Episode 1 Undercover

This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

-RADIO DJ:

-It's 90 degrees in Baton Rouge and 92 in New Orleans -

a hot day for an execution.

He's been cheating justice for over 20 years

but we think it's the end of the line for Rudy Jones.

Humidity up at 98% in downtown Lafayette

and a record high of 99% in West Monroe.

Now, the only thing about the death penalty is the dumbass lawyers

that say you can keep on appealing right down to the wire.

PHONE RINGS

Shit.

BRAKES SQUEAL

-SEATBELT SENSOR BEEPS

-Seatbelt unfastened.

Seatbelt unfastened.

TRUCK SOUNDS HORN

Seatbelt unfastened.

TRUCK SOUNDS HORN

Yes, I'm here. I'm here. How long?

Seat belt unfastened.

Two hours.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

-Are you sure?

-Erm...

-Dad?

-Yeah. Yeah. OK. OK. But slowly.

-WAX STRIP RIPS

-OW! Ow. Oh. Aargh!

-SHE LAUGHS ARGH! Aargh!

-No!

-HE GRUNTS

-No! No! No! No!

Help! Help me, Dad.

Dan! Dan! Come on! Dan! Dan! Dan! Calm down.

She didn't hurt me. She didn't hurt me. She didn't hurt me.

-Come on.

-It's OK.

-Come on.

-Breathe, Dan.

SHE EXHALES It's me, it's your sister.

Look at me, look at me. Are you OK?

-It's OK.

-Keep breathing.

-I'm all right. I'm all right. I'm all right.

-You all right?

-I want Mummy.

# We shall live in peace some day...

# We shall overcome

# We shall overcome... # Not before six. Did you get that?

Answer my question. # We shall overcome... #

Does the government know there's a two-hour stay?

OK. Thanks. # We shall overcome some day

# Oh, deep in my heart... #

Yeah.

We've got two hours, right.

BUZZER SOUNDS

-Maya Cobbina.

-Thank you, ma'am.

BUZZER SOUNDS

BUZZER SOUNDS

BUZZER SOUNDS

BUZZER SOUNDS

-It didn't hurt.

-But then, why did you scream?

-I was pretending.

-Why?

To make it funny.

Look, see? Taking the hair off reduces resistance,

so you go a bit faster.

See?

Why don't we do another practice?

I could really use your help.

-OK.

-OK. OK. OK. Come on.

I'm going to go and look at the blog.

Can you do it with me?

-JOURNALIST:

-Well, Rudy's lawyer just went inside.

She told us there's two hours.

Two hours till the Supreme Court decision.

# We shall overcome We shall... #

Do we have a decision?

-Rudy?

-I've got a first name?

"Rudy"...now that you're about to kill me?

Fried chicken is a popular choice.

You may kill me, but you can't make me eat,

just so the media has something to talk about.

-I'd like a cigarette.

-We can't do that.

-Why not?

-Health regulations.

HE CHUCKLES

So, two hours means they're reading what we filed.

Still stacked five-four.

And all nine are pissed, because I'm in their family time.

They are Supreme Court judges. They do 100 like this a year.

Galbraith is the one. She will come our way.

Do you like my haircut?

Well...

-JOURNALIST:

-His lawyer's in there with him now. They're waiting on...

Don't tell Dan, all right? It'll be OK. Mum's with him.

-Let's go.

-Where?

Some place else. Anywhere.

OK. Clem had...had big hair when she was little.

DOG WHINES

-Journalist:

-The execution is supposed to be at 6pm...

-Can you set the clock to the time over there?

-Ella.

-Please?

..still no word.

-Dad. Goggles.

-Yeah.

We were in...in hospital for two weeks after she was born.

-Why?

-Well, I lost a lot of blood and she...erm... Well, they...

They said there was something wrong with her heart

and that, the only way they could know for sure, was to open her up.

"Open her up," they said, like...like she was...

Anyway, it was very late when they finished

and I was going mad with not knowing.

