Despite the fact that their van was only parked around the corner, it took a long while for the pair to muscle Tom's heavy form the distance. By the time they reached the double doors of the vehicle, Zoe was relieved by Malcolm. She rounded the van and pressed her back against it, sagging down nearly to the sidewalk in exhaustion. She could hear the grunts and moans from the men, as they worked together in order to fit Tom into the back of the already crowded car.
When they finally got him inside, and managed to not close the doors on his ankles, Danny bent over double and let out a low moan of relief. He slowly straightened up, wincing at the tightness of his back and shoulders, and wiped a hand down his face. "That man weighs a ton!"
Malcolm, who only had to endure bearing the mass of Tom Quinn for a minute or two, nodded in agreement. "Too bloody old for this," he grumbled, as he joined Zoe.
"Too right," Danny replied in agreement, standing in front of the other two. After a minute of gathering up their wits, they finally looked at one another and exchanged pointed looks.
"Well?" Zoe finally said, pushing herself off the side of the van. She placed a hand on her hip and looked at her partner. "What the hell do we do with him, Danny?"
He looked taken-aback for a second before he looked towards Malcolm, then back at her again. "What do you mean? Don't you have a plan?"
Zoe repeated his reaction, then laughed humorlessly. She pointed at herself, and said, "Me?"
Danny furrowed his brow, and placed both of his hands on his hips. "Yeah, you. You wanted to help him out so badly, and now that we've actually got him, what the hell do we do?"
Malcolm, having seen Zoe's scoff at Danny's reply, took a quick step forward and replied with a soft, but firm, interjection. "If I may be so bold to intervene," he began, looking around the area with concern, "Perhaps we should first find a place to, uh, well to regroup, so to speak. Then it may be appropriate to decide the next step." He looked between the two agents, eyebrows raised and hands spread out in a silent plea for compliance.
Danny glanced towards the older man, and then realized what exactly what he was trying to say. Here they were, three MI-5 employees standing out in the open, causing a little scene, with an unconscious former agent inside their van. Brilliant.
Zoe, having caught on as well, nodded and stepped away. She got into the van without another word, as Danny and Malcolm shared similar looks of relief.
Danny climbed into the driver's seat, as Malcolm struggled to enter through the back. While the two up front were situated and ready to go, the technician held them back by trying to simultaneously close the back door and not break any of Tom's bones in the process. He offered a few colored curses underneath his breath until finally he looked up and waved his hand. "All situated."
"Brilliant," Danny muttered, as he rolled his eyes and started up the van.
Zoe placed her elbow on the door, and propped her head up with her hand. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. What have we gotten ourselves into?
It was nearly an hour later when they pulled into the lot of a motel similar to the one Tom had tried to escape from. While Malcolm went in to pay for the room, the other two once again struggled to maneuver Tom's weight. They were happy to see that he was coming around, and was able to provide at least a little help in trying to stay upright.
"Where are we?" he mumbled, as they tried to dispose him as gently as they could on one of the two available beds.
Zoe knelt beside him as Danny worked to remove Tom's shoes. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled softly at his hazy-eyed expression. "Safe."
"Safe?" he whispered. One eye was swollen shut, and turning into a brilliant shade of pink and purple, but the other tried to focus through the pain and latch onto hers.
She took one of his hands, and cupped it in her own. They were larger, but she squeezed gently and nodded. "Yes," she said, leaning closer so that only he could hear her. "You're safe, Tom."
She could see the tension leave his body as he fell back into unconsciousness again. There was a small smile on his face. She felt tears welling up, but she stood and quickly wiped them away before Danny noticed. He had already removed Tom's shoes, and was placing them by the bedside.
He glanced over at her. "Well, then."
Before Danny could say any more, Malcolm entered the room and waved the key cards. "Only two keys, I'm afraid. I'll leave one on the this little table," he placed it there as he said it, then turned and held the other one up. "Who would like the other?"
Danny and Zoe looked at one another, than back to the white plastic card Malcolm was holding in the air. Danny shook his head minutely, and Zoe felt an odd sense of relief. He knew that she wanted it, even when she wasn't aware herself.
"I'll take it," she said, trying to keep the waver out of her voice. Malcolm glanced towards Danny, but shrugged and offered her the key card. "I can stop by after, when we're off the clock, to check up on him," she explained, not meeting their eye's.
Danny looked at his watch, and cursed. "Speaking of which," he moaned, "We better check in with Harry, and let him know what's going on."
Wide-eyed, Malcolm asked, "You mean he's knows?"
"No!" the other two exclaimed, as Danny quickly added, "And he can't know."
"Ah, very well then." Malcolm smiled at the other two, trying to reassure the field agents that even he was able to keep a secret.
"We better be off," Zoe said. She knelt down beside Tom, and reached for his hand. After a minute, she stood. "A little rapid for my tastes, but his heart rate is steady." She could see the slight jumpiness of Tom's stomach as he fought for a way to breathe, even unconscious, without pain.
"Come," Malcolm said, softly. "He should be fine until you return."
The three slowly shuffled out of the room, not without throwing a few concerned looks Tom's way. As Danny was closing the door behind him, he hesitated then called out to the other two, already making their way down the hall. "Go ahead, I'll be down in a sec."
Malcolm continued, as if he didn't hear him, but Zoe had a look of curiosity on her face. She didn't say anything, however, and followed Malcolm to the lift. When he felt they were out of sight, he swiftly ducked into the room and swept up the key card that was left behind. "For your own safety, and my peace of mind, old pal," he muttered. With quick efficiency, he unplugged the phone as well. Danny stole one last glance towards his former leader, before locking the door and letting himself out.
