The Kollective (2025) s01e04 Episode Script

[singing in foreign language]
[horn honking]
MAN 1: In Moscow, the murder
of political journalist
Marissa Akhmetova
marks a sad milestone
in the disappearance of
Russian independent press.
[singing in foreign language]
[indistinct yelling]
[people clamouring]
[siren wailing]
[indistinct shouting]
[speaking in foreign language]
[siren wailing]
[tires screeching]
[horn honking]
[woman screaming]
[tense music]
[chuckles softly]
[birds chirping]
[phone beeps]
[gate squeaking]
[birds chirping]
[glass shatters]
[car starts]
[tire screeches]
[car revving]
[theme music]
[vocalizing]
[music continues]
[vocalizing]
SERGEJ: We can't get
Sugalov out of Russia
through official channels
obviously,
but we've done three
extraction operations like this
in the past six months.
And I gotta tell you,
it doesn't always go smoothly.
DELIA: We just need a few hours
to question him about Kinshasa.
The official justification
is they consider him
a potential war criminal.
But if you want my opinion,
they also don't want to
risk a diplomatic incident
with Russia.
Sure. Guess we'll just incur
their wrath instead, huh?
Listen to me.
Sergej's Association is called
Civic Resistance,
has helped thousands
of Russian soldiers
flee the country.
DELIA: I already promised
Sugalov asylum in the UK.
We need to deliver,
or he won't talk.
MAYA: It is possible that the
British Intelligence Service
will offer him asylum
in exchange for information.
But the interview is
crucial.
Then-then he will pay for
whatever he's done?
MAYA: What he's done is
he participated
in the assassination
of a president.
SERGEJ: We need to find out
what he knows
about Josh's death.
Are you sure you want to
go through with this?
MAYA: Sergej is right,
you guys, you-you know,
honestly, you are too
emotionally involved with this.
Perhaps we need to send the
professionals in for this one.
Given what happened
in Budapest with Julia
No way.
No, it needs to be me.
And Aaron.
And Julia would have
said the same.
Well, I'm concerned
leaving you alone with him.
Sugalov called us. So it's,
it's us he wants to talk to.
And we just, we can't afford
to take any more risks.
We are doing it, Maya.
It's this or nothing.
Take a minute to think
about this, all of you.
-Okay for me.
-Yeah, I agree.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
SERGEJ: This is crazy.
-Okay.
-DELIA: Okay.
SERGEJ: I'm gonna prepare
everything and call you later.
Thanks.
I have something for you.
He would have loved for you
to have something of him.
[instrumental music]
We will find out
who killed Josh.
[groans]
[phone chimes]
[indistinct chatter on TV]
[audience applauding on TV]
[car revving]
[birds chirping]
[car door opens]
[door shuts]
[tense music]
[coughs]
[gags]
[music continues]
[exhales]
[instrumental music]
[insects chirping]
[bird squawking]
[car door opens]
[music continues]
[car door shuts]
[speaking in foreign language]
[car door opens]
WOMAN 1: Ladies
and gentlemen,
we have begun our descent
in Riga.
MAN 2: Your car's ready.
Ah.
[chuckles softly]
Great.
AARON: Hi, Etienne. Ah,
I'm putting you on speaker.
ETIENNE: Hey, guys. This is
your guardian angel speaking.
It's just to check a few
details with you. First--
Okay. Yeah, we know.
Uh, Take out the SIM cards,
so we can't be located.
A leap into darkness.
ETIENNE: No, you're not in
total darkness,
because I am here, too.
AARON: Yeah, we know.
ETIENNE: The chalet
that I rented for the meeting
is located in a small bay,
uh, in the middle of
a nature reserve,
some 25 kilometres away from
the Russian-Latvian border.
They even have a sauna
and installed webcams
to capture the local wildlife.
The small birds, big birds,
the owls. Beautiful.
[speaking in foreign language]
And, um, yeah, it broadcasts
on their website.
Great.
ETIENNE: So I can watch
the chalet
and see if anything goes wrong.
So you're-you're not alone,
my friends.
AARON: So at 1:00 PM,
we're going to start
to interview Sugalov.
At 6:00 PM, Sergej,
you will come and extract him.
SERGEJ: I understand
you want the interview,
but you have to
take precautions.
Search him, in case he is armed.
I have some bad news.
Sugalov cannot
enter the UK directly.
