"I know you're looking into Tyler's death and whether there were drugs involved." "The club said you are." "I can't discuss this reference with you, Richard." "It could break causation for Nate, so if you know anything, I need to hear it." "I find there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and commit Nathaniel Baldwin to trial for manslaughter." "You are supposed to be keeping him out of jail, Richard." "I'm not getting locked up!" "Now, I'm instructing you to get me off." " Cindi." " Pearl." "Where's Tyler's jersey?" "The Devils' jersey, it's gone." "Yeah..." "That was my brother's!" "You psycho bitch!" "I'm not going back to that shithole." "No way." "Well, where else is there." "Home?" "As if." "I'll figure something else out." " Hello." " Hi." " Flynn, isn't it?" " Yeah, yeah, yeah." " She's 15." " I know, he's a creep." " You all good?" " Yeah." "This is right before the time of the fire, from a petrol station two minutes away." "That's who set fire to Wazim's house?" "Has to be." "Who are you?" "You mean to say you deliberately arranged extra payments outside the salary cap?" "That's all." "No bets, no fixes." "We just wanted Nate." "I had to tell them about Nate, just the salary cap." "Shit." "3x04" "I've been informed that the APL has a report alleging that the Northern Devils Football Club was involved in breaching their salary cap to induce Nate Baldwin to re-sign." "I merely wish to confirm there is no direct evidence linking Pax Car Rentals to this allegation, and I'm confident that any investigation..." "Great fucking timing!" "Fuck this." "As sponsors, we are not privy to any of the financial arrangements the club may enter into with any of its players." "How can he get away with that?" "Well, he's choosing his words very carefully." "I mean, the deal was verbal." "Pax itself was never mentioned and he's fighting to keep that company afloat." "But he made a statement." "Well, it depends how much of that statement we did or didn't pass on to the APL." "And, as I'm sure you can imagine, most of Mr King's evidence had to remain confidential in order for us to conduct our investigation." "So those transcripts..." "Were considerably redacted for security..." " ...security..." " ..purposes." "I don't want us giving him any favours." ""Thank you, Tony." "Don't mention it, Janet."" "Well, why are you helping him?" "He's not your father." "No, but he's still yours." "You going to call Richard Stirling about a deal with Nate?" "What?" "No." "No?" "He'd do anything to stop his client facing a jury right now, wouldn't he?" "Thug and salary cheat, all over every news feed, and we need Nate talking." " Thank you." " We heard the man who forced" "Clay Nelson to kill himself inside his house." "Which is why my position will be stronger when Richard calls me." " What if he doesn't?" " Well, we'll see, right?" "Anything else?" "Yeah, I went to a Gender Equality in the Public Service breakfast this morning." "Owen Mitchell was telling us how he'd single-handedly raised the ratio of women at the DPP." "I thought that'd get your attention." "Anyway, we got talking and he said there was a change in prosecutors for the Baldwin trial." "And who is it now?" "I thought you had a good relationship with the press?" "Darling, if this was just dirt on the floor" "I could sweep it under the rug." "But unfortunately, the whole bloody house is on fire." "Well, it does make an acquittal even more difficult." " You do realise that?" " Of course I do!" "God, how did this become so hard?" " What?" " Getting Nate into retirement." " His last year at the club." " Well, ask Graham King." "I mean, why invest all that money and then hang the club and its star player out to dry?" "OK, right now we just need to focus on getting Nate cleared." "That's the main game right now." "What are you doing?" "Focusing." "Janet." "Hi." "Please, it's a simple question." "Have you identified the drug Tyler was taking before he was killed?" "Is your client willing to tell us the name of the man who gave him an envelope of cash the other day, and everything he knows about match-fixing and gambling?" "He might, if he was sure it meant he'd avoid jail." "It's the only chance he has." "No trial is a foregone conclusion, Janet, you know that." "And without the drug, you have little defence." "We both know that too." "So, time's ticking." "Why don't you go and advise your client how to stay out of jail, alright?" "When he talks, we'll act." "And I take it you've heard about the new Crown you'll be opposing?" "You've done an excellent job on the brief." "It's so strong, a three-legged dog could win it." "Woof." "Lina, if it was at all possible for you to run it, you would be." "And I'll definitely make sure you get all due credit when the time comes." "Owen!" "Hi." "Sorry, Lina." "I heard there's been..." "there's been a change?" "Yes." " Who?" " Guess." "What?" "Richard!" "How good's this?" "Mate against mate." "Ben McMahon." "Yep!" "Former colleagues going toe to toe." "Should be fun, right?" "Play nice, kids." " So, you've had quite the rise." " So have you." "Well, mostly luck." "You know, sheer arse, really." "But you - keep seeing you pop up everywhere?" "Nate Baldwin must be quite the cash cow." "He asked me to represent him, I agreed." "Simple as that." "Yeah, hey." "Hey, not your fault that you do your job, he gets off and reoffends, needs your help again, right?" "Of course, you know, that wouldn't happen if the prosecution did their job properly." "Are you including yourself in that assessment?" "Well, he's certainly not including me." "Yeah, we probably shouldn't be discussing Nate." "You're absolutely right, especially when everyone else is