01x04 - Punting on the River

[bunniefuu]

We have a visitor in town.
This is a government woman.

I'm looking for
the Stiles family.

No-one of that name around here.

If I were you, I'd get back in your
car and head back to your office.

What did Kumar tell you?

He gave me a USB.

Until I get to the bottom
of this, no-one is safe.

Oh, there's people, dear,
well, you just can't trust.

We, uh... lived in Sydney.

Dover Heights.

I can't go with YOU!
You're the one they want!

My old man claims he caught
a red hand here once.

He's lying.

They're a sea fish.

This is freshwater, but...

..we are... we are
close to the sea.

Mm.

Nice.

Mm.

The strangest-looking fish.

Fins are like hands and they...

..sort of shuffle on the bottom.

All but extinct now,
like 80% of the planet.

Mm.

Mm. Mm-hm-hm. Mm.

The first time I saw it...

..I began to
understand evolution.

The hand came first...

..then the apes.

Get her! Get her off me!

Alright. Alright.
Alright. Get... Get...

Settle down. Get her off me!

Are you sleeping in
the secret garden now?

No.

Have you been poofing again?

No.

Can you tell me a Dad story?

Yeah.

Like Dad's in this, you know,
enormous pantry and he wants food.

Lots of it.

Where have you been?!

Hello, darling.

How was school?

Did you make some friends?

What did you learn?

I learnt Ms Butler is divorced

and makes a snorty
sound when she laughs.

Oh, great. Have you
guys had dinner?

Two biscuits and
some cheese dip.

Yum. So, you're both good then.

Bed.

Uh... I... I have to duck
out just for a moment.

Are you both good to
get yourselves to bed?

You promised me you would
read Anne Of Green Gables.

Oh, not tonight,
sweetheart. I just, uh...

Maybe just one short fairytale.

"A man sets out to marry
a miller's daughter..."

And... duh-duh-duh...
And then it goes... Ah.

"Ah, but when the girl gets
to the small isolated house,

"a bird whispers to her to leave,
but she decides to enter anyway.

"And, after looking,
she finds an old woman

"who tells her, if she stays,

"then the only thing
she'll marry is her death."

Death. Right.

Otis! You get away from there!

Listen, you need to
go look after Iris.

Turn off the lights,
close all the blinds.

Alright?

What's that in the back?

It's roadkill.

Don't open the
door to strangers.

Or Frankie!

Do not be anxious about
anything, but in every situation...

..through prayer and
petition...

..you will find the peace of
God... I'm sorry. Excuse me.

..no anxiety...

What now?

I m*rder*d someone!

I didn't mean to. I was...

I was trying to save her

from the psycho woman
who WAS gonna k*ll her.

When you say
you m*rder*d someone,

who exactly?

I don't know. I
hadn't met her before.

And you m*rder*d her why?

She was in a cage, and I
was trying to save her.

And now they're after
me! The Russians?

No, it's my neighbours.

Where are you now?

I don't... I've got the...

I've got the body in the back
and I'm going to the police.

No, you absolutely
must not go to the police!

Just yesterday, I
went to the gym,

and, of course, when I got there

I found I had left
my runners at home.

I was anxious, but...

You need
to get rid of the...

..lamp,

preferably somewhere
far away from you.

Is there anyone in
town you can trust?

No, no-one.

Is there anybody who can
help you dispose of it?

Uh...

Um...

Maybe one person.

I'll pay you a
thousand dollars cash.

Thanks very much.

Wait, wait, do I have
to do something for it?

Ohh... agh...

Would you like ME to do it?

No!

I must do this myself.

I k*lled her.

It's my responsibility.

I k*lled someone.

Yeah, but the upside
is you didn't mean to.

I m*rder*d her.

I have... I have
multiple degrees.

I've run huge companies.

I have multiple degrees...
Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned that.

And for what?

To become a m*rder*r.

You were trying to
rescue her and...

