ELAINE Wickfen moved swiftly around her store in Central London. It had recently reopened following major renovation work after the building and others around it had suffered damage by the attack of the Rock Snakes and this would be the first time that Penelope had visited since they'd reopened. She wanted everything to be perfect for her arrival.

Walking into one of the modelling rooms, she found her lead model trying on one of the outfits that she was going to present Penelope with once she'd arrived. "Shannon, you look splendid. Make sure you give your best performance this afternoon. I don't want Lady Penelope to decline what I have to offer for her."

"Alright, Mrs Wickfen," answered Shannon. "But what makes this any different to any other customers we have?"

"Have you ever met Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, Shannon?"

"No, I haven't."

"She is my best customer, and a good friend," said Elaine. "I've known her for years. I will always give her more attention than any other customers we get. Now, hurry along and get ready. It won't be long until she arrives."

"Yes, Mrs Wickfen."

As Shannon headed off behind the curtain, one of the young male employees poked his head round the door and knocked. "Excuse me, Mrs Wickfen. A pink car has just pulled up outside."

"Ah, excellent!" said Elaine. "Lady Penelope has arrived."

"Shall I show her in?"

"No, Christian, it's fine. I'll greet her myself."

FAB1 pulled into the space outside the front doors of the store. Penelope stepped out and then closed the door behind her. She then used her watch to lock the car and activate the security system in it. Following the theft of the previous FAB1 by Light-Fingered Fred and Gomez had made Brains ensure the new one could only be operated by Parker or Penelope using special connections in their watches linked to the car's master key. "There. That ought to deter anyone who thinks they can take what isn't theirs," she told herself and then turned to approach the front doors of Wickfens.

The doors opened and Elaine enthusiastically walked outside. "Penelope, darling! How are you?" she asked as they shared a hug.

"Elaine, it's so good to see you," Penelope replied. "I'm doing great." That wasn't exactly true, but she wasn't going to tell Elaine about her breakup with Gordon. "And how are you? I can't wait to see how the store looks after the renovation."

"Oh, you're gonna love it!" said Elaine as she guided Penelope in through the front doors. "I'd been wanting to redesign the store before that God Awful situation happened over Christmas."

The two women went inside, leaving FAB1 alone outside. Straight away it started to attract attention from passers by which wasn't difficult given how easily it stood out. Most would continue on their way. But one small group of people took much more of an interest than others. Across the other side of the road were the three members of the gang who'd tried to hi-jack FAB1 once before only for Parker to have beaten them all up and scare the girl away.

Brendan and his girlfriend Christina along with their large friend Rufus looked across at the pink car and hadn't failed to notice that nobody was with it.

"That old geezer isn't there," said Christina.

"Then here's our chance to take it," said Brendan.

"Yo, how are we supposed to do this?" asked Rufus. "Didn't we need some kind of key to make it work which the old guy had?"

"You lot should have taken him down easily," said Christina bitterly. "You outnumbered him. And yet he wiped the floor with you!"

"Dumb luck, sexy-babe," replied Brendan. "Nobody's gonna stop us this time. C'mon."

Trying to look as innocent as possible, the trio walked to a nearby crosswalk and made their way across the road to where FAB1 was parked. They walked up to the car and pretended not to look at it. Brendan and Rufus tried to conceal Christina from anyone's view so she could try the door-handle.

BZZZZ!

"AAARGH!" shrieked Christina as the electric shock caused her to jump back. She swore loudly and the two men almost jumped out of her skin.

"What happened?!" asked Brendan.

"That damn thing is electric!" cursed Christina, holding her right arm which was tingling. "Ow! That really hurt!"

"Don't worry, Chris. I got this!" said Rufus. He cracked his knuckles and rather foolishly decided to punch the glass canopy of FAB1. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" he screamed in pain as he felt the bones break in various places inside his thick chunky hands. "GOD…DAMN IT TO HELL!"

