Bad Tradecraft

**Bad Tradecraft** is the third episode of the first season of *Slow Horses* and the third episode of the series overall. It aired on April 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.

## Summary

*Slough House is the unlikely venue for a secret romance, but events take a dark turn when a dangerous encounter becomes deadly.*

## Plot

Louisa and Min watch the news at the bar, wondering if Lamb had any information on the kidnappers. Min tells Louisa that Lamb's password is "password", having heard it from him, so they could find out what information he was getting. Min offers her another drink, and she says that she could go for one or maybe go back to the office. They decide to get a shot since it would be quicker and afterwards have a hard time getting into the office.

Both Louisa and Min are drunk end up kissing in front of the stairs. However, Louisa hears a noise, and both of them go to investigate. After looking around for a while, they find nothing and Min offers to go back to his place. She laughs and says that they should look again when all of a sudden a man jumps out from a closet and hits Min. Louisa attacks him while Min gets up and throws the man down the stairs while going down there himself as well. Louisa grabs the man's gun and sees he has no pulse.

At a hospital, River is followed by a man, who make sure he is secure. The man is attacked by another man Lamb, who opens the door only to see River with a shoe in a bag and says he is embarrassed for him. Lamb tells him to take all the time he needs as they walk towards reception and River asks for Sid. River tells Lamb that they could not leave without knowing how she is, but Lamb simply responds that she is still on the table, also berating him for having gotten in the ambulance with her. He tells her that the dog had been following him because he had gotten in the ambulance. River asks Lamb how he knew he was there, to which Lamb simply responds that he had gotten Ho to monitor the Park's alerts in case he did something as stupid as he did. Lamb says that the doctors were saying she might live.

The kidnappers watch television as Hassan tries to escape by taking apart the wooden door, making the least amount of noise possible.

Diana gets a call from one of her officers, saying that Cartwright is gone, so she tells him to find them.

River and Lamb drive around. River asks him why he had brought him back to Slough House, to which Lamb responds that he is one of his agents and was there when another one of his agents was shot, so he wanted to know what they were doing at Hobden's. River explains that he has something on his laptop and speculates that he has something to do with the kidnappers. Lamb wonders if Sid thought that as well and River tells him that Sid followed him. When Lamb asks who shot Sid, River says that the man had a balaclava on and tactical gear, so he was not able to see who it was. River says that it was strange, almost as if the man wanted him to think he was one of the Dogs, but he thinks it was not quite right and he did not speak.

At the Slough House, Lamb and River see Min and Louisa, with Jed Moody on the floor - dead. Lamb says that he is not sure that the murder could be considered defense, but Min explains that he had a gun. Lamb says that is better for their case and adds that he had shot Sid earlier as well. River explains why Sid had been shot and asks why Moody was there. She says that they did not get the chance to ask, but tells Lamb that he had been in his office. Lamb asks if they could account for their movements and Louisa explains that they were in the pub across the road. Lamb wonders if it seemed like Moody was going to use the gun, saying that it would be better for their case to say that it did seem that way. Lamb sees that Moody had been cleaning up and sees that he had two phones, using the one that only had one call from it. He calls it and Diana picks up, telling her that they need to talk.

Hobden knocks on a door and asks to see Peter inside. The man welcomes Hobden heartily, but after telling his security guard to leave, he asks him what the hell he was doing there. He tells Hobden he is toxic, but Hobden says that someone had tried to kill him to get his laptop. Peter asks why MI5 would want his computer and Hobden explains that he has intel on his computer about the Muslim boy who was kidnapped.

Diana meets Lamb at a discrete location. She asks if he is alone, but he simply says that he does not know why they never clean the canals. She asks him what he is playing at, to which he responds that it's choice considering he had lent her an agent and now she has a bullet in her head. He She says that the brief was not for her to be on Hobden 24/7 and he says that the brief was to be on Cartwright 24/7, which now makes him think that Sid was her agent all along. He tells her that Sid had been shot outside of Hobden's house by Jed Moody, another one of her recruits, so he turns the question around and asks her what she is playing at. She tells him that he runs Slough House, but she is Second Desk, head of ops, which means directing all personnel. Lamb wonders what to do with the body on his staircase, which surprises Diana. She asks who took him down and Lamb says that the funny thing is that he forgot to tie his shoelaces, which makes him laugh. Diana says that it would not be so funny in front of Limitations. He asks her if they should call in the Dogs since it is a death and he says he could call the police, but the odd thing is that the only phone number on it is hers. He lights up a cigarette and tells her that she has until he finishes it for him to start making calls. She tells him that she was talking to his brother at the Frontline Club, where she mentioned that they are developing operations to neutralize the nationalists. Lamb finds this unbelievable, but Diana says that her plan is not half-assed since she saw Hobden in the booth behind them at the bar and she says that it is bad tradecraft on her part.

Hobden says that he has no proof, but MI5 must think he does and that is why they had tried to kill him. Hobden begs Peter to tell them that the whole setup and supposed execution is a fake, that the Sons of Albion who have never been more than a bunch of moronic street thugs have been set up by the intelligence services. Hobden asks him for his help, but Peter says that they are not friends and he is a has-been. He tells him that it is all a setup and everyone would be killed, but Peter tells him that he does not have any of the contacts he is talking about. Hobden tells him that he has a photo of him at the rally, so Peter allows him to stay.

