CAST LIST

SYNOPSIS

A jeep travels across a rocky desert landscape. Inside what at first appears to be a cave, but what in actuality is a tomb, a man and a woman are escorted in at gunpoint to face a General. Asking what civilians are doing in a War Zone, the General uncovers a gold dagger, inquiring whether this is what the pair have come for. The pair are father and daughter, and Cassandra turns to Dr Neumann for confirmation that the piece is Bactrian Gold… General Maliq enquires whether the pair knows their fate: Cassandra believes it is to do business, and she produces a sophisticated weapon for a trade. But both parties want more, and Maliq can offer more Bactrian gold behind a heavily sealed tomb door. With a client desperate for Bactrian artifacts Cassandra plays her trump card: bullets tipped with Red Mercury. An arms dealer’s myth and the deadliest of explosives, the General is able to blow the door off the Bactrian Tomb with just one bullet.. With a client who can produce it by the ton, a deal is struck…

Ros is posing as Princess Rosalia to help her friend, Roland Blatty (Head of the Bureau of Weapons Technology) uncover the trade in weapons for ancient treasures that Dr Neumann and his daughter have been trying to sell in exchange for Bactrian Gold artifacts. Listening outside in the Jeep, Beckett and Ed find the whole setup laughable, much to Roland’s annoyance. However, the humour is short-lived as a piece of Bactrian Gold jewellery Ros is using as bait is recognised by Neumann as a museum piece. With her cover blown Roland sends in his people, with Ed and Beckett close behind…Security manages to alert Neumann and Cassandra to the Raid, allowing her to escape. Neumann remains to secure the Building’s vault, but not before he gives away to Ros that Blatty’s "weapon" is explosive in nature. Reaching the vault (which is stuffed with Red Mercury) he manages to set a Total Destruction Sequence, which will vapourise the entire content of the Vault in four minutes unless the building is immediately evacuated. Forced to retreat, the team is in an impossible situation. Unable to open the vault without restarting the countdown, and unable to determine whether the contents of the safe are as deadly as Neumann says they are without opening the vault, Ed alludes their situation to the puzzle of Schrodinger’s Cat. Philosophy or not, Neumann is the only one capable of opening the vault, and refuses to do so…so the onus is on the team to find a way in.

Meanwhile, in cell 1187-463 Jean-Daniel is having fun with a home made video camera and two television screens…as the Governor arrives, in a state of nervousness. A hostile takeover has sent the prison into new hands and the new owners are about to visit. The Governor is keen to get Jean-Daniel looking the Model Prisoner when they arrive…which he promises he will do, as Neumann is bought past his cell… Back at Gizmos, Beckett asks Ros about the possibility of getting into the vault: she is impressed with the "perfect dilemma" that Neumann has created, the only way to prove his claims being to open the vault, promptly destroying the evidence. Explaining the concept of Schrodinger’s Cat to a rather bemused Beckett, Ros explains the situation is a 50/50-probability outcome. Beckett is out of his depth, so seizes on the dagger recovered from the raid, inlaid into which is Niobium 5, an extremely rare isotope which is regarded as the "Holy Grail" of low-temperature superconductors, and commercially impossible to manufacture…

Ed arrives with Roland, who brings them information on General Maliq’s political situation. Trapped in the desert region with 5 other factions, all more powerful than him, his quest for a weapon to gain superiority becomes clear. In the country with a cover story of lecturing at his old military college, it becomes apparent he has arrived to pick up the weapon from Neumann to settle the score at home and eliminate his opposition. Blatty asks about Cassandra: Ed has a fix on her car… Jean-Daniel has finished his "tinkering" and calls over his guard to show her his handiwork. Using the camera and the TV screens, he "walks into" and seems to disappear into the two sets and out of his cell: the guard radios for help, but is ignored. The Governor is receiving his guest, part of the takeover team…Cassandra. Entering Jean-Daniel’s cell, the guard is speedily dealt with…as Cassandra takes the Master Key Codes and gets the Governor to explain their usage. Keen to meet the new owner The Governor doesn’t have to wait long: Jean-Daniel arrives with the dead guard on his shoulder and Neumann in tow…

Ed and Beckett find Cassandra’s car, and discover it has a lead-lined cavity. Seizing the opportunity to wind up Ed when he questions the mechanics of the particle scanner he is using, Beckett tells him it works on the theory of Einstein’s Dog…the joke is short lived as Beckett discovers residual radioactivity mixed with a mercury compound… In the prison, the Governor is tied to a chair whilst Jean-Daniel executes his escape with Neumann and Cassandra in tow, who steals the Governor’s electric shaver. Ros and Blatty tail Maliq, and Beckett contacts he to inform her of his findings. Mentioning Mercury to her, Ros thinks automatically of Red Mercury as the explosive…mixed with the radioactive element a bomb could be built with massive destructive capabilities but which would cause little or no physical damage. Too busy concentrating on Beckett’s conversation, Ros fails to notice the van behind her until it rams her. Maliq’s men place the pair in the back of a van, which drives to a deserted arena… where Ros comes face to face with Jean-Daniel.

