THE three elderly gentlemen picked their way through the trees and brush using only their torches to light the way. Everything around them was dark and eerily quiet, save for the crunching of twigs and brushing of bushes as they went. Visibility was minimal due to the fog that was covering the waters of Loch Ness. It had become a common thing in recent weeks and none of the residents were sure why. No weather forecasts had predicted fog and yet here it was.
McCloud, the man leading the group, stopped suddenly and gestured to his friends Mackay and Stone to crouch down, which they did.
"What do ye see?" whispered Mackay.
"I see him," McCloud whispered back. "Easy now. Try not to spook him or he'll go in."
"Aye," agreed Stone. "We cannae have him be monster food, can we?"
Mackay and McCloud both stared back at him.
"Gosh sakes, man - you dinnae believe that tosh, do ye?" asked Mackay.
"I was pulling the other one," retorted Stone.
"Hold your wheat!" hissed McCloud. "You'll startle him. Come on."
The three men moved forwards towards the edge of the loch. About twenty metres away sat another of their little group that gathered in the local pub.
Jock was sitting with his fishing rod, staring out into the foggy night with only his lamp for company. He became aware that he was no longer alone and turned sharply. "Who is it?" he demanded, reaching for his shot-gun.
"Calm yoself, Jock. It's us!"
"Och, McCloud!" grumbled Jock. "Who many times do I have to tell ye to leave me be?"
"It's a quarter to midnight, Jocko," said Mackay. "You shouldn't-a be oot here at this hour. You'll catch yer death!"
Jock scoffed. "I'd rather be here than at home," he said, looking back out. "Connie does nothing but nag-nag-nag and I won't stand for it!"
"Och, get up, you wee scr-" began McCloud, but he was cut off by a strange noise that made the four men go very still.
A strange gargling/snarling noise could be heard very faintly somewhere out in the fog.
"Did ye hear that?" asked Mackay.
"Could it be the monster?" suggested Stone.
"Ach, shut up, boy!" snapped Mackay. "I already told ye that-"
The noise came again, this time it was louder and sounded closer than before. The four men stood very still and stared out into the fog. They shone their torches out whilst Jock lifted up his lamp. Then they saw two glowing white lights blinking through the fog coming directly towards them. There then came a deep throaty growl that sent shivers down their spines.
Suddenly a small break in the fog came about to reveal what was causing the sounds. All four men cried out in alarm as they saw a monstrous-shaped black head with glowing white glassy eyes blinking at them.
"I-I-I-I dinnane believe it!" exclaimed Mackay.
"I knew it!" growled Jock. "Nessie has RISEN!" He grabbed his camera and took a photo.
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"SECRET OF THE LOCH"
"OH, for goodness sake, Parker. Not again!" grumbled Penelope after Parker beeped the horn loudly.
"Sorry, m'lady," answered Parker. "But this traffic h'ain't going anywhere. We'll miss the boat."
"Ferry, Parker," Penelope corrected him. "It's far too big to be a boat."
Parker grumbled to himself as he looked back out at the long line of traffic in front of them that led round to the Ferry Port in Birkenhead. They were due to travel to Belfast for an important party held by a friend of the Creighton-Wards and Penelope had been instructed to meet said people on the ferry and not to fly across in FAB1. FAB1's ability to fly wasn't something that the Creighton-Wards or International Rescue wanted too many to know about.
"Wish we could simply take h'off," Parker said.
"So do I, Parker," agreed Penelope. "But you remember what Mother said. We-" A beeping sound cut her off. It was coming from her compact. "Please be Jeff. Please be Jeff." She opened it, and to her relief, it was indeed Jeff's hologram that appeared.
"Hi, Penny. Jeff here."
"Jeff!" Penelope said, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, thank heavens. You may have just saved me."
Jeff was puzzled. "From what, may I ask?"
"Something that I really don't want to do," Penelope said. "Do you have a mission for us?"
"I, er, do, possibly," Jeff answered, still bewildered by Penelope's tone. "I take it you've heard about this?"
