Blood For Blood Part VII

[Silktie]

WARNING: LANGUAGE / VIOLENCE

This part became a bit long, so I split it in two. One more to come, then we're done.

PART VII

Sunday 21 November, Night
Farm in Armagh district

Paddy moves the flame close to Harry’s face. He can feel the heat drying the sweat on his upper lip, and tries to turn his head away, but Paddy follows him with the flame. Harry knows that, if he survives this, he’ll be hearing the hissing noise of the blowtorch in his dreams for years to come. He wants to cry for the terror and agony Bill must have gone through.
“What do ye think, Chris, the lips first? That other bastard screamed bloody murder when we burnt his lips…”
Harry struggles violently against the ropes, his terror forgotten in the blind fury Paddy’s words awakens in him. Chris taps Paddy on the shoulder.
“Let me, I owe the fuckin’ bastard some pain.”

Lucas arrives at the window as the second man takes the blowtorch and advances towards Harry. It is obvious from the funny way he’s moving that Harry has hurt him in some way, and the expression on his face is murderous and sadistic as he hones in on the helpless man before him. Without wasting any time, Lucas smashes the window with the butt of the gun, and as the two men turn towards him in surprise, he shoots Chris between the eyes. The Irishman crumples to the floor without a sound. All eyes in the room are riveted on Lucas, who keeps the gun trained on Paddy.
“If you breathe too hard, I’ll shoot you. Liam, untie my friend.” His calm voice belies the coldness evident in his eyes, and Liam doesn’t doubt that he’ll be shot on the spot if he doesn’t obey. He moves over and unties Harry’s hands.

The moment he is free, Harry launches to his feet and grabs his gun off the table. In the blink of an eye he is before Paddy, and presses the gun against his heart.
“For Bill,” he says, pure hatred in his eyes, and pulls the trigger.

He spins around and moves towards Liam, who throws his hands up in surrender. Harry shoves him against the wall and presses the gun against his temple, his finger tightening on the trigger. This time, Lucas has no intention of stopping Harry, and he watches on without saying a word. Harry is breathing hard, almost nose to nose with his former agent. He stares into his eyes, and sees pure terror there, and it gives him great satisfaction. He presses the gun harder, the barrel digging into the man’s flesh painfully. And yet he cannot pull the trigger. A little voice inside his head reminds him that there is still an operation to finish, and that they need more information.

“Gnaaargh!” He turns away with a strangled cry, his fury and impotence caught up in the sound. Steak Knife slides down to the floor, his shaking legs unable to hold him up. Harry moves to stand over him, pointing the gun at him again.
“You helped kill my friend. You sold me out. There is nothing I want more than to kill you right now, but I won’t. Because you are going to go back to your friends, and you are going to get me the information I need. The bomb is a diversion; I want to know what else they’re planning. If you don’t find out what I want to know, I’m coming for you, and believe me, this time there will be no operational need to stop me.” He turns away, unable to look at the man anymore.
“Now get out of my sight!”

Lucas watches Steak Knife carefully until he drives off, before reaching for his phone. Ruth answers on the first ring.
“It’s over. I’ve got him, he’s all right.”
A half-laugh, half-sob is his answer, followed by a few seconds’ silence, before Ruth finally manages to get her voice working.
“Thank you, Lucas, thank you…”

When he returns to the house, he finds Harry sitting on the sofa, turning Bill’s ring absently between his fingers, staring at the two dead men and the blowtorch. He notices that the gun has been made safe and is lying on the table behind Harry. The only other time he has seen his boss look this drained, was when he’d rescued him and Ruth from being killed by Mani. Apparently the similarities in the situations are not lost on Harry either, as he raises his head and looks at Lucas.
“Thank you, Lucas. Again.” Lucas nods his head, and nothing more needs to be said. Neither of them is prone to overly emotional displays, or the need for passionate declarations on how Lucas has saved Harry’s life. They both know the stakes and the magnitude of what just happened, and that is enough.

Harry gingerly begins to take stock of his injuries. His jaw hurts like hell, and he feels a sharp, stabbing pain every time he breathes deeply. He knows from experience this means that he has some cracked ribs. His right shoulder aches and is beginning to stiffen up, and he suspects that he will probably be unable to lift his arm tomorrow.
“You did the right thing,” Lucas says, nodding towards the door through which Steak Knife hastily departed a few minutes earlier. Harry works his jaw from side to side, and attempts to lighten the mood a little bit.
“Don’t tell me you’re concerned about the impact on my soul as well.”
Lucas’ reply is prompt and delivered with a grin.
“Didn’t know you had one.”

