01x04 - Boy Loses Dad

[bunniefuu]

[footsteps approaching]

Letter.

[security window locks]

[gentle music plays]

[Eli] Dear Alex,

note my temporary change of address,

my dad Robert's place.

Gus and I are here

because Mum is in prison.

Gus has been getting back into painting,

partly to cover up the holes in the wall,

but they're all pretty weird.

Yesterday, he did one of me with red hair

leaving the big red chicken shop

on Barrett Street.

He called that one Better Red than Dead.

And now he's doing the story

of how our mum met our dad.

She never did tell us what made her

leave home and run off like that.

But anyway, for some reason,

she takes off hitching up north.

She's just outside Townsville

when some sicko bundles her into his ute

and he drives away

off into the cane fields.

They hit some roadworks,

so he has to slow.

Don't you say a f*ckin' word.

- f*ck it!

- [gasps]

[tires screech]

[Eli] And then my mum just dives out

onto the tarmac.

[Frankie whimpers]

[driver] f*ck!

[truck engine revs]

[tires screech]

[man shouts]

[man] Hey, slow down!

[Frankie pants]

You're all right, love.

I got you. You're okay. You're okay.

Christ.

Thank you.

[hopeful music plays]

[Eli] Mum stared into the deep blue eyes

of the man who'd just saved her.

And that bloke was Robert Bell

G'day.

[Eli] my father.

[mischievous music plays]

[sighs]

[Robert] Mm

Uh

[bottles clattering]

[air hissing]

f*ck it.

Eh

Hello.

[sniffles]

Uh [exhales]

[coughs]

[grunts]

[sniffles]

[exhales sharply, sniffs]

Ah, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm

Oh f*ck. f*ck.

Oh f*ck! f*ck!

[wineglass breaks]

Help! Help!

[yelping] Oh! Ow! Oh!

Ah! Ah-ah-ah!

Help! Help! Help!

- Dad, what the

- [Robert] sh*t!

[Robert shouts]

[yelps] Ow!

What What'd you do that for?

- Your f*cking pants were on fire.

- I took 'em off, you fuckwit.

[Gus pants]

[man 1] Everything all right, Robert?

[man 2 chuckling]

Okay, folks, show's over.

- [woman] Okay.

- Thank you.

- [chuckles] Come on.

- [Robert] Where are my glasses?

Eli, where are my glasses, mate?

Stinks of turps in here.

What happened?

[Robert breathes heavily]

I was just tryin' to get a drink.

Maybe you should go to the pub next time.

Well, maybe you should stop spending

my child support on paints and sh*t.

Maybe you should

go and take us to see our mum.

It's called agoraphobia, Eli.

Agoraphobia. Uh? "Fear of public places

with many people in 'em,"

as defined by the Oxford Dictionary.

- You can get someone else to take ya.

- Like who?

Well, I dunno.

Maybe your old mate Slim Halliday.

Slim won't go near the place.

- [phone rings]

- We already asked.

Don't answer that.

That'll be child protection.

And you two gotta

get your arses back to school

before they take you to foster care.

And do not give me that look, Eli Bell!

It's not my fault your bloody stepfather

got eaten by a shark.

[ringing continues]

Oh, I'm sorry.

All right, look,

I'm gonna pick up my dole this arvo,

and you can all go get us

some chicken and chips for dinner, hey?

Family dinner.

Yeah?

Chicken, chips. Tomorrow I'll be better.

[ringing continues]

Uh

Sorry, mate.

[line rings]

[Slim coughs]

[dramatic music plays]

[dramatic music continues]

[somber piano music plays]

[Slim coughs]

[Slim continues coughing]

[music fades out]

[Bobby] Tinkerbell.

Is it true your brother

cut your finger off with an axe?

It was an accident.

Want us to pay him back?

Gotta stand up for yourself, mate,

or you never know where it'll end.

- Next time, he might cut your d*ck off.

- [bullies chuckling]

- We're starting a g*ng. Wanna join?

- [Eli] Thought you were in Darren's g*ng.

[Bobby] Darren's left school

to help his mum with her business.