Penelope looked across to the projector on her right which now showed a hologram of the front page of a newspaper. It showed a rather sinister photo of a monster-like head with glowing eyes surrounded by a thick fog. "Oh, the sighting of the Loch Ness Monster?" she said. "Who hasn't heard about it?"
"Do you believe it?" asked Jeff.
"I, don't know, in all honesty," Penelope replied. She looked back at the photo. "I mean, there have been rumoured and supposed sightings of the Loch Ness Monster for years. I've never been much of a believer, but that image is the most convincing, don't you think?"
"I'm not sure what to make of it, Penny," said Jeff. "There's something about that monster that does not seem quite real. I can't place my finger on it. I was wondering if you could go and see if you can find out the truth behind it?"
"Of course," said Penelope. "Not quite sure how, but I'm sure we'll find a way."
"FAB1 has aqua-mode," said Jeff. "Surely the easiest thing to do is to go up to Loch Ness and explore it beneath the surface?"
Parker went very pale and gulped. He tried to speak but nothing came out.
"Oh, of course!" said Penelope, rolling her eyes. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"If you find anything, let me know," said Jeff. "And be careful - in case it is real. You get into trouble, you know who to call."
"I certainly will," answered Penelope. "Over and out." She closed the compact. "Parker - change of plan. We're going to Scotland." She waited for Parker's response. But none came. "Parker?" She leant forwards and then noticed Parker's face in the rear-view mirror on the glass dome. He looked like he'd been frozen by some kind of invisible witch. "Parker?!"
Parker yelped and jumped out of his trance. "What?! Oh, er, yus, m'lady?"
"Are you okay?" Penelope asked, concerned.
Parker looked embarrassed. "Sorry, m'lady," he said. "It's just h'I thought I 'eard Mr Tracy asking for h'us to go to look for a monster?"
"He did," said Penelope. She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're afraid of meeting the Loch Ness Monster, are you, Parker?"
Parker gulped again at the sound of the mention of the monster, but he didn't want to show any kind of fear or weakness to Penelope. "No. Of course not, m'lady!" he said, grabbing the flight-controls. He fired up the engines and FAB1 sprouted wings. The wheels transformed into jets and the pink car began to rise upwards out of the queue of traffic, much to the astonishment of everyone watching.
Looking down, Penelope could see several were grabbing their phones and cameras in order to try and get photos. "Better make sure nobody can post us online, Parker."
"Yus, m'lady." Parker then pressed a button that activated an electronic-killing bubble that caused all of the phones and other camera devices to stop working. By the time they did start to work again, FAB1 had flown away from the Ferry Port and was crossing the Mersey and Liverpool on its way North towards Scotland. "FAB1 is h'off," said Parker.
"Let me get this straight," Gordon began. "You sent Lady Penelope, our London Agent, and my girlfriend, to look for the Loch Ness Monster?"
"Yes," replied Jeff simply.
"WITHOUT ME?!" cried Gordon.
"You sound disappointed, Gordo," remarked Scott.
"Hell yeah!" said Gordon. "The Loch Ness Monster is one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries. I would love to be the one to solve it."
"Given your past experience with giant reptiles, I'd have thought you'd have wanted to keep well away from it?" teased Kayo.
"Ah, he's only upset because Lady P's doing something without him," said Alan.
Sophie hit him on the arm playfully. "No need for cheeky," she said.
Gordon huffed indignantly.
Virgil then spoke up from the piano. "In all seriousness, Dad, is sending Lady Penelope back to Loch Ness a good idea?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Jeff.
"Well surely you remember what happened the last time she was there?" said Virgil. "You know who had a house located by the side of it?"
It took everyone a moment to realise what he meant.
"McCullen Castle?" said Scott.
Virgil nodded. "She and her folks were prisoners in that castle. Surely going back there might trigger some bad memories for her?"
"I get where you're coming from, Virgil," said Jeff. "But she's going to be exploring under the surface of the loch. I highly doubt she'll even see the castle."
"Or what's left of it," added Kayo. "From what I remember, Parker blew it to kingdom-come after we got the Creighton-Wards to safety."
