[Ivory Coast, West Africa]
(A lady sniper is camouflagued and lying on a rock.)
SNIPER: Come on. (A truck comes into view travelling along a track.) Got ya. (Things start to emerge from the rockface behind her.) Just a little closer. (A shadow falls across her, and she turns to look.)
[Aeroplane over the Pacific Ocean]
TANNOY: Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be commencing our descent into Tokyo in approximately thirty minutes. Please take a moment to use the washrooms and collect up all your belongings.
(An older man speaks to a bespectacled woman in an aisle seat.)
MAN: Excuse me. Is this washbag yours? I just found it in the aisle.
WOMAN: Yes. Sorry. I'm so clumsy. My sister's always having a go at me for this. Thanks.
MAN: No problem at all. Enjoy your flight.
(She takes the bag to the washroom and locks the door, then opens the bag and removes the toothpaste. The tube contains a written coded message. She photographs it with the camera built into her spectacles' frame, then eats it. There is a noise, she turns, and something is coming out of the metal door.)
[Moscow, Russia]
(A running man - of Asian descent - dodges traffic, then goes through a pair of iron gates into a building. He makes a phone call.)
AMERICAN: I'm at the safe house. How long for the extraction team? Just make it fast.
(He sits down, and things start coming out of the plastered ceiling, then drop down onto him.)
[Sheffield]
(A pick-up basket ball game is going on. The sounds are muffled as we concentrate on Ryan, who has just caught the ball and is shooting for the basket.)
BOYS: Go on, Ryan! Shoot! (It bounces off the rim.) Unlucky, man. So, next week? Yeah.
TIBO: Laters. You can play now, man. You never used to step on the court.
RYAN: I should've got it in. I'll get it in next time.
TIBO: You've been sick, though. Appendicitis, right? That's why we ain't seen you?
RYAN: Oh, yeah, yeah.
TIBO: And the hernia before that?
RYAN: Oh, yeah. That was bad.
TIBO: And that detached retina? Oof, that sounds painful. You've been so unlucky.
RYAN: So unlucky.
TIBO: So what, we don't see you and now you're off travelling?
RYAN: Only for a bit.
TIBO: Better be. I've missed you, man. We all do. (Two men in black, wearing shades, are standing by a black car.) Is there a problem, guys?
[Khan household]
SONYA: Just give me his number.
YASMIN: No!
HAKIM: Alexa, play Rubber Soul.
ALEXA: I'm sorry, I didn't get that.
SONYA: Why not?
YASMIN: Because I don't want to give you his number. I'm packing.
NAJIA: This is the third secondment you've been selected for.
YASMIN: Is it? I thought it was the second.
SONYA: You're not even going to be here.
NAJIA: And all this during your probationer period?
YASMIN: I know. It's amazing.
SONYA: Is his number in here? Oh! (Yasmin snatches her phone back from her sister.)
HAKIM: Play Rubber Soul!
ALEXA: The nearest shoe shop is one point two miles walking distance.
SONYA: I think it just hates your voice, Dad.
NAJIA: And your boss is all right with you being away on this?
YASMIN: Totally. He's totally all right with it.
[Outside the Police Station]
SUNDER: I'm not all right with this, Yaz. This is your fourth secondment. Fourth time I get a load of secretive paperwork, and you not telling me anything. Why do I keep losing my best probationer?
YASMIN: It's all really good experience. Honest.
SUNDER: I'm not daft. Have you had a tap on the shoulder? Is this undercover?
YASMIN: Sort of.
SUNDER: Last time. You have to be here to finish your probation.
YASMIN: I know. I'm coming back, I promise.
SUNDER: And I presume they're with you?
(Two men in black.)
[Hospital examination room]
(Graham is sitting on an exam table, rolling down his shirt sleeve.)
COLLINS: Four years since your procedure. Time flies.
GRAHAM: Yeah, son't it just?
COLLINS: Test results are all as they should be, you'll be pleased to hear. Any weight fluctuations?
GRAHAM: No.
COLLINS: Tiredness? Muscular aches or pains?
GRAHAM: No, none of that.
COLLINS: I was sorry to hear about your wife.
GRAHAM: Yeah. Thanks.
COLLINS: We all miss her.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
COLLINS: Right. I don't need to keep you any longer. Sign on there. Tick all the boxes. Data protection.
GRAHAM: Right.
COLLINS: Are you working?
GRAHAM: Er, no, travelling.
COLLINS: Oh. Anywhere nice?
GRAHAM: Sometimes.
(Two men in black are waiting for him outside the hospital.)
[Garage]
(The Tardis is up on a hoist while the Doctor works on cables and stuff hanging out of the base. She is also on her mobile phone.)
DOCTOR: Ah, there's the blockage. Oh, sorry! Group message. Got to concentrate. Just calling to say hi, fam. Where are you? We said an hour. You're late. Very late. All of you. (She closes her flip phone as a car pulls up and doors open and close. The three sets of black cars and black-suited men are there.) Hi, fellas. Rocking the ominous look.
AGENT: We need you to come with us.
DOCTOR: Can I finish up first? I'm just draining the water slides. And the boating lakes. And the rainforest floor. Plus, I'm waiting for my mates.
AGENT: Your friends are inside the car.
(Graham sticks his head out of the rear window of the middle car.)
GRAHAM: Worst Uber ever!
AGENT: Look, it's in all your best interests that you come with us.
[Car]
(So the convoy drives through an underpass.)
SATNAV: In half a mile, continue ahead and merge with motorway.
(Graham, Yasmin and Ryan are crammed into the back seat, the Doctor is up front.)
DOCTOR: How are you doing? Everything go all right? Apart from being kidnapped.
YASMIN: Come on. What's the plan?
