KAYO had a big dilemma on her hands. One option was to pursue the stolen Security Truck and open herself up to attacks by The Shocker. The other was to let them go for the moment and check on Amanda. She quickly chose the second option and raced the Shadowbike around to stop close to the upturned Cheetah. She jumped out and ran over to the vehicle. Incredibly, it appeared to be intact despite having been flipped over. She tried to open the door only to remember it opened upwards. She tapped hard on the reinforced glass and peered inside. Amanda was still in her seat, but frozen in shock. She seemed to snap back to reality when Kayo came round to her side and knocked harder on the glass. Amanda managed to open the window. "K-K-Kayo?!"
"Amanda, are you okay?" Kayo asked urgently.
"I…I think so," said Amanda. "God…what happened?"
"The Shocker," Kayo replied. "Seems The Cabal are in on this robbery as well."
Amanda was alarmed. "Then warn Wayne!" she said. "There could be others in the other trucks."
Good point, Kayo thought to herself. "I will," she said. "Can you get yourself out of this?"
"I'll try," said Amanda. "I'm not sure how to get upright though."
"Don't worry about the car," said Kayo. "Make sure you are safe. That's what matters." She stood up and moved away. "Kayo to Captain Liberty, do you copy?"
"Loud and clear, Kayo?" answered Captain Liberty. "I'm close to closing in on one of the trucks. Any luck with the ones you're chasing?"
"Cap - we have a situation," said Kayo. "Amanda's out of the chase. Her vehicle was disabled."
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Captain Liberty. "Where are-"
"Relax, she's safe," Kayo cut him off. "The Cheetah's safety features saved her. But The Shocker was in one of the trucks. There could be other Cabal members in the area or in those other trucks. Be on your guard."
Captain Liberty looked down at the truck ahead of him along the road. "Copy that!" he said. "Tell Amanda to stay where she is. I'll come to her as soon as I've stopped this truck. You get after The Shocker and bring him down!"
"With pleasure," said Kayo. She turned back to Amanda as Captain Liberty signed off. Amanda had now managed to unstrap herself and crawl out of the open window of the Cheetah. "He says to stay here and he'll come for you once he's stopped the truck he's after," she said.
"Roger that," said Amanda. But as Kayo began to return to the Shadowbike, she spoke again. "Wait!"
Kayo looked back. "What is it?"
Amanda was looking ashamed of herself. "Be careful…please," she said.
Kayo was surprised. Only a few minutes ago Amanda had been telling her to get lost pretty much, and now her attitude had completely changed. The look on Amanda's face though told her perhaps she was regretting her actions. She didn't answer, but nodded in acknowledgement before jumping into the Shadowbike, revving the engine and spinning around before racing off down the road after the Armoured Truck.
Captain Liberty was starting to close in on the Armoured Truck. The many turns of several streets had caused him to lose track of where he was. He was soon surprised when a second Armoured Truck appeared from the street beside him. It pulled out in front and he had to swerve to avoid getting hit. "YIKES!" he exclaimed, almost toppling over but managing to get upright again. As he restarted the pursuit, he was now chasing two trucks. The one that he'd almost hit was the one that Amanda had been chasing. The doors opened to reveal Hoodlums inside. Captain Liberty was expecting either The Black Phantom or Silver Swan to appear, but they didn't. It was just the Hoodlums. With their faces concealed by their helmets, four had machine-guns and began to shoot at him as well as the other traffic and pedestrians. People screamed and ran. Cars and buses swerved and crashed into one another as the trucks ploughed their way through anything that was getting in the way.
I can't let this continue, Captain Liberty thought to himself. People will die if I don't put an end to this. He then finally realised where he was. There was a bridge further down the road they were travelling on. There was a turning on the right closer to where they were and providing neither of the trucks took it, he had a chance of executing a plan just formed in his mind. He swerved off at the turning, which took the Hoodlums by surprise.
"Hey, is he giving up?" asked a male Hoodlum.