Brendan was now angry as he pulled a hammer out from inside his jacket. "Stupid car!" he said. "Just let us in you piece of sh-" He got no further as he hit the glass with the hammer and a blast of energy was emitted from the car's body, sending all three of them flying backwards. Christina hit a nearby lamppost. Rufus landed hard on the pavement about ten metres away. But Brendan came off worst by being thrown straight into one of the front windows of Wickfens. The glass shattered and he collided painfully with some shop window mannequins which collapsed down all around him. As he lay there, dazed, confused, and in pain, the security guards were soon pushing their way through the displays to retrieve him whilst a furious Elaine came running out from the back to see what had happened.

Penelope watched on her compact the live holographic footage from one of FAB1's external cameras having been alerted to the criminals' attempts to break into the car. She gave a small smile of satisfaction knowing that the car's defences had done their job. However, she was careful not to let Elaine or anyone else see this.

"How stupid can people get?" Elaine said angrily as she returned to the modelling room. "Some people were trying to break into your car, Penny. Although how one of them ended up through my window, I have no idea!"

"That sure is a mystery," agreed Penelope innocently. "Is my car okay?"

"It looks perfectly fine," replied Elaine. "But the Police are here to take care of them now. Let's get back to business, shall we?"

"Yes, let's," said Penelope.

For the next thirty minutes, Penelope watched with interest as Shannon modelled a series of outfits for her to try out. Eventually she narrowed it down from ten to three that she really liked. A black and white evening dress; a yellow three-quarter-length sleeved shirt with blue jeans and black leather boots, and finally an all pink outdoor jacket, trousers and hat. After choosing these, she set about trying them on and checking herself in the mirror to see what she looked like in them. "Yes, Elaine. These are splendid. I will take all three of them."

Elaine beamed with pride. "So glad I was able to host you today, Penelope," she said. "You do need to come more often again."

"Indeed I do," chuckled Penelope. "Just a shame life has gotten in the way recently."

Jeff walked into Brains's repair shop area to see how the work was going on the two Thunderbird 4s. Brains was working on the one that usually resided in the Module whilst The Mechanic was overseeing the repairs to the one that lived in the tank on the island. "Ah, good. They're coming along well," he said.

"Thank you, Mr Tracy," said The Mechanic. "Both should be back in action by this time tomorrow."

"Not bad at all," said Jeff approvingly.

"Although who will be around to p-pilot them is another matter," Brains remarked.

"Gordon still not come out of his room?" The Mechanic asked.

Jeff shook his head. "No, he hasn't. I just hope he gets over the heartbreak before Thunderbird 4 is needed."

"Or someone can f-fill in for him if need be?" said Brains. "Scott or Alan would be able t-to."

"So long as they're available to do so, Brains," said Jeff. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He gave MAX a pat on the head as the robot moved to allow him to have a closer inspection of the two Thunderbird 4s. "Good job, MAX. She's looking mighty fine."

MAX warbled in gratitude.

"I don't suppose you know how L-Lady Penelope is, do you, Mr Tracy?" asked Brains.

"I have spoken to her, yes, Brains," Jeff replied. "She's not doing great either. She's deeply regretting what she's said to Gordon. But I hope the damage can be repaired."

"I may not know your sons as well as you do, Mr Tracy," said The Mechanic. "But I have seen how Gordon and Lady Penelope are with each other. Maybe they should be brought together to try and sort things out?"

Jeff thought for a moment. "Not a bad idea, Juan," he said. "When I next talk to Penny, I will bring up the suggestion. Thank you."

The Mechanic smiled. "Always," he said.

Penelope had left Wickfens and gone to her favourite Italian Restaurant located close to the Embankment of the River Thames. Looking around, she was pleased to see how well the rebuilding of the city was going. Although the skyline mostly seemed to be made up of Tower Cranes at the construction sites. Several of the old buildings such as St. Paul's Cathedral and Big Ben also had scaffolding around as repairs were carried out to them. It gave her confidence that one day the city would be as good as new. She could only hope that the destroyed village of Creighton could also be restored to its former glory. Plans were well in motion, but it wasn't going to be a high priority as the British cities were.

Penelope entered the restaurant and was seated alone at a table where she was given a holographic menu to browse through. After a while, the Head Waiter, who had decided to serve her personally, came over to take her order. "And what can I get-a you, Signora Penelope?"

