SIAN and Cassidy backed away slowly. Eugene Thompson and his cronies stood in front of them. Then they heard footsteps from behind. Mr Wallace along with Technology teacher Mr Deadman and Mrs DiLandro were coming up behind. Several other children from different years were coming out or appearing at windows trying to see what was going on. Of course none of them knew the reason why Sian and Cassidy were heading towards the car park with their bags.
"What's with the bags?" Thompson asked. "Surely you're not thinking of running away, are you?"
"Girls!" barked Mr Wallace. "I don't know what you think you're doing but take your belongings back to your rooms right now!"
Lady Penelope had just got back to FAB1. She found Parker standing beside the car looking concerned.
"I'm h'afraid we've got trouble, m'lady," Parker said.
Penelope looked and saw the line of bullies blocking Sian and Cassidy's path. "Oh, dear," she said. "I was afraid this might happen."
Sian caught sight of Penelope between Kenny 'King Kong' McFarlane and Bob Gooseman. She made a silent gesture to Cassidy who nodded. They took each others' hands and charged forwards. They slammed into Thompson and knocked him over. Everyone else gasped in horror.
Kong and the other bullies tried to grab them but they managed to escape from them with all their stuff.
"Hurry, girls, hurry!" Penelope shouted.
Thompson quickly got to his feet and saw where Sian and Cassidy were heading. "OI! GET BACK HERE!" he bellowed running after them. He pushed past his cronies and sprinted towards FAB1.
"Quickly!" Penelope said. She and Parker helped Sian and Cassidy throw their bags and suitcases into the boot of FAB1 and then hurried round to the left-side door. Cassidy got in first followed by Penelope and then Sian. parker quickly shut the door and climbed into the driver's seat.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Thompson bellowed as he approached FAB1. "MY FATHER'S NOT DONE WITH EITHER OF YOU YET!" He ran round to the left-side. "GET OUT OF THE CAR!" he shouted punching the glass dome.
ZAP! FAB1, like the International Rescue vehicles was fitted with very sophisticated security systems. These included an electronic force-field that covered the entire vehicle. The shockwave from Thompson's punch sent him flying backwards landing about twenty feet away.
"Parker, go!" said Penelope.
Parker didn't waste a second. Before anyone else could get near the car, he quickly drove them out of the car park and onto the open road. But as they went, they spotted a large black limousine approaching. And in the car was none other than Andrew Thompson - the father of Eugene who was a very dangerous crime boss operating in Southampton. He recognised Sian from a photo that his son had sent him the same day that Sian had attacked him.
"That's the O'Connor girl!" Mr Thompson said. "What's she doing in that car? Get after them!"
The driver of the limo accelerated and began to chase after FAB1.
Eugene, who'd been helped to his feet by his friends saw his father's limo setting off in pursuit. "OH YEAH, GO GET 'EM, DAD!" he called delightedly. "YOU GO SHOW THEM WHO THEY'RE MESSING WITH!"
FAB1 raced along the road away from the school and out into the countryside with the limo in hot pursuit. Mr Thompson wanted to teach the O'Connor girls a serious lesson for the way they'd treated his son even though they were the ones who were innocent.
"Who are they?" asked Sian glancing anxiously back at the limo. "Why are they chasing us?"
"I do believe that Andrew Thompson is in that car, Sian," sighed Penelope. "Parker, we need to get rid of them."
"Right-ho, m'lady," said Parker giving FAB1 more speed. At first they began to leave the limo behind for FAB1 was a much faster car, but as they headed down a country lane, they suddenly found themselves right behind a large green tractor which wasn't going very fast at all. "Oh, blast!" said Parker.
"Quick, down that side road!" said Penelope.
FAB1 turned off to the right and headed down the narrow lane. They hoped they'd get down before the limo caught up. It wasn't to be however and the limo was soon following them down it.
Cassidy and Sian had never felt so scared. More than they had been earlier when they were confronted by Eugene and his cronies. They blinked in surprise when Penelope took out her phone and linked a cable to her watch.
"What are you doing?" Cassidy asked as they bounced along.
"Sending the recorded confession of the Headmaster to the Police," Penelope replied. "Now they will have the evidence they need to send the Thompsons down - if we can hand them over to them. Try and keep the car steady, Parker."
"Sorry, m'lady," Parker replied as FAB1 continued to bounce. "But this road surface h'is terrible!"
It really was a bad road. It was mostly mud and gravel mixed together. There were many dips that were full of water due to the rain that had been falling that morning. Neither FAB1 or the limo could get up to speed. They both also splashed through a huge puddle that covered the entire road putting filthy mud all over both their shiny paintwork.
"Oh dear," sighed Parker. "I h'only washed it this morning."
"There, road, straight ahead!" said Penelope pointing.
FAB1 left the bumpy lane and was back on tarmac again. Parker put his foot down and raced ahead. But the limo wasn't too far behind and was soon chasing after them once more. The road they were now on ran through the New Forest across open fields. The road was straight and there was nowhere FAB1 could turn. It was lucky that there were no other vehicles around.
"This is taking too long," Mr Thompson growled to his henchmen. "Bring them to a stop."
The henchman in the front passenger seat and the one in the back with Mr Thompson sitting on the right-hand side of the limo were both armed with machine-guns. They opened the windows, leaned out, took aim and began to spray FAB1 with bullets. Sian and Cassidy both cried out in fright but Penelope pulled them in close for comfort. Parker gritted his teeth as he weaved about on the road trying to dodge the bullets despite the fact the car was bulletproof.
"Are they going to kill us?" asked Sian, terrified.
"Never," said Penelope. "Parker, this is getting tiresome. Please get rid of them."
"Yus, m'lady," said Parker. He flicked a switch on the dashboard. Two small vents opened in FAB1's rear bumper and began to release a thick cloud of black smoke. It engulfed the limo and the henchmen had to close the windows for they were all coughing and spluttering.
FAB1 then reached a crossroads and sharply turned right. They hoped that by the time the limo had escaped from the smoke that they'd be gone. But it wasn't to be. Even though the limo had gone straight across the crossroads, Mr Thompson had glanced back and seen FAB1 racing up the hill in the other direction. "You fools!" he barked. "GET AFTER THEM!"
The driver spun the limo around on the spot by pulling a handbrake turn. He then began to drive across the grass cutting off the corner.
"They're coming after us again!" Sian cried.
"Shall h'I launch, m'lady?" asked Parker.
"No, Parker, we have to make sure the Police get them," said Penelope. "Just keep going."
The roads become more twisty and turny as the two long vehicles skidded round the corners. Then as they passed a T-junction, a Police Car spotted them and set off in pursuit.
"Boss!" exclaimed the henchman in the back of the limo.
Mr Thompson looked back. "Blast it!" he cursed. "Bloody coppers! Lose him and don't lose them!"
That wasn't possible however as the Police Car would more likely chase them rather than FAB1. Then as they continued through the forest, three more Police Cars appeared out of nowhere to join the chase.
"The Police are here, Parker," said Penelope. "I think it's time we left."
"But, m'lady, those men are h'armed," said Parker. "The fuzz h'aren't."
"Oh, of course!" Penelope realised looking back at the limo. She gasped for she saw the two men with the machine-guns now aiming at the Police Cars. "Parker, stop them!"
Parker didn't need to acknowledge as he pressed another button on the dashboard. A small flap opened beside the boot of FAB1 and a paint gun nozzle lifted up out of it. He then fired a shot of black paint onto the windscreen of the limo.
"AGGH!" cried the driver. "I can't see! I can't see!"
Cassidy then spotted a danger ahead of them. "Parker, look out!" she cried.
