Shadows and mysteries. So who exactly are you ? Last chapter. Hope you enjoyed the story. Let me know what you thought of it.

"Did you miss me ?" Aneisha asked.

"Yes, I did. I missed all of you," said Tom honestly. "I really did," he added, with a catch in his voice.

"Hey, it's good to have you back," said Aneisha softly. Tom hugged her tightly. It was great to be back amongst friends.

When the ambulance arrived, Dan was still reluctant to get into it. So Zoe suggested that if he did get in the ambulance he could have a nap on the way to hospital and then be in better shape to get discharged. This made sense to Dan who agreed. Frank gave Zoe a quick hug as she followed Dan out to the ambulance. "Nice one Zoe. Keep an eye on him till we get there please ?" he whispered to her. She smiled quietly and nodded.

Frank turned to Tom. "Well Tom, weren't you tempted to join the Shadow Masters then ?"

Tom looked a bit embarrassed and shuffled around before answering. "Well, I did enjoy having all the stuff to play with, and for a while it was nice having people tell me I was clever," he said. "The problem was, I really missed everyone. I missed my friends," he said.

"And quite right too !" said the Professor. "I think we know where flattery gets you," he said, waving towards the two Shadow Masters being led away.

"Oh, I meant to ask," said Frank. "How did Dan get so wet ?"

Tom, Aneisha and the Professor looked at one another. "They tried to drown him, in the kitchen sink," said the Professor after a pause. "It wasn't a pleasant thing," he added. Frank looked at Tom and Aneisha's frozen faces. He made a mental note to tell the paramedics.

"I see," he said quietly. "Well, Professor, it's been a pleasure working with you. Thankyou for all your help," said Frank, shaking the Professor's hand.

"You're really MI6 ?" asked Tom.

"Yes, I was assigned to investigate the Shadow Master organisation earlier this year. There were concerns about how people were being recruited and the type of people being recruited," explained the Professor.

"Who are you really then ?" asked Aneisha.

"Ah, well, I can't tell you my real name," said the Professor apologetically. "I'm known in the organisation as Q2."

"Q2 ? Does that mean you're ?" Tom began asking excitedly.

"Part of the technical organisation, yes," interrupted the Professor, smiling. He held out his hand. "Tom, it's been a pleasure working with you," he said. After shaking hands with Tom he also shook hands with Aneisha. "I must say I was very impressed with your undercover work Aneisha. First class !" said the Professor. Aneisha blushed but smiled happily. "Please give my best wishes to your friend for a speedy recovery," he said finally. "Must go. I'm expected elsewhere I'm afraid. Goodbye Agent London," he said nodding to Frank.

"Goodbye Sir," said Frank.

After he had left, Aneisha said, "He was right you know."

"About what ?" asked Tom, assuming Aneisha was going to be teasing him again.

"He was a rotten fighter," said Aneisha. Tom burst out laughing in spite of himself.

Meanwhile Zoe watched as Dan insisted on taking off his shoes before lying down on the stretcher in the ambulance. The paramedic looked at her in alarm, while they watched Dan swaying back and forth as he bent over, struggling with his shoes. Finally he got them off and lay down heavily on the stretcher. He looked exhausted and dizzy, but wasn't going to admit to it. Taking advantage of the rolled up sleeve, the paramedic took his blood pressure as the ambulance started off. Dan coughed a little and rolled on to his side.

"How did you get your hair wet ?" Zoe asked him.

"They er, they, they," stammered Dan. "They tried to drown me in the kitchen sink," he explained. Zoe was appalled and turned away to hide her expression from Dan. The paramedic saw her distress and also noticed Dan's hand grasping the pillow tightly.

"I see," said the paramedic calmly. He put on his stethoscope and slipped it inside Dan's shirt to listen to his heart and lungs. "Hm, some moisture. I don't think that will cause you a problem," he assured Dan. "You're tired. Didn't you get much sleep last night ?" he asked sympathetically.

Dan shook his head. "No. It was too cold," he explained.

"Why don't you have a sleep ? It's going to take a while to reach MI9 medical," said the paramedic, pulling a couple of blankets over Dan. Dan nodded and closed his eyes.

Zoe sat chatting to the paramedic quietly for most of the journey. Towards the end, Dan started muttering and twitching in his sleep. Suddenly his arms shot out of the blankets, "No ! No !" he screamed, desperately trying to pull the blankets off.

"Dan ! It's just a dream !" Zoe called out to him, trying to catch hold of his thrashing arms. "Dan, it's Zoe," she said as Dan sat bolt upright and opened his eyes, staring ahead in terror. He was sweating and gasping for breath.

