Fourth Day
Tara and Mr. and Mrs. Steed traveled to a motel, where they rented one room to take an hour-long nap. There were two beds, so the Steeds occupied one, and Tara slept in the other. All were in their clothes, partly so they could make a quick exit when it was time, and partly because they hadn't brought any apparel besides what they were wearing.
All too soon, the annoying alarm clock woke the three. Tara moaned in aggravation as she rose to her feet. She trudged to the washroom, where she splashed cold water in her face to wake her up. Looking at the mirror, her light blue eyes perceived a terrifying sight. Her long-sleeved, bright pink dress with the turtleneck collar was wrinkled from being slept in. She smoothed the miniskirt as best as she could before returning to the bedroom.
Emma and Steed were immersed in a quiet conversation. They seemed to be going over the itinerary. Tara cleared her throat loudly, and they looked up at her. "I'm as awake and ready as I'll ever be," she declared.
Mrs. Peel nodded as she rose from the queen-sized bed she had been perched on. Her dark blue cat suit with the white stripes down the sides was also crumpled. She adjusted the large zipper that ran down the front with another white stripe. Emma sauntered over to where her white heelless boots were sitting and pulled them onto her feet.
Then the trio hopped into Steed's green Bentley and drove to the spy prison. Once they reached the electric fence that enclosed the penitentiary, they faced another dilemma. "How are we going to enter the compound?" Tara inquired the starry sky. She examined the ten-foot fence with sheer contempt in her long-lashed eyes.
"Well, last time the guard at the tollhouse opened a gate for us, but somehow I don't think he'll let us enter now that it's midnight," Steed replied.
"As it is, we had to get Mother's permission to visit Mrs. Gale at ten thirty," Emma added.
"First, let's see if the electric fence is even working." Steed cautiously approached the barbwire and tossed the pointed metal end of his umbrella at it. The fence sizzled at the impact of the brolly; then an alarm sounded through the cold, night air.
Before they could be detected, Steed, Mrs. Peel, and Miss King scurried to the automobile, which Steed hastily drove behind a cluster of trees. A night watchman dashed over to investigate the fence. He sighed in exasperation when he spotted an unidentifiable burning object-Steed's brolly! Removing his jacket, he pounded it down on the fire, managing to put it out. The guard returned to his post at the tollhouse.
Once the coast was clear, Steed and his female counterparts emerged from their hiding place. "I guess we know that the electric fence is still working," Emma remarked.
Tara nonchalantly removed a bobby pin from her curly hair and flicked it at the fence. The alarm immediately began to wail again, much to the utter glee of Miss King. She motioned for her two perplexed friends to follow her. They swiftly made their way to conceal themselves behind the bare and gnarled oak trees.
"That alarm is the Super Sensitive and Safe System for Spies," Tara whispered in revelation. "It's one of the worst systems in the entire country! A thing as tiny as a fly-"
"Or a bobby pin, in your case-" Steed interjected.
"Will set off the alarm. It has been banned by most secret agent outlets, so I wonder why we are still using it!" Tara shook her head before motioning for the Steeds to remain quiet.
The same irritated watchman came to examine the electric fence. Finding nothing on fire, he lazily traveled back to his post.
Miss Tara King sneaked up to the fence once more to create havoc. She removed from her purse a tube of lipstick enclosed in gold plated silver. Tara applied a coat to her pale lips before dropping it on the electrified fence. Then she scampered over to a pile of bushes off to the right of the clump of oaks.
Steed and Emma decided that this time when the guard came to investigate, they would creep over to the entrance by the tollhouse and get inside the compound. In less than a minute, the truly irate sentinel was surveying the area. Grabbing Mrs. Peel's hand, Steed hurried into the tollhouse. He searched only a short while before he found a red button that opened the thick gate. Steed smiled as he pressed the large button.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Steed was searching in the booth for the lever that inactivated the electric fence. Just as Steed found his button, she found hers. She pulled the lever with all her might then she and Steed sneaked into the driveway right before the gate shut behind them.
The sentry began searching behind each oak tree for the intruder. All he discovered was Steed's Bentley, which conveniently had stopped running, making it look like its driver had abandoned it there until he could return with help. The guard retuned to his station, muttering maledictions that would make a sailor blush.