Parker saw it too. The road took a sharp turn to the right with a wooden fence lining the far side. "'old h'on!" he said flipping another switch. This time wings rolled out from underneath, the radiator grill became an jet-engine air-intake and the wheels became jet-thrusters. FAB1 then lifted up off the ground, much to the shock or Cassidy and Sian who had no idea the car could even fly, and passed over the fence. It didn't land for they were now passing over the sea.
The driver of the limo couldn't have had a clue about the cliff they were approaching. He desperately tried to clear the windscreen of paint with the wipers but it only made it worse. As they spun out of control, they suddenly crashed through the fence and plunged over the edge. The four men screamed as they dropped over sixty metres and crashed into the rocks below. The petrol ignited blowing the car and those inside it to pieces.
Penelope, Cassidy and Sian had all seen the explosion. Whilst they were somewhat relieved that they were now safe, they hadn't wanted the chase to end this way. Now Eugene Thompson was without a father, and they could no longer make Andrew Thompson pay for his blackmailing the school Headmaster as well as the other teachers.
"Where to, m'lady," Parker asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Tracy Island, Parker," Penelope answered.
Nothing more was said as FAB1 passed over the Needles on the Western-tip of the Isle of Wight and headed out to begin the long journey to Tracy Island.
FAB1 might be the only flying car that was actually reliable, but fast it was not. Even though it could match the speed of regular airliners, it didn't have the speed that the Thunderbird ships had. At top speed, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 could get to England in well under an hour, but FAB1 took over four hours to reach the one-hundred mile exclusion zone around Tracy Island.
Sian and Cassidy had fallen asleep during the journey so Penelope and Parker talked in hushed voices.
"H'any word from the rozzers, m'lady?" Parker asked.
"Yes, they confirmed no survivors from the wreckage of Mr Thompson's limo," Penelope replied. "But they have placed big Police guards on the school and taken Mr Nightingale's family to a safe place just in case any of Thompson's gang try to get revenge."
"H'I see, m'lady," said Parker. "Bad business. Very bad."
Penelope then spotted the shape of mountain peaks on the horizon. She nudged Cassidy and Sian gently until they awoke. "Hey, we're almost there," she said.
Cassidy and Sian blinked as their eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. Then ahead of FAB1, they saw one of the best sights they'd ever seen - Tracy Island.
"Oh, wow!" Cassidy said. "I'd forgotten how incredible it was!"
"Tracy Island from FAB1. We h'are on final h'approach," Parker said into FAB1's radio.
"FAB1 from Tracy Island, you are clear for landing," Daniel's voice answered. "Welcome home, Sian and Cassidy."
The two sisters grinned happily as Parker guided FAB1 around before making a smooth landing on Thunderbird 2's runway.
Cassidy and Sian entered the Tracy Mansion and ran straight into the arms of Joanne. She sobbed happily as she hugged them tightly. "Oh, my babies!" she said, having never been so happy to see them. Then she looked up at Penelope and Parker. "Thank you," she said.
Penelope smiled. "You're very welcome," she said.
As Joanne let go of Sian and Cassidy, they heard a loud sneeze coming from the lounge.
"Bless you, Dad," they heard Beth's voice say.
"Thanks, Beth," Daniel's voice replied. Then he appeared from the lounge. "Uh-oh, here's trouble!" he said when he saw them.
"DANIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!" Cassidy squeaked running and jumping into his arms, almost knocking him off his feet.
"Oof! Steady on now!" Daniel laughed. "I'm glad to see you too, you little tigress." He then moved his right arm so that Sian could get in on the hug as well. "Oh, deary me," he went on when he saw Sian's black eye. "Now that needs to be fixed, doesn't it?"
Beth, Laura, Wizzy, Katie and Adrienne all appeared in the doorway of the lounge. Zoë also appeared at the doorway of the kitchen. Leanna, who had been out on the beach had seen FAB1 in the distance and come round to see them as well.
Joanne and Parker took the girls and their bags upstairs to their room whilst everyone else went into the lounge.
"How's Kyrano?" Penelope asked once they were settled.
"Not great," Daniel sighed. "He's still under observation. Rosie just can't figure out what's wrong with him."
"And Karolina says he's been asking to see his brother," added Laura.
Penelope raised an eyebrow. "I did not know that he had one," she said.
"His name's Trangh Belagant," Daniel said. "Although I can't say I've ever heard of him before. They have never spoken of him either."
Penelope pondered. "Do you want me to do some background digging on him?" she asked.
Daniel looked at the girls. "Possibly," he said. "It does seem rather odd that they have never mentioned him or has he ever contacted them. There has to be a reason."
"I'll look into it when I get back," said Penelope.
Daniel nodded. "Fair enough," he said. "Would you care to join us for dinner and stay the night before heading back to England?"
"That's very kind of you," said Penelope. "We'll have dinner certainly. I don't really want to be away too long or my father could get suspicious."
"That's fair enough," Daniel said. "Mum, what's for dinner?"
"Will steak and chips do for you, Lady Penelope?" Zoë asked.
"Mmmm," said Penelope approvingly. "Haven't had that for a long time. Thank you, Mrs Tracy."
FAB1 left just as the sun was setting over Tracy Island. Sian and Cassidy hadn't felt so happy in a long time. At last they'd had a meal with big portions and that they'd been able to enjoy. Plus they were with people who did care about them.
"You seem full of beans, Cassidy," remarked Wizzy.
"I've got to enjoy this whilst we can," Cassidy said. "I'm glad we've got a day extra's holiday that all the others. You should've seen the looks on my roommates' faces when I told them I was leaving early."
Daniel and Joanne exchanged a look. Joanne nodded so that Daniel could speak. "Er, Cassidy, this isn't actually a holiday," he said.
Cassidy looked at him with confusion. Sian did as well. "Pardon?" they both said.
"This isn't a holiday," Daniel repeated. "This is permanent. I'm guessing Penelope didn't mention that to you?"
Cassidy and Sian looked at each other with open mouths. "HUH?!" they both exclaimed.
"We've had enough of the way you two have been treated at that school," said Joanne. "So we've both decided to pull you out and have you live here from now on."
Cassidy and Sian couldn't believe their ears. Their shocked faces changed to huge delighted ones. They both squeaked with delight and threw themselves into Daniel and Joanne's arms. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" they both said happily.
"Christmas has indeed come early," joked Sian.
Everyone laughed. But Daniel stopped laughing very quickly when he caught sight of Karolina outside the lounge. She'd been about to come in but had turned away again. Daniel had a feeling he could guess why. "Excuse me a second," he said to Cassidy removing her so he could go and see Karolina.
Leaving the lounge, he headed outside onto the steps that lead from the main entrance of the mansion down to the lido around the swimming pool. He found Karolina sitting on a rock at the far end just out of sight of the mansion looking out to sea.
"Are you okay, Karolina?" Daniel asked.
Karolina whirled around, almost as though she was about to shout at him. But when she realised who it was she didn't. "Oh…I'm sorry…Mr Tracy," she said slowly. "I…should've guessed you'd come after me." She looked back out at the ocean. The sun had dipped below the horizon and only the last few bits of daylight were fading away. "In answer to your question, no I am not," Karolina continued. "Joanne has her girls back and everyone is happy. My father is ill and it's like nobody cares."
"Bullshit!" Daniel snapped. "That's not true and you know it, Karolina!"
Karolina hung her head in shame. "I'm so sorry, Mr Tracy," she sniffed. "I'm…made of stronger stuff than this."
"Of course you are," Daniel said. "That's why I made you head of security."
"Even if I don't have my own ship," said Karolina.
Daniel didn't say anything for a moment. He had actually been working on a secret project with Jodie and the five Tracy brothers for a while now. Karolina was unaware of it - and so where the rest of the team. Not even Kerry was aware of it. He drew breath and then continued. "Do you still want your uncle to come and pay a visit?" he asked.
