o0o
Chapter 3
Tariq ambushed Lucas as soon as he came out of the conference room. "Here's the phone." He said handing Lucas the small burn phone. "I sent the wireless jamming device to forensic's, maybe they'll be able to get some prints that we can run through our databases. I've also put a tap on the line so that when Julia calls we'll be able to listen in as well."
"Thanks, Tariq." Lucas replied, slipping the phone into his pocket. He looked up as Harry passed them.
"Lucas." Harry motioned towards his office.
"I'll get started on searching through that file." Tariq told Lucas, shooting a nervous glance at Harry before rushing off.
Harry motioned as he ushered the team leader into his office. "I have something for you." Harry said, going around to his desk and pulling open a drawer. He pulled out a thick, red folder which he handed to Lucas across the desk before sitting down.
"What is this?" Lucas asked, slipping into one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"That is my personal file on Julia Green." Harry replied, pulling his jacket out from under him as he shifted on his chair. "It contains everything I knew about our elusive assassin. I want you to study it closely. Maybe there is something in there that can help you figure out what her motives are. A fresh pair of eyes always helps."
Lucas opened the file carefully as it was stuffed full. "How long have you known Julia Green?" He asked Harry, seeing the amount of paper on this one woman.
"Five years." Harry replied. "She showed up on the radar back in 2006 after the assassination of Tim Bowers, the CEO of a major shipping company. He had been making a little cash on the side by dealing heroin, but unfortunately he decided to branch off from an multitasking terrorist which got us involved. We were hoping that he would be able to lead us to where this terrorist was hiding his cell. Julia Green was the one who got to him."
"If I remember correctly Adam Carter ran the investigation, right?" Lucas asked. It was one of the cases he'd read up on while going through what he had missed in the past eight years.
Harry nodded. "Bowers was surrounded by security, but somehow she managed to get to him in the office. Needless to say, we think that the terrorist paid Julia to kill him. Her jobs have just gotten bigger ever since."
"She knows who we are, Harry." Lucas said. "What we do, what out protocols are... Do you think it's possible that we have a leak somewhere?"
Harry shook his head. "I assumed that the first time we met face to face and quietly ran a full investigation but everyone was vetted. As far I can tell there is no leak."
"She's got to be getting her information somehow." Lucas persisted. "With your permission, I'd like to have Tariq check to see who else has been accessing the Julia Green file."
Harry nodded. "Good idea." He agreed. They both looked up as a knock came at the door and it slide open to reveal Ruth.
Lucas stood, file in hand. "Thanks, Harry." He said in parting before walking out of the office.
"You wanted to see me?" Ruth asked once Lucas had left.
"Yes." Harry replied. He motioned. "Shut the door, please."
Ruth did as she was asked and then came to stand in front of the desk.
"Please, sit." Harry asked, motioning to the chairs in front of the desk.
Ruth glanced at the chair as if it was suddenly going to spring off the ground and eat her. She looked back at Harry. "No thanks. If you're going to lecture me, then I'd prefer to stand."
"This isn't a lecture, Ruth." Harry replied quietly. "You and I know each other too well for that."
"Then what is this?" Ruth asked.
"You tell me." Harry replied, sitting back in his chair. They both gazed at each other for a while, neither speaking but somehow the silence spoke for them.
Ruth was the first to speak, breaking their silent dialogue. "If you expect me to apologize for speaking my mind in there, don't."
"I always value your opinions, Ruth." Harry replied. "But in this case, your remarks were something that should've been addressed in private. Not in front of the entire team."
"Then you should've been totally honest with Lucas." Ruth shot back. "Harry, Julia Green is dangerous and you are ignoring the very blatant hold she has on you."
"If you are suggesting that I have allowed this 'woman' to compromise me, you are mistaken." Harry replied. His tone had gone cold.
Ruth tightened her lips. "While the fact that you just snapped at me twice suggests otherwise." Her dark eyed stare bore into Harry for a moment before she spoke again. "Now if you'll excuse me. I need to get back to work."
