'Adam's put Zaf onto it, he's on his way to your house now, he said to tell you to steer well clear,' Malcolm told Harry, who had just climbed into the taxi with Ruth when his phone rang.
They'd had a wonderful evening with the promise of so much more and now this.
'Absolutely not, he's got the address,' was Harry's predictable response, when Malcolm suggested that as Adam wanted to talk to him face to face, would he go to his house once he'd seen Ruth home. If this following him had escalated to someone watching his house, then there was every chance that his relationship with Ruth was no longer on a need to know basis, and he was damned if he was going to leave her on her own to the mercy of god knows who, when he was best placed to protect her.
'Is that wise?' from Malcolm, was followed by, 'no Malcolm, it's absolutely bloody essential,' as Harry's imagination veered away from the following morning, when the first thing that he'd see would be Ruth's head on the pillow next to his, to some dreadful scenario where she would be taken from him, before he'd even had the chance to tell her that he knew he was falling in love with her.
Through all of this Ruth sat listening with very little idea as to what was going on, other than to realise that Harry was staying the night with her and that for some reason Adam was coming to talk to him. As the taxi pulled up outside her house, an encouraging, 'don't worry everything's going to be fine,' and a squeeze of her hand by Harry, meant what?
'Second on the right, and you know where the bathroom and kitchen are,' Ruth told him, telling him that she was going to bed and that she'd see him later. 'My bedroom, it's my bedroom,' she added, when he asked her if she was really sure, but with very little confidence that she'd still be awake by the time he joined her.
'We've had a walk in, a journalist called Jo Portman who claims to have indirectly known Clive,' Adam told Harry, who had reluctantly watched Ruth climb the stairs alone, before making his way to the door to admit an apologetic Adam. 'She says and I know that it sounds unlikely, but another journalist she knows had been working with him.'
'And this warranted you ruining my evening?' and Adam refrained from saying that it had ruined his as well.
'I'm sorry, but when I tell you what else she said, then yes,' he told him, going on to explain that if what Jo had said was true, that Clive had been writing his memoirs and had been given the green light by the powers that be to get them published, exposing heaven knows what about his time in the service, but in view of what had happened, something current. Dressed up to look like suicide, went without question. 'More than that, I reckon that whoever it is who is following you, thinks that you know where they are. By the time that Zaf got to your house it had been searched,' and Harry swore. Scarlet at least was with his neighbour and would be safe, his other possessions, probably not.
'Side tracking me, getting me to take my eye off the ball, that's what Juliet's been doing. She has no intention of taking this blackmail any further. She knows how close I was to Clive and suspects that if he told anyone what he'd found out, then it would have been me. Well he didn't did he and he can hardly do that from beyond the grave? For whatever reason, Juliet wants to get her hands on those documents, but the question still remains why?'
'So what do you suggest?' Adam asked him.
'We throw everything behind finding that manuscript and we expose Juliet before she does any more damage.'
'Such as?' asked Adam, watching the cogs in Harry's head turning over, despite the lateness of the hour and the fact that Ruth was upstairs in bed. He was also showing amazing restraint, considering this was going to be their first time.
'Juliet, if it is her, is capable of anything, which means that Ruth, if she's found out, will be her prime target and I can't let that happen.'
Adam's idea that Zaf move into Ruth's house for however long this took and accompany her too and from work was a sound one, Harry knew that. Zaf was the new boy and nobody would know who he was, but the thought of not seeing Ruth even for a few days was absolutely not what he wanted, never mind knowing that Zaf would be sleeping under her roof.
'Any other bright ideas?' He asked his section chief, the reason for his question obvious.
Ruth heard the front door close, she heard the footfall on the stairs and she heard Harry go to the bathroom. It was surreal, as it was the most tantalising few moments of anticipation that she could ever remember, as she lay there waiting for him. Across the other side of the room, she imagined rather than saw him stripping down, to what she had no idea. He certainly hadn't come prepared to spend the night with her, she was certain about that. As the covers were pulled back, sufficient for a small draft of cool air to drift cross her back, she was sure that he'd be able to sense her accelerated breathing, if not read her mind.