"Do you honestly think they'll find anything, Dad?" asked Scott.
Jeff brought up the image of the monster head in the fog. "I honestly don't know, Scott," he said. "This could just be an elaborate fake that's been made to bring in tourism to the area. But there's something about it that is making me uneasy. I am hoping that Penny and Parker can put my mind at rest."
FAB1 soon reached Scotland and was on approach to Loch Ness. However, things weren't so calm inside FAB1. To add to Parker's already growing internal apprehension about the possibility of crossing paths with the Loch Ness Monster, he was also having to now listen to a heated argument that had broken out between Penelope and Lady Patricia, who had learned from her people Penelope had been tasked with meeting, that they'd seen FAB1 flying away before it had boarded the ferry.
"I'm sorry, Mother. But when Jeff Tracy gives me an assignment, I do it."
"Jeff Tracy is not your Father, Penelope!" snapped Patricia. "When we give you a task. You do it!"
"Not anymore," said Penelope crossly. "Whenever these kinds of things pop up, you and Father always delegate me to perform speeches and attend functions. I'm sick of it. If you want the Creighton-Wards to have a strong presence amongst social events, maybe you and Father should do them yourselves! Sorry, to be like this, but I have to go." She then snapped the compact shut. "Prepare to dive, Parker."
"Yus, m'lady."
Patricia seethed with fury at having been shut out by her daughter. "How dare she speak to me like that?!" she said angrily. "When she gets back, I'm-"
"No," interrupted Patrick, who had overheard the conversation. "You'll leave her be, Pat."
Patricia blinked and stared back at her husband. "What? But, Pat-"
"She's right," said Patrick glumly. "We burden her with far too much. Perhaps it is time we made ourselves more public." He walked out of the Drawing Room, leaving a speechless Patricia with a lot to think about. Straight away, she was regretting getting angry with her daughter.
FAB1 was now underneath the surface and beginning the search. It was very dark beneath the surface and felt a bit eerie for Penelope and Parker as they made their way through. Only the powerful headlamps on the front of the car showed them what was around. There were many underwater rocks and caverns where a monster could easily hide from view. Even Penelope started to feel a bit uncomfortable but like Parker, did what she could not to show it.
"Sorry you had to listen to me rowing with Mother," Penelope said after a while. "Maybe I was a bit too harsh with her?"
"It's fine, m'lady," answered Parker. "H'If you ask me, they do pile too many responsibilities onto you. Nobody should be forced to do something that they don't like doing."
This brought a smile to Penelope's face. "Thank you, Parker," she said. "At least you understand me."
This made Parker smile too before they both turned their attention back to their surroundings. The deeper they went into the loch, the more uneasy they became. The loch was huge. Much larger than they thought it was. It was also very deep. It was like exploring an ocean. There were several little fishes swimming around - some of which even swam in convoy with FAB1 for a short while but at no point did they see or even detect anything that could be a monster.
As FAB1 made its way through the murky depths, neither Penelope nor Parker could have noticed a tiny camera concealed in one of the many rock towers that were all around them. The camera head turned in sync with the car whilst sending back live footage of it back to its source, where in a darkened control room, two sinister figures watched with interest.
"Strange vehicle if ever I saw one," said the one sitting down.
"A car that goes underwater? Whatever next?" said the one standing. "If I wasn't sober I'd have said that you'd have spiked me whiskey again!"
"Bah!" snorted the one sitting down. "What do you think it's doing down there?"
"It's searching for the monster," said the one standing. "What else would it be doing?"
"Shall we send it after them?"
"No, are ye mad, brother? We cannot allow anyone to learn the secret!"
"But what if they-"
"They won't find anything. Dinnae fash yourself."
"All the same. Maybe we should get Gibbons to spy on them if they go to the village?"
"Gibbons already has his orders. He needs to take care of our friend."
"Och, aye. The old fool has already crossed the line!"
FAB1 had continued on, with its occupants none the wiser that they had even been observed.
