A New Adventure
As promised this update was ready in a timely manner. Can't say that all of the questions were answered that I had hoped but maybe you can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The question is whether it's a train. My gratitude regarding your wonderful reviews knows no bounds. Your reviews not only challenge me to write but they also help me re-evaluate the direction that each chapter takes. Hopefully this is a very good thing.
When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
John F. Kennedy
Harry's head ached but from experience he realized that this only served to remind him he was alive. Lifting himself off the hard concrete he steadied himself against the railing. Next to him Dimitri stood and began coughing.
"How did you know?"
"A trick from the old days. There was a special pin in his army medal. Before we'd use that to signal someone there was danger."
"Bloody glad you were here, I'd have been done in."
"We'd better get back in case they're not finished trying."
Harry was about to leave when he glanced across to the next tower block and saw a flash. Casually leaning on the rail he looked around always keeping that area within his visual field. After watching for a time he recognized a pattern. Before he could move to leave Dimitri turned to him and in a low tone said, "I can go and check it out."
"No, we both go. Someone out there has information we need."
They made their way back down the stairs and across the green. Approaching the spot where Harry was sure he had seen the reflection earlier he was not quite surprised to find nothing. Dimitri tried the nearby doors but all were secured. Harry studied his surroundings. The floor near the wall was littered with an assortment of rubbish but tucked beneath a piece of paper he spied an earbud. Picking it up he placed it in his ear.
"Mr. Pearce, don't acknowledge me."
Silence followed as Harry tried to gauge the elements of the speaker's voice. Young, maybe late twenties, educated but something rough in the voice. Perhaps someone who had pulled themselves up by their bootstraps.
"Your colleague Beth came to see me. I gave her some information but she didn't make it back to you. You already know that there are those who want you dead. Greene is pulling the strings but what's important is who is pulling his… the CIA. (Harry could feel the thud as this shoe dropped) I represent a group of individuals who use their skills to watch the actions of government. Before she was kidnapped Ruth Evershed sought out my group to infiltrate Greene's information network. What she set in motion she didn't realize. We found the information and are prepared to bring Greene's dealings to light. Miss Evershed wasn't aware of the CIA connection and once we release the information she will most likely be killed. Before this happens I decided to give you the chance to find her. Because of the threat Greene poses we have decided to release the information…
Harry could feel his face tightening as he realized the position he was in. It was essential that Greene be stopped at any cost. However, the cost presented to him was Ruth's life. Surely there must be another way.
The voice continued," however, we will give you twenty-four hours to find her. After that the information will be distributed through a variety of sources on the web. Although we haven't been able to locate her through electronic means we have found a list of shell companies one of Greene's associates has been using to purchase properties in London. I have posted the list to a site you can locate by searching for the following series of numbers."
Harry commited the list to memory and then prayed that they weren't too late. Not realizing what had happened Dimitri called out in surprise as Harry began to walk away, "Oi, Harry, where are you going?"
"To find Ruth"
Back in the car Harry directed the driver to take them to a neighborhood pub. After glancing around to ensure that it was full of patrons and that there was quite a din of loud pop music in the background he made his way to a back table. Bewildered Dimitri followed his boss waiting for a proper explanation.
Turning slightly towards Dimitri's ear Harry relayed the message from the unknown informant. Dimitri's eyes widened in surprise and some disbelief. "Do you believe them?"
"I have no choice."
"But what if this is Greene's men and they are playing us."
"That's a chance we have to take."
"So what's the plan?"
"You have to ditch any tails and find that list of Greene's other holdings here in London. Once you do look into which ones may be where they're holding Ruth. Then you get that information to Tariq so he can check into them. I have to go back to the grid and find a way that he can work without being detected."
"What if we can't find Ruth in time?"
"That is not an option." Harry said this with an assurance that he did not feel.
"What about tracking down this group to stop them from releasing the dirt on Greene?"
"No… we stop Greene… at any cost."
Slowly Dimitri nodded. As he looked at Harry he could see the anguish the man was trying to hide in his steely expression. No matter what else could be hidden, Harry's feelings for Ruth couldn't be denied.
Life rushed past Thames House unaware of the activity within this gray edifice. In fact most who passed this spot had little awareness that their lives were daily affected by the actions inside. Like most of the wheels of government they turned silently outside of the awareness of the regular commuter.
"Tariq, my office NOW!"
Tariq looked up abruptly from his screen. Usually it was one of the field operatives who were called into Harry's office. There was a reason that he was a desk spook. It was to avoid situations like this.
"Need something Harry?" Tariq rushed in through the door stopped just shy of the desk.
"Yes, this report is so far substandard that I won't even dignify your suppositions with a reply."
"What!"
"Your report, do the words barely scratching the surface give a hint. Take this back and when you have something worth my time then return with it."
Dazed and utterly shocked Tariq took the paper without even giving it a glance. He turned to leave Harry's office and as he did Harry threw after him," Oh and I will need that today."
Tariq crossed the distance from the office to his station in record time. He crumped into his chair and finally looked down at the papers he held in a vice grip. He first noticed that they were out of order. Strange because they still had a staple in the corner. Flipping through the pages he saw the small penciled ticks above the letters. Just a slight rub here and there which would never be visible from a distance, or on CCTV. Reading through them he was able to piece the message in his mind.
