A/N: I'm back! Sorry about the break last you again for your reviews. I hope you'll leave another to let me know your thoughts.


Chapter 11

Monday Morning, 15 October

After speaking with Ros the night before, Adam had made notes of the pertinent details from their conversation. His plan to visit Malcolm was derailed after a phone call to the hospital, whereby the Sister informed him that Malcolm could not have visitors for the next 36 hours due to precautions against further infection. Knowing he couldn't wait that long, he took advantage of Harry's absence from the Grid and set Steven on a task akin to searching for ghosts.

Harry arrived later morning, having come from a briefing with the Home Secretary at Whitehall. The meeting hadn't set him in a good mood and Adam wondered what his bombshell about Ruth being with Zaf would do to said mood.

'Do you have an update from Ros yet?' Harry asked as Adam entered his office, his voice leaving Adam with no doubt that his assessment of Harry's mood was on point.

Adam waited to respond until he was standing in front of Harry's desk. 'I do. Ros called last night with a significant change in circumstances. I'd planned to visit Malcolm this morning to …'

'A significant change in circumstances? Why am I only hearing about this now?'

Harry's bluster didn't ruffle Adam, both because it wasn't in his nature and because he'd worked with Harry long enough to know how to deal with his moods.

'As I was saying, I'd planned to visit Malcolm because he has information that is needed. Ros verified that Zaf was in Polis and was treated at the local hospital there after managing to escape his captors. According to a doctor there, Zaf happened upon a woman he knew who hid him from his captors. A week ago, she and Zaf left the island to travel back to London.' Adam paused, having watched the confusion and disbelief settle on Harry's face.

'Did the doctor give Ros the woman's name? What information does Malcolm have that ties into this?' Harry was growing impatient with what he perceived to be Adam's lack of information.

Adam raised a finger, indicating to Harry that he needed a minute, before he stepped over to the windows. One by one he adjusted the blinds to close Harry's office off from the rest of the Grid before returning to stand in front of Harry's desk.

'The reason I need to speak with Malcolm is that he has information on the woman Zaf is travelling with.' He paused for one last moment before dropping the bombshell. 'Zaf met Ruth in Cyprus, Harry. She's the woman he's travelling with.'

Harry took a step back and sank into his chair as he tried to comprehend the news. Whatever he expected Adam to reveal, it certainly wasn't this.

'I'm going to presume that you've not had any contact with Ruth since she left,' Adam said. 'Zaf arranged her transport out of London and Malcolm provided her with passports. We intentionally didn't share with one another what we'd arranged.'

Harry managed to find his voice. 'But do you think Zaf and Ruth stayed in contact?'

Adam shrugged. 'He and I never discussed Ruth after she left but my gut tells me no, they didn't.'

'Tell me what you know thus far, and why you need to see Malcolm.'

'Ruth was living in Polis and working at the hospital. She and Zaf left Polis a week ago, presumably boarding a freighter. Six's contact in Polis said the Redbacks were asking questions about their whereabouts the next day in Limassol, which is likely where the ship left port. I've already asked Steven to get me a list of the ships leaving from the port last week and their destinations,' Adam summarized as he sat across from Harry's desk.

'What do you think their plan is, Ruth and Zaf? They didn't go to the embassy, which would have been the easiest way to get home,' Harry noted.

'We don't know what the Redbacks told Zaf. Given what we've been able to uncover from other agencies this group appears to be widespread. They likely told Zaf as much, given that he's been held captive for weeks. Even if they aren't as widespread as we think, they would want to Zaf believe it so he would feel they could find him no matter where he went,' Adam speculated.

Harry couldn't fault Adam's logic and nodded in agreement. Before he could respond, his phone beeped with a message. Harry picked it up and for a brief second, a look of surprise settled on his face.

Adam wasn't sure what he'd just seen. 'What was that look for?' he asked.

'It's nothing. Just wasn't expecting a message from that number is all,' Harry said.

'Could it have something to do with Ruth?'

Harry shook his head. 'No, it's a contact of mine. I'll respond later.' He moved his phone to the side of his desk. 'How certain are we that she's left the island with Zaf?,' Harry asked. He opened his mouth to continue but was stopped by a knock on the door. 'Come!'

Steven slid the door in and handed Harry and Adam each a sheet of paper. 'As requested, information about ships leaving Limassol over the past week including their itineraries.' He slid the door closed again after leaving Harry's office.

'Ros mentioned that Ruth arrived in Cyprus via a freighter, but she couldn't find out any information about the ship or the captain. Ruth told a friend a week ago that she was leaving Cyprus,' Adam added.

