A/N: Thank you for your reviews and my thanks to r4ven3 for her critical eye and for keeping this story out of the land of farfetchedness.
Chapter 12
Tuesday afternoon, 16 October
A laptop and other necessary equipment was packed into the backpack slung over Adam's shoulder as he walked in St. Thomas Hospital. Malcolm was in a room on the tenth floor, the view overlooking Archbishop's Park, located right across the street. Malcolm greeted him with a smile as he entered the room.
'Hello, thought you might like a spot of company,' he said as he pulled up a chair on the left side of the bed.
Malcolm pushed himself upright. 'Good to see a friendly face,' he said, his voice hoarse from illness. 'How are things on the Grid?'
Adam smiled. 'I've got some good news and a question for you, but first, how are you feeling? I tried to visit earlier but the sister wouldn't let me in.'
'I'm still tired and this place is rather dull. My mother came to visit Sunday after church but I was feeling quite poorly. Sounds as though I may be discharged in the next day or so, though I've been told I'll need to stay at home and rest for another week before I should go back to work,' he said. 'What's the good news?'
Adam smiled. 'We're close to finding Zaf,' he said and watched Malcolm's eyes quickly widen.
'That's wonderful but how? And how is he?' Malcolm asked.
'He was quite poorly, which is what helped us to track him but the Redbacks took him to Cyprus where it appears he got away from his captors and ended up in hospital,' Adam explained.
'Is he still there?' Malcolm inquired, somewhat confused.
Adam shook his head. 'No, he was removed from hospital for his protection by none other than Ruth Evershed.'
Malcolm's jaw dropped. 'Ruth! Did Zaf know where she was?'
Adam shook his head again. 'I believe it's a coincidence. Ruth was living on the island and working at the local hospital. She took Zaf to her place not long after he arrived and then they disappeared. She told a friend, a doctor at the hospital that cared for Zaf, that she was helping him get home to London but she wouldn't tell him why they couldn't fly back to London. It appears they left via a freighter a week ago. And that's what brings me here.' Adam explained. 'I need to know what names were on the passports you created for Ruth when she left. I took a chance that you would be feeling restless being stuck here and I brought a secure laptop and some equipment. I thought you might be able to cure your boredom and help us search for Ruth at the same time.'
Malcolm looked positively thrilled at the request. 'I'd be delighted.'
At the favourable response, Adam unzipped the bag and pulled out the laptop and other equipment. Under Malcolm's direction, he plugged in various cords and pulled a rolling table over onto which the laptop and other equipment was placed.
As he waited for the laptop to boot, he filled Adam in on some details. 'I created two passports for Ruth plus I gave her a third one that had been prepared for her but never used. Helen James, Katherine Miller, and Emily Mortimer were her legends.'
'Ros is in Cyprus and talked to the doctor who treated Zaf. He said that Ruth's name was Ruth Miller,' Adam said.
Malcolm nodded. 'Ruth was her middle name on the Katherine Miller legend. Helen was the legend she'd not yet used and Emily was the other legend I created for her. I have the details of the legends hidden in a few files so I could still access them if needed but the files weren't connected to Ruth in any way. I'll begin searching for those names. Do we have any other details?'
Adam passed over a few sheets of paper. 'Here's Ruth's approximate arrival date on Cyprus. We also know that she arrived via freighter from Greece but we don't know the name of the ship or its captain. The second page is the list of freighters sailing out of the port at Limassol around the day when Ruth and Zaf appear to have left,' Adam explained. 'Steven compiled the information and what little he could find with just the name Katherine Ruth Miller, which wasn't much.'
Malcolm's fingers moved quickly over the keys. 'I'm pulling the data on Ruth's legends and then I'll set up the preliminary searches. Why didn't she just take Zaf to the Embassy? Surely they could have verified his identity and gotten him home?'
'Harry and I discussed that. Our best guess is that Zaf is avoiding intelligence officers; we have information from contacts in Southern Europe that the Redbacks are suspected to have infiltrated several organizations. Given what we know about what they do to the officers they take, no doubt Zaf doesn't want to risk being captured,' Adam explained.
Malcolm's fingers continued to move at a rapid pace. 'It's a frightening prospect, certainly.' He took a deep breath and rested his head against the pillow behind him. 'I'll get the searches up and running shortly and will call you when I know something. If you discover any new information, please let me know,' Malcolm added.
Adam nodded his assent. 'I'll check in with you in before it's lights out around here. Glad to hear you're doing well and will be home soon. Take care, Malcolm,' Adam said before rising from the chair and heading back to the Grid.
Adam was surprised to see Harry back in his office when he returned to the Grid. As he approached, he realized Harry was staring at his desk and he wondered if that meant bad news. He slid the door open just wide enough to move his shoulder and head through the opening.
'Can you talk?'
A brief nod was all the indication Adam received. The door was returned to its closed position and something told Adam to flip the lock. He settled himself in a chair opposite Harry but waited for him to initiate the conversation.
