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Hope you enjoy!

Monday

As Harry walked through the scanner he heard a voice behind him.

'Sir Harry?'

He turned. 'Morning, James. Good weekend?'

The security guard grimaced. 'Footie could've gone better, sir, but other than that I can't complain. I just wanted to let you know that Mr Myers has been in this morning. About half an hour ago.'

Harry frowned. 'And?'

'As you said, sir. I told him to come back at 10am. He wasn't best pleased.'

He scanned the lobby. No sign. 'He did leave then?'

'Yes sir.'

Harry clapped his shoulder. 'Good man. When he comes back, let him through. Best give him a thorough search first, though, to be on the safe side.' He gave a barely perceptible wink.

James grinned. 'As you wish, sir.'

Harry headed for the lift, seething that his suspicions about Myers had proved correct. 'Bloody chancer,' he muttered.

Up in the Grid, Harry hung up his coat then went in search of Jenna. He found her in the forgery suite, poring over a pile of passports. After the layers of student shabbiness and anonymising hats and scarves of Edinburgh, he was finding it difficult to readjust to the tumbling curls, the perfectly applied makeup that enhanced those bewitching eyes, and the curves that, to paraphrase Chandler, would have made a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window. He cleared his throat.

'Morning, Jenna. How was your weekend?'

She looked up and smiled. 'Fine thanks. Christmas shopping mainly, and putting up the decorations. You?'

Oh, Ruth spent most of the weekend either locked in the loo, giving me a hard time, or sleeping. I had a blast. 'Pretty much the same, really.'

The room was deserted. This was as good a place as any. 'Listen.' He pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. 'I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to speak to you last week, but today we have a new Section Chief starting.' He held up his hands. 'I know, I know. He's been dumped on us from on high; I only found out on Friday and it seems as if we have no say in the matter.' He paused. 'Problem is, because we're paying for him, Whitehall say we only have the budget for one analyst.'

He at least had the grace to look shamefaced.

'And the analyst you want is Ruth.'

'I am sorry. Truly, I am. You've done really well here, I have no complaints on that score, and on a personal level I'll always be indebted to you for finding my son. But the fact is that we need Ruth's language skills and she also has much more experience of intel analysis.'

Jenna eyed him. 'Oh, come off it, Harry. She has much more experience of you, that's all that matters.'

Anybody else, and he would have sent them and the table flying. Jenna saw the fury flash across his face. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered. 'That was inappropriate. I'm just disappointed, is all. I thought I'd done enough for you to keep me here.'

Mentally, Harry counted to ten. 'You know full well that Ruth and I...well, we're a couple. I'm not abusing my position and she's not just trying to advance her career. And if I ever hear another sniff of you implying otherwise I will make bloody sure that you never work above minimum wage again. Now that is me abusing my position. Do I make myself clear?'

As he stood, very deliberately placing the chair back against the table, he saw her stricken face and felt a pang of guilt.

She tried again; to her credit and to Harry's relief not playing on her looks, which would have had any red blooded man condoning her cancelling a season's sporting fixtures and selling their firstborn into slavery. 'I know that, and I know I had no right to expect anything. I was only ever supposed to be here on secondment, after all. What I said was totally uncalled for, and I apologise.'

Harry. somewhat mollified, gave a grudging nod.

'Just so you know, I have had a fantastic time working with you, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity.' She shoved her chair back and stood up, wincing as she realised that she sounded like a newly-fired Apprentice. 'I'll go and clear my desk.'

Harry hesitated. Normal security protocol dictated that any ex-employee, whether potentially disgruntled or no, be escorted immediately off the premises. And yet...

'Hold on. Ruth won't be back here til after the new year. Why don't you finish up on the 31st?'

She frowned. 'But...'

'I think I owe you that at least. Leave it with me, I'll sort it.'

To his annoyance he was first into the meeting room. He spent a couple of minutes twirling his pen between his fingers, then went back onto the Grid. Beth was standing by Dimitri's desk, talking animatedly as he listened, obviously amused. For the first time, Harry noticed their body language and pondered. Ruth would've said Dimitri was like that with all women, but he wasn't so sure. Peering over the bank of monitors, he could see Tariq slumped over his desk, propping up his head on his hand. His mussed up hair and yesterday's shirt told their own story. Jenna was nowhere to be seen.

He rubbed his face tiredly. This was shaping up to be a helluva day. 'If I can just interrupt your romantic trysts and hangovers to remind you that we have a team meeting?' As he turned and strode back the way he'd come he was aware of a flurry of activity behind him.

Silence. The eyes that had been locked on him flitted away. Then...they all flitted to Dimitri...'Thing is, Harry...'

'Go on.' Expecting a complaint about the lack of Equal Opps in the Security Service.

'Is that wise? I mean, we're largely responsible for his old man getting banged up and his sister was killed working for us. There can't be any love lost there.'

Harry pursed his lips. 'I'd be lying if I said the same thing hadn't occurred to me. But all I can say is be mindful of that and be careful.' He checked his watch. 'Right. He'll be here in five minutes. Anything else anyone needs to say before he gets here?' The heads around the table indicated not, and as if on cue there was a knock on the door.

Philip Myers had all of his sister's presence, all of her self-confidence, her striking good looks. But where Ros had charm and just a hint of vulnerability that she hid behind a cynical and aloof exterior, her brother came across as arrogant and cold. Beth and Jenna both took in the broad shoulders, the strong jaw, the suit, the shoes. And he had eyes that would have given Paul Newman a run for his money. Those same blue eyes now scanned each occupant of the room in turn.

'Started without me, Harry? Not very polite. Care to do the introductions?'

Surprisingly, he had a musician's hands, but his grip was firm. Dimitri noticed a watch on his left wrist that he doubted a civil service salary had paid for.

He noticed, too, that his gaze lingered on Beth for just a fraction too long.