Lamb tells Diana that she seems pretty calm for someone who setup a false operation to behead an innocent kid in a few hours. She says that they would not do it, but Lamb says that their core messaging suggests that they are. Diana says that their agent told them that they did not need a beheading, just that they could if they were pushed. Lamb says that he does not fancy her odds, but she says that the kid was chosen carefully - Mahmud Gul's nephew. Lamb says that he knows Mahmud Gu is number two in Pakistan's military intelligence. Diana says that they would rescue his nephew, which she hopes would get them 10% more cooperation with the Pakistanis. Lamb cannot believe it, telling her that that was not a sactioned service op, it is off the books and they have Hobden around.

The kidnappers wonder how Hassan could sleep knowing what would happen to him in the morning, but they also know that he had not slept at all since they caught him. Hassan is almost out, but one board in particular is stuck. Hassan uses all his strength to rip it open, which causes the men to see that he had made a lot of noise. They jump up and go towards him. Hassan tries calling out for help, but the men reach him and drag him out of his hole.

Lamb tells Diana that if the Sons got wind of what she is up to, both her man and the kid are dead. He tells her to bring the Dogs early, but she says it is not possible. Diana tells him that he would help her, but he says that he would not and his agents would not help her either. Diana says that Hassan is being held in a house on their side of the river, so all he would need to do is literally knock on the door. She says that his face would be the signal, since he is a legend in the service. Lamb says that he has other things he could do, but Diana simply asks if Moody was alone when he died, saying that if he had company, it might come under intense scrutiny. He tells her to call the Dogs and after they ripped her apart, they might stil have enough strength to pick at the rest of what had happened, saying that either way, he does not care. She asks if that would be the case even if it was Standish, which he finds surprising. She says a lot of things could happen if the case was reopened, but he says that that is not a can of worms she wants to open, which she agrees with. She says that like it or not, Slough House was a part of what was happening and Standish should not find out. He says that he would knock on the door, but wanted the Standish file. He adds that he does not want Slough House to be her playground anymore, Moody gone, Baker a victim of street crime, and anyone with him that night fireproof. He says that she is also in his debt until she is old. She realizes that he really cares about his agents, but he says that he does not and thinks that they are a bunch of losers, but they are his losers.

Hobden apologizes for threatening Peter, but he asks him to realize that they wanted everyone to forget about body parts on the tube and violence. He asks Peter to do something which would end up benefiting him in the end, since it would help make the country go towards the left. He says that he does not want to have to use the photo and wants him to do it willingly, but Peter punches him square in the face and puts his hand in a bucket of cold water. He tells Hobden that the photo does not exist, saying that even if it did, anyone who was in it would make sure all copies and negatives were destroyed. If he did have the photo somehow, he can brush it off very fast, so he tells him to get out of his house before he punches him again. Hobden gets up and leaves the house.

The kidnappers say that Hassan is a slippery guy, who almost managed to get away. The men say that they should have some fun and start playing with a deck of cards.

River, Louisa, and Min wait for Lamb, who asks what happened to the gun. River hands it to him and they all follow their boss, who tells them that they were going to Roupell Street, which was at the south of the river since they would be assisting in the rescue of Hassan Ahmed.

Diana makes it back to the office, where she is told that they had less than four hours to rescue Hassan. She calls a man, telling him to proceed with the plan after Lamb knocked on the door. The Dogs start moving after that.

In Lamb's car, River asks if the money he took from Moody was his flight fund in case he needed to make a run for it. Lamb says that there were 1500 pounds, a passport and a key to a box which was in a bank in a small French town four hours away from Paris. Lamb wonders why he is telling him all that and River figures it is in case he needs an excuse to kill him, which Lamb says is probably correct.

The kidnappers wonder if Hassan can breathe with the mask on and he says that he can. As they keep playing cards, Curly walks downstairs with the men, who ask if he wants to play cards with money involved. Curly asks Moe what regimen he was in when he was in the army and the man tells him that he was in the marines, who do not have regiments, he explains that they have battalion units known as commandos. After that, he grabs the axe, telling Moe that he likely has not used one before and all it would take to kill someone would be a swing. He is told to put the axe down before he fucked everything up, which Curly finds odd. Moe tells him that in the end, he could report to Simmonds, telling him he is a good soldier or he could have his spine broken by his boys. After that, Curly puts down the axe, but when Moe turns around, he swings the axe.

Lamb, River, Louisa, and Min make it to the house, where Lamb loads a gun, which River finds strange. Lamb says that the whole op is fucked, however, and walks towards there, stroking a cat as he makes his way towards the house. He walks to the front door, which opens and the three agents go after him. River follows Lamb to the kitchen, where they see blood everywhere and Moe's head on the table.

## Cast

### Starring

* Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
* Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
* Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner

### Guest-Starring

* Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
* Dustin Demri-Burns as Min Harper
* Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy
* Samuel West as Peter Judd
* Bally Gill as Agent Singh
* Antonio Aakeel as Hassan Ahmed
* Stephen Walters as Zeppo
* Brian Vernel as Curly
* Pierro Niel-Mee as Agent McCrae
* David Walmsley as Larry
* Steven Waddington as Jed Moody
* Paul Hilton as Robert Hobden

### Co-Starring

* Anita Anand as Herself
* Tom Bradby as Himself
* Melissa Suppiah as Mrs. Fatima Ahmed
* Christopher Coghill as Hobbs
* Kal Sabir as BBC Reporter
* Ravi Aujla as Mr. Abdul Ahmed
* Sam Hazeldine as Moe
* Charlotte Pyke as Olivia Judd
* Michael Garner as Michael Portland
* Billy Wright as Barman
* Angela Yeoh as Professor Rachel Harrison-Smith
* Ross Smith as John
* Edmund Kingsley as Seb
* Damian Quinn as West Yorkshire Police Spokesperson

## External Link(s)

* Watch Season 1, Episode 3: *Bad Tradecraft* on AppleTV+