It was frustrating to travel so relatively slowly when the powerful car was capable of so much more but they just could not risk it. At this close range, they would already be visible in the rear view mirrors of the vehicles they pursued and the cameras that lined the road would flash into action. Of course, at any other time, they could simply speed past the sensors so fast that by the time any image was captured they would be long gone but then they would overshoot their target.
Penelope leaned forward slightly and a frown settledabove her eyes as she peered over Parker's shoulder towards the prison van on the road before them.
"He hasn't altered course." Parker observed in interest.
"Hmm." Penelope agreed thoughtfully.
"Perhaps they are simply just heading for the hospital."
"Maybe." Penelope replied and relaxed back against the plush leather seat with a sigh. "But then they would surely have told someone and John reports no transmissions coming from them at all. I don't like it."
"Hold that thought!" Parker gasped, turning the car sharply and pursuing the van which had suddenly veered off up the exit ramp to leave the motorway.
"Where is he going?" Penelope thought aloud.
"I don't know." Parker shrugged, "But I feel that, wherever it is, we shouldn't let him get there."
"I agree." Penelope nodded slowly, "Stop him, Parker."
"Yes, m'lady." Parker acknowledged and urged the car forwards, closing the gap between them and the van as they crossed a roundabout junction and sped out onto the beginning of a dual carriageway. "This road leads to a large town, m'lady."
Penelope glanced around them at the empty road and her frown returned. "Hurry, Parker. Before we get close tocivilians."
Parker nodded and the slightest shudder pulsed through the car as the small gun hidden beside the front grill fired.
The tail end of the prison van sunk suddenly as thenearside rear tyre blew and the van swerved wildly in an attempt to compensate. For a moment it seemed that it would regain control but then the van broke into a spin and toppled over, skidding along the road on its side.
Penelope watched the police escort brake hard and the motorbikes teetered unsteadily as they turned and rushed back towards the overturned van. "Well done, Parker."
"Thank you, m'lady." Parker smiled, "Let's hope the tumble has subdued him somewhat."
"Indeed." Penelope peered out of the car and watched the police officers dismounting. She had hardly waited for her car to pause behind the van when she scrambled forward and opened the door.
"M'lady!" Parker warned in fright and safely brought the car to a halt as he watched her leap out onto the road.
"My goodness!" Penelope declared loudly, feigning terror in a most convincing manner she thought. She hurried over to the two officers that had dismounted and watched as one of them clambered up onto the cab of the overturned prison van to assist his colleagues.
"Stay back, miss!" The other officer warned loudly, his voice slightly muffled through his helmet.
"What happened?" Penelope urged worriedly. "We saw the van just topple!" She glanced behind her and nodded towards her approaching chauffeur. "Can we help? Can we call an ambulance or something?"
The officer paused for the briefest moment and then the helmet shook slowly in a reply. "That won't be necessary."
"But what about the people inside?" Penelope countered.
"Get back in your vehicle, please. We'll take care of this."
Penelope frowned in concern, her heart racing. The man seemed to be coherent and answering her quickly, there was no way to tell if he was being controlled somehow.
"Davies! Get over here and help me, will you?!" Came a sudden shout from the other officer.
Penelope folded her arms and shuddered slightly.
"Well?" Parker asked quietly beside her.
"I don't know." Penelope replied softly, "If he was here, surely we would know it by now."
Parker nodded and a shiver ran through him as he recalled all too clearly the pain that the Hood's presence in his mind had caused. "Maybe he's in there unconscious?"
Penelope smiled suddenly, "Now, there's a nice thought!"
Parker nodded in agreement and then wandered back towards their car. He climbed back inside and opened the comm. link. "Thunderbird 5 from FAB 1. What's happening?"
"Dad's at the scene and Thunderbird 1 is en route to assist you. What's going on with you guys?"
"We've disabled the prison van."
"Excellent! Be careful, Parker – I'm guessing he's even more dangerous when he's trapped, let alone howangry he must be right now."
"F.A.B." Parker closed the transmission and headed back out towards Penelope. The two prison guards were being assisted to clamber from the cab and seemed fairly unharmed, if a little stunned. Parker relayed the update he had been given and watched Penelope nod thoughtfully. They both then looked up as they heard a familiar rumble in the thin cloud cover above them.
"Oh no …" Penelope groaned as she saw not the shiny silver hull they had both expected to emerge from the cloudsbut instead watched a dark grey-green craft make a low pass over them. The jet then altered course and headed in the direction of the motorway.
Parker turned and hurried back to the car. "Thunderbird 5 - "
"I know, I know!" John shouted in a panic. "I told Scott to get the hell out of there. Parker, you and Pen need to get back and help Dad!"