And they brought her back to me on the ward in the middle of the night.

My fear was that they were...were bringing her back to say goodbye.

And, erm...

It must have been... the way she was lying,

but when I looked at her, big tubes in her little body,

and she...she moved her... her head a little.

-Yes?

-And there it was.

Like a little curl. Stuck to the side of her head.

And then, I just knew that everything was going to be fine.

Deep inside.

We have a call from the Supreme Court for Miss Cobbina.

All right.

Phone call.

It'll be fine. Galbraith will come through.

Yes. This is Maya Cobbina.

Yes. I understand.

SHE INHALES SHAKILY

Is her hair still natural?

She relaxed it.

Erm...

She used flat irons for a while and, erm...

..then she had a...erm, a treatment. Erm...

What's it called? I-I can't remember.

-It doesn't matter.

-I'll remember tomorrow.

HE LAUGHS

LAUGH TURNS BITTER

And then she went back to being big and wild

and natural and frizzy and completely uncombable.

-That's good.

-Yeah, I think so.

-How long has it been, you and me?

-20 years, Sunday.

RUEFUL LAUGH

I'll miss our anniversary.

-Where will you be?

-Erm, the cottage.

-Have I...have I told you this?

-No.

It's St Just.

It is the westernmost town in England

and it is about as close to here as we could be.

What is it like, Maya?

It's...it's honest and it's tough, and the air is fresh and clean.

And it's...it's so wonderful.

-Will you all be there?

-All of us.

HE SIGHS

-I don't want you in there.

-We've al-... We've always said...

I won't let them dignify what they're doing with good behaviour.

-Rudy.

-I'm not going quietly.

And I don't want you seeing me lose again.

The first words you ever said to me was, "I'm your lawyer,

"and I will do everything in my power to help you,

"but all the choices will be yours.

"I am instructed by you."

You can't imagine what that's meant to me.

I don't want you being in there on your own.

The responsibility I'm about to give you

goes a long way past witnessing my death.

-Rudy.

-Come close.

Real close.

You can't win trying to save people like me.

You have to go big.

Walk away from me now.

Stay brave, be strong, hold your dignity.

-Rudy.

-Go big.

It's time.

You hear me? You hear me, Maya?

SHE MOUTHS

-Hear me, Maya.

-PRISONERS TAP OUT RHYTHM

HEAR ME, MAYA!

BUZZER SOUNDS

Transport to the chamber.

So, listen, it's one way in there.

The glass. Your man. He can't see you.

My advice is save yourself the nightmares and walk away.

He doesn't want me watching.

# Amazing grace

# How sweet the sound

# That saved a wretch like me

# I once was... # SINGING TRAILS OFF

Erm...

I know nearly all of you and together we have held hands,

sung songs, lit candles, prayed.

We have done everything in our power to help save our friend.

But it hasn't worked.

I...erm...

I... SHE CLEARS THROAT

I want to be dignified now and I want to offer myself and you

some...some solace in speech, some love and hope.

But I don't have it.

All I have is anger.

And, erm, I'm sorry that I can't... I can't give you better.

But I swear to you on the lives of my children

and as you are my witness, this...this...this anger that I feel

here will go to work.

It will not soften, it will not BE softened

until they stop killing brothers and sisters and calling it justice!

That's it, that's it.

Sorry. Sorry.

-RADIO DJ:

-He said no to a last meal. He said no to prayer.

So a Godless life will have a Godless end, and a hungry one, too.

He's been speaking with his lawyer, instead of the Lord.

Of course, he has.

We do know they talked about one thing.

Minutes from death and the topic of conversation?

Hair products.

Erm, Dan, could you do the hose for me and the stuff there?

-I'll just take a quick shower, yeah?

-OK.

-All right, thanks.

-RADIO DJ:

-We're minutes away now, folks.

The execution procedure will be by lethal injection.

A humane and painless death, which is more than can be said

for the agony he inflicted

on the esteemed public servant he so brutally murdered.

