The Gruinard Project Chapter 11

[khandy]

I hope this an cushion against series 9 Lucas



Chapter 11

The Plaza On The River 08.30

She watched Lucas check the gun, before securing it to his belt in the small of his back. It had been delivered with breakfast; coffee, toast, cereal and a Magnum 44, although she was pretty certain it wasn’t a Magnum 44. Hell even Dirty Harry hadn’t carried a Magnum 44. This was altogether more real; small, compact, a cold steel grey. It shocked her how fascinated she was by the weapon and the confident way Lucas handled it. His long tapered fingers curling around it getting a feel for the weight of the weapon. Then clipping on the magazine and securing it not at his shoulder but in his back.

Questions, she had hundreds of questions, and no time to ask them, so she contented herself with just one.

“Why wear it in your back, not at the shoulder?”

Lucas looked over at her. He was amazed that the gun hadn’t completely freaked her out, although he had seen her recoil when she had flipped open the paper and seen it lying there with the breakfast order. He had picked it and the magazines that had been delivered with it, up and placed them on the bed, while they ate. He had watched as her eyes had repeatedly been drawn to it, expecting a hundred questions but she had asked none. He had felt her close scrutiny as he carried out the safety checks and clipped the gun to his belt. It was only now that she asked a question.

“It’s more practical. Firstly it’s better concealed in my back. Secondly it’s easier to draw.” He had the gun out and drawn before she could blink. She watched as he calmly put it back. “Thirdly it’s not easy for somebody to take my weapon. I have both hands free and unrestricted to block any attempt to disarm me; a shoulder holster would restrict my movements. Also, try and remove it.” He raised his arms up and she made to pull it from the belt, but she couldn’t undo the clip, it appeared stuck. “It can only be removed in a certain way,” he told her. He pulled his peacoat on concealing the weapon beneath it.

Kate’s hands moved to his waist and fingered the other gadgets on the belt.

“I thought you said you didn’t need any fancy gimmicks like Mr Bond,” she said.

“I don’t. No pens that are cameras, or knifes in the heels of my shoes and my watch is a standard citizens quartz eco power, gift from my parents. And you already know that I don’t drive an Aston Martin. I don’t need Mr Bond’s equipment. My own is more than satisfactory.”

Kate smiled.

“So it is Mr North, so it is.”

Lucas laughed, she really was priceless and unexpected. She should be scared out of her wits and he had no doubts she was, but she was able to work with her fear. He wondered if she realised that she had the makings of an excellent agent. He kissed her briefly before he left her room.

Lucas brought himself a coffee and looked for a seat in the terrace café. It gave him an excellent few of the front of the hotel. A phone call from Ros had already let him know where the man, who had been watching the hotel, now was. He was stood against the wall reading the paper. Lucas weaved in among the tables and took a seat in the window. The man’s posture had altered very slightly when Lucas moved into view. So the man recognised him at least, the question was, did he know Kate as well? Time would tell, he took a sip of his coffee as he waited. He watched as Kate crossed the lobby, the agent Ros had sent following her out to the front of the hotel. Lucas was surprised that he had to resist following and making sure she was safe himself. Stupid,the agent was a good one, he just had to trust him to do his job, but he couldn’t help worrying. He slowly flicked his eyes to the man against the wall, watching him closely to gage his reaction to Kate.

Kate schooled herself not to look for Lucas as she walked across the lobby. Did people know, she wondered, how scared she was? How her legs were shaking and her heart was hammering? As nobody seemed to be paying any mind to her, she guessed not. Would she even know when the agent who was escorting her to Thames House, started to follow her? Somehow she doubted it. She walked out of the hotel and set off on the short journey to Thames House.

The man leaning against the wall didn’t move as she passed in front of him. She was close enough to touch him but the man had not so much as flickered. Lucas watched wondering if he was going to start to follow her. The minutes ticked by and the man just stayed still. Lucas pulled out his phone.

“Harry, he’s still watching the hotel. I’ll head back to my flat, if I’m his surveillance target that’s what he will be expecting me to do. I still think we should do nothing at this stage, just try and ID him.”

“Ok Lucas whatever you think.”

He lingered a while longer finishing his coffee, before standing and walking out of the hotel. He headed over towards the river looking down towards the London Eye before turning and walking towards his flat. It was busy along the embankment, even this early. He crossed the river at Vauxhall Bridge but not before glancing at MI6 headquarters. Smiling as he remembered Kate saying he had better equipment than James Bond.

As he expected the man followed him, he certainly wasn’t military or secret service trained, he wasn’t good enough. Even if Lucas had not been MI5, he would have known he was being followed. So that left police or private eye. Lucas went over in his mind why the police might be tailing him; the only person he could think who would have him tailed was Dolby. From what Ros had said Dolby was far from certain about Lucas’ loyalties. Lucas knew him from his pre Russia days and for the life of him he could not understand how he had been promoted, given that the man was an ignorant fool. He might still suspect Lucas’ loyalty but somehow Lucas doubted that was what this was about. His first gut instinct had been that this was connected to the biological weapons threat. In all his years as an agent and in prison he had learned to trust his instincts.

