THREE weeks have passed since Grafton's meltdown on live television. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't seen or heard from for a long time. Although his businesses in the medical and oil industries continued, it was clear that people were no longer seeing him as a great man. Several had walked out and new people had to be brought in. It fell to Hicks to temporarily take over to get new people in whilst Larissa Grafton dealt with the fallout over the Kat Cavanagh incident. She tried to sue the News channel that hired Kat as well as trying to sue Kat herself for showing the footage, however, like her attempts to bring International Rescue to Court, these were also blocked by respective attorneys, much to her frustration.

Alan meanwhile was having the time of his life. The Dakar Rally was now in its third day and it was their first in Africa. Racing through the Sahara Desert proved to be such a thrill for Alan whilst for Kenny it was normal. However, to have Alan racing the car whilst he sat in the passenger seat made it even better.

"Cause it's a Race to Dakar, doesn't really matter, if you win or lose!" they were singing together. "Yes, a Race to Dakar, all that really matters, you've got to see it through! See it through!"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" jeered Alan as they leapt over a sand-dune. "How are we doing, Kenny?"

"I'll check. Mr Jenkins, how are we doing?"

Russ Jenkins and the other remembers of the Fusion team were monitoring the car's progress via a satellite system. "You're looking good, boys," he answered. "You're about a mile behind Coldshock. Try and take them if you can. Oh, and keep your eyes open for bikes. You're catching up to them too."

"F-A-B," said Alan. "Sorry. Roger that."

"Ah, don't worry about that, Alan," laughed Russ. "Just do your best."

"What does that even mean?" asked Kenny.

"Honestly, no idea," Alan replied as they turned a corner. "It was just something that Dad started."

For several miles they chased down their main rivals - the Coldshock Team who drove a car very similar to theirs only painted blue and white instead of orange and black like theirs. For the first two days of the race, they had been battling their way towards the top of the leaderboard. Coldshock had come up top on the first day and had stayed there. Fusion had started seventeenth following qualifiers and were moving up with every car they overtook.

Soon, rocks and sand-dunes became the least of their obstacle problems when they began to catch up to some of the motorbikes that were racing in the rally.

"Careful, Alan," warned Kenny. "They're the ones who suffer most in this rally. Several get killed and I would rather we don't be the ones to-"

"Won't happen, Kenny," said Alan with determination. "I save people. I'll never take anyone's life."

Alan had known all too well about the dangers of racing in the Dakar Rally and that motorbikes had the hardest time of all. He knew how many could fall and he was determined not to cause the deaths of any of the riders. Therefore he had a secret weapon, one that he hadn't told the rest of the team about. With a flick of his hand in front of his helmet, Kenny presumed he was adjusting the visor. But in actual fact, Alan had activated the holographic heads-up display within the helmet that Brains had put in for him. Now he was able to see all the dangers around and avoid them well before getting too close. He could see where the people on motorbikes were and adjusted the course well in advance to skirt around them.

"Woah!" said Kenny, impressed. "That's amazing driving, Alan. It's like you seem to know where they are."

"They don't call me the best pilot in International Rescue for nothing," Alan boasted as he overtook one of the motorbikes. Despite not making contact, he did accidentally shower the rider with dust kicked up from the back wheels. At a glance in the rear-view mirror, he noticed the rider raise a middle finger up at him. "Rude…but I understand their feelings," Alan muttered to himself.

After cresting the latest hill, they caught sight of Coldshock up ahead of them. There were also some more motorbikes racing ahead as well.

"There they are!" said Kenny triumphantly as they closed the gap. "We're coming for you, Coldshock."

Alan smirked as they got closer to the Coldshock car. There appeared to be two races going on for the three motorbikes that they'd sighted seemed to be battling for a lead over the Coldshock team. This was strange as the motorbikes, cars and trucks were all in different leagues so therefore it didn't matter which of these had the lead, but it looked to Alan and Kenny that the bikers didn't want the car to be in front of them. The amount of dust that they were kicking up was quite thick, temporarily blocking them from view.

Alan then noticed something on the left. "Hey, Kenny. Is there a rule against cutting corners?"

