With the VTOL jets still on full blast, Thunderbird Two was effectively sat on a cushion of air. Much like a leaf sat on the surface of a pond, she was easy to move and the powerful helicopter only needed to give a gentle tug on the line grappled around the rear tail fin.

It seemed slow going to the nervous occupants within but was actually a short trip out over Chesapeake Bay and beyond to the open Atlantic. Once clear of land, the Raptor broke free and paused beside the immense craft, waiting to offer further assistance.

"Now what?" Alan asked urgently, glancing at the helm chronometer and his heart racing.

Brains frowned and entered more commands into the partially repaired helm. "Now I'll cut p-p-p-power to the en-en-en-VTOL thrusters in sequence and we'll s-s-s-sink." He looked up at the expectant faces of the group and smiled in what he hoped was reassurance. "In the meantime, f-f-f-manually open the cargo bay doors and exit at a s-s-s-safe altitude."

"You mean jump?" Gordon echoed aghast.

Virgil sighed and nodded slowly. "It's the only way."

"And how can we be sure we can get clear before Two smacks down?" Alan asked.

Virgil nodded to the Raptor just visible off the port bow.

"Wait!" Gordon gasped suddenly. "What if we all go at once – in Four?"

His brothers frowned at him and he turned to his Dad. "We'll have a better chance. If we time it right, leave at the right altitude. Four will survive the fall and the Raptor can pick us up."

Jeff frowned in thought and turned to Brains.

"I agree." Brains offered.

Jeff nodded, "How do we manually launch Four?"

Brains shrugged, "Override the winch and r-r-r-release the couplings. She'll f-f-f-drop like a stone."

Scott listened to the plan and his head was spinning. His father sounded optimistic but somewhere behind his words was the knowledge that One and Two were lost. They would have to start over again. If it was not already too late for that.

Scott signed off and stared at the satellite phone in his hand, feeling suddenly alone. But there was now nothing he could do. The President and her staff were making plans to evacuate the Whitehouse and she had offered him passage out to the naval baseto be reunited with his stranded family. Where they went from there was anyone's guess.

The door to the Oval Office opened and President Mitchell entered the room, taking a moment to read the expression on his face before stepping further inside. "Well …?"

Scott nodded, "Thank you. They should be okay."

She smiled and headed towards him. "Listen … I know it's the least of your worries right now but … the press have got wind and …" She shrugged an apology, "One of them says she knows you. She's very worried."

Scott frowned in intrigue. "Lisa?"

"Lowe, yes. She says she wants to help."

Scott considered this for a moment and then nodded. "Sure. Where is she?"

President Mitchell smiled and retreated to the office door, pulling it open and calling for Lisa to enter.

Lisa hurried inside, her face pale and full of fear. "Thank god! I saw the wreckage and thought the worst!"

Scott watched her warily as she approached him and then noticed the Dictaphone she clutched to her chest. He groaned in dismay and was about to decline an interview and ask her to leave when she then realised what he had seen and nodded emphatically.

"He just called."

"What?"

Lisa's hands were trembling as she held out the Dictaphone. "The Hood. He just called me. Me." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

President Mitchell stepped up beside Lisa and frowned in concern. "Are you alright?"

"No." Lisa answered honestly, "I'm shit scared! Sorry, Madam President."

"It's okay." President Mitchell offered quickly. "Tell us what happened."

"He called me on my cell phone a few minutes ago." Lisa began hurriedly, "As soon as he said who he was, I put him on speakerphone and recorded it."

"Well done." Scott nodded in enthusiasm.

Lisa smiled thinly and pressed play.

" - need you to deliver a message, Ms Lowe." The Hood was heard to say.

"What? What message?" Came Lisa's unsteady reply.

"I know you are in Washington. So are the Thunderbirds. One is visiting the President and the other is going to drop in on the Pentagon. I need you to go to the Whitehouse and tell Scott Tracy that his family are dead because of you."

