Thunderbirds Blast Off
By Lee Homer
Disclaimer: A collection of short adventures based on the comic strips from the Thunderbirds Annuals of the '60s and '70s. All rights reserved. I don't own Thunderbirds.
Lady Penelope in
Fool's Gold
One night at a remote location in rural England, an unmarked black truck crashed the gates of the International Chemical Laboratory. The top-secret facility had been scoped out in the day prior by jewel thieves. They studied the security systems thoroughly, plotting their heist accordingly. Their objective was to steal the largest of gold bullion in the whole of Europe. There had been numerous attempts to steal the bullion before, which prompted the government to ship it to the Laboratory for safe storage. Unfortunately, this didn't deter this particular gang. As their truck pulled up outside the main warehouse, three men dressed in black turtle-necks, exited the vehicle and approached the reinforced door. One of the men retrieved a laser cutter from the cabin and trained its barrel at the door. They believed they could pull off the job without attracting attention, but as soon as the laser beam began to slice through the door, they were thrown back by a large, unexpected explosion.
A large blinding light disturbed the surrounding countryside and a shock wave rattled the trees in every direction. Miles away at the Creighton-Ward estate, the stately home of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, the silence was quickly disturbed. The windows rattled as the floorboards vibrated under the double poster bed in which Penelope slept. It was Parker who reacted to the sudden blast. He sprung from his bed to see what the commotion was.
"Stone the crows!" he gasped wearily. "An Earthquake! Someone's gonna need help!"
The rumbling ceased as the countryside settled down around them. Penelope headed downstairs and peered out of the drawing-room windows. She could tell that something wasn't right for the countryside looked different somehow. Pulling on her dress robe, she called for Parker to join her. The doors to the drawing-room opened and Parker staggered in, half-dressed in his chauffeur uniform.
"I take it you heard the bang, m'lady?" he asked her.
"I'm afraid so, Parker," replied Penelope as she beckoned him towards the window. "Come and have a look outside. Something had happened to the land around the house."
Parker observed the scene for himself. He deduced that an earthquake wasn't responsible for the disturbance. Agreeing with his theory, Penelope instructed the ex-convict to fetch her pink state of the art Rolls Royce, FAB One. A few moments later, the pink supercar cut through the dark country lanes with its powerful headlights. After driving aimlessly for a few minutes, they came to a line of uprooted trees and flattened hedgerows that marked the site of the explosion. The car rolled to a stop and the pair stepped out to investigate.
"Cor. What a mess! Ain't much we can do about it!" Parker said.
Penelope nodded her head. "No, Parker. I wonder what could have caused an explosion of this magnitude?"
Parker shrugged. "Beats me, M'lady, but I'd imagine that it woke up the nearby residents too."
Parker didn't realise just how right he was. In the hours that followed, other residents were asking the same question. Standing on the balcony of his penthouse suite, two men discussed the incident over brandy and cigars. It appeared that they knew more than they divulged. The fine dressed Mr Danton turned to face his younger fair-haired colleague, Bailey.
"What chemicals did you have at the labs to cause that bang, Bailey?" he asked.
"It wasn't ant chemicals, but the bullion itself that exploded," explained Bailey. "Why wasn't I told about the change in plans? As only you knew, that gold was at the labs. You're lucky you tried the double-cross there. If I had been on your yacht…"
The fine dressed man swilled his drink."Calm down. I wouldn't try to double-cross you!" replied the younger man. "Remember, Bailey, I invested a lot of money in this. Let's just find out what went wrong."
An official investigation was carried out the following morning. Two police cars cordoned off the scene as three officers combed the countryside. The man leading the investigation was Chief Superintendent Jeremy Creighton-Ward. He was Penelope's older cousin and a man who couldn't be fooled in the slightest. As he examined the scene, he was called out by a soft delicate voice.
"Jeremy?"
He looked up to see his younger cousin approach him from the cordon. He stood up and smiled as he greeted her and Parker. Penelope and Parker recounted their version of the events that happened the previous night. Their words intrigued the Superintendent greatly. With a brief pause, he decided to divulge what he knew about the explosion.
"The explosion was triggered by a laser cutter, but these tons of gold pellets puzzle me," he said. "The whole picture doesn't make sense."
"I know what you mean, Jeremy," Penelope agreed. "Why would a private research laboratory stash gold bullion?"
"Well we're trying our best to find out, but any help you can provide would be appreciated dear cousin.." huffed the Superintendent. "It'll take us some time to gather some leads."
Penelope smiled as she rested her hand on his. "We'll be happy to help you with the investigation. Come along, Parker. We have a little investigating of our own to do. I want you to go to London at once."
That afternoon in London's East End, Parker took a leisurely walk down the street when he heard a familiar voice call out to him from the crowd. He turned round to see a scruffily dressed gentlemen bound across the street towards him. Parker's eyes widened. He knew this gentleman from his troubled past.
