In this world,
there are many years where nothing changes,
and then, everything changes at once.
The source sells it to Istanbul.
Istanbul sells it to us,
and we sell it to you.
This is how it works.
This is how it has always worked.
But now,
there is no Istanbul.
Now, everything has changed.
Who are you, then?
Transport.
That's a funny name.
Fuck off, you Scouse cunt.
- You've got the bollocks for it, mate. - So what's the plan?
Now, there is just us and the source,
so… we go to the source.
Where's that?
Pakistan.
Can you transport it from there?
Easy. I just need to know when and how much I'm moving.
We go in a few days.
- Who's we? - Everybody in this room.
Everybody who knows this is happening will be with us until it has happened.
- Will it work? - It will work.
What we are doing has never been done before.
And will never be done again. So let's show ambition.
We go to the source, and we bring back two.
200 kilos?
Two tonnes.
Two tonnes?
That would have a street value of at least £100 million.
Worth a go then.
It's nearly as much heroin as Britain's annual usage.
If it gets in, then the price plummets, usage booms,
and drugs deaths go off the charts.
It won't get in because I'm bringing it in.
Who's going to Pakistan?
Your Liverpool lot are coming, if that's what you're asking.
What's your plan?
I go with them to Karachi to get the deal done, then I bring back the load.
When I deliver it back to 'em, we nick 'em all, seize the drugs,
and then we can all go home.
I would need to request official cover for this.
Just asking for it might be the end of us.
This is the end of us!
They won't do two tonnes again. No one will.
And we'll either catch 'em or get found out tryin'.
This is how it ends, one way or another.
What do you need first?
Sailors.
My mate Pete works in Customs quarantine, which basically means nicking parrots.
Luckily for us, he's bored out of his skull.
- Concentrate on the matter in hand-- - Pete's ex-Special Boat Service.
And so are his mates. And if we give them every penny we've got,
they reckon they can get a boat to Karachi.
Would they be armed?
I'm sorry, sir, I didn't hear that bit.
Ah! There you are.
Like lambs to the slaughter.
- We have a meeting, Home Secretary. - You do, but not with me.
It's a long route, Mr. Blake, from your corner of government to mine,
and yet you appear to have found a shortcut,
which is to request the ability to operate in Pakistan without interference
and safe passage for a vessel containing two tonnes of heroin
from Karachi to Felixstowe Docks.
I'm talking about the biggest drugs bust Europe has ever seen
and dismantling what would be the most powerful drug cartel in British history.
And risking a major international incident,
which could bring down a government already on the ropes.
With respect, this is not a job for the security services.
Both we and the Americans have operatives in the field in Pakistan.
It's dangerous, it's fragile, it's delicate.
And into that, you are suggesting
that we send a bunch of Customs officers in false mustaches.
We would be sending ourselves.
We can't afford false mustaches, but you can lend us a couple if you like.
All is not lost.
Now that we're aware of your plans, we're duty bound to get involved.
- We answer to the Home Office. - That is the system that you know.
But there is another system that you don't.
What I know is that every government departmental head,
whether they're in charge of the railways or the spies,
worries about two things, money and power.
The Berlin Wall is down, Northern Ireland is heading for peace,
and I suspect that causes you a measure of existential concern
about money and about power.
Which I imagine has you seeking new roles
and new responsibilities that might shore up your position.
We do have some spare capacity, which is lucky for you
because if you truly aim to do as you say, we will be involved,
either to keep an eye on you while you're out there,
or to coordinate the repatriation of your team's bodies.
I take it keeping an eye on us means him,
seeing as he's sat there and hasn't said a bloody word.
As it happens, Lawrence will be in Karachi,
which is a tinderbox, but considerably safer than the rest of Pakistan.
We won't be leaving Karachi.
Then you have half a chance.
Don't you want our flight details?
We have your flight details.
Course you do. Where are we staying, then?
The Imperial Hotel.
They're very good, aren't they? What's my mother's name?
Gladys.
What the fuck?
What happened in London?
What happened in London is we're going to Pakistan to buy two tonnes of smack.
- Who's going? - Us and the Turks.
