Chapter 14

Devil's in the Details

"Is the only criteria you need for flirting with someone breasts and a pulse?" Ros demanded as she and Lucas re-entered Thames House.

"I thought you would know that by now after all these years I've spent flirting with you." He replied instantly, smirking

"Keep talking and we'll see if you can't make it a date next time." Ros growled, though she turned her head a little so he could not see her faint smile.

After visiting the hospital they had both decided against going home and trying to get two hours of sleep, while they were both exhausted, neither of them could sleep and so they had decided to return to The Grid and catch up on what had happened in their absence, including a fuller version of Sofia's conversation with Salko during the attempt to trace him.

"What's happening?" Ros asked from her desk as Harry left his office and jumped at the sight of them.

Ignoring his irritation at Lucas' stubborn persistence at running himself into the ground for the adrenaline hit that came with a break in the operation he said, "Nothing. At the moment we're waiting for something to happen, calm before the storm."

"Where's Sofia?" Lucas asked, knowing perfectly well where she wasn't and needing to speak to her.

"Home." Harry said, shortly, "Everyone's catching up on sleep, as should you-"

Lucas swore softly under his breath and Ros sighed and explained bluntly to Harry, "You know, for being one of this services best spies, you're a shit liar Harry Pearce." He opened his mouth to protest and she clarified, "At least when it comes to your team."

He paused and decided that she was right; he couldn't have hoped to keep this from them, "She's in interrogation with Salko." He told them curtly.

Lucas swore again, more violently this time, as the coffee mug on his desk paid the ultimate price for Harry's deception and decision making when it sailed across the room its suicidal flight coming to an end with the wall on the other side of the room that it collided with.

"What the Hell is wrong with you Harry?" Lucas snarled, he had made this point half-heartedly earlier in the operation but it had been out of anger then, now it was coming from a genuine concern that was beginning to gnaw away at him.

"You know as well as I do that he won't speak to anyone else." Harry said flatly, "I had to make a choice, and I believe that this was the right one."

"Yes, the 'right' choice and the best way you could come up with of solving this problem was to lock her in a confined space with a man who has repeatedly torture her and who raped her less than twenty four hours ago and cross your fingers and hope for the best." Lucas spat, "Look, I don't know what the fuck has gone wrong in your head to make you think that that's a good idea...If you're guilty, see a shrink, if you're testing her, playing mind games, see a psychiatrist, if you're paranoid, see a psychologist, if you're just not getting any, see Ruth-"he broke off furiously as Harry blanched at this last suggestion and stormed from the office.

Despite herself Ros had been forced to turn her snort of laughter into a coughing fit after Lucas' solution for getting Harry laid but now pulled herself together and hurried after him.

"Where are you going?" she demanded, having a fairly good idea already.

"To fix this."

"Lucas, wait, maybe he has a point. What's done is done, if you go in there and she's managed to get him to open up and you ruin our only chance at him-"

"If it was you, if you were her, what would your first priority be? Getting information from him?"

"No. I'd kill the bastard." She said bluntly, seeing his point.

"How do you know which room they're in?" she asked, as the descended into the catacombs of interrogation rooms beneath Thames House and Lucas set off in a very set direction.

"I have good instincts." He replied, shortly, "Following that we'll just follow the screams..." he added with a trace of black humour.

They reached a row of rooms and Lucas' instincts turned out to be more than good when they found room 329 locked from the inside.

"Do you have a key card?" he asked, "It'll override the lock."

"Are you sure about this?" she murmured softly, "she deserves some kind of revenge."

"She can do whatever she wants with him when this is over; in the meantime we need him alive."

"You sound more like Harry everyday..." Ros muttered in his ear, fishing the key card out of her pocket, "You managed not to lose yourself in Russia, nothing is worth that Lucas." She told him, slipping the card into his hand.

"Speaking of Harry, can you check on him, make sure he isn't trying to sell uranium to terrorists."

"You're worried about him?"

"No...Mildly concerned...They day I start full out worrying about Harry Pearce is the day I pack up everyone and everything I love and make for Switzerland."