Karolina hesitated. "I'm…not sure," she said. "Personally, I never really understood my uncle. He was never around. Only appeared once or twice a year sometimes, and all I ever recall was him and Father arguing. But if Father wants to see him, then we shouldn't really deny him what he wants."
Daniel came and sat down on the rock next to Karolina. "I feel similar to you, Karolina," he said. "On one hand, I'm not comfortable with someone I've never met coming here. We need to remain as private as we can because of the Thunderbirds. But then again, your father has done so much for us over the years that I can't deny him any request." There was a pause as they looked into each other's eyes. "Go ahead. Ask him to come."
Karolina pulled Daniel into a hug. "Thank you, Mr Tracy," she said.
"On one condition though," Daniel then said as she pulled away. "If we get a situation that requires our assistance, you will have to distract him until we get back."
Karolina nodded understandingly. "Of course," she promised.
The Tracy Mansion was a buzz of activity the following morning. Everyone was doing their bit to get the place neat and tidy for when their visitor came. Being such a big house, it needed everybody to help. Only Rosie did not participate for she was still monitoring Kyrano. Kyrano was now awake, but he wasn't saying anything. He had been moved from Rosie's lab to a proper bed in the Sick Room where he could be more comfortable.
At a quarter to noon, everyone had returned to the lounge having completed their tasks.
"All floors are hoovered, Dad," said Laura. She and her sisters had been working on that.
"Kitchen is spotless," said Zoë. Leanna and Karolina had been helping her.
"The room in the Roundhouse has been made ready," finished Joanne. Cassidy and Sian had helped her with that.
"Excellent," said Daniel. "And Jodie and I have made the lounge presentable. I think we're all ready."
"Not quite," said Katie. She nodded towards the Wall of Portraits showing Daniel, Kerry and the girls in their International Rescue uniforms.
"Ah, yes!" said Daniel. "Operation Cover-Up." He pressed a button on his desk. The photos in the frames turned around to reveal them in regular clothes. "There," he said. "Now Mr Belagant won't suspect a thing."
"Just so long as we don't get any emergency calls whilst he's here," said Laura.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Daniel. "I have informed Kerry and she has said that she will not make any contact unless its absolutely necessary. Also, she will contact me via my phone and not set off the alarm."
The radar beeped and revealed the icon of an approaching aircraft.
"Noon did you say he was due?" Beth asked Karolina.
"Correct," Karolina replied.
"Well, he's a very good time-keeper," Daniel said. "I'm impressed."
Everyone looked out of the big windows and out across towards the ocean. Just visible in the distance was a small red private one-seater jet. In the cockpit was Trangh Belargant, secretly known as The Hood!
The Hood had been rather taken-aback by Karolina's call to request he come and see Kyrano. He was delighted, but not in the way Karolina would've thought. His eyes flashed with glee when he saw the sight of Tracy Island in the distance. "So, this is where they've been all this time," he said. "The fools! Do they not suspect the danger they are now in? Soon I will learn everything there is to know about International Rescue!"
The Hood brought his jet around and landed on the runway before coming to a stop in front of the cliff that led into Thunderbird 2's hangar. The cliff face opened and his eyes flashed again waiting eagerly to see the great green leviathan as he felt certain this must be where it launched from. But to his surprise, Thunderbird 2 was not there. Instead there was simply a plain open hangar with just a few parking spaces for jets including the Tracy family's own private jet, DT-1.
Thunderbird 2 must be concealed around here somewhere, The Hood thought to himself. No matter. I've got a few days here so I shall be able to find out where they all are by the end of it.
Karolina met her uncle down in the hangar before taking him up to the mansion where the others were waiting.
"Mr Tracy, may I introduce my uncle Trangh Belargant?" Karolina said when they reached the lounge.
"Mr Belargant," Daniel said shaking hands.
"Mr Tracy," The Hood replied. "A pleasure."
"Pleasant journey?" Daniel asked.
"Indeed," The Hood said. He then turned to the others and gave a small bow. "Ladies," he said politely. "Nice to meet you all."
"Welcome, sir," said Katie.
The Hood smiled before turning back to Daniel. "How is my brother?" he asked.
"Very quiet, I'm afraid," said Daniel. "He's not said a word since he asked to see you."
"I see," The Hood said. "May I see him?"
"Of course," said Daniel. "Karolina?"
"Follow me, Uncle," said Karolina. "I take you to him."
"Leave your bags here, Mr Belargant," said Joanne. "We'll take them to your room in the roundhouse."
"Why thank you, Miss…?"
"O'Connor. Joanne. Call me Jo."
"Pleasure," said The Hood nodding.
Everyone watched as Karolina led The Hood out of the lounge and down towards the Sick Room.
"He seems very pleasant," observed Leanna.
"A gentleman most certainly," agreed Adrienne.
But Beth and Laura were not looking convinced.
"I'm sorry, but what's his relation to Kyrano again?" Beth asked.
"Brother," said Katie. "He's Karolina's uncle so that makes him Kyrano's brother. It's the same as Kerry being our aunt as she's Dad's sister."
Beth frowned. "No disrespect," she said, "but he lookings nothing like Kyrano. Nor does he sound like him either."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "So?" he asked. "You five are sisters, yet none of you look alike."
This was true, Beth thought. "Yes, I suppose, Dad," she said, feeling slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry."
To look at the five sisters, anyone would think that Beth was the eldest being the tallest and yet Laura was the eldest despite being the shortest. Laura, Katie and Adrienne all had dark-brown hair so there was some close link between them whilst Beth was a much lighter brown and Wizzy was practically blonde. Zoë had put it down to Laura, Katie and Adrienne having their father's hair whilst Beth and Wizzy having their mother's.
Laura had not said a word since seeing The Hood. From the moment she first saw him, something was now running through her head that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"You okay, Laura?" asked Leanna, noticing the look her Laura's face.
"Huh?" Laura asked snapping out of her small trance. "Oh, sorry, Leanna. Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."
Karolina took The Hood down to the Sick Bay where Rosie was giving Kyrano yet another checkover. He still had not moved from when the last time Karolina had been in to see him.
"Rosie, this is my uncle Trangh Belargant," Karolina said. "Uncle, this is Dr Rosie Hall."
"Nice to meet you, Mr Belargant," said Rosie.
"Pleasure is mine, Dr Hall," The Hood replied. He then looked at Kyrano. "How is he?"
"No change," Rosie said. "He's been like this for five days now. This isn't the first time that he has had these attacks. But they've always passed within a day. We have no idea what the cause is."
The Hood knew what caused the attacks, but he wasn't going to reveal that to them. "May I have some alone time with him, please?" he asked.
Rosie and Karolina looked at each other.
"Of course," Rosie said. "Have as long as you need, sir."
They left the room and closed the door behind them. The Hood then approaches Kyrano's bed in a slow and somewhat menacing kind of way. Kyrano's eyes moved towards him and then slowly his head turned. His already frail skin seemed to turn white at the sight of him. "You…" he said very slowly.
The Hood's eyes turned to their sinister yellow colour. "Yes, Kyrano, my half-brother," he said. "And now that I am here, you will will help me find out everything. I need a plan of the house, and the locations of the secret entrances to where the Thunderbird machines are housed."
But Kyrano did not reply. His face just remained blank as though he was now staring right through The Hood's body.
The Hood relinquished his power and stared down at his brother. It was now that he realised that his plan wasn't going to be as straightforward as he'd expected. My brother is weak, he thought to himself. He resists my power. I will have to search alone.
He turned and walked out of the Sick Room, slightly irritated that his plans to learn the secrets of Tracy Island had already received a major setback.
