It was a little tricky to finish this off given the cliffhanger to s8 - not knowing the outcome makes it difficult to write what they thought of it all. But here is the last installment of Harry and Ruth's diary entries (for now anyway). Spoilers for 8.8 of course.

Thanks for reading.

Harry: 23 December 2009

Rescue crews are still digging through the rubble of the Summit Hotel. Ros and the Home Secretary are missing, and Lucas should be in hospital, though I'm not sure how long he'd stay there – he's not a very willing patient.

The capture of an Indian submarine began today's crisis. All the result of Nightingale's attempt to provoke a war, potentially a nuclear one, between India and Pakistan. I think we've sidestepped that for now, but for a while it looked like we wouldn't. And it still ended with an explosion, thanks to a bomb in the hotel, planted by Nightingale.

Representatives from both countries were brought to meet in London, where power brokers hoped to reach a peaceful solution. But Nightingale was manipulating even that, right from the start. The CIA's Russell Price was in on it, he was Sarah Caulfield's handler, and both Caulfield and Price are now dead. Caulfield was assassinated on Price's orders, and Lucas assures me Price was in the hotel room with the bomb when it went off. Lucas had been there with Ros not long before, and was able to get the Pakistani President out of the hotel. Ros was trying to do the same thing with the Home Secretary when the explosion happened.

Since he came into office, I have been wary of the new Home Secretary's motives. The removal of Nicholas Blake could so easily be cover for Nightingale planting their own man. But Ruth challenged me on that, suggesting that I should "exercise caution". Told me I shouldn't let my prejudices sway my opinion of Andrew Lawrence without adequate proof. Funny, she's the only one prepared to do that, challenge me in that way. And perhaps she's right. I asked Ros to test Lawrence. Find out where his loyalties lie. Right now, with both of them missing, I'm still not sure.

I also sent Ruth out into the field for the first time since she returned. She'd heard from a Chinese asset, through an online Japanese football bet of all things. The asset was willing to talk about China's role in this whole mess, but was killed before he was able to pass much on. Each time I send Ruth into the field, I get nervous. She's not experienced the way the others are, and she's never found it easy. But she is always determined to play her part, and does it well.

Things have become a little easier between Ruth and myself recently, but today it became slightly awkward again, and I embarrassed myself. Taking a moment on the roof to clear my head, I found myself talking with Ruth about the potential of a nuclear situation, then her choir, and Beethoven's 9th. I don't know what came over me. I tried to brush the tears off as being caused by the wind. Stupid really, and I'm sure she didn't believe me.

I am now playing the waiting game. There is little to be done until we know more. And we will only know more when there's a report from the rescue team.

Ruth: 23 December 2009

Today's crisis was bigger than any I can remember. A potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India. Started by Nightingale. We still know remarkably little about Nightingale, though we do know they are behind both provoking this war, and bombing the Summit Hotel where peace talks were being held.

It turned out that the CIA's Head of European Operations was part of Nightingale. As was Hans Lindeman, who spent time with the new Home Secretary right when the Basel meeting took place. Harry seems determined to believe that the Home Secretary is their's too. I think he's being influenced by his friendship with Nicholas Blake, and told him I thought we should be careful about jumping the gun. That it was possible that Andrew Lawrence was just the innocent recipient of his new post. I think Harry was surprised that I challenged him on it, but he must have thought about what I said. He tasked Ros with handing over a memory stick to Lawrence so we could trace who he gave it to and what they did with it.

Today, for the first time since I returned to England, I went out into the field. I had been trying to get information from a Chinese asset of mine, and he responded. We thought our meeting place was as safe as possible, but he was shot while sitting next to me in the park. He confirmed that Nightingale have their fingers all over the place, and particularly in the peace summit, then ... I can't even think about it. It was so horrible. One minute he was talking to me, the next, dead. And the sound of the bullet hitting him ... I keep hearing it in my head.

There was a strange moment this afternoon, when I talked to Harry. The whole situation, and frustration and worry about it, seemed to have really gotten to him. I haven't seen Harry like that before. I tried, rather awkwardly, to comfort him. But of course he brushed it all off as though it was nothing. We both know it wasn't.

Later when Ros and Lucas reported in from the hotel, it all turned chaotic. We had to take down the mobile network and had no way of communicating with them. I spoke to the Met Commander on the ground, and there was nothing to be done, the hotel was being evacuated. But Harry insisted on going down there himself. It wouldn't help matters if he got himself killed would it?! Then the bomb went off. And it was all part of Nightingale's plan.

It was late when Harry returned to Thames House. I'd spoken to him on the phone and he told me that Lucas was being seen by medical staff, but they didn't know where Ros or the Home Secretary were. Now we just have to wait.