PART X
Monday 18 December
The Grid
As soon as Harry stepped onto the Grid he made for Malcolm's desk. Ruth was already at hers and he smiled warmly at her when she looked up. She smiled back, an impish smile that showed off her dimples and his heart skipped a beat.
"How are we doing, Malcolm?" he asked, and the techie looked up blearily.
"Nothing out of the ordinary so far," he reported, pointing to the image on his monitor. It was the feed from the cab of the truck, and Zaf was driving.
"Okay," Harry said and turned on his heel, when Malcolm called him back.
"Here," he said, and handed Harry a requisition form.
Harry glanced at it and did a double-take. "Bloody hell, Malcolm!" he exclaimed, looking between the paper and the techie incredulously.
"We need a replica truck to test the blocking and substitution of the signals," Malcolm explained somewhat defensively.
Adam joined them and shared an amused look with Ruth.
"Absolutely not," Harry stated firmly. "The budget will not stretch to the acquisition of a twenty ton truck. You will have to make alternative arrangements."
"Don't worry, Malcolm," Adam chipped in, still amused by his boss' horrified expression, "I'll borrow one for you."
Harry eyed his Section Chief dubiously. "Would that be borrow as in 'borrow'?" he asked, his fingers illustrating quotation marks in the air, and Adam laughed.
"No, Harry, I'm not going to steal one," he said soothingly. "I know a bloke who owns one that he's not using at this particular moment."
"Right then," Harry said, mollified, "problem solved," before retiring to his office muttering under his breath about outrageous expenditures.
Adam grinned at Ruth; Harry's pugnacious protection of his budget was a long standing joke between them. Then he turned to Malcolm. "I want us to get into that truck before it crosses the border between Turkey and Syria," he explained. "They should reach Turkey by tomorrow afternoon – will you and Colin be ready with your gizmos for me to fly out to Turkey with by noon tomorrow at the latest?"
"Sure," Malcolm said confidently, "if you get us that truck in the next hour."
"Consider it done," Adam responded and clapped the other man on the shoulder, "be back in a jiffy."
0o0
Tuesday 19 December
The Grid
Harry stepped through the pods and looked around as he tugged off his leather gloves. "Where's Malcolm?" he queried and Adam looked up from where he was monitoring Zaf's progress.
"He and Colin are still playing with their truck," he explained. "How's Juliet?"
"Getting fidgety." Harry was just back from briefing the National Security Coordinator, who had made her displeasure at the slow progress more than clear. "Will you make your noon flight?" he asked, and Adam nodded.
"Malcolm assures me they're doing the final test and will be ready within the hour."
Harry turned to Ruth. "Any progress on that other thing?" he asked nonchalantly, and she understood immediately that he was asking about the information request to the Pakistani Service.
"Not yet; hopefully by tomorrow," she responded.
When he kept on loitering in front of her desk, she looked at him curiously. He glanced around to ensure that no-one was paying attention to them before speaking. "Would you like to go for a drink tonight?" he asked quietly, and she did not even have to think about her answer.
"Yes," she agreed with a small smile, which Harry returned with a bigger one of his own.
Eventually he tore himself away and returned to his office with a light heart.
0o0
Early evening
Kirikhan, Turkey
Zaf became aware of the vehicle following them after a few miles. They were close to the Syrian border where he would have to wait for the truck's return, as Wasim had instructed that he was not allowed to enter Syria. Mahmood would go on alone to the rendezvous in Damascus, but even he would not be present when the truck was unloaded and filled with its return cargo. They had tightened the operation significantly after Johnny Cook's escapades. All of this meant that they would have to get into the truck soon to record the cargo, and he had been expecting contact ever since they had crossed into Turkey. When they reached a quiet stretch of road, the car came right up to the back of the truck and flashed its lights. He recognised Adam and Jo and resisted the urge to wave at them, aware of the camera up in the corner of the cab. Mahmood was asleep in the little compartment behind him, so was out of the way. Suddenly his radio crackled weirdly, and seconds later Malcolm's voice came through loud and clear.
"Drifter, this is Control," he said and Zaf rolled his eyes. Malcolm and his bloody codenames. "Keep on driving as per normal for the next ten minutes. Do not make any sudden movements – we are making loop footage. Rub your nose if you understand."
Zaf rubbed his nose.
"Okay, ten minutes start… now."
Back on the grid it was all hands on deck. Malcolm and Colin were poised over their keyboards, whilst Fiona monitored any mobile traffic to the warehouse, where Wasim had last been seen. Ruth was similarly monitoring the many phones known to belong to Pilkington, and Harry was in constant contact with his counterpart in Turkey, who he had strong-armed into assisting them. Malcolm nodded at Harry who spoke into his mobile. "Send in the delaying vehicle now."
Another truck suddenly pulled in front of Zaf from the side of the road and he had to slow down.
"That's us," Malcolm informed him. "We need to win some time so that you are able to make up the difference in your position before we switch the tracker back on." The rest of the ten minutes passed in silence.
"Got it," Colin said and started working on the loop footage immediately.
"Drifter, you may move again," Malcolm said, and Harry allowed a brief smile as Zaf immediately scratched his head vigorously.
"In two miles you will see a warehouse on your left," Malcolm continued. "Turn in there and pull straight inside."
Zaf rubbed his nose again.
"Footage ready," Colin said.
Malcolm's eyes were riveted to the monitor tracking the truck's position, and as soon as it neared the turn-off he said, "Get ready for footage swap." Colin sat ready, finger poised over the Enter key, as Malcolm assumed the same position. It was imperative that they hit the two keys at precisely the same moment to avoid a tell-tale hitch in the footage. Behind them Harry's voice murmured, "Truck approaching – open warehouse door."