DOCTOR: I thought, let him take us to where we're going. That way, we find out who wants us.
RYAN: What if he kills us along the way?
DOCTOR: Look at him. He's obviously doing this at someone else's orders. Don't you want to know who that is?
SATNAV: In one hundred yards... (crackles and distorts)
DOCTOR: Your equipment's not up to much.
AGENT: It shouldn't be doing that. (He taps the screen and a stream of energy lances out, disintegrating him.)
DOCTOR: Oh, God!
(Then the accellerator pedal floors itself and they swerve through the traffic before coming to a very abrupt halt. Traffic drives past on both sides.)
YASMIN: We can't get out!
DOCTOR: Yes, I got that, Yaz!
(She tries using her sonic screwdriver.)
GRAHAM: Hey, Doc, the sat nav's just started again!
SATNAV: In five seconds, die. (The map screen shows die instead of street names.) Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.
(The sound distorts and the vehicle drives off - backwards. The Doctor climbs into the empty drivers seat.)
DOCTOR: The brake's not working! Someone's controlling this car and it isn't me. (Smoke comes from the gear box as it passes 80MPH in reverse. She tries the sonic on the satnav.) There's got to be a way to stop it! (Another energy beam zaps out, but only shatters the rear window. They are suddenly on an unfinished on/off ramp.)
GRAHAM: Look behind us! The road's out! We're going over the edge!
SATNAV: Die. Die. Die.
(Another energy beam misses them all.)
DOCTOR: I need a reflective surface.
SATNAV: Die. Die. Die.
(She pulls off the rear view mirror and holds it in front of the satnav screen. It blows itself up.)
DOCTOR: Hold on!
(One of the little orange lights on the traffic cones at the edge of the ramp flies off as the car hits it. Traffic continues to rumble into the underpass below them.)
C [OC]: What the hell just happened? What have you idiots done with my car?
RYAN: Who's talking?
DOCTOR: Your car just assassinated its driver and then attempted to kill us.
C [OC]: That's not possible.
DOCTOR: Tell me who you are, and I'll tell you face-to-face just how possible that actually was.
C [OC]: This is C. I was having you brought to London. To MI6.
RYAN: What? MI6 is trying to kill us?
C [OC]: No!
YASMIN: Well, you nearly managed it.
DOCTOR: All right, C. You want us, we want answers. We're coming in.
(The Doctor fastens her seat belt and drives back to the road.)
[London - MI6]
(That big building at Vauxhall Cross, by the Thames, as featured in various Bond films. Going up the staircase as a blue box is being trundled in from the deliveries area.)
DOCTOR: Ah! At least they managed to transport my Tardis without damage.
GRAHAM: Ryan, MI6. I always wanted to be a spy.
RYAN: You'd be a rubbish spy.
GRAHAM: I'd be a great spy. I'd just blend in.
(Stephen Fry walks up to him.)
C: Well, well, well. Finally we meet. You actually do exist.
GRAHAM: What?
(C's aide whispers to him.)
C: Don't be ridiculous, Franklin. I've read the files. The Doctor is a man.
DOCTOR: I've had an upgrade. Hi.
C: Oh.
DOCTOR: You just had us picked up like criminals and put in a car which tried to kill us.
C: We were trying to bring you here, not kill you, but our systems got hacked.
YASMIN: Not exactly the best demonstration of MI6 skills.
C: I have been authorised to speak on behalf of every security agency around the globe. We need your help, Doctor.
[Corridor]
C: Over the past week, there's been a spate of attacks on intelligence officers worldwide, of every nationality. None of these attacks has been ordered by rival intelligence agencies.
DOCTOR: At least that's what you're all telling each other.
C: No, we all have a very good working knowledge of what our enemies are up to. No agency possesses the technology to carry out one of these attacks. None of us understands how it was done, or even what has been done. But every agent has suffered the same fate.
[Medical area]
(C's palmprint opens an old wooden door into a facility with just one bed, and a woman linked up to life support monitors.)
C: She was found unconscious on the floor of an aeroplane washroom on a flight to Tokyo. She'd made pre-arranged contact with an informant.
YASMIN: Is she in a coma?
C: Apparently, it's a little more horrific than that. Now, I'm told this is your expertise - dealing with the impossible.
(The Doctor looks at the pad showing the woman's vitals and DNA.)
DOCTOR: You're right. That is impossible. Her DNA's been rewritten. Every strand corrupted and reshaped. She's no longer human. Just a shell with a human appearance.
GRAHAM: Is she going to live, Doc?
DOCTOR: There's nothing of her to live. It's like she's been erased. This is beyond any human technology.
C: Ah. I was rather worried you were going to say that. Doctor, the security of this entire planet is at stake. Can we rely upon you?
[C's office]
(Cases are opened, showing off products from Q division.)
C: Anaesthetic darts, laser shoe gun, infrared ID duplicator, calendar hacker, lock-breakers, rocket-launcher cufflinks, retinal ID decoder and tongue-immobiliser chewing gum. How much more do you want?
RYAN: Yeah, it's great. Keep 'em coming, C.
GRAHAM: Yeah, bring on the bling.
C: They are not toys.
RYAN: Yeah. They're not toys, Graham.
GRAHAM: No, they're not, Ryan, and if you say otherwise, I will shoot you with my laser shoe.
C: All of the assassinated agents were investigating leads relating to this man.
YASMIN: (reading file) Daniel Barton. Born in Bromsgrove. Now lives just north of San Francisco. Oh, he's the founder of VOR.
RYAN: The search engine.
YASMIN: Web apps, social, global mapping, advertising, scientific and medical research, robotics, data polling, human analytics...
C: Right now, VOR is more powerful than most nations. Daniel Barton is the man who built it all up from the ground.