"Hmmm. I'll have Macaroni Cheese. A side of dough balls and a glass of Prosecco, please," Penelope answered.

"Sì, Signora. I will see it is done to the highest quality."

"Grazia," said Penelope.

This made the Head Waiter smile. He wasn't used to having customers speak in his language and hearing this from someone as well known as Lady Penelope made him very happy indeed. He hurried off to get her order sorted.

Up until now, Penelope's plan of having the afternoon out in London as a distraction to her breakup with Gordon had been going well. But now that she was sitting alone at a table for two, that started to change. Her eyes fell upon the empty chair on the opposite side of the table and the sadness began to return. She then looked across to another table nearby. It was unoccupied but had four chairs around it. In that moment she began to get a vision in her head of herself being sat there with Gordon next to her and with Hayley and Virgil on the opposite side. This made her feel really sad and a single tear began to trickle down her silk-like cheek. She quickly wiped it away before the Drinks Waiter came over with her Prosecco. She hoped nobody had seen.

Lord Patrick wiped his mouth clean after finishing his meal. "Thank you, Parker," he said as the plate was taken from in front of him. "Tell Lil that steak was splendid, would you, please?"

"H'I certainly will, m'lord," Parker said. "Will you be wanting dessert soon?"

"Yes, please, Parker," said Lord Patrick. He looked over at his wife. "If you have room for it, my dear?"

"I think I can manage it," smiled Lady Patricia.

"Very well, m'lord and m'lady," said Parker. "I shall return h'in a jiffy." He walked out carrying the plates with Fiona following him as she was still supervising.

"How long before she goes, Pat?" Lady Patricia asked once the door was closed. "Her constant shadowing of Parker is starting to get on my nerves."

"I think it is for us all, my dear," agreed Lord Patrick. "However, she's not here by her own choice. She was given instructions by the Doctor to make sure Parker doesn't overdo his duties and make himself ill."

"He's fine though, honestly," said Lady Patricia. "He's more than capable of carrying out his duties in the house."

"But not yet in driving," said Lord Patrick. "Although I do believe he'll be starting that again soon. At least I hope so. I'm not comfortable with Penelope being out on her own. If she was with one of Jeff's boys I'd feel a lot better too."

"I do hope she makes amends with Gordon," said Lady Patricia. "He's a lovely boy and didn't deserve to have Penelope talk to him like that."

"A moment of madness, Pat," said Lord Patrick. "Maybe we should call up Jeff and suggest we try and get them together to try and talk it out?"

"That'd probably be the best idea," agreed Lady Patricia.

At that moment the doors opened again and Parker and Fiona returned with bowls of Sticky Toffee Pudding and Custard for them to eat so the conversation ended.

Having finished her own dinner, Penelope contemplated going home. Eating alone had been rather depressing. She was missing Gordon and regretting more than ever her berating and breakup with him. But she couldn't think of how she could even begin to set things right with him. She passed The Royal Theatre whilst driving in FAB1 and pulled over to see what was on. She had a choice of The Lion King, Wicked or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was a hard choice, but eventually she picked her favourite - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and bought a ticket to watch it. It had been several years since she'd last seen it and was keen to see it again. She hoped it would be another distraction for her.

"Oh, you, pretty Chitty Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we love you.

And, in, pretty Chitty Bang Bang, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, what we'll do.

Near, far, in our motor car, oh, what a happy time we'll spend.

Bang Bang, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - our fine four-fendered friend!

Bang Bang, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - our fine four-fendered friend!"

Penelope felt her spine tingle as the lyrics were sung. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the James Bond films had always been her favourite movies growing up as a child, and although she'd never admitted it, it was because of these films featuring a magical flying car in one and cars with gadgets in the others that were the inspiration behind what FAB1 had become. "I'm gonna have that song in my head all the way home now," she muttered to herself.

Gordon lay on his bed feeling utterly miserable. The night had passed with him having absolutely no sleep at all. He could literally feel the broken heart inside of him and he found himself unable to answer anyone who tried to check on him. At least everyone had tried to check on him at least once, but he didn't want to see anyone. It was like how he'd been at Christmas all over again, although this time was slightly different. He'd shut himself away at Christmas out of anger and spite. This time was due to extreme sadness, and none of them could blame him for feeling that way.

