Thames House in London was the central headquarters for MI5 and second home to people like Harry Pearce, who headed the Counter-Terrorism department. Alexa had first set foot on Section D, as Harry called it, when she first returned from Moscow nine years before.

She was nineteen then, and when Harry had met her on the airplane that would take her home to London, she looked nothing like the girl he had remembered a year before. She had looked like a child in her oversized coat jacket, her hair disheveled, and her lip split from the last of Mikhael's beatings. Beneath the coat, he found her arm broken where Mikhael had kicked it and immediately Harry ordered something to one of the women who stood next to him, prompting her to run off inside the plane in search for medical supplies.

Without any hesitation, Harry had literally carried her into the first class cabin, her legs having given way beneath her at the realization that it was all real, that Lucas had succeeded in his unspoken promise to get her home. As she slept, Harry had bathed her wounds with warm compresses and brushed her hair that had been in knotty tangles around her thin face.

He'd provided her with new clothes to wear before the plane landed at Heathrow and informed her that he would have to take her to Section D where her father would be waiting for her. They arrived almost at midnight when thankfully, the lobby of Thames House was deserted except for the staff assigned to check employees in and out of the building.

Alexa's memories of stepping onto the lobby were hazy but she didn't mind. What had mattered then was that she was finally home, and her nightmare was finally over.

The man at one of the desks designated to check guests eyed Alexa suspiciously as she surrendered her purse, glad that she'd decided not to pack her gun inside. Since seeing Lucas last week, she felt safer knowing he was back in London - surely just a silly girl's thought - and she had since hidden her two guns in her closet, high up on the shelves where she was certain Liam would never have access to.

She'd made sure to empty the magazine, storing them in a separate shelf. Though Alexa knew she was a much better shot than she admitted herself to be, she hoped she would never have to fire the gun at anyone ever.

Alexa watched as the man behind the counter picked up the phone to call Harry and after a few words spoken in a low voice, he looked up, his creased brow smoothening. He hung up the phone and tapped a few buttons on the console. Within minutes, a man in a dark suit approached them.

"Visitor for Harry Pearce," he said to the newcomer and to Alexa: "He'll be escorting you, miss."

 >>> <<<

 A few people were sitting at their desks when Alexa entered Section D and she was grateful to see that Lucas was nowhere to be seen. As people looked up, watching her walk past them towards Harry's office door, their curiosity was immediately replaced by whatever task they had at hand. Though it was unusual to see an outsider inside the Grid, everyone knew that Harry's business was entirely his own.

As the door to Harry's office opened, a tall woman with straight blonde hair emerged and Alexa stepped aside to let her through. She'd once met Ros Myers at the shooting range a few years earlier and admired the woman for her skill with a gun. She was an excellent shot and had even given her a few pointers. Cold, but excellent nonetheless.

"Mr. Pearce. Miss George here to see you, sir." her escort said and as Alexa walked into Harry's office, the man closed the door behind her.

Harry's office had a view of his employees through the glass window that faced his desk. The vertical blinds were open and though it gave Alexa a view of his team working at their desks or talking amongst themselves at various points of the room, she knew that it also gave them a view of her. As Alexa stood before Harry, her composure slowly crumbled at the realization at how much power Harry held, and how much responsibility he had to bear. Suddenly, the fear of her breaking down in front of him gave Alexa pause.

But there was no mistaking the anger she felt at being left out of the loop regarding Liam's sudden change of residency arrangements at St. Barnabas. She wanted to get answers from Harry, who now eyed her with a look of exhaustion on his face.

He still wore the usual immaculate suits he wore but today, he looked tired. She often wondered whether the man slept at all.

"I know why you're here," Harry said, beckoning her to take a seat in front of him. "And you must believe that I have my reasons for doing it."

"Well, what are they, Harry? What reasons could there be for you not to even inform me of the decision to make such a change?"

She slowly sat down, her back to the glass wall behind her, her back stiff in attention. "You couldn't even afford me the courtesy of a phone call."

You made me look like a fool, she wanted to add, but stopped herself.

Harry's jaw tightened. He glanced at something behind her, some random employee probably walking past before turning his attention back to Alexa. "I'm sorry for not informing you, Alexa. It's been a difficult time here. We were in the middle of an operation and I'm afraid I forgot."

"You forgot," Alexa repeated. Slowly she got up from her chair and stepped forward towards Harry who had remained seated. She leaned forward, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. "You still think I'm a child, don't you, Harry? You still see me as that nineteen-year old girl who you picked up in Moscow. Well, that girl has grown up, and she's a mother now, too. A mother who loves her son more than anything else in this world, in case you've forgotten since you're too busy saving the world."

Harry's lips tightened into a straight line but he kept his response to the topic at hand. "Liam needs to grow up, Alexa. He needs to be with children his own age, with his peers, and with people who can support him."

"Support him? You don't think I can support him? Do you think I'm a terrible mother?"

Harry got up from his chair, aware that her voice had risen. As he looked up at the people on the other side of the glass, he could see the discreet lowering of their eyes, and then suddenly there was movement on the far end of the room, and their attention went towards it. He saw them talking and within seconds, Lucas walked towards his desk, sitting in front of the computer, his back facing Harry's office.