What? He's helping Bich

run the restaurant now?

[Bobby] Her other business, bellend.

- I dunno anything about that.

- [Bobby] Sure you don't.

I heard your mum

got three to four years for dealing.

How's she going at Boggo Road?

Or haven't you been yet?

I hear they're all lezzies

or else having to f*ck the screws.

[bullies chuckle]

If you're gonna visit,

you'd want to smarten yourself up first.

Give your hair a good shampoo, hey.

- I got 'im! I got 'im! Someone help.

- No! Ah!

- All right, open his arms.

- Calm down, mate.

[Eli] Oh, come on. Oh, f*ck off, Bobby.

[dramatic music plays]

- Come on, guys! Come on!

- [boy] How does that feel?

[Bobby] Rub it in all over.

Nourish the roots, there you go.

- [boy] Nice.

- [Eli] Get off me!

[boy] How's that feel, Eli?

[dramatic music continues]

[Gus] Did you get the video?

[dramatic music fades out]

Hey, Eli.

[shower runs]

What happened?

It's just tomato sauce.

Bobby Linyette and his mates got me.

- Want me to do 'em over?

- No.

I should learn to fight my own battles.

Better red than dead, right?

[gentle piano music plays]

It gets better.

What does?

This life.

So good you'll forget it was ever bad.

[Eli] Sure.

How's that gonna happen?

It just will.

I've been here before.

What are you crapping on about, Gus?

We live the same life over and over.

Once you die, you go back

and do it again, same but different.

[scoffs] Slim had a different theory.

[chuckles] It's not a theory.

You and me d*ed once already, remember?

And we came back.

Each time, I I try

and picture the mistakes we made,

so I know how to fix 'em.

Comes back to me

in random bits and pieces,

but it's just how the future speaks to us.

You remember that voice

on the red telephone, right?

Yeah.

Remember how you thought

you recognized it?

I think that was me.

[intriguing music plays]

Speaking to you from the future.

[intriguing music fades out]

Look.

Gus, I like it

that we're talking now, but

[inhales]

please, don't you

go f*cking psycho on me.

Life's hard enough as it is.

[dreamy music plays]

[mouths] Help!

[dramatic music crescendoes]

[door buzzes]

[woman singing indistinctly]

[Frankie] Hey. Hey, guard!

Frankie, cut it out with these knock-ups.

What is it this time?

I'm still waiting

for contact with my kids.

- There's a phone. You got a phone number?

- Yeah, my ex's and he's not answering.

- [guard] So write to them.

- Yeah, I tried that. No reply.

[guard] Well, write to them again, maybe.

I know what's going on here.

Tell me. What's going on?

f*cking Tim Cotton doesn't want me

talking to my family.

- I've no idea what you're talkin' about.

- Ask Detective Cotton.

I just really wanna talk to my family

like everyone else does.

Can you tell him that? Please.

Frankie, love, we're just tryin'

to give everyone their lunch here.

Put any messages for the higher-ups

in the complaints box.

[door locks]

[dramatic music plays]

[fire crackling]

[roommate inhales]

Do you want a taste?

No.

No, thank you.

I need time to think.

[sighs, chuckles] Well, bloody oath.

[inhales deeply]

This is the place to do it.

[door buzzes]

[door opens in distance]

[door closes]

- [announcers speaking indistinctly on TV]

- [dramatic music fades out]

Mm sh*t.

Here, have a look at that.

Look at that, boys.

You'll have to get your arses

back to school, quick-smart.

We'll go when you take us to see our mum.

Fine, all right.

Well, you'll get taken away from here,

you'll go into a foster home,

and then you can

grow up to be career criminals

like, you know,

your old mate Slim Halliday.

[Eli] She'll think we forgot about her!

Look, I'm not being a prick

for shits and giggles.

I'm tryin' to look out for ya.

[phone rings]

Don't answer that.

[ringing continues]

[ringing continues]

[phone rings]

[Caitlyn] This is Lyle Orlik.

A mid-level drug dealer from Darra

who reportedly went on the run.

Now, we all know heroin importation

is dominated by gangs out of Vietnam.