discussing it." "Doesn't exactly make it easy, right?" " Ben!" " What?" "It's just a sledge." "I'll have you know, sledging is a time-honoured tradition in Australian sport." "He can take it." "Let's get a coffee." "If we track down the arsonist, he'll probably talk, giving us one of two results " "A, he's a free agent hired by Wazim, or B, he's working for the betting syndicate." " What would you put those odds at?" " An even 50-50." "A 50% chance of getting inside the betting network." "It's still a 50% chance it'll give us nothing." "Well, what's the current plan?" "Wait for Nate Baldwin to agree to a deal based on finding a drug we don't know the whereabouts of." "Which we may or may not get in time for it to be of any use." "Sounded better when Janet said it." "That's one, two, three indeterminate variables, and the issue there's obvious." "So in terms of probability, the arsonist lead is more likely to give us a favourable outcome than the drug." "Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense." "It's just basic probability analysis." "You should pitch it to Janet." "We don't need to cut deals." "Hey, whatever keeps me out of jail." "Now the sponsor's dumped me in it." "You can't talk to the NCC." " Do you want to see me go down?" " No." "Well, at the moment, the only way" "I'm going to stay outside is if I get hold of that drug, right?" " Yes." " And the only chance I've got to get that drug is if I talk to 'em, right?" "Well, I don't see any other way, but I'm not totally sure they can get it either." "So where does that leave us, with Nate going to jail?" "That's not happening." "What if I got it?" "Shit." "Could she get it?" "That's the answer, isn't it?" "You see, if I get the drug, he stays out of jail, doesn't have to talk to anyone." "That's problem solved." "Are you sure you can find it?" "You worry about your job, Richard, and I'll worry about mine." "OK, we need to track Maxine's phone." "Can I also remind people about the arsonist..." "Later!" "Just track Maxine, alright?" "You think she can get it?" "Hard to tell." " Could just be Maxine shit-talk." " That is her job." "If she knew exactly where to find it, she'd already have it." "But she knows Eddie Cooke was behind the supplement program for the Devils, like we do." "I bet that's where she's going." "She's wasting her time." "We searched every inch of Continuum and came up empty." "True, but if that drug underpinned the bet on the Devils, it has to be somewhere." "It's too valuable to completely destroy." "But would Eddie just hand over a secret drug to a sports agent?" "No, he's going to want to avoid any link between him and the drug." "That'd just kill his business completely." "He's going to want a lot of assurances about anonymity, etc., before he thinks about handing it over to anyone." "But he might, eventually, to stop Nate talking." "Unless we can convince him to hand it to one of us first." "Well, not one of us, obviously." "No, somebody he thinks has absolutely nothing to do with us, like an undercover agent who goes in there as an elite athlete in need of help." "Going to need a pretty good undercover cop to pull that off." "OK, is she?" "She's going to Eddie's, isn't she?" "Looks like it." "OK, I think he keeps it off-site." "We need to watch these two, see where they go after this." "Eddie, please." "Now what's better for you?" "Nate in jail, desperate to cut a deal, or Nate at home, free as a bird?" "I don't know what Tyler took." "I do." "He did what he was told." "He followed the club rules to the letter because he needed that contract." "He wouldn't have done anything to jeopardise that." " So whatever he took, he got here." " I know the sports world, Eddie." "You see a lot of people, they tell me a lot of things, not least my 42 clients, but especially the five Devils." "I'm in the know, you got that?" "So cut the crap and give me what you were giving them." " There's none left." " That's bullshit." "What, a drug that good, that gets the Devils into the semis?" "As if you'd run out of that." "We'd get supplied when there was a demand, but with Tyler's death and the NCC strangling us, that demand is gone." "I don't have any left." "Well, get some more." "OK." "I will ask my supplier, but I can't guarantee anything." "I'll see you tomorrow." "I'll be back, Eddie." "Hello." "Where are they?" "Liam's at the sausage sizzle, and Em's at the 70 metre start." "OK, great." "Have you spoken to Zoe yet?" "Good luck." "Tom, take your mark back, then fast at the bar!" "Hey, Zoe." " And drive the knee up!" "Hey, Janet." " Hey, how's Emma?" "Great." "Yeah, she's loving it." "Liam was too, but his ankle's still not better, so..." "Don't talk to me about injuries." "Greta tore her quad last week." "No, that girl you were coaching?" "Six weeks out from Worlds, ranked number two." "Last week, she's looking at a medal, now we're not even sure if she's going to make it." "That must be heartbreaking for her." "Well, yeah." "When you give up six years, stop working, count every calorie." "But I suppose in Liam's world, if he can't run at Zone, I feel sorry for him too." "Don't feel sorry for him." "He's only upset because I wouldn't give him a day off school." "Um, but, look, I was hoping to have a chat, because I'm kind of involved with sport at the moment, in a funny sort of way, and given who you are and what you do," "I was hoping to pick your brains." "Alright, we should grab a drink." "You deserve champers." "You nailed that brief." "Do you remember how much we used to struggle with summaries?" "Yeah, practice makes perfect, I guess." "No, I really shouldn't." "I've got to head back and..." "Come on, come on." "The bar's just around