"THE Luddites?!" Virgil exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's what the note said according to Colonel Casey," said Jeff grimly.
"Aren't those the weirdos that tried to cut out all the power in London?" asked Alan.
"Not tried, they succeeded," said Scott. "Took the combined efforts of Virgil, Grandma, Lady Penelope and Parker to thwart them."
"And now they have Lady P and Parker captive," said Virgil. "I guess it's only a matter of time."
"Until what, son?" asked Jeff.
"This probably isn't an attack on the village to claim it as their own, Dad," Virgil said. "Well…it could be, but it could also be a trap. If it's the same people who we took down before, they'll be wanting payback for us stopping their plans."
Alan grimaced. "What is it with bad people and revenge?" he asked. "The Hood, The Cabal, now the Luddites. What is wrong with these people?"
"There's plenty wrong with them, Alan," said Scott. "That's why they need to be taken care of."
Jeff turned to Brains who was studying a holographic image of the dome that John had created for him. "What do you make of it, Brains?" he asked.
Brains scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, M-Mr Tracy. I cannot be completely sure but I would h-hazard a guess that whatever device is creating that dome m-must have a similar purpose to that of the EMF generator that they used to cut all the p-power in London."
"That would explain why no communications can be made with FAB1, Lady P or Parker," said John via his hologram. "I'm registering the dome itself but am having trouble being able to see what's inside. It's like a giant ball of static above ground."
"What about under the ground?" asked Jeff.
"With the dome blocking off the area above I cannot scan the ground to see what's underneath," said John. "I do believe from my initial research that there once was a Coal Mine in the village. Whether any of the old tunnels are still there or not I can't be certain."
"Could we not just use a Mole-Pod and tunnel our way in?" suggested Alan. "Then that way the GDF could gain access and take the Luddites down?"
"We d-don't know how many Luddites are in there, Alan," said Brains. "We also d-don't know how many hostages they have."
"Just Lady Penelope and Parker, isn't it?" Alan said.
"I think it could be more than that," said John grimly. "Way more. They've placed the dome over the entire village. I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of the population is trapped there as well."
Jeff grimaced. "Well we can't just sit here and wait for them to start making demands," he said. "We need to get out there and be ready to assist the GDF in gaining access to the dome."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" asked Scott.
"With Alan's suggestion," said Jeff. "Yes, I know the risk!" he added hastily noticing several mouths had opened to protest. "As far as we know the dome's only affecting anything technological above ground. We'd need to at least try to tunnel underneath and get an access into the dome for the GDF if nothing else. Colonel Casey will be the one to make the call on that. Scott and Virgil, launch Thunderbirds 1 and 2. Alan, go with Virgil."
"I'd l-like to go as well, please?" said Brains.
This took everyone by surprise. It wasn't often that Brains said he wanted to come out with them.
"You do, Brains?" asked Scott.
"Yes. I want to t-take a closer look at this energy dome and learn more about the p-power source," said Brains. "Once we have found a way to shut it down, that is," he added.
Jeff nodded. "Very well, Brains. Go with Scott. He'll get you to the scene first. Maybe you can decide a course of action once Thunderbird 2 arrives. Okay, boys. On your way."
"F-A-B!" came a chorus of replies.
Scott turned on the revolving wall panel before heading down the express elevator to Thunderbird 1. Virgil tilted back on the painting and headed down his launch tunnel towards Thunderbird 2. Alan and Brains took the chairs down to the changing rooms. Brains once he'd finished changing went to the elevator platform that took him to Thunderbird 1 and he was joined by MAX for the mission whilst Alan made his way to join Virgil in Thunderbird 2. Once he'd landed in the cockpit, Virgil closed the hatch and sat in his seat before selecting Module 2. Thunderbird 1 now had its pilot and passengers aboard and started to head up the diagonal tunnel to the launch bay under the pool which was starting to open whilst Thunderbird 2 lowered down onto the module and then taxied out along the runway to the launch ramp, passing the palm trees as it went. Once the pool was open and the ramp was raised into position, both ships were ready to launch.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
The engines of both Thunderbird ships roared into life with Thunderbird 1 rising first out from where the swimming pool normally was and pushing the sun loungers away…yet again! Then Thunderbird 2 lifted off the ramp before climbing high into the sky above Tracy Island. Both ships then set their courses for the United Kingdom.
