Concern gripped the International Rescue team like a tight noose of rope.
"Oh, no!" Rosie gasped. "The tsunami must've destroyed the tow-cable!"
Aboard the Octopus, Captain Cross had spotted two men in the water. "They must be from that speedboat. Matthews, launch a boat! Get them out of there!"
"Sir!" acknowledged Matthews as he and two other crewmen raced to launch one of the dinghies.
"Then that balloon's drifting away!" said Katie. "We have to do something."
"We can't!" said Daniel. "We've still got this submersible to recover!" He quickly realigned the cables and fired them down onto Nemo again.
Kerry then managed to locate the balloon on the holo-map. "I've got it," she said. "It's being carried away by the wind towards the same island."
"Maybe they can land it on there," said Daniel. "As soon as we've got Nemo aboard the Octopus we'll go after them."
But Leanna had noticed something else. "Oh, great!" she said. "Now there's a big fire burning on that island!"
"A fire?" asked Katie. "But that island's not populated, is it?"
Daniel looked across towards the island. Leanna was right, there was a thin column of smoke rising from the mountain on the south end. He began to get a rather uneasy feeling in his stomach. It looked as though the balloon was being carried straight towards it. "Thunderbird 5, can you scan that island again?" he asked. "Focus on that southern-most mountain."
Kerry did so, and discovered something rather alarming. "Woah!" she said. "There's a vast amount of heat coming from right underneath that mountain. The temperature is colossal!"
Daniel and Katie looked anxiously at each other.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Daniel.
"Volcano?" Katie asked.
"It is!" Kerry said. "And there's more. That's not just any volcano. That's Krakatoa – and according to these readings, it's going to erupt!"
"Krakatoa!" exclaimed Laura. "Kerry, are you certain?!"
"Affirmative," said Kerry. "And it looks like that balloon's heading straight for it."
"And Thunderbird 2's too busy with that mini-submersible!" added Jodie.
Laura jumped up from her seat and headed towards the wall panel with the two lamps next to the portraits. "Tell Dad to focus on the submersible," she said. "I'll go after the balloon!"
After pulling down the lamps and using them as safety-bars, the wall turned around taking Laura to the express elevator that would take her down to Thunderbird 1's silo. Once she was standing on it, the elevator began to descend turning clockwise as it did so. As it headed down, robotic arms worked to get Laura into her uniform and by the time they'd finished, the elevator had reached the bottom of the shaft. The doors then opened and Laura walked out onto the extending walkway to her craft. Once it reached the pilot seat it came to a stop so that Laura could climb into it. A retractable winch then brought her and the chair into the cockpit whilst the hatch sealed and the walkway moved back. The trolley that Thunderbird 1 stood on now started to move from the silo up the diagonal tunnel to the launch bay underneath the swimming pool. Joanne had already got Beth, Adrienne, Cassidy and Sian indoors to keep them safe whilst Thunderbird 1 launched. Soon the trolley reached the end of its run just as the pool had finished opening.
5…4…3…2…1!
The engines of Thunderbird 1 roared into life and it rose gracefully out of the opening before rocketing up into the sky. Just as usual, the force from the engines pushed the sun-beds away from the pool meaning they would need to be put back again.
"Thunderbird 1 is away!" said Laura as her rocket soared upwards from the island like a bullet from a gun. "Changing to horizontal flight. Jodie, get in touch with Dad and let him know that I'll be there in seven minutes."
"F-A-B, Laura," Jodie replied. "Good luck."
"Let's hope she can get there in time," said Joanne.
"If anything can get there in time, it'll be Thunderbird 1," said Jodie sounding confident.
Locating the dustcart wasn't difficult for FAB1. However, Penelope and Parker decided to keep a safe distance whilst they were still in London. Luckily for them, the driver was heading out of the city onto even quieter roads which would make taking his heavy vehicle on a lot more safely than doing it in the city would have been. For starters there wouldn't be any witnesses or bystanders who'd get hurt.
"Do you reckon 'e's realised that we're h'on 'is tail, m'lady?" Parker asked.
