Arriving any later than seven, and any hope of finding a space in the underground car park at Thames house was virtually impossible. Which was why Malcolm was always one of the first to arrive. Harry's designated space, still glaringly empty, always took him by surprise, despite him being one of the few people who knew where Harry was and why. A sharp reminder of what had transpired the previous evening and that he had another busy day ahead of him.
The walk to the safe house, something that had almost become a daily occurrence, he'd been enjoying. The fresh air and the prospect of working somewhere where there was natural light, despite the obvious tension, was far more appealing than working on the grid. Added to which, for the majority of his visits, it had been just Harry and Ruth that he'd been able to spend his time with. A shared intimacy, that had deepened his friendship with them both.
Today though, when he was varying the route as he always did, he found himself in a narrow alleyway, with the uncomfortable feeling that he was being followed. Don't alter your pace, don't look back and whatever you do, don't lose your nerve, were all combining to make his heart rate increase and his hands sweat. Until the path finally widened out and he stepped into a tree lined road of up market residences. Ducking behind a wall, not for the first time, it registered that in the face of danger, he didn't cope well. If he was wrong and he'd imagined the footsteps, then there wouldn't be a problem. But to be on the safe side, and knowing what was at stake, he decided to take his pursuer, on the proverbial wild goose chase. Better still, he should try and lose them altogether. Easier said than done, if the footsteps behind him belonged to the person who was pretending to be Lucas. Hailing an approaching taxi and without looking behind him, he realised that his hands had started to shake uncontrollably. Something that he was still struggling to control when Ruth opened the door to greet him. Looking far less worried than when he'd last seen her, but if anything, slightly more exasperated.
'How's Harry this morning?' he asked her, following her into the kitchen where breakfast was always on offer and hopefully, for him at least, a much needed strong cup of tea.
Harry was certainly looking better. In fact, if the expression on his face was anything to go by, the previous evening had been a figment of his imagination. Which was fine, until Harry announced that he was planning to go to into Thames House, where he could be of some use, rather than sit around all day, watching while he and Ruth worked their way through endless reams of data. Not only was this definitely not part of the deal, but he very much doubted that Ros would agree to Harry leaving the safe house, despite his protestations that he needed to do something. More crucially, did Harry really believe that he'd be adequate protection for Ruth, was something that was backed up with a resounding no from Ros. Only audible, because Harry was now holding the phone away from his ear and had sat back down.
What Harry didn't know, although judging by the um's and ah's, was being told, was that with one more day before Lucas was due to arrive on the grid, Ros had called in a few favours. The powers that be, without asking for an explanation, had agreed that Dimitri who'd been waiting in the wings, could join the section early. Adding to the number of field agents and allowing Jo the freedom to spend more time at the safe house. All of which didn't take long to convey, as with a collection of yes's and maybe's,' Harry finally put the phone down and proceeded to undo his tie and take his jacket off. Reducing him to being just Harry again, thank the lord and not the Section Head that was setting himself up as a target. Presumably having agreed, that at least until tomorrow, he'd let the situation play out, rather than go on a one-man crusade in pursuit of the truth.
.
'I know that it's none of my business, but Harry wanting to go back to work, doesn't seem very sensible to me,' Malcolm told Ruth, once they were on their own and in a voice that he hoped conveyed that he was genuinely worried. Watching as her face changed, to suggest that when she and Harry were on their own, that they didn't talk about work and that maybe Harry's decision had surprised her as much as it had him. By which time Harry had wandered out into the garden and left them to get on with it.
'I don't know if he's spoken to you about Connie? But her betrayal has hit him hard. Far harder than he's admitting, even to himself,' was said as the screens in front of them, merrily collated information, from the multiples of systems that they were currently hacking into. 'Harry and Connie were in Russia together, with an officer called Hugo Prince. A quiet man, with an integrity that was equal to Harry's,' he told her, at the same time, pressing more buttons that brought the archives of the Foreign Office onto the screens. 'Hugo and Harry came back from Russia the same, Connie didn't. The Russians had somehow managed to turn her. I don't know the full extent of what happened, but these panic attacks that Harry's been having, if that's what they are, might be because he's beginning to doubt his own judgement. Which I can understand, and is the reason that I had a brief word with Ros last evening.'
'Why?' came out with a defensiveness that he hadn't witnessed before. Which was good. It took this relationship beyond the bedroom. Something that Harry had promised him.
