Extraordinary Rendition Part IV

[Silktie]

Same day
The Grid

When Harry came back onto the Grid, he was met by an atmosphere crackling with discontent. He swept a practiced eye over his charges, and it was immediately apparent that they were divided into two camps, and that there had been some sort of altercation in his absence. Ruth, Dimitri and Tariq were labouring diligently at their computers whilst Erin and Calum were sullenly slouched over some paperwork, but didn’t seem to actually be doing much. He felt an instant flash of irritation; his ability to cope with this sort of bollocks severely dented by fatigue and concern for his friend. He was about to lay into the two slackers when Ruth looked up and caught his eye. Her face was pale, and her worried eyes big and startlingly blue against her waxen complexion. His heart constricted, and he had to fight the urge to walk over to her and envelop her in his arms, brutally reminding himself that such actions only happened in his dreams. Suddenly he didn’t have the stomach for another altercation with the reluctant duo. His tiredness washed over him and it took every last ounce of energy he had left to walk over to Ruth’s station and perch on her desk next to her chair, his back to the rest of the team.

Perhaps it was also to be blamed on his exhaustion, but he couldn’t refrain from gazing at her tenderly as he murmured, “How are you?”
Her eyes darted away, finding the emotion in his too much. “Fine.”
She saw him flinch at her abrupt tone and regretted it instantly. She added in a gentler voice, “Well, under the circumstances. Tired and frustrated might be a more accurate description, but somehow it feels disrespectful towards Malcolm to complain when he is most likely suffering much worse.”
He reached out a hand, to – what? Pat her condescendingly on the shoulder? Rub her arm? Take her hand? He was at a loss as to what was acceptable, or needed, at that moment by this woman he loved so much. His hand dropped back to his side limply, and his face closed off the emotion she had seen there just seconds before. Ruth watched it all happen and felt a deep sorrow. How had they ever come to this point, where even the simple gestures of one human to another had become beyond them? Her eyes, already burning from no sleep and the strain of staring at her screen for hours on end, now also pricked with unshed tears. Almost instinctively she reached out and brushed her fingers over the back of his hand, the same one that had reached out towards her moments before. Harry lifted his head, surprised at the gesture, then gently took hold of her fingers before she could withdraw them. He didn’t clutch at them, just ever so lightly held them, allowing her to take her hand back anytime she wished. But she didn’t. The unexpected human contact was what they both craved in that moment, united as they were in their distress over Malcolm, so neither wanted to break it. They stayed like that for long silent seconds, feeling each other, drawing strength from each other, holding onto the moment for as long as they could.

It was Erin that broke it, raising her voice in the silence enveloping the office to inquire about Harry’s visit to the US Embassy. If she had noted the moment shared between her boss and his senior analyst, she gave no indication.
“What did the Cousins have to say?”
Harry came out of his quiet contemplation of Ruth with regret, and felt her softly squeeze his fingers as he reluctantly withdrew them. It made his battered heart a little more hopeful.
“Beecher denied any knowledge at first, but after some persuasion obliquely admitted that they have Malcolm.”
Dimitri stood up, stretching his tall frame wearily and walking around his desk.
“Did he say why?”
Folding his arms, Harry pushed himself upright and turned to face the others. “He intimated that they picked up Malcolm’s name in the documents they confiscated at Osama bin Laden’s house.”

There was a stunned silence.
“But that’s absurd!” Ruth was the first to voice what most of the people in the room were thinking.
Harry smiled mirthlessly. “That’s what I said.” He looked down for a moment, before lifting his head with a solemn expression. “And then I regrettably followed it up with insulting comments about the intelligence of the Agency.” His eyes found Ruth’s. “It was a stupid thing to do, and I fear it may have lost us any currency we could have used to help Malcolm.”
In his fatigue he was unable to hide his self-reproach at what had happened. It was clear that should they fail to secure Malcolm’s release, he would blame himself. He fully expected Ruth to turn away from him, to also apportion blame to him, so the look of understanding in her eyes as she watched him steadily took him by surprise.
“It’s not your fault, Harry,” she said determinedly, and even as his heart lifted, he morosely wondered how many more times she would have cause to tell him that. It continued to astound him that her faith in him remained, even when his self-doubt seemed to increase on a daily basis.

“So what do we do now?” Dimitri queried.
Harry pondered briefly. “Tariq, Calum. Can you get into the local CIA database and find out in what way the Bin Laden documents implicate Malcolm?”
Calum opened his mouth to protest, but before he could speak Tariq was already nodding. “We’ll try,” the young techie promised.
“Soon as you can,” Harry asked before turning to his Section Chief.
“Erin, a word.”
All warmth had been stripped from his voice, and he turned and stalked off without waiting for her answer. She followed him resignedly, and Dimitri and Ruth shared a glance before returning to their work.

“Close the door,” Harry ordered as he took himself behind his desk.
He waited silently until she had seated herself in the chair across from him.
“I can cut the atmosphere out there with a knife. What happened while I was gone?”
The question surprised her. Somehow she had expected that Ruth would already have tattled, and that she would be hauled over the coals without ceremony the moment the door closed behind her.
“Didn’t teacher’s pet tell you?” she snapped, knowing full well she was baiting him.