Ros nodded and watched as he slid the key card into the reader and made to open the door. She did not need him to ask her to leave, she knew better, however she turned as he softly called her name before entering the room, "Ros." She paused, "I won't."

He forced himself to turn away from her and cautiously entered the interrogation room. Sofia was pacing the shadows around the perimeter, like a tiger stalking its enclosure in a zoo, haunted, tormented. Salko was still bound in the chair and the table and was, miraculously, breathing, he had no idea what she had done to him, and had no desire to know, but he was chalk white and drenched in a cold sweat, though his eyes still gleamed maliciously from beneath his heavy, dark lids.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

God help me. "Has he given you anything?"

"Nothing."

"You bitch! That's a lie you-"he spat furiously before she cut him off,

"It's interesting to me that you want him to think you're a traitor, that you would sell your secrets to save yourself, that shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but sometimes the fallibility of human narcissism never ceases to amaze me...We agreed not to lie to each other in this room Artem, and I did not. I told you that I would not torture you or information, I didn't."

"What? I-"

"Told me nothing I didn't already know." She said smoothly, "I tortured you purely for my own entertainment...Revenge is best served enigmatically after all." She hissed, moving very close to him, forcing to make eye contact as a malevolent smirk played across her lips.

He began to swear violently under his breath as she pulled away from him, maniacal grin still firmly in place, irritated at how easily she had tricked him.

Sofia returned to the corner of the room, shrouding her face in shadow, but all Lucas needed to see was her silhouette nod to give him permission to continue. Now that he was here, and Salko was in a better condition than he had expected, he decided to talk to him as well, if of course, only for his own entertainment.

"Mr Salko, my name is Lucas North I am-"

"An MI-5 officer, charged with interrogating me properly. I already know so much about you Mr. North; you have spent time in a Russian prison, you enjoy reading, dedicated to your work, and that Russia has bred in you several neurotic tendencies."

"Very good." Lucas said, softly, allowing Salko his moment of indulgence before they began. "And you, in turn, controlling, narcissistic, a musician, the only indulgence you allow yourself, other than that deliberately restrictive in your enjoyment of life, the chains you force upon yourself in penance for your failure to protect your sister."

"He's good..." Salko hissed softly, "Not nearly as good as you my little slut, but good nonetheless."

"As you know," Lucas said, ignoring Salko's words and taking control of the conversation once more, "You have broken the deal we offered you, I'm giving you the opportunity to fix it..."

"I cannot fix what was never broken." She said silkily, staring arrogantly at Lucas.

"It was broken however; you received your 'payment' in full did you not?" Lucas said, unable to keep the traces of disgust from his voice.

"In full." He sneered, his eyes darting towards Sofia for the first time since Lucas had engaged him in conversation.

"We, on the other hand, were not paid in full." Lucas pointed out quietly.

"Really? Well perhaps I found your payment unsatisfactory, and to be quite honest with you Mr. North, I can't honestly say that I owe her anything..." he leaned forwards and whispered conspiratorially, "You see, Sofia likes it rough...That's what I gave her, can't say fairer than th-"

Lucas jumped to his feet so quickly that it took a moment for Sofia to register what he was doing as he slammed Salko onto the table, causing a fountain of blood to spurt from his nose that impacted the hard steel with a sickening crunch.

Lucas stepped away from him, rolling his injured shoulder and wincing as it protested to the sudden strain he had put it under, he rarely lost his temper like this and Sofia had not seen him lose control like this,

"Lucas." She murmured softly, turning to him. His face was impassive once more, his expression neutral as he turned back to Salko who spat,

"If you thought that one night with your charming little slut was going to buy you my secrets, you were very much mistaken Mr. North."

"If you think I wouldn't put a bullet in you and laugh as you bled to death then you are very much mistaken." Lucas replied softly,

"You've had your fun Artem...Start talking."

"I've already told you everything I know Sofia." He smirked eyes narrowed,

"You better hope to God that's a lie Artem...You wouldn't have sold everything to me in exchange for sex, a hooker's far easier, stop bullshitting me." She hissed, eyes narrowed.

"I'm not so sure I'm in the mood."

