Day Four

[1965 Scotland]

(Jack drives a Land Rover to a lonely moor, to meet a woman and a troop of soldiers guarding a lorry.)

VANESSA: This is the location they specified. A set of instructions, coming through on a wavelength combination designated 456.
JACK: Did they give a name?
VANESSA: All we've got is that number. 456.

[Troop lorry]

VANESSA: According to our alien friends, in four months time, the virus will mutate. It's a brand new strain of Indonesian Flu. They claim it could kill up to twenty five million people. All our research seems to back up their figures. In 1918, the Spanish Flu outbreak killed something like five percent of the human race.
JACK: I know. I was there.
VANESSA: Well, this time, we're being offered a cure. They'll send the antivirus in exchange.
JACK: How many children do they want?
VANESSA: Twelve. It's like a sacrifice to the ancient gods. Twelve virgins.
JACK: Just twelve? It sounds like a good deal, what do they want them for?
VANESSA: They say they'll live forever.
JACK: Yeah, sure. Why do you need me?
VANESSA: Well, assuming twelve children can be found, then we need someone to deliver them.
JACK: What, in case the aliens are hostile, you need someone who can't die?
VANESSA: Actually, we need someone who doesn't care.

[Warehouse]

JACK: 1965, I gave them twelve children.
GWEN: You just handed them over and hoped for the best?

[1965 Scotland]

(Clem remembers it from his point of view, Jack driving them in the bus onto the moors.)

JACK: You just come with Uncle Jack. We're gonna go on an adventure, yeah?

(They get to the location.)

JACK: Everyone off.

(Outside, in the night. The soldiers are behind them, guns ready.)

JACK: Here we go. All right, children, you follow me. Adventure.

(A bright light appears.)

JACK: Okay, children, walk into the light. Do as I say.

(Clem stays behind.)

YOUNG CLEM: What's in there? What is it?
JACK: Just go.
YOUNG CLEM: It's safe though, isn't it?
JACK: Yeah. It's safe. Keep going. You don't want to be left out, do you?

(But the light vanishes before Clem gets there. He runs and hides.)

JACK: Everyone okay?
SOLDIER: Yes, sir.
VANESSA: The information's coming through now on the 456. It's the antivirus, just as they promised.
JACK: Good night's work.
VANESSA: Maybe the gods were kind. Maybe they are in paradise.
JACK: No such thing.

[Warehouse]

CLEM: You are in every nightmare I've ever had.
JACK: I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I

(Clem grabs Gwen's gun.)

RHYS: Gwen.

(And shoots Jack.)

GWEN: Okay. It's over now.
CLEM: Stay away.
GWEN: Just give me the gun, Clem. Come on.
CLEM: You're on his side.
GWEN: Give it to me.
CLEM: And he's on their side.
GWEN: Okay, it's over
CLEM: You're all involved.
RHYS: Gwen, let him go. He's dangerous, man.
CLEM: I'm not dangerous!
GWEN: We know. We know you're not. We know that.
CLEM: But that's a lie, isn't it? Isn't it? We both know I, I killed a man. I am dangerous.
GWEN: Can I take that?

(Gwen takes back her gun and hands it to Rhys.)

GWEN: There we are.
CLEM: But it's wasn't my fault. There is something up there. They do want children. That man held my hand and took me to them.

(Jack revives.)

GWEN: This is normal, okay? This is what he does. I told you he was going to be okay.
CLEM: No.
GWEN: Come on. Clem?

(Clem runs away.)

CLEM: No.
GWEN: Clem?
CLEM: No, no.
GWEN: He's all right, Clem.

(Gwen catches up with Clem, who is hiding behind an over turned table.)

CLEM: This is too much. Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it? Oh, too much.
GWEN: You get to shoot first and ask questions later. How good is that?
CLEM: This is too much. Isn't it, isn't it?
GWEN: Watch your head.

(Back at Hub2.)

IANTO: I can't believe you didn't mention this before.
JACK: They didn't speak through kids back then. I didn't recognise the signs at first.
IANTO: That's not what I meant.
RHYS: They're coming back.
CLEM: The man who sent me and my friends to die can't die himself.

[Ashton Down cell block]

STEVEN: This is to do with Uncle Jack, isn't it?
ALICE: It's a mistake. We'll be out soon.
STEVEN: Will he get us out?
ALICE: Yeah.
JOHNSON: In here.

(Steven sits down in the cell.)

