As the taxi pulled out of ST James' hospital with Sam inside she spared a glance back and briefly accessed the memories she had of her 'argument' with Charlie.
"I don't have to tell you that that would be against medical advice." Charlie had said sternly after Sam had told him she was discharging herself.
"No, you don't." Sam had quipped in response.
"So why would you put your health in danger? Not to mention you have no clothes and no idea where you live." Charlie said pointedly.
"You left my medical file on the table near my bed. It had my address, and I'm sure this place has a lost property department. Surely you can rummage me up something to wear."Sam had replied calmly.
"How do you plan on getting in to your house with no key?"
"I'll… think on my feet."
So now, as Sam sat in the back of a taxi, heading for what Charlie had presumed to be her house Sam thought about what her actual destination was going to resemble. Holby City hospital. Or, rather, what was formerly known as Holby City hospital. Now it was most likely a pile of rubble surrounded by firemen and journalists. The only reason she was heading there was because she needed to remember who that lab technician was.
Maybe she would remember him, or at least some small chunk of memory that would shed a little more light on this mystery. For some reason she found herself caring more about whom this man was and why the hospital exploded than her own life and the years of memory she had yet to recover.
After around 20 minutes, the Taxi jerked to a halt, stuck behind hundreds of other cars- their occupants al trying to get a look at the headline news story. Sam sighed in frustration and shook her head, before leaning forwards and tapping the cab driver on the shoulder.
"Here's far enough. I'll walk the rest of the way thanks."
The cab driver nodded before whipping out a calculator. "That'll be £6.50 miss."
Sam nodded and pulled out some of the money Charlie had given her. He may not support her decision but he was a nice enough guy to still insist on helping her out. After paying the taxi driver Sam stepped out onto the curb and continued to walk down the street, seeing the cab reverse and drive back the way it came out the corner of her eye.
Of course, she didn't get very far this way either. The hundreds of people gathered behind the fluorescent yellow tape that marked out a boundary around 20 feet away from the start of the rubble was what greeted her.
After grumbling and muttering a few choice words under her breath Sam continued on her journey, shoving several onlookers out of the way and receiving a few insults for her troubles. When she finally made it to the front was about to step over the tape a police officer placed a hand on her chest and held her back.
"What are you-" Began Sam, giving him a look of indignation.
"The public is not allowed past this point, miss, so please stay where you are!" He shouted over the ruckus the crowd was making.
"I'm not-" Sam began, but found herself cut off by a man in a fluorescent jacket with a balding head.
"Sam! It's alright. She's with us." He said to the officer.
The officer looked between Sam and the stranger, narrowing his eyes and sighing before letting them pass. Sam accepted his hand as he helped her climb over the railings, a look of confusion on her face.
"Er thanks….?" Sam prompted, staring at the man curiously.
"Oh, right, Zoe told me you lost your memory. I'm Jeff. I was a paramedic here. We worked fairly closely." Jeff said awkwardly, his friendly smile fading a little.
"Oh, right. Charlie mentioned something about a paramedic called Jeff. You have a wife, right?"
Right on cue a woman appeared beside Jeff, giving them both a warm smile. "Sam! I'm Dixie, a para-"
"Another paramedic who's married to Jeff. Got it. Where are the police at with the investigation?" Sam said, dispatching with the pleasantries.
"They haven't got very far I'm afraid…" Jeff said, motioning her to walk with them.
"What do they know?"
"Only that the blast started in the recess and was most likely caused by a bomb."
"Like the kind you would find on a warzone?" Sam asked, stopping their walk towards the mountain of rubble.
"No. Like the kind you could make out of components you find lying around a hospital. It looks like some kind of chemical that reacts with oxygen was used to ignite it. All the person with the bomb would have to have done was expose that chemical to the air and place the resultant flame near the explosive," Dixie replied solemnly. "Or that's what the bomb squad told me anyway."
Sam considered this for a moment. A lab technician would have access to those chemicals.
"Where are the bomb squad now?" Sam asked as she stared at the rubble. "I need to ask them something."
"What?" Dixie asked, but Sam merely a shook her head as Jeff led around the edge of the rubble.
"Excuse me." Sam called over to one of the men wearing black helmets with visors and bullet prro jackets as soon as he came into view.
"Yeah?" He replied, walking over to them.
"I was informed by these two that the explosion here was started by a chemical bomb." Sam said formally.
"Yes…" The man said slowly, narrowing his eyes and staring at the bandage around her head, "And who are you?"
"Dr Sam Nicholls. I was in the explosion." Sam replied, holding out a hand.
"John Sloan." The man replied as he took it. "Was there something you wanted to ask?"
"Yes. How much time would the person have who set off the bomb to get away before it exploded?" She asked, her mind buzzing with a possible theory.
"About three seconds." He replied. "And they wouldn't get away without some major injuries. Some possibly fatal."
"So you doubt that the person who set off this bomb is alive?"
"Yes. That is highly unlikely. They wouldn't have been able to clear enough space between them and the bomb before it went off."
"And would this chemical have had to have been near pure oxygen to ignite or would the percentage in the air have done it?"
"There would have been enough in the air." The man replied. "I'm sorry but is this going somewhere?"
Sam frowned. She thought so. Sam was now aware that it could not have been the lab technician, or he would have been blown to pieces. So why was she chasing him if he wasn't carrying the bomb? Suddenly a knew thought hit her. Maybe she wasn't chasing him. Maybe she was running with him.
It was at that exact point that she spotted a familiar figure walking over to the group, with his arm in a sling.
"Tom?" Sam shouted, confused, "What are you doing here?"
"I had a feeling you weren't going home as soon as Charlie told me you left. But why are you here?" He asked as soon as he got closer.
"I'm... trying to figure out who turned Holby City Hospital into rubble."
…
Thanks as always for reading :)