"No…" said a female Hoodlum. "He must be up to something." She grabbed a walkie-talkie and spoke to both the drivers. "That flag-wearing idiot might be trying to head us off. Don't stop for anything!"
"Copy," said the driver of the lead truck.
"Nothing's gonna stop us," added the driver of the second truck.
Captain Liberty drove up the incline road towards the bridge that went over the main road that the trucks were driving down. As predicted, the speed of his bike got him in front of the trucks and as he sped onto the bridge, he could see that he'd beaten them to it. Now or never, he thought as he set the bike to automatic controls and then leapt right off the bike and the bridge, performing three barrel-rolls through the air and then dropped down to land on the roadway directly in the path of the first truck. He positioned his shiny shield in front and readied himself for what was going to come next.
There was space on both sides of Captain Liberty where the drivers could very easily had driven around the sides of him, but the Hoodlum in the front passenger seat of the truck wanted to make sure they could not be stopped. "Run him down!" he said to the driver.
The driver grinned menacingly underneath his helmet and pushed the truck up to full speed, which unbeknownst to them was exactly what Captain Liberty was hoping for. Once the truck was about ten metres away, he charged forwards and slammed the shield into the front grill of the truck. The front of the truck crumpled and buckled under the impact with the incredibly strong metal that the shield was made out of. The Hoodlums inside the truck wouldn't ever be able to explain what happened next. The ones in the second truck could only watch on in shock as the first truck flipped right upwards with its crumpled front resting on Captain Liberty's shield. It flipped right over the top and he used his suit's strength to push it away before it landed with a loud CRASH on its roof behind him.
Captain Liberty was astonished. "Oh RIGHT!" he said triumphantly. "Let's do that again!" And with that he began to run towards the second truck.
Seeing what had happened to the first truck totally shocked the men in the front of the second. Instead of charging at Captain Liberty with confidence of success, they both began to scream in horror as they saw him run at them.
CRUNCH!
Captain Liberty rammed his shield into the engine bay of the truck and completely immobilised it.
Realising their vehicle had been disabled, the six Hoodlums in the back of the second truck threw open the doors again and jumped out to try and take Captain Liberty on in a fight. But they soon realised they were no match for him. He threw punches, performed kicks and threw his shield about and in less than a minute, all but one were on the ground. The female supervisor had stayed out of the fight, ordering the driver and man in the front passenger seat to take him on, but he easily dispatched them as well.
The female supervisor tried to shoot Captain Liberty with one of the discarded machine-guns but he simply knocked it out of her hand and pushed her over. "STOP! STOP!" she pleaded, pulling off the helmet to reveal her slightly messed up blonde hair. "You can't do this! I'm a-!"
But her attempt to guilt-trip Captain Liberty failed spectacularly. "No you're not," he said. "You're a criminal!" And with that, he knocked her out with his shield. He then spoke into his earpiece. "Liberty to Kayo. I've taken down two of the trucks. No Cabal members here. It must just be Shocker."
"F-A-B," said Kayo as Shadowbike rounded a corner into another street. "I have them in my sight."
"I'm gonna get Amanda and then we'll come to you," said Captain Liberty. "Our forces are arriving to take the Hoodlums here in now."
"I'll keep them distracted then," said Kayo as she began to close in. The Shadowbike weaved between some other cars as it closed the gap on the Armoured Truck.
Inside the back of the truck, one of the Hoodlums was watching through the window. "Hey, we got company!" he said.
"Cops?" said another.
"No, it's some stealth motorbike I think," said the first.
The Shocker turned around and came over. He peered through and recognised the bike at once. He let out a low growl of frustration and switched on his vibro-shock gauntlets. "Open the doors," he ordered. "I'll take care of this one."
Kayo watched the back doors with narrowed eyes. She felt certain that as soon as she was spotted there would be trouble. Sure enough, the doors swung open, pushed by the two Hoodlums with The Shocker standing menacing in the doorway with his gauntlets glowing green as they powered up. "Bingo!" said Kayo and she flicked a switch. The headlights of the Shadowbike suddenly came on full beam, shining right into the back of the truck.