'Because unlike Harry and me, she didn't know Lucas before he went to Russia. She can look at this objectively and without emotion, which is something that I'm also struggling to deal with. The last thing that I'm trying to do is to undermine Harry's position, but I'm worried that in his current frame of mind, he might overlook something. Talk to him Ruth, he'll listen to you. I know that now.'
She was prevented from questioning now, by Harry walking back into the room.
.
The introductions had been made and Jo, Dimitri and Tariq were sitting in the meeting room and waiting for Ros to arrive. Her bark of 'meeting room now,' had been interrupted by the call from Harry, who she was now positive, would stick to what they'd agreed and delay his return until the morning. Like Malcolm, she hated this situation and the fact that Harry wasn't sitting behind his desk, but they couldn't deviate from what they'd agreed. That tomorrow when he walked back onto the grid, there would be no welcome back gestures or any indication that he'd been away.
'Until Malcolm and Ruth identify our impostor, most of what I'm about to tell you is based on calculated guesswork and a lot of hard work,' she told them for Dimitri's benefit, as Tariq brought up the footage of the Embassy bombing. 'We do have proof that both Vaughan Edwards and Lucas North were there, but what we don't know and need to find out, is who actually planted the bomb. Our suspicion is based on what Ruth overheard when she was working at GCHQ and a lot of research since she's been back. It all points to Vaughan being the instigator, but not the person that delivered the bomb or pressed the button. Now that Vaughan's dead and the real Lucas North seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth, we're understandably short on witnesses. This atrocity, is just one of many that have been hanging over Harry for years and if for no other reason than he deserves our full support, I'm determined that we bring this particular matter to a successful conclusion. Which also includes keeping both Harry and Ruth safe, no matter what we have to do to achieve it. Any questions so far?'
Dimitri was tempted to suggest coffee, but one look at Jo, was enough to make him realise that he's survival depended on him keeping quiet, as Ros continued.
'Let's for arguments sake imagine that our returning officer's name is Rob. He must be treated with the same courtesy that anyone else who has survived eight years in a Russian interrogation unit. We need to make him feel comfortable, however much that goes against the grain, but at the same time, we give nothing away. Deviate away from your individual roles and he could disappear for ever, or worse still create untold chaos.'
Sending Jo to the safe house to ensure that Ruth was kept safe, she'd do with a clear head and without any emotional ties. Pairing Dimitri as a new recruit with Lucas, was standard procedure and what Harry would have done under normal circumstances. Harry in his office would resume the daily briefings, all of which would be designed to keep Lucas occupied, but with just enough leeway to allow him freedom of movement. Malcolm would be back at his desk and she'd be free to fill on the gaps, whatever and wherever she was needed. All at the same time as she'd be overseeing the operation.
Easy? But whenever had things been easy since she'd joined the section, the little voice that was tapping away in her head kept telling her.
.
Did he deserve to be forgiven, probably not? Except that he'd been so careful over the years and in his eyes, had more than made amends for what he'd done. And then Vaughan had appeared like an avenging angel and had blown his world apart. Idle threats at first, or that's what he'd thought, until he'd told Maya. Maya who he'd never forgotten. His one chance to turn the clock back and to rebuild his sorry life. He'd been so sure than he could have talked her round, lies though they would have been.
But not Harry. Not now. Harry would see him for what he really was. A murderer of one of their own. There would be no forgiveness from Harry. Which two weeks on, when he was expected to return to the grid, had left him with no alternative. It was here that it would play out. In this deserted cottage that was miles from anywhere.
He held all the cards, after what he acknowledged had been a huge stroke of luck. Breaking into Harry's house and finding the unopened letter that Vaughan had sent him. That and a message from Catherine, to say that she'd be back from Israel at the weekend and was looking forward to seeing him. Well she'd certainly be doing that. Security what security, he was streets ahead of all of them. Then Malcolm, an innocent in all this. How easy it had been to attach a pin tracker to his trusty old backpack and find out where Harry was staying. Having Malcolm followed to spook him, had cost him a bob or two, but it had done its job. It had kept Harry where he was until the morning.
Then the icing on the cake, a woman. A lover? A wife? Probably the former knowing Harry. Either way, she was the other half of his bargaining tool. The choice that Harry would have to make would only go one way. He'd rather die, than see someone that he cared about hurt. The get out of jail free card, that would guarantee he'd be able to make a new life for himself, on the other side of the world.