Tara snatched another pin from her hair to use on the fence, but when she tossed it at the barbwire, nothing happened. Upon realising that someone must have turned the electricity off, Miss King began to climb the tall fence. It was difficult work, but somehow she managed to get to the top. There she was faced with another bewildering predicament. The barbwire at the top of the fence would surely massacre her if she tried to climb over. Clinging onto the fence, Tara came to a clever conclusion.
As silently as she could, she began inching her way to the left, closer to the tollhouse. She knew the fence ended right next to the little hut, so if she could just make it without being caught, she could drop down on the house. The task was painstaking, but she knew this was her only option now that she couldn't make the alarm go off.
Meanwhile, the guard in the booth noticed that the lever for the electric fence had been turned off. He knew he hadn't switched it off, so someone else must have. He bounded out of the building to have a look around the grounds again for the prowler.
Tara's high-heeled boot slipped on the thin wire, almost causing her to plummet to her death. She gripped onto the fence, standing perfectly still until her heartbeat returned to normal. She sidestepped several more times and arrived at the tollhouse.
At intervening time, the watchman passed under her to enter the booth. He approached the lever that directed the electricity to the fence, intent on being undisturbed from his chore.
Deftly, Tara lowered herself onto the slanted roof of the tollbooth. She gently sat down on the shingles before she slid off the roof unto the ground. At that instant, a loud buzzing sound filled her alert ears. She realised with a tremendous amount of gravity that the electric fence had been turned back on. If she had waited a second more to jump from the fence, she would have been shocked to death!
Miss King glided off the roof and abruptly crouched down in case there was a window where the guard could spy her. She crawled on her hands and knees all the way up the gravel driveway, stones cutting her nylons and making her bleed. Finally she stepped into the secret agent prison where she nearly collapsed in Steed's waiting arms. She swallowed several times before mumbling, "I almost got electrocuted, but I'm all right."
Steed patted her back consolingly as he stated, "That lovely spy's name is Lola Anderson, Agent 73. She and Mrs. Peel have devised a plan that rivals my own."
"What was your idea, Steed?" Emma asked curiously as they walked into the police office.
Steed opened his mouth then promptly shut it. "Come to think of it, I never even had a plan to start with."
"Well, you're a brave and smart anyway even if you can't think of any wonderful ideas," Emma soothed.
Steed didn't have time to response, for a surly warden appeared in the office, standing next to the metal door that led to the visiting area. "How did you get into this building?" the sentry growled ferociously.
"I never left for home this evening, so I've been hiding here since 5:00 p.m. When these three spies came back to the prison, I let them in," was Lola's meek reply.
"Now you've done it!" groaned John Steed. Before the warden could make some malicious retort, Lola let out an ear-piercing scream.
In her cell, Cathy awoke suddenly to Miss Anderson' screeching. Mrs. Gale bolted out of her bed, and, upon further investigation, realised it was only the exquisite female agent who had emitted those horrible screams. The reason she was screaming was an enigma to Cathy Gale, but she hoped it was part of their scheme.
Even though Mrs. Gale didn't know what was going on among her partners in crime fighting, she could hear the sentry bellow, "Hey, leave those papers alone, lady, or I'll have you thrown in here with your friend!"
If Cathy could have seen what mischief her friends were creating in the office, she would have seen Tara pulling papers out of a filing cabinet, while Emma and John casually walked around the room pulling chairs out from underneath the desks and knocking them on their sides.
Tara smiled innocently before exclaiming, "There's all lot of interesting information in this cabinet!" She pulled out a drawer and dumped all its contents on the floor. Lola gave a gasp of dismay at witnessing all her hard work being thrown on the floor, but her protest wasn't heard over the loud curses of the sentry.
"What the bloody deuce are you trying to do?" The warden opened the cast iron door of the criminal visiting area, leaving it slightly ajar. He lunged at Tara, who had just enough time to open another drawer, causing the sentry to run into the drawer. Doubling over in pain, he collapsed onto the floor.
Mrs. Peel, Steed, and Tara approached the now inert body of the sentry. Steed cautiously removed his steel-rimmed bowler from his dark hair and brought it down on the warden's head. Having rid the Avengers of any more danger, Steed sent his wife in search of some rope.
