HAVING travelled a total of fifty miles non-stop for a few hours, Hayley decided to give herself and the two soldiers a break. This allowed her to have a check of a hologram map to confirm the best route for them to take to get to the Kachunga Tunnel project.

Hayley stood studying the map alone by her truck whilst Winslow and Peak took a breather by their trucks. Winslow leant his back against his truck whilst Peak sat himself on the branch of a fallen dead tree. Both men were looking over at Hayley who had her back to them.

"What do you think of this, Sarge?" Peak asked.

"Sergeant to you, when we got a superior officer with us," Winslow replied.

Peak scoffed. "Superior officer. She's a girl!"

"And what's wrong with that?" asked Winslow. "I've served with many fine young women during my time in the Army."

"I honestly don't care," Peak said bitterly. "She's a woman, giving me orders, and I don't like it."

Winslow scowled. "Now listen here, Frank. If there's one thing I've learned being in the Army, it is this. Do as you're told, quick and smart, and you won't go far wrong. And so long as I am around, you'll do the same. And I am fully aware of why you've got this resentment towards the Cap - and I am going to say this here and now - drop it! Got it!"

Peak let out a reluctant sigh. "Yes, Sergeant, but I still don't feel comfortable with it."

Little did the two men know that Hayley's sharp hearing had caught most of what they'd been saying. She had thought about confronting Peak about his mysterious resentment towards her, but hearing the Sergeant tell him to watch himself made her feel more at ease. Clearly she'd won Winslow over when she praised him about his record. She also knew that they had a very important mission to carry out, and she could not let any petty personal feelings get in the way of that. She decided to pretend she had not heard. She turned off the tablet with the map on and turned towards the two soldiers. "Okay, gents. Break's over!" she called. "Let's get going."

The trucks were making good progress across the open desert heading towards the mountains which were now starting to appear on the horizon. However, before they could reach them properly, they would have to negotiate a rather hazardous obstacle - the Lamogo River.

From her position in the cab, Hayley could just make out a faint treeline which told her they were coming to the end of the desert. She'd seen on the holo-map that the river was pretty much the barrier between the desert and the mountains. "We're not far now," she said to Winslow and Peak via the in-cab radios. "Once we reach the river, we'll be halfway there."

"Yeah…the easy half," Peak muttered darkly to himself.

The convoy had now reached the river. After using a scanning device to locate the shallowest part, Hayley said that she would cross first, just to make sure it was doubly-safe before the others would then follow.

Winslow and Peak stood beside Winslow's truck as Hayley cautiously drove her truck down towards the edge of the river.

Peak snickered as he watched the truck approach the water. "Oh, I do hope she-"

"You hope she makes it!" snapped Winslow. "For all our sake."

The smirk was wiped from Peak's face.

Hayley's truck had now reached the river. She drove into the water and began to cross at the shallow point. She managed to get about halfway across before the wheels began to lose grip due to the mucky mud on the riverbed. The wheels began to spin wildly and mud was kicked up from behind, splattering the back of the vehicle.

"Yes! She's stuck!" said Peak with delight. He looked at Winslow, hoping he shared his amusement. But was dismayed to see the Sergeant watching Hayley's truck anxiously.

Hayley wrestled with the gears and the steering wheel in an attempt to regain control and get underway again. "Come on! Come on, will ya?!" Hayley said crossly. Then the truck finally managed to regain its footing and started to move forwards again.

"No, she's gonna make it!" said Winslow with relief as Hayley's truck made it through and out onto the bank on the opposite side of the river.

Hayley poke her head out of the cab's left window and gave them a thumbs up. "Guys, I've sent the course from my truck's computer to both of yours!" she called via the radio. "Make sure you follow it exactly. I'll wait here for you."

"Right, Peak. You're next," Winslow continued. "Get in that truck." He looked at the private, who looked very disappointed that Hayley had managed to get herself out of a pickle. "JUMP TO IT, LAD!" he barked, forcing Peak to move himself reluctantly back into his own truck.

