THE Mole-Pod was now back out of the tunnel and on its holder once more. Alan climbed out to join the others. "Sorry, guys," he apologised. "Guess we need a new plan?" He looked around and then realised something. "Er, where did Gordon and Scott go?"
"Not a clue, Alan," replied Virgil. "Gordon's got an idea, but he wouldn't tell us. He's gotten Scott to take him somewhere."
"R-Rather odd it was too," agreed Brains.
Colonel Casey glanced at her watch. "They've been gone for well over ten minutes now," she said. "I thought we'd have heard from them by now."
Virgil tapped his sash. "Thunderbird 5, I don't suppose you know where Gordon and Scott have gone?"
"I've tracked Thunderbird 1 to an airfield not far from Caernarfon," John replied. "I've got their locators and they appear to be on the runway. Yet Thunderbird 1's hovering in the sky above the base on remote-piloting."
"Why don't you just call them and see what they're up to?" suggested Alan.
"You know what? I think I will," said John. He opened another link. "Thunderbird 1 - what is your situation?"
"Sorry, John, can't talk right now," Scott replied. "We've just been given clearance for take-off. I'll get back to you." He pushed open a throttle. There was a rumble and a roar as he, Gordon, Wing-Commander Briggs and three other men began to accelerate down the runway and then once at take-off speed, lifted up off the ground and into the sky. "Thunderbird L is GO!" said Scott.
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" jeered Gordon as the aircraft banked sharply to the left. Thunderbird 1 then began to follow a short distance behind, remotely following Scott's signal.
Parker examined the lock on the gate. "H'Ah yes. Should be h'easy enough," he said. "Does h'anyone 'ave h'an 'airpin?"
"Here you go, Parker," said Penelope straight away as she handed one to him.
Parker grinned. "You h'anticipated, m'lady," he said as he took the hairpin and began to work on the lock.
"I really don't see what this is going to achieve, Lady Penelope?" said the Mayor. "Even if you can get that door open, where exactly are we going to go? Our captors have control of the elevator and we cannot call it from down here."
"One step at a time, Mr Mayor," replied Penelope. "I've been in tougher spots than this and have always gotten out in one piece."
The Mayor gave her a suspicious look. "Seems rather out of place for a member of the aristocracy if I may say so?" he remarked.
"I'm not your typical aristocrat," said Penelope.
"H'Indeed she's not," agreed Parker to himself. There was a click and the lock opened. "Got it!" he said. He stepped back and the gate swung open.
"Well done, Parker," said Penelope. "Let us go and check out the shaft." She then walked out.
"Stay here," the Mayor told the other villagers who were further down the tunnel. "I'll be back." He then followed Penelope out and Parker brought up the rear, leaving the gate open.
John watched the progress of Scott and Gordon on his monitor screen with confusion. Clearly they were in a totally different aircraft with Thunderbird 1 following behind. "Scott, you're moving at a snail's pace," he remarked. "What exactly are you playing at?"
"Carrying out Gordon's plan, John," Scott answered.
"Which is what exactly?" asked John.
"Can't say. Military secrets," said Scott mysteriously. "Now please, John. I need a lot of concentration to fly this bird. I'll call you when required. Thunderbird L, out." He then looked ahead at the Welsh mountains. In the very far distance he could just make out the glow of the energy dome. "ETA to target - thirteen minutes."
"F-A-B," said Gordon.
John was even more confused. "Thunderbird L?" he said to himself.
Virgil then called up again. "Any news, John?" he asked.
"Nothing that makes any sense," John answered. "They're definitely on their way back, but they're flying in a much slower aircraft with Thunderbird 1 remotely following them."
"How slow are we talking?" asked Virgil.
"At their current speed, they'll be with you in about twelve minutes," said John.
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.
"Twelve?!" spluttered Colonel Casey. "What the hell are they playing at?!"
"That's not the strangest thing," said John. "Whatever it is they're flying, Scott's calling it Thunderbird L."
"Thunderbird L?" several voices responded.
"I thought it was Gordon who was going mad, not Scott," remarked Hayley.
"C-Clearly whatever Gordon's plan is, he's won Scott over," said Brains.