Alan came down the stairs from having tried and entered the lounge. Virgil was at the piano clearly trying to distract himself plus everyone else with some music. However, it didn't seem to be working.

Scott looked over at Alan. "No luck?"

"Nope. Nothing," said Alan gloomily. "I honestly got nothing."

"All we can do is leave him to come out when he's ready," said Grandma. "You weren't much different to how Gordon is when you and Sophie parted ways."

Alan hung his head. Those circumstances had been very different but he understood fully what she meant. As did Kayo and Jeff who found themselves thinking about their lost loved ones. Kayo's mind flashed back to the day her mother was lost when the temple had self-destructed. As for Jeff, the haunting image of the aftermath of the avalanche that had claimed the lives of his wife Lucy and father Grant.

"Love is a beautiful thing," Grandma continued. "But it can also hurt badly. Leave the checking on Gordon to me. I will take him up some supper. Maybe I can get him to talk to me." She turned and headed back out towards the kitchen, leaving everyone to their silent thoughts.

The production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had now finished and Penelope was making her way home along the roads on the outskirts of London. She decided to call up the Creighton-Ward Mansion and give them an advanced heads up that she was on her way home. She hoped it would be Parker who answered the phone and to her relief, it was.

"Good h'evening, m'lady."

"Good evening, Parker. I just thought I should let you know that I'm on my way home now."

"Oh, very good, m'lady," said Parker. "I shall let your Father and Mother know. I believe that they're 'eading h'off to bed shortly and probably won't be up when you get back."

"No, I'll be at least ninety minutes before I get home, Parker," said Penelope. "But could you please arrange for Lillian to arrange a nightcap for me? I know it'll be late, but I could certainly use one after today."

"Of course, m'lady," said Parker. "Did h'everything go okay in London for you?"

"Well apart from some scoundrels trying to get their hands on FAB1 whilst I was in Wickfens and then loneliness whilst at dinner, everything's been fine," said Penelope.

"I did 'ave a feeling you'd get that way h'over dinner, m'lady," said Parker. "But h'I am glad to 'ear that despite that everything is fine. Would you be wanting tea h'or 'ot Chocolate when you get 'ome?"

"Ooh, Hot Chocolate I think, please, Parker," said Penelope. "I haven't had that for a little while."

"Very good, m'lady," said Parker. "I'll 'ave h'it ready for you as soon as you arrive."

"Thank you, Parker," said Penelope sweetly. "See you soon." She ended the call and turned her attention back to driving along the motorway towards Gloucestershire.

Darkness had fallen across the Creighton Estate and Lord Patrick and Lady Patricia had retired for the night. Both were asleep in their bed whilst the staff did their usual routine of making sure the house was kept spotless for the morning when they awoke again. Parker and Fiona made their way down to the kitchen where Lillian the Cook had just finished clearing up after dinner.

"Is there anything else needed tonight, Mr Parker?" she asked.

"Only one more thing, Lil," said Parker. "'er Ladyship 'as requested h'a nightcap h'of 'ot Chocolate for when she returns in h'over h'an 'our's time."

"One Hot Chocolate coming up," said Lillian. "Although I can't say I'll still be up when she gets back."

"You don't need to worry h'about that," smiled Parker. "I'll keep it h'in my warmer in the office for h'er."

"You should be resting now, Mr Parker," said Fiona disapprovingly. "I can supply Her Ladyship with the drink once she gets home."

"No. I h'insist this time, Miss Fiona," said Parker stubbornly. "I promised m'lady that I would 'ave it done for 'er, and I h'intend to keep it."

Fiona sighed in defeat. "Very well. But I must insist you go to bed once she is back."

Parker rolled his eyes. "Very well," he said begrudgingly.

Outside the mansion, the grounds were dark and silent. Potts was asleep in his kennel. However he awoke suddenly and lifted his head at the distant hum of engines from an approaching aircraft. It was the Helijet that Sir Charles and Dawkins were flying in and they were now coming over the boundary of the Creighton Estate. This time however it was Dawkins who was flying the Helijet whilst Sir Charles was in the passenger seat.

