I do not own Spooks/MI5. I only own my original characters and original plot developments. Thank you for reading. Comments are always welcome and encouraged.

Chapter 10 - Justice and Judgment

Lucas paced back and forth behind a table in a disused factory. Waiting for Harry to come and interrogate him was true torture. He needed to be on the outside looking for Hayd and Cathy not cooped up in here – a helpless failure.

Finally, Harry entered the room. Before Harry could even speak, Lucas was pleading with him.

"Harry. A madman has Hannah and Cathy. He's threatening to hand them over to the Chinese. In fact, he may have already done so. You have to put the team out there to find them."

Harry looked at Lucas questioningly.

"I'm telling you the truth. I know you may have your doubts about me, but I'd hope you'd know me enough that I would never lie about the security of my family. After everything you've seen happen between myself and Hannah. After everything you've seen of a father's love for Cathy. You must trust that that is real."

"You have a lot of allegations to answer for, Lucas."

"And I will. As long as you want. But I'm going insane in here – not knowing if they're even still alive. Harry, I'm begging you. Please find my family."

"What would the Chinese want with Hannah?"

"It's a long story. And I'll tell you all of it. But the man I met with in the park knows Hannah's past, Harry." Lucas paused trying to import to his boss the significance of the situation. "All of it."

Harry's eyes widened. Lucas's identity may be questionable but he couldn't squash the instincts that told him that the man in front of him was honestly afraid for the lives of his wife and daughter. Besides, if someone else knew that Haydence Todd was still alive, neither mother nor daughter would be safe. Nor the secrets of the Realm.

"Beth." Harry called the newest member of the team over. "I want you to call Ruth. See if she can contact Hannah North. I know they've been talking a lot these last few days. If she gets no response, liaison with the rest of the team. I want you to find the whereabouts of Hannah and Cathy North immediately. This takes highest priority." He looked to Lucas. "What's the name of the man you believe has them?"

"Vaughn Edwards."

He turned back to Beth. "Find out where he is as well. If he does have Hannah and Cathy, he may lead us to them."

Beth nodded, "Understood," and left.

"Thank you, Harry."

"I've done all I can for them at this moment. Now, I need you to sit down and answer my questions."

Lucas nodded and complied. He knew he had no choice. At least now he knew that they were searching for his girls.

Harry produced a picture and placed it in front of Lucas.

"One Lucas North in Dakar I can accept. Two is stretching credibility."

Lucas recognized the man in the picture and sighed.

"Who is he, Lucas?"

Lucas pushed the picture away with his left hand.

"Listen, Harry, I know this looks suspicious."

"Somewhat."

Lucas sighed. Harry sat down in front of him.

"Let me be clear. The Dakar bombing happened on my watch. Seventeen people were killed and for fifteen years they've gone without justice. So you do not leave this room until you explain your full extent of your involvement in that atrocity. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Lucas's voice was calm. He rotated the picture around so that it faced Harry.

"This man is John Bateman. And, I am Lucas North."

Harry shook his head. "That's not what the evidence says." Harry produced the information Beth had found plus the contents of the bag Ruth gave him. The bag Vaughn had shown to Hayd in the beginning.

"This 'evidence'," Lucas said it with disdain, "has been doctored."

"By whom?"

"By the man who has my family."

"Fifteen years ago you went to Dakar."

"I did. I had already made it through the first round of vetting for Five. All that was left was the face to face. It was a big decision, and I went to Dakar to find myself. I didn't want to be just another green rookie on the grid."

"I thought that India was usually the place for that."

Lucas halfway smiled. "Not if you're a rally enthusiast. Anyway, in the evenings, I'd work at the bar in a casino. I'd watch people. Try to find out what made them tick. Some I'd follow. Find out if my instincts were good. I noticed two men there. John Bateman and Vaughn Edwards. Bateman worked there at the tables, but Vaughn was a high stakes player."

Harry leaned over the table. He had to get the truth out of Lucas. He had to use all his skills to read the man if front of him and decide if he was telling the truth. "And?"

"Over the weeks I observed them. I found that Vaughn was a mercenary – the lowest of the low. Vaughn worked his way into Bateman's acquaintance by leaving him large tips. After a while, they'd meet when John finished work. They'd often stay up the rest of the night drinking. I never liked the look of Vaughn from the beginning so I wanted to get in closer and find out what I could about him. To do that I befriended John."

