#but if jody got to tell janine off i think peter should get to also

[dorkylittleweirdo]

Anyway I hope Peter becomes evil too for a little bit bc he deserves more than anyone to tear Janine a new one lmao

[zrtranscripts]

Season 7, Mission 38: Only Have Eyes For You

Citizens' Arrest

AMELIA SPENS: Oh, right. Of course. That's why Jones was transporting those high tech hazmat suits with UV protection. I thought he'd just done some trade deal with Brent. Bugger, this is annoying.

SAM YAO: Well, you were the one who tried to convince us something was dodgy with Sage, Amelia.

AMELIA SPENS: I was expecting he's coldly ambitious and frightening people by playing on their past with the Last Riders, rather than he's a terrorist mastermind. This is a lot less useful and profitable. [sighs] I suppose you know Sage is meeting with heads of senior settlements right now? He was doing so well bringing back free trade.

JANINE DE LUCA: That's why we've called you here to Abel, Miss Spens. We must reveal what we know about Colonel Sage, but if we try to capture him by force -

AMELIA SPENS: Yes. Nom nom with the zombie pill, and there go the settlement heads. I see. Why don't you just set off your proximity alert? Brent's donated some version of his system to the war effort, hasn't he?

PETER LYNNE: We can't do that. Proximity alerts is for genuine emergencies only.

AMELIA SPENS: This is a genuine emergency.

JANINE DE LUCA: We could report a small horde.

AMELIA SPENS: And Sage would go to the nearest tactical alert shack or whatever it is, and you could arrest him there. Better than doing it around Eagle Fang and the Psychoanalysts Enclave anyway. The Analysts are terrifying.

SAM YAO: Well like, I mean, setting off the zombie alert? I – we've heard of the boy who cried wolf, right?

JANINE DE LUCA: On the other hand, Mr. Yao, as Runner Five well knows, sometimes only bad choices are available.

[alarm rings]

SAM YAO: What's that?

AMELIA SPENS: Look, we haven't got all day. I set off the alert. If you want to take Sage safely, you've got to be at the tactical station at the edge of the wood in time. Go on, then, run!

JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Four, I'm glad you could join us. With Runner Five and Mr. Lynne, we'll make a useful and unobtrusive force to apprehend the Colonel.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, you brought me here because you know he trusts me. He won't panic if I'm there.

JODY MARSH: We just want to ask him questions. Find out what he knows.

PETER LYNNE: Ha!

JODY MARSH: What?

PETER LYNNE: You've made your minds up already. I know how everyone talks about Sage at Abel. Controlling, dictatorial. Well, what you don't get is that's what some of us want. It's good to have someone to tell you what to do. It helps you focus.

JANINE DE LUCA: I know.

JODY MARSH: No one's arguing that he hasn't done amazing things. Just getting Eagle Fang to sit down with the Psychoanalysts and [?] and the weirdos from the Hebrides.

SAM YAO: Yeah. All the different settlements have brought their ideas for how to defend against V-types. Have you seen that stuff along the coast? Loads of different technology there for us all to learn from.

PETER LYNNE: So what are we even doing here?

JODY MARSH: It's not stuff we object to. It's the bit where he made the zombie pills that killed everyone at the rave and at Exmoor.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, there's 100% proof of that? Pictures of him cackling and rubbing a white-haired kitty while dropping zombie blood into a vat?

JANINE DE LUCA: It happened on his watch. He must take responsibility for that.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, like Van Ark did. Like Sigrid did. Fire a rocket launcher, set off an underground volcano?

JANINE DE LUCA: Not that, no. A trial, evidence. The rule of law.

PETER LYNNE: Yeah, well, excuse me for thinking it might not work out that way.

[zombie moans]

SAM YAO: Guys, V-type just past those trees to your left. Oh. That's weird.

JODY MARSH: What?

PETER LYNNE: There – there was a V-type. You saw it, Five. It growled and then it... it walked back off into the trees.

SAM YAO: Yeah. That's what I thought I saw, too. Maybe it didn't notice you.

PETER LYNNE: I think it looked at me and left.

JANINE DE LUCA: We must hurry. Colonel Sage will be approaching the tactical station. Pick up the pace.

PETER LYNNE: Look, you see? When have we ever had this before? Even the Ministry didn't manage it. Tactical zombie lookout post with cams access. See how peaceful everything is, how organized. A single person can run the whole thing. It's almost meditative, being in one of those. If there was a Top 10 Most Picturesque Post-Apocalyptic Holiday list, this would make the cut.

JANINE DE LUCA: He's come here alone to prove that his system works. One person with a radio can monitor the tide of the V-types. I agree, Mr. Lynne, this is the kind of organization we need to fight this new threat. But we cannot be tainted by suspicion.

[knocks on door, door opens]

COLONEL SAGE: Runner Five, Runner Four, Colonel De Luca, Peter. How good to see you. You know, I think this zombie alert might have been a mistake.

JANINE DE LUCA: Colonel Sage, I'm sorry. Evidence has come to light that suggests you are responsible for the massacre at Exmoor. Please come with us.

COLONEL SAGE: Me? What sort of evidence.