JOHNSON: He doesn't know Harkness is his grandfather?
ALICE: No.
JOHNSON: I suppose it would take some explaining, when Mum looks older than Granddad.
ALICE: I can only assume that you're holding me here as insurance against my father. But let me warn you, if you've angered him, then God help you.
JOHNSON: This from the woman who's spent her life running away from him.
ALICE: And why do you think I did that? A man who can't die has got nothing to fear. So you watch it, and you keep watching.

(Alice goes into the cell, and Johnson closes the door on them.)

[Warehouse]

GWEN: It was a protection racket. You must have known they'd be back.
JACK: I knew it was a possibility.
GWEN: But you still gave them the payoff?
JACK: We had no choice.
CLEM: Why us?
JACK: You wouldn't be missed.
CLEM: I can see that.
JACK: All this time, the one consolation I had was, the deal seemed to work.
RHYS: It worked for forty four years. That's not a bad breathing space.
CLEM: Why was I left behind? What's wrong with me?
GWEN: We know they only want pre-pubescent kids. Maybe it's got something to do with that. Maybe you were just on the cusp of puberty. Not quite adult, not quite child.
RHYS: Saved by your hormones.
COMPUTER: Everyone follow us please, thank you.
GWEN: Is this still recording, Ianto? I need every second of this.
IANTO: Yeah.

[Contact room]

(Bridget eyes Lois suspiciously as she makes her way around the edge of the room, so that she can see Frobisher in profile.)

FROBISHER: Hello again. Before we consider your request, I've been asked for a point of clarification. Before we even discuss your, your request, we need to know exactly what it is you intend to do with the children.
456: Somebody is watching. Some remnant.

[Warehouse]

CLEM: It knows I'm here. It knows!

(Lois writes her shorthand note.)

IANTO: Somebody is watching.
CLEM: I told you, it knows. Turn it off.
GWEN: It's talking about the other camera. It doesn't know about us. Shush.
COMPUTER: The Prime Minister, the leader of this country, the United Kingdom

[Contact room]

FROBISHER: Is watching through this camera here, and he needs to know what would happen to our children if we were to hand them over to you.
456: It is off the record?
FROBISHER: Yes.
456: Come in.

[Warehouse]

IANTO: Come in.

[Contact room]

FROBISHER: In there?
456: With your camera. Come in.

[Warehouse]

CLEM: It's hiding something.

[Floor 13]

(The camera man is helped into a hazmat suit.)

DEKKER: Right. Is that okay?
MAN: Mmm hmm. Yeah.
DEKKER: Now, you'll be able to hear us and we can hear anything you say. Okay, hand me a mouthpiece. There you go.

(He plugs in the suit's air supply.)

DEKKER: Don't take it off until the light in the airlock goes green. Okay?
MAN: Yes, sir.
DEKKER: Camera. I'll be monitoring you throughout.
BRIDGET: Good luck.
MAN: Thank you, ma'am.

[Contact room]

DEKKER: Air content stabilised.

(The airlock opens and the cameraman enters the containment chamber. Visibility is not good. He gets sight of the 456 with its green drool. Then Dekker's lifesigns monitor screen expands to three traces.)

DEKKER: I'm getting three heartbeats.
FROBISHER: It's got three heads?
DEKKER: No, there's, there's three distinct forms of life in there.
FROBISHER: Get closer.

(The cameraman is close to panic. He follows the line of a plastic tube from the 456 to -)

[Warehouse]

CLEM: No, no, no, no, no, no!

[Cabinet room]

PIERCE: Is that a child? Where'd it get him from?

[Warehouse]

GWEN: He's one of the kids from 1965.
JACK: He's still just a child.
RHYS: Do you think he knows? Is he conscious?

(The camera shows the bald child blinking his eyes. The image on the computer screen blurs.)

CLEM: What's happening?
GWEN: It's Lois. She's crying.

[Contact room]

FROBISHER: What have you done to him?

(The 456 throws a hissy fit, and the cameraman gets splatters with green.)

FROBISHER: Get him out of there. Get him out! Get him out!
456: It would ensure the smooth running of diplo, diplo, diplomatic relations
CAMERAMAN: John, get me out of here!
456: Between Earth and 456, 456, 456, 456 if that previous encounter was kept off the record off the record off the record.

[COBRA]

GREEN: What's it saying?
PIERCE: That's John Frobisher's voice. What's off the record?

[Contact room]

456: By off the record I mean private
MAN: Get it off!

(The technicians help him off with the hazmat suit, and clothes.)