'Let's start with the ships leaving port starting last Monday and then move forward from there,' Harry stated. 'Once we have some idea where they may have gone, I want you to make arrangements to meet Ros and track down Ruth and Zaf.'

'I will. I'm going to visit Malcolm tomorrow with a secure laptop. Hopefully he's feeling well enough for a bit of work, otherwise I'll get the other names from Ruth's passports. I don't believe he let her leave here without a few of those to use and we may get lucky if she's still using one of those. In the meantime I'm having Steven search for Ruth Miller on Cyprus and in Greece from her time before she arrived in Cyprus. I'll check in with you in a few hours with an update.'

Harry nodded in acknowledgement. 'I'm depending on you and Ros to bring Ruth and Zaf home safely.'


Monday late afternoon

Ruth and Zaf looked the perfect picture of a couple enjoying a leisurely and romantic stroll along the streets of Catania. They held hands, shared smiles, and Zaf even made sure to kiss Ruth on the cheek once or twice.

Zaf spent much of the morning meeting with Matteo, who assured him that he still had the necessary contacts to have passports created. Ruth visited the internet café where she checked for a message from Malcolm and on her way back to Matteo's she stopped in two different stores and bought a phone in each.

After lunch, Matteo drove them to a nondescript office building and used a key to let himself into what appeared to be a vacant tenant space. In the back through another locked door was a room the size of Matteo's flat with an office in the far corner. Light spilled out under the door, the only evidence that someone could be using the space.

Matteo called out to his friend but he waited just inside the door. The office door opened and a large man stepped out of the office. Matteo introduced him as Guido, though Ruth doubted that was his actual name. No bother, she thought, since her name wasn't really Pippa either. Matteo explained that he and Peter (aka Zaf) used to work together and that the pair needed new British passports. Matteo didn't explain why the passports were needed and Guido didn't ask. Guido took down their details and then Ruth handed over the photos that were taken in a photo booth on the way to the meeting. Matteo slipped Guido a handful of Euros and the two men shook hands while conversing in Italian. Matteo locked the door as they left the office and the trio exited out a different door before taking a roundabout way back to the flat.

Matteo had some work to do so he left Zaf and Ruth on their own. They decided on the walk to give them some privacy to speak about their plans given that Matteo assured them that Guido would have the passports available within a day.

'Still no message from Malcolm,' Ruth said, 'and I don't think we should wait for him any longer. I have another idea of a way to securely contact the Grid.'

'And what might that be?' Zaf inquired, keeping his voice light.

'Before we left Polis I posted a package to an old friend. Honestly, I wasn't sure what would happen to us and if we didn't make it back to London, I wanted…' Ruth's voice trailed off. By speaking her next thoughts she'd be as good as admitting that she loved Harry. The overwhelming feeling of fear that gripped her when she even thought about voicing these feelings was coursing through her body, but now was not the time for fear. 'I sent the package to the man who was section chief before Adam. His name is Tom and Harry decommissioned him when he cracked under the pressure. I know we're not supposed to still have contact with officers once they leave the service, and I haven't had contact with Tom but I've kept tabs on him. He got married and his wife was the CIA liaison to Five here in London; it's how they met.'

'So what did you send him?' Zaf asked.

Ruth smiled. 'A book, Metamorphoses by Ovid. Harry gave it to me for my birthday last year. It's an old edition so it has some monetary value but more than that it has sentimental value for me.' Ruth drew a deep and shaky breath and Zaf squeezed her hand in support. 'I included a coded message on a piece of paper tucked into the book. There's a personal message as well as instructions on how to access Malcolm's email account.'

'So you trust Tom? What does he do now?' Zaf asked.

'He and Christine own a private security company. I know that Tom and Harry have kept in touch; Harry admitted it to me. He and Tom make a game of it to see if the Service catches on to their meetings. Tom will understand the message I included for him and he'll have a way to get it to Harry quickly. The package was sent to a friend from my time at GCHQ. A few months after I started at Five, Tom pulled me aside and suggested that I make arrangements with a trusted friend to serve as a go between for messages or packages. I arranged with her to be able to send items and she will forward them on. In this case I sent her an email that looks like spam but it's an advert for Tom's business. She'll drop the package off at their offices in Birmingham,' she explained.

'And Tom will know this is from you?' Zaf asked.

Ruth nodded in response. 'He'll recognize the code and Harry will certainly recognize the book.'

Zaf nodded as well. 'Assuming everything goes to plan, where should we go next?'

'Depends on how confident we are about the passports. Do you feel brave enough to try and board a flight?' Ruth asked.

'Maybe we should try our passports at a land crossing first, which leaves us France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovakia. Do you have a preference?'