Penelope, Parker and the Mayor had now reached the bottom of the elevator shaft and looked up. It was still very dark and their candles didn't show much.
"Like I told you," said the Mayor. "We have no way of alerting anybody up there. And we couldn't even if we wanted to. Our village is overrun by those…whatever they call themselves."
"Luddites, Mr Mayor," said Penelope. "They're called The Luddites."
"And just who are they?" asked the Mayor. "What could they possibly want with our village?"
"I suspect a base of operations," said Penelope. "Their overall goal is global domination with total blackout."
"Blackout?" repeated the Mayor. "Make sense."
"She means that they want to rule the world without power h'or technology," explained Parker.
The Mayor was completely stumped. "But…but…but that's ABSURD!" he exclaimed. "The world can't survive without that?! They're DELUDED!"
"You're not wrong there," agreed Penelope.
Just then, Parker noticed something. "M'lady, look at this!" he said as he picked an object up off the ground.
Penelope looked at it. "Good heavens!" she exclaimed. "MAX's head?"
"What?!" asked the Mayor.
"It's the head of a robot, Mr Mayor," explained Penelope. "I know the builder. He's a member of International Rescue." She paused and looked up the shaft. "Which means they're around!"
Ten minutes seemed a long time for those waiting outside the dome.
"Ahhh, they're taking forever!" groaned Alan. "People could be dying in there. We can't wait for them!"
"What do you expect us to do, Alan?" asked Virgil. "None of our machines will work in there."
"Can't we just walk in?" asked Alan. "Send the soldiers first with weapons trained and-"
"My men's weapons are digital!" snapped Colonel Casey. "They won't work there either."
Hayley had been trying to ignore the raised voices, and in doing so, had caught the sound of something strange in the distance. "QUIET!" she shouted, making everyone fall silent. She then placed two fingers to her left ear telling them to listen.
Everyone fell quiet and began to listen. At first they heard nothing, but then they slowly began to hear a distant rumbling sound coming from the North. It sounded like an aircraft, but not one that sounded familiar. One by one they began to turn to look. Then they stopped and blinked in surprise. In the very far distance they could make out two aircraft approaching. One was Thunderbird 1. But it was the other that was making the strange noise.
"Wait…is that?" Alan began.
Hayley raised her binoculars to her eyes and looked at the oncoming aircraft. "You've got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed.
Virgil tapped his sash again. "Virgil to Scott. Do you read me?"
"Hey, Virg," Scott replied. "Guessing you've sighted us?"
"Are you insane?!" Virgil spluttered. "What are you doing?!"
"Watch and you'll see, bro," chuckled Scott. "Commencing bombing run." He pulled back a lever by his right side. "Opening Bomb-Bay doors."
The doors on the underside of the Lancaster opened to reveal the four bombs that it had been carrying in its air display.
"Doors open," said Scott. "She's all yours, Gordon."
Gordon was in the bombardier's position in the nose right at the front of the Lancaster. It was now his job to give Scott the necessary instructions to guide him onto the target. "One degree left, Scott," he said. "Right a bit. That's it, hold her! Hold her steady now. Steady…"
The Lancaster's engines rumbled as it began to pass over the parked GDF Flyers and Thunderbird 2 whilst everyone on the ground watched on in disbelief. The Lancaster flew right over their heads and straight towards the dome.
"SCOTT! GORDON! NO!" Virgil yelled frantically. "YOU'LL BE KILLED!"
The two brothers had to switch their helmet radios off. They then reached the dome and felt the Lancaster shudder as it passed through.
"They've lost it!" Virgil said to Hayley. "They've completely lost it!"
Hayley grabbed his arm, sharing his fear for the brothers.
But the Lancaster's engines didn't cough, or splutter, or even cut out once it had passed through the dome. It just kept on going.
The Luddite groups inside the dome and located around the village were all taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the Lancaster.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Lord Luddite. "What is this?!"
"It's still flying?!" gasped Lady Luddite. "But how?!"
Now they were inside the dome, Scott and Gordon had no problems seeing the device that The Luddites were using to create the dome. Gordon had his thumb on the release button, waiting to press it. He knew he had to make this right. There was no second chance. "Right a little," Gordon said to Scott. "Easy. Hold it there. Keep her steady…" He pressed the button. "Bombs away!"