We have to make sure
this whole operation
abides by the European law.
So first, Sugalov has to apply
for asylum in Latvia.
He won't be happy
the plan has changed.
[tense music]
Okay, guys,
now you have to switch off.
[speaks in foreign language]
[chains clinking]
[insects chirping]
[car revving]
[birds chirping]
Do you think Sugalov is
already there?
Only one way to find out.
[car door opens and shuts]
[birds chirping]
[door creaks]
[keys jangle]
[rattling]
[door opens]
[grim music]
[dog barking]
[indistinct chatter]
[music continues]
[rattles]
[creaks]
[whistling]
[birds chirping]
DELIA: The meeting was supposed
to start half an hour ago.
He should have been here
by now.
The border's over there.
And they got instructions to
come from this direction, but
[sighs]
I don't know.
[tense music]
Aaron.
[sighs]
Who the fuck is that?
We need to search you.
[music continues]
Turn around. Arms up.
Like this.
[sighs]
The backpack.
[indistinct chatter]
[exhales]
[doorbell buzzes]
Mm-hmm.
[phone chimes]
[sighs]
[phone vibrates]
Etienne?
What do you want?
I'm sexting, you're
interrupting the flow.
ETIENNE: Sugalov has arrived,
it's a little bit of a mess.
And Mbemba is now
running for President.
Turn on GM news channel.
I will fight for my country.
The race is, uh, not over yet.
Oh. Lusamba's deputy, huh?
-No time wasted.
-Yeah.
WOMAN 3: Mr. Mbemba, is it true
that after you've been elected,
you're going to pass
a law to nationalize the mines?
Well, you see,
nationalisation is ideal,
as conceived by Mr. Lusam-Samba.
Um, but we can do it more
gradually.
Everything Lusamba
stood for is
is gone now.
LUCAS: But why reverse
Lusamba's key policy?
ETIENNE:
No nationalisation means
the profits can go
to the highest bidder,
not to the Congolese people.
[keys clacking]
[tense music]
Ah!
-Godverdomme.
-ETIENNE: What?
Did I miss something?
You're not Buddhist anymore?
Huh? Yeah, well, godverdomme
sounds better, huh?
[coughs]
It's the "khhh" sound.
ETIENNE: By the way, Lucas.
It's always me who's calling.
And you never ask me
any question.
Uh "Etienne, how are you
doing today?" Never.
LUCAS: 'Cause I already know
what you're doing.
You're there
in your boomer bunker,
eating lame-ass candies,
watching lame-ass movies,
while meanwhile our friends
confront a mercenary.
Okay. Fuck you!
[instrumental music]
[tense music]
May I?
SUGALOV: It's not for you.
[grunts]
AARON: Here's what's going to
happen now.
We're gonna record
your testimony.
In the meantime, Sergej arrives
from Riga with a lawyer.
And then, you will
hand yourself over
to the Latvian authorities.
We agreed
that I would turn myself in
once I had been granted
safe passage to the UK,
far from this pit of snake.
Yes. We know. We tried.
That's not possible.
We can't just bypass
Latvian authorities.
DELIA: Maya Jansen,
at Globecom Media.
She's got contacts at MI6.
And then I'll get in touch
with the Latvian Secret Service
to arrange passage.
Latvian Secret Service?
And who would they be?
Three poor farmers.
[scoffs]
Look at me.
Look at me.
She wasn't part of
the deal either.
If I left her in Moscow,
it was only a matter of time
before some FSB psychopath
kidnapped her.
AARON: We will figure out
what happens to you,
when Sergej arrives. Okay?
But first, we have
an interview to do,
and you have an agreement
to honour.
No statement
no deal.
No.
I will only do it
when I'm sure we are safe.
[tense music]
DELIA: Josh wasn't much older
than your daughter.
Wait. What?
Who are they talking about?
What did you do?
[door slams shut]
Do you think he could run away?
[laughs]
No.
He's not stupid.
[music continues]
[door slams shut]
[speaking in foreign language]
[upbeat song over speaker]
Mm-hmm.
[women coughing]
[laughs]
Okay.
[song continues]
Can I sit here?
I'm Nadia. I'm from London.
I'm Arielle. I'm from Nantes.
Nice to meet you.
-I'm here with a group of DJs.
-Really?
We're on tour in France.
Just for a few days.
You should come and join us.
Sure.
