Thank you all for the reviews! This chapter is more spycraft, less fluff, but I think there is a glimmer of story in here somewhere! Please review – they really help motivate me to get another chapter out…

If she had time to think things through, Ruth may have done things a bit differently. But time was one thing she didn't have much of, and this was no time for social niceties. She figured she could get most of what she needed by hacking into the system later, but there were some details that only Harry would be able to provide, and the only way to get to Harry was through Catherine.

She took a circuitous route, making sure she wasn't followed. In the past few weeks, she was followed sporadically. They weren't too dogged about it though; it never took too much to shake the tail. She wondered what the point of it was; what did they think she was going to do? Probably exactly what I'm doing now. As she pulled in front of her block, it suddenly struck her as strange that if she had answered differently, she would be meeting with her stepdaughter. Would they have been friends? She wasn't even sure how things stood between father and daughter. Ruth decided to take the fact that that she was going to visit Harry as a good sign. She waited for a few minutes, checking to see if Catherine was under surveillance. She took a deep breath, and then rang the bell.

"Yes?" Ruth recognized the young woman from the long-ago November Committee episode.

"I work with your father, and I need your help." There was no time to beat around the bush.

"And why should I help you?"

"Because if you don't, your father will most likely end up in prison."

"From what I hear, maybe he deserves to be there."

"Listen, could we at least not debate this on your landing?"

Catherine reluctantly stood aside and let Ruth through.

"I'm sorry to get you involved in this, but there really is no other option."

"You haven't told me who you are yet." But I could probably put a name to you, she thought.

"That's not important and better for you anyway. You just need to follow these instructions tomorrow morning," and Ruth handed her a short, typewritten list.

"How do I know that I, or my father for that matter, can trust you?"

Ruth's heart lightened a bit at the question. If Catherine didn't care what happened to Harry, then she would have no scruples about what she was asking her to do.

"You don't. Not for sure. But it already looks pretty bad for him; what would I gain to go through all of this trouble…just to make it worse?"

The young woman considered the woman before her, and took the paper from her hand.

"Do spooks drink tea?"

"This one does."

They drank in silence for awhile.

"What did he do?" Catherine asked quietly.

"He saved a life." Ruth voiced hitched ever so slightly before continuing. "It was a risky thing to do. If your father's plan had worked, the state secret he traded would've been back in our hands instead of with the Chinese and no one would be any the wiser."

"And this secret…is it serious?"

"Serious enough…"

It was late by the time Ruth left Catherine. She had gone over the plan for the morning a few times, and was reasonably confident that it could be pulled off. Although Catherine didn't look much like her father physically, she was very much like Harry in her mannerisms, and for some reason, this comforted Ruth a bit. She had a long night ahead of her, and stopped for an extra large coffee before heading off to her next destination.

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What kind of person does this sort of thing for a living, all the time? she thought. She was careful to follow the instructions to the letter, making sure to burn the list given to her once it was memorized. She fought the urge to look behind her to see if she was being followed. Her visitor last evening didn't sound too convincing when she said she didn't think she would be. But at this point, nothing would surprise her. Whilst waiting in the very bland and not very welcoming visiting area, she couldn't help but think of her father and what he must be like on the job. He obviously inspired loyalty among those under him, her visitor (surely that was the Ruth she'd heard about?) proved that. She had a hard time reconciling her emotions about her father.

When he was finally led in, her heart softened. He was pale, and older than she remembered. He seemed both surprised and glad to see her.

"How are you?" She tried to keep her voice calm, trying not to cry seeing her father in this situation.

"Better for seeing you." He smiled, and continued, "I'm bored out of my mind, but other than that, I'm alright."

"I brought you some books…thought you could use something…"

"Thanks."

"The top one…Auntie thought you'd like it, but she'll need it back."

Who was she talking about? He had no living aunt, and he seriously doubted Jane's sister would give him anything more than a slap to the head at the best of times. Then, it dawned on him. It had to be. Ruth. What is she playing at?

"I'll read that one first. Tell her I said 'Thanks'. How are you?"

"Other than this, I'm well. I've been seeing someone, actually. I think you'd like him."

Harry considered his daughter. She looked more and more like her mother as time wore on. In his head, Catherine was still an emotional, headstrong girl of about eight. Now, here she was telling him all about her boyfriend, and trying to be brave and not cry in front of her incarcerated father. What was left of his heart was shattering, bit by bit. They talked for a bit more, and when it was time for her to go, she gave him a hug, before the guard could stop her.

"Take care of yourself, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you, Catherine. I know I'm crap at showing it, but I do."

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It was ungodly early when Dimitri, Beth and Tariq entered the Grid. All three were shattered from a lack of sleep, but no one was particularly surprised to see Ruth already there.

"Did you sleep at all?" Beth asked the analyst.

"No. Too much to do. How did you fare?"

"Dimitri's making progress on Bateman, but it's slow going." Tariq looked apologetic.

"We did manage to get a bug in the inquiry room, but I'm not sure how much use it'll be. There's a lot of interference in that building…"

"That's OK. Hopefully, the panel won't be meeting much longer anyway."

"You have a plan." It wasn't a question from Dimitri.

"Yes. It's a little risky, but as long as we get the codes from Harry, it should be fine."

"And how do you propose to get those, and what are they for?"

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Back in his cell, Harry grabbed the topmost book in the stack that Catherine had given him, a seemingly brand new Penguin classics copy of Tess of the D'urbervilles. His mind was swimming with all the possibilities of codes Ruth could attempt. If he had any inkling as to the kind of message, he could narrow things down a bit, but he couldn't. He thumbed through the book slowly, trying to notice any unusual markings. He was starting to lose hope until he reached chapter eight. He didn't see them at first, but on closer inspection there were tiny pinpricks on certain letters. Holding the page up to the light, there were a few of these tiny holes on each page, but only on a select number of chapters. This was going to take awhile, but Harry had nothing but time.

It took nearly an hour, but Harry got the message. If Catherine hadn't given it to him, he would have scarcely trusted what he saw. Why on earth would Ruth need his Albany verification codes? They would hardly be useful now, since Albany was halfway across the globe. His heart sank; whatever she was planning was dangerous for her and her career. It was all well and good for him; he was a few years removed from retiring anyway, but she had a bright future ahead of her. He had half a mind to give the book back without the information she needed for her own good, but then he thought of her eyes which he so often nearly lost himself in. She told him to fight, and that's just what he would have to do.