Grace Potential Chapter 3

A/N: Based six months after Human Revolution, and will go on from there. Angst/Romance story between Adam/OC(Grace). Warning for grit, swearing, mentions of blood, gore and violence.




Chapter 3: Hanging By A Thread

Grace was worried. Adam had not been in touch with her since their first appointment. She wondered if he was simply ignoring her calls, and emails.

After a month, she decided to go to his place of work, and see if he was there.

When she arrived at his office, she only saw one man, Frank, and he looked exhausted, exasperated.

Grace waved, and forced a smile. "Morning Frank".

"Good morning Grace. I take it this is a flying visit?"

Grace raised a brow. "Should it be?"

Frank nodded solemnly. "Yes. Adam's gone AWOL. I, nor Sarif, or Malik have heard anything from him in over a week. He's disconnected his comm unit, not used his phone, or a laptop, and so, I cannot trace him".

Grace sighed, and rubbed the back of her head. "Want a drink or anything? I do. I'd say something strong, but at". She looked at her watch. "10.46 am, it's a bit early for that. Tea?"

Frank picked up a file, and handed it to the doctor. The same file, that made Adam vomit, and himself turn ashen. "Adam wouldn't want you to see this, but, if he won't tell you this himself, which I am sure you aware now, that he never would...".

Grace's eyes widened, and she put the file on the desk beside her. "This is a huge breach of privacy Frank. I cannot possibly read this. I want the man himself to tell me. That would be a major breakthrough, if he's able".

Frank rolled his eyes, and huffed. "He won't. He's as stubborn as they get. He can't comprehend that asking for help does not correlate to weakness".

Grace smirked and scoffed. "Neither can you".

Frank waved his hand. "Please, I am not that bad".

Grace looked at the file, and felt part of her want to pick it up, and take a peek.

But, she knew she shouldn't.

After a period of stagnant pause, the doctor looked the tech adviser, dead in the eye.

"He'll have to be sectioned Frank, he'll be found, and taken to an institution, by force. If I speak with Sarif, and get the go ahead...".

Frank butted in, shooting up from his chair, with a start. "You can't. Adam won't go easily. Doing this will only make him worse".

Grace bit her cheek. "What should I do then? Wait until he gets in contact with one of us, then give him a straitjacket, and march him into a padded room? What if he does something rash Frank?"

Frank looked at the floor, and tucked back some errant strands of black hair, that had fallen from his ponytail. "I don't know Grace, and that's what frightens me. All of this technology, and yet, we will never know what is going on, in Jensen's head".

The woman sighed, and agreed with him. "True. Need a drink, strong preferably. Want one?"

Frank sat back down, and handed her his mug. "Coffee, bit of cream, one sugar, right?"

He nodded, and Grace walked off. He busied himself, looking for any trace of Adam.

And he got one. From an unknown number, calling Malik.

It was Adam, he knew it.

Faridah had just finished refueling the VTOL, when her phone rang. The unknown number had a tinge of nervousness creep into her mind, but Frank pinged her, telling her it must be Adam, and so, she answered it.

Adam gave her no time to even say hello...

"Malik, I'll keep it short, since I know I can't do anything, without people knowing. Tell Grace to meet me, you know where".

The pilot was confused. "Jensen? Huh? Where?"

Adam sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The last place you visited, before you came back here. Fly her there, today, 8 pm. I don't want anyone else there".

Malik knew where to go.

Cafe Verde, by the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Er, okay Jensen. She's here so, I'll tell her".

Adam shook his head. "No, tell Frank to, since they know each other".

Malik ruffled a hand through her cropped black hair and nodded. "Got it. Jensen?"

Adam felt a grin tug at his lips. "What, fly-girl?"

Malik chuckled sadly. "Take care okay?"

Adam didn't answer...

Grace came back, a few minutes later, to see a woman, standing, in Frank's office.

Faridah turned, and tipped her head.

"Faridah Malik, I'm the chief helicopter pilot here".

Grace gave Frank his mug, put hers down, and shook Malik's hand.

"Grace Fielding, supposed to be Adam's psychologist. Nice to meet you".

"Excuse me, I have to go talk to Sarif, get air clearance and landing permission".

Malik walked around her, and left the office. Frank's eyes followed her, and he looked less stressed.

"Adam called Malik. Wants her to take you to California, tonight. The Golden Gate bridge, in Cafe Verde to be specific".

Grace picked up her polystyrene cup, and blew on the hot liquid. "Hmm? From here, that would take, what, five or so hours to get there? I'll need to get a hotel for the night then".

Frank waved his hand. "Already done, Hotel Karim".

Grace smiled. "Thank you. I'll have to leave soon then. Good thing I have the weekend off huh?"

She drank some of the coffee and hummed. "At least the coffee here doesn't taste like lukewarm piss".

An eyebrow moved up, on Frank's face, and he looked perturbed. "And how do you know what that tastes like?"

Grace laughed. "I don't. It's just, you know when you smell something, and it's particles go up your nose, and sometimes, you can taste it? This making any sense?"

The tech guy just shrugged. Grace's face lit up, and she grinned. "You just shrugged. What are you, a sulking teen in their room? Hahaha".

"Stop grinning, it's disturbing".

Grace stopped grinning, and finished her coffee. "I need to get home, pack a few things. I'll come back here around two. Bye".

She waved and left the office, depositing the empty cup into the bin, as she did so.