JONES: Colonel, what's going on?

PETER LYNNE: I'm so sorry, Colonel. I didn't want to do this.

JODY MARSH: Colonel, don't fight us. It'll just make this harder.

COLONEL SAGE: Fight you? No, I'll – I'll happily turn myself in. Peter, I do not try to hold myself above the law. Just as I ask others to live by my rules, so must I respect the rules and even accusations of others.

JANINE DE LUCA: Thank you, Colonel. We also need to speak with your associate, Jones. Can you have your people hold him?

COLONEL SAGE: Jones, the people from Abel want to discuss a few things. Please reset the zombie perimeter and tell the Psychoanalysts I'll take a short break? And I think Dennis needed to see you. Could you report to him?

JONES: I see. You've been corrupted. I knew this might happen.

JODY MARSH: Oh crap. Colonel Sage, we have evidence against Jones, too. Is he somewhere he could hurt people?

COLONEL SAGE: Jones? I understand. If there's a chance he could harm himself or others, we must stop him. Abel runners, will you help?

JODY MARSH: Five, let's go. Now.

COLONEL SAGE: Jones, come in. Come in, Jones. Report your position. It's no good. He's not answering.

SAM YAO: I've spoken to people at Seaside base. Jones vanished from the conference room in a hurry. They know to look out for him, and that he might be carrying zombie pills.

COLONEL SAGE: You say he produced the pills that destroyed the Exmoor Militia?

JANINE DE LUCA: We're almost certain of it.

COLONEL SAGE: I - I recognized the man in the red cap you and I apprehended at Exmoor, Runner Five.

PETER LYNNE: You did?

COLONEL SAGE: He was an associate of Jones. An unstable personality. Jones wanted me to help him out, but after assessment, I was certain I could not.

SAM YAO: Oh, right! That's how you picked him out of the crowd so quickly.

COLONEL SAGE: Jones had said that he was angry that Exmoor were the frontrunners to lead the country, not me. But to do something like that!

PETER LYNNE: So you didn't know? You – you didn't! Jones was just acting on his own!

JODY MARSH: Yeah, but you didn't tell us, did you, Sage? You didn't say that man was a friend of Jones's, did you?

[zombie growls]

JANINE DE LUCA: V-types at our one o'clock.

SAM YAO: Mm, and your two. And your eight. Crap. Crap! More approaching from the south. Where've they been hiding?

JODY MARSH: This couldn't be Jones, could it? Remember he had some device to attract zombies to Abel. Something he'd stolen from Sigrid and the Edgeware Dragons.

JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, I carry an emergency burn cube. Mr. Lynne cannot be bitten by a zombie in this horde. To create an invulnerable zombie now would be a disaster. I must ask you to use this burn cube now. Place it in the path of the zombies approaching from the south, then rendezvous with us heading east. The zombies will trample the cube and set it off. Now, run!

SAM YAO: All right, Five. Your pace is good. You're ahead of the V-types. And they're just about to hit the burn cube you planted. Bloody hell, we can't have many of those left, can we?

JANINE DE LUCA: Barely a handful. We used more than 20 along with napalm to destroy the fruiting body inside the fungus farm. There is a tactical store to the north. I gave one to Runner Five, and have one left. The situation is grave.

COLONEL SAGE: The conference is being disbanded. The Psychoanalysts Enclave is leaving already. No one at Seaside has seen Jones. When this horde is dealt with, we'll find him.

SAM YAO: Uh, yeah. About the horde...

JANINE DE LUCA: Have they reached the burn cube? One of them will stumble over it and set it off, but we should be at a safe distance now.

SAM YAO: Yeah. They've, uh... yeah, they've reached the burn cube. They're all standing around it, like dozens of zombies standing around it. More zombies every minute.

JODY MARSH: Oh God. They get cleverer the more of them there are!

SAM YAO: Yeah. One of them is... picking up the burn cube.

PETER LYNNE: Picking it up? Oh, you mean it's stuck to its hand, like an exploding engagement ring.

SAM YAO: No. I mean it's picked it up. It's running north.

JODY MARSH: A zombie is running with a burn cube?

SAM YAO: Yeah. Where did you say that tactical store is?

JANINE DE LUCA: To the north. [A/The] green steel bin.

SAM YAO: And the group of people in sensible shoes and blunt haircuts opening that green steel bin right now?

COLONEL SAGE: The Psychoanalysts.

SAM YAO: The zombies triggered the chain reaction. You've got to get away from there now! South, run!

[explosion]

PETER LYNNE: We've run as far as we can, Sam. We're at the sea. There's nowhere to go.

SAM YAO: Yeah. The explosions... there's like, a couple of square miles of forest that isn't there anymore.

JODY MARSH: Was it Jones who summoned the horde?

COLONEL SAGE: One can never be sure of individual response to -

JANINE DE LUCA: To? Colonel Sage, this is the time to be straightforward with us. Whatever Jones has done, whatever you have done, you must tell us. Those V-types have an intelligence we have never known possible in a zombie. They deliberately targeted our store of weapons. Was it you who gave the Last Riders these horrific pills? Or do you know how Jones came by them, and who he was working with? We must know what has happened here, and how it might have affected the zombies.

