It was eerily quiet on the flight deck. Brains was still working through the linked hardware, hoping to stumble upon something he had overlooked. Or perhaps simply trying to find a way to get hold of his son. But his attempts to get through to anyone on any of the comm. channels had thus far proved fruitless.

Jeff watched his friend in silence and felt numb. The world seemed to have faded to nothing and all cares had long since abandoned him. There was no point in panic and it was all too late to try and work out how or why this had happened.

He could perhaps go below and help his sons find a way down. Not that they would find one. But at least he would be with them. With them when …

No. He could not think that way. With tears blurring his vision, Jeff turned to look out at the perfect blue above the cloud line and could feel his heart breaking.

And then an ominous black helicopter rose up through the clouds and hung there in the sky, nose to nose with Thunderbird Two.

It took a moment for the vision to sink in and Jeff stared out at the craft in shock. "Brains …"

Brains looked up from his work in interest and frowned as he saw Jeff's pale face. He followed his gaze and gasped in surprise. "W-w-what …?" he clambered to his feet and stepped clear of the tangled mess of wiring.

Jeff turned in his chair to face the helicopter straight on and shook his head. "I … that's one of the new Raptors …"

Brains frowned in interest as he peered out through the Plexiglas shielding. "We helped d-d-d-build it."

Jeff swallowed hard.

Brains backed away warily and shook his head.

Jeff turned to his friend and nodded in understanding. "Yeah … if I needed to shoot me down … I think I'd call in a Raptor …"

John wandered into the office and beheld the stand off. Aware of Parker tensing beside him, ready to strike, he stepped further inside and shot Penny a glance of reassurance.

Mishka laughed gently, "It doesn't matter how many of you there are. I am holding all the cards."

John groaned in annoyance. "Enough with the clichés!" He grated, "God, you really are so boringly obvious."

Mishka's smile faded slightly.

"Now. In plain English, please just tell us what you have planned and how we stop you."

Mishka laughed again. "Erm … let me think about it. No."

John's shoulders drooped and he pinched the bridge of his nose with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, his other hand reaching behind him.

Penny glanced warily at Parker and saw the concern in his weary face.

"Look," John began, "I'm only going to ask one more time …"

Mishka grinned and looked around at the empty office and the three of them. "Or what?"

John pulled forth the gun and fired.

Alex hurried inside the car and sat half in, half out as she reached for the comm. and tried to remember the secure sequence that gave her protected access. It seemed to take forever for the link to be accepted and she held her breath as at last a familiar logo appeared on the screen.

The call was finally answered and Alex double-checked the scramble the way Scott and Penny had done.

"I need to speak with Henry Shaw. And it's urgent." She blurted out hastily, adding her ID and passwords as almost an afterthought.

Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, Alex groaned and prayed he would still be there. It was late afternoon in London and he might have left the office, which would not be too much of a problem but her nerves could not take much more of all this.

"Alex?"

Alex sighed in relief, tears instantly forming as his face appeared on the screen and she nodded a thin smile.

"What?" Henry demanded worriedly, "What's happened?"

"It's worse than you thought." Alex began and hastily explained the Eva/Mishka revelation and the predicament both on the island and in Washington.

"I know." Henry nodded slowly, "We just now picked up the first scent of trouble across the water. We were waiting for verification from our sources there."

"We need your help." Alex husked.

"Anything."

Alex explained the comm. problems and the virus, despite not completely understanding herself what John had told her. "Is there anyway I can link you in and you can locate the source of whatever has control?"

Henry frowned in thought. "I can certainly ask the tech guys if - "

"No! There's too much at stake here. I need you to do this alone and not tell anyone else. If I give you access, you'll have this location."

Henry sighed and nodded in understanding. "Alex, I wouldn't even think of - "

"I know. I'm sorry … I just … I can't risk it."

"Alright. Give me the access codes and frequencies."

Alex took a deep breath and switched off the scrambler, opening up the isolated network to him.

"This could take a while." Henry offered distractedly as all manner of data flooded into his workstation. "Unless I grab Craig. He's a good kid. And a computer geek."

Alex considered this for a moment. "But, do you - ?"

"With my life, Alex."

Alex nodded and managed a smile, deciding that she had little choice under the circumstances. "Fine. Get him on it." She agreed, silently praying that she was doing the right thing.

The shot had gone wide and pierced the tall window behind Mishka, leaving a spider web of cracks around the small wound in the glass.

Penny had covered her ears in fright, the world spinning as she gazed in shock at the unharmed Mishka and then to John's still steadily aiming arm. She caught Parker's equally shocked reaction and held her breath as John glared in fury at his target.

If Mishka was stunned, she hid it well. With amused disinterest she turned and looked at the hole in the window behind her. She spun back and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Killing me won't get you anything."

"Except pleasure." John retorted icily, aware of Penny shuddering beside him.

Mishka's smile grew. "Oh, please! I saw the state you were in when you killed my guard."

John remained unflinchingly calm and still, trying to ignore Penny's horror.

"And that was self-defence." Mishka continued, "There's no way you're even close to capable of shooting me in cold blood."

"No?" John quirked an eyebrow and tightened his grip on the gun. "Want to test that theory, Doc?"