"Cor, it's 'ol Nosey. 'Ow are you mate?" he said as he forcefully shook Parker's hand.
"Shifty? Cor, it's been years!" Parker smiled. "Come an' 'ave a cuppa with me."
The two men entered a local cafe and reminisced over a pot of coffee. As they talked about old times, Parker steered the conversation to his advantage.
"I 'eard a whisper someone was looking for a peter for a chemical job?" he asked.
Shifty looked around at his surroundings before responding. "Danton did 'ave feelers out last week, but that job was done. Did hear He'd double-crossed 'is partner."
"Same old Danton, eh?" chuckled Parker. "Well, see yer, Shifty. "
Finishing his coffee, Parker left the cafe to follow his lead. Shifty provided him with a location. It was the best lead he had in the whole case. Returning to FAB One, he chased his lead until he found the building in question. It was Danton's penthouse suite. Figuring he couldn't get in through the front door, Parker scaled a long drainage pipe that ran vertically up the side of the building. His climbing skills alone prevented him from falling. After a long and arduous climb, Parker made it to the Penthouse balcony. He kept to the shadows and peered in through the window. He had caught Danton in the middle of a secret conversation with his colleagues. His ears tuned in to their stifled voices.
"What did your tests on the second catalyst tell you?" he asked Bailey.
"It's the gold. The chemical we use to alter the metal's atomic structure gets left in the gold after the processing," Bailey replied. "Under very special conditions, it makes the gold unstable. Then it explodes."
Danton puffed his cigar. "Now he tells me. A fortune tied up in explosive gold."
The doors opened and two henchmen entered the room. Bailey looked over his shoulder at them. Suddenly one of the henchmen caught a glimpse of Parker's face through the window. As he turned to flee, the two brutes marched outside, one of them brandishing a knife. He raised the knife high in the air and flung it at the fleeing ex-con. Parker felt the blade pierce his shoulder as he clutched onto the drain pipe. A flash of cold steel surged through his body.
"Who was that punk?" asked Bailey.
"We'll find out later!" Danton growled. "He knows too much! Get after him!"
After an agonising descent, Parker safely made it to ground level. He hobbled towards FAB One which he left across the street. As he climbed on inside, he watched the doors to the penthouse lobby swing open. Danton and his cronies ran out to see the Pink Rolls Royce disappear into the haze.
"He's getting away!" cried Danton.
"It's okay, Danton," replied Bailey. "I recognise that car. It's that Pink Rolls Royce that belongs to that dame, Lady Penelope. He must work for her!"
"Then we must find him and stop him!" snared Danton. "Fortunately he was injured and I know where he'll be making for. Come on!"
A short while later, Parker sent out an emergency call to the manor, hoping that Lady Penelope would answer. Her ladyship sat alone in her bedroom, combing her hair when her compact started to beep erratically. She flipped it open to see her wounded chauffeur on the small circular screen.
"Parker!" she gasped. "What's happened? Where are you?"
"Ain't...gonna make it...M'Lady!" Parker replied.
Suddenly, the screen went blank and static hissed over the compact receiver. Concerned and shaken by the video feed, she felt around for the emergency switch under her dressing table and threw it on. The mirror slid to one side, revealing a TV screen behind it. A map appeared and a white light blinked away in the London area, on a stretch of road in the Fenchurch area. She had found FAB One's current location. Throwing on her attire, Penelope raced for the drive and hopped into Parker's personal car. She raced out of the grounds, hoping she could reach her faithful butler in time. The dust had hardly settled from her departure when her cook received two visitors at the door. It was Bailey and Danton. Impersonating at police officers, they asked the cook for her ladyship's whereabouts. The unsuspecting cook told them everything. Bidding her goodnight, they returned to their car and left the premises.
"That was easy," said Danton. "They're at Fenchurch Hospital. We'll move ahead with part two of our plan."
"Okay, but we must take care of Lady Penelope and her chauffeur," Bailey nodded. "I suggest we do it my way as we discussed."
After a short drive, Bailey's car arrived outside the entrance to Fenchurch hospital. Before they could head on inside, the two men went over their plan a final time.
"Leave the talking to me," he said as Danton extinguished his cigar. "With any luck, he could be in casualty so we could be away fast."
Entering the hospital's casualty wing, the two men took to their roles again. They approached a nurse in the corridor and stopped her in her tracks. Bailey flashed a fake badge at her.
"Sister. I'm sergeant Stone, C.I.D. You have Mister Parker here."
"Of course." replied the nurse. "This way, Sergeant."
Parker sat upright on the examination table with Penelope and Jeremy at his side. As they waited for the doctor, the doors opened ahead of them. The nurse entered the room with the two men. Suddenly, everything happened so fast that Penelope had little time to react. Bailey and Danton reached into the jackets and pulled out their guns, training them on Penelope and Parker. The nurse tried to scream, but Danton stuck her over the head with the butt of his gun. Danton left the room while Bailey kept his gun on them. Jeremy tried to move, but he was too slow for the young henchman.
