Chapter 10

Phoebe Simmons was lying. It was plain and simple. That woman was holding out on them in some way. Ros would not be worth her salary if she had been unable to piece that together. Mrs Simmons had slaved the night away in this flat, but not out of the goodness of her heart. No one would do such a thing for a mere new neighbour. And the only reason why someone like her would make such an effort to clear up the place was if there had been guests here that had absolutely no business being here.

'What was that with the photograph?' she demanded of Julius the moment they were back in the flat. They had swept the place for bugs this morning and had found none, so they were clear on that one at least, which was a relief. And that meant they could talk without having to be afraid that someone listened in to a conversation not meant for their ears.

Julius favoured her with a disdainful look. 'It was a place where he was happy and we are looking for places where Simmons could be, right?' He managed to sound bored, which may or may not be him trying to get back at her for doing the exact same thing to him. 'People run to where they know.'

Ros felt like kicking the boy out of the flat so that she could conclude the operation on her own, but that was unprofessional and this kid did have some potential. He just needed to use it.

And his suggestion wasn't entirely stupid, even if Ros did not think Phoebe would have left her husband's hiding place in plain sight for all to see. Still, the wizard had shown he could think for himself and that had to be worth something. And she was on an operation, so she could not afford to bite the young man's head off. In the field you needed to be able to rely on your colleagues and no matter how much she hated the fact that she had to work together with a wizard, and one who hated everything and everyone that wasn't as magical as he was, there was no helping it and so she might as well make the most of it.

So instead of kicking him out, she gave a curt nod. But two could play this game of looking down on the other. 'We need to search the flat,' she decided. 'See if there's anything we have missed.'

There might be. Mrs Scott from next door had informed Jennifer Lewis that poor Mrs Simmons had been up all night to make the flat inhabitable and that she had looked exhausted when she had gone back downstairs again. If she truly had been so tired, there were things she could easily have overlooked. She had already looked startled when Ros mentioned the rather suspicious lack of dust, like she had forgotten all about it.

Still, despite these minor slip-ups the woman downstairs was not stupid. When Ros had learned that she was a school dropout she'd anticipated a woman who had been content to sit at home to wait for her husband to come back from work, the slaving wife of little intelligence. The job at the local supermarket only confirmed that for her.

So she had been surprised when she had been met with a woman who could actually think for herself and who had played the game with as much skill as Ros herself. In a way this could make it worse. Had Phoebe Simmons been unintelligent and her husband's slave in all but name, then it would have been child's play for Ros to turn her. Now she would have to anticipate the possibility of her being involved a lot deeper than appearances suggested. For all she knew, Simmons's wife was as much a part of the whole group as her husband was. She certainly seemed intelligent enough.

'Loose floor boards, empty spaces,' she snapped at Julius when he did not appear to be moving at once. 'Anything that might tell us what the bloody hell has been going on in here. Now.'

She dug up her mobile and phoned Harry. If her memory served her right Adam would be meeting an asset now, so he was not an option, even though she much rather dealt with the Section Chief than with her real boss.

'Pearce.'

'Harry, it's Ros. Phoebe Simmons is definitely in on this,' she reported, wasting no time in beating around any number of bushes. She wasn't known for her social niceties. 'The flat was dust free. Bit suspicious for one that has been empty since what seems to be the Second World War, don't you think?'

This was in itself not any real evidence, but in Ros's opinion spooks seldom had the luxury of getting suspects' confessions in the written word, undeniable. They had to work with clues and bread crumbs, few and far in between often enough.

'Anything else?' Harry's voice betrayed that he had very little patience at the moment. Given the fact that he had to put up with wizards at the moment, Ros was not too surprised. She had a bit of a problem controlling her temper at the moment herself.

'Our new neighbour tells me Mrs Simmons has been up all night cleaning the place,' Ros went on. 'We've had a good look around her flat and she's as much of a domestic goddess as I am, so she wasn't here out of the goodness of her heart.'

'She was clearing up the evidence.' Harry had come so far in his career for a reason and as much as Ros disliked him personally, he was a good spy and he didn't need her to spell everything out for him. 'Right, are you checking the flat?'

