They untied Tom and loaded him on to the stretcher, which the Professor and Ekaterina picked up. Oscar pulled his taser and pointed it at them. Ilya picked up Dan and slung his arm over his shoulder. "Come, we have to hurry !" he said.
Ilya jogged along at the front as quickly as he could with Dan wheezing beside him. Oscar followed the Professor and Ekaterina, with his taser in clear sight for everyone to see. Of course, he had no intention of tasering the two researchers. At the next junction they ran into two KORPS agents. Ilya managed to kick one down and Carrie tasered them both before they could raise the alarm. "Run !" hissed Oscar. They set off again as quickly as they could. Suddenly, the blaring of the alarm filled the air again. "They've found them !" called Oscar. "We have to get to the others quickly," he said.
Four KORPS agents ran at them. Ilya had to put Dan down, leaning against the tunnel wall while he and Carrie took on the KORPS guards. After a minute Oscar had to join in to help them. Eventually they had incapacitated all of the KORPS guards and resumed their journey. Dan was getting steadily weaker and eventually, Oscar had to help Ilya support him. When they reached Edward and Aneisha, they had a small heap of unconscious KORPS guards lying at their feet. "Good effort !" said Carrie, smiling at Aneisha. Aneisha's return smile was wiped off her face when she saw the unconscious Tom and struggling Dan.
They all set off down the dark tunnel, with Aneisha leading, followed by Ilya and Oscar practically carrying Dan now, then the Professor and Katerina with Tom and finally Edward and Carrie guarding the rear. They had to taser a couple of KORPS thugs who started gaining on them. Luckily they had the advantage in the dark because the KORPS agents weren't equipped with torches. After an exhausting chase, they arrived at the hole into the tunnel. Frank had lowered rope ladders for them to climb up. Ropes were lowered and Tom's stretcher was hauled out. Dan's legs had finally given way and they had to lift him out tied to a board. The others followed quickly. Frank wondered for a moment how they were going to get away in safety when he saw two helicopters flying their way.
"Frank, I've sent transport !" said Stella's voice in his earpiece. Frank had never been so grateful to her. Soon everyone was safely loaded on to the helicopters and Tom and Dan were receiving medical attention. Zoe and Aneisha sat hugging one another all the way back to the MI9 medical facility where they got off.
Zoe returned to the waiting room to sit with Frank and Aneisha after having a medical check-up. She sat wearily with them, staring at the blank wall opposite. "They're never going to give up are they ?" she asked nobody in particular.
"No, I'm afraid they're not," said Frank. "Sorry Zoe, but unless something happens to the Mastermind, they're going to carry on trying to get you back."
"You're all in danger if I stay with MI High," said Zoe.
"Zoe, we're all in danger so long as we stay in MI High," said Aneisha. "There's always going to be something. It's just that this time, you were the something. Next time, it'll be something else."
A doctor came out to tell them they could see Tom and Dan so they leapt up and followed him to the boys' room. Tom was lying in bed, looking a little dopey but otherwise unhurt. Dan was lying in bed with his eyes bandaged over. "Tom's doing well. He should be able to go home tomorrow all being well," said the doctor. "We've started some treatment for Dan's lungs and his eyes, but because we don't yet know the chemical composition of the liquid which was sprayed into his face, we don't know how well this is going to work," he explained.
"We'll get that information for you," promised Frank.
"Thanks, that would be a great help," said the doctor. "I'll leave you to catch up," he said and left the room.
Aneisha went up to Tom and gave him a kiss. This brought out a huge blush, but no complaints. Zoe walked over to Dan and kissed his cheek. She wasn't sure if he was awake, but he moved the instant her lips touched his face. "Zoe ?" he asked. His voice sounded a little husky.
"Yes, it's me. Frank and Aneisha are here too. Do you know Tom's in the next bed ?" she asked, suddenly realising that Dan might not know what was going on.
"Yes, I heard Tom waking up," said Dan. "He threw up," he said grinning.
"I heard that," complained Tom.
"It's OK. I threw up too," said Dan with a laugh. This made him start to cough. Zoe looked at Frank worriedly, but after a few seconds the coughing subsided. It was late now, so they said goodnight and left the two boys to rest.
The nurses came in to make their final checks and help Dan to the toilet before pulling up the bars alongside his bed and putting the call button into his hands in case he needed anything. They were both tired after a difficult day and fell asleep quickly. Dan woke with a start and wondered why it was so dark. Then he felt his face and remembered the bandages. Someone was crying and calling out. It was Tom. "No ! No ! Please don't !" he cried out. He sounded terrified. Dan realised he must be having a nightmare.
Dan sat up and tried to swing his legs out of the bed. They banged into the metal bars. Cursing the bars, he managed to climb over them and out of the bed. With outstretched arms he walked slowly in the direction of Tom's voice. His fingers felt soft blankets and he felt his way along until he found Tom's arm. He shook his friend's shoulder and called to him softly. "Tom ! Hey Tom wake up ! It's OK, it's only a bad dream," he said.