As the afternoon progressed, The Hood avoided any contact with the rest of the household. Instead, he wandered around through the corridors and observed the rooms looking for any clues as to where the International Rescue machines could be reached. He believed that by searching alone he wouldn't attract any attention. He was wrong however for Laura, who was still feeling very suspicious of their visitor, had caught sight of him wandering and decided to discretely follow him.
Who are you, Mr Belargant? Laura was asking inside her head. Why are you walking around like you have lost something? And most of all, why do you look so familiar? In the end, she decided she could not keep it in any longer and she made herself shown to The Hood. "Can I help you, Mr Belargant?" she asked. "The rest of the family is back this way. And if you don't mind me asking, have I seen you somewhere before?"
"It's the resemblance to my brother, that's all," The Hood said simply and then he carried on leaving Laura even more suspicious than before. Beth's words from earlier came back to her. "You are nothing like your brother," she remarked quietly to herself. Rather than continue following him, she decided to head back up to the lounge. Maybe I'm just over-reacting, she thought to herself. But I'll keep things to myself for now.
The Hood walked down a corridor right in the very rear of the mansion. It was a long curved corridor that didn't seem to lead anywhere. In fact it did for one of the many secret access points to the sub-basements was down here but it was well hidden. And even if like The Hood someone did come across it, it could only be accessed by a member of International Rescue. He looked around the wall panel and found what could only be either a hand or eye scanner. He bent down and peered into it. Two blue lights shone out from the device into his eyes, but then a red light flashed and it buzzed.
"Access denied!" a computer voice said.
"Blast!" The Hood cursed. "I knew it wouldn't be that simple. There has to be another way to get into their hangars without trying to get past all this nonsense!"
He suddenly heard footsteps coming from along the corridor and he quickly hurried off in the opposite direction, not wanting to be discovered. Little did he know however that a small concealed CCTV camera in the ceiling had caught him attempting to get in. The camera linked through to Daniel's office. He'd been alerted by the computer and had observed him. He too now started to become suspicious of their guest.
Daniel brought up the Wheel of Communication again and selected FAB1 once more. Lady Penelope answered straight away. "Hello, Daniel," she said. "How can I help?"
"Penny, I need some information about a person if you can get it," said Daniel.
"Whatever you need, I will get it," said Penelope with a smile.
"It's about this Trangh Belargant," Daniel said. "He arrived today to see his brother. But he does not seem to be spending any time with him. From what Karolina told me, she and Rosie left him alone with Kyrano and yet our security system has just informed me that he tried to get access to one of our secret doorways."
"That is rather odd," said Penelope. "I'll do some digging and see what I can find."
"Thank you," said Daniel. "Oh, by the way, I was going to ask when you were here but there wasn't a good time for it - any news on our mystery friend?"
"The Hood?" asked Penelope. "No, I'm afraid not. Parker and I caught sight of what looked like one of his henchmen - Mullion I believe in London just last week. But he disappeared before we could get anywhere near him. Guessing he must have seen us."
"Hmm," said Daniel. "This is an ongoing thing that's been going for too long I feel, Penny. The Hood has been a thorn in our side for quite some time now. And yet we have no idea what he even looks like."
"With all the disguises he apparently wears, it's no wonder we don't have a clue," Penelope replied. "I will keep you posted of course."
"F-A-B," said Daniel. "Tracy Island, out."
Laura could not get to sleep that night. The thoughts of the visitor kept going through her head. She just could not place where she might have seen him before, but she felt certain that she had. Eventually, she sat herself up in bed and picked up her watch from the bedside table. There was one person who may be able to confirm her suspicions for her. After pressing the button on the side of the watch a certain number of times, she waited for the person she was calling to answer.
A young man around Laura's age with brown hair appeared in a hologram-form from the watch's face. "Laura. Rather late calling aren't you?" the man said.
"Sorry, Scott," Laura said to her eldest cousin, "but I have a problem that I think only you can help me with."
"Okay…" said Scott. "What is it?"
Laura showed Scott an image she'd taken through her phone earlier that day of The Hood wandering through the mansion. "Does this guy look familiar?" she asked.
Scott frowned. "Who is he?" he asked.
"His name is Trangh Belargant," Laura replied. "He's Karolina's uncle and the brother of Kyrano."
"I see," said Scott. He looked at the image closely. "I can't say he looks familiar, Laura. What makes you think that he would to me?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Laura said. "But he looks like that guy you and I chased in Thunderbird 1."
"We chased several people in Thunderbird 1," said Scott. "Could you narrow it down?"
"The guy who filmed us whilst we were rescuing those actors," said Laura.
Now Scott realised what she meant. "Ah, I see!" he said. He then looked more closely at the picture. "Now that you've said it, he does look similar. That guy was bald from what I recall. But then again, there are a lot of bald blokes on this planet."
"True," agreed Laura. "Okay, Scott, thanks. I just wanted to get that off my chest."
"No problem," said Scott. "But I'd certainly keep an eye on him. There is definitely something about him that looks off."
"I will," said Laura. "Night, Scott."
Scott nodded and his hologram disappeared. Laura put her watch back on the bedside table and laid her head on her pillow. She was convinced that Mr Belargant was up to something, and whatever that was, she was determined to find out.
The Hood woke up early morning. As he watched the sun rising, a plan had formed inside his head. If he could somehow get the Thunderbirds to launch, he'd be able to find out where they were hidden. He'd already guessed that the runway was where Thunderbird 2 launched from, but he still hadn't figured out where Thunderbirds 1 and 3 were located. From what he'd seen there were only two possible places they could be unless there were other parts of the island which he had not seen yet. Then an idea came to him. He put his bag on the bed in his room and took out a radio. He used it to make a call to his temple in the Malaysian Jungle.
Transom answered the call. "Yes, boss?" she said.
"Transom, I need you and Mullion to create a disaster for International Rescue," said The Hood. "I do not care what you do so long as it's serious enough for them to launch their ships."
"Understood," said Transom. "We will leave at once."
The Hood smirked. I expect Tracy won't want me around when they launch the ships as he will want to keep it all secret, he thought to himself. But if I could somehow get Karolina to take me around the outside of the island, there could be a chance that we see them.
Transom and Mullion flew another of The Hood's jets out to the United States. They headed for the Colorado and the Grand Canyon where they knew the perfect place to create a situation for International Rescue. A huge metal double-tracked railroad bridge stretched across one part of the canyon. It was almost two miles in length and was at least a mile off the ground. It would certainly be a long way down for anything unfortunate enough to fall over the edge.
Mullion and Transom landed the jet on the Western side of the canyon and ignored the 'Keep Out' sign as they walked along the trestle of the bridge. Both had picked up big stones before doing so which they planned to use as their means of sabotage. They walked quickly out to about three-quarters of a mile from where they had come from before firmly lodging the stones in between the rails. They were strong enough to be a danger to the train, but not big enough for the driver to notice - at least that was what they hoped.
"There, it is done," said Mullion. "We should go before the train gets here."
A loud horn sounded out, but coming from the opposite direction.
"Get down!" Transom said.
Both ducked down out of sight as the six-car train came across the bridge. It was a Japanese-built Bullet-class high-speed train that now operated in many countries around the world. It was a bit like a monorail but had two track-slots for its roller-wheels instead of just one. This technique was perfected and proven very safe to the point that there had been no recorded accidents of any kind. This was something that Mullion and Transom were hoping to change.
"Right, that's it," said Transom once the train had reached the other side of the bridge. "Let's get out of here."
They hurried back along the trestle until they reached the end of the bridge. They climbed back into the jet and took-off vertically before beginning to fly around in a high loop to wait for their victim to arrive.
"There it is," said Mullion.