"Thunderbirds are GO!" said Scott.
Lady Penelope and Parker had been brought in as prisoners to the middle of the village where they found themselves made to stand in front of the two leaders.
"Well, hello there," said the male leader. "I wasn't expecting guests so soon."
"And you are?" Penelope asked.
"Oh, excuse us," said the man. "I don't believe I introduced us. We're The Luddites. I am Lord Luddite and this is Lady Luddite. We run the show."
Penelope sniffed. "Self-proclaimed lords are always the worst," she muttered darkly to herself.
"And you are?" asked Lady Luddite.
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. And you're thinking of holding me for ransom, my parents won't pay it. They'll just get someone to come in and rescue me and my driver."
Parker let out a loud snore on the seized Ambulance stretcher that he was strapped to.
The other Luddites laughed. So did Lord Luddite. Lady Luddite however did not.
"The GDF?" laughed Lord Luddite. "They won't do anything to help you. They can't. No form of technology will work here."
"Except for that," Penelope said, indicating the big device that was creating the dome. Just like when you tried to black out London."
The Luddites stopped laughing and looked at each other.
"You heard about it?" asked Lord Luddite.
"I was there," said Penelope. "You were stopped. And you will be again."
"Not this time," said Lord Luddite. "Those wretched International Rescue people thwarted our plan. It is time we got our revenge for that."
"We knew our dome would attract attention," said Lady Luddite. "Soon it'll become apparent that there are people in danger here. And International Rescue will come to try and save the day."
"And this time, they'll be unsuccessful," said Lord Luddite.
"Never underestimate International Rescue," said Penelope. "They stopped the Sun from exploding. They have taken out far deadlier criminals than you."
"WE'RE NOT CRIMINALS!" roared Lady Luddite and went to slap her.
Lord Luddite grabbed her arm. "Hey, HEY! No!" he said firmly. "I don't want our hostages harmed!"
Lady Luddite yanked her arm out of his hand and swore behind her mask.
"Yes, we underestimated International Rescue before," said Lord Luddite. "But this time, we're ready for them. And you will be our leverage." He turned to their subordinates. "Take them down the mine. We will extract them when the time comes."
Taken at gunpoint to the old mine elevator, Penelope and Parker were taken down into the depths and along the dark tunnel and pushed through the metal gate before locking it behind them. Parker still remained out of it on the stretcher whilst Penelope scowled hard at the Luddites.
"Make yourself comfortable, your Ladyship," sneered one of the male Luddites. "Don't expect anyone to come and help you. Nobody is coming."
"Says you," Penelope retorted. "Mark my words. You will be stopped."
The small group of Luddites laughed again and headed back to the elevator.
Penelope watched the Luddites disappear down the dark, damp tunnel before tending to Parker. She undid the straps securing him to the stretcher and checked him over. "Oh, Parker, please wake up soon," she said. "We're going to need you."
"Who are you?"
Penelope jumped and turned to see a group of people looking at her including a man in a smart suit with a gold chain around his neck. It was the Mayor of Llewellyn. "Good heavens!" Penelope said. "Are you the mayor?"
"Yes, I am," said the Mayor. "But I asked who you are!"
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward."
"I guess those creeps caught you as you passed through the village?" the Mayor asked.
Penelope didn't answer for a second. Was it possible perhaps that the villagers had no idea about the large dome that was covering their village? She decided to play along. "Kind of," she said. "I'm afraid they did a number on my driver."
A woman then spoke up. "Let me check him," she said. "I'm a GP."
"Oh, please," said Penelope. She stood aside to let the woman pass. Then she spoke to the Mayor again. "How many of you are down here?" she asked.
"Seventy-six," said the Mayor grimly. "Everyone who was in the village was forced down here. There's no way out. I'm afraid this will be the end."
Penelope looked past the Mayor and several miserable and depressed-looking men, women and children of the village. She felt her heart sink like a stone. This was a new low - even for the Luddites. "It's never the end, Mr Mayor," she said. "Help will come."
The Mayor raised his eyebrows. "You seem very optimistic?"
"Always," Penelope replied simply. Although deep down she was rather worried about whether the machines of International Rescue could reach them.
Thunderbird 1 was now approaching the danger zone. Scott and Brains observed the massive dome as they circled around it.