"Hurry, he's reviving already," Tara cried. "While we've still got the chance, let's grab his keys and lock him in one of the jail cells."
"That's an excellent suggestion, Tara," Steed responded. "You should be congratulated on your stroke of brilliancy.
"I guess it proves that brains and beauty go together like peaches and cream," piped Lola Anderson.
"Or like biscuits and sherry," Steed offered.
"Or brollies and bowler hats." Emma Peel pointed to Steed's prized possessions.
"No, brains and beauty go together like Steed and Peel," Tara spoke quietly. Nobody could think of a better comparison than hers.
The four secret agents returned to their main purpose. Having found no rope, Emma ordered desperately, "Help me lift this heavy muscleman." She tugged at one of the bulging biceps of the warden until the other two Avengers came to her aid.
Steed informed her that he would not let her carry the man in her condition, but Emma insisted she could do it. An argument would have ensued if Lola did not offer to help Steed and Tara with the warden.
As the three spies dragged him into the visiting room, Emma commented seriously, "We had better hurry if we're going to get Mrs. Gale to Penney Estate before dawn."
Tara moaned in pain, her arms looking like they would pop from their sockets from the monstrous weight of the man. "He's the sort of man you would expect to see lifting two tons at the side show of a circus!"
"I wish we were at the circus right now; it would be a whole lot safer." Steed grimaced as they came to the iron door that led to the jail cells. He fumbled with the ring of keys that was hooked around his belt until he found the one that unlocked the door. Then the secret agents pulled the man down the hall and into an empty cell.
While they were setting the sentry comfortably on the cot, he began to revive. Emma quickly chopped him on the nape of his neck, grabbed the keys on the warden's key ring, and dashed over to Cathy's cell.
After Emma had found the right key and unlocked the door, Cathy whispered, "Thanks for rescuing me, Mrs. Steed. By the way, I've forgiven you all."
As the door to the sentry's jail cell clicked shut, Tara King said triumphantly, "You won't be bullying me any more, Mr. Muscles."
The five spies ran by the threatening sentry, barely managing to hold back their grins of relief.
Once in the office with all the desks and file cabinets, Miss Anderson began filing the papers that had been scattered all over the floor. "I was certain the warden would kill us!"
"We're too clever for him," John Steed crowed pompously. Catherine, Emma, and Tara exchanged amused glances.
"Do you need my help anymore?" Lola asked politely.
"No, but if I ever happen to be in town again, I'll be sure to look you up," Steed replied earnestly.
"That's fine with me; just look under the name of Lola Anderson." The secretary waved sexily at the Steed before blowing him a kiss.
"What a wonderful woman!" Steed rubbed his hands together eagerly. Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, he whirled around to face his wife.
"This wonderful woman thinks it time we head to Penney Estate." Emma tried to look disgusted by his flirtatious mannerisms, but she only barely succeeded. She was fully confident that whenever her husband flirted, he meant nothing by it and would always love her.
"Yes, all three of us wonderful women would like to go," Tara interjected emphatically.
Steed took this subtle hint and escorted the three ladies out the door.
"I hate to be a pessimist, but how do we get pass the security guard at the gate?" Emma Peel queried.
Steed was about to answer, when the watchman, as if on cue, tackled Steed to the ground. Tara wasted no time in hitting the nemesis in the arm with her pink purse. This met with little effect since she did not have her trusty brick inside. The man rose to his feet, ready to attack the angered Tara.
Emma powerfully kicked him in the stomach, while Cathy judo chopped him on the neck. He cussed at the two ladies before striking Emma across her beautiful face. Mrs. Steed's vision reeled from the impact and she collapsed near her sprawled husband.
Steed was infuriated beyond capable description. The guard had just injured his pregnant wife, making her dizzy and nauseous. In a fit of indignant rage, he hopped up from the ground, punched the guard in the nose, boxed his ears, and cuffed his chin. In retaliation, the wounded watchman twisted Steed's nose in an unhealthy position.
Mrs. Gale kicked the man from behind, causing him to fall atop of Steed! Fortunately, the guard had let go of Steed's nose before he could break it, something that happened to John Steed's nose quite often. Cathy pushed her stiletto-heeled shoe into the man's back, slowly applying more pressure. The guard whimpered like an abuse puppy and tried to wriggle out of Dr. Gale's firm hold.