The four bombs were released and began to whistle as they plummeted down towards the device. As they did so, Scott banked the Lancaster off to the left to avoid hitting the beam that was shooting up from the dish mounted on the top.
The Luddites may have been a group with a stupid agenda, but they weren't totally dumb. As soon as they saw the bombs drop out of the Lancaster they realised what was coming. All the groups stationed near to the device began to panic and run away, several screamed in terror.
"No!" cried Lord Luddite, staring up at the bombs. "NO!"
"MOVE!" screamed Lady Luddite, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away.
The bombs slammed into the device one after the other, detonating and completely obliterating it. The shockwaves made the entire village shake, blowing out every single window in all the buildings including the church.
Down in the mine, everyone was totally freaked out by the loud bangs and the sudden violent shaking of the ground. They of course had no idea about the Lancaster and the bombs. In fact they hadn't even known about the dome until Penelope had told them about it.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" cried a villager.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" wailed a mother, grabbing her children tightly.
Even Parker and Penelope were startled by the sudden explosions and minor earthquake. Fortunately though, no part of the tunnel collapsed.
Outside the dome, everyone heard a huge explosion and were horrified, thinking it was the Lancaster that had crashed.
"NO!" Virgil, Alan and Brains cried out in despair.
Hayley had her hands over her mouth. But then she gasped again when she noticed something. "Guys? Guys, LOOK!" She pointed.
Everyone looked and saw the Lancaster rise up above the dome. And then to their astonishment, the dome began to dissolve and faded away into nothing, revealing the village and a huge plume of black smoke rising from the spot where the device had been located.
"Huh?" said Alan. "What the hell just happened?"
Then Scott's voice came over the radio. "This is Thunderbird L. Target destroyed. Drawbridge is down. Colonel Casey - round up those Luddites!"
On the ground they could now see several members of The Luddites on the outside of the village looking around in confusion, and then terror when they realised they were no longer protected.
"You heard him!" Colonel Casey barked at the nearest group of soldiers. "Take them!" She then grabbed her walkie-talkie. "All units - arrest The Luddites. Now!"
The soldiers sprang into action, running into the village. Some on foot, others in trucks. They began to round The Luddites up like a flock of sheep. Some had the sense to surrender. Others tried to run but they were swiftly cut off.
John then called in. "Virgil, Alan, I've got Lady Penelope's signal. I've also located the rest of the villagers! They're trapped in the old mine located just to the West of the town. Use the Mole-Pod and make them a way out."
"F-A-B!" said Alan eagerly as he jumped back into the Mole-Pod. He fired up the engine and began to head back down into the tunnel he'd already made. Getting to the spot he'd reached before stopping earlier, he then used the signal sent to him by John to make his way down through the ground towards where the mine was.
The villagers trapped in the mine began to panic when they felt the ground shaking again. The vibrations began to blow out the candles making it pitch black.
"This is it!" wailed the Mayor, grabbing his wife and kids. "We're done for!"
There was a boom as something burst through the wall near to where they were. Some dust kicked about blocking any view.
Then a voice called out. "Lady Penelope? Parker? Can you hear me?"
Penelope and Parker knew that voice. "ALAN?!"
Alan shone a torch light down towards everyone. "Everyone stay calm," he said. "I'm gonna make a tunnel up to the surface so you can follow me. Slow and steady. We'll get you all out." He powered up the Mole's drill again and set off once more, digging through the opposite side of the tunnel to where he'd been and began to head up towards the surface with a gradual spiral.
"You heard him, people!" Penelope called to the villagers. "Head up this tunnel. Don't stop until you get to the top."
The villagers finally realised that they really did have hope. They scrambled to their feet and save for the few elderly people that needed assistance, began to make their way up the tunnel after the Mole-Pod.
Despite the GDF having rounded up and caught several of The Luddites, two remained elusive. Lord and Lady Luddite had hidden themselves in the garden of a house. Lord Luddite was having a child-like tantrum. "This can't have happened. It was FOOLPROOF! NOTHING SHOULD HAVE STOPPED US!"
