Dead again?

Ros landed heavily on her hands and knees as gun shots ricocheted around the room. Looking up she yelled as an SAS soldier headed towards the corpse of the bank manager.

"No! He's the bomb!"

"Shit!" Louis stepped back before training his gun on the man who had been holding Beth. It was clear the gunman was dead but there were still several others in the main body of the bank. Ros gasped, struggling for a moment as two strong hands grabbed her.

"Cool head." A distinctly male voice stated. "It's Henno. Cmon."

"Beth?"

"She's alive. Pissed off but alive. Cmon."

"The hostages?"

"With Lucas and the rest of my lot. Cmon." Ros narrowed her eyes as Henry manhandled her out of the bank. She had no idea what was happening around her, the pain in her scalp burning as she tried and failed to focus. The adrenaline that had been sustaining her seemed to seep out of her body as she stumbled out into the bank's small car park. Moments later she was wrapped in a blanket as paramedics bundled her into the waiting ambulance.

"Ros."

"Sorry about this. Next time Lucas can go to the bank." She mumbled as a face mask was pushed over her face. Harry smiled slightly. "Jo?"

"She's taken quite a nasty knock to the head." The paramedic stated. "You're friend is ok."

"No." Ros blinked. "She was there."

"It's ok." Harry paused as he watched her. He knew how disconcerting seeing Jo Portman appear could be. He had believed himself to be half insane when the dead officer had apparently walked into his office. He had no doubt now Ros' mind was in some state of trauma that she was seeing Jo again. The brain was a disturbing contraption - able to work for and against the owner on its own whim.

"Everyone survived, all the hostages." Harry hoped he wasn't lying.

"We need to get her to the hospital." The paramedic stared at Harry. "Is anyone coming with her?"

"Zaf?" Ros frowned as her friend appeared behind Harry. "What are you doing?"

"Coming to the hospital with you. Someone has to make sure you don't introduce that paramedic's stethoscope to a part of his body it wasn't meant for." He climbed onto the ambulance as Harry smirked.

Xxxxx

Lucas manhandled a thick set man out of the bank towards a waiting police van. It was clear the thug he dragged away wasn't the brains of the operation. He struggled as Lucas and Dave manhandled him into the police car as Beth spoke quietly to the bomb disposal experts that had arrived. Moments later Ruth was at her side.

"Well done." Ruth hugged her friend. "Are you alright?"

"Where's Dimitri?"

"With Calum. He knows you're ok." She handed her friend the mobile as Beth smiled. "Talk to him."

"Thank you." She took the phone gratefully, listening to her boyfriend on the other end of the line. Ruth smiled slightly, walking away as she gave Beth some privacy. She knew how badly Dimitri worried about Beth, especially since Andrew Lawrence had attacked her. Leaving the couple to talk she headed over to where Harry, Lucas and Henry were talking.

"Any casualties?"

"Ros has some head injuries, the bank manager is dead and one woman has had an angina attack." Henry shrugged. "Could have been a lot worse."

"True." Lucas frowned. "Look."

"Go." Harry nodded at the younger man. "Ros is going to be driving those nurses crazy." Lucas smiled slightly, knowing he had to see his wife. Henry nodded, calling one of the soldiers over before instructing him to get Lucas to the hospital as quickly as possible. Both men hurried away as Harry turned back to the SAS officer.

"Thank you Henry." He shook the man's hand before calling across to Beth. It was time to get back to the Grid.

Cxxxxxxxxx

"Gavrik." Catherine stared at the computer screen as Zoe crossed the room towards her.

"Igor Gavrik was the brighter of the two brothers." Zoe spoke quickly as she sat next to her. Catherine nodded.

"Any news from the bank?" Catherine shook her head as Adam pulled his jacket back on. The acting section chief was worried about his friends, knowing that Ros wouldn't give a second thought to putting her life on the line to save someone else. A phone ringing in the background caught his attention. Malcolm answered it on the second ring.

"Beth?" He sighed in relief. "I'm putting you on speaker phone." He pressed a button as a collective sigh of relief filled the Grid.

"We're on our way back to the Grid. Ros and Zaf are on the way to A&E."

"Zaf?" Zoe felt sick.

"Is ok. Just with Ros. Lucas is on the way there now. We should be back in ten minutes or so. One terrorist confirmed dead and the rest in custody." Beth continued. "It stinks."

"Yeah." Adam nodded. "It stinks ok."

"Adam?" Harry's voice filtered over the line. "Gavrik's are at the root of this. Find Igor Gavrik."

"Will do." Adam ended the call before turning to the rest of the Grid. "Tariq?"

"A man fitting his description entered the country last Wednesday. False passport." Tariq paused. "He wasn't alone."

"Who was with him?"

"Dark haired woman. Skinny. Really skinny." He turned the monitor so Adam and the others could see. "No ID as yet."

"Wife? girlfriend?" Calum shrugged. "Sister?"

"I'll find out." Catherine shrugged. "Tariq."

"I'll follow the money."

Xxxxxxx

Lucas ran into the hospital, straight to the reception desk just as Zaf approached him.

"Lucas. Over here." He waved as the taller man made his way towards him. "Ros is with the doctor."

"She ok?" Lucas felt the panic rise.

"Three nasty lacerations to her scalp. Doctor's sewing her up now. I think she has a concussion. Her memory playing tricks on her." Zaf shrugged. "I'm not a doctor but she didn't seem herself."

"How?"

"She asked for Jo. She seemed really worried that Jo was there. She died six years ago. She was certain Jo was there." Zaf looked away on the verge of tears. "The Bendorf Group"

"Concussion?" Lucas paused.

Zaf got to his feet. "I'll head back to the Grid. Let me know how she is?" Lucas nodded, hoping that whatever happened in the bank hadn't affected Ros psychologically. He knew she still blamed herself for Jo's death, that she always would. No one else did. It had been Jo who had broken protocol - no back up, no weapon or vest. Ros hadn't known that when she had fired the gun. He ran a hand over his face, remembering how she had been almost catatonic with shock when he had found her. He didn't know if she could come through that again. Looking up as his name was called he saw Ros staring at him.

"You ok?"

"Me? It's you that needed stitches." He smiled. Ros narrowed her eyes.

"I'm ok. I'm always ok."

"Ros."

"If anyone asks I'm ok." He nodded, before pulling her into his arms.

"I know." He whispered into her ear. "I know."

Cxx