So that left a private eye. Lucas reasoned that he was being watched, just to monitor his movements but why him, and nobody else in section D? Maybe he had been sited in a divorce case. Lucas smiled, if that was what this was about section D would have a field day. Of course the fact that his social life was non-existent until Kate, kind of blew that theory out of the water. Which left him back with the question, was this about the threats? If it was, then it was personal, so they would have to look into any possible connections.

Lucas turned into the road where his flat was located. His wandering thoughts and slow pace, to enable the man following him to keep up, had meant he had taken longer to walk than he usually would have. His flat was in a 1930’s block, he was lucky really, MI5 had rented it out for him while he was away in Russia. His 150,000 pound investment was now worth 800,000 pounds, which anyway you looked at it was ludicrous. When he had first come back MI5 had rented him a flat, still unsure of his loyalty they had wanted him watched. He could smile now at the fluffy old dear with her welcome gift of macaroons, who was reporting directly back to Harry. It was different at the time though he hated the thought that Harry didn’t trust him. Once he had been given official clearance they told him he still owned this flat so he moved back.

The man halted on the corner as Lucas pushed open the door and climbed the communal stairs. Once inside he contacted Harry.

“I’m back at my flat, he is not very good at this, I could have lost him with ease or confronted him about following me. He’s on the corner watching my front door at the moment,” Lucas told him.

“Does that mean you won’t be in today?” Harry asked.

“Harry really! And you trained me. The people in 1A have a garden flat. I will leave through their back door.” Lucas told him.

“You have a key?” Harry asked.

“Yeah I was being neighbourly, offered to feed the cat while they were on holiday and they left the key with me,” Lucas said. “Well, as I told them, convenient if they ever got locked out. Also if I want to leave undetected I can,” Lucas paused. “I should apologise to those poor blokes you had watching me in the early days, the times they stood out in the cold watching an empty flat.” Lucas disconnected the call; that will have ruffled Harry’s feathers, he thought smiling.

Harry stood looking at his phone. Lucas had always liked to put one over on him; he had a problem with the minor rules and in the old days had often bent them to see how far he could go. He could imagine the satisfaction that Lucas would have got giving his minders the slip. He smiled pleased that a small part of the old Lucas still remained.

He glanced out of his window, across the communication area of the grid. Kate was perched on Malcolm’s desk, her foot swinging gently two and fro as she listened to something he was saying. Her face suddenly broke into a sunny smile Malcolm must be being his usual charming self. He was impressed at how easily she had slipped into the team, of course it helped that she had a natural aptitude and ability for the work. The team would not have accepted her if she had been a fool, but she had shown that she was able to think outside the box and that had impressed them. Her refusal to be cowered by them had scored points with them as well, especially with Ros. His section head didn’t trust easily, yet she had returned from the girls’ afternoon full of praise for the young women. Harry sighed. This made the questions he had to ask all the more difficult.

He stuck his head out of his office.

“Kate, could I have a word please?” he asked.

A look of surprise passed fleetingly over her face as she hopped of Malcolm’s desk.

Harry shut the door and gestured for her to take a seat.

“I thought you might like to know that Lucas is on his way in, the man followed him to his flat and Lucas has now given him the slip,” Harry explained.

Kate exhaled slowly. Was it so obvious that she was worried about Lucas?

“Thanks Harry, obviously I need to work on my poker face, was I that obvious?” she asked.

“Not at all, I’m trained to see things. You are actually very good at concealing things, which is why this conversation is going to be awkward.”

Kate looked puzzled, what on earth was Harry going to ask her?

“You spent the night with Lucas I assume you weren’t just sleeping?” Harry looked at her.

Kate shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Harry, as I’m sure Ros reported back to you yesterday afternoon, I think you know the answer to that question. What do you really want to know? ”

“You’re right, I’m aware that you and Lucas are lovers, I just wondered if that was why you were both awake at three am? Or if there was some other reason?”

Kate looked at Harry. He was fishing for information about Lucas, why?

“We made love several times during the night.” Kate answered carefully.

“So that’s why you were awake at three in the morning?” Harry asked again.

Kate blushed embarrassed this was like getting the third degree from a parent.

“Well I wasn’t clock watching but I would say that it is highly probable that we were having sex around that time,” Kate replied. She was careful not to lie. She and Lucas had made love around that time but it was after the call to Ros.

Harry realised that Kate had guessed that he was after information about how Lucas was away from the grid. Her careful answers were her way of protecting him. He changed track.

“So this liaison with Lucas it’s just casual sex. Lucas doesn’t want emotional intimacy, just sexual gratification from a safe partner, well that’s understandable after eight years abstinence.” Harry’s face recoiled from the hard smack Kate whipped across his face.

