A/N: Sorry for the delay folks. Was on holiday. Now I'm back. Let me know what you think please.

Chapter 2

Connor's eyes were beginning to water. Suddenly, he remembered he hadn't blinked since the black, charred landscape had filled the screen in front of him. He closed his eyes and rubbed a hand across them, part hoping and part afraid that the beach would have returned to his screen when he opened his eyes again. It hadn't.

By this time, Peta had joined him and was staring at the screen over his shoulder. Connor gradually became aware that Nigel and the others were looking from their computer screens to him and back, identical expressions of confusion on every face.

Connor shook his head. He had to snap out of it. He had a team of his own now and they were waiting for his orders.

"Report!" Connor shouted, rubbing his eyes again and scanning the view ahead of him.

"Gas spectroscopy results show oxygen levels at fifteen percent, nitrogen at sixty five percent," called one of the computer technicians. "Carbon dioxide is at fifteen percent and the last five percent is made up of argon, ozone, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, methane and ammonia, with some water vapour."

"Geiger counter is detecting dangerously high levels of radiation," Nigel added. "Temperature reading is twenty five degrees centigrade."

"Define 'dangerously high'?" Connor queried.

"Averaging two point five Sieverts," Nigel replied.

"Great!" Connor groaned. "How long until we can have the de-con ready?"

"Shouldn't take more than ten minutes, sir," one of the techs replied. Connor vaguely registered the man's name was Luke.

"Get it set up," Connor nodded in Luke's direction. Sighing, he settled back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He needed a shave. He'd have to see to that later. Sleep would be good too. Perhaps once they'd got the rover back, maybe with a few samples, he could go and take a nap while it was in the decontamination unit. Ten minutes. Well, they could take a look around at least. Pick up those samples that would hopefully give them some clue as to where the anomaly had taken them. He leaned forward. "All right, folks," he called. "Let's get this buggy rolling."

XXXX

By the time Becker turned into the school car park, rounding the corner of the gate on two wheels, the entire school had been evacuated and teachers were dutifully counting heads of lined up classes in the playground. One boy of about eight was being towered over by a middle-aged woman Becker could only assume was the headmistress. She was speaking very sternly to the boy, who glared sullenly at the corner of the school building behind the reprimanding adult.

The headmistress looked up sharply as Becker screeched to a halt, other military vehicles filling the car park behind him and rapidly disgorging their contents. Pausing only to give a few brief orders to his men, Becker headed over to the headmistress and boy, followed by Cutter and Abby.

"What is the meaning of this?" The headmistress demanded.

"What's going on here?" Becker demanded, ignoring the headmistress and talking directly to the boy.

The boy looked round, surprised and slightly scared.

"M-my dad," he stuttered. "He phoned and told me to set off the fire alarm, then get out of the building as quick as possible. He said it was urgent and that it was an order. He said he'd explain later."

"John Lester, you have been warned!" The headmistress spat. "This school does not take kindly to liars!"

"That explains why you don't like my dad!" John Lester muttered quietly.

Behind Becker, Abby and Cutter exchanged an amused glance. Becker transferred his attention from John to his headmistress, who was visibly seething.

"The boy isn't lying," Becker confirmed. "We have been sent by Sir James. Might I have a word in private?"

The headmistress's expression changed from fury to confusion. With a sharp flick of her hand, she indicated an area off to the side of the car park. Becker followed her over there.

"We have received intelligence that there may be a terrorist attack on this school," said Becker, keeping his voice low. "It is imperative that everyone is removed from the area. How quickly can you arrange for the children to be sent home?"

"Not very," the headmistress sniffed. "Most of our pupils' parents work during the day."

"Can you take them elsewhere then? The local community centre or sports fields?"

"I suppose St. Agatha's would be able to accommodate us."

St. Agatha's Grammar School was a private school a few streets away.

"That'll do," Becker nodded. "Just leave the rest to us. We'll call you when it's safe to return."

"You don't know my number and you haven't even asked my name," the headmistress sniffed again.

"Don't worry," said Becker with a grin as he turned back to Cutter and Abby. "We know how to find you."

XXXX

Kate Barratt banged her head on her steering wheel in frustration. Yet another traffic jam! No wonder she hated London! It was full of strangers who didn't know you and didn't care. It stank. It took ages to get anywhere. It cost ten times more to live here than in Hull. If you wanted to do any diving at all it either had to be in a swimming pool or in the Thames, neither of which were famous for their wildlife, although the Thames was supposedly getting better. Other than that you had to spend half a day travelling to somewhere just to dive for an hour or so, then spend the other half of the day travelling back, or shell out for accommodation!

She looked again at the message she had hastily scribbled down. An anomaly in Lester's son's school. The poor man would be beside himself. Although, saying that, she reconsidered, the poor man in question was Lester, a mad who had so far seemed unaffected by anything she had yet encountered, so perhaps he was holding up okay.

A horn sounded from behind Kate and she noticed that the traffic was once again moving. She rolled the car forward into yet another queue, this time for turning left onto the main road for Kensington, and stopped as the lights returned to red. The honking resumed, this time from in front of Kate. Yet another bunch of idiots had gone forward into the yellow hatched area of the crossroads without being able to get out the other side of it and now they were blocking traffic going the other way. Kate threw up her hands in disgust. Some people just had no patience!

XXXX

As the door closed on the decontamination unit, the rover safely inside, Connor stood up and stretched. According to Nigel's calculations, it would take approximately two hours to decontaminate the rover fully. The samples had been removed and placed in lead boxes. They were on their way upstairs to the lab on the first floor. Peta was taking charge of things down here and Nigel was taking charge of the lab work. He could finally go and sleep. But what if something happened? What if he was needed? He knew so much more than any of the others here. What if they missed something?

As if reading his mind, Peta came over and physically turned him round and shoved him in the direction of the lift.

"You're no use to us exhausted," she said, pressing the button for the top floor as Connor sleepily dragged himself into the lift. "Get some rest. I'll call you if anything happens."

As the door slid shut and the lift began to climb the three floors to the residential level, Connor leant back against the wall. The metal felt cool against his back and he rested his head against it. So much to think about. So many questions needing answered. He tried to focus his mind on their newest puzzle, but he couldn't. Every time he pictured the anomaly in front of him, he pictured Abby by his side. Abby. It had been months now since they'd seen each other or even spoken. How he missed her. Even now it was still like a part of him had been ripped out and all that was left was a gaping hole in his life where she should have been.

What was she doing now? Was she happy? Was she safe? Did she ever think about him? Wonder if she'd made the right decision? If he had? Had she wanted him to stay? Had she wanted him to go? Was this enforced separation a way of saying she didn't care about him any more under the guise of 'doing their duty' to humanity? She had seemed very friendly with Becker before he left. What if he was the reason she had decided to stay? He was macho and moody and an action man, just like Stephen had been. She had liked all of that in Stephen, why not in Becker?

The lift dinged to alert Connor to his arrival at the top floor, bringing him out of his thoughts and reminding him of his need for sleep. Willing one foot in front of the other, he dragged his body along the corridor, moving zombie-like from the lift to his sterile, government funded room. With a concentrated effort of thought, he turned the door handle pushed the door open, stumbling into the room as the support of the door moved away from him, dragging his body with it. He shut the door behind him and staggered over to the memory foam mattressed bed, letting his body collapse on top of the covers fully clothed. Without leaning down to untie the laces, he kicked off his trainers and turned himself round to rest his head on the memory foam pillow at the head of the bed. Within seconds he was sound asleep, exhaustion taking over and blanking out the sound of the bedroom door opening behind him.