The team were ordered to infiltrate a KORPS base. It's all over, until the next time. Yep, back in hospital. I find it hard to avoid, because real violence should result in real consequences.
Thankyou everyone who took the time to review. Always gives a warm feeling :)
"It's all right Sir. We understand. He'll get the best we can give him," the medic assured Frank with a sympathetic smile. Frank smiled gratefully at the man and thanked him, before standing back to let them secure the stretcher, close the doors and drive swiftly away.
Zoe sat impatiently waiting for Frank to pick her up from her safe house. She, Tom and Aneisha had been given a couple of days off to recuperate after their mission. She had wanted to go and see Dan straight away but hadn't been allowed to visit him in hospital. The doorbell rang and she dashed for the door. "Frank ! You're late," she complained.
"Only a couple of minutes !" Frank protested, as she dashed past him to the waiting car. Aneisha and Tom were already sitting inside.
"Why have we had to wait so long to go and see Dan ?" demanded Zoe petulantly. The others looked at her in surprise. This was not typical Zoe behaviour.
"Well, Zoe, he's been mostly asleep for the last two days. The doctors wanted him to have complete rest so that he could recover quickly," explained Frank patiently.
"Oh," said Zoe quietly.
Aneisha reached out and took Zoe's hand. "Come on Zoe. He's going to be fine. At least you'll get to speak to him. It's got to be better than looking at him asleep hasn't it ?" she asked gently.
"I suppose so," said Zoe, almost inaudibly.
They were ushered into a single hospital room where Dan was sitting up in bed. He brightened up considerably when he saw who his visitors were. Zoe noticed a dressing on the front of Dan's throat and wondered why he needed it.
The nurse who had taken them in spoke to them all. "Daniel has had a breathing tube in his throat for the last couple of days. All the swelling on his neck was making it difficult for him to breathe. He'll find it a little sore to speak I'm afraid," she said with a smile, before leaving them alone.
Zoe was now starting to realise why she hadn't been allowed to visit Dan until now and was feeling a bit guilty. She glanced across at Frank. He smiled back at her. She was forgiven.
"Are you feeling a better now Dan ?" asked Frank.
"Yeah. Lots better thanks," Dan said. His voice was barely above a whisper. Zoe pulled up a chair next to his bed and took his hand. Dan smiled at her. Aneisha leant over and kissed his forehead. Tom walked up to the bed and Dan looked at him.
"I'm not kissing you !" complained Tom. Dan grinned and shook with silent laughter.
"Good !" Dan finally wheezed.
Frank spoke. "Stella wants to debrief you all. Unfortunately, Dan isn't yet able to give us a lengthy description of what happened, so I thought it would be easier if you were all here and could help to fill in the details. How about it ?" asked Frank. They all looked at one another and nodded. Dan explained how he first got access to the KORPS site up until Aneisha and Zoe arrived. Then they were able to fill in a lot more detail about what happened after that. Dan was embarrassed to describe the incident with Agent Kelsner, which wasn't helped by Tom bursting out laughing.
"Sorry," said Tom, smothering his giggles. "How big was she ? I mean, gorilla sized or what ?" he asked, grinning.
"Tom !" complained Aneisha. "She was a trained KORPS agent. I'd like to see how you do with her. Maybe you'd like to try," she suggested slyly. "How about it Frank ? Can Tom pay a visit to Agent Kelsner ?"
Frank pretended to think this over. "Well, she wasn't seriously injured in the invasion. Once the concussion has worn off, I think we could arrange a one on one for Tom," he said looking over finally into Tom's horrified face. Tom looked from one person to another with his mouth hanging open.
"Er, guys, you're not serious, really," he stammered, before nobody could keep a straight face any more and burst out laughing.
"Got you Tom !" laughed Aneisha. "You should watch what you say."
"Sorry Dan," said Tom. "Guess I was a bit out of order," he admitted quietly.
"You should get out more," Dan whispered, but he smiled as he said it.
The debriefing ended with Frank describing the attempted escape by the Major and his next in command. "We think we've captured all of the agents on the site, apart from those two. Presumably they were both killed in the crash, although we haven't been able to find any remains," explained Frank.
"Were the bodies burned ?" asked Zoe.
"We assume so," said Frank. "It's impossible to say."
Dan was quiet. "I kind of liked him," he whispered.
"Major Moreland had a very good reputation within the military until his fall from grace," said Frank sympathetically. "A lot of people still don't accept his involvement in what happened," he added.
"What happened ?" asked Dan.
"I'm really sorry Dan, but it's classified," said Frank. "We should go. You need to get some rest."
"Wait ! Did it work ?" asked Dan. "The mission I mean. Did you manage to close down KORPS ?" he whispered.
Frank sighed. "We collected a huge amount of intel. MI9 and other government organisations are working around the globe to shut down what pieces of the puzzle we have found. I suspect that while the Mastermind exists, there will always be some part of KORPS. Your mission succeeded. Only time will tell what long term impact it has. Well done team," said Frank with a smile.
THE END