[inhales]

Cutting off limbs as payback

is kind of their signature.

So you're saying Mr. Orlik

isn't actually a shark att*ck?

[inhales] "Ragged amputation

through the knee joint, cause unknown."

And did we track down who Frankie is?

Frankie Bell, Lyle Orlik's de facto wife,

was taken into custody a while back

for dealing and possession.

She has two sons, age 13 and 15,

enrolled at Greenview State School.

Now, the youngest, Eli,

showed up here the other day

with an injured hand, said bad people

had something to do with it.

- What sort of bad people?

- No idea.

He ran off when the police showed up.

Tytus had just arrived for a meeting

and Raymond Leary was trying to headbutt

his way through the front door.

Now, the hospital recorded

Eli's hand injury as a domestic accident.

Said his brother did it with an axe.

The 15-year-old?

My brother knocked me out

with a garden rake once when I was 15.

We were tryin' to re-enact El Cid.

The school won't give me their whereabouts

and I'm not sure they even know.

Why don't you hit up your mate Tim Cotton.

Perhaps he'll give us the skinny.

He's not my mate.

No, but he does fancy you,

which is the next best thing.

Come on, don't sulk.

Use your talents!

Get the story

and get this sh*t off my desk.

["Crazy Little Girl"

by Donald Height plays]

Crazy little girl ♪

She's a crazy little girl ♪

Oh she's crazy with her lovin'

That tender lovin' ♪

That cray-cray, cray-cray

Crazy, crazy little girl ♪

Hi Tim.

Caitlyn? Hello.

- You applying for a job here, are ya?

- I'm not sure I've got the qualifications.

Come on, it's just a snake.

How hard can that be?

Always thinkin' of her

That cray-cray, cray-cray, crazy ♪

- [bartender] What are you drinking?

- Uh, just water.

- You have to buy a cocktail to sit there.

- She is with me, Bonnie.

Go away. Love you.

- So?

- [Caitlyn] Asian drug wars.

I was looking through

some of the old revenge killings

going back over the last five years.

Mostly drug couriers, mostly unsolved.

Well, those interstate crimes

are tough to pin down.

New South Wales cops,

dodgy as all get-out.

[scoffs] What? Unlike Queensland cops?

I hope you are not judging

our high moral standards here.

Cray-cray, cray-cray

Crazy, crazy little girl ♪

So, Lyle Orlik?

Who, the shark att*ck guy? What about him?

His kid, Eli Bell,

showed up at the newspaper offices,

missing a finger.

Said he had a story to tell.

Did he?

- Well, I haven't spoken to him yet.

- Don't.

Our investigations are currently underway.

[exhales] I can tell you, off the record,

that Dustin Vang

is certainly on our radar.

[Caitlyn] The BTK g*ng leader

out of Sydney?

So you think Lyle Orlik

was probably a drug k*lling.

Listen, this is all strictly under

the dome of silence, you understand?

What? Until when?

Until we get something

that stands up in court.

You need to stay out of this one. You do.

- And how long is that gonna take?

- Months.

- Years.

- So there goes my whole story.

[Tim] Sorry, Caitie.

I promise you, you'll be the first to know

when we get close to a conviction.

Until then, it would help us

if you let this one through to the keeper,

if you're familiar with that term.

Mm. Sure. I get asked to do that a lot.

One of the reasons I hate f*cking cricket.

[dramatic music plays]

[dramatic music crescendoes]

- [gasps]

- [knock at door]

[Poppy] Hello?

Are you expecting anyone?

[knocking continues]

- [Poppy] Hello?

- Coming.

[Eli grunts]

[blows raspberries]

Ah, hello, Miss Birkbeck.

Hello, Eli, is your dad at home?

Um

Yeah, he works night shifts.

[whispers] So he's just

He's just sleeping right now.

Wake him up for us, will you?

All right.

[indistinct police radio chatter]

- [Eli whispers] Dad. Dad. Dad.

- [Robert grunts] What? f*ck off.

Um, it's Poppy Birkbeck

with a police officer.

