A/N: Thank you for your kind words and reviews. I am still actively writing this story, thus the slow pace of posting. Thank you for your patience.
Chapter Four
Friday morning, 5 October
'What's the price for a thought these days? A pence? Oh wait, they use euros here, so a cent?' Zaf said as he leaned against the door frame.
Ruth turned towards her visitor. 'You should be in bed,' she said with a smile.
Zaf returned the smile. 'Just what I want to hear from a pretty lady who lets me sleep in her bed.'
Ruth started to laugh. 'Good to hear you still have your sense of humour. Seriously though, you should still be in bed.'
'I needed to use the loo but you looked so deep in thought I had to say something. I'll be right back,' he said before moving down the hallway and closing the door behind him.
Ruth prepared a second cup of tea and a piece of toast, assuming that Zaf would be ready for some real food. It wasn't until he sat at the kitchen table that she realized something.
'You've taken out your IVs and catheter.'
'The IV bags were nearly empty anyway. As for the catheter, well there are some things a guy should just take care of on his own.' He flashed a smile before taking a bite of the toast with jam she'd placed in front of him.
Ruth smiled back. 'Okay, I'll give you that one. As long as you can get out of bed on your own I guess you won't need it anymore.' She decided to let Zaf finish his toast and tea before asking him any questions, but he beat her to the punch.
'How did you come to be on Cyprus?'
Ruth kept her eyes down at her tea cup as flashes of a tugboat leaving floated through her mind. She knew she could trust Zaf, but Ruth wasn't sure she was ready to relive the whole experience.
'Not much to tell. I worked my way through Europe on lesser known routes and eventually arrived in Athens. I'd never been before and after reading Classics at university, I decided it was as good a time as any to see all the places I'd read about. I ended up in a city along the coast where I met Giovanni. He was struggling to converse with a café owner and I came to his rescue. He's the captain of a freighter but he doesn't usually sail to Greece. Anyway, he told me that his next port of call was Cyprus and I decided to go along for the ride.'
Zaf raised an eyebrow. 'Giovanni, eh? Didn't know you spoke Italian.'
'Actually I don't, but he was fluent in English, so we managed just fine. And before you get any crazy ideas, Giovanni is married, a father of three sons, grandfather of two, and a staunch Catholic. He was a perfect gentleman.'
'So you hopped on his boat, landed here in Cyprus, and then what?'
'The ship docked in Limassol, on the south side of the island. Giovanni and his crew had a few days of shore leave so he showed me around. He rented a car and drove me here to Polis, where he and his family like to come on holiday. I saw a notice in the newspaper about the local hospital needed clerical help, so I stopped in and was hired on the spot. Giovanni helped me find a flat and then he had to leave. He was a guardian angel when I needed one. He calls me when his shipped is docked here on the island every few weeks and we meet for lunch. He treats me like the daughter he never had and wants me to come and live in Salerno so he can set me up with a nice man.' She smiled at the thought of her friend.
'It seems you already have a nice man, George' Zaf's voice was raspy but light in an effort to keep the conversation casual.
Ruth looked away from Zaf. She almost felt as though she was betraying Harry by talking to Zaf about George.
'Ruth, I'm not judging you for having moved on with your life. I don't know what the details of your relationship with Harry were, but it's not my business.'
Ruth turned back to Zaf. 'George is a good man. He's a doctor, obviously, and we met at the hospital. We've been together a few months. He's a widower with a young son, Nico, who's eight. And for the record, Harry and I weren't in a relationship.'
Zaf started to laugh until he saw the look on Ruth's face. 'That may be what you think, Ruth, but the rest of us could see there was a relationship beyond simply boss and co-worker.'
Ruth started to sputter a response but Zaf continued. 'As for the record, Ruth, none of us were bothered by you and Harry seeing each other. This life is hard enough and to find someone special who can understand the difficulties of this life, well that's relationship gold. Besides, you and Harry would be the last two people to use your relationship to gain an advantage over someone. I'm sorry for how everything ended with Harry and with Cotterdam, but if you tell me you're happy here Ruth, and that this is where you are meant to be, I'll leave just as soon as I'm able and I won't tell a soul where you are, alright?'
Ruth was caught off guard by Zaf's statement and simply nodded in understanding.
'Not that I don't love seeing you again, but when can I leave? I'd like to get back to London and start doing my job again. You haven't contacted the Grid, have you?'