ETIENNE: Did you know
that female owls
are cheating on their husbands
because of global warming?
Did you know that?
LUCAS: What?
Listen. Listen.
"The mother of the young will
have all the genes necessary
to survive the climate change."
[speaks in foreign language]
Yes, my friend
ETIENNE: No?
Okay, I got,
I gotta meet someone.
-I'll talk to you later, okay?
- What?
-LUCAS: Bye.
-Where
Where the fuck are you going?
That's cool.
-Yes, sure.
-Um, Professor Ashton.
-Some time in the afternoon.
-Hi. Hi.
-Send me an e-mail.
-Bye, bye.
And I'll answer. Okay? Bye.
-Bye!
-See you tomorrow.
Sorry. Uh, I just wanted to say,
great lecture.
-Just, great.
-Thank you.
Um, I was, I was wondering
if maybe I could ask you
some more questions
on the rare earth materials?
It's, uh, it's for my thesis.
-Sure.
-Yeah?
Although, I don't recall
mentioning it in the lecture.
Yeah, um,
but I was kind of hoping for it.
Uh, uh
But then again, you
haven't been writing about it
since 2008, right?
What did you say
your thesis was on about again?
Uh, electric cars.
Right.
[pensive music]
I was about to grab some coffee.
Are you okay to walk?
Yeah.
Okay.
[birds chirping]
[music continues]
[door opens]
[door slams shut]
My mother used to work
in a sauna.
In the biggest public baths
in Moscow.
DELIA: I don't wanna hear.
I wanna know
what happened in Kinshasa.
Who killed Joshua?
And why?
You remind me of my daughter.
You think
you are fighting for truth,
for democracy
for some other big words.
But instead, you just give vent
to your personal rages.
No, I fight for what's right.
You shouldn't judge me.
We would both die for what
we believe, wouldn't we?
Uh, you're not better than me.
We are not the same.
I would never harm
someone for my beliefs.
I only defended brothers.
And I lost many of them.
DELIA: I lost the man I loved.
Who killed him?
[pensive music]
The moment Sergej
assures me that
[exhales]
that my daughter
will be safe,
I will tell you.
I promise.
[music continues]
[clicking]
DELIA: Sergej will be here
by 6:00.
-ASHTON: Lithium
-LUCAS: Yes.
was central
to the composition of batteries.
My first articles were
about that.
I know that, I've read them.
But then, but then my attention
shifted to another mineral,
one that would really change
the shape our world to come.
-Coltan?
-Exactly.
Uh-huh.
Major countries and companies
have been in
on this gold rush for years.
Not many of us realised
its potential clearly.
But the use of internet
and mobile phones
were taking root
in our daily lives.
The more essential they became,
the more coltan was needed.
And look at what we have now.
Millions of electric bikes,
and e-cars, and
-Could have been a billionaire.
-Yes.
Both of you.
[grim music]
Come on.
It doesn't take
a great researcher to realise
that the co-author
of many of your old articles
was Moises Mbemba
who is now the official
presidential candidate
in the Congo, following
the Lusamba poisoning.
[pensive music]
Mbemba and I haven't
spoken for years.
[birds chirping]
Are you sure about that?
I'd like to know more
about your former friend.
I don't know who you are,
but this conversation is over.
-Whoa.
-This is ridiculous.
Professor, come on.
Now, ho-hold on a second, okay?
Okay. Okay.
I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm sorry, I,
I'm-I'm not a student, okay?
I'm an online
investigative journalist.
-I'm a member of the Kollective.
-God.
My friend was
murdered in Kinshasa
and it has something
to do with the mines.
[music continues]
I'm not out to get you. Okay?
But I do think
that you can help us.
Please.
God, why am I doing this?
Come here.
Right here. Here.
Moises Mbemba started consulting
for private mining companies.
And I didn't like that.
I didn't agree with that.
I didn't like the people
he worked for.
W-w-who-who-who?
Mercenaries? Russians--
-Both.
-Okay.
Uh, th-then what?
Then we had a fight, and we
never saw each other again.
Not until that conference.
We had a few drinks together,
a few too many,
and he told me that something
big was about to happen.
And now it's clear
what he meant.
What? That he was gonna
run for President?
He-he-he's gonna
run for President
and hand over control of the
coltan mines to the Russians?
[music continues]
Thank you.
I hope I won't regret this.
