CAST LIST

SYNOPSIS

Beckett is on his hands and knees in a morning suit checking between pews in a deserted church, whilst outside a disgruntled Ed is complaining about the need to wear considerably smarter than usual attire. As Jan points out to Ed, the bridegroom (Mark Schuman) is a City whizzkid, whilst the bride (Julia Fairchild) is the daughter of a government Minister: certainly an event worth dressing for. And the security is called for too, with Julia’s father hardly the most popular of Government ministers at present. Beckett however seems more concerned with Ros’ absence and her offer of a job from Channing: wondering if she’s staying away so she can avoid the chance of catching the bride’s bouquet… The wedding itself goes without a hitch and Sir Anthony Fairchild congratulates Jan afterwards for the protection, whilst Beckett quite inadvertently discovers that not only is Jan Julia’s godmother, but that Jan’s real name is Barbara (a fact he is told not to remember!) Whilst Julia has her photo taken next to the church a lone vehicle pulls up and a man gets out. Moments later he has thrown a flash grenade which causes immediate chaos and allows the photographer to grab Julia and bundle her into the waiting vehicle. Setting off in pursuit Ed grabs the first vehicle he can find (the wedding car!) but loses the kidnappers as soon as they go off-road…

Arriving back at the Bureau there is already a digitised e-mail message from the kidnappers, showing a frightened Julia being held by two criminals claiming to be the Nature First Movement. The group want a halt called to the National Water Grid scheme (which intends to eliminate water shortages by pumping water from areas with plenty to those areas that need it most) and Mark urges his new father in law to call a halt to the scheme. However with two weeks to go until the Grid comes on line Fairchild has his duties both as a minister and as a father to consider. Refusing to give into terrorism of any kind he puts his faith in Beckett’s team and a program of Ros’ which can trace an e-mail message to it’s source. Meanwhile Ms Henderson has arrived at Channing’s to greet him as he returns from a trip to the States. He brings with him a Baseball mascot; a game he hopes Ros will embrace when they move there together. However, Ros is still not convinced…and Jan is annoyed that when she is needed most Ros is not in the office. She tells Beckett that she can’t afford to lose Ros’ talents, something Beckett quietly agrees with. Alex traces the e-mail message and as Ros ‘phones, in Beckett tells Ed to give her the address where they should all meet. They rendezvous outside a building mysteriously named "Battle for the Planet": inside it becomes clear that they are at a Leisure Centre and the sounds of gunfire heard by the team are kids playing a laser tag game. The Centre also has a Cyber Café, where the original kidnap message was sent: the owner however has no idea who used the terminal to send the message. Ed suggests using the many CCTV cameras dotted around the area it should be possible to isolate the kidnappers, and he is able to identify the two likely suspects and their transport for Ros to enhance and cross-reference with the Bureau’s files. As she does this a concerned Alex admits it would be terrible for her if Ros left the Bureau, something Ros seems not to want to talk about. The enhanced pictures yield two positive identifications: John Donaldson and Martin Sugar: however as Alex astutely points out neither of the two have any environmental affiliations. Both seem just like regular criminals…

Ed has been able to narrow down the area the kidnappers were heading for, using the CCTV footage, and the farmland they suspect the pair to be hiding in will not take long to search. Alex waits for Beckett, whilst Ed and Ros go to look for the kidnappers. Beckett meanwhile is telling Mark and Fairchild that the two men have been identified, and that he is heading out to join his team. Fairchild is happy, but Mark seems less than relieved, and annoyed that Beckett won’t allow him to accompany the team to find his wife… Inside the kidnappers hideout Ed and Ros try to find a way in: once inside they use a fibre optic cable to establish a picture from the room above them. Donaldson and Sugar are getting impatient for heir money: Beckett calls in and tells his friends that he and Alex will be with them in a matter of minutes. Ed goes to check on the kidnappers exit routes leaving Ros alone inside, who hears through her cable a phone call: immediately after the call the pair grab Julia and prepare to leave. Ros gets out seconds before the kidnappers, but is spotted by Sugar and promptly shot. Ed rushes to her aid, but she insists he go and stop Sugar and Donaldson, which he fails to do thanks to Donaldson’s intervention with an iron bar. Beckett arrives seconds later, as Sugar leaves a parting gift of a grenade…