'On it now,' she replied, watching as Julius was checking every place where a clue could be hidden. There was a determined look on his face that reminded Ros of herself. Away from the influence of West, he was a lot like her; devoted to the job. He could apparently not care less about his colleagues, but the operation meant something to him. 'Harry, there's something else as well.'

The groan on the other end of the line was quite impossible to put down to bad reception. 'Ros, I need some good news.'

Well, he wasn't going to get it from her. 'We've underestimated Phoebe Simmons. She might be deeper involved than we first believed, might even be inner circle. She's intelligent, Harry. She knows how to play this game. And she's observant too. We may have to change plans with her.' Ros had seen the way Phoebe acted. She had been startled when she first realised her mistake with the dust, but it had been only for a split second and then she had been firmly back in control of herself, pretending like there was nothing wrong. And she saw things too, more than Ros was comfortable with.

At the same time this was thrilling. Before now it had all been rather predictable, hardly challenging. Turning a simple woman was almost routine. It was the end game that would need her full attention, but in the meantime she would need to do a time-consuming whilst being stuck with a wizard who hated this, not her operation of choice. But this was something else entirely and the thrill of being onto something kept her going.

'No.' Harry's answer was immediate. 'That woman is our only way in. Get close to her in whatever way possible. I don't know how you do it, but find out what the bloody hell she and her wand-waving friends are up to.'

'What about the plans to turn her?' Ros demanded.

'Do it if you can,' was the reply, not entirely unexpected. 'Did you plant the bugs?'

'An audio bug under the coffee table and a camera in the bookcase.' It wasn't as much as she would have liked, but it would have to do for now. She didn't have much time and she could not take the risk of planting one with the mistress of the flat looking on. 'Can you patch the information through to our flat? I need to know what's going on in there.' She didn't know what Phoebe Simmons's game was yet, but she sure as hell planned on finding that out before long.

'Yes.' Harry's response was curt, as expected. He wasn't one for social niceties either.

Ros was about to respond when Julius waved something around. 'Miss Myers!'

Ros gritted her teeth. 'Hang on, Harry,' she told her boss before directing her iciest stare at her protégé. 'What?'

'A wand hidden behind the bathroom mirror.' Julius held up a piece of wood that might have been a small branch a dog would use to fetch in the park, with the small exception that this one was extremely polished and, as far as the Senior Case Officer could see, completely free of any finger prints.

'We've got something,' she reported to Harry, putting the phone on loud so that Julius could have his say.

'A wand, about twelve inches long,' he reported, looking at the mobile phone as if he did not quite trust the device.

'So, they were there,' Harry said. Of course this only confirmed what they had already been thinking themselves, but it was more solid evidence than the absence of dust and Ros knew that. This might mean a breakthrough in the investigation and she was not about to deny that they needed that. 'Right, try to get as close to can to Mrs Simmons…'

He might have gone on issuing orders, had the wizard not interrupted. 'Would you not like to know who owned it?' he demanded, sounding rather incredulous.

'Are there finger prints on it?' the head of Section D demanded.

'No, but…'

'Then hang onto it, but…'

Now Harry was the one who was interrupted again. 'Every wand is unique, sir,' Julius said forcefully. The respectful sir was added just half a second too late and betrayed that he had no respect for the man at all. 'I know someone who can tell us everything about the wand and who will remember its owner as well.'

The silence lasted for quite a while before Harry replied. 'Find out,' he snapped. 'Go with Ros.'

'This person lives in the magical world,' Julius informed him.

The silence lasted shorter this time. 'Do it, first thing tomorrow. Good work, both of you.' He hung up without a further greeting, but that was his way. Ros had become rather used to it these days.

It would seem that that was all the excitement for the day. There was not much they could do now that they had been having that little getting-to-know-you-chat with Mrs I-see-and-know-a-lot-more-than-I'm-letting-on Simmons and they had found the proof that this flat had until recently been occupied by magical residents whose interest in this flat had absolutely nothing to do with the view from the living room window.

Julius kept to his own, reading some book Ros was not particularly interested in. Dinner was an equally silent affair with both Julius and Ros herself reading. The Senior Case Officer busied herself with comparing her observations of Phoebe Simmons with the few things that could be learned from her altogether thin file. They needed a way in. Contact had been made. Now they needed a way to keep the contact alive.

