Out Of Place
AN – Another early update! The next few chapters may flow thick and fast, but I'm not sure what order they will be in at the moment. I hope it doesn't get too confusing! Thank you again to all my readers for your support.
Disclaimer – I don't own Thunderbirds
Chapter Twenty Five – Breaking and Entering
John relished being back in his uniform, the familiar feel of it a comfort to him. It probably wasn't the most practical outfit when engaging in covert surveillance but he couldn't bring himself to care too much. It wasn't like he was able to concentrate anyway, lying flat on his stomach next to Angel who wielded an old fashioned pair of binoculars. She was lying so close that one of her elbows, laid out as she supported the binoculars in her hands, was resting gently against his side. Not that there had been any choice, the small bank that was providing them with cover was only just wide enough for them both as it was.
Angel had kept her distance ever since she'd arrived, battered and torn, on the helipad. John had a growing concern that the same events that opened his eyes to his own feelings had also revealed said feelings to her. He was trying to act normal, which was proving anything but easy as he hadn't had time to even start to process everything he was thinking and feeling right now.
A slight shift in Angel's position drew his attention back to the present. "Someone is coming to the main entrance," she whispered, barely speaking in the still morning air. It was still dark, but the first sliver of morning light suffused everything with a steely grey shade as the dawn slowly approached. In this strange half light John could just about make out an all terrain vehicle with a couple of figures sitting stiffly within it. Angel passed him the binoculars and he turned them onto normal vision, away from infrared, to give him a better look at the car's occupants. As soon as he did so, he hissed and passed the binoculars back.
"That's the Hood, he's given up his disguise."
Angel pressed a button on her wrist, a man's watch looking incongruously out of place on her slender arms. "John has confirmed that the Hood has just arrived at the main gate of the facility."
"FAB," the other John replied, his voice quiet. "Looks like we're at the right place then. I'll tell the others." Angel cut the communication, pulling the binoculars to her face once again.
"He's gone through the gates," she murmured to John. "Time to find a way in ourselves."
They'd looked at the plans in some depth while preparing to come out here. Or at least, most of them had. The Brains were busy preparing something that they'd said was essential for making the switch. The site was an old automobile manufacture site that used to also provide high spec engine parts for cars that would race at the nearby circuit. There were several different warehouse like buildings that at one point housed the various factories. There was also a taller office block that provided a clear view of most of the site and was the most likely place to house the site security. This block was built against the huge security fence that now ran around the outside of the whole complex.
"That's what we're aiming for." John told her, looking at the block. "Where is the tunnel that the others are planning to use?" Gordon, Penelope and Parker were planning to attempt an entry through an old drainage tunnel that predated the rest of the site and lay to the far side of the gate they were currently watching over. Apparently the whole area had once been marshland and there were numerous drainage channels and tunnels criss+crossing the whole area to guard against flooding if the water table rose again.
"It's over by the trees in the distance, they'll have quite a long way to go before they manage to get underneath it." Angel gestured towards some trees in the far distance. A long way to travel, but also far enough away that they were less likely to be detected.
"So how are we getting in?"
Angel tapped the binoculars against her chin in thought, before focussing them again on the office block. "I have an idea," she told him. "Stay close and follow my lead."
"That's pretty much all I've been doing for the last few weeks." John replied with a grin, which faded as he met her worried gaze. She looked like she was about to say something to him but thought better of it, instead creeping backwards until she was far enough down the bank they were hiding behind to be able to get to her feet.
With Angel leading, they both crept carefully towards the perimeter of the site. She kept the high ground between them and the walls, hoping for cover against any eyes that might be keeping a lookout. Eventually the bank could hide them no more and they dashed forwards, pressing against the security wall as a camera above them swung in their direction. John could feel his heart beating fast as the camera began to pan around, but eventually it moved away when it couldn't find them.
Now they shimmied along the wall, keeping as close to it as possible so that they wouldn't be detected by the cameras. They were doubling back towards the main gates, but before they got there Angel stopped – right next to where the office block towered over the fence.
"What now?" John asked, looking up at the grey concrete expanse that stretched at least ten metres above them before the first windows started.
Angel frowned and began to run her fingers over the wall next to the block. "I thought I saw something over there – here it is! Can you feel the difference in texture? There used to be a door here."
John passed his hands over the same area and found exactly what she meant. There was a raised bump in the concrete render, which could be traced into a door shape.
"So there it. What are you planning?"
Angel opened the rucksack she had slung on her back, pulling out something wrapped in film. She carefully donned gloves, stretching it out into a long thin tube. "Plastic explosive," she explained to him. She pressed the explosive in a thin line around the edge of the old door and carefully pressed wires into it. She then unrolled the wires and they scooted back along the wall for a good way.
"You carry plastic explosive around in your bag?" John hissed at her. Angel just shrugged.
"You never know when you are going to need it. Now, we need a diversion."
John shook his head and began scanning the area. "There," he pointed away from them. "There's a low flying plane heading to the airport."
"That's good enough," Angel replied, watching it make it's progress. "Ready, on three, two…" John pressed his hands to his ears and Angel did likewise as she pressed the trigger. A muffled bang echoed around and dust kicked up into the air, but the sound was mostly masked by the low flying airplane that by now was pretty much dead overhead.