Penelope watched with baited breath as the shaken prison guards hurried round to the rear of the van and unlocked one of the heavy doors. The door fell open with a thud against the tarmac and the guards and police offices peered inside. Penelope somehow already knew what they would find. She frowned as she stayed back a safe distance and tried to look past the guards to see inside the van. It was no surprise as she watched the guards climb inside to check on their colleague and the one prisoner that hung awkwardly from his restraints.
"M'lady!" Parker called out worriedly. "M'lady, we have to go!"
Penelope sighed in dismay and turned towards Parker. She saw him waving frantically and broke into a run back towards the car.
"They've arrested Mr. Tracey!" Parker informed her hurriedly and helped her clamber back into the car.
"He's not in there, Parker," Penelope sighed as she slumped down into her seat and gazed out at the prison van as FAB 1 roared into life and began to move away from the scene. "He's not in the van."
It was chaos. Parker had sped through the town and headed back for the motorway to join the opposite side somewhere ahead of the accident and now cruised along the hard shoulder to overtake the traffic. Both sides of the busy motorway were now at standstill; one traffic jam building up behind the police road block and the other trailing back in the opposite direction, the road obstructed from various small accidents caused by drivers trying to peer at the accident.
Rain clouds were beginning to gather above the scene and the suddenly subdued mid-morning light flashed with the blue warning strobes of the emergency services. Parker halted FAB 1 on the grass verge across from the accident and he and Penelope took a deep breath before then climbing out of the car and making their careful way through the stationary cars.
Penelope climbed over the central barrier of the motorway and swallowed hard as she took in the scene. Fire and paramedic personnel were dealing with the still smoking helicopter and the pilots that had been rescued from within. She then turned and saw the police officers gathered a short distance away at the open rear doors of another ambulance. One officer was lying on the stretcher inside and another sat on the back steps, the cuts on her face being treated by one of the paramedics. Alex. As the blood and grime was carefully wiped from the young officers skin, Penelope could just make out a familiar face and she frowned in concern.
Looking out past the many police vehicles and emergency personnel that milled about the scene, Penelope then saw him. Her heart sank as she watched him being led towards a police van, his wrists cuffed behind him. She hurried forward and gasped as suddenly her path was blocked by a police officer.
"Please return to your vehicle." The young woman ordered sternly.
Penelope shook her head and pushed forward against her. "I need to speak to someone."
"Stay back!" The police woman countered firmly.
"Please!" Penelope pleaded, quickly calculating in her mind what the consequences would be if she simply knocked the young woman out of her way. "You don't understand!"
"Go back to your car and wait for further instructions." The officer gently moved Penelope back towards the barrier, "We will shortly begin to move the traffic away from here."
"But - " Penelope began to again protest when she then saw a the unmistakable trio of bright red cars that had arrived at the scene and pulled to a halt at the far side of the road. "I'm with them!" Penelope declared suddenly and pointed towards the camera crew that climbed quickly out of the convoy. "I'm press!"
The police woman glanced back at the personnel that her colleagues were now also trying to keep back from the scene.
"Please, I only want to talk to my fellow reporters." Penelope urged.
The police woman seemed to hesitate for a moment and then sighed in annoyance. She nodded slowly and grabbed the radio at her shoulder to inform her colleagues that she wasallowing a reporter to cross the scene.
Penelope broke into a jog and ran across the road through the accident scene. She saw in the corner of her eye that Jeff was being loaded into the police van and her heart was racing as she neared the camera crew that were arguing theirneed to set up their equipment.
"We have a right to be here!" The female reporter was shouting in annoyance at the police officers that carefully guided them back away from the accident scene.
"Ms Lowe!" Penelope called out hurriedly as she neared them.
The woman ceased her argument with the police and turned to Penelope. "Lady Creighton-Ward?"
Penelope ignored the groans that came from the police officers as they heard her name; her public image was that of an air-headed socialite with more money than sense. She hated it. And the most recent article in Hello! had done nothing to help matters. Jeff and the boys thought it was highly amusing and, for the sake of keeping their vital secrets, she had little choice but to try and let it wash over her.
"I saw the whole thing!" Penelope exclaimed in a shrill, irritating voice that she thought best suited thepersona thatthe public saw her as. But as she neered the reporter, hersupercilious smile disappeared and she lowered her voice to an urgent whisper. "Lisa, I need a word."She took the woman's arm andguided her away from her camera crew.
"What the hell's happened, Penny?" Lisa asked in concern.
"It's a long story." Penelope replied.
