Find SCORPIA. Find out who you really are.
Big bro!
The more I scrape away the surface,
the more it seems like SCORPIA are always there.
[Kyra] Codename "The Widow."
SCORPIA operative. Name unknown.
Multiple aliases.
- Don't touch me! - [men grunting]
- Maybe we should contact the Department. - No way.
I'm done trusting Alan Blunt.
I've got a match. It's here! In Valletta.
- Her name is Julia Rothman. - [Alex] The Widow.
Just don't do anything breathtakingly stupid.
Alex Rider is here, right now, in Malta.
The operation is codenamed Invisible Sword.
By the time we're done, the United Kingdom will be in ruins.
[intense music playing]
[distorted voice] This is SCORPIA.
A weapon is aimed at Great Britain.
A weapon capable of striking without warning, anywhere, any time.
A weapon capable of inflicting a hundred thousand deaths in a heartbeat.
This weapon is called Invisible Sword.
Unless you comply with our demands, we will unleash it on your population.
We will deal only with the Department.
[man] Home Secretary?
Get me Alan Blunt.
[theme song playing]
[Tom] So Julia Rothman, definitely a wrong 'un.
Not just a patron of the arts?
And the guy who attacked me was fast.
I mean, scary fast. If I hadn't had Kyra's lockpick...
Lucky lock pick.
What's Julia Rothman doing paying off some scientist in diamonds?
Did you get a name for this guy?
Kovacic... Dr. Kovacic.
Okay, maybe we find out what kind of scientist he is,
we find out what Julia Rothman's into.
- You hear anything else about him? - She told him to go back to Con-something.
Okay. I'm on the doctor.
So, what about us?
I say we go back to Julia's villa.
Whoa. No. Bad idea, man.
[Alex] If she's SCORPIA, she lives in the shadows.
Attention's the last thing she wants.
We go back. Knock on the front door. Completely open.
Your friend attacked me last night, and I'm going to the police and the press.
Call her out.
See what happens.
I mean, it's risky, but...
Worth a shot.
Yeah.
Yeah. Come on. Let's do it.
- Right, do you need anything? - A Cornetto, please.
[Tom] Sorted.
[distorted voice] A weapon is aimed at Great Britain.
This weapon is called "Invisible Sword."
Unless you comply with our demands, we will unleash it on your population.
We will deal only with the Department.
Pause there, please.
Note that there is absolutely no description of how this weapon works
or what technology it uses.
Why would there be?
To make the threat credible.
The scorpion on the envelope makes the threat credible.
Home Secretary?
Well, that's terribly convenient for them, isn't it?
They issue their demands,
and we bend over because we're afraid of their letterhead.
You don't know SCORPIA the way I do.
This department spent years battling them.
Before your time, of course.
If that's the case, why didn't you put an end to them?
Seventeen years ago, SCORPIA command was eradicated.
We brought them down.
Years went by without a whisper.
Then the Point Blanc incident had SCORPIA's prints all over it.
Damian Cray.
So what we believe is that they've regrouped.
New leadership.
Very cautious.
Operating from the shadows.
Until now.
What exactly are the demands?
Continue, please.
[distorted voice] Britain holds billions of pounds of foreign debt.
Much of this debt is in Third World countries.
British greed is sucking the world dry.
You will abandon your claim to this debt.
You will give the money over freely.
Refuse, and Invisible Sword will strike.
Fail, and Invisible Sword will strike.
Do not attempt to trace this message or there will be consequences.
Well, that's impossible.
The financial sector's precarious enough right now.
Something like this would cripple the city, banks would collapse.
We'd have the worst recession we've ever seen,
and we'd have it overnight.
A lot of people think holding Third World debt is immoral.
Well, are any of them in this room?
- It's a bluff. It has to be. - Why do you think that?
A mystery weapon they can point anywhere in the world
that can kill a hundred thousand people without warning?
The nearest thing would be a nuclear missile.
We'd see that coming. We have countermeasures.
They're saying this is instant and unstoppable.
It doesn't exist.
If it did...
we'd know about it.
We'd have it.
The video was created this morning.
So whoever's responsible is here in London.
Ma'am, they explicitly said not to trace the message.
Who are you?
Pritchard, ma'am.
Data specialist. I'm new.
Well, new Ms. Pritchard,
the British government does not negotiate with terrorists.
No matter what imaginary weapons they're brandishing.
Find them.
You sure this is a good idea?
Just have your phone ready.
If anything happens, film it, post it on TikTok, call the cops.
Guess we don't have to knock.
Are you sure this is the right place?
[Alex] This is the place.
Definitely wasn't this easy yesterday.
Hello?
Wow.