She briefly contemplated posing as a sympathiser for whatever cause it was that Simmons and his merry men were pursuing, but dismissed it almost right away. They were not even sure what it exactly was that this little group even wanted and this course of action would alert Mrs Simmons that Ros knew she was involved with them. That would make her even more suspicious than she already was, if they didn't spook her off entirely.

Trying to become friends with her seemed like the best option now. It wasn't Ros's strong point, but it would have to be Jennifer Lewis's. The spy had spotted a lot of novels in the flat when they had gone in for tea and it was not the horrible chick lit one might expect from a divorced woman with low income. All the books were literature and they were worn and often used. Now that might be her way in.

Ros remembered that not so long ago, during the Havensworth operation, she had told Ruth that the American Secretary of State was about as interested in signing the agreement as she was in joining an all-women's book club. Well, if she was going to get anywhere near Phoebe Simmons, that was what she may have to do anyway, like it or not.

It was nearly midnight by the time she decided that she had done all that she could for that day. She made a mental note to brief the Grid tomorrow and send in a request to set up a book club and deliver some of the titles she had seen in Phoebe's flat as well as some she did not have to get her new neighbour interested. It wasn't the most sound plan she had ever come up with, but it would have to do. And Ros needed a reason to stay in touch with Simmons's wife. And with her being so wary already, drinking coffee with her every morning might soon get suspicious.

'Get some sleep,' she ordered her colleague brusquely. What he was even doing here was not yet clear to her. All he had done so far was reading and scowling. Admittedly he had found the wand and he had picked up on the photograph, but Ros could have done that herself as well, and probably a lot better as well. And in that case she'd live much rather on her own.

Julius was about to reply – a less than polite reply, judging by the expression on his face – but Ros's mobile interfered with his plans.

'Myers,' she barked into it.

'Ros, this is a red-flash.' To her surprise it was Ruth's voice on the other end of the line. 'Simmons and Dolohov are entering the building now. We do not have any intelligence on why they are there, but…'

But Ros did not have any time for the other woman's lengthy analysis of the situation. 'Back-up?' she demanded, walking roughshod over the rest of Ruth's explanation.

'On it,' came the reply.

In Ros's experience that could be translated as not coming in time to help you nine out of ten times, which was not a very reassuring prospect taken into account that one of the people now entering this complex had magic and could kill her in ten different ways if he was so inclined, and probably all at once. 'Are they armed?' When there was no immediate reply, she repeated the question. 'Dolohov and Simmons, are they armed?'

'We can't see.' Ruth sounded frustrated. 'They're wearing long coats, both of them. They could have all kinds of weapons under them.'

Ros growled softly in frustration.

Unfortunately the intelligence analyst caught that. 'I can't work miracles, Ros!' Oh yes, the indignity in her voice was unmistakable.

That's easy for you to say. You're not the one who's in bloody danger here. 'Charming,' she commented. 'And since our dear Mrs Simmons is so close with our magic-loving terrorists, we'll have to assume that Mr Burke and I are the target here.' They had to be. It was the only reasonable assumption to make. If they bothered Phoebe, they would lose an asset and Ros did not think they would like to take that risk, not when they needed all the help they could get. But it would make sense if Phoebe had realised something was off with her new neighbours upstairs and had called her husband to get them off her back, because she suspected they were not all they pretended to be. 'Tell the cavalry to hurry up.' She ended the conversation before Ruth could say another word.

'What's going on?' Julius questioned.

'It would seem that we have company,' Ros said curtly, marching over to the sofa to retrieve the gun she had hidden under it just that morning. She was not entirely sure how much good a gun would be in fighting off wizards, but she was willing to take her chances. At any rate it was better than just wait for these idiots to come in and do their worst.

'You, behind the door!' Ros snapped at her unwilling flatmate. This was not the first raid she'd dealt with in her career and she was determined to come out of this again.