PETER LYNNE: You didn't give the Last Riders the pills, did you? It's ridiculous. It was Jones Five saw, not you.

COLONEL SAGE: It was Jones who acted at Exmoor.

JANINE DE LUCA: And before? The Last Riders. The pills they had at the rave party?

COLONEL SAGE: I never thought they would use them in such a demonic way.

SAM YAO: You have to tell us now. Just say.

COLONEL SAGE: I offered my people a choice. The way of order or the way of chaos. They had to know what chaos meant. Chaos isn't imaginery. It's real. A force of destruction. If you choose to walk away from order, you're not choosing nothing. You're choosing death. They had to know that was real. I had to show them.

PETER LYNNE: No.

COLONEL SAGE: The Last Riders began as those who were expelled from our colony. That was their choice. Live by our rules or forfeit our protection. They took me at my word. I did not expect it, but they became chaos. And - [sighs] after a time, they became useful. An image for my people of what darkness would overcome them if they left us.

JODY MARSH: Yeah. I'm struggling to see where create accelerated zombie pills became part of that plan.

COLONEL SAGE: They wanted destruction. I thought if I supplied them with a swift means to end themselves, they would take it. A witness and a warning.

SAM YAO: But instead, they used it to destroy others. And then Jones restarted your operation. But this time with V-type blood because why the hell not? Hasn't that just been the bloody story of this whole thing? We go looking for a way to kill zombies, end up releasing V-type fungus. Nanites create super goo. Burn cubes kill our own people.

PETER LYNNE: Immortality creates monsters.

COLONEL SAGE: Peter, I'm sorry. I've let you down.

[zombies growl]

SAM YAO: Guys, the V-type horde is on the move. It's heading towards you.

JANINE DE LUCA: The horde is large and intelligent. It has targeted our weapons and destroyed our last burn cubes. And if we cannot stop it now, humanity will be at an end.

[sweetlittlesoufflegirl-archive]

Aftermath

Fandom: Zombies, Run!

Rating: K+

Word Count: 1K+

Genre: Hirt/Comfort, Friendship

Summary: “Thank God you’re alright, Five,” Sam murmured into her shoulder. “I was so worried…” In the aftermath of the event’s at the Minister’s mansion, members of Abel Township convalesce and recover.

Spoilers for S6.M22

[/Read More]

Aftermath

Running out of London and hopping an early train by the light of the predawn sun, Janine DeLuca and Runner 5 had little to say; each was lost in their own thoughts, listening only to the voice of Sam Yao, Abel’s diligent radio operator, in their ears, and Janine speaking only to signal getting on and off the train before they continued on foot. Miraculously, they met no zombies on the run into the land controlled by Abel, reaching the familiar wooded area near the township by sunset.

As she approached the gates of Abel Township, Five could see Sam waiting at the gate, but he had yet to see her. The young man was nervous; he paced at the gate, wringing his hands and staring at the ground beneath his feet. It was only when the alarm sounded that he looked up, and his worried expression turned into one of sheer joy.

“Five! Oh God… Five!”

He ran to her before she had even made it to the gate, flinging his arms around her in a tight hug; Five reacted with a similar gesture, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She collapsed in his grip, almost taking him to the ground with her. Janine, in an unusual show of comfort, grabbed the two of them to steady them.

“Thank God you’re alright, Five,” Sam murmured into her shoulder. “I was so worried…”

Five gripped him tightly in response, not wanted to let go.

“I’m not ready to lose you yet, do you hear me? You cannot die, or go grey yet, because I still need you.” His eyes flashed, now filled with tears that streaked down his face. “We all need you Five, now more than ever… I was so worried…”

“We all were, Mr. Yao,” Janine replied, and they both turned to see… were those tears?

“Janine, are you crying?” Sam asked, incredulous. No one had ever seen Janine cry, not even when Simon had sacrificed himself back on the ice cream cone tower

“No I am not; there’s some dust in my eyes.” Janine wiped at her eyes.

“That’s what they all say,” Sam replied. “And you’re definitely crying, Janine.”

“It’s dust, Mr. Yao. Now, let’s go in and see Dr. Myers and Dr. Cohen; the sooner the better.”

…

Maxine checked Five over, finding the place on the side of the runner’s neck where the zombie virus had been injected, and wincing in sympathy with Five as she bandaged the scrapes left from the ropes used to bind the runner to the chair.

Before releasing Five, however, she took a few samples of blood for testing.

“Everything checks out,” she commented, making a few final notes on Five’s chart. “I’d keep an eye on those scrapes to make sure they don’t get infected, and I’ll be monitoring to make sure that… cure is as permanent as it seems. I want you to come in for the next few days so I can take blood samples from you, but you can go back to the barracks, Five. There’s a few people waiting to see you… but you didn’t hear it from me!”

Five nodded and, with a final glance at Janine, left the hospital tent; Sam was already waiting outside, where he took her hand and followed her towards the first stretch of tents and buildings.

Maxine looked solemnly after Five before turning to Janine. “You know, I really thought we could get to those babies before she had the vaccine prepared.”