Tara, who had gone to the aid of Mrs. Steed, shouted, "She's reviving, Steed!"
Steed groped around for his brown bowler before approaching his dazed wife. He was beckoned away again when Cathy commanded, "Use your bowler to knock the watchman unconscious."
Steed hurriedly complied the fervent request then dashed to Emma's side. "Do you think you can make it to Penney Estate?" he gently asked her.
"I've received much worse injuries to my face before," Mrs. Peel promptly replied.
"It's the baby that I'm worried about," Steed persisted.
"John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed is worried about something?" Emma asked in mocked amazement. "Either the world must be coming to an end, or I just imagined it all."
Steed pretended to be offended as he said, "A gentleman always worries for the welfare of a lady." At these words, Cathy Gale scoffed in disbelief.
"Well Mrs. Gale," began Tara in defense of the spy she loved, "what man do you know wears a three piece suit and bowler and is not considered a gentleman?"
It took just a moment for Dr. Gale to reply curtly, "I know only one man: John Steed."
The four spies climbed into the hidden Bentley, but to their dismay, it wouldn't start! Steed nervously revved the engine several times but to no avail. Finally Emma, being the vehicle expert that she was, hopped out of the car to have a look at the engine.
"It stalled, so all we have to do is jumpstart it," she informed the expectant undercover agents.
"How, pray tell, are we going to accomplish that?" Miss King questioned as politely as she could muster.
"Well, under these circumstances, we can't," sighed Mrs. Peel. She meditated for a short duration before ordering, "Try starting the car once more."
Steed went through the long and cumbersome procedure of starting his vintage Bentley. Miraculously, the engine began to run, purring like a content kitten. "I knew I should have taken my Rolls Royce!" Steed cried as he shifted into drive.
"Hopefully, it will make it to Penney Estate in one piece," Mrs. Gale remarked pointedly, showing how displeased she was with the getaway car. Steed merely chuckled tensely in response.
To Be Continued!
Tara and Mr. and Mrs. Steed traveled to a motel, where they rented one room to take an hour-long nap. There were two beds, so the Steeds occupied one, and Tara slept in the other. All were in their clothes, partly so they could make a quick exit when it was time, and partly because they hadn't brought any apparel besides what they were wearing.
All too soon, the annoying alarm clock woke the three. Tara moaned in aggravation as she rose to her feet. She trudged to the washroom, where she splashed cold water in her face to wake her up. Looking at the mirror, her light blue eyes perceived a terrifying sight. Her long-sleeved, bright pink dress with the turtleneck collar was wrinkled from being slept in. She smoothed the miniskirt as best as she could before returning to the bedroom.
Emma and Steed were immersed in a quiet conversation. They seemed to be going over the itinerary. Tara cleared her throat loudly, and they looked up at her. "I'm as awake and ready as I'll ever be," she declared.
Mrs. Peel nodded as she rose from the queen-sized bed she had been perched on. Her dark blue cat suit with the white stripes down the sides was also crumpled. She adjusted the large zipper that ran down the front with another white stripe. Emma sauntered over to where her white heelless boots were sitting and pulled them onto her feet.
Then the trio hopped into Steed's green Bentley and drove to the spy prison. Once they reached the electric fence that enclosed the penitentiary, they faced another dilemma. "How are we going to enter the compound?" Tara inquired the starry sky. She examined the ten-foot fence with sheer contempt in her long-lashed eyes.
"Well, last time the guard at the tollhouse opened a gate for us, but somehow I don't think he'll let us enter now that it's midnight," Steed replied.
"As it is, we had to get Mother's permission to visit Mrs. Gale at ten thirty," Emma added.
"First, let's see if the electric fence is even working." Steed cautiously approached the barbwire and tossed the pointed metal end of his umbrella at it. The fence sizzled at the impact of the brolly; then an alarm sounded through the cold, night air.
Before they could be detected, Steed, Mrs. Peel, and Miss King scurried to the automobile, which Steed hastily drove behind a cluster of trees. A night watchman dashed over to investigate the fence. He sighed in exasperation when he spotted an unidentifiable burning object-Steed's brolly! Removing his jacket, he pounded it down on the fire, managing to put it out. The guard returned to his post at the tollhouse.
