Original Nine Airdate: 17/05/11
When Hammersley finds dead bodies at sea, they discover a boatload of Iraqi refugees has caught fire and sunk. Swain is particularly affected by the sight of a dead girl clutching a curious, golden pendant. When, later, Hammersley finds another mysterious boat at the site of the sinking, Swain’s curiosity is aroused. The man aboard claims to be the father of a young girl travelling on the boat. Swain tells him the boat has sunk and the man collapses in grief. But a later report via Robert reveals the real father of that girl has already claimed her body from the Coroner’s Office. So who was the mysterious man? Swain becomes determined to find the answer.
Meanwhile, Ryan joins Hammersley’s crew. Mike is shocked when Stuart White, Ryan’s estranged father, contacts him. When they meet, Stuart tells Mike he has cancer. Stuart asks Mike to ask Ryan if he’ll consider testing his bone marrow for compatibility. Mike is quite shocked when Ryan says ‘no’. He’s never gotten on with his father since Stuart and Maxine divorced when he was six. He doesn’t want to help him now. As Mike contemplates how he can resolve this, he’s shocked when he sees Kate and Jim Roth having a drink together. As it’s not that long after her split with Mike, Mike can’t help thinking there might be more to the situation than he realised.
Swain’s investigations lead to Salim, a taxi driver who Swain discovers is the real father of the drowned girl. Salim confirms that the man Hammersley found at the scene of the sinking is a people smuggler. Swain is shocked. When Hamersley intercepts another boatload of refugees, they discover it too has Iraqi refugees aboard. There is also a mysterious case full of golden relics. But an explosion rocks this boat and it catches fire. Hammersley’s crew battles the blaze and puts it out before there’s too much damage – but if they hadn’t been there, the boat would surely have sunk and everyone aboard would have drowned.
It’s Swain who realises there’s a connection between the two refugee boats when a transmitter is discovered by Robert. It seems that these Iraqi refugees are bringing priceless artefacts, taken from the Baghdad Museum, into Australia. The people smuggler has discovered this and placed a hidden incendiary device aboard the boat. His intention is to sink it, kill all those aboard and later recover the priceless relics. Mike turns off the transmitter. This creates the impression the boat has sunk and Masud – the people smuggler – is lured back to the area. But he’s been followed by a group of Iraqi/Australian refugees, led by Salim, who are bent on revenge. It leads to a dangerous climax at sea, where Swain risks his life to help Salim - the father of the drowned girl. He successfully defuses the danger.
Later, when Ryan and Mike both take bone marrow tests to help out Stuart, it’s discovered that neither of them match. But, strangely, Ryan and Mike are a perfect match for each other. But that’s impossible. Or is it?
