All language subtitles for Secret.City.S01E01

[bicycle bell rings]

Free Tibet!
Free Tibet!

Return the Dalai Lama to Tibet!

[crowd screaming]

[buzzing and ringing]

[woman over TV]
--largest trading partner.

Shadow Foreign Affairs
Minister Eloise Barnes

has been accusing
the Toohey government

of inaction and incompetence

over their lack of response...

[men talking indistinctly]

[camera clicks]

Hey! You need to clear the area.

-What-- What happened to him?
-Drowned.

You're a journo.
Daily Nation, right?

Yeah, Harriet Dunkley.
Who am I speaking to?

Media Liaison.

-I'm sure you've got their number.
-What will they tell me?

There's a killer shark
in Lake Burley Griffin?

This is a crime scene. Let's go.

[indistinct chatter]

-So, what have we got on Sabine Hobbs?
-Gus, I swear, if you make me do

another story on her,
I'll self-immolate.

[Gus] What do we know about this prison
that China's moved her to--

Harbin Provincial Women's Prison.

She'd be better off if she hadn't
survived her third-degree burns.

It's where they send
Uyghur terrorists.

I don't think even the Chinese can pretend
a misguided choirgirl is a terrorist.

Yeah, 20 years in maximum security
says they can.

-Harri?
-Yeah?

-Any word out of the PM's office?
-Uh, no.

Everyone's clammed up
since sentencing.

Cabinet, backbench,
all got the muzzle on.

We're back to recycling an expert

and speculating on the speculation,
is that what we're doing?

If we have to run
the same sob story as the tabloids,

we need a fig leaf of respectability.
Get me something.

Well, the video's had more than
3 million hits on YouTube.

Since when did YouTube
become news?

About ten years ago, I think.

Right, so, we've got the Medicare thing,
the senate estimate, childcare rebates.

[Griff] There's rumblings
of a leadership spill.

-Which party?
-The Greens.

[groans, laughter]

Anything else?

Uh, I've got something.

Corpse, on the lake.
Washed up this morning.

-Wasn't your career, was it?
-It was your sex life, actually.

Yeah, Harriet, I'm afraid a pissed-up
ANU student fallen in the drink's

not exactly
a national political bombshell.

No, but this one
was gutted like a fish.

All right, run with it.
See where it leads.

Thank you.

Back to it, people.

Sorry.

Hey, Sasha, did you see
who put this on my desk?

[Sasha] Is that Mal Paxton?

Yeah.

Not touching it.

-Should I order everyone some tea?
-We're not running a café, Ronnie.

[McAuliffe] In the past 72 hours,

Beijing have moved
Shenyang J-16 fighter jets

onto the disputed islands
in the South China Sea.

All our chatter says
Chinese command is on high alert.

-They expect the U.S. to blink.
-And will they?

They've invited us to join
naval exercises in the disputed waters.

HMAS Anzac's ready to sail.

Minister, we are woefully unprepared
for a military buildup.

We need two new submarines quickly.

We can acquire Soryus
off the shelf in Japan.

If we don't act,

Beijing will take control of the world's
busiest sea lane, unchallenged.

-We cannot afford to sit on our hands.
-I agree.

So, we send our own message.

We won't be throwing warships
into a U.S.-led pissing contest.

We tell our allies
to piss somewhere else.

I won't be shifting on policy.

Those submarines will be made here,
at ASC Osborne.

It's a big boost
for local manufacture.

Minister, the Japanese contract
is billions of dollars cheaper.

So, we cancel
a few joint strike fighters.

The Pentagon won't like it.

Well, I don't work for the Pentagon,
general. Neither do you.

I won't be taking this to Cabinet.

Minister, with respect...

your previous experience
is as Minister for Resources.

And your previous experience
is as a soldier, general.

So, you should know
how to follow an order.

Fucking hate Labor governments.

[receptionist over phone]
Australian Federal Police.

Could you put me through
to the pathologist on duty?