"What!"

"You have exclusive rights to record them, do you not? If it were not for your obsessive trailing of them around the globe, I would never have found my way in. Just ask Anthony."

There was then a click and the low wail of the dialling tone.

Scott stared at the Dictaphone in stunned disbelief.

"Who's Anthony?" President Mitchell asked carefully.

Scott looked up and saw the sadness in Lisa's drawn face. He somehow knew the answer before she began to reply.

"He was my cameraman."

"Was … ?"

Scott closed his eyes.

"He's gone." Lisa shrugged, "He was here with me, in the press room, waiting to cover the morning questions session … then I got this call and … when I turned back …"

President Mitchell fled from the room, returning a moment later with one of her secret service agents. She beckoned Lisa to follow her across to the laptop on her desk and call up Anthony's file.

Scott watched them searching intently, the secret service agent calling the information through to his colleagues. And suddenly Scott saw the trap.

"Wait …" he stood slowly, carefully putting most of his weight on his good leg. "He wants us to chase off in a different direction. This is just to throw us off." He saw his companions watching him in intrigue and he nodded sombrely. "He's here."

Alex peered up at the just visible top office of the complex and sighed in frustration. She felt like she had been waiting forever and had no way of knowing what might be happening back inside the house.

And then the screen flickered back into life.

"Alex. Hi. Sorry. It took longer than I thought." Henry offered quickly.

Alex glanced at the clock and smiled, it had only been three or four minutes. "And …?"

"And Craig is on it. He found the interference and thinks he can block it."

"And trace the source?"

"Hopefully."

"And can you go after it?"

Henry sighed, "It's not a direct threat to the UK, Al."

Alex's face fell.

"But I'll see what I can do." Henry shook his head slowly. "I don't like that you're caught up in this."

Alex shrugged slightly, "I've got you watching my back."

Henry smiled.

"How's mum?"

"Fine. A little scared but … she's fine. So is Tom."

"Oh, thank god. You found him?"

"He found me."

Alex gasped, "Does he know?"

"No." Henry replied, "Does John?"

Alex shook her head. "I just can't risk it. With everything that's happened … I just can't risk giving him cause to be wary of me … I'm sure he's had doubts already and …"

Henry moaned in understanding. "I'm sorry. When I heard the call … in London … I … I just had to step in, Al."

"I know. And thank you." Alex smiled, "It was so hard not to run over and hug you!"

"That would have blown both of our covers!" Henry laughed. "And probably pissed off half the espionage world!" He was then distracted by something off camera and he turned away for a moment. "Okay, Al, go! We've blocked the signal."

Alex gasped in delight.

"Call me!" Henry ordered hastily before she signed off. "Stay in touch."

"I will." Alex nodded and reached out to touch the screen. "Thanks, Uncle Henry."

It worked like a charm. Space was more than a little tight inside the small sub but the winch was surprisingly easy to override and Four was hanging down ready to nosedive into the approaching ocean.

Jeff watched his three sons squeezing up against the sides of the sub to make room for him and he had to laugh at the image. Sardines came to mind.

He then turned and frowned in confusion as he realised the lack of Brains' presence in the cargo bay. Telling his sons to relax a moment, he headed back to the flight deck.

"I'm not coming."

Jeff stared in horror at his friend. "What?"

Brains clambered back under the broken sections of helm and made no reply.

"Brains? We have to leave. All of us."

"Not while there's a ch-ch-ch-chance of saving T-T-T-her."

Jeff glanced at his watch. Four minutes.

"Go." Brains called from under the helm. "You have to b-b-b-get clear."

"Hiram … no …"

Brains slowly crawled back out and looked up at his friend.

"It's not like you have to go down with the ship …"

Brains nodded. "I know."

Jeff stepped closer and reached out to put his hand on Brains' shoulder. "Don't do this. She's gone."

Brains glanced around the flight deck, bottom lip trembling as he took it all in. He closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Come on." Jeff took his arm and led him towards the cargo bay.