Hayley decided to use the moment to call Colonel Casey and give her a sit-rep on their progress. "Captain Madison to Colonel Casey. Over?"

"Loud and clear, Captain. Go ahead?" Colonel Casey's hologram answered as it appeared from the device on Hayley's wrist.

"We've reached the halfway point at the Lamogo River," Hayley explained. "I've crossed successfully and am just waiting for the others to do the same. We'll be on the Kachunga Road by nightfall."

"Excellent, Madison," said Colonel Casey. "How are you finding your first assignment?"

"More than I could have dreamed for, Colonel," said Hayley. "Feels good to be back in command again. It's where I belong."

"I figured as much," smiled Colonel Casey. "Well I'll leave you to it, Captain. I have a few more interrogations to carry out."

"Potential saboteurs?" asked Hayley.

"Yes, and one is on the very base that your two subordinates are from," said Colonel Casey. "Whilst they themselves are not suspects, make sure you keep a watchful eye on them."

"Understood," said Hayley. "Let me know if you hear anything that might jeopardise our mission."

"It'll be the first thing I do," promised Colonel Casey. "Best of luck. Oh, and Madison?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Be very careful on the mountain road tonight," warned Colonel Casey. "Weather reports that a vicious storm is due. You watch your step."

"Will do," said Hayley. "Over and out."

"CAPTAIN!"

Hayley froze at the sound of the shout. She leant out of the window of her truck and looked back. She gasped at the sight of Peak's truck, half submerged and leaning over to the left. Peak had not followed her course exactly and had slipped over into a deeper part. She could see the young soldier scrambling about inside the cabin, panicking. Winslow was the one who'd shouted and waved frantically at her. "For God's sake!" she cursed, throwing open the door and jumping down from the cab. She took out a grapple-gun from her tool belt and aimed it at the front of Peak's truck. She pulled the trigger and fired the grapple line with the grapple itself latching onto the front bumper of the truck. She then attached the gun itself to the tow-bar of her own truck and ran back into the cab. "Hang on, Peak. keep your feet off the controls," she ordered. "I'm gonna tow you out." She did not wait for a reply, but it seemed as though Peak had done what she'd requested. As carefully as she could, Hayley applied power to her truck's engine and slowly moved forwards. Taking up the slack on the cable and began to tow Peak's truck out of the river. It was touch and go for a few moments as it looked like it might tip over with the young soldier inside. Fortunately however, it did not and soon it was out of the river, much to the relief of Winslow.

Hayley jumped out and went back to Peak's truck to check if he was okay. "You alright, soldier?" she asked.

Peak's face was as white as a sheet. He stayed silent and still.

Winslow then drove his truck across and joined them on the opposite side of the river. He'd barely come to a stop before he jumped out and sprinted round. "Is he okay? Is he okay?" he asked frantically.

"I think so, Sergeant," Hayley replied. "He looks rather shaken."

Peak suddenly threw open the door, leapt out, almost straight into Winslow's arms and immediately burst into tears. He sobbed and wept as the Sergeant held him in his arms.

Hayley stared, dumbfounded. "Private - what the hell are you doing?"

"Frank, on your feet now, pull yourself together!" Winslow said urgently.

But Peak continued sobbing, almost uncontrollably.

Hayley wasn't impressed. "You're supposed to be a soldier, man! GET A GRIP!"

But the shouting only seemed to make Peak cry even more.

Winslow cleared his throat. "With all due respect, Captain, let me handle this, please?"

Hayley looked at him, and then at Peak. "If you insist," she said. "But mark my words, Peak, when this mission is over, you're going to have to answer for this. I told you to follow the exact course! And you NEARLY KILLED YOURSELF BY NOT FOLLOWING IT!" She turned and stormed off back to her truck as Peak continued to weep.