the corner, isn't it?" " Andy's got the kid, right?" " Amal, yes." " That's a beautiful name." " Thanks." "Hey, check this." "That's my wife, Bella." " Yeah, we've all seen Bella." " And that's Remy." "Gorgeous." "I just wish I got to see them more, to be honest." "But I do most of my prep at night, you know, start mapping out my opening addresses, marking up witness statements, lines of interrogation..." "You've got a two-year-old and you get all that done at night?" "I'm doing well if I brush my teeth." "Well, Bella hasn't gone back to work, so she does most of the hard yards with Remy, you know?" "Yeah." "I'm like a "cuddle and kiss goodnight" Dad." "I so need a wife." " No, I'd do more." " I wasn't criticising." "No, I'm not defending, I mean it." "I..." "I wish I could do more." "I thought you weren't going to lift a finger unless Nate started talking." "Well, things changed." "Other information came to light." "But I need an assurance when we find this drug, Nate will talk." "So that was just a bluff before." "You don't have it." "And if you do find material evidence in a manslaughter trial, you'll have to hand it over anyway." "Well, things do disappear from evidence rooms from time to time." "We think we can keep your client out of jail." "Your job is to buy us the time so we can wrap this up to everyone's satisfaction, without a trial actually starting." "Richard!" "How are you, mate?" " Janet?" " Hello, Ben." "Wow!" "What's it been, like, four or five years?" " Yeah, something like that." " You look great." "Thank you, and I hear you're, um... married." "Yes, yes." "Yeah, got all responsible." "Settled down." "The Premier's daughter?" "So, isn't it more accurate to say she settled down, you settled up?" "I'm joking." "I'm sure there's a lot of love there." "Yeah." "Hey, I was sorry to hear about Ash." "That must have been terrible." "Thank you, yes." "But hey, look how far we've all come, right?" "NCC Examiner, barrister, barrister..." "Future Nobel Laureate." " Currently, mother." " Toughest job you'll ever have." " Stay in touch?" " Yep." " It was good to see you, Ben." " Yeah, likewise." "See you, Janet." "Yep." "I should go too." "You've gotta be kidding me." "You're having a drink with me." "After the trial might be more appropriate, don't you think?" "Let's cross swords first and then once it's all done," " we can catch up after that." " Cross swords?" " What sword's he got?" " What sword do you have, seriously?" "I mean, I couldn't even find a tooth-pick in the facts that I read." "I'm surprised you're not pleading guilty." "One more." "Come on, my shout." "And we won't mention the case again, will we?" "Never." " So, you look nervous." " I'm not nervous." " You're not nervous?" " Shit, I'd be nervous." "I'd be sweating more than a gypsy with a mortgage, to be honest with you." "I mean, who'd wanna be you right now?" "Seriously, major trial, in the public spotlight, up against this one." "With no defence." "You got enough underwear?" "Pssh, right?" "You're so easy to stir." "Come on, sit down." "I'll see you later." "So you know Zoe DiCosta?" "I've only met her a couple of times." "Our kids go to Tiny Track together." "Wow." "Have you actually seen her gold medal race?" "No, but I should look that up." "She attacked about 6K out, putting about 30 seconds between her and the peloton." "Couple of chasers went after her, but she fended them off." "She was battling a really nasty headwind for the last kay and a half too, so, yeah, it was a really, really gutsy ride." "Sounds impressive." "Yeah, it was, especially as the Spaniard who took the bronze got done for doping two years later." "Really?" "Yeah, see, PEDs give you that extra 1% edge, but it doesn't mean much without putting in the 99% hard work first." "Zoe was just mentally tougher." "You've got a similar grunt." "I wasn't aware I grunted." "No, no, no, it's a good thing." "Like..." "like ticker." "Or hunger." " Pluck?" " Zoe's here." "Great." "We know the man running this sports medicine clinic has used a supplement unknown to ASADA." "The question is, what does an undercover cop have to do and say to make him believe they are genuinely from the world of elite sport and then, how to ask for some of this substance?" "It's not on the banned list?" "No." "What does it do?" "Well, we think it speeds up recovery, aids endurance." "God, if it was legal, I'd be queuing up for it now." "Greta'd kill her grandmother to get her hands on the stuff." " Greta?" " It's one of Zoe's cyclists." "She's a total freak of nature." "VO2 touching 70, threshold 242 and a monster TSS." " What?" " Training Stress Score." "It's sort of a number that rates your workout." "But unfortunately, she's injured at the moment, right?" "Getting over a torn quad, so her normalised power's still down about 5% to 8%, and Worlds are just around the corner." "So, it's a race against time." "Is it ever." "I think we've seen about 11 doctors, tried just about everything." "At this point, if they said, "Take arsenic,"" "she probably would." "And risk death?" "If it would fix her, probably worth it." "That's the way Greta's thinking." "All those sacrifices." "It's..." "Well, yeah." "If I told her I could get her something not on the banned list that could get her to Worlds, she'd beg me for it." "Now, we should get all this down for the cop so that they sound like they've got the right shorthand and describe exactly what they're looking for, sound genuine." "Sure." "I mean, it would also really help if whoever we choose has a background in sport." "You know any former footballers, basketballers, someone like that on the force?" "So, you've got no idea what this stuff is?" "None." "Just say, for