"Maybe this will improve it, one way or the other the nice interrogation officers are coming for you in less than an hour, they won't be making you an offer anywhere near mine. In less than an hour the last chance you'll get at the truth will walk out of those doors and you'll never know. Whatever happens here, you won't see me again Artem, no more games..."

"More lies Sofia." He hissed,

"It's not. Officially, this interview never took place, no authorisation, no paper trail, no nothing." Lucas said, for a man who had come close to murdering the repulsive creature opposite him he was remarkably calm. "Either you die, you're imprisoned here, or you're imprisoned in Russia, Sofia doesn't factor into any of those outcomes."

"I will tell you...But only after you tell me about Nicole." He said softly,

"No." Sofia said, flatly.

"Then no deal-"he began

"You're not in a position to negotiate Salko." She hissed, "This is the only thing I do, or ever will have over you, I am not giving it to a man who considered an appropriate exchange giving me 'the American President is being targeted' in exchange for rape. I will not let you fuck me twice Artem."

"I need to know Sofia...I need to know that you will tell me, I've held onto this for too long, I need to know...For her."

"Bullshit." She hissed, Lucas and Salko both stared at her in shock, "Don't give me you want to know 'for her', don't lie to me, this stopped being about her years ago you selfish bastard." She knew she was taking a risk that could seriously backfire on her but if she did not she risked losing everything.

"Everything I have done, I have done for her." He said in a deadly whisper that made her blood run cold.

"No you haven't." She breathed, flatly, deciding if she was doing this she may as well do it right and continuing before he could interrupt "You should have...She had more brains, more backbone, more reason to live than either of us, and yet here we are mocking her memory to serve our own selfish ends. You should have wanted to know why a beautiful, talented young woman with her whole life in front of her died, in filth, at the hands of those who saw her as nothing more than a pretty object. You should have hunted for the knowledge of what she had sacrificed, and why. You should have tried harder to find out that she became involved in an undercover operation against her own country as an asset hidden in an extremist Russian group. You should have died trying to find out why she did. She allowed herself to beaten and raped by those monsters she had called friends rather than blow my cover. You should have known that she gave her life for me and for a cause that you never knew and will never understand. You should have done everything you've done for her because she deserved more than what you have deigned to do for her. So you should fucking tell me what you know because she should be worth more than this, you should have convinced the truth from me ten years ago, because if you had done everything for her, I wouldn't still be holding onto this information for all this time so you could play cat and mouse and torture me at her expense. This is your last chance Salko..."

"The attack will take place in three days time and the Kieran Castle Estate, outside London, a nice open area, perfect for their plan. A sniper, quick and clean, they have people on the inside to make sure the sniper has a clear shot." The voice he spoke in was flat and emotionless, almost matter-of-fact, but his eyes burned in their sockets, staring at her in hatred.

"Which country is ordering the hit?" Lucas asked quietly, as Sofia recovered her composure from the corner.

"None of them." Salko said cryptically, "Russia knows but will do nothing, they want the President out of the way, this is the best they could have hoped for. This is being carried out by a mixed extremist group called 'Hiroshima' they have members from several different countries and are acting on the behalf of no-one but themselves. Their hearts are stuck in the Cold War but their heads are fully aware of current politics. They know how delicate the relationships are between the nations in these talks, they know how paranoid and mistrustful everyone is. They know as well as we do what the repercussions of the President's death will mean for world peace and politics, that's the idea. His death is just the beginning, they want him gone for personal feelings, but mainly he's just the match their using to ignite the pool of petrol we're all drowning in."

"Why do they want this now? What do they think the specific repercussions will be?"

"These fanatics, believe that the only way to diffuse the world tension is to bring it to the brink, to begin a nuclear war between the major powers, which these talks have so conveniently brought together. They think that it will always come to war, that no amount of peace talks and emergency summits will prevent, they want to start it now while we are all on a fairly level playing field before weapons become more advanced."

"What did you say this group was called? Lighthouse?" Sofia spat, not believing that the only thing the Russians were doing was turning the other cheek.