"So long as you don't go more than half a mile off course, no," Kenny answered. "Why?"

Alan grinned and turned the wheel. The Fusion car took a sharp left and cut across the bumpy ground off the track rejoining ahead of the Coldshock and the motorbikes, much to their astonishment. Now the bikes responded with a will, trying to catch up to them.

Unfortunately, Johnny Gillespie, the driver of the Coldshock team had the exact same idea. "Oh, no, you're not taking our lead from us, Fusion!" he growled and gave the car all the power it had. It rocketed forwards after the Fusion and forced two of the motorbikes to swerve out of the way to let it pass.

The third bike was right in the slipstream of Fusion. The rider of the biker glanced back and forth between the two vehicles and tried to find a gap to get around Fusion. But there wasn't one.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" snapped Gillespie. "MOVE!" And he rammed into the back wheel of the bike. The rider lost control, skidding off to the right and the front wheel hit a rock. The bike stopped dead but the rider didn't. With a terrified scream he was catapulted off the back of the bike which had shot upwards and spun three times through the air before landing hard on the ground about ten metres away.

Alan and Kenny saw the whole thing and were shocked. Alan saw the rider land and in an instant he slammed on the brakes. The Fusion screeched to a stop.

"JEEZE!" exclaimed Gillespie, swerving hard to miss the Fusion. He clipped the back end as he overtook.

Kenny, still getting over the shock of what had happened, became even more alarmed when Alan suddenly opened the door and jumped out. "ALAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he cried.

Alan didn't answer. He ran over to the crashed rider who was crying in pain on the ground. "Hey, buddy. Hang in there. I'll get you out of here. What's your name?"

"J-J-James…" the rider whimpered.

"Okay, James. I'm Alan. Where does it hurt?"

"My hands…I can't feel my hands."

Alan knew he had to be careful but quick. More cars and bikes were coming so he couldn't keep Fusion where it was for very long. He used the display in his helmet to scan James's body to see what injuries he had and whether it would be safe enough to move him. Then he called out to Kenny. "OI, KENNY! GIVE ME A HAND HERE!"

Kenny ran out. "What are you doing?!" he demanded. "Leave him! We have a race to win!"

"We can't just leave him!" Alan protested. "He's hurt!"

"It's the nature of the Dakar, Alan!" said Kenny. "We can't stop helping others. That's for the medics to do!"

But Alan wouldn't back down. "Well I'm a member of International Rescue! And I cannot let this man wait to be found by the medics! Now help me get him in the car!"

Reluctantly, Kenny did so, helping Alan to move James in the back of the Fusion. They then retook their positions and set off again after the Coldshock team with other cars and bikes hot on their tail again.

"Moving him was dangerous, Alan," growled Kenny. "What if he has serious injuries?"

"I already checked and its only his hands," Alan said. "You okay back there, James?"

"I've been better," James moaned. "But thank you for this. I appreciate it a lot."

Kenny remained silent after hearing that.

The stop to help James meant that they were no longer able to catch the Coldshock team and gain the top of the leaderboard. This did not go down well with Russ and the rest of the Fusion team when the car finally made it back to the pits after stopping off at the medical bay to drop off James.

"What the HELL WERE YOU PLAYING AT, BOY?!" Russ bellowed at Alan.

"Saving a life," Alan replied shortly. "What do you think I was doing?"

"WE COULD HAVE BEEN AT THE TOP IF YOU HADN'T STOPPED!" bellowed Jessica.

Russ pointed a finger at Alan. "We could have been at the top of the board today, Tracy. And you cost us that! From now on, you DRIVE THE DAMN CAR! GOT IT?!"

Alan took a deep breath. He decided that he wasn't going to be pushed around. He took out the special key for the car and pushed it into Russ's hand.

"What are you doing?" Russ asked, confused.

"Well, if you guys aren't happy with how I do things," Alan said calmly. "You could always find someone else." He started to walk away.

All of a sudden, Team Fusion's attitude changed dramatically from anger to worry.

"Wha-wha-what, Alan, wait!" protested Kenny, running after him. "You can't leave! We need you!"