For just this once the wizard did not feel the need to protest her every command. He just disappeared behind the door as Ros herself took shelter behind the bookcase. Julius's altogether calm behaviour betrayed that this was not his first raid either and that was a relief. It might mean that he could contribute to their defence and would not be as much use as a toddler in case of an attack, as she had first suspected.

Both of them were quiet, listening for the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Ros controlled her breathing and forced herself to remain calm. Ros Myers wasn't known to panic and she did not plan on starting the habit now. But this was the first time she was threatened with magic and that did make her feel nervous, even though she would rather die than admit that.

But the footsteps she anticipated never came. Instead they were treated with the sound of a shouting male voice a floor below. The owner of aforementioned male voice must be rather angry to sound like that.

Julius's head peeked around the door. He looked a little puzzled, or as puzzled as he was capable of looking anyway. 'We're not the target,' he said as if he had only just realised that himself.

'Phoebe is.' Ros realised the same thing at almost exactly the same moment. This was at Mrs Simmons's flat. And that was just as alarming a development, because if she was disposed of, then they lost every chance of ever getting to that sodding little group her husband was a part of. And she was not about to sit back and watch that happen.

She was out of the door the next moment, not giving this a moment's thought. There may be risks attached to this, but risks were a part of the spook's job. She would have called for back-up if she thought they could get here in time, but it was unlikely and there was no time to inform the Grid of this new development since she was not on comms – as was usual when on an undercover mission because they could not risk being found out – and there was an alarming absence of CCTV in the building itself.

'Where is it?' The unknown male voice rose to yet another shout as Ros was halfway down the stairs.

'I don't know, I swear I don't!' The answering voice was female. The woman it belonged to was also crying. And Ros knew who that was.

She came around the last bend and was met with the sight of a crying Phoebe in a green dressing gown. Simmons's wife had her arms wrapped around her torso as if she was bracing herself for the worst. Simmons himself hung back a bit, watching as his companion, who Ros recognised as Antonin Dolohov, was standing far too close to Phoebe, shouting abuse at her. Apparently he thought his accomplice's wife had something of his and he wanted it back.

The wand sprang to mind almost right away. It could well be Dolohov's and that would explain why he was so tetchy now, so tetchy that he had reduced Phoebe to tears. Ros did not particular feel for the woman, but she did care about keeping her alive for now.

'What the bloody hell is going on here?' she snarled at the two men. This could blow their cover, but it was a risk she needed to take if they did not want to lose the asset. Dolohov looked like he would have very little trouble with murder right about now.

Dolohov did not even seem to notice her presence, but Simmons rounded on her. 'Who are you?'

'Jenny Lewis, Phoebe's upstairs neighbour. We heard the shouting.' She conjured up a concerned expression as she looked at her new neighbour. 'You all right?'

Mrs Simmons nodded, but her behaviour contradicted that. Her face was tear-stained and she was trembling. In fact, she looked like she might pass out any moment now. And since Jenny Lewis was no less intelligent than Ros Myers, she decided to act on that information.

'This is harassment,' she informed the two men. 'I have no idea who you are, but if you don't clear out of here this very minute, I will call the police.' She preferred the shooting option, but she wasn't sure how much good that would do. And she might hit their future asset as well as those men. No, she would leave the shooting for the cavalry.

'Don't get involved, Mrs Lewis.' Dolohov turned around now too, leaving his victim for the moment. He looked like his fingers were itching to shoot her – or whatever the magical equivalent was – but he refrained from it for the moment.

Ros met his eyes steadily. 'John, run upstairs and call the police,' she said. Meaning: run upstairs and call Thames House. She needed to get these two men out of here after which they would preferably walk right into the arms of the arriving back-up, if they planned this right.

It did probably help the decision along that Julius had already turned around to get the phone that the intruders did as she asked. Dolohov still looked at her like he wished her a very slow and painful death, but then turned around. 'We're done.'

'I would think so,' Ros said icily. 'Out. Now.'

And out they went. Ros gave a firm nod and then released her hold on her gun. From the corner of her eyes she saw that Julius slipped something that looked remarkably like the wand they had found in the flat into his pocket.

Next time: Julius introduces Ros to the magical world.

In the meantime reviews would be more than welcome. Come on, people, I'd like to hear your opinion!