“So did I,” Janine admitted. “I thought we had more time, more resources, more … everything. A number of our allies now will most likely turn their allegiance toward the Minister and her people. And we, as well as anyone who sides with us, will be hunted.”

“Hiding out as the leader of an organization of female assassins was pretty badass,” Maxine pointed out. “We could get your Pit Viper ladies to come out here and help us out.”

“I began Pit Viper as a neutral organization, and more than likely, they will put their talents with the highest bidder – the Minister, to save their lives as well as continue their business. Acting as their leader was the best way I could devise a neutral cover for myself while also hiding out as Valmont’s chef,” Janine’s response was crisp. “I only wish I had done more.”

“You did what you could,” Maxine insisted.

“I almost got Five killed,” Janine bitterly noted, gesturing towards the distant runner. “We knew she was trying to find the cure, and we knew she had the babies… I thought Veronica would had made greater strides, too. If Sigrid hadn’t had the cure, Five would be…”

“Veronica… Veronica did her best. We couldn’t have expected the Minister to find a cure so quickly – and probably with Van Ark’s notes, now that I stop and think about it.” Maxine sighed. “And we have the plasmapheresis machine; if it had come to that, we would have kept Five alive with that.”

Janine nodded. “But Five does so much for the township… and that wouldn’t have been enough; one day, we would have lost Runner Five.”

“I’m just glad we didn’t lose her today,” Maxine sighed, filing away Five’s medical information and blood samples, and eyeing the vial of gold liquid that now sat on her desk.

“Does Paula know?” Janine asked, standing up to leave.

“Not yet,” Maxine murmured, smiling at the vial. “She’s on a medical supply run, but she should be back this evening. I’ll tell her then. She’ll be… I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

…

Peter, Jamie and Jody were all waiting for Five in the runner’s barracks when Five and Sam arrived. They fell on the two newcomers immediately, their voices merging into a chorus of concern .

“Five! Oh, thank God!”

“Glad to see you’re not gray and craving brains.”

“Five Still Alive! You did it again.”

“We heard about your daring escape! Wicked stuff there, Five!”

“So it’s true? Sigrid has a cure? I figured she’d get there.”

“That is really bad. Good, but really bad.”

“And you were chased by the Glass Protocol? Did you see it?”

“Now I suppose finding those babies will be more important than ever, but also harder than before.”

“You look pale, Five. Are you alright?”

Sam suddenly realized that Five indeed looked pale. The runner was also swaying where she stood, and a glazed look was in her eye.

“How about we give Five some room, yeah?” Sam asked, quickly interrupting their interrogation. “Maxie wants Five to rest and recuperate tonight.”

Five managed a weak smile, still unable to really speak, but she was grateful to Sam.

Jody muttered something about finding Tom, and scurried off. Peter and Jamie left shortly after to get dinner in the mess hall, leaving Sam and Five alone.

Five hadn’t realized how tired she was until the others had left, and her steps faltered as she staggered toward her bed. Sam swooped in to catch her, laying her down on the mattress and tucking her in.

He turned to go, but Five’s hand reached up to grab his. He looked and saw her lips were moving, but he couldn’t quite hear.

“Five?” He asked, leaning in close.

“Don’t leave me,” Five whispered, her eyes finding Sam’s, her grip on his hand tightening. “I want you to stay. Please.”

Sam nodded, allowing Five to pull him into the bed next to her. “Of course I can stay,” he murmured, curling up next to Five. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she cuddled up next to him; it suddenly felt as though a tension was lifted from Five’s shoulders as she leaned into him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Nah, don’t be,” Sam soothed. “You did well today, Five. Like you always do.”

“I almost died,” she whispered. “I almost turned. And the thing… The Glass Protocol… It was right there…”

“I know,” Sam sighed. “But the important this is, you’re safe, Five. That thing, the Glass Protocol… It’s not going to get you tonight. I’ll make sure of it – heck, I’ll stay here all night if I have to!”

A tired chuckle rose from Five’s lips as she closed her eyes, her body falling slack as she surrendered to the Sandman.

And as he lay there, with Five drifting off next to him, Sam suddenly realized how tired he was.

Maybe he could close his eyes for just a few minutes…

[zrtranscripts]

Season 7, Mission 4: Bodysnatchers

Plastic fantastic

PETER LYNNE: We're going to the disused factory on the horizon, aren't we? The one with the glowering windows, and the tendrils of ivy that look like veins, and the smokestacks that look like devil horns against the full moon? Honestly, Sam, couldn't you have found a creepier setting?

SAM YAO: Well, you are chasing a V-type tonight, so you know, abject terror is probably the appropriate emotion. We've tracked down one of the ones you and Jody washed away from London, Five. Cams show it went to ground here. It's only got half a head, so it shouldn't be too hard to catch.

JANINE DE LUCA: Even a partially dismembered V-type is dangerous, Mr. Yao. Never forget that. Dr. Myers, Runner Five, Peter, you will draw it to me, and I will disable it with this.

PETER LYNNE: You're going to hit it over the head with a metal cylinder?