Harry watched as Ruth abruptly turned and left his office, sliding the door shut behind her.
o0o
Ruth clutched her folders tight as she strode back into the busy office. They had delegated a few tasks to their other colleagues and now the room was humming with energy. Slipping through the gap that two agents made for her, Ruth nodded her thanks and slipped into her workspace, sitting down in her chair with a quiet sigh.
Her mother always told her that her stubbornness was going to get her into trouble one day and Ruth was sure that the day had come. But dammit she was right! Julia Green had Harry wrapped around her finger like a ring and it was going to be his downfall.
Composing herself, Ruth placed her files on the desk in a neat pile and then turned back to the computer. The background search that they had run on Tom Neil had been comprehensive, but there was still something missing. If they were to believe Julia, they needed a motive for Tom Neil to compromise his beliefs and betray his country.
Someone placed a chair beside her and Ruth looked up as Beth slide into the chair she had pushed up to the desk. "Can I help?" The blonde asked leaning forward to glance at Ruth's screen.
"No; but thanks." Ruth replied, turning back to the computer. She preferred to work alone; besides she needed to be alone with her thoughts; Julia, Harry.
"I meant do you want to talk about it?" Beth asked.
Ruth looked up again and Beth motioned with her head towards Harry's closed office door. Through, the clear glass Ruth could see Harry inside, glancing over paperwork on his desk. She noted his posture and knew that he was just faking the reading. Obviously, something she had said to him had gotten through.
"Look, I don't mean to pry or anything," Beth continued. "But I knew that you and Harry are friends and that this Julia Green seems to have gotten under both your skins."
"Well, you're right about that." Ruth commented with a quick smile.
"I did some research." Beth told her. "From what I've read so far, Julia is just as dangerous as Harry said she was."
"I didn't deny that she was dangerous." Ruth replied somewhat shortly. "What I meant was she has a tendency to play mind games. Harry's curiosity is going to get him killed one day." Like last time. She thought.
Ruth didn't realize she had spoken aloud until Beth repeated the question back to her. "Last time?"
Ruth realized she had said too much. "Never mind." She replied turning back to her computer screen. "It'll be helpful if you're completely read up on the file before you help me with the background check."
It was a few seconds until Beth realized that Ruth was dismissing her. "Yeah; sure." Beth replied getting up from her chair and pulling it back over to her desk.
Ruth could feel Beth's eyes on her for several minutes after the rude dismissal. She felt her chest tighten in anger and forced herself to breath. Damn Julia Green! What was it about that woman that made her stomach tie itself into knots?
o0o
After handing off the now bugged phone to Lucas, Tariq retreated to his office space; his cave. Internally, he was still beating himself after the slip-up in the conference room. He had been warned about snooping around in the MI-5 server before, right before he got a job offer. But this was different. He grinned. One should not let a computer genius anywhere near a government server if they wanted to keep their files a secret.
The smile vanished to be replaced with a frown as he thought about what Harry had said. Their fearless leader was definitely holding something back from them. Could it really be that Harry and Julia had... No; that was ridiculous.
Tariq shook his head as his own momentary lapse in judgement. He was just trying to find an answer to why Harry seemed to be so secretive about this assassin. Throwing himself into his office chair, Tariq tapped on the keyboard and brought up the file that he had been snooping through only a few weeks ago.
He skimmed through the usual profile and instead went deeper into the file. Quickly bringing up the source codes of the file he easily found the access list. There were the usual names that he expected. Ruth, Beth, and others from their office had all accessed the file today. The fact that Lucas wasn't on the list made him frown, but that wasn't unusual; Lucas had his own ways of finding information.
The next entries were from earlier this year and some even earlier then that. Tariq quickly skim-read and found that officers had been accessing the Julia Green file ever since MI-5 had switched to electronic filing. And by the look of it not all of them had been from this branch either...
"Find anything?"
Startled, Tariq spun around to see Lucas standing in the doorway. He should be used to this by now. "I found who last accessed the file." He replied, turning back to his computer. He continued as Lucas walked into the room. "As expected there are the usual names from our office as well as some from several years ago. Basically whenever Julia popped up, someone accessed the file."
"That's not unusual." Lucas said.