"John!" Penny husked a caution and stepped closer to him.

"It's okay, Pen." John smiled suddenly and nodded towards his concerned friend, "Y'see, Doc, Pen has seen me lose it. Her concern is quite justified 'cos I've not been myself lately. I guess I've got you to thank for that."

Mishka's smile faded.

"And you're right. I've had a tough time trying to get over what I've been through. Especially killing Ballensky." He paused for a moment, surprised but also pleased that he could say that name aloud without feeling the Earth drop from under him. "But maybe I've been looking at it all wrong. Maybe it's simply too late for me. I can't get over what happened and I can never go back. I'm way past that point."

Mishka held his steady gaze, her confident smile finding its slow way back to her lips. "All very interesting John but I still don't see how threatening me gets you anywhere."

"No?" John ventured closer and nodded towards the computer. "You say you have to make contact or my family explodes over Washington? Well, your little viral friend did a great deal of damage. And you must have allowed for that." He smiled thinly, "I'm thinking your threat towards them is a bluff."

Mishka made no reply and the tension in the office was almost palpable.

"If you don't get the contact you supposedly need and they die, you lose the advantage and the one bargaining tool you had. Now, that being the case kinda makes your position here rather weak."

Mishka said nothing.

"And if you really are needed to contact another source then that means you are only one part of a larger team. Which, if well organised, makes you expendable." John took another step towards her, his anger growing. "No. The only real use for you is to help us sort out the mess you've made. But I guess we could just as easily do that without you." He frowned slightly, "Right now, the only thing between you and my next shot is your instinct for self-preservation."

Mishka lifted her chin defiantly and snorted in disdain. "Fine. Play your little game."

"John!" Penny urged.

John raised his hand to Penny in a gesture of calm and reassurance, his gaze unwavering and he smiled thinly at Mishka. "The choice is simple, Mishka. Help us or I'll shoot you."

"No, you won't."

"Oh, I will. You see, killing is surprisingly easy." John glanced at the gun in his hand. "That's what's so hard to deal with." He considered this for a moment and laughed softly, "Shit, Doc. I guess I owe you some therapy money now, huh?"

Mishka seemed to grow pale.

"Well?" John urged, "Which is it gonna be? I must confess, I'd rather you help us 'cos I'd love to know who this alleged 'source' is …?"

And Mishka seemed to see a new opportunity. She grinned and faced him squarely. "Trangh." She stated coolly. "Trangh Belagant."

Jeff didn't know how many minutes had passed since the helicopter had appeared. It seemed like an age. An age in which the two craft had stared each other down and he had not dared take a breath.

And then the helicopter adjusted position and angled a powerful spotlight towards them. Even in the brightness of the morning sky, the halogen beam stung their eyes and Jeff and Brains flinched slightly.

"What are they doing …?" Jeff whispered, the first words spoken in a long moment seeming loud in the flight deck.

Brains watched in intrigue as the light then blinked out. And then flashed back on again.

Jeff frowned in confusion and turned to Brains.

Brains was transfixed. And suddenly smiling.

Jeff looked back at the helicopter and a glimmer of hope fluttered somewhere inside him. He watched the light blinking on and off and the sequence was too familiar to not be a sign.

"S." Brains muttered aloud. "C … O … T … T …"

"Scott!" Jeff yelped in delight and hugged Brains excitedly. "Scott!"

Brains nodded and his grin widened as he gave his friend a rare, if brief, embrace. He then frowned as a new sequence begun and he followed the pattern. "H … E … L … P."

Jeff stood back from his friend. "What? They need help?"

"S … E … C … U … R … E … 3 … A … L … P … H … A …"

"Huh?" Jeff urged and then watched as Brains fell to his knees and began grabbing at bundles of wires. He watched the scientist putting sections of the helm back together and suddenly understood. With a whoop of joy, he fled from the flight deck to tell his sons they were saved.

Scott listened to the static on the line and closed his eyes. His heart was racing and he was silently praying that his idea would work. Aware of the President perching on the couch beside him, he looked up and saw her welcome nod of reassurance.

"Scott?"

Scott jumped slightly and stared at the satellite phone in his hand. "Dad?"

"Scott? Oh thank god! Are you alright? Where are you?"

"With President Mitchell."

"What? How - ?"

"It's a long story. Listen, Dad, it's the Hood."

The line went silent.

"Dad?"

"I'm here, son."

"We don't know what he wants yet but he says he's going to detonate One and Two."

"I know. Brains found a cycling signal in the virus. The countdown ends at 09:35."

Scott glanced at his watch and his heart sank. Eight minutes.

"Scott?"

"Yeah, Dad, I … Listen, the Raptor is going to tow you clear and then the guys will find a way to get you off."

"And you?"

"I'm down. I'll get people clear." Scott nodded to the President and watched as she quickly stood and left the room. "Dad?"

"Yeah, son."

"I couldn't get through to the island."

"Okay …"

"You think - " Scott couldn't finish the sentence and closed his eyes.

"We don't know anything at this point." Jeff responded softly. "Scott, I …"

"I know." Scott smiled, tears forming, "Love you, too, Dad."

Tbc …