A/N: More bad language, I'm afraid.
Kerry's/Zoe's flat, Lima, Peru – 3 days later – late evening:
"¡Bueno!" the young man says, and then listens carefully, holding his phone close to his ear. "No, she's not here. She …... she choose to stay in other flat. …... no …... Rachel gone. No …... Kerry not know."
Juan Carlos rubs his free hand across his forehead. This job is becoming tricky. For a start, he can't let his boss know how well he can speak English, and then there's Kerry. He quite likes her …... no, he really likes her, as in …... maybe he loves her. The man who makes the demands is not satisfied with his work, and that makes Juan Carlos nervous. He has been a honeytrap for the English woman, and he has made the cardinal mistake of falling for her. Still, he is only an asset, and not a spy. His skills are limited to sweet-talking women, and then convincing them to go to bed with him. He finds that part easy. It's the keeping-track-of-the-target he finds difficult. How can he watch Rachel when his head is filled with lust for Kerry? Imposible …... impossible.
"No," he says to the man's constant questioning, until the Englishman explodes in his ear with a rattle of foul language.
"Find her," the man shouts. "I need to know where she is. Goodbye."
"Despidida," Juan Carlos says quietly into the phone. el inglés - the Englishman - had already cut the connection.
Juan Carlos suspects he is in some serious shit. Puta mierda. Fucking shit.
Thames House, London – 12 hours later – early evening:
Harry is tired …... still. He's barely slept since he'd opened the email from Catherine. He'd even rung her to speak to her, but had learned very little from speaking with her.
"I had no idea that they know you, Dad. I told them my married name, and they told me that their names were Kerry Sutton and Rachel Diaz."
"They're using legends, Catherine."
"Whatever. Had I known who they were, I would have paid more attention, but I got the impression that Rachel – the older one – was living in Lima somewhere."
"In a city of 8 million, that's hardly giving anything away."
"I know. I'm sorry, Dad. I'm usually one to pay attention to details. Look, I have to go. Mark is calling me for lunch."
And that had been all she was able to tell him. He hadn't wanted to push her about details to do with Ruth. He hadn't wanted to alert Catherine to the truth. He'd already told her that he lost someone last year, and that's about all she knows. As Harry sees it, she has little need for details. He is a private man, after all.
Suddenly there is a rap on his office door. Harry looks up to see the very young and fresh face of George Fairbrother, a thick folder in his hands.
"I have something, Harry. I think we're now getting somewhere."
Harry indicates the chair opposite him, and George sits, opening his folder in front of him.
"It was hacking into Peru Immigration Office website which led me to the back door of their immigration records. I don't know what these website builders are thinking. It was much easier than I expected. Here is Rachel Diaz's details." George pushes a document towards Harry so that he can read it. "She applied for a work visa four months ago. She'll have to have that extended if she wishes to remain any longer than six months. That can only be done by her employer, and …... her employer is Gabriela Maria Lopez, and she runs a translating agency, and most of her clients are business people with financial interests in other parts of the world. Rachel Diaz specialises in translating Mandarin to Portuguese. These are chiefly legal documents, so a skilled translator is needed to do this work. China and Peru signed a Free Trade Agreement which came into effect in March 2010, so Ms Diaz has plenty of work."
Harry's eyes scan the two documents George shows him, one about Rachel, and the other about her employer.
"And there's an address for Ms Diaz?"
"Yes. It's a flat in central Lima."
"And Kerry Sutton?"
"She was harder to trace. It's likely she entered the country illegally. Many people do, but usually only for short-term visits. It's also possible that she entered the country under one identity, and is using another while in Peru. There's been no Gina Hamilton enter Peru in the past 12 months, but if she's trying to get away from Will North, then that's hardly surprising; she'll be unlikely to use that identity again. There is another one-bedroom flat leased to a Ms Kerry Sutton. It's only a few blocks from the one where the other woman lives. I think it's likely that it's the person you're searching for."
Harry holds the third sheet of paper in his hands. He is aware that his hands are shaking, so he puts the paper down, and rests both hands on it.
"Thank you, George. That's excellent work, as usual. Can you send in Erin? I need to speak with her immediately."
As George gathers his folder and leaves, Harry notices how pleased he looks to have received his boss's praise. Harry knows he doesn't praise his team members nearly enough.
"You wanted to see me, Harry," Erin says as she enters Harry's office.
"Yes. I need you to hold the fort for me. I'm about to book a flight to Lima."
"Harry -"
"What?" His eyes are flinty, steely, and he has set his mouth hard, as Erin knows he does when he doesn't wish to be opposed or even questioned.
"Do you think that wise?"
"No, it isn't, but nothing about this whole situation is wise, Erin. I need to see her. I need to know ..."
Erin sits down in the seat recently vacated by George. "I understand that completely, Harry. I was there when Ruth …... er, died. I know how you feel about her. I also …... overheard part of your last conversation with her. Can you at least wait until I contact Dimitri? I've been trying to ring him these past two days, and his phone keeps going to voicemail."
"What if he doesn't return your call for another month? I don't know if I can wait that long."
Erin sits back in her chair, and thinks for a moment. "Alright. Catch the next flight to Lima, but wait until I've spoken with Dimitri before you make contact with Ruth. Will you at least agree to that?"
Harry nods, clearly reluctant to allow anything at all to interfere with his seeing Ruth as soon as possible.
"You have to admit, Harry, that there must have been very good reasons for Ruth disappearing like that."
Harry nods again. "Has any progress been made there?"
"None at all, I'm afraid. George is still working on that, and Tariq too. The two of them together are usually such a good team. I should be suggesting that you make no move at all until we know why she disappeared, but I know you'd not pay attention were I to insist."
"I'm not a fool, Erin. I know that there's likely to be an element of danger in this operation. I just want to make contact with her, then …..."
"Then what?"
"I'm not sure."
Erin is aware that Harry's emotional response is overriding his generally sharp intellect, but she hasn't it in her to demand that he stay at home while other, younger and fitter, agents do the work on the ground. She has watched him from afar these past eleven months, and she now sees the spark of hope which shines in his eyes. As much as she feels it's unwise, she simply can't deny him his wish to see Ruth as soon as possible. To do so would be akin to asking her daughter, Rosie, to wait until New Years Day to open her Christmas presents. She cannot do it.
Rachel's/Ruth's flat, Lima, Peru – 3 days later – evening:
Kerry/Zoe is enjoying a few days away from Juan Carlos. He'd mentioned something about needing to visit some relatives in the mountains, and she is relieved to have some space from him. He is becoming clingy and needy, and she's not sure she can continue to see him. He's not allowed to visit her at Ruth's flat, so she only ever sees him back at the flat which she'd rented for three months in her own name.
She has just poured herself a large glass of Peruvian pinot blanc, when there is a knock on the door. She considers ignoring it, when a male voice calls out, and surprisingly, his accent is English.
"Ms Sutton …... it's Dimitri Levendis. I need to speak to you. It's about what happened in London."
Zoe has heard about Dimitri through Ruth, who'd sometimes talked with fondness about the members of the Grid whom she'd left behind in London. She gets up, and puts her eye to the spyhole in the door. She sees a tall, dark-haired man with a pleasant smile. Tall, dark and handsome. What more could a girl want? She opens the door without first putting on the chain.
"Er …..." Dimitri hesitates. "You must be Kerry. Is Rachel here?"
"No, she's not. Do you want to come in?"