"Do you?" Alan asked. "Look, I get it, guys. We're not at the top, but guess what? We're only like Day Three of this rally. There's another ten or so to go. That's plenty of time to get ahead of Coldshock. And don't take me helping that man as a sign of weakness. You do remember what my job is, right?"

"Yeah, we know, we know!" said Russ, running his fingers through his hair. "It's just…It's just…" He did not have the words to finish the sentence.

Kenny placed his hands on Alan's shoulders. "Alan, look. I'm sorry about this. I really am. Rescuing people is in your nature. It's what you do. Maybe bringing you into this was a bad idea."

"It's okay, Kenny," said Alan. "I'll just do my best to keep ahead of everyone so that I don't see anyone getting hurt."

The rest of Team Fusion breathed sighs of relief. They were more than a little worried that Alan was going to walk out which would have meant their race would be over.

Thunderbird Shadow touched down on the landing pad outside Unity City. Kayo disembarked and made her way into the large reception area where the gathering that she'd been invited to was located. She'd noticed a lot of other aircraft and ships were in the area belonging to various countries and militaries including the Global Defence Force. She also spotted FAB1 as well which pleased her. "Rigs must have invited them, too," she said.

Heading inside, Kayo soon spotted Lady Penelope's red dress and went up to her. She and Parker were talking with two women who Kayo recognised. "Mind if I join?" she asked.

"Kayo!" said Penelope. "Glad you could make it."

"Hey, Penny," smiled Kayo. Then she turned to the others. "Colonel Casey. Rita."

"Kayo," smiled Colonel Casey. "Wonderful to see you again."

"Likewise," said Kayo. "Great to see you up and about again."

"Rita's made sure of that," smiled Colonel Casey.

"Mom, shhh," said Rita whilst still smiling.

"So, what's the occasion?" asked Kayo. "Captain Rigby said I needed to attend this…party, is it?"

"Not so much a party, more a ceremony," said Colonel Casey as they walked through the crowds.

"What kind of ceremony?" Kayo asked, intrigued.

"That, I'm afraid you'll have to wait to find out," Colonel Casey said. "But you will shortly."

Rita glanced at her watch. "Mom, it's almost time," she said.

"Excuse us, please," said Colonel Casey and they headed off leaving Kayo and Penelope to talk.

"How's Alan getting on?" Penelope asked.

"Last we heard he's still going in the Dakar," Kayo replied. "They're doing well apparently. Second on the table. They're aiming for first."

"I'd expect nothing less from Alan," chuckled Penelope. "Does seem a little extreme to try and get away from everything."

"If it helps him get over these nightmares he's been having of Sophie then I'm all for it," said Kayo. She was looking around. "Say, I don't suppose you've seen Captain Rigby, have you?"

"No, I can't say that I have," replied Penelope. "You'd think he'd be easy to spot with that blue uniform of his."

"Like you with that dress," teased Kayo. "You could rival Hayley with the brightness of that."

"Nobody rivals me."

Kayo and Penelope jumped and turned to see Hayley walking towards them with a big smile on her face.

"Hayley!" said Kayo as the two girls embraced in a hug. "It's been so long. How are you?"

"Tired," Hayley answered as she and Penelope shared a hug. "Last few months have been hectic."

"I can imagine," said Penelope. "The fallout from the attacks by The Cabal and Planet-46 must have dented morale across the globe."

"We're making progress," said Hayley. "But there's still a long way to go."

"Have you seen Rigs?" asked Kayo. "He invited me and yet he's not here to greet me."

"You know I've hardly seen him lately," Hayley replied. "He's been having a lot of meetings with Top Brass of both the GDF and with the world's leaders as well. I think he could be the subject of why we're here."

"You think he could be replacing Colonel Casey?" asked Penelope.

"Yeah, I do," Hayley replied. "We know that the revelation of her son being alive and a member of The Cabal shook her to the core. I honestly believe she's going to step down and Rigby will take over."

"And that bothers you?' asked Kayo.

"Bothers me? Heck, no! Wayne's a good man," said Hayley. "But all the same, I don't think the GDF will be the same without Colonel Casey giving orders. She's been so good to me."

"It's what she is," agreed Penelope. "A good person. Looks like its time. Shall we take our seats?"