Four hours later

Grace returned to Sarif Industries, with a small duffle bag in her hand. She waited for Malik in Frank's office. He wasn't there, which baffled her, as he was never one to leave the office.

If he wanted food, he'd bring it in. He'd even avoid going to the bathroom, until his bladder annoyed him enough, that he had to go.

Even a nasty bout of flu could not stop Frank, from being in work, which pissed everyone else off. They didn't want him to be in, he was sick, and would just spread it around the office.

The man would do shift after shift, surviving on energy bars, coffee, perhaps an energy drink, and the odd meal every now and again.

Grace had known him long enough to know that he was a workaholic. He lived, breathed, even slept it, when he slept, all day, every day. And whilst she admired that, the tenacity, she did wonder if he'd ever take a break, go on a holiday...

No. You'd have to drag his cold, dead corpse off the chair.

She chuckled and coughed, as he walked into the room, with lunch.

"Bit late for lunch, don't you think? Eh, at least you are eating. May have had to scold you, again, if you didn't".

Frank placed the plate of macaroni cheese and hash browns down, and frowned. "You just love doing that, don't you?"

Grace smirked, but felt terrible for doing so. "I do, if it stops you, ending up in the hospital, from starvation". She sat down in front of him, and linked her fingers. "Look, I know you love your work, and that's great and all. But, you need to take some time out, go outside, live life, outside of the same four walls. Ah".

The doctor saw Malik walking towards her, so she stood up and grabbed her bag. "Well", she sighed, "This could go one of two ways. Either Adam listens, and agrees to restart our appointment schedule, or he runs off, after five minutes, and goes 'ghost mode' again".

Frank swallowed the mouthful of food, and shook his head. "Likely the latter. Be wary Grace, he isn't in the right frame of mind right now".

Grace nodded, and walked with Malik, to the elevator.

Five hours later

Grace checked in to her hotel room, and left her bag in there, only taking her phone, room key, and some credit chits. Malik's room was beside hers, but Grace knew that Adam only wanted her to speak to him, so, the pilot stayed in her room.

She dressed warm, a cold chill bit at her body, as she walked down the dark streets, aware that she was the only one there.

If Adam was here, she certainly couldn't see him.

But he was, and he knew she was there. He stayed hidden, in the shadows, leaning against Cafe Verde's wall.

Grace saw the neon green cafe sign, and stood under it, rubbing her hands together, and breathing on them. The weather was so cold, that she could see her breath, when she exhaled.

The doctor began feeling irritated. Yes, she had agreed to meet Adam, on his own terms, but, she didn't want to freeze to death, before he decided to show up.

A dark visage took her attention, and a hand on her back ushered her into the cafe.

Grace turned around, and folded her arms, a stern look marred her face. "Adam, I dislike the cold, and the darkness. It makes me feel uneasy". She sat down and huffed. "Not professional in the slightest right now, am I?"

Adam sat down, hunching as he did so. "You're not in the office, it doesn't matter".

Grace looked down his chest, and noticed what looked like a tear in his shirt.

"Adam, are you hurt?"

Adam bluffed, but had to grit his way through it. He'd been shot, the bullet went straight through his abdomen, and stung like hell. The blood was clotting now, but he could smell it. Iron tinged his nostrils, heavy, sickening, dizzying...

Bile rose it's way up his throat, and he darted up, and out of the cafe. Acid erupted from his throat, splashing the pavement, and his wound began pulsing.

Grace tried to remain calm, but, with several pairs of eyes on her, that was proving to be a difficult thing to do. She ran outside, and noticed that the way Adam was standing, his coat had shifted.

And there it was, a small hole, just above his hip, and she could see right through it.

She wasn't one to swear often, only in the worst cases, the worst possible scenarios would she swear.

This was both of those.

"Fucking hell, ADAM! Jesus". She fumbled in a jacket pocket, and found her phone. Near frozen fingers typed in 911, and she phoned Malik too, telling her to get to the hospital.

"Adam, I need to tell him".

Adam growled, his voice raspy, throat sore. "No you don't. I just need to clean out the wound, take some painkillers, and go to sleep".

Grace wagged a finger at him. "Oh no, you are going to hospital. Get that wound looked at, and cleaned". She put a hand on the agent's shoulder, and squeezed it lightly. "I won't tell Sarif. I should, but I won't. And, if you agree to more appointments, they'll be on your terms, okay?"

Adam looked at her, eyes full of tears, though, not from being upset or angry. The hole in his body was agonizing, that was the cause of his tears. He would not let Grace see this.

She knew though, he couldn't hide it from her. The little sniffles, the grunts, the single tear, that slid down his cheek, before he caught it, and wiped it away.

Nothing shady came up on his C.A.S.I.E implant, she wasn't lying, or trying to save face.

He looked at her, grunting, which made her chuckle.

"I guess that's a yes? Okay".

Ambulance sirens were heard in the distance, and Grace wrapped her arm around Adam's shoulder.

"Here, lean on me. Just try not to hurl on this coat, it's the most expensive thing I own, don't want to ruin it".

A bubbling laugh came from the agent, as he braced himself against her, which wasn't easy, considering she was quite a few feet shorter than him. He was leering over her, more than leaning against her.

Grace looked at him, her face saying nothing. "Promise me, and yourself, that you will try to turn up, at the practise. Just try".

The ambulance parked next to the pair, and Adam was put on the stretcher, Grace sat next to him.

As they drove off to the hospital, Adam shut his eyes, and tried to relax.

Easier said than done.

He looked at Grace, before shutting his eyes again.

I'll try...