-Who should I say is calling?
-[Harriet] Media Liaison.

[receptionist] Putting you through.

[phone rings]

[woman] Pathology.

[Harriet] Hi, it's Harriet Dunkley
from the Daily Nation.

I'm calling regarding the dead body
on the lake this morning.

I was wondering
if you had examined--

[woman] You know the drill.
You have to go through Media Liaison.

[Harriet] We know they're
going to give me the runaround--

[phone disconnects, then beeping]

[beeping over phone]

It's me.
She's on her way to the morgue.

Anything from our friend
at the embassy?

I'm coming in now, if this gentleman
would just hold the door open for me.

Thank you very much, sir.

Who says chivalry's dead? [chuckles]

Oi!
Can I see your security pass?

"Senior Constable Brimmer."

Journos.
Sell your own grandmother.

Are you in the market
for a grandmother?

-[Harriet] He's only a kid.
-[Brimmer] Twenty-four years old.

-Has his family made the ID?
-You know I can't answer that.

Any personal effects?

Being held in evidence.

So, you have a name
and date of birth.

-You're going to have to speak to--
-Yeah, yeah, Media Liaison.

Any theories on who
or why he was cut open?

Strictly off the record.

Did he swallow something?

Media Liaison.

Come on, all I need is an ID.

You might want to read the writing
on the wall on this one, Harriet.

[sniffs]

[sniffs]

[groans]

Fuck you, Griff.

[Gus] Your corpse from the lake?

Hey, Gus?

I got a name
from a uniform at the morgue.

But get this, he has no
social-media presence.

No Facebook,
no Instagram, no Twitter.

What 24-year-old
has no online presence?

You're asking me?

Well, I know kids that'd rather be dead
than not on Snapchat.

Well, maybe he had an alias.
That's what my kids do.

Keep away prying parents.

Yeah, maybe.

Do you still have

[over speaker] that contact
at Births Deaths and Marriages?

[Gus] Yeah.

-[Harriet] Can I get that off you?
-Sure.

[Harriet] Thank you.

[Gus] Fancy doing things
the old-fashioned way?

[Harriet] Dalgetty may not have
a Facebook profile,

but I assume
that he must have been born.

It does feel odd there's no digital
footprint for someone from a generation

-that doesn't believe in privacy.
-Vaughn.

Taking a personal interest
in Dalgetty?

This has a whiff of Beijing about it.
It's central to my brief.

And the obvious conflict of interest?

Are you directing me to red-flag it?

It's best there's no confusion
in matters of X versus Y.

Don't you think, Ms. Gordon?

He runs from the Chinese Embassy

and ends up dead by the lake.
Aren't you interested?

The rules are there to protect us.

Hey, Brimmer! It's a false ID.

-What do you mean?
-It's a stolen identity.

I called the registry.

There's only a record for one
Max Dalgetty in the whole country,

and he died seven years ago.

He's the same age profile
as the deceased on the lake,

but you'll have to check
the body for markings

-and the dental records.
-Well, it's a bit late for that.

-What do you mean?
-The body's already been transferred.

-Transferred where?
-I don't know.

You don't know
or you're not allowed to tell me?

Both.

Okay,
something strange is going on here.

That, that's not Max Dalgetty.

-Something's happening to your phone.
-What?

No.

No! No!

New-age burglary.
That's a little outside my jurisdiction.

[beeping]

-[computer chimes]
-Hello, Harri.

[Kim] We didn't wipe your photo.

Well, I notice you haven't denied
monitoring my phone.

ASD categorically denies tracing,

-monitoring and intercepting
-[snores]

all domestic calls.

-Yeah.
-Harri.

Can you get Thomas
to take a look at it?

Because if ASD
didn't delete my Dalgetty picture,

then maybe he can find out who did.

When did I become
your research assistant?

Don't pretend you don't want to know.

-Okay.
-Thank you.

-That's a new dress.
-Yeah, you like it?

