05x05 - What Company at What Expense?

[bunniefuu]

Right. So Nadine's made
her own E. Good for her.

It's legal E.
For now.
For now?

Once word gets out about it,
it'll be classified.

We gotta sell as many as
we can before that happens.

The Greegans are evil and conniving.
You're a detective — get detecting.

Garth Loader — .
Why should I care about this?

Sheree married that guy in ' .

Do you ever hear from Garth these
days? Oh, sorry — is that a touchy
subject or something?

It's because he d*ed!

Garth drowned in a
boating incident in ' .
Sheree pushed him out.

She wasn't on the boat, but
somebody else was — Nicky Greegan.

It took two days to sh**t,
and I even had a special guest star.

It's like the Ben-Hur
of infomercials.

I think it's on!

OK. Everyone just sit down.
Shh. I'm so nervous.

Hi, I'm Pascalle West.

sh*t, you look hot!

I was born right
here in West Auckland.

Not in this beautiful tree-like
place, but into a poor and
dysfunctional family.

It didn't stop me from living
my dreams — a modelling career,

my unique brand of inspiration
for senior citizens,

and now the incredible idea that
has changed my life as it will
soon change yours —

the Best Bag Ever — an idea so
obvious it took me to think of it.

(GIGGLES)

Because every woman knows
the pain of a messy bag —

your phone rings, but
you so can't find it;

Hi!

your favourite lippy — now
it's lost; that cute guy's
phone number, gone forever.

Well, let me tell you
how all that can change.

Oh, Pascalle, I'm so embarrassed.

Oh, Suzanne, come on —
haven't we all been there?
Suzanne Paul?

Yes. Her bag really was messy. She
was ever so lovely, and she really
does believe in the product.

And with the Best Bag Ever,
there is a place for everything.

(GASPS) Oh, Pascalle,
that's amazing!

There really is a
place for everything.

Your make-up, phone and, of
course, that very handy tampon.

This is the bag I've
been waiting for.

And now for the finale.

God, the tension. Will it
all fit in the bag (?)

Yes, I was thinking that too.

Is it really only $ ?

That's right. All with a
free clutch and key clip.

So, to receive your Best Bag Ever,
call the number now.

Call today and you'll receive my
special introductory offer — the
wristlet — entirely free!

(LAUGHS)
APPLAUSE

You were amazing!
Brilliant, babe.

Oh, I know. But, you know,
now it's just scary.

Why?
Well, what if they don't call?

HELLO SAILOR'S 'GUTTER BLACK'

♪ Lying in the gutter,

♪ I cut the cord from my mother.

♪ She pat me on the head and said,

♪ 'Go to sea, boy.
Get to sea, man.'

♪ My luck in the gutter black.

♪ I guess I'm running back...

♪ ...to you.

♪ You in my brain.
You in my heart. ♪

I don't quite get the
'chicks and bags' thing.

You don't wanna say
that around here.

If they didn't carry all that sh*t,
they wouldn't need a -hundie bag —
it would fit in a pocket.

Bro, I'm hearing—
Shh!

Uh-huh. I see.

Well, thanks, Dot.

What? What?

They're calling flat out.

Oh my God! Oh my God!

We should go down there, Ted.

Did you hear, Mum? They're calling!

That's wonderful, honey.

I know.

I better go.

OK.

Cher, have a drink with me.
I never see you lately.

I would, but I've got a morning tea.
Oh, cos Chelle's back?

Yeah, and Moana's leaving.

Moana's leaving? Why?
Cos she is.

But you so need her.

No, no, no — it's fine. It's fine.
Don't worry about it. Um, thanks for
the, uh, morning tea.

I'll see you down there. ]
[ Yep.

So, have you been on any
fishing expeditions lately?

Poor old Garth, eh?

NICKY: What do you want to know?

Just how a tragedy like
that could've happened,

how your brother-in-law just
happened to fall off a boat
and then end up dead.

It was a freak wave. We capsized.
Right.

You don't give a sh*t about us.

And we're just leaving.

I was establishing facts, Wayne.

You are sh*t-stirring.

Yeah, maybe a bit.

I saw the coroner's report.

And...?
Happened like he said.

You believe Nicky?

The inquiry showed no foul play.

(SCOFFS) Except for the guy who
wasn't Nicky not coming back! They
find the body?

No.
'Course not.

Look, it was ruled an
accident. Give it up.

