A/N: Again, thank you for the reviews and your kind words.


Chapter Nine

Sunday afternoon, 14 October

They arrived in Catania mid-afternoon, the drive from Palermo only having taken a few hours, just as Giovanni said. Since it was more than an hour before they were to meet Matteo, they first found the restaurant where they were to meet him and then familiarized themselves with the area. They came across an internet café and they stopped in for a coffee so Ruth could check for a message from Malcolm. If he'd responded and provided them a means of safe contact to the Grid, there would be no need to involve Matteo.

Zaf knew that there was no response from Malcolm when Ruth's shoulders dropped in disappointment. He reached over and grasped her hand, in a show of support, and they quietly finished their coffee before leaving the café. The restaurant was a short direct walk from the café, but with over half an hour to go before they were to meet Matteo, they took a less direct route. They arrived a few minutes early at the restaurant called La Siciliana, along the Viale Marco Polo in Catania. A tall, dark, and very Italian-looking young man stepped out the front door and greeted Zaf enthusiastically. Introductions were made and soon the three were settled at a back table of the restaurant.

'Zaf, is good to see you but you look terrible my friend. At least your taste in women is still excellent,' the young man said with a smile.

'And you, Matteo. I trust that you will not try to steal Emily's affections from me during our visit,' Zaf added with a smile.

Zaf and Ruth had agreed that she would use her Emily Mortimer legend while visiting Matteo, until new passports could be obtained and that they would pose as partners. This way there would be no evidence of Katherine Ruth Miller in Sicily. And although she'd not yet had contact with Malcolm, he knew about the Emily Mortimer legend and could begin searching for it once he saw the messages in the email account. Zaf had suggested the arrangement of them as a couple, feeling it would be less unusual for a couple to be traveling together. Ruth wondered if he'd done that simply to get a reaction from her, but to his apparent surprise she agreed.

Matteo had been a friend and low-level asset of Zaf's from his time at Six. Matteo's father worked at the Italian Embassy in London as an advisor, but since it had been several years since they'd been in touch, he wasn't aware of Zaf's move to Thames House, something they decided to keep to themselves. Considering the entire purpose of this visit was to acquire new passports, the fact that Matteo knew that Zaf worked for Six fit nicely for their cover story.

'Thank you for hosting us on such short notice, Matteo,' she gushed. 'I'm not sure what we'd have done otherwise.' She smiled widely, playing the part of the friendly and thankful girlfriend.

'But of course,' he said. 'I could not pass up the opportunity to see my old friend.' Matteo smiled at them before lifting his menu. 'We will share those stories later. For now, we eat. Anything on the menu is good,' Matteo assured.


Ros sat on a bench near the staff entrance to the hospital. She'd not had luck catching Dr Pavlou the previous day as he left work but she was hoping to talk with him before he arrived today. She replayed the conversation with Adam in her head, his surprise having matched her own.

'Ruth. Zaf was here with Ruth Evershed.'

'Are you serious?' he asked. Ros could tell he was walking around on the Grid before she heard a door close and the background noise was extinguished.

'She's going by the name of Ruth Miller but I saw a picture and it's her. Neither she nor Zaf have been seen at the hospital since shortly after his arrival. Caused quite a stir at the hospital given that Ruth is dating one of the doctors.'

An exhale of breath was all Ros heard in reply.

'Adam, we can't tell Harry about this, not until we know for certain that Ruth and Zaf are still together,' Ros suggested.

'Agreed. But I need to have Malcolm start searching for Ruth Miller and he's still out sick. I'll have to tell Harry soon,' Adam noted.

'Go and see Malcolm; he may not be able to be on the Grid but if you tell him we're close to finding Zaf and Ruth and we need his help to bring them home, he will do whatever he can. The more information you have for Harry, the better. And Adam, be honest with me. I know that you and Zaf helped get Ruth out of the country but did you know where she was?'

'No. Well, Zaf arranged for her transport out of the country but he told me it was just a ride to the continent. If there was something planned beyond that he never told me,' Adam admitted.

There was further discussion about other operational details but the conversation quickly came to an end. Ros wondered if she could be as lucky as to find Zaf here in Polis. As for Ruth, some might believe that finding her would be a bonus for Harry but Ros wasn't so sure. She didn't know where the situation surrounding Oliver Mace and the circumstances of Ruth's disappearance stood; whether it would even be safe for Ruth to turn up in London again. Exhaling, Ros reminded herself to take care of one thing at a time and not to get too far ahead of herself.

At the faint sound of footsteps Ros looked down the path to see George Pavlou approach. As he came closer Ros stood and turned to face him before speaking his name.

The man stopped a respectable distance from her. 'Yes? What may I do for you?' he inquired.

'My name is Risa Williams and I'm trying to track down my boyfriend. He was on holiday and came to Polis but was injured. I believe you knew him as Jamal,' she said before offering a picture of Zaf.

George's face showed recognition as he looked at the picture, so Ros continued.

'I understand he had a friend here, a woman named Ruth Miller. I don't want to cause any trouble for her but I just want to know if he's safe. Do you know where he might be? Or Ms Miller? I'm worried about him. Please, can you help me?' The slightly desperate girlfriend routine had worked for her yesterday and Ros hoped that it would play well with the doctor.

Dr Pavlou regarded her for a few moments before giving her a slight nod. 'Yes, I saw this man but I know very little about him and I do not know where he or Ruth is. I will have a break at six this evening; I'll meet you at the café in the square, the one with the blue umbrellas. We can talk then.'