It was then that the helm sparked and spat flames across the flight deck.

There was no time. They had no choice but to evacuate. And fast.

Scott winced as he was helped to hop his way outside and climbed aboard the President's helicopter. He felt his heart sink as he buckled himself in and glanced out through the window to the covered wreckage at the far end of the lawn.

"We'll get him."

Scott turned to the President and smiled thinly.

"If he really is in Washington then he'll not get out." President Mitchell leaned forward and placed her hand on his thigh. "And we have leads. We'll get him."

"Yeah." Scott shrugged slightly and then looked down at the satellite phone in his hand. He had tried to reach the island just a moment ago but there was nothing. At least he had spoken to his dad and would be meeting up with him soon. It was everything afterwards that was as yet still so unclear.

Alex galloped up the ramp and was gasping as she flew into the office. "John!"

John kept his gaze on Mishka. "Al."

Alex hurried forward and quickly caught her breath. She ignored Penny and Parker's worried expressions and made her way across the office. Reaching John's side, she looked up into his composed expression and nodded gently. "It worked. The signal is blocked."

John saw Mishka's smile waver and glanced towards the computer terminal.

Penny had caught on and jogged round the desk. She logged on and gasped in delight as she saw the incoming transmission. "One of the emergency frequencies is active!" She turned to John and nodded eagerly. "It's Thunderbird Two."

Alex groaned in relief.

"Hail them." John ordered quietly.

"Thunderbird Two from Base. Come in."

"Pen?"

Jeff's voice was a welcome sound to all in the office. All except Mishka. But she held John's steady gaze and stood her ground.

John glanced at his watch and swallowed back the sudden lump in his throat.

"Penny, are you okay? Scott said he couldn't get through."

"We're fine, Jeff. You?"

"Phew! That was a little close for comfort!" Jeff laughed warmly, "But we're all okay. Two got a little crispy round the edges but she's flyable. We're going to pick up One and then head home."

Penny wiped the tears from her cheeks and glanced at John's hostage. "And the virus?"

"The signal just disappeared. We're almost back online save a few of Two's systems."

"Glad to hear it. You can tell us more when you get home." Penny concluded and closed the comm. She turned and sighed merrily. "It's over."

"Certainly seems that way." Alex agreed and couldn't resist shooting Mishka a smug grin. She then looked up at John and saw something she could not quite define in his pale face.

"Not quite over." John husked and squeezed the trigger.

Penny yelped and covered her mouth in shock.

Parker hurried forward to try and stop John but it was too late.

Alex watched Mishka stagger backwards, her eyes wide and frightened as blood trickled from the small entry wound in the centre of her forehead.

John watched with emotionless interest as Mishka struggled to keep her balance for a few more steps and then suddenly dropped. The shot was perfect. Clean and precise. He watched her slump to the floor and remembered how Ballensky had done just the same. But this felt so much different.

And something inside him began to hurt as he realised that it felt good.

He hated that it felt good. He hated that he was not himself. He hated that he would never be the same again. But not quite as much as he hated her and all that she represented.

His three companions watched in horror as he stepped forward and emptied the remaining bullets into the body on the floor of the office. It was as if he was trying to pour all of his agony into the lead casings and send it back to her. And he kept shooting, even after the last bullet had left the barrel.

"Hey …" Alex cautiously neared him, seeing the trembling of his shoulders as he continued to squeeze the trigger of the spent weapon. She reached out and touched his arm, lowering his hand and carefully reaching out to take the gun from his grip. "It's okay, babe … it's okay …"

John stared at the still form below him for a long moment and then turned to look at Alex. He saw the concern in her gentle eyes and smiled thinly.

Alex met his gaze and expected to find the pain and trauma of the past few months nestled there. Or perhaps guilt or sorrow for what he had just done. But all she found was calm.

Eerie, emotionless calm.

Tbc …