Beep. Beep. Beep. He flung his hand out, trying to hit the snooze button, his hand colliding with wires and what felt like a table. He groaned inwardly as his hand slid quickly over the table, trying to find the alarm clock. When this was in vain, he reluctantly opened his eyes. His eye lids seemed heavier than normal, as he slowly opened them. The brightness of the room shocked him - was it midday already? But the walls, the walls were a different colour to his at home. Where was he?
He went to sit up, and collapsed back down on the bed in agony, letting out a small groan. His shoulder.
"Mr Carter?" an unfamiliar voice asked. "Mr Carter, you're in hospital, you were shot in the shoulder. Try not to move." Adam opened his eyes again, and saw the blurry shape of a medic, complete in white coat, although slightly blurred around the edges. Another figure emerged from behind him, wearing a long black coat.
"Harry?" he said, his voice having a rougher quality than usual. Aside from the throbbing shoulder, he felt, well, like he'd lost something. Someone wasn't there.
"Yes, it's me," Harry confirmed, sitting on a chair next to Adam. "How are you?"
Adam could have made a sarcastic comment back, but he was exhausted. "Tired." It clicked. "Harry, where's Wes? Who's looking after him, Jenny left -"
"Wes is fine," Harry assured him. "We couldn't contact any members of your family, or -" there was a pause "- or Fiona's, so we've all been looking after him. He's fine, completely safe." Adam let out the breath that he was unaware he was even holding. "Ruth's been collecting him from school, looking after him during the week, and we've all been taking him out in the weekend."
Adam smiled. "Ruth's been collecting Wes from school? Doesn't that imply that she's had to leave work at a sociable hour?" He saw the smile on Harry's face.
"Yes, for once. She spends even longer on the Grid than I do." Adam's vision had returned back to normal by now and could see the sadness in his eyes that were usually so guarded. Sadness about what? His shooting - well, that wasn't Harry's fault. Ruth leaving so late? The more Adam thought about it, the more he didn't know.
"So, something good has come out of me getting shot," he replied dryly. "It was Angela, wasn't it?" Harry looked Adam in the eye.
"Yes. Yes, it was Angela."
"Did she shoot anyone else?" The questions got faster, as Adam shot out questions, cross-examining Harry with the coolness of a metal gun.
"No," he replied shortly back.
"Did you get her?"
"Depends what you mean."
"Is she on the run?"
"No. She can't run anymore." The realisation dawned on Adam's face. "She jumped," Harry answered simply. "One warning - Jakarta is coming. Then she jumped. And there's a rumour going round that she killed three people before she came to Thames House. Nothing has been proved, of course." Harry sat back in his chair.
"Wh - Who did she kill? What happened?" the questions were less interrogating this time, the pace slower.
"A couple and a man in two separate areas. One in Cambridge, one in Devon. They were shot, then their bodies were placed in acid. Almost nothing left of them." He saw Adam suppress a yawn, and gave him a weak smile. "You're exhausted, I'll go. I'll try and bring Wes in next time, yes?" Adam gave a weak grunt as he quickly slipped into unconsciousness.