"There's the lights of the mansion, Sir Charles," Dawkins said.

"Indeed," replied Sir Charles. "It is now time to put our plan into motion, Dawkins. Switch to Silent Flight and bring us over the chimney pots whilst I prepare the gas grenades."

"Yes, sir."

Dawkins flicked a switch on the controls that silenced the hum of the Helijet's engines. It now came in low over the grounds towards the mansion, flying only just high enough to avoid hitting the roof until it was hovering over the chimney pots.

Even though the engines were silent to the regular human ear, it wasn't to Potts who ran out of his kennel and began barking loudly up at the Helijet.

Parker and Fiona were in the main Drawing Room where Penelope would have her Hot Chocolate. They could faintly hear the sound of Potts barking outside. "What's that mutt barking h'at?" Parker asked out loud. He tried to look out of the window but the light inside made it impossible to see outside.

"Maybe he knows Her Ladyship is on her way back?" suggested Fiona.

But Parker knew that wasn't the case. "No…something's not right," he said. "Turn h'off the lights for a moment."

Fiona did so as she was closest to the light switches. Parker looked outside and could see much more clearly now. There was Potts running around on the gravel outside the front of the mansion barking furiously at something up above.

"Something's definitely not right," Parker said. "That mutt h'as seen something that shouldn't be 'ere. Turn the lights back h'on!"

Fiona did so, just as a clattering sound made them look towards the fireplace. At that very moment, something small and green bounced out and landed on the carpet.

"What on earth-" Fiona began before the object burst open and released a huge cloud of white smoke that filled the room very quickly.

"G-G-Gas!" Parker gasped. "Quick…get…uuuuuugggh-…"

But it was no good. The gas was very quick to do its work and both Parker and Fiona were soon overcome and collapsed to the floor, unconscious. At the same time, other gas capsules had been dropped down other chimneys to do the same and knock out everyone else who was in the house. One landed in the bedroom of Lord Patrick and Lady Patricia, but both were so sound asleep that neither of them heard it and therefore the gas made sure that they remained asleep.

"There, that should do it," said Sir Charles to Dawkins. "Put her down on the front lawn. By the time we land, everyone inside should be out cold."

"Yes, Sir Charles," answered Dawkins.

The Helijet moved away from the chimneys and touched down on the grass near to the front of the mansion. Potts stayed clear of its thrust but continued to bark. He then growled and barked more than ever at the two men who emerged from it.

"Oh, great," sighed Sir Charles. "A guard dog. Just what we don't need."

Dawkins pulled out a gun. "Allow me to put it down for you, Sir Charles," he began.

"No, you imbecile!" snapped Sir Charles. "Knock-out darts only on animals. I had dogs of my own once."

"But we're going to blow up the house afterwards anyway, Sir Charles," said Dawkins.

"Irrelevant," said Sir Charles. "Give it to me." He snatched the pistol off Dawkins and made sure it was set to Stun-mode. "Sorry, boy," he said to Potts. "But I can't let you get in our way." He fired a knock-out dart into the dog who whimpered and then settled down to sleep.

The two men then made their way cautiously over to the front doors of the mansion. Sir Charles took out a special device from inside his jacket and aimed it at a security box round the side. He pulled the trigger and it made a whining noise. This disabled all the house's security. These two men definitely weren't beginners at what they were doing.

"That's it, Dawkins," said Sir Charles as he pushed open the door. "Now, let's find what we came for." He went inside, closely followed by Dawkins.

They made their way through the house, stepping over any member of staff that they found lying unconscious on the floor. The gas had already evaporated so there was no need for them to wear gas masks. They then began to pick some very valuable vases and pieces of china from various rooms and put them into two large sacks.

The two men believed they were doing their work with all the security systems disabled. They could not have known about the secret back-up security system that Brains had installed some time ago. As Dawkins made his way along the upstairs landing, he just so happened to trigger one of the sensors. It didn't set off any alarms in the house, but it did on the dashboard of FAB1.

