Margo holds the lighter above Chrissie

Margo - Burn in hell Latham...

Suddenly Kath and Cheryl rush in.

Kath grabs Margo and drags her across the room, yanking the lighter out of her hand as she does so. Kath lands a vicious punch to Margo's stomach doubling her over in pain

Kath - You stupid bunch of bitches! I told you we were going to put Latham on trial first before we decided what to do with her!

Margo - So who listens to you Maxwell? You ain't top dog bitch...and no one punches me and gets away with it kiddo!

Margo goes to attack Kath but Cheryl restrains her. Margo attempts to fight Cheryl but Cheryl overpowers her and gives her another punch to the stomach. Margo leans doubled over against the wall

Kath - I'll just have to be top dog then won't i

Marie - Not bloody likely Maxwell...I'm the top dog around here

Kath - We can soon fix that Winter

Kath squares up to Marie

Marie - I'd back away now if I were you sweetheart... I'll wipe the floor with ya

Kath lashes out at Marie and they fight. Veronica rushes to attack Kath from behind but Cheryl restrains her. They struggle. Cheryl is too strong for Veronica

Veronica - ok ok! let me go you bitch!

Cheryl lets her go

Cheryl- Piss off bitch

Veronica leaves the cell

Kath lands a judo move on Marie and puts her on the floor. Marie grabs Kath by the leg and pulls her to the floor alongside her, they wrestle on the floor. Kath overpowers Marie and holds her down with Cheryl's help

Kath - I've got news for you Winter and it's all bad...for you anyway. I'm the new top dog

Marie is panting, out of breath

Marie - I think you're forgetting something Maxwell. the women have to vote you in first

Cheryl - They will vote Kath in you needn't worry about that

They let Marie go

Kath - You ready to give up or do Cheryl and I have to hurt you some more?

Marie gets up off the floor and dusts herself down

Marie - Bitches! You'll get yours.....c'mon Gaffney let's get out of here

Marie leaves with Margo

Kath (to Cheryl) - Go after them, make sure they don't get up to anything before I get back to the rec room.. I'll be along in a short while and make sure the women stay in the rec room I am calling a meeting

Cheryl nods and leaves

Brumby is standing in a corner

Kath turns to her

Kath - Don't think I haven't noticed you standing there all quiet, trying to look invisible Brumby

Brumby - Kath look...

Kath slaps Brumby in the face. brumby whines

Kath - Rita and I did not save you so that you could behave like this Tucker, you were supposed to change your ways. How silly of me to think that you could ever change

Brumby - Look the thing is...

Kath - Get out of my sight...

Brumby - But...

Kath - NOW!!

Brumby tears out of the room

Chrissie is still laying on the bed crying

Kath - Pull yourself together Latham, you need a shower and a change of uniform....get up

Chrissie still lays there

Kath - Come on quickly, I don't have all night

Chrissie stands up

Chrissie - Thanks for what you did...those bitches were gonna bleeding kill me

Kath - Don't thank me, Latham, you're not off the hook by any means, let's go

The rec room

Veronica is licking her wounds in a corner when Marie tears in and attacks her, slapping her in the face

Marie - You bloody useless fat fool, Veronica! You are supposed to help me out, bloody damn fine help you turned out to be

Veronica - What could I do Marie? Maxwell and Gibson had us, just face it

Marie - You're pathetic Ronnie

Veronica turns

Veronica - You're hardly great yourself Marie, if you were you wouldn't even need me by your side every bloody minute of the day...Face it Marie you're piss weak. How many times have I saved your sorry arse for ya?

Marie raises a hand to hit Veronica again but Veronica blocks it and lands a savage punch to Marie's stomach

The whole rec room has been watching with interest

Veronica - You won't lay a finger on me ever again Marie. did you get that?

Marie - Bitch!

Veronica goes and sits with Cheryl and takes a packet of cigarettes out of her pocket

Veronica - Want one?

Cheryl- Sure don't mind if I do

Veronica - Take a spare one for Kath if you like, does she smoke?

