546 – Bugs – Hot Metal

If you cross a device that silences explosions with an explosive that explodes silently, will you go deaf when it goes off?  Simon and Eugene discuss Hot Metal. Episode Synopsis Two men, both observing very sloppy safety protocols are taking part in a demonstration.  Da Silva is showing a potential buyer the enormous commercial properties of a new substance, R6, which through the application of a wave thing-a-ma-jiggy, explodes silently.  “Yeh, I’ll have some of that,” says the buyer, “if you can get your hands on it.” Soon DaSilva, with the aid of an inside man, whom he promptly betrays by knocking him unconscious, is breaking into Millennium Metals, the developers of R6.  He silently explodes the wall of the building and tries to get in.  Unfortunately for him, a guard, somewhere else in the building, feels the explosion, and decides to check things out.  The guard first finds the exploded wall and then the injured security guard outside. Putting these two pieces of the puzzle together, he decides to ring the alarm.  Da Silva flees without obtaining what he was after. Kent, from H.M. Government, bring in Beckett and Team Bugs to bolster security at Millennium Metals.  While working on superconductors, they accidentally developed R6 which has an unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your point of view) flaw.  It explodes when exposed to a specific sonic frequency. “Think of the enormous potential to kill people,” says Beckett. “Exactly,” says Kent, representative from H.M. Government, “that’s why we, as the good guys, must not let this fall into the hands of the bad guys.” Ros and Ed discover that, while the security system at Millennium Metals isn’t as top-class as they thought it was, their security cameras do at least have incredible resolution. Ed notices that the building next door has security cameras and goes to see if they can get the surveillance tapes from last night’s incident.  Ed is denied, despite being a hired representative of H.M. Government investigating a crime with national security implications.   What to do? What to do? What to do? “I know!  Let’s break in and steal the video!”  Which they do. The video they steal contains a perfect view of the attempted robbery.  In the footage they not only see the explosion blowing out the wall, but they also see two security guards, in line-of-sight of the crime, less than 30 meters away – but with their backs to the explosion – completely fail to notice the events unfolding right behind them. If only they’d been able to feel the explosion like the control room guard, or perhaps even notice when they were pelted with debris from the explosion! Obviously, the explosion was silent!  It must be done with sound cancelling waves. The video also reveals that the guard, Wallace, was complicit.  He’s in hospital, unconscious, and Beckett pays him a visit and bugs his clothes and bag.   Before Beckett leaves the hospital, Da Silva turns up disguised as a doctor, intending to kill Wallace.  Beckett overhears a nurse’s comment about a strange doctor and goes to check on Wallace.  He interrupts the attempted murder, but is nearly killed himself by Da Silva, before he escapes. With a tape recording that he had on his person, Beckett got enough audio for Ros to do a voiceprint match, identifying Da Silva.  The files say he is an effective and nasty arms dealer. Team Bugs suspect there’s another leak about the highly-classified project.  They speak with Vermeer, head of the company, and he points the finger of suspicion to Charlesworth, inventor of R6, who was fired under unpleasant terms after he wanted to weaponize R6 and sell it for boatloads of cash. Kent reveals to Beckett that H.M. Government has a research facility that has some samples of R6.  Beckett is upset that he wasn’t told, but as Kent shows him around the facility, she assures him that their security is top class. All the while, Da Silva is stealing the R6 from the facility right under their noses.  He shoots Kent during his getaway.  Don’t worry, it’s just a flesh wound to the torso. Wallace checks himself out of the hospital against doctor’s advice and Team Bugs use the tracking bugs to follow him to Da Silva’s hotel, where he meets Da Silva and Charlesworth.   When Charlesworth leaves, Beckett and Ros get Ed to tail him back to his secret hideout.  I think we all know which member of Team Bugs is in mortal jeopardy this week! Back in the hotel, Da Silva cleans up the loose end of Wallace by killing him.  Da Silva bests Beckett and Ros by not only elluding them, but also detecting their bug he’s picked up and leaving it on their car as he makes good his getaway.  He heads for Da Silva’s secret hideout, begging the question, “if they were both heading for the secret hideout, why did they meet in the hotel room?” Ed’s awkward attempts to bug them are detected and he is captured and tied to a bomb, made of highly-prized R6, in a room conveniently laid out with a floor of optical beams that, if broken, will play the precise tone needed to detonate the R6.  To further complicate that, Da Silva has the world’s best audio fidelity answering machine, on which he’s placed both a cheery farewell message for Ed and the exact frequency tone needed to detonate the R6.  Let’s hope no telemarketers call! The baddies also get hold of Ed’s headset, which is still on, allowing them to hear everything Ros and Beckett say, but apparently not vice-versa. Ros completes her overhaul of Millennium Metals security system which is like shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped because, someone has already stolen all the R6!  It’s Vermeer, head of the company, who’s had it all put in an armored truck and then ditched the guard that was accompanying him. Realizing that the armored truck is on the road and that all the roads have traffic cameras, Beckett goes to the traffic center to see if he can get access to the video.  He is allowed, probably because he is a hired representative of H.M. Government investigating a crime with national security implications.  Between cameras and the helicopter Ros is in, they zero in on Vermeer, all the while leaking the information directly to Da Silva and Charlesworth.  Charlesworth, being familiar with Vermeer, figures out where Vermeer is going and  they get there first.   Charlesworth is getting cold feet about them leaving Ed to die, despite the fact that he practically gave the order to Da Silva to kill Wallace earlier.  Now, Da Silva kills Vermeer, too, chilling Charlesworth’s cold feet further. When Beckett, Ros and Kent arrive, Da Silva uses the threat to Ed’s life to force them to load the R6 in his car.  Then he calls the number to kill Ed anyway, but in doing so, Charlesworth has had enough killing and tries to help stop DaSilva, killing him in the process.   Luckily, Ed has extracted himself for once from danger. Later, in the Tag Scene Room, Kent presents a silver turd to Team Bugs on behalf of H.M. Government, and Ros uses the sound cancellation wave for a higher purpose: shutting Ed up.