"GAAAAARGH!" cried The Shocker and the Hoodlums, throwing their hands up to try and cover their eyes.
Kayo then moved the Shadowbike slightly to the left so that the lights reflected off the side door mirror and blinded the driver.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGH!" screamed the driver, throwing his hands over his face and in doing so, let go of the steering wheel. The truck veered off course just as they came to a bridge. It crashed right through the fence and dropped down onto the roadway below. Several cars had to swerve to avoid a collision with almost all the vicinity coming to a stop.
Kayo stopped the Shadowbike on the bridge and jumped out to run over to see the damage. The truck was upside down with smoke emitting from its damaged engine. Kayo jumped down as a number of curious onlookers began to approach to see if they could help. "EVERYONE GET BACK!" Kayo shouted to them all. "THIS IS A STOLEN VEHICLE! DO NOT INTERACT WITH ANYONE INSIDE IT!" She then peered in the front cab. Both Hoodlums were motionless. Kayo scanned them with her helmet. No life signs. She sighed as she moved to the back of the truck. She found the doors had been ripped off in the crash. The cargo was still intact but the four Hoodlums inside were sprawled about. Kayo scanned them. They too had no life in them, but a trail of blood made her look to see one survivor trying to hobble away. She began to follow him. He glanced back and saw her. He pulled out a gun and began shooting. Kayo produced her nanotech shield to block the bullets.
Realising it wasn't working, the Hoodlum then noticed a young couple get out of a nearby car. He turned the gun towards them causing the woman to scream. But before he could pull the trigger, Kayo lunged forwards and kicked his arm causing the gun to fly out. "SCREW YOU, BI-AAAAAARRGH!" the Hoodlum had begun to shout as he swung his arm to punch her. But because of the helmet, all he succeeded in doing was breaking his hand. He began crying in agony as Kayo grabbed his arm.
"Now then…" Kayo began. "If the bullets did nothing, what did you think punching was going to achieve, hmm?"
The Hoodlum was in a lot of pain. But he managed to try saying "Screw…you…" before Kayo twisted his already broken hand and caused him to scream loudly before he fell to the ground, unable to move.
Kayo looked around as GDF trucks and Police cars started to arrive on the scene.
"One survivor," Kayo told them. "I'm afraid you're gonna need body-bags for the ones in the truck."
"Understand, ma'am," said a soldier. "Is that all of them?"
"All but one," said Kayo. "But he's too dangerous for anyone but me to face. Keep the area as clear as you can."
The soldier nodded and began giving orders to the others.
Kayo looked around and began scanning the roadway for clues as to where Shocker might have gone. She then noticed something on the tarmac. It wasn't blood. It was a clear liquid - and there seemed to be a trail of it leading away from the scene. Kayo bent down and scanned a sample of the liquid. "Hydraulic fluid," she remarked to herself. "Shocker must have damaged his cybernetic legs in the crash before escaping. I wonder if it will lead me to him?" She ran off from the scene, following the trail of liquid off the main road and down another side street which seemed deserted. The trail continued right down to the far end towards an old building. It was a disused theatre that hadn't been used for several years. It had gotten to the point where it looked as though it would collapse if someone sneezed whilst standing next to it. "He must be inside," Kayo said to herself. "Of course this is the perfect place for an ambush. I'll have to watch my step."
Rather than going through the front door, Kayo made her way up the wall of the building and in through an open window near the top. Inside was even worse than outside. The wooden structure was rotten. A couple of times her foot went through the floor but she managed to save herself. It was dark, damp and would have possibly made her gag from the stench of rotten timber if not for her helmet. She reached a balcony and looked down. Several rows of seats, some intact and others broken lay at the ground level in front of the darkened stage. There was no sign of The Shocker anywhere, but Kayo had a feeling that he wasn't far away. She fired her grapple to the ceiling and hoped it would hold. It did and she swung herself out into the main open part of the theatre before lowering herself down to the ground. "Here, Shocky-Shocky-Shocky?" she called mockingly.