"D-Don't get too close to it, Scott," Brains warned. "We d-don't know if it can affect anything at close range."
"F-A-B," replied Scott. He brought Thunderbird 1 down and landed in the same field where the main GDF force was located.
Gordon ran up to them. "Scott! Brains! Boy, am I glad to see you two? When's Virgil getting here?"
"Easy, Gordon," said Scott. "Thunderbird 2 is on its way. It'll be here soon."
Gordon ran his fingers through his hair and walked round in circles. "God damn. I knew I should have gone in with them."
"And done what exactly?" asked Hayley. "You'd have been helpless without any of your gear. Hi, Scott."
"Hayley," said Scott, giving her a polite nod. "She's right, Gordon. If anything you'd have been the least prepared to deal with The Luddites."
Gordon muttered grumpily to himself.
Brains and MAX had begun to make their way over to the edge of the energy dome where Colonel Casey was along with several soldiers. Scott, Gordon and Hayley followed behind. Once they'd reached where the Colonel was, they tried to see inside the dome but everything was blurred. They couldn't make anything out.
"Ah, Scott. Brains," said Colonel Casey. "Glad you could join us."
"Not a problem, Colonel," replied Scott. "Have The Luddites made any attempts to contact?"
"Nothing at all," answered Colonel Casey. "We haven't heard anything from any of them there. Not even after Lady Penelope and Parker were lost."
Brains began to examine the exterior of the dome. "Mmmmm," he said with interest. "It appears to b-be a low-energy frequency field creating it," he said. "It's definitely the k-kind that can be used to disable anything digital and s-stop it from working. But it's n-not dense enough to not be able to pass through."
"We already gathered that from FAB1 going through, Brains," Gordon pointed out.
"Y-Yes, Gordon," answered Brains. "However, FAB1 is a vehicle and therefore is a l-lot stronger than the human body. It could withstand s-such energy whereas I'm not sure that a human, even in a protective suit would be able to get through without experiencing some extreme d-discomfort."
"In other words, you're not going in?" said Scott.
"C-Certainly not," Brains said defiantly. "However, I w-want to test the digital disabling possibility."
"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Colonel Casey.
"With MAX," said Brains.
MAX let out a startled warble and looked at Brains in shock.
Hayley had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from laughing. "I don't think he's too keen on that idea, Brains," she remarked.
Brains looked at MAX who was giving him a 'Please don't make me do this' look. "S-Seriously, MAX?" Brains said to the robot. "Did you not think I was g-going to just send you in without a way back out?" He then took a piece of rope out from his uniform. "Could someone p-please tie one end of this to a vehicle?"
Colonel Casey pointed to one of the GDF soldiers. "Private? Do that, will you?" she instructed.
The soldier did so and went to attach the end of the rope to the front bumper of one of the GDF trucks.
Brains then got Scott, Hayley and Gordon to hold the middle of the rope whilst he tied the other end to MAX;s back-end. The robot looked even more uncomfortable following this.
"I presume there's meaning to this, Brains?" asked Scott.
"Of c-course, Scott," the engineer replied. "If MAX does lose p-power once he's inside, or he meets any k-kind of resistance, we can q-quickly pull him back out again."
"Will MAX be able to pass through the dome safely?" asked Gordon.
"Again, we won't know that until we t-try, Gordon," said Brains. "But he'll have a m-much better chance at getting through than we would."
"Awh, bless him, he's scared," said Hayley, looking at MAX who was trembling with fright.
Brains went to console his invention. "Oh, M-MAX, come on," he said, taking MAX's robotic hands in his own. "L-Lady Penelope and Parker are in danger. We need to f-find a way to rescue them. Right now, you are our best chance and f-finding out whether we can use equipment once inside. I have f-faith in you, MAX."
MAX warbled again and then pulled Brains in for a hug which he gladly gave.
Colonel Casey, along with several of the other GDF soldiers, was watching in confusion. "Does he do this often?" she asked Scott in a whisper.
"A lot," Scott whispered back. Even though he knew how attached Brains was to MAX, he still found things like this hard to get his head around.
As Brains stepped away from MAX, the robot prepared to go in. slowly, but surely, he made his way forwards until he reached the dome. Brains pulled down the MAX-viewer on top of his helmet so he was able to see what MAX could. MAX made contact with the dome. He began to pass through it, and straight away he began to vibrate as its energy passed through him. Brains found the footage from MAX's camera began to get massive bursts of interference and made viewing next to impossible.