"Maybe this was h'a waste of time, m'lady?" suggested Parker. "This monster could be h'anywhere if there even is one. And this place h'is so big. It could very easily be somewhere else. We could pass it h'at a distance many times and never even see it."
Penelope thought for a moment. "Maybe you're right, Parker," she said. "However, I do get a feeling that Jeff wouldn't have asked us to do this simply for the clarification. There must be more behind it."
"H'Agreed, m'lady," said Parker. "What do you suggest?"
"Maybe we should go and find the man who took the photo and see what he has to say?" suggested Penelope.
Parker nodded in agreement. "Right h'away, m'lady," he said and pointed FAB1 back up towards the surface. He'd had enough of being down in the dark, cold waters of the loch.
FAB1 pulled up outside a quaint village pub close to the Western Shoreline of Loch Ness. The Nessie, it was aptly named, and straight away Parker got an uneasy feeling that they would not be welcomed. Those who were there eyed them suspiciously as they entered. Penelope on the other hand remained calm and with a smile on her face, which seemed to put them at ease.
"Hi there," said the young man behind the bar. "What can I get for you?"
"Just two lemonades, if you'd be so kind, young man," answered Penelope sweetly.
The barman obliged and began to pour the drinks.
Parker nudged Penelope. "H'Outside. Far bench, m'lady," he whispered. "I saw 'im h'as we came in."
"Very good, Parker," Penelope replied. "Were there any benches nearby?"
"One, m'lady."
"Perfect. Then that's where we're going to sit."
After taking their drinks, they went outside to the Beer Garden that had a magnificent view of the loch. Penelope and Parker sat down at a bench, took a sip of their drinks and briefly admired the view before making discrete glances over towards the next table, where an elderly gentleman sat with a very large scotch looking out towards the loch, almost unblinking.
"Wonderful view, isn't it?" Penelope called over after a few minutes.
"Aye. It sure is," replied the man. He remained still and did not turn to look at them.
Penelope waited a few moments before speaking again. "You saw it. Didn't you?" she said. "You're the one who took the photo?"
Slowly, the man began to turn towards them now. His beady little eyes fixed hard upon Penelope who kept her cool, unlike Parker, who was suddenly on edge. It looked almost as though the man was about to become defensive. However, he did not.
"Aye. I saw it," the man said. "What paper are ye from?"
"My dear fellow, I am not from any form of press looking for a story," said Penelope. "The story has already been revealed. I am simply curious about what you saw that night. Do you believe it was real?"
Old Jock got up from the bench and limped over to them due to the arthritis in his left leg. "Forgive me for my slowness, dear," he said. "I'm not as young as I used to be." He then sat himself at the table, not noticing Parker glaring at him for the age remark. "It started three months ago," Old Jock said. "John McLay went oot in his boat to do some fishing. A thick fog came down and completely blocked him from my view. I was on the bank in my usual spot. I fish about half a mile down along the shore in those woods there, ye see? I was puzzled by this fog. It was not forecast. And that's when I heard it. A low, growling snarl coming from somewhere out there. I never saw what happened to John. All I heard was his screams, followed by the sound of crunching wood as his boat was smashed to smithereens!"
Parker upset his lemonade, spilling it on the front of his trousers. "C-Crikey!" he stammered.
"Shush! Parker, don't interrupt," snapped Penelope. "I'm so sorry. Please continue."
"Not much else to add," answered Old Jock. "The fog cleared shortly after the screams subsided. I shone me light oot across the water. And there lay what was left of his boat. Splintered. Broken. Sunk. and my dearest John, who I have known and loved since I was a wee boy, was no more. Nobody believed me when I said it had to have been the monster that got him. But I was determined to learn the truth. I have gone out every night to that spot since, waiting for that ugly monstrosity to show its face. And the other night, it did! Och….to lay eyes on the cretin that took my friend. I felt a sense of closure, knowing that my old friend's killer had had the GUTS…to show itself."
Silence followed as Old Jock proceeded to down his scotch almost in one go. Then he let out a massive belch that caused Penelope and Parker to flinch.