"Even better!" Lisa smiled in delight.
"Lisa, you can't film what's happening here."
"What?!" Lisa gasped, "The police scanner is buzzing with talk of Thunderbirds declaring war on them! This is the story of the decade!"
"It's all got completely out of hand and no one really knows what happened - "
"Except you."
Penelope paused for a moment and tried to read the slight amusement in the reporter's eyes. "Lisa, please. This can't get out."
"Why not? It's prize-winning stuff! Thunderbird 1 shot down a police helicopter and now one of them has been arrested, right?"
Penelope sighed and her shoulders sank. "Lisa, please."
Lisa regarded Penelope's concerned face for a moment and then shook her head. "People will know soon anyhow." She nodded towards the traffic gathered on either side of the motorway. "You really think that none of these people will have called their friends? You think none of them saw what was happening here?"
"Which is why you need to put out a report that stops this from blowing out of proportion." Penelope urged carefully.
"You want me to lie?"
Penelope nodded slowly. "You owe him that."
"Now, wait just a goddam minute!" Lisa declared angrily.
"You owe him your life, Lisa." Penelope continued gently, "And your livelihood."
Lisa frowned in annoyance and sighed loudly. "Oh Penny, don't be so naïve. Of course I'm grateful for what he did for me but Jeff and I came to an agreement that was of mutual benefit. He needs me as well."
"I know." Penelope managed a thin smile, "And now more than ever."
Lisa sighed again and turned to look out at the ruins of the helicopter, the damaged police car and the Sunday morning traffic that had ground to a halt.
"Film whatever you like." Penelope began again, "Just, please, no mention of what the police think happened here."
Lisa moved her gaze to the police van and the man that had been detained within. She turned back to Penelope and nodded slightly.
"I need time to sort out all this mess." Penelope added, "Then I promise I'll give you the whole story."
Lisa nodded again and stepped away from Penelope. She wandered back towards the crew that were still arguing with the police, trying to get access onto the scene. "It's okay, guys." Lisa raised her hands in a gesture of calm and hurried over to her crew. "We can film from the edge of the road here. It'll be fine."
Penelope followed the officer through the station and into the narrow corridor of cubicles at the back of the building. Her heart sank as she saw the plain-clothed not so subtle group of intelligence agency personnel that were gathered in one of the interview rooms and she swallowed hard.
He was no longer cuffed but locked behind a door that was far thicker than necessary and Penelope held her breath as it was pulled open and she stepped inside.
"Hello." Penelope offered softly and watched as he slowly looked up at her from where he sat on the plain metal bench on the far side of the cell. She looked back at the police officer and nodded her thanks, waiting as he backed out of the cell and closed the door.
"Pen?" Jeff mouthed and frowned in confusion, hardly able to take in the image of her in a smart charcoal grey trouser suit, neatly pulled back hair and thick-rimmed glasses.
"I'm your lawyer." Penelope offered with a shrug and stepped across the cell to sit beside him.
A smile pulled at Jeff's mouth and he nodded in gratitude.
"What have they said?" Penelope asked softly.
"Not much." Jeff sighed, "They asked my name, I wouldn't give it."
"It looks like they've called in MI5 or 6 or whoever they thought might know what the hell to do here."
Jeff closed his eyes and let his head fall into his hands. "I can't believe this is happening." He sighed heavily and then looked back up at her with a new frown. "How are the boys?"
Penelope glanced up at the ceiling worriedly, trying to spot any surveillance equipment that might be installed. She could see nothing but that did not necessarily mean that it was not there. Taking an ornate fountain pen from the inner pocket of her jacket, she turned the cap and waited for a moment. The small light that then flicked on at the end of the pen signalled that the scrambler was working and she nodded in reassurance.
"As soon as the RAF jets were scrambled, John ordered Scott to get out of the area. He's safe with Parker at my house." Penelope replied and then chuckled softly. "I suggested that he ought to go back to the island but he refused to leave while you're here."
Another smile pulled at Jeff's mouth and he nodded slowly.
Penelope took a deep breath and reached out to place her hand on Jeff's arm. "The Hood has vanished."
Jeff closed his eyes and groaned softly.
"CCTV at the hospital is grainy but it does appear that he was loaded into the prison van." Penelope continued quietly, "He must have escaped somewhere between the helicopter landing and Parker and I catching up with him. John didn't have a continual visual and the police escort cannot explain what happened. It's likely they were under his control the whole time."
Jeff nodded and stroked a hand through his close-clipped hair.
"I've spoken to my contact in the Metropolitan Police and our agent at MI5. They seem confident that they can clear this up pretty quickly."