example..." "just say I was asking for it," "I wouldn't be asking for a banned substance, right?" "No-one's going to suggest that you..." "Well, hang on a second." "Let's just think about it for a minute." "I mean, OK, let's say that you..." "You never met us, but you'd heard that this guy," "Eddie Cooke, he'd been getting great results and his athletes were passing all the tests." "I'd want to know what it was and where I could get it." "OK, let's say he just gave you something in a bottle." "Even when I was racing, you're mad to take whatever anyone gives you, but you can't be on your guard the whole time." "No, so you would just take it somewhere first, to find out exactly what it was." "If I didn't know what it was, totally, yeah." "I'd have to, for my own reputation." "Right." "I'd happily do that." "I mean, I haven't asked for anything I knew is banned, and if it should be and we end up catching a drug cheat, great." "And if it turned out that it actually did help with recovery, wasn't performance enhancing..." "I'd use it." "OK, so let's do it." "Hang on, Janet." "There are procedures and protocols." "We can't..." "I wasn't here." "I didn't know any of this was happening." "I told you, there's none left." "Your inaction will mean that Nate Baldwin's going to talk to the Crime Commission, which can't happen, as you well know." "We both have reputations to uphold." "I got it from my supplier," "Flynn and I administered it and now it's all gone." "There's nothing I can do." "You're as useless as a shit-flavoured lollipop, Eddie." " Recording." " OK." "Zoe DiCosta." "It's a pleasure to meet you." " Doctor Cooke." " Eddie, please." "Welcome to Continuum." " Bonnie." "You need to stay on Maxine." " On it." "What brings you here?" "Can I show you around?" "I've heard good things, and I need help." "Wondered if you might be able to." "I hope so." "So, what's the problem?" "Not sure if you know, but I'm coaching Greta Beckett." "Yeah, yeah." "Time triallist." "Individual pursuit." "I know." "She tore her quad last week." " Medialis?" " Femoris." "Grade two." "And when are the Worlds?" "Six weeks, but if she takes three or four weeks off to recover, her power will drop, and even down 4 or 5 watts, that's..." " First to third." " Or fourth or even fifth." "We really need a fast recovery." "She's been good with icing?" "Compression?" " Yeah." "On top of that." " Janet?" "We managed it well in the beginning, it's just now." "She's got to give herself time to get her threshold back up over 240." "But all the physios are saying another fortnight before she can pedal, and Greta's like," ""Get me back on the bike now."" "Then we heard about you, the miracle man." "Have you tried PRPs?" "The plasma injections?" "Are they really that good?" " They certainly help." " Full recovery?" "She'll take anything, Eddie." "Well, obviously nothing on the banned list." "She still gets out-of-competition tested, but if there's anything else." "Please." "She's given up her life for this." "You know what athletes are like." "I'm sorry, but there's not much else I can offer." "Come on, Zoe." "Come on." "Think of something." "Eddie, if you help Greta win, it'll be your victory too." "And in front of the whole media, I promise, you will get the credit you deserve." "You will be the man who got her back to the starting line, and everyone in the world will know it." "OK." "If I can help, I'll give you a call tomorrow." "She's good." "They always said she was tough to race." "No, it's all gone." "Once Tyler died and we found there was something weird about his blood, we binned it all." "I know how you hang out with the stars, their girlfriends, whoever." "And they let you." "Not because you're the fun guy, but because you sell them fun." "Whatever they want, you've got." "Now a drug that gets the Devils from last to fourth, there's got to be other buyers for that, right?" " What's your offer?" " So, you mean you do have it?" "One bottle, 20 grand." "Cash." "You've got to be kidding me." "But it's incredible stuff." "That's the price." "Take it or leave it." "Alright, I'll take it." "You're a fuckin' little shit." "You're gonna regret this." "You gettin' 20,000 off her?" " Can you loan me a grand?" " Yeah, right." "No, I'm serious." "It's to bail my friend Cindi out." "She really needs it." "You staying at home tonight?" " Yeah." " Yeah?" "Yeah." "Mr Stirling, what is your argument for having this trial not proceed?" "Your Honour, the negative publicity surrounding my client's case and his reputation is enormous." "It is inconceivable he can receive a fair trial in the current environment." "And in support of this submission?" "Well, yes, Your Honour." "There is considerable evidence from many internet sites that I wish to present to the court." "Your Honour, do we really need to hear all of it?" "Social media is not new, Mr Stirling, and the legal system has managed to operate successfully since its inception." "I appreciate that, Your Honour, but the wealth of supporting material forms a compelling basis for my submission." "Your Honour, Nate Baldwin is a very public sports figure." "It would be almost impossible to find a juror in the entire state who had never heard of him." "Indeed, yes." "Even I have heard of him." "Meaning recent coverage is unlikely to have altered anyone's opinion of him." "If cases are to be thrown out on the basis that social media creates unfair trials, well, then nothing would ever be tried in court again." "My instructions to the jury will be to take into account only evidence presented in court, not hearsay outside of it." "Therefore, press coverage cannot unduly influence them." "It is impossible for anyone to forget