Episode 1 - Scene 3 A Shocking Revelation

Cut to
INT – CRYSTAL’S CAR - MORNING

CRYSTAL’S car is parked outside the building used for the singing auditions. There are crowds of people queuing outside the building. CRYSTAL is sitting in the driver’s seat of the car. JOSEPH is sitting in the front passenger’s seat. JOSEPH is sitting, staring out of the window. CRYSTAL faces him.

CRYSTAL
Would you like me to go in with you?

JOSEPH
No. I have to do this on my own.

JOSEPH takes a deep breath.

CRYSTAL
I’m gonna head back home. Ring me once you’re done.

CRYSTAL kisses JOSEPH on the cheek. He wipes it afterwards.

JOSEPH
I hate it when you do that.

CRYSTAL
Good luck.

JOSEPH takes his seatbelt off. He climbs out of the car. He closes the door behind himself. CRYSTAL switches the engine on, and she drives away.

Cut to
EXT - OUTSIDE THE BUILDING - MORNING

JOSEPH is standing outside the building. He is staring up at it. He takes a deep breath, then he joins the end of the queue.

Cut to
INT - THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING - MORNING

JOSEPH is sitting at the front of a row of people. He is nervously rubbing his hands together. He has a sticker with a number on it, on his t-shirt.


GUARD 1 walks over to JOSEPH.

GUARD 1
Joseph Thompson?

JOSEPH looks up at him.

JOSEPH
Yeah?

GUARD 1
Would you like to follow me, please?

JOSEPH gets to his feet. He follows GUARD 1, who leads him away.

Cut to
INT - A ROOM - MORNING

GUARD 1 leads JOSEPH inside a dimly lit room. There are two chairs in the middle of the room. PADDY is sitting on one of them. JOSEPH faces GUARD 1.

JOSEPH
This can’t be the audition room. I think you’ve taken me to the wrong place.

GUARD 1
No. We’re at the right place.

JOSEPH tries to exit the room, but GUARD 1 grabs hold of him. JOSEPH tries to break out of his grasp, but he can’t. GUARD 1 starts to pull JOSEPH across the room, towards the spare seat.

JOSEPH (desperately)
You’ve made a mistake. I haven’t done anything wrong. Please let me go.

GUARD 1 places JOSEPH down on the seat. PADDY faces him.

PADDY
Hello, Joseph.

JOSEPH
How do you know my name?

PADDY doesn’t answer him. JOSEPH tries to get away. GUARD 1 puts
him back in the seat.

JOSEPH (continued)
Please don’t kill me. I don’t wanna die.

PADDY
I’m not going to kill you.

JOSEPH
What do you want with me?

PADDY
My name is Paddy. I work for the British Secret Service. And believe it or not, your life is in danger.

JOSEPH is silent.

PADDY (continued)
Lift up your shirt.

JOSEPH
Why?

JOSEPH hesitates. GUARD 1 goes to lift up JOSEPH’S t-shirt, but JOSEPH pulls it up first. There is nothing on his chest.

JOSEPH
See, look. There’s nothing there. Now, can you let me go?

PADDY
Scanner.

GUARD 1 takes out a scanner from his jacket. He hands it to PADDY,
who switches it on.

JOSEPH
What are you doing?

PADDY scans JOSEPH’S stomach. A code becomes visible on the bottom left hand side of his stomach. JOSEPH sees it.

PADDY
That’s what they’re after.

PADDY switches the scanner off. He hands the scanner back to GUARD 1. JOSEPH puts his t-shirt down.

JOSEPH
What is it?

PADDY
It’s a code. Your father used to work with us. I was on a mission with him at the time. He found that code, but he got compromised. He got the numbers imprinted on your chest and got you away.

JOSEPH
I want to go.

PADDY nods to GUARD 1, who lets go of JOSEPH. JOSEPH gets to his feet, and he begins to walk across the room.

PADDY
If you leave, you’ll be dead within the hour.

JOSEPH stops walking. He turns back to face PADDY, then he carries on walking. He walks out of the room. He closes the door behind himself.

Cut to
INT - THE AUDITION ROOM - MORNING

CHARLIE, mid-forties, JUDGE 1 and JUDGE 2 are sitting at a table. They each have a glass of water in front of them. JOSEPH is standing in the middle of the room. He is nervously rubbing his hands together.

CHARLIE
What is your name?

JOSEPH (nervously)
Joseph. Joseph Thompson.

CHARLIE
Okay, Joseph. What song will you be performing for us today?

JOSEPH
It’s one of my own. It's called 'Flirting With Walls'.

JOSEPH clears his throat. He begins to sing to them. They all listen intently. JOSEPH stops singing. He stands there in silence. CHARLIE and the judges watch him.

