smallhobbit

Title: A Blue Day
Fandom: Spooks(MI5)
Rating: G
Length: 654 words
Summary: Things are going wrong for Harry - can Lucas improve matters?

“What have you done this time, Lucas?” Ros asked.  “The air in Harry’s office is fairly blue.”

“For once it wasn’t me,” Lucas said.  “In fact Harry seemed quite pleased with the information I’d provided and my suggestion as how we could proceed.”

“You mean today you’re actually his blue-eyed boy?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as that.  Here he comes, maybe he’ll explain more.”

They all turned to look expectantly at Harry.  Whatever good mood Lucas had left him in had certainly not remained. 

“Why is it,” Harry demanded, “that other departments believe they can do our job and then, when it goes disastrously wrong, they expect us to clear up their mess?”

“What’s happened?” Ros asked.

“Lucas had done a pile of investigation and suggested the next step, so I phoned up Hathaway to communicate this.  Only to find he’d set one of his own men on it, who’d blown his cover, and quite possibly exposed the depth of our knowledge, and got himself beaten black and blue in the process.”

Lucas swore.

“Precisely!  If we’re going to retrieve anything from this fiasco, we need to act quickly.  Two of you will have to get to the restaurant in the Michelin House and see what you can do.  Oh, and if Lucas is one of those going, don’t let him eat the most expensive courses.”

“Right,” Ros said, “Lucas, it’s me and you.  I’ll go and get changed.  Good job I left my navy dress here, it’s not particularly fashionable but it has a sufficiently upmarket air.  And Lucas, you’d better change that tie, it’s far too bright and noticeable for where we’re going.”

Lucas looked at Harry and shrugged.  Harry, somewhat reluctantly, removed his own blue silk tie and passed it over.  He rejected the tie which was proffered to him.

“Don’t you like it?” Lucas asked.  “I bought it in the Tate the other week.”

Harry turned and, without a word, returned to his office.

~~~

Ros secured them a table which gave them a vantage point over the rest of the restaurant without being overlooked themselves.  Ros ordered for both of them, telling the waiter they had limited time, so they were already eating their first course when the couple they were hoping to see took a table not far away.

It was clear that the conversation was urgent, and at one point the woman had to tell the man to calm down before he drew attention to them.

Ros and Lucas had finished the main course and were waiting for dessert when the woman slipped out of her chair and started to walk towards the exit.

Instantly Ros leapt up and said loudly to Lucas, “If that’s the way you feel about it…”  She stormed out.

Lucas remained at the table while the waiter brought the desserts.

“Shall I…” the waiter began.

Lucas held up a hand.  “I’ll eat both of them.  It seems a shame to waste good food.”

“Will you be wanting coffee, sir?”

“Could you ask me again in a few minutes?”

“Of course, sir.”

Lucas happily ate both the strawberry ice cream and the black cherry flan whilst keeping a discrete eye on the other man.  Then, as he left, Lucas followed.

The man hailed a passing taxi, which pulled in, and he got into the back.  At the same moment, Ros stepped away from the shop window she’d been inspecting and nodded to Lucas.  Lucas promptly opened the car door and leant inside.  “Not so fast,” he said.  “There are one or two questions we’d like answering.”  He showed his warrant card to the taxi driver who shrugged and waited for the man to get out before driving off.

Lucas handed the man over to a couple of security officers who would take him to be questioned.  Then he turned to Ros and grinned.  “Harry shouldn’t feel quite as blue now,” he said.