We're going to play the song we always play

right before the condemned man heads down to hell.

# Fire

# I'll take you to burn... #

# I do believe... #

# Fire

# I'll take you to burn... #

-RADIO DJ:

-Let no man say I don't have perfect timing.

That was Arthur Brown and this is the countdown. Join with me.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...

..five, four, three, two, one.

SHE GASPS

HIGH-PITCHED WHINE

PHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE

RINGTONE GETS LOUDER

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

PHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE

PHONE CONTINUES TO RING

'Hello, this is Maya Cobbina. Please leave a message.'

It's me. It's us.

We're with you. We all love you.

Maya?

Oh, sweetheart, hold on.

Get home.

SIREN SOUNDS

Miss Cobbina! Miss Cobbina!

-Hey.

-No, I-I don't want to know. I don't want to know.

-I don't want to know.

-No, you don't understand what they're doing there.

-He's not dead.

-I'll take you.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

SIREN SOUNDS

Hello. Hello, Judge Kramer? Yeah, OK. OK.

I'm filing a motion on behalf of Rudy Jones

for an emergency stay of execution.

-Are you the right person?

-I'm the right person.

-On what grounds?

-On the grounds that...that he's...

he's breathing and... and there's moaning

and there's movement and it's been...it's been...

-Over an hour.

-It's been over an hour. It's botched. He's alive.

-He's in terrible pain.

-I need the State.

I'm going to have to put you on hold,

once I have him, I'll be back, then we'll be on conference call.

Stand up. Stand up, people. He's alive. He's not dead.

Stand up, please. Get out of the way.

Please give us space! He's alive!

Why is the blind down? Open it.

Open it!

Jesus. What are you doing? Oh, my God. Close that blind now.

-Oh, my God! Close it now.

-How do I get in there? How do I get it?

You do not get in there. CLOSE THAT BLIND!

-I'm his lawyer. You can't do...

-CLOSE IT NOW!

-Oh, my God!

-Close the blind.

-How do I get in there?

You do not get into the execution chamber. Do you...

That is not an execution chamber! That is a torture chamber!

PHONE RINGS They don't...

-Listen...

-Hello?

-Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm here.

I have the Assistant Attorney General on the call.

You can make the application.

The eighth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

If that's not cruel and unusual I don't know what is.

-I have information from the chamber.

-Who?

-The doctor.

-He says his heartbeat is 40 and falling.

-He is breathing.

We don't think his breathing is actual breathing.

It's a kind of snorting.

-That's what the body does when it is short of oxygen.

-The doctor says...

You call a man supervising the killing of a human being a doctor?

That is not medicine! There is blood everywhere!

They don't know what they're doing in there.

PHONE BEEPS Shit! My...my...my battery is low.

I don't think we can take what counsel says

as medically-expert, in any kind of way..

There is a drill in there! What have they got to drill for?

Putting a line into the bone. The execution team are quite happy

ENOUGH! The default position must be - stop, then, argue this.

Stop, first, please. Then, we can be lawyers.

The State contends suspending the execution now

may do more harm than good.

His condition is deteriorating.

Oh! Now, you're killing him, you fight for his right to die?!

What kind of warped argument is that?

What does the protocol say?

I can have my office find a copy in five minutes.

We don't have five minutes. I know it back to front.

I don't think we can take that as any kind of...

"There will be an emergency defibrillator on site."

Expressly stated. That is what it's there for.

Why have it in the protocol, if not to use it?

PHONE BEEPS My...my battery's low.

I am informed from inside the chamber that the heartbeat

is down to 30.

Call it, Judge. Call it now. PHONE BEEPS

-I have a decision.

-PHONE BEEPS

BUZZER SOUNDS

BP currently 75/45.

MACHINE BEEPS

-Rudy?

-Step back, please.

-Oh, don't be ridiculous.

-Step back from the prisoner.

-Take your hand off me.

-How we doing here, guys?

-What's happening?

-We need to move him.

-The prison can't look after him.

