3.06 Fugitive

"Here we go again."

Professionals DVD set 3



Recapped Feb-March 2009

This is a curious one. It isn't an episode that ever stands out as an especial favourite – the Lads spend too much time apart, for one thing – but it has some gorgeous cinematography (around Doyle, especially) a coherent plot, and a handful of standout rewind/partner moments that make it well worth re-watching.

The plot itself is fairly simple in structure, very much driven by character interaction, and although it is always a disappointment when Doyle and Bodie spend limited time together in an episode, it is intriguing to watch the interplay of personalities and the impact this has on the plot as it unwinds. It also feels rather like we are watching the way CI5 operates from an external perspective, rather than sticking exclusively with the Lads and their perspective, which makes for an interesting narrative tool. There are quite a number of random Other Agents woven into the fabric of the story, adding to the impression that this isn't just a minor case that Bodie and Doyle are working on their own, just one of many ongoing – this is a major CI5 operation, with all hands on deck, and Bodie and Doyle are just two agents among many working the case.

I like the concept of spending time with the people behind the terrorist cell, reminding us that the group whole is made up of individuals, each with their own strengths and weaknesses – a fragile mess of personalities, their group dynamics working both for and against them. Although some are more rounded as characters than others, the group is well-drawn, as a whole, including distinct and often grating personalities, drawn together by circumstance and politics. Add that to the ongoing interplay of Cowley-Doyle-Bodie, and the eternal balancing act of their personal regard for one another with the execution of their professional duties, and the result is an intriguing episode.

Prologue

We open on a motel room, early morning. The bed has been slept in, belongings are strewn around, and the room's occupant is in the en suite, singing while he shaves.

Room service arrives with breakfast. Face only half-shaved still, the man wipes foam off his face and opens the door to let the maid in…only to find that she is followed by a couple of heavies. The maid turns the radio on loud to mask the sound of struggling and shouting, and opens the window wide for her thug friends to toss the man out!

Thrown from one of the top floor of a large hotel, he has a long, long way to drop, screaming, before he hits the ground and goes splat.

Titles

Street

Sitting at the driver's seat in his car, Cowley informs Bodie and Doyle, who have both been relegated to the backseat, that the defenestrated man was one Ephraim Silverstein, who belonged to the top echelons of the CIA.


"The job revolted him," snarks Doyle in an aside to Bodie. "He decided to end it all."

"Think he'd have finished shaving," Bodie asides back at him.

Cowley interrupts the snark-fest to draw his agents' attention to a woman passing by, one Ann Lawson, an assistant librarian.

"She looks harmless enough," Doyle remarks.

"She can stamp my book, any day," Bodie cheerfully agrees.

"If you could read," quips Doyle. Hee. The banter is off to a flying start in this episode! We must make the most of these early scenes, though, as the partners won't be together that much longer. Check out Bodie's reaction, as he realises what his partner just said. Even more hee!


Studiously ignoring the peanut gallery, because you just know that he knows better than to rise to the bait by now, Cowley delivers the scene-setting exposition in voice-over as we watch Lawson arriving at work for the day. He explains that her real name is Christina Herzog, co-founder of the Dreisinger-Herzog terrorist movement. She disappeared two years ago when the gang dispersed, and re-appeared in London five months ago. She has been under full surveillance ever since, but seems unaware of this attention. "Gaining in confidence," Cowley surmises. "Getting nicely careless and carefree."

CI5 has an agent working alongside Christina, the Controller adds by way of afterthought, a friend of theirs: Agent 6.7.

"Oh, Julie," Bodie chirps. "I thought I hadn't seen her around."

"Yeah, it's the best place to hide her from you," Doyle mocks. "A library."

Cowley continues that they had nothing on Christina until recently, when she disappeared overnight a couple of times.

"So much for full surveillance," Doyle mutters.

Still studiously ignoring the heckling, since he knows his agents well, Cowley announces that it is time to pull Christina in. He believes that the defenestration bore all the hallmarks of Dreisinger, the fact that a couple of German gentlemen were booked into the next room provides more circumstantial evidence, and one of the photo-fits matches. Bodie and Doyle, then are to bring Christina in. "But remember," warns Cowley. "No frog-marching down the corridors. Just a polite but firm pick-up."

"Got it," Doyle promises, while Bodie remarks that it will be nice to see Julie again. Cowley called her a friend of theirs, a comment directed at both agents, but Bodie seems to be the one who knows her best.

Before the Lads head into the library, Cowley hands them each a few props: books to be returned. Doyle's also contains a message for Julie, he discreetly adds, before sitting back and smiling to himself in amusement at the sight of his two top agents walking into a library with books in their hands.


Bodie has been handed books on medieval England and the poet Chaucer, he snorts when Doyle asks, while Doyle has got End of Term and Emma in Love. "You always were the romantic type," Bodie mocks. Heh.

Library

Wandering into the library, the Lads drift apart so that it isn't obvious they have arrived together. Doyle takes his books to the front desk, which as good fortune would have it is being manned by Julie. Inside the cover of one of his books is that message from Cowley, which reads: activating Operation Pay-up now.

Too well-trained to so much as bat an eyelid, Julie smoothly informs Doyle that he wants the children's section, across the aisle. Heh, but Doyle and Bodie are clearly not quite so well trained at this under-cover business, for they can't quite resist flicking covert side eyes at one another before Doyle heads off into the depths of the library. Wordlessly agreeing their plan of action.

Bodie has been lurking furtively nearby throughout Doyle's transaction, flicking idly through second-hand books on sale. Once the front desk is clear, he takes his books on over and smirks at Julie. "How's the poet Chaucer grab you?"

"I can live without him," Julie crisply replies, not breaking character for a second, and then briskly announces that there is 12 pence to pay on one of the books.

"Hey? I've been done!" he grumbles as he digs in a pocket for the cash. Hee. Nice one, Cowley. Bouncing back, he announces that he couldn't get into the other book, finding it far too dull. This provokes a reaction from Julie, who scoffs at the idea of the Middle Ages being considered dull. "All that rape and pillage, you know," Bodie nonchalantly shrugs. "Boring."


Heh. Flirting over history, who'd have thunk it? Icy demeanour melting, Julie can't quite restrain herself from an amused smile as her fellow agent wanders away.

Meanwhile, the frizzy-haired American woman previously seen pretending to be a maid in the teaser also arrives at the library, which is starting to get a little crowded with operatives. Her name is Karen, although we won't learn that for a while yet.

Bodie drifts through the stacks and idly browses at the end of the aisle where Christina is replacing books. Doyle, meanwhile, is also idly browsing in the aisle just ahead.


With Bodie now in position, Doyle steps toward Christina's aisle, ready to complete the pincer-movement…but then sees Karen approaching.

Both agents withdraw, very discreetly, to wait for a more private moment.

Christina, meanwhile, is extremely displeased to see Karen. "I told you never to come here. Never!" she hisses.

A fiercely whispered argument follows, Doyle and Bodie listening intently for all they are worth. The gist is that Christina wants nothing to do with whatever is going on with her former cohorts, but Karen insists that she make some kind of drop, Werner's orders, and Christina reluctantly agrees.