hearsay." "Are you suggesting I am a biased judge, Mr Stirling?" "Of course not, Your Honour." "The request to have the trial not proceed is denied." "Trial will commence tomorrow at 9am." "Your Honour, I would like to make a last-minute request for a judge-only trial." "Your Honour, my learned colleague cannot keep delaying this trial." "Exactly what I was thinking." "It is in the public interest for this trial to be completely above any suspicion of bias, Your Honour." "And given the adverse publicity surrounding the trial..." "Objection, Your Honour - it's the same argument." "I am not questioning the clarity or authority of your instructions to the jury, Your Honour, but their ability to adhere to them." "Very well." "Submissions to me by 9am tomorrow." "Well played, mate." "See you tomorrow." "Can't wait." "Bring it on." "Can't wait for the all-nighter on a judge-only submission." "Well, he shouldn't have demolished the not-proceed option so well." "He's not really enjoying this as much as he looks." "Yes, he is." "You're enjoying it too, right?" "I'm warming to it." "Maxine." "Yes, this is..." " 20,000?" " Cash." " Did you see it at Flynn's?" " No, but I'm sure he's got some." "Or he might just want to pocket 20 grand." "We won't know for sure until we turn up with the money." "Have you got that much?" "Me?" "20,000 in cash?" "What do I look like, an ATM machine?" "What about you?" "No!" "Well, Nate, we could get that somehow, couldn't we?" "It's just... it takes a few days to organise that much." "Right, if we're moving that amount of cash, we've got to make sure the tax office isn't looking at us." "We'll take it out in bits." "OK, just..." "look, leave it with me." "I'll sell a few things." "I'll get it together somehow." "Save all our arses, as per." "I thought we were tracking Maxine's phone." " We are." " I am." "So you knew she was seeing Flynn Pearce?" "You didn't tell us?" "How long until we can get a listening device into Flynn's?" "Could take us a day to get the warrant." "OK, forget the warrant." "That'll happen when it happens." "An hour." "OK, do it." "Make sure it's there before she goes back." "But without a warrant, anything we record is..." "OK, you just need to shut up, alright?" "The one time you should have opened your mouth is the only time in the last six weeks you've kept it closed." "In case it escaped your attention, which for an analyst there is absolutely no excuse, we're in a race here." "Against time, a manslaughter trial and Maxine Reynolds." "She buys that drug, presents it to the court, gets Nate off, we're back to square one." "That's what's at stake here and you've just put all of that in jeopardy!" "I'm sorry." "I was..." "OK, what were you doing?" "No, no, let me guess." "You were still trying to figure out the identity of the arsonist because you decided that was the priority, not locating the drug." "You are not running your own reference here." "You are part of a team and I am the one who dictates the direction of it, not you." "Don't make the mistake of thinking you're the smartest person in the room." "You're not." "Out." "Richard." "Can you just... just tell me, and be honest - what are his chances?" "Maxine finding that drug could make all the difference, providing Flynn isn't ripping her off." "Right." "If he gets locked up, I have no money." "I have nothing." "Well, this isn't a crime that they seize assets for." "You'd still have your bank accounts, your credit cards..." "I don't have any." "I don't even have this betting account that's supposedly mine." "I wish." "I mean I get my bags, make-up, shoes, all from my sponsors, who are all dumping me quick smart." "You've never had your own money?" "Because I'm a typical WAG who sponges off her husband and goes to the opening of an envelope?" "No, no, no." "Of course not." "Do you know how we met?" "In a taxi rank." "Nate had been to some do and I'd had a Mozart recital." "You like classical music?" "I play it." "I went to the Conservatorium of Music." "Look..." "Nate takes care of everything for me." "He looks after me." "You might want to make alternative arrangements, just in case." "He won't do that." "I'll see if I can talk some sense into him." "Thank you." "We should be online in Flynn's place now." "Want me to check?" "Yes, thank you." " Cindi needs me." " Yeah, well, I need you." "No, you don't know what she's going through." "It's really messed up." "Welfare overpaid her and she owes 'em a grand she doesn't have and she can't get her benefits until she's paid it back." "You sure you can't help?" "I'm not a charity, Pearl." "Come on, why don't..." "why don't you just chill out?" "We can relax." "The guy that killed my brother goes on trial tomorrow." "I want to have a drink with my friend." "Sure." "You want to see Cindi, go see Cindi." " Really?" " Yeah, of course." "Thanks." "I just thought you needed a place to stay, that's all." "I mean, if you don't, fine, go." "I'm not keeping you locked up." "But if you go now don't come back here." "OK." "What do you want to do?" "I want you to take your clothes off." "We can have some fun, yeah?" "We don't have the warrant in place, do we?" "No." "Good girl." "Good girl." "OK." "I've heard enough." "Don't forget to argue the strengths of the Westminster system." "Andy, what about your mum?" "Can she pick Amal up?" "Richard's just dropped an application for judge-only on us." "You know how it's underpinned by a belief juries take their responsibilities very seriously." "No, my brother can't." "His car's getting repaired." "Study after study shows this to be the case." "Yeah, well, I'll call you back in five." "Just thought I'd check in and see how you're both doing." "All