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Memory

Harry walked away from the team, knowing that Adam and Erin had arrived at his house. The last communication he had with Erin had told him there was a strange car on his doorstep. He had no idea who the car belonged to. That in itself was a worry. He closed his eyes and tried not to panic at the thought Ruth and Nick were going through the same escape from chaos and terror as they had done when Mani's men had terrorized them. Only this time he had no idea how it would affect a heavily pregnant Ruth and a teenager who had already seen more heartache than most grown men had seen in a lifetime.

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"Bloody Hell." Nick's eyes widened as he watched the car behind them swerve to avoid a cyclist.

"Yeah." Adam smiled as the teenager swore. He couldn't help but notice the way Ruth's eyes narrowed slightly as her adopted son swore. He knew Ruth rarely swore around anyone so he had a feeling she wasn't entirely happy with him but was willing to let this one go.

"Who are they?" Ruth asked, one hand resting on her baby bump. She was breathing heavily and clearly in discomfort as Adam turned in the front passenger seat to face her. He shrugged his shoulders as the little dog settled on to Nick's arm.

"Not entirely sure." Erin stated calmly. "Not ours, at least."

"Oh that makes all the difference." Ruth snapped. Scarlet barked her annoyance.

"Put your foot down." Adam checked his gun as he spoke, hoping Nick hadn't seen him doing so. The little dog yapped again, her paws resting on the back of the car and nose pressed against the window. "Nick, mate."

"Yeah?"

"Hold on to Scarlet."

"Why?"

"Just hold on to her." Adam gritted his teeth as he realised the black car he had noticed parked outside Ruth and Harry's house was gaining on them faster than they had thought possible. Ruth's already pale face was close to ashen as Erin braked hard and swung the Audi around the corner. He frowned slightly, knowing she would be annoyed if he mentioned it, the last thing she needed was having Nick worry about her more than he already was.

"Nick, do as Adam says." Ruth tried to keep her voice calm but she knew what Adam was thinking. She had already spotted the metal barrel of the gun in his hand. She hoped Nick hadn't. Explaining why Mace was back and why he had reason to hate them so much was a conversation she had hoped never to have. Erin narrowed her eyes as she saw what Adam was doing.

"Adam."

"When I say, turn the car around and head back towards them. We'll get to Thames House the long way around." Adam glared. Ruth fell silent in the back of the car. She knew Erin was probably the best defensive driver in the Section but she also knew that the woman was the one who took the most risks. Biting her bottom lip she prayed that whatever Adam and Erin had planned she would be with Harry before long.

"You sure?"

"Yes." Adam forced the word out through gritted teeth. Ruth turned to see Nick clinging onto Scarlet for dear life and shaking quietly. Sighing she reached across and took his hand in hers.

"It will be ok." She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. A wave of guilt washed over her. It was the second time he had to run for his life since she had fallen into his life. Neither time he really understood why. "Oh Nico." She squeezed his hand as he nodded once. The sound of gunfire snapped them to the present as Adam leaned out of the window. Erin dug the breaks in, forcing the tyres to screech in protest. Seconds later the car swerved dangerously to the left.

"SHIT!" Erin snapped. Scarlet barked as the car continued to skid out of control. Ruth turned to see a thin white man leaning out of the car window with his gun raised. A wave of anger washed over her as she realised this man had intended to kill her and her family. In that moment she knew, she didn't care what happened at the Olympics. She had to get home. This was personal.

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,"Ok." Ros parked the car in a quiet side street in North London. The street was almost deserted as Zaf unclipped his seatbelt.

"You reckon the bomb factory is here?" Dimitri stated as Ros glared straight ahead.

"Never know until we have a look. Dimitri, Zaf you both go around the back. Lucas stay here."

"No."

"Lucas, watch the house. I need to know if we are going to have any unexpected company." Ros was back in full Ice Queen mode. There was no way she was going to risk anything going wrong. If the men they were looking for were involved with Mace in any way there was a fair chance they were not only highly skilled and intelligent; they were also well-financed. That meant they were more than able to afford to buy half of North London, keeping a bomb factory quiet in a leafy suburb was not going to be a problem.

"C'mon then." Zaf smiled cheekily as Lucas fell silent. He knew she was right but he hated being left behind. The last thing he wanted was for the others to think that he was being given special treatment because he was married to the Section Chief. Shaking his head slightly he smirked, for the first time he realised how Ruth felt. What was it I told Ruth? Be brave? Just go for it? About time I did that. Take your own advice Lucas John North. He tried not to worry as he watched Ros march towards the impressive looking townhouse Tariq's intelligence had told them was likely to be the bomb factory.

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"Malcolm." Harry barked as he marched out of his office. Calum and Tariq exchanged glances. Both knew better than to say anything when Harry was in the mood he was in. The Pearce temper was legendary.