Lucas sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I was trying to play spy all on my own. It was exciting; and after a taste, I got sucked into it. Guess I've never been the same since. Then of course there was a girl."

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "There usually is."

"Maya Lahan. She was John's girlfriend. She'd tagged along thinking it was just going to be a summer break before finishing University. Maya, John, and I became inseparable. Although she was his girlfriend," Lucas paused, "we felt a connection. On nights when John was drinking with Vaughn, we met in secret. Our affair was short lived though because she still loved John. But even that didn't change the fact that Maya was afraid of what John would do if he found out about us. So we ended it, and I put my focus back to watching Vaughn."

"I knew that he associated with some very dodgy people. I tried to warn John, but he wouldn't listen. He was so caught up in Vaughn's money and charm that he refused to see what was in front of him. Then the Embassy bombing happened. I suspected Vaughn's involvement but there was no way to prove it. I was going to go to the police with what I knew when Maya went missing. John and I split up so that we could cover more ground. When I found her, she was unconscious in an alley. She had been beaten, raped, and left for dead."

Lucas's voice trembled from the memory of it. "Watching Maya lying broken in hospital was hard. Seeing all the victims from the bombing there as well was too much for me. So, when she woke up, I swore to Maya that I'd find who hurt her and get her justice. I swore to myself that I'd find the bombers and make them pay too."

"Just as I had my suspicions about the bombing, I knew that somehow John had found out about my relationship with Maya. For all his feigned worry and concern, he had taken out his anger and his rage on the woman he should have protected. Then he used my feelings for her to delay me from going to the police. When I found John again, he had changed. Something was different in him. I told him about Maya but all he was concerned about was borrowing my passport. He said Vaughn had left him high and dry and that he had to get out of the country. I refused, and we fought."

Lucas hung his head for a moment before looking Harry squarely in the eyes. "I had been in fights before, but nothing so intense – so brutal. I knew that if I didn't win that John would kill me. He hated me for being with Maya. He needed my passport to gain his freedom. So when I finally gained the upper hand, I couldn't stop. This was the man who had almost killed a defenseless woman. This was one of the men responsible for the bombing. So, when my arms found their way around his neck, I didn't stop till all the life was out of him. I'd been told you never forget the first man you kill. And, I don't. I think about him every day. I know I had to do it, but I still took a life. That's why I hate the name 'John'. I also never went back to tell Maya. I've lived with that guilt all these years as well. All she knew was that the two men she thought loved her had both abandoned her."

"Afterwards, I realized that in the eyes of the authorities I had committed murder. I had no proof about John's involvement with Maya's attack or the embassy bombing. I knew that if I was found out that my life would be over. I'd loose my chance to work for Five, my freedom, and possibly my life. So, I disposed of John's body and took the next boat back to England. I'm not proud of what I did, but I did nothing to constitute any sort of betrayal to this country or the people I serve. I know you may not believe me. All I can ask is that you go through the 'evidence' completely before passing judgment on me."

Harry sighed. He wanted to believe Lucas. But he couldn't let his personal feelings cloud him. He had solid evidence that Lucas North was lying to him. He had to make this decision rationally.

Then Beth called him. Harry stood up from the table and walked away distancing himself from Lucas.

"What do you mean you can't find Ruth?"

"She told Tariq that she had to see a man from the council. She hasn't been in contact since. That was hours ago."

"What about Hannah?"

"She's not answering her mobile. But we were able to track the phone to a room in the Renaissance Hotel."

"And?"

"It was secured underneath the sink."

"Why there?"

"I don't know. But a porter was killed in Hannah's room yesterday when she was still supposed to be in it. The hotel cameras were down so there's no telling what actually happened."

"My God." He didn't know the validity of everything Lucas had told him but his fears about Haydence and Cathy appeared to be justified. "Find Ruth and keep searching for the Norths. I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Lucas had stood up when he heard Harry say 'My God'. "Please, Harry. Tell me what's going on."

"It looks like Hannah and Cathy may have been taken from their hotel room at the Renaissance yesterday by force. But where they are right now, I don't know."

"You have to let me search for them. I know people who can help find Vaughn, but they won't talk to you."

Harry handed Lucas his gun. "I know what you'll want to do with him when you find him, but remember that Vaughn may be the only way to prove your innocence. You need to bring him back alive."

"I can't promise, Harry."

"I wouldn't want you to."