DOCTOR: We're going to need your best man on this. What do you call him? Horizon-watcher?
C: Oh.
DOCTOR: Exactly.
C: Ah, well, he er... He left. I... sacked him.
DOCTOR: The only person with an open mind about all this and you let him go?
C: MI6 has never countenanced the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
DOCTOR: Well, you should talk to your mates at GCHQ.
C: The country has other organisations that deal with all that. UNIT. Even Torchwood.
DOCTOR: They're all gone. Oh, C! You took your eye off the horizon just as things were coming over it. Don't worry. I'll call him.
C: You can't. He's off-grid. We can't find him anywhere. Believe me, we've tried.
DOCTOR: Shh. I'm WhatsApping. Hi. It's me. I'm at MI6 with C. Crisis. Big crisis. Serious crisis. Big, serious crisis. And C says you were right and he's sorry for being an idiot.
C: I did not use those words!
DOCTOR: Send us your location. Kisses. It's quite French, that, isn't it? Kisses? (Phone bings) Ah! See?
C: Yes?
GRAHAM: It's a fish.
DOCTOR: I know!
C: Can we please focus? Daniel Barton isn't just a powerful businessman. He was also one of our agents when he first went to work in the US. Then he withdrew cooperation. It's possible he became a double agent. Or even a triple.
YASMIN: Who for?
C: Well...
(Bang, glass shatters, C clutches the side of his neck.)
C: Oh. (Head hits desk. The hole is visible in the window.)
DOCTOR: Down! (They crawl for cover from rapid laser bolts. Ryan and Graham grab the gizmo cases and uses them as shields.) Go! Get to the Tardis! (As she runs out of the room, aliens emerge from a hatstand, a tattered union flag in a frame labelled Flag of General Davis and even a portrait of Queen Victoria.) Argh!
[Tardis]
DOCTOR: We've got to get out of here.
GRAHAM: We've still got the gadgets.
RYAN: We just saw the head of MI6 get assassinated.
YASMIN: Yeah, by the same sort of bolts that came through that satnav.
DOCTOR: Where's that picture? I need to set the coordinates. Ooo, I've got it.
GRAHAM: So, wrong place, wrong time, twice in one day. That's got to make us targets. And why do you keep looking at pictures of a fish?
DOCTOR: Steganography. There's another image hidden within the pixels of that photo. It's basic spycraft in your time. Easy way to smuggle out information because there's no pattern to look for. No two stegs are the same.
RYAN: So one's hidden inside the other?
GRAHAM: Doc...
DOCTOR: Exactly. Luckily, I can read pixels. I took a correspondence class.
(Graham is pointing at a slightly wibbly Tardis door.)
GRAHAM: Doc...
DOCTOR: Ooo, the outback. Gone full hermit.
YASMIN: Doctor, something's trying to get in!
(One of the aliens is halfway through the door.)
DOCTOR: Oh, no, you don't!
(She dematerialises the Tardis, and the alien is sucked away. Then she scans the door.)
YASMIN: I didn't know things could get into the Tardis like that.
DOCTOR: Neither did I.
RYAN: But you got rid of it.
GRAHAM: Yeah, but what was it?
DOCTOR: At a guess, the same thing that attacked all those spies. And possibly us. What? No readings? The sonic can usually read everything. All right, park that. Live attacks. They're after us, but we need intel. Split resources. Graham, me and you are off to Australia to see my old mate from MI6. I say old mate. I've met him once, but he seemed very nice. We text, though. Does that count?
GRAHAM: If you say so.
DOCTOR: Yaz, Ryan, how do you feel about undercover work?
YASMIN: Definitely!
RYAN: I don't know.
DOCTOR: Daniel Barton. He's our best lead. Well, he's our only lead. We'll get you a cover story. Hack his diary, get in there, check him out. Infiltrate VOR. Have a nose around their systems.
YASMIN: Be spies, basically.
GRAHAM: What, with absolutely no training?
RYAN: We got the gadgets.
GRAHAM: Well, yeah. All the gear, but no idea.
RYAN: Oh, thanks a lot.
GRAHAM: No, no, no, I think you'll be great. I have total confidence, you know? Just, er... just be careful, though. (to the Doctor) It's safe for them, though, right?
DOCTOR: Yeah. Eighty percent sure. Seventy five. Forty percent absolute minimum. Take this. Bio-scanner disguised as a digital recorder. I want to know everything about Daniel Barton. Like Graham said, be careful. Stay in touch. And remember. Rule one of espionage? Trust no one.
[VOR HQ San Francisco]
RYAN: Diary hacked, got us in. Loving these toys. Which building is it?
YASMIN: That one there. Though according to the files, this whole development is down to Barton.
RYAN: So, you journalist, me photographer?
YASMIN: Yeah. That works, doesn't it?
RYAN: I reckon. We've just got to try and be confident with it, haven't we? Try not to panic that we're blagging our way in on someone who might be dangerous. And don't obsess on our total lack of spy training.
YASMIN: Yeah. Don't obsess on that. Think how the Doctor would do it. Swan in like she owns the place, big smiles, loads of chat, total confidence. We can do this. Why are you looking so worried?
RYAN: I decided my spy name would be Logan, and now I'm worried I don't look anything like Hugh Jackman.
YASMIN: Ryan, you're panicking. Rule one, no panicking.
RYAN: I thought Rule one was don't trust anybody.
YASMIN: Rule 1a, then. No panicking while you're not trusting anyone.
[Foyer]
AIDE: I am so sorry about the diary snafu, sir. Oh, dear, this must be them. Hi! I'm sure you recognise Mister Barton.
RYAN: Certainly do.
AIDE: This is Sofia Afzal.
YASMIN: Hi.