Cheryl - Yeah every now and then when she gets stressed. I'm sure she'll appreciate one thanks

Cheryl addresses the room

Cheryl - Listen up ladies, Kath will be here shortly and she has an important announcement to make

Marie and Margo skulk around in a corner looking uneasy

Chrissie is in the shower while Kath stands outside the cubicle

Kath - Hurry up in there Latham

Chrissie - I need to be back in solitary before anyone notices I'm out

Kath - You aren't going back to solitary, we're going to the rec room

Chrissie - But how will we explain to the screws? I'm bleeding meant to be in solitary, we will all be for the high jump!

Kath - You let me worry about that Latham, just hurry up and finish so we can get going

Chrissie looks worried.

Roo leaves Trudie's place and takes her car

Kath and Chrissie arrive at the rec room

Kath - Sit down and keep quiet Latham

Chrissie does as she is told

The room is silent, all eyes on Kath Cheryl and Veronica stand beside Kath

Kath - Evening ladies, I assume Cheryl has told you all I have an important announcement to make?... Well, it's like this. I am taking over as the new top dog if all the women are in agreement. This lousy dump needs a proper top dog, not people like Winter....anyone has any objections raise their hands now

All of the blackmoor women raise their hands except Veronica. All of the Wentworth women keep their hands down except for Margo. It is about half and half

Marie sniggers

Marie - See Maxwell I told you, being top dog around here ain't as easy as all that...seems we are both equally matched so far

Kath- What are your objections, ladies?

Onions - We want drugs to don't we? Marie can get us those

Kath - So? I can too

Cheryl, Vicki, Brumby, and other Wentworth women look at Kath in surprise

Kath - I have no issue with drugs at all, if it keeps everyone happy. I tell ya something else I have no issue with, making sure that conditions are improved here for the women. For example, we need to be given work, we need something to do. Why should only the men get all the work?

Marie - Been tried before Maxwell, always without much success. What makes you think you can be successful where others have failed?

Kath shows Marie a set of Keys

Kath - These are the keys you took to get into Latham's solitary cell. Now I have them and I intend to use them. Tomorrow we are taking over this prison ladies

Vicki - You mean we are going to riot?

Kath - No Vicki not riot exactly. We are going to stage a rooftop protest, I have done one before. I know what I am doing....so what do you say, ladies? Let's have a show of hands, who wants me as top dog?

This time a sea of hands go up. Only a small handful of blackmoor women don't put their hands up and Margo remains stubborn too

Kath smiles at Marie

Kath - Looks like I'm in and you're out

Marie - Yeah well I dunno how you expect to keep a hold of those keys Maxwell, the screws will search high and low once they discover they are missing

Kath - That's easy. Veronica, do you know where the workshop is around here?

Veronica nods

Kath hands her the keys

Kath - Vicki go with Veronica to the workshop, make a copy of the keys, then come back here, be quick

Vicki - Sure Kath

Vicki leaves with Veronica

Cheryl (to Kath) - How do you know you can trust Veronica?

Kath - Because I get the feeling she is loyal to whoever she supports and right now she has lost support for Winter and come over to me

Cheryl hands Kath a cigarette

Cheryl - This is a gift from her

Kath smiles

Kath - See what I mean? She is already giving me gifts

Marie is trying to sneak out of the room while Kath and Cheryl are talking but Kath see's

Kath - Going somewhere, Winter?

Marie shrugs

Marie - Just to the dunny that's all

Kath - Really? So you weren't planning to follow Veronica and Vicki then? Try to get hold of the keys? Anything like that

Marie shrugs

Kath - Sit down winter, we are all staying here

Cheryl - Look I need a word about something in private, it's important

Kath - Ok outside in the corridor

They go out to the corridor where they are out of earshot of the others but Kath can keep an eye on Marie

Cheryl - I was a bit surprised when you said you are ok with drugs? Rita told me you were against them?