It was almost as though he was lying in wait for her, for no sooner had she said it when she heard a whirring sound coming from behind her. Before she had a chance to react, the sound of the sonic gauntlets firing was heard and two blasts of green sonic waves hit Kayo in the back, sending her flying across the theatre and smashing through several broken seats before coming to rest at the back.
The Shocker then emerged into the light coming from the hole in the ceiling. "Well, look who it is," he said in a menacing voice. "If it ain't the boss's niece. Once again messing up our operations! Time to make sure you never do so again!" He then fired his right gauntlet just as Kayo was getting to her feet. This one knocked her back again, crashing through a wooden support beam and through more seats before she slammed into the wall at the back.
Kayo's suit protected her from injury, but she certainly felt like the wind had been knocked out of her for a brief moment. "Maybe I should have waited for Rigs to get here," she said to herself.
The Shocker walked closer, now standing less than twenty feet from where Kayo lay. "One more at close range ought to finish you off," he said, raising both gauntlets and got ready to fire.
Kayo stayed still until the gauntlets powered up, then jumped out of the way just before they fired, blasting a hole in the wall. Shocker turned and chased after her, firing shot after shot but kept missing. Kayo used her suit's strength to grab one of the broken seats and hurl it back at Shocker. He saw it coming and covered his face with the gauntlets, destroying the seat in the process with the impact. He fired the right gauntlet. Missed. He then fired the left gauntlet. Missed again. Kayo dodged all the attacks and ended up clinging to the overhanging balcony.
"You're fast," observed Shocker. "But speed won't help you when you're hit!" He then fired both the gauntlets and destroyed part of the balcony. Kayo used the gecko-pads in her boots' soles to run along the front of the balcony as Shocker's blasts followed her round. She then leapt off and grabbed the ruined curtain from the top of the stage. She ripped it off and leapt over Shocker, allowing the curtain to fall around him. All it did was annoy him and he used the power of the gauntlets to rip it to shreds. He then looked around, trying to see where she'd gone. "Did you really think a curtain would stop The Shocker?" he called out.
"It was a better look than your current one," Kayo's voice answered mockingly.
Shocker growled and turned just as Kayo came diving in for a drop kick attack. However she instead got blasted back off of him thanks to the attack absorption of the suit.
"URGH!" Kayo exclaimed as she was thrown back onto the floor. "WOAH!" Then she had to dodge again as Shocker fired a blast that almost hit her.
"GRRRRR! HOLD STILL, DAMN YOU!" Shocker rumbled, firing double blasts again. They missed but instead hit another of the support columns which crumbled into dust. The balcony above shifted downwards, splintering and breaking as it did so.
Kayo noticed this and had an idea. "Well…this place is condemned," she remarked to herself. "Maybe I can use that to my advantage." She then had a devious idea. "Hey, Herman!" she called to The Shocker. "What part of Germany are you from?"
The Shocker was confused. "Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Come on. Herman the German?" Kayo said. "You must have heard that one before?"
This made Shocker angry. "Are you mocking me?" he growled, firing another shot at her but missing yet again. "DON'T MOCK ME!"
"Why not?" teased Kayo as she ran along the top balcony. "With an outfit like you're wearing, it's not hard to."
"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Shocker roared, firing both gauntlets and smashing through support after support as they chased Kayo around the top.
That should be sufficient, Kayo thought as she made her way back towards the top level which now was starting to crumble.
"THAT'S IT! CLIMB! CLIMB AWAY!" Shocker bellowed, firing up after her. "THERE'S NOWHERE I CAN'T REACH!"
"THAT'S WHAT I'M COUNTING ON!" Kayo laughed. "BYEEEEE!" And with that, she disappeared from view.