Neumann and Cassandra take the van and it’s hostages back to the vault, where Ros and Blatty accompany Neumann and Jean-Daniel inside. Ed and Beckett arrive outside the vault, and Cassandra tries to kill them with the sophisticated gun sold to Maliq. Beckett manages to blind Cassandra using her own laser sights and the rear view mirror of his wrecked Jeep. Inside the Vault, time is running out: Neumann has the code ready, but has to shave his head to use it, as the bar code is tattooed on his scalp! As the vault finally opens, Blatty sees a myth made real in the form of masses of Red Mercury., which is escorted out of the vault and past a stunned Ed and Beckett. Using Ros as a hostage he is able to leave, as Ros tells her friends that Blatty is tied to a mine in the vault below, and that it’s ticking. As the pair are forced to help him Ros is led back to the van, where a still blinded Cassandra is waiting. Jean-Daniel has left them a surprise however and the three only manage to escape a massive explosion by seconds. With the advantage of Jean-Daniel believing them dead, Blatty tells the pair about Jean-Daniel’s plan to put to sea with the red mercury…

Cassandra’s driving is suffering as a result of Beckett’s actions: Jean-Daniel suggests swapping places with her. Neumann thinks that Jean-Daniel is about to kill his daughter and offers to do the deed himself: instead, Jean-Daniel kills him and tells Cassandra to wait for his instructions. Beckett is with Blatty at the docks: Ed is in a chopper, and spots the boat on which Maliq is to transport the Red Mercury to his country. Ros is being escorted aboard, and learns from Maliq that the ship’s main cargo is deadly chemical waste. By hiding the Red Mercury in a cargo filled with Dioxin Maliq avoids any searches by the Port Authorities, thanks to a carefully placed bribe. Ros is convinced she will be rescued, but Jean-Daniel gleefully informs her that both Ed and Beckett, along with Blatty are "dead". Ed meanwhile is making his entry onto the boat…moments after Blatty tells Beckett he’s to do nothing until Bureau of Weapons personnel are in place. Ros discovers from Jean-Daniel why she has been kept alive: to build Maliq his Red Mercury Bomb…needless to say, she won’t co-operate. Handcuffed to the steering wheel of the van she has little choice… as Roland’s men move into place, Jean-Daniel demands his payment from Maliq. He is mortified when the gold Maliq presents him is devoid of any Niobium 5: Maliq considered the grey material "inferior" and left it in the Tomb.

By now both Beckett and Ed are on board, but Blatty insists on taking control, but his "diplomacy" only results in him almost being shot. Taking the initiative Beckett talks to Maliq, who reveals his plan: he will detonate the Red Mercury inside the boat, thus contaminating half the city with Dioxin… Happy to die with his crew, Maliq refuses to let Ros go, and insists on being let out to sea. Jean-Daniel angrily confronts Maliq and demands his alloy: leaving, Maliq gives the order to "dispose" of the Frenchman as a liability, but it will take more than a gunman to dispose of him. Ed finally gets to Ros, a moment before Maliq arrives, and tells Ros to convince Blatty that his threat is a real one. With 90 seconds before Maliq fires a shell into the Red Mercury, she urges Ed to help start the van she is handcuffed to. Jean-Daniel has disguised himself as one of Maliq’s soldiers, as Ed and Ros make a getaway in the van. Narrowly avoiding a shot from Maliq’s Red Mercury-tipped weapon, they fail to escape in time to avoid a grenade being lobbed in the back of the van. Arriving with a circular saw, Beckett cuts Ros free from the steering column, and still attached to the steering wheel she manages to escape with her colleagues seconds before the van explodes… The last thing Maliq sees is the explosion, as Jean-Daniel shoots him from behind.

Back at Gizmos, Beckett tries to hacksaw Ros out of her handcuffs. Realising it was the Niobium 5 Jean-Daniel was after, Ed wonders how long it will be before he gets his hands on some. Beckett is more concerned however with the intricacies of Schrodinger’s Cat: Ed "lies" about his interpretation to wind up Beckett, who decides that Ros’ steering wheel makes a lovely charm bracelet…Meanwhile, Jean-Daniel has found the tomb of the Bactrian Prince…