"Hi mate." "Fella." " What's this?" " It's the wanted cards, mate." "Nab one of those faces, payoff set you up for life." " This one looks like you." " What?" " Cheers, mate." "Jeez, 6 weeks in a bloody ship, right?" " Tell me about it." " Yeah." "Gentlemen, do I have your attention?" "Kenneth Bratton." "Senior executive of the British armament firm ATAT Systems was kidnapped from his Baghdad hotel room two weeks ago." "But we're not sure whether it's the Republican Guard behind the kidnapping, or militant bahatists." " So we don't know if we're dealing with military or terrorists." " Correct." "Understood?" "Understood?" "Yes, sir." "So when you go in, treat all and any contact as hostile." "No exceptions." "Captain Collinson from the Military Intelligence speaks Arab." "and has embedded contacts in the facility." "So he will accompany you in the extraction and operate signals." "So what intel do we have on Bratton's *** location?" "We've identified this safe house in an apartment block in Bazra City." "Eyewitness saw a hostage we believe to be Bratton taken into the building 2 days ago." " How reliable is this intel?" " A local source." "I'd stake my life on him." "All our lives." "John, you'll command the operation," "Unlike military bombardment we'll begin within the next 24 hours." "So let's get Bratton out before he becomes collateral damage." "Here." "Take mine." "***" "Mission window from draw to extraction is 5 minutes." " Thanks." " All other hostage evacuation protocols are standard." " ***" " Good hunting, boys." "See you back for breakfast." " Gentlemen, welcome to the ***" " Landing 60 seconds." " Get position." "Landing in 6..5..4..3..2..1." "Go, go, go." "Move, move." "Let's call in for backup." " Kenneth Bratton?" " Yes." " Keep quiet and do what I say, and you'll get out of here alive." " On your feet." "Move." " Grenade!" " Down!" " Go, go, go!" " We got ***" "Shoot him!" "Go!" "Shoot him!" "What's the hold up?" "It's ok." "It's ok." "John, what's going on over there?" "John, for Christ's sake." "***" "Fuck!" "Get Bratton out of here." "You've been hit, John." "Go!" "Call ***" " ***" " There you go, fella." "***" " Yeah, right." " *** *** with hostage." "Get down, down, down!" "Let's go." ""John, we need covering fire to assist."" ""Repeat, need covering fire."" "Get him out, immediate evac." "On my way." "Fuck." "Shit." ""Need immediate evac assist."" ""Evac assist."" "Cannot phone location." "Repeat, cannot phone location." ""Collinson, will you get down here?" On my way." "I haven't got a magazine." "Me too." "Let's get out of here, now." "With you." "Fuck." "Steve, Steve!" "Porter!" "Where are the other men?" "Collinson, where's Mike and Keane?" "Fuck." "They're dead!" "Porter!" "Porter!" "Go, go!" "Two men dead." "What the fuck went wrong, Sergeant?" "As we returned to the roof we were intercepted by two, maybe three units of Republican Guard." "Mike, Steve - Porter, this was your command." "It was the kid, wasn't it?" "What fucking kid?" "There was a..." "The men holding Bratton used this boy as a suicide bomber." "Porter put him out of action." "You shot him?" "He had a dead man's trigger, I couldn't shoot him." "Couldn't?" "Or wouldn't?" "Porter disarmed the bomb, sir, and knocked the boy unconscious, but..." "But what?" "When I returned to the stairwell he was standing, holding a weapon." "'When he saw me, he ran.'" "'But from where he was standing, he had a perfect firing position on all three of the men." "Fuck." "Steve, Steve!" "'I only had time to recover Steve before the Iraqi guards - Alright, alright." "Thank you, Collinson." "Dismissed." "A clean head shot would have stopped the reflex release on the button." "You should have killed him, John." "John, I..." "John, it wasn't your fault." "What did he say to me?" "The kid." "The boy that I hit." "What exactly did he say to me?" "It's an Arabic saying." ""I lay my life for your sake."" "It's a debt of honour." "He owes you his life." "Thank you." ""This was how the end of an era was heralded."" ""The American marines leaving." "After three weeks of war scenes of jubilation have replaced fighting and bombing."" ""They used to chant for Saddam, now they are pledging their loyalty to George W Bush."" ""Politicians are beginning to ask whether the danger was exaggerated, the intelligence flawed."" ""Despite repeated assurances by the prime minister"" "that WMDs will be found in Iraq, firm evidence of Saddam Hussein's supposed arsenal" ""of chemical and biological weapons has yet to be found."" "Daddy." "Lexie, sweetheart." "Missed you so much." "Careful." "I've got metal pins in that shoulder." "We've been into RHQ every day, they didn't know where you were, then they did, but not how badly hurt." "Home now, though, aren't I?" ""It may also be an indication that the feared threat"" "of chemical or biological retaliation" ""may not be as serious as we'd been led to believe."" ""Katie Dartmouth in southern Iraq."" "Let's get some of this inside you." "I'm sorry, you are?" "I'm his best mate." "So, how's he doing, Doc?" "He