The PTA

2nd draft
 Written by Harriot Bentata

INT: A LARGE OFFICE SPACE – DAY 1

The camera is moving following a man walking around an office – he
is dressed smartly – he looks important (RORY is stood just out of
shot behind him). The sounds of the office are spreading, and the
narrator is starting to speak.

NARRATOR (V.O)
This is RORY. Chief executive of Meridian Insurance Limited, the
largest, most profitable insurance company throughout the United
Kingdom. RORY has been building this empire for around 20 years
give or take, worked her way to the top she knows this company
inside out No one knows about her side hustle though- oh… yes her
not him … this is RORY…
(The camera pauses on RORY before continuing to play)
that was just ROG from investment management – pay no attention to
him he’s useless – trust me Rory is the fascinating one here. She’s
a trustworthy fraudster and gifted money launderer. An expert in
finance, tax, accountancy, contracting and law – she’s no idiot.
What the shareholders don’t know is that she is making more money
than they give her – and yet the company is still intact. She can
launder money through her company as quickly as you can pop a darks
wash on.

(On the phone)

RORY
No sorry David I can’t make your call at 6. No – I’m not- because
I’ve got a PTA meeting……………………yes, I do have to go, they need me
Trust me I will not be here this evening. You know how it is, you
have children of your own….. It can wait David – just go home, and
we will do it tomorrow… yes? How does 11 sound? … (she looks smug)
perfect see you then bu-bye, bye.

INT: RECEPTION DESK – DAY 2

We are moving towards the reception desk where GEORGE is sat tapping
away at her computer. George looks up as someone (off camera)
approaches the desk
GEORGE
Good afternoon sir, can I help you?
VISITOR
Hello, I’m here to see Nick Bains. I have a meeting with him at
11am.
(GEORGE checks on her computer)
GEORGE
Yes, sir, he’s expecting you. He’s in G25, if you go down the
corridor on your right, it’s the third room on the left
VISITOR
Thank you
GEORGE
You’re welcome

NARRATOR (V.O)
That’s GEORGE. She enjoys playing the long game… Looks like a
receptionist, well she is BUT that’s just her cover. She’s the best
hacker in the game. She’s worked at all the big companies. Once you
give her the password she’ll be in, out, shakin it all about before
you can even remember your password. She’s got the same buttons on a
keyboard as the rest of us, and but she knows exactly which ones
will open the toy box.
(GEORGE looks into the camera smugly and raises an eyebrow)
We see her screen full of coding when someone walks past and she
quickly switches it to something else – following their eyes as they
walk past (batting eyelashes/smiling)- this façade drops when
they’re gone and she returns to her hacking.

NARRATOR (V.O)
A piece of advice I think you should pay attention to – never
underestimate a geek with a computer, they are our future…. the
geeks will inherit the earth

GEORGE
(to camera) That’s right. You better keep an eye out.
Someone else walks past, she knocks over something on the desk
clumsily – or so they think.

GEORGE
Oops, silly me – hahaha (she laughs at herself)

3
Once they finish walking past she smiles to herself again and sets
herself back at the computer.

INT/EXT: A GRAND OLD HOUSE/THE HOUSES GARDEN – DAY

We are in a rather fancy venue whether it be inside or outside, this
is because we are meeting our rather posh antiques expert at the
planning place of an event.
(on the phone)
HENRY
Hi darling, did you get those prints I sent you? Great. Just
checking you can still do that little favour for me next Tuesday?
Okay fantastic thank you darling… Oh..got to go I’ve got someone
else calling and I need to take it… bye, byebye
Jack!! Oh, it’s so good to hear from you … (slowly/smugly) PTA
meeting Tonight? … God it’s been a while… I’m look forward to it…
Okay I’ll see you then… bye.

NARRATOR (V.O)
Meet our HENRY – There’s more to her than meets the eye. Ex public
school, double first from Cambridge in Classics and Fine Art She’s
also an expert in antiquities. She knows what’s worth nicking and
who you can sell it too on the QT. Got some tasty contacts too. Her
day job is events management. She gets our girls into all sorts of
places. She don’t even need the money, she does it for the buzz.

INT: A HOME – DAY/ A DAY OUT WITH THE CHILDREN

JACK puts the phone down and looks at her children (young) she
sighs, half relieved half nervous.
NARRATOR (V.O)
(More softly than before but getting more and more powerful)
People underestimate JACK. She’s just a Mum. But there’s no such
thing as just a mum is there– it’s a complex job involving more mind
games than you could possibly imagine. Ask anyone that’s done it.
She can have you looking over here when you should be looking over
there.. Jack’s ex British Army, she doesn’t like to talk about, but
let’s just say she can make people disappear if she wants to. Her
photographic memory means she can case a joint in the time it takes
to strap a two year old into a buggy. js
JACK
(talks to her children) ---

INT: ANOTHER OFFICE AND CORRIDORS – DAY

Moving through the corridors we make our way to the office of which
our beloved cleaner – CHARLIE – manically moving around her bosses’
desk, picking up papers, putting things in her pockets/with her
cleaning stuff and taking photos of papers/things on a monitor
screen.