- She's got handcuffs on her belt and she

- Who the f*ck is Poppy Birkbeck?

She's the school headshrinker.

Uh Oh

Open the curtain, will ya?

- [amusing music plays]

- Uh

Oh

Oh, Eli.

- Tell me, do you like her?

- She's all right.

I mean, she's quite nosy.

Annoying. But, yeah, she's all right.

Well, tell her I'll be right out

in a tick, okay?

- Okay.

- Okay.

He's just coming.

Okay.

I'm here. I'm here.

[exhales, inhales]

Gus.

Come here. Come here. Come here.

Come here. Tidy this sh*t up, will you?

We got visitors. Visitors.

Tidy this sh*t up, all right? Thank you.

Okay.

[Robert groans]

Hello, I'm Robert Bell.

Poppy Birkbeck, the school counselor.

[Robert] Eli's been telling me

about all the wonderful counseling

that you've been giving them.

We do our best.

- [glass shatters]

- [Robert] Hm

[Poppy] Getting to know the inner child is

the most important thing a school offers.

[Robert] True. True.

Educating the mind

without educating the heart

is no education at all.

Absolutely. I live my life by that quote.

It's Aristotle.

What a lovely old Greek fella, huh?

He loved to stroll.

[inhales sharply] Uh, this is PC Daley.

Yeah, it's nice to meet you, PC Daley.

The thing is, Robert

Um, may I call you Robert?

Yes, Pippy. Poppy.

The boys haven't shown up at school

for the last three weeks, and the fear

Yeah, well, we're all still adjusting

to our new situation

with the boys' mum being taken away.

We heard there was a fire.

Chip pan. You know, it happens.

- Anyone injured?

- [Robert] No, no, we're all good.

We're all We're good, we're good here.

[glass shatters]

- Do you mind if we come in for a moment?

- No.

No, of course not.

- Entering the residence.

- Yeah, copy that. Standing by.

[Robert] Just been doing

some spring cleaning, it's a little awry.

[Robert sighs]

[Poppy] Gus, Eli, this is PC Daley.

She's from

the Department of Child Protection.

How you doin'?

Yeah. Yeah. We're really good. Yeah.

- Sorry about your finger, Eli.

- Accident with an axe, I heard.

Yeah, it was. It was really stupid of me.

I shouldn't have done it.

[Poppy] Poor Gussie

must've been devastated.

Oh, Gus doesn't really do devastated.

Uh Why don't you have a seat, Poppy?

Why don't you boys make yourselves scarce

so we can get to know each other?

Chat and, uh

Oh, there we go. Sorry.

Um, thank you.

Maybe scare up some tea and bikkies, hey?

- Uh, okay, that's it, good boys.

- [Gus] Come on, Eli.

[Robert exhales heavily, groans]

Oh!

[Poppy] Uh

- [Poppy sighs]

- [Robert] Right, well

[Gus] "Tea and bikkies"?

[objects clattering]

[flies buzz]

It must be nice to have the boys home.

Oh, it's a great gift

and an even greater responsibility.

You understand they can't stay

away from school indefinitely?

Well, that's what I keep telling them.

Don't I, boys?

- [Eli] Yep!

- [Gus] Yep!

Whoa!

Whoa. Oh!

f*ck.

Our, uh, records indicate

that the boys haven't been

to visit their mother in prison yet.

No. No, it's been a busy time

for all of us.

Quite the file you got there.

It adds up.

[weakly] Yeah.

Obviously, the boys have experienced

a lot of trauma over the years.

The breakup of your marriage,

the criminal activity of their stepdad,

and now the removal of their mother.

[Gus] Here.

[quietly] Okay.

Um

[Eli exhales sharply]

[sighs]

Uh, thanks, Gus.

Uh, we'll speak to you

and Eli in a minute.

Maybe pack an overnight bag

for yourself and your brother.

Wait. Wait, what?

[dramatic music plays]

[Robert breathes heavily]

[Poppy] The thing is,

Robert, the staff at school

all value your sons immensely.

We all think they have exceptional minds.

Really quite exceptional.

So what's this about overnight bags?

