Having watched Harry's eyes veering between Ruth and the ring on his finger, Ros's priority was to get her out of the house as quickly as possible. That and to get her back again in one piece.

'Have you any idea how helpless this makes me feel?' Had been seared on Harry's face since she'd arrived and more so since Ruth had come down the stairs a few moments earlier. Knowing that she'd look confident enough to the untrained eye, but that Lucas wasn't an untrained eye. He was a killer who knew how to read people. More than that, he knew how to work the system, which meant that there was a fair chance that he'd know who Ruth was. Not that he could possibly hurt her in any way. Not when Ros would be sitting at the same table and with Jo and Tariq somewhere in the background. It was just the feeling of being sidelined that was getting to him, and now that it was actually happening, that he wasn't as convinced as he had been, that Lucas wasn't in some way involved.

'She'll be fine,' Malcolm told him, when Harry's expression changed to one of resignation. Connie's betrayal was barely a few weeks ago and now this. The prospect that Lucas, who Harry had invested so much time in, being on a similar slippery slope, couldn't be easy. Whatever the outcome though, this was going to be a long three hours, which if he couldn't side track Harry, or god forbid in his present mood, he insisted that he needed to keep an eye on what was happening and went out after them, then whether Harry was off the drink or not, he was going to open a bottle and pour a glass for himself.

.

'The Golden Circle in West Street,' Ros told the taxi driver. One of the services regular cabbies, who could be trusted to keep eyes on the road and his mouth shut. Being paid extra for doing so on a regular basis, he did as he was told and paid no attention to who was climbing into the cab beside her. All he knew was that this was work and that there would be plenty more of it. A godsend, at a time when the government were encouraging people to cycle everywhere.

Ruth sitting alongside Ros, hadn't imagined that they'd be going as far as Greenwich, but then it made sense for Ros to have chosen a destination that was well away from Thames House. Having been back in London for what amounted to ten days in total, this was the first time since Harry had whisked her away from Malcolm's, that she'd been out of the house. More than that though, it was the first time in nearly four years since she'd seen any of the London landmarks. When she'd lived here in a former life and during her brief time at Thames House, she'd tended to use the bus or the tube as a means of transport. An analyst's salary hadn't and still didn't, run to affording cabs.

But now and for however long it took them to get to their destination, she needed something to distract her. Not difficult, especially after the last few days and more especially the nights. Despite him trying not to show it, Harry really hadn't wanted her to be doing this. Something that he hadn't admitted until she'd been getting ready, so hadn't given them enough time to talk it through, or for her to convince him that she wasn't worried. Which of course she was.

He hadn't actually used any words of endearment, they hadn't got to that stage yet, but it had been obvious in the way that he'd said her name, almost in a whisper. Backed up by the way that he'd held her close to him before he'd kissed her. His silence, implying that he thought he'd never see her again. Which as frightening as that was, wasn't going to happen was it? Now backed up by an adrenaline rush, because she was actually on the way.

Prior to leaving, she'd spent a good deal of the day reading, re reading and memorising everything there was to know about Lucas North. His early childhood had sounded idyllic. The son of a vicar and with a mother who was a primary school teacher, he'd spent his formative years in a quiet village in Hampshire. Privately educated in a nearby public school, he'd then gone onto Kings where he'd studied world politics. Until ticking all the boxes, he'd sailed through the interview to achieve his ambition to get into MI5. That wasn't enough though, so she'd reverted to the skills that she'd learnt at GCHQ and had dug deep. Deep into files that were classified and in Lucas's case, extremely personal. Information which had been recorded at the time when Harry was about to be appointed as Section Head. Details that only those who had interviewed Lucas would have knowledge of. His early relationships, the people that he'd mixed with. Added to most recently, were the explicit details of his medical, which despite his incarceration, he'd passed with flying colours.

His passion for learning according to a reference from his mentor and his single mindedness that he'd wanted to join the service, were all there in black and white. All of which begged the question that she was being asked to uncover. What secret did he have, if any, that was making him behave in a way that was so out of character with the man that she'd read about?

Knowledge was power. Power that she'd never been afforded before, but in this case was vital and she had more than enough to enable her to cope. Now as it happened because they'd arrived. Playing a ditsy nervous wreck, she could manage. Remembering her first day on the grid. When she'd spilt the files across the desk and then smashed a desk lamp, she'd been rehearsing with Harry. The only time during the entire day when they'd actually laughed.