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Shocker growled and was about to fire his jet boosters to fly up after her when a large piece of wood crashed down in front of him, making him stop dead. "Huh?!" He looked around, and only now did he realise why Kayo had run away. All of his blasting had caused what little structural integrity the building had left to go. The columns were breaking apart and the walls and ceiling were cracking and starting to fall. Shocker now realised it was about to collapse. He started to run towards the exit but a huge piece of balcony fell and blocked his path. He turned back to try and find another way out, but there wasn't one. There was no escape anywhere. He looked up just in time to see the ceiling cave in and plummet towards him. His eyes went wide with horror as he fired the gauntlets over his head to create a forcefield to try and protect himself. "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled before the weight of the collapsing building forced him down and completely buried him.
Kayo had managed to escape the building before it had collapsed and now watched from the safety of a neighbouring roof. "Gotcha," she remarked.
By the time Captain Liberty arrived on his motorbike with Amanda behind him, a swarm of Police and GDF officers shifting through the wreckage to try and locate The Shocker whilst Kayo sat nearby on a dumpster, recovering from the battle.
"Are you okay, Kayo?" asked Captain Liberty. "What the heck happened here?"
"Shocker brought down the house…literally," Kayo replied.
"Is he dead?" asked Amanda.
"No, I scanned the debris after it came down," said Kayo. "He was buried but alive. Knocked out by the falling ceiling no doubt."
Captain Liberty walked towards the remains of the destroyed building. "I sure hope it's insured," he said.
"I doubt that," said Kayo, stepping off the dumpster. "It was condemned. Probably done the demolition guys a favour."
Amanda then cleared her throat. "Sorry," she said in a low voice.
Kayo turned her head. "Hmm?"
"I'm sorry…about earlier," Amanda replied. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did towards you. I guess I was just angry at learning the truth about my father."
"It's okay, I understand," said Kayo. "Don't blame him though. Blame The Hood for corrupting him."
Amanda nodded. "I'd sure love to have a one-to-one with him once he's in custody," she said.
"Careful with wishes like that, Amanda," said Captain Liberty. "We all have our grievances with The Hood but-"
"OVER HERE!" called a voice from inside the wreckage.
Captain Liberty, Kayo and Amanda hurried over to see what the matter was. They made their way into the remains of the building. Soon they saw what had been discovered. It was a pair of discarded cybernetic legs that were badly damaged.
"What the hell?" asked Amanda.
"Shocker's legs," said Kayo.
"But where's the rest of him?" asked Captain Liberty.
Kayo put her helmet back on and scanned the debris. But there was nothing. She growled angrily. "Nothing," she said. "He's gone."
"Gone?!" exclaimed Amanda. "How?! He was buried!"
A few moments of silence passed before Captain Liberty came up with the answer. "The White Ghost!" he said. "It has to be."
"Agreed," said Kayo. "Once again she provides an extraction."
Several miles off the coast, a small submarine approached a much larger one. It docked with it and the occupants moved into the larger one. This was The Cabal's new submarine base. The White Ghost had indeed extracted The Shocker from the remains of the destroyed theatre but at the cost of removing his damaged legs. The Shocker was unconscious and badly injured from both the crash of the Armoured Truck and then from having the building fall on top of him. He was unconscious.
The White Ghost carried The Shocker to the submarine's medical bay which was also part of Techno's laboratory.
"Put him on the table!" Techno ordered.
The White Ghost did so, placing Shocker on the table. Techno removed Shocker's helmet and placed an oxygen mask on him. Then robotic arms moved in to do their work on repairing his body and fixing him with some new cybernetic legs.
"Will he recover?" asked The White Ghost.
"He will," said Techno. "But not without severe pain. I'm afraid he's no use to us for the time being."
"Perhaps then you should have left him behind?"
The White Ghost and Techno turned to see The Hood had entered through the doorway.
"Boss?" said The White Ghost.
The Hood walked over and looked at the injured Schultz. He shook his head disapprovingly. "Even with my former minions, you still can't produce a result!" he snapped. He then turned sharply to The White Ghost. "How did this happen?"
The White Ghost removed her suit's helmet to reveal Laura McCullen's face. "Your niece happened," she replied.