Then Malcolm said, "In three… two…. one… Now!" and two Enter keys were struck simultaneously.
"Did it work?" Harry asked, unable to tell the difference in the footage.
"Drifter, scratch your head again," Malcolm instructed, and Zaf did so on one monitor, but on the other he remained motionless.
There were relieved smiles all round as the truck turned off the road and drove straight into the warehouse, with the following car right behind it.
"You have ten minutes," Malcolm said and Adam acknowledged. Inside the warehouse a number of Turkish officials were waiting, and they swarmed around the truck as soon as it came to a stop. Zaf jumped out and joined the scrum of people gathered at the back, and unlocked the doors. Adam was first in, crowbar in hand and issuing instructions to the rest to ensure they covered all the crates. Jo moved around with a video camera and got footage of the contents of each crate as it was opened. Harry watched grimly as images of automatic weapons, hand grenades and even a few surface to air missiles were broadcast to the Grid.
"Two minutes," Malcolm informed Adam, who barked orders for the crates to be closed up again. He went round to make sure there weren't obvious evidence that the crates had been opened and ushered everyone out.
He walked with Zaf to the cab. "Everything okay, mate?"
"Yeah. No problems so far," Zaf said, stretching his back before clambering back up to his seat.
"Okay. We'll follow the same routine when the truck comes back from Syria," Adam informed him, then slapped the side of the cab twice. "Go!"
The door at the other end of the warehouse rolled up and Zaf steered the truck out and back onto the road, where Malcolm instructed him to push for a few miles, until he was satisfied that he wasn't too far off from where he was supposed to be.
"Tracker and video feed back on in three… two… one," he said, then turned back to Harry with a satisfied expression.
"Well done, all," Harry praised. "I want everyone to go home and get a good night's sleep – there is nothing to be done until the truck comes back."
0o0
It was close to 20:00 when Harry ushered Ruth to his car and opened the back door for her. Once settled next to her he informed his security officer, "To the jazz place, please James."
Ruth lifted an eyebrow in surprise and he looked at her. "Is that okay? They play light jazz on Tuesdays," he informed her, and she nodded.
"I'm just surprised we're not going to the Cricketers," she teased him, and he smiled indulgently.
"I thought it might be time to show you that there's more to me than pub fare and whisky," he replied, clearly in a good mood after the success of the operation.
She laughed and quite deliberately placed her hand on the seat between them, and Harry didn't need a second invitation. He folded his own around hers and she turned it palm-up to allow him to intertwine their fingers. He didn't let go for the rest of the journey, intermittently rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand, and she found the gesture almost erotic.
The place was situated in a small side street not far from Thames House, and the security officer found a parking spot near the entrance.
"Go get some dinner next door," Harry told him, "I'll give you a call once we're ready to leave."
He guided Ruth inside, his hand in the small of her back, revelling in this new freedom to touch her. She smiled up at him, her face open and her adoration for him clearly on display, and it was too much for his famed self-control. He drew her into the dark nook just inside the door and lowered his head to hers, and kissed her. He managed to restrain himself to a gentle kiss at first, until her lips willingly parted for him and it became ardent and heated in a heartbeat. It only lasted for half a minute, but it was enough – once they drew apart he was totally and utterly lost in her.
"We should, er…" he managed with a vague gesture over his shoulder.
"Mmm," she responded, not faring much better in the eloquence department, and he took her hand and led her into the interior.
They found a small table in a dark corner, and ordered food and wine as a few musicians tuned their instruments on the small stage across the room. They were joined by a tall, slender black woman with a shaven head and large beaded earrings. She took up position behind the microphone and as soon as she was settled the band started playing without preamble. When she began to sing her low, sensuous voice filled the room, her slightly accented French adding to the allure. Ruth was mesmerised, all the sensations of the evening threatening to overwhelm her. She became aware of Harry's gaze on her and turned to him, impulsively reaching for his hand again.
"God, Harry, she's fantastic."
"I'm glad you like it. I often come here on Tuesdays to listen to her." He tightened his grip on her hand, momentarily overcome that she was finally here with him. How many evenings had he sat here, listening to this glorious voice and yearning for her?
"Where is she from?" Ruth asked, curious about the accent.
"Senegal," he answered, continuing to watch her as she enjoyed the music, savouring every second of being with her.
0o0
Time passed without them noticing as they enjoyed the food, the music and each other's company. Harry was amazed to see that it was almost 23:00 when he glanced at his watch, and said regretfully, "I suppose we better get going. My poor security officer will long since have finished his dinner."
She nodded, equally regretfully, and waited while he paid the bill and called his security officer. He came round the table and held her coat for her, and she couldn't stop herself from leaning back into his chest once she had shrugged it on. He squeezed her upper arms in response.
When they stepped through the door the cold hit them like a physical blow. It had begun to snow, and the flakes swirled through the pools of light of the sparse street lamps. The snow was still light enough to melt as soon as it landed and the streets remained clear. Harry handed her into the car and moved around to get in the other side, and as he did so noticed two men sitting in another car some distance away. He closed the door against the cold thankfully. "We'll drop Ruth off first, thank you James," he said as Ruth scooted closer to nestle against him.
"Thank you," she murmured into his coat as James turned over the key and the car failed to start, "I had a magical evening."
He wrapped an arm around her. "Me too. We should-" he started to say, when it all came together in his mind. His time in Ireland. The men down the street. The car failing to start. He could hear James begin to turn the key again and time slowed down.
"Don't!" he yelled frantically, already grappling for the door handle with one hand and grabbing for Ruth with the other. "Get out! Get out now!"
The explosion was heard as far as six miles away.
tbc