Once the coast was clear, Steed and his female counterparts emerged from their hiding place. "I guess we know that the electric fence is still working," Emma remarked.
Tara nonchalantly removed a bobby pin from her curly hair and flicked it at the fence. The alarm immediately began to wail again, much to the utter glee of Miss King. She motioned for her two perplexed friends to follow her. They swiftly made their way to conceal themselves behind the bare and gnarled oak trees.
"That alarm is the Super Sensitive and Safe System for Spies," Tara whispered in revelation. "It's one of the worst systems in the entire country! A thing as tiny as a fly-"
"Or a bobby pin, in your case-" Steed interjected.
"Will set off the alarm. It has been banned by most secret agent outlets, so I wonder why we are still using it!" Tara shook her head before motioning for the Steeds to remain quiet.
The same irritated watchman came to examine the electric fence. Finding nothing on fire, he lazily traveled back to his post.
Miss Tara King sneaked up to the fence once more to create havoc. She removed from her purse a tube of lipstick enclosed in gold plated silver. Tara applied a coat to her pale lips before dropping it on the electrified fence. Then she scampered over to a pile of bushes off to the right of the clump of oaks.
Steed and Emma decided that this time when the guard came to investigate, they would creep over to the entrance by the tollhouse and get inside the compound. In less than a minute, the truly irate sentinel was surveying the area. Grabbing Mrs. Peel's hand, Steed hurried into the tollhouse. He searched only a short while before he found a red button that opened the thick gate. Steed smiled as he pressed the large button.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Steed was searching in the booth for the lever that inactivated the electric fence. Just as Steed found his button, she found hers. She pulled the lever with all her might then she and Steed sneaked into the driveway right before the gate shut behind them.
The sentry began searching behind each oak tree for the intruder. All he discovered was Steed's Bentley, which conveniently had stopped running, making it look like its driver had abandoned it there until he could return with help. The guard retuned to his station, muttering maledictions that would make a sailor blush.
Tara snatched another pin from her hair to use on the fence, but when she tossed it at the barbwire, nothing happened. Upon realising that someone must have turned the electricity off, Miss King began to climb the tall fence. It was difficult work, but somehow she managed to get to the top. There she was faced with another bewildering predicament. The barbwire at the top of the fence would surely massacre her if she tried to climb over. Clinging onto the fence, Tara came to a clever conclusion.
As silently as she could, she began inching her way to the left, closer to the tollhouse. She knew the fence ended right next to the little hut, so if she could just make it without being caught, she could drop down on the house. The task was painstaking, but she knew this was her only option now that she couldn't make the alarm go off.
Meanwhile, the guard in the booth noticed that the lever for the electric fence had been turned off. He knew he hadn't switched it off, so someone else must have. He bounded out of the building to have a look around the grounds again for the prowler.
Tara's high-heeled boot slipped on the thin wire, almost causing her to plummet to her death. She gripped onto the fence, standing perfectly still until her heartbeat returned to normal. She sidestepped several more times and arrived at the tollhouse.
At intervening time, the watchman passed under her to enter the booth. He approached the lever that directed the electricity to the fence, intent on being undisturbed from his chore.
Deftly, Tara lowered herself onto the slanted roof of the tollbooth. She gently sat down on the shingles before she slid off the roof unto the ground. At that instant, a loud buzzing sound filled her alert ears. She realised with a tremendous amount of gravity that the electric fence had been turned back on. If she had waited a second more to jump from the fence, she would have been shocked to death!
Miss King glided off the roof and abruptly crouched down in case there was a window where the guard could spy her. She crawled on her hands and knees all the way up the gravel driveway, stones cutting her nylons and making her bleed. Finally she stepped into the secret agent prison where she nearly collapsed in Steed's waiting arms. She swallowed several times before mumbling, "I almost got electrocuted, but I'm all right."
Steed patted her back consolingly as he stated, "That lovely spy's name is Lola Anderson, Agent 73. She and Mrs. Peel have devised a plan that rivals my own."
