Chapter 25 - Infiltration

Alan climbed on board the small submarine and down the main hatch. He paused only to grab for the hatch and closed it behind him, turning the handle to seal it tight. Once he climbed down into the main area of the sub, he followed John the short distance to the control area.

The area was small, which just barely housed two seats, a control panel, and something that looked like a navigational console with a steering column. John had already claimed the seat in front of the navigational console.

"You think we can drive this thing?" Alan asked as he sat down in the seat beside John.

"Alan, let's just say those simulators that Brains made for you to practice on got their start somewhere," John replied with a grin. He then contacted Gordon via Tele-com. "Gordon, we've commandeered a ride. Can you patch into the systems in here?"

From the tele-com screen, Gordon chuckled. "Leave it to you two to come up with a distraction like this. Need a hand with the navigation?"

John looked over at Alan and grinned. "Nah, I think we have that aspect well in hand. I just need you to be able to track us so that you can feed any course corrections to Virgil."

"FAB"

John then turned his attention to the console in front of him. "Okay, we have acceleration and direction. You have sensor readings on your console, Alan?"

Alan nodded.

"Excellent," John replied, "Let's find ourselves an underwater base, shall we?"

It took a few false starts and coordinating information with each other, but soon John and Alan had managed to get the sub underwater and moving forward.

Through the front windows of the sub, Alan watched as the water around them turned darker shades of blue until they found it hard to see. He searched the panel in front of him and found controls for the forward lights and flipped them on. When he did, he was amazed at what he saw. "John, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Yeah."

Below them in the distance they could just make out a series of domes that seemed to be setting on top of some sort of underwater plateau.

"I think we've just found where Shadow Force is hiding," John declared.

Alan watched in fascination as John steered the sub closer to the domes before them. "It looks like there are three domes, John. Look at that tube jutting out of that one on the far end. It looks like a docking area."

"So it does. Contact Gordon and make sure he's reading our coordinates."

Alan sat back and contacted Gordon. "Calling Thunderbird Five. We are not that far away from the base now - got the coordinates we sent, Gordon?"

Static greeted Alan's declaration and he nearly panicked. "Gordon?"

Gordon's voice eventually made its way through the static, but it was far from clear. "Sorry guys, there is some massive interference coming from that place. I did manage to get the specific coordinates from your ride. I'll go ahead and signal Virgil to follow you. Go ahead and for heavens sakes, will you two be careful?"

Alan shook his head. "What are you trying to do, become the new mother hen of the family?"

Gordon hedged for a moment before declaring. "No, it's just that it won't leave anyone to come get me when my rotation is over. Now let's get this plan off the ground, okay? Thunderbird Five out."

Grinning, John shook his head as he guided the sub to and through the docking tube. "Sometimes Gordon is such a brat that he even makes you look good."

Scowling, Alan punched him in the arm. "Can we focus here? We are not exactly on friendly turf you know."

A serious look came over John's face. "Believe me, I know it all too well, Sprout. Dad and Scott are depending on us, so we better get inside and fast."

He turned his attention back to the wheel, and soon John had the sub maneuvered through the docking tube. The amount of light around them changed, making the water brighter all around them "Alan, check the sensors."

Alan checked the panel one last time. "It looks like we are inside the dome- we seem to be in a docking area. It should be safe to surface."

John adjusted the controls, and their view soon shifted until they broke the surface of the water. Once he had everything shut down, John grabbed for one of the weapons that he had liberated from the goons that he had thrown overboard. Passing it to Alan, he made a move to stand up. "You cover my back. What we need to find is a computer terminal, and then we can get this party started."

Alan and John quietly climbed out of the small sub and were able to make the jump to a small docking platform. The platform connected with a main walkway, and they wasted no time running down the walkway towards the far side of the dome. Alan felt relieved to find that no one was around in the immediate area for now, so they were able to traverse the whole dock without worry of discovery.

Moment's later, he spotted what he thought John was looking for. "I think that's what you are looking for over there."

Alan pointed over what looked like a monitor screen inset into a wall. John grinned and walked over to the unit, studying it carefully. "Yes, I think this is exactly what we need."

From his pocket, John withdrew a small metal rectangular device. "Give me a minute and I will see if I can get this thing to reveal its innermost secrets."

Alan watched in awe as John placed the device just slightly below the monitor and then set to work, pressing a button on the box. The monitor lit up, displaying dizzying amounts of letters and numbers until it settled on a menu that looked to have options to access different parts of the facility. "Pretty snazzy touch screen setup; now let's see if we can get into their network."

John pressed a few options on the touch screen and then pressed the button on his box again. The monitor started its dance again, flashing even more numbers.

He heard Alan ask. "Where can I get a box like that?"

"No where. I helped Brains develop it, especially after the fiasco where the Hood hacked our systems." John paused for a moment as a shudder passed through him. "This little beauty houses a few different bars of code in a few different computer languages. Some of it I came up with, some of this is Brain's doing and – ah, I think we have what we came for."

While John had been talking, the monitor had finally stopped flashing the number sequences and had settled on a static image that looked like a map of the complex. "Bingo!"

Alan who had been looking over his shoulder grinned. "When I get back into the thick of things, I want to spend a rotation with you. You get the good toys."

John arched a brow at the comment. "You think so? Scott seems to think you would benefit from a mountain climbing experience and going with him in Thunderbird One a few times."

Alan shuddered at the thought. Sure he loved most sports, but "Mountain climbing, as in on a mountain?"

John laughed quietly. "That's what I thought. Come on, I found the area where they are holding dad and Scott. We better get moving if we want our plan to work."