AIDE: And this is ...
RYAN: Logan. I'm Logan. The name's Logan Jackson. I'm the photographer.
YASMIN: I'm Sofia. He's nervous. Big fan of yours.
(The aide giggles.)
RYAN: I'm not nervous. Who's nervous? Hi. Logan. I'm... I'm Logan.
BARTON: Daniel. Don't be nervous. I don't bite. Only my own staff. Especially after this mix-up. I had to fire half the PR team.
YASMIN: You haven't?
AIDE: No, not half. He's kidding. Just... two. Shall we go up? I'm sure they'll be able to find other jobs, won't they?
[Great Victoria Desert - Australia]
(The Tardis materialises at an isolated station to meet a man who has two armed minders with him.)
SEESAY: Worth racing up from the city just for that.
BROWNING: Got to be a trick, right? Projection? Mirrors?
O: Say hello to the Doctor. I see you decoded the fish. Fancy a cuppa?
DOCTOR: Very much. Hello. This is my friend, Graham.
O: O.
GRAHAM: Sorry, you're...?
O: O.
GRAHAM: O?
O: O.
GRAHAM: Oh.
O: It was a joke by the others at MI6. Whenever I came into the room to meet C, he'd go, Oh, God!
GRAHAM: Oh.
O: It sort of stuck, and now I've owned it. This is Seesay and Browning. Just arrived. Australian Secret Service.
SEESAY: We'll be here for the whole of your visit. We're under orders to keep all of you safe.
GRAHAM: Safe from what?
BROWNING: Not sure.
DOCTOR: You're going to be a right lot of help, then, aren't you? Can I take a nose around your gaff? I love the outback. I once lived in the outback for a hundred and twenty three years. I saw some great rocks.
[Homestead]
DOCTOR: Cosy!
O: You mean messy.
DOCTOR: You're right, I do. Didn't realise you were this much of a hoarder.
GRAHAM: What is all this stuff?
O: The full MI6 record of the unexplained, as compiled by me. Human disappearances, sightings of unidentified objects, mysterious beings, possible alien incursions going back centuries. And a complete set of Fortean Times in mint condition. Look at all the evidence I gathered. And they just mocked me.
DOCTOR: No one's mocking you now.
O: I heard C was shot.
GRAHAM: We were there. Nearly got us an' all.
O: Does this connect to the attacks on agents? I have been monitoring the chatter, Doctor. Is it aliens? Aliens attacking spies all over the world?
DOCTOR: And rewriting their DNA.
O: That's terrifying. But wow! Why would they do that?
DOCTOR: I don't know. They almost infiltrated my Tardis as we were taking off. I thought you might have something in your research banks that might give us some clues.
(Graham draws back a curtain to reveal banks of screens.)
GRAHAM: Wow! This is some set-up. Paranoid, are we?
O: No. I prefer cautious. I like to know if anything's watching me. And if you're already in the middle of all of this, how do you know they won't follow you here? How do you know you haven't become targets too?
[Barton's office]
(Ryan is unpacking the camera.)
BARTON: I have to be honest with you. You only got in cos you're Brits, and my mum reads your paper. She's old. Still into legacy media.
YASMIN: We know you're busy, so Logan will take a few photos while we chat. (she activates the DNA scanner) Okay if I record? (beep) Right, then. Good to go?
BARTON: (tapping on phone) Just searching you up. Check you are who you say you are. (he finds their names on the staff list) Fire away, then.
YASMIN: Boy from Bromsgrove. Council estate, local comprehensive. Now with his own collection of planes and motorbikes. And a private airport.
(Ryan gets the camera set up and takes one shot before removing the lens cover and taking some more.)
BARTON: We couldn't afford to go abroad when I was a kid. Now flying's one of my big hobbies. I've even got my own passenger plane. I fly my mates around the world and insult them over the intercom during the flight.
YASMIN: I bet that goes down well. So, how did you end up here, then?
BARTON: A combination of inspiring computer science teacher, plus being one of the few non-white faces at my school. I spent a lot of time in my bedroom with my computer. (Ryan's camera takes a scan of Barton's Level 5 security pass and starts duplicating it.) I started small, just trying to build a knowledge base. Trying to connect people with data. And that became the biggest search engine on the planet.
YASMIN: And more. This company is far more than just a search engine now.
BARTON: Sure. But the same principles apply. The more data we share, the better it is for the world.
YASMIN: Unless you count disinformation. Online abuse. Cyber bullying. All of which you've been accused of ignoring. Haven't you?
BARTON: Well, we have three start-ups currently trying to figure out how to combat them. We did something great, and it got hijacked. I get to see both sides of humanity in this job. And do you know what, Sofia? It turns out you can't entirely trust everyone. (Barton's phone buzzes.) Sorry. I've got to cut this short. Something needs my attention.
YASMIN: We were just getting started.
BARTON: You want to know who I am? You want to see my house, meet my friends? Cos it's my birthday tomorrow. I'm having a party. Everyone who knows me will be there. Come along, as my apology for running out on you.
(Barton leaves.)
RYAN: I've managed to duplicate his access pass. If we find a place to hide and do some snooping around whilst everyone knocks off... Hey. Why are you looking all weird?
YASMIN: DNA profile. Only ninety three percent human. What's the other seven percent? Who is this guy?
[Outside the homestead]
BROWNING: This place, it's open and flat and empty the whole way round. So why does it feel like there are things moving out there?
(Something dark whizzes across the screen. External lights come on and security cameras start moving.)
[Homestead]
O: What just happened? Two movement sensors tripped.
[Outside the homestead]
(More security lights come on.)
BROWNING: What's doing that?
[Homestead]
O: What have you brought here, Doctor?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Let's take a look outside.