In the distance, gradually getting closer to the bridge was a small sleek streak of white. It was another Bullet-class six-car train coming from the East. It raced at high speed before beginning to slow down in order to cross the bridge. The normal speed limit for the railroad was two-hundred kilometers per hour, but due to the height of the bridge, it was limited to just fifty.
The train slowed to its designated line speed as it began to cross the two-mile long bridge. None of the two-hundred and fifty passengers and crew aboard had any idea of the danger they were about find themselves in. The first anyone knew of anything out of the ordinary was when the female driver of the train spotted a small shadow on one of the rails. Squinting her eyes due to the sun, she was horrified when she realised what it was. She let out a big gasp and slammed on the brakes. Sparks flew as the brakes squealed loudly. Waitresses and the conductor aboard the train plus a few passengers standing were all thrown off their feet due to the violent motion. Food, drink and briefcases flew everywhere.
"Come on! Come on!" cried the driver. "Stop! Stop! STOP!"
But it was too late. The train was still going too fast. It hit the stones wedged firmly in between the rails and caused the front rollers section to break out of their slots. The nose of the train jolted upwards and over to the right. The rear rollers did the same and so did the first set from the second car. The nose crashed through the railings and then came to a stop with the front half of the coach hanging dangerously over the edge of the bridge.
The passengers, who initially wondered what was happening, looked out the windows. The ones in the front coach immediately began to panic when they saw that they weren't on the bridge anymore. The huge drop didn't help things either.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm," the driver said over the tannoy. "Everyone in the front car please moved into the second. Quickly but calmly please."
The passengers tried to do so but discovered another problem. The corridor section that linked the two cars together had twisted and become so narrow that nobody could get through. Worse still as they tried to shift it, the movement upset the balance causing the train to move forwards slightly with the front car hanging further out over the side.
"Okay, everyone, just stay very still and where you are," the driver said. "I'm going to call for help." She activated the train's emergency beacon and spoke into the radio. "Mayday! Mayday! Calling International Rescue! This is the Cross-States Express out of Philadelphia bound for Los Angeles. Are you receiving me?"
Thunderbird 5 soon picked-up the distress call. Kelly, who was on duty currently with Katrina, took the call. "This is International Rescue. We are receiving you Strength-Five. What's your situation?"
"International Rescue. My train is coming off the rails," the driver said. "Something had been wedged in between them. My lead car is over the side of the Grand Canyon Bridge. I have two-hundred and fifty people aboard and we're trapped."
"All received, Cross States Express," said Kelly. "We'll be right with you." She reached over to press the alarm button for Tracy Island.
"STOP!"
Kelly and Katrina both jumped as Kerry seemed to appear out of nowhere and cover the button.
"They have a visitor on the island," Kerry said. "We can't alert them to our organisation." She went to her desk and picked up her phone before sending a text message to Daniel.
Everyone on Tracy Island was having breakfast. Being a guest, The Hood sat at the far end of the table to where Daniel sat. He was telling everyone about his life and the construction companies he operated. At least that's what he was trying to make them believe for it wasn't entirely true. Only Daniel and Laura remained suspicious although they tried not to show it. The others seemed rather fascinated.
"So you see," The Hood concluded. "In just a few years, my company will outdo all the construction businesses in Asia!"
"Wow!" remarked Leanna. "That's quite a story, Mr Belargant."
"I did wonder why you hardly ever around when we lived in Malaysia," Karolina said. "You were just a very busy man."
Daniel felt a buzzing sound in his pocket. He took out his phone and looked at the message. It showed the four words he had not wanted to see or hear.
"We have a situation!"
Daniel knew they had to distract Mr Belargant somehow. Then he had an idea. "Karolina," he said, "did you say you were going to show Mr Belargant the caves this morning?"
Karolina looked at him, puzzled. But when she saw he was holding his phone, she soon realised what he meant. "Oh, yes, of course I was!" she said. "Shall we, Uncle?"
"But of course," smiled The Hood. "Lead the way."
Karolina led him out of the dining room.
The others looked at Daniel. Joanne and Zoë weren't very happy with Daniel.
"Daniel, that is no way to talk to a guest like that," said Zoë sternly.
"I was enjoying his story, Dad," said Wizzy grumpily.
Daniel ignored them. Instead he tapped the phone's screen. "Go ahead, Kerry," he said.
Kerry's hologram appeared from the phone. "Good," she said. "This is very serious this one."
The annoyed faces from the others quickly vanished when they suddenly realised.
"Oh," said Adrienne. "That's why he asked him to be removed!"
Now everyone felt bad for being annoyed with Daniel.
Kerry brought up a hologram over the table for everyone to see. "This is the Grand Canyon Bridge," she said. "A train passing over it has hit some kind of obstruction on the track. The front car has derailed and is hanging over the side. This needs to be sorted quickly."
"Right," said Daniel. "Katie, launch Thunderbird 2. Take Laura and Beth with you."
The girls looked at each other, surprised.
"Are you not coming?" asked Katie.
Daniel shook his head. "Not with Mr Belargant on the island," he said. "Not after what I caught him doing yesterday."
Before anyone could reply, he then brought up the CCTV footage from his phone showing The Hood trying to work out how to use the scanner by the access door to the sub-basement.
"What the?!" exclaimed Jodie. "How the blazes did he find that?!"
"Don't know, but I'm not leaving the island with him here," said Daniel. "So you three go without me. also , Karolina's taking him to the opposite end of the island to where Thunderbird 2 is. There's therefore less chance he'll hear it launching."
That made sense, the girls agreed. Laura, Katie and Beth hurried out of the lounge. Laura went to the lounge to get her uniform via the revolving express elevator that lead to Thunderbird 1 whilst Katie and beth got theirs by using the express elevators that went down to Thunderbird 2's silo. Once Laura had got into her suit, rather than going into Thunderbird 1, instead hurried down another corridor where she joined Katie and Beth before entering Thunderbird 2. Laura sat in Daniel's seat whilst Beth sat behind Katie. Katie selected Pod 3 which contained the big yellow Magnetic Grapple and once the conveyor had moved it into position, lowered the main body down over it. The large metal wall in front of them opened downwards to where the rest of the hangar was, including The Hood's jet before turning right as the rockface door opened. Thunderbird 2 taxied out onto the runway with the palm trees falling back to let them pass. Once in position on the launching ramp, the wings folded down and the ramp lifted upwards into position with the blast shield rising into place behind them
5…4…3…2…1!
The rocket engines fired and Thunderbird 2 rocketed up off the ramp into the sky.
"Thunderbird 2 is go!" announced Katie. "En-route to the Grand Canyon."
"Let's hope Mr Belargant did not notice," said Laura.
It was lucky for them that they launched when they did for Karolina had literally taken The Hood into one of the caves. He did hear the rumble of Thunderbird 2's engines and rushed outside to see what it was. But to his dismay, Thunderbird 2 had already gone and was out of sight. He had not seen where it had launched from.
"Uncle? What is it?" Karolina asked.
"I, er, what was that?" The Hood asked, pretending not to know what the noise had been.
"Probably some jet flying overhead," Karolina replied. "Now, come on. I want to show you the cave's big lagoon. You might see our resident Water Mamba."
The Hood followed Karolina back inside the cave. His plan to catch the Thunderbirds launching hadn't worked. Blast it! The Hood cursed to himself. I'll have to catch them on the way back.
As Thunderbird 2 thundered at maximum speed across the Pacific Ocean, Laura decided to ask her two sisters a question that was still bugging her. "What do you two think of Mr Belargant?"
"He seems a very nice person," Katie said. "I don't understand why he, Kyrano and Karolina have not kept in contact all these years."
"He did say he was a very busy man," said Beth. "But even then one should always try and have time with their family. Unless he's one of these self-obsessed businessmen?"
