This Nightsleeper episode 4 recap contains spoilers... Abby begins to suspect the Director General, Nicola Miller, isn't being completely straight with her, Joe tells us he's returning to London after receiving a message from his son and the NCST realise there's someone ELSE on the train...
Joe (Joe Cole) is shocked by the death of Oil Rig Man, yet plugs the USB stick Rachel Li (Katie Leung) was given by the woman with the pram into the train’s system to see what it contains. Li has been tweeting about her journey, but luckily someone at NCSC has been able to remove those tweets before they cause even more damage.
When the NSCT downloads the info, they think they’ve finally found out who’s taken charge of The Heart of Britain and it’s the Blue Blockade Group - or “the BBG” - as they suspected. Apparently, this hijacking is the Iranian group’s demonstration of resistance to Western interference, although we’re not sure if we buy this, after all - it’s still only the fourth episode.
“This isn’t just a hack anymore, it’s an act of war,” says Saj (Parth Thakerer), yet Abby suspects it could be linked to another case 'Mashhad'. The Director General, Nicola Miller (Pamela Nomvete) says not, but we trust Abby’s instincts. But what is Mashad?
Meanwhile, on the train, Joe receives a call from the hospital to tell him that Oil Rig Man’s baby has been born, with mother and baby doing well. heartbreakingly, it seems his daughter was born at around the same time he was being crushed under the wheels of the train and the midwife mistaking Joe for the new father makes it even more devastating.
Would Oil Rig Man have done something so rash if Joe hadn’t told him his wife was struggling in labour? It’s impossible to know, but such questions may well haunt the off-duty cop and he opens his heart to Abby as they share an intimate moment on the phone. Is there a vibe between them or is it just us?
Elsewhere, his fellow passengers are trying to discover which of them has the mysterious second phone that’s coming up on the scans. The enquiries cause an argument, which leads to Fraser Warren (James Cosmo) laying bare the truth about his daughter-in-law’s alcoholism and how she nearly bankrupted his son! Oh dear.
Yet while they’re digesting that bombshell, bullets come flying through the window as someone opens fire on The Heart of Britain, causing a blaze at the front of the train. Abby is shocked, but she’s even more taken aback when the Director General reveals she ordered the attack. “Our objective was to shoot out the fuel tank and drain the diesel,” she says.
It seems they didn’t warn Abby or the passengers because they suspect someone on board is involved with the conspiracy. “There are so many things about tonight I can’t tell you,” says the DG casually, before laying out the full extent of how deep the crisis is.
What message did Joe receive from his son?
When NCST finally gets a location on the hackers they discover they aren't in Tehran - as they expected - but Johannesburg, possibly as part of a “hack for hire”. Yet Abby is deeply cynical about whether the BBG are really behind the whole thing. “Why would they be outsourcing cyber warfare, before admitting responsibility” she asks, which seems like a good question. However after further scanning, the South African connection seems to check out.
Yet Joe has more pressing concerns, because The Heart of Britain is on fire and if the blaze gets to the engine then everyone on board is in big trouble. Joe passes out while trying to fight the flames, but luckily he’s pulled to safety by his fellow passengers. Hurrah.
It’s a moment that leads to some touching heart-to-hearts, in which Joe reveals he was heading back to London to visit his son after receiving a message that worried him. Next up is Liz Draycott (Sharon Small), the Minister for Transport, who says she’s on the train because her special advisor persuaded her to take the trip for PR reasons, before claiming she’s not that dissimilar from the rest of them. We’ll see about that.
Attention then turns to the train’s employees, with Mr Loudmouth Drunken Man (Alex Ferns) suggesting they’re underpaid and could have been on the plot. Could he be on to something? Billy (Scott Reid) seems like a nice guy, which means he’s definitely a suspect, yet there’s a growing sentiment that the authorities are mistaken and no one on board is a traitor.
Who else is on the train?
However back at NCSC, the Director General seems to be sidelining Abby somewhat and turning to 'Hud', the guy who arranged the volley of bullets at the train. At Euston, a message flashes up on the boards saying the Heart of Britain is ‘Back on track’ and it speeds up as it continues to head towards London.
Abby is concerned that everyone seems to know more than them, with the DG refusing to share info and her colleague Saj (Parth Thakerer) too. She shares this with Paul (David Threlfall) and Tobi (Gabriel Howell), before suggesting they try to hack the Director General! It’s a bold decision indeed.
But just as they're about to get somewhere, Leon interrupts them with some very very important news. It seems there’s someone else on the train that the other passengers have no idea is there!
When Abby tries to share the news of an unidentified male on The Heart of Britain near where he found the firearm. She wants him to seal off that part of the train, but instead he heads off to check the CCTV and spots the mysterious stowaway.
Meanwhile, Tobi has found a lot of references in the DG’s communications about Mashad, a city in Iran. Yet the person she’s been discussing it with is the Cabinet Minister, Liz Draycott (Sharon Small) who’s now on the train. Are these messages what the politician was asking her PA to get rid of?
Abby heads off to confront Miller, yet before she can reveal what she’s discovered, everyone in NCSC sees Joe is heading down the train armed with a rifle. He finds the man and when he flees, accidentally fires a shot at him, spreading blood across a window.
At the same time, Hud arrives with his men to take Abby away. “You need to tell us why the code used in this attack happens to have been written by you!” he says, slimily. Abby looks absolutely perplexed.
Tense!