Harry waited until his eyes were accustomed to the darkness of her room. Was she asleep was the first question? If not, would she turn over or speak to him, should he speak first? Why did she have this affect on him, the need to treat her in a way that he'd never done with a woman, not even with Jane? He needed to get this right. Whatever else he did in the future would pale into insignificance compared to this moment. 'Gently old son' he told his now raging libido, as he shuffled across the bed and curled himself around her.
He'd been there less than a couple of minutes, whereas Ruth had been lying there imagining Harry in her bed with his arm slung around her waist and his hands moving to wherever they wanted with her unable and not wanting to stop them, for the best part of half an hour. He was no doubt tired, but come on, she was climbing the wall with the want of him, especially now that he'd wrapped himself around her, with his need for her as apparent as hers was for him. Was he really expecting her to make the first move? Her whimper was involuntary, her turning over to face him wasn't, as kisses that were intended to be gentle, soon reached a crescendo of passion that neither of them could control. The build up was short, the coming together and the sheer joy of their almost joint release even shorter, as ten years of self – denial from Harry and the rejection of the attainable from Ruth, were blown away, as they clung to each other with no thought as to the consequences. When both their heart rates slowed and finally got back to what approximated normal, Ruth emitted a sigh at her own sheer stupidity that had held her back for so long, which Harry being Harry, took to mean that he needed to apologise that it had been over far too quickly. Persuaded hadn't come into it, this was what they both wanted and they both knew it without a doubt, but explaining that to each other, meant a discussion that involved more than a wow, or was that as good for you as it was for me?
As a consequence, it was way past midnight before they finally fell asleep and in both their cases overslept.
It was only when 'shit I'm going to be late,' from Ruth as she reluctantly leapt out of bed, at which point Harry saw a completely naked Ruth in broad daylight for the first time and struggled to contain a smile, only to be told that she was sorry but she really did have to be at work on time because she needed to prepare for the interviews, that he remembered what Adam had said about Zaf moving in, but having another idea. Catherine was abroad, Graham was almost untraceable, even to him, it was Ruth that was most at risk and he was buggered if anyone other than him was going to look after her, not now.
Breakfast such as it was, amounted to a slice of toast and tea which Harry prepared for Ruth while she was in the shower, followed by a taxi into work that he called. With a promise that he'd call her later, followed by a hug and a kiss before she'd run down the path and Harry was left to his own devices and to contemplate. The first thing that needed to be sorted out was the total lack of security in Ruth's house. Ruth already knew Malcolm so that shouldn't be a problem and would ease the explanation. She also knew that Juliet had been threatening him and Ruth was bright enough to know that by association, that now included her. He knew that he couldn't and wouldn't be able to go into specifics and that Ruth would respect that, which gave him pause for thought. Things had changed, Adam was right, they did have more resources and were able to protect people outside of the service, far better than they once had. Wes was testament to that.
'We need to make this look convincing,' Adam told Zaf, when in fact he was trying to appease Harry, having seen Harry's expression change to one close to disbelief, when he told Zaf that he was going to pose as Ruth's returning one-time lover, which meant that anyone watching, would need to see them rekindling their relationship. 'It's simple,' he continued as Harry clutched at straws that didn't exist, in what was in all honesty the perfect solution to their current problem. Zaf was young with an element of mischief in his eyes, which had twinkled rather too brightly when Adam had handed him Ruth's photograph.
'This is where she works, I want you to get yourself over there now and explain this to her without frightening her,' Adam continued, while at the same time Malcolm was arming himself with his bag of tricks to up Ruth's security, suggesting to Harry that he should ring Ruth in advance of Zaf arriving and explain to her what was going on.
'Far better she hears it from you first. In my opinion,' he added, and Harry didn't need prompting.
'It's me,' didn't require and explanation either, as at the other end of the phone Ruth smiled. She'd smiled all the time that she'd been in the taxi, she'd smiled at the people as she'd walked across the bridge and she'd smiled at Susie who was already sitting at her desk when she'd arrived. Concentrating on anything other than what had happened the previous night had been beyond her, and even more so now that she could hear his voice. Nothing would ever be the same again she was sure about that, as she pictured Harry either sitting behind his desk or striding along a corridor to one of his meetings, with who she didn't care. I love you, was implied if not voiced as the silence across the void continued.
