Thank you all for your very kind reviews and especially for DeskSpook for Betaing once again
Even though Malcolm assured Harry that there was no, and never had been, a place called The Stubborn Mule in London, Harry just stood in front of it, the sign said "est. 2006" and it seemed packed with patrons. He wondered who had the funds to create such a front.
After long deliberations with himself he decided that going inside with no backup would be very foolish but, on the other hand, he didn't feel ready to share his day with his entire team and so he decided to call Malcolm again, briefed him on the situation and asked him to come over and keep watch from a distance.
Once Harry got the signal from Malcolm that he was around he took a deep breath and stepped through the door.
----
She was looking at her reflection in the Ladies room mirror, taking deep and steady breaths.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Asked the waitress that stood next to her "There is still time to cancel the whole thing, there are other, safer ways to make contact"
"No, I think this is the best way to do it, I wouldn't know what to say to him anyway, for now I just want him to know I'm alive" Ruth gave a tired smile and turned back from the mirror, "How do I look?"
"Like someone who is just about to rise from her grave," The waitress said and gave Ruth a reassuring smile. She opened the door and looked into the packed bar and spotted Harry coming in.
"It's show time. Good luck up there." She gave Ruth a hug and then went outside.
----
When Harry got into the bar there was an apparently drunk couple on the stage, singing "Don't go breaking my heart" in a way that would make Elton John cringe and deny he ever performed this song. He was shown to a dark corner table with a clear view to the stage. As he sat down he spotted Malcolm a few tables away from him, already with a pint on the table and checking out the available songs list, Harry hoped to god that he didn't intend on actually singing tonight.
After the couple was done singing and got off the stage the announcer said: "And now let's give a warm applaud to our next brave singer, Rachel Evergreen which is going to sing "Bar Italia" for us. Good luck Rachel!"
Harry was busy scanning through the bar, looking for suspicious faces in the crowd when he heard a glass shatter. He turned his gaze towards the noise to see Malcolm's pint glass on the floor as Malcolm was staring open mouthed at the person now standing on the stage.
Harry turned his attention towards Malcolm's source of disturbance just as she was starting to hesitantly sing:
"Now if you can stand,
I would like to take you by the hand,
And go for a walk,
Past people as they go to work"
His heart was racing so fast he could hardly breathe. It was her, a bit thinner and looking very exhausted, but definitely her. For a few moments he could do nothing but stare at her.
"Let's get out of this place,
Before they tell us that we've just died
Move, move quick, you've gotta move.
Come on it's through, come on it's time"
It sounded like she was starting to gain some confidence. Harry, on the other hand, didn't really know what to do. She wasn't looking at him and it seemed that she was unaware of his presence. A quick glance towards Malcolm told him that he was gaining his composure and Harry gave him a sign to stay down and do nothing. He decided to try and listen to what she was singing.
"Oh look at you,
You're looking so confused,
Just what did you lose?"
Harry knew the answer to this question.
"If you can make an order could you get me one?
Two sugars would be great,
Cos I'm fading fast,
And it's nearly dawn"
"She's good, isn't she?" Harry hardly noticed the waitress that was now standing next to him.
"She…reminds me of someone I once knew," He said quietly, his attention still fixed on the stage.
The waitress came around to the other side of his table and leaned on it, opening her pad as if to take his order. Harry looked at her and started to say: "Thanks, I don't need anything" when he saw her face; even though this morning she was wearing a cap and sunglasses there was no mistaking this was the same girl.
"I see I got your attention, good," she gave him a wry smile.
"Who…" Harry started
"No time for that now, I assure you I'm a friend", she looked around and then continued, "There will be time for explanations soon, all I can tell you now is that you shouldn't try and talk to her in any way, it's not safe yet. She's taking a huge risk just being at the same place as you"
"But…" Harry started to protest, although he knew she was right, if anyone knew Ruth was still alive the witch hunt after her would start all over again.
"Look, I have something that will help bring her back and clear her name, but I need your help in something firs…"
She stopped in mid sentence as something changed in Ruth's tone and it became more urgent:
"Move, move quick, you've gotta move.
Come on it's through, come on it's time"
Harry noticed that with the hand holding the microphone Ruth was pointing at something. The girl followed the finger and took a quick breath.
"Shit! I really have to run," She started to turn away from his table, and then as if remembering something turned back and told him quietly: "That friend she reminds you of? I think tomorrow after sunset would be a great time to pay your respects"
And with that she walked away from his table and into the kitchen. Harry noticed two men getting up from their tables, one of them slipped into the kitchen after her, the other left through the main entrance.
Only now Harry noticed that Ruth finished her song and was off the stage. He looked around but she was nowhere to be seen. He then exchanged confused looks with Malcolm, and ordered a much needed malt.
----
Harry was up all night, tossing and turning in his bed, trying to make sense of what happened. When he came into the Grid the next morning he already decided that the first thing to do was to track the girl down, it seemed that she was his connection to Ruth right now.
He walked towards Malcolm's station, but before he could open his mouth Malcolm said: "I'm already on it; I created a sketch of the waitress and ran her through the face matching program"
"And?" Harry asked impatiently.
"It's the darndest thing," Malcolm said as he pulled a few papers from the printer, giving them to Harry, "I got multiple results, 12 to be exact."
Harry was staring down at the papers; the girl's face was on each one of them. On each one she had a different name, a different address and a completely different history.
"It's as if she's…" Malcolm started
"A spook?" Harry wasn't happy at all.
----
Ruth was staring down at the tombstone, feeling a chill run through her spine. Even though she'd been in London several times since her alleged death she never had the nerve to visit her own grave, it felt somewhat perverse to her. The tombstone itself was a very simple one, with just her name and dates of birth and death. The grave itself was located at a far away corner of the cemetery; "Well, I am a murderous traitor," she thought bitterly.
"He'll be here soon," The girl next to her said, "I'll give you the signal once he's ready"
Ruth nodded quietly and walked into the small grove that was adjacent to the cemetery.
----
Harry came into the cemetery and walked towards her grave. He remembered how he fought to get her a decent funeral; Even though it wasn't her body they put into that grave it broke his heart knowing that despite the sacrifice she'd made for him she will be remembered as a traitor to the rest of the world.
He couldn't help but feel disappointed when he saw that the lonely figure standing above the grave wasn't Ruth. He stood next to her, only now noticing how short she was. They stood in silence for a few moments until he decided to take the lead for once.
"I see you managed to shake off whoever was after you last night"
"For now, yes."
"Before we go any further, I need to know who you are."
"Fine," she sighed, "I guess you deserve that much."
She took her coat off, and turned her back to him, pulling down her shirt collar and exposing her right shoulder blade. Harry looked at the tattoo she had there and all he managed to say was: "Oh"
Things will become clearer in the next chapter, I promise.
The song is "Bar Italia" by Pulp.