Penelope jumped as the alarm began to sound. "What on earth?" she asked, surprised. "Why's the secret alarm sounding?" She turned it to silent and then pressed the button to call Parker. She waited for him to respond and became rather concerned when he didn't. "Something's wrong. Very wrong," she realised out loud and put her foot down to get to the mansion as quickly as she could.

Dawkins and Sir Charles reconvened in the main hallway of the mansion. "Have you got everything from upstairs, Dawkins?"

"I believe so, Sir Charles," answered Dawkins. "Would you like to check?" He opened the sack.

Sir Charles peered inside the sack and checked the items on a list he had. "Yes, that's all there. And I have got everything from down here. I think it's time to go."

Putting the sacks over their shoulders, the two men hurried out of the open front door of the mansion and didn't bother to close it behind them. They hurried back across the lawn to where the Helijet was and climbed inside to make their escape.

Dawkins fired up the engines and it began to rise off the lawn. The silencer was switched off automatically from when the engines had been off so the whining filled the air. Neither Dawkins nor Sir Charles were concerned by this as they knew everyone inside the mansion was still unconscious. However, as they began to head over the trees, Sir Charles noticed the headlamps of a car approaching on the road. "Quickly, Dawkins. Let's get out of here!"

Penelope brought FAB1 to a stop and turned off the headlamps so she could see better outside. The clouds were parting and the Moon appeared, silhouetting the Helijet against it. "Well, what do we have here?" Penelope asked herself out loud. "A Helijet taking off from the front lawn?" And then it hit her. "Wait…could it be?" She knew she needed to do something quickly. She pressed a button on the dashboard. Part of the grill opened up and using the targeting system, aimed a small missile up towards the Helijet. She pushed another button once it had gained a lock and it fired. The tiny missile raced upwards and then broke apart on the approach with an even smaller object shooting over and attaching itself magnetically to the hull of the Helijet. "Contact," said Penelope. "Now, let's see who our mystery callers are." She pressed a button and the device activated. It was a listening device and now she could hear what was being said inside the Helijet.

"The darkness will help prevent the occupants of that car from identifying the Helijet."

"Yes, Sir Charles. But it was a close call."

"Oh, I agree, Dawkins."

"Sir Charles and Dawkins?" Penelope repeated to herself. "Where have I heard those names before?"

"I'm glad that was the last of the Stately-Homes on my list."

"You mean we've got everything, Sir Charles?"

"All except one final collection, Dawkins. And you know where that is?"

"Of course, sir. But the Crown Jewels are a bit different from the heirlooms we've stolen so far."

Penelope's eyes widened at the sound of that.

"Reclaimed, Dawkins, not stolen!" said Sir Charles indignantly. "Different, yes. But the most vital of all. By this time tomorrow, my family's disgrace will be avenged!"

"Who is this guy?" Penelope asked out loud.

"Did you activate the device, sir?"

"Yes, Dawkins. In just over ten minutes the Creighton-Ward Mansion will go up like all the others before it!"

Penelope's blood ran cold. She suddenly remembered that the other stately-homes that had been targeted had all been destroyed, and now hers was next. "Oh, no!" she gasped and restarted FAB1's engine. The car raced off and made a sharp turn through the open gates which had opened automatically on its approach. It then sped quickly along the driveway and skidded to a stop outside the front doors, the back swinging out and throwing up gravel towards the building. Penelope threw open the door and sprinted frantically inside through the front door that had been left open by the criminals. "MOTHER?! FATHER?! PARKER?! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!" Nobody answered. Penelope felt something she didn't usually feel…fear and panic. She needed to find the explosive device left by them. But where to start looking? She then noticed that the door to the main Drawing Room was open so she ran inside, almost tripping over the unconscious Fiona as she did so. Then she saw Parker and ran over to him. "Parker! Parker, wake up, please. I need you!" But Parker was way out cold and wasn't going to be of any help to her. She looked around…and then froze. There it was. A long blue-coloured box with a yellow light flashing on the top. She ran over to look at it. It was definitely a bomb…and there was only nine minutes before it was due to go off. Penelope quickly pulled out her compact and opened it. There was only one person who could potentially help her now. "International Rescue from Lady Penelope. I have a situation!"