456: Private, private, private, private.
FROBISHER: This is unacceptable.
456: We do not harm the children. They feel no pain.

[Warehouse]

(Ianto reads Lois' transcript.)

IANTO: We do not harm the children. They feel no pain. They live long beyond their years.
GWEN: Oh, well, that's okay then.
JACK: But we still don't know. What does it do with them? What does it want them for?
RHYS: Bit late to ask now.
IANTO: We have answered your question. You have one day to select and deliver your ten percent.

[Contact room]

FROBISHER: And if we refuse?
456: We will wipe out your entire species.

[COBRA]

PIERCE: Am I to understand this country has had dealings with these creatures before?
GREEN: Apparently so. I would point out I was only a child myself in 1965.
PIERCE: Nonetheless, you made the decision only this week, sir, to keep those previous negotiations secret?
GREEN: It could be said, that perhaps it was convenient, for the moment, until further consideration.
PIERCE: You will give us all files on 1965 immediately, and the United Nations will decide what measures to take against you, Mister Green.

[Warehouse]

IANTO: This must have been eating away at you. Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped.
JACK: No, you couldn't.
IANTO: I tell you everything.
JACK: Yeah? So tell me, what should I have done?
IANTO: Stood up to them. The Jack I know would've stood up to them. I've only just scraped the surface, haven't I?
JACK: Ianto, that's all there is.
IANTO: No. you pretend that's all there is.
JACK: I've lived a long time. I have done a lot of things. I've got to go. I won't be long.
IANTO: You're doing it again. Speak to me, Jack. Where are you going?
JACK: To call Frobisher. I can't make the call from here, because they'll be able to trace it. Is that okay?
IANTO: You're the boss.
JACK: And just so you know, I have a daughter called Alice and a grandson called Steven, and Frobisher took them hostage yesterday.

[Thames House]

FROBISHER: You two should get a couple of hours sleep while you can.
BRIDGET: So should you.

(Frobisher's phone rings.)

FROBISHER: It's Harkness. Ring Ashton Down. See if you can get a trace on it. Strong coffee, loads of.

(Bridget makes the call, Lois goes to get the drinks.)

FROBISHER: Hello?

[Industrial estate / Thames House]

JACK: Have you thought about what I said?
FROBISHER: Bit busy, to be honest.
JACK: Let me put this right. Release my family, and we can work together.
FROBISHER: Give yourself up and they won't be harmed.
JACK: I wish I could believe that.

(Ashton Down work on the trace.)

FROBISHER: You can.
JACK: You've spoken to the 456, haven't you? They want more children.
FROBISHER: What makes you think that?
BRIDGET: They're on to it now.
JACK: It doesn't take a genius. And with them going so public this time, I think they want a lot more. Millions even. If I have to stop you then I'll tell the world what's really going on. There's too much at stake not to.

(Call ends.)

[Ashton Down monitoring station]

OPERATIVE: Lost him. I'll try the Echelon satellite data.

[Thames House]

OPERATIVE [OC]: It's gonna take some time.
BRIDGET: They'll let us know when they get a location.
FROBISHER: He'll be gone by then.
BRIDGET: Why don't you get your head down on the couch for an hour?
LOIS: Sorry. The Prime Minster wants to see you.

[Downing Street]

BRIDGET: Take notes. Facilitate. Generally make sure it all runs smoothly. The most important thing is to blend into the background. No one should know you're there.

[Warehouse]

(Gwen reads the sign on the door Frobisher and co are going into.)

GWEN: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. COBRA. Where all the emergency planning takes place.
IANTO: Gold Command meeting's about to start.
CLEM: They'll sell us out, just like they did last time.
GWEN: I'm sorry to hear about your family, by the way. We'll get them out.
JACK: I know we will.
COMPUTER: Ladies and gentlemen, it's been decided we're going to make the 456 an offer.

[COBRA]

GREEN: A realistic number, something we can manage, and then we see what happens.
RILEY: You mean we're going to haggle? What about the military option?
DEFENCE SEC: There's nothing to take action against. Evidently, the 456 must have some sort of base of operations in orbit, but our satellites are showing nothing. Whatever's up there, it's beyond our technology.
RILEY: There's a target sat in Thames House.
DEFENCE SEC: Taking that out would be a declaration of war.

(The Deputy PM joins in.)

YATES: A war we can't win.
GREEN: That's why I've invited John to address Gold Command. In terms of managing the figures, what could we offer and get away with?