Bodie raises the R/T to his lips and quietly calls Alpha. Cowley positively bellows back, making no attempt whatsoever to be discreet, considering that his agent is conducting a covert operation in a library and needs not to draw attention to himself! Bodie reports that Christina has company and they might need backup, but Cowley decides to rethink the entire operation and instructs his men not to move in, but rather to follow the friend if she leaves.


Karen, meanwhile, taunts Christina that she was allowed to come and work at the library as a sleeper. "Well, all right, Sleeping Beauty. It's time to wake up," she jeers by way of parting shot, and then leaves Christina to stew.

Bodie follows.

Street

As Karen leaves the library, she is photographed, possibly by Cowley as there were no other agents in sight, although I am prepared to believe that there are other agents on hand that we haven't been shown. The unseen photographer has a nice, clear shot of her, as well.

Karen hops onto a red London bus just as it pulls away. Bodie has to run after it, swinging himself on board rather precariously. Karen has gone upstairs, but Bodie makes no attempt to follow, instead sitting in a spot where he can watch her in the mirror at the curve in the steps.

House/Library

One of the unkempt heavies from the teaser answers the phone. It is Christina, and she is furious, claiming that they had promised to keep her out of their activities. The man does not want to get into the middle of this, so hands the phone over to his blond compatriot, Werner, who is the leader of the gang.

"Christina, listen to me. Obey orders. You have no alternative," Werner crisply announces by way of hello. Cold. Focused. Impersonal. Christina sighs that he hasn't changed, and he snorts. "For people like us, change is a luxury we cannot afford."

"There was a time when it was still possible," Christina wistfully says, as the camera pulls back to reveal that she is using the public phone at the library.

Doyle is sitting nearby and, like Bodie with Karen on the bus, is watching her in a mirror rather than looking directly at her. Cute – and a nifty directorial technique. He pulls out his R/T to report Christina's use of the payphone to Cowley, who sighs that it is the only phone in the library that isn't bugged.


Werner, meanwhile, is trying out his own personal cold-hearted terrorist version of sweet-talking on Christina, telling her that they have a bond and she should remember that. She remembers, she dully replies.

Street

That ever-so handy mirror informs Bodie well in advance when Karen stands to exit the bus, and he nonchalantly allows a couple of others to get between them before he moves to follow. However, those others then don't move fast enough, so that he ends up having to shove his way through before Karen gets out of sight.



Karen has entered an Underground station, and Bodie has to sprint across the road in pursuit, giving up on stealthy in the interest of not losing his quarry. He barrels down the first set of stairs he comes to and out onto the platform…no sign of Karen. Back up the stairs two at a time and on to the next platform just in time to see Karen getting onto her train and the doors closing behind her.

Cursing his misfortune, Bodie gets straight onto the R/T to report what has happened, all breathless and apologetic for screwing up.


Library

Doyle watches intently as Christina, looking harassed, grabs her bag and jacket and makes a hasty exit from the library.


He stands up and pursues.

Street

Rather ominous music plays as Christina gets into a chocolate-brown mini, for no apparent reason since it isn't an especially dramatic moment. Lurking a ways behind her, Doyle sneaks furtively to his own car. He is looking rather stunning in his sunnies, but this is not enough to distract me from the fact that we saw him in Cowley's car earlier, rather than his own. He must have driven to the rendezvous point and then transferred to the Controller's car for the mission briefing.


Christina drives away and Doyle gives chase.

Another street

Cowley himself has driven to the underground station to collect Bodie, who sprints over so as not to keep him waiting. Wise decision, it seems.

"Well? Well?" a frustrated Cowley demands.

Bodie, out of breath still from all that running, can only throw his hands in the air and apologise for losing his quarry, reporting that it took 95 seconds for Karen to reach her stop and by the time he got a Transport officer on the case she was three stops gone.


Cowley demands to know if she saw Bodie following her, but he is sure she didn't. "Just routine precaution, sir," he guesses. "Changing buses, trains – standard tactics."

Cowley's got that light in his eyes, the adrenaline rush that comes of having a complicated case to solve – and a target in sight. He contentedly tells Bodie that they have pictures of Karen, which will be circulated within the hour, to "see what the International Rogue's Galleries come up with."

"I'm sorry, sir," Bodie quietly says, now that he has caught his breath. Feeling that he has let the side down bothers him.

This is one of those episodes where the different relationships Doyle and Bodie have with their Controller can be clearly seen, as we see them both working with him individually at different points in the episode.

Another street

Doyle follows Christina, careful to remain well back and out of sight as she pulls up outside a nondescript house and heads inside.

House

We leave Doyle outside and stick with Christina as she heads into the house and upstairs. It is a shabby, run down house of multiple-occupancy and as Christina unlocks the door to her room a couple of men lounging around on the landing listening to music call to her. Intent on her mission, she brushes them off as politely as she can and goes into her room.

In the neat but rather Spartan room, Christina sits on the bed for a moment, thoughtful and worried. Then she kicks back the rug and pulls up some loose floorboards beneath. Concealed within is a stash of small arms.

HQ

Cowley is confused to hear about the house Christina has gone to, since it isn't her regular home address. Doyle, sitting in his car reporting in via R/T, believes it is probably a safe house, noting that it is a pretty colourful area. Is that the impression the layabouts and their music were meant to convey? Cowley tells him to stay on it, while he and Bodie check up on the other girl, then signs off the call.

"She looks as mean as my bank manager," Bodie says of Karen's picture. "He's a Scot, you know."

"Och, now Bodie," Cowley frowns. "I never would have thought you would support that popular misconception of the Scots. You couldn't find a more generous race."

"Really?" says Bodie, watching as his Controller pulls a packet of sweets out of a pocket, pops one in his mouth and then puts the packet away again without offering to share. "So it's not true, then?"



"Not a word of it," Cowley very seriously replies, with not even a trace of irony visible.

Bodie's face is a picture as the Controller wanders away. "Yeah, I'll remember that," he mutters. "Come Christmas."

House

Christina starts pulling the plastic-wrapped weapons out from under the floorboards and stuffing them into a canvas holdall.

Outside on the landing, merry music continues to play, a young woman sashaying upstairs to dance with the two men who spoke to Christina earlier. Annoyingly, all the dialogue between the three has been dubbed in after the event, with none of their mouths actually moving at all. Other than perhaps to highlight the free-and-easy nature of this house and area, the scene serves no purpose whatsoever. Pure filler.

Oblivious to the talking and laughing just outside, Christina finishes packing up her stash of weapons, taking one handgun out of its wrapping, checking the clip, and concealing it in her handbag, in case of need. Then she sneaks back out of her room and downstairs without the dancers up on the next landing noticing her.

Doyle notices, though, and follows once more as Christina drives away. He's not terribly stealthy, mind, staying far too close, but Christina doesn't notice that she has picked up a tail. She drives under a railway bridge and parks just on the other side of it. Just behind her, Doyle parks in the shadows of the bridge and watches as she continues on foot, heavy bag in hand.