"Will you shut up?!" snapped Lady Luddite, slapping him on the arm. "You'll give us away!"
"I spent months planning this. Every last detail. I cannot be denied what I-"
"Shut UP!" shrieked Lady Luddite, this time punching him in the mask and causing him to fall over.
"How…DARE YOU?!" roared Lord Luddite. "I GOT YOU TO JOIN OUR-"
"OVER HERE!" shouted the voice of a GDF officer nearby.
Lord and Lady Luddite realised their hiding place was compromised. "Come ON!" urged Lady Luddite as she grabbed Lord Luddite and dragged him through the side gate of the house and into a yellow convertible sports car that was sitting with its roof down. Lady Luddite quickly managed to use her hair clip to start the engine and they raced away as a group of troops closed in on their position.
Turning a corner, they saw a line of soldiers ahead of them.
"RUN THEM DOWN!" ordered Lord Luddite.
Lady Luddite pushed her foot on the accelerator and the car raced towards the soldiers who began to get themselves ready to jump clear.
Suddenly the ground started to shake as a rumbling sound could be heard by the soldiers but not by the escaping Luddite leaders.
And then it happened. The road in front of the car burst open as the Mole-Pod came flying out right towards them.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" screamed Lord and Lady Luddite as the latter spun the wheel in panic to the left. The car skidded and spun out of control before crashing off the road and crashed through a hedge before ending up in a pond.
Alan opened the top of the Mole-Pod and looked over at the crashed car. "Gee. Did I do that?"
The Lancaster was still flying overhead. "All right!" said Scott. "Looks like the villagers are safe."
"Good show, old chap," said Wing Commander Briggs. "However, I'm afraid we'll be late for our flight over Liverpool if we don't leave immediately."
"Not a problem, sir," said Scott. "Lucky for Gordon and I, we have another craft to catch." He stood up to let the Wing Commander take over the controls. "She's all yours. Gordon, time for us to leave."
"F-A-B," said Gordon as he came up from the front of the plane. "Thanks," he said to Briggs.
"No problem, my boy," replied the Wing Commander. "Hope those Luddites get put away for a long, long time."
Scott and Gordon dropped out of the hatch on the bottom of the Lancaster and landed on the wing of Thunderbird 1, staying in place with their gecko gloves. They then waved and saluted a thank you to the crew of the Lancaster as it banked and climbed away.
"Tally-ho!" cheered Briggs.
It took a little while for all The Luddites to be found and rounded up but at last they were all being loaded onto the GDF Flyers. Scott and Gordon had landed Thunderbird 1 and re-grouped with the others where Gordon got to have his reunion with Penelope and Parker.
"That was quite a stunt you boys pulled off," Colonel Casey remarked.
"But you have to tell us how you managed that," said Alan.
"Easy," grinned Gordon. "World War Two planes don't run on digital technology."
"Meaning that it wouldn't be affected by the Luddites machine!" Brains said. "S-Splendid idea!"
"Well done, Gordo," laughed Scott, elbowing his brother. "Sorry for not taking you seriously."
"Ah, don't sweat it, Scott," replied Gordon. "Just goes to show I'm not always the silly one."
Parker then spoke up. "Mr Brains. I believe this h'is yours?" He produced the severed head of MAX.
"MAX!" Brains cried, grabbing the head off Parker. "You f-found him. Thank you, Parker!" And he gave Parker a hug, much to the chauffeur's bemused delight.
"You h'are very welcome, sir," Parker said.
The others laughed, but the happiness was swiftly stopped when they heard angry voices coming from the captured Luddites.
"THERE HE IS!"
"THAT'S HIM! THE ONE WITH THE GREEN BELT!"
"KILL HIM!"
Everyone looked across to see a brawl had broken out before the GDF soldiers and several of the Luddites who were trying to get across towards them.
"Are they talking about you?" Alan asked Virgil.
Virgil's heart sank. "Yeah…I believe they are," he said sadly.
Hayley felt herself burning with anger. "I'll put a stop to this," she said furiously. She stormed towards the brawl and took out her stun gun before shooting a blast into the air. "GET BACK IN LINE!" she bellowed. "NOW!"