"What was your idea, Steed?" Emma asked curiously as they walked into the police office.
Steed opened his mouth then promptly shut it. "Come to think of it, I never even had a plan to start with."
"Well, you're a brave and smart anyway even if you can't think of any wonderful ideas," Emma soothed.
Steed didn't have time to response, for a surly warden appeared in the office, standing next to the metal door that led to the visiting area. "How did you get into this building?" the sentry growled ferociously.
"I never left for home this evening, so I've been hiding here since 5:00 p.m. When these three spies came back to the prison, I let them in," was Lola's meek reply.
"Now you've done it!" groaned John Steed. Before the warden could make some malicious retort, Lola let out an ear-piercing scream.
In her cell, Cathy awoke suddenly to Miss Anderson' screeching. Mrs. Gale bolted out of her bed, and, upon further investigation, realised it was only the exquisite female agent who had emitted those horrible screams. The reason she was screaming was an enigma to Cathy Gale, but she hoped it was part of their scheme.
Even though Mrs. Gale didn't know what was going on among her partners in crime fighting, she could hear the sentry bellow, "Hey, leave those papers alone, lady, or I'll have you thrown in here with your friend!"
If Cathy could have seen what mischief her friends were creating in the office, she would have seen Tara pulling papers out of a filing cabinet, while Emma and John casually walked around the room pulling chairs out from underneath the desks and knocking them on their sides.
Tara smiled innocently before exclaiming, "There's all lot of interesting information in this cabinet!" She pulled out a drawer and dumped all its contents on the floor. Lola gave a gasp of dismay at witnessing all her hard work being thrown on the floor, but her protest wasn't heard over the loud curses of the sentry.
"What the bloody deuce are you trying to do?" The warden opened the cast iron door of the criminal visiting area, leaving it slightly ajar. He lunged at Tara, who had just enough time to open another drawer, causing the sentry to run into the drawer. Doubling over in pain, he collapsed onto the floor.
Mrs. Peel, Steed, and Tara approached the now inert body of the sentry. Steed cautiously removed his steel-rimmed bowler from his dark hair and brought it down on the warden's head. Having rid the Avengers of any more danger, Steed sent his wife in search of some rope.
"Hurry, he's reviving already," Tara cried. "While we've still got the chance, let's grab his keys and lock him in one of the jail cells."
"That's an excellent suggestion, Tara," Steed responded. "You should be congratulated on your stroke of brilliancy.
"I guess it proves that brains and beauty go together like peaches and cream," piped Lola Anderson.
"Or like biscuits and sherry," Steed offered.
"Or brollies and bowler hats." Emma Peel pointed to Steed's prized possessions.
"No, brains and beauty go together like Steed and Peel," Tara spoke quietly. Nobody could think of a better comparison than hers.
The four secret agents returned to their main purpose. Having found no rope, Emma ordered desperately, "Help me lift this heavy muscleman." She tugged at one of the bulging biceps of the warden until the other two Avengers came to her aid.
Steed informed her that he would not let her carry the man in her condition, but Emma insisted she could do it. An argument would have ensued if Lola did not offer to help Steed and Tara with the warden.
As the three spies dragged him into the visiting room, Emma commented seriously, "We had better hurry if we're going to get Mrs. Gale to Penney Estate before dawn."
Tara moaned in pain, her arms looking like they would pop from their sockets from the monstrous weight of the man. "He's the sort of man you would expect to see lifting two tons at the side show of a circus!"
"I wish we were at the circus right now; it would be a whole lot safer." Steed grimaced as they came to the iron door that led to the jail cells. He fumbled with the ring of keys that was hooked around his belt until he found the one that unlocked the door. Then the secret agents pulled the man down the hall and into an empty cell.
While they were setting the sentry comfortably on the cot, he began to revive. Emma quickly chopped him on the nape of his neck, grabbed the keys on the warden's key ring, and dashed over to Cathy's cell.
After Emma had found the right key and unlocked the door, Cathy whispered, "Thanks for rescuing me, Mrs. Steed. By the way, I've forgiven you all."
As the door to the sentry's jail cell clicked shut, Tara King said triumphantly, "You won't be bullying me any more, Mr. Muscles."
The five spies ran by the threatening sentry, barely managing to hold back their grins of relief.