The three women headed into a large football stadium-like arena where several dignitaries were already waiting and sitting whilst others took their seats.

Rig-15 was one of several small platforms located around the desert of Saudi Arabia. It and the other nineteen that were littered all over the place were what supplied the fuel that was distributed to the Bensheba Refinery. It was where Pete Broskitt had been transferred to after his removal as foreman from Bensheba. He was still rather bitter about the whole thing, but as time went on, he found himself adjusting to life on the rig platform. For a start, there were only about five people working it including himself, making it much more manageable and he was able to form better working relationships with his colleagues.

The site where Rig-15 was located had yet to locate any major source of oil but earlier drilling had shown that they were close. As the Sun rose on a new day, Broskitt hoped for success that he hoped would get himself back on track. He was supervising the changing of the pipes along with his second-in-command, Charlie Green.

"Cut the ultrasonic vibrator, Charlie," Broskitt said into his radio.

Charlie pressed a button on the control desk. "Vibrator stopped, Chief."

"Good. Bring in the new pipe."

More buttons were pressed and the equipment of the rig moved about in response, changing out the old pipe from the previous day's drilling and replacing it with a new one.

"Okay, Charlie. Start her up!" said Broskitt.

The hum of machinery was heard louder as the main drill began to be lowered down the already cut shaft deep into the ground. Soon it was carefully burrowing its way several feet down in search of the oil. It was always a tense moment for all concerned, but for those who'd done it several times before, they knew what to listen out for and were ready to stop if need be.

Broskitt came over to the open window of the control booth where Charlie was sitting at the controls. "What's the depth?" he asked.

Charlie checked the gauge. "Around 28,000 feet."

"You'd better go easy then," said Broskitt. "Winchester told me they hit trouble on Rig-9 when they got around that depth."

"The oil is certainly a long way down," remarked Charlie.

"Mmm," agreed Broskitt. "But the ultrasonic drilling is pretty fast. It should be safe."

The two men watched anxiously as the gauge continued to drop. Then suddenly a green light lit up beside it.

"Is that it?" asked Broskitt.

Charlie checked and checked again. "Yes! Yes, it's oil!" he said excitedly. "Should we do a test just to be sure?"

"No, not yet," said Broskitt. "Take her down a little bit more."

"Is that safe?"

"Of course," said Broskitt. "The Master Valve is shut. I checked that myself. Let the others know that we have a strike."

Charlie nodded and pressed a button that set off a siren to alert the other members of the crew that they had successfully struck oil. This brought smiles and a few cheers from the other three workers who were located on and around the rig. However, nobody was standing around by where the Master Valve was located. Therefore nobody was able to be alarmed when the handle suddenly began to turn by itself.

"Okay, cut the siren," said Broskitt after a minute. "They'll have heard it by now."

Charlie did so and the siren faded out. He then looked at the gauges again. "There's a lot of pressure building up down there," he remarked.

Broskitt looked at the gauge, but he wasn't unduly worried. "Hmm. A little bit," he said. "But so long as it stays below the red mark we'll be fine. Just keep the drill going for a few more minutes and then we'll run a test."

"Right."

By now the valve wheel had stopped turning. It was now fully open, and nobody had any idea.

Broskitt checked his watch then began to walk away from the control booth. "I'll go and get the sample and take it over to the lab."

"Okay, Chief," said Charlie. He watched Broskitt walk away for a moment before turning his attention back to the controls. And what he saw made his heart skip a beat. "Hold it, Chief!"

Broskitt stopped dead and turned back. "What is it?" he asked.

"Something's wrong," Charlie said. "The pressure's still going up!"

Broskitt hurried back and this time entered the booth. He peered over Charlie's shoulder at the gauge. It was going into the red. "What? I can't be that high!" he exclaimed. "Stop the drill!"

Charlie did so, putting the drill into reverse and lifting it back up the shaft as quickly as it would go. But it didn't seem to make any difference. "It's still rising!"

"I just don't understand," Broskitt said. "Why's it so…" He broke off as a rather unsettling humming sound began to be heard throughout the rig. "Listen!"