This is actually pretty cool.
Yeah.
[in Maltese] What are you doing here?
Oh, hi.
Excuse us.
We need to see Mrs. Rothman.
- Julia. - [in English] Not possible.
I know she owns this place and she was here two nights ago.
- We need to talk to her. - You need to leave.
[Tom] Actually...
My friend was assaulted the other night,
and it was a mate of Mrs. Rothman's that did it, so, believe me,
we're gonna talk to her.
Yes, but not possible. Not here.
[Alex] Well, where can we find her? Where is she?
She has meetings.
Oh, yeah?
Or maybe she's in here.
Excuse me!
What is your name?
That doesn't matter.
Put the phone down. Switch it off.
You want to talk Mrs. Rothman, you make appointment.
You don't come to private home, waving phone and shouting.
Maybe when she is finished with Consanto she will see you.
Or maybe not.
But no more of this.
Okay.
Fair enough.
We'll leave.
Consanto.
That was the place she told the doctor guy to go back to.
Mrs. Rothman?
He was just here, looking for you.
Yes. Consanto.
Exactly as you told me.
Pritchard.
How are you finding things?
Everything's good. Thank you, ma'am.
Try being honest.
I've spent my whole life being top of my class. Top of my year.
You're not used to being out of your depth.
- How does that feel? - Exhilarating.
Though, when I close my eyes, I see threat assessments.
I used to have that when I started out, but it goes away with time.
Listen, I want you to work with Smithers on the SCORPIA communication.
Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
He's actually kind of a hero of mine.
I'm sure he'll be thrilled.
What did she say?
[Alex] She's not here anymore.
She's gone some place called Consanto.
I'm thinking it might be a town, or maybe a company or something.
Actually not.
It's a ship.
And look who owns it, Luka Kovacic.
MD, PhD, research scientist, pharmaceutical engineering.
Medical drugs, basically.
Consanto is his mobile lab, bought 12 years ago with private funding.
Okay, so we've got a doctor, a medical researcher,
and he discovers something that SCORPIA want
and are prepared to pay for.
Yeah, $8 million worth of secret drug research.
It sounds very SCORPIA.
Do you think this guy knows who he's working for?
The way he talked to Julia Rothman wasn't like he was on the inside.
Basically treated her like she was some rich investor.
We need to find out what he sold her.
Anyone else, I could check their research filings,
but Kovacic isn't associated with any clinical research centres.
He's out on his own. Big Pharma won't touch him.
What about Consanto? Where's that?
That's the good bit.
It's docked right here in Valletta, undergoing repairs.
How's your new data specialist?
She's bright.
Test scores are off the chart.
She's a little eager, but weren't we all to begin with?
I assigned her to work with Smithers.
We have an active threat.
SCORPIA.
Yeah?
Of course, I will see that through.
But I want this to be my last assignment.
I've been trying to find the right time to tell you,
but there never is a right time, is there?
There's always something. Always a threat, always some danger.
- But I need this to be my last one. - Why?
Pritchard was saying when she closes her eyes,
she sees threat assessments.
That used to be me.
What do you see now?
Dead friends.
Don't you think there ought to be more to life than what we do?
No. And I don't think you do, either.
Is this about the Damian Cray operation? Our conversation, me not trusting Alex?
- Not trusting any of us. - We trusted Martin, didn't we?
Right up until the moment Ian Rider got a bullet in his brain.
I am not a double agent.
I know.
Where does it end?
It doesn't.
Like I was saying, I will see it through.
I will make sure Pritchard is fully up to speed,
and then I will walk away while I still can.
[footfalls]
Yeah, sure. I'll talk to you later, ok?
Yeah, all right, bye.
What did Jack say?
Something about "walk soft, but carry a big stick."
Whoa. What are you doing?
Coming with?
No need. This is just a recon mission.
And I need you here.
We need background on Kovacic, Consanto.
- Yeah, already done that. - Okay, so there's gotta be more.
It would be great if you could really, you know, dig into the research.
- You're benching me? - No.
Yeah, you are. What the hell?
I just...
Look, you're hurt.
So? You can't go alone. You need someone to have your back.
Ready.
We'll be fine.
I already got you hurt once.
Please, just stay, rest, keep working on Consanto.
[Jay] What's Consanto?
Oh, ho! So guilty.
Come on. Fess up.
Um-- It's a club.
Been trying to score tickets, and it's never gonna happen.
Well, good luck with that.
- Something up? - Yeah, man, I got problems.
Man down.
My video guy went rock-climbing on Gozo,
took a tumble, cracked his patella.
So got this new guy, like a backup.
And I just met him and saw his reel.
I don't know. It's super lame.
Gonna need someone else.
