Line of Duty Page #3

Dryden leaves with New Jo; Hargreaves trails.

HARGREAVES:

Well handled, sir.

(CONTINUED)

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DRYDEN:

Cheers, Les.

Hargreaves hangs back, dismissed, but with no immediate idea

of where to go, and resentful of being a fifth wheel again.

HARGREAVES:

(To himself.)

Champion.

Dryden continues quickly with New Jo.

DRYDEN:

You’re the new Media Manager?

NEW JO:

Jo Wright.

DRYDEN:

“New Jo.”

New Jo smiles awkwardly.

DRYDEN:

Got five minutes?

NEW JO:

Sure.

They turn down a corridor, walking and talking.

DRYDEN:

There’s a false speeding story

about me ... ?

NEW JO:

With this arrest, sir, it’s dead.

DRYDEN:

Good. A stupid, pointless

distraction.

Dryden looks vindicated.

DRYDEN:

Oh, and civilians don’t have to

call me “sir”.

NEW JO:

I was in the Job for ten years. I’d

feel uncomfortable not respecting

your rank.

DRYDEN:

Okay. Great.

(CONTINUED)

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(2)

He’s already warmed to her.

CUT TO:

311 INT. AC-12. CORRIDOR/BRIEFING ROOM. NEXT DAY.

A group of AC-12 officers troop into the briefing room. Steve

banters with a colleague.

STEVE:

They’ve got no one who’ll hold the

ball. Hoof it up front. No wonder

it comes straight back at ‘em.

Steve sees someone in the room that makes him halt. He lets

the colleague go ahead of him.

STEVE:

See you in there.

Steve hangs back, trying to figure out what’s going on. He

takes another look. This time we see, glimpsed between the

figures of various AC-12 officers taking seats, a seated

figure idling with his smart phone -- DET. INSP. MATTHEW

“DOT” COTTAN.

Steve sees Kate filing towards the entrance with colleagues.

STEVE:

Kate.

She joins him, curious, and with a subtle movement of his

head he indicates Cottan. Kate looks equally shocked.

KATE:

What’s that tosser doing here?

STEVE:

Buggered if I know.

Bringing up the rear of the officers heading for the entrance

is Hastings.

HASTINGS:

Morning, you two.

STEVE:

(Nodding into room.)

Sir ... ?

Hastings looks in to the room. This time Cottan makes eye

contact. He sees the tension on Steve and Kate’s faces but

still acknowledges them affably.

(CONTINUED)

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HASTINGS:

Our investigation’s expanded into

Witness Protection. The Deputy

Chief Constable’s ordered me to

bring in the specialist from AC-9.

STEVE:

Those bastards’ve been keeping us

out.

HASTINGS:

AC-9 didn’t make that call. Dot

Cottan certainly didn’t. It came

from the Deputy Chief Constable.

STEVE:

I’m not saying you should’ve run it

by us first -

HASTINGS:

I’m glad you’re not saying that,

Steve, else it’d mean you’re

confused over who’s in charge here.

Let’s give the bugger a chance.

After Tony Gates’ team was

disbanded, Cottan distinguished

himself, got promoted, and the fact

is he was the one member of that

unit prepared to give evidence

against his boss. He’s a born

anticorruption officer; poacher

turned gamekeeper.

Neither Steve nor Kate look remotely convinced.

HASTINGS:

I expect you both to conduct

yourself with nothing less than

complete professionalism.

KATE:

Sir.

STEVE:

Sir.

HASTINGS:

C’mon.

Hastings sends them into the briefing room ahead of him.

CUT TO:

312 INT. AC-12. BRIEFING ROOM. CONTINUOUS.

Steve and Kate enter. As Hastings enters, everyone rises.

(CONTINUED)

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312 CONTINUED:

HASTINGS:

Thank you.

They all sit again as Hastings proceeds to the front.

HASTINGS:

The target of the 5th September

ambush was a protected witness. To

brief you on the details, I’d like

to introduce Detective Inspector

Matthew Cottan who’s joined us on

temporary secondment from AC-9.

COTTAN:

Thanks a lot, sir.

Steve and Kate gaze mistrustfully at Cottan as he takes the

front. He lays down a pile of hand-outs and then calls up

images on a screen. The AC-12 officers pull out their

notebooks and Steve and Kate follow suit.

Cottan brings up the first set of images -- two men murdered

with their fingers amputated (the Greek Lane murders from

Series 1).

COTTAN:

In June of 2012, a double murder at

Greek Lane, Moss Heath that was

originally thought to have been

drug related was recrimed as a

terrorist incident. This individual

Cottan brings up a photo of “Tommy” as played by Brian

McCardie in Series 1.

COTTAN:

-- is John Thomas Hunter. He used

the name “Tommy” and had proven

links to organised crime. “Tommy”

cooperated with the investigation

into the Greek Lane terror incident

in return for immunity from

prosecution. “Tommy” was the target

of the ambush.

For effect, Cottan lets this sink in for a couple of beats.

He brings up a photocard driving licence with Tommy’s photo

against a new identity.

COTTAN:

Having been enrolled in the Witness

Protection programme, he was

provided with a new identity --

Alex Campbell -- and relocated to a

safe house at 12, St James’s Close.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

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COTTAN (CONT'D)

On the night of September 5th, his

Witness Protection Officer, DS

Jayne Akers, notified an immediate

threat against her witness and

attempted to move him to safe

custody at 4th Street Station.

Cottan brings up scene-of-crime images of the aftermath of

the ambush.

COTTAN:

As we all know, Akers was killed

and the Witness critically injured;

a second, successful attempt on his

life was made at the General

Hospital 9 days later.

Steve raises his hand.

COTTAN:

Yes?

STEVE:

No prosecutions resulted from the

Greek Lane counter-terror op.

COTTAN:

As a result -- as I was coming on

to say -- the Witness’s immunity

was in jeopardy. To keep himself

out of prison, he needed to prove

his value.

HASTINGS:

You think somehow this got back to

the Witness’s criminal associates,

and prompted their plan to silence

him?

COTTAN:

Exactly, sir.

Cottan brings up the last image -- an ID photo of Jayne

Akers.

COTTAN:

DS Akers was the person closest to

the Witness, trusted by him -- if

he intended to name names, she’d’ve

been the one to know.

Kate raises her hand.

COTTAN:

What?

(CONTINUED)

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KATE:

DS Akers was killed in the ambush.

How’d it fit that she betrayed

Tommy?

COTTAN:

Unknown to Akers, she could also

have been their target, killed for

her silence.

KATE:

Sounds like a guess.

COTTAN:

I’d call it a working hypothesis.

STEVE:

We’ve charged DI Lindsay Denton. AC9

wouldn’t happen to be sitting on

a connection between Denton and

Tommy?

COTTAN:

Not that I know of.

HASTINGS:

Yet. That’s why we’re pooling

resources. Thanks, Dot.

(Generally.)

Assignments in respect of the

foregoing will come to you via me

or via DI Cottan. That’s all.

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