"K-Keep going, MAX," Brains urged. "You're almost through."
With one great effort, MAX managed to push his way through the exterior of the dome and made it inside, where after a few seconds of looking around, immediately shut down and the camera went black for Brains.
"Oh, m-my!" Brains exclaimed. "Quick! G-Get him out of there!"
Hayley signalled to the truck driver. "GO! GO! GO!" she yelled.
The truck driver slammed the truck into reverse and pulled back on the rope dragging MAX back through the dome and to safety.
"What happened, Brains?" asked Scott.
"Everything c-cut out," Brains said. "And I thought I saw some AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He threw his hands on his head in horror.
"Brains, what is it?" asked Scott urgently. "What's wrong?"
"MAAAX!" wailed Brains, ignoring Scott and running forwards. "NOOO!"
Hayley and Gordon had spotted what was wrong and both gasped in shock. Scott turned to look and then he froze. "Oh…"
MAX's head was missing. The rest of him was there, but his head was completely gone.
Brains fell to his knees in front of the robot. "M-M-M-MAX! W-W-What hap-"
"They happened!" said Gordon, anger in his voice and pointing towards the dome.
Everyone looked. Faintly visible through the dome, they could just make out the silhouetted shapes of six people on the other side, dancing with glee and waving something at them. They couldn't see what it was, but they didn't need to. It was pretty obvious what they had.
"You FIENDS!" Brains roared, jumping to his feet and running towards the dome. "GIVE ME BACK HIS HEAD RIGHT NOW!"
"BRAINS, STOP!" Scott yelled. He had to jump on Brains to stop him from going through.
"SCOTT, GET OFF ME!" pleaded Brains.
"BRAINS, YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE!" Scott bellowed before lowering his voice. "You wouldn't stand a chance against them."
As much as he wouldn't admit it, Brains knew Scott was right, and as Scott released his grip on him, the young engineer burst into tears, mourning for the loss of his beloved robot.
The Luddites that had decapitated MAX brought the robot's head to Lord and Lady Luddite in the centre of the town.
"What the heck is that?!" demanded Lord Luddite.
"Head of robot, your Lordship," replied the Luddite who'd be leading the group.
"We can see that, you imbecile!" snapped Lord Luddite. "But why?"
"Well, we think one of the Thunderbirds has arrived," the Luddite said. "And-"
"Which one?!" Lady Luddite asked, cutting him off.
"Errrrr, not the big green one," said the Luddite. "Small rocket."
Lady Luddite turned away in disappointment.
"They tried sending the robot through," said the Luddite. "Then it seemed to shut itself down. We were going to bring the whole thing to you but those on the outside pulled it back. Guess passing through must have weakened it as the head came off as it was pulled back through."
Lord Luddite snatched MAX's head off the Luddite, walked over to the shaft that led down into the old coal mine and dropped it down.
"Awh, what?" exclaimed the Luddite. "I was going to keep that as a souvenir."
"In case you've forgotten, Mister, we're the Luddites!" snapped Lord Luddite. "Anything that runs on technology is part of the plague! We will dispose of it all given time! Now GET BACK TO YOUR POSTS AND MAKE SURE NOBODY ELSE COMES THROUGH!"
The Luddite group scampered away.
Thunderbird 2 was now arriving on the scene. Virgil was instructed to land in the field next to the dome to save bringing any big equipment through the hedge as the gate wasn't wide enough to fit through and they didn't want to damage the hedge.
Virgil and Alan exited on the elevator and were greeted by Hayley and Gordon. Virgil and Hayley shared a quick kiss so as to try and remain as professional as possible.
"Hey, Virgil, I don't suppose you brought my spare suit with you, did you?" asked Gordon.
"Gordon, you know there's a spare uniform of yours aboard Thunderbird 2 all the time," Virgil replied.
Gordon rolled his eyes. "Of course," he said. "I'll go and get changed."
It was at that moment that Alan had noticed Brains sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. "What's up with Brains?" he asked.
Gordon stopped beside his younger brother and glanced back. "Oh, yeah. The Luddites killed MAX," he said and hurried off into Thunderbird 2.