Christina scurries up some steps to the railway sidings, and Doyle pursues, keeping to a safe distance so as not to be too obvious. When Christina gets to the bridge over the canal, she hoists the bag ready to throw it in. Seeing this, Doyle gives up on discreet and yells at her to hold it. She freezes just for an instant, then goes ahead and tosses the bag into the water anyway and legs it.

Doyle shakes his head and sighs. Nothing is ever easy, eh? "Here we go again," he mutters to himself, giving chase…


…trying to, anyway. A passing train holds him up for a few valuable seconds, but the instant it is past he is off and running.

Christina has had time to pull the handgun out of her bag, however, and turns around to shoot at her pursuer. Doyle promptly flattens himself against a handy nearby wall to evade the bullets.


Then he gives chase again, carefully ripping off a couple of warning shots alongside the woman, which gives her momentary pause. "Next time I'll aim at you," he yells. It's a bit of an empty threat, though, since he wants to bring her in alive.


Christina finds a derelict warehouse to sprint into, hides behind an inside door for cover, and shoots several times at Doyle as he runs past the broken windows. Doyle calls to her from outside. "Come on, lady, throw that thing down before one of us gets hurt."

Doyle starts running again, past an open doorway, giving Christina just enough of a glimpse of him to entice her into action once more. She shoots a couple more times and then runs out into the open…which brings her face to face with Doyle, who has run around to the back of the building to head her off. She brings her gun to bear, but Doyle – lowering his own weapon – points out that she has used all her bullets already. He was counting the shots, then, deliberately giving her just enough of a target to aim for in order to run her ammunition down. Clever Doyle! A little reckless, but clever.

Foiled, Christina turns and tries to run again, but a couple more warning shots from Doyle make it clear that escape is not an option, and she gives in. "You could have got yourself killed," Doyle points out.

"Why don't you just do it?" Christina disdainfully wonders.

"And have people say I shot a defenceless murderer?" Doyle mocks, taking the gun from her hand and leading her away.

CI5 HQ

At HQ, a female agent leads a sullen Christina into an interrogation room, sits her at the table therein and gives her a cigarette to smoke while she waits.

Cowley and Doyle arrive and take up position – Cowley standing just across from Christina, while Doyle lounges attractively and menacingly against the wall just behind and to the right of her.


Cowley starts the recording of the interrogation and gets going, informing us that Christina has rented the room she went to earlier in the name Friedman for seven weeks, but hardly slept there. Six or seven weeks and once or twice, she shrugs, non-committal. Cowley clarifies that every other night was spent at her regular accommodation in N5 under her other alias, then asks if she has any other aliases.

Christina rolls her eyes and takes a pull on her cigarette. Cowley leans across the table to inform her that they have been aware of her for some time, and then asks how long she has been here, where she went after the Frankfurt bombing.

Christina shrugs again. "Holland, Germany, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland – you name it."

"Protected by your friends," says Cowley, which Christina denies. "Oh yes," he insists. "You were trying to make a fresh start." In a way, she admits, and he demands to know just what way.

"It was not a case of seeing the error of my ways," she coldly states. "I still believe we were right. We just weren't getting anywhere." Cowley accuses her of coming here to build a new cadre, a new cell, but she scoffs at the idea. "A new cell? I came here to start a new life."

Doyle speaks up. "Who was the man Werner you and your friend spoke of?"


Silence. Christina puffs on her cigarette.

"Is it Werner Dreisinger?" Cowley presses, and Doyle asks about the girl who visited Christina earlier, the as-yet unidentified frizzy-haired American we will eventually know as Karen. "Are they part of your fresh start?" Cowley wants to know.

Christina shakes her head. "No."

Doyle now pushes away from the wall and steps toward Christina, leans menacingly over her. "So when you threw those weapons in the canal, it was part of your fresh start, was it?" Christina nods yes, but Doyle is not convinced. "So why were they in protective wrappings?"


Christina looks offended. "They came like that."

Doyle asks why she dumped them then. Silence. Cowley steps in once more, stating that Christina's renowned association with Werner Dreisinger was far more than a political alliance. "Was, and still is, I think."

Christina turns away, unwilling to discuss her relationship with Werner Dreisinger.

House

Elsewhere in London, Werner Dreisinger himself is making plans with his cohorts. One of the thugs, Heinrich, is to go into their target as an electrician, it seems, and plant explosives on specified floors of some building or other – rather a lot of floors, as well, so it is clearly a very big hit being planned. Werner runs through a rather elaborate scheme, but when the subject of weaponry comes up the frizzy-haired American girl, Karen, snarls that they don't have the weapons they need. Werner calmly states that Christina will come.

"I wish I had your confidence," Karen snarls. "You're so sure of her, aren't you?"

He is, and that is that. He gets back to the planning, handing out photographs of their targets, but Karen doesn't know when to leave well enough alone and starts banging on about Christina again, insisting that she should have been there by now.

Werner points out that they don't know where Christina hid the weapons, so they can't do anything without her. Well, they could try to source more weapons, but they seem to be on a bit of a tight schedule. Maybe they should have thought of it sooner!

The final gang member, Klaus, chips in to say that Christina really shouldn't be taking this long. Irritated by all this negativity toward Christina, Werner snaps that she will be waiting for cover of darkness. Karen isn't so sure, sour-pussing that Christina isn't coming, that she is too nice and cosy in her safe new life.

This is our first insight into the inner workings of the terrorist gang, and already the divisions within the group are evident, mostly revolving around Christina and Werner's relationship with her. Their political aims might be the same, but they are far from united, and seeing the disjointed mess of personalities behind their cold, ruthless plotting works well as a device, fleshing them out just enough that they come across as real people…which makes their actions and intentions all the more chilling.

Public Telephone

Heinrich telephones the library, trying to get hold of Christina. Julie takes the call, smoothly lying that 'Miss Lawson' is with the head librarian and unable to come to the phone.

Library

Bodie is hovering as Julie hangs up the call, and guesses that it was made from a public phone box. "Such powers of detection," Julie mocks.

"Heard the pips," Bodie cheerfully admits, then asks if the caller was German.

Julie nods that he had a trace of an accent, and picks up on his phraseology as non-native. "He used the term 'with': 'may I speak with', not 'to'."

"Such powers of detection," Bodie quips.



"Think I'll make out?" smiles Julie.

"Will I?" Bodie flirtatiously counters as he wanders away again. "That's more to the point, anyway."

It's a shame we don't get to see more of Julie – it's always interesting to see agents other than Bodie and Doyle and learn a little of how they are deployed, how they interact with the Lads, and so on.

House

Gun in hand, Werner cautiously opens the door to let Heinrich back in after his telephone run. He announces that he wasn't able to talk to Christina, which sets Karen off on another rant about how Christina can't be trusted. Werner firmly states that Christina is better than any of them, but although Karen is willing to allow that she might once have been, she doesn't believe it is true now.

The fourth gang member, Klaus, suggests that someone go to the library and talk Christina around. Heinrich offers to go, but Werner says no and orders him to get on with his work, as they are running out of time. He sends Klaus, instead, to find the location of the arms.

CI5 HQ. Interrogation room

Cowley joins Christina in the interrogation room for another round of questioning, starting out civilly enough by asking how she slept and observing that her own clothes have been returned now that they have been forensically examined. Christina responds coolly, too much of a pro at this to be fooled by the good manners.