good." "Yeah, we're on top of it." "You go." "We were just finishing up." "I don't want to lose another case with a high-profile sportsman." "We won't, but we could find a few more arguments." "No, we've got it with what you've given me." "You go see your daughter, right?" "Give her a cuddle from me." "Crossed wires with Andy about childcare." "First time for everything, right?" "Right." " Thanks." " Yeah." "Mummy." "Yeah." "Did you give her something for the pain?" "Yeah, I'm just waiting for it to work." "Bub - those horrible toothy-pegs still hurting?" "Come here." " Hey, you've got court tomorrow." " Go to bed." "Yeah, it is tomorrow." "I just want to make sure I've got all the points in my head." "Well, it's no good if your head's asleep on the bench." "Well, I don't want Ben or Owen to think I'm not across it." "As if they would." "I've had to leave early a couple of times." "I..." "I'd change my shifts but I've got three men on stress leave." "It's fine." "I can manage, Andy." "Hey you don't have to prove anything to anyone, OK?" "You're doing a brilliant job." "Owen says so, Ben says so, I think so." "You stop doubting yourself." "Got a visual on Cooke again." "And someone's not too happy with him." "Mitchell Douglas, the coach of the Devils." "Now he's getting into his car." "Alone." "Didn't appear to be carrying anything." "He's heading south." "Bay Road." " Stay on him." " Rightio." "He's going to Flynn's." "He's going to get the drug." " Confident." " Where's Maxine?" "Heading to the bank again." "She got 9 grand out yesterday." "And Flynn?" "Still snoring." "Pearl's left for court." "The warrant's in place, so whatever we hear now is admissible, but we still need..." "That statement from Pearl." " I'll keep you updated." " Thanks." "How do you think you'll go today?" "Will the Devils release you from your contract?" "No comment." "Please, can you give us some space?" "Should be here by this afternoon." " Tomorrow at the latest." " Viki!" "Ms Perati, do you have any comment?" "My son was taken from me by that monster who pretended to be his friend." "You're sure you don't need me in there?" "Yeah." "Look, Nate's got a temper, but he's not the monster they're making him out to be." " OK?" "He looked out for Ty." " This isn't fair." "You weren't a witness." "I've got to do something to help make it right, OK?" "One of our boys has died." "He was just a kid." "I'm sorry, Mitchell." " Any news?" " Close." "I believe we're very close." "Hi, Pearl." "Um, bit crazy, isn't it?" "You want to get away from here?" " We'll have a chat?" " Yeah." "Yeah?" "Your Honour, the Westminster system is underpinned by the fact that juries take their responsibilities extremely seriously." "I mean, the average citizen is perfectly capable of putting hearsay and personal bias aside and paying serious attention to the facts presented." "Your belief in the process is commendable." "Your Honour, news feeds and social media are awash with damning indictments of the accused." "Now, this is far from normal hearsay and only a trained legal mind, such as Your Honour's, can truly ignore this bias and consider the facts, as you said yesterday." "Therefore, by your own argument, you are the only person entitled to hear this trial." "Well argued, Mr Stirling." "But don't ever try it again." "Yes, Your Honour." "I agree to the request made by Mr Stirling for a judge-only trial." "Now, gentlemen, can we declare a ceasefire and get on with this?" "This must be a difficult day for you." "I can understand why you don't want to be in there, hear everything that happened." "I don't need to." "He's guilty." "He hit Ty." "They'll lock him up and then..." "And then?" "There'll be justice." "For Ty." "And what about you?" "Don't you deserve justice?" "I'm alright." "It's pretty clear what the arrangement is with Flynn." "He's 28 years old." "You're underage." "You can't legally give consent to have..." "Piss off!" "I can give consent whenever I want." "Don't act like this isn't my choice." " It's... it's my life." " It's a crime, Pearl." "In six months, it won't be." "I can get public housing on my own." "What, so sexual abuse is the price you're willing to pay for a roof over your head?" "There are better options." "Yeah?" "Like share houses?" "You ever been in one?" "Full of junkies who just take all your shit?" "Or I could go back home, to Mum getting shitfaced and laying into me." "And Kevin." "Or I could, sleep in a gutter or a shop door." "You think that'd be better?" "Of course not, but there has to be something else, yeah?" "Something better than Flynn." "There's not, but." "That's it, you see?" "Anyway, I know what I'm doing." "He can help out my friend Cindi." "She's worse off than me." "I figured out a way." "I'm making it work." "It's my choice, not yours." "Pearl..." "Hard copies of all the surveillance on Maxine and Eddie." "Thanks, but Wayne's on Eddie." "Of course, but just in case you need to cross-reference their movements." "OK." "Yeah, sure." "It's what I do." "I'm thorough, meticulous, on-task, 24/7, analysing data, which, to be effective, requires a broad scope." "So while my focus may appear to shift at times, it's only because every piece of information needs to be studied exhaustively." "I wouldn't be doing my job properly if I didn't." "You should probably be explaining this to Janet." "I think it helps if the chief investigator also appreciates the particular demands of an analyst." "So I can put in a good word for you, you mean?" "No." "It's just..." "I get data, look for patterns." "It's puzzle solving with a real-world impact and I think it's a buzz and..." "Yeah." "Bonnie, I'm kind of busy right..." "Am I getting