Smiffina Episodes - Episoe 359
2nd in the string of 4 in a row the episodes that make me twitch so much. (The next 2 aren't Smiffina, but Dan and Mickey in trouble.)
We open where we left off, Smithy is trapped in the Larson's house with them having just arrived back from the station after Pete's arrest - which spectacularly fell apart. Zain arrives and tells Louise secretly that Smithy is trapped in the house. She and Zain try and distract Pete so Smithy can leave. Smithy desperatley searches for a back door key as Louise makes her excuses so she can 'feed the dog' and get Smithy out whilst Zain continues to waste Pete's time. Unfortunately Pete has Louise's keys so she can't get him out so tells him to hide whilst she can get Pete out the way to let him sneak out.
Smithy being Smithy unfortunately, he doesn't just leave. He spots the door to the utility room that he thinks the gun is behind (where the dog was locked whilst officers searched) and he goes down there instead of getting out the damn house. Mid panicked search he even looks inside the powder/liquid drawer of the washer 🤣 Louise texts him to get out now (amusingly it's obviously a 'compose text' screen. Were TPTB too cheap to have a PAYG sim set up for when they needed to 'text' characters?
He's about to leave but he stands on a drain on the middle of the floor and - Smithy being Smithy - gets a screwdriver from his pen knife (!) and opens it to search for the gun.... and finds it. But it's too late...
"I think this is the one you're looking for." Pete mocks, ordering Smithy to give him the gun he's just found and the uniform belt. (Why doesn't he press the emergency button?!) Unfortunately he's onto them... he caught Louise texting him. His dog is 'growling' but everytime they cut to him he just looks adorable and is watching both men all innocent like so they add the growling when the camera's off him.
Pete is devestated to realise that Smithy and Louise were having an affair - and what was really happening the day he came back and found them. He drags Smithy along, beating him all the way and drops him beside Louise who is out cold on the bedroom floor having been beaten. He continues to beat Smithy, growling at him for ever coming near Louise.
Zain realises the amount of trouble Smithy could be in as he can't get in touch with him and speaks to the DCI, telling him what has happened.
The Eyebrow is still out for its own acting award despite it's owner having been badly beaten as it keeps arching on its own.
Smithy keeps telling him that they've not been seeing each other but unfortunately the evidence is clear on Smithy's phone in their text history and voicemails.
Downstairs Jack and the NCS boss are banging on the door, shouting Pete's name with uniform backup arriving to break into the house. Louise is found and taken to hospital but there's no sign of Smithy when they get in, having been forced into Pete's boot. Thankfully Zain saw but was unable to stop him as he was on foot. Uniform charge out of the station, trying to find Larson's car after it vanishes during Jack and NCS following him. "Larson doesn't cross the road if there's a risk, why has he kidnapped a police officer?" he asks Jack, before letting him know that NCS had seen Smithy making visits to the Larson's before they went away. Zain has to tell Jack the truth...about everything.
A dazed and blooded Smithy struggles to his feet in an office block, telling Pete that he's going to get in more trouble as they're searching for him. He tells Pete to let him go, Pete simply takes the safety off his gun. He tries to fruitlessly run away as Pete insists he's got a few things he wants to sort out. He asks where they'd met up - if it was his house or hotels. Smithy still insists it was just talking, she was lonely and wanted to save the marriage and felt they were drifting apart. Pete is not daft and receives a call - he wants 'a job doing and doing now. He's got someone he wants sorting out' he tells "Dixie" as Smithy stares down the barrel of his gun. He puts a hit out on Louise, telling him she should be in St Hughes - he wants her murdering. Smithy glares at him, telling Pete to call the hit off. Pete just scoffs and punches him in the stomach to force him down onto his knees where he continues to beat him. Smithy wheezes that he doesn't care what happens to him - but to leave Louise out of it and to cancel the hit. Pete refuses and takes aim to shoot Smithy - but Smithy is saved by the arrival of the Worlds Most Oblivious Cleaner.
Smithy takes the chance to manage to undo his arms as Pete is distracted and thrusts himself against Pete, knocking him over a chair as he makes a run for the doors - that have locked behind the cleaner. Almost!