- What, you need a camera guy? - And fast. Like, now.
Like, I gotta be packed and on a plane to Tunisia at 6.
He's gotta be right there.
And it's not just filming, it's editing, uploading,
he's gotta livestream the big events. So...
...you guys don't know anyone with skills, do you?
Um, I mean, we'll keep an eye out, man. Definitely.
Anyway, I kept the afternoon free.
And I know someone who rents Jet Skis.
What do you think?
Or we can just get some ice cream.
I mean, that sounds great,
but, um, me and Alex are thinking of going down the coast for a bit.
You know, a day at the beach kind of thing.
Oh! Okay.
Cool.
I could show you some neat places.
No, you know, you've probably got to pack up your stuff
and all of that.
Yeah.
Sure. No worries.
Kyra's staying.
So she can, you know, help.
So we'll just...
see you guys later.
[Tom] See you, bro.
Excellent.
[distorted voice] You will abandon your claim to this debt. You will give--
Give the money over freely.
Refuse, and Invisible Sword will strike.
- What do we have? - Fail--
Listen to this.
You will abandon your claim to this debt.
You will give the money over freely.
Refuse, and Invisible Sword will strike.
Fail, and Invisible Sword will strike.
Now listen again.
This time, with a notch filter
taking everything out between 200 hertz and eight kilohertz.
Forget the voice.
Listen to the background noise.
[rhythmic clicking]
It's slow. Thinking about 60, 70...
What is it?
A train.
It's a train going over points.
So the recording was made near a train line.
Exactly.
Wait.
Please, let it keep playing.
[clicking continues]
What are you hearing?
Ritardando.
It's slowing down.
I play the viola.
She's right.
At this rate of deceleration, our train would come to a halt
exactly nine seconds after the end of this recording.
So we're not next to a train line.
We're next to a train station.
Nice catch, Pritchard.
Thank you, ma'am.
Why'd you jump in like that?
Like what?
When Jay asked about needing a camera guy,
and you were like, "We'll keep our eyes open."
I mean, filming, editing, you know this stuff inside out.
You could do it in your sleep.
I know it's not arthouse,
but you could give it your own spin, make it your own.
And if the right person saw it...
Yeah, I know. Of course I know.
I've thought about all of this, but...
We've got stuff that we gotta do.
You don't have stuff. I have stuff.
And I'm your mate.
I know.
Me too.
But this could be your big break.
I don't want me having stuff to get in the way of that.
Just think about it, okay?
Yeah.
Yeah, sure. No.
[Jay] Tom's not usually big on beaches.
He's one of those,
"Sand gets everywhere, and there's nothing to do" kind of blokes.
So him and Alex going for a beach day, kind of feels like I got ditched here.
But we get to spend quality time together.
Let me ask you something.
If Jack was here, would she be buying it?
- Buying what? - The mystery beach visit.
Soup injury.
I mean, come on. For real?
I know it's tough to believe, but I'm not actually as stupid as I look.
Okay.
I don't need to know what really happened,
but I'm not keen on the idea of you guys taking unnecessary risks.
Says the adrenaline junkie who throws himself off buildings.
I know I do a lot of wild stuff, but I do it really, really carefully.
I've got a team at my back.
- Always remember your seven P's. - What seven P's?
Prior preparation and planning prevent piss-poor performance.
Point taken.
[Smithers] How's the image analysis going?
[Pritchard] Not so good.
I was trying to look into the shadows,
see if there's anything that might help us with the location.
Try going the other way.
The highlights.
They look kind of burnt out.
Even a little bit of data will give us something.
What is that?
I'm not sure.
How about we punch up the saturation?
See if there's a hue value we can pick up.
[Pritchard] That's weird.
Is it architecture?
More like signage, really.
I've seen that colour.
[Pritchard] So have I.
- An advert. - An advert.
There's one on the high-rise just down the road.
That one for the offices? The managed offices?
All right. Get in touch with the company.
Let's see if they've got any hoardings
on the approach to overland rail stations.
Well, that's it.
Doesn't look like the front door is an option.
[Tom] Pretty strong on the old security.
[Alex] Good place to hide something worth $8 million.
I could scuba my way in.
Hey, are you not smelling this water? It's toxic.
Jay says if you fall in here, your skin melts off.
Besides, even if you could, what then?
Slippery vertical steel all the way around.
Don't think swimming's an option.
Maybe there's another way.
Cheers.
Thanks for your help.
Got something.
Nice guy from the company says
they just took on a property right next to Hackney Downs.
Sign went up last week...
opposite unleased offices.
We have a location.
Sir?
What do you want?
I wanna go along.
I thought you were a data specialist.