Ros flashed him a relieved smile. 'Thank you. I'll meet you then.'


Matteo's flat was just down the street from the restaurant where they'd eaten dinner. It was small but neat and included a balcony overlooking the street. The idea that it was to their advantage that they could see the comings and goings of the building reminded Ruth that while she may not work for Five any longer she still thought like she did.

'The bedroom is through that door. I will stay at my girlfriend's place because my settee is not fit for human sleeping,' Matteo announced with a laugh shortly after they walked through the front door.

'Matteo, we can't kick you out of your home. Please, we'll find a hotel,' Zaf protested.

Matteo shook his head. 'No, it's not trouble. Stephania lives nearby but is away on business and I am to check in at her place anyway. You and Emily will stay here, I insist.'

'Thank you for your hospitality. We appreciate it,' Ruth responded with a smile.

They each took a seat in the apartment, with Matteo settling into a chair to allow Zaf and Ruth to sit together on the sofa. Ruth sat close to Zaf and rested her hand on his knee to demonstrate their supposed relationship. Zaf and Matteo did most of the talking, catching up on the years that had passed since they'd last seen one another. Eventually the topic of Zaf's injuries was raised.

'We went on holiday to Cyprus and I was briefly abducted. I've been investigating the theft of Iraqi artifacts that were turning up in London and the men who took me were looking for information. I thought they must have followed me until I heard one of them say that they have someone inside Six who told them I would be there on holiday with Emily. They beat me but I was fortunate enough to escape. They took my backpack, which had our passports. I didn't want to go to the Embassy because of the mole in Six and I was afraid these men would find me again or worse, would hurt Emily. Once I was well enough to travel we took a ship to Palermo and here we are.' Zaf picked up Ruth's hand and kissed her knuckles. 'I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her because of my job,' he added.

Matteo shook his head. 'You have a gift, Zafar, for finding trouble. What are your plans? Surely you both must be needed back to work at some point. What is it that you do, Emily?' he inquired.

'I'm an archivist with the British Museum. It's how we met; he needed to learn about the Iraqi items he was investigating and somehow my name came up,' she said as she smiled at Zaf. 'He started his charm offensive from the moment we met but I assumed he was just a flirt so I didn't take him seriously. It wasn't until I discovered that his original meeting with me was supposed to be his only meeting and yet he'd scheduled four more meetings just to see me that I gave him a chance. We've been together ever since.'

Conversation between the three continued for another hour until Matteo noticed both Zaf and Ruth were yawning. Making sure they knew where everything was, he said his goodbyes and assured them he would be back in the morning.

Once he was gone, they prepared themselves for bed, with Ruth insisting that Zaf take the bed while she would sleep on the settee. Zaf first tried to be chivalrous and insist that he take the settee and when that didn't work he decided they should share the bed. At Ruth's incredulous look, he voiced concern that it wouldn't look right to Matteo if he came back unannounced and found one of them sleeping in separate rooms. He added that they were both exhausted and as adults could be trusted to share the bed and not be inappropriate with one another.

Ruth was initially unconvinced but after a second look at the bed she decided to give in. Zaf may be a flirt but she trusted him completely and knew he wouldn't do anything, at least when it came to sleeping in the same bed.

Once their nightly routines were completed and they'd settled into the bed, ensuring there was as much space as possible between them, they started talking about what they needed to do next.

'Do you really think he can help us get new passports? You haven't seen him for several years; he may not have those connections any longer,' Ruth wondered aloud.

'I know I didn't come across as the most serious of officers but from time to time I checked up on all my assets, even when they were no longer my assets. Matteo moved back to Italy a year before I came to Thames House. Others at Six who knew of him shared rumours that he had connections with the Mafia, as stereotypical as that sounds. He was working for a cousin in a legitimate company, but there was always suspicion about some illegal side deals within the company,' Zaf explained.

'How will you approach the subject? Ruth asked.

'I'd like to talk with him alone; let him think I'm protecting you from the dirtier side of working for Six,' Zaf chuckled before turning serious. 'Do you mind if he and I get coffee together in the morning? Matteo always appreciated the direct approach, so it's probably best if I just ask him if he can help us.'

'I'll go back to the café and check for a message from Malcolm, though honestly I'm not expecting one. We need to decide what we'll do next.' The room was light enough that Ruth could see Zaf nodding his head in agreement.

'Should we consider buying a computer, in case we can't always find a cafe?' Zaf asked.

Ruth thought about her answer before speaking. 'We're trying to travel light and lugging around a laptop might be cumbersome. Let me think about it. I can visit a shop tomorrow and check on the cost. Either way, I'll visit the café while you chat with Matteo about the passports. Hopefully by this time tomorrow we'll have a better idea of what happens next. We should each pick up a burner phone as well.'

'Agreed. And Ruth, thank you for everything.' He reached across and planted a quick kiss on her cheek before rolling away to settle in for sleep.

She wished Zaf a good night and rolled away as well to sleep on her right side. She hoped there would finally be a message from Malcolm in the secure email account, which would mean that Section D could help get Zaf home quickly. As for her, she started to consider where to settle next. Going back to Cyprus was out of the question and while Italy was beautiful, she didn't speak the language and didn't fancy trying to become fluent in another language. Southern France might be a good place to look. The climate was still warm and French was an easy language for her so she could settle easily. Having made that decision, Ruth allowed herself to drift to sleep.