Formalities over, Cowley presses the record button on the tape machine and resumes the interrogation.

Library

Doyle peers over the top of the random art book he is pretending to read. Klaus enters the library and Doyle watches him wander around, clearly looking for someone.


Since Christina isn't anywhere immediately obvious, Klaus picks up a book and pretends to be browsing.

Bodie is lurking nearby, also pretending to be browsing the shelves. He drifts over toward Klaus. "Any idea where I'd find ornithology?" he asks, nonchalantly enough.

"Bitte?" Klaus frowns, outing himself as German immediately. So, identifying a potential suspect is as easy as that, is it? It's not what you'd call scientific! I wonder how many completely innocent library patrons Bodie approached in just this fashion before finally striking lucky. He explains that he means the study of birds. Nonplussed, Klaus shrugs that he should try asking one of the young ladies, which Bodie accepts as a good idea and wanders off again.

Looking a little puzzled about the exchange, which is understandable enough, Klaus decides to make a move as well, only for Doyle to jump up and call to him. Alarmed, Klaus turns to run away, but Bodie is behind him. Panicking, he pulls out a gun and scarpers in the opposite direction, with both Lads in hot pursuit.

So much for discreet. Both Lads have to duck for cover as Klaus grabs a random female library patron and uses her as a human shield while shooting randomly at them. Then he drops the girl and runs again. Bodie hastily radios to warn the random other agents concealed about the place that Klaus is on his way.


The random agent who comes running to intercept on the stairs doesn't prove to be of much use, however, since he gets himself shot in the gut immediately. Klaus jumps over his sprawled form and keeps running. Bodie and Doyle give chase, guns a-blazing.

Klaus makes it to the exit, only to find still more agents running toward him, cutting off his escape, so he quickly pulls the door shut once more, turns…and is shot by Bodie.

"Dead?" Bodie calls as his partner skips on downstairs to check the body.

"Considerably," Doyle diagnoses. So, not just a little bit dead, then. Doyle then hurries back upstairs to check on the gut-shot agent, Jack, who is badly wounded but still alive. Will he live? Will he die? We will never find out, either way.

CI5 HQ

Cowley informs us that the deceased was one Klaus Bruchmann: wanted in three countries, sentenced in absentia in two – car bombings, kidnapping, murder.


"Oh. I did the world a favour," Bodie remarks.

Next, Cowley informs us that the frizzy-haired American girl has been identified as Karen van den Berg. "A poor little rich malcontent from Boston, Massachussets."

There's some chatter about how Silverstein was one of her own and how distasteful it is that she probably led the others to him, then Bodie recognises the name and pegs her as a tobacco heiress. As the trio pedeconference down a hallway, looking cool, focused and professional, they share exposition duty. Cowley explains that Karen was last spotted with the Red Brigade in Milan, Doyle notes that it would just be a step from there to a link up with Werner Dreisinger, and Bodie wonders why she didn't seem too friendly with Christina, then.



"I'm inclined to believe that Christina was allowed to disappear until just a few weeks ago," Cowley muses. "I wonder if they left her too long."

Doyle protests that 'they' don't usually make mistakes like that. "You know how they operate: plant 'em at university, pluck 'em at full bloom – theirs for life."

Which is why Christina's story is so interesting. She helped found this group. She still believes completely in their ideals. But she wants to walk away and start a new life...which is a lot easier said than done. Their for life, said Doyle – but not always entirely willingly. Once committed, that's it – there is no way out.

Bodie feels that Christina would have had to make contact while she was here, informing us that Ann Lawson was a junkie who disappeared two years ago, while Doyle rather bitterly adds that her boyfriend flogged her social security number, which would be how Christina ended up with it. Yeah, he's always had a thing about junkies, dating back to his career with the police.

Cowley is frustrated that they know what Christina's drop was, but not what it was for. "Three known terrorists join a fourth on this tight little island – oh, it has to be something big."

Bodie points out that there could be more than four, since the tape of the call Julie took didn't sound like Klaus. Cowley feels the voice was too young for Dreisinger, and realises that Bodie is right and there probably is a fifth terrorist in the group.

"Two down, three to go," snarks Doyle.

And CI5 has taken the arms they badly wanted, Cowley adds, which means they are going to be in the market before very much longer. "On your bikes, boys," he urges, bustling away.

Street

Bodie parks his silver Capri in jaunty fashion and the partners hop out and head toward a nearby hairdresser's shop.

"Fancy a quick blow-dry?" Bodie mischievously simpers.

"Oh, very droll," Doyle retorts.

Hairdresser's shop

Inside the shop, a young hairdresser hurries over to greet the newcomers, assuming they are there for a trim, but Bodie tells her they would like to speak to Mr Slater. She tries to stonewall them, but Doyle flashes his ID to forestall her, and the partners make their own way to the back of the shop. Thus thwarted in her attempt to keep them out, the girl rushes to a telephone and dials.

Office

In his office behind the shop, Mr Slater takes the call warning him that CI5 is on its way, slams the phone back down and hastily hides the file he was working on, just as the door opens and Bodie and Doyle walk in. Resigned, he asks what they want.

"Putting your cards on the table a bit early, aren't you?" remarks Bodie.

"No, I mean what's your poison?" suaves Slater, having decided laying a polite and affable veneer over the visit is his best bet.

"Oh, nice. Make it a social occasion," Doyle shrugs. "I'll have a large Scotch, if you've got it."

Bodie also agrees to a drink, asking for something fancy, and Slater wanders over to his mini bar to fix them.


"You Navy?" Bodie asks, his tone light and offhand to mask the goading.

"Royal Marines," Slater stiffly corrects. "You army?"

"Paras," Bodie corrects, examining a large knife that was just lying around randomly. Ah, men and their eternal games of one-upmanship. "So," he pointedly remarks. "You're into the private army game, are you?"

Slater frowns. "I thought we were going to be sociable."

"For us, this is sociable," snorts Doyle, pouring his own drink.

Bodie teasingly feigns dismay that Slater has forgotten his order already, and Doyle tells him to just help himself. It's funnier than it sounds. Slater gets back to business, insisting that everything he does is within the law.

"Yeah, I know. I talked to some of the guys you sent to Angola," Doyle disapproves, while Bodie pours his drink.

Slater insists that he is just an agent and has to supply the contract. Doyle pulls a face and observes that 'contract' is an ugly word these days. Bodie asks if this 'supplying' is within the law, and Slater bristles that it is legitimate trade between legitimate manufacturers.

"And legitimate governments. Yeah, yeah, we know," Doyle bitterly concludes, apparently offended by the mere existence of this arms dealer. He doesn't always react like this to arms dealers, does he? I wonder what's got up his nose about this one.

Slater repeats that he is an agent, reeling off examples of the kind of heavy-duty merchandise he can supply. Doyle tells him to come down a bit to something more like handguns and machine pistols. Slater rolls his eyes and reels off another list of the various types he deals in.

"How'd you feel about terrorists?" Doyle pointedly snips. He really does not like what this man stands for.

"Shoot the bloody lot of 'em," Slater shrugs.

"Queers?" Bodie interjects.