"No, he'd be going a lot faster if he had," Penelope said. "However, now that we're in a much quieter area, maybe now's the time to show ourselves?"
"Right away, m'lady," said Parker. He increased FAB1's speed and steadily began to close in on the dustcart.
The driver was oblivious that he was being followed. He was currently on the phone to his boss. "I had to run for it, boss," he was saying. "Some blonde woman and an old geezer were waiting for us!"
"WHAT?!" roared the voice of the boss on the other end of the phone. "ARE YOU SAYING YOU LEFT THE OTHERS BEHIND?!"
"They took them out, boss!" cried the driver. "I had to get away before they did the same to me!"
"GET BACK HERE WITH WHATEVER LOOT YOU MANAGED TO COLLECT BEFORE THEY TURNED UP!" shouted the boss. "AND IF I EVER FIND OUT WHO THOSE TWO ARE, I WILL HAVE THEM HUNTED DOWN AND KILLED!"
The driver put the phone down on the dashboard and then realised there was a vehicle closing in rapidly behind him. Going by the speed, it had to be a Police Car he thought. Panicking, he accelerated the dustcart to its full speed in an attempt to try and escape. But FAB1 was capable of much greater speeds than the dustcart could and was able to keep up.
"I think he's spotted us, Parker," said Penelope. "Not that I don't enjoy these little chases, but let's get it over with quickly."
"Yus, m'lady," said Parker. He used FAB1's targeting computer to lock onto the underbelly of the dustcart before firing a magnetic mine from behind the front bumper. The device attached itself to the bottom of the dustcart underneath the rear axle. When the mine exploded, it flipped the dustcart up into the air causing it to completely overturn and land upside down. It skidded along the road for about thirty yards before coming to a stop.
Parker stopped FAB1 about ten yards from the upturned vehicle before he and Penelope stepped out. They walked slowly towards the dustcart where they found the driver trying to crawl away. He was clearly in pain having been injured. In his haste to leave the bank, he'd forgotten to put his seatbelt on.
As he crawled slowly along the ground, the driver found himself looking at a pair of black leather boots and a pair of black man's shoes. Slowly looking up, he then saw who they belonged to. "Y-you?!" he gasped. "B-b-but how?"
"Relax, we're not going to hurt you," said Penelope. "All we want to know is who you work for."
"Well I ain't telling you that!" said the driver.
Penelope looked at Parker and nodded. Parker then cracked his knuckles making the driver quiver.
Thunderbirds 2 and 4 had almost got the Nemo back to the surface. Wizzy could see the shape of Thunderbird 2 hovering above them through the water.
"We're almost there, Nemo," Wizzy said. "Octopus, you'd better get ready to receive Nemo."
"Roger," replied Captain Cross. "We've just collected the two men from the speedboat. Coming over to you now."
Dr Sattler watched as the white shape of Nemo and the yellow shape of Thunderbird 4 began to emerge from beneath the surface. The crew of the Octopus erupted into cheers and applause.
"Nice work, Thunderbird 4," Daniel said. "We'll take it from here."
As Thunderbird 4 detached from Nemo, Thunderbird 2 began to lift it out of the water whilst the Octopus reversed towards them. the crew were rushing around on the deck making preparations for it to be loaded back on.
The Harding family had only just realised what had happened and had been waving and shouting at International Rescue to come and help them.
"What are they doing?" asked Lisa. "Why aren't they coming to help us?"
"Cause they're too busy fishing, that's why!" said Homer, looking bitterly at the Nemo which was now being carried through the air by Thunderbird 2.
A loud rumble made them jump and look around. They were getting closer to the island and they could see the smoke rising from the top of the volcano.
"Dad, Mom, are we heading for that?" asked Bart.
"Yes, Bart, we are," said Marge. "And there's nothing we can do about it!"
Krakatoa rumbled again and a few hot ashes come out the top. The smoke started to get thicker. It could only be a matter of minutes before it erupted.
As Thunderbird 2 eased Nemo towards the Octopus, the sound of another aircraft filled the air.