"You!" Parker screamed. "You're one of..."
"Don't try anything foolish officer! Just come quietly!" he instructed.
Penelope helped Parker off the table. "What are you going to do with us?"
"Just come with me, your ladyship and you won't get hurt."
Quickly and calmly. Bailey led Penelope, Parker and Jeremy out of the hospital wing at gunpoint. As he took them towards a waiting car, Penelope kept her calm. She hoped for such a moment. This was the break she had been waiting for. A few minutes later outside the Russian embassy in London, an Ambassador left his black limousine for the embassy's lobby. Before he could step through the rotating doors, however, he was grabbed from behind and hit with a chloroform rag. He struggled in vain but inevitably lost the fight. Suddenly, Danton dragged his lifeless body away and out of sight. For what seemed to be an eternity, the Russian Ambassador regained consciousness. As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, he found himself sitting in a chair onboard Danton's yacht which had been anchored in the Thames. He looked across to see Lady Penelope, Parker and Jeremy sitting across from him. Danton towered over them as he welcomed them to his floating sanctuary.
"Oh my head," groaned the Ambassador. "What is the meaning of this outrage? If you think you can hold me for ransom…"
"Calm down, Mister Ambassador," replied Danton. "We have something your government might be interested in. Show him, Bailey."
Bailey directed their attention towards a free-standing machine at the far end of the room. He removed a large gold bar from a suitcase and held it firmly in his hands.
"This machine changes the atomic structure of the metal to that of gold," he said. "We can take a gold bar and turn it into an explosive powerful enough to level a street and it can be all yours."
"It's a trick!" Penelope sneered. "Don't fall for it, Mister Ambassador."
Bailey looked down at Penelope with angry eyes. "It's no trick, Lady. Russia's top scientists can test the equipment anytime and they can start with this!"
Penelope pulled out a lipstick from her handbag and flipped open her compact. She continued to goad the young man as she applied the lipstick to her lips.
"Of course," she said. "If the gold were any good, there would be no need to sell the process."
"Have you ever tried buying a mink coat with a gold bar?" Bailey seethed.
"No, I can't say I have, but I do know another little trick."
Suddenly, Penelope twisted the lipstick case again and a jet of green gas squirted out at the men. The two men choked in confusion as the pair made their move. Parker leapt to his feet and knocked Bailey off his feet with a chair to his back. As Danton fell to the knock out gas, Bailey rolled across the floor and dived out of the cabin, locking the door behind him. Parker raced towards the door and jiggled it relentlessly.
"We're locked in, M'Lady," he said breathlessly.
Penelope looked at him with a cool expression. "We'll need a gun, Parker. I believe Danton has one in his shoulder holster."
"Yes M'Lady," Parker complied.
Reaching for Danton's gun, Parker stepped away from the door while Penelope filled the lock with her face powder. The powder acted as an explosive, capable of blowing a lock off a safe. Parker aimed the gun at the powder and fired, igniting it instantly. The lock exploded in a plume of smoke and the door swung open. Parker rushed on ahead.
"They'll be waiting for us up top, M'lady," he said.
"You keep them thinking that way, Parker," Penelope replied. "I'll take a different route."
As she climbed through a porthole, Penelope could hear the sound of gunfire echo throughout the luxury yacht. Parker had caught their attention like she had hoped he would. Calmly and cautiously, she climbed the side of the yacht towards the main bridge. Climbing over the side, she found a small gun on the wooden deck and picked it up. She could hear Bailey and the two henchmen prepare to rush Parker on the deck below. Swiftly, she entered the cabin and rushed them with her gun drawn.
"Kindly remain absolutely still!" she commanded. "I suggest you drop your guns. It's over, Bailey."
Bailey looked at her with a sickly smile. "You're in no position to…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Penelope's lighting reflexes disarmed him with a gunshot to his hand. Bailey hit the deck hard as his gun slid across the deck and into the water. Before he could pick himself up, he looked up to see the nose of Penelope's gun staring back at him. Parker entered the cabin in amazement. Her ladyship never failed to impress him.
"I warned you," she muttered. "Right Parker, tie them up."
With their prisoners restrained in the hold, Parker commandeered the yacht. As he sailed it up the Thames towards the police impound dock, Penelope and Jeremy helped themselves to a glass of Perno from Dalton's liquor cabinet. Parker couldn't wait to head home and heal after such an ordeal. He even hoped that her ladyship would allow him to take a holiday. Dalton and Bailey were convicted by a jury and were sentenced to life behind bars. Jeremy received a promotion for his outstanding work on the case, but he felt that he should share the credit with his cousin. It was the end of another adventure, but not the last.
END