GRAHAM: Looking outside was actually quite low on my list. But when does she ever listen to me?
[Outside the homestead]
(A dingo howls.)
SEESAY: Please, all of you, back inside! (The Doctor waves her sonic around.)
DOCTOR: No readings.
GRAHAM: You didn't get any readings off that thing in the Tardis either.
DOCTOR: Exactly. There's something. It's like I can sense them.
O: I know what you mean.
DOCTOR: They're out there, hiding. Tripping the sensors to let us know that they're here. It's like they're watching us.
O: Like animals stalking their prey. Sorry, that wasn't helpful.
SEESAY: From what I understand, we were sent here cos you're one of the few people that can stop the attacks on our colleagues. So please, go inside, figure it out, and let us do the job we came for.
GRAHAM: Doc, come on.
SEESAY: I'll take round the back. Stay on comms. [OC]: Circling around eastwards.
BROWNING: Understood.
(A nearby security light goes out. Another comes on. And off. And on.)
SEESAY: See those lights going on and off?
BROWNING [OC]: It's where I am, but it's not me.
(The lights go off, then suddenly a bright humanoid figure appears. She fires at it and it vanishes, then reappears closer.)
[Homestead]
(The shots are heard inside.)
DOCTOR: Browning!
(She runs outside.)
[Outside the homestead]
BROWNING: Stay back!
SEESAY: Run! (More bright figures appear.) Oh, my God! What are they?
(They leap upon Seesay and Browning.)
DOCTOR: Get away from them!
O: We can't fight them out here, Doctor. Strategic retreat.
DOCTOR: Fine.
[Homestead]
(Alarms going off.)
DOCTOR: No signals off any of them. They've just obliterated those bodies. What can they be?
O: Looks like they're moving.
GRAHAM: They're surrounding the building, look.
O: That's what we want.
DOCTOR: Do we?
O: Yeah. Just a little closer.
(Screen says Fence Activated. The glowing figures approach, he hits a button and a honeycomb barrier lights up and zaps them. All but one disappear.)
GRAHAM: Did you kill 'em?
DOCTOR: More like they retreated.
GRAHAM: How did you know that would work?
O: I didn't. Gambled.
DOCTOR: Some kit you've got here.
O: I've had a few years to rig it out. Just in case.
GRAHAM: No, no, look. There's one still outside.
(It walks up to the door.)
O: Plan B. I've got a plan B. It's in the blueprints, Doctor. Just under the folder. I rigged it in case anything got past the first line of defence. (She rummages on the desk.)
GRAHAM: It's coming through the wall! How can it do that? (A filing cabinet is in its way.)
DOCTOR: Well, physical boundaries don't stop it, but it's still not used to this planet, or maybe even this reality. (The being is fully inside now.) Spring-loaded?
O: Yep.
GRAHAM: What are you talking about? (The Doctor aims her sonic at the ceiling and a containment tank drops down over the being.) Oh, you could have warned me about that!
DOCTOR: Re-route the charge. We've got to keep it in there. A bit quicker!
O: Yes! Doing my best.
GRAHAM: That thing can't hold it.
O: Is he just here for the running commentary?
(Agent O hits enter on his keyboard. Energy re-routed. The being inside the tank is belted with energy from all sides.)
O: It worked! It actually... it actually worked.
DOCTOR: Who are you? What are you doing to the people on this planet? Why are you changing their DNA? And why spies? Why are you only attacking spies? What are you, exactly, except for reluctant to talk?
O: I'm thinking one more blast.
DOCTOR: How many are you, in your race or species or whatever you are? Where are you from?
KASAAVIN: Far beyond.
DOCTOR: So you can communicate, then. Beyond where?
KASAAVIN: Your understanding. (laughs)
GRAHAM: I think it's laughing at you, Doc.
DOCTOR: Yes, I got that. Is this your native form, wherever it is you're from? Is this what you look like at home?
KASAAVIN: We take this form to mock you. Your shape amuses us.
DOCTOR: Very funny.
KASAAVIN: We are stable now. We are ready.
DOCTOR: What does that mean, stable? Ready for what?
KASAAVIN: To take this.
DOCTOR: To take this what? Hut? Country? Planet?
KASAAVIN: Universe.
[VOR HQ]
RYAN: Data from Barton's pass says he left the building hours ago. Everyone must have gone by now. Let's have a look. (Yasmin uses a gizmo on the CCTV cameras to make themselves vanish, then they use the cloned pass on Barton's office door.) We're in.
[Barton's office]
YASMIN: Right. Got to be quick. If the Doctor's right, that should download every piece of data his computer has ever had access to. Have you seen this?
RYAN: What? That thing in the case over there? Yeah, a bit creepy.
(A silver humanoid figure.)
YASMIN: No. All these cameras. He's got screens monitoring half the building.
RYAN: Control freak, innit? How long do you reckon the thing's going to take?
YASMIN: Let's see. (Barton enters the building and heads upstairs. Ryan looks out of the office door.) Still clear?
RYAN: Yep, all good.
YASMIN: You know my sister's still proper cross I haven't given her your phone number.
RYAN: Why haven't you?
YASMIN: Ryan, you're my mate. I don't want you snogging my sister.
RYAN: She's all right, your sister.
YASMIN: Can you not, please?
RYAN: Just give me her number, Yaz.
YASMIN: Shut up.
RYAN: I could be your brother-in-law. I'd be a good brother-in-law. (The cloned pass beeps and lights up with Original Pass Utilised.) Barton's back in the building. His pass just got access. He's coming this way!
YASMIN: I'm not done! How close is he?
(Ryan peeks outside and sees Barton approaching.)
RYAN: Quick, Yaz! He's coming. Get off the computer.
(Download at 95 percent. 96. Barton enters.)
