Ros tried not to wince as Mike studied her cheek bone. He had become used to seeing the various officers in different states of injury. It had been a while since Ros had been in his Consultation Room. He sighed as he listened to Lucas tell him what had happened. He knew Ros' pride was more dented than her cheek was.
"Well." He frowned as he looked at his patient. "It seems your husband is right."
"Don't tell him that."
"You have a broken nose and I'd wager that there is a fracture in the Zygoma too."
"In the what?" Ros raised an eyebrow.
"Your left cheek bone. You are tender over the bony promininces. Indicative of a fracture, I'm afraid. I think you should go to the hospital."
"No."
"Ros."
"No. Is there any way of treating a fractured nose or Zygoma that can be altered by an x-ray confirmation of the injury?" Ros asked as Lucas tried not to smirk.
"Well, I."
"Are you going to put my head in a plaster of Paris? Like you would an ankle or wrist?"
"Well, no."
"No need to bother the NHS then." Ros stated firmly. Lucas shrugged, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to talk her out of it. She was not going to the hospital, and there was nothing Mike nor he could do to change her mind. She blinked as Mike turned away, the only indication of how much pain she was actually in.
"Pain killers." Mike handed her a small bottle. "Take them."
"Will they make me drowsy?" Ros looked him in the eye.
"No." Mike stared at her. "I double a sledgehammer could make you drowsy, Ros Myers. Anyone else I would say yes but read the label."
Ros glared at him, which was duly ignored by the former Army doctor. He had faced more than a death glare from a Section Chief in his life. He sighed as he dismissed her, hoping that Lucas would be able to get her to take the painkillers he had given her. Somehow, he doubted it.
xxxxxxxxxx
Adam pulled the car into the Tesco carpark before killing the engine. He knew Zoe was right to be worried. They had no idea what they were facing, but he knew getting away from the Grid was a good thing. He knew Zaf thought of Ros as a sister he had never had so seeing her injured was going to hurt. He also knew she would be annoyed enough with Lucas fussing over her without him and Zaf wanting to murder the man who had hurt her.
"So." Zaf looked out over the car park.
"This is the location Tariq tracked the recording to." Adam frowned as he looked over the carpark. It was just the same as it had been the previous Wednesday when he had pushed the trolley around as Isabella had tried and succeeded in getting him to buy her favourite sweets. He smiled at the memory. The little girl was such a Daddy's girl, and he knew she had him wrapped around her finger. He shook the image from his mind, knowing he had to focus on what was happening. Zaf opened the car door and walked towards the edge of the car park.
"Zaf."
"This is it." Zaf glanced at the bespoke app on his phone as Adam caught up with him. "This is where Tariq told us the signal came from?"
"Yeah." Adam looked around, eyes scanning the area for anything that seemed to be out of the ordinary. He knew the supermarket well, the idea that Peterson had been there just hours before he had attempted to abduct Catherine made him feel physically sick.
"Nothing here."
"Not that we can see." Adam glanced up at the CCTV cameras watching them. "You reckon that thing picked anything up?"
"Maybe."
"Worth asking." Adam headed into the shop as Zaf paused for a moment. He knew his best friend. He knew there was a chance he was going to be dealing with a very frightened security guard if he didn't keep up with him. Adam had a way of asking questions that didn't give anyone the opportunity to ignore him.
"Hold up." Zaf jogged after him. "Play nice,"
"Always do." Adam shook his head, a slight smile on his face as he headed to the Security Desk at the front of the shop.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"And you are sure about this?" Calum asked as Catherine nodded, her eyes fixed on the desk she had been working at.
"I know him." Catherine paused. "We worked together for years. Treacherous bastard." She snapped as Malcolm's head snapped up. "Sorry, Uncle Malcolm." She sighed, knowing her godfather didn't like bad language. Malcolm shook his head.
"What have you found?"
"When I was working for Kanga Films, I worked with two blokes." She paused. "Jamie and Leon."
"Go on."
"Leon died." She sighed. "I found out in Lockdown. But I'd known that voice anywhere. In the background. That voice was Jamie." She leant back in her wheelchair. "He's alive and he is helping that piece of sh, man in the cells downstairs. He wasn't great with technology. That was Leon's strength." She bit her lip, remembering her old friend. "He's helping him."
"You should tell Harry."
"I don't have proof." She looked from Calum to Malcolm. The older man frowned slightly.
"I believe you do. You know Leon has passed away. You know this Jamie fellow is alive. You recognised the voice in the background. For me, that's evidence enough."
"Trust your gut." Ruth squeezed her shoulder as she passed her. "You know a good analyst gets a feel for this. You have a natural talent. Go with it."
Catherine nodded. "I have to find a photo of him. Get it to Adam and Zaf." She decided. "They need to know they are looking for him." She headed back to her computer as Ruth turned, feeling Harry's eyes on her. For the first time since her shooting Ruth knew her step daughter was going to be ok.