Did Mum scare you off?
No.

She did scare you off.

She's got enough on
without you adding to it.

So that's it, case closed?
Yep. ]

Spoilsport.

We'll miss you, Mo. You've been
bloody brilliant. Come visit us.

Hear, hear!

Oh, thanks, guys.

Cher,...
Yeah?

...I need a f*g.

OK. Help yourselves, guys.
I'll be back in a minute.

Do you guys want a cup of tea?

Was it her idea, f*ring Mo?

No. No, and she's not fired.
Well, then why's she leaving?

I had to let her go.

You fired her?

Look, orders are down;
income is down.

It's not her fault.
I had to cut costs.

So you fired an innocent machinist?

Look, it's a redundancy.

Yeah, which still means no job,
which is still no money, whi...

God, Cher, are we
going down the tubes?

No! No, we're not
going down the tubes.

Well, people don't get fired when
things are hunky-dory. Who's next?

No one is getting fired.

I have mouths to feed, Cheryl —
kids and a struggling business.

Lloyd's not gonna go and get a job—

OK. If you're so worried, just get
out there and sell some knickers.

I will. I will, I promise.

Please... don't fire me.

PHONE RINGS

Welcome to Best Bag Ever.

There are so many bags.
How will we cope?

You leave that to me and Bilkey.
Chop-chop, Mr Parker.

Well, I could help.

No. No, you are the designer.
It's not in our deal.

I don't mind, if it would help.

OK. I'll come too.

My dear, you have far more important
things to do, and you should get
back to those.

Well, it is still a
little whiffy in here.

Oh, lunch from yesterday —
we ordered in fish and chips.

You think of everything.

I do my best.

[ Welcome to the Best Bag Ever.

You must be so proud
of Pascalle, Cheryl.

I'm proud of all my kids, Ngaire.

Pascalle's one out of the box —
beautiful, talented and such good
taste.

Dunno where she gets that from.

From her mother, obviously.

How's the undie business, Cheryl?

Lingerie, Ngaire.
Naughty knickers? ]

People like them.

Times are tough out there,
though, aren't they?

Yeah. Yeah, they are.

Is this packet gravy, Cheryl?

It's my gravy, and you
don't have to eat it.

Oh dear. Tetchy, tetchy.
You heard me.

Well, we do need to get back to it.
What, now?

We are so busy —
rushed off our feet.

And what do you do, exactly?

Oh, you know, helping out
where I can.

No rest for the wicked.

[ DOOR SLAMS

How are we all going?

Marvellous.

What are you doing here?

I said I could help.
Where's Mr Parker?

The loo.
He lives there.

He's got prostate problems.

Excuses, excuses.

Ngaire, you know, it is
kind of freezing in here.

If you wore more clothes,
you wouldn't be as cold.

Maybe a nip of something
to take the edge off.

Wow, you've got free booze?

Well, not entirely.

But for you, lovey,
it's on the house.

That's the last time I
cook for that bloody lot.

I like your gravy.

It's not from a bloody packet.

The way they give you gyp.

Oh, it's all right.

How was the farewell?
Awful. Chelle started panicking.

(SIGHS) You'll be OK, missus.

Do you know what?
I think I'm screwed.

I'm trying to cut costs, but
every time I think I'm ahead,
I've got bills.

I'm forking out shitloads
on the unit next door.

It seemed like a good deal when
we were working on that love sock.

Sublease it. Get rid of it.

(SIGHS) No takers, so far.

What about Pascalle's empire?

What about it?

Well, she's doing OK; she's
put a bit away in the bank.

I'm not a charity case.

You're proud, and that's great, but
you shouldn't have to stretch like
this.

If worst comes to worst,
we can live on my income.

Barefoot and pregnant in the
kitchen — is that what you want?

Well, yeah. That's my dream.

Can't do that to
Rochelle and the others.

And Hoochie's still mine.

(SIGHS) You'll think of something,
missus. You always do.

So me and Aaron and going to get
a pie and, um, I hear this voice,
right?

And it turns out to be Pascalle
on the news with Suzanne Paul.
Cool, eh?

It wasn't the news, Van,
it was a paid infomercial.

What, like the, uh, steak
knives and the 'abulator'?

Yes, Van.

Well, Suzanne was
pretty into it, man.

Yeah — that's how it works, Van.

So, what, Pascalle
paid to go on the telly?