"No !" screamed Tom.
"Tom, it's a dream," said Dan a little louder. Tom's hand suddenly slapped him across the face, hitting some old bruises. "Ouch ! Tom !"
"Wha' ? Who ? Oh, oh, Dan. What's wrong with you ?" asked Tom, clearly confused.
"You're in the hospital Tom. It's all OK now. You're safe. You were just having a bad dream," explained Dan gently, feeling the now stinging side of his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up ?" asked Tom. He sounded shaken. Dan was frustrated that he couldn't see Tom's face. Dan took his friend's hand.
"It doesn't matter. Are you OK now ?" Dan asked, before coughing hoarsely. He had to let go of Tom's hand as the coughing fit took over and he had to lean on the side of the bed.
"Dan ? Hang on, I'll call the nurses," said Tom.
A nurse came in. "What are you doing out of bed ?" she asked. Dan was still catching his breath and couldn't answer.
"I woke him up because I was having a nightmare and he got up to wake me," explained Tom.
"He should have called us," said the nurse, taking Dan's arm and guiding him back to his bed. She lowered the bars on the side and helped him get back in, before putting the bars back. The nurse raised the bed so that Dan was sitting up a little trying to get his breath back. She handed him a drink of water to sip.
"Thanks," said Dan, holding the cup out for her to take back. He was shattered now and fell asleep before the nurse had resettled Tom and left the room.
The next day Tom was allowed to go home and Dan then felt quite lonely. The doctors tried another therapy for his breathing, but it made him feel worse. Dan was curled up in bed trying to ignore the tightening of his chest every time he took a breath when the door to his room opened and several people came in. He felt a hand on his arm and then heard Frank's voice. Frank spoke very gently to him, as if he thought he was really ill or something.
"Dan, I've brought Professor Lubyanka and his assistant Ekaterina with me. They want to help make you better. They know much more about the chemical formulae they used and think they can help you. Is that alright with you ? They don't want to hurt you. They want to make you better," Frank promised.
The Professor spoke. "I am very sorry that our gasses have made you so sick," he said. "I would like to help get you well, if you will forgive me and let me help."
The sound of the Professor's voice made Dan tense at first, but he did sound very different away from the Crime Minister. Dan felt Frank's hand squeezing his arm. He nodded and said, "OK." It came out as a hoarse whisper. He hated the way he sounded. It was feeble.
"Thankyou. We will start work straight away," the Professor said. Dan heard them leave and assumed that everyone had gone when he heard Frank's voice again.
"It's going to be OK Dan. The Professor has some ideas of how to counteract the effects of the gas. When he's got you breathing comfortably again, he's going to sort out your eyesight," Frank promised.
"Is Tom OK now ?" Dan asked. "He was really scared. He's not used to this sort of thing."
"He's fine physically, but I'll be keeping an eye on him for a while. I expect Aneisha will too," said Frank with a smile that Dan couldn't see. Dan smiled as well.
"Yeah, she's good at looking after Tom isn't she ?" he asked.
"Yes, well so are you Dan. I heard about last night," said Frank.
"Is Zoe OK ?" asked Dan. "I thought she might be, you know, blaming herself for all this stuff. She usually does."
"I think Aneisha and I have managed to talk her out of the worst of it," Frank assured him. "She's been going on at me to let her visit you. I was worried that she would get too upset and then upset you too. I'm sorry I'm only second best."
"No, I'm glad you're here," said Dan. "It's a bit lonely on my own."
The door opened and a nurse told them they were taking Dan to a treatment room. His bed was wheeled along some corridors and into a different room. The Professor spoke to him. "Daniel, we have a formula which you are going to breathe in slowly. It shouldn't hurt, but it might make you feel a little light-headed. Are you ready ? We will connect some monitors to make sure everything is going well." Dan nodded, feeling nervous.
"Would you like me to stay Dan ?" asked Frank.
"Yes please," said Dan. Dan felt stickers being put on his chest and a strap round his arm to measure blood pressure. Finally a breathing mask was put over his face.
"Ekaterina, we are ready ?" asked the Professor. "Good, we will begin," he said. Dan heard a faint hissing noise and noticed a funny taste in his mouth. Nothing seemed to be happening. Then he started to feel strange. He felt as though he was floating, dizzily in the air. He put out a hand to hold on to the side of the bed and felt a cold stethoscope being put on his chest. When he flinched, the Professor said, "I am sorry, it is a little cold. I think we are making progress. You are breathing a little better already I think. Blood pressure ?" he asked.
"Falling very well," said Ekaterina.
"Good, I think that has been a success. We will stop now," said the Professor. The breathing mask was removed and Dan lay on the bed feeling relaxed and dreamy. "I think we should let you sleep it off now yes ?" asked the Professor. "I will look at your eyes before you go," he said. Dan barely noticed the dressing being taken off his face. The professor lifted his eyelids and he heard faint clicking noises and mutterings from the Professor. "Hm, yes. I think I know what we need to do," he said. "You have a good sleep young man and we will work on something for your eyes," he promised.