So I've had this multi chapter fic half done for months. I'm hoping posting the start will give me the inspiration to finish this. Set 8-1 where George doesn't exist.
Harry pressed his wrists against the handcuffs, trying to see if there was any give in them. There wasn't. He sighed and watched the door as Mani and a group of thugs came in, Ruth being led in. He felt his heart sink as she was led to the chair opposite him, even though he'd half expected them to find Ruth, and bring her here. He felt so torn, on the one hand being happy to see her, on the other wishing she was safe and far away from the mess MI5 created for her.
"Hello Harry," she said gently.
"Hi," he said gently. He knew full well his voice was much softer when he was around her, but he couldn't help it. Her lips twitched slightly and he also couldn't help the replying lift of his own lips in response.
"So," Mani said, interrupting both of their private thoughts, very few of which involved the Indian. "Shall we get on with it?"
"What do you want from me?" Ruth asked, looking at Mani.
"In good time," he said. "I've got all the time in the world. Your friends have no idea where you are. So don't hold out hope of a rescue when..." Mani's mobile rang and he looked at it before saying, "excuse me." Once he'd left the room, both Harry and Ruth looked at each other, so many things unsaid brimming in their eyes.
"Are we…?" Ruth asked.
"I don't know," Harry said. "But I would imagine yes. We're being watched."
"Yes, I thought that," Ruth said. She smiled lightly. "I never thought I'd see you again."
Even in the less than ideal circumstances, she smiled at him, warm and honest. In an instant it was as if the past three years separation had never happened. They'd evaporated in a flash.
"No," Harry agreed. "I didn't think I'd ever see you either."
"What does he want?" Ruth asked.
"Baghdad. Uranium."
"Oh."
"Oh indeed," he said. "How are you?"
"Before today, you mean?"
"Yes."
"I've been well," she said. Her fingers itched to take Harry's hands in her own, but even if she hadn't been cuffed, she didn't know if she'd have been brave enough to make the move. "Life has been… a lot calmer than London. A lot slower and… well, to be honest, a little mundane at times."
He smiled at her, eyes sparkling. "Ruth…"
"No," she interrupted. "Not now."
"You don't know what I was going to say," he said.
"Yes I do," she said. "God, how is it that the years just don't matter at all?" She shook her head. "I've missed you too, Harry." He smiled and opened his mouth to say something, when Mani came back in, and he promptly closed it.
"So, I think you can guess what I'm after," Mani said, standing between the two of them. "Where's the uranium?"
"What uranium?" Ruth asked, before she could stop herself.
"Don't play with me," Mani said, crouching down so he was facing directly at her. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Baghdad, hmm?"
"Oh, that," Ruth said. "You expect me to know, do you?"
"I think you do know," Mani said. Harry was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the amount of attention this Indian was giving Ruth, but knew he could do nothing about it.
"You really think Harry Pearce would have confided in his subordinate, do you?" Ruth asked. Harry knew she was playing an angle, but that still stung. "Harry doesn't confide in anyone, he keeps his own counsel. He trusts no one but himself, even if you think he trusts me."
"Mm, maybe," Mani said. He moved in front of Ruth, so she couldn't see Harry at all. "But I assumed that since the two of you had been fucking for years, he might have made an exception."
"Why?" Ruth asked, keeping her composure remarkably well. "Why would he tell me? What would be the point?"
"Ruth, I know you know," Mani said, straightening up and pacing again. "Just tell me. This will all be a lot simpler if you tell the truth."
"I don't know where it is," Ruth said. Harry caught her eye for a moment, but he was inscrutable. Training she supposed, training for situations like this. "Harry told me where he was supposedly keeping it. But he lied to me." Now she could read his face. Surprise that she'd known that he'd lied. "He told me it was in an abandoned coldwar shelter in Norfolk. But he lied. He didn't trust me with the truth."
"It was to protect you," Harry interjected. "From a situation like this."
"I know that," she said with a little smile.
"How did you know I lied?" he asked. "Did you go and check?"
"Oh, God, Harry. I know you. I know when you're lying to me. I didn't need to check." He smiled at her for a moment. A smile filled with warmth and something more, but it was gone too quickly for her to be sure.
"Well, this is all very touching, but back to business," Mani said as he started pacing the room.