The Hood grimaced. "Kayo…why must you be a constant thorn in my side!" he snarled with his fists clenched tightly. There were a few more moments of uneasy silence before he headed for the door and beckoned Laura to follow him out. "Fix him!" he barked at Techno who went back to work.
Outside the door in the corridor, Laura watched uneasily as The Hood banged both his fists against the wall. "Are you okay, boss?" she asked.
The Hood didn't answer for a moment. Then he slowly turned to face her. On his face was an expression unlike anything she'd ever seen him make before. One of unlimited rage and fury. "Do…I look…okay, McCullen?" he said through gritted teeth.
Laura backed away nervously.
"I am sick…to the back teeth…of INTERNATIONAL RESCUE DISRUPTING EVERYTHING WE DO!" The Hood bellowed in anger. "This is the last time, McCullen. I will not tolerate failure ANY LONGER! Next time someone fails me…they will pay for it. With their LIFE!" And with that, he stormed away, leaving a rather scared Laura behind.
The Hood returned to his quarters and threw everything off his desk before sitting on his head and burying his face in his hands. As he seethed with anger, the communicator on the desk beeped. He ignored it for a few moments but eventually got sick of hearing the buzzing sound and pressed the button to take the call. "What is it?!" he snapped.
A hologram of the Chameleon appeared. "Chameleon reporting in. The seeds have been sown. She will be in our hands very soon."
The Hood looked at him. "Everything in place?" he asked.
"Indeed," said The Chameleon. "I've waited a long time to have my revenge."
The Hood's eyes narrowed dangerously. "This project is dependent on success. Do not fail me, Chameleon. There'll be consequences if you do."
"You can drop the concerns, Hood," said The Chameleon, sounding somewhat hurt at The Hood's dismissive tone. "I never fail." And with that, he signed off.
The Hood just growled to himself.
Kayo, Amanda and Captain Liberty regrouped where they had begun - by the Hollywood sign overlooking the city of LA. The Sun was starting to set and the sky was getting golden.
"Thank you, Kayo," said Captain Liberty. "We couldn't have done this without you. Even if Shocker did manage to escape."
"The cargo in the trucks is safely in the vault," said Kayo. "The Hoodlums are in custody. The ones that survived anyway."
"And thank you for telling me the truth about my father," said Amanda. "I took it worse than I should have done."
"Of course you took it hard," said Amanda. "He was still your father and he was a good man. Like I said, you have The Hood to blame for what happened to him. Like how he was responsible for the death of my mother." She closed her eyes and lowered her head. A pair of tears emerged from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.
Captain Liberty and Amanda looked at each other. "I've never seen her cry before," he whispered to her. "I don't think I like it."
Amanda looked sadly at Kayo. then she moved forwards and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Kayo stopped sniffling, surprised. But she accepted the hug, placing her arms around her and allowed the embrace to continue. Captain Liberty placed a caring hand on Kayo's shoulder, wanting the two women to have their moment.
Eventually, Amanda and Kayo released each other and stepped back. Kayo looked at the time on her communicator. "I guess I'd better get back," she said. "Mr Tracy will wonder what's keeping me." She turned to go.
Amanda suddenly spoke up. "Oh, Kayo?"
Kayo turned back. "Yes, Amanda?"
"Um…before you go…do you have time to finish your story?" Amanda asked.
"I'd like to hear it as well," said Captain Liberty. "I'm guessing it's how you became involved with International Rescue?"
Kayo thought for a moment. Then she smiled. "Sure," she said.
***Flashback Begins***
The escape capsule had reached apegy. Its boosters ran out of fuel and the parachute had deployed. It now drifted downwards and landed in the Bismarck Sea, hundreds of miles from land. Inside, Kyrano tried to attend to his wound but it was very painful. Tanusha took over and used bandages from the First Aid Box to patch him up as best she could.
"Dad…what the hell's going on?" Tanusha asked. "Why has uncle suddenly become a criminal?"
"He hasn't just become one," replied Kyrano sadly. "He's been a criminal for years."