[Warehouse]

COMPUTER: And get away with. We need to know how many units would be available by tomorrow morning.
CLEM: Isn't it? Isn't it? It's happening again.
GWEN: My God. They're really gonna do this.

[COBRA]

RILEY: Look, it won't just be Britain, will it?
GREEN: The idea is that every country makes a camouflageable contribution.

[Warehouse]

(Frobisher speaks to Bridget.)

COMPUTER: Can you pass me the FAS file, please?
RHYS: SAS? Oh, now you're talking.

[COBRA]

(Lois picks up a coffee cup and moves to where she can see Frobisher's lips.)

FROBISHER: Right, well, er, for a start, there are twenty children in Oakington right now. Twenty one units. Unaccompanied asylum seekers awaiting deportation.

[Warehouse]

GWEN: FAS. Failed asylum seekers. Orphans in '65, asylum seekers today. There's progress for you.

[COBRA]

YATES: And no one would miss them. We need more. Can you bump the numbers up to sixty?
FROBISHER: I think so. We could have them all in Oakington by first thing tomorrow.
GREEN: Thank you, John. Now go back to Thames House and consult with the 456. Make them an offer of sixty units and no more.

[Frobisher home]

(The phone rings.)

ANNA: Hello?
FROBISHER [OC]: It's me.
ANNA: Well, how did it go?

[Thames House / Frobisher home]

FROBISHER: All you need to know is there's nothing to worry about. I'm sorry, I can't explain, but trust me. Don't worry.
ANNA: Well, have you slept yet?
FROBISHER: No.
ANNA: Are you on your way home?
FROBISHER: No time for that, sweetheart. I'm afraid it's a matter of utmost national security.
ANNA: Are you safe?
FROBISHER: Of course I am. You know me, I'm just pushing papers around. They just need me to make sure all the documentation's in place. Did the bodyguards turn up?
ANNA: Yeah, they're outside.
FROBISHER: Good. Good. I just wanted to say I love you, and I love the girls.
ANNA: When will you be home?
FROBISHER: Soon. Look, I've got to go. I love you.
ANNA: I love you too.

[Contact room]

FROBISHER: I'm sorry, but we have discussed your demands and we've arrived at a solution that might satisfy both parties. I've been authorised to offer you one child for every million people on planet Earth. That's about six thousand seven hundred in total. Sixty two from the UK alone.
456: That is not acceptable.
FROBISHER: Six thousand seven hundred. Six seven zero zero. That's our final offer. It's more than generous. I'll give you some time to think.
456: Three two five zero zero zero. Three two five zero zero zero.

[Davies' home]

RHIANNON: You are turning this house into a bloody playschool.
JOHNNY: Ten quid a kid, more like charity.
RHIANNON: And who's doing all the work? Muggings here, that's who. I don't see you lifting a bloody finger.
CHILDREN: Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero.
RHIANNON: Oh, my God, they're doing it again. Mica? Where's Mica? Mica!
CHILDREN: Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero. Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero.
JOHNNY: What is it?.
CHILDREN: Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero.
JOHNNY: What are you going on about? Lottery numbers or what?
CHILDREN: Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero. Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero.

[Warehouse]

CLEM: Three, two, five, zero, zero, zero.
RHYS: Coordinates? Grid reference, maybe?

LOUISE MINCHIN: Children in different countries are saying different numbers.
FRENCH REPORTER: Ici en France le nombre est de quatre, quatre, huit, zero, zero, zero.
TRINITY WELL: The children of America are saying two, three, four, zero, zero, zero, zero.
LOUISE MINCHIN: But what is the meaning of three, two, five, zero, zero, zero?

[COBRA]

YATES: It's confirmed. Three hundred and twenty five thousand is ten percent of the children, the, er, units, in this country. Every country is saying a different number, which in each case amounts to ten percent.
GREEN: I think it's fair to say that our final offer has just been rejected. Okay, thanks, everyone. Let's take a break.
YATES: It's worth considering, sir. The world's population will be nine billion by 2050. That's a two and a half billion rise. The UK'll go from sixty one million to seventy seven, every one of them needing food and water, a home, transport, fuel, TVs and fridges
GREEN: Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick. What are you suggesting, a cull of ten percent would do us good?
YATES: I'm just saying, if we need to spin this to the public, and God knows, at the moment, spin is all we can do, then in an age when we're terrified by the planet's dwindling resources, a reduction in the population could possibly, just possibly, if presented in the right way, be seen as good. Sir.

