o0o

Chapter Five

The sounds of the park were a welcome distraction from the usual hustle and bustle of Thames House. Harry walked along the path enjoying the little bit of sun that had managed to come out this afternoon. He quickly spotted the person he was here to meet and made his way over the grass towards the park bench strategically placed between two trees.

Harry paused for a moment, glancing around at the park and the children chasing each other around on the nearby play structure. "I can see why you wanted to meet here." He said, taking a seat on the bench beside the other man.

John Hayworth of MI6 smiled as he turned towards Harry. "Am I getting predictable in my old age?" He asked. The other man was dressed warmly in a tan hat and blue jacket. It was welcome splash of colour next to Harry's black.

"To old friends maybe." Harry replied. He glanced at the children playing, particularly the dark haired boy running around on the play structure. "Grandson?" He asked turning back to Hayworth.

The other man nodded. "Anne's first. He just turned nine. Smart lad." He said sounding impressed. "He'd give some of my officers a run for their money." He shifted on the bench.

"Oh, I doubt that very much." Harry replied. "You always were the best at getting your point across. I'd imagine that's why they've still got you out in the field."

"What?" Hayworth sounded indignant. "To knock some sense into these children they've got playing dress up?" He shook his head. "In our days, Harry, there was a law against sending children to do the kind of work we did." He sighed.

"Your office said you were out of the country." Harry said.

Hayworth grunted. "I wish. I'm halfway retired with a younger generation all trying to force me out so they can have my paycheque." He shook his head. "Never would have happened in our day, Harry. It's a young man's game now."

He turned back to Harry. "But you didn't come all the way down here to talk about my work. What was so urgent that my office had to warn me about your 'important' phone calls?"

"It seems a mutual friend of ours has decided to come back into the game." Harry replied. "Julia Green."

He felt Hayworth pause. "Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while." The other spook finally said. There was silence as both men carefully thought over what they were going to say next.

Harry was the first to break the silence. "John, I don't know why MI6 is interested in Julia Green. But what I do know is that sharing information is the best way to making sure that this assassin doesn't kill again."

Hayworth laughed. "Oh, I'm not laughing at you, Harry." He assured the other spook quickly. "Just the absurdity of that statement."

"Why?" Harry asked. "What is so absurd?"

"Because we trained her, Harry." Hayworth snapped. "We made her."

"What are you telling me?" Harry asked after a moment.

Hayworth sighed. "I supposed it would come out sooner or later. I was hoping it would be later so I'd have a chance to retire." He told Harry conversationally.

Harry didn't reply and Hayworth continued. "You won't get her real name or the names of the rest of them. There was only one man who knew and he's ten feet down if you get my meaning. This particular program was originally created as a contingency in case the government needed plausible deniability, but has morphed into more then that. Harry, we have men and woman running around the UK; assassins sanctioned by the Security Services.

"That rumour has been going around as long as the Security Services have existed." Harry replied sceptically. "Chinese whispers."

"Ah, but this time what is distorted is the truth." Hayworth told him. He looked intently at Harry. "You're not wearing a wire, are you?"

"John." Harry admonished. "You know me."

Hayworth grunted. "Yeah; and I thought I knew my country."

"So she's on our side." Harry said, gently prodding the other man to continue.

Hayworth snorted. "There are no sides, Harry." He gently reminded his old friend. "I don't know who the bloody hell they work for. For all we know it could even be themselves. What's she asked you to do?"

"It's already been done." Harry replied. "We had no choice but to cooperate with her."

Hayworth nodded. "That's the way they like it." He stood from the bench, abet stiffly. "Don't trust her, Harry. No matter what your instincts say." He glanced towards the park where his grandson was playing. "And don't come to me again. I'm done."

He started to walk away, but Harry stopped him. "John."

The other spook turned around and Harry stood, walking over to him. "How do you contact her?" Harry asked. The other man looked away. "Don't deny that you do." Harry told him. "Not to me."

Hayworth looked back at him and tightened his lips. "Petty France Broadway. You'll get your answers there, Harry."