Yeah. Well, she's rich —
she can afford it.
(SCOFFS)

Hey, babe — you know how we were
talking about getting our own place?

Yep.

Well, I've been looking at houses.

I thought we were cool here
now that you're good with Mum.

Loretta's still a total bitch—

Want me to talk to her?
No.

Cos I will. I'll tell her where
to get off. So I need to—

This one's OK.
Is that for real?

Yeah. Three bedrooms
and a huge backyard.

It's $ , .

Van, that's cheap for a house.

That is more money than
I will earn in my life.

But, babe, I'd be helping, and we've
still got the cash from the tanker
job,

and Nicky will have other gigs.

So, are we doing it?

I hate this job.
Same.

You guys are all class,
meeting clients off your face.

No, just focused.

I'd better go if you
wanna make dinner.

And who's paying for dinner?

It's a justified marketing expense.
Yeah, I want receipts.

You've a career as an accountant.

Well, maybe if you sold more and
stopped clocking up expenses, we
could get rid of this crap.

Tell you what — you're
distribution. Distribute.

I'll meet you guys there, eh?

Ciao, bella.

Bella?
So?

It's bello. You'd be a girl if you
were bella. You may be gay, but you
are not a girl.

Not that she'd know that,
because she's a science nerd.

You're especially grumpy today.

I hate people who do fake Italian.
And this stuff is really driving me
crazy.

Oh, right.
You are the facilitator, so
facilitate them out of here.

Where to?
Well, how about your gay pad?

Why would I have them at my house
if I have an office? (CHUCKLES)

Hey, you sure you don't wanna come?

Yes.
Sure?

Yes!
OK. They make a nice couple, eh?

Hayden,... N-N-Nadine.

Yeah, up yours, Jethro.

(CHUCKLES) Happy number crunching.

CHERYL: Hi.

Hi, Mum.
Hi.

All going well?

We are getting just such
great feedback, like,

'Pascalle, you rock to the max',
from the chicks in Taeri, wherever
that is.

Wow, so it is all going well.

Yeah, it's great. So great.
It's wonderful.

Yeah, it is.

It's just that Ted and Ngaire were
around for dinner last night, and
they said you were a bit pushed.

No, we're fine.

Well, they were working quite late.

Yeah, but that is good cos it
means people want our product.

It's just if you needed
some extra space,...

You think we need more space?

...the unit next door to Hoochie's
come up, and I own the lease.

The place we have for Hoochie Daddy?

It's next door, it's a good
space, I can give you a deal.

You think I can't organise
space for my workers?

If you need another space, a better
space, the amenities are good—

There's nothing wrong
with my amenities.

Well, there kind of is.

And what would you
know about my amenities?

Well, I wouldn't know.

It's just... Thought if
you needed some help...

I don't need help. I'm totally
organised and quite successful,
actually.

OK. Fine. It was just a... thought.

If you wanted it.
Well, thanks, but I don't.

OK. Sweet. See you.

Why does she have to do that? I
thought we were getting along again.
Do what?

(SIGHS) Make out like I'm some
big failure, when people are clearly
responding to my bag — our bag.

That's not what she was saying.

She was. I don't need charity.

But, Pascalle, you know, the
workroom — it's kind of cold,
and it stinks.

And have you seen the toilets?

It might need a little bit
of work, but it's early days.

And I just think we need to focus
on the beautiful positive and not
the hussy old negative. OK?

She's letting the unit go?

Yes.

Oh sh*t.

We are going down the tubes.

Hoochie's going down the tubes?

Yeah, well, she's f*ring people.

Cheryl fired Moana?

She said she made her redundant,
which is the same thing — on the
scrap heap.

Poor Moana.

Yeah, and the point is who's
next? Especially now that Sheree
is general manager.

No. Get out of here.

Yeah. The Grogan's in charge.

God. Cheryl must be desperate, eh?

Well, she didn't ask me.

Oh God. God, I feel terrible,
like this is partly my fault.

You recommended Sheree
as general manager?

No! No, I hate that slag.

But I made Cheryl take the unit,
you know? For that stupid love sock.

Oh, no, it's not stupid.
Lloyd still wears his.
Does he?

It's hot in the greenhouse,
but he says it's comfy.

OK. The point is I talked
Cheryl into taking that unit.

I was certain the love
sock was gonna be huge.

Then I just went and left her.
I abandoned her. I deserted her.