"Sorry, I'm late, Thunderbird 2," said a familiar voice over the radio.
Daniel, Rosie, Leanna, Katie and Wizzy all looked round and watched with delight as Thunderbird 1 raced past them.
"Thunderbird 1, glad you could make it," said Daniel. "Make it quick though. I'm not sure how long until Krakatoa awakens."
"Hopefully long enough," said Laura. She pointed her craft in the direction of the island and raced towards the volcano.
The balloon was just crossing over the beach on the south-east corner of the island. The wind was now starting to lift it upwards directly towards the crater.
Maggie, who was too young to speak yet, began pointing.
"What is it, Maggie dear?" asked Marge. Then she looked in the direction that Maggie was pointing. "Hey, there's another aircraft coming towards us!"
Homer, Lisa and Bart turned round to see Thunderbird 1 approaching them. they all (except for Maggie) began shouting and waving to get Laura's attention.
"I see them," Laura said as she brought Thunderbird 1 in to hover. "This isn't going to be easy though. Jodie, how's the best way for me to get them to safety?"
"There's a loop mounted right on the top of the canopy," Jodie answered. She was looking at the schematics of the balloon. "Attach your towing cable to that and then gently guide it away. Not too fast or you might rip it to pieces!"
"Understood," said Laura. "Going in now."
As Thunderbird 1 moved into position above the balloon, Laura could see down into the crater of the volcano. There was a great pool of burning lava visible inside. The Hardings could now see it too and they were scared. The lava was bubbling ferociously like a witch's cauldron and the rumbling was getting louder.
After opening the bottom hatch of Thunderbird 1, Laura got ready to fire the grappling cable onto the top of the balloon. But before she could, a sudden gust of wind pushed the balloon right over the crater. If the basket were to suddenly detach, there would be nothing that Laura could do to save the family.
"HURRY!" Homer yelled up to Thunderbird 1.
"Come on, come on!" Laura muttered to herself. She managed to secure a lock-on and fired the cable. It successfully connected with the loop on the top of the canopy without any trouble at all. "Gotcha!" said Laura. "Hang on, guys. I'm getting you out of here!"
Thunderbird 2 had managed to get Nemo safely back aboard the Octopus. Dr Sattler was there as a rather ill-looking Dr Grant was helped out of the submersible.
"ALAN!" Dr Sattler cried happily as she threw her arms around him. "Oh, thank goodness!"
Dr Grant hardly noticed this at all. His face was green and looked like he was going to be sick again. "I'm never going down without my gear again," he groaned.
Thunderbird 4 was now being winched back into Pod 4 as Thunderbird 2 came back over. Now that the submersible and its crew were safe, they could now turn their attention to the runaway balloon.
"Thunderbird 1, what's your progress?" asked Daniel.
"Got a hold on the balloon," said Laura. "Just easing them…"
Suddenly there was another loud rumble and a jet of boiling lava shot up around the balloon and Thunderbird 1. The Hardings screamed as the basket caught fire on one side. Flames also began to appear on the canopy.
"Laura, come in, what's happening?!" Daniel asked urgently.
"Uggh, lava blast!" Laura replied. "I'm moving them out before…"
SNAP! Two of the guide rope connecting the canopy to the basket had snapped the basket was hanging by a thread over the volcano. Bart and Lisa almost fell out but Homer and Marge grabbed them just in time.
"Guys, hang on!" Laura called. She fired up Thunderbird 1's engines and lifted them clear of the crater before racing forwards just as the volcano exploded in a massive fireball. The shockwave was heard and felt for miles around and the crews aboard Thunderbird 2 and the Octopus saw the huge column of black smoke rising high into the air like a mushroom cloud.
Thunderbird 1 raced away from the island dragging the balloon behind it. Most of the basket was on fire now and another cable had snapped. The canopy was almost half covered in flames too.
"Laura, stop!" Kerry shouted. "The basket's going to give way! You have to set them down in the water!"