Laura sniffed. "I'm not convinced," she said.
"Gosh, you really don't like him, do you?" asked Katie. "I don't think you've even said a word to him since he arrived."
"I have my reasons," said Laura, still looking directly ahead. "He's only been in with Kyrano once. I found him snooping around the back of the house yesterday afternoon. About two hours after he arrived."
Katie and Beth frowned.
"What was he doing down there?" Beth asked.
"I don't know," Laura replied. "Call me silly if you must, but I have this strange feeling that I've seen him before."
"When?" Beth and Katie asked together.
"Two years ago," said Laura. "He looks like the guy that Scott and I chased following the incident on that film set in Nevada."
"The guy who filmed us?" asked Katie. "Didn't he then steal an aircraft?"
"Yes, and then crashed into somebody's house because the plane had issues," said Laura.
"That was quite a smash though from what we saw on the video footage from Thunderbird 1 if I recall correctly," said Beth. "I'm pretty sure he couldn't have survived that."
"I doubt he would have," agreed Laura. "I spoke to Scott about it last night and he's not convinced. As he said, there's more than one bald bloke on this planet."
Beth and Katie laughed.
"And we mustn't forget the images that Dad showed us before we came out," Laura added. "He's definitely up to something."
"Coastline dead ahead," said Katie catching sight of the United States on the horizon.
The situation at the bridge wasn't much different to what it had been before. All the passengers in the front car tried to keep as still as they could, but their stomachs were churning making several of them feel unwell. It then got too much for one woman passenger. "I can't stay here!" she cried. "I've got to get out of here!" She tried to push her way past the other passengers to get to the exit.
"Stop!" shouted a male passenger. "Stay where you are!"
Three other passengers had to grab the woman. She fought back knocking one man into the door leading into the driver's cab. This caused the train to shift again making everyone cry out in alarm. Fortunately it only moved two inches, but it was beginning to create strain on the corridor and couplings between the first car and the second.
The conductor of the train along with the other staff members were ushering the passengers from the other five cars through the exit doors onto the maintenance walkway and telling them all to head back to the end of the bridge that they had come from. However, this began to make the train lighter causing another couple of short jolts inching it further over the edge.
Then everyone stopped at the sound of an approaching aircraft. They looked up and saw Thunderbird 2 approaching from the South-West. They began to wave and shout in order to grab the crew's attention.
"There's the bridge," said Katie.
"And there's the train," said Laura.
"Jesus!" remarked Beth. "What's the action?"
Jodie then appeared over the hologram-projector. "Scans from Thunderbird 5 show there are forty-two people trapped in the first car," she said. "It would seem the rest of the train is being evacuated."
"That's affirmative," said Katie. "They're all waving to us."
"What about the bridge?" asked Katie. "Any danger of it collapsing."
"Not according to our scans, no," said Kerry who was also listening in. "The only danger we're picking up is the coupling between the first two cars is weakening."
"So we lift it back onto the rails?" asked Laura.
"That could be risky," said Jodie. "I recommend that you cut the lead car free and then lift it to safety."
"I'll fly down there with my jetpack and use my laser-cutter," said Laura.
"We'll stabilize it with the magnetic grabs and then lift it clear when you're done," said Katie.
"F-A-B," said Laura. She got up from the seat and went over to the floor elevator whilst Beth came and sat in the seat. The elevator lowered so that Laura was now out in the open. She'd already put her helmet on and activated her jetpack. She headed down and grabbed onto the door beside the driver's cab. The driver opened the window. "Are you okay in there?" Laura asked.
"I will be when I get out of here," the driver answered. "How are you going to get us out?"
"My colleagues are going to attach a grapple and then lift you to safety," said Laura. "Just make sure to keep everyone still and calm and for them not to be alarmed when the lift commences."
"Okay, thank you," said the driver.
Laura headed up along the side of the car looking in at the frightened passengers as she passed. She then reached the coupling between it and the second car. "Okay, I'm here," she said. "Thunderbird 2, time for the grapple."
"Coming down now," said Beth as she moved a switch. The hatch opened in the bottom of Pod 3 and the big yellow magnetic grapple was lowered down to the train. Laura guided it into position and adjusted the cables so that it fitted perfectly around the car. Once in position, Beth activated the magnets and the grapple was locked onto the metal of the car.
"Grapple's locked," said Laura. "Now to cut it free." She used her jetpack to fly to the back of the first car and positioned herself by the couplers. "Is everyone okay in there?" she called through the corridor section.
"Yeah…" several uncertain voices answered from inside the car.
"Good," said Laura. "I'm going to cut the cars free. Just hold on tight." She took out her small laser tool and began to cut through the metal coupling. "Thunderbird 2, I'm cutting through the coupling," she said. "Be ready."
"F-A-B, Laura," said Katie. "Be careful."
The coupling was strong, but it didn't take long for Laura to cut through it. With the creak and a crack, the coupling broke and the car swung off the bridge. The passengers all cried out in alarm as it swung back and forth in the air over the canyon. They could only hope that this movement didn't loosen the grabs. The other passengers who were by now already safely back on firm ground had gasped in alarm too at the sight of the train as it swung. But the grabs held and after about thirty seconds, the car stopped swinging.
"We've got it," said Katie. "Now let's get it back to firm ground."
Emergency services from nearby towns were now starting to arrive. Police Cars, Ambulances and Fire Trucks along with a few helicopters raced towards the bridge. Thunderbird 2 maneuvered the car over to the West-side of the canyon and carefully placed it on the ground. The services then swarmed around it to get the very relieved passengers off and to check them over. They were all very shaken, but none of them were hurt.
Laura, who'd stayed behind on the bridge whilst Thunderbird 2 had been taking the car to safety, began to search for clues to what could've caused the train to derail. She had to crawl underneath the second car and it didn't take long for her to find the answer. "Thunderbird 5, I've found the cause," she said. "Someone has put small rocks in between the rails."
"Rocks you say?" asked Kerry. "So this wasn't an accident. But who could've done that?"
"Whoever it was is probably long gone," said Laura. "And there's no CCTV on this bridge that could help us."
Kerry checked the schematics of the bridge. "Actually, there are," she said. "I'll take a look through the footage. Those trains cross the bridge at thirty minute intervals in each direction. Whoever it was would've done it in between that one and the one before."
Laura frowned. "I wonder…" she muttered to herself.
As Thunderbird 2 left the scene and headed back towards Tracy Island, Kerry contacted them again.
"Any luck with the footage?" asked Laura.
"Affirmative," said Kerry. "Two culprits - one man and a woman leave the bridge about seven minutes before the train came along."
"Man and a woman?" asked Katie.
"Yes," said Kerry slowly. "And they're no strangers." She then showed them the footage. It showed a big dark-skinned muscular man followed by a woman with long-brown hair and black-rimmed glasses with the face like a weasel.
"Mullion!" growled Beth.
"Transom!" hissed Katie.
"Bloody knew it!" snapped Laura.
"What's this?" Daniel then appeared on the hologram projector as well.
"The Hood's minions were behind this, Dad," said Laura.
Daniel sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" he said. "I trust all the passengers are safe?"
"That they are," said Laura. "We left them with the local emergency services."
"Very good," said Daniel. "Karolina's still showing Mr Belargant around the caves so you should be able to land without him seeing you."
"F-A-B," said Katie. "We'll be with you in fifteen minutes."
The Hood was getting bored looking around the caves. He and Karolina had spent quite some time around the big lagoon located deep inside one of them.
"Karolina, where is this so-called Water Mamba you claim lives here?" he asked. "I don't see anything down there."
"He's very shy," Karolina admitted. "Guessing today is one of them."