Oh, no, no. Don't say that.

Well, it's true.

Well, you think I feel good?

Oh, you haven't done anything.

The baby, all the time we took off.

That hasn't helped.

If I had have been there, I would be
Cheryl's general manager instead of
the Grogan.

Sheree is such a bitch.

And she is not gonna get fired
now she is general manager.

You think more people
will get fired?

f*ck, I dunno, Kase.

I just wanna keep my job.

We'll be in touch.
Thank you.

Thanks. Bye.

She'd be flogging knickers and
casing the joint at the same time.

Hey, Mum.

Hey.

Bye.

You could be a little bit more
polite. She is my general manager.

Yeah. What's this?

Lease agreement for next door.
Can I get out of it?

(SIGHS)

Short answer — no.

sh*t.

Hey, what's next door like?

Oh, like this, but empty.

Not bad.

Yeah, well, if it was substandard,
would it get me out of the lease?

Is this a cash flow thing?

It's a 'saving my arse'
kind of thing.

Well, I'll take it.

Here? Don't be ridiculous.

No, I need a space.

What for?

Storage, mainly.

A little side thing I got going,
kind of a herbal supplement.

You for real?
Yep.

(EXHALES)

I'm... not... asking you
to bail me out, Jethro.

(CHUCKLES) Fair enough.

Look, this is perfect
for what I need. All right?

If it helps you, it's a bonus.

Thanks. (CHUCKLES) sh*t.

Don't sweat it.
(CHUCKLES)

You did what?

You whined about the crap in here.
Now you have somewhere to put it.

I know where I'd like to put it.

It's the perfect solution.

You're a brown-nose. And Mum
will be the landlord from hell.

She's fine.
What did you tell her?

Not much. They have a home
now. Isn't that good?

No. She'll be impossible,
and you know it.

It solves both our problems. OK?

Yeah, and you get to be
number-one greaseball.

Well, I'm always popular. That's me.

Oh, are you cooking
dinner for me again?

Why? You wanna take over?

(LAUGHS) Sorry. Not barefoot
and pregnant any time soon.

Mmm. I got sh*t of the lease.

Yay! Pascalle?

No, bugger her. Jethro.
Really?

Yeah. So at least one of
my kids still loves me.

Hey, Thursday fives — you in?

I haven't got any cash.

No worries — we'll mark it down and
take it off the wages. Easy-peasy.

Back to it, everyone!

Excuse me, I have
to ask you something.

About what?

Is it true that they're
only getting bucks an hour?

Who said that?

Mr Parker, another toilet break?
I'd like a quick word, if you don't
mind. We'll take this outside.

OK, you, shall we go and rark up
a giraffe or something, huh?

Bye-bye. You be good.

You're a godsend.

Happy to help. Hey, great timing
on the business front, too.

Sorry?
That unit — it sounds
perfect for us.

Us?
Yeah. I'm in partnership
with Jethro and Loretta.

You're in partnership with Loretta?
Stranger things have happened.

[ Not much stranger.

True.

Oh well, if it stays within
the family, it can't be all bad,
I guess.

See you later.

Why do you need the key?

Did you not hear?
I'm your new neighbour.

Doing what?
Actually, I'm thinking there's a
big future in deep-sea adventures.

Key for next door, please.

So, you and Jethro and
Hayden in business together.

Yeah — think Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

Come on — tell us all about it.

Later.

Cheryl, I am the GM.
Do I not get consulted?

Well, what's to consult?

Thanks to Jethro, we have the cash
guzzler off our hands and a sh*t
show of survival.

on the nose, for
a place. What'll it be?

Place.
Place. Morning.

These are the colours
that I'm thinking of.

Ooh, very saucy.

Excellent driving, door to door, all
deductible. Shall I put you down?

Where's Mr Parker?

He's... left us.

He's dead?

Don't be silly.

Um,... can I get his number?

Why?

Just to call him, you know,
check if he's OK.

You'll have to talk to Ngaire about
that. I'm loving this blue, darling.

MEN LAUGH

I just feel so sorry for them.

And it's cold. And Ngaire's keeping
them there till, like, o'clock.

They do it because they want to.

They're scared of her.

(SCOFFS) Ngaire is not scary.

Well, OK — she is a little bit. But
she's also really kind, and they get
food and they get transport—

They have to pay for that.

Well, that's fair enough.