For several minutes they didn't move, just kept crouching there to see if anyone came to investigate the noise. After a long pause, Angel nodded at John and they both moved back to the settling cloud of dust. As they approached, John could see the cracked render revealed a hole as the internal door hadn't withstood the force of the blast. He shone a torch in, revealing clouds of dust in an otherwise dark space.
"Anyone in there?"
"It looks like it hasn't been used for years." He confirmed, passing the torch around one last time. He then put it back on his belt and started to scramble through the hole.
The broken doorway was sharper than expected, with a jagged metal edge that sliced into his hand as he used it for leverage. "Ouch!"
"What is it?"
"Sharp edges," John replied ruefully, looking at the hole in his gloves. The fabric was flapping uselessly on the palm where the metal had torn a flap free. He ripped the gloves off and stowed them in his belt. He was about to check his palm for damage when he found it taken away from him.
Angel bent over his hand, her own torch checking for injuries. "You've got a bit of a cut but nothing too bad." She told him as she twisted it different ways to check manoeuvrability. John couldn't stop the blush from rising again and he thanked the heavens that it was dark in this room.
"Um, thanks," he said eventually with a slight cough, causing Angel to drop the hand as though it might burn her.
"You should check your grip." She advised, turning her face away. John flexed his hand a couple of times and she nodded, satisfied. They both turned their torches away from the doorway to scan the area.
The room they were in was huge, concrete pillars dotted around to support the floors above. It had evidently been most recently used for storage, judging by the packing crates and containers that lay dotted around. Slowly John walked forwards, swinging the torch in a large arc as he searched for a way out of the basement. Eventually he was rewarded with an old wooden staircase in the distant corner.
"How old is this place if the stairs are made of wood?" Angel asked incredulously. John had to agree, but it was clear that some parts of this office block was actually made up of a much older building. At the top of the wooden platform was a ledge that led to a set of double doors, set high in the wall above them.
"Be careful," he warned as he started climbing the stairs, silently cursing his clumsiness as he tripped up one of the steps and had to grab hold of the handrail to steady himself. This proved not to be a good idea as the action of holding it was the last straw for the rotting rail and with a groan it broke off in his hands, a large chunk falling down to the basement floor with a loud clatter.
Both Angel and John froze on the stairs, hardly daring to breathe as they waited for someone to barge through the doors to find out what the noise was. To their relief, the double doors stayed shut. John cautiously carried on up the stairs, extra careful now not to fall. He was nearly at the top when there was a shriek from behind him as Angel's foot went through a step and her body was pitched over the side with no guard rail. On instinct, John caught her windmilling arm and pulled her upwards. He landed back on the ledge with a thump, Angel on top of him as he cradled her close.
John took a few deep breaths as he continued to hold her tight, unable or unwilling to move. He looked up into her confused brown eyes, some free strands of her hair falling forwards and tickling his neck. He couldn't move, the tension stretching between them, and might have stayed in that position forever if Angel hadn't come to her senses and rolled away, getting to her feet with a groan of pain caused by her damaged ribs. She moved away warily as soon as she could.
"Thanks," she muttered even as she went over to inspect the doors. John took another couple of seconds to get up, trying to regain his equilibrium. By the time he'd reached his feet Angel had already opened the double doors and snuck through. With a sigh John followed, finding himself in a much more modern lobby. Angel was already behind the desk, looking at floors.
"We need the top floor." She whispered, gesturing towards the far end of the lobby where John could see an elevator. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any stairs, but given their recent experiences with stairs maybe that was for the best.
John called the elevator while Angel checked all the camera feeds. "No one has been in here for a while now." She told him as she joined him. "It should be safe for us. We want the thirteenth floor."
John's reply was rendered unnecessary by the arrival of the elevator. They entered and found that it was a very cramped space and they were forced closer together than either of them were truly comfortable with.
It was also incredibly slow.
Angel's patience was obviously wearing thin as she drummed on the side of the elevator, muttering under her breath.
"Are you ok?" John asked, concern for her overcoming the awkwardness.
"I'm fine." She bit out hurriedly. They waited while the elevator climbed another couple of floors.
"I'm married." She stated suddenly, in a low voice that John struggled to hear.
"I know."
"I love my husband."
"I know that too." John sighed. "Look, I don't know what you expect me to say. It's not like I planned all of this. I'm well aware that what I'm feeling is highly appropriate." While he was speaking John was vaguely aware that Angel had paused the elevator and they were currently stationary somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floor.
"I just don't understand." Angel told him in confusion. "How did it even happen?"
"I don't know. I was in the middle before I had realised it had even begun." John shrugged helplessly. "It's not exactly like you can come back from that, you know? But you don't have to be scared, I know that you are never going to reciprocate and I don't expect you to."
"That's not what I'm afraid of."
"Then what is?"
Angel shook her head. "Look, don't worry about it. Can we just agree to try to go back as before?"
"Sure." John turned away from her and faced the front of the elevator again. "What to get this thing moving?"
With a click and a whirl it rose, first past floor eleven, then twelve, until it settled on thirteen.
After an age, the door slowly creaked open. The first thing that John noticed was the blinding light, so bright it dazzled them both momentarily. As his eyes became accustomed to the light, a figure could be seen standing in front of the elevator doors. A tall, bald figure that was all too familiar to John.
"Well now, isn't this all very cosy?"