"Lighthouse was a highly sophisticated network, built up for over twenty years, designed to create a controlled war, this will unleash unfettered madness."

"We'll agree to disagree on the sanity of the motivations of the Lighthouse organisation." Lucas said brusquely, knowing that time was not on their side, "They can't expect this to work."

"It doesn't matter if it works in the way they intend. The point is, they intend to assassinate the American President on British soil, and whether or not it leads to all out war, it will destroy these peace talks, and any future ones that may have been at the very least. And you both know that in actual fact, with the world as it is, a nuclear war may not be the craziest suggestion at all."

"How well prepared are they?"

"Very, they have friends in high places and they're completely insane. Insane people are often paranoid, they'll have closed all the loopholes, this won't just fall apart because you know about it. More than that though, they're impressionable, unpredictable, they're not being backed by any larger operation, which means that they're potentially under-equipped, but it also means that they can't be called off, they have only themselves to answer to and that makes them even more dangerous."

"And Russia is backing this?" Lucas breathed in disbelief.

"No, Russia is ignoring this. They believe that the reward of having the President removed outweighs the risks that the fallout poses to them, they're probably right. If they know this is coming, they can avoid most of the political backlash from this and will probably be able to delicately remove themselves from whatever horror follows. You on the other hand will not be so fortunate."

"Who is it Artem, we need names, their assassin, the insiders."

"I don't know."

"Don't start-"

"I'm not." He spat irritably, "I have nothing to gain from keeping something as insignificant as that for you anymore, this was an all in or nothing bet, you know which one I took. I can't tell you what none of my sources have bothered to find out. It doesn't matter to us if it's Tom, Dick or Harry who kills him, as long as someone does. Besides, the less they know the more deniable they are, and as you have so aptly pointed out, the devil's in the details."

"OK...OK, so this group want to take out the President because...Because they're nuts and they think it will spark a nuclear war, something that they've decided is in the best interests of everyone. What we don't know is who it is exactly, we just know it will happen on the Kieran Estate...You're sure about that?"

"Yes. It's the only location that's not city locked, easier access and less chance of them being discovered by some unsuspecting civilian. That is everything I know now, Nicole."

"Come on Artem...You know as well as I do I never knew anything about her...It just provided you with the excuse you needed to keep playing cat and mouse."

"You liar!" he screamed, "You know you bitch, you know!"

"I never knew anything! They threw me in at the deep end in Russia and they never gave me the tools to fish myself out when you came hunting. I've spent the last three years trying to answer the question you tormented me with for eight years, because the only thing worse than your torture was not knowing what the fuck I had done to deserve it. You didn't honestly believe that I would've held on something like this for over a decade because I could, because I was waiting for a moment like this...If I had known I would have told you and I have absolutely no qualms about admitting that."

"You bitch, you filthy, lying whore..."

He had dissolved into nothing, pale and green as tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes, looking so pathetic, that she almost pitied him, before the memories of her imprisonment in Russia and the look on his face the night before reminded her why she didn't.

She walked to the door and turned saying coldly, "The nice men from the FSB will be along to pick you up in the morning, I take it you have nothing with which to appease the officers that are coming down here to officially interrogate you in ten minutes?"

"You, you can't give me to them, I gave you what you wanted and you, you lied to me, you used me, you used my Nicole, you can't give me to them now."

"Oh but I can, I have everything I need from you, you're no longer of use to me Artem, I don't have a habit of holding on to things that are broken beyond repair...You give me one good reason why not."

"Night stalker."

She slowly turned back to face him, "You've been lying to me Artem...How do you know about that?"

"I haven't lied...If you think it has something to do with this and that's why I know then you're wrong...It's much bigger than you could ever imagine."

She paused, watching him. Her curiosity piqued, the answer she had been searching for for so long, and he could have it. Her gaze hardened as she leaned in closer to him and whispered, "I told you before Artem...I don't need you anymore."

She turned and left the room as he stared after her, only know understanding what his failure to play her had resulted in.

A/N: As I've said this chapter was damn near impossible to write, hopefully everything played out alright and didn't require any huge leaps or suspension of belief, as always, thank you all for the reviews! Please review if you can :)