"Right." Tariq agreed. "But I did find this interesting." He pulled up the entries. "Several of the people to access to the file weren't from this office; they weren't even from MI-5."
Lucas bent down to look at the computer screen. "I recognize a few of these names; they're MI-6."
"Six?" Tariq asked. "It's not unusual for us to share files..."
"Yes, but look at this name." Lucas interrupted, pointing to the screen.
Tariq clicked on the name. "John Hayworth." He read aloud before his fingers flew over the keys. In a matter of seconds, John Hayworth's profile was spread across the screen. "He's attached to MI-6's offices here in London."
"Exactly." Lucas replied, straightening up. "According to Harry, Julia hasn't popped up in London for several years. There's only one reason why someone like Hayworth would have accessed a file like that. Tariq, I want you to take a closer look at the other names from six; make sure they all check out."
Tariq nodded and turned back to his keyboard as Lucas walked out of the office.
o0o
"John Hayworth." Harry mused leaning back in his chair. "Now. That's a name I haven't heard in a while."
"I have Tariq pulling up his record now." Lucas replied.
"That won't be necessary." Harry said. "John and I go way back. He started out in the Service before 6 snapped him up. The opportunity to travel for a living was too much for John to pass up. Though last I heard he'd settled down in the London office."
Lucas nodded. "We were able to confirm that much."
"The question now becomes why someone like John would be sniffing around Julia's file." Harry continued. He looked up at Lucas. "Maybe it's time I reinstated an old friendship."
'What should we do about Julia?" Lucas asked. "If she and Hayworth are working together..."
"No." Harry interrupted. "No, there's something else going on here. We agree to her terms." He decided. "When she calls, go ahead with the meet. I suspect that Julia will want to do more then just talk."
The sound of a phone ringing cut through the silence. Neither of the men recognized the ring. Lucas pulled the burn phone that Julia had slipped him from his pocket and flipped it open. The display was lit up; showing the caller's ID.
With a frown, Lucas flipped open the phone. "Pete's Pizza Place?" He asked, sounding unimpressed.
"You didn't really think I'd call from my personal phone?" Julia asked with a hint of laughter. "I have to make things interesting for you."
"They're interesting enough without you playing your silly little games." Lucas shot back.
"Ouch. Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed or do you just like how sexy your voice sounds when your angry?"
Lucas had no answer for that and luckily he didn't need one.
"Decided anything yet?" Julia asked.
Lucas glanced at Harry, who nodded for him to continue. "Where do you want to meet?" He asked in a much calmer tone.
"That's better. Noon; tomorrow. Let's do the little cafe on the corner of West Street and Neil Avenue. Appropriate, don't you think?"
Again, she didn't give him time to reply. "I trust you'll come without the extra accessory this time." There was a click and the line went dead.
Lucas flipped the phone closed. "West Street and Neil Avenue." He repeated to Harry. "Noon."
Harry momentarily raised an eyebrow and then leaned back in his chair. "Well let's hope this meeting goes better then the last one. Did you read the file?"
Lucas nodded; he knew the meeting that Harry was referring too. "I did." He replied.
"Bring backup this time." Harry advised.
o0o
The corner of West Street and Neil Avenue was quiet; located in one of the nicer parts of Central London. The cafe itself was quite large with huge windows that overlooked both streets. The streets around the cafe were minimally busy; enough people not to cause problems but enough if a crowd needed to be gathered.
Dmitri pushed open the door to the cafe and stepped onto the walk. A cool wind blew through the buildings and the young spook turned up the collar of his jacket before looking both ways and dashing across the street to the white surveillance van parked in the ally way; out of sight. He slammed the back door closed and turned to face Lucas who was waiting for him.
Dmitri shook his head at the questioning glance from Lucas. "All clear." He replied. No Julia. He grabbed a sheet of paper from the desk and quickly sketched the layout of the cafe before handing it to Lucas.
"The layout is quite simple." Dmitri explained. "You have the counter here," He tapped the paper. "And then sixteen tables around the outside and middle."
