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Ros stared out of the front windscreen in silence as Harry maneuvered the black 4x4 through the busy London traffic. She was tense, knowing the woman they were about to confront had a history with Section D before she had started there. She had known Harry a lot longer than all of them, apart from Malcolm.
"Ros." Harry spoke calmly. "You know Tessa may well have left. If she has any idea we are looking for her."
"She knows." Ros answered, her clipped words giving away the tension. "Teflon Tessa knows what she is doing. I'm just wondering how she dragged the boy into it and where Jool Silvitir is hiding."
"Any rocks near by, we'll check underneath them." Harry swung the 4x4 into a side street as Ros narrowed her eyes.
"It's just too easy. Tariq finding her location." Ros paused. "It's almost like she wanted to be found."
"This is Tessa Phillips." Harry paused. "She never does anything under the radar. If she is working with Nightingale then she will be in it for the money. And she will want us to know about it." Ros smiled slyly, knowing Harry was right.
"Harry."
"Ros."
"This is not going to go the same way our meeting with Arkardy did. When I thought he had killed Adam."
"No. It is not." Harry paused. "Tessa needs to face a judge for what she has done. Face a jury."
Ros watched him closely. She had known Harry for almost a decade and thought she had known when he was lying. Now, she wasn't so sure. "She deserves that. And Arkardy?"
"I thought you'd ask. One day." He sighed as he parked the car. "You know he was responsible for the capture of Lucas. He worked with Connie to prevent Lucas coming back to the UK. He left Lucas to rot when he believed he was no more use. He thought he could turn him before returning him to MI5." Harry paused. "He wanted Adam dead and a number of other people at that ceremony."
"We aren't executioners." Ros spoke quietly.
"No." Harry agreed. "We are not." He watched her for a moment before deciding he had to say something else. Ros had done a number of questionable things over the years - he knew she had only done them to survive. He also knew Jo's death still haunted her and probably always would. "What I did then was about more than Adam. It was about more than Lucas. There is a history there, going back longer than you can imagine. He was an evil man, manipulative and determined to use his influence on Lucas to destroy more than Section D."
"Not the issue here." Ros snapped Harry back from his memories. "What we do with Teflon Tess is."
Harry smirked at the nickname Calum had come up with for the former MI 5 officer. "Shall we?" Harry smiled slightly as he parked the car a few feet from where Tariq had told them Tessa had been. Ros nodded once before opening the car door.
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Ruth walked across the Grid to where Malcolm was sat talking quietly to Erin and Zoe. Erin looked up as Malcolm repeated her legend once more.
"Ruth." She smiled, relieved that she had a reason not to have to repeat her legend back to Malcolm for what felt like the hundredth time. "What can I do for you?"
"James Phillips."
"What about him?" Beth asked as she joined the group.
"Oxford education, very wealthy father." She paused. "How does he get involved in whatever it is Tessa and Brewster are up to?"
"Good questions." Malcolm sighed, sensing he was never going to get Erin to focus on the papers in front of her. "One I hope Ellie and Zarah can answer."
"Zarah?" Zoe turned to Malcolm. "Really? The same name as the Queen's grand daughter?"
"Yes."
"It suits you." Beth smirked.
"Well, I did some digging and I am not altogether sure that he is an innocent dragged into this." Ruth bit her lip. Beth frowned.
"You think?"
"Tariq followed the money straight to him. Brewster's daughter has been on the outside, cultivating contacts that her father and husband can use now they are out."
"Have the police come up with anything remotely useful on the jail break?" Adam asked as he walked towards the centre of the Grid. Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Off to see a contact now. You coming?" He glanced at Dimitri who just nodded before following the tattoed spook from the Grid.
"While we wait for news from the police, all we can do is assume they have no idea where any of those who escaped the prison during the riot are."
"Which is why you have to stay away tomorrow." Zoe stared at Adam. "If you are supposed to be Alan there is a very good chance Tracey knows about you. Tessa has already blown Harry's cover. You or Zaf being anywhere near is only going to risk mine and Erin's. We are unknown. You three have all had contact with the man who thinks he is the mastermind behind Nightingale's latest little adventure."
