Chapter 26 - Captured
Alan held on to his weapon tightly as he followed John through the corridors of the complex. From the outside it had not seemed so massive, but now that they were actually going through the corridors themselves, it felt like they had been traveling for miles.
They had only come across one or two of the guards on their journey, which they were able to easily evade.
The waiting was getting on his nerves - Alan had to know. "John, how much further do we have to go?"
"A couple more feet," John promised. After taking one last connector, they finally reached what had been labeled as the holding area on the map they had seen. Before them, there stood two rows of doors. "You check that row and I will check the other."
Alan nodded his agreement and they spread out.
He began checking and found one empty cell after another. Losing hope, Alan was beginning to think it was a lost cause until he heard John's shout.
"I've found them! Over here!"
--
Scott had fallen asleep earlier and Jeff had nearly done the same when he heard a noise from the outside of the cell. Opening his eyes, he was shocked to find Alan and John standing in front of the door of their cell.
A sense of relief filled Jeff. "Can I say that I am very glad to see you two?"
"You can," Alan replied, "but you might want to hold that thought until we get through this lock. Shield your eyes!"
Jeff averted his eyes from the door, and he could hear the sounds of a weapon cutting through the Plexiglas door. Moments later the sound died off and he turned back around to find that they had made it in and were both working on their restraints.
Scott woke up in the meanwhile and smirked. "Took you guys long enough."
John rolled his eyes as he worked on Scott's restraints. "Oh sure, blame us for having to make a few stops along the way. We could have left you here, you know."
"Boys, they have been monitoring you all along," Jeff said.
"We know dad," John replied. "We figured it out and kept most of our plans low key because of it."
"What we need to do is get out of here!" Alan declared as he finished cutting his dad free.
With their help, Scott and Jeff were soon on their feet and they soon moved to leave the cell.
They had made it a few steps into the hallway when they saw a group of armed men advanced towards them.
Judging by the man leading the group, Jeff knew they were in trouble. He motioned to Alan. "Alan, drop your weapon."
--
General X stood at the head of his group and smiled broadly at four men in front of them. These were the infamous Thunderbirds that the Hood had told him about? Preposterous. He kept his voice light. "Gentlemen, please. I wouldn't want you to leave without experiencing our hospitality."
The one he knew as Alan Tracy stepped forward. "Yeah right, and I suppose your version of hospitality is to have the Hood try and scramble our brains."
He laughed and sneered. "Such impertinence. We have secured the sub that you had stolen from two of my men above the water. The Hood is also working on the world leaders we have here, and our man in Washington is poised to take over the White House. What do you have to say to that?"
General X was puzzled when Alan looked down at his watch and then back up at him with a grin. "I think that you will have an answer to that question in about thirty seconds."
He stood his ground, not sure whether to believe such a brash statement.
Seconds later General X got his answer when the ground rumbled underneath his feet.
--
Virgil was nervous when the idea was first pitched that he follow Alan and John in Thunderbird Four. He did not have as much time in training on four for one thing, and for another the plan was quite involved. Gordon had reassured him that it could be done, so he agreed.
That was why he was now underwater around the enemy base, planting small charges around the bases of each of three domes at twenty foot intervals. They shouldn't be enough to damage the dome, but the name of the game here was distraction. They needed to be able to commandeer one of the larger subs to escape with, because after all, they had the dignitaries to free, not to mention get Dad and Scott out of there.
That meant that he had to secure the way out of that base and fast.
Quickly detonating the charges, Virgil then pushed Thunderbird Four to it's limit's speeding to the far side of the domes and flipped a switch on one of Brain's newer inventions, a portable sonar scrambler. The small box emitted a high pitched signal, intent on masking the sonar signature of Four. If it worked, anyone who was nosey enough to scan around for him should only find a very large ocean fish instead.
Virgil waited for a response. If anything was going to happen, now was the time.
Minutes later, the sensors inside Four screamed as he counted at least three subs speeding out of the tube on the far dome. They were heading far away from him, and Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. He sped Four to the far dome at full throttle and quickly found his way to the tube leading inside the dome.
Virgil slowly maneuvered his craft through the tube until he found himself in the docking area that Gordon had told him about. He slowed Thunderbird Four to a halt, then he proceeded to use the video scanners on the area above the water. From the scan, there was one sub left in the dock area, which suited their plans, but there were two guards patrolling the nearby dock.
Grinning, he flipped a switch on another of Brains' newer inventions. "Say goodnight, boys."
A long metal pole extended out from the top of Thunderbird Four. It quietly slid above water, and Virgil watched it's progress on the monitor. The two guards turned around in some surprise as they regarded the intrusion, but before they could react, a bolt of electrical energy shot out, striking both guards square on.
The amazed guards fell to the ground in a heap. Surfacing his craft, Virgil made a move to exit four while making one crucial communication. He turned the dial on his tele-com and quickly spoke into it. "Thunderbird Four to entry team. The dock is secure. The rest is up to you."
He heard a quick and hushed "FAB" in reply. Virgil was dying to know what was happening on the other side of the complex, but instead made a move for the hatch. It was all part of the plan they went over, but there was still part of him that hated this plan with a passion.