For the second day in a row, Tariq was sitting in a freezing cold van waiting for Rob Fuller to make an appearance, and desperately hoping Fuller would reveal even just a scrap of useful information.
A sharp rap on the door signaled Beth's return from a coffee run, and when the door opened she stepped inside carefully so as not to spill the steaming hot liquid. Beth handed one of the cups to Tariq and plonked a large bag of hot chips down beside him.
"Oh brilliant, thanks Beth." He grinned at her.
"Any sign of him?"
"Nope. All quiet." Tariq shook his head as focused back on the screen. Beth made a face and leant back against the wall of the van, warming her hands on the coffee cup. The boredom of surveillance was already wearing thin.
Back at Thames House, Simon was insistent that if they didn't make any progress soon, he would hand the investigation over to Six. "There's no point in wasting time on a case that's insignificant in the bigger scheme of things."
"Insignificant?" Ruth was incredulous.
"We've got bigger fish to fry. The Summit Hotel for one."
Lucas weighed in. "I don't disagree, but - "
"The Summit Hotel should be our priority. If you don't have anything by tonight, I want Fuller brought in for interview in the morning. And if that doesn't give us anything, then we're done." Simon left them with no chance to argue further, walking off and leaving Lucas and Ruth standing alone.
Like Lucas, Ruth couldn't fault Simon's logic, but it didn't stop her from being furious at his attitude. "That man ..."
"Forget it, Ruth," said Lucas. "You know what Harry said. It's not worth it. Let's just hope Rob Fuller gives us something, and soon."
When Ruth arrived home that evening it was after eight, and she was feeling tired and grumpy. The day had dragged interminably, they didn't really seem to be getting anywhere with the Firmitas investigation, and she had to admit Simon was probably right.
She shuffled through the mail that had been posted through the letterbox. A postcard from a friend who was in Italy for a holiday. Holidays … if only. A letter from a charity seeking donations. A bill. Blast. Another bill. Double blast. Then a plain white envelope with just her name written on the front. In Harry's writing.
Ruth unsealed the envelope with trembling hands, removing a card featuring Camille Pissarro's The Boulevard Montmartre at Night. The painting reminded her of a past dinner and spirited debate with Harry. She flipped the card open.
Dear Ruth,
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did, or taken my frustration out on you. I know you only want to help, and I couldn't have made it this far without you. Your support means more to me than I can possibly say.
I'm not used to having someone worry about what happens to me. I'm a stubborn idiot, but I promise I will try to be less so.
I hope you will forgive me.
Harry
Ruth smiled. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered, and her shoulders relaxed as the tension moved out of her body.
Minutes later, Harry's mobile vibrated, alerting him to the arrival of a message. He opened and read it, finding just one word: Friends.
Harry let out a breath of relief, and his heart lifted.
It was Saturday again and Simon's deadline had arrived. They'd had no luck with monitoring Rob Fuller, so he had been brought in. Fuller protested his innocence but caved quickly when Lucas began telling him how much they knew about him - every little detail – and what they could, and would, do to make his life difficult.
"Okay, okay!" Fuller's eyes were darting all over the place. From Lucas looming over the table, to Dimitri who stood back a little with his arms folded, then toward the locked door, and back to Lucas again. "I got into debt, and a friend said he knew someone who could help me out."
"You met him in person?"
"Yeah. Just once. He promised me I could earn ten grand, from just one job. That was enough to pay off what I owed. All I had to do was make sure a specific container got through without too close an inspection."
"But that wasn't it was it?" Lucas straightened up and tilted his head as he asked the question.
"No." Fuller swallowed hard. "A few weeks later I got a phone call and he told me there was another job. Another ten grand. And there would be more down the track." He shrugged his shoulders. "Wasn't going to pass up something like that, was I? It was easy money. And no one got hurt."
"No one got hurt … no one got hurt? What do you think those guns were used for?" Lucas had had enough. "Come on Rob, who was the contact?"
For a minute, Fuller didn't look like he was going to give up the details, but Lucas' face grew fiercer, and when he saw Dimitri take a few paces closer, he gave in. "Little Dragon."
"Little Dragon?"
"Yeah. That's his name. Xiao Long."
"Where do we find him?" They could track him down, but Fuller could make it a whole lot easier for them, and himself.
"The Chinese Embassy."
Lucas turned sharply and nodded at Dimitri as he walked over to the door and punched in the code. As the door closed behind Lucas, Dimitri sat down in front of Rob Fuller and smiled. "So. Rob. This is how it's going to work."
Xiao Long certainly did work at the Embassy. He was one of the trade attaches, and had good reason for legitimate contact with Docklands International. Which meant he was also perfectly positioned to know who could make sure the contents of the containers went undetected, and how to make that happen.
On Sunday evening, with a little help from Malcolm and Ruth, Lucas and Beth broke into the Chinese Embassy and searched the commercial office while Dimitri waited in a van down the street. They were only gone for quarter of an hour, when they returned to the van out of breath.
"That was quick."
"Didn't get too far. A couple of guards showed up and didn't look like they were moving any time soon." Lucas was frustrated they didn't have more time. "We've got something, thanks to Beth. But we're going to need a translator."
One phone call was all it took to have Ruth on the case. And a couple of hours later, a translator was appraising the team of the contents of a series of deleted emails between Xiao Long and a triad member in Shanghai. The same triad that had been linked to the Firmitas.
Simon was delighted. The smugglers were identified and being prosecuted, and the guns were out of circulation. It wouldn't stop them for long, but at the very least, they would be forced to look elsewhere for backing. MI5's part of the job was complete and Simon would get a big tick beside his name. Very neat and tidy. Operation closed.
Still more chapters to come :)
Now that the story of the week is wrapped up, there will be more Harry and Ruth, but before that, the next chapter has a cameo from another character.