"True." Adam glared. "But you are both going in wired. Belt and braces."
"I have micro cameras, transmitters and trackers prepared." Tariq called as he retrieved a bottle of RedBull from his bag. Ruth pulled a face as she saw him open the sugary energy drink. "What? You drink coffee."
"At least that looks vaguely suitable for human consumption." Ruth smirked as Tariq pretended to be offended.
"Good." Adam answered, but felt even less reassured at the idea of both women going under cover than he had a few minutes earlier. Memories of the beating he had seen Zaf and Harry take came to mind. He hated to think that either of them were putting themselves at risk but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop them. Exchanging glances with Zaf, he could see his best friend felt the same. He could only hope his fears were unfounded.
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Dimitri sat on the park bench as he watched pensioners play bowls. None of the elderly men and women paid him or Lucas any attention, instead focusing intently on the game at hand.
"You think we will ever play bowls?" Dimitri asked quietly.
"You think we are all going to live that long? Can you see Ros playing that game?"
"I can't even see Ros as a pensioner." Dimitri shrugged his shoulders as a brown haired woman in her mid sixties walked towards them. The hair was clearly dyed but the gaze was as focused and determined as any woman half her age had.
"John."
"Hello Eva." He turned to face the woman with the slightly Russian tinge to her accent. Eva nodded.
"Your friend?"
"He works with me. Dimitri."
"Ah, where are you from?"
"Originally?" Dimitri smiled, knowing this had to be the hundredth time he had been asked the same question. "South London. My parents are Greek Cypriot and my paternal grandfather was Russian which is how I got the name. But that isn't why we are here."
"You, my boy are a mongrol. John, where did you find him?"
"Would you believe me if I said a boat in the Carrabean?" Eva shook her head.
"Why are you here?"
"You have information." Lucas sat the other side of her as she nodded.
"I do. Nightingale are ready. More so than ever before. You remember that big hotel bomb a few years ago?"
"Never going to forget it. "Lucas' voice dropped. Eva nodded.
"Terrible business." She paused. "But that was just to test the waters. A trial run."
"They almost killed the Home Secretary of the time."
"Andrew Lawrence." Eva nodded. "Dipstick of a man. Anyway, they have more money. More kudos and from what I am hearing more man power. The riot at the prison was a means to an end. You have to track down Brewster. You do that and you may just stop this." She pulled a bag of boiled sweets from her bag, left them next to her and stood. Dimitri watched as she walked away, leaving the sweets behind.
"What was that all about?"
"Nightingale." Lucas ground the words out though gritted teeth.
"I mean the sweets."
"Dim, they aren't sweets." Lucas glanced at the paper bag realising she had left them more information than they could have hoped for.
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Ros pushed the door to the run down flat open as Harry hung back. It was clear that no one had spent any time or money on the place for years. The shelves to his left had a layer of dust almost an inch thick while the windows barely let enough light in to see where they were headed. The sunlight was barely able to penitrate the grime.
"Ros." He spoke calmly as he pushed the door to what he thought was the bedroom open. "Tessa isn't here."
"Guessed that." Ros tucked her gun back into her jeans as she joined him in the doorway of the bedroom. "Shit."
"Yeah." Harry stated as he saw the figure of the blonde woman in front of him, hanging like a puppet from the ceiling. "I don't think Zoe and Erin are going to meet Tracey tomorrow either." Ros nodded once before stepping towards the corpse. Carefully she checked for a pulse before retrieving the note that was stuck in Tracey's jacket pocket.
"The bloody nerve."
"What does it say?" Harry asked, already dialling the number needed to get a clean up team at the scene.
"Boy Wonder got it wrong, this time. See you soon Harry x" Ros read aloud. "She knew we were coming." Ros handed the paper to him. "She knew."
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A/N More soon x please review.