But they're hardly getting paid.

You know, and poor Mr Parker,
you know, with the prostate and
arthritis, after I talked to him,

they took him outside.

And what?

They said they took him home.

That's a nice thing to do,
if he's not well—

They got rid of him, Pascalle.

Kasey, Why are you telling me this?

Cos it's your company.

Ngaire is in charge of those things.
We do our side of things, so we
should just do our side.

FOOD PROCESSOR WHIRRS

CROWD CHATTERS

Hey.

Hi, Cher.

You OK? Coping?

Rochelle's back, and we're rid
of the unit; it's all good.

Really?
Yeah.

You're not trying to
make me feel better?

No, I'm not just saying
that to make you feel better.

Well, I do feel better.

And also I don't. God, I really
wish we could have taken the unit.

Well, Pascalle didn't want it.

But Pascalle doesn't really
know what's going on down there.

What is going on down there?

If I tell you, will you
promise not to tell Ngaire?

Oh, f*ck, why would I tell her?

If she knew I was talking
to you, there'd be reprisals.

You're kidding?
No, I'm not, Cher. It's like
a concentration camp, you know?

And Ngaire's like the commandant.
Grandpa and Falani are like guards.

And they're always taking
people's money off them.

That's a surprise (!)

Cher, those poor old people
are working so hard. You know?

And some of them are, like,
crippled. And they get paid, like,
minimum wage, like, bucks an hour.

No, that's not minimum wage.

It isn't?
No, no. sh*t no.

God. See? You know about
these things, and I don't.

Look, this isn't really my
business, though, you know?

Cher, I'm just one little person
against the system, you know? And
I can see the evil.

There's no way I can fight this.

(SIGHS)

QUIET HUBBUB

Cheryl.

What brings you to see us?
My daughter.

Our wonderful leader,
the queen of our hearts.
Where is she?

Her radiance is
often hidden from us.

Yeah, not surprising.

You, uh, on the payroll here?

Oh, good heavens, no! No.

(CHUCKLES) A humble subcontractor
involved in the supply of
transportation and comestibles.

You do the food?

Mrs Falani does a fine pork roll,
and it means they never have to
leave the premises.

Poor bastards.

It's a terrible thing to
grow old and alone, Cheryl.

I have such good company here,
and there's the housie on Tuesdays—

Wow. It's a regular glee club,
isn't it? What do you get out of it?

Oh, it's enough for me to know that
I'm giving a little bit of cheer to
my elders and betters.

It'd be great if you bowled it.

(CHUCKLES) It's not flash, but
they're desperate, and we could
knock them down .

We could?
Nicky, I need to get
out of that house.

I haven't got any spare cash.

What about Pascalle?

Christ, Sheree, you can see
where she's put her money.

Can't be all of it.

It's just... It's not
a good time right now.

And when will be?

Babe, you need to be patient.

It's a long game, remember?

Oh well, I'll just have
to come up with something.

Hey, like what?

Well, if you're not gonna help me...

I'll see what I can run to.

Me too.

PASCALLE: Nature inspires me.
I love nature, I love the trees,
I love bushes...

(SIGHS) The door was open.
I'm a bit busy, Mum.

Yeah. Hey, um, do you ever
go down to your workroom?

You here to hassle me again?

No, I'm not, love, but...

Have you heard of something
called the minimum wage?

Yeah.
You need to pay your
workers $ an hour.

You been talking to Kasey?
I was looking for you.
I talked to Falani.

Who is helping out with Grandpa.

Why do you think that is, love?

Because they believe in me, and
they want me to succeed, unlike you.

Love, they're on the scam.
They're not.

Look, you're very trusting and only
want what's best, but this is not
how to do business.

This is you criticising me again.

No, it's not, but there are rules
about how you run a workplace.

There are things like minimum wages
and human bloody decency.

Are you saying I'm mean?
I'm not. I'm—

I care about old people
a lot more than you do.

OK. I'm not here to argue with you.

But... you could get
prosecuted for this.
That could happen?

What you're doing is not legal.
And if word got out—

You would tell?
No, no. Of course I wouldn't.
That is not the point.

The point is, if the sh*t hit
the fan, this would not be the
Best Bag Ever.

This would be your
worst bloody nightmare.

(SIGHS) Yeah. I'll deal with it, OK?

Well?
It's simply not true.
Everyone is on the minimum.