BARTON: Bag, bag, bag. There is it. (Yasmin and Ryan are hiding behind a sofa.) I know you're here. Show yourselves.
(The lights flicker and two bright beings appear.)
KASAAVIN: There have been... obstacles.
BARTON: I told you to be discreet.
KASAAVIN: We must remove them all immediately.
BARTON: No.
(The beings come very close to him.)
KASAAVIN: The project must continue as planned. We must defend.
(They vanish. He breathes deeply then notices his computer screen is live. He turns it off, picks up his satchel and leaves.)
YASMIN: He knows what they are.
RYAN: Come on, out.
YASMIN: No. Let's see what else is here.
RYAN: No. No. (One of the beings emerges from the desk.) Yaz!
KASAAVIN: Obstacle!
(It leaps on Yasmin, who screams.)
RYAN: Yaz. What have you done with her? Get her back here right now! Where is she?
KASAAVIN: She is gone.
RYAN: I'm sorry, Yaz.
(He runs away.)
[Alien realm]
(Surrounded by what could be giant kelp stalks if she was underwater and not in a strangely lit place.)
YASMIN: Okay, PC Khan. Nothing to worry about. (She moves slowly between the stalks.) Hello? Anyone here? Ryan?
[Homestead]
DOCTOR: Interesting. That glow's increasing. Life getting more intense?
O: It's fighting back.
DOCTOR: Or something going on.
[Outside VOR HQ]
(Bright figures start to appear on the outside of the building.)
[Alien realm]
(Worms of light travel down the stalks.)
YASMIN: No. Stay away from me!
[Outside VOR HQ]
RYAN: What's happening? (The figures are flickering on and off.)
[Homestead]
O: This isn't good, Doctor. It's trying to overload my systems. (He gets an electric shock.) It's like it's taken a suicide pill.
[Alien realm]
YASMIN: No. (She vanishes into a bright light.)
[Homestead]
(And appears in the containment tank.)
DOCTOR: Yaz. Turn the power off in there.
O: It's already blown out.
DOCTOR: Yaz! How are you even here?
(The Doctor's phone rings.)
[Outside VOR HQ]
RYAN: Doctor, you've got to help! I've lost Yaz!
[Homestead]
DOCTOR: Yaz? I've got her. We're coming for you now.
[Outside the homestead]
(Later, daytime, Yasmin is sitting on the verandah. Ryan comes out of the building and sits beside her.)
RYAN: You okay? (nod) You get any sleep? (shake) What happened to you?
YASMIN: Don't know. It were just like... nothingness. Nowhere. And I was totally alone. I was so scared. Ryan... I thought I was dead.
RYAN: No, I'm never going to let that happen to you.
(Yasmin wipes away a tear.)
[Homestead]
(The Tardis is now inside the building.)
GRAHAM: You chose to exile yourself here?
O: Yeah. (Puts down a mug of tea.)
GRAHAM: Ta. Thanks. You never get lonely?
O: Yeah. But it's for the best.
GRAHAM: Right.
O: How long have you known the Doctor, Graham?
GRAHAM: Oh, that's a tricky one to answer, that. You see, things never really happen in a straight line with the Doc. How much do you know about her?
O: A bit. Our paths crossed very briefly once, when she was a man.
GRAHAM: When she was a what?
O: Has she never mentioned that?
GRAHAM: I thought she was joking.
O: You got any idea where she's from?
GRAHAM: Well, we've tried to ask, but she just changes the subject, you know.
O: I've got a whole shelf over there all about the Doctor. Everything I could gather. A lot of inconsistencies, but it's very, very interesting. Do you want to have a look?
(The Doctor comes out of the Tardis holding a large glass tankard full of dark liquid.)
DOCTOR: Come on, you two. Everyone out front. Lots to catch up on. I made iced tea. Possibly. (The ice cubes rattle.)
[Outside the homestead]
(With the download gizmo on a laptop on the verandah.)
DOCTOR: Daniel Barton's DNA registers as 93 percent human.
GRAHAM: Which makes him, what, alien?
O: No, it can't be. I've been through Barton's records. There are thousands of photos of him online at all ages. If he's not human, that's one very impressive legend he's put together.
YASMIN: Not impossible, though.
GRAHAM: All right, MI6, help me with something, cos I can't get me nut round it. C told us that Barton's company is more powerful than most countries. That can't be true.
O: Governments these days are full of people who don't understand technology, so countries rely on outsourcing their tech requirements and expertise to private companies, that transcend national boundaries. Companies like VOR. VOR seeps into every corner of modern technology. We're talking leisure, commercial, military. It leads the way on face-tagging, biodata, robotics. And then, there's all the military systems across the globe which rely on servers operated by VOR.
RYAN: So, do we think Barton's behind the assassination of C? And the attacking of us in the car? And is in league with these aliens?
DOCTOR: What did he say to those creatures in his office?
YASMIN: That they should have been discreet.
DOCTOR: So it was like he was in control of them?
YASMIN: I couldn't work out who's in charge of who.
(The laptop beeps.)
DOCTOR: Ah, found something. I've been searching through all the data you took from Barton for any codes or languages not of this planet, and it's found something. In the furthest corner of the smallest system of the most obscure company in Barton's empire - alien code. Just decrypting. Running about 90 billion possible languages. Ah. Nothing. That can't be right. I've checked it against every known language in the universe and there's no match. Ah, wait! I keep the Tardis systems open for new languages, even on the fringes of the known universe. If I can synch that. Bingo! Right, need a dark wall. Come on.
[Homestead]
(A wavy image is being projected against a curtain.)
RYAN: What is that?
DOCTOR: I'm not sure. A single image encrypted in alien code. Trying to decode. One image, though.