Back at the Bureau Schuman is angry with Beckett’s and Ed’s ineptitude: the kidnappers meanwhile have reduced their timescale for the shutdown of the National Water Grid. Fairchild wonders who could have tipped off the kidnappers, wondering if it could be anyone else in the Government. Both Beckett and Ed suspect that environmental issues really have nothing to do with it, and there is a far simpler explanation: someone is set to loose a lot of money from the National Water Grid going on line. Beckett sends Alex and Ed to search for such a person or company…at the Water Regulatory Organisation Alex finds a possible suspect in Curtis Drilling, a company which stands to lose millions if the Water Grid scheme goes ahead. Being responsible for most of the deep bore holes drilled to extract tap water for the South East, the Grid would shut them down overnight, a fact not lost on Hayes, the company’s Director. However the chairman does not feel his Directors pessimism, and seems curiously optimistic that the Company will survive. Asking the whereabouts of the wayward Mr. Curtis, Hayes is unwilling to give Ed any contact details, and outside he tells Alex the chairman hardly ever comes into his own offices. This gives Alex an idea…

Channing is making sure Ros is given only the best of medical care as she recovers from her flesh wound, and is mortified that she is not taking better care of herself. Concerned she may lose her chance to contribute all of her worth Channing urges her to stop her Bureau work and to move to somewhere safer…like California, which Beckett suggest as he enters is no more unsafe than where Ros now finds herself. Cheerful and oblivious to Channing’s plans, Beckett asks Ros’ partner to leave them so Beckett can discuss crucial Bureau business with his colleague. Alex has put her plan into effect: storming into Hayes’ office she tells the stunned Director she is with the Treasury, and she knows about Curtis and Julia. She then urges Hayes to call Curtis and get him to pick up and envelope as soon as possible. Back in the off-roader Alex informs Ed that Hayes was ‘phoning Curtis as she left and his arrival is imminent…but as she had to use the magazine Ed was about to read as they waited to fill Curtis’ envelope, he’ll have to find something else to do while they wait. Beckett meanwhile is stalling for time with Ros, claiming that his visit is to check whether she will require compensation for her injuries. However the truth behind his visit soon becomes clear: with tears in his eyes he tells an increasingly emotional Ros that going to the States is the right choice for her to make, as he knows it’s her work that she cares for the most. Shocked and stunned by Beckett’s outburst, Ros begins to think about how important her friends and the Bureau really are… Alex and Ed are still waiting for Curtis, and Alex’s sewing abilities are not impressing Ed at all. A car pulls up, and Mark gets out: it’s only when he returns with the package that Ed realises that Mark is Curtis. Trying to stop him proves fruitless, and as the young man gets away Alex makes sure there’s a tracker on his car. Ros can’t believe Mark would kidnap his own wife to make money, and is halfway out of bed before a twinge of pain reminds her why she’s in hospital. Channing returns and forces Ros back to bed, and Beckett unhappily leave swithout her.

Alex and Ed have located Mark’s car outside an anonymous office block, and Alex’ movement sensor detects activity on the top floor. Ed takes his normal unconventional route to the top via the building’s external structure, whilst inside the building Mark is rethinking his plans with Sugar and Donaldson. He decides they can still sabotage the Water Grid, and tells the pair to prepare his wife to travel, with a blindfold. Ed manages to locate Julia, and is attempting to escape with her when she comes face to face with her husband. Believing he too has been kidnapped it takes a fair bit of convincing from Ed for her to realise she has just been used as a pawn in her husband’s game. Alex tries to stop the group’s their exit from the building but fails, and it is only by some fancy acrobatics that the young woman is able to save herself from a nasty fall…