'France would be my first choice, because it's the more direct path and I'm fluent,' Ruth noted.

'It's also large enough to give us multiple routes, depending upon our next mode of travel,' Zaf added. He dropped Ruth's hand to cover a yawn. 'Sorry, but I'm knackered. Can we head back to Matteo's place?'

'Of course. We'll grab some take away on the way back and have dinner in,' Ruth suggested.


Tuesday early afternoon, 16 October

Adam stuck his head through the open door of Harry's office. 'I've called St. Thomas's and confirmed that Malcolm can have visitors so I'm going over. With a bit of luck and the information Steven has already found we'll have a better idea of where Zaf and Ruth have gone.'

'Give Malcolm my best. I'm on my way to meet a contact who was rather insistent we meet.'

'Anything to be worried about?'

Harry shook his head. 'No, nothing like that, just that our meetings lean more towards the social. Whatever it is, he's traveling down a good distance to deliver a message.'

They stopped at Jo's desk to give her an update as to where they were each headed before leaving the building.

Once outside, Adam headed towards the tube stop while Harry flagged down a taxi. He asked the driver to drop him at Christchurch Gardens and from there he walked 10 minutes back towards Thames House to a small Italian restaurant hidden on a side street. He entered and approached the host stand, inquiring if Matthew Archer had arrived. The host showed him to a table at the back of the restaurant, where Tom Quinn was already seated. He stood as Harry approached.

'Matthew, good to see you,' Harry said, for the benefit of the host who was still nearby.

'Same to you, Giles. It's been too long,' Tom added.

The first few minutes were spent in idle chit chat as the waiter approached to take their drink orders. Their meeting was late enough that most of the lunch crowd had dispersed, leaving them on their own.

Tom reached into a messenger bag that was slung over the back of his chair and pulled out a large padded envelope, which he handed to Harry.

'What's this?'

'This is the reason we needed to meet. This is for you,' he responded.

'What is it?'

'Have you been in touch with Ruth recently?'

Whatever Harry expected him to say, it wasn't that. Tom was aware of the basic story surrounding the Cotterdam incident that pushed Ruth into exile but there'd been no further discussion.

Harry was quiet for a moment as he considered how to respond but ultimately chose to proceed cautiously with the truth.

'No, I've had no contact with her since Cotterdam. Why do you ask?'

Tom handed him the larger envelope. He could feel a book or something similar inside, though it was somewhat concealed by padding. Examining the envelope more closely, Harry noted its condition.

'How do you know this is for me? There's no name anywhere and it's still sealed.' He set the parcel down on the table.

Tom was certain the mention of Ruth would grab Harry's attention so the lack of response was worrying.

'This envelope was delivered to me by a woman who works at GCHQ, one who used to work with Ruth. She received a package from Ruth along with separate instructions via email to deliver it to me. I opened the package and inside was this envelope and a coded message that told me to deliver this to you.'

'But how do you …'

Tom explained that he encouraged Ruth to set up the communication channel not long after she began on the Grid. He knew that it was suggested for all field officers but felt that it would be a good idea for everyone, so he'd encouraged other staff, including Sam and Ruth, to do the same.

Harry paused for a moment before he picked up the envelope once again. His intent to examine was interrupted by the waiter delivering their drinks, so he set the envelope on his lap and spread the napkin over the top.

'Did her message say anything else?' Harry asked, once they were alone.

Tom shook his head. 'Just that it needed to get to you quickly.' He sipped his tea before asking the unanswerable question. 'Can you tell me what's going on with Ruth?'

Harry gave him a wry smile. 'We both know that's not going to happen, but hopefully in the near future we can meet again and swap tales.' Harry picked up his phone and pressed a button. 'Just to be clear, you have no way to contact Ruth?'

Tom nodded his affirmation.

'I'm sorry to cut this short but I need to get back to the office.' Grasping the envelope as he stood, he dropped the napkin onto his plate and tucked the envelope under his arm. A wallet was produced from his pocket and he soon dropped a few crisp notes on the table. 'Thank you for the delivery,' he added before moving towards the door.

Tom watched Harry move confidently through the restaurant before turning his attention back to the empty seat across from him. A moment later the waiter arrived to take his lunch order, surprised to find the man sitting alone.

Harry's driver was waiting as he stepped out of the restaurant, allowing him to slide into the back seat of the car without a pause in his stride. His fingers drummed silently against the envelope, the desire to rip open the envelope strong, but he opted for slow, deep breaths to keep himself relaxed. Not until he was in the sanctuary that was his office would he allow himself to open the envelope that could change his life. Again.