Once in the office with all the desks and file cabinets, Miss Anderson began filing the papers that had been scattered all over the floor. "I was certain the warden would kill us!"
"We're too clever for him," John Steed crowed pompously. Catherine, Emma, and Tara exchanged amused glances.
"Do you need my help anymore?" Lola asked politely.
"No, but if I ever happen to be in town again, I'll be sure to look you up," Steed replied earnestly.
"That's fine with me; just look under the name of Lola Anderson." The secretary waved sexily at the Steed before blowing him a kiss.
"What a wonderful woman!" Steed rubbed his hands together eagerly. Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, he whirled around to face his wife.
"This wonderful woman thinks it time we head to Penney Estate." Emma tried to look disgusted by his flirtatious mannerisms, but she only barely succeeded. She was fully confident that whenever her husband flirted, he meant nothing by it and would always love her.
"Yes, all three of us wonderful women would like to go," Tara interjected emphatically.
Steed took this subtle hint and escorted the three ladies out the door.
"I hate to be a pessimist, but how do we get pass the security guard at the gate?" Emma Peel queried.
Steed was about to answer, when the watchman, as if on cue, tackled Steed to the ground. Tara wasted no time in hitting the nemesis in the arm with her pink purse. This met with little effect since she did not have her trusty brick inside. The man rose to his feet, ready to attack the angered Tara.
Emma powerfully kicked him in the stomach, while Cathy judo chopped him on the neck. He cussed at the two ladies before striking Emma across her beautiful face. Mrs. Steed's vision reeled from the impact and she collapsed near her sprawled husband.
Steed was infuriated beyond capable description. The guard had just injured his pregnant wife, making her dizzy and nauseous. In a fit of indignant rage, he hopped up from the ground, punched the guard in the nose, boxed his ears, and cuffed his chin. In retaliation, the wounded watchman twisted Steed's nose in an unhealthy position.
Mrs. Gale kicked the man from behind, causing him to fall atop of Steed! Fortunately, the guard had let go of Steed's nose before he could break it, something that happened to John Steed's nose quite often. Cathy pushed her stiletto-heeled shoe into the man's back, slowly applying more pressure. The guard whimpered like an abuse puppy and tried to wriggle out of Dr. Gale's firm hold.
Tara, who had gone to the aid of Mrs. Steed, shouted, "She's reviving, Steed!"
Steed groped around for his brown bowler before approaching his dazed wife. He was beckoned away again when Cathy commanded, "Use your bowler to knock the watchman unconscious."
Steed hurriedly complied the fervent request then dashed to Emma's side. "Do you think you can make it to Penney Estate?" he gently asked her.
"I've received much worse injuries to my face before," Mrs. Peel promptly replied.
"It's the baby that I'm worried about," Steed persisted.
"John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed is worried about something?" Emma asked in mocked amazement. "Either the world must be coming to an end, or I just imagined it all."
Steed pretended to be offended as he said, "A gentleman always worries for the welfare of a lady." At these words, Cathy Gale scoffed in disbelief.
"Well Mrs. Gale," began Tara in defense of the spy she loved, "what man do you know wears a three piece suit and bowler and is not considered a gentleman?"
It took just a moment for Dr. Gale to reply curtly, "I know only one man: John Steed."
The four spies climbed into the hidden Bentley, but to their dismay, it wouldn't start! Steed nervously revved the engine several times but to no avail. Finally Emma, being the vehicle expert that she was, hopped out of the car to have a look at the engine.
"It stalled, so all we have to do is jumpstart it," she informed the expectant undercover agents.
"How, pray tell, are we going to accomplish that?" Miss King questioned as politely as she could muster.
"Well, under these circumstances, we can't," sighed Mrs. Peel. She meditated for a short duration before ordering, "Try starting the car once more."
Steed went through the long and cumbersome procedure of starting his vintage Bentley. Miraculously, the engine began to run, purring like a content kitten. "I knew I should have taken my Rolls Royce!" Steed cried as he shifted into drive.
"Hopefully, it will make it to Penney Estate in one piece," Mrs. Gale remarked pointedly, showing how displeased she was with the getaway car. Steed merely chuckled tensely in response.
To Be Continued!