Winslow pulled Peak around behind his truck. "Frank, calm down," he said. "You're embarrassing me."

"I can't go any further," sobbed Peak. "I cannot stand it!"

"She isn't wrong though," Winslow said sharply. "You didn't follow her line. Why?"

"YOU KNOW WHY!" shouted Peak. "I WON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM WOMEN!"

"IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR POSITION IN THIS FORCE THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO!" thundered Winslow, silencing the weeping private. "Look, Frank," he said, more calmly. "I know why you are being like this. I know your history with Crissy. But you have to let it go."

"I can't."

"You can and you will," said Winslow. "You cannot spend the rest of your life holding a grudge. You need to let go. Do it for me, if nobody else. Please?"

Peak said nothing, but his anger had faded away to sorrow.

Winslow patted him on the shoulders. "Good lad," he said. "Now come on. We have a job to do. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner Captain Madison will leave us."

That was at least some incentive for Peak to get back into the truck in order to continue the mission.

Night had fallen over Africa, and just as Hayley had said to Colonel Casey, the convoy was now on the road through the mountains to Kachunga. They passed a sign saying they were only fifty-eight miles away, but just as Colonel Casey had warned, the storm had indeed arrived. Thunder rumbled overhead. Lightning periodically flashed. The rain poured down. The visibility for the drivers was almost as bad as it had been during the sand storm. Hayley was worried. Their speed had to be severely reduced. She looked in the wing mirror. She could just make out Winslow's truck a short distance behind her. They turned a bend and she could barely make out Peak's truck bringing up the rear once again. But she noticed straight away that the gap between Peak's truck and Winslow's was a lot larger than it was between hers and Winslow's. "Keep up your speed, Peak!" she ordered. "You're falling behind!"

Peak scoffed bitterly. "Keep up your speed, Peak," he muttered to himself. "She'll kill us all!"

He picked up speed a little bit to close the gap, but he did not want to get too close.

They continued on in silence, cautiously making their way up the narrow road. Mile by mile, they continued to climb up through the mountains. On the right there were the rocks. On the left, was a deep drop. Due to the width of the trucks also, they took up the entire roadway as well. Hayley hoped that they would not encounter any other vehicles on the route. Passing would be impossible.

But there was trouble ahead. The rain had caused a subsidence just ahead of their position. The earth began to slip away and slide down towards the road. Within seconds, over twenty tonnes of rock and soil had completely covered the roadway and fallen off over the other side.

Hayley, Winslow and Peak had no idea of what was going on ahead - until Hayley caught sight of the obstruction in the beams of the truck's headlamps. "LANDSLIDE! BRAKE-BRAKE-BRAKE!" she yelled and slammed her foot on the brakes. The wheels of the truck locked up and it screeched to a stop with just a few feet between it and the landslide. Winslow also slammed on his brakes and stopped just behind Hayley's truck. Peak had initially ignored Hayley's order and had continued on. But he soon realised his mistake when he saw the red brake lights of Winslow's truck come on. He cried out and slammed on his own brakes. But the wheels hit a wet patch on the road - causing it to skid forwards and it bumped into the back of Winslow's vehicle. THUD! The two vehicles jolted and Peak would have been thrown into the steering wheel if he'd not had his seatbelt on. Fortunately though, although the U-114 was jolted, it did not explode.

Peak groaned. "Oh…my…gawd…" he whimpered and unfastened his seatbelt before opening the window to get some air. He didn't even care that the direction of the wind was blowing the rain in. He just needed the air.

Winslow and Hayley had gotten out of their trucks and hurried back to check on Peak. "You alright, Peak?" Winslow asked.

"Yeah…I think so," Peak replied. "But I've had enough. This is as far as I'm going."

Hayley scowled, but Winslow spoke before she could. "He's got a point, Captain," Winslow said. "That road is completely blocked. We'll never clear it."