Lucas memorized the layout and then shoved the paper back onto the table. Silently, he checked his watch; it was time. Either she was late or not coming. He quickly made up his mind to go ahead with the meeting anyways and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.
"Right. Monitor me from here. I'll let you know if I get into trouble."
Dmitri nodded as he slipped into the other chair in front of the bank of listening equipment. "Got it. You want to set up a code word?" He asked.
"The normal one will do." Lucas replied as he walked to the back of the van.
"Which one's that?" Dmitri asked leaning back in his chair to look at his boss.
Lucas glanced back. "Help." He replied simply before opening the door and jumping to the street. Once out of the ally, Lucas placed a hand to his ear. "Tariq, you there?" He asked.
A thousand miles away at Thames Street, Tariq replied, "You're coming through loud and clear, Lucas." Tariq glanced behind him to where Harry and Ruth stood. He spoke into the comm again. "Harry and Ruth are here with me."
Back on the street, Lucas grinned. "Checking up on me, Harry?" He asked teasingly.
Back at the office, Harry leaned forward and addressed the mike. "Just making sure everything goes as planned, Lucas. We don't need another incident on our hands." He looked briefly at Ruth who tightened her lips in agreement.
"There's no CCTV inside the cafe." Tariq butted in. "But I've managed to hijack one of the cameras on the street. On his keyboard, Tariq tapped a few keys and the camera focused on Lucas.
Lucas glanced up and located the nearest camera. "Don't worry." He told them, but everyone knew he was speaking to Harry.
Something on the screen caught, Harry's eyes and he leaned forward. "Zoom in on the cafe." He ordered Tariq quietly.
Tariq did as requested, zooming in on the area of the cafe, Harry had pointed out. All three of them silently watched as the solid wood panelling that everyone had assumed was a wall rolling back, exposing another section of the cafe. A section they hadn't checked.
Harry glanced at Tariq who toggled his comm. "Lucas, we may have a slight problem."
Out of the street, Lucas stepped back from the curb and turned slightly away from the crowd of people waiting to cross. "What do you mean 'slight problem?'" He asked, a hint of anger starting to show in his voice.
"Apparently the cafe owners had sliding doors closing off the rest of their shop; they just opened them. Sorry, Lucas. You're on your own now."
Tariq's apology ringing his ears. Lucas cut the comm without a reply and dashed across the street. A taxi driver honked angrily at him, Lucas held up a hand in apology, but inside he seethed. Everything Julia had done was like a move in chess game; and so far they were losing. Each situation they had thought they'd control over just threw another curve ball at them.
The situation with the sliding doors was just the latest.
Shoving his anger down, Lucas jumped onto the curb and yanked open the cafe door. Inside the layout was exactly the same as Dmitri has shown him except for the longer portion of the cafe which was full of smaller, more intimate tables. Having just opened this part of the cafe was less busy then the main section with only one or two people sitting down.
At one of the back tables, Lucas saw who he was looking for. Julia sat at one of the tables, a cup of coffee in front of her. Dressed in lighter colours then her usual all black, Lucas almost missed her. Well then, it looked like the warmer weather affected more people then just him. Julia looked up in a practiced gesture, quickly spotted him and smiled.
Lucas approached the table just in time to see Julia slip a black smart phone into the pocket of her tan jacket that was resting on the back of her chair. She motioned to the chair opposite her. "Please; sit."
Lucas did and was immediately assaulted by a cafe worker who quickly set a cup of coffee in front of him, stirred in the milk -no sugar- and then left before he could say a word.
Julia picked up her cup and took a sip, looking at him the entire time she did so.
Lucas ignored the hint to drink his own coffee -ignoring the fact that she knew exactly how he took it- and leaned forward. "Nice stunt with the sliding doors."
Julia placed her cup calmly on the table. "It comes in handy for avoiding the surveillance." She replied. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist checking out this place before coming in."
Back at the office, Harry listened as Lucas and Julia tossed back and forth the small talk. He looked up sharply as there was a knock on the door and Beth poked her head in.
"Harry, I have a minister from the JIC on the line. I've tried to get rid of him, but he insists on talking with you personally."