"They WHAT?!" exclaimed Alan and he ran forwards to go and see for himself.
Virgil looked at Hayley. "Have they actually?" he asked.
"Well, we can't be sure," Hayley replied as they followed Alan. "But MAX no longer had a head. We could just make out a group of Luddites inside. They were waving something at us. It had to be MAX's head."
Virgil shuddered and grimaced. Although he was doing a good job of hiding it, he was feeling dreadfully nervous inside. He felt sure that if there was anybody that The Luddites would want to capture it would be him for foiling their mission in London. Even with all this back-up, he dreaded to think what kind of leverage they might try to get him to surrender.
"Are you okay, hun?" Hayley asked, noticing Virgil's worried expression.
"Huh?" Virgil said, snapping back to reality. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Am just thinking about Lady Penelope and Parker. I hope they're okay."
Hayley took the bait. "Of course. We're all hoping that's the case," she said.
They soon reached Scott and the others were Alan was consoling Brains.
"What's the plan, Scott?" Virgil asked.
"Afraid right now we don't have one, Virgil," Scott answered. "MAX did manage to prove to us that no technology can work inside the dome."
"My team can use non-digital and non-lethal weapons to take care of The Luddites," said Colonel Casey. "The only problem is getting through the dome."
"I thought we were going to try my suggestion?" said Alan.
"The tunnelling under?" said Scott. "Alan, given what's happened-"
"Excellent idea!" said Colonel Casey. "Can you do that?"
The brothers exchanged looks, unsure what to say.
Brains then stood up, having finally pulled himself together. "The M-Mole-Pod will not be able to work once inside the dome," he said. "However, we should be able to still t-tunnel underneath and gain access. However I will say that you attach the b-back of the Mole-Pod to a second Pod ready to be pulled back out if needed."
"Very well," said Scott. "Alan, go back to Thunderbird 2. You configure a Mole-Pod and get Gordon to configure a Land-Pod. You can then do the tunnelling."
"F-A-B!" said Alan and he eagerly hurried off back to Thunderbird 2.
It took no time at all for the Pods to be configured. At the touch of his wrist-controller, Virgil raised the main body of Thunderbird 2 up clear of Module 2 and opened the door ramp to allow the two Pods to be driven out. Alan led the way with Gordon following in the Land-Pod. Once in position, Virgil and Scott worked to secure a strong cable from the winch on the front of the Land-Pod to the detachable section of the Mole-Pod.
"Remember, Alan, take it slowly," Scott warned. "If you lose power, don't panic. If the cable stops, Virgil will check. If you're still underground, we'll winch you back out."
"And if I do make it through?" asked Alan.
"Then don't leave the pod under any circumstances," said Scott. "We cannot let The Luddites take anyone else."
"F-A-B," said Alan.
"Okay, Alan. You're secure," said Virgil.
"Good luck, Alan!" called Hayley.
Alan took a deep breath. "Okay. Here goes nothing."
Alan tilted the Mole-Pod down towards the ground, waited until everyone was clear, and then fired up the drill nose before burrowing his way into the ground. The others had to duck for cover as some didn't quite get out of the line of fire for the dirt.
Alan burrowed down about thirty metres before levelling out. "Mole-Pod to Thunderbird 5. Can you hear me, John?"
"Loud and clear, Alan," John answered as his hologram appeared on the console. "Don't worry about informing the others if you lose power. I'll track your progress."
'Thanks, bro," said Alan. "How far away am I from it?"
"Thirty yards," said John. "Take it slow and steady."
"Slow and steady wins the race," said Alan. "Not that I'm racing anything mind you."
"Not unless its time, no," said John. "I still haven't been able to penetrate that dome to look for signs of Lady Penelope and Parker."
"Moment of truth," said Alan. "Ten yards to go. Five." And then it happened. The motors of the Mole shut down and everything went black. Alan felt the machine grind to a halt and John's hologram cut out. "Agh, darn it!" said Alan, banging his fist on the controls.
On the surface, everyone noticed that the cable had stopped moving.
"Could he have made it?" asked Colonel Casey.
"I doubt it," replied Scott. "He's not been down for more than a minute."
"I'll go check," said Virgil. He grabbed hold of the cable and slid himself down into the tunnel made by the Mole. he then shone his shoulder-mounted torch down the tunnel. Sure enough, he could just make out the distinctive yellow-shape of the Mole-Pod further on. He sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, he's stuck," he said as he pulled himself back out. "Reverse the winch, Gordon."