"We won't have to, Sergeant," Hayley said. "I'm going to call in some back-up." She then hurried back to her truck leaving the two soldiers to puzzle over what she was talking about.

Hayley climbed back into her truck and shut the door. Even with her new suit she felt somewhat wet - especially around her head. But she ignored it and adjusted the device on her wrist. She knew there was nothing that the GDF or the Army could do to help - but fortunately, she knew of someone who could. "Calling International Rescue. Come in, International Rescue?"

Gordon was the first of the invalids to surface feeling better following the food poisoning. He found John and Virgil taking a break from their duties by having a game of chess. "When was the last time you two played each other at this game?" he asked.

"I haven't played real chess with anyone for years," remarked John. "Only holographic chess with EOS or my internet partner is the closest thing I've gotten to it."

Virgil moved one of his Bishops. "Pretty even game so far," he remarked.

Before John could make a move, a beeping sound caught their attention as the hologram icon of EOS appeared. "International Rescue - we have a situation," she said. "Virgil, you have been summoned."

Virgil frowned. "Pardon me, EOS?"

"Your girlfriend, Captain Madison, is calling," EOS said. "She needs to talk to you urgently."

Virgil, John and Gordon looked at each other in confusion.

"Why would she be calling you if she wants to talk to Virgil, EOS?" asked Gordon.

"Put her through, please, EOS," said Virgil.

"Right away," said EOS. "Go ahead, Captain."

EOS's icon disappeared from the projector and was replaced by Hayley. "Hey, Virgil. I need-" She broke off, suddenly realising Virgil wasn't alone. "Oh, hello, John. Gordon."

"Woah, Hayley!" exclaimed Gordon. "That's a cool outfit."

"Compliment my uniform later, Gordon," Hayley said sharply. "Virgil, I need your help."

"What's the matter, Hayley?" Virgil asked.

"I'm leading a group of military supply trucks through the Kachunga Mountains," Hayley explained. "But a landslide has blocked our path. There's a horrendous storm and the road's too narrow for us to turn around. We need assistance in getting through the landslide."

Virgil frowned. "Hayley, whilst you know I'd normally jump at any reason to assist you, but is this really worth a job for International Rescue?" he asked. "I don't think Dad would be too happy if I launched Thunderbird 2 just to clear a road blockage."

"Virgil, our lives ARE in danger!" Hayley said sternly. "Our trucks are loaded with U-114."

Gordon spilt his drink and John almost knocked the chess set over. "U-114?!" they along with Virgil all exclaimed.

"That stuff is lethal!" said John. "Why are you carrying that?!"

"Guys, please!" said Hayley shortly. "This rain could cause another landslide. If it hits our trucks…"

"Ka-boom," Virgil said, jumping out of his seat. "Okay, Hayley. I'm on my way."

"I'll explain to Dad if he appears," John said.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Gordon asked Virgil.

"Thanks, Gordo," said Virgil as he sprinted up the stairs to the lounge. "But you've had a rough couple of days. I'll handle this one." He ran across the lounge to the rocket painting before starting the suit-up procedure that he'd done so many times that he'd lost count.

After having his suit attached, he dropped down into Thunderbird 2 and closed the hatch above him. He then sat in the pilot seat and selected Module 2 which was rolled into place underneath the main body. Once it had been lowered down and the module locked into place, the hangar door opened and Thunderbird 2 taxied out onto the runway, passing through the avenue of palm trees before coming to a stop on the ramp which then rose into position as the wings folded out. The blast shield finally rose up behind the aft thrusters and he was ready to go.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbird 2's mighty engines roared into life and soared up off the launch ramp. The sound of a sonic boom was heard as the green goliath broke the sound barrier whilst climbing away from Tracy Island.

"Thunderbird 2 is GO!" announced Virgil.

The rain continued to pelt down around the stranded convoy. Hayley, Winslow and Peak remained in the cabs of the trucks to simply keep themselves dry. Hayley was patient. But Winslow and especially Peak were getting concerned and bored respectively.