'

'It's so lovely to meet you,' she told Lucas. After successfully catching the strap of her bag on the chair at the adjacent table. Ros now having disappeared in the direction of the bar to order some drinks, had introduced her as a friend from her days at Uni who was looking for a new job. One that was more inspiring than what she currently had.

Sticking to the scrip and implying that she'd known Ros for years, 'I know what she does, well not precisely of course,' she told him, scrabbling in her bag for Ros's card. A card that suggested Ros worked for an international security company. 'I was wondering if there might be some sort of opening for me?' she added, as Lucas continued to stare at her. Hopefully trying to imagine her as some sort of gun wielding agent, but without the heart to put her off. Something that she confirmed right on cue, as she lent forward and knocked over a glass of water. Creating not only chaos, but the impression that she was completely overawed by meeting him, and had been comparing him to Daniel Craig.

Mopping up the water and letting Lucas off the hook was the next objective. Successfully achieved, as she declared in a voice that was close to her own, 'I'm an academic. I specialise in linguistics.'

'What do you do at the moment?' Was the first thing that Lucas had said and if he hadn't quite relaxed, it did look as though he was finally breathing.

'I teach French and Spanish to students who are aspiring to great things. Far greater than I will ever achieve unfortunately,' she told him. 'It was fine until recently, when I moved from Cambridge to London. You know how it is, you end up in a place that you don't know, with a new boss, who in my case I don't like. Someone who seems intent on pulling the rug from under my feet,' didn't bring a response. Not that she was looking for one, or wanted to get one, because she was on the home run. 'I'm sorry I know that I've been rambling, but it's what I do when I meet new people,' she told him, rounding it off, by telling him that her mum thought she ought to get out more.

A performance that had he been able to see it, Harry would have been proud of, or seen the look of relief on Lucas's face, as she finally appeared to have run out of steam.

At which point, Ros came to the rescue, by arriving back at the table with the menus and saying that they needed to order at the bar. Where Tariq was continuing to pull pints, and Jo was chatting to customers who were waiting to place their orders.

'Where the bloody hell did you dig her up?' Lucas asked Ros, when Ruth disappeared in the direction of the ladies half way through the first course. Only to be told what Ruth had already told him, that they'd met at Cambridge. When Ruth had got in touch, she'd agreed to meet her out of curiosity and to see if she'd changed. Which she hadn't. The reason that she'd suggested a night out, was because she felt sorry for her. That and guilt about the way that she and her friends had treated her at Uni. In a word, Ruth had been useful. Always prepared to stay at the digs and clear up, while the rest of them had gone out and enjoyed themselves. Which wasn't a million miles from the truth, except that Ros didn't know that Ruth had always been content with her books and her own company and it was pretty much how she'd spent her time at Uni. Now though, it was sufficient to know that they'd achieved their objective and Ruth's ability to analyse while appearing to ramble, had worked. The key being that she'd gone to the ladies, after saying that she had a bit of a headache and needed to take one of her pills.

Time to wind up the evening and deliver her back to Harry for the verdict, came right on cue, as Ruth re-emerged. Announcing that she didn't feel very well and she was sorry to ruin such a lovely evening, but she thought she ought to go home.

.

The door was opened so quickly, that Ros suspected that Harry had been standing at the window from the moment that she and Ruth had gone out. She left them to it, whatever it was going to be, and headed off to where Malcolm was clearing away the remains of a take away. Before the revelation that was going to see Harry hit the roof. That and Malcolm's expression when they'd walked in, having been sufficient to suggest that the evening had been anything but relaxing.

If she let them spend a few moments together, an hour would have been better, Malcolm was suggesting, then maybe, just maybe, Harry wouldn't start throwing things, when Ruth told him what she'd concluded within moments of sitting down opposite Lucas.

The last thing that they needed, was for Harry to take this personally and say that he'd deal with it, which had it been her, was exactly what she'd want to do. They needed a joint strategy, one that would see this through to its conclusion and with all the questions answered. Not only the one that started with, who the hell was the person that she and Ruth had spent the evening with, because if what Ruth said was true and she had no reason to doubt it, it certainly hadn't been Lucas North?

Which had made it all the more remarkable in her eyes, that Ruth had stuck to the script and taken the evening through to its planned conclusion.