Yeah, I do.

You would tell me?

Yes.

-Is there someone special?
-No.

No, no, no.

Nothing like that.

Thought you weren't going near it, Harri.

[Bailey] Which rock
have you been hiding under

not to know
about the $30 billion sinkhole,

otherwise known
as the Collins Class cock-up

by those halfwits in Osborne?

The only reason they got
the subs contract in the first place

was pork-barreling for a by-election.

Don't think I don't know
what you're up to...

or that you've got Beijing
on fucking speed dial.

Sixty percent of our trade
goes through those shipping lanes.

There's only one way
to force China to back down.

We stand by the U.S. and their allies,

and we bring in strike fighters
and we bring in submarines.

Japanese submarines,

made by people who make things
that actually work.

Better get yourself a raincoat, Mal,

because you've unleashed
a shitstorm of biblical proportions.

Fucking hell!

-Harriet!
-Minister.

-Ronnie!
-Don't worry, I'm not staying.

Just a little happy snap
for your family album.

Where'd you get this?

I don't know,
which is why you should be worried.

Vindictiveness is never
an attractive quality, Harriet.

Misuse of Mining Union funds

for campaigning and branch-stacking
is one thing, Mal,

but a Federal Minister failing to disclose
an arrest record is a new low.

Should I give you my BSB
and account details now

so you can make those defamation
payments direct this time?

I'm not touching that.

I've banged my head
against the Paxton wall enough.

So, what's this?
Just a friendly warning?

Not friendly.

-Thomas.
-Hey.

When you get a minute,
can you check this for a remote breach?

Someone deleted
a crime-scene photo.

Was it us?

Oh, could be ASIO, ASIS,
CIA, MSS, take your pick.

The Dalgetty phone.
Where'd you get this?

The director.
Came in from the Federal Police.

Vaughn wants the data retrieved.

Hey, Thomas,
that phone I just gave you,

let's just keep that between us, okay?

Um... Sure, Kim.

Attorney, can I have one minute?

You can have 20 meters to the
treasurer's office while I send a tweet.

Paxton's going to build
the submarines in Australia?

I'm sure he has his reasons,
at this critical time.

As in, don't tie Australia
to an alliance against Beijing

while Sabine Hobbs rots
in a Chinese prison?

You know the rules.
Deep background only.

If you want a quote, go to Paxton.

But either way,
wouldn't most Labor MPs support him?

Not if it means risking the U.S. alliance.

It's the last article of faith
for the Right,

the only thing keeping
my faction together.

Well, that and their fear of you,
attorney.

Thank you, Harriet.

I need to speak to you.

How did that photo get out?

Hey, Sasha, do me a favor

and look into why Mal Paxton
was in China circa 20 years ago.

Like was it a study trip
or a Union junket?

Give me a sec.

Already checked it.

In June 1992, he was
on a Young Labor delegation to Beijing.

Who was head of mission then?

Well, I am reliably informed

that you are the resident expert
on all things China, Mr. Rankin.

I wouldn't say expert.
Aficionado, maybe.

You were there before
and after Tiananmen.

Indeed, um, and despite the trouble,

China was modernizing
and we had cause for optimism.

A lot of senior Australians visiting, too.

Oh, I did host a lot of important people,
from the Prime Minister down.

[Harriet chuckles]

I suppose some of them
weren't such big names,

but emerged later,
like Malcolm Paxton.

I understand that he was in Beijing
for several months in 1992?

Yes, I do recall that he was there.

Was there a diplomatic incident
of some kind?

Police trouble?

I know that he was arrested,

and you were head of mission,
so, you would know that, too.

Mr. Paxton has proven to be

a professional blindspot
in the past for you, Ms. Dunkley.

I would hate for history to repeat
over such a trivial matter.

[exhales]

[Harriet] Just in case.

Thank you so much for the tea,
Mr. Rankin.

[exhales]

Harriet Dunkley has just been here.