And some Cockney prick.
I spoke to my boss.
We can provide new identities for you and your family.
- I don't need you, mate. - Oh, really? So what's your plan?
Humiliate him.
Show the kids on the estates
that being a dealer isn't their way out of the estates.
I'm gonna take down his money, take down his drugs.
Bust the whole operation so that no one else can take it on.
And then…
You probably don't wanna know what I'm gonna do to him then.
You don't have to do that.
- I want him to know it was me. - Then give him to us.
With these new sentences, Carter would get life,
which means he'd spend the rest of his life in a cell
knowing it was you that put him there.
And you, you'd spend the rest of your life out here.
With your family.
You can guess what happens to grasses.
I don't care about that.
What would surprise you is what happens to grasses' families.
It's vicious. It's fucking medieval.
You won't get caught.
Because all I need you to do is what Carter needs you to do.
Make sure the deal gets done
and protect Carter.
Then we'll take down the deal, and we'll take down Carter.
- It's that easy, is it? - If it was that easy, we wouldn't be here.
- We need to keep talking. - No.
Carter's a clever lad.
I need as little of this in me head as possible,
or he'll see it, and if he sees it, then I'm dead.
And you won't find anyone else stupid enough to do this.
You're not stupid.
You take down Carter…
…you'll be a hero.
Oh, yeah, a smack dealer and a grass. They'll build a bloody statue for me!
I'll be over there.
In Pakistan?
Yeah.
I'll not help you with the Turks.
With Carter, it's personal.
- The Turks aren't my problem. - Don't worry about the Turks.
Do you have someone like me in with the Turks?
No.
That's the first time you've lied to me.
I packed them.
I'm checking you remembered what you're packing for,
which means remembering to check your bloody pockets.
This is a receipt for the garage round the corner.
You should be doing this job, not me.
I am doing it.
We're all doing it. You don't walk out the door and take this job with you.
I know.
Sorry.
- What is it? - This… this feels different.
It is different.
- I don't wanna know where you're going. - That's lucky, 'cause I can't tell ya.
But I wanna know how long.
I need to have something, Guy.
You need to leave us with something.
Can't tell you that.
'Cause it will be in my head…
…getting back for that.
And I'm not going as me. I'm going as him.
And he doesn't have anything to get back for.
What is he like?
He had a good life.
Then he lost it.
And he wants it back.
And to get it back, he made one bad decision after another.
And now here he is.
- You like him. - It's not about liking 'im.
It's about not fighting who he is.
It's about
understanding who he is
and how he ended up that way.
It's about believing every word he says,
agreeing with every decision he makes,
and knowing he doesn't wanna be doing this.
But if this is what needs to be done…
…he'll do it well.
Well enough to come home.
You like him.
And that's okay.
As long as, one day, you can let him go.
That's the one bit of this that will be easy.
Civil Service health and safety forms for foreign travel.
If I could just draw your attention to part three.
"Do not fraternize with local undesirable elements,
do not place yourself in physical danger,
and avoid spicy food on a working day."
Are you taking the piss?
If you cop it while you're over there, do you want your missus to get your pension?
Sign it.
- Why's he signing? - Why do you think?
Why's he going?
I'm going because I work here, just like you.
Keep talking about me without using my name, we'll have a problem.
This ain't about you, mate.
This is about me getting this done and about me staying alive,
and I don't know how you being there helps that happen,
which makes me think there's something I don't know.
He's coming. That's all you need to know.
What is it? What have you got?
Operational independence, that's what I got.
You got someone on the Liverpool team.
You need to focus.
If you've got someone in there, hats off to you.
I mean that. But I need to know who it is.
No, you don't need to know.
Because if you do know about them, and you get turned over and knocked about,
you could give them up, and it's my job to keep them safe.
You sayin' I can't take a bit of knockin' about?
I think you're forgettin' who you are. One of the good guys, believe it or not.
My name is Guy Stanton. My parents are dead.
I'm divorced. No kids.
I had a good business, but one thing led to another, and now I transport drugs.
And I'm good at it 'cause I'm desperate.