"Captain, where exactly have you requested back-up from?" Winslow asked. "It's taken us hours to get this far. They won't be able to get here at least until morning."

"And I'm not waiting around until then," added Peak.

"Guys, relax," Hayley said. "We'll be waiting thirty more minutes at most I'd say before we're on the move again."

Winslow and Peak were getting even more confused.

"Please!" grumbled Peak. "Nobody's gonna get to us for a long time!"

Before Hayley had a chance to reprimand the young soldier, her eyes caught onto some lights through the rain. Lights that were coming from an approaching aircraft. She grinned. "Speak of the devil," she remarked. "On your left, gentlemen."

Winslow and Peak looked to the left. They then blinked in surprise and stared at the approaching lights. "What in the world?" asked Winslow as he climbed out of his truck.

Soon all three had exited their vehicles and stood gazing up at the lights. The rain made it hard to see but once it had reached them, they saw the distinctive shape of Thunderbird 2 hovering overhead.

"It's a Thunderbird?!" exclaimed Peak, his eyes were wide with amazement.

"How's that for back-up?" Hayley asked Winslow. But the Sergeant was at a loss for words.

Hayley's communicator beeped. She raised her arm and grinned as the hologram of Virgil appeared. "International Rescue Thunderbird 2 to GDF Captain Madison. You called for assistance?"

"Sure did, International Rescue," replied Hayley. "Got a big load of earth blocking our way. Can you shift it for us?"

"Most certainly, Captain," said Virgil. "Move your trucks back a few feet so I can get a Bulldozer-Pod in front of your lead one. Then I will push the earth out the way whilst you follow behind."

"Sounds like a plan," said Hayley. She turned to the soldiers. "Sergeant, Peak, move your trucks about five metres each and I'll do the same so International Rescue can get their bulldozer in front. Then we'll follow them through."

"Yes, ma'am!" the two soldiers said together. For once, Peak was actually prepared to follow one of Hayley's instructions as they hurried back to their trucks in order to move them.

Virgil had put Thunderbird 2 onto autopilot before hurrying down into Module 2. He then used the holographic tool selection computer to pick the pieces of equipment that he needed. A set of crawler-tracks and a large blade on hydraulic arms were what were needed and were attached to one of the green Pods. Once created, he climbed into the Pod and remotely controlled Thunderbird 2 towards the road. There was nowhere for it to land so he lowered the module down until the door could swing open and placed the end of the ramp on the tarmac once the Army Trucks were out of the way. He then drove the Bulldozer-Pod out onto the road and turned it left to face the landslide. The door of the module then closed up and it was lifted back into place inside the main body of Thunderbird 2 before the craft moved back up into a safe position so as to not jeopardise the operation.

"Thunderbird 2 to Army Trucks," Virgil said into his radio. "Hold position whilst I attempt to clear the road first. When I give the word, follow me through."

"F-Understood," Hayley quickly corrected herself. She and Virgil didn't want to make their relationship public to people like Winslow and Peak if they could help it.

Virgil moved the Bulldozer-Pod up against the mud and dirt of the landslide before cautiously beginning to push through. The soil was thick and heavy but after a few adjustments, it began to slip away to the side as hoped. Virgil was pleased. "It's working," he said to the Army Trucks. Get ready to follow me through in a moment."

Hayley, Winslow and Peak began to rev the engines of their trucks, ready to follow the Bulldozer-Pod through the path he was cutting in the landslide.

But as Virgil was about a quarter of the way through, a rumbling sound could be heard from above. He looked up and his heart skipped a beat when he realised there was more of the mountain sliding away, directly towards him. "Oh…Oh, no!" he cried out in alarm. "NO!"

Hayley could do nothing but watch on in horror as the secondary landslide engulfed the Bulldozer-Pod and shoved it right off the side of the road. "Oh, my God! VIRGIL?!" she screamed. "VIRGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!"