"Well…" said Penelope once she'd found her voice. "Thank you, Mr, um-"
"Call me, Jock, lassie," Old Jock said. "Everybody does."
Penelope smiled. "Thank you for telling me your story. It deserves to be known."
This brought a small smile to Old Jock's face as well.
Penelope and Parker got up to leave, only to find the way out was blocked by no fewer than ten of the other people who had been inside the pub when they'd arrived. They had a threatening look about them.
"Pardon me, but is there a problem?" Penelope asked.
"You have no right to come here and ask Old Jock about what he saw, lady!" snapped Mackay.
"And why not?" asked Penelope.
"We're a tight-knit community," said Stone. "We look out for each other. And we all keep each other's secrets."
"Listen, boys, I'm not some kind of undercover agent, nor am I a member of the press looking to make a story about Mr Jock," Penelope said. "I have a curious interest and wanted to find out for myself. That is all."
Mackay cracked his knuckles. "And I'm sure you know what happened to the cat when it got curious?"
Parker then cracked his own knuckles. "If you're thinking of laying a finger on h'er ladyship, you've got h'another thing coming!" he said dangerously.
The pub-goers began mumbling with intrigue amongst themselves, trying to figure out which person of the aristocracy they had in their presence.
Penelope was about to answer what they were thinking when something caught her eye. A tiny red dot of light had appeared on the back of Parker's head and was moving like it was trying to find a decent position. She knew what it was instantly and became alarmed. "PARKER!" she yelled and jumped on him, knocking him down to the ground.
BANG! The sound of a powerful gunshot echoed around the area starting everyone present and causing several frightened birds to take flight from the trees. The bullet hit one of the benches and ripped right through it. BANG! Another shot rang out a few seconds later, causing the pub-goers to run in panic. Someone was trying to kill somebody.
"Keep down, Parker," Penelope said as they scrambled to find cover behind a bush.
"Wait h'a minute, m'lady. I'm supposed to protect you!" protested Parker.
"You can't protect me if you're dead, Parker," Penelope reminded him. "And besides, I think you were the target. I saw a sniper dot on the back of your head."
Parker gulped. "Well, much obliged, m'lady," he said.
Suddenly there came a scream of despair as an elderly lady came running into the Beer Garden and scurried over to the bench where they'd been sitting. "NO! NOOOOO! JOCK! NOOOOOOOO!"
Penelope and Parker scrambled to their feet and looked over. They then froze and Penelope clapped a hand over her mouth in horror whilst Parker simply started, thunderstruck. The woman was now at the table, cradling the lifeless body of Old Jock, his life taken by the second sniper shot.
Jeff was disturbed by the news. "You're saying Parker was being targeted?"
"It certainly seemed like it, Jeff," Penelope replied over the hologram-projector. "But whoever it was then murdered Old Jock. We'd only been talking to him about a minute before when he told us the story about his old friend who he believes was taken by the monster."
"That's tragic," said Jeff. "And disgusting. I hope the Police are conducting a thorough search of the area?"
"They are," said Penelope. "And the landlord at the pub has given us a room to stay in for the night as a precaution."
"I could get the GDF in to assist?" suggested Jeff. "If you and Parker were the targets, then it's possible that this was an attack by The Cabal."
"In all honesty, Jeff, I don't believe this was The Cabal," said Penelope. "This just doesn't seem like the kind of attack they would make. Targeting Parker or myself does kind of make sense if it was them, but why they would then kill Old Jock, doesn't make any sense."
"To strike at your hearts possibly?" said Jeff. "To make you feel as though you'd failed to keep a life."
"Maybe," said Penelope. "But all the same. I am still not convinced."
"Fair enough, Penny," said Jeff. "Changing the subject - did you find anything in the loch?"
"Nothing at all," replied Penelope. "But then again, that loch is huge. It could very easily have been hiding anywhere."
"True point," said Jeff. "You stay inside and out of trouble, Penelope. If things take a turn for the worse, you contact us immediately. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear, Jeff," promised Penelope. "Over and out." She closed her compact.
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in?"