-I need to know what's going on.

I'm a doctor, ma'am. My job is keeping people alive.

I can't do that here. They don't have the facilities.

You're his lawyer, right?

I'll bring him back. Now, go home. We'll call you when there's news.

All right, guys, let's go.

Come on!

Mummy's home. HEY! MUMMY'S HOME!

SHE LAUGHS

-I love you. I love you.

-Mum, I missed you so much.

Daddy.

-There it is.

-It's amazing.

-What? You don't need to make salad.

-Ta-da! Pasta a la fromage!

-How many times have you had pasta since I was away?

-19.

Oh!

HE MOANS

Aargh! Argh, ow!

-W-w-w-what?

-Oh, God!

God! God! It's cramp. It's cramp.

-It's...Aargh!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Ow, God. It's not funny. Aargh.

-Dad?

-Oh, God, that hurts.

-Dad, what's wrong?

Oh, my God. M-Maya! Give me the...give me the...

Give me the pillow. Give me the pillow!

-Why are you shouting, what's going on?

-Come in.

-Give me the pillow, at least give me the...

-Daddy?

-It's OK. It's all right.

-THEY LAUGH

It's all right. It's, erm, it's nothing.

Oh, my God! Dad! What's wrong with you?

-It's disgusting.

-Go back to bed.

-Please take Dan and go back to bed.

-SHE LAUGHS

-THEY CHANT:

-Our rights. Our rights...

-THEY CHANT:

-Our rights...

Michael. Michael!

Excuse me, I'm looking for a Michael Antwi.

All right, OK. Hang on. Here we go.

Here we go.

Sorry.

Don't mention it.

I used to change you.

I was way ahead of my time - a man changing a baby's nappies.

There we are.

# Hush little baby Don't say a word

# Papa's going to buy you a mockingbird

# And if that mockingbird don't sing

# Papa's going to buy you a diamond ring

# And if that diamond ring...

# ..turns to brass

# Papa's going to buy you a looking glass... #

-Most of the nurses are after me, obviously.

-Well, yeah, obviously.

When they're not treating me like a three-year-old.

I may be dying, but I'm not deaf, I tell them.

Dad, erm...

You all right?

Have I been a good father?

Yeah. Yeah.

-Thank you.

-Come on.

-Thank you.

-No girlfriend?

-I dunno, Dad. You know.

I haven't found the right woman.

HE SOBS

DISTANT POLICE SIREN

Rocco.

Rocco!

Rocco!

Rocco!!

-DOG BARKS

-Oh, thank God.

Hey, where have you been?

-Where have you been?

-THEY LAUGH

Daddy.

He was stuck in the pond at the edge of the cricket pitch,

so I hauled him out.

-And how did you...?

-Rang the vet. They knew Rocco.

Erm, sorry. Tea.

Would you like to stay for some tea?

He doesn't mean it.

He says he wants you to stay for a cup of tea, but he doesn't really.

-Dan.

-You taught me that, Dad.

-Where were you when you lost him?

-Erm, near the boating lake.

-So, he ran a long way.

-Yeah, he's a bolter.

-And you were distracted?

-Yes.

Something on your mind.

-Erm, how old is he?

-They reckon about two and a half.

-Rescue.

-Yeah.

-Do you know his story?

-He ate his owner.

-What?

86-year-old man died alone in his flat.

Nobody knew for three weeks.

Django was stuck in there, nothing to eat...

He didn't have a choice.

-And how's he being with you?

-Loyal, faithful.

Yeah, I wake up in the morning, sometimes, he's sitting

next to my bed, looking up at me.

We should meet for a coffee.

Cafe on Brennan Street in one hour.

You can thank me properly. Come on.

People say you're mad, you know. 20 years and you're still on it.

People can say what the hell they like.

I've booked you a flight back to the US

and I moved your Southwark fixture.

-Thank you.

-I'm a gem.

You're a gem. What do you want, Jimmy?

I had another phone call from the Attorney General's office.