YASMIN: Steganography. Like what he sent you. A picture of a fish.
GRAHAM: I can't see a pattern at all, Doc.
DOCTOR: Decoding takes a moment.
(She sonics the laptop and the movement resolves into solid dots that look like Ursa Major.)
RYAN: What's that? Join the dots?
DOCTOR: I think it's coordinates.
YASMIN: Coordinates for what?
(Another sonic and multiple lines join the dots. Now the image is recognisable.)
DOCTOR: Locations for those creatures across planet Earth. (more dots appear) Oh. That's more than just a few.
YASMIN: There's hundreds of 'em.
GRAHAM: We can't deal with all those.
RYAN: What are they doing here anyway?
DOCTOR: It's all in the patterns. Steganography, encrypted code, attacks on intelligence agents. It's all spycraft. They're alien spies embedded here on Earth!
O: No, no, that's not possible.
RYAN: Spies from where?
DOCTOR: I don't know. I don't recognise them. I don't recognise the language, or why they're attacking people. Or what happened to you.
GRAHAM: The image is still changing, Doc.
DOCTOR: More layers still being decrypted.
(The image replicates to ten Earths.)
DOCTOR: Oh. Why's it doing that? I don't understand. Multiple Earths? What does that even mean?
O: Okay, okay. If you really think they're spies, we should be asking who's the spymaster? Who's running the alien spies? Because that's the person who holds the answers.
GRAHAM: That's got to be Daniel Barton, right?
YASMIN: C said they thought Barton was a double or triple agent.
DOCTOR: We need to pay Barton a visit.
RYAN: Good thing he's having a party, then. We got invites.
DOCTOR: Yes! Nice work, you two.
GRAHAM: Got invites for us all, have you?
DOCTOR: I'm sure I can hack a guest list. What do you reckon, O? Fancy a trip in the box?
O: I really, really would.
(The Doctor opens the Tardis door.)
DOCTOR: Be my guest.
[Tardis]
O: Shut up!
[Homestead]
O: Ridiculous.
DOCTOR: Somewhere in the lower substrata, there's a wardrobe hall. I think it's the first right after the karaoke buses.
GRAHAM: What do we need a wardrobe for?
[Vallis Estate]
(The Tardis is parked in the vineyard next to the main gates. Doctor is still wearing her half-mast trousers and ridiculous boots, but she and the men are in dinner jackets, white shirt and bow ties. Yasmin has chosen a tastefully understated trouser suit with sequinned jacket.)
DOCTOR: Shall we?
(Cue Bond-style music as they walk up to the check-in by the main doors.)
DOCTOR: The name's Doctor. The Doctor. We're on the list.
RECEPTIONIST: Welcome. Go right on in.
SECURITY: Five more coming in.
[Villa]
O: Is this a bad time to mention I've never really done undercover work?
GRAHAM: You said you worked for MI6.
O: As an analyst. In the office.
DOCTOR: It's a party. We're guests. Blend in. And keep an eye out for Daniel Barton.
(Barton is standing on the mezzanine gallery with his PA, overlooking the roulette table. They are watching security film from his office.)
YASMIN [OC]: That should download every piece of data his computer has ever had access to.
BARTON: Thanks, Anya.
(At the roulette wheel.)
RYAN: Red seven. Put it on red seven. Lucky number seven.
GRAHAM: What, all of it?
CROUPIER: No more bets.
GRAHAM: You'd better be right. Seven. (The ball falls.)
GRAHAM: Yes! Yes!
CROUPIER: Seven.
RYAN: Get in! Get in! I'm rich! Good evening, ladies.
GRAHAM: That's my grandson. Seven! Get in!
(Meanwhile, at the blackjack table.)
DOCTOR: Card. Card. Card. (she now has 6 in her hand) Snap! (Everyone laughs.) Is that not the game?
(While Yasmin blows on the dice and rolls. People cheer.)
YASMIN: What, did we win?
O: No.
YASMIN: Didn't know what I was doing anyway.
O: You know what they say - lucky at dice, unlucky in love.
YASMIN: Do they say that?
O: No.
(Barton enters and walks past Yasmin. The Doctor comes over.)
DOCTOR: Time for a chat.
[Outside the villa]
DOCTOR: Nice party. Nice house.
BARTON: Daniel. Don't think we've been introduced.
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor. I'm a plus-one. So, did you assassinate the head of MI6 yourself, or just order it?
BARTON: I think you're at the wrong party. Casino theme, not whodunnit.
DOCTOR: Why is there an alien code embedded at the edge of your company's systems? We both know you're in league with a race of alien creatures.
BARTON: Think you'd better get your medication checked, Doctor, or maybe some psychiatric help, because I don't know who you are or what you're talking about.
DOCTOR: How long have they been here? Where are they from? Who recruited whom? Are you running them, or are they running you? Why is your DNA 7 percent non-human?
BARTON: You're properly unhinged.
DOCTOR: No. I'm onto you, and I'm going to stop you.
BARTON: I'm going to walk away now and you're going to stay away from me for the rest of both our lives, either voluntarily or because of my security people. Understand?
DOCTOR: I'm really hard to get rid of, Mister Barton.
BARTON: Are you? (Barton leaves.)
DOCTOR: Barton's heading your way, gang. Keep an eye on him. Don't let him out of your sight.
[Villa]
DOCTOR: None of you saw him come back in? He must be here somewhere.
YASMIN: There he is. (Getting into a blue Bentley.)
DOCTOR: Oh, no, you don't!
[Outside the villa]
GRAHAM: He's off!
RYAN: I mean, who leaves their own birthday party? He's definitely guilty. So what do we do now?
DOCTOR: Remember our trip to the Great Kalisperon Bike-Off?