All bugged,wait for Dimitri's info,find Ruth
His first instinct was to look up and grin but just in time he caught himself and turned up a disjointed look. He would play the game just like the rest. It was an hour before he received the encrypted email from Dimitri. In that time he had carefully set up a series of traps in the system to intercept and redirect electronic monitoring on the grid systems while he had looped the CCTV over an hour's time. It was difficult to fill that time with almost nothing to prevent anyone watching the looped video from recognizing a pattern but he figured that he had done it. The worst thing was that he had needed to go to the loo for the last thirty minutes. Well that would have to wait.
Quickly he opened the email and decrypted the file. He cross referenced the list of properties. From Harry's message it was obvious these were potential sites for holding Ruth. He brought them up on a map of the city and most were in rather dodgy locales. It took some time but after using pattern recognition on nearby traffic cams and CCTV footage with face recognition he had a match. He had found the car that had picked up Ruth outside the hall going into a car park not two blocks from one of the sites. From there he tracked the men who had brought her inside. Studying the schematics of the building on file was no help as the building had clearly been extensively renovated. Although it should have three distinct entrances the pictures in front of him showed only one entrance with a surveillance camera near it and several discrete lighting sources. There would be no approaching the building unnoticed. The only chance would be to get CO19 in quickly enough to save Ruth. Well they would need every advantage. Tariq retasked one of the geosynchronous satellites onto his target and started with thermal imaging. Quite out of character this "antiquated" building had a uniform warm red signature. Perhaps not surprising on a general sweep of the city but to anyone paying attention this clearly spoke subterfuge. He knew he had to find another way to look into this building. Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have covered for TEFI(Translated Electromagnetic Field Imaging). Resetting his targeting parameters he filtered for the electromagnetic radiation give off by the buildings wiring. By using the other satellites at various angles to the building he would not only be able to identify internal structures but unlike thermal would be able to separate out the activities on differing floors. He wondered as he sifted through the data whether anyone had listened to his report on this from two months back. That was the difference between outside and on the grid. There when you came up with something like this you received accolades. Here it meant you kept going but with the satisfaction that what you did saved lives and made a difference.
Satisfied that he had figured out what was what in the building the last action was to encrypt the reply to the disposable account Dimitri had used. He would have no way of knowing if it got through.
After releasing the CCTV cameras to live feed he stood up and had one last thing before nature called. Taking his papers back to Harry's office he firmly wrapped on the door before sliding it open. He walked in demonstrating more confidence than he felt. Slapping the papers before Harry he said, "Don't know what your problem is. This report is top notch."
Harry didn't look up but said," It doesn't show anywhere near your level of abilities."
"Perhaps you just need to give it a closer look. I think it does have the answer."
With that Harry did look up and when he locked eyes with Tariq he knew that there was reason to hope. "Well, I will take it under review."
Striding out of Harry's office Tariq knew why he did what he did. It was for moments like this.
Dimitri had stayed as long as he dared at the computer shop browsing the displays. He had already had to fend off two particularly irritating salesmen who seemed intent that he just couldn't pass up this deal. Nothing but the desire for anonymous internet access would have compelled him to stay in a store like this for this much time. Just when he was considering the best exit strategy a new message appeared in his inbox. Opening it he scanned down the contents. Then he opened the attached address and in a new window a live shot of the TEFI views of the building came into view. Lifting a new pay as you go mobile he placed two calls. Then he quickly made his way out of the building and hailed a black cab.
Lucas knew he had precious little time to move once he received Dimitri's message. He quickly pulled out the sim card from his phone and exchanged it for a clean one. He dropped the old one in a waiting receptacle and moved towards his car.
Harry had received the call from CO-19. He knew they were moving at Dimitri's call and he wanted to be there. Not waiting for his driver he moved to one of the MoD cars and was quickly en route to the address he had received from Tariq. His heart raced as he realized all of the things that could go wrong. Usually in such circumstances he would depend on Ruth for a reminder that no matter how dire things might appear that they must press on. Oh, how he needed those reassurances from her now.
CO-19 had taken positions when Harry drove up and parked a few blocks away. He knew that with so many groups working against them that those inside must have been warned about their impending raid. Only expediency would allow for anyone to be captured and prevent the forfeiture of Ruth's life. He heard the muffled blasts as the locks were blown before the team muscled their way into the building. From that moment everything seemed to go very slowly. Harry approached the building and entered the dimly lit corridor. The acrid smoke from the explosion still hung in the air. Moving through he walked deeper into the building and took the first turn to his left which led down a flight of stairs. He could see the lights of the response team ahead. At the bottom it opened into a waiting area with chairs surrounding a table. Discarded plates with food still sat waiting to be eaten. Next to the places several bodies were strewn on the floor with eyes peering into the great beyond. Looking around Harry spotted a door in the corner where a black clad figure had just passed through. Hearing a shot within he followed and inside witnessed a scene that made his heart still. In the cold, brightly lit room against a far corner near the now deceased Skala was a crumpled form which he recognized. Rushing across the room he knelt down next to the bruised and naked figure. Thrusting his hand to her pulse point he eagerly felt for something, anything. When he could find nothing he laid down against her and sobbed.
A/N: Yes, even after that I am going to ask for a review. I am sure that you are well motivated to let me know what you would like to see in the next chapter. Just remember it is always darkest before the dawn.