..just happened to run her over.

Right.

Pull yourself together. Come on.

Come on.

Careful with her!
I've got her. I've got her.

I've got her.

I can't do this.

Take me to the police. I need to
hand myself in and go to prison.

You realise that raft
isn't a motorboat, don't you,

and the police station is 12
clicks back against the current?

The only thing necessary
for the triumph of evil

is for good men to do nothing.

Ha. You're OK then -
doesn't apply to women.

Look, here's as
good as anywhere.

Oof!

She probably had a
gravesite all chosen...

..buried next to a loved
one or a small pet.

This is so wrong.

This river, surrounded by
thousand-year-old trees,

birds and wild animals...

..you can bury ME here.

Come on, let's go.

Come on.

Let's get stuck
into it. Come on.

So, what, um... approach, what
method, do we employ here?

Method? Mm.

Uh... Dig a hole, bung her in, cover
with dirt and get the hell out.

That'd be MY method.

You probably have more experience
with this sort of thing.

Hm?

Yeah. Yeah, burying bodies -
more hobby than method for me.

Just go back and
stay with the raft.

Go on.

Go on.

Oh, oh! Bless!

Who sang that one?

Shirley Jones and Gordon Macrae.

Oklahoma.

Let's check on our guest.

Where is she?

Who was watching her?!

We took it in turns. The
cage was bolted, I promise.

Someone switched off the
security cameras at 9:14.

Which means that someone
here let that woman escape.

We'll find her, sister.

It was ages ago, pet.

She could have called anyone.

She could be with
the police right now.

Jason won't do nothin'.

Not him, you fool.
The real police.

Argh!

Her car's in town, Frankie.
She must be on foot.

Tracks are going
into the forest.

If she's in the
forest, she'll be dead.

No-one survives out there.

She is with the government.
Someone sent her here.

They know where she is.

Pretty soon the police will be
crawling all over the place.

Tarquin...

..tow the car to the other side of
the island and toss it over a cliff.

Drago, get the dogs.

The rest of you, look for her.

If she makes it out of here
alive, we are all dead.

Nah, forget school, love.

I want you to go into town.

Tell Jason to listen
in on his police radio.

Now, you call me the moment
any outside cops turn up.

If we go down...

..we go down as a family.

We should get to school.

Where's Mum? We should wait.

I think she went for... a run.

All night?

She likes running.

WHEN did she like it?

She'll be home when we get back.

Hello?

Jeremiah?!

Hello!

Is anyone there?!

Hello?

Why do they say that?

"I am reaching out to you."

No, you are not.

You are sending
me a bloody email.

Sorry, just wondering if
you've heard from Robin.

"Reaching out."

Like there's some kind
of emotional commitment

in sending a friggin' email.

In these last desperate
hours, I am reaching out

to tell you that Friday's 1400
intra-team meeting will now at 1415.

No, I haven't heard.

Should I have? It's unusual.

Robin normally phones in five
times a day when she's away.

And you see her not
calling as a problem how?

Or...

..are you questioning whether
this happiness can last?

Is this the last golden summer
before the outbreak of w*r?

She's not filed any expenses,

and normally she does
at the end of every day.

What was she working on again?

I don't know. YOU sent her.

All I really heard was
the word 'Tasmania'

and the thought of her not being
in the office for a few days.

Too much to hope she's fallen
in love, is not coming back?

Excuse me, everyone.

I am reaching out here.

Does anyone remember why the
hell I sent Robin to Tasmania?

No.

No, no, no, no.

No, no, no, no! Idiot! Oh!

Agh!

Oh!

Oh, idiot!

Ohh!

Everyone takes coffee
so seriously in Melbourne.

The source, the roast, university
degrees in milk frothing.

Ask for a cup of tea and you get
a 10-cent bag and some hot water.

At least the bags
come in muslin now.

Dressing up a few tea leaves in a
wedding frock doesn't fool anyone,

it's just lazy, so...