Harry glanced back at CCTV footage which showed a very faint outline of Lucas and Julia in the cafe and then back at Beth. "I'll take it in my office." He replied, walking towards the door. He turned back. "Keep an eye on him, Ruth."
Ruth knew he was speaking about Lucas. She nodded. The door closed behind Harry and she turned back the screen. Lucas had just finished the small talk and was now moving onto why the meeting had been called.
o0o
Lucas removed the coffee cup from in front of him and set it to the side. "So. What are we doing here?" He asked.
Julia took another sip of her coffee and then set the cup aside. "We're here because you want the disc with government secrets on it, because I want to get it back for you, and we need to figure out how we're going to accomplish that."
"We?" Lucas asked.
Julia sighed. "I see Harry's scepticism has followed you." She leaned forward. "Look, as much as I'm the bad guy here; our jobs are not all that different. I don't steal from the government."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "No; you just kill innocent people." He watched as Julia's lips tightened. That confused him. For an emotionless assassin, his remarks seemed to bother her.
"Do you want to disc back or not?" Julia snapped. "Because I'm beginning to think this is waste of my time."
"Maybe it is." Lucas replied. "Obviously, we both don't trust each other and until that changes we're just playing this cat and mouse game until someone gives up. That is a waste of time."
Julia tilted her head slightly to the side as she studied him. "You almost sound like you're trying to be civil."
Lucas decided now it was time to place all the cards on the table. He had enough history with her now to know what twigged her heartstrings. "You know we need that disc back. I'm willing to do whatever to get it back."
Julia smiled. "Anything?" She asked. "Because the only way you're going to get the disc back is to break into the office." She told him plainly.
At Thames House, Ruth was listening intently and at Julia's suggestion of how to get the disc back, she straightened up. "We've heard enough." She said. "Tell Lucas to walk out of there."
"But Harry said..." Tariq protested.
"Tell Lucas to get out of there." Ruth replied firmly. "There's no way we're authorizing a theft from our own government offices."
They both looked up as Harry came back into the room. He stopped as he saw their faces. "What's going on?" He asked.
Before Ruth could say anything, Julia spoke again. She turned back to the computer screen.
"You have ten seconds to give me an answer." Julia was saying to Lucas. "I know you're wired. Whoever is listening can go and get Harry so he can authorize this."
Back in the cafe, Lucas looked in disbelief at the woman across from him. "You're sure of yourself."
Julia shrugged as she picked up her coffee. "It pays to have confidence. Five seconds."
Harry nodded to Tariq. "Tell Lucas to go ahead with the deal."
Ruth turned to him. "Harry..."
"We can always back out if push comes to shove." Harry replied. He nodded again to Tariq. "Tell him." He said before walking out of the room.
Tariq toggled the comm once again. "Lucas, Harry says to go ahead. You're clear to accept the deal."
Lucas raised his eyes to meet Julia's
"Time's up." She told him softly, taking another sip of her coffee.
"Alright. When do we meet?" Lucas asked.
"Good choice." Julia told him replacing her coffee up on the table. "Get the disc; get your proof."
"Proof?" Lucas asked. "What proof?"
"Neil." Julia replied, turning around to gather her jacket. "You're not going to take my word that he's a mole, so in getting the disc back – the one we steal from his office- it'll get you the proof you need to make an arrest." She stood. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have another meeting I'm late for." She pulled on her coat and then leaned forward to place a few bills on the table.
"I'll call you." She told Lucas with a smile, before grabbing her cup and walking away from the table. She dumped the cup in a bucket of dirty dishwater left on the counter as she continued towards the entrance way.
Lucas watched as she walked out of the cafe. He touched his ear. "She's heading east." He told Tariq.
"Got her!" Tariq replied, rapidly tapping on his keyboard. He zoomed in with the camera. "Alpha two, do you copy?"
"I got her." Dimitri replied, from inside the surveillance van. He tapped on the keyboard. "You want me to follow her?" He asked Lucas over the comm.
"No." Lucas said as he got up from the table and headed towards the entrance. "Tariq, keep her under surveillance. Wait for me in the van." He told Dimitri.