"Shoot the –" Slater automatically continues, before his brain catches up with him and he realises he's been had. "Haha."

"Anything that's moving around here we want to know, all right?" Doyle concludes, finishing his drink.

"From this," Bodie holds up the knife as visual aid. "To a bazooka."

"Everything I do is legit," Slater repeats, as if he can make it true just by saying it often enough.

"Don't leave us out, or the next set of curlers you see won't be in your hair," Doyle menaces by way of parting shot.


The Slater scenes kind of give the impression that he is the only arms dealer in London, since he is the only one we see being approached. I'm going to assume, however, for my own peace of mind, that other dealers are also approached but we are only shown Slater because he is the only one that counts!

CI5 HQ

A female agent brings Christina outside for a walk around the yard. Doyle is waiting for her just outside, since he'll be the one accompanying her on this walk, rather than her escort. Ooh, and he's lounging against the wall all attractive, like, wearing that ever so yummy magenta shirt that looks fabulous on him. Stunning.


"Is this some new kind of interrogation technique?" Christina snarks, displaying super-human resistance to the vision before her, since she knows him as her captor and interrogator. "Give the subject a reminder of what freedom is all about?"

Doyle points out that it is a lot less claustrophobic outdoors, plus it's a nice day for a walk. So they walk around the little garden, and Christina snarkily asks if the trees are bugged or Doyle is radio-micced.

"If the trees are bugged it's only greenfly," Doyle quips, and Christina actually cracks a smile at the joke. Maybe she's not immune to his charms after all. Then Doyle tells her that he has some bad news for her. Christina very carefully doesn't react as he explains that they have got one of her people. "Don't you want to know who?" he presses.

She's too much of a pro to fall for that one, impassively asking if he is going to tell her. Doyle evades that he might, and Christina smugly suggests that he doesn't try to tell her that "he or she has talked," since she would never believe that of her comrades.

Doyle stops walking. "He or she is dead."

Christina stops, her carefully schooled features flickering for the first time. "Shot while attempting to escape," she guesses. Doyle starts walking again, impassive expression giving nothing away. Christina follows, hesitant now. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Somebody came calling on the library," Doyle vagues, and Christina's eyes light up as she thinks she can guess who that might have been – or at least who it wasn't – and isn't terribly grief-stricken at the thought. In fact, she can't quite keep a satisfied smile off her face. "You seem relieved," Doyle points out. "How'd you know it wasn't him that came calling?"


"If we're talking about the same person, he's the leader," Christina points out. And leaders delegate, is her point.

"You're glad it wasn't him?" Doyle presses.

"Am I?" Christina enigmatically replies.

"All right." Doyle changes the subject. "Let's talk about why you wanted to opt out."

"I did opt out." Christina sounds slightly indignant now.

"They found you," Doyle reminds her, but Christina points out that so did CI5. "They knew where to look," Doyle insists. "So, after you threw the weapons in the canal – carefully wrapped up as they were – what was your next move going to be?"

"Try to disappear again," says Christina. "Make a better job of it, this time. Go up north. Not to a city, to a town. London was my mistake."

She starts walking again, but Doyle takes her arm to pull her back. "What about the drop?"


Christina smiles knowingly. "Birds and bees interlude over?"

Doyle tells her that the subject of her extradition comes up quite soon, and something flickers in Christina's eyes as she says that she will be killed if she is sent back. "In a security jail?" Doyle mockingly asks.

"Are you really that naïve?" she mocks right back at him.

Cowley wanders out at this point to announce that the attack is going to be on some minister's conference, and he cagily wonders if it will go ahead. Christina refuses to be drawn.

The unnamed female agent takes Christina back inside, leaving Cowley and Doyle to talk. Cowley grumbles that they make it too easy for the terrorists – it was announced weeks ago that the CIA man would be heading the advance party for the US. Doyle reassuringly suggests that the terrorists can't do much without arms, but Cowley is in no mood to be mollified and points out that they can get more arms, which would put them right back in business.


Terrorist HQ

While Karen paces, Heinrich tries to get on with his bomb making, but is finding her distracting and finally snaps and shouts at her. Karen frets that she is nervous and doesn't feel safe here since the authorities have Klaus. Werner is certain that even if they have got Klaus, they will get nothing out of him, but Karen whines that everything is going wrong and suggests that Christina set Klaus up. Annoyed by yet another slur on Christina, in whom he clearly has absolute faith, whether rightly or wrongly, Werner snaps that she wouldn't do that.

He is right, but still, Christina is his blind spot, and that costs him, while Karen's envy and resentment of the other woman are equally damaging to the group. It is a perfect example of why work and romance – or love and politics – should never mix, in fact!

"You couldn't leave her out, could you?" Karen jealously snaps. "The cool, beautiful Christina. You never did forget that one."

Werner insists that they had to split the arms, but Karen points out that now they have lost half. Frustrated, Werner snaps that all they need are machine pistols. And grenades, Heinrich chips in.

Clipping her hair up, Karen snorts. "Is that all?"

Werner calmly states that they have money and money will buy anything in this town. Pulling a dark wig on, Karen wonders who is going to use those weapons, feeling that three is not enough to handle this operation. Exasperated, Werner says that won't be a problem as they can always get more men. Karen feels they should cancel, but Werner won't hear of it. He wants to continue as planned, in every detail.

"This wig irritates me so," Karen huffs.

"It doesn't take very much to irritate you, does it?" says Werner, mildly yet pointedly, thus irritating her all the more.

Pub

Slater wanders up to the bar and orders a couple of gin and tonics, which he takes over to a table where the be-wigged Karen is sitting waiting. Elsewhere in the bar, another man watches them, and then makes a phone call.

Road

The Lads are using Doyle's car today, it seems, after jaunting around in Bodie's yesterday. They must take it in turns. Cowley radios to inform them that Slater appears to be chancing his arm, and Bodie says that they are on their way. "There is such a thing as traffic, you know," he grumps at the nagging.

Doyle wonders if it was Karen that Slater was meeting with, or just a date. Bodie muses that he went to a lot of trouble to shake off his tail, which suggests business, and Doyle agrees.

Pub

Karen slips Slater a piece of paper, presumably detailing the order, which they agree will be on account. Then she rises and departs.

Outside, Doyle parks every bit as jauntily as Bodie, and the partners hurry into the bar, wherein they position themselves on either side of the toilet door, ready to nab Slater as he leaves, presumably having seen him go in.

"Hey, Slater. You've wet yourself," Bodie drawls as the man comes through the door, and the arms dealer automatically glances down at his crotch to check before realising who has spoken and taking a swing. Bodie blocks the punch with ease and shoves the man away.

"But then you always did. Didn't you, Slater," Doyle chips in, so Slater swings at him, too. Like his partner, Doyle blocks with ease and then takes the man down with a neat right hook. "Thanks, I needed that," he tells his partner as they peel Slater off the floor and march him out to the car.

Just why did Doyle feel he needed a spot of violence? He clearly disapproved of Slater but he hasn't seemed especially frustrated with this case to need to vent. Strange.

Random CI5 agents are waiting outside the pub to collect Slater, and whisk him away for interrogation.