has bullet fragments lodged in his brain." "If we try to remove them we may do more harm than good." "Come in." "Sergeant, I've discussed the pertinent points of the operation with the CO." "Do you have anything to say in defence of your actions?" "No, sir, no defence." "That's to your credit." "Hat off, Sergeant." "I'm sorry, mate." "The blokes won't work with you." "I wouldn't work with me." "The boss wants to do this on medical grounds." "Have you returned to unit." "Sir, I'd rather resign." "'The army can still use you.'" "As a bean counter?" "'You beat the clock, John.'" "'Be grateful for that.'" "How is she?" "How do you think?" "She's worried she's going to have to leave all her friends." "Didn't you tell her I was staying local?" "She's ten years old." "You know this flat's only for a little while, don't you?" "Budge up." "I'm going to get another job." "Then we'll find somewhere really nice to live." "But you'll be gone again." "'I'm not going anywhere.'" "Promise." "'I know you're a busy man, Mr Bratton.'" "'So I'll get straight to the point.'" "'I'm no longer serving in the army as a result of injuries sustained in combat.'" "And for the past six years I've served in various " "John, please, you don't need to sell yourself to me." "I am hearing about a number of lucrative opportunities in Iraq." "Private security contractors." "I was thinking of something closer to home." "Look, John, I mean no disrespect, but all of our recruits have academic qualifications." "I may have some driving work." "Office security." "Two of my best mates died for you." "Another's crippled for life." "John, please." "Fuck!" "Come one step closer and I will take you down." "'I'll get on the phone, there'll be something else.'" "There was something else in the army." "I'm trying." "Today, that was trying, was it?" "Listen." "Listen." "My mum said that she'll have me and Lexie for a bit." "But we've got the flat." "Just till you get yourself straight." "Yeah?" "It's easier that way, isn't it?" "I will make this better." "For all of us." "I know you will." ""Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."" ""In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."" "Seven years after the invasion, seven years of bloody occupation, and the battle for Iraq is yet to be won." "Life in the streets appears at least to continue peacefully, but an undercurrent of violence hides just beneath the surface." "With the US pull-out scheduled for the end of the year, many Iraqis I've spoken to are worried." "They believe that hard-line sectarian groups are preparing to take advantage of the void created by withdrawal." "Just last month in this market, a bomb attack..." "Erm... a bomb attack..." "Cut." "Sorry." "What's up?" "You OK?" "Do it again." "OK, bye." "This doesn't feel right." "What do you mean?" "I've seen this guy." "It's the boy from the market." "No, no!" "Please!" "Sir." "A British TV journalist has just been abducted near Basra." "Shit." "You know who this is, don't you?" "Yeah, we're trying to establish if her kidnap is incidental or directly related to her father." "Any contact?" "Not yet." "All we know is that Katie was abducted 17 kilometres from Basra near a town called Al Harith." "It's a Sunni district." "Predominantly." "Her film crew were killed on sight." "There were no witnesses." ""Katie Dartmouth has been reported missing..."" "Any means of tracking her?" "No." "Her mobile was destroyed so we can't use that." "But she did have the presence of mind to take a photo with her phone and SMS it to her office." "Given the time the picture was taken, we're pretty certain it's one of her abductors." "Her producer wants to know if he can release it to the press." "Sir?" "Sir?" "Yes, erm..." "No, hold off." "At least until we've sent it to Iraqi intelligence and police." "OK." "See if they can identify him before we open it to the public." ""We go live to Patrick Dartmouth, Katie's father, and former foreign minister."" ""This is very sudden and shocking news." "Katie always knew..."" "Sir?" "Lineone." ""Hugh." Yes, sir." ""Get over here now."" ""Please excuse me."" "We set up Section 20 for exactly this kind of politically delicate incident." "Thanks, Hugh." "Major Collinson heads up the unit." "Sir Patrick." "With Hugh's experience in the field and specialist Arabic knowledge, he's uniquely placed to resolve this situation." "If you find Katie, what can you do?" "Section 20 works closely with UK Special forces." "Once we have a location, we can start implementing a rescue." "We've got a team on standby." "They can be in Iraq within eight hours." "It's the last resort, sir." "Would an offer of money help?" "Not until they make contact." "No, sir." "But we do have a promising lead." "A photograph your daughter took of one of her abductors." "Clever girl." "So far, Iraqi intelligence haven't been able to identify him." "I suggest we let the networks broadcast this image." "Might throw up a local witness." "Offer a reward." "I'm not sure that's the best - Just do it." "Of course, sir." ""Hello?"" "It's