CHARLIE
What’s wrong?

JOSEPH (nervously)
I’m sorry. I can’t do this.

JOSEPH quickly runs out of the room. CHARLIE and the judges look at each other in disbelief.

Cut to
EXT - A STREET - AFTERNOON

JOSEPH is walking down a street. He is close to a shopping centre. There are some other people walking down the street. ELIJAH is following JOSEPH. JOSEPH’S phone begins to ring. He takes it out of his right trouser pocket, and he answers it.

JOSEPH
Hello?

PADDY (calmly)
Right now, there is someone following you. Don’t turn around, otherwise he’ll know you’ve spotted him.

JOSEPH (nervously)
Keep walking. Act as if nothing’s wrong.

JOSEPH continues to walk down the street. ELIJAH is still following him.

PADDY
If you do everything I tell you, you will get through this, okay?

JOSEPH
Yeah. Why are they after me?

PADDY
I told you earlier. Just don’t worry about it.

JOSEPH turns around. He sees that ELIJAH is following him. ELIJAH reaches into his jacket, taking out a gun. JOSEPH starts to run down the street. ELIJAH pursues him.

JOSEPH (nervously)
He’s after me. What do I do?

PADDY
Go inside the shopping centre. It’ll be harder for him to spot you there.

JOSEPH
Okay.

JOSEPH sees that the shopping centre is across the road. He runs into the
road. A car slams on its breaks, but it doesn’t stop in time. It hits JOSEPH. He falls onto the windscreen, cracking it. He gets off the car, and he continues to run across the road.

PADDY
Are you okay?

JOSEPH
I’m fine.

JOSEPH runs onto the pathway. He pushes past some people. ELIJAH runs across the road. He climbs over the top of the car that hit JOSEPH. JOSEPH runs inside the shopping centre. ELIJAH continues to follow him.

Cut to
INT - THE SHOPPING CENTRE - AFTERNOON

JOSEPH is running through the shopping centre. He is still on the phone to PADDY. The shopping centre is full of people.

JOSEPH
Where shall I go now?

PADDY
Keep running.

ELIJAH runs inside the shopping centre. He has the gun in his hands. He looks for JOSEPH, but he can’t see him. He fires a few shots into the air. All of the people scream and begin to duck for cover. ELIJAH can now see JOSEPH running across the shopping centre. He chases after him.

PADDY
Turn left.

JOSEPH bursts through the door on his left. He starts to run down a corridor. There is another door at the end of the corridor. There is a fire exit at the end of the corridor.

PADDY
Go through the door.

ELIJAH comes into the corridor. He shoots at JOSEPH, but the bullets
miss him. JOSEPH runs out of the building.

Cut to
EXT - OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING CENTRE - AFTERNOON

JOSEPH is standing outside the building. JOSEPH has the phone against his ear. A car suddenly pulls up next to JOSEPH. PADDY is driving it. He has a hands free device in his ear. He also has his seatbelt on. He opens the front passenger’s seat door.

PADDY
Get in!

Cut to
INT – PADDY’S CAR - AFTERNOON

JOSEPH quickly climbs inside the car. He closes the door, just as ELIJAH runs out of the building. He still has his gun in his hands. JOSEPH leaves his phone on his lap. He then puts his seatbelt on. ELIJAH starts to shoot at the car. A bullet hits the windscreen.

PADDY
Hold on.

PADDY quickly turns the car around, and he starts to drive away. ELIJAH runs after the car. He jumps onto the top of the car. He holds onto it.

JOSEPH
He’s on the car.

PADDY
I know.

PADDY tries to shake ELIJAH off the car, but it doesn’t work. He then slams on the breaks. ELIJAH rolls over the top of the car, falling onto the floor. PADDY accelerates, hitting ELIJAH. ELIJAH rolls over the top of the car, and he hits the floor afterwards. PADDY continues to drive away.

Cut to
EXT – OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING CENTRE – AFTERNOON

ELIJAH slowly gets to his feet. His head is bleeding. ELIJAH takes out his phone from his right trouser pocket. He starts to ring EDWIN, who
answers the phone a moment later.

EDWIN
Do you have him?

ELIJAH
No, sir. He got away.

EDWIN
I have someone tying up all the loose ends. Come back and we can sort out your payment.

ELIJAH finishes the call. He holds the phone in his pocket. He starts to walk down the street.

Cut to
INT - PADDY’S CAR - AFTERNOON

PADDY is still driving the car down the street. JOSEPH is breathing heavily. He faces PADDY.

JOSEPH (out of breath)
Where are we going now?

PADDY
I have to get you to somewhere safe.

JOSEPH
No. You can’t. My Mum. We need to get her. Please.

PADDY suddenly turns the car around. He starts to drive back down the street.