"Why am I only finding out about this now?" Tanusha asked.
"Because you're now a young adult," said Kyrano. "I couldn't reveal what he was to you at a young age, could I?"
"I should have known the truth!' Tanusha said angrily. "WHY DID YOU NOT HAVE HIM ARRESTED?!"
"BECAUSE HE'S AN ILLUSIVE AND DANGEROUS MAN WHO CAN HIDE FROM ANYONE AND EVERYONE!" Kyrano shouted back. "HE'S A MASTER OF DISGUISE! YOUR MOTHER AND I HAVE TRIED TO BRING HIM IN FOR A LONG TIME! HE ALWAYS ELUDED US!"
Tanusha's face filled with tears. She fell back against the wall of the capsule which was bobbing about in the water. "She's dead…" she said through sniffles. "He killed her…"
Kyrano began to shed tears as well. "Yeah…she is," he said miserably. "I'm so sorry, my daughter." He wanted Tanusha to come over and hug him. But she was too upset to do so.
"What happens now?" she asked. "Do we just sit here and wait to be found?"
Kyrano looked at the wall of the capsule. A red light was flashing. "Hopefully not for long," he said. "The signal is broadcasting. Hopefully they hear it."
"Who?" Tanusha asked.
Kyrano didn't answer. He looked as though he was listening for something. "There!" he said. "Do you hear that?"
Tanusha listened. There was a very faint hum of an aircraft's engine coming from outside. The thickness of the capsule made it hard to make out what it was, but it didn't sound like anything she'd heard before. She scrambled to her feet and peered through the window of the capsule's door. Even though it was dark, she could make out the lights of a huge green aircraft coming down towards them. It was a strange aircraft. Its wings were back to front. Tanusha tried to see if there were any markings. Then as it moved overhead, she just caught sight of a large white Number 2 on the underside of its nose section.
The huge craft came in to hover above the capsule. A hatch opened underneath and a large yellow magnetic claw was lowered down. It attached itself to the capsule and lifted it out of the sea. Up and up it went until it was safely inside the large module that was locked inside its main body. The doors underneath closed up once it was inside. Then the two red thrusters on the back fired and it turned as it began to fly away.
Tanusha and Kyrano waited in anticipation to see who it was who'd recovered them from the ocean. The door was opened after the push of a button to reveal a tall young teenage man in a blue jumpsuit and a grey sash over his left arm. He had brown hair and blue eyes. "Hi there," he said. "We're-"
"RAAAAAAARGH!" bellowed Tanusha, suddenly lunging forwards and pushing the man over before pinning him down on the floor.
"WHAT THE?!" exclaimed the man in surprise.
"GET AWAY FROM US!" Tanusha bellowed.
"TANUSHA! GET OFF OF HIM!" bellowed Kyrano.
Tanusha looked back. "But, Dad, he-"
"I said, GET OFF OF HIM!" thundered Kyrano.
"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" thundered another voice. Tanusha, Kyrano and the young man looked round to see two others had appeared. The first was a taller, older man, similar to Kyrano's age with brownish hair that was starting to go grey. He too had a blue jumpsuit and a grey sash. The second was another younger man, somewhat chunkier but with a green sash. He had black hair and brown eyes. The older man glared at Tanusha. "Get off my son!" he ordered.
Tanusha stared at him and then at the man on the floor. "Son?" she repeated.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" the elder man demanded.
"Jeff?"
The elder man and the younger one with the green sash looked inside and froze.
"Oh, my God…Kyrano?!" exclaimed the elder man rushing in and unstrapping Kyrano from his seat.
"Don't touch him!" Tanusha cried.
"FOR GOD'S SAKE, TANUSHA, BACK DOWN!" roared Kyrano. "I know this man!"
The man with the green sash helped the other younger man to his feet. "Are you okay, bro?" he asked.
"Yeah…I think so," replied the other man. "Thanks, Virgil."
The elder man helped Kyrano out of the capsule. Tanusha was still looking very tense.