"F-A-B!" Laura replied. She quickly brought Thunderbird 1 to a halt so that the balloon was now directly underneath. She knew the frightened family wouldn't be able to hear her so she got out of her seat and jumped down with her jetpack. "Okay, guys, listen to me! You're going to have to jump into the sea! Pass me the baby."
"NO!" cried Marge hugging Maggie tightly. "You're too late, we're going to die!"
"No, you're not!" said Laura sternly. "Give me the baby, now!"
Homer snatched Maggie out of Marge's hands and passed her to Laura. "YOU HEARD HER!" he shouted. "JUMP!"
Lisa and Bart wasted no time in scrambling over the one remaining side of the basket which wasn't on fire and jumping into the water which was about ten metres below. Homer grabbed Marge and practically threw her over the side before jumping over himself. He was just in time as the basket was now completely ablaze. Laura moved herself and Maggie away and remotely released the cable from Thunderbird 1. The craft moved aside just as the fuel in the balloon's hot-air generator ignited. The whole balloon exploded and dropped down into the water. Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa managed to swim clear just as it landed close by.
Thunderbird 2 had now arrived on the scene. Daniel brought the craft into a hover before Daniel lowered the lifting chairs down from the nose. Leanna was attached to the side of the chairs ready to help the Hardings into them. Laura used her jetpack to take Maggie up to the top of Thunderbird 2 where Rosie was waiting on the cockpit elevator to take the baby off her hands.
More explosions were erupting out from Krakatoa. The clouds of smoke were starting to make the sky dark as the balloon lay burning on the surface of the sea. Laura remotely brought Thunderbird 1 over to where she was and quickly jetted back inside before hurrying back to her seat. The two Thunderbirds then turned and raced away from the island as fast as they could.
Leanna helped the Hardings out of the chairs once they were safely aboard Thunderbird 2, but Marge was still in a state of panic. "Where's my baby! WHERE'S MY BABY!" she screamed.
The sound of a baby crying came from nearby and Rosie entered carrying Maggie in her arms. "Here you go," she said handing Maggie over to her.
Marge broke down in tears of joy and began kissing Maggie several times. She did however manage to stop long enough to say "Thank you" to Rosie and Leanna before they left the family to be alone together.
"Mission complete!" said Daniel. "Well done, Thunderbird 1. We'll drop our passengers off at their hotel. See you back home."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 2," Laura replied happily.
The two Thunderbirds raced past the Octopus and were greeted with another chorus of cheers and claps from the crew. All three ships were well on their way to leave the Sunda Strait as the skies above were blackened out by thick ash clouds from Krakatoa. After so many years of being dormant, the mighty volcano was awake once more.
"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Captain Cross said to Matthews."
"Indeed, sir," Matthews replied. "You know we never did find out what was inside the Brisbane."
"Doesn't matter," Captain Cross replied. "We got our sub, crew and Dr Grant back safely. That's all that matters. We'll just have to come back when the volcano has quietened down again."
The two men stayed and watched the smoking Krakatoa, which still had big explosions erupting out from it, as they sailed as fast as the Octopus could go to get to safety. At least now it could no longer be a threat to them.
Dr Grant and Dr Sattler were in their cabin. Dr Grant was still unwell after being stuck in Nemo for so long. "I'll tell you this now, Ellie," he was saying. "I am never getting in one of those things again."
"Oh, Alan, nobody could have predicted that this would happen," Dr Sattler said. "You really shouldn't criticise the crew and vessels just because you're not keen on them."
Dr Grant lay back on his bed. his face was slightly green. "Could you get me some water, please?" he asked.
Dr Sattler nodded and went to get him some. She didn't like to see him in this state, but she was glad to have him back.
"NOOOO!" wailed the driver as he tugged at the handcuffs securing him to the front bumper of the upturned dustcart. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!"
"That's just 'ard luck, mate," teased Parker as Penelope climbed into the back of FAB1. He then climbed into the driver's seat and they headed off into the night. No sooner had they gone when the flashing lights of Police Cars appeared back down the road accompanied by the sirens.