Harry takes the comment in the spirit it was intended, and gives his Section Chief a half-smile before raising the matter he has been pondering ever since Lucas’ dramatic entry.
“By the way, how did you get here so fast?”
Lucas’ grin widens.
“Well, Harry, next time you plan to do something this idiotic in an attempt to get yourself killed, don’t alert your best analyst about your intentions.”
This elicits a small chuckle from Harry, which leaves him clutching his ribs.

They’re both quiet for a few moments, before Lucas continues in a more serious tone.
“I think she started putting the puzzle together the moment you were through the door… It’s the first time ever I’ve heard panic in Ruth’s voice.”
The thought of causing Ruth such emotional distress, makes Harry’s heart ache, and he closes his eyes in an attempt to hide his feelings from Lucas. He feels a weight settle on him, as the fear takes root that he has ruined the best thing ever to happen to him, and the thought that he has just thrown away this precious second chance he’s been given with her, begins to take over his mind.

“Next time, Harry, you can ask for my help.” Lucas’ voice is filled with conviction; he knows what it feels like to want revenge at all costs.
The older man opens his eyes, nods.
“I know.” His voice sounds slightly hoarse. He continues, only half-teasingly. “But maybe I’m concerned about your soul.”
The thought makes Lucas laugh.
“Harry Pearce: Protector of his subordinates’ souls… Now that’s a scary thought.”
Harry searches Lucas’ face, remembering the unexplained absences and the preoccupied air he’s been sporting of late.
“And you, Lucas? Will you take your own advice and ask for help, before it’s too late?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, but moves towards the door, leaving Lucas with the thought.
They exit the house, and walk back to where Lucas left the car.
Harry does not look back once.

* * *

Same day, Late night
Hotel Operations Centre

When Lucas and Harry enter the Operations Room, Beth jumps to her feet and beams at Harry. It looks for a moment as though she may rush forward and hug him, but she refrains at the last moment. In the end she prudently sticks to a more restrained welcome.
“Good to see you, Harry.”
Harry nods at her, and gives her a small smile, before his attention moves to Ruth, and stays there.

Beth looks between the two, then turns to Lucas.
“I, ah, need some help with, ah, that other thingie…”
Mercifully Lucas immediately picks up on her attempt to get him out of the room, sparing Beth from further bumbling.
“Right.”
As he turns towards the door, Ruth’s voice stops him. “Lucas?”
He looks at her. She doesn’t say anything else, merely tilts her head and gives the smallest of smiles, but her gratitude is plainly written all over her face, letting him know that he’s made a loyal friend for life. Lucas smiles, and nods at her, before walking out the door.
Beth gives Ruth’s shoulder a squeeze as she passes, and then Harry and Ruth are alone.

She has been watching him closely from the moment he walked into the room, immediately picking up on the careful way he is moving. She can tell he is in pain, and she can see a large bruise beginning to form on the left side of his face, and he’s carrying his right arm very gingerly, but apart from that, he seems to be gloriously unscathed. She doesn’t quite know what to feel; she runs through anger, hurt, relief and intense love in a few seconds while she stands rooted to the spot, staring at him. Harry is unnerved by her silence, by the intent look she is giving him, and he curbs his instinct to move forward and hold her, trying to figure out how angry she is with him instead. Finally, he breaks the silence nervously.
“I’m sorry I made you worry.”

It’s the apprehension in his voice, and the fact that he’s drinking her in as though he’d feared he’d never see her again, that moves her to find her voice.
“Stupid man…” Even as she utters the rebuke, her voice shaky with emotion, she takes a step towards him. It serves as the reassurance Harry needs, and he moves forward swiftly, folding her into his arms. Her next words are mumbled into his shoulder.
“Stupid bloody man…”

He can feel her tears seep into his shirt, and buries his face in her hair.
“I’m so sorry…” There is a catch in his voice. He grits his teeth against the pain as she squeezes his cracked ribs tightly, but refuses to let go. Harry knows that her actions are born from relief that he is alive, and does not necessarily mean that she has fully forgiven him. But that is a conversation for another day and place, when they are not in the middle of a difficult operation, and when they’ve both had time to reflect on things. In the meantime, he’ll take what little she is willing to give him. If he has to grovel for her forgiveness for the rest of his life, he’ll do so. It’s the least he owes her.