Terrorist HQ

Werner stuffs a small holdall with cash, payment for the arms. Pulling her wig off, Karen remarks that Slater was in no rush to sell. Werner points out that they are in a rush to buy. It's a seller's market, is his point. Still working on his bombs, Heinrich wonders what sort of man he was. "Disgusting," Karen spits. "Reeked of cheap scent."

"To cover the smell of blood, perhaps," Heinrich idly suggests. Heinrich amuses me. He's quiet and mostly just keeps his head down, tries not to get involved in the internal politics of the groups, but he's quite snarky, in his way.

Werner rolls his eyes. "Philosophy now."

Pub

Wearing her wig once again, Karen orders two gin and tonics, then settles in at a nearby table to wait for Slater. Instead, Bodie helps himself to one of the drinks and makes himself at home alongside her. Alarmed, Karen wonders who he is.


"Your man couldn't make it," Bodie vagues. "Got the money?" Karen plays dumb. Bodie flicks inscrutable side eyes at her, playing shady arms dealer for all he's worth. "Changed your mind, have you? Don't want the merchandise? Fine, fine. Thanks for the drink."

He starts to stand, but Karen calls him to wait, thinking fast. She wasn't expecting this, but they need those weapons. It's a seller's market. Bodie sits again, as Karen sourly says that there was no mention of a third party. Bodie brushes this off and asks again if she has the money. Suspicious and worried still, Karen anxiously asks if he has the merchandise. Bodie just rolls his eyes and points out that he was hardly going to bring it into the pub, suggesting instead that they take their business elsewhere to complete the transaction.

Outside

Bodie and Karen are just leaving the pub when Doyle's car comes screeching into the car park. Bodie hastily shoves Karen in the direction of his own car, tossing her the keys, and then engages his partner in a fake shoot out.


The fake-out ends with Doyle pulling a marvellously over-acted dying swan impression and collapsing to the ground – falling face-first in a muddy puddle.


Bodie hurries to his car: a green Volvo, rather than his usual silver Capri. Innocuous and expendable, carefully selected for the job. Karen is already at the wheel and whisks the pair of them away.

Once the car is out of sight, Doyle lifts his face out of the muddy puddle he fell in and squints after them, blinking water out of his eyes.


Nearby, however, Werner is watching.

Road

At the wheel, Karen anxiously asks if they are all clear. Bodie says yes, but they will have to dump the car fast. Karen agrees.

Terrorist HQ

Diligent Heinrich is still working away at his bombs when there is a knock at the door. Picking up his gun, he opens it, and is very surprising to find that Karen has brought Bodie home with her. Reasonably enough, he wonders what is going on, and Karen explains that they were ambushed. Suspicious, Heinrich asks about the weapons, and Bodie assures him that they are safe, tossing a bundle of the payment back to Karen as a 'discount for cash'.

Karen asks about the goods. Bodie tells her that her "pal can collect. I'll brief him." Karen wonders, though, what Bodie is going to do now.

"I might have to impose on your hospitality for a while," he nonchalantly suggests, idly poking around Heinrich's bomb-making equipment, and then wonders when the job they are planning is due to happen. Wary, Karen asks why. "Because I want to be away and gone, that's why," Bodie snaps, convincingly enough.

Still cautious, Karen says the job will be in a day or two.

"Good luck with it," Bodie remarks and Karen snorts that she didn't think he'd be a sympathiser. "I don't know what you're about," he admits, disinterested, prompting a bristly debate with Heinrich over their very different politics and the money Bodie just gave back to the group, which Heinrich is quick to say, will be put to good use. He might not approve of mercenary arms dealers, but he doesn't want Bodie to take the money back.

Another knock at the door. It's Werner – the jig is up. He doesn't show his hand at first, however, asking what's going on, checking on the weapons, and making Karen go through the story of the ambush again. She grouches that they shot their way out and is proud that they got one of the ambushers, not that she did any shooting.

Werner feigns delight at one less cop in the world…then pulls his gun and aims at Bodie, curtly instructing Heinrich to get his gun.


Realising that his cover is blown, Bodie sighs and surrenders to the search, while Werner informs an alarmed Karen that he was there, since too many things have gone wrong. He is a little surprised that Bodie turns out not to be carrying a weapon – which, why? He had a gun earlier; he used it to fake shooting Doyle! Werner taunts him. "You know what happened to the man you shot?"

A flicker of alarm flits across Bodie's face, because he doesn't, no. He drove away leaving his partner lying on the ground and he didn't know that Werner was there. Anything could have happened to Doyle after he left.

Werner looks smug. "He got up and walked away."

CI5 HQ

Cowley meets a tense-looking Doyle in a random corridor and informs him that Bodie's car has been found abandoned with the engine still warm. Doyle is eager to get back out there, but Cowley is having none of it. "No, you're dead, remember. We're pouring men in."


He scurries off, leaving Doyle immensely frustrated at being made to sit this out while his partner is undercover with a terrorist gang. "Yeah, well I hope they don't blow it," he shouts after his Controller, not liking the idea of someone else watching Bodie's back while he is kept out of the action. Cowley airily assures him that they won't.


Terrorist HQ

Now securely tied up, Bodie is starting to look decidedly the worse for wear as Werner smacks him around in hopes of extracting some information about what happened to Christina and Klaus. Bodie dazedly wonders if he isn't worried about the neighbours hearing. Werner doesn't care about the neighbours and repeats his question: what happened to Klaus?

"Oh, Santa Klaus," Bodie evades with a grimace. "He doesn't exist, don't you know?"


Heinrich frets that they can't wait till dark, since the authorities will be on their track now, and Karen chips in that they should kill Bodie. "Let me do it. I'll enjoy it," she viciously enthuses.

Werner says no, however. "He's going to be our passport," he decides, announcing that they will have to abort the operation. "There'll be another time."

Outside

The gang evacuate their headquarters before Bodie's reinforcements can arrive, creeping out of the garden as covertly as possible, given that Bodie is tied up and therefore likely to attract the attention of just about anyone they pass. They take it in turns to shimmy over a high brick wall, which is easier said than done for Bodie, with his arms tied behind his back.

This is a slo-mo moment for all Bodie Babes. Those tight, tight trousers…


The gang sneaks along in front of an apartment block. Alas, one unfortunate resident wanders out his front door at exactly the wrong moment. Panicking, Bodie shoulder charges Werner to deflect his aim, yelling at the man to run, but he does not react quickly enough and is shot dead while Heinrich restrains Bodie from interfering again. Bodie gazes glumly at the corpse as they file past.


The little troop makes it to the terrorist's van, and Bodie is shoved unceremoniously into the back. Another slo-mo moment for Bodie Babes, I suspect.

The van drives off, Karen at the wheel. Prone on the floor, Bodie peers warily up at the gun-wielding terrorists sitting on either side of him, and then kicks out wildly at the doors, which swing open. Alas for Bodie, the road appears to be completely deserted. His legs flail and kick madly as Werner and Heinrich haul him back in and get the doors closed again, but no one sees the spectacle to raise the alarm. At the wheel, Karen anxiously asks if she should stop – after the doors are safely closed once more, which seems like rather a delayed reaction – but Werner shouts for her to keep going and belts Bodie about the face again for good measure.