"Roman Sionis," said Penelope as they headed back to Creighton Manor. "Can't say I've ever heard of him. Have you, Parker?"
"No, m'lady, h'I 'aven't," Parker replied. "But if you h'ask me, 'e sounds h'American."
"You'd best ask your contacts for information," said Penelope. "I can't think why an American gangster would want to come over to target our banks for but he must have a reason."
"Yus, m'lady," said Parker. "And when we 'ave the information, what course of h'action should we take?"
"Good question," said Penelope. "Those guys of him were certainly tough. I think it might be an idea if we get some back-up beforehand."
"Mrs Samson?" asked Parker.
"I could see if Betsy, Mar or maybe Monica are available," said Penelope. "But, I do have an idea who we should ideally have as our back-up. I'll call Daniel when we get home."
"Ah!" said Parker. He now knew who Penelope was thinking of asking. "That is h'excellent thinking, m'lady."
Thunderbird 1 went straight back to Tracy Island with Thunderbird 2 making a detour to drop the Harding family off. They arrived back home about thirty minutes after where they found Laura with Beth and Adrienne around the piano. Beth was playing a tune.
"Wow, Beth, that's incredible!" remarked Wizzy. "Did you make that up?"
"Partly," replied Beth. "But I had a little help." She looked up at Laura who grinned.
"You need to play that to Virgil next time he's over," said Katie.
"Agreed," said Daniel as he sat at his desk. "We're in need of another music night."
"Do you think he'll like it?" asked Adrienne.
"He'd better," Laura replied. "Beth and I have been working on this idea for a few weeks now!"
Leanna and Wizzy collapsed on the sofa whilst Katie went over to the piano.
Joanne came in with some drinks. "Here you go," she said. "I trust the family are okay?"
"Yeah, they'll be fine," said Daniel. "Rather shaken-up but then that's only to be expected in a situation like that."
"What about the people in the speedboat and submersible?" Joanne went on.
"The Octopus crew were taking the two men back to their station," said Daniel. "As for the crew in the submersible, I don't think Dr Grant will be going down in one again."
Jodie chuckled. "Oh, dear, poor Alan," she remarked. "He's never been a fan of subs."
"Seems you two have something in common, Jodie," teased Wizzy.
Jodie frowned. "Hey, I've been in Thunderbird 4 with you before!" she said.
"Yes, but your skin was rather pale whilst we were down there," Wizzy said cheekily.
The sound of fast footsteps could be heard from outside the lounge. "Uh-oh, incoming!" Daniel remarked. He turned his chair just as Cassidy came charging into the room followed by Sian. They were having a race to see who'd get to him first.
"I WIN!" yelled Cassidy as she jumped onto Daniel's lap.
"OOF!" Daniel remarked. "Christ, you're getting heavy, aren't you!"
"Cassidy, go easy on him!" scolded Joanne, but Cassidy was too busy hugging Daniel's waist to pay attention.
"It's not fair," grumbled Sian. "She always wins!"
"You won about three weeks ago," said Daniel, grinning as he rubbed his hand on Cassidy's back. Even though they weren't his children, he still occasionally treated them like they were. After all, they had no father anymore so to them he was the closest they had. It was the same with Leanna, although that was slightly different as Daniel was her godfather.
The room fell quiet whilst they listened to the sweet soft music that Beth was playing. It was so soothing in fact that Cassidy fell asleep on Daniel with her head up against his chest. This made his attempts to write up the rescue report a little more challenging than it normally was but he didn't mind. He could always finish it later on. Wizzy laid herself down across Leanna's lap and they soon dozed off as well. Sian went off with Joanne whilst Rosie and Jodie had a quiet conversation in the corner of the lounge so as not to disturb them.
However, the peace didn't last long as the sound of an incoming radio call filled the room.
"Oh, here we go again," remarked Adrienne.
But to everyone's surprise, it wasn't Kerry who was calling – it was Penelope.
"Penny!" said Daniel. "Nice surprise. How are you?"
"Busy as ever, Daniel," replied Penelope. "I see you've got your hands full," she added looking at Cassidy.