me." ""I promised I'd call." "Is she there?" Hold on, John." "It's your dad." "You hardly see him." "Hello." ""How are you, Lexi?"" "It's Alex." "Listen, I'm gonna change my shifts." "See if I can come up next weekend." "I'm kind of busy next weekend." "Alright then." "Well, another weekend." "We can do something together, just you and me " "".." "Mobile phone photographed this image of a policeman approaching what investigators believe to be" ""the vehicle she was in."" ""British intelligence authorities have confirmed that this is likely"" "to be the face of one of her abductors," ""disguised in an Iraqi police uniform."" ""British security forces believe this photograph,"" "taken on Miss Dartmouth's mobile phone," ""could be one of her abductors."" ""It's thought that Katie herself must have managed to forward the image to her London office at the time of the abduction."" "Police and intelligence authorities are asking anyone who thinks" ""they might have information to contact the relevant services."" "Salam." "I hope you are here for only a short time." "And then you will go home." "May I have some water, please?" "Of course." "You are our guest." "After we have quenched your thirst, there is something you must do for us." "Sir, we've just picked up a Webcast." "It was uploaded less than ten minutes ago." "Put it up on the big screen." ""We demand the release of our brother, Mohammed Jassim Ali."" ""Unless this holy warrior is freed..."" "..the hostage will be executed... ..at one minute after midnight on Jumu'ah." That's their Sabbath." "Rewind the tape." "Get me a profile on Mohammed Jassim Ali." "Stop." "Check the date on the paper." "Mohammed Jassim Ali is currently being held in Bellmarsh Prison under anti-terrorism laws." "They're calling themselves "Sword of Islam."" "What do we know about them?" "I'll get a full history." "Trace that IP address, find out where they're sending from." "Already tracing, sir." "We've got until midnight Friday." "Seven days." "I don't care who you say you are, you're not coming beyond this point." "Layla, please." "I'm sorry, sir." "The security guard thinks" "It's OK, we're old comrades." "John." "Please." "It's just here." "It's him, isn't it?" "It looks like him, I grant you." "Come on, the age fits." "He'd be 17/18 by now, living in that area." "Can't be ten miles from the Bratton location." "There's been years of war, thousands of young men have scars." "He is proof of a connection." "With what?" "Between Katie's kidnapping and Bratton's." "Alright, look." "Remember him?" "Colonel Hakim Al Naziri." "Former head of security in Saddam's secret police." "I saw him that night commanding the attack." "You saw him, John." "No-one else." "He was there." "Naziri was never picked up after the invasion." "Look." "He's suspected of masterminding a series of attacks on British forces." "Not to mention financing Baathist Sunni groups, including the one this man belongs to." "The man these people are demanding is released from Bellmarsh." "Where are you going with all this?" "If Naziri is Sword of Islam, they might still be using the original safe house in Basra." "It's been seven years, John." "Just get me to the safe house." "I can infiltrate the group." "Maybe even get to Scarface." "John..." "Look!" "Just..." "let me find him." "Let me find him." "And then you can send in the lads." "You remember what he said to me that night, don't you?" "I lay my life for your sake." "He owes me." "No matter what he did to Mike and Keith and Steve, he owes ME a debt of honour." "John, you can't... ..seriously expect me to entertain this half-baked notion to satisfy your need for - I'm not talking about revenge." "I was going to say atonement." "This won't bring them back, John." "But it could get you killed." "Or is that exactly what you want?" "Why are you doing this to me?" "You are your father's daughter." "He isn't even a minister any more." "200,000 Iraqis died since the invasion." "And I've always reported the truth." "Always." "Yes." "But your father helped spread British and American lies." "Sword of Islam is a Sunni militant group responsible for a string of bombings in the Basra area." "Given what we know about their modus operandi, the time of the Webcast and the location of the kidnap, we believe Katie is being held somewhere within this region in southern Iraq." "This must be an area the size of Wales." "We're trying to pinpoint her or at least narrow the window by locating the IP address of the Webcast." "Shouldn't we have that traced by now?" "Yes, but the Webcast was routed by dozens of servers." "Unfortunately because we only have one upload, we can't analyse the back scatter." "So they've been clever?" "Very." "Anything else?" "Anything at all?" "There is one possibility." "Go on." "A former special forces operative believes there's a connection between the man Katie Dartmouth photographed during her abduction and the Bratton extraction in 2003." "He thinks he may be able to utilise Scarface as an asset, but it's a very long shot." "Well, long-shot