"There was nothing I could do, Pen." Jeff opened his eyes and they were filled with the anguish of recalling what had happened. "It was all so fast. I couldn't stop him."
"I know." Penelope squeezed her fingers around his arm gently. "I know. Scott told me what happened."
"Maybe …" Jeff paused for a moment and cleared the lump from his throat. "He'll try again, Pen."
"You don't know that for sure."
"This is the second time he has attacked my family. He wants me destroyed." Jeff countered sadly, "He won't stop."
Penelope moved closer to Jeff and slipped her arm around his heavy shoulders.
"Maybe if we let him think that he won. If I face charges then - "
"No!" Penelope gasped suddenly, "Don't even consider it! We will sort out this mess and then we'll hunt him down. He's bound to make another mistake and we'll get him."
"And in the meantime, he could be anywhere. And my family is in danger."
Penelope shook her head determinedly, "You said yourself, it's you he wants to hurt." She sighed and frowned in thought. "We just need to trap him somehow."
Jeff considered her words for a moment and then shook his head slowly. "Maybe Alan should have let him fall that day …" Jeff thought aloud and then suddenly gasped in horror. "Alan!"
Penelope smiled and gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze. "I already contacted Brains and they're all safely back at the island." She watched the fear that lingered in Jeff's gentle eyes andpulled him closer to her. "They're safe, Jeff. Nothing can get through the new defence network that Brains constructed. Hell, I don't even know if FAB 1 will be able to pass through unscathed!"
Jeff slowly relaxed as her words sank in and he sank back to lean against the wall of the cell.
"We'll sort this out." Penelope urged, concerned at the tired image of the man who was always so strong and confident. She had expected to arrive to find him pacing and angry, not quiet and defeated. "You just need to sit this out a little longer. Don't answer any of their questions. My contact in London will come and sort this out."
Jeff nodded in agreement and turned his head to smile thinly at her. "Thanks, Pen."
Penelope edged closer to him and leaned against him a little, placing a hand on his chest. "Don't mention it."
Jeff regarded her sincere face for a moment and took a deep breath. A wider smile then tugged at his lips and his eyes sparkled mischievously. "I mean that much to you, huh?"
Penelope frowned in confusion.
Jeff let his eyes wander over her outfit and he shrugged his shoulders. "No pink."
"Well, I am in disguise." Penelope replied and arched her neck to place a kiss on his cheek. She stood slowly and walked across to the door, knocking gently to signal to the officer outside. Turning back to Jeff, she shot him a reassuring smile and nodded slightly. "It will all be fine." She heard the key turning in the door and suddenly chuckled softly. "And, for the record, I am wearing pink. You just can't see them."
It was growing darker as evening drew in and the rain that had begun shortly after midday was now pummelling the streets relentlessly. Penelope hurried along the path that led up to a covered entrance and shook the water from her shoulders. She wandered inside the building and smoothed a few stray locks of fringe away from her face,glad thatthe tight bun was preventing her hair from goingall scraggly now that it was wet. With a sigh, Penelope headed across to the reception desk and decided that next time she would not chance it and would take up Parker's offer of an umbrella.
The ward was quiet as Penelope stepped inside and she peered along towards the central nurse station. One of the staff near the desk caught sight of her and Penelope smiled in greeting as she hurried over to her.
"Good evening. I spoke to the Sister a little while ago. My name is Mrs Parker." Penelope offered softly, trying hard not to giggle as she found amusement yet again in the alias that Alan had insisted she use at least once.
"Of course, you've come to speak to the police officers." The nurse nodded in understanding. "They're just through here." She turned and led Penelope along the ward towards the side rooms at the far end.
Penelope glanced inside through the open door and saw the two of them. Alex sat on the edge of the bed, chatting to the man that lay tucked under the covers. Penelope nodded her thanks to the nurse and knocked lightly on the door.
"Forgive me for interrupting." Penelope offered quickly as the two officers turned to her in interest. "My name is Jenny Parker. I'm with the Police Complaints Commission. I need to speak to everyone involved in the incident today."
"Why?" Alex asked sceptically.
"I'll explain it all to you." Penny nodded, "If it would be alright, I need to speak to you individually."
Alex glanced at her colleague and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Great." She stood slowly and sighed as she walked around his bed. "That's all we need. Somebody whining about how we handled nearly getting killed today." She glared at Penelope in annoyance and walked up to her.
"Shall we go somewhere quiet?" Penelope smiled.
Alex nodded and frowned slightly as she edged past Penelope. "Sure. Step into my office."
