East West 101 (2007)

Detective Zane Malik of the Major Crime Squad, faces the toughest challenge of his life when a very public crime has very personal ramifications. The sophisticated hold up of an armoured vehicle, leaves four dead. One of them is an armed robber, with an enigmatic identity, leaving Major Crime to ponder the possibilities. Is this an ordinary bunch of thieves looking to get rich quick, or is there a more sinister motivation behind the robbery? Malik clashes with new cop, Travis, in his impassioned pursuit of those who have hurt him and his family. When a man is left dead, in a police shoot out, Malik wonders just what kind of cowboy he’s working with.

A Somali teenager is found viciously bashed to death in a lonely railway tunnel. The investigation leads Koa and Malik to a Somali man, Asad, who is rumoured to be recruiting Somalis to return to Africa to fight for Al-Shabaab. The dead boy opposed Asad’s teachings and his guardian, Samiira, is suspicious of this charismatic man. Worse, he holds great sway over her younger brother, Yusef. Despite Malik’s efforts, it seems the violence Samiira fled in Africa has followed her, with tragic consequences. But has the war in Somalia had repercussions here in Australia, or is the killing a result of racial conflicts? Meanwhile, Internal Affairs investigate the shooting of Mahmoud, an accessory in the armed robbery, which causes conflict between Malik and Travis. Malik fears a vital link to the identity of the gang was extinguished with Mahmoud. He blames Travis. But is Malik’s vision clouded by grief? Khalid, the dead bank robber, is found to have a wife, Sally Wilson, on active duty in Afghanistan. What has Afghanistan got to do with an armed robbery in Sydney? But the detectives’ new leads end up in the morgue. The investigation is constantly thwarted by the strategies of a clever, ruthless gang. But who are they? Who is running the show?

The mysterious double murder of a Jewish couple leaves few leads. According to the woman’s son, David, a large amount of cash is missing, along with the student who was living with them, a Palestinian. Detective Travis is surprised. What’s a Palestinian doing in a Jewish household? Malik locates the missing Palestinian student, who is hiding something. Guilt, or is he just defensive, born out of experiences back home? But the Palestinian is not the only one hiding things. The woman’s son is lying about critical evidence. The conflict between the two detectives, Travis and Malik, spreads from the Middle East to the unsolved crimes of multiple murder and armed robbery. Two drug importers, Yasser and Rizk, are in the morgue. Shot at close quarters, next to the container of heroin they had imported from Afghanistan. Who killed them and why? Is the importation of heroin linked to the armed robbery, or something completely separate? Evidence leads the cops to ex navy diver, Ryan Hunter. But why would a diving instructor knock a couple of Arab drug importers? What they discover changes the direction of the investigation into the armed robbery and subsequent murders.

Wright becomes personally involved in a case when a young woman is found raped and murdered after getting into a taxi. As a young cop, Wright investigated and charged rapist Roman Wisniewski with sexual assault. He walked through the help of a QC. Now Wright has a chance to put him away for a long time. Wisniewski says he is innocent. But when another victim comes forward, and identifies Wisniewski, it seems as if Wright is right. Wright tries to persuade the victim to go to court to help in a successful prosecution. Keep the bastard off the streets. But there are problems in mounting a case against him, like lack of evidence, and Malik fears Wright’s vision is stopping her from seeing the truth. Wright and Wisnieski go to war. And with it, comes destruction and pain. And as in any war, there is no winner. Meanwhile, Malik works to find the gang responsible for the armed robbery. Hunter is in remand, waiting sentence for the murder of two drug importers. Kimberley, a clerk at the Security Company, which was robbed, takes Hunter a message. Something is up, but what? And can the cops break a woman in love?

Mere Hahunga has problems with her youngest son, Sam, and enlists Detective Koa’s help. Sam, is going off the rails. Mere pleads with Koa to save him. But can he stop a youth determined to be self-destructive? Sam is involved with Ned Reweti, a Maori gangster. When Koa realises Sam is involved in a violent robbery where a security guard is bashed, Koa knows it may not be possible to honour his promise to Mere. Koa is treading a fine line between his obligations as a cop and his obligations to his community. He attempts to steer Sam into safety by getting him to help with the investigation. Sam refuses to dog on Reweti, and Koa finds evidence another way. Reweti believes it was Sam who rolled on him and exacts revenge in mistaken retribution. Koa has managed to keep his promise to Mere. He saves Sam, but at what price? Detective Zane Malik is focussed on getting the armed robbery gang. But they prove elusive and strategic. His frustration mounts when Kimberly, the insider, is killed in a cruel execution. Were they worried she talked to the police? Malik is determined to shut down this ruthless gang. He confronts Hunter with the details of Kimberley’s death in order to try and get him to roll on the gang. Hunter knows the truth. But he’s not sharing.

What has the armed robbery of 36 million and the subsequent escalating violence got to do with a drug rip and massacre in Kandahar, Afghanistan? Malik is hoping that visiting Afghani cop, Khan, will provide the answers. But before he can question Khan, the visitor is executed, and Hunter is broken out of remand. The gang is armed, ruthless and well organised, with a growing list of victims, one being Malik’s son. Malik fears he cannot trust his own colleagues. Is someone feeding the enemy information? Detective Travis is behaving erratically. Why? Does he have something to hide? Travis is struggling to hold his life together, but an old army friend’s actions threaten this. Travis is a man with divided loyalties and he fears his past is about to collide with his present. His friend, Sterling, is in a bad way. Can Travis help him or does he have to sever the friendship for the sake of his own survival? Malik is not the only one wondering what Travis is up to. Detective Lim knows something is very wrong and she undertakes her own private investigation to find out what he is trying to hide from her and other detectives. As the search for the killer of the Afghani cop comes to a head, Malik’s distrust of Travis grows. Something is wrong, but what it is? The mystery grows.

Two youths are shot dead while fishing. Malik knows first hand what Yelena Moyan, the boys’ mother, is going through. Yelena cannot understand who would do this. Her boys had no enemies. When another body is discovered in waters near by, it seems the boys were murdered because they witnessed the execution of a criminal. Malik is determined to track down the armed gang who he feels are responsible for this latest round of murders. He knows he must find the identity of the head of the gang, but the closer he gets to the truth, the more bodies appear. Malik is starting to question Travis’ loyalty and his friendship with dead gang member, Sterling. Travis says they were just army buddies back in Iraq. But Travis kept silent about this, so what else has he kept back from Major Crime? If he’s not corrupt, what is holding him back from sharing his knowledge? What is the secret Travis wants to remain buried? As Malik enters the battle zone against the armed gang, he still has doubt. Which side is Travis on? Malik knows that in the war against crime, there are no heroes, no glory, just a job to be done. And, like a soldier, he has to put his life on the line to do it.