They're not taking no for an answer. They want you to interview.

I defend people.

I've spent my entire career taking on the State when it behaves badly.

Why do you think, in a million years,

-I'd want to be the Director of Public Prosecutions?

-Michael Antwi.

-There's a new witness

-What?

Scared and careful.

Which is a good thing,

because it means whatever they've got to say must be important.

But whether new evidence helps Michael's case

depends on who's looking at it.

The DPP makes the choices. That could be you.

-Jimmy, who the hell is this?

-I don't know.

-Well, who did they go to?

-The approach was a text.

From a phone that doesn't exist.

You could go big.

-What did you just say?

-Rudy wrote to me.

He said he knew I was like a father to you and he wanted me

to show you the way when he's gone.

-He's not dead.

-So, he's watching you.

We all are.

-I'm not doing this.

-You wouldn't be here if that were true.

It's been 20 years.

There's a perfect storm coming. Your wife is being head-hunted.

The first black Director of Public Prosecutions is a real possibility.

-She wouldn't do it.

-She might.

-Why?

We have shared history... All of us.

Michael Antwi?

There's a new witness. We don't know who. If she IS the new DPP...

Like I said - a perfect storm.

She still has no idea why you met. Or who you were.

Get out of our lives...and stay out.

If you...if you hurt my brother, all of my brothers are coming for you.

THEY CHEER

-No more!

-ALL: No more!

-No more!

-ALL: No more!

-No more!

-ALL: No more!

CHANT CONTINUES

-No more, I say!

-ALL: No more!

THEY CHEER

If you don't move, I'll have you removed.

I'm looking for a Michael Antwi.

Michael, are you all right?

-Yeah?

-Fine.

-Michael?

THEY SHOUT

-How can Rudy be a vegetable?

-They shouldn't say that.

-It says he's a cabbage.

-Dan.

-This man says he's a guinea pig.

-No, he's not a guinea pig.

-It says that he's a guinea pig.

They tried new drugs on him and now he's a cabbage.

-Shut up, Dan.

-SHE LAUGHS

See you tomorrow.

PHONE RINGS

Hello.

Nick? It's me. Erm, I don't know where you are...

It's Rudy.

Can you come and get me, please?

PHONE VIBRATES

'Nick? It's me. Erm, I don't know where you are...

'It's Rudy.

'Can you come and get me, please?' PHONE VIBRATES

-Hello.

-Erm, hello. This is Dr Elliot at the hospital.

-Erm, yes.

-It's your father. I think perhaps you should be here.

Maya... Hey.

-I love you so much.

-I love you, too.

When did he die?

He's not dead. He's pulling through.

And is that why you wanted me?

It's my birthday...

-..and you've forgotten!

-Erm, mmm.

I'll make it up. I'll make it up to you.

SHE SIGHS

Hello?

MANY: SURPRISE!

-Happy birthday, darling!

-Did you suspect?

-No!

-Happy birthday to us!

-Happy birthday!

ALL: Happy birthday!

-Happy birthday, Mummy!

-I'm so much younger than you.

-Rawr!

-Thank you.

-What are best friends for, darling?

-Wrestling with. And racing against. That kind of thing.

-Exactly that.

-What are you talking about?

-Maybe we could do some wrestling later.

It would go against everything you've done for your entire career.

-What, wrestling?

-Yeah, that, too.

No, I just mean being the DPP. Prosecuting people.

First black DPP. That would be really something, wouldn't it?

But Maya doesn't have some kind of duty to all black people...

Stop and search, that would be a good place to start.

Well, maybe the paper you work for could talk about that, Julia?

Daddy let Rocco run away and then a man brought him back

-and then we decided not to tell you.

-THEY GASP

What man? Nick?

You know it was, it was practically a kidnapping, all right?

Rocco was out of my sight for 30 seconds.

Well, we should give him chocolates or something. Did you get his name?

-No.

-Dad's useless at mum stuff.

-Your father is a wonderful man.

-He is.

