Cat and Mouse
A Thunderbirds Movieverse fanfic
by Timeguardian
Chapter Nine
The guards prodded Lady Penelope and Parker through an elevator and then through a maze of corridors until they were stopped in front of an open doorway.
She felt a nudge at her back, so Lady Penelope stepped into the room, not knowing what to expect.
She knew that Cassandra wouldn't go easy on him, but the sight of Scott bleeding, unconscious, and tied up in a chair before her was jarring to say the least. "Scott!"
"So Mister Field Commander has a name - no matter."
Penelope had not heard Cassandra come up from behind them, but it was the choice of words that had her turning to face her opponent. "Your business is with me, you had no right to do this."
"Wrong – they made it their business when they interfered with my plans," Cassandra retorted, "As for you, my dear, we have unfinished business to discuss."
Lady Penelope eyed her warily while out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Parker tensing up. Easy does it Parker, stick with the plan.
She muttered, "You are right about one thing: we DO have unfinished business."
Once Virgil scanned the area for life signs and dropped him off, Jeff carefully scouted the area around Thunderbird One for any booby traps that they may have missed during their flyover.
He found nothing, much to his relief. Jeff knew that Brains built in quite a few security precautions into the craft to prevent the wrong people to access the craft.
When he was satisfied with his inspection, Jeff used his tele-com to transmit a message to Virgil. "Start for the coordinates right away - I'll be in the sky momentarily."
"FAB, dad. See you there."
Jeff then turned his attention to Thunderbird One, moving around until he found the secret keypad to open the canopy.
Though it had been some time since he had been in the cockpit, Jeff made quick work of the preflight checks and secured himself into the pilot's seat.
He powered up Thunderbird One's engine and fired the upward thrusters. The craft eagerly complied rising quickly into the sky.
Jeff made the necessary course adjustments and fired the forward thrusters.
Around him the sky sped past at a dizzying rate and soon he was side by side with Thunderbird Two.
A communication came through. "Thunderbird One from Thunderbird Five."
Jeff answered quickly. "Thunderbird One receiving you loud and clear. What's the current status of Lady Penelope's efforts, Gordon?"
"Lady Penelope surrendered herself to Lady Cassandra's men nearly an hour ago as per her plan to distract. Alan is infiltrating the ship as we speak in order to target the engine room," Gordon explained.
By allowing Lady Penelope to go on ahead without him, Jeff knew that she would try something like this. Still, he knew better than to underestimate her resourcefulness. "Continue to monitor their situation and keep me informed, Gordon. Virgil and I will proceed at maximum speed to the coordinates."
"FAB," Gordon replied.
Before Jeff could say anything else, a new transmission came through, this time from Brains. "Thunderbird One from Tracy Island."
"This is Thunderbird One, Brains, receiving you loud and clear. Good to have you home," Jeff replied.
There was no preamble – with the message that he transmitted to the scientist before they left the island, Jeff wasn't expecting one.
"Bring me up to s-s-speed," Brains demanded.
Jeff smiled. "FAB"
Considering the surrounding conditions, underwater visibility was better than Alan expected. Still, he chose to keep the headlamp on his facemask lit. As Gordon told him more than once, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Alan kept his breath low and even through his air mask regulator as kept a steady kicking motion that propelled him easily through the water.
A few yards ahead sat his target – one side of the massive ship which was reportedly the hideout of Lady Cassandra.
Alan swam easily through the water until he got to the side of the ship. He then turned his attention to the backs of his gloves, touching a small dial inset on the back of each one.
A bright bluish dot appeared on the top of each dial, showing that they were activated.
With one huge kick, Alan got closer to the hull of the ship, reaching out with his hands until he was touching it.
The variable current electromagnets that Brains embedded in the gloves were doing their job - his hands stuck fast to the hull. Now comes the real test.
Keeping his right hand in contact with the hull, Alan lifted his left hand away and slowly reached upward. The gloves reacted as he expected, allowing his left hand to stick at a higher spot.
He grinned. If only Brains could see me now – a regular Spiderman.
He didn't have any idea of time, but Alan knew to keep his moves slow and deliberate. Once he was out of the water the climb put more stress on his arms, but the connection through the gloves was a strong one. Soon his fingers closed over the edge that would allow him to get on deck.
Alan was not disturbed during his climb, which was fitting into Lady Penelope's plan so far. She warned him that he was on his own once he reached the deck of the ship.
He hiked a leg over the side and then another, all the while looking around quickly to make sure he didn't have an immediate audience. In the distance on the massive deck, Alan could make out one or two people milling around, but they did not seem to be faced his way.
A few yards away, Alan spotted a tall square structure. He quickly turned off his gloves, ditched his swim fins, and ran for it.
Once he reached the cover of the structure, Alan stopped to catch his breath and take a longer view of the deck. What he needed was an easy way below decks.
Near the main central structure on the deck, he found what he was looking for: The start of what looked like a stairwell. No one was in the immediate area.
Here goes everything.
With one last glance from his vantage point, Alan took off running and quickly reached the stairwell. It was like he suspected – it was open and it led downward into the heart of the ship.
One challenge down, who knows how many to go.
With that unsettling thought roaming through his mind, Alan quickly descended downstairs into the heart of the ship.
More soon.
Till next time,
Timeguardian