NARRATOR (V.O)
CHARLIE has been working as a cleaner for years. She can go
anywhere, look at anything and take whatever she wants. Best of all
she’s almost totally invisible. What’s your cleaner look like? You
don’t remember do you? If you ever looked at her it was only down
your nose wasn’t it. Well that’s what Charlie is banking on She
don’t take no nonesence though. And she’s not afraid to get her
hands dirty.
INT: POLICE STATION – DAY
We are slowly and silently moving through yet another office type
space, and come to a halt at our P.C

NARRATOR (V.O)
And last but not least. WP.C Jane Thomas – or Tommy to everyone that
knows her. The last of our little gang. Oh, I didn’t tell you did I,
this is a gang they call themselves ‘The PTA’. One of the most
successful group of criminals these islands have ever seen. Never
heard of them? Well, you wouldn’t have. Over a decade in the
business and not even a whiff of being caught.
5
Oh yeah, that’s partly down to Tommy. Let’s get back to Tommy. Our
woman on the inside. She was straight for years but got sick of
being sidelined by all the blokes at the station. She deletes a file
here, makes the odd bit of evidence disappear that sort o thing. She
only does it for the PTA she’s got standards. Doesn’t need to do
much to be honest. The idiots she works with have been looking for a
a group of blokes since the get-go. They even let her leave early to
go to PTA meetings.
I’m guessing you know by now that they don’t really go PTA
meetings. It was just the perfect cover, they’re all Mum’s, off they
go, no questions asked and no-one’s ever interested. Anyway – she
was the best thing that happened to the PTA, she caught them once –
just as CHARLIE had begun, and she just knew – that she had to get
involved.

(tommy was talking to people in the office – very casually)

We cut to a clip of TOMMY being spoken to by another woman – we
don’t see her face yet. TOMMY looks stressed (she’s talking to the
new Detective Inspector who is on the PTAs tail – without them
knowing) TOMMY is doing her best to look normal, but she is
panicking – no one has ever been on their tail before. She gets out
of the meeting and says goodbye to the DI. She sits her back against
the wall and exhales heavily.
Text message “Urgent TA Meeting TONIGHT 7pm. Usual place. Be there”

EXT/INT: A PUB OR CAFÉ – AFTERNOON/EVENING

The PTA are all gathering for their meeting, except TOMMY, who is
late.
They are all sitting around having something to drink, and generally
chatting – like normal women. TOMMY eventually comes in – looking a
little panicked, it’s like she’s seen a ghost.

CHARLIE 6
she says casually) TOMMY what’s wrong? …
(TOMMY looks worse – CHARLIE sounds completely serious)
TOMMY. What’s happened?
JACK
God you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?
TOMMY pretends to lighten up but you can see the panic in her eyes.
TOMMY
I need a large one.(someone pours her a large glass of wine) Ladies…
There is a new DI at the station… (she takes a sip of her drink and
takes a deep breath)
 GEORGE
(sipping her drink) What’s he like?

TOMMY
Her, SHE, is class. Very clever, a lovely woman. She’s
come to takeover our major crime investigations. Scotland Yard
aren’t happy with the lack of progress. She says we need to look in
a new direction….. And she thinks she’s got a lead.

JACK
What sort of lead?
(The PTA looks mortified.)

TOMMY
A bit of grainy CCTV footage from that gallery job last
June. And a name from an auctioneer ‘George’.

JACK
Is that it?

TOMMY
She thinks the image looks female. Asked the lads if they’d ever
considered whether it was a group of women. And if not, why not?
(Everyone is looking intense)
(the shot pauses here as if the narrator did it – just to interject)
NARRATOR (V.O)
Oh dear ladies, nearly 15 years of running rings around the lads and
it the looks like you may have a problem. Another woman.
(The shot now continues)
(They all look as if they have been sentenced to prison already.)
 CHARLIE
What’s going to happen now girls.
MUSIC TENSION BUILDS

The camera gets closer to HENRYS face. 8

HENRY
Now ladies, the real game begins.

THE END.

CREDITS:
Shots of all the PTA walking in slow motion – down a road, looking
through cash, wearing sunglasses (looking cool)
The credit of each actor appears next to them one by one
Outro music plays
The title: The PTA appears on screen, then we return to normal cast
and crew credits.