[Paxton] Prime minister.

Catriona tells me you set the cat
amongst the pigeons, Mal.

No, I said the cat actually fucked
the pigeons.

Mal's right.

Locking into Japanese subs
would be taking sides.

Admit it, Mal. You and your Panda mates
want to squirm away from allies

-who've had our backs--
-Since when? Since Vietnam, or Iraq?

Seriously, Catriona,
with friends like those--

It's a bad time
to commit to a new direction.

A silly girl sets herself
on fire in Beijing,

and we betray our closest ally?

A prisoner swap has been raised.

-They're willing to deal?
-Not in so many words.

Surely for the right offer.

America will not let Beijing
put a chokehold on world trade.

Why do you think
they've pivoted towards Asia?

The dragon has stirred
and needs to be contained.

For fuck's sake,
we're not joining a new arms race

and isolating
our biggest trading partner.

Marty?

You've seen the polls.

Until Sabine Hobbs gets home,

we do nothing
that might upset Beijing.

[chattering]

[knock on door]

-Do you mind?
-Don't let the Greens catch you.

You know how they feel
about old-growth forests.

Mal Paxton has killed the plan
to buy Soryu subs in Japan.

Avoid offending Beijing
while they hold Sabine Hobbs.

-Have you got a quote from Paxton?
-Not exactly on his Christmas card list.

-Give it to someone Paxton'll talk to.
-Please, Gus, not Griff.

He's running national political on Hobbs.
And what about your drowned kid?

Uh, the photo was wiped from my phone.

Some kind of hack.
Kim's looking into it.

Still got your ex-husband
doing your dirty work. [clears throat]

-What's this?
-Sabine Hobbs press pack.

-Make head office happy.
-Don't make me do a puff piece.

Human interest is for journos
interested in humans.

I do politicians.

It's the last days
of the dinosaurs, Harri.

Circulation's plummeting,
my gold retirement watch is ticking

and you're still in the doghouse.

Close the door on your way out.

[singing in Chinese on TV]

[woman on TV] Nine months ago,

Sabine Hobbs won the prestigious
Beijing Music Academy Scholarship,

resulting in her now infamous
and ill-fated trip to China.

Sabine's mother Diane also saw Sabine
in the Beijing prison,

and was satisfied...

[Sasha] Self-immolation
has a long history in Buddhism.

It's the ultimate act of dissent
against oppression.

The Vietnamese monk Quang Duc
called it "a donation to the struggle."

Sabine is a peace-loving advocate
for a free Tibet.

This was an act of naïve protest.

The government knows it.
Everyone knows it except for China.

My daughter is no terrorist...

Is there anything new here,
or are we just regurgitating a press pack?

[Toohey] Ladies and gentlemen,
I want you to welcome

the new United States Ambassador
to Australia, Mr. Brent Moreton.

[applause]

Thank you very much,
Mr. Prime Minister.

I'm a simple man.

I attended college
on a football scholarship,

which probably tells you
just how simple.

[laughter]

So, instead of giving a speech
of my own invention,

I will instead tell you what the president
said to me as I was leaving.

He called me into the Oval Office
and said to me,

"Brent, there's no greater friendship,
no truer alliance than that which exists

between Australia
and the United States.

And that's why
I'm sending you down there,

because no matter how hard you try,
even you can't screw it up."

[laughter]

Thank you.

So, how are you finding Canberra,
ambassador?

-Cold.
-Yes.

You never really get used to it.

Minister, this is going to feel tropical

compared to the fucking freezer the
White House is gonna put you in.

News does travel fast.

Congratulations on your appointment,
ambassador.

Thank you, ambassador.

-My wife, Weng Meihui.
-[Moreton] An absolute pleasure.

We haven't met. I'm Mal Paxton.

[singing in Chinese]

[Harriet]
So, you both sang with Sabine Hobbs?

-Yes.
-Yes.

-Beautiful voice.
-Like an angel.

How do you feel
about her 20-year prison sentence?