Penelope followed her into the private room next door and closed the door behind her. She watched as Alex slumped onto the bed and crossed her legs beneath her. Sitting down in the chair beside the bed, Penelope took a small notepad and pen from the briefcase she carried and took a deep breath. "I'm glad to see you're alright."
Alex shrugged slightly, the hospital gown slipping off of her shoulder. She still had her uniform trousers on but had obviously needed to cover up after her charred shirt was removed.
"And your colleague? Will he be ok?"
Alex nodded. "Just minor cuts and bruises and slight concussion from the explosion. They're keeping him in for the night." She shrugged again, "They want to keep me in but I hate these places. I'm just waiting for a colleague to come and get me and take me back to London."
"Aren't your family close by?"
Alex recoiled slightly, regarding Penelope in suspicion. "They might be … what's it to you? Why d'you need to know that?" Her frown grew and she shook her head in confusion. "What's this all about?"
Penelope sighed and smiled thinly. "I'm sorry." She twisted the end of her pen, waited for the light and then looked back up at Alex. "My name isn't Jenny Parker and I'm not with the Police Complaints Commission."
Alex glanced at the door, apparently calculating her escape route if she should need one. She slowly slid her legs out from underneath her and placed one foot on the floor, ready to flee if she should need to.
"My name is Penelope and I work for the Thunderbirds."
Alex's frown grew and she edged closer to the side of the bed, watching Penelope uneasily as she tried to work out whether she was in any danger.
"Alex, I need to speak to you about what you saw today."
"It's all in my statement," Alex replied, "You can read that if you want."
"I did."
Alex's breathing was becoming fast, her eyes filled with confusion and a hint of fear. She glanced at the nurse call bell, evidently trying to decide what would be better; call for help or just make a run for it.
"Alex, I'm not here to hurt you." Penelope offered carefully. "I just need to know if you're sure you saw what you saw."
Alex relaxed slightly and turned her full attention back to Penelope. "Well, it all happened very fast but … yeah … I saw Thunderbird 1 make a low pass and it fired a missile at the helicopter."
"You looked up while you were driving?"
"I … yeah … I suppose."
Penelope nodded slowly. "You're the only one who did see it." She sat forward a little and smiled again. "I've spoken to everyone else at the scene and no one knew what had happened. No one saw the rocket."
"Meaning?"
"Alex," Penelope continued carefully, "The Thunderbirds did nothing wrong. They were there to help you. They did not attack the convoy."
"But I saw it happen!" Alex countered urgently.
Penelope nodded again, "I know." She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands for a moment. "Alex, do you know what happened in London last weekend?"
"What do you mean?"
"A dangerous criminal stole one of the Thunderbirds and tried to make it look like they had caused all the damage."
Alex shuffled backwards along the bed and rested against the pillows. "Yeah."
"That same man was in the prison van today."
Alex stared in horror at Penelope, her words not quite sinking in.
"He was in the same hospital as the man you were transporting and he was moved at the same time. Your superiors thought it best not to tell you and wanted to keep the move as low key as possible. They now know what a terrible decision that was. He is very powerful. He attacked the convoy."
Alex sat in stunned silence, listening as Penelope spoke of psychic powers and mind control. None of it made any sense at all and yet somehow it was easier to believe. She had been as devastated as everyone else at the thought of the Thunderbirds suddenly turning coat and attacking people. But it was also very hard to ignore what she had so clearly seen with her own eyes.
"I need you to change your statement." Penelope concluded cautiously.
"What?"
"You are the only witness. We can make all this right if you could simply say that you were mistaken." Penelope clutched her hands together as if to plead with Alex. "The Thunderbirds were there to provide protection. You could easily have thought that when they arrived they might have been involved in the crash. Anyone can make a mistake."
"But I didn't." Alex countered evenly, "And you know that. I understand the shit they're in and I appreciate the good that they do but I can't lie. Not for you. Not for anyone."
"Not for John?"
Alex jumped slightly, the colour draining from what could be seen of her scalded, glass cut cheeks.
Penelope stood slowly and perched on the side of the bed. "I won't pretend to understand what happened between you two but I know he told you about what he's been through." She reached out carefully and placed her hand on Alex's thigh. "It's his father that they arrested."
Alex covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes. As much as it seemed too unreal to be believed, it made perfect sense. The something that she knew he was keeping from her and the vague references to his job. It made sense.
"Regardless of how you feel about him," Penelope continued quietly, "He needs his dad right now."
Alex could not help the sob that came to her throat and squeezed her eyes tightly closed to try and contain the tears that were forming. It was all so confusing. Or was it? Was it not oh so simple?
"Please, Alex." Penelope repeated softly.