The silence was shattered as Harry's phone rang. "Thanks, John." He walked away as he answered it. "Harry Pierce."

o0o

The pods opened and Harry stepped onto the Grid. It was busier then when he had left. Dimitri met him and together they walked towards Harry's office.

"What happened?" Harry asked, taking off his gloves.

"We tried to bring in Julia Green. Things got out of hand. Lucas was stabbed."

"Bad?" Harry asked in concern.

"His shoulder. He'll live." Dimitri replied. "She didn't even blink, Harry. It was almost like she wanted to do it."

"Julia Green never blinks. Lucas lucky she didn't actually want to kill him. Where is Lucas now?" Harry stopped by the door to his office and turned to face Dimitri.

"Hospital." Dimitri replied. "I had to make him."

"And the disc?"

"We have it." Dimitri handed the blue case to Harry. "I figured you'd want to hold onto it."

Harry took the disc. "You figured right. Have we managed to track Julia?"

"I set up a surveillance grid, but nothing so far. We're still looking."

Harry nodded. "Ok. Get Lucas back here as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep the surveillance active; let's hope she shows up." He opened his door.

"Harry!"

He turned as Ruth walked toward them. He nodded to the young spook. "Thanks, Dimitri. Ruth, what can I do for you?"

"You'll want to hear this." Ruth said to Dimitri. "Beth and I been monitoring the police investigation of Pajari's murder. They found a safe which they managed to crack. It contained the gun that was used to kill Pajari. No fingerprints, but it's a match."

"Well, we can add another unsolved murder to the long list in my office." Harry deadpanned.

"There's more." Ruth continued. "They also found maps, Harry. Of the tube system, transit, and safe-houses. But not just any safe-houses; our safe houses. It get's worse. One of our agents just got back from a deep cover op in Russia is staying in one of those safe-houses. The maps aren't marked so it's unsure which one she could be targeting, but his information was on the disk. If she got access to it..."

"She would know where every single one of our officers are in the entire country." Harry finished. "Warn the officers at the safe house. Dimitri, I want you to get over there as soon as possible. I'll have Lucas join you as soon as possible. Go."

Dimitri nodded and took off.

Harry turned to Ruth and handed her the disc. "I want you and Tariq to take a look at this disc, make sure that there is no possible way it was copied. Pray it's the original or we've got one of the biggest security breeches in history on our hands."

o0o

Lucas climbed out of the car that had brought him to the safe house and looked up and down the street. He shut the door. The several flats that were owned by MI-5 were quiet, no movement by the windows. Dimitri met him.

"We've locked down the entire street. There are three officers inside along with our deep cover operative and we have another three covering the street with us."

Lucas nodded, then winced and rubbed at his shoulder. "I'll start with line of sight from the rooftops. I want to double check their security measures."

"Got it." Dimitri went towards the house and Lucas motioned to two of the officers standing by. "Come with me." He pointed down the street and the officers took off. Lucas stood in front of the house. He looked up and the turned in a circle, watching the top of the roofs. There were only a few houses in the area that gave a clean line of sight into the safe house.

He saw one of the curtains move and an old lady walked past the window. Julia wouldn't have chosen that one. He looked towards the other one, dismissing that as well. It was the third one that caught his interest. Another apartment building, it would have easy access to the roof by non tenants.

He went quickly up the stairs and then shoved opened the door that lead to the roof. The wind was the first thing that caught his attention. The next was a shoe sticking out from behind a vent. Lucas yanked out his phone and then his weapon. The phone rang once and then Dimitri picked up.

"I'm on the roof of the apartment building. Get up here right away, I think we have a body."

Lucas dropped his phone into his pocket and then walked towards the vent, weapon outreached. He went around the vent and then stopped as he saw two bodies piled on top of each other. There was a sniper rifle lying beside the two bodies.

Lucas stepped closer and saw that there was something stuck in a pocket. He pulled out his phone again and dialled.

o0o

Beth grabbed for her phone without looking up from her files. "Bailey."