Mark sends his final e-mail message: he now wants ten million or not only will he destroy the Water Grid but he will also kill Julia. Watching the mail from the Bureau Jan asks Fairchild where the best place would be to attack the Grid. He in turn suggests the Central Intake Station: not yet on-line and fully automated, its destruction would shut down the whole Grid… Mark is already at the Pumping Station, and leaves Donaldson and Sugar in his car. Leading Julia and Ed away, the young man asks Curtis how he knew about the Central Intake Station. Thanks to Julia’s father Curtis gained all the information he needed about the Grid, and was ready to use it to get his compensation. He also had no intention of paying his kidnappers: leaving them in the car was a deliberate move, and for their payment he detonates a car bomb. Ros is listening to Beckett and Alex heading for the Pumping Station: and although Beckett doesn’t say as much, Ros knows he is missing her help. Channing arrives with the tickets for LA and tells Ros to forget the Bureau and to relax. However Ros can’t get her friends out of her mind, and gets out of her hospital bed… Julia is quizzing her husband on how long he had been planning his scheme, and how long he had been using her to get what he wanted. Mark is flippant and abusive, and Julia finally snaps, hitting and temporarily disabling him. The attack gives both her and Ed the chance to get away…Mark is not far behind, and the pair need a place to hide: however their hiding place of choice has no exits. Their mistake is Mark’s gain, as he places a massive bomb above the pair, set to remotely detonate with a two hour timer. Julia can still not believe that her husband wants to kill her…

Ros arrives at the Bureau to the surprise of Jan. However when it becomes clear that Ros is still considering her LA trip Jan’s mood hardens: even more so when Ros calls her Barbara… Staying at the Bureau to monitor the progress of the team as they try to rescue Julia, Jan is less than impressed with Ros’ behaviour… Ed meanwhile is desperately trying to release him and Julia from their prison (part of the pumping equipment) but to no avail. Using Julia’s anger towards Mark in a constructive manner he gets the young woman to break the chains binding his hands, and the pair set about trying to find a way out through one of the sealed valves surrounding the place they are imprisoned. Beckett and Alex arrive and spot Mark, and head off in pursuit, as Ed unsuccessfully tries to open a valve and nearly drowns him and Julia in the process. Beckett and Alex continue their pursuit, as it is Julia’s turn to pick a valve. She finds an empty pipe behind the sealed valve she chooses and the pair make their way down it, as Beckett tries to reason with Mark. Alex meanwhile is trying to sneak up behind him, which has limited success. She is able to knock the detonator from Mark’s hands, but he is able to retrieve it. However the distraction is enough to allow Beckett to swing across and knock out Mark for good, but not before he is able to enable the trigger. Beckett realises he needs Ros’ expert help to stop the explosion… Ed and Julia continue their trek through the pipes of the Plant and realise that a lot of water is heading towards them from behind. Ros is at the same time with Alex and Beckett’s help trying to find a way to disable the remote detonator. With seconds to spare Ed and Julia get to a valve door and are able to close it, but Julia loses her footing and slips down another pipe, with Ed in close pursuit. And with 2 seconds on the detonator Beckett is able to remove the correct chip to disable the device for good. And it isn’t long before the two groups are reunited, as the end of Julia and Ed’s pipe deposits them in the pool next to Beckett and Alex…

Ros sits in Channing’s living room waiting for the taxi to take them to the Airport. Channing has bought her a magazine for the trip, but seems unaware of her reticence. As he prepares to pack her bags into the taxi Ros tells her partner that if she makes the trip he will be disappointed, and so will she. Ros explains she wants more than the intellectual stimulation that Channing gives her: that she needs the passion and uncertainty she has grown used to with her friends. Channing can’t and won’t give her what she really needs, and she sends him away to the taxi alone. Ros sits alone and listens to Channing’s taxi leave, but doesn’t hear Beckett enter. Asking her whether she has made the logical decision as he suggested she should in hospital, Ros admits she has not been logical this time…