"This decision had nothing to do with your ability as a mother, or your love for Liam, and I have no question regarding your capacity as a mother," Harry began, returning his gaze to Alexa. "I'm sorry if you feel differently, Alexa."

"So is this when you tell me that this decision is just one of my father's directives? His way of controlling everything, like he always did, even from the grave?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Alexa. This time, the decision was mine. It's for Liam's best interests."

Alexa got up from the chair and walked towards the door just as Harry caught Ros' eye through the glass and beckoned her to come over. He got up and walked towards Alexa, his hand resting on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Alexa. One day I hope you'll understand."

The door opened, and Harry turned towards Alexa. "Ros will escort you out," he said softly. "I'll pick you up next week at nine thirty," he added.

Alexa glared at him. "You don't have to, Uncle Harry," she said wryly. "I can drive myself to the cemetery for a change. After all, I'm all grown up now."

Harry did not say anything as Alexa walked away. He closed the door behind him and stood by the window, watching his people from behind the glass. They appeared to be busy, engrossed in the tasks they had at hand and as his gaze alighted upon Lucas' desk, a wave of relief washed over him.

It was empty.

Ten minutes later, Ros entered his office and closed the door behind her. Recently promoted to chief operative of Section D, Ros Myers was the image of perfect calm. It was difficult to read anything on Ros' face and that was exactly how she preferred things. Dressed in a white blouse and a black pencil skirt, her shoulder-length bob always immaculately styled, she leaned against Harry's desk.

"She's quite upset."

"I expected her to be," Harry replied. He hadn't left his position by the window and as Lucas emerged from one of the hallways leading to the conference rooms accompanied by Ben, he turned to face Ros.

"Did you tell her?" Ros asked.

Harry walked back to his desk and sat down. "It's too soon to alarm her. As long as the usual precautions are taken and her child is safe behind the doors of St. Barnabas, I believe I've done all I can right now."

"Malcolm is certain that the information he intercepted is one hundred percent reliable."

"And I don't doubt it at all," Harry said, sighing as he flipped open a folder in front of him. "But at this moment, the risk Russia poses to our country is of much greater importance, don't you agree, Ros?"

For a few seconds, the tall woman was silent, then slowly, Ros nodded. "You're right."

The door closed behind Ros and for a few minutes, Harry enjoyed the silence though his face was frozen in an expression of deep concentration. He reached for a folder beneath a pile of papers on his desk and pulled it out, flipping it open to read the words on the page. He knew that reading the words again and again would not change anything.

As of Thursday last week, when Harry first learned of the new development from Malcolm Wynn-Jones, his chief data analyst, he knew things for Alexa and Liam would never be the same again.

He swiveled the chair round so he faced the wall, and leaning back against the back rest, Harry allowed himself to relax, his shoulders drooping as he exhaled. He loosened his tie and closed his eyes.

Since registering Liam for St. Barnabas a year ago, Harry had vowed to leave Alexa alone and let her live her life as independently as she could. Maybe she could find something that would give her purpose - not that being a mother was unimportant to Harry - but he feared that Alexa may have forgotten herself as a person, always referring to herself as Liam's mother, and almost nothing else.

It took a few weeks, but Harry was right. With her time free from having to pick up Liam from school each day and everything else that involved caring for a child, Alexa found her purpose in Found Hope, an organization she set up that provided counseling and resources to former victims of sex trafficking throughout England and to some extent, the world.

Though Harry admired Alexa for coming up with the idea, even directing her to people and organizations he considered would be in great positions to help her, he did so with much trepidation. He feared that the memories of her imprisonment in Russia, somehow tempered through the years by the daily task of raising a child, would re-emerge to haunt her and leave her broken once more.

But as the months went by, Harry had only witnessed the strengthening of Alexa's character as she took on the task of providing other women ready access to resources that, because of her father's influence, had been readily available to her, but not to everyone else. Though her involvement meant that the one thing she had tried to keep secret from her friends would only be brought out in public, Alexa had decided, against Harry's advice, to face the world and take a stand alongside the other women who survived such ordeal.

Harry knew Alexa had lost friends as soon as her organization went public. He'd seen her daily schedule dwindle from the weekly lunches and dinners with friends and their families, to almost nothing. It was as if they were punishing her for being a victim all over again, for being kidnapped and forced to work as a prostitute in Moscow.

He had nothing but admiration for his god daughter and Harry wished that one day, Alexa would understand his decision regarding Liam's status at St. Barnabas, and why he'd neglected to inform her.

The knock on the door brought Harry back to the present. He turned to see the door open and Lucas and Ros walked in just as Harry flipped the folder close in front of him. No, he decided, Alexa did not need to be informed about the new development right now. And neither did Lucas.

The last thing Harry needed right now was to have Lucas distracted from his duties which included determining the motives of Arkady Kachimov, the FSB resident in London, regarding Russia's nuclear intentions in England. And though a part of him wanted to believe that Lucas was not a double agent, Harry had to face the harsh reality that such things were still a possibility.

But for now, Harry knew one thing was certain. He knew that the information Ros had referred to, the one contained in the folder he'd just pushed aside on his desk, was one hundred percent true.

Though their information so far was hearsay, and they'd yet to see the proof of it, one thing was certain.

Mikhael Lubienko was believed to be in London.

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