Which is $ ?
Minus deductions.

Deductions?
A few dollars for catering,
the bus service.

There's a bus?

Falani and his minivan. Then, of
course, there's the social club—

Is that legal?
Entirely.

They agreed to it?

It's in the contract.
They're happy to be looked after.

And let's remember, this
is on top of the pension.

And this is totally
cross-your-heart true?

Look at the books any time you like.

I will. And I also want there to
be some improvements done to the
workroom.

My dear, who's been upsetting you?
No one.

Was it Kasey?
No.

She seems an emotional
young woman, highly strung.

She's a creative.
They get like that.

So it was her?

No, actually. It was Mum.

Cheryl.

What's it got to do with her?

She was trying to help, I think.

(LAUGHS)

Oh, it must be so hard for her,
looking at you doing so well when
she's doing so badly.

Is she?
Well, you're on the way up;
she's on the way down.

I say there's more than a
touch of jealousy going on here.

There is a lot of tramp underwear
in the world and only one Best Bag.

Absolutely.

I still want to be more involved.

Any time.
How about now?

Well, this is just me wanting to say
thank you to you all for a week of
very hard work.

I am so proud of the way that you
all believe in me and the way that
I believe in me,

and I've bought you some new heaters
to keep you all toasty warm.

Cos I really want you guys
to just be happy in your work.

Don't forget — even though I am
super busy, my door is always open.
So any worries you may have, just—

Let's all hear it for Pascalle!

APPLAUSE, CHEERING

FUSE BLOWS

Damn power point overloaded.

There's only one?

This is choice. This is choice.

You haven't even seen inside.

You could have a jungle gym
here, man, with two swings

and a sandpit down over here. ]

Babe, we'll have to
get the place first.

A paddling pool, but deeper.

Van, Van. Hey,... if we're gonna do
this, we have to get serious, OK?

I'm not very good with
banks and sh*t. So—

No, we don't have to do any of that,
but we'll have to talk about the
future and money.

Yeah, money. Mm.
Yeah, mm. Yeah, sure.

But we'll have the pool here, right?

How much do I earn a year?
Bugger all.

No, no. How much?

(SIGHS)

Yep, it's still bugger all.

Eh? This is a successful business.
And what about the cream?

The cream's a bonus, not your
baseline income, which is bugger
all.

Yeah. All right. Well, can you, um,
like, write that down or something?

Sure.

Ta.

READS: 'Bugger...

'...all.'

Do you wanna stop dicking around?
I gotta prove I've got an income.

Why?
It's just the crap you gotta do
when you're getting a mortgage.

Are you buying a house?

Yep — me and Sheree, for the babies.
Right.

So I have to provide for them
in case something happens to me.

Nothing ever happens to you, Van.

Well, it could, Loretta.

I got a pretty dangerous job, man —
I could put my finger in a socket;
I could mess with a chainsaw.

Not even you would be that stupid.

Well, come on, I just... Look, man,
this is life and death. OK? Because
if I die, that means death. Right?

I can't just leave Sheree with
two kids and nothing to live on.

What are you talking about?

Don't know much, do you?
It's called insurance. All right?

Life insurance?

Yes. And, um, Sheree reckons—

Sheree reckons?

Yes, Sheree is really really
good at that sort of stuff.

Anyway, can you just, um,
print it out or something?

[ Hellooo? Just do it.

It's so f*cking obvious. I don't
know why we didn't think of it
before.

They knocked off Garth
for his life insurance.

And you know that he
had life insurance?

I know a person who
could find out if he did.
(CHUCKLES)

Wayne, guess who talked my
feeble-minded brother into
buying a house with her.

Guess who's also convinced him to
take out life insurance — ,
bucks worth of life insurance.

I wonder who that might be.

Hi, love.

Hi.

I just wanted to let you know that
I have dealt with the things you've
raised. Now everything's happy.

The wages thing was
just a misunderstanding.

How do you know that?

Ngaire said, and she wouldn't lie to
me, cos she knows how cross I get.

Right.

And I know the only reason
you did it is because you care

and also because things might
not be going so well for you.

No, no. They're fine.

Well, that's great, but, um,
I've still decided to say yes.

To what?
Taking the unit next door,
if it's big enough, of course.

Well, you can't, hon. I've let it.
Who to?

Loretta and Jethro.
Why?

It was a big help, but that's not
why they did it. It's for their
business.