Ruth shook her head. 'No, I wasn't certain what your situation was and I didn't want to compromise you. George is the only person who knows you are here, but obviously he thinks you are Jamal Davi.'
'Good. I don't know if it's safe to do so. The men who took me implied that they had agents inside every intelligence organization in Europe, as well as other places. I can't imagine anyone from the Grid being turned, but what if someone has? I have to be careful how I make contact.'
'I'll think about it. I've been watching for the men who took you but I haven't seen them around here. I did spot them the other day when I ran out to the market for a few things, though.'
'How do you know them? I know you had a knack for having connections, but do you really know everyone already?' Zaf asked with a slight smile.
'Polis only has around 3,000 people, so it's not a large city. No, I happened to be at the front desk of the hospital when two men came in asking for you by your given name. Since you were admitted under a different name, it was easy to say you weren't there. I knew, though, that my simply telling them you weren't there wasn't enough to deter them. I doctored your records to show that you'd been admitted a few days before, but George and I moved you out of the hospital the next night.'
'What did you tell him?'
'Mostly the truth; that two men came in and asked for you by name, but I didn't tell him which name. Since we suspected you'd been tortured, I convinced George that I needed to move you to my place. He was reluctant at first, but you were responding well to the antibiotics and fluids and as long as I was going to stay with you, he relented.'
'So we need to figure out a way to safely contact the Grid. We should also consider a way to get me off the island safely if that doesn't work. And considering I don't have a passport that may not be so easy.'
Ruth nodded. 'A challenge certainly, but not impossible. We could go to the Embassy in Nicosia; I'm sure they would have a secure way to contact the Grid, provided we can convince them of who you are.'
Zaf shook his head. 'No. I can't trust that the Redbacks don't have contacts inside the Embassy. By now they've probably put out word to their network that I'm missing. They told me over and over how valuable I was; they aren't going to let me escape without a fight.' Zaf reached across the table to grasp Ruth's hand. 'I beg you, please don't contact the Embassy. I will kill myself before I let myself be taken by this group again. Please, let's try and figure something else out first.'
Ruth could see the terror in her friend's eyes and knew that he was dead serious about not contacting the Embassy.
Ruth squeezed Zaf's hand in response and nodded. 'Okay, I promise I won't contact the Embassy without your permission. We'll brainstorm and figure out how to get you off the island.'
Zaf smiled in relief. 'Thank you, Ruth, truly.' His shoulder sagged as the tension left his body and after he took a deep breath, he wrinkled his nose. 'While you think can I use your shower? I honestly don't remember the last time I had one and it smells like I need one.'
'You had a sponge bath at the hospital, but…' Ruth started before being interrupted.
'Please tell me it was given by a beautiful young nurse,' Zaf said.
'Beautiful is a good word… to describe Nikolas,' she finished with a smile.
Zaf groaned and dropped his head to the table as Ruth laughed. 'I'll get you a fresh towel and a chair, just in case you need to sit. Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of buying you a few things. The clothes you were wearing before were thrown away at the hospital and we dressed you in scrubs to bring you here. I'll set those clothes in the bathroom and you can pick what you like.'
Harry looked up at the knocking and waved Adam and Ros into his office. The pair sat on the minimalist furniture that passed for a sofa in front of his desk and Ros waited until Harry finished what he was doing and looked at her before speaking.
'My contact from Athens has made a report. The farmhouse was abandoned but there were signs of recent inhabitants. They also found some bloody rags, suggesting that someone with an injury was there. Greek Intelligence has been checking border crossings and found a note from a crossing into Turkey. An agent working at the crossing noted that a truck with five men passed through recently. All five men had Turkish passports, but one of the men appeared to be ill. He was barely conscious and the other men said he was sick and being brought home to be treated. Everything else appeared to be in order so they were allowed to cross but the agent made a note of the incident because something didn't feel right.'
'And you feel confident that this could be Zaf and his captors?' Harry asked.
'We've calculated driving times and possible routes, and this certainly could be the men we're looking for,' Adam added.
Harry nodded but didn't immediately say anything in response. He pushed his chair back, stood, and then walked around to the front of his desk, running his hands over his face before resting them at the back of his neck. Leaning against his desk, he lifted his head to his officers. 'So what's the next move?' Harry asked.
'My contact is continuing to look into the matter. He has a few trusted associates that have sources in the area. I should hear back from him in 48 hours or sooner if they find something,' said Ros.
Harry nodded. 'Very well. Let me know when you hear something.'