-SHE RETCHES

-Mum. Ella's going to be sick.

-Dan, Dan.

-Dan, Dan, I'm not going to be sick.

-Dad, get a bucket.

-I'm not going to be sick.

-I'm not going to be sick, calm down.

-THEY LAUGH

When we were first together, I'd go to the women's pond,

really early in the morning, before anyone else was there,

and swim out as far as I could and I would just...I would just shout,

as loud as I could.

Well, it wasn't that loud, cos it was really cold, but...

And one day, I got there a bit earlier than usual

and the lifeguard was just arriving and she heard me shouting...

-Don't tell me!

-She rescued me! She lifeguarded the hell out of me.

And I couldn't say, "Look, stop.

"Don't worry, don't worry! It's just love."

So, I let myself be saved.

Hey. You know this, erm, this DPP thing?

Mm-hm.

-Is there something you're not telling me?

-Yes.

Well? Well, what?

I'm not telling you.

-Oh, come on. You always tell me everything.

-Night, Nick.

DISTANT RATTLING

Hey, hold on.

What's up?

What?

Do you know what?

-Why don't we just go now?

-It's the middle of the night.

Yeah, yeah, I know, but it'd be like the good old days,

when the kids were little.

-SHE GRUNTS

-Go on. Yes!

-Are you tired? Shall I drive?

-No, no, no, I'm fine.

Come on, boy.

All right, all right.

All right.

PHONE RINGS

Hello.

It's Dr Elliot. I'm afraid I've got bad news.

When?

He died a few moments ago.

Are you OK?

Yeah.

-He did do a wee, didn't he?

-Yeah.

Who called you?

Oxfam.

Dad, let's do our song.

-Yeah.

-Dad?

# Hush, little baby Don't say a word

-# Daddy's...

-Gonna buy you a mockingbird

-# And if that...

-Mockingbird don't sing

-# Daddy's gonna...

-Buy you a diamond ring

-# And if that diamond ring...

-Turns brass

-# Daddy's going to buy you... #

-SINGING FADES

Oh, yes. Finally! Come on.

-ROCCO BARKS

-Wait, Dan. Wait, wait!

Are you faster than me? Do you think you're faster than me?

Come on, Rocco!

Dan, can you wait? Wait for me!

Woo! It's windy!

I told Rudy we'd be here.

Keratin!

What?

-The word. The word I couldn't remember.

-Oh.

Thank you.

For what?

You know I do the work I do because you make it possible.

Stop running!

From now on, no wasting time, no wasted words,

no friends I don't like. And you better watch out, Nicholas Johnson,

because I am going to love you very bloody hard.

Hello, Rocco.

-Argh!

-It's all right. It's going to be all right.

THEY BREATHE HEAVILY

You can't have me back. You can't.

I love my family too much. And Maya...

She matters more than anything in the world.

I know that. And that's fine.

We just want you to share with us what she's thinking.

You know the beauty of this?

20 years of normal life makes for very deep cover.

Beauty? Beauty?

It's 20 years since you left us...for love.

Now, I would call what you've made in those years

something pretty close to happiness. We would hate to destroy that.

We really would.

-I don't...I don't have to do this.

-No.

-No, no, I can just tell her.

Sure.

After 20 years of lying...

..do you think any of you would survive that?

Cos that's the only question, isn't it?

Maya?

Clem?

Ella?

And what would it do to Dan?

You mean everything to that boy.

I'm sorry.

Oi, oi, oi! Come, come, come, come, come. Thank you, thank you.

-All right, you get the box.

-It depends, is it too heavy?

No, it's light. Use your mucles. There you go.

-Mucles!

-Mucles.

Don't leave your bags in the hallway!

PHONE RINGS

Hello.

Right, OK. Well, just...just give me five minutes, Jimmy.

Bye.

Nick...they want to interview me.

And they need an answer.

-Right.

-I'm not going to do it, unless you agree.

We have to decide this together.

Do it.

You remember Carter.

Welcome back, Detective Sergeant.