MAXINE MYERS: We're going to spray it with liquid nitrogen. We managed to track down one canister. And it'll freeze the V-type. Then we can shatter it, put the parts in deep freeze, and send them off to Veronica.

PETER LYNNE: Oh. She got in touch, did she?

MAXINE MYERS: Not in touch, exactly.

SAM YAO: She sent a message over Rofflenet asking us to capture a V-type for her to study.

PETER LYNNE: I don't want to be that guy, but how do we know it's really her?

MAXINE MYERS: The message said she calculated there was an 87% chance we'd doubt her identity, so she included some personal information only she could know. It was all spot on!

JANINE DE LUCA: The message was from Miss McShell, I'm quite confident of it. But we must capture that V-type before it leaves the facility. Come on, there's the east gate. Run!

[gate creeks open]

SAM YAO: Sounds like the east gate needs a drop of WD-40. Or holy water.

JANINE DE LUCA: This facility is pitch black, but the V-type is here somewhere. Peter, Runner Five, go left. Dr. Myers, we will take the right-hand corridor. You have, I trust, all brought your regulation torches?

MAXINE MYERS: Never leave home without it.

PETER LYNNE: You and me, then, Five. Come on. Did Valmont get in touch with any info about your sister, Sam?

SAM YAO: [sighs] He says there's nothing, so either he's lying, or... you know. Sigrid was probably lying about having her. I was thinking about those files of hers. That's what she did - she found peoples' weaknesses and she exploited them. I mean, after Ian's broadcasts, loads of people knew my name. If Nicky were still alive, well, she'd have got in touch, right?

PETER LYNNE: Yeah. I'm... I'm sorry. I-I don't know if it's better to have hope, or... not. Uh, gods! Uh, look at these cobwebs! I would hate to meet the spider that lives in the one in the - oh, good God!

SAM YAO: What is it, V-type?

PETER LYNNE: No. That's a mannequin. I think this is a mannequin factory. And they're all missing their heads.

SAM YAO: [sighs] So finding a V-type's going to be particularly interesting.

PETER LYNNE: You know, I've been thinking. If you chopped my head off, would it grow a new body? Or would the body grow back a new head? Or both? And-and which, which would actually be the real me? What makes a person a person?

SAM YAO: Yeah. Well, after what Veronica did, I've been thinking about that stuff, too... I keep wondering if we should have held a funeral.

[zombie roars]

PETER LYNNE: That's it. That's the V-type, coming out of that storage room behind you, Five.

SAM YAO: Guys, take the next right. Janine's got the liquid nitrogen. You need to lead the zom to her. Run!

[zombie roars]

[zombie roars]

SAM YAO: Great luring, guys. Maxine and Janine are all set up the freeze the zom. Just keep running through this, uh, eerie hall of unfinished mannequins.

PETER LYNNE: Are they animatronic mannequins? That one's moving its arm. And that one, and - [zombies growl]

SAM YAO: They're not mannequins, they're V-types! Oh God, there's four of them? Janine, quick, switch on your noisemaker to draw them off Peter and Five.

[noisemaker alarm rings]

PETER LYNNE: They're not moving, Sam. They haven't even looked away from us.

SAM YAO: But noisemakers always work!

PETER LYNNE: Not on V-types, apparently. They're walking towards us. Slowly, like they know they've got us.

SAM YAO: Okay, okay. Uh, it's okay. Schematics. Right, uh, there's a chute thing behind that pile of arms and legs. Slide down it, then head for the stairs. They lead back to the others. Hopefully the V-types won't follow. Run!

[zombies growl]

SAM YAO: Okay. Five, Peter, you're nearly back with the others. Janine's got the liquid nitrogen ready to spray.

PETER LYNNE: There's four of them on our tail, Sam. That canister's not big enough to stop them all.

SAM YAO: I know, but at least it should slow them down. I can't believe they came down that chute after you!

PETER LYNNE: An ordinary zom wouldn't have done that, would it? And an ordinary zom can't resist the old noisemakers. What the hell are we dealing with?

SAM YAO: That's what we need Veronica to tell us, and that's what we need to get her a V-type to study.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Lynne, Runner Five, I see you. A final burst of speed, please. I need you to put some distance between yourselves and the V-types before I release the gas.

MAXINE MYERS: You have to do it now, Janine, or the V-types will get us all!

JANINE DE LUCA: Duck and dive, runners. I'm releasing the liquid nitrogen.

[gas sprays, ice crackles]

SAM YAO: It's working!

MAXINE MYERS: Wow, there goes its foot! Oh, we're out of ice. That slowed them down, though.

[zombies groan]

SAM YAO: Not much. What do we do now?

JANINE DE LUCA: An opportunity will present itself. For now, run.

SAM YAO: Guys, those V-types are catching up fast. Really getting the hang of this three-limb scamper.

[ice shatters, PETER LYNNE shouts]

PETER LYNNE: Also, side note, my left hand got caught in the dry ice and now it's fallen off. Hurts like buggery.

JANINE DE LUCA: But it will grow back.

PETER LYNNE: Uh, yeah, just FYI, the whole growing back thing also hurts like buggery!