"Dad, who are these people?" Tanusha demanded.
"This is Jeff Tracy," said Kyrano. "We've known each other for years. And these are two of his sons. I expect you to apologise for what you just did."
"Hmmph!" snorted Tanusha, folding her arms. "Mum's dead and uncle's a criminal! How do you expect me to trust anyone right now?"
Jeff let out a gasp. "Onah…dead?!" he asked.
"Yeah…" said Kyrano. "I'll explain later."
"Come on, we need to get you fixed up," said Jeff. "Virgil, take us back to base."
"Yes, Dad," said Virgil and he hurried back to the cockpit. As he did, he pressed a button on his sash. The letters IR lit up as he spoke to it. "Rescue 2 to Tracy Island. We're coming home…with Mr Belagant and his daughter."
Rescue 2? Tanusha thought. What kind of a name is that?
"Tanusha, stay down here," Kyrano ordered. "I need to speak to Mr Tracy privately."
"I'm not leaving you, Dad!" protested Tanusha.
"You aren't, Tanusha," said Jeff. "He's not going anywhere. You'll be safe with us." He then helped Kyrano up some stairs towards the medical bay.
Tanusha reluctantly watched them go. Then she walked over to the capsule and sat herself down beside it.
The young man with the brown hair looked over at her, unsure of what to think. He walked over to a nearby drinks machine and poured a cup of water. He drank it and then filled another one before taking it over to her. "Here," he said as he tried to hand it to her.
"Get lost!" Tanusha snapped rudely.
The man was taken aback. He sighed heavily. "Fine. be like that," He said in annoyance and began to walk away. "Gee. I was only trying to help," he muttered to himself.
It was then that Tanusha's pain and grief began to come out. She was trembling. And then she burst into tears again. The thoughts of her mother being killed in the explosion and the shock of her uncle being one of the world's most dangerous criminals was too much. She sobbed and sobbed until her eyes stung and her nose streamed like a waterfall.
The young man stopped and looked back. As much as he wanted to leave her because of her rudeness, he didn't like seeing her upset. He put the cup of water down and opened up one of the compartments in his sash. He pulled out a packet of tissues and went back over. He didn't say anything, but dropped the packet down by Tanusha's feet. She saw it land and looked at it. Then she looked at him. He waited for her to shout at him again, but this time she didn't. Instead she picked up the packet, pulled out a tissue, wiped her eyes and then blew her nose into it. "Thanks," she said with a sniffle.
"You're welcome," said the man. "I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"For whatever you've been through," said the man. "And I'm sorry about your mother. She was a great person."
"Did you know her?" Tanusha asked.
"Not that well," replied the man. "But the few times I did meet her, she was a lovely and caring person. You know, you look a lot like her."
Tanusha tried not to smile. "A lot of people say that," she replied. "I…I can't believe she's gone."
"Yeah…we were the same," agreed the man as he sat on a grey crate opposite.
"What do you mean?" Tanusha asked.
"I have four brothers," the man replied. "We lost our Mom as well. So, I know exactly how you feel."
Tanusha said nothing for a moment. She blew her nose again. "Sorry," she replied. "I'm sorry I attacked you. I guess…after what I'd learned, I wasn't sure if I could trust anyone."
"Well, I hope you can trust us at least," said the man. "My Dad has known your Dad for a very long time. You'll both be safe where we're going."
"And where is that?" asked Tanusha.
"You'll find out soon enough," he said. He then stepped down off the crate. "I'll give you some alone time. Looks like you could use some."
"Thanks," said Tanusha. She fell silent and the man started walking away towards the stairs. "Say, um, er…I didn't catch your name?"
The man stopped and turned back. "Scott," he said. "Scott Tracy - International Rescue."
Tanusha managed a small smile. "Thank you, Scott," she said.
Scott smiled a smile and nodded before leaving Tanusha alone.
Tanusha sat leaning up against the capsule and watched as Scott disappeared up the stairs. "Hmm," she remarked out loud to herself. "He's kind of cute."