And I'm angry, and I'm greedy, and I don't have a moral bone in my body.
So, no, I'm not one of the good guys.
And if you think I'm one of the good guys, if you act like I'm one of the good guys,
then you could get me fucking killed.
Don't worry, mate. I can see exactly who you are.
Pack it in. You've both got jobs to do, and you need to respect the system,
so stop asking questions and get to the bloody airport.
Don't you be doing anything stupid over there.
Huh.
I'm more worried about the trouble you'll get into back here without me around.
- Take care, mate. - Yeah, you too.
Right, let's get started.
I'm waiting for a fax, but I've had a few ideas.
- Might be a bit tricky. - I thought it might be.
What are you two up to?
- I think Carter's got a corrupt cop. - I bet he does.
And I'm gonna find him.
- Not our job. - It is if I make the cop our way in.
If we see signs of police corruption,
there are ways something like that should play out.
- Systems. - I don't know what those systems are.
But I'd guess that they're very slow and, for what we're doing, very risky.
So do you wanna tell me what they are?
Or do you wanna go on your little boys' trip,
and one way or another, I'll have a bent copper waiting for you when you get back?
Good luck.
Time to go.
You don't have to stay, if there's someone waiting for you at home.
For me?
No?
I've had two types of relationships in my life, mate.
Bad and fuckin' awful.
- You? - God, no.
- There's been a few proposals, obviously. - Obviously.
But I've really mastered the art of the upbeat rejection.
Hmm.
Here's what I wanna know. How did you end up working as a Civil Service secretary?
Because… you're smart enough to be running the place,
and, no offense, but you talk like you should be running the place too.
My dad made a lot of money, then lost a lot of money, and
life changed.
And London can be a confusing place when you're poor but sound like you're rich.
Hmm.
I've… spent a long time
trying to find somewhere that didn't matter.
I reckon you've found it.
So do I.
So, how to get a list of Liverpool police employees
without Liverpool police finding out?
The answer's in the question. They're employees.
So I went through National Insurance.
- Which took a bit of doing, but-- - How many?
- 900. - 900?
913. I was rounding down.
For morale.
What's happenin'?
This is happening.
Wa alaikum assalam, Hakan.
Aaah!
This
is my son, Aziz.
- Assalamu alaikum. - It's an honor.
And I told you about the others.
Ahem.
Mr. Afridi, uh… we did not know you were coming.
Good.
- Who was that? - Do you think it'll be spicy?
- Sorry? - You're in Pakistan on business.
You're not thinking about a bloke over there.
You're thinking about whether the food is gonna be spicy.
You've come a long way, gentlemen.
- We're here to do business. - Uh-uh.
Karachi has many ears and many eyes. We do not talk of such things in Karachi.
Where do we do it, then?
Do you trust these men, Hakan?
This is what I am here to find out.
If you want to come to the source, then you must come to the source.
Come on. Get moving.
Hurry!
- They're moving. - Then we need to find out where.
- Back in a bit. - Where… where are you going?
- I'm going for a piss. - They won't like that.
I don't give a shit.
We've not come halfway around the world to be bossed around by that lot.
- Wait here. - No, you fucking wait here.
'Kin tell me what to do.
Where are the bags?
Move it!
- We're going to the source. - Where's that?
I don't know, but if I don't come back, you tell my wife I'm sorry for what I did
and I tried to put it right.
Gotta go.
All right, I'm coming.
We're going now?
- Yes. - Good.
You, take our bags.
Strange place to bring the missus.
She will help.
They're going to the source.
No, no, no, no, no.
- Taxi? You need a taxi, sir? - Yeah, yeah, taxi.
- Just here, sir. - Yeah. My friends are in those cars.
- I need to follow them. - Of course, sir. This is no problem.
- What's this? - Just here, sir.
No, no. I… I've gotta go.
Just get in the fucking car, Don.
We'll follow them as far as we're safe to do so.
- Which isn't far. - Where are they going?
The Khyber. The Pakistan-Afghan border.
Which is bad, but not as bad as who's taking them there.
That was Ayub Afridi, tribal warlord.
Suspected of drug smuggling, arms trading, and funding terrorist activity.