In hospital Louise has come around and is asking for Smithy. She knows what Pete would be trying to do given he's taken Smithy hostage. There's also a man outside her room looking very interested in its occupants... Suzie has found Smithy's warrant card outside an office building - he's not just a pretty face you know! He's even using a chair to try fight Pete off inside.
"Don't tell me, the chairs loaded." Pete mocks at Smithy then throws it at him. He sets the fire alarm off and runs off to the other side of the room, alerting Jack et al outside as they charge towards the building. The cleaner tells them there was a business that ran out of there until a week ago before it suddenly folded without explanation.
CO19 charge inside with Zain, Jack and Suzie bringing up the rear. Smithy plays for time and won't keep still, warning him to give himself up and to call off his man. "Just give yourself up." "Give myself up to you? I'd rather blow us both away." Pete growls, CO19 storming the room behind them. Pete gives himself up as they point guns at him and Smithy charges in to arrest him with the Sun Hill 3 (and NCS officer) coming in to help. "He's taken a contract out on his wife, we've got to get to her quick!" Smithy shouts.
CO19 are now at the hospital having sealed off the entire floor that Louise is on. The gunman is now dressed as a doctor and escapes out into the yard. He loses his white coat and heads deeper into the hospital, getting arrested in the boiler room.
At Sun Hill, Pete is shouting long and loud about Smithy having an affair with Louise, claiming no judge on earth would prosecute given that Smithy was using his wife for information. Pete denies everything that Smithy said - including that he confessed to murdering Vince and he insists Smithy planted the gun at his house after Louise gave him it to frame him - and that it was Louise who was the real murderer of Vince.
Smithy pulls away from the nurse who's tending his wounds, he wants to get to Louise. Tony tells him to stay despite Smithy refusing because 'he's taking his orders from Jack, he's got a bigger badge than you'. He assures him Louise is fine and that he can see her but he needs looking at. "I'm going to get the nurse... and this time, be nice to her!" he tells him - of course Smithy doesn't wait, painfully making his way to Louise's bedside. Smithy asks Roger to give them a few minutes and he sits with Louise, Smithy has to tell her about the hit Pete put out on her.
Suzie and Zain arrive at the hospital and see Smithy and Louise kissing. Suzie is very formal and tells her allegations have been made against her. Louise is shocked as is Smithy - surely they can see what Pete is doing? It's not that simple though, documents have been removed from the house with her signature all over them - claiming she is as tied up in the Larson Empire as he is. Smithy growls at Zain. "You are going to use his lies to intimidate her into giving you what you want?" "If you mean the truth, then yes." Smithy insists he'll be inside anyway for kidnap. Zain scoffs, it's all of 8 years if that. He wants more, Pete is a murderer and a career criminal. He wants a life sentence. Zain reminds Smithy that Louise's innocence means nothing if she can't prove it and Pete is a very wealthy man with very clever lawyers. Without his money and backing Louise doesn't have anything that can fight it.
Louise tells Zain she has nothing to do with the company and that clearly Pete was planning ahead incase he found himself in a position like that. Zain promises she'll be free of Pete if she helps them by telling them everything. Smithy goes to see Louise, Zain asks him to reassure her and get her to talk to them. All Smithy replies is 'Get out of my way'.
Smithy asks her what she's going to do. She's defeated, he's made sure she'll go down with him and that he'd never forgive her if she spoke out. She knows that just getting him inside won't be the end of it - he'd have her killed. The one thing she can say about him is that he was loyal to her and never cheated on her. Smithy's shocked, it sounds like she wants to stand by him. Louise insists that's not true - but that they can't have a happy ending. If she doesn't back him up she'll end up dead. "I've hurt Pete enough. He won't tolerate anymore." She tells him that to be together is being naive and a serious risk. She would rather know that he's out there happy somewhere than at serious risk of death being with her. She won't listen to Smithy's pleas and ends their relationship. They've both risked enough. Smithy is forced out of the room by Jack and runs to the FME's office, hiding inside in tears.