"Hey, Lady Penelope," said Cassidy giving a small wave without lifting her head off Daniel's chest.
"I think she's been eating cake," Daniel said with a mischievous grin. "I'm sure she wasn't as heavy as this last time…" His voice trailed off as he noticed Cassidy's head had slowly turned to look up at him. "Beep!" he said pinching her nose.
"Ow!" Cassidy said as the other girls laughed.
"Anyway, Penny," Daniel went on, "is this a business call or pleasure?"
"Business, I'm afraid," said Penelope. "I need to borrow someone."
The girls all looked at Penelope with minor excitement.
"What's that, Penelope?" asked Laura coming round from behind the piano. "You need one of us? If so, I can help."
"Thanks, Laura," Penelope replied. "But actually I need a specifically skilled person for this job."
Everyone looked at each other, puzzled. They all had specific skills, although they didn't all share the same ones.
"Who did you have in mind?" asked Daniel.
"This is a covert ops assignment," said Penelope. "I need Karolina. That's if you don't mind?"
"Covert Ops is her middle name," said Daniel. "One second." He pressed a button on the desk, rather awkwardly due to Cassidy being there.
"Hello?" a rather sleepy voice answered over the radio.
"Sorry to wake you, Karolina," Daniel said. "May have a job for you. Or rather, Lady Penelope might have."
"I'll be right there, Mr Tracy," Karolina yawned and signed off.
Daniel looked back at Penelope's hologram. "What's the mission?" he asked.
"American gangster by the name of Roman Sionis," Penelope explained. "He's been using a London Refuse Company as the means of robbing banks with dustcarts."
"Different," Daniel remarked. "Although probably not the best vehicle for a getaway. Dustcarts aren't fast."
"Or easy to hide," agreed Joanne. "A racing dustcart would stick out far too easily."
"I hope they're not keeping the money in washing-machines," Daniel said.
There was silence as everyone began to give him looks, but then Karolina entered the room. "I'm here, Mr Tracy," she said.
"And just in time," remarked Laura.
Karolina looked at Laura, puzzled. But Penelope spoke up. "Hello, Karolina," she said. "How would you like to help Parker and myself bring down an American gangster?"
Karolina blinked. "You're in America?" she asked.
"No, he's decided to come and try his luck over in England," said Penelope. "And whilst I have no objection to foreign visitors to this country, I do object to them bringing their criminal empires over. There are too many criminals in this country as there is."
Karolina considered the offer. Things had been very quiet regarding The Hood lately and she hadn't done much except fly Thunderbird 7 around on perimeter patrols. She looked at Daniel. "May I, Mr Tracy?" she asked.
Daniel nodded. "Well seeing as things have been quiet for you lately, yes," he said. "When will you be needing her, Penny?"
"Preferably tomorrow," said Penelope. "We do have a possible lead on where Sionis is operating. You can come when you're ready, Karolina."
Karolina smiled. "I come straight away," she said. "The longer he there the more banks he can rob."
"Good point," agreed Penelope. "Come to Creighton Manor first of all, Karolina, then we can make our plans."
"F-A-B," said Karolina.
"Over and out," said Penelope and she signed off.
Karolina turned back to Daniel. "Are you sure you're happy with this, Mr Tracy," she asked. "I know you're not overly keen on these things."
"Personally I rather prefer not to get involved with these kinds of things," Daniel said. "I'd rather that Penny didn't keep getting herself into these kinds of scraps. But this man sounds dangerous and needs to be dealt with so I will allow it."
Karolina smiled. "Thank you, Mr Tracy," she said. "I'll get going."
As Karolina left the room, Cassidy looked up at Daniel. "You were saying?" she said.
"Was I?" he asked.
The girls suddenly looked tense.
"Cassidy…" said Laura. "Don't you dare tempt him!"
Daniel was looking confused. "Tempt me what?" he asked.
"You said about money in Washing-Machines?" Cassidy said.
"Ohhhhh!" said Daniel. "Money-laundering!"
The groaning was heavy in the Tracy Lounge that evening.