If we knew you were meeting him, you wouldn't have got on the plane.
If the Americans knew you were meeting Afridi,
you'd be involuntary houseguests of the CIA.
Then let's pull him out.
That would mean a lethal firefight in central Karachi.
Destroy years of investigation by multiple international security agencies.
Listen. That is my boy in that car. Right?
So stop telling me how buggered he is, and tell me what I need to do to get him out.
You can wait and you can hope.
But if I was you, then I would prepare for the worst.
913. That's where we started. Remember that,
or you may not recognize the progress we've made in whittling it down.
Come on, mate. Hurry up.
We've removed those who joined after the first charges against Carter were dropped
or left before the most recent charges were dropped,
along with anyone unlikely to have the authority to interfere with his record.
- Which has meant whittling the whole-- - How many?
326.
- Fucking hell. - That is what I was worried about.
You're not recognizing the progress we've made.
If we build more filters, then we can keep whittling it down and--
Please stop saying whittling, okay? Please stop saying whittling.
326 and
us.
Hmm.
We're looking at it the wrong way.
Someone within Liverpool police has been protecting Carter.
That means stopping charges being pressed. That has to leave a trail.
He may not have a criminal record, but he must have a police record.
So we start with the police record and then we look for the trail.
There is no police record on the system.
Which is interesting, because who puts the record on the system?
Liverpool police.
We need the hard copy.
That would mean putting a request through their liaison office
who would ask why we need it.
I'll go back to Liverpool and ask for it myself.
- That feels dangerous, Kate. - Do you know what, Erin?
The best part of this job is that no one's done it before.
It feels important, exciting.
And the hardest part of this job is that no one has done it before,
which means, every day, we have to make decisions that no one has made before.
What to do, where to go, who to target.
Uh, I think, I think, I've cracked it.
You look at all your options, you find the danger,
and you go towards it.
Where does the woman sleep?
She sleeps with her husband.
And I have a job for you.
Of course.
This is what happens.
This is what has always happened.
Men like you come here with a plan, and then things change.
Many years ago,
the British Army came and told my grandfather that they had made a new map.
And now we had to leave our mountains.
The last of those British soldiers died together
on the top of a mountain,
with their flags, and their trumpets, and their plan.
When the Russians came, they said we were communists now.
The last of those Russians, we did not kill.
They blew themselves up with grenades
after they saw what we did to the others.
When the Americans came,
they gave me money to send arms to the Mujahideen.
Then they gave me money to bring the arms back from the Mujahideen.
Now I have the arms, I have the money,
and the Americans have gone.
We're here to do a deal.
That's all.
Yes, that is all.
The British army, the Russians, the Americans did not just have a plan.
They had a cause.
But you men, you have no cause.
You have no
soul.
When I look at you…
…I see ghosts.
But that is okay.
These mountains are full of ghosts.
There's always room for more.
You have come a long way.
Now you must rest while I talk to Hakan.
Jesus Christ.
You must not worry about that. It was a show of strength.
Now we must show him ours.
Can we trust Hakan?
Hakan is an old king.
There is nothing more dangerous than an old king.
They want a final victory,
and there is no fear and no limits in what they will do to achieve it.
If we show we can help Hakan win a final victory, we are safe.
If we don't, we are not.
- Back. - What?
You go back.
What do you think we're gonna do, mate? Walk to England?
Back!
Go!
We must all show that we can help.
- Mmm. - Yeah.
Afghanistan.
I know.
Papa.
Oh, Papa.
I know who you are.
Long live the king!
You are home.
Your Highness.
What do we do if Guy doesn't come back?
You know, kid,
you're the one that's been the hardest to work out.
- Why's that? - I thought I had you sussed.
Crap job in Customs, bored out of your skull,
now's your chance for a bit of excitement.
And then I saw where you went to school.
I just can't get my head around that.
I got a scholarship through the church.
And even then, the uniform cost my dad a week's wages.
But they were so happy, man.
Only a few years off the boat, and their son going to a school like that.
"Where Britain finds its leaders." That's what the brochure said.
But…
no one else looked like me.