fired?" "What?" "Bonnie, you stuffed up." "We all do." "Just get over it and move on." "Put Wayne on." "He's gone into a chemist." "Cartwrights, Lavender Street, Granville." "Why go halfway across town to a chemist?" "They're old friends and he gets a discount?" "Or maybe Eddie's supplying him with peds." "Unlikely." "He's a cleanskin, according to this." "Owned by Lionel Cartwright." "Pharmacy degree, compounding chemist of 25 years." "No priors, nothing." "Eddie's on the move." "Could be in for more action now." "He's just arrived at Flynn's." "So, what did the chemist have to do with this?" "We can pick up Eddie inside." "Keep a visual on him if you can, Wayne." "I told you to get rid of it." "You know what I can get for it." "I've got a better offer." "Technically you stole it from me." "OK, I'll give you a cut." "I need it now." "How much have you got?" "50ml." "I kept one bottle, that's all." "As soon as he's outside, Wayne can grab Eddie..." "And risk Eddie smashing it on the road?" "Losing everything?" "No, let it run all the way to Zoe's." "Then we can look after it properly." "Great." "Much safer strategy." "That wasn't meant to sound patronising, honestly." "Just... genuine." "No offence." "Could you show the court what you saw when the accused hit the victim?" "It was like this, to the side of Ty's face." "He stumbled, fell backwards." "Try to say something, mate." "Come on!" "Come on, mate." "Ty?" "So he was hit hard enough to be knocked over?" "Well, yeah." "I guess so." "No further questions, Your Honour." "When the victim fell, did you hear the accused say anything?" "Yeah, he said, "Sorry, mate,"" "and when Ty didn't get back up, he said, "I didn't hit him that hard"." "He kept saying it." " Did you believe him?" " Yeah." "So, it's possible the blow wasn't hard enough to make the victim fall?" "Yeah, maybe." "Only a..." "Only what, Mr Metcalf?" "Only I just remembered Tyler didn't trip." "He was lunging forward at the time, trying to grab the phone with the pictures." "One of them got that drug yet?" "Maxine?" "What's-her-face?" "Anyone?" "Look, what if I talk to 'em?" "The NCC?" "I don't think it'd make a difference now." "So, what's the plan from here?" "I think Richard's going to call Nate as a witness." "What?" "It's a chance for the judge to hear firsthand your relationship with the victim." "And risk us trapping him into saying something he shouldn't?" "Why you'd never have laid into him with full force." "I thought you said you don't normally do that?" "Well, he's got nothing else." "We've got no choice." "And I think you could really help yourself." "And you know Richard." "Never say die." "He'll find some angle." "He'll try and counter Nate's public image." "It'll all be about tearing down the aggro and the thuggery and showing his warm, caring side." "Yeah, good luck with that." "Well, this is Richard." "Whatever he's got will be carefully thought-out." "You think he's still got a chance?" "It's still Nate Baldwin." "If we get him angry, he'll undo everything." "What the fuck do you mean you don't have it?" "I mean it was for sale, and now it's been sold." "Who to?" "Was it Eddie?" "Fuckin' lying sack of shit." "It was a private sale." "Do you know you have had me running all around town." "I have grabbed cash every way I know how because we had a deal." "Now tell me who the hell has the drug now!" "No." "You're fuckin' dead, Mr Pearce." "You're dead." "So, according to your expert analysis of the deceased's autopsy and toxicology report, could you explain for the court what the cause of death was?" "A subdural haematoma." "That is, bleeding which fills the brain area rapidly, compressing brain tissue." "And what caused that haematoma?" "A serious blow to the head." "A large contusion on the side of the face corresponded to where the deceased was struck." "And that was the only cause of the bleeding?" "There were some anomalies in the reports regarding the failure of the deceased's blood to coagulate properly." "The cause of that was not possible to determine." "Was it a contributing factor to the death of Mr Perati?" "I couldn't categorically state that, no." "Nothing further." "I think this might be able to help you." "Thanks." "2ml daily, top thigh." "Four or five days should do the trick." "And there's no chance of it testing positive?" "Lots of guys were on it last year." "Passed everything." "Well, in that case, when Greta wins a medal, we'll know who to thank." "Tell the lab to be on stand-by." "We need this tested as soon as possible." "We have to be sure it's the substance that killed Tyler." "Your witness, Mr Stirling." "That's not a phone, is it, Mr Stirling?" "Mr Stirling!" "Your Honour, I wish to apply for an adjournment, because my instructions have been compromised." "Compromised in what way, Mr Stirling?" "My client has said something that is difficult to interpret." "You mean, he wishes to change his plea?" "Your Honour, I've received mixed messages and need a private audience with my client to confirm his instructions." "If we could adjourn for the rest of the day..." "Your Honour, my learned colleague only needs a minute to ask his client what he meant." "A couple of hours to advise my client calmly, ensure he understands the entirely of the situation is not unreasonable." "There are a lot of grey areas in this case." "Including the hairs you're putting on my head, Mr Stirling." "You have an hour." "So I get the cash together," "I go there and then he says he doesn't have it anymore." "I just don't know what to do." "So how's it looking your end, Richard?" "Sorry, gotta go." "Shit." " Have you got it?" " Still waiting for the lab results." "If it's not here in 20 minutes, I've got