or not, use him." "Thank you." "Morning, Peter." "Morning, sir." "You didn't think it worth mentioning that Porter's been off active duty for eight years, has borderline post-traumatic stress disorder, a ten percent weakness in one arm, and what effectively amounts to a dishonourable discharge." "Layla, we have nothing." "Tell Porter he's been reactivated." "Have a look at the cards and tell me what they remind you of." "A vagina." "A vagina." "Er..." "A vagina." "I'll work harder." "I'm not going to blow this." "Chances are this is all academic." "Katie's dad has kicked up enough of a fuss in Westminster for the Prime Minister to authorise an offer via the Swiss." "They have a go-between apparently." "A ransom?" "Yeah." "It's all deniable, of course." "But Katie goes free and Ali stays inside." "Hakim is not just some insurgent." "He's a strategist." "Hakim Al Naziri." "Your pet theory." "For which there's absolutely zero evidence." "But if I'm right, and Hakim has joined the zealots, that ransom could be a provocation." "Thank you, Porter." "I'll put that in a memo." "How are you feeling this evening, Sergeant?" "Absolutely bloody knackered, Sergeant." "Well, getting a body into shape in a matter of days... it's gonna hurt." "Are you saying I'm not in shape?" "No, no." "I'm..." "Erm, how is your tooth?" "Sore." "I know." "The tracker is like having a very uncomfortable filling." "But we need to know where you are at all times." "You could have just asked for my mobile number." "Here's something for the pain." "There's a good boy." "Oh, I'm a very good boy." "Well, then I think..." "you probably... ..deserve a bit of a treat, don't you?" "If only there was another way." "Forgive me." "No." "No." "No!" "No!" "No!" "Sir, they are responding to the ransom offer." "Oh fuck." "No." "No." ""The British do not believe we are committed to our cause."" ""They think we crave..." "their blood money."" "No!" "No!" "Jesus Christ." "Yes?" "I'll tell him right away." "They fucked up, it was a live Webcast." "So we can track their IP address?" "Pinpoint the location?" "Yes. 24 hours max." "Get yourself back to Hereford." "I want the team airborne to Basra and ready to move the moment we get a location." "I'm on it." "Priority task." "Standby for IP address." "We've got the bastards." "We'll take a C-130 to Basra Air Station." "Ferguson's group will be designated Alpha Team." "We'll be deployed in a standby at the US base in Basra, to be used only in the event of contact between Alpha Team and Scarface." "So, I get to be B Team." "I think you're lucky to be that far up the alphabet." "I'd settle for an R and you can call me Romeo." "Oh yes, the nurse." "Danni is a special operative for Section 20." "Her remit includes honey traps and so forth." "She was assigned to you after the psychologist diagnosed mission limiting self-esteem issues." "Compounded by a fixation on physical and sexual inadequacy." "In layman's team, you needed a shag." "You're driving." "Hello, lads." "..Location is 35 clicks around Basra, possibly up to the north-west." "Then once we've..." "Do you need something, Porter?" "No." "No, I was just wondering if you might need my services." "We're kind of having a private operational discussion here, pal." "Sorry, mate." "Listen, I need a favour from someone in the motor pool." "Anybody got any connections?" "Yeah, this way." "Thanks." "Sir, we have a location." "Al Khalifa." "Put it on the screen, Sergeant." "Coordinates 30 degrees, 50 minutes, .50 north." "47 degrees, 31 minutes, .46 east." "Call Layla." "Prepare Alpha Team." "See you later." "They found her." "35 clicks from Basra." ""This is 2-8 Alpha." "Crossing now, over."" "Time to target, 17 seconds." "Confirm." "Final line crossed at 19-17." ""We are on the start line." "Good to go at your command."" "They are in position, sir." "It's your call." "I've done a terrible thing to you." "But consider the blood of ours that has been spilt." "Is it worth less than yours?" ""We're good to go, sir."" "Let's do it." "Go, go, go." ""Roger that, moving now."" ""Found target. 2-8 Alfa landing now."" "Go, go, go." "Get out!" "Troops disembarking." "Keep it tight, guys." ""Alpha Team entering building now."" "We will change your dressing." "We will treat you with respect." "But if your government does not set our brother free, we will kill you." "Steady, lads." "Steady." "There's a door ahead." ""Approaching door now."" ""OK, blow it."" "Go, go, go!" ""There's someone here." "Katie?" "Miss Dartmouth?"" "Katie?" "Shit." "Repeat,lostcomms,sir ." "Alpha Team, come in." "Layla, we just lost signal." "AlphaTeam,pleaserespond." "Layla, what just happened?" "Alpha Team, this is section 20." "Lieutenant, report!" "Oh my God, Fergie!" ""The entire building has just gone up, sir."" ""I can't see them."" ""I can't see Alpha Team."" ""John, where are you going with all this?"" "If Naziri is Sword of Islam, they might still be using the original safe house in Basra." ""Just get me to the safe house."" ""I can infiltrate the group."" ""Maybe even get to Scarface.""