"It's Lucas. We've done a though sweep of the area around the safe-house. We found something."

Beth looked up as Ruth walked by. She motioned to her to come over. "I'm going to put you on speaker. Ruth is here. It's Lucas."

"Lucas, what's happening?" Ruth asked.

"We found two bodies; Russian by the look of their tattoos. One of them had a picture of our officer on him. They also had surveillance gear and we found a sniper rifle with the bodies which coincidentally is what they were killed with. There was also a package in one of their coat pockets."

Ruth looked at Beth. "What is it?" She asked.

"It's a computer disc. She faked us out, Ruth."

Ruth stood up. "I'll get Harry." She said before running toward Harry's office. She slide the door open. "Harry?" She stopped. The office was empty.

o0o

The sun was slipping behind the tall buildings of London as Harry waited beside the building Hayworth had indicated. In the distance, he could see the top of Buckingham Palace. The sunset was beautiful display of orange, yellow, and red; reflecting off the old Victorian style buildings. There were a few men and women walking through the streets, the occasional tourist as it was so close to the Palace, but for the most part the streets were quiet.

Harry didn't turn around as a woman in a black coat rested her elbow on the railing beside him. "I must say that I was surprised to get your message." Julia said, hip pressed against the railing as she faced him. "How'd you figure out how to contact me?"

Harry straightened up and turned towards her. "I'm surprised you came at all. After you put one of my officers in the hospital and had the murder of a known assassin on your hands, I'd thought you'd be long gone by now."

"I had a few things to take care of."

He motioned. "Walk with me?"

Julia inclined her head in agreement and together, the two of them started to walk along the street towards Buckingham Palace. The first few minutes were spent in silence and Harry was the first to break it.

"So I assume that since this job is done, you'll fade back into the woodwork only to reemerge and make my life hell once again."

Julia turned towards him with a frown. "I'm not sure I like your tone, Harry."

Harry stopped walking. "What you like or don't like is of no concern for me. What concerns me is that fact that you will continue to roam around the streets without concern for ordinary citizens."

Julia inclined her head once again, curious now. "Then you better bring me in. No, wait. You can't because you have no evidence. The only evidence you have is that I helped you recover your reputation before a ladder-climber sold your operatives to the highest bidder."

They started walking again.

"No. The only evidence I have is a government sanctioned assassin." Harry replied. "I've managed to find out more about you in the last week then ever before. You got sloppy exposing yourself like this, Julia."

"What do you want from me?" She asked after a moment.

"Who do you work for?" Harry asked.

Julia stopped and turned to face him, pressing her back against the building behind her. "Hayworth didn't tell you?" She asked.

That threw Harry for a moment. The other spook hadn't known who was employing the assassin; or did he?

"I serve my country; same as you do." She continued.

Harry shook his head. "No. You and I are nothing alike."

"I'd say we're exactly alike, Harry." Julia shot back. "I only wish I could have met you twenty years earlier." She walked even closer to him. "We could have done a lot together then." She looked up at him. "I've always been on your side, Harry. The grey area maybe, but still on your side."

Harry didn't reply.

Julia continued. "That is why even after you've threatened me ever so nicely, I'm going to tell you about something else that you're going to need to look after. Just don't say I didn't tell you."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "What did you do this time?"

Julia leaned forward and picked up his arm. She placed the blue computer disc case into his hand. "I'm sorry I had to borrow this. It's the original. I didn't make a copy."

"How can I be sure? I only have your word." Harry clutched the disc tight.

Julia placed a hand on his chest. "The thing you need to look after is Albany, Harry." She whispered in his ear. "Someone's looking for it." She pulled back so she could see his face. Her hand drifted down to his tie and she straightened it. "Keep it safe." She told him before turning away from him.

Harry watched her dark figure as she walked down the sidewalk and once again, his curiosity was peaked. How did an unknown element know so much about what was going on within the spooks world? He looked down at the disc in his hand and clutched it tight. It was the last time he would allow that woman anywhere near Thames House.

-THE END-