Harry ran a hand over his face as he thought of his friend. They still knew very little about Malcolm's condition but he knew that Will or Sarah would call him as soon as there was anything to tell. He looked over at his team, all subdued as they sat down around the Briefing Room table.
"Any news?" Zaf asked as he took his seat between Dimitri and Lucas. He felt sick at the thought of the oldest member of the team fighting for his life. He just couldn't understand the unfairness of the whole situation. Malcolm was a good man. He was not a field officer, to the less savoury members of the community they served Malcolm didn't exist. A spook, behind the scenes.
"Not yet." Ruth sighed. "Sarah said she will call. Last I heard he was in theatre."
"Its been ages." Beth bit her lip.
"It'll take as long as it takes." Ros stated. She folded her arms as she leant against the wall, aware that Lucas was watching her. She raised her eyebrows as he held her gaze for a moment. Harry looked around as he watched the team settle.
"The forensics are back on the shooting." Zoe looked at the computer screen on the wall as the screensaver changed from the MI5 logo it had when resting. "Seems that the gun is a service weapon. One favoured by those in 6."
"Someone at 6 shot him?" Catherine swore. Harry frowned.
"Not necessarily." Ruth paused. "We now know for certain the gun fired was originally a service weapon but we still don't know who fired it."
"There's been no reports of any weapons going missing." Tariq frowned. "I did a trawl. Nothing on the Intranet or in the dark."
"OK." Ros frowned. "So I think its time we paid a visit across the River." She pushed herself away from the wall. Harry nodded.
"Yes."
"There were three bullets." Catherine paused as Adam walked into the room.
"I spoke to the DCI running the police side of the case. They have a witness." He nodded towards the main Grid. "Natasha Scott is out there."
"The girl from the coffee shop?" Harry raised an eyebrow as he remembered the young woman who had initially been thrown into the world of spies years earlier. He knew the only reason Adam and Zaf had survived had been because of her quick thinking. It had been Malcolm and Colin's idea to cultivate her as a sleeper agent. Adam nodded, his jaw tight as he tried to keep his anger under control.
"Yeah. She was there. Saw everything."
Ros frowned. "Good, Ruth get her looking at the footage. See if she can talk us through what happened. She may remember something we can use."
"Ok." Ruth paused as Harry began issuing tasks to the rest of the team.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sarah closed her eyes as Will sat beside her.
"You should go."
"Not if I don't want Ros or Uncle Harry to hand me my arse on a plate." He watched as his godmother smirked.
"Its getting late."
"And?"
"William."
"Auntie Sarah." He smiled at her as she rolled her eyes.
"He's been in theatre for ages." Sarah looked at her watch, her welsh accent more pronounced than usual. Will nodded before resting his head back on the cold stone wall behind them. "I just wish they would tell us what is happening."
"They will. No news is good news." Will squeezed her hand as she bit back a tear. Will looked up at the clock on the wall. "Do you want me to ask someone?"
"No. You're right. No news is good news. They're busy. Don't bother them."
Will yawned as a door along the corridor opened. "Family of Malcolm Wyn-Jones?" A woman no older than Will walked up to them. Sarah got to her feet before the doctor ushered them back to the chairs. "Are you his family?"
"Wife and godson." Will explained. "How is he? Is he?"
"Alive?" The doctor watched as he nodded. "Yes, it seems your godfather has a very strong will to live. He is extremely lucky. The bullet that hit his chest missed the major artery by millimetres."
"Oh my God." Sarah wiped her eyes.
"We repaired the hole. He had to have multiple blood transfusions but he has stabilised. He is on his way to Recovery now. You will be able to see him once the nurses have him settled."
"Thank you." Sarah sniffed back a tear. "Thank you so much."
xxxxxxxxxx
Harry exited the car before following Ros towards the main entrance of Vauxhall House. The building unaffectionally known as Lego Land loomed in front of them as Harry waved his pass at the security officer before ushering Ros into the main entrance. He knew they were risking a diplomatic nightmare, technically accusing an MI6 staff member of attempting to murder one of their operatives but in that moment he didn't care. All that mattered was getting answers and he knew the police were not going to get them once it became clear MI6 were involved. This had to be done under the radar before anyone else got hurt.
"Harry." He turned to see a man roughly the same age as him approach. "You should have said you were coming over to the dark side. Ros." He nodded curtly at the blonde before Ros tilted her head in acknowledgement. The man in front of them, Marcus Jefferies was an idiot as far as she could see. He had no idea what life was like in the real world and she imagined he was more than a little worried that a fellow Section Head and his second in command had arrived on his doorstep.
"Marcus."
"Look, this isn't a good time."
"Oh I think you'll find it is. Now one of my officers is on an operating table in West London. You should know a bullet from a gun issued to one of your officers is responsible. Now, we can be polite and amicable about this or."
"Or?"
"Or I can have it made known to the national media that MI6 have either got themselves a rogue operative taking the law into their own hands or they are covering up the theft of a weapon. You choose." Ros smiled sweetly as Harry fought the urge to laugh at the look on the other man's face.
"Well really!"
"Yes, really." Ros kept her voice low, just on the side of dangerous that Harry recognised so well. Marcus huffed.
"Lets go to my office."
"Yes, lets." Harry smirked before following him through the corridors.