Well, it's been quite
a few years, but, um...

..these accounts seem to
be absolutely perfect.

So, not cooked?

Oh, yeah, cooked.

Brilliantly cooked, by experts.

Why are you dragging
ME back from the dead

when it's been 10 years?

I make hats for dogs now.

How are they cooked?

Round robin bank accounts,

internal audits,

shelf companies and fake
member contribution statements.

Same old.

You know, the hats started as a
hobby, but they've really taken off.

Have you seen my
website? Yes, lovely.

Where should I be looking?

Why aren't you using all
the experts at the office?

I mean, God knows
there's enough of them.

I did.

Well, what did THEY say?

That the books are perfect.

Oh.

Right.

Mm.

And you think someone
very senior is involved.

Where should I be looking?

ProsperAus super accounts.

Long-term funds

where they can hide fraud,

playing permanent catch-up.

Disguise ill*gal funds and
blame it on market fluctuations.

Where does the money end up?

You're never gonna find THAT.

Have I shown you the hats
I'm making for Great Danes?

Mm.

That one's $4.95.

There
you go. Thank you.

That's all good. Thanks!

Hi... This one
here - how much?

Excuse me!

Please wait your turn.

I apologise.

That was very rude of me.

Let's not make a habit of it.

Mm.

Oh...

Fixed it, Frankie.

I was gonna fill it up with
diesel, but I haven't got any.

Just as well. It runs on petrol.

Well, I ain't got any of
that either, to be honest.

What I need, Connor, is
your actual expertise.

Now, if this town
was to be invaded...

By aliens, you mean?

It's on the cards. Just
a matter of time, really.

..and we think now that
time is very close...

Yeah, I've seen, haven't I?
Scoping the area at night.

A woman? In beige?

No, an alien scouting party.

This is exactly the kind
of off-reservation place

that they'd choose
to land an armada.

Given you're on
the edge of town,

would you keep an eye
out for any outsiders?

Well, they could just as easily
come out from underground, like.

Don't just watch the skies.

They could've been down there for
1,000 years waiting for the right...

We think this woman

is part of their advance party.

Yeah, well, I've
met her, haven't I?

Classic alien features.

She'll have a probe in her
brain, she'll have visuals.

Alright... I'll tell you what -

you give me a team, I can
beat their first advance.

Alright? I've already identified
five key vantage points

before you even hit town.

You've got Jordi Ridge,
you've got Tyson Rock.

Now, wind'll play absolute havoc
with an as*ault r*fle up there,

so, I'd be wanting
strategic as*ault back-up

at eye level
throughout the town.

Fascinating. Now, if you
see anyone, you tell me, eh?

Yeah, you claim height, Frankie,
you win the battle every time.

As long as you've got
underpinning fire.

Standing guard out here, mate?

There's nothing in there
but letters and envelopes.

I'm just standing. You
got a problem with that?

No, no.

Just messing with you.

Here, you want a cup of hot chocolate
or you've got a problem with that?

Your mum's mob out
looking for something?

Don't ask me questions.

Well, that kind of
limits chatting.

I'm a little bit
out of the loop.

Frankie and I don't
speak that often.

Why do you talk to me like
you know me real well?

Well, I can see the
family resemblance.

Like my mum?

No, no, I wouldn't say I
see much of her in you, no.

What, my dad? You knew him?

Yeah. Yeah, we were good mates.

Caley? Oh!

Any leads yet on exactly where
in Tasmania I may have sent her?

The west coast.

She was working on some
file that ended in 2011

and was never officially closed.

Well, that describes 90%
of all government files.

Apparently, there were a
lot of recurring payments

made by this department to
some post office box somewhere

but never accounted for.

So, there must be a postcode?
Not that I can find,

but the file that she was
working was pretty water-damaged.

Oh, right, the sewage debacle.

What about Robin's family?

I don't think she has one.