The door opened and Parker appeared. "Mr Tracy, m'lady?"
"Yes, it was, Parker. I called him and filled him in on what happened," said Penelope. "Any news from downstairs?"
"The fuzz 'ave been taking statements from those geezers who wanted to pick h'a fight with us," said Parker. "I 'ave h'a feeling they'll be wanting to speak to you next, m'lady."
"Us, Parker?" Penelope said. "You were involved in this as well."
Parker shifted uneasily. "Beg pardon, m'lady. But you know my feelings on coppers. It brings back bad memories of the past.:
Penelope sighed. "I am well aware of that, Parker. But by shutting yourself away and refusing to speak, you will make yourself look suspicious. If they want to talk to you, you talk to them. Understand?"
Parker still wasn't happy, but he knew Penelope was right. "Oh…very well, m'lady," he said with great reluctance. "H'I will be getting some shut-eye next door." He then closed the door.
Penelope sighed again. She felt awful for what had happened to Old Jock. A glance out of the window allowed her to see the Paramedics removing the body in a large black bag. She couldn't help but wonder perhaps if he'd been the target after all and not them. But without catching the shooter, there was no way of knowing.
Just then, the room's telephone began to beep. Suspecting it might be the landlord checking in on how she was, she decided to answer it. "Hello?"
"Lady Creighton-Ward?" The voice wasn't Scottish. But gruff and definitely London-based.
"Speaking?"
"I am Inspector Corner. And I believe you are in great danger."
"Corner?" repeated Penelope, slightly amused. "Corner-of-the-Yard?"
"This is no time for mockery, your Ladyship!"
Penelope cleared her throat. "Sorry. Just wanted to make sure you were genuine."
"I am," said Inspector Corner. "I believe you and your manservant have just been added to a target list of people linked to the recent sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. Old Jock who you were talking to is the third person to have been assassinated after having sightings of whatever it is that is moving around in the loch."
"What happened to the other two?" asked Penelope.
"That's what I am trying to find out with my investigation," said Inspector Corner. "It is my guess that an unknown party has a secret involved with the loch which I'm guessing they want kept that way. Anybody who sees or even gets close to exposing the truth gets ruthlessly taken out. As I understand you were talking to Old Jock about it just before he was murdered?"
"That is correct, Inspector," said Penelope. "I am simply curious about the whole thing and want to learn more about it."
"As a lady of your stature this seems rather unusual for you, Lady Penelope," said the Inspector. "And I strongly advise that you keep low and indoors until my investigation is complete. Old Jock and the other two saw something out on that loch and I intend to find out what. I am going out on a boat tonight to see what can be found. Until then, please refrain from doing any kind of detective work yourself. I'll be in touch." He then hung up before Penelope could answer.
"No detective work?" Penelope said to herself. "Yes, of course, Inspector." She opened up her compact. "Lady Penelope calling Thunderbird 5?"
John's hologram appeared. "Go ahead, Lady Penelope?"
"John, I need some help," said Penelope. "I need you to make a scan of the area in and around Loch Ness and see if you can locate anything unusual?"
"Okay," said John. "Stand-by. Commencing scan." He ran a scan of the entire area including deep into the loch itself. "That's a big negative. Nothing out of the ordinary."
Penelope was disappointed. "Oh, I see. Well, thank you anyway, John."
"May I enquire what this is about?" John asked.
"Just trying to confirm a hunch, which hasn't been," said Penelope. "Talk to you later, John." She then signed off, leaving John rather bewildered.
Afternoon drew into the evening and Penelope and Parker soon found themselves having a meal in the pub's main restaurant area. The locals had now been quite welcoming, especially as they knew they didn't have anything to do with Old Jock's murder. Instead, they openly talked about who might be responsible for it.
"It's those scoundrels on the south side, I know it!" growled Mackay.
"Who might those be?" asked Penelope with interest.
"The McGregors," said Mackay. "They bought the old castle that belonged to another group of scoundrels - the McCullens."
This made Parker upset his soup.
