Tuesday – 3 Days until the Game
"I still don't get why anybody would want to let Ros loose with a hockey stick?"
Adam laughed loudly.
"Neither do I mate, but I'd just be thankful it wasn't unisex. You'd have been in for it."
Zaf pulled a face.
"Dear Lord, may I be eternally grateful."
-x-
Ros crossed her arms tightly across her chest and let out a frustrated sigh. She'd been sitting on a bench overlooking an abandoned warehouse for the best part of forty five minutes and the entertainment was starting to wear thin.
"I thought you'd fancy a coffee." Fiona handed over a steaming cup and sat down next to her colleague.
"Any movements?" Fiona gestured towards the warehouse.
"Nothing," Ros replied darkly, taking a tentative sip. "I'd rather just go in and get it over with, but Malcolm's swearing blind it's not safe just yet."
Fiona sighed and stared straight ahead.
"I guess we'll just have to find something to keep our minds occupied until something interesting crops up." A pause. "Adam informs me you're not looking forward to the hockey."
Fiona didn't need to look at Ros to know she was rolling her eyes.
-x-
"Did you manage to put that photo through face recognition?" Sam stood rigid in the doorway, hands clamped tightly into fists in her pockets.
Colin spun round in his chair and handed her a few sheets of paper.
"I got Malcolm on it, he said that there were no dead matches, but quite a few that were significantly similar. There's a chance that the photo Adam gave you had been doctored. The names and addresses are all listed there though so you might want to run them all through the system."
Sam smiled and turned abruptly on her heel in search of Ruth.
-x-
Harry watched Sam hand Ruth some papers and sighed. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts inevitably returned to yesterday's events after he'd accidently told Ruth he loved her. Accidental, definitely, but they both knew that the sentiment behind it was genuine. Under the shock, he had been quite proud of his untimely slip of the tongue, but when Ruth hurriedly piled up her notes and made a feeble excuse about the filing room, he knew that once again, the drinks at the pub had meant nothing and the progress that they had steadily mean making had been completely washed away. God, Ruth confused him more each day.
-x-
"Do you think Malcolm would notice if we left our wires on the bench and just went in to see what all the fuss is about?" Ros pondered casually, squeezing her empty coffee cup.
Fiona shook slightly.
"It's possible, but I don't think that Harry would take too kindly to our brand new equipment being left unattended on a public bench, no matter the threat these people pose."
Ros stood up and stretched her legs before carefully removing her wire from her jacket.
"Fine, you stay here, I'll go in. I'll be ten minutes."
Fiona opened her mouth to argue but as Ros' retreating figure showed no signs of hesitating, Fiona leant back into the bench and hoped to God that nothing went wrong.
-x-
His door opened abruptly. He didn't need to look up to know who it was. He waited patiently for the door to close before speaking.
"What have you found?"
"The photograph Adam found. There's a similar match locally."
Harry's head snapped up.
"How local?"
"Situated about half a mile from the warehouse we've got Ros and Fiona monitoring."
She heard him curse and waited for instruction.
"Shall I get a message out to Ros and Fiona?"
Harry shook his head.
"No, no. Get Adam and Zaf to check out the flat. If we're thinking on the same wavelength then there is no doubt in my mind where he will be. You might want to contact C019."
Ruth nodded.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Ruth?"
"About yesterday, I..."
"It's ok Ruth, really. I spoke out of turn when I shouldn't have." A pause. "Forgive me?"
"It's not that Harry," she mumbled hurriedly. "It's just that..."
"Ruth, seriously. It's ok." Harry protested, placing his palms on his desk and forcing his way out of his chair so they were both standing on opposite sides of his desk.
"Harry, just shut up and listen!" Ruth snapped irritably.
Harry closed his mouth abruptly and let his hands drop to his sides.
"Thank you," she breathed calmly.
"So what was it you were saying?"