I have an A+ rating in the field assessment.
And I'd really like to see this first one through.
Your call.
I think Pritchard's earned it.
Check your weapon.
[Alex] Tom and I got a good look at the outside.
Pretty run-down. Of course, what's on the inside is anyone's guess.
Well, this is what's on the inside.
What's this?
Original construction schematics
from the Ulsan shipyard in South Korea.
Full internal layout.
But when Kovacic acquired it,
he had it refitted for pharmaceutical work at Kolkata.
So now it looks like this.
You told me to do research.
- Yeah, but-- - But you thought I'd just sit around?
I guess not.
Okay, so this is all machine rooms and ventilation.
But the actual laboratory spaces are down here.
Okay, so that's where I need to be.
Also, Kovacic, more and more interesting guy.
Yeah, we know he's sketchy.
Professionally, yes. But personally, not great either.
Two divorces, and he put all his savings
into this venture capital thing in New Mexico.
It failed spectacularly.
He has a lot of debt.
That's why Consanto's still in repair.
Eight million in diamonds could fix that.
This is really great, Kyra.
Prior preparation and planning, right?
So how do you actually get in?
I'm working on it.
Pritchard.
- Do you read me? - Clear.
Stay cool, watch your 6.
Will do.
Where are we?
An empty office just outside Hackney Downs.
Crawley's leading the team inbound.
Based on the angle from the signage to the window,
we're putting them in Room 6.
[Crawley] Target acquired.
Show your hands! Show your hands!
Show your hands!
[men shouting]
What is that?
It's a mannequin.
Fan out.
Let's clear every room.
Let's get Forensics in here. We need to sweep the place now.
Quickly!
[radio chatter, indistinct]
There's a note.
Don't touch it!
Status report.
[coughing]
Agent...
Agent down.
Are you sure you've got everything you need?
I think so.
I want to be there to make sure.
- Kyra, no, you're not. - Yes, I am.
- We talked about this. Come on. - I don't care. I'm going--
Taxi's on its way.
How long are you guys hanging around, then?
Maybe just a few days. Finish our holiday.
- If that's okay. - Absolutely.
Just no pets, no parties. Remember?
Where's little bro?
Uh...
Look, he says that he is only alive because he's careful.
He prepares everything, and he has a team at his back.
No more discussion on this.
- Yeah? - Okay.
[Jones] Where are you going?
Pritchard's family.
I wanted to say how well she was regarded here at the bank.
It's the least we can do, don't you think?
I do.
- How are they taking it? - How would you?
I'm sorry.
Don't be.
They, um...
They wanted to see the body.
And what are we telling them?
The usual.
Car crash.
She wasn't wearing her seatbelt.
- Would you like me to come with you? - No.
Thank you.
You know, my climbing bag felt a little light.
Maybe I might have left a rope or two behind?
I'm not asking.
Just tell Alex to be safe.
And, uh, wear gloves, yeah?
He's lucky to have you around.
I love you, man.
Shut up.
[in Maltese] To the airport, please.
Think he might have noticed.
Thanks.
Alex.
Look, you are quick and kind of brave,
but none of that matters against a nerve toxin, or a virus,
or whatever it is Kovacic has cooked up in there.
Understand me?
Getting into Consanto is one thing. You have to get out too.
I will.
Where am I aiming again?
If the plans are right, there are stairs on the port side.
That should lead to the engine room. The lab is on the lower deck.
Okay. Wish me luck.
Mate.
Don't forget about the water.
You know, don't fall in.
Sort of need you un-melted at the end of this.
Got it.
[door clicks]
[Nile] Beautiful, aren't they?
What are you doing here?
I told Mrs. Rothman that I'd take care of everything.
These cylinders.
The contents are reactive?
Yes, yes, yes. Don't touch them.
You know you shouldn't be here. This is a laboratory.
Careful with those, Doctor. You don't wanna lose any.
What?
You're a scientist. Come and look at this.
The casing is made entirely of cellulose.
Effectively, very pure cardboard.
And when you combust cellulose, what's left over?
Carbon dioxide and water.
Which are everywhere. Which means that the casing,
just like every other component of the device,
effectively vanishes without a trace upon detonation.
What deto--?
[grunts]
Did you really think I'm gonna let you keep them?
You held your breath this time.
You're learning.
I have a message for you from Mrs. Rothman.
Everything you wanna know, about SCORPIA, about your past,
is waiting for you.
You just have to come with me.
Or stay here, and you'll never know.
This is a one-time offer.
An answer in the next 60 seconds is optimal.
[Kyra] What's taking him so long?
I mean, I'm sure he's fine.
Yeah, he's gonna--
[explosion]
[theme music playing]