"They had a castle on the south side of the loch for generations," Mackay continued. "Then last year a strange thing happened. There were rumors of a battle there - one involving the Thunderbirds. Whatever it was that happened left part of the castle in ruins. Nothing has been seen or heard of the McCullens since."
Penelope and Parker had to be very careful not to reveal their connection with International Rescue, or that the partial destruction of the castle was down to Parker firing missiles into it from FAB-Zero.
"And who are the McGregors?" Penelope asked.
"Swines! That's what they are," said Stone. "Oily swines who care about nobody but themselves. I kid ye not, if they came into this pub and were told about Old Jock's death - they would simply laugh about it."
"Cold-blooded and heartless, that's what they are," agreed Mackay.
Penelope shifted uneasily. The memories of what happened to her and her parents at McCullen Castle being kidnapped by The Black Phantom and The White Ghost and held prisoner to force her into marrying the late Montgomery McCullen were not things she wanted to remember. Ever since Jeff had first asked them to visit Loch Ness to investigate the potential monster sighting, she had hoped that she would neither see nor get anywhere close to the castle, but now it seemed possibly that might have to change.
Inspector Corner and two of his subordinates from London were out on a small motor launch on Loch Ness. The time was nearly midnight and they had McCloud aboard with them. He was taking them out to the area where Old Jock had gotten his photo of the suspected monster.
The night had been clear until shortly after leaving the jetty. Now the fog had come out of nowhere as it had done before and soon visibility was reduced significantly. This made McCloud and the two other men on the boat rather nervous. Only Inspector Corner remained calm. "Lighten up, boys!" he growled. "Not afraid of meeting a fake monster, are you?"
"It's not fake, mon, I assure you!" protested McCloud. "The beastie is very much real. I saw it!"
"You saw something, I know that," said Inspector Corner. "But exactly what it was you saw is what I am interested in." He then picked up a radio microphone and spoke into it. "Hello shore. Inspector Corner here. Are you receiving me? Over."
"Shore here. Go ahead."
Penelope and Parker had slunk out of the pub, not wanting to be cooped up inside any longer and had concealed themselves behind one of the bushes where they could listen in on the conversation between the Inspector's team and the Inspector himself.
"This fog is becoming very pea-soup," the Inspector's voice was saying over the radio. "Tell me, was it on the forecast?"
"No, sir, it wasn't," said a young woman as part of the ground team. She was the one communicating with the boat.
"I thought as much," said the Inspector. "Just like the other reported sightings of this so-called monster. It has always been in a thick fog that wasn't forecast. That means there must be-"
"LOOK!" McCloud suddenly cried out in alarm.
"What?!" snapped Inspector Corner. "What is it?"
McCloud's eyes were wide with fright. "THERE IT IS!"
Inspector Corner and his two subordinates turned in the direction that the terrified man was pointing. And then they saw something that made their internal organs go cold. There, moving slowly out of the thick fog came something they never expected - a large dark green scaly head with two glowing white eyes and making a vicious snarling sound as it approached them.
"No!" cried Inspector Corner in disbelief. "It cannot be!"
"What is it?" the woman asked urgently. "Inspector, what do you see?"
The Inspector's tone changed from deadly serious to deadly frightened. "THE MONSTER! IT'S COMING STRAIGHT FOR US!" He turned to a subordinate. "GET US OUT OF HERE!"
The terrified subordinate pushed the boat's engine up to full throttle in order to try and get away, but as it turned out, the monster was a lot closer than they originally thought. The Inspector grabbed his side-arm and began to shoot at its eyes, hoping to blind it and cause it to break off its attack. But due to the terror in his veins, he found it impossible to shoot straight and with each miss the monster got closer and closer. The boat's engine also mysteriously conked out meaning they had no means of escaping.
And then, as it got within a mere ten feet from the boat, its great mouth suddenly opened to reveal a set of giant and deadly sharp teeth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHH!" was the last thing anyone heard over the radio before the monster's teeth crunched down onto the boat and completely destroyed it, taking the lives of Inspector Corner, McCloud and the two subordinates down with it.