"F-A-B," said Gordon and he activated the winch on the front of the Land-Pod. Now it could very slowly pull the disabled Mole-Pod back towards them.
Brains sighed heavily. "As I f-feared," he said. "That energy d-dome goes underground as well."
"That means there's no way we can get in with any of our vehicles," said Scott.
"Which means we are powerless," said Colonel Casey. "The only thing that would have any kind of chance is a machine that doesn't run on digital technology."
"Basically then, we're screwed," said Hayley.
It was at that moment that Gordon suddenly had an idea. "I wonder…" he said to himself. Then he made a decision. "Scott! Scott! I need you to take me somewhere!"
"Not now, Gordon," replied Scott.
Gordon ran over and grabbed his eldest brother by the arms. "Scott, don't shut me down. I have an idea that could help us. Please, the sooner you take me, the sooner we can help Lady Penelope and anyone else who is trapped in there."
Scott looked at the others to see if anyone could back him up. But nobody did.
"What do you h-have in mind, Gordon?" asked Brains.
"There isn't time to explain, Brains," Gordon said sharply. "Scott, please take me. Or you let me borrow Thunderbird-"
"No!" Scott snapped. "I'll take you. No way am I letting you fly Thunderbird 1 again after last time! Come on!" He grabbed Gordon by the sash and together they hurried over to Thunderbird 1.
Brains, Virgil, Hayley and Colonel Casey watched them go, utterly confused.
Once aboard, Scott fired up Thunderbird 1's engines and lifted off the ground before heading North. "Whatever your idea is, Gordon, it better be worth it," he warned.
Gordon seemed somewhat offended by his brother's lack of confidence. "Seriously, Scott? With Lady Penelope in danger, do you think I'd be goofing about right now?"
Scott didn't answer, but deep down he knew Gordon was right. He had to trust him.
The others watched as Thunderbird 1 disappeared from view.
"What was that all about?" Hayley asked Virgil.
"I don't know," Virgil replied. "But I'm fairly sure Gordon is being serious given the situation."
"If his idea helps us, then I'm all for it," said Colonel Casey. "I don't normally say this, but I'm out of options."
"Alan's c-coming back," Brains then said, alerting them to Mole-Pod now approaching the surface.
Virgil put Thunderbird 1's sudden departure out of his mind whilst he tended to helping Alan with the Mole-Pod.
Parker had finally come around after the effects of the tranquilizer dart had worn off and he was grateful for a sip of water from the GP who continued to tend to him.
"How are you feeling, Parker?" asked Penelope.
"H'I will be fine, m'lady," Parker said. He looked over at the locked gate. "Give me five minutes with that lock h'and I'll soon 'ave it open."
"It's a secure lock," said the Mayor. "Nobody has a key. Those people have the only one."
"Parker is a, h'expert when it comes to locks," Penelope said, giving Parker a knowing wink.
Parker smiled, but the GP and the Mayor exchanged more confused looks. They were finding their new additions very peculiar indeed.
Scott stared in disbelief for a few moments before rounding on Gordon. "I thought you said you had a serious idea?!" he spluttered.
"I do!" replied Gordon crossly.
"THAT?!" said Scott, pointing across the airfield tarmac. "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS?!"
"I couldn't be more serious," said Gordon. "It'll work. It has to."
Scott shook his head. "You've lost your mind, little brother. Your love for Lady Penelope really does-"
"Shhhh!" hissed Gordon and pointed behind Scott.
Scott looked around and saw a group of four men dressed in old-fashioned flight gear with brown jackets and smart dark blue trousers.
"Hello, chaps!" said one of the men cheerfully. "Can we help you?"
Scott opened his mouth to apologise but Gordon cut him off. "Yes, please," he said. "Gentlemen, there are lives in danger and we need a favor."
"Of course," said the man. "Wing Commander Terence Briggs at your service. What do you need?"
Scott tried to speak but once again Gordon cut him off. "We need to use your plane," he said. "The big one."
Scott was tense. He hoped that the Wing Commander would retract his offer.
"Where are we headed?" Briggs asked eagerly.
Scott groaned and facepalmed. "This is going to be a disaster…"