SAM YAO: Oh, oh! Mannequin factory! I think I've got it! This place used liquid plastic to make its mannequins! Super fast drying!

JANINE DE LUCA: I begin to see. You believe if we can somehow induce the V-types to enter a vat of the raw plastic -

PETER LYNNE: Or tip a vat of plastic over them...

JANINE DE LUCA: It's too complicated. The best plans are simple ones.

MAXINE MYERS: Do we have a simple plan?

JANINE DE LUCA: No. And that's why we must attempt to implement this one. Mr. Yao, what is the fastest route to the location of the raw plastic?

SAM YAO: Um, hang on. Uh, yeah. Through that green door coming up on your left.

JANINE DE LUCA: Very well. Dr. Myers, you'll come through that door with me. We will turn on the generator in the basement, find the stocks of plastic, and heat them. Five, Mr. Lynne, you will continue to lure the zombies after you, taking them to the plastic by a more circuitous route. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but you are our nimblest runner, Five. And Mr. Lynne, you are -

PETER LYNNE: The most disposable, I know.

JANINE DE LUCA: The hardiest. The door is coming up now. Follow me, Dr. Myers.

[door creaks open and shut]

PETER LYNNE: That's them locked in.

SAM YAO: You guys keep running until you reach the old canteen. Go!

[zombies groan]

PETER LYNNE: This must be the canteen, judging by all the nasty Formica tables. I suppose it makes sense to send muggins on this one. I'm the roly-poly of Abel. Knock me down, I get back up again. 

Oh, but you, on the other hand... sometimes I think the others forget you're still human, Five. You've survived so much, they think you're immortal. You're not that unlucky.

SAM YAO: Runner Five, Peter, how are you doing?

PETER LYNNE: There's a V-type behind us with no skin on its face. Looks like Skeletor, except its tongue is lolling out of its throat. So Skeletor in a really horrible tie.

SAM YAO: But you're both still all right?

PETER LYNNE: Yep! Still running.

SAM YAO: Good. Okay. Janine and Maxine?

MAXINE MYERS: We're heating up the plastic, Sam. There's a vat coming to boiling point on the gantry over the factory floor. If you can lead the V-types under it, Five, we should be able to tip it onto them.

SAM YAO: Yeah. Yeah, I've sent a message to Veronica to ask if she thinks she can do anything with a plastic-dipped zombie.

MAXINE MYERS: Have you heard anything from her?

SAM YAO: She's sort of erratic about responding, these days. Maybe our petty mortal concerns are beneath the notice of her robot brain.

MAXINE MYERS: Or maybe she's scared. She never could talk about that when she was human, either.

JANINE DE LUCA: Either way, a plastic-coated V-type may be all we can give her. Five, keep running. Take the next left, and you'll lead the V-types underneath our vat of molten plastic. Go!

[zombies growl]

SAM YAO: Okay, guys, you've reached the factory floor. Head through that metal archway. Janine and Maxine are on a metal gantry to the left with a vat of boiling plastic. You need to lead the zom beneath them.

PETER LYNNE: Just how hot is that plastic, Sam?

SAM YAO: Boiling, apparently.

PETER LYNNE: Dangerous if any splashes on Five, then. All right, look, there's a pillar to the left. Should hide you from the zom's view, Five. Duck behind that as we go past, and I'll lead the zoms into the plastic. No need for you to risk life and limb as well. You ready? And go!

SAM YAO: It's worked! The zombies are following you. No, no, wait. One of them's turned back towards Five. Keep running, Five! Janine, we've only got three of them following Peter.

JANINE DE LUCA: Three will have to do. Mr. Lynne, I'll be tipping this vat of plastic in three, two, and... push, Dr. Myers!

[plastic splashes]

PETER LYNNE: You got them! And you only got me a bit.

[zombie growls]

SAM YAO: Wait, there's still one after Five. Five, run to the far end of the factory floor and take the stairs to the basement. We'll find somewhere to lock the V-type in. We just need to keep you safe. Go!

[zombie roars]

[zombie growls]

SAM YAO: Keep going down those rustly metal stairs into the basement, Five. The schematics down there are a bit vague, but it looks like there's a door at the end of the left-hand corridor, and there's a way out the other side. Peter's followed you down. Peter, shut the door behind that V-type.

[door slams] Okay, now if you head through that door at the far end of the corridor, Five - [door opens]

Oh, crap! That zom's speeding up, like it knows it's trapped you! I can't see the light switch. I haven't got cams in there. Crap! Five, just-just go through that door. Shine your torch. Ugh, are those spiders? Never mind. You've got to slam the door, Five. You need to keep -

[door slams]

VERONICA MCSHELL: Runner Five, can you hear me? I think you can. I hope you can. It's me! It's Veronica. I mean, sort of. I have been Veronica. I know it's dark in there. The door you just slammed behind you has separated you from the zombie! But it has no handle on the inside. You're trapped. You're in a very bad place, Five. But if you do everything I say, there's a 37% chance I can get you out alive.

[zrtranscripts]

Season 6, Mission 33: Boom Shake the Room

A necessary sacrifice

SAM YAO: Janine, are you literally sure there's no way we can save them?