'Are you alright?' he eventually asked her.
'Absolutely fine, what about you?' and they were in danger of drifting into a conversation that was so much easier to be had at the end of a phone than the one they'd shared in bed, but had nothing to do with him telling her that she was about to get a visitor who was one of his staff.
'What aren't you telling me Harry?' and he was forced to explain that for the foreseeable future, that she and Zaf who was about to arrive, had to pretend to be in a relationship and that he'd accompany her to and from work as though they were living together.
'This is about Juliet Shaw isn't it?' and Harry was back in the reality minefield that he so wanted to avoid. Ruth was an innocent in this mess and for his sins she'd been dragged in as well.
'Indirectly yes, but you're not to worry,' was interrupted by Susie arriving with her coffee and telling her that Zaf was outside.
'I'm sorry I have to go, I have a visitor,' she told him reluctantly, slotting seamlessly into the role that she'd been handed.
'I'm sorry too, but we'll be alright Ruth, I promise you.' I love you, once again hung in the air between them, but one or the other of them needed to put the phone down, and in this case it had to be Ruth.
'I'll see you later then, bye,' and she was gone, asking a confused Susie to bring another coffee for Zaf, returning a few moments later, marvelling that her usually repressed, to the point of being chaste boss, had not only one but two new whatever they were at Ruth's age, in her life. Up until then she'd been convinced that she and Harry were seeing each other, but now she wasn't so sure, as she listened to her visitor blatantly chatting Ruth up.
'So what time shall I pick you up tonight?' confirmed it, as Susie reached the door on her way out.
Leaving Adam and Fiona, pouring over the intel that Malcolm had gleaned about the recent years of Clive Mc Taggert's life, and what he might have discovered that had driven someone to want him dead, Harry and Malcolm headed first to his ransacked house, where Harry packed a bag sufficient for a week, plus of course Scarlet, before exiting via the back door and the gate in the wall where he'd parked his car on their arrival, by which time Harry knew that Zaf would be in full flow with a charm offensive on Ruth.
'It'll be alright Harry. If there's one thing I know about Ruth, then it's that she's loyal. She's not one to change her mind once she's made it up, she's single minded to a fault.' Malcolm told his boss, who he'd seen checking his watch, when he should have been concentrating on the road ahead of him. 'I know it's not my place to say this Harry, but it's about time you were allowed some happiness and the same applies to Ruth. This effort that we're making to protect her, wouldn't be happening if we thought she was anything less to you than special.'
'I know that and I'm grateful, but I'm still scared,' was confession indeed and surprised Malcolm, considering that for the moment, they had all bases covered.
Adam's plan was a simple one with several key objectives. First and foremost they had to find Clive's memoirs and to draw Juliet and whoever was working for her out of their burrows. By using Zaf to protect Ruth during the times that Harry couldn't be with her, it would give Zaf valuable experience that he so far lacked, with the added benefit that nobody would know who Zaf was or find out, now that Malcolm had eliminated him from the records.
'Just do it Malcolm, we'll rectify it once this is over,' Adam had told him when he'd hesitated.
Harry had to be seen to be at work every day as normal and to remain calm, giving no indication that he was worrying about what if anything was happening between Ruth and Zaf. Easier said that done when Adam knew that they'd so obviously crossed the boundary that he'd pushed Harry into. Ruth needed to play a part too, which wouldn't be easy for someone who up to now had led a normal and he suspected uncomplicated life. They had to assume rightly or not, that Ruth would eventually be followed, so her routine had to be seen to remain the same. Malcolm would meet her and take her too and from choir practice and whatever happened after Zaf had taken her home and then departed once Harry arrived, although not entirely out of his mind, was none of his business. Her safety was as watertight as he could make it, and for the moment that had to be enough.
What he hadn't remembered and nor had Harry, was that Jacob was due for another stopover visit at the weekend.