Marcus Grainger of Vigil Season 2 was introduced as the British Air Vice Marshal of the Al Shwaka airbase in Wudyan and also the instigator of the Dundair massacre that resulted in the deaths of seven British soldiers who had arrived in Scotland to test the combat effectiveness of Alban X’s R-Pas drones. On the surface, it looked like a normal military exercise, but Marcus Grainger had plans to turn it into a bloodbath and use the ensuing chaos to further his own interests. Even though DCI Silva exposed him in front of Ramsey and Ian, Grainger accomplished what he had planned.
Spoilers Ahead
What Was The Purpose Of The Joint R-Pas Squadron In Wudyan?
The British government had set up an airbase in the fictional country of Wudyan as a part of their ongoing weapons deal with the country. The base was named Al Shwaka Airbase and housed both British and Wudyani soldiers. According to the weapons deal, Alban X was supposed to supply the country of Wudyan with specialized drones called the R-Pas in exchange for 500 million dollars. These drones were capable of turning the tides of war and could be controlled from anywhere on the planet, given that the pilot had the console. If the deal goes through, it will give Wudyan a fighting chance against its rivals and insurgents disrupting the country’s peace, as said by Wudyani officials. Marcus Grainger was the head of the program and worked alongside Colonel Ali Bilali of the Wudyani army and Derek McCabe of Alban-X to ensure the deal went through without any hiccups.
Why Did Marcus Grainger Orchestrate The Dundair Tragedy?
Many politicians back home weren’t on board with the idea of selling weapons to a country that was exploiting its citizens for dominance. In addition, there were multiple lawsuits that threatened to stop the ongoing deal with Wudyan. Also, the media vilified the image of the ruler of Wudyan by labeling him a killer who murdered his own people to remain in power. Due to this, the ruler often threatened to cancel the contract with the British government. Marcus Grainger couldn’t allow it and knew that it was in their best interest to keep Wudyan happy, or else Wudyan would go to their competitors and sell them their oil and resources in exchange for weapons and military support. Thus, Marcus Grainger carved out a cynical plan, with the help of Alban-X CEO Derek McCabe, to keep Wudyan in check. He flew over to Scotland with the top brass of the Wudyani government, sabotaged the R-Pas weapons test, and had Russell kill seven British soldiers.
Through careful and strategic planning, Grainger made it look like it wasn’t a technical malfunction but a fully-thought-out terrorist attack by an extremist group called Jabhat Al Huriya. Regardless of what he was told, Jabhat al-Huriya wasn’t a terrorist group. They were secretly gathering evidence that could expose Alban-X. Unfortunately, once they were declared terrorists, no court believed the evidence and claims submitted by them. Since the loss of life was too great, the government had no choice but to greenlight the weapons deal and join Wudyan in its alleged war against Jabhat Al Huriya.
What Grainger did wasn’t planned in a day; it took months of preparation and reconnaissance. He groomed Sabi into stealing the R-Pas console when her father was attending a conference in Dubai. When Chapman found out about this, he deleted the footage and left the country, allegedly for his cancer treatment. After Chapman, Russell was made the squadron leader, and Grainger convinced her to join his cause. Grainger asked Russell to pilot the R-Pas drone and kill British soldiers once he was in Scotland. Grainger then planted evidence and sent fake letters to Firas Zaman, informing him about the secret weapon testing. Since Firas used to be a Wudyani national and an advocate for Jabhat Al Huria, suspicion fell on them. Grainger also had Ross kill Chapman before he could tell anyone that he had told Russell about the missing R-Pas console but hadn’t heard back. Ross was a troubled ex-veteran, and manipulating him into killing an innocent man was child’s play for Grainger. Ross was a wreck after he was court-martialed for intentionally shooting a fellow soldier to spare him from a horrible death. After he was discharged, Grainger helped him, and the latter looked up to him. When Ross started having doubts and asking questions, he was silenced as well. Wes found out about what Russell and Grainger had done and demanded a massive payout to keep his mouth shut. Grainger paid Wes but had Russell kill him to tie up loose ends. When Russell was caught, Grainger told her about McCabe, secretly hinting her to use his name in her statement. Russell did that and never gave up on Grainger.
What Happened To Marcus Grainger?
What Silva had was speculation, but without proper evidence, it was impossible to prove Grainger’s role in the Dundair attack. Thanks to the search warrant, Silva had forged for Ramsey, he found Grainger’s email history, which exposed him. The email history showed that Grainger had intentionally sent Chapman to Dubai so Sabi could steal the R-Pas console. So far, Grainger has maintained that the first person to hear about the Dubai conference was Chapman, yet Sabi knew about it before her father. This was only possible if Grainger himself or someone on his orders had sent the message to Sabi. When he was exposed, Grainger justified his actions, saying he did what was necessary to secure Britain’s future. According to him, Britain was crumbling and was in need of allies, and their friendship wasn’t cheap. Grainger was arrested and six months later charged with treason and terrorism and sentenced to life in prison alongside Russell.
Marcus Grainger was a classic example of what would happen if you lost track of right or wrong. Grainger had a promising career and was one of the most decorated officers in the military, but he chose to squander innocent lives and justified his actions by claiming it was for the greater good. To quote Grainger, Britain was failing, and the only way to save it was by sacrificing innocent lives and perpetuating a never-ending war. The unfortunate truth is that Grainger succeeded at last; parliament agreed to supply weapons to Wudyan, which certainly would be used against innocent people. What was more heartbreaking was that the world would never know what Grainger did, calling it a threat to national security.