"Huh ?" he said shakily, looking around at his surroundings in confusion. He saw Zoe and relaxed, almost falling back on to the stretcher. Zoe and the paramedic caught him and let him down gently.

"You had a nightmare Dan. It's OK. You're safe now," said Zoe quietly, stroking his hair back from his face. She had his shoulders and head cradled in her arm and shoulder.

"Tom ! Aneisha !" gasped Dan. "They're OK ?"

"They're both fine," Zoe assured him. "You just left them remember ? You came in the ambulance. Frank's bringing them both back," she explained.

"Oh, yeah. Of course. Sorry," said Dan, starting to calm down gradually. A look of enormous distress passed across his face briefly. "I'll be OK. I'm fine," he muttered.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself ?" asked Zoe. He looked up at her face, obviously torn between telling the truth or trying to protect her from it.

"It's, I, I was so scared Zoe," Dan finally whispered. Tears started to run down his cheeks. "I was sure they were going to k k kill me," he stuttered out, shivering uncontrollably. "Those hands pushing me down in the water. They didn't let go," he sobbed finally before burying his head in the crook of her neck.

Zoe pulled him close and supported him in her arms. "It's OK. You can cry as much as you want to. I'm here," she said simply, kissing his forehead. "You've always got me. You know that, don't you ?" she whispered. Zoe held him as he sobbed out the terror of the previous 36 hours in her arms. Gradually she felt his body relax as he calmed. The last gulping sobs subsided and his eyes closed in complete exhaustion. Stroking his hair one last time, she kissed his cheek and laid him down on the pillow. She and the paramedic pulled the blankets back over him.

Seeing a tear rolling down her cheek, the paramedic gave her a quick hug. "Hey, you were great. He's lucky to have you," he said with a gentle smile. "I think he's going to get better quickly now that the shock is out of his system. The worst is over," he assured Zoe. Zoe gave him a grateful smile, and leaned back to relax for the rest of the journey. Dan didn't wake again, but slept peacefully all the way to the treatment room.

Later in the day, Frank arrived at the MI9 medical centre with Tom and Aneisha. They had one or two bruises and he wanted them to be checked out before taking them home. Once they were given the all clear they went in search of Dan and Zoe. Dan was lying on a bed in a treatment cubicle chatting with Zoe. There was a steri strip over the cut on his eye and his bruises had been cleaned up. Although he still looked quite tired, he seemed much calmer than before. "Do you still want to go home then ?" Frank asked.

"Yes," said Dan, with determination. He was obviously preparing for an argument and was surprised when Frank simply tossed him some clean clothes and told him to get changed ready to go. Once he'd changed the others went back into his room, while Frank sorted out the paperwork.

"Are you OK now Dan ?" Aneisha asked him.

"Yes, I'm alright," said Dan. "It was a bit rough earlier, but I think I'm over the worst of it now," he admitted honestly. "I was scared silly," he almost whispered. Zoe hugged him, then Aneisha hugged them both. Tom stood looking at them. "What's the matter ?" asked Dan.

"Well, there isn't exactly room for me is there ?" asked Tom.

"Course there is," said Dan, and they opened up a gap to let him in. It was a four-way team hug. They broke apart giggling.

Frank drove them all home and they dropped off Tom first. His Mum was overjoyed and came running out of the house to kiss him embarrassingly in front of the others. Then she hugged and kissed Dan, Aneisha and Zoe for good measure. Next they dropped off Aneisha and then Dan. Dan's Mum came out to meet him. She saw his smile and relaxed before seeing all the bruises and the cuts. "Oh Dan ! Did you get him back safely then ?" she asked.

"Yes. Tom's home again," said Dan. His Mum hugged him tightly and then also hugged Zoe and Frank. Zoe looked pleased and Frank looked a bit embarrassed.

"Tom's Mum had more people to hug," said Zoe. This made Dan's Mum laugh.

She took him indoors and Frank was left in the car with Zoe. "Right, safe house," said Frank. "I guess you looked after Dan in the ambulance then ?" he asked. "He was obviously in shock when he left. He's much better now."

Zoe looked thoughtful. "Yes. It really scared him what they did to him there. Will MI9 be closing the organisation down ?" she asked.

"Yes, there's an international investigation going on now," said Frank. "It turns out there are a number of wanted criminals living in their houses. They're not very picky about their members. Heaven only knows what they would have ended up doing !"

"Oh well," said Zoe. "It made a change from KORPS."

"Not much !" huffed Frank.

THE END

That's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review if you can. Is it the sort of story you like ?