house shit
# I score a goal, and I do my dance
I Peter Crouch it
# Heard them brothers wanna
Do me somethin', but I doubt it
# Do me somethin', then
Do me somethin' if you're bad
# My mother calls me Mike
But I think I'm Jack-the-lad
# Tell us what you're workin' with
Don't tell us what you had
# I need to start my sentences with
'Sorry, may I add'
# Woo, you ain't got no backbone
# Do me somethin', then
Do me somethin' if you're lit
# My mother calls me Mike
But I think I'm the shit
# Don't tell us how it used to be
Just tell us what it is
# They never gave me nothin'
So it's fair I take the piss, pussy #