[door squeaks]
[birds chirping]
[instrumental music]
[sighs]
[birds chirping]
[tense music]
[door opens]
[door shuts]
[birds chirping]
[music continues]
I can't stand it.
Being stuck here waiting.
[fire crackling]
I know.
But in one hour,
we will know
if Sugalov knows anything
about Josh's death.
[sighs]
Some nights,
I feel completely numb.
And then, at other times,
I feel this acute pain.
[exhales]
Yeah.
[fire crackling]
Yeah.
Most of the time,
I don't know
how to feel at all.
[scoffs]
But getting away helps.
[chuckles]
Some distraction.
I guess.
I don't wanna lose anyone else.
[pensive music]
AARON: You're not gonna
lose me.
I'm here.
[chuckles]
[music continues]
[phone ringing]
[creaking]
[explosion]
What was that? Where is Sugalov?
[speaks in foreign language]
[dramatic music]
Hello, Sergej? It's Etienne.
SERGEJ: I know
they are under attack.
I've already called the police.
I'm on my way.
-Did you hear that?
-Yes.
-I need to find my father.
-We'll deal with it later.
Where is he?
What's up?
-I think I saw something. Sh.
-I need to find my
[wings flapping]
[door squeaks]
Listen, I need to
find my father.
I need to go out and just
[door squeaks]
[floorboards creaking]
[breathes deeply]
[clicking]
[keys jangle]
[foot thumping]
[door creaking]
[grunts]
[dramatic music]
[gunshot]
[screams]
[gasping]
[Aaron coughs]
[grim music]
[door creaking]
[beeps]
[gunfire]
[screaming]
[grim music]
Stay down! Stay down!
Everybody, stay down.
[bullets ricocheting]
-Fucking hell!
-Ah! Papa!
[glass shatters]
-Papa! Papa!
-It's okay.
Anna, Anna, stay down.
[shots firing]
[hisses]
[tense music]
[Anna whimpering]
[pensive music]
Anna, are you okay?
You need to go.
You need to go.
Go.
[speaking in foreign language]
Let's go, hurry up!
Let's go.
Fuck.
Go.
He can't stay here. We need him.
-Go, I'll hold them off.
-Get down.
-Papa.
-You need to go.
-I need to know what happened!
-We have to go!
No!
[Anna sobbing]
Get down!
Papa!
[speaking in foreign language]
[sombre music]
[speaking in foreign language]
[water splashing]
[instrumental music]
MAYA: Jesus, are you okay?
DELIA: We're fine, we're okay.
Sugalov's
He died.
He didn't talk.
I didn't manage to, uh
to get the interview, to get
to get justice for Josh.
The most important thing is
that you guys are safe. Yeah?
We will find another lead.
We always do.
Okay.
[sombre music]
Ms. Harris, follow me.
[door shuts]
What did they say?
They told me
that this Sergej's
Sergej's association
has contacted
the Latvian government
for political asylum.
They're going to
take me to Riga.
You know, I
I should have known.
I should have asked
more questions,
and instead, I just,
I just played dumb.
[scoffs]
And I
I fucking lied to myself.
All the time.
Like Like he did.
I always try to
remind myself that
they don't define who we are.
Unless we let them.
Your father took you out
to give you a choice.
Start from there.
To move forward.
[door opens]
MAN 3: Mr. Bertel.
Will you please come?
Mm-hmm.
[instrumental music]
[door shuts]
[coins clinking]
[music continues]
Uh, excuse me?
Uh, is there a computer
I could use for a moment?
[door squeaks]
You will be escorted
to the airport.
The patrol is watching on CCTV
for the man you described.
[tense music]
[speaking in foreign language]
Okay?
Our flight leaves in an hour.
We need to go.
I think this belongs to you.
[vocalizing]
MAN 4: You can use
this computer.
DELIA: Thank you.
[mouse clicking]
[music continues]
[gasps]
[speaking in foreign language]
[Joshua sobbing]
JOSHUA: No, please, please,
please. No! No!
No, no, no, please.
Please. Please.
[Joshua grunts]
[intense music]
[phone ringing]
[speaking in foreign language]
NADIA: Here's my number.
[speaking in foreign language]
[vocalizing]
[car door shuts]
[phone chimes]
[music continues]
[sobs]
[speaking in foreign language]
[intense music]
[music continues]
[instrumental music]
[music continues]