[Ashton Down monitoring station]

JOHNSON: Anything?
OPERATIVE: It's all gone quiet. All our usual sources from the government, the army, Whitehall, all gone silent. Whatever's happening in London, no one's breathing a word.
JOHNSON: It's about time I found out what's going on. I'm taking a squad to London. Are the roads still blocked?
OPERATIVE: Only in the centre. Then patch me through a clear route. And keep watching for Harkness. If it's happening in London, then that's where he'll be.

[COBRA]

GREEN: With regrets, ladies and gentlemen, I have to tell you that we're now facing the worst case scenario. And right now, we don't have time for a discussion on ethics. I'm afraid the hand-wringing will have to wait. All we can do at the moment is to address a number of vital and practical questions.
YATES: Namely, how do we select the ten percent? Who would go? How would we transport them? And how could we sell it to the voters?
GREEN: John?
FROBISHER: Well, the selection's not down to me.
GREEN: Nevertheless. Practical solutions, please.
FROBISHER: Once the selection has been made, then my department can arrange to bus all the children to the rendezvous points together, school by school. My staff are compiling various school databases.

[Warehouse]

(Who'd have thought shorthand would still be so useful.)

IANTO: You just need to decide what criteria you'd use for selection.

[COBRA]

FROBISHER: Which is out of my hands. Over to you, sir.
GREEN: Anyone? Might I remind you the clock is ticking.
DEFENCE SEC: It would have to be random.
RILEY: No-one'll believe it was random. Not unless some of us are seen waiting at school gates for empty buses to return.
DEFENCE SEC: If the criteria we use is demonstrably fair and entirely random, then at least we could defend ourselves
RILEY: So you're willing to risk your kids to make it look fair?
DEFENCE SEC: Then how else could we choose?
YATES: We could do it alphabetically.
RILEY: Oh yes, thanks, Mister Yates.
YATES: I didn't mean. I've got no kids. I wasn't trying to
RILEY: Yes, no kids and no consequences. And yours have already grown up.
GREEN: Let's keep this civil, Denise.
RILEY: Oh yes, let's discuss the loss of millions of innocent children, and let's be civilised about it.
GREEN: If you wouldn't mind, yes.
DEFENCE SEC: Could we limit it to one loss per family? Every second-born child?
FROBISHER: That would take more time, more organisation. Time we don't have.
DEFENCE SEC: So it would have to be one school at a time.
RILEY: Look, I'm going to say what everyone else is thinking. If this, this lottery takes place, my kids aren't in it.

[Warehouse]

COMPUTER: I'm sure the families of Gold Command would be exempted anyway. In fact, isn't that official policy?
CLEM: Gang of bastards. Isn't it.
COMPUTER: During a major civil emergency, we're also dealing with deeply debilitating personal grief.
CLEM: Listen to them.
COMPUTER: (Defence secretary) It'll be hard enough as it is. I'm right, aren't I? It is official policy that our families get protection.
GWEN: Of course they bloody do.

[COBRA]

DEFENCE SEC: So, we could have a show of hands. I hate to be crass, but in the circumstances
RILEY: Well, who votes? Those with kids, or those with no interest to declare?
GREEN: No one votes. It's down to me to make an executive decision.
YATES: Do you need some time?
GREEN: No. Whatever happens, the children and grandchildren of everyone round this table will be exempt.
RILEY: What about nieces and nephews?
GREEN: Don't push your luck.
RILEY: You seriously expect me to look my brother in the eye
GREEN: We need to limit the number of people who know.
RILEY: Look him in the eye and what, just give him a condolence card?
GREEN: That's the responsibility of government, Denise!
RILEY: No, the first responsibility is to protect the best interests of this country, right? Then let's say it. In a national emergency, a country must plan for the future and discriminate between those who are vital to continued stability, and those who are not. And now that we've established that our kids are exempt, the whole principal of random selection is dead in the water anyway.
DEFENCE SEC: Only so far as
RILEY: Let me finish. Now look, on the one hand you've got the good schools. And I don't just mean those producing graduates, I mean the pupils who will go on to staff our hospitals, our offices, our factories. The workforce of the future. We need them. Accepted, yes? So, set against that you've got the failing schools, full of the less able, the less socially useful. Those destined to spend a lifetime on benefits, occupying places on the dole queue and, frankly, the prisons. Now look, should we treat them equally? God knows, we've tried, and we've failed. And now the time has come to choose. And if we can't identify the lowest achieving ten percent of this country's children, then what are the school league tables for?
GREEN: Anyone want to speak against that?