As their approach to Thames House grew imminent, the three felt a bundle of nerves and stress start to overtake them. Out of them, only two were trained field agents, but even they were feeling as confused and lost as ever.
When Danny finally parked, and turned the van off, they sat in silence for a moment.
"What do we tell him?" Zoe finally asked, without turning her head to face the others.
"I don't know," Danny replied. He took couldn't tear his eyes away from the windshield before him.
"Why don't you tell him the truth?" Malcolm suggested from the back. When the two simultaneously whipped their heads back to glare at him, he held up both his hands in mock surrender. "I mean," he said, slowly, "Tell him that the target escaped."
"And why it's taken us over an hour to tell him? You care to explain that one, Malcolm?" Danny's tone was tinged with sarcasm, only the tightening of his hands on the steering wheel belied his overwhelmed state of mind.
"You could always say that you were searching for him," Malcolm said.
"Look, it's good enough, Danny," Zoe snapped. "Harry'll be angry enough as it is. We don't need to be in there, fumbling for answers we don't bloody well have, now do we?"
"Alright, alright," Danny acquiesced. He mumbled, "Sheesh," underneath his breath but said nothing further.
It took a few minutes, but they eventually made it to the Grid. As they each entered, removing coats and jackets and scarves a like, they could see their fellow co-worker, Sam, peek her head from around her computer.
"Uh-oh," Sam's beaming face fell when she saw that it was the trio that had trudged in. "Harry's been looking for you," she called out, "And he's not happy."
Malcolm scurried off with nothing more than a shrug and apologetic face. The other two risked a look towards Harry's office, and could see their boss was red-faced and muttering. It was only a few seconds after when Ruth walked out, a similar apologetic look on her face as well. Just as she was about to open her mouth to brace the two for the oncoming storm, the clear sound of a phone being slammed down was heard. The next moment Harry, with his lips pressed into a thin, white line, breezed past Ruth and shouted over his shoulder, "Meeting room! Now!"
Danny hung his head and groaned, as Zoe closed her eyes and steeled herself for the next few moments. They looked at one another, and looked at the mixed expressions of support and sympathy from the other workers. Finally, they stood and entered the meeting room.
Before Danny could even close the door entirely, Harry was already shouting, "Where the hell have you two been? I've nearly sent out a search party to scour the streets for you lot!"
The junior agents took their seats, across from one another, and determinedly look down at the table, rather than their fuming superior. Harry, to his benefit, took a visible deep breath, and placed both of his hands on the table, leaning forward.
"Would someone care to tell me what the bloody hell is going on?" His tone was firm, but still laced with anger. "Hmm?" He pointedly looked at Zoe, as he said her name. "Zoe?" He looked at Danny. "Danny? Anything at all to share?" He continued to levelly stare at the two agents, taking time to swing the heated glare at one before switching to the other.
Harry's piercing brown eyes were on Danny when Zoe finally cleared her throat and spoke up. "We, uh," she looked up and faltered when he swung his eyes back on her, "We lost the target, Harry."
"Well, obviously," Harry sarcastically replied. He pulled away from the table and crossed his arms, using one to swipe a hand down his face and pinch the bridge of his nose. "Alright, what's the damage?"
Surprised, the two agents looked at one another, open-mouthed. "You're not mad?" Danny asked, an almost child like hope in his face and voice.
"Of course I'm mad! For Christ's sake-" Harry cut himself off, before he went off on another tangent.
"Hakeem knows we're on to him," Zoe quickly said, hoping to stop whatever else Harry wanted to say. When Harry turned to her, saying nothing, she took it as a sign to continue. "I don't know how," she lied, knowing full well how, and who all it involved. "But we can assume he's gone into hiding."
"Or fled the country," Harry griped. He said nothing else though, and the younger agents simply looked at one another silently. He pulled out the chair at the head of the table, and dropped himself in it heavily. "If that's the case, then it's big-sister's problem. Not ours," he said, a sour tone coloring his words at the mention of MI-6.
"Harry-" Zoe waited until he looked up before continuing. "Is something going on that we don't know about?"
"I could ask you two the same thing," Harry shot back, one brow perked up and a slight smile on his face. He laced his fingers on top of the table and leaned forward, as if he had a secret. In a conspiratorial whisper, he asked, "Is there something I should know about?"
Zoe looked away, and Danny visibly swallowed.
"Like what?" Danny asked, trying to sound as clueless as he hoped he looked.
Harry's smile only widened, but it didn't put the two at ease. It only served to make them even more uncomfortable under his scrutinizing stare.
"You tell me," he replied, once again taking the time to look at one before looking at the other. After a few moments, Harry finally relented and leaned back into his chair. "Right. If you two have nothing further to add; we're done here. Write up your reports, and have them on my desk by tomorrow morning. No excuses."
Danny and Zoe once again shared expressions of confusion and surprise, but only nodded and murmured their acknowledgment as they stood to leave. As they reached the door, however, Harry's firm voice stopped them in their tracks.
"I may not know what's going on," he drawled, "But do know this- I know something is."
There was an unmistakable threatening tone to his voice, but he still held a false smile on his face, one not quite reaching his eyes. Danny and Zoe proffered similar smiles, and hurriedly exited the room.
When they reached their respective desks, they paused and looked up at one another.
"What the hell was that about?" Danny demanded, his voice slightly louder than he intended.
Zoe hushed him, and he dutifully looked around to see if anyone overheard. She sank down in her chair and shook her head. "I have no idea."
TBC...
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