Some of them couldn't get past that. Not just the kids.
I tried to help. I'd speak one way at home,
another way there.
But the closer I tried to get to them…
the further away I ended up.
They said if I sat my A-levels, I'd endanger their average.
And so here I am.
That lot weren't fit to lace your boots, son.
I've never felt a part of something.
You're a part of something now, and if we pull this off,
you'll have done more for Britain than every kid from that school put together.
And if Guy doesn't come back,
we'll go and get him.
2,000 years, that is how long it has taken to create the Silk Road.
From China to Turkey, the greatest trading route the world has ever seen.
Our section is the Khyber Pass.
You take the goods, you pass them on.
You trust the other sections, you trust the Silk Road,
you trust the 2,000 years.
Now you are asking me to trust you instead,
to abandon everything I know.
Why?
Because your road's fucked.
You've lost your contact in Istanbul.
If you can't move your opium on from Istanbul,
you might as well leave it in the fields.
How would you move it?
Boat, which is quicker, cheaper, safer.
More money for you, and we'll be back sooner for more.
Hakan, you and I are servants of history,
but these men are drug dealers
who I do not know.
No. We're businessmen.
You can leave, Hakan, but they cannot.
You look like your mother.
Thank you. I miss her.
We were loyal to your father.
He came to me
the night before it happened.
He told me it would happen,
but he would not let it happen to me.
When they surrounded the palace,
I was already in the mountains.
Your mountains.
And my father
would have never sent me through these mountains, Afridi,
without your protection.
We were loyal to the man, not the crown.
The Pashtun do not recognize kings.
He did not need to wear a crown
to be a king.
Very well.
I cannot say no to Hakan and a princess.
Gentlemen, you will leave here tomorrow
with two tonnes of the finest opium in the world.
I wish you luck.
And I think you will need it.
Hiya. I'm from Customs, up from London. I need to check a record.
That's an intergovernmental request. I get them from the liaison office.
Well, you're getting it from me.
As long as you've got the paperwork.
We're in a fast-moving situation. I'll get it back to you tomorrow.
Miserable out there, isn't it?
The rain, the drugs, the guns.
I can't blame the rain, that's geography.
That's us gettin' it in the neck from the Atlantic. But the rest?
I'll tell you, love, it's no fun out there
if you're daft enough to wear a uniform like this,
which makes this job as good as it gets.
But if a record leaves this office without the paperwork,
then I lose this job and I'm back out there
with the rain and the drugs and the guns.
All for the sake of some sort up from London.
I get it.
How about if the record doesn't go anywhere?
Let me read it here. Just five minutes.
And then you can forget I was ever even here.
- What's the name? - Declan Carter.
- Wait here. - Thank you.
Hello, love.
Come with me, please.
If Customs wanna know about Declan Carter,
it's an unusual way to go about it.
I think Declan Carter and Liverpool police might be an unusual situation.
I've waited for this for a long time
because I've known Declan Carter for a long time.
And I know him well enough and this city well enough
to know that you don't go from running nightclub doors
to running a vast criminal network
without a little bit of help from someone inside this building.
Help from who?
I don't know.
I know it's not some PC on the beat that he's slung a few quid to.
There's plenty of them.
But I reckon Carter's got someone in here with a bit of clout.
And they're hard to get to.
And trying to get to them is a dangerous game.
I hope that's not a threat. If it is, we're gonna have a problem.
I put the note in Carter's record
to try and catch whoever was messing around with it.
Looks like I caught an ally instead.
And I'll help you,
but it's just me.
No one else inside here I trust with this.
I want his police record.
Okay, I can get you that.
As far as I can see, they've covered their tracks,
but maybe you can see something in there that I can't.
And keep my name out of your system,
and meet me here later.
I'll get you everything you need.
- Thanks for your help. - Okay.
We are from mountains like these,
people like these.
It feels like home here.
Does it not?
Not for me.
You know, the Kurds and the Pashtun are brothers.
We fought together many times.
And now,
we are together again.
Afridi will give me his poppies.
And I will give him my son.
What does that mean?
Watch Guy.