(Silence.)

GREEN: Then there we have it. John, you have your criteria. We've selected the ten percent.

(The meeting breaks up.)

[Warehouse]

GWEN: We've got enough evidence recorded here to destroy every person in that room.
JACK: And we can use it to force our way into Thames House, finally get face to face with this thing.
GWEN: And get your family released.
JACK: Right, everyone know what they're doing?
GWEN: What if I can't get Lois to agree to this, Jack?
JACK: She hasn't let us down yet. Rhys, okay? Let's go stand up to them.
IANTO: Yes, sir.

(Jack and Ianto drive off in the stolen Boxster, which Operation Fortress still hasn't picked up on the Automated Numberplate Recognition cameras yet. Tut.)

LOUISE MINCHIN: The government has yet to give a reason why the children have stated a number which equals ten percent of the child population of each country.
FRENCH REPORTER: aurait demande a la Grande-Bretagne qu'elle fasse une declaration plus vite concernant ses
TRINITY WELLS: All eyes are now turning toward the United Kingdom as we ask, what exactly are they hiding?
LOUISE MINCHIN: London remains grid-locked in the city centre.

(Jack and Ianto drive into the tail of a jam, then get blocked in behind. They continue on foot, as Ianto makes a phone call.)

[Davies' home / London]

RHIANNON: Pipe down, you lot. Shut up. Hello?
IANTO: It's me.
RHIANNON: Oh, I thought you couldn't call here. Is it all over?
IANTO: It's only just beginning.

(Ashton Down are listening in.)

RHIANNON: It's Ianto.
JOHNNY: Tell him I want my car back in one piece.
IANTO: Listen, that column of fire over London. Did you see it on the telly?
RHIANNON: No, I was watching the other side. Of course I did, you dumbo. What's happening? The kids said, they are coming, but who's they? Who is it?
IANTO: Just stop a minute, and listen.
RHIANNON: Ianto, just tell me, who are they?
IANTO: They're from another planet. They want children. That's why they're here.
RHIANNON: They what?
IANTO: They want kids, millions of them.
RHIANNON: Why?
IANTO: I'm not sure. But over the next few days, don't let anyone take David and Mica away from you, for whatever reason. This goes for you people listening in on the wire as well. Forget the Official Secrets Act. If you've got children or grandchildren, you need to hear this. And you need to tell every parent you know.

[Ashton Down monitoring station]

OPERATIVE: I've found Jones. We can assume Harkness is nearby.

[Land Rover]

JOHNSON: Okay, let's go.

[Davies' home]

IANTO [OC]: Look, I've got to go. I love you. Don't let the kids out of your sight. I love them too. I'm even warming to Johnny a bit.
RHIANNON: We love you too. Ianto? Ianto, are you there?
JOHNNY: What is it? What did he say? Come on, Rhi, what did he say?

[Warehouse]

GWEN: You've got to go now.
RHYS: You're just getting me out of harm's way, aren't you? You don't think I can hack it.
GWEN: You're the most important part of this whole plan. Now go on. You've got a job to do, and there isn't much time.

(Rhys takes the laptop and leaves.)

[London / Ashton Down monitoring station]

(The area is deserted when Johnson and her armed men arrive.)

JOHNSON: Long gone. Move out.
OPERATIVE: I've done a sweep of the surrounding area. Two miles to the south, there's a warehouse area in Battersea.
It used to be an old holding facility for Torchwood One back in the 90s. Could be significant. Ianto Jones worked for Torchwood One.
JOHNSON: Can you pinpoint which warehouse?
OPERATIVE: 'I'll get onto it now.

[COBRA]

FROBISHER: We need a cover story to explain why the operation is happening and to encourage participation. So the suggestion is we announce that the children will be given some kind of inoculation. A jab to stop them speaking in unison. We stress that there's no immediate danger, that everyone will be seen in due course. Then when it goes wrong, and the children disappear, we blame the aliens, claim ignorance, and face the music.
DEFENCE SEC: We say the 456 double-crossed us?

[Warehouse]

COMPUTER: Double-crossed us? (Gwen's phone rings.)

[Millbank]

IANTO: Okay, Gwen, we're here.
GWEN [OC]: Take care.

[Ashton Down monitoring station]

OPERATIVE: Positive fix, Gwen Cooper, Torchwood facility warehouse.

