Lights?
Malcom swore under his breath as Calum practically ripped the small data stick out of his computer. The Grid remained in darkness as Zoe yelped. Ruth's eyes, still unaccustomed to the darkness sought out her friend.
"Its not a memory stick." Calum explained, trying to remain calm as Harry emerged from his office.
"Pulse weapon." Harry nodded. "Designed to knock out anything electrical in a certain radius. I've just had the DG on the phone asking what the bloody Hell we are playing at."
"I don't think this is much of a game." Catherine snapped as Ruth raised her eyebrows. "Pulse weapon? It's not just us that's been affected then?"
"No, seems our colleagues on the forth and sixth floors are experiencing technical issues." Harry announced. "The back up generator wont kick in as that has been vandalised."
"What?" Ruth frowned, instantly relieved that Zaf wasn't on the Grid. The field officer would deny it but he had a fear of complete darkness since his time with the Redbacks. Harry could sense how concerned she was. Malcolm had sourced a torch from somewhere and was trying to fix his workstation as Calum began to dismantle the small device.
"According to the DG, the back up generators were serviced yesterday. Until then they were fine but now." Harry shook his head.
"I blame privatisation." Malcolm snapped. "We should not be sourcing out things as crucial to any Tom, Dick or Harry."
"Preaching to the converted." Harry replied. "Now can someone try to get some light in here? Will. My office. Now."
"Can't even see where the office is." Will groaned, feeling like a teenager that had been called to the head teacher's office. Ruth smiled slightly, knowing that the whole debacle wasn't his fault.
xxxx
"Hey." Dimitri squeezed Beth's hand as she lay motionless in the bed. "I don't like it when you are this quiet. Means you're planning something." He swallowed back a tear as she failed to respond. "Beth."
"She's doing ok." He turned to see a nurse watching him. "Her bloods are back. She's stabilised her pH and the acidosis is much better."
"Not sure what that means but." He shrugged. The nurse smiled
"Its good. The doctor is on her rounds, shouldn't be long but I know they were happy with the important things. Kidneys are functioning. That's always a good sign."
"Thanks." Dimitri shrugged, knowing that he wouldn't believe Beth was 'doing well' until they were home and she was teasing him and calling him Sailor Boy once more. He squeezed her hand gently.
"Does she have family? Only we noticed there was no blood relative on her next of kin details." The nurse was beginning to annoy him. He nodded once, firmly.
"Yes, me." He replied before turning his attention back to Beth. She was the only thing that mattered as far as he was concerned. He just wanted her home and safe, watching her face as the life support machine controlled her breathing he silently prayed she would come back to him.
xxxxx
"This is ridiculous." Nicola sat in the back of the car as Zaf drove. She had clearly no real idea of anything that had happened back in London. "Do you know the last time I saw Lee? In person I mean."
"Yes." Adam watched her intently as she spoke. He knew it unnerved her, he didn't care. "You saw him three months ago. A wedding of a family friend."
"My dad's godson, David. He married Lucy in Bow. You know this. You know all this, why are you even talking to me?" She glared at Adam. Zaf negotiated the traffic. "And where are we going?"
"Home." Adam replied honestly. "London."
"Oh my word."
"Lee is running to you. We know the score. Whenever he is in trouble its Big Sister that sorts everything out."
"Not always."
"Nicola, why would he do this? Why would he be involved in something like this?" Adam kept his voice low, almost soothing as she shook her head. "People have died. Not just the man in the cells that we know Lee murdered."
"Excuse me."
"Other people too. Innocent people, one woman dragged from the Thames, another man murdered behind Harrods. Another woman we are trying to identify. The Russian Ambassador to the UK. Dead. The one common denominator is your little brother." Adam watched as her eyes filled with horror and fear.
"No."
"Yes."
"He's right." Zaf interjected.
"He's not a serial killer. He's an idiot but he's generally a harmless one."
"Tell that to the family of the man he killed." Adam narrowed his eyes. Nicola sighed heavily.
"Ok, ok." She began fidgeting with the band around her right wrist. "You say he's killed someone. You say he's involved in something awful. Terrorism? Yeah. Well, he's been dragged into it then. He's not the type to be a ringleader. Lacks imagination if you ask me."
"Does he?"
"Look, I know him. He's my brother. Our birth family are nothing to do with us. We were adopted."
"And you never wanted to look for them?" Zaf asked, his thoughts turning to his now teenage stepdaughter. He worried the thirteen year old would ask about her father and his side of the family. He worried what that would do to Zoe and Danny. Forcing his attention back to the road he pushed the thoughts out of his mind.
"Me, no. I was told my sperm donor was Russian but I never perused it. You are not telling me this is going to turn into an episode of Long Lost Family?"
Adam smirked. He liked the younger woman, knowing from experience that it wasn't her fault who her family were. He frowned slightly. "What about Lee?"
"He wanted to. When we were kids. I didn't. He never mentioned it after he moved to London. I thought he had given up on the idea. We had a mum and dad. Ok, they may not have been blood but they were the ones who fed us, clothed us and loved us. That's more of what a family is rather than genetics. Its about more than blood. I told Lee that."
"Did he listen?"
"I bloody well hope so." She sighed as Zaf pulled the car onto the motorway that would take them to London. Nicola swore as her phone began ringing. "Its Lee."
"Answer it." Adam stated as she narrowed her eyes before pressing the accept call button. Adam reached over, tapping the 'speaker phone' as Lee's voice filled the air.
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