So we're here

in the hope you can convince us

that we don't need to take action.

Are you threatening

to take my boys away from me?

- [Daley] No one's threatening anyone.

- [Robert] No?

'Cause I think I've lived long enough

to know a thr*at when I hear one.

[Poppy] Robert.

You come in here

with your do-gooder sincerity,

and your

and your bloomin' interrogations.

Mr. Bell, there was a fire in your house

and serious injury to one of your kids.

It's not our job to put you at ease.

Oh, well, that's good to know,

'cause you're certainly not doing that.

The point is two boys

are now in your sole custody.

Because I'm their dad!

Your own police record

is not exactly spotless.

Look, I I I'm not gonna deny

that I have a problem

with the drink on occasion,

and one thing leads to another,

as we all know.

Disturbance of the peace.

as*ault, occasioning physical injury.

Mostly Mostly,

I'll add, on the receiving end.

Ever against the boys?

Oh, look, maybe a clip around the ear

just to keep 'em in line.

[Poppy] Nothing more extreme?

[Robert] Look, I don't know what you're

What What are you accusing me of?

[Poppy] I'm not accusing, just asking.

Can we talk about Gus's artwork?

Yeah. I I

Let's. I'd I'd like that, Poppy.

Let's Let's talk about art.

[Poppy] These paintings,

they're very good.

For a 15-year-old,

they're actually quite exceptional.

But the choice of subject

is a little disturbing at times.

Active imagination.

It It runs in the family.

Jesus, God. How many files

have you people got on us?

This one is just Gus's school artwork.

I was saying to PC Daley,

for a long while, Gus has been stuck

on one particular image.

[Robert] Well,

there's no law against that, is there?

This is his entry

into the science fiction competition.

Good, it's good.

[Poppy] And this is his family portrait.

Yeah, it's

It's beautiful. It's beautiful.

He He likes car journeys. He always has.

Eli told me Gus was painting

a dream which both boys had.

He can describe the dream

very specifically,

the sound of the car engine

as it leaves the road,

the smell of upholstery.

Yes, that's our Eli.

He's big on the details.

The thing is,

shared dreaming is not unheard of,

but it's it's very unusual.

So, I wonder

if it would be more helpful for us

if we call this incident

what it really is?

Not a dream, but a memory.

[Daley] A car accident happened two days

after your wife left you, Mr. Bell.

Ah, come on. What do you gotta

to bring this sh*t up for?

In her initial statement, later retracted,

she said that she thought

you'd tried to k*ll the children.

Bullshit!

Retracted.

She was just upset with me.

- [Daley] So you didn't try to k*ll them?

- Of course not!

[sobs]

You people, you love this.

You're lovin' this, aren't you?

You are lovin' this.

[Poppy] No, Robert. I'm here in good faith

to listen to your version of events.

I'm sure we both want

what's best for those boys.

Oh, and what's best

is to take them away from me?

[Poppy] No one's saying that.

[sighs] It's what you're both thinking,

isn't it?

So, how's that gonna help?

You split 'em up.

All they got's each other.

You put 'em in foster care.

You tell 'em their dad's a monster.

[cries] I love the boys.

They're my boys.

Those days when they were little,

they were

they were the happiest times of my life.

[sobs]

[Daley] You drove them

into the countryside,

at night in their pajamas,

and the three of you ended up somehow

at the bottom of a lake.

f*ck!

Okay. All right,

I'm gonna tell you exactly what happened.

[dramatic music crescendoes]

["Reckless" by Australian Crawl

plays on radio]

[Robert] I was takin' the boys

out to Cedar Creek Falls

on a camping trip.

[giggling]

Their mum and I had been

going through some stuff.

But those boys, they love their campin',

under the stars.

[wheels screech]

I get these panic att*cks

when when I get stressed,

and I've had 'em

since I was a little fella.

[screeching continues]

I got the shakes.

Real bad.

I was coming into a blind corner.

I couldn't see where I was going,

and I didn't realize

I was going as fast as I was.

["Reckless" crescendoes]

[dramatic music plays]

[car creaks]

[thuds]

[water pours in]

[Robert gasps]

[ominous music playing]

[Robert grunts]

[Robert] Come here!