Terrorist HQ

A phone call comes in for Cowley, who is overseeing forensic examination of the premises. Looks like Werner and co. got out just in time.

"How do you like it there?" says Werner, and Cowley freezes, asks who he is. "The German Ambassador, of course," the terrorist snarks. "Now listen to me. We've got your man. We'll do a trade. Christina and Klaus. You'll get the details later."

In measured tones, Cowley informs the man that this trade is not possible, unless he particularly wants Klaus's corpse. Werner anxiously asks about Christina. Cowley curtly informs him that she is in custody, awaiting the outcome of extradition hearings. Werner suggests a straight trade, in that case, repeats that instructions will come later, and hangs up.

It is clear from the outset that Cowley is interested in negotiating for Bodie's safe return, which is interesting, given that the usual maxim is never to negotiate with terrorists. We know of old, however, that Cowley loves triple think, loves to pit his wits against criminals and outfox them, and however far short of ideal this situation might be, it provides an opening for dialogue and thus an opportunity to close in on the gang and hopefully apprehend them all. Getting Bodie back safe and well would be the icing on the cake, if they could pull it off.

CI5 HQ

Back at HQ, Cowley catches up with Doyle in a random corridor and brings him up to speed on the proposed trade, asking what he thinks.

"I'd sooner not put it into words," Doyle bites out. His partner is in danger and he can't do anything about it – can't go charging in to the rescue, because they don't know where Bodie is, and can't run about like a mad thing searching for him, because this is bigger than Bodie and they have to get it exactly right. This is a major CI5 operation focused on preventing a major terrorist incident and disbanding a major terrorist group, and the only thing Doyle can do for his partner right now is to do his job. Keep working the case, in tandem with his colleagues, and hope to high heaven they get it right. So he is very restrained and very calm, not allowing himself to panic – professional façade firmly in place. His concern for Bodie is evident throughout, but very deliberately underplayed, tightly buttoned down.

Doyle and Bodie each react so differently when the other is in danger. It is fascinating to consider their differing personalities and backgrounds and how these feed into their actions and reactions.

Cowley remarks that Doyle and Bodie's shoot out must have had an audience, passive-aggressively laying the blame firmly at Doyle's door! Not reacting to the jibe, Doyle grimly observes that the enemy is getting smart, and Cowley equally grimly agrees.

The two men enter an interrogation room where a bored and sullen-looking Christina is already waiting. She grumps that she had been told she was to appear in court, but Cowley crisply informs her that the hearing has been postponed. Until when, she wants to know, but Cowley is in no mood to play nice and snaps that the hearing will not take place until the authorities are ready to proceed.

"That means until you are finished with me," Christina snips.

Doyle changes the subject. "We've located your friends." Christina is surprised, although she tries not to show it, asks if they have been captured. "We're closing in," says Doyle, which is nowhere near as threatening as no doubt he hopes it is, sounding a little too much like: 'We want you to think we're close, but really we've gone and lost them'. Not his best interrogation technique there, admitting to weakness or failure.

"I've heard that one before," Christina sneers.

Cowley brings up Christina's earlier statement of belief that she would be killed if she was sent back home, and she nods. "Not immediately, perhaps, but sooner or later," she insists.

Christina's unsupported claims about what might happen to her in prison back home should not, of course, make any material difference to Cowley's decision regarding Werner's offer of a trade. Then again, technically he shouldn't really be negotiating at all, but once more we remember Cowley's predilection for triple-think. With Cowley, we must always, always bear in mind that what appears to be going on is very rarely what actually is going on. He loves outwitting the opposition.

"Your…" Cowley picks his words carefully. "Friends are asking for your release."

Christina's eyes light up with amusement as she ponders this information. "Which means they've got something, or someone, you want."

"If they regard you as a traitor," Doyle remarks, the camera favouring us with an extreme close-up of his face, all big eyes, cheekbones and blazing intensity. "Why would they ask for your release?"


Christina claims not to know, but Cowley's sources say she had an affair with Werner Dreisinger some years ago. Christina rolls her eyes and makes no comment. Doyle adds that their sources also tell them that she and Dreisinger had a child, a son, who is being cared for by Dreisinger's parents. Firmly keeping her cool, Christina wonders what else these sources say.

"That he's still in love with you," Doyle offers. Christina rolls her eyes, coldly insisting that Karen put that flame out a long time ago, but Doyle asks if she is really sure. Back on form, planting the seeds of doubt in her mind.

Cowley offers a hypothetical scenario in which a trade is considered, but Christina pours scorn on these semantics. "You mean an exchange of prisoners and a free passage."

"The terms of such a trade are not yet defined," shrugs Cowley, who missed his calling as a politician. "I am merely asking what your attitude would be to being handed over to Dreisinger."

It is interesting that she is being given even this much say in the matter – or at least, the illusion of having a choice.

"When you know that you are never going to be safe, even in jail, anything is tempting," Christina admits.

Terrorist HQ

A wreath is delivered to the house that was once the terrorists' headquarters.

CI5 HQ

Back at CI5, Cowley and Doyle inspect the wreath, the scene rather niftily filmed from below and slightly off-angle – the director seems to have had fun with this episode, creatively.


"Nice sense of the macabre, they send a wreath with their demands," Cowley coolly remarks, picking up the 'in memoriam' card to read its contents. According to the note, the terrorists not only want Christina but also a plane with fuel for 2000 miles and a safe air route all the way.

"What about Bodie?" Doyle asks, voice softening just enough to betray the deep concern his businesslike attitude has been working hard to conceal. Some people might feel he isn't worried enough about his captive partner, but they aren't looking closely enough. He's keeping a tight lid on it, because he'll be no use to anyone if he falls apart, but it is there.

According to the note, says Cowley, Bodie will be released once the group reach their destination, but Doyle complains that they will already have the girl by then. "They could just throw Bodie into the Bay of Biscay – what guarantees have we got?"

Only their word, Cowley admits, unease for his captured agent in his eyes. You have to look even closer at Cowley than Doyle to see the concern beneath the calculating, professional façade. The Controller loves to play games and he loves to win, and he is accustomed to gambling with the lives of his men. Ultimately, every one of them is expendable in service of the bigger picture – pawns on a giant chessboard. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care.

Doyle asks what happens if they don't play ball and Cowley sighs. "We use the wreath."


Terrorist van

In the van, a battered and bruised Bodie regards his captors with deep, dark loathing as they sit and wait it out together. At length, Werner checks his watch and instructs Heinrich to get ready. Heinrich obediently pulls out a heavy duffle bag and hangs it around Bodie's neck, strapping it to his chest. Explosives, Bodie realises, just the slightest hint of a quaver trickling into his voice to betray his anxiety.

"Fifteen pounds," says Werner. "Enough to blow you to minute pieces."

"And you, of course," Bodie retorts, toughing it out like the action hero he is, rather than giving in to fear of his predicament. "Mind you, I couldn't have wished for better company. How's it detonated?"

Werner gloats that they will be using one of Heinrich's ingenious little toys. A remote control for model aeroplanes, Heinrich explains. They turn the dial, and when it reaches the right frequency it detonates. Many groups have used similar devices effectively already, apparently.