That did the trick. The Luddites quivered and began to scurry into the many waiting GDF Flyers to take them away.
"Is that all of them?" Colonel Casey asked.
"All but two, ma'am," said a Lieutenant. "And we're bringing them in now."
All eyes turned to see Lord and Lady Luddite being marched across the field towards them. Unlike the others, they were not coming quietly.
"LET ME GO!" Lord Luddite was shouting. "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM! I WILL HAVE YOU FOR THIS!"
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" screeched Lady Luddite. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO-" She broke off, suddenly noticing the Tracy brothers looking at her. Then she let out a squeal. "VIRGIL!" She broke free of the soldiers escorting her and she began to hobble-hop towards them. "MY LOVE!"
"Wait, what?!" Scott exclaimed. But before he or anyone else could react, Penelope moved in and hit Lady Luddite across the side of the head. She spun round and fell flat on her face. Her mask also fell off as she hit the ground.
Lady Luddite groaned in pain due to the minor injuries she'd sustained in the car crash. Then she lifted her head and looked at them all.
Scott and Virgil froze, the latter went white when he saw her face. "N-N-N-Nina?!"
Nina Gallagher's face broke into a broad and sinister grin as she fixed her eyes on Virgil. "Got you at last, my lover," she said. "I knew you'd come back for me."
"Wait, Virgil, is this the person who tried to kidnap you?" asked Gordon.
Virgil was still stunned, but then he found his voice. "Yes…" He said.
"What are you doing, Gallagher?" Scott snarled at Nina. "Why are you with The Luddites?"
"To get what I want," Nina hissed. "And now I have it. Your brother!"
"Er, yeah…I think Virgil's girl might have something to say about that," Alan remarked.
"Oh, yeah?" sneered Nina. "Well, don't think I've forgotten about her, Virgil. I will track her down. And I will kill her. You will be mine. That's a promise."
"Are you threatening my man?"
Nina froze. The voice came from behind her.
"Ooooooooooooooooooooo," Alan said.
"You're in trouble now, Nina," added Gordon with a chuckle.
Nina slowly turned her head to the right and found herself looking at a pair of red boots. Then she looked upwards at the figure they belonged to to find Hayley glaring back down at her. "Wait…" Nina began. "You're-"
POW! Hayley didn't give Nina a chance to continue because she struck a punch so hard that it knocked her out cold.
"Nice one, miss," said Parker approvingly.
Hayley was seething. "Is this the person you told me about, Virgil?" she asked.
Virgil nodded sadly. "Yes, Hayley. That's her."
Hayley looked back at the unconscious Nina before turning to the soldiers who'd come to take her back. "Get this filthy piece of rubbish out of my site!" she barked.
The soldiers did so, picking Nina up and carrying her away whilst Lord Luddite continued to curse and swear at his own captors as he was forced into the Flyer.
Virgil turned and walked back towards Thunderbird 2. He didn't know what to think. He was shocked. He was angry. He was upset. Hayley saw this and walked after him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Penelope asked the others.
"He will be," said Scott. "I'm sure Hayley can bring him back down to earth."
Jeff too was equally disgusted when he heard what had happened. "Disgusting," he remarked. "Should have known she'd try something like this. How do you feel, Virgil?"
"Just confused, Dad," Virgil replied. "I mean, I didn't hate Nina, but I just wish she hadn't gone down the path that she did."
"Hey, at least she won't bother you anymore," said Alan. "She's locked up along with the rest of The Luddites."
"Maybe she'll even get help whilst she's in there?" suggested Gordon. "Make her see the error of her ways?"
Scott however wasn't convinced. "I don't think so, Gordon," he said. "So long as Hayley's around, Nina will never be set free."
"Hayley doesn't have that kind of authority," Jeff reminded him. "Only Governors and people like Colonel Casey have the power to keep people in prison."
Virgil sighed and looked at the floor. "I just hope today is their only encounter," he remarked. "I'd hate to think what might happen if those two were to get into a fight."
"Trust me, son," said Jeff. "That's unlikely to happen."
But little did they know, located inside The Vault Maximum Security Prison, Hayley stood alone in a CCTV control room, watching the cell that contained Nina, fury still burning through her body.