Charlie listened. Both men became very still and listened hard. They could now begin to feel some vibrations running through the floor and beams of the rig. It was small to begin with but steadily getting worse with the hum getting louder.

Then one of the other workers shouted across from nearby. "HEY, CHIEF! SOMEONE'S OPENED THE VALVE!"

"WHAT?!" Broskitt shouted.

"I'll shut it!" said Charlie, jumping up from his chair.

"No, it's too late!" cried Broskitt. "She'll blow any second!" He grabbed the tannoy microphone. "EVERYONE AWAY FROM THE RIG! SHE'S GONNA BLOW! EVERYONE OFF!"

Another siren began sounding, this time it was the emergency one to alert everyone that there was danger imminent.

"MOVE!" Charlie shouted into another microphone. "DROP EVERYTHING! GET CLEAR OF THE RIG!"

"Charlie, come on!" urged Broskitt as the two men abandoned their positions and hurried down to the jeep that would take them away from the rig.

As they entered the jeep and pulled away, the vibrations were getting so bad that the entire structure was starting to shake violently. Soon pieces began to fall off and crash down onto the floor, including the drill mount which fell several hundred feet back down into the shaft,

Broskitt drove the jeep for about a mile before coming to a stop. He and the others then looked back across the open flat ground towards the rig which was still visible. "Okay, this is far enough," he said. "We'll be safe here."

"Here it comes!" said Charlie as a fountain of jet black oil began spewing out from the shaft, up the rig tower and spraying high into the air.

Broskitt could feel his heart in his mouth. He knew what was about to happen. "One spark…that's all it will need," he muttered.

And sure enough, it did. Less than fifteen seconds after he'd made the remark, there came an almighty thunderous BOOM as a spark ignited the oil and a colossal ball of fire erupted from underground, completely obliterating Rig-15 which collapsed and all that remained was a raging inferno - one that would likely be a nightmare to try and put out.

All of the dignitaries and guests were now in their seats in the arena. In the show area in the middle was a long desk with several important people including World President Younger as well as Colonel Casey and other high members of the World Council.

Kayo was looking around. There was still no sign of Rigby and he wasn't sitting anywhere nearby. She began to get worried. "I do hope he's okay," she whispered to Penelope.

"I'm sure he's fine, Kayo," Penelope whispered back. "Look, they're about to start."

The World President had gotten to his feet. He addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen of the world. Thank you for coming. I will get straight to the point and hand you over to Colonel Martha Casey who has an announcement to make. Colonel?"

Colonel Casey got to her feet and came up to the stand. She cleared her throat and began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen. The last few months have been a difficult time for our planet. Not only are we living with the danger that we might get attacked by a hostile alien planet, but that we also had our own major problems here on Earth. The big problem? The Cabal. The Master criminal known as The Hood put together a group of fellow criminals all with one goal in mind. The destruction of both International Rescue and the GDF. I am pleased to say that they failed and all but one are now imprisoned where they belong. However, as I'm sure most of you know, I had a personal connection with a member of The Cabal. When it all started, The Hood and his right-hand woman Havoc, now Silver Swan, took my son Noel and daughter Rita hostage to get at me. Whilst I was able to find Rita, Noel remained missing. I refused to believe he was dead, until I was shown a horrible truth. Noel had in fact joined The Cabal as the supervillain Techno."

A series of shocked murmurs responded to this.

"As you can imagine, this revelation shook me to the core," Colonel Casey continued. "It has affected my mental health a great deal. So much so that I feel that I can no longer be in command of the Global Defence Force efficiently. I therefore announce my resignation and retirement from active duty." She paused for a moment whilst she got herself together. Clearly this was a hard speech to make. "I would therefore like to introduce to you my replacement. A friend who has served the GDF for many years in the shadows. She isn't well known, but has been an invaluable ally throughout my years in the force."

"She?" whispered Kayo to Hayley. "Who's she talking about?"

"No idea," Hayley whispered back.

"Please allow me to welcome…Colonel Abigail Jennings," said Colonel Casey.