JANINE DE LUCA: I've looked the plans over several times, Mr. Yao. Sacrifices are sometimes necessary.

SAM YAO: Yeah, I know! But there's sacrifices, and there's sacrifices! Five, you don't want to see them burn?!

JODY MARSH: We need Sigrid to think that her plans are working, Sam. We can't let her know we've got any clue what she's up to. We've finally got an advantage now we've seen the plans, and now Runner Five isn't getting Moonchild head voices anymore, we know one bit of Sigrid's plan won't work. But we can't let her guess what we know!

JANINE DE LUCA: Yes. We have a strategy now. We're intending to disrupt the Minister's plan at certain key points, but remember the Second World War, Mr. Yao? The allies had broken the Enigma code, but they had to allow the U-boats to sink some ships to keep their secret safe.

PETER LYNNE: And let's be real. This isn't quite as bad as letting ships full of innocent people get sunk, is it? Oh God, sorry. No offense, Five.

JODY MARSH: The people are already evacuated from Riddington. We warned them Sigrid's soldiers are coming, and they're out already. We just need to make it look like these buildings are still occupied, so Sigrid will think she's cut off our key supplier of luxury goods.

PETER LYNNE: It could be worse, Sam. You still have some Curly Wurlies.

SAM YAO: Riddington's greenhouses are the only place in the UK where they've managed to grow cocoa. We were going to be able to make our own Curly Wurlies! [cries] Oh God, why?!

JANINE DE LUCA: It's all right, Mr. Yao. Let it all out. [SAM YAO continues to cry in the background] I'll turn off your microphone. Runner Five, Runner Four, Mr. Lynne -

PETER LYNNE: Uh, you can just call me Runner Three.

JANINE DE LUCA: Very well. The soldiers are on their way. You need to be in every building in Riddington 90 seconds before they arrive. Your first target is the dye factory. The soldiers are on the horizon. Go now. Run.

[loom whirs]

JODY MARSH: Wow, look at this old loom! Someone must have got it out of a museum and got it working again. And look, hand-dyed yarn! No one would mind if I snaffle a few balls, will they? Oh, this is such wanton destruction.

PETER LYNNE: It's not us doing it, though, is it? It's Sigrid. We're stopping her wantonly destroying us. Uh, Five, could you set that hand-cranked generator for the dye vat going?

[generator whirs]

JODY MARSH: I guess it's hard to believe that all we can do is wait for her to keep doing what she was going to do anyway. Like - okay, I know how this sounds, but I was having a conversation with Amelia -

PETER LYNNE: Well, there's your problem right there.

JODY MARSH: Yeah. She was saying that if she were in Janine's position, she'd just, you know, attack Sigrid. Go on the offensive.

PETER LYNNE: Well, it's because she says things like that that she's not in Janine's position. It's a waiting game, isn't it? Janine's always quoting that Rudyard Kipling poem "If" at me.

JODY MARSH: Oh yeah. Tom loves that. They learned it when they were kids.

PETER LYNNE: Does he know it off by heart, too?

JODY MARSH: Yes! Every word! And big chunks of Shakespeare, and Keats, and Barrett Browning. All sorts.

PETER LYNNE: God, English diplomatic education, eh? But yes, I - I never used to think much of Kipling, but that poem's grown on me. "If you can watch the things you gave your life to, broken / And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools - " [explosion] Oh!

JANINE DE LUCA: Runners, Ministry soldiers are using flame throwers on the outbuildings. You've done enough. It will seem that the factory was just evacuated. Move before you are incinerated, now!

[flames crackle, building collapses, glass shatters]

JODY MARSH: [gasps] Look at that factory go up! All those old wooden machines, probably centuries old. They do give off a nice, bright light when they burn, don't they?

PETER LYNNE: Those soldiers don't look like they're in Ministry uniforms.

SAM YAO: Hmm, let me zoom in. Just a sec... yeah, they're in a fiddly corner. Oh my God, they're in Abel uniforms.

JANINE DE LUCA: Well, yes. The Minister wants to tell the story that we are in disarray, previously loyal runners are sabotaging our own allies.

JODY MARSH: That one's wearing a Runner Four sweatshirt! That's my number! She can't do that!

PETER LYNNE: I think copyright law is more lax since the apocalypse, Jodes.

JODY MARSH: I should run down there and rip it off her back, is what I should do.

SAM YAO: Or you could just continue with the plan? Which is to make the toothpaste factory look like it's being evacuated as normal. Yeah, head down that path to your left, and get your toothpaste costumes on.

PETER LYNNE: [clears throat] Uh, Sam, is there any chance that one of these buildings had some zombies in it?

SAM YAO: Nah. Riddington's been clear for months... oh. Uh, but they did block off a railway tunnel full of zoms when they set the town up.

JODY MARSH: That boarded up railway tunnel where the boards are now... on fire? And the zombies are climbing out and are also on fire?

SAM YAO: I guess Sigrid's soldiers don't care about that, now they've got the cure. Wow. Those are some old school train worker zoms, and they look hungry. And on fire. Run!