Kath looks guilty

Kath - Yeah well I surprised myself there but I had to say something to get them onside...and anyway some of these blackmoor women are beyond help, they have bad addictions, and imagine trying to get them through withdrawals? I won't let any of the Wentworth girls touch the hard stuff like heroin, a bit of weed is ok though

Cheryl nods

Cheryl - yes I agree, I like a bit of weed myself

Kath - now we have to deal with Latham...

they re-enter the rec room

Roo pulls up outside a house in Trudie's car. She sits in the dark and lights a cigarette. She takes a picture out of her pocket and looks at it, it is a picture of a little boy...

....Inside the house that same little boy from the picture is in his pajamas ready for bed. A woman is with him

The woman - You brushed your teeth little man?

The boy nods his head vigorously

The woman - Good boy

She tucks him up in bed

The boy - Can I have a story mummy?

The woman smiles kindly

The woman - Of course, you can sweetheart,

The rec room

Kath - Now ladies, this evening Winter and Gaffney here...along with some others...

Kath eyes up Brumby and Lorna who both bow their heads

Kath - ...entered Latham's solitary cell and tried to burn her alive. Now I will not have this sort of thing. Clearly, we need to deal with Latham but we need to be fair and I think we should give her the chance to have her say, right here right now, and then we will decide between us what to do with her...

They are interrupted by Veronica and Vicki returning

Veronica hands Kath the new set of keys

Kath - Good work, did you dump the originals?

Veronica - Yes we left them in a corridor where they can be found easily.

Kath - Very good...Now as I was saying girls we should give Latham a chance to have her say, any objections?

The room is silent

Kath turns to Chrissie

Kath - Go on Latham, now's your chance to defend yourself

Chrissie stands up to address the room

Colleen is in the staff room when the unknown officer Margo and co knocked out earlier enters looking drowsy and rubbing her head

Colleen - What happened to you?

The officer - Someone knocked me out and stole my keys... I've only just come round was out for ages

Colleen - Oh hell...

Colleen is out of her seat and halfway out of the room

Colleen - I'll organize a search of the prison...you better go to the infirmary and see the sister, get that head checked out

The rec room

Chrissie is addressing the room

Chrissie - I know I should have stopped her and I'm sorry. But I was scared of her, you don't know what she's like if you get on the wrong side of her. I have to live with the fact people died when I could have saved them, I have to live with it for the rest of my life. Some of you may think I don't care but I bleeding well do and I'm sorry, I truly am sorry. Maybe I do deserve to die but if you kill me you will be robbing an innocent little girl of her mother

Chrissie turns to Kath

Chrissie - You may feel that Elizabeth would be better off without me but the fact is that's not for you or anyone else to decide. If you lot kill me you are playing god, you are deliberately ending my life and taking a young girl's mum away from her forever. You don't know what sort of damage that will do inside Elizabeth's head. Yes, I am responsible for people dying, but I didn't bleeding do it on purpose. I didn't want people to die

Chrissie goes silent, she sits down with her head in her hands

Margo breaks the silence by clapping, everyone looks at her

Margo - Real good 'Latham, real good words. Real good performance

Chrissie looks at Margo with anger on her face

Chrissie - Remember the fire in '82 Margo? Who was to blame for that? Remember Barbara and poor little mouse? You didn't plan for them to die did you but they still did

Margo is silent, ashamed

Kath - Who thinks Latham should be killed, lets see a show of hands

Marie's hand shoots up, along with one or two others...Margo keeps her hand down, as does Cheryl

Kath - A wise choice. Whatever Latham did she is right about one thing, her daughter shouldn't suffer for it. Now we need to decide what punishment Latham should get

Cheryl - I think she should be made to fully own up to being an accessory, take whatever sentence the courts will hand her for that. The screws heard our conversation in the dining room earlier but I'm sure you were planning to deny any involvement weren't you Latham? Seems the fairest punishment for me..who agrees?

A sea of hands shoot up

Kath - I agree too, that does seem the fairest punishment. Seems we have a majority vote on it

Chrissie - Hang on a bleeding minute, I could be in here forever if I do that! What good will I be to Elizabeth then?