* * *

Monday 22 November, 15h00
Culloden Estate Hotel

There is only one hour to go to the start of the opening ceremony, and they have not heard anything from Steak Knife, and are still in the dark about the plans of the Republicans. Harry stalks the corridors restlessly, his face like thunder, causing everyone to give him a wide berth. Of course, the large purple bruise on his jaw, and the way he’s cradling his right arm gingerly against him, makes it clear to everyone that he has been in a scrape of some sort, but thus far no-one has dared ask. The Home Secretary had raised an eyebrow when he saw Harry that morning, and Harry had stared at him belligerently, daring him to ask, but the man had wisely refrained from doing so.

In truth, Harry is extremely worried. He knows they have made all the preparations they possibly could have. Ruth has been searching for any recent renting of apartments in the vicinity in the hope that they could predetermine Miller’s position, but it has proven fruitless. This caused Malcolm to remark, with a condescending sniff, that “everybody in this bloody place is related, so he is probably using his Auntie Mavis or Uncle Roger’s place as a base.” Malcolm himself is monitoring all CCTV in the area, hoping to spot the vehicle that will deliver the bomb, and give them more time to react. Meanwhile, Lucas has been riding the streets around the hotel on a motorcycle, familiarising himself with the layout and street names, and also keeping an eye out for Miller or anyone else acting suspiciously. At the same time Beth has been practically stalking the Sinn Fein delegation, carefully watching their interaction and getting close enough to eavesdrop on their conversations wherever possible. Despite all these efforts, they have nothing to show for it, and Harry is beginning to fear it may not be enough.

* * *

15h45

The delegates have begun to assemble in the banquet room, as the press continue to arrive in droves. Harry and Beth mingle with the delegates, keeping a sharp eye on everything. The tension among the MI5 contingent has built to almost fever pitch, their comms practically crackling with it. The Home Secretary catches Harry’s eye and gives him a smug look, obviously still thinking that there will be no attack on the conference. Harry cynically wonders if the man has already composed the letter of dismissal he intends to send to him.

* * *

Lucas straddles the idling bike in a central location, waiting for either Malcolm or Ruth to direct him somewhere, anywhere. The tension is almost unbearable.
Suddenly Malcolm’s voice comes through on the comms.
“I think I have something.”
There is a collective holding of breath as everyone waits for him to continue.
“Blue bread delivery van has just stopped outside the hotel entrance. One man got out and walked away at a rather brisk pace. Scanning now for any new mobile in the area that has never received a call…”
Ruth chews furiously on her pen, and Harry meets Beth’s eyes across the room as the silence stretches on. He feels like reaching through the comms and throttling Malcolm to get him to hurry the hell up.
“Yes! I’ve got it, and the signal is definitely coming from the van. That’s our bomb, people! Blocking the signal… done. Now only the infrared trigger can still set it off.”
Harry’s voice takes over. “Ruth, get SO19 onto that van immediately.”

Just then Lucas’ mobile rings, making him start violently.
“Bloody hell,” he mutters as he digs it out. He doesn’t know the number, and glances around before putting the phone to his ear.
“John?” He immediately recognises the dulcet tones of Steak Knife, and the urgent note in the man’s voice makes him sit up.
“It’s Adams!”
“What?” Lucas is thoroughly confused.
“The second attack – it’s going to be on Gerry fuckin’ Adams! That’s what the bomb is a diversion for; while everyone is distracted by the big bang outside one of Adams’ own delegation is going to take him out!”

TBC

[Tea Lady]

Ha ha, good chapter although if I was Harry and his team, I wouldn't be too bothered about the second attack and would just go for a skinny latte or two.

I hope Ruth does not hold this against Harry, after the op. Hopefully by the time it is over, she will have calmed down a little.

[Lukyan Lyubof]

Liked the reunion between Harry and Ruth, glad he wasn't too badly harmed

[A Cousin]

*phew!* Lucas got to him in time.

“Don’t tell me you’re concerned about the impact on my soul as well.”
Lucas’ reply is prompt and delivered with a grin.
“Didn’t know you had one.”

LOL!!! So very Lucas. Simply fabulous!

The balance of brutal Harry with gentle Harry is perfect.

[lwhite53]

"Stupid bloody man" -- methinks Harry is in for it . . . at least, to some degree. Ruth isn't going to forget this so easily!! Loved the interaction between Harry and Lucas. And what will be Steak Knife's fate?

Great chapter, Silktie.

[JHyde]

Great chapter. I completely forgot about the broader mission, the Gerry Adams hit makes a lot of sense.

Really enjoying the connection between Lucas and Harry on this one.