'My contact is Tom Quinn; I met him for a drink and he gave me this.' Harry indicated a large envelope atop his desk. 'He says it's from Ruth.'
Adam blinked as though he'd not heard Harry correctly. 'Ruth sent Tom Quinn that envelope.'
Harry nodded, then shared what Tom had told him about the system Ruth set up.
'You had security scan it when you returned from your meeting,' Adam noted, assuming Harry would do as much, even if protocol didn't dictate so and Harry again nodded. 'Why haven't you opened it?
Harry opened his mouth to speak but there were no words. Instead, he ripped the top of the envelope away and tipped the bottom up, allowing the contents to slide out and into his hand. In that instant Harry knew the package was from Ruth. Setting aside the now-empty envelope, he picked up the familiar book and opened the front cover. Inside was the inscription, written years before by a previous owner, which said, 'Fortune and love favour the brave. Ovid.' Harry had chosen this copy for Ruth in part because of inscription and because she'd made a comment one night about her desire to read Ovid.
'I gave Ruth this book for her birthday a few months before she left. She sent this so I would know it was from her.' With that, Harry fanned the pages and on page 147, found what felt like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It was a small piece of lined paper, with what appeared to be a shopping list. The sight of Ruth's messy handwriting made Harry smile.
'A message from Ruth?' Adam inquired unnecessarily.
'Yes, but we're going to need Malcolm's help again. It looks like a shopping list made by someone with poor spelling,' Harry noted before turning the page over but finding nothing else. He handed it to Adam to examine.
'Clever. To anyone else it's simply a scrap of paper grabbed in haste for use as a bookmark. I'll scan this and get it over to Malcolm but he may also need the book. I presume you'd like this returned to you?'
Harry nodded. 'If he doesn't need the book I'll examine it more closely tonight to see if there are any other messages within the text itself. Hopefully the bookmark will help us pinpoint Ruth and Zaf's location.'
Adam left Harry alone with the book and for the first time since this drama all began, Harry felt hope that there were still chapters to write in his story with Ruth.
Wednesday morning, 17 October
Harry and Adam projected a calm façade as they strolled through St. Thomas Hospital. It was unlikely that anyone would guess that their visit was preceded by an urgent message from a patient on the 10th Floor.
As they stepped off the lift, Adam directed Harry to Malcolm's room. 'He's in the William Gull Ward, just through here.' Seconds later, Adam knocked on Malcolm's door to announce their arrival.
'Come in,' Malcolm said, though his voice was still hoarse. 'That was quick,' he added with a slight smile.
'What do you have for us?' Harry asked, hoping for good news.
'Information,' he said as Adam and Harry settled themselves in chairs. 'Based on the estimated date of Ruth's arrival on Cyprus and when she and Zaf appear to have left, there were two freighters that were in Limassol port at both times. The Speranza and the Arno.'
'And where are these ships now?' Harry asked.
'The Speranza arrived in Palermo, Sicily on Sunday morning while the Arno is still at sea. It's on its way to Portsmouth.'
Harry and Adam perkd up at the news.
'Based solely on dates, it's more likely Ruth arrived on the Speranza. However, given that Zaf likely doesn't have a passport, the Arno would get them directly back to England,' Malcolm added.
'When is the Arno due into port?' Adam asked.
Malcolm checked his notes. 'Not for another week, at least. She's larger than the Speranza and sails faster, but it's still a long journey.'
'And when does the Speranza leave port?'
Harry stood and paced in the small space, thinking of how to proceed while Adam and Malcolm talked through the details.
'She leaves port tomorrow morning,' Malcolm confirmed.
Harry stopped pacing, planting himself at the foot of Malcolm's bed.
'Adam, contact Ros. Have her go to Palermo and talk to the captain; see if Ruth and Zaf were on board. In the meantime Malcolm, can you see if it's possible to email the captain of the Arno and see if...' He stopped speaking as Malcolm broke into a flurry of activity.
'I can't believe I didn't remember,' Malcolm muttered as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Harry and Adam exchanged a look and wisely decided to give their friend a moment to finish his task.
Malcolm took a deep breath as he appeared to be waiting for something to happen. 'I'd completely forgotten but I set up an email account before Ruth left. I gave her the password so she had a way of contacting me, though it would also allow me to get a message to her. I haven't checked it since the beginning of the month.' His voice trailed off as he clicked around the site.
'Ruth could have sent you an email all this time?' Harry asked in disbelief.
'Technically yes, but that's not what we agreed on. If one of us needed to send a message, we would draft an email and save it, but not send it. It will simply sit in the drafts folder and whomever logs in to the account can view the draft.' Malcolm made one final click.
'She's left a message,' he said as he skimmed through the draft. 'They're in Italy, most recently in Catania, Sicily,' he announced with a smile.
Harry allowed the surprise to show on his face momentarily. 'Malcolm, respond to Ruth and give her a secure way to contact me. Adam, have Ros meet you in Sicily. Let's bring them home.'