(So they steal three motorcycles with handy helmets - Doctor in the lead, Graham with Ryan on pillion, O holding on to Yasmin.)
[Track through vineyard]
DRIVER: Sir, it seems we have three of your motorcycles following us.
BARTON: What exactly do I pay you for?
(The driver accellerates along the dirt track.)
RYAN: Go, go, go, go!
GRAHAM: I'm going! I'm going!
(Barton has a hand gun and starts shooting at them.)
RYAN: Hey! He's shooting at us!
GRAHAM: Yes, I got that!
(The bikers go between the rows of vines. Bullets bounce of the chromed bits.)
YASMIN: Oh!
O: Is this what it's like being with the Doctor?
RYAN: Argh!
YASMIN: Mate, this is one of the quiet days! Argh!
[Airfield]
(The Bentley drives into a VOR hangar as a aeroplane flies over to land.)
YASMIN: What now?
[Hangar]
(The Doctor sonics the hangar door open.)
BARTON: Is she ready to go?
MAN: All secure, Mister Barton.
RYAN: How many planes does one guy need?
DOCTOR: There he is.
RYAN: That's one big plane.
YASMIN: Where's he going in that?
DOCTOR: I don't know, but we can't let him get away.
GRAHAM: How? It's not as if we're gonna just jump on a plane with him, is it? Oh, come on.
[Aeroplane]
(Barton is his own pilot.)
BARTON: Lonsdale tower, Barton one-niner, request clearance.
(The Doctor sonics open the cargo hatch as he starts to taxi.)
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Cleared to Hawkston radar vectors to Skaggs Island, then as filed. Squawk 4634. (There's an Alert on his panel.)
DOCTOR: She's in! Fix alert sensors.
(The alert goes off, Yasmin reaches the ramp.)
YASMIN: Argh!
DOCTOR: I've got you, Yaz.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Barton one-niner, climb 3,000 feet, maintain runway heading, clear for takeoff. Runway zero one.
BARTON: Clear for takeoff. Runway zero one. Maintain runway heading. Climb 3,000 feet, Barton one-niner.
(His phone is ringing. Caller ID says Private Number.)
MAN: Hey, where are you going?
(Graham and Ryan are on board, just O to go.)
GRAHAM: Come on, son!
DOCTOR: I need to close the door!
(O makes it with a last big effort.)
O: Sorry. I've never been good at sprinting.
DOCTOR: What?
RYAN: Come on, Doctor. We're about to take off.
DOCTOR: In the main cabin! (She sonicks the cargo hatch closed and they make their way between the rows of seats.) Here.
YASMIN: What are we actually going to do?
DOCTOR: Sit tight. See where he's going. Never been good at sprinting?
O: I was the last one in every race at school.
DOCTOR: No, no, no. I read your file. You were a champion sprinter.
O: Mmm. Got me. Well done.
GRAHAM: What's going on, Doc?
DOCTOR: I don't know.
O: You'd best take a look out of the window.
(The homestead is flying through the air.)
GRAHAM: How's your house out there?
O: Bit Wicked Witch of the West, but you get the gist. Maybe. Maybe not.
DOCTOR: No.
O: Oh, come on, Doctor, catch up. You can do it. Come on.
DOCTOR: Oh!
O: That's...that's my name, and that is why I chose it. Oh, so satisfying. Doctor, I did say look for the spymaster. Or should I say spy... Master? Hi.
DOCTOR: You can't be.
MASTER: Oh, I can be. I very much am.
RYAN: So what's going on, then? He's not really O?
MASTER: I'm her best enemy. Call me Master.
GRAHAM: Call you what?
RYAN: Master?
MASTER: Me and her, we go way, way, way back.
DOCTOR: I met O.
MASTER: I know.
DOCTOR: Years ago.
MASTER: I know! (laughs)
RYAN: But there was an O at MI6. C was talking about him.
MASTER: Yeah. A man very close to my heart. Well, in my pocket, actually. Do you want to see him? It's always good to keep a backup of one's work. Tissue compression, it's a classic. Oh. (He slowly pushes open a matchbox to reveal a tiny figure. That's a lot smaller than they used to be.) Ambushed him on his way to work for his first day. Shrunk him, took his identity and set myself up in MI6. Surprisingly good staff canteen. (He throws the matchbox away.) I have had a lot of fun.
DOCTOR: I need to warn Barton! (she runs into the cockpit) He's not here! (and out again) Where's Barton? What have you done to him?
MASTER: Barton!
GRAHAM: Who's flying the plane?
MASTER: Wrong question. Check the seat. (A timer counts down from 1.00 to 0.59) Cockpit bomb. Short fuse. I can relate to that! (The Doctor tries to sonic the bomb.) Now, do you really think that I would not make that sonic-proof, Doctor? Come on! Deadlock sealed. And I made sure - no parachutes on board.
DOCTOR: There must be a way! Ah. Okay, okay.
YASMIN: But where's Barton? We saw him coming in.
MASTER: Called away before takeoff. By me! Stick with me, Yaz, cos I control... everything. Even these guys. (He whistles and clicks his fingers. Two light aliens appear.) Yes!
(The timer on the bomb is down to 0.08)
DOCTOR: I can't do it! Get away!
(She shuts the cockpit door just as the bomb explodes and knocks her out, decompressing the cabin.)
MASTER: Yah! One last thing. Something you should know in the seconds before you die. Everything that you think you know... is a lie. Got you, finally.
(He vanishes. The light creatures rush the Doctor and she disappears as Graham, Yasmin and Ryan hang onto seats and scream as the aeroplane goes down.)
[Alien realm]
DOCTOR: No. No, no, no, no, no.
Dedicated to the memory of the Masterful Terrance Dicks