"Can we go back now?" asked The Hood. "This humidity is starting to get to me?"
Karolina checked her watch, and then her phone. There was no message from Daniel saying that it was okay to come back yet. "We haven't finished yet," she said. "There's still the beach on the opposite side of the island that I need to show you. Come on."
The Hood grumbled under his breath as he followed Karolina further through the cave.
It was whilst they were going through the caves that Thunderbird 2 returned to the island. This time, The Hood heard nothing.
"Here's the beach," Karolina said when they reached the other side.
The Hood looked at the beach. It was a spectacular sight, to someone who was interested. He managed to show it on the outside, but deep down he was getting frustrated at not being able to do what he wanted.
When they eventually did return to the mansion, it was early afternoon. As Karolina and The Hood entered the lounge, he almost fell over in surprise when he saw that all the girls were there. "W…what?!" he stammered.
"You okay, Mr Belargant?" Daniel asked. "You've gone pale."
The Hood quickly tried to recover himself. "I, er, sorry," he stammered. "I think the heat from all those caves has got to my head." He turned to Karolina. "Could you excuse me whilst I take a nap?" he asked.
"Of course," she said.
The Hood then made a rather hasty exit from the lounge. Karolina glanced out after him. He looked to be shaking and had his fists clenched tightly as though he was frustrated by something.
"What the hell was that all about?" asked asked Wizzy.
"Another suspicious move," said Daniel.
Karolina looked at them. "Excuse me?" she asked.
"Karolina," said Daniel. "Look at this." He then showed her the CCTV footage of The Hood trying to get access to the door leading to the sub-basement.
Karolina stared at the footage with confusion. "When was this?" she asked.
"Yesterday," said Daniel. "About two hours after he arrived."
Rosie then spoke up. "From what we can tell, he was with your father for only five minutes," she said. "He has not been in to see him since."
Karolina shook her head, bewildered. "This must be a mistake," she said.
"It's not, Karolina," said Laura. "I found him snooping around the corridors yesterday as well. I'm also convinced that I've seen him somewhere before as well."
The others except for Beth and Katie looked at her. "Where?" they asked.
"The Nevada film set incident," said Laura. "He looks like the guy that Scott and I chased."
There was silence as everyone looked at each other.
"Don't be daft, Laura," said Jodie. "That guy stole a plane and crashed. If the crash didn't finish him off then the owners of that house would've had him arrested."
Laura nodded. "Yes, I suppose," she said.
The Hood entered his room in the Tracy Island Roundhouse and slammed the door angrily behind him. Not only had he missed the Thunderbird departing but had also missed it coming back as well. "It was a diversion," he said out loud to himself. "It had to be! Tracy must've told Karolina to keep me away until they had returned! CURSE IT!" He kicked a chair over. "I need to find those ships. I HAVE to find those ships! I did not come all this way to not find them! But where can I find them? WHERE?!" He placed his hands on the table by the window and took deep breaths to calm himself down. "Think," he said to himself. "Think now. Where could the ships be hidden?" He paused and thought about what parts of the island he'd seen. "The runway has to be where Thunderbird 2 launches from. The section of floor under this Roundhouse looks like a concealed entrance. This could be where Thunderbird 3 is housed. As for Thunderbird 1 - I'll take a guess that it's underneath the pool. I must take a closer look at the pool and see if there's any clues that it moves."
As evening drew in, The Hood made his way back to the mansion. Despite his frustration, he did not want the Tracy family to be suspicious of him - not realising that they already were. As he entered the mansion's main entrance, he heard the sound of Daniel's voice from the lounge. He slowly moved close to the door to try and listen in to what was being said for he realised Daniel was talking to someone over the phone or radio.
"I've been doing some digging into your friend Trangh Belargant," the voice of Lady Penelope said. "I'm afraid to say you were right to be suspicious."
"Do tell," said Daniel.
"According to the documents that I've found, Mr Belargant is apparently dead, Daniel," said Penelope. "He was listed as having been killed in one of your early missions."
Daniel frowned. "Which one?" he asked.
"He ran an illegal diamond mine in the jungle of Malaysia," Penelope said. "It suffered a collapse and International Rescue were called to the scene."
"Oh, yes, I remember," said Daniel. "We rescued around five-hundred from what I can recall. But I do not recall seeing Mr Belargant among them. Or even inside the mine. He must've been very lost and we did not even find him."
"But if he died in the mine, why is he on Tracy Island?" Penelope asked. "Is this not him?"
The Hood's heart was beginning to pound. He very carefully peered round the door. Daniel was at his desk with a hologram of Penelope and a hologram image of a document with a photo of him on it.
"That's him, definitely," said Daniel. "So where the hell has he been all this time?"
"I do not know," said Penelope. "But if he's still going to continue to snoop around your island like he is looking for something, I strongly suggest you ask him to leave."
"Karolina managed to take him to the caves when we launched Thunderbird 2 earlier and she managed to keep him away until after they got back," said Daniel. "But we're not going to be able to keep that up."
"You don't suppose he knows, do you?" asked Penelope.
"About us being International Rescue?" Daniel asked. "Of course not. How could he? There's no way either Karolina or Kyrano would have told him."
"True point," said Penelope.
"Also," Daniel continued. "Kerry found out from CCTV footage that it was Mullion and Transom who sabotaged the rail-bridge."
"Them again?" sighed Penelope. "Some master of disguise The Hood is if he keeps getting those two bird-brained lackeys of his to do everything for him."
The Hood had heard enough. He stormed back out of the mansion and returned to his room in an even worse mood than he'd been before. "So, they do know about me," he said to himself. "Clearly I wasn't careful enough." Then he realised. "That girl Laura must've told him and he's been monitoring me since! As for Lady Penelope, I had no idea she was even connected to International Rescue! I have had trouble with her in the past. Maybe I need to deal with her as well!"
The Hood was up very early the following morning once again. He had a feeling that his time on the island was not going to last for very long so he decided to make use of what he had as he made his way to the lido to have a close look at the swimming pool. It won't be long before they ask me about my actions, he thought to himself. But until then, let's see what I can learn.
As it turned out, nothing. He had his head close to the water trying look for anything that would allow the swimming pool to open, the sudden sound of voices made him jump back in alarm.
"LAST ONE THERE BLOWS HOT AIR!"
The Hood just managed to get clear as Beth dived into the pool followed by Wizzy, Katie, Laura and finally Adrienne. They created huge splashes of water which went all over The Hood drenching him. He glared at them furiously. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" he thundered.
"Sorry," Laura said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "But that's what happens when you get too close to a swimming pool."
The others laughed loudly as The Hood shook with anger. "I'm going to speak to your father for this!"
"Be our guest," said Adrienne. "It won't be us getting into trouble."
Still fuming, The Hood made his way up to the mansion and into the lounge where Daniel was at his desk. "Mr Tracy, I want a word with you," he said hotly.
"Likewise," said Daniel without looking up.
"Look what your girls have done to me!" The Hood said indicating his wet clothes.
Before Daniel could reply, Joanne, Cassidy and Sian entered the lounge bringing in three bags and a suitcase with them. They dumped them beside the door and then left without a word.
The Hood stared at the bags for he recognised them as his own. "What is this?" he demanded.
Daniel looked up at him. "You were invited here because your brother asked to see you," he said. "But I have been informed by various members of this household that you only visited him for five minutes and spent the rest of your first day snooping round this house like you were looking for something." He showed him the CCTV footage. "Would you care to explain why you tried to enter this door?"
The Hood tried to think of a reason very quickly. "I was just curious," he said simply. "I don't know of any other house that has doors with access panels to them."
"What's behind that door is no business of yours, Mr Belargant," said Daniel. He then stood up. "Also, there is this." He showed the document that Lady Penelope sent him. "Explain this."