to put Nate on the stand." "Well, you can stretch that out." "Go back to his childhood, his love for the game." "You used to hate it when the defence resorted to sob stories for a win." "Well, there's an exception for everything." "Good luck." "I met Tyler a couple of years ago." "He'd just been spotted in a schoolboys' team and he got into a clinic the Devils run for up-and-coming players." "I gave him some tips." "I could tell how keen he was, you know - that hunger to make it." "Anyway, he got signed on and, yeah, we hung out a bit." "You mentor a lot of younger players." "What made Tyler special?" "He told me he didn't have a dad, so I, um... you know, I just..." "I looked out for him, gave him advice." "He never really talked about it, but I could tell the pressure that he was under to make first grade 'cause of what that meant for his family." "The money." "I knew they were doing it tough and, you know, they counted on him to take care of them." "You're successful, wealthy." "How could you really know what that was like?" "Well, I know that pressure." "An injury or something can end your career in a flash and suddenly..." "suddenly you've got nothin'." "So, you've gotta work your guts out to stay at the top of your form." "I know how much training and sacrifice that takes." "I've lived it." "I saw Ty live it." "I knew exactly what he wanted, 'cause it's what I've always wanted and I would never, ever have done anything to take that away from him." "So you had a real connection with him?" "What?" "Well, you and Tyler." "You obviously had a common bond." "We were good mates, yeah." "I mean, it sounded a lot more than that to me." "I'd imagine you get to know your fellow teammates pretty well in that locker room..." "Objection, Your Honour." "Relevance." "Your Honour, I'm merely wanting to establish the intimate bonds of male teammates, which some may describe as homoerotic." "Homo what?" "And the bond between Nate Baldwin and Tyler Perati, which was clearly on and off the field..." "Hey, fuck off!" "It wasn't like that!" "I'm not gay." "You can't..." "you can't say that shit to me!" "Objection." "This is assuming a fact not in evidence, Your Honour." "No, look, I'm just saying you've got no right to imply something like that." "Sustained." "Thank you, Mr Crown." "Withdrawn, Your Honour." "I did nothin'...wrong." "I didn't even hit him that hard." "I know I didn't." "Hey." "News?" "The lab's just emailed the results." "What?" "What's happening?" "H2O." " It was water." " What?" "Eddie gave Zoe plain old tap water." "But he thought it was the real thing, didn't he?" "Aren't you going to cop shit for nicking this?" "What if Flynn finds out you swapped it for water?" " He won't." " Whoever he sells it to will." "Serves 'em both right." "Can you seriously get 10 grand for this?" "Mate, Flynn was askin' 20." "What is it?" "Who cares?" "I found someone to buy it, that's all that matters." "When's he comin'?" "Soon." "And if he doesn't turn up, there's plenty of other contacts in Flynn's phone." "And we can pay off your debt and you'll be sweet." "We could, like, get our own place and stuff, just you and me." "Fuck, it'd be so cool." "Hey, what are you doing?" "It's a 20,000 trip." "You know, as if I'm not gonna try that." " Don't be stupid." " It'd be stupid not to!" " Cindi, for fuck's sake!" " No, I need that money." "Stop!" "Look, he won't even notice." "Mr Baldwin." "The emotional impact of your evidence was considerable." "The bond you shared with the victim was obviously deeply felt and genuine." "Your role as a mentor and father-figure in his life is without question." "However, the strength of your relationship cannot alter the facts presented by the autopsy and toxicology reports." "The large bruise on the deceased's body directly corresponds with the blow with which you struck him, and the size of the bruise indicates the force behind it." "I find no other contributing factors to his death, other than the punch, and so on one count of manslaughter," "I find you guilty." "Sentencing to take place at a date to be determined." "Please remove the prisoner." "OK, although I usually don't comment on verdicts," "I am aware of recent public concern about decisions made by the DPP." "I have no doubt today's outcome will restore public confidence in the DPP and I would especially like to acknowledge the team responsible for preparing such a strong case to present to court, led by Ben McMahon." "Maybe it was Flynn." "Maybe he swapped the real drug for water." "But he's been pissed off all day, because he thinks he's lost 20 grand." "Did Eddie give Zoe the wrong bottle?" "Like, an accident." "It was unlabelled." "After he went to so much trouble to get it for her?" "It's unlikely." "Was Eddie onto us?" "Is that possible?" "Then, why go through the whole charade of giving her anything?" "Why not just say no the first time she asked for it?" "He's an arrogant bastard?" "Was Eddie Cooke playing us?" "And if he was, how involved is he in the whole thing?" "Does all this link back to Eddie?" "Help, somebody!" "Please help!" "You're alright." "Come on." "Help, somebody!" "Help!" "Somebody, come on, help us!" "That bottle is a critical piece of evidence in a national investigation." "Now, if you want to get arrested, fine, run off." "If not, just give it to me!" "I could be in here for 12 years!" "I can't do it." "I've gotta spill my guts to the NCC." "That'll knock some time off." "No, not happening." "You tell them nothing." "Could Maxine be the head of the whole syndicate?" "Well, that would mean she's let her own client go to jail over a drug that propped up her betting plunges." "Interesting business model." "We're too late."