He picked up the phone… With all of the heartache he felt, he recognized that he needed to continue in his work. If he didn't, he knew he would surely loose his mind. On the other line was heavy breathing along with a sigh of relief. His heart sank. He knew. He could sense it. Hear it in the breathing. The sighs he was all too familiar with.
"Harry" The soft female voice said.
It was her. It was Ruth. His mind began to race and he couldn't help the tears that formed in the corners of his eyes.
"I know you won't believe this. You can't. But you must. Harry, it's me... Ruth."
"I know" he replied.
"Bu-"
He interrupted her, "I knew the second I heard you. My first thought was that it is impossible, and then I remembered my field of work." A soft chuckle leaves both of them, "Ruth, where are you?" Harry asks almost hesitantly.
"Harry you can't, not this soon."
Using everything he could get his hands on he tried to track her call. Oh, but she's good. She knew he would do this. Not knowing who else to turn to he picked up his cell phone and sent a short message to Malcolm "Thames House, as soon as you can. I need your help. –HP"
"I don't care what it takes, I am coming to you. I love you. I have loved you for far too long, and I miss you far too much to let you get away from me. They want to get rid of me anyways, this is our chance." He knew she wouldn't budge on this, she never does. He was continuing the conversation anyway, stalling her. "We can get a cottage away from here. Away from this. We can be together."
Somehow in that instant Malcolm had arrived. He would be more curious as to how he could have possibly arrived so quickly had he not been so caught up in trying to pinpoint Ruth's whereabouts.
"Harry you know as well as I do that…" she continued to explain herself but he was paying no attention. Instead he was explaining the situation to Malcolm, who just arrived, with hand gestures and the quietest of whispers so that she would not suspect anything.
"I know Ruth, I know." Malcolm had tracked her down at this point, blocking the signal of any bug that may have been present on either line. Malcolm understood the urgency of the situation. He has worked alongside Harry long enough to understand the heartache he is feeling. He was there when she had turned him down, when she left, and he was there to see the emotions go flooding back to Harry when she stepped back into that office, years later.
She was located in the next city over near the bus headed toward Cheltenham. Malcolm rushed him out of the office as Harry attempted to thank him, but he felt that thanks were not needed. Harry just needed to find Ruth and find her fast.