SAM YAO: Guys, Janine's just stepped out for a sec, but she says the plan's working perfectly, so uh, yep. Just carry on.

[rubber stretches]

PETER LYNNE: I didn't think, uh, that toothpaste factory workers uniforms would be quite so -

JODY MARSH: Rubbery and hot?

PETER LYNE:  I was going to go with - [rubber snaps] enticing. I am... I might just take one with me, if no one would mind.

JODY MARSH: That is too much information, Peter! I am going out with your girlfriend's brother, okay? That makes us practically brother and sister! So just - don't, okay? Sam, what's the plan?

SAM YAO: Well, we reckon toothpaste workers aren't heroes. They'd run off at the first hint of trouble, so you just need to set the machines working.

PETER LYNNE: Five, hit the button? [machine whirs, toothpaste squelches] Wow, those machines are... squirty. This whole place, with the uniforms, it's-it's just...

JODY MARSH: I think we should just talk more about poetry! Isn't it amazing when Janine and Tom can recite whole bits of Sappho? Can Janine do that in Greek as well, like Tom?

PETER LYNNE: Uh... yes! Uh, Greek, and also Phoenician? Um, what's the plan, Sam? Where are we heading in these, um, rubber uniforms?

SAM YAO: Just need to head out the back.

JODY MARSH: The back of the factory where those on fire zombies are?

SAM YAO: Uh, yeah. Oh, yeah, sorry. Sigrid's soldiers'll shoot you where you stand if you try and go out the front. And zombies following you will just make the whole operation look more convincing, to be honest.

PETER LYNNE: So, a rubbery Bonnie and Clyde bursting out of the doors and running for the hills scenario. Ooh, I have had some dreams like this.

JODY MARSH: I'm concentrating on poetry. "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run." Let's go!

[door opens, zombies growl]

[building collapses, glass shatters]

JODY MARSH: The whole place is going up. How many people lived in Riddington, Sam?

SAM YAO: Um, uh, 158. But Janine's right, they're all safe.

JODY MARSH: That's not what I mean. How long since they set it up?

SAM YAO: Uh, four and a half years, I think.

PETER LYNNE: I get it. We know how hard it is to build a settlement from nothing. They'll have worked 10 hours a day, at least, on this.

JODY MARSH: 10 hours a day, four and a half years, 158 people. That's what, roughly 2 million hours of life?

SAM YAO: Did you do that in your head?

JODY MARSH: Used to work for a bank. It's about 225 person-years. No one's dead, but what's going up in smoke right now is three lifetimes of effort.

PETER LYNNE: They'll build it again. That's what we do. That's what I've learned at Abel. Nothing is broken forever. You can always start again at your beginnings.

SAM YAO: Um, the cocoa greenhouses are just on the other side of that forest. If - if - you could get there quickly -

JODY MARSH: Wants us to try and grab you some live plants and seeds, Sam?

SAM YAO: Yeah, I do. Yeah. Yeah, that'd be good.

JODY MARSH: Come on, Five. Unlike Peter, your backpack isn't full of rubber uniforms. Plenty of room for cocoa beans. Let's go.

PETER LYNNE: This place is so lush. I wouldn't have thought it would be possible to grow plants like this in the UK.

JANINE DE LUCA: The botanists here knew this could be a major cash crop for them. We suspect that Sigrid knows this and anticipated that Riddington's cocoa farmers wouldn't leave their greenhouses until the last minute.

SAM YAO: So you need to wait there, guys, until we see the soldiers. They're coming, along with a few zombies that haven't burned to bits, so that's nice.

PETER LYNNE: Five, you take those seedlings there. If you pack the propagator too, maybe we can save some of them.

JODY MARSH: It must always have been like this, mustn't it? For people, I mean. Ellie told me about the burning of the library at Alexandria once. How she imagined the librarians ran out with as many books as they could carry. Save what you can and move on.

JANINE DE LUCA: It will always be faster to destroy than to build. People who prefer to destroy will always exist.

PETER LYNNE: But so will we.

[gunshot, glass shatters]

SAM YAO: All right, time's up. They've seen you. And the zoms have your scent again. Take what you can and get out of there. Go, now. Run!

[building collapses, glass shatters]

SAM YAO: The roof of the greenhouse has caved in, the factories are gone. Sigrid's announcing that "vile Abel Township has turned on one of their own allies."

JANINE DE LUCA: Then we've done our job well. A triumph, runners.

PETER LYNNE: I was thinking about that thing you said, Jody. How it must always have been like this - tribes wiping out other tribes, libraries burning, cities falling. Over and over.

JODY MARSH: But we did make it. All the way to mobile phones and cathedrals, and [?], and hand-dipped yarn.

SAM YAO: And Curly Wurlies.

JANINE DE LUCA: We will again. Every time.

JODY MARSH: "If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew / To serve your turn long after they are gone / And so hold on when there is nothing in you / Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'" That's where we are right now - holding on. Waiting.

SAM YAO: Not much longer. We've had a message from the Exmoor Militia, Janine. Sigrid's told them she has some intel for them. She wants them to come over to her side.

JANINE DE LUCA: Then she's taken the bait.