The vast majority of the crowd clapped as a woman slightly shorter than Colonel Casey with blonde hair stepped out of the side door of the arena. Like Casey she had the same smart grey uniform. She walked up to the podium and the two Colonels saluted. Then Colonel Casey went back to her seat whilst Colonel Jennings now took the stand. "Thank you, Colonel Casey," she said with an English accent. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's an honour to be here. I've known Martha Casey for over ten years. I've been a GDF Shadow so to speak. Operating in the darkness. Out of sight and out of touch with the rest of the world whilst I've carried out special ops assignments. Colonel Casey said to me ages ago that if she was to ever step down from her role as leader of the GDF, she would pass the mantle on to me. I feel very honoured and extremely privileged to have been given this role. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that the world remains as safe as it can be."

A round of applause greeted this. Only Kayo and Hayley remained silent. They weren't sure what to make of this new Colonel.

"And as my first duty as Colonel, I would like to present to you all a special project that Colonel Casey and I have been working on the past couple of months," Colonel Jennings continued. "As you may know, as part of The Cabal's attack, they launched missiles into space, taking out space-station Global-1 as well as firing more at the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The missiles and the wreckage of the station almost crashed into the city, but were saved by the intervention of one very brave man. He became a hero to the people of Albuquerque and to many others who learned of his efforts. We therefore felt that he deserved recognition for his actions, and to make him the new face of the Global Defence Force. A beacon to show the world that we can protect them from whatever threats are thrown our way."

Colonel Jennings then pushed a button on the podium. A hatch in the floor started to open. Then a figure began to rise up on a platform. A figure in an armoured uniform and holding what looked like a round metal shield in his left hand. Then the lights came on, showing the figure to everyone in the arena. Kayo, Penelope and Hayley's mouths fell open in shock. It was Captain Wayne Rigby…wearing a Captain America costume.

"Oh, my Goodness…" Penelope said.

"You gotta be kidding me!" exclaimed Hayley.

"Rigs?!" Kayo said, struggling to think of anything else to say.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Colonel Jennings. "I give you…Captain Liberty!"

John filled Virgil and Gordon in on the distress call that he had just received. "The fire's a big one," he said. "The flames are at least 1,000 feet high and there's a danger of it spreading if the oil leaks out."

"Where's Kip Harris when you need him?" Gordon joked.

Virgil however wasn't amused. He was worried. "John, didn't you say that rig is one of the places that Bensheba gets its oil from?" he asked.

"This one had yet to supply the refinery," John replied. "It had literally only just struck oil before the disaster happened."

Virgil shifted uncomfortably. "Are lives in immediate danger?" he asked.

"Negative," said John. "The crew are safe and there's nobody else around for miles. Plus the pipe connecting it to the refinery is sealed so there's no danger of that blowing up."

"Why are you so uncomfortable, Virgil?" asked Gordon.

Virgil shot him a look. "You know damn well why, Gordon!" he snapped. "I don't want another run-in with Grafton!"

"Oh, come on, he's not gonna bother showing up to something like this," Gordon said. "The refinery, yes, but-"

"Hold on, Gordon," John suddenly interrupted. "EOS has alerted me to something. What is it, EOS?"

"It would appear that we might have a situation of our own, John," EOS said. "My scanners have detected an aircraft heading towards the burning oil rig. I think you need to see it."

"Okay…" John said and watched as EOS brought up a long-distance camera image of what she had detected. He then recoiled in shock. "What the?!"

"John, what is it?" asked Virgil.

"Is it Grafton?" added Gordon.

John didn't answer. He'd gone white.

Gordon and Virgil exchanged concerned looks. "John, answer!' Virgil demanded. "What's wrong?"

John finally found his voice. "Errrrr…see for yourself…" he said awkwardly.

The image that EOS had shown John now appeared on the hologram table projector. Now it was the turn of Virgil to recoil in shock but Gordon remained still. The image showed a large helijet. Larger than what they were used to seeing. It didn't look quite as big as the GDF Flyers but it wasn't far off. It was painted mostly green with a yellow underbelly and black lining.

"Huh," Gordon remarked. "An EJ-2 Jet. Don't see many of those around."

"Gordon!" Virgil said sharply. "Look at what's written on the side of it!"

