This takes place at the end of episode 8:2. I always hated how the camera cut away from this conversation so I have made my own version of events.
"It really is breathtakingly simple sometimes. Home Secretary I have to talk to you about something that's not simple at all. Do you remember Ruth Evershed?" Harry asked rubbing his face in irritation.
"Vaguely," Nicholas Blake replied. "She was one of your officers wasn't she? Intelligence analysis? Is that right?"
"Yes," Harry said wondering how on earth this was going to be solved.
"I thought she drowned," the Home Secretary continued, pouring each of them a little more whisky.
"Well, as it turned out she didn't," Harry said wondering what reaction he would get. None as it turned out. "She was innocent of the torture charges that were put against her but we could never prove it. So we arranged it so she could go into exile for several years. A better alternative than prison."
"Breaking the law as you went," the Home Secretary said with a raised eyebrow.
"At the time, my priorities involved making sure she wasn't thrown into prison for something she didn't do," Harry continued smoothly. "Yes, I didn't follow the law to the letter but I'd do it again. For any of my officers." Harry knew he was bending the truth there slightly because no one could possibly make him have the same reaction as Ruth did.
"How did you get the authorities to believe she'd drowned in the Thames?" Nicholas asked, genuinely curious.
"They said they'd found a body matching Ruth's description," Harry said trying to hide from the painful memory. "I went to the morgue to ID the body and I said it was her. I lied."
"I like to think I know you well Harry," Nicholas said. "So I am guessing you're not telling me all this, just to relive the times you made difficult decisions. What do you want from me?"
"Ruth is back in this country," Harry said. "Without going into too much detail, her life in Cyprus fell apart after she was forced to come back to London. She has nothing to go back there for." He hoped that last part was true. He also hoped she felt she had something to stay for. Someone more accurately.
"How did she get back into the country when she's supposed to be dead?" the Home Secretary asked. "She couldn't have had a valid passport."
"Ruth Evershed is a very ingenious woman," Harry replied feeling a flash of pride in her abilities. "I am bringing this up because I need her back. I need her back at Thames House where she belongs. I need her to be able to work in this country without a warrant going out for her arrest and I need it to be possible for the necessary people to be aware that she is in fact alive."
"You don't want much do you?" Nicholas said sarcastically.
"Forgetting everything else, she is the best analyst I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She gets everything done in half the time anyone else would and I need her to help me catch terrorists. You know, to stop bombs destroying our capital city," he added pointedly .
"I'll see what I can do," Nicholas replied.
"No, you can do better than that," Harry said surely with a menacing tone in his voice.
"Is this really that important to you?" the Home Secretary asked.
"Yes." Harry didn't dare say just how important it was.
"Okay," Nicholas said. "I'll arrange it."
"Thank you," Harry said sincerely. He quickly left the Home Secretary alone to his thoughts.
This was not a good development, Nicholas thought to himself. That woman was too clever for her own good. And as an added complication she had a nasty habit of digging up people's most personal and private secrets. And he did not want his involvement in Nightingale drawn out. He had made sure the trails were well hidden but if anyone was going to find it, Ruth Evershed would be the one to manage it. He hadn't shed any tears when Ruth had quickly vanished because it made his life much easier.
But on the other hand, he knew, or at least suspected how much Harry cared for this woman. And it might not be a bad thing to have Harry Pearce owe him a favour. In fact, that might be the best thing that could happen. Which is why he agreed to do what Harry had asked him to do.
What do you think? Reviews are always welcome.
If you want to see more and have a suggestion for other scenes that were cut and you want me to write, just message me and I'll try to write them. Thanks for reading. xxx