Erin couldn’t explain why she felt the need to do so. She had never been particularly bothered whether other people liked her, and when she had first been assigned to Harry Pearce’s section, it was with the express instruction to keep an eye on his activities after the Inquiry. As a result she could sense the wariness with which he interacted with her, and especially his unwillingness to trust her fully. She had been fine with it at first, and had got a perverse sense of satisfaction from the power she thought the situation would give her over him. It was a heady feeling knowing that she could destroy such a powerful man with one damning report. Because she held that trump card she had expected him to treat her with deference, but it never happened. He was professional towards her, but never deferential. It was as though he didn’t care that she could destroy him; he merely treated her as another member of his team. He expected loyalty from her, the same way he expected it from everyone else in his Section, but he never deigned to demand it. He simply assumed that he would get it, and it worked a charm with the others. They were all striving to live up to his expectations without him having to say a word. As time passed and she got more of a sense of the type of man he was, she found herself similarly drawn in. For some reason she now wanted his full trust, desired it even.

She could tell from the moment she had arrived on the Grid that Ruth Evershed held a special place in Harry’s heart. But more than that, the analyst had this man’s unwavering professional trust and admiration despite everything that was rumoured to have happened between them, and it irked Erin that she was unlikely to gain it to the same degree. She would never admit to it, but subconsciously she was aware that she was envious of Ruth. For the first time in her career, winning the respect of her superior meant more to her than advancing her own prospects. The fact that she had little chance of doing so paradoxically made her lash out at him sometimes, like she had done with her snide, unfair comment about Ruth just now. She stared at him defiantly, expecting explosive anger in response. But it never came. He just watched her, not saying anything, disappointment oozing from every pore. She couldn’t bear it.
“Sorry, that was uncalled for,” she mumbled, her eyes sliding away from his.
He remained quiet, an eyebrow raised expectantly, and she realised belatedly that he was waiting for an answer to his question. She considered her words carefully.
“Calum expressed an opinion that we shouldn’t get involved in this case, and basically indicated that he would not lift a finger to help someone that could have been in cahoots with the most wanted man on the planet. Ruth took exception. Calum became somewhat overzealous in making his argument; he got up in her personal space and Dimitri felt it necessary to step in. Apparently he thought Calum was acting in a threatening manner towards her.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed as he struggled to keep hold of his temper. The thought of Ruth being physically intimidated by a member of their team, and on the Grid to boot, was not something he would tolerate. When he spoke, there was a coldness to his voice that Erin had not heard before.
“And what is your assessment of what happened?”
She hesitated. On the one hand she wanted to cover for Calum, because she felt they should stick together within the team. It was not that the others willingly excluded them, but there was a sense of them being outsiders, sent to spy on those that were affected and tainted by the Albany affair. However, she felt that he had gone too far, and had secretly been relieved when Dimitri had stepped in.
She took a deep breath and plunged in. “I can understand why Dimitri felt the need to intervene.”
When Harry’s face darkened dangerously, she hastened to add, “I don’t think Calum would ever have harmed Ruth, but sometimes he can give that appearance. People who don’t know him well, tend to misinterpret his intentions.”
“And where were you when this happened?”
Erin frowned in confusion. “I was here.”
“I see,” Harry said chillingly. “And yet it was Dimitri who had to step in.”
He was no longer bothering to restrain his anger. It came off him in waves.
“I cannot tell you how sick I am of this nonsense. This is not a bloody kindergarten, where we play Who does Teacher Like Best or squabble over who has the best toys. We are a team, and you are the Team Leader. Start acting like it, or find another job.”

He turned away, effectively dismissing her from his presence. Erin slinked to the door, thoroughly chastised.
“Erin.”
She stopped and looked at his profile.
“This is your last chance. Don’t squander it.” He didn’t look at her whilst he was speaking, and each calmly spoken word felt like a punch to the stomach.
“Yes Harry,” she responded miserably.

***

By late afternoon Harry ventured from his office to find everyone still hard at work, grey-faced from exhaustion.
“Tariq, Calum. Any progress?”
Tariq turned bloodshot eyes to him. “Nothing. Everything we try gets blocked.” He rubbed a hand over his stubbled face. “It’s as though they know what we’re going to try before we even do it.”
Harry’s gaze moved between the two techies thoughtfully. “Okay.” He turned to face the room. “All of you, go home. Get some sleep. Be here bright and early tomorrow morning.”
As he walked past Ruth’s desk, he murmured, “I need to talk to you.” It was accompanied by a meaningful look, letting her know that this was work-related, and she nodded mutely in response.

Half an hour later, they were seated on a bench along a quiet stretch of the Embankment, drinking take-away coffee. After glancing casually around them to make sure that no-one was in earshot, Harry pronounced, “We’ll have to get the information from one of the computer terminals in the US embassy.”
Ruth grimaced. “That means you’ll have to convince Beecher to meet with you again.”
“Yes. I’ll take someone along to do the dirty work while I keep him occupied.”
“Dimitri?” Ruth suggested.
But Harry shook his head and gave her a penetrating look. “You.”

tbc

[DogSoSmall]

Once again, my favourite Harry. It's wonderful to see Erin fall under his spell!

[Tineke]

Where do you get it from? I can almost feel the tension (positive and negative) you gave all the scenes in this part for real. In one dutch word: GEWELDIG!

[A Cousin]

Cool! Ruth and Harry out in the field together. Can't wait!

[pookster]

Terrific chapter. Its great to see Harry put Erin in her place and that Erin could see what type of leader he was and that it would appear she would never win that sort of trust with the team unless she changed. Well done. More please.

[Tea Lady]

Oh heck Harry!

Put SO19 on standby.

Ruth + field = disaster = no loo for Malcolm yet

[Sparky]

Another fantastic chapter - I think this is my favourite so far. Harry was awesome, both with Ruth and with Erin. Glad to see Ruth giving him a bit of a break as well!