“How dare you!” she stood leaning over the desk her face inches from Harry. “How dare you speak to me like that. I can understand how you might assume that about me, you don’t know me! But Lucas you do know.”

She moved away, knowing she might strike him again. How could he say such things? He had taken the most beautiful experience of her life and made it grubby and dirty. How dare Harry reduce that to nothing more than a casual fling.
She turned to face him her eyes blazing with anger.

“How dare you think of Lucas in that way, a man who has dedicated his entire adult life to you.” Harry’s eyes widened in surprise at Kate’s words. “Yes you Harry! Don’t look so surprised. Eight years in a Russian cell, suffering Christ knows what, and all for you Harry.”

“Don’t you mean his country?” Harry asked.

“No I don’t Harry. It’s not his country‘s, his family’s or Elizaveta’s name he wakes screaming in agony, it’s yours. Perhaps I should tell him what a complete crock all the loyalty crap is? Perhaps I should tell him what you really think of him? That he’s just a shallow idiot willing to sleep with any tart in a skirt. How can you not trust him? How can you not see what kind of man he is?” By the time she reached the last question her voice was little more than a whisper.

“Harry knows exactly what kind of a man I am, Kate; he more than anybody else in the world knows what kind of man I am.” Lucas stood in the door way. “His entire conversation in here has been about you not me. Give me one reason not to beat the daylights out of you Harry before you have my resignation?”

“Oh Lucas that’s easy, answer me truthfully. In my shoes would you not have done the same thing? I need to know if the demons you fight to control are going to jeopardise this team? I won’t risk them. Kate was being very evasive; I had to know why you were awake in the middle of the night. So I changed track,” Harry explained.

“And me naïve fool that I am fell into your trap. This really is a grubby little service isn’t. I am sorry Lucas I hope you know I wouldn’t willingly have told him anything.”

She walked from the room and headed straight for the toilets. Lucas watched as Ros followed her.

“You really are a manipulative sod Harry. Why not just ask me myself?”

“Because you would have lied and you are better at lying than Kate is. Don’t you think I know what I created Lucas?”

“Yeah, a copy of you, but that’s all I am Harry, a copy and a copy as you know is never as good as the original.”

“No Lucas you are not a copy, you’re an original and way better than me. I could not have done what you did. I would have killed myself and I wonder why you didn’t. Christ Lucas, you wake screaming my name. Is that true?” Harry asked.

“As of last night yes. The vision I had was so vivid, so intense, don’t ask me to talk about it. I can’t, not yet.” Lucas forced the image that flashed into his brain back in its file.

“Can you do your job Lucas?” Harry asked.

“Yes I can Harry, I have to, it’s all I have.”

“Lucas you are a fool, there’s a young women who loves you very much, crying in the toilet, as we speak. So cut the crap about what you don’t have and open your eyes to what you do have.”

“Harry that’s crap, she barely knows me.”

“She’s known you for nine years,” Harry said tiredly. “Now are you resigning or working?”
*********


Ros glanced at her watch; she had let Kate cry for ten minutes. She tapped on the door.

“Ok Kate time for self-pity is over, out you come.”

“Go away Ros.”

“Nope can’t do that, there’s a queue for the loos and it’s seen as a sign of weakness if an agent wets themselves. So either you come out or I break the door down. Jo and I like you, but not enough to pee our jeans.”

The door flew open.

“You call using me and my relationship with Lucas liking me! Christ Ros how do you all treat your enemies? How soon after you left my room were you reporting back to Harry? What did you tell him? She’s in love with him, Harry. She’ll spy on him, Harry. That is liking me! Why not tell Harry I’ll sleep with him as well.”

“If you love Lucas I don’t think he would approve of a threesome, it’s his Methodist upbringing you see, it’s not allowed.”

“Oh God, did I just tell you I love him?”

Ros nodded.

“Yup but it’s ok because he loves you as well.”

“Ros when I need you to make declarations of love on my behalf I will ask.”

Both women jumped at the sound of Lucas’ voice.

“Well if you got on with it I wouldn’t have to. I am telling you, playing dating agency and agony aunt were not in my job description. So please for the sake of peace, prosperity, my sanity and Jo’s bladder, tell each other that you love one another. And another thing North put a bell on it or stop sneaking up on people.” Ros moved to the door. “Also I would suggest that the ladies toilet is not the most romantic setting to declare undying love… I should be paid for this advice. There is a meeting in twenty minutes. Be there.”

“It pains me to say it but Ros is right, the toilet isn’t the right place for this conversation,” Lucas said. He reached for some paper towels and gently wiped away her tears. “But she is also right when she says that I love you, I have done for nine years.”

“Snap, I love you too, have done for nine years,” Kate whispered.

How could a kiss be different just because she had said I love you? Kate thought, it shouldn’t be but it was. The passion and intensity were like nothing she had experienced ever before.

Jo’s blond head appeared around the door.

“Sorry to interrupt guys but Harry has received another note.”