(The Land Rovers cross Battersea Bridge, sirens wailing.)

COMPUTER: Excellent. It is the aliens' fault.

(Gwen types - Jack is in position. Let's do it.)

[COBRA]

YATES: That is where the blame should lie. Not with us.
FROBISHER: We play the part of naive dupes rather than willing accomplices.
GREEN: We're not willing. No one in this room is a willing accomplice.

[Land Rover]

OPERATIVE [OC]: Roads all clear. ETA Torchwood warehouse, forty five seconds.

[COBRA]

(Gwen is typing. Jack is in position. Do it NOW.)

GREEN: Thank you, John. Comments. Anyone?

(Lois raises her hand.)

YATES: This is going to take a hell of a lot of organisation. We'll have to stand the police down and put the army in their place. We barely have time to talk. We need to get this thing moving.
GREEN: Then should we reconvene at eighteen hundred?
LOIS: Excuse me.
BRIDGET: Lois, stop it.
LOIS: I have something to say.
GREEN: Really? Well, it's nice you want to make a contribution, er, what was your name?
LOIS: Lois, Lois Habiba, sir.
Well, thank you for your hard work, Lois. It's much appreciated, but this isn't really the best time.
LOIS: I'm sorry, sir. I know I'm only supposed to be here to take notes, but er, I am a voter.
YATES: Listen, love, this isn't a referendum.
BRIDGET: Lois, could I have a word outside?
LOIS: No, but it needs saying.
FROBISHER: Lois, seriously, not now.
LOIS: And I'm not just speaking on my own behalf.
YATES: Just what we need, a revolutionary.
LOIS: If you like, sir, then that's what I am.
YATES: Oh yeah? You and whose army?
LOIS: Torchwood.
GREEN: What?
FROBISHER: Don't be ridiculous.

[Warehouse]

COMPUTER: Don't be ridiculous.
GWEN: I think she's doing it. Good girl.

[COBRA]

LOIS: But Torchwood has been recording all these meetings, and everything that's been said around this table, every single word spoken by every single one of you, will be made public unless you do exactly what Torchwood says.

[Thames House]

JACK: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones. We're Torchwood.

[Warehouse]

GWEN: We've been expecting you.
JOHNSON: On the floor. Face down, hands on your head.
GWEN: You traced Ianto's calls, did you?
JOHNSON: On the floor!
GWEN: Now that you're here, you can take me to Alice and Steven Carter.
JOHNSON: You'll be in the very next cell. Second thoughts, maybe I'll just have you shot while resisting arrest.
GWEN: That would be a mistake.
JOHNSON: Why?
GWEN: Take a look at what we've been recording.
COMPUTER: And how exactly are you going to make us do this?

[COBRA]

GREEN: Torchwood's been destroyed.
LOIS: I'm afraid not, sir. Right now, Captain Jack Harkness, head of the Torchwood Institute, is in the reception of the MI5 building. So you're gonna stand aside, and let him do his job, and deal with the 456. Immediately. And, er, I think that's it.

[Warehouse]

GWEN: What she's telling them is, my gorgeous husband has recordings of them all secretly agreeing to sacrificing millions of innocent children to the aliens. Now, him and his laptop, at this very moment, are in a secret location, and he's ready to press send and tell the whole world exactly what's been going on, unless you do exactly as we say. Take a seat. Maybe you'll learn something about the people you've been working for. Come on, Clem.

[Floor 13]

(Jack gives Dekker a piece of paper.)

JACK: I want to feed the live TV pictures direct to this number. Can you do that?
DEKKER: I can do it.

[Contact room]

JACK: I'm Captain Jack Harkness. I've dealt with you lot before. I'm here to explain why this time you're not getting what you want.
456: You yielded in the past.
JACK: And don't I know it.

[COBRA]

JACK [on monitor]: I was there in 1965. I was part of that trade. And that's why I'm never gonna let it happen again.

[Contact room]

456: Explain.
JACK: There's a saying here on Earth. A very old, very wise friend of mine taught me it. An injury to one is an injury to all. And when people act according to that philosophy, the human race is the finest species in the universe.
IANTO: Never mind the philosophy. What he's saying is, you're not getting one solitary, single child. The deal is off.
JACK: Er, I like the philosophy.
IANTO: I gathered.
456: You yielded in the past. You will do so again.
JACK: In the past, the numbers were so small they could be kept secret. But this time that is not gonna happen.