Gordon leant forwards for a closer look. And then he saw it and now he too became shocked. Along the side of the large helijet were the words 'INTERNATIONAL RESCUE' and a large white number 2 near the tail and on the nose. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "SOMEONE'S IMPERSONATING US?!"

John became very stern. "I think the answer to your question is there now, Virgil?" he said.

Virgil, also on his feet, turned red with anger. "Gordon, meet me in Thunderbird 2!" was all he said as he ran towards the rocket painting.

"Yeah…of course!" Gordon answered, equally feeling enraged as he hurried to his own launch elevator.

It was extremely rare that any of the Tracy brothers or even Kayo ever felt angry during a launch sequence. Normally the thrill of gearing up to go out on another mission filled them with adrenaline. That was not the case on this occasion as Virgil and Gordon suited up and entered the cockpit of Thunderbird 2. Virgil selected Module 1 and lowered the main body down onto it. The entrance opened and they taxied out along the runway past the folded-back palm trees and then coming to a stop on the launch ramp which rose up into place as the wings folded out and the blast shield lifted up behind them.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbird 2's engines roared as it zoomed off the ramp and into the air. Normally this was followed by Virgil saying "Thunderbird 2 is GO!", but this time he was too angry to even think about it.

It was now Day Four of the Dakar Rally and once again the race was on for the top of the leaderboard. Coldshock was still at the top and in the lead but Fusion was close in behind them. They'd managed to get ahead of the motorbikes and other cars too so Alan felt more at ease knowing that all he had to do was keep his foot down, avoid the obstacles and try to get in front of Coldshock's vehicle.

"Keep it up, Alan!" urged Kenny. "You're doing great!"

Alan turned the wheel sharply left and then right as they followed the course. The dusty sand track through the desert was tough but he was used to it following the training. "Coming for you, Coldshock!" he said as they pulled alongside and began to overtake.

Gillespie and his navigator Tanya were most displeased when they saw Fusion pulling alongside.

"Ram them!" Tanya barked.

"Can't do that!" Gillespie replied. "You want us to get disqualified?"

"You knocked that biker off yesterday!" Tanya protested.

"That was an accident," Gillespie replied. "I didn't mean it."

"Like hell you didn't!" Tanya snapped. "They won't be able to prove a thing! Ram them!"

Reluctantly, Gillespie spun the wheel and rammed the side of the Fusion.

"OI!" Kenny bellowed. "ALAN, GET IN FRONT OF THEM!"

"I'M TRYING!" Alan shouted back. He pushed the Fusion's turbo up to maximum power and began to pull ahead.

Gillespie gritted his teeth and increased the power to the Coldshock vehicle. He rammed into the back and tried hard to knock them off the track. Alan decided to fight back, pulling a tight turn and causing the rivals to almost fall off the edge of the sand-dune. Gillespie quickly corrected it and started the pursuit again.

"GET THEM! GET THEM!" Tanya shouted to Gillespie.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gillespie bellowed as he tried to slam into Fusion's car from behind.

Kenny looked in the rear view mirror. He could see the Coldshock closing in. "They're catching us, Alan!" he said. "Keep your foot down!"

"It's as far down as it'll go!" Alan called back. He then glanced in the rear view mirror above them to see for himself. And what he saw in the mirror made him go white. A face was staring back at him. One that was all too familiar. "AAAARRGGHHH!" Alan cried out in terror and threw his hands over his eyes to block out the sight, but in doing so he let go of the steering wheel.

The Fusion car carried on straight where it should have turned and it shot right off the top of the dune. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!" Alan and Kenny both yelled as they plummeted down before hitting the side of the next sand-dune and began rolling down it over and over and over before finally coming to rest upside down at the bottom.

Coldshock came to a stop at the top of the other dune where Tanya and Gillespie stared down in surprise at the now upturned Fusion car. "What the hell just happened?" asked Tanya.

"Who cares?" replied Gillespie as he set the car off again.

The Coldshock continued on its way, leaving the Fusion car an upturned wreck on the sand below.

Kenny groaned and opened his eyes. He found himself upside down, still in his seat due to the strong safety-belts which had saved him. "Owww…" he groaned. "Alan…are you okay?" He looked to his right and then froze. Alan had completely disappeared.