[Robert panting]

[Robert grunts]

[Gus coughs]

[coughs, pants]

[coughs]

[music fades out]

[Robert hoots]

[Robert groans]

Eli.

[solemn music plays]

Eli. Eli, come on.

[sobbing] Jesus, don't go away.

I thought I was gonna lose Eli.

Help! Someone please help!

Eli, hey.

The bloke who who lived in the cottage

on the dam, he called for help.

Oh, please. Please!

I was shakin' him.

Callin' out to God

and prayin' to bring him back.

[Robert cries]

Oh, my beautiful boy.

- [coughs]

- [Robert sighs in relief]

It's okay. Come on. Come on.

- [man] The ambulance is coming.

- [Robert] Eli.

Oh Jesus, you scared me.

[Eli coughs]

[Eli cries]

[music continues]

When the ambos came,

they said that we weren't the first

to go off there.

And it was a miracle

that no one weren't really hurt.

[gentle music plays]

I think we were just lucky. [sniffles]

[blows nose, sniffles]

[Eli] Dad.

Oh, give give us a moment, boys.

We're We're We're busy.

Come on, come on, f*ck off.

What do you want?

[Robert sobs]

Don't let them take us away, Dad.

We're not going.

- [Robert sniffles]

- We don't care what happened before.

Gus and me don't wanna live

anywhere else except here.

[Robert and Eli sobbing]

Robert, if you can assure me

the kids will be attending school again,

and you take them to see their mother,

then it's possible.

Look, I I know I've been a sh*t-ass dad.

I can do that.

I'm gonna turn over a new leaf.

You'll see.

You'll see, boys.

[Robert cries]

See you.

[lighter rasps]

[menacing, bass-heavy music plays]

Oh, come on.

- [Tim clears throat]

- [llama bleats]

God, you're an ugly bugger.

He probably thinks

the same thing about you.

Once had a guy who got done

for sexual offenses with one of these.

Females are better looking, yeah?

I don't think looks is a factor

if you're into sex with animals.

What's that for?

Cutting his fighting teeth.

So he doesn't take chunks

out of the other males.

About Lyle Orlik

The shark att*ck?

A couple of people are wonderin'

if that bloke could be still alive.

[scoffs] With an injury like that,

I'd say you'd have to be pretty lucky.

Did he strike you as a lucky man?

Not lucky at all

was my overall impression.

What do you use these for?

Cutting his toenails.

[llama bleats]

His son lost a finger

in a domestic disturbance, apparently.

Dangerous world out there.

A chick I know from The Courier-Mail

was sniffing around the story.

I'll speak to the boss.

See if he wants us to plug any leaks.

See, plugging leaks

is kind of what I'm most worried about.

- I strongly advise you

- Tim, let's just get this straight.

Unless you're paying us

and not the other way around,

you don't get to do

any "strongly advising."

I'm on your side, Ivan.

I'm just trying to keep

the, uh, shark att*cks to a minimum.

Well, in that case,

maybe you should do your job.

Get those kids off the street

and maybe stop this journo from sticking

her nose where she's not wanted.

- Oh, I'm working on it.

- Clearly not well enough.

Just don't do anything drastic, right?

The journo knows to drop it,

and I'm gettin' the kids sorted.

- You do that.

- [scoffs]

Or else I'll have to do it for you.

- [shoe squishes]

- [Tim groans in disgust]

- Will you be all right?

- Yep.

[Bobby] Welcome back, Tinkerbell.

Can I make a wish?

[bullies laugh]

[solemn music plays]

[Slim] Dear Gus and Eli,

your old mate Slim here.

Been tryin' to ring you

a couple of times, but, uh, no answer,

so I assume you're busy with stuff.

[exhales]

Just to tell you that, uh

Well, just to report

that I've had a bit of bad news.

Just to say, I'd hate to part on bad terms

so if you fancy a spot of fishin'

[sighs]

[groans]

f*ck.

[rips paper]

Come on. Come on, I'll get your dinner.

Come on. Come on.