Their drug-dealing business?

No, no. It's a herbal supplement.

Mum, they're dealing party pills.
Rubbish.

Well, they are. I witnessed one
of their experiments that almost
k*lled an innocent person.

Just one more for the road.

OK, but we're stopping at six.

If you'd call Aaron Spiller
innocent or a person.

What are you talking about?

Mum, they are dealing dr*gs,
which by the way, are illegal.
Bullshit.

They are. You think I'm too
trusting, worrying if I'm doing
illegal stuff. And what about them?

Hey, can I help you?

Who the hell are you?

Hey, it's Cheryl,
isn't it? Mrs West?

Yeah, the landlord.

Yeah, we've met — years ago.
I'm Nadine. Remember?

Oh my God. Nadine Kronk.

Pascalle. Yeah, it's
been ages. How are you?

Wow, you're not stuttering.

No, I'm not. And, hey, you're
looking good. And I love your bag.

Do you? Well, it's called
the Best Bag Ever.

Can I help you, Mrs West?

No.

It's kind of private property,
Mrs West, if you don't mind.

What the hell is this?

It's our product.

The dr*gs.

The party pills.

Well, f*ck me.

Where's your brother?
Which one?

The one you're dealing sh*t
with from my premises.

Mum, it's not sh*t, it's quality
product. It's not dealing; it's
distributing.

It is an illegal drug.

No, it's not. Well, not yet.
Why not yet?

The active ingredient, which I can't
pronounce, has yet to be classified—

It's still illegal!

No, that could take
months or even years.

It's a drug! Do you f*cking deny it?

So is alcohol. With this pill, you
don't even get a hangover. It makes
you feel really good,

which is why people—
Christ, what is wrong with you?

Mum, it's not the new P, OK? It's
safe, and we've all tried it — some
more than others.

Did you get Jethro into this?

No, actually. It was Jethro's idea.

Nadine — chemical whizz, Jethro's
one friend at Shadbolt High,
possibly still his only friend —

developed the product, and against
all odds, turned into a hottie—

They're together?

Uh, no. Nadine's actually
with Hayden. Go figure.

What, he takes this sh*t?

Like I said, some more than others.

Cheryl.
Where is she?

Who?
Jane.

Oh, she's taking a nap.

It's hardly nap time.

No, but we got back from the zoo
a little bit late. We had such a
great time. (CHUCKLES)

We must have spent about an hour
just checking out the meerkats.

They're so cool the way they can
just pop up and down out of their
holes. It's f*cking brilliant.

What, you don't
like meerkats, Cheryl?

Cheryl, what's going on?

I'm taking Jane home.

Didn't we say that I'd
have her for the night?

My little girl does not
hang out with druggies.

Cher, she's all right.
What are you doing? She's OK.

Oh, don't you argue. You'll be
lucky if you ever see her again.

JANE CRIES
What?

If you wanna argue,
get a damn lawyer.

JANE CRIES, DOOR CLOSES ]

So all I've gotta do is sign this?

Yeah, just here, hon.

Well, I had no idea
this would be this easy.

There's no need to rush.

Well, I am in a bit of a rush,
Wayne. Got an emergency drainage
job out at Scenic Dr.

Toilet's backed up.
There's sh*t all over the—

Just sign, Van.

Yeah.

Van... West.

And here. ]

But I signed there.

But there's a copy.

What are you doing?

Van's taking out life insurance.

We found a house.

What, to buy?

Made an offer.
Wow.

What's the big deal about insurance?

Is it any of your business?

I'm just sayin'.

You've gotta plan ahead
if you're having a family.

Wouldn't mortgage insurance be
enough to keep the banks happy?

Is that your business?

Yeah, I just think that—
Just butt out, Wayne.

And there we have it. Now you've got
heaps of my signatures. Huh? Thank
you, Leonard.

Nice one, babe.

What was that about?

Van taking out life insurance.

What's wrong with that? He's about
to start a family. God knows I still
can't get used to that.

Since when did your family
believe in life insurance?

It's his choice. Good on him, I say.

It wasn't his choice. Did Sheree
tell you she got a six-figure payout
from her husband's death?

No. Why would she? How do you know?

I made some calls.

Were you snooping again?
No, I made calls.

Jesus, I thought you were over that.

It's out there,
but I worry about Van.

Yeah, so do I, but life
insurance is not a crime.
I know, but—

Look, if you wanna worry about my
kids, worry about the other three.