The Hood looked at the photo of him on the newspaper article regarding the mine incident. "How was it that when International Rescue saved five-hundred men, you weren't among them?"
"I wasn't in the mine," The Hood said. "I was…"
"Several of the men claim that you were," said Daniel. "So unless you found another way out and then did not call for help?"
The Hood said nothing. Both men stared at each other for a few moments.
"I will not play host to anyone who does not respect what they were invited here to do, Mr Belargant," Daniel continued. "And I'm only going to say this once." He paused again. "Get the hell off my island!"
The Hood's nostrils flared up. He was very tempted to throw the full force of his hypnotic power onto Daniel and then proceed to take the girls as hostages. But when Karolina suddenly entered the lounge with her arms folded and a cross expression on her face, he decided against it. "As you wish, Mister Tracy!" He picked up his bags, looked at Karolina who simply glared at him without a word, and then headed for the elevator that took him down to the hangar where his jet was waiting.
The sight and sound of The Hood's jet as it took off from the Tracy Island runway was a great relief to everyone.
"There he goes," Wizzy said to her sisters as they watched the small red jet disappear.
"Good riddance," said Laura as they climbed out of the pool and returned to the mansion.
After drying themselves off and returning to the lounge, they were all surprised to find Kyrano there with Rosie, Karolina and Daniel.
"Kyrano?!" exclaimed Katie. "Blimey, that was a quick recovery."
"Indeed, Miss Katie," said Kyrano. "I feel much better, thank you all."
"Come, Father," said Karolina. "You have been very poorly. You still need rest."
Kyrano smiled. "I am fine, Karolina, my love," he said. "Now that my brother has left." He turned to Daniel. "I must say, Mr Tracy, I am very surprised you were able to ask him to come and see me."
"Only answering your wish, Kyrano," said Daniel. "You asked for him to come."
Kyrano frowned. "My wish?" he repeated. "But, sir, I never asked for him to come here."
There was a stunned silence as everyone exchanged confused looks. Rosie, Karolina and Daniel were particularly puzzled as they had all heard him saying it.
"I think you were rather delusional, Kyrano," said Rosie breaking the awkward silence. "That'll be it I reckon."
The others all felt that Rosie was probably correct, but there still seemed something very odd about the whole thing.
Transom and Mullion were waiting to greet The Hood as he arrived back at the temple hideout.
"Hello, boss," said Transom as he exited the plane. "How was your…"
"WASTE OF BLOODY TIME!" The Hood thundered. His voice bouncing heavily off the walls of the hangar. "DID NOT LEARN A THING! THEIR SECURITY IS MORE ADVANCED THAT I EXPECTED AND I WAS FOUND OUT!"
They left the hangar and went down one of the corridors with The Hood still shouting loudly.
"Did you not see where the machines launch from?" asked Mullion.
"NO!" The Hood shouted. "YOUR LITTLE DISASTER DID NOTHING FOR ME! THAT NIECE OF MINE TOOK ME ON A TOUR OF SOME USELESS CAVES! I NEVER EVEN SAW WHATEVER THE CRAFT THAT I HEARD LAUNCH WAS!" He then entered the temple's Great Hall and slammed the doors in their faces. "NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" he bellowed.
Mullion and Transom just looked at each other, stunned.
"Oh, dear," said Transom. "This isn't going to end well."
Transom was right. The Hood was right now walking slowly and menacingly towards the bronze statue of Kyrano in the middle of the Great Hall. A gong sounded from somewhere as the chain curtains drew back and the flames were lit behind it. Normally when The Hood tried to contact Kyrano he'd just talk normally and only use his hypnotic power when he wasn't getting anywhere. But this time he was so furious that he went straight into the hypnotic-mode. His eyes turned to their sinister yellow colour once more, somewhat seeming brighter than they had ever been before. "KYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he bellowed.
The shout reached Kyrano just as he and Karolina were reaching the top of the Grand Staircase in the mansion. The pain that hit him was like a truck slamming into a brick wall. Kyrano screamed so loudly that the mirror on the landing shattered. Karolina tried to grab him, but his weight caused them to both fall backwards down the stairs. Both cried out as they hit the floor. At the same time, The Hood also felt a sudden sharp pain in his own head. He too cried out and collapsed onto the floor of the Great Hall.
The girls and Daniel came running out of the lounge just in time to see them both land in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Beth.
Daniel and Rosie, who'd come out of the kitchen with Leanna and Joanne quickly checked them. Both had hit their heads and appeared to be bleeding. Kyrano's looked to be worse.
"For God's sake!" Daniel said. "Kyrano's only just recovered! What the blazes could've happened this time?"
"Let's get them both to the Sick Bay," said Rosie. She and Daniel picked up Kyrano with the help of Beth whilst Laura, Katie and Adrienne helped to move a very dazed Karolina to the Sick Bay.
Rosie once again gave Kyrano a check-over as well as Karoline. Normally Kyrano had never suffered an injury of any kind following any of his previous attacks, but this was different. Both he and Karolina had banged their heads against the wooden floor when they'd reached the bottom. Scans revealed something very worrying to Rosie though. Whilst Karolina's stats were regular, Kyrano's were not. "Look at this," she said to Daniel. "This isn't right."
Daniel looked at the stats screen. Kyrano's heart-rate had become rather irregular and he seemed to be breathing rather heavily. "What does this mean?" Daniel asked.
Rosie didn't answer for a second. When she did, her voice was hushed. "I have a hunch," she said. "But I hope I'm wrong."
The girls, who were outside watching through the viewing gallery had heard Rosie via a microphone. Then they all heard a weak voice coming from the beds.
"Mr…Tracy…"
Daniel came over to Kyrano. Rosie stayed at the stats-machine. Karolina had regained her senses and had climbed out of bed to take her father's hand. "Easy, Father," she said. "Take it easy."
"You called, Kyrano?" Daniel asked.
Kyrano's right hand shot up and grabbed Daniel's wrist. He then looked up at his employer with rather weak eyes. "Mr…Tracy…" he said slowly. "There is…something…I need to…tell you."
"Shh, Kyrano, rest," said Daniel trying to remove Kyrano's hand. "Wait until you're better."
But Kyrano continued. "I should have…told you…a long time ago…Mr Tracy. I am…so ashamed."
"Stop this talk," Daniel said sharply. "You've nothing to be ashamed of."
"What's he talking about?" Leanna asked the others inside the viewing gallery.
"Shhh!" the others hissed trying very hard to hear what was being said.
"It was…my brother…who does this…to me," Kyrano said weakly. "He causes me…great pain…with his power…"
"Power? What power?" demanded Karolina. "Father, what are you talking about?"
"My brother…has a psychic…hypnotic power…over me," explained Kyrano. "He…uses it…to try and get….the information….he wants."
There was confused silence. Daniel and Karolina exchanged looks.
"Mr Tracy…" Kyrano continued. "My brother…knows…about your…organisation. Has done…from the start. He wants…to get his hands…on your machines."
"Kyrano, stop this!" Daniel snapped. "You're getting delusional again!"
But Kyrano shook his head. "No, sir," he said, sounding even weaker than before. "He's tried…to get your ships…since the beginning." His hands suddenly gripped Karolina's and Daniel's even tighter than before. "Promise me…something…Mr Tracy."
"What?" Daniel asked.
"Don't…let my brother…get what he wants," said Kyrano. "There's…something else…you should know…"
"Father, please!" pleaded Karolina. "Stop this!"
"Rosie, get some of that calming drug of yours," Daniel ordered.
But as Rosie hurried to the cupboard to get the stuff she needed, Kyrano spoke again. "Mr Tracy…" he said, "my brother…is…The Hood…"
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!