"How brave," Bodie grimly mocks.

Airstrip

Cowley drives to the airstrip where the exchange is due to take place, Doyle and Christina in the back. It all looks peaceful and deserted enough, and Doyle wonders what they do now. They wait, Cowley states. Pretty obvious, really.

Christina nervously pipes up that she would like to have a cigarette. Once co-founder of her organisation, Christina, too, has now become a mere pawn in a game played by others. She didn't want to return to her comrades, tried to distance herself from her former life, but is now trapped in a no win situation, no choice but to let herself be handed over, however she feels about it. But she brought that fate upon herself. No matter how far she ran, she would never have been able to escape her past – it was always going to catch up with her sooner or later.

"We don't smoke," says Doyle, impassive. He's rocking the magenta shirt still, with sunnies as well. Gorgeous. And utterly inscrutable.


Around the airstrip, a whole contingent of CI5 agents move into position, covering all angles, sniper-rifles in hand. The aeroplane arrives and prepares to receive borders, and Doyle shoves his sunnies up onto his head to look through binoculars as a van approaches. Here come the terrorists.

In the van, Karen thinks it all looks kosher, but Werner reminds her that looks can be deceiving and warns her to be ready. They park…and wait.

Cowley gets out of his car, watching closely, waiting for the terrorists to make the first move.

"Not exactly rushing at it, are they?" Doyle grumbles.

"Would you? They hold all the cards," Cowley points out.

Doyle fidgets. "And aces," he adds. They have no way of knowing if Bodie is even still alive.

Finally Werner makes his move. Exiting the van, gun in one hand and radio remote in the other, he asks if Cowley is ready to make the exchange and asks to see Christina. Doyle brings her out of the car. Werner asks if she is all right and then questions her about the size of her escort. She has only seen the two, with no visible weapons, guesses they have handguns on them somewhere. Werner can't quite believe that Cowley has followed all his instructions, but the Controller insists, in clipped, annoyed tones, that he has – to the letter.

Still suspicious, understandably so, Werner sends Karen to check the plane and pilot. While she does that, Cowley asks for proof that his man is still alive. Werner obligingly thumps on the rear door of the van and Heinrich brings Bodie out, battered and bruised, hands bound behind his back, bomb strapped to his chest. He looks tired and fed up as Cowley asks how he is doing, quietly admitting that he has been better. He starts to explain about the explosives, but Werner stops him and tells Cowley himself, adding that the explosives will be detonated should there be any mistakes. "I should add that if there are any men hiding around here with R/Ts, it could prove very dangerous."


Doyle again asks what they do. For all his cool, calm façade, he seems rather uncertain of himself, here at the crunch with his partner's life on the line. He wants to do something, all this tension and waiting around chafing at his nerves. Cowley quietly says that they do nothing. His tone is rather more soothing than his words are reassuring, but it's all he has to offer at this stage. The tension is palpable.

Karen hurries back to report that the plane checks out – pilot, charts and fuel, all as instructed. Satisfied, Werner tells Cowley to send Christina over to him. For all her declarations of independence, she looks pleased to be returning to her comrades and freedom as she walks over to Werner's embrace. She wanted to walk away from them, but still they represent security and familiarity to her, more so than any other option she had at this point. And she and Werner have a history that binds them together, like it or not. That's what Karen has chafed against so hard, fighting an uphill and losing battle to repace the other woman.

"Such tender affection," Bodie mocks, looking on.


Back to business, now that Christina is safe and with him, Werner snaps out a few brisk orders on how to proceed and the group start walking toward the plane, taking Bodie with them.

"I hope Bodie's up to it," Cowley murmurs, worried.

"He will be," Doyle confidently declares. He's seemed apprehensive about the plan in general, but Bodie he is certain of, especially now he has seen for himself that his partner is alive and well. "It's the radios that worry me," he admits. There is a plan in place, with Bodie factored into it, but that bomb on Bodie's chest is a wild card they hadn't accounted for.

"We can't do anything about that now," Cowley soothes, never one to borrow trouble.


As the terrorists reach the plane, the trap laid for them kicks into effect rather dramatically, as a pre-arranged trigger of some kind sets off a bunch of seemingly harmless canisters scattered around the place – they pop, and smoke comes pouring out. I'm not entirely sure what purpose this is meant to fulfil – it certainly panics the terrorists, but it also obscures them from the sight of the CI5 snipers lying in wait for them! It does nothing to aid their capture…but does work perfectly as a means of allowing Bodie to escape. Once he is clear of them, as the smoke clears, then the snipers can start to pick the terrorists off. So clearly, then, capture and interrogation was never really on the cards.

Bodie reacts instantly. He kicks the radio remote out of Werner's hand and shoulder-charges him, knocking him off balance. All hell breaks loose. The terrorists, panicking, start shooting. Cowley and Doyle start shooting back – carefully, I hope, since Bodie is still in the midst of the enemy, shrouded in all that smoke.


Not for long, though. Understandably unable to forget the explosives around his neck, Bodie starts running as fast as he can, unwilling to risk the lives of his colleagues if the bomb goes off.

But Doyle sees what he is doing and immediately abandons the gunfight to give chase. He's not about to let his partner get blown up, not after going to so much trouble to get him back! They are both risking their lives in the attempt to save each other, and not just to the explosives. The gunfight is going on behind their backs. Either one of them could catch a stray bullet at any moment. Neither one cares.

Meanwhile back at the shoot out, Heinrich goes down, shot in the back by Cowley. The plane starts its engine and starts motoring away, engines clearing the smoke somewhat so that the random CI5 agents scattered around the place are finally join in the gunfight. Werner yells at Christina to go, moments before being shot by Cowley, then Karen sees Christina fleeing and shoots her in the back. Karen always did believe that Christina was a traitor and would argue that as her motive, but her jealousy of Werner's affection for the other woman has been evident throughout. Never mix business and pleasure, eh.

Collapsed on the ground, the mortally wounded Werner reaches for the radio remote, determined to take at least one CI5 agent with him…

Bodie dashes madly across the grass, desperate to distance himself from his pursuing partner, but Doyle comes bursting out of the smoke to furiously sprint after him, determined to either save his partner or die with him in the attempt. Run, run, run!


Bodie yells incoherently at his partner to get away from him, since he's about to blow up and all. "You maniac!" Doyle yells back – the one clear line of dialogue in this entire scene, what with the noise of the gunfight and the aeroplane engines and the way they keep shouting over the top of one another.

Finally Doyle catches up, rugby-tackling his partner to the ground right in front of the camera.


Okay, so that settles the question of which partner can run faster. Bodie had quite the head start!

They continue to rage at one another in fear and panic as Doyle rips the duffle bag from around Bodie's neck, swings it around like a hammer thrower, and flings it as hard as he can, just as Werner vindictively turns the dial on the remote and then drops dead.

The explosives blow, but at a safe distance, leaving the partners unscathed. They hurry back to the action just in time to apprehend Karen, the sole survivor of the gang.

Cowley, meanwhile, goes to Christina, who is mortally wounded and dies in his arms. It is a poignant ending to an intense character study of an episode.

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