[Warehouse]

JACK [OC]: Because we've recorded everything. All the negotiations

[COBRA]

JACK [on monitor]: Everything the politicians said, everything that happened in this room. And those tapes will be released to the public

[Contact room]

JACK: Unless you leave this planet for good.
456: You yielded in the past. You will do so again.
JACK: When people find out the truth, you will have over six billion angry human beings taking up arms to fight you. That might be a fight you think you can win, but at the end of it, the human race in defence of its children will fight to the death. And if I have to lead them into battle, then I will.
IANTO: You've got enough information on this planet, check your records. His name is Captain Jack Harkness. Go back a hundred and fifty years and see what you're facing.
456: This is fascinating, isn't it?

[Warehouse]

CLEM: Isn't it? It knows I'm watching.
456 [OC]: The human infant mortality rate is twenty nine thousand one hundred and fifty eight deaths per day. Every three seconds, a child dies. The human response is to accept and adapt.

[Contact room]

JACK: We're adapting right now, and we're making this a war.
456: Then the fight begins.
JACK: We're waiting for your reply.
456: Action has been taken.

(Alarms go off in Thames House, and the doors slam shut. The whole place is secure.)

JACK: What have you done?
456: You wanted a demonstration of war. A virus has been released. It will kill everyone in the building.

[Warehouse]

GWEN: Can they override it?
JOHNSON: I don't know.

[COBRA]

FROBISHER: The building's designed to withstand chemical and biological attack. Nothing or no one can get in or out.
GREEN: Oh. Happy now?

[Floor 13]

(The staff trample each other in their attempts to escape.)

JACK: The air's poisoned. Call someone. Shut down the air conditioning. Block every air vent. Get gas masks, hazard suits, oxygen cylinders.

[Contact room]

IANTO: If there's a virus, then there must be an antivirus. Release it now or I'll blow a hole in that tank, and we'll all die together.
JACK: You've made your point. Now stop this, and we can talk.
456: You are dying even now.

(Jack and Ianto fire at the containment area glass. It is bulletproof.)

JACK: What's that noise? What's it doing?

(The 456 is thrashing about and emitting a high pitched tone.)

[Warehouse]

(Clem can hear it.)

GWEN: Turn it off. Turn it off! Clem? Clem?

(The sound hurts him.)

[Contact room]

JACK: We've got to get you out of here. I can survive anything, but you can't.
IANTO: Too late. I breathed the air.
JACK: There's got to be something. There's got to be an antidote.
456: You said you would fight.
JACK: Then I take it back, all right? I take it all back. But not him!

(Ianto collapses.)

JACK: No! No, no, no, no, no. No, Ianto. No.

(Clem is screaming in agony. Blood is pouring from his ears.)

456: The remnant will be disconnected.

[Warehouse]

(Clem goes quiet, and relaxes.)

GWEN: He's dead. What about Thames House?
JOHNSON: They can't get out.

(Dekker makes it to a storeroom and gets into a hazmat suit as other staff start to collapse. The guards take fire axes to the main doors, to no avail.)

[Contact room]

(Jack cradles Ianto.)

JACK: It's all my fault.
IANTO: No, it's not.
JACK: Don't speak. Save your breath.
IANTO: I love you.
JACK: Don't. Ianto? Ianto. Ianto, stay with me. Ianto, stay with me, please. Stay with me. Stay with me, please.
IANTO: Hey. It was good, yeah?
JACK: Yeah.
IANTO: Don't forget me.
JACK: Never could.
IANTO: A thousand year's time you won't remember me.
JACK: Yes, I will. I promise. I will. Ianto. Ianto? Don't go. Don't leave me, please. Please don't.
456: You will die, and tomorrow your people will deliver the children.

(Jack kisses Ianto one last time, and keels over, dead.)

[COBRA]

GREEN: What now?
YATES: Two choices. Either we go to war against an enemy we can't beat, or we go to war against our own people for their own good.
RILEY: An injury to one is not an injury to all. We have to surrender.
GREEN: Thirty five million children.
RILEY: Or six point seven billion people.
GREEN: Start putting your plan into action.

[Thames House]

(The virus must have been short lived, because the dead are now in body bags. Gwen is brought in and told where Jack and Ianto are.)

SOLDIER: Thirteen, fourteen.

(She kneels between them and uncovers their faces. Jack sits up. He hugs Gwen as they both weep over Ianto.)

GWEN: There's nothing we can do.

Transcript originally provided by Chrissie. Adapted by TARDIS.guide. The transcripts are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.

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