Van and Sheree are the only ones
who do anything f*cking right.

Oh, what have they done now?
PHONE RINGS

If it's gone sticky,
does that mean it's cooked?

Hi, Ngaire.

Sorry to call. We have a situation.
Uh-huh.

We have an inspector
on the premises.

A cop?

A health and safety inspector
from the Department of Labour.

Well, at least it's not a cop.

There's been a complaint made. If
we don't pass the inspection, they
could close us down.

No, they can't, and we'll fix it.
And who complained?

I'll interrogate later. Gotta go.
I'll keep this under control.

(SCOFFS) Somebody dobbed us in
to the health and safety people.

sh*t.

She accused me of being a druggie.

Sometimes she is so
unreasonably hysterical.

What did you say to her?

Nothing — except the truth.

Why the f*ck did you do that?

You thought she wouldn't find
out? It was a matter of time.

It was your dumb idea to play
knight in shining armour.

She's insane.
That's our mother.

I need to see Jane.
If she wants a fight, I'll do it.

Hey, she overreacted, all right?
Don't worry about it. I'll sort her
out.

You?
I know how to deal with her.

Jethro, I hate to tell you, but you
are top of her 'most wanted' list.

You wound her up.

Oh, and you're gonna wind her down,
because you're number-one son?

[ f*ck up.

This I have to see.

It's just time we
got our own place.

Yeah. Well, that's a good idea.

But we might not even get it,
so it will be a while.

Hey, Mum.

You lot here for dinner?

No, they're not.

Just to clear up a misunderstanding.

Nothing to clear up, Jethro.
There is.

No. Don't come here and act like
it's my problem, after what you did.

Well, I've only tried to help you.

What, by dealing dr*gs
in my premises?

No one is dealing dr*gs.

I tried to tell you that.

How could you?
Not now.

Did you dob us in to
health and safety?

What are you talking about?

They're shutting us down.
You're a dirty dobber.

(LAUGHS) That's rich
coming from you.

I am running a legitimate business,
or I was until you tried to ruin it!

I didn't do a thing.

Just calm the f—
Shut up, Jethro!

Shut up, Jethro.

Shut up, all of you. You're as bad
as each other, except for Van.

What?
What's good about Van?

You should worry about Van most —
he's with the black widow.
You can cut that crap.

Oh, grand for one dead husband?
And I wonder what Nicky's share was.

Loretta.
f*ck off.

That is enough from you!
You think we're criminals—

No, I have rules. You know I do. And
while you're living in this house—

Hello — I don't live here.
No, no. I don't care.

But I do care when you break the law
or when you treat other people like
they're crap on your shoe.

Yes, I want you to be successful.
That's why I changed things here —

so you wouldn't end up in prison or
making the same bloody mistakes as
your father.

We're not doing that, Mum.
Aren't you?

Mum, we're not little kids any more.
We can make our own decisions.

No, no. It's fine that you've got
your rules, but we're not breaking
them.

You may not like what we're doing,
but no one here is involved in
anything criminal or illegal.

You can't deny Hayden him access
to his kid. He's done nothing wrong,
and you're being f*cking irrational!

sh*t. Look,...

Mum, we love you.

OK? And we respect you.

But we're not in the wrong here.
OK? And when you calm down,
hopefully you'll see that.

DOOR CLOSES

Well, thanks for trying.

Jethro, you made sense.
I didn't know you could.

Being the man of the house.

Well, I thought he did a
really good job of avoiding Mum.

Who's up for a drink?

Great idea. Your round, Jethro.

CELLPHONE RINGS
I'll meet you there.

Ngaire, what's happening?

We have a number of issues with the
premises, but I got the name of our
whistleblower.

That's OK. That person
knows exactly how I feel.

Mr Parker?
Who?

A disgruntled former employee,
thankfully no longer with us.

Well, thanks for letting me know.

MELANCHOLY MUSIC

Hey, are you coming or not?

Yeah, OK.

Thanks.

(SIGHS)

It'll settle.

They know how I feel. They
know what my rules are.

And they accuse me of
being unreasonable.

You? Never.

Dinner's nearly ready, eh.

OK. Be out in a minute.

(SIGHS)

SOMBRE MUSIC

(GASPS SOFTLY)

Wayne.
Mm?

Wayne, I'm bleeding.

sh*t.