[music fades out]

Dad, we're ready.

We're gonna miss the bus.

[Robert groans uncertainly]

It's visiting hours for Mum.

[Robert sighs]

[mischievous music plays]

All right, look, uh, boys, um

I can't do this. Sorry.

The f*ck, Dad, you promised.

What do you mean you can't do it?

Yeah, I dunno.

I dunno. She still hates me,

and she blames me

for the car accident stuff, it's

It's all right. We'll just explain to her

like you explained to Miss Birkbeck.

It's not good.

It's She She won't believe it, mate.

- No.

- Get his trousers.

All right. Okay.

Dad, they won't let us visit Mum

without you. You're coming.

Yeah, look, I'm sorry, mate. I'm sorry.

- Just grab him.

- No. What?

- [Eli] Grab him and I'll put on his pants.

- No.

- [Eli] Hold him, Gus! Hold him.

- Agoraphobia! Agoraphobia!

- No, no, no!

- [Eli] Yes.

- Yes!

- Oh God.

Oh God. Oh God.

Uh

[Eli] What is it now, for f*ck's sake?

[Robert] My heart. I'm serious.

- [Eli] No. Stop.

- Call an ambulance.

- There's nothing wrong with your heart.

- There is. Call the ambulance.

I'm not kidding.

Dial triple zero. Dial triple zero.

[breathes rapidly]

[Eli dials]

- [siren wailing]

- [gentle music plays]

[Robert moaning lightly]

Right, step back, we've got him.

All right, Robert. Breathe.

Head up. You're gonna be all right.

We're takin' you in for a check-up.

- Has this happened before?

- All the time, mate.

Anxiety att*ck.

I'll do an ECG and his blood chemistry.

You'll have him back this evening.

[Robert breathes deeply]

[Robert] Hello, Jim.

[Jim] Hey, Rob.

[door buzzes]

[indistinct inmate chatter]

- Hey.

- Sorry, Frankie, they're not comin'.

- What do you mean, they're not coming?

- The boys' father had a medical emergency.

They pitched up late at the front desk

but they can't get in without an adult.

Nah, f*ck that.

[guard] Hey, hey, hey! Frankie, come on.

Don't make a scene.

I wanna see my boys.

- I wanna see my boys!

- [guard] Frankie!

Frankie, if you don't behave,

we'll take away your visiting rights.

You won't see no one

this side of Christmas.

[Frankie] I wanna see my boys!

I wanna see my boys!

[repeating] I wanna see my boys!

[Eli] Mum!

[Gus] Mum!

Mum!

Mum!

[Eli] Mum!

Oi, you two.

f*ck off, or I'm callin' the cops.

[thunder rumbling]

[dramatic music plays]

[roommate] Mm

Go on, then.

[somber music plays]

[roommate moaning softly]

[shudders]

[inhales]

Hey, Shelly.

[Shelly] Hey, Gus.

- [object thuds]

- Oh.

Thanks.

How's your mum going?

Uh, I dunno yet.

Um, Dad was gonna take us to see her.

I like your mum.

Give her a big hug from me.

I don't think you're allowed hugs

in prison visits.

Nah, well, you can't really do it

on crutches either, so

How is the treatment going?

There isn't one.

Muscular dystrophy.

The worst kind.

Nothing you can do for it

except watch it get worse.

After a while,

I'll be too weak for crutches,

and then I'll have a wheelchair

until I'm too weak to breathe.

But miracles still happen, hey.

You're talking again.

f*ck miracles.

Tell me how I can help.

[chuckles softly]

[Gus] You want a burger?

[Eli sighs] Whatever.

[dramatic music plays]

[Eli sighs]

[phone line rings]

- [coins plunk]

- [Eli] Yeah, is this Gill?

I need to arrange a meeting

with Slim Halliday.

Eli.

I'm a friend of his.

Just to say

that I really need some advice.

[dramatic music continues]

[dramatic music continues]

[Eli] Catching anything?

Couple of little ones.

You back at school now?

[dramatic music fades out]

Yeah.

[Slim coughs]

The cops made us go.

- That's the ticket. Been to see your mum?