-I am sad for her family.
-Yeah.

Did Sabine have any involvement
with dissident groups...

like Falun Gong, or the Uyghurs,
or Free Tibet, that you knew of?

Hey.

My body in the lake?

He was in the same choir at ANU
as Sabine Hobbs.

Good day for the dinosaurs.

Miss Dunkley.

Mae Lin.

You do realize I'm not authorized
to speak to media

regarding Sabine Hobbs.

Of course.

I'm actually here about
the Beijing Music Academy scholarship,

of which Sabine Hobbs
was a recipient.

-Yes?
-I'm curious as to your role, Mae Lin.

Do you liaise directly
with prospective applicants

at the ANU Chinese
Choral Society, for instance?

Well, I represent the program
at various educational institutions.

-Oh.
-Including ANU.

Conducting information seminars...

attending ceremonies
with the ambassador's wife, and so on.

Do you remember meeting
a Max Dalgetty?

Not that I recall.

Oh.

Miss Dunkley, I have a meeting now.

[Harriet] Thank you...

for your time.

[Thomas] Kim?
That phone you gave me?

[Kim] How'd you go?

Back-door exploit.

Pretty sophisticated.

Untraceable.

Can you permanently delete it?

Yes.

[computer beeps]

[footsteps]

[Kim] Harri.

Someone saw us yesterday.

There's surveillance footage.

Everybody knows about us, Kim.

-It's in all of your disclosures.
-This is a serious warning.

What, you think someone's closing
ranks to cover an agency fuckup?

As long as you're following Dalgetty,
we cannot meet,

we cannot speak,
we cannot have any contact,

and if you breathe the words
"intelligence sources,"

I'll lose my job.

You haven't given me anything, Kim.

I don't want to end up in a Russian
share house with Snowden.

Can I have my phone?

-Did you get the photo back?
-No, we couldn't find it. Expert job.

You lie so well.

Anyone would think that
you had years of practice.

[classical music playing]

[doorbell rings]

[rock music playing]

-Hi.
-Hey.

Harriet had Max Dalgetty's photo
on her phone. From the lake.

Really?

Someone hacked in. Wiped it.

If Dalgetty's an agency fuckup,
it's a pretty big one.

That'd explain
why Vaughn's so worked up.

[sighs]

I saw him today, Dalgetty.

Sliced open while he was still alive,
pathologist said.

Whatever he swallowed, they got it.

Was he on the radar?

No. He is now, though.
Beijing made sure of that.

It's not exactly a good look...

letting MSS run around Canberra
knocking off an ANU student, on our soil.

We should be taking a hard look
at our friend from the embassy.

She's running someone,
Dancer, she has to be.

All our protocols
have been tightened.

And still there are things that
China knows that it has no right to know.

Unless they've got a high-level sleeper.

If you're looking at porn,
I'm offended.

[chuckles]

I'm looking through that list
that you e-mailed.

Searching the faculty records for students
in the Chinese Choral Society.

Ah. Kevin Dang. I know him.
He's in my computer science tute.

[sighs] There's no record
of a Max Dalgetty.

He's never been enrolled in ANU.

You off so soon?

Guess I'll see you next time
you're lonely and desperate.

Then I guess I'll see you soon.

[chuckles]

The, uh, Dalgetty investigation's
been shut down.

Shut down?

-Any particular reason?
-Inter-agency matter.

[sighs]

[man] Who've we got?

Lloyd Rankin, 63, asphyxiation.

Find out who he called last.

[cell phone rings]

-Mr. Rankin?
-[Brimmer] Who is this, please?

[sighs]

[in Chinese] Please. Why am I here?

[in Chinese]
You stole a classified MSS file.

I swear, I didn't...

You sent the file to this man.

[footsteps]

[sobbing]

You killed him.

[in Chinese] No. You did.

The journalist. Dunkley?

You will tell us what she knows.

[Weng] Hmm?

Tell us.