"Harry." Malcolm kept his eyes on the computer screen, apparently unperturbed by Harry's temper.

"Any news?"

"No."

"Nothing?" Harry ran a hand over his face. He knew there was very little chance of hearing anything from Ros and her team for at least another hour. It was Adam and Ruth he really had hoped to hear from by now.

"Lucas called." Zoe shrugged her denim jacket off. "They got there ok. Looks as though we were right. Zaf and Dimitri are going in with Ros now."

"Good." Harry sighed heavily. "At least that's something. How much longer?"

"Twenty three hours and counting." Tariq remained impassive. He focused on the computer screen as he felt Harry pace behind them.

"CCTV?" Harry kept pacing. Zoe raised an eyebrow, aware that her boss was thinking on his feet. They were running out of time. It was less than a day until the London ceremony and less then than that until the Cardiff Millenium Stadium hosted the GB versus New Zealand women's football.

"Not with Ros and her team. Seems that part of London doesn't have any cameras. Well not on the system anyway. There may be home owners with private security cameras." Malcolm narrowed his eyes.

"Can we access those?" Zoe asked.

"Ordinarily no." Malcolm sighed.

"But it is possible?" Harry asked. Tariq smiled and shook his head as Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes." Tariq watched as Harry held his gaze. "And if you ask if I can do it, then I will be mortally offended."

"Can you?"

"Oh course." Tariq tapped a few keys, waited a moment as data flew across the screen before a grainy picture of Lucas sat in Ros' car came into view. It seemed the only security camera in the street was focused on the Senior Field Officer rather than where the rest of the team were. Harry swore, knowing that they would get nothing useful from the views they had.

"Harry." Calum broke the tense silence, almost afraid to drag his eyes away from his own monitor. "You want to see this."

"What?" Harry barked.

"The car parked outside your house."

"The one which doesn't belong to Catherine." Harry stated as Calum nodded.

"Yeah, that one. Just found out who owns it."

"Don't tell me." Harry shook his head.

"Viktor Kruschev." Ruth stated as the pod doors closed behind her. Harry froze for a second. He knew he had imagined her marching into his office when she was away but this seemed so real that he had to stop in his tracks. Scarlet barking loudly and running towards him stopped him in his tracks.

"Hello girl." He picked the terrier up as Ruth smiled slightly. Her hand was still firmly on the teenager's shoulder as she watched him. For a moment it was like there was no one else in the room. "Ruth, Nick? You both alright?"

"Yeah." Nick nodded. "Erin's driving is awesome. I mean there was this handbreak turn and .." He went to go on as Zoe ushered him towards the kitchen. The look on Harry's face a cross between sheer relief that his family were alive and horror that Erin had driven like a madwoman through the streets of London with his heavily pregnant wife and teenage stepson in the car.

"Ruth? My office." He stepped back, giving her no choice but to follow.

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"Bloody Hell." Beth snapped as she opened the car door. Alec had insisted on drive, stating that he would like to get back to Thames House in one piece rather than risk spending the night in A&E. She glared angrily at him as he started the engine.

"Security seems pretty good there." He tried not to let the smile show on his lips, knowing that Beth would have something to say if she sw.

"Yeah." Beth replied. "Ros has the plans laid out, so we know the potential weak spots. Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare." She dug out her mobile phone as it started ringing. Alec drove in silence while Beth listened to Dimitri on the other end of the line.

"What did Lover Boy want?"

"Dimitri." Beth corrected. "They found the bomb factory."

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"Ruth." Harry breathed her name as he pulled her into his arms, glad that he had left the blinds closed. "I."

"We're fine." Ruth held him a little tighter as he buried his head in her neck. "We may need a new front door and the kitchen is a bit of a mess."

"I don't care if the house was blown apart." HArry pulled back and brushed a strand of stray hair away from her face. "Ruth."

"I know." She covered his hand with her own. "BUt we are fine. And that car did belong to Viktor. I'd bet what's left of the house on it."

"Fine." Harry kissed her again before pulling back. "I'll talk to Joey, see if he remembers me."

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Lucas sat in the car counting the minutes since he had watched Ros walk through the front door. It seemed as though hours had passed rather than minutes. Something was wrong, he could sense it but had no idea what it was. Gingerly he looked behind him at the deserted street. A small red transit van had parked a few feet away as a teenager on a mountain bike cycled past. He knew he was being paranoia but he couldn't help himself. "Ros." He spoke into the comms, hoping that she could hear him. "Ros?" Seconds later the car shook as glass and debris exploded out on to the street. Car alarms screamed in protest as Lucas sat staring at the bomb factory in shock. Smoke and flying debris hit the air as he finally came to his senses and ran towards the house, unable to believe what he was seeing.

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A/N Are they all dead? How did Dimitri get a message to Beth? Is Ruth right? Will the ceremony go ahead adn will Adam ever get to his stag night? Please review.