Line of Duty

Operation Pear Tree.

Our brief was to embed an officer in an organised crime group.

Detective Sergeant John Corbett.

His files were erased from the police database,

his phone number and e-mail deleted. Corbett was given a new identity.

It's the Eastfield depot.

It's where all the police forces in the region store seized contraband,

drugs, cash, jewels, precious metals.

This could be bigger than the Brink's-Mat.

There's a strong suggestion women in that block are being kept

in modern-day slavery to provide sexual services.

Our duty is to protect them.

And we will raid the house and raid the print shop.

Do it.

Christ, how old is she?

Who is it, Lise? Who am I giving all this info to?

H?

There's a girl on the unit. Name's Lisa McQueen.

And she's also the one that makes contact

with the higher levels of the organisation.

- How? - Laptop.

We talk via an audio link.

The replies come up as text.

As far as the risk goes,

we can minimise that by using your assets, bent coppers.

The CHIS who's been giving me intel on the OCG...

It's Corbett.

He's relayed intelligence on a planned armed robbery

of the Eastfield depot.

Eastfield? What's he got backing him up there, a Panzer division?

Detective Chief Superintendent Hargreaves was pronounced dead

a short while ago.

First duty, preservation of life.

Divert the AFOs to respond to the Status Zero.

Hastings?

He pulled you out of there so we could get away with the gear.

He's the one calling all the shots. He's H.

John Corbett, I'm arresting you for the murder of Lester Hargreaves.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

- Yeah. I know. - How much?

Hundred grand.

I don't want the fiasco of Operation Pear Tree,

which was not of your making,

add a disastrous coda to an otherwise distinguished career.

It's only temporary, obviously.

I'm sorry to bother you at such a late hour, Mrs Hastings.

I'm Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott, AC-12.

Sir.

The doctors say she'll be fine, sir. She'll make a good recovery.

Thank you, I just need to see my wife.

Between us, Mrs Hastings didn't want your gaffer involved.

That's why it came to us.

All right, love.

Ted.

Jesus Christ.

Are you in any pain?

Not any more.

They've doped me up to the eyeballs.

How did it happen?

A man called at the house saying he was from AC-12,

so of course I told him I'd better ask you first.

Before I could make the phone call,

a man broke in wearing a balaclava over his face.

You think there were two men?

The man at the door gave the name Steve Arnott.

But you've met Steve Arnott.

I've been through all this with the other detective...

I know, darling, I know, but...

The man that broke in, I never saw his face...

...and he was from back home.

What do you mean?

They haven't told you?

He spoke with a Belfast accent.

He said you'd know why he done it.

He said you'd know what you've cost him.

No, no, no, no. No.

No, these people, they're just thugs.

You don't believe a word that comes out of their mouth.

They're just trying to get to me with all this,

and trying to stop my team from beating a path to their door.

Who?

There's any number of ongoing inquiries, of course.

But you know I'm not allowed to disclose...

You and your precious regulations.

He's only been to my home, only tortured me and put me in hospital.

I'm sorry, darling. I'm sorry.

If I'd have been there, I'd have been able to protect you, you see.

So now you're trying to make out it was my fault?

- No, no, no... - If we'd still been together,

- this wouldn't have happened? - Course not!

Is that your game, Ted?

No.

Get out.

She's in a terrible state. A terrible state.

Look, anything you need for your investigation, you just ask.

- You understand? Just ask. - Thank you, sir.

Given the victim is your wife, sir, I'm sure you appreciate why

Serious Crime needs to handle this independently.

Yeah, well, it's just as well I'm out of it.

Because I can tell you whoever is responsible for this,

he'd better pray he's up in front of a judge

before I get my hands on him.

Sorry, sir.

For my report, any significance you know of regarding

the pattern of injuries to your wife's wrists, knees and ankles?

No.

Cheers, Sam.

Any new leads on Hargreaves?

We're working on it.

I'm learning the hard way how people react

when they find out you've had a bent boss,

the insinuation you must have known.

Ma'am.

Call me, yeah?

Sam told us Mrs Hastings claimed

her attacker had a Northern Irish accent.

And we all know her injuries are classic paramilitary punishment wounds.

Look, the gaffer's had the shock of his life.

Your family, that's a whole another level.

Let's hope the gaffer opens up,

before we have to start asking.

This is Lisa, on with Clayton.

About that, yeah.

I have my moments.

We've just hit a few bumps

trying to fence the Eastfield gear, that's all.

Yeah, but nothing we can't get over in time.

But maybe it'd help speed things along by fencing the gear

via other units.

We just need a bit of a leg-up, that's all, you know.

That way, we all get to reap the rewards.

Shit.

This job, it was meant to make us.

- Call him back. - That's not how this works.

Well, you tell me, then, how it works!

What, is he some kind of mind-reader or what?

No. I talk to someone who talks to someone who talks to someone.

Tell me who, and I'll get the message through.

It's time me and this prick had words.

That's what I'm worried about, mate.

- Why are you protecting him? - Protecting him?

Jesus, John, it ain't that way round.

No? Hargreaves crossed us.

So who's he going to have crossed us to? Hey?

Now we've got one load of coppers on our tail

and another load on a payroll. Someone's orchestrating all that.

So who do you think's the best man for the job? Hey?

This prick's a copper. I can feel it in me water.

You're talking shite, John. You can't know if he's a copper.

I've met enough in my time, more than enough, more than you, Lise.

Look, H is a senior police officer.

Tell me I'm wrong.

What's happening?

We're rounding up officers identified by semen deposits

that were being kept in cold storage at the Borogrove Estate brothel.

Some have already confessed to being blackmailed into assisting the OCG.

One of the semen deposits matched Hargreaves' DNA.

It was recent as well.

Suggesting the blackmail was also recent?

It's looking that way, boss.

I've re-interviewed all the officers known to have assisted the OCG,

Jane Cafferty, Kieran Bloom and so on.

None of them claim to have had contact with Hargreaves

before a few months ago.

There's no way he could have been H.

H goes back much further.

Sorry, ma'am, is this a bad time?

- No, it's fine. Thanks, Tatleen. - Ma'am, Sarge,

we've had a breakthrough at Kingsgate Printing Services.

The search of the premises yielded some findings

we've passed on to Cyber Crime.

- Amanda Yao. - Kate Fleming.

DS Arnott.

Corbett relayed intel on a laptop being used to communicate

with the higher levels of the OCG.

Most likely, the laptop accessed mobile data services

via an encrypted dongle.

Unfortunately, that means we can't access the conversions.

Inquiries to service providers covering that location led to

a mobile data account registered at Kingsgate Printing Services.

We've analysed the account using various tools

and been able to access the metadata.

And tracing the communication between the device

at Kingsgate Printing Services reveals another user with

internet protocol address located in Spain.

That doesn't necessarily mean the user's in Spain.

Correct. The user could have concealed their true location,

connecting via multiple VPNs.

They may be in Spain. They may be next door.

There's no way of knowing.

Have you harvested enough information for us to

impersonate the unknown user online?

Yes, given time, we can simulate all the metadata.

We'd also need to formulate some characteristic statements

in advance so users on the other end don't think it's an impersonation.

This would all take a few days.

- Do it. - Yes, ma'am.

How is she doing, Ted? Anything I can do, anything.

Thank you, ma'am.

We sent some flowers.