She talks about her
Burmese cat a lot.

The file had a stamp from
the Attorney General's office

and a name,

but no explanation.

Agh...

There you go.

Here. Thanks, bro.

How come you're so clever?

Born a genius. Can't help it.

That would be
hard. I was joking.

I don't know, I'm just good at dumb
sh*t and lousy at everything else.

That must be hard.
I was joking again.

I mean, I can do other stuff.

Kick a soccer ball.

Run. Skateboard.

So, not really useful skills.

What are YOU good at?

Sewing, cleaning, cooking.

Not anything she's teaching us.

I've never heard of
any of this stuff.

We get taught at the
Community, but the teacher left

because he defiled the Lord.

How?

Not allowed to speak
of him anymore.

Stop talking to me.

Where have YOU been?

Drawing a picture of
the goat Mum gave away.

I put it on our family tree.

Did you get your bag and jacket?

Looks more like a horse.

Since when was
Jeremiah our uncle?

Recess.

Go get your bag.
We'll miss the bus.

Do you think Mum will
be home? Sure to be.

Oh!

Remember when
we first got dumped here?

30 acres of nothing.

The three of us.

Braving it out.

Well, I was in a bad place.

The drugs messed my head a bit.

You, me and Johnno.

Yeah,
watch it! Watch it!

We built this from nothing.

Heh. We made good.

Until Johnno started
having his visions.

Yeah.

Now it's just you,
me and Jackie.

That's all that matters.

And Brony and baby
and Stretch...

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, pet.
..and Drago and...

Love 'em.

But really it's just
the three of us.

Oh!

Show her. This
was taken at 9:36.

Stella and the ute?

I put a tracker on it,
as per your request.

So, she went to the pass, stopped
for a while at Venn's corner,

and then turned around and
went to Jeremiah's place.

And you didn't think
to report that to me?

Is she alone?

Show her.

Yeah, she hits a bump here,
and there's a body in the back.

A body of a woman.

Alive?

Show her the other one!

She looks... not well.

Dead.

Where's the ute now?

She spent the night with him?

Cheap home-wrecker.

What is this woman playing at?

Sweetie, find me our Dover
Heights neighbour, please.

I don't know why you
bother with that woman.

She's nothing but trouble.

Yep? Pick them up.

I thought you said we...
I know what I said,

but we can't just leave
them running loose.

Arrest them.

What would happen
if mankind disappeared altogether?

Easy-peasy.

Police! Don't move!

Do not move! Get
on the ground!

Hands now! Get on the ground!

Put your hands in the
air! Get on the ground!

It's me! It's me!

God!

Do you ever tire
of k*lling people?!

Well, you shouldn't have
snuck up on me like that.

How about you get the
poker out of my face?

What?!

How did you find me?

I looked for the tracks that
kept going round and round.

I
am perfectly capable...

I can see that. I could tell
by the way you handled my raft.

The current took it...
Right, not your fault.

Well, it wasn't exactly
well-constructed.

Ah, we've gotta get you warm.

I am fine where I am.

I know.

Why haven't you lit a fire?

You think I didn't
consider that?

There are no matches and
there is only wet wood that...

Well, that is just a
stupid place to keep that.

Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

Dry spot, protected
from the weather.

Yeah, what were
they thinking, eh?

It's her!

Quick! It's not Mum!

Up here.

They might know where Mum
is! They don't! Hurry!

Is this the secret garden?

Where are all the flowers?

Hiding, like us.

Sit down.

This place is our
secret. Promise?

Pinky promise.

Looks like
they've shot through.

Argh. Let's get out of here!

She must be off with Jeremiah.

What are we gonna do then?

I'm glad you found me.

I wasn't sure I'd make it.

I mainly came back for
the raft, so, uh...

This is not who I am.

I feel like I've landed
on another planet.

I have no touchstones,
I can't...

I can't control anything.

You're used to feeling
in control, are ya?