Learn what you need to learn.
When the drugs get to England, he goes.
And you will live here in Pakistan and work with Afridi.
Together,
we will be unstoppable.
You want me to live here?
Uh, here?
Where I know no one? Where I sleep with the fucking goats?
I'm getting old, Aziz, and I have failed.
My only son has forgotten who he is.
You will live here.
A Kurd
amongst the Pashtun.
And you will remember who you are.
And if I say no?
You're my son.
I let you do things no one else can.
Question me. Argue with me.
You have freedom, Aziz. More freedom than I ever had.
You can do many things.
But you cannot say no.
Why do you do this?
You're a clever man. You can do anything, and… you do this.
I could ask you the same thing.
I don't wanna do this forever.
Maybe, in London, we can talk about other things we can do.
Other business.
Real business.
Yeah, we can do that.
Good.
Is your boat ready?
Yeah, course.
We'll come with you.
To the docks.
No.
You what?
The less people at the docks, the better.
That's a lot of drugs.
And it's a lot of money.
And I still don't fucking know who you are.
So we'll be coming with you.
To the docks.
Fair enough.
About time you got your hands dirty.
Speak with Afridi's men.
Get yourself a piece.
You shouldn't have come here.
Liverpool. You shouldn't have come.
You don't understand how things work around here.
You think things are black and white.
Right and wrong, goodies and fuckin' baddies.
That's not Liverpool. Never has been.
My old man worked on the Queen's Docks, 14-hour shifts, half-day Saturday,
and at the end of the week, there'd be a box to take home off the boats.
Sugar, booze.
Pineapple one week.
And the copper who covered the docks,
he'd get two boxes, 'cause that's how it worked.
- How did Carter get to you? - You're not listenin'.
This is how it works.
I keep Carter in check.
Things would be a hell of a lot worse if I didn't.
I have stopped bloody murders.
- And you'd get me ten years for it. - Work with me.
There's not many ways out of this, love. That isn't one of them.
18 Moult Street.
That's a house that tells a story, Arthur.
Bought for cash, twice your salary,
and then mortgaged to the hilt to use as security against all that debt.
I look at your house, and I see weakness.
I look at your house, and I see Carter.
Since when did Customs decide they could take on the bloody world?
You don't know the half of it, mate.
This is your fault.
It's not mine. You shouldn't have come.
Support needed.
- Armed police! - Don't move!
- Hands where they are! - Armed police! Do not move!
I'm not gonna tell you anything.
You're in no state to tell anyone anything.
You need rest.
You need clarity.
And you'll get it in a police cell in Manchester,
under fake charges, under a fake name.
And when that clarity arrives, Arthur,
you will tell me everything I need.
Nick him.
All right, settle down.
You can stop pointing that at me for a fuckin' start.
- Assalamu alaikum. - Wa alaikum, Jawed.
Where the fuck's he going?
Oi!
Piss off out of it.
Hey!
Hundred million quid's worth of heroin, and you can't get us a proper boat?
It looks all right to me, Pete.
Power's on the blink, navigation's shot, and we're about to take on a journey
without a friendly coastline for 800 nautical miles.
- You're alive, then? - We're comin' in now.
- What do you mean, now? - I mean fuckin' now.
Let's go.
- He's comin' in. - We can't leave. We need a few days.
- He's coming now. We've gotta go. - It's too dangerous.
Hurry up with that winch!
Get that load on sharpish, and start the engines.
All right, you heard him. Get it started. Let's go.
What's the plan?
Get that lot on a boat, fly back, meet it in Felixstowe,
get it through Customs, and none of us have to work again.
What kind of drug smuggler doesn't travel with the drugs?
Fine. I just fuckin' hate boats.
- You're in the wrong job, then. - Tell me about it.
Come on! Let's move it!
Go with him.
No.
You know, Eddie,
you never used to say no to me.
Now it's all you say.
We've come a long way, Carter.
I'm just trying to get us to the end.
That's all.
Guy's going with the load.
That wasn't the plan.
It's not about having a plan, son.
Anyone can have a plan.
In this game,
it's about having control.
And I reckon we just lost that.