- She's not even answering our letters.

- Maybe she's embarrassed.

- About what?

She didn't do anything wrong.

Yeah, well, you know,

women are weird sometimes.

Reckon that the screws

don't want us to speak to her,

in case we agree to spill the beans

about Lyle and Ivan Kroll.

I'm sure she misses you, mate, but

she'd want you blokes

to just forget about all that stuff

and get on with your lives.

Send her a plum pudding for Christmas.

She won't get it. They're stopping

our mail from getting through.

Yeah, they do that sometimes.

There are other ways

besides Her Majesty's Postal Service.

Like what?

Hang on a moment.

You get a bite?

Nibble.

So, what other ways?

Well, there's this fella I know.

George Masoumi.

He's been doing fruit deliveries

to Boggo Road for the past 12 years.

Guards know him,

and agree not to check

the false bottom of his crates.

So what does he smuggle?

Whatever you like.

Cigarettes, sexy underwear.

[Eli chuckles]

What's the point

of sexy underwear in prison?

[Slim chuckles]

Another of life's enduring mysteries.

So, if I wanted to get a parcel

in secret to Mum,

then I could just give George money.

Nah, you wouldn't have to pay him.

I helped his brother

through a long stretch of porridge,

so he owes me.

- What do you want to send her?

- Escape equipment.

Oh, wake up, Eli. She'll get caught

and they'll double her sentence.

You got away with it.

Yeah, but I had nothing to lose.

I was in there for life.

- She'll be out in four Christmases.

- Four years, Slim.

I'll be 17.

[voice breaking] I'm sorry.

I just really miss her, you know?

I've got no grown-ups now.

It's just you and Robert.

Yeah, I know. But four years is nothing

in the great scheme of things.

And she'll get time off

for, you know, good behavior.

Just knuckle down at school.

Make her proud of you.

- [rod clicking]

- Whoa, hold on.

[coughs]

You got another bite?

Yeah, it's that mangrove jack.

Bloody must weigh about ten kilos now.

I been stalking it ever since I came here.

Clever as all buggery.

It'd be a bloody shame

to shuffle off before it does.

Reckon you still got

a few years yet, Slim.

Not really.

Oat cell carcinoma. Stage four.

How many stages are there?

Four.

[hesitantly] So, how long

have you got left?

Just a couple of months.

- Couple of months?

- [coughs]

No, no, Slim. Slim.

Why haven't you told me?

Yeah, I was gonna write you a letter, but

[clears throat]but, you know,

I'm not much chop with that.

Please tell me you're getting treatment.

Not gonna put that sh*t in me.

Better ways to die.

But you can't die, Slim.

You're the only dad we've got left now.

Robert's your dad.

And, to be honest,

I've probably taught you

about as much as I can.

You need to get the treatment, Slim.

I need you to stay alive.

Please.

"The moving finger writes,

and having writ moves on."

"Nor thy piety, nor pity

shall lure it back to cancel half a line."

"Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it."

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,

best f*ckin' poem ever written.

[coughs]

Grab the rod! Grab the rod!

It's the f*cking fish!

Grab it! Grab the rod!

- Yeah. Pull him in! Pull him in!

- Is that a bloody shark?

No, it's that bloody mangrove jack

I told you about. Pull the bastard in!

Come on, get him! Come on.

Come on, give 'im some line.

Give 'im some line.

Let him play a bit.

You know, make him fight for it!

[Slim coughs]

Put a brake on!

Put the brake brake brake on it!

Damn it! Let it just

Don't leave him, just

[inspiring music plays]

Oh my God! Oh my God!

We got him, he's coming up.

[straining]

Oh, no, you don't. Come on, you.

Oh my God.

Slim, I've got him!

Slim, I got him! I got him!

Slim, grab the net.

[dramatic music plays]

[thunder rumbles]

Slim, please.

Talk to me, Slim.

Please, Slim, wake up.

Wake up, Slim. Please.

Help!

Help!

Help, please!

Help!

[dialogue imperceptible]

[dramatic music continues]

[dramatic music continues]

[gentle music plays]