Cheryl - She will still have a mother she can come and visit won't she? Anyway you'd probably get out eventually, at least you'd both have some hope for the future

Chrissie - Bull! I'll be stuck here for life

Kath loses her patience

Kath - Don't push your luck here Latham, we spared you from death, now you have to confess to the cops. Take whatever sentence the courts hand you. Of course, we can't make you do it, we can't lag either. What we can do is decide to kill you after all if you don't confess.

Chrissie looks defeated

Chrissie - Ok, I'll do it

Kath - When?

Chrissie - As soon as I next get a chance

Kath - Make sure you do

Colleen and a group of officers arrive

Colleen - Latham you're here? We thought you'd escaped. What's going on here ladies?

Kath - We had to get Latham here for a discussion

Colleen - A discussion about what?

Kath - Go on tell her Chrissie

Chrissie is silent, reluctant

Kath - I said to tell her Chrissie...

Chrissie - You remember the conversation in the dining room earlier Mrs. Powell? well its all true, I'm ready to make a statement to the cops in the morning, a full confession to being Morgan's accomplice

Colleen - I see

She turns to the other officers

Colleen - Take Latham back to solitary

They leave with Chrissie

Colleen - Ok you lot listen up, we won't tolerate you taking the law into your own hands like this. Officer Williams took a bad knock to the head and we have been searching the prison for a missing set of keys, for all we know someone could have used them to escape.

Kath looks alarmed

Kath - Have you not found the keys, Mrs. Powell? We dumped them in a corridor for you, no one escaped we just wanted to get hold of Latham for a while

Colleen - No Maxwell we have not found the keys yet, you will all have to line up against the wall for a headcount and then be searched

Roo knocks at the door of the house and after a moment the woman answers

The woman looks shocked horrified

Roo - Hello Sandy

Sandy - Go away Roo, just go away, I heard you escaped but I didn't think you'd come here. I don't want you here...just go...

Sandy tries to close the door but Roo forces her way in

Colleen and other officers have performed a head search. Veronica and Marie are missing

Colleen - Ok anyone know where Winter and Scott are?

Silence

Colleen - Ok let's search them all

Kath looks worried

Veronica is rushing down a corridor to open a gate as Marie catches up to her

Marie - You devious bitch, I knew you were up to something. You played along with Maxwell and kept hold of the original keys so you could escape, you're smarter than i gave you credit for. Still trying to go without me that's not nice now, is it?!

Veronica - So if you're coming lets bloody well go now, not waste time talking

They are hurrying off when they are spotted by an officer

Officer - OI YOU TWO STOP!

They make a run for it. The officer gives chase

Veronica lags behind Marie a bit

Marie - Keep up you slow bitch!

Veronica makes an effort to push herself along harder and ends up tripping over and falling into Marie taking her to the floor with her. Veronica falls on top of Marie

Marie - Ow! you stupid bitch! What ya trying to do? crush me to death!

Marie tries to get to her feet but the officer arrives with his baton

Officer - You two stay where you are

Marie lashes out at Veronica

Marie - You stupid cow! we could have made it if you weren't so slow and clumsy!

Roo has a knife to Sandy's throat

Sandy - What do you want Roo? If it's money you want I can give you some

Roo - I've come for Danny, I've come for my son

Sandy - Please Roo you're no good for him you know that, that's why the courts gave me custody

Roo - I would have been a good mother given a chance damn it. But Mike didn't want kids, well now Mike's dead, and Danny is all I have left and I want my son back!

Sandy - You can't have him, I'm his mother now

Roo - You're a bitch Sandy, what kind of woman steals her own sister's son?

Sandy - The kind who knows that she can give him a better chance in life. Stop being silly Roo, you know damn well you couldn't bring up a child, you and Mike were heading for prison I knew that, and I was right

Roo - Maybe if I had had some support from my own family, maybe if you hadn't applied for custody of my child and taken him from me, maybe just maybe I wouldn't have ended up the way I did

Sandy - That's crap and you know it! Mike was already leading you into a life of crime and you chose him over Danny

Roo - Yeah well now I want a chance to put that right. Mike's gone and I want my child

Sandy - You're insane Roo...just go now, get out of here

Roo - shut up and lay on the floor

Sandy - Roo please, be sensible here!