Everybody likes
to control things.

Don't YOU?

No.

No, I don't think I've
ever been in control.

I got given a blue
heeler when I was five.

That's when I realised...

..you can't really
control anything.

Well...

..I'm different.

You're not supposed to
control this environment.

That's what's f*cked it up.

You've just gotta
go with it and...

..hope.

'Night.

'Night.

Are you leaving?

See if I can rescue this raft.

I... I don't know
where the river is.

You're kidding.

It's a hundred metres that way.

Oh, right, THAT river.

I'd take the path out, though.

The one directly
next to the hut.

Make sure you don't
take the left one.

That's, uh...

Yeah.

Come in, darling.

Still no sign of trouble?

No.

Mm.

False alarm.

But the real question is who
let that woman out of that cage?

How do you mean?

Well, she couldn't have got
out of that cage by herself.

Someone here calmed the dogs,

switched off the
security cameras

and freed that woman.

But you say you didn't
see anything, eh?

No.

Five minutes. Five minutes,
come on. Let's hurry this up.

Are you happy? Keep
it up, brother!

Are you happy?

Hey, I'm goin'.

Come on dipshits, let's go!

Don't start. I've just
paddled 12 K up-river.

I told you - stay out of it.

Why'd you go with her
in the first place?

Money. Enough to buy a tiller.

You went up-river to bury
a body for a $200 rudder?

Yeah. And an anchor chain.

I don't mind.

Each to their own.

It's just I usually
dispose of my dead bodies

in daylight hours and
borrow Darryl's van,

but your choice.

Righto.

Spend the night with her. Fine.

Yes, that was our first date.

A threesome, me,
her and a corpse.

I don't... Where's this coming
from? You can't be jealous.

No. Wouldn't dare.

This is not the
Billy and Jodie show.

I'm not him. We never expected
anything from each other.

I don't expect
anything from you,

so, don't flatter yourself.

I mean, take a look out there. You
don't have a lot of competition.

What other options do I have?

Just as long as you
know I can't be Billy.

Yeah, yeah.

You told me that.

A couple of times.

But now, by helping her,
you've entered Frankie's world.

You've made yourself
one of them,

and you promised
me you never would.

I'm not one of her lot.

That's what your brother said.

What do you think
is gonna happen

when whoever employed this
woman comes looking for her

and you get arrested
for burying her body?

I didn't say I'd worked
through ALL the details.

Right.

Mum!

Mum, I've been looking
everywhere for you!

Your stupid mother got
lost in the forest.

Mum! You're safe!

It's alright.

It's OK. OK.

Alright, alright.

Have you been crying?

Lots.

Are you stoned?

No.

Don't you dare start that
sh*t again! Chill, OK?

It's just a plant.

You're always telling
me to eat my greens.

Not smoke it. Where
did you get it from?

Did someone sell it
to you at school?

No, no, HE'S selling it!

Shut up! What?

I didn't say anything
about the secret garden!

Otis...

..what secret garden?

Otis!

Vance Horsley?

I am that he.

My name's Rowan Furness.
This is Caley Webster.

We're from the
Department of Finance.

Oh.

Wes Fortescue still running
things there, is he?

Yes, he is. How
did you know that?

Somhita Pradeep moved on to
the Forecasting Division.

Philip 'the phenomena' Montgomery,
he's now Band 1 Health.

Still on two packs a day, is he?

Keep abreast of things.

Yeah, Jess Erzeren, she's still
running numbers for the Transport.

No, good woman. Can't count.

Uh... Yes. What we're interested
in is a file from our archives.

A recurring payment made to
various post office boxes

somewhere in Tasmania

over a period of
almost 30 years.

A lot of money that
had something to do

with the Attorney
General's Department

when you were deputy secretary?

Under the great Harry Briscott.

We are currently
trying to determine

the name of the
town where, uh...

..one of our operatives might
be or might have gone to.

