The Crime Minister spun around and clicked her fingers at Zoe. "Bring her !" she ordered, before turning on her heels and marching out of the room. Zoe was untied and pulled after her. The Professor and his assistants turned and looked at Dan. Dan swallowed hard. He wasn't going to like this.

Zoe was taken through a series of tunnels to another room, laid out with chairs and tables. She was told to sit in a chair and KORPS agents started wiring her up to different monitors. "What are you doing ?" she demanded angrily.

"We need to make sure you are in tip-top condition before we transfer the Mastermind's consciousness," explained the Crime Minister. "We have the new fuel for our mini-reactor and we should be ready to carry out the operation in a week. I want you ready."

Zoe pulled some of the leads off her body. "I'm not doing it ! I don't care what you do. I'm not doing it !" she shouted angrily.

The Crime Minister turned slowly and looked down on her. "V95 you will do what you are told," she ordered grimly.

"I will not !" replied Zoe with a determined look on her face.

"You want to see your boyfriend die do you ?" she asked incredulously. "I thought you were expressing your undying love for one another earlier," she said, examining her nails carelessly.

"You don't know anything about love !" Zoe spat at her. "You've never loved anyone !"

The Crime Minister turned on her in fury. "You know nothing about me !" she shouted. Instantly she pulled herself back, regaining control. "When I said you could watch your boyfriend die, I didn't necessarily mean quickly," she said slyly. "Perhaps you should come and watch a while." The Crime Minister clicked her fingers at the KORPS agents and Zoe was pulled out of her chair and dragged out of the door, the Crime Minister following with an evil smile on her face.

Zoe was pulled into the laboratory room to the surprise of the Professor, his assistants and Dan. She was pushed down into a chair at the side of the room and her hands and feet tied. Dan was standing in the middle of the room again, wearing dark blue overalls this time and looking nervous. He looked round at his audience and wondered what was going to happen.

"Crime Minister !" said the Professor nervously. "Did you want something ?" he asked, waving his hand at her.

"I simply wish to watch the experiment Professor. So does V95. She's simply dying to see what happens," she said smiling at Zoe. Zoe glared back, but not with as much confidence as before.

"Oh, very well," said the Professor, his voice pitched a notch higher than usual with nerves. "Erm, proceed please," he called to his assistant. The assistant walked towards Dan wearing a full face mask and coverall. They were holding a garden spray canister in their hand. Without warning they sprayed a mist directly in his face from only a few inches away.

Dan felt the sting of the liquid hitting his eyes. He cried out and lifted his hands to try to wipe the stuff off his face. His hands never made it above waist height as the strength left his body once again and the floor came up to meet his face. Once again he lay unable to move, only this time his open eyes stung in agony. His chest hurt and he was struggling to breathe. The torture seemed to be interminable. He could hear the Professor and his assistants moving about him as usual, but could not decipher what they were saying.

Zoe watched in utter horror as Dan fell to the floor. She could see his agony in his eyes and hear his desperate wheezing breaths as he lay helpless and unmoving. "That seemed to have the desired effect Professor," said the Crime Minister approvingly. "We'll stay a little while longer," she said, looking across at Zoe's horrified face.

Zoe watched the Professor's team taking readings of Dan's vital signs and noted an anxious tone in the Professor's voice. "This is taking a while," he muttered. "Bring some oxygen," he instructed one of his assistants. The woman brought over an oxygen cylinder attached to a breathing mask. She put the mask over Dan's face. The Professor kept waving his finger in front of Dan's face. "Hm, he is still not able to focus," he commented. After a while, Dan was able to move his hands and feet. Finally they pulled him up into a sitting position and the breathing mask was removed. He whimpered and rubbed his face with his hands. He said something which Zoe couldn't hear.

"What did he say ?" demanded the Crime Minister.

"He says he can't see," reported the Professor. "It seems he is temporarily blinded," he added, looking back worriedly at Dan.

"Temporarily ?" queried the Crime Minister.

"Well, that is to say, he is blind. At the moment," clarified the Professor.

Dan remained slumped over on the floor, still wheezing and coughing slightly. "I think we will do too much damage if we continue testing," said the Professor. "Do you want us to stop for now ?" he asked the Crime Minister.

"That is up to V95," said the Crime Minister coldly. "Well, V95, should they continue ?" she asked.

"No. They should stop now," said Zoe quietly.

"Does this mean you will cooperate ?" asked the Crime Minister.

"Yes, I'll do what you want," said Zoe in a defeated voice. She looked anxiously at Dan, as she was led from the room. Her last view was of him sitting on the floor, with red, frightened eyes staring blankly ahead.

"Return him to the cell," she heard the Professor say just before the door closed behind her.

While Dan was being pushed back into his cell, a large group of MI9 agents had gathered around the tunnel entrance. There was a strong acrid smell in the air. "We're nearly through," reported an agent wearing a full overall and breathing mask. Frank nodded to them and walked back to the others. Edward, Oscar, Ilya, Carrie, Aneisha and Tom were standing in full protective suits and were carrying gas masks which completely covered their faces when they were on. Tom looked incredibly nervous. He handed his ground penetrating radar to Frank.

"Frank, can you look after this for me ?" he asked. Frank took it.

"You'd better get ready," said Frank. "Good luck everyone," he added. They all put on their masks and pulled the hoods of their suits up over the rest of their heads. Edward reached over and squeezed Frank's shoulder.

"We'll get them back Frank," Edward promised. He beckoned to the others and they lined up in two columns at the entrance. Finally the lead technician pushed through the last of the rock and waved them forward.

"We have the team at the main entrance ready," said Rose's voice in their earpieces.

"Anything from Stella yet ?" asked Frank.

"No. The KORPS agent isn't talking," said Rose.

Frank watched as the six agents switched on their torches and ran through the gap in the rocks, before disappearing from sight.