Your name appeared on
what is left of the file

as having chaired a
series of meetings in 1983

that set up this payment scheme.

No.

You don't remember?

It was a long shot.

These
walls... have ears.

Is there anything at all
that you can tell us?

Well, maybe if you had
a little bit of a chat

to our leading
security organisation

you wouldn't go astray.

So, ASI... No, I
didn't say that.

I never said that.
I didn't say that.

OK.

Bye-bye.

You'll need to get a Level
6 security clearance.

Alright.

You can't do this!

I get lost for one night and
suddenly you're a dealer?

You drink. I've
seen you plastered.

That's very different.

And always in a
business setting!

Please don't do this. It's the
only way I can survive this place.

Just stay out of
the road of that.

Alright, you get
back inside, please.

Inside now, sweetie.

Do not inhale that. Hop
inside.

Hey! Hey!

You stay out of the
road! Don't inhale that.

Hold your breath. Now go inside.

Get off me. Get off me. Inside
the house and lock the door!

Hey.

Yeah?

Has that woman set
fire to her house?

f*ck!

No.

No, no, no.

No, no, no!

What...

What are you, crazy?!

g*dd*mn!

Put it out!

f*ck.

Argh!

What are you doing?!
Saving my children.

The last thing they
need is this sh*t.

Agh!

Oh, my God, it was yours.

Of course it was bloody mine!

This used to be my brother's house
before the bank stole it from us.

I didn't realise.

You just incinerated

my only ticket out
of this sh*thole.

Days away from being dry, from
me being able to finish my boat

and sail the f*ck out of here!

I thought it was
Frankie's! Argh.

Is that why you've
been hanging around?

Not to help me with your... with your
f*ck' lice-ridden puffy jackets.

Just stay right out
of my way, lady.

No.

You stay out of MY way.

My five-ways!

Ohh.

This takes me back 30
years to university days.

Takes me back to a hotel room in
East Berlin with the ambassador.

We got high, played
Yahtzee all night

and he told me everything
I needed to know.

He's got clearance.
Section 3, Level 6.

I hope that...

..this...

..is...

You have to be aware.

You know? Of the...

..things.

Things. There's...

..big things.

Oh, that ceiling is so pretty.

I'm gonna vomit.

What you are about to hear
is many levels above your pay grade.

If you repeat a word of it
to anyone, anyone at all -

your wife, your best
friend, your dog -

your career will be finished.

Well... none of that's much
of a threat, but I understand.

In late January 1983,

as part of an idiot
fiscal initiative,

former whistleblowing
mobsters, hired K*llers,

bikie drug couriers,
the odd spy in hiding

and the occasional
wrong-time-wrong-place civilian,

anyone who turned court's
valuable evidence,

was paid to go into
hiding and resettle.

All of them living in one town,

pretending to be somebody else
for the rest of their lives,

and all of them living
with the constant fear

that they might be found
out and k*lled as payback.

And what happened?

Somehow, like most
government initiatives,

they forgot the
place ever existed.

And you're saying this
is where I sent Robin?

Until recently I hadn't
heard a squeak from there.

I thought the place was safe.

Oh, my God.

I have to find her.

Robin Ricketts is dead.

No.

How?

Police say she drove
her car over a cliff.

Did she?

And you will meet a similar fate

unless you burn that file
and forget you ever saw it.

Why was she even there?

It was just to stop her calling
staff meetings for a few days.

No! No!

No!

What the hell are you doing?!

The question is why is she here?

She doesn't care for these
people. She's not one of us.

What about everyone else? They
need to be taught a lesson.

You're gonna have to
choose a side, Jeremiah.

ProsperAus is an open sewer.

The moment I started looking
they were tracking me.

Is there anyone who can
corroborate any of this?

Former CEO of ProsperAus.

Annika Van Cleef?

Let's put it to a
vote. Show of hands?

What is happening? What... What
are you gonna do with that?