DUSK was coming down over the main GDF headquarters campus. Hayley had returned after having escorted the prisoners to the maximum security center and was heading back to her quarters for some food and a chat with Virgil.
"Good evening, ma'am," said a sentry as she passed. He saluted.
"Evening," Hayley replied, politely returning the salute.
Her route took her past some old equipment bunkers. They'd been there from when the site used to be an USAF base and were used for storage of equipment, food and other supplies. Some were larger than others. As Hayley walked past two of them, she heard something that made her stop dead in her tracks. There was a dull thudding sound coming from somewhere nearby. Huh? What's that? She looked around and listened. The noise had stopped. Just my imagination, she thought as she set off again. But then the thudding began again. This time it was accompanied by what sounded like muffled cries. She listened more closely. "Hello?" she called out. "Is someone there?"
The cries became louder along with harder thudding, like something being kicked against the metal plates that the curved bunker was made out of.
Concerned, Hayley made her way to the front of the bunker. It was about the same height as she was due to the need for storing small equipment. She tapped on the metal three times and then waited for a response. Three taps answered, telling her this was indeed where the noises were coming from. Being an officer, she was one of the few who could access it so after making her way to the front doors, she used her keypad to unlock the sealed door and pull it open. Now she could hear the muffled sounds more clearly. The unmistakable sounds of someone who was gagged. She turned on the lights and almost cried out in alarm when she saw the bound figure that was struggling on the floor of the bunker. "Oh, my God! Colonel Jennings?!"
The doors of the control room opened once more. The controllers looked to see the Warden had walked back in. "That was quick, sir," remarked one of them. "Has the Colonel-"
ZAP! A stun blast hit the controller.
"What the?!" exclaimed the other. But before he could pull out his weapon he too was zapped by the stun blast from the gun held by Warden Sharpe. Both controllers fell out of their seats and onto the floor.
The Warden then began to check through the computers and the CCTV images from the cameras. He soon caught sight of Kayo and Captain Liberty walking through Block B between the cylinders of inmates. He adjusted the cameras and zoomed in on Kayo. Her head was down, not making eye contact with any of the inmates who were jeering once again. "You're distracted, Miss Kyrano," he remarked with glee. "Let's see how that affects your fighting." He entered a keycard into the console and pressed some buttons.
Kayo had been lost in her own thoughts as she walked a few paces ahead of Captain Liberty, but she was snapped back to reality by a loud buzzer that sounded throughout the block. Looking up, she stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed men in orange boiler suits suddenly walking out of their cells. She gasped and looked behind her. Captain Liberty too had stopped dead as more prisoners emerged onto the walkway, cracking their knuckles and grinning broadly.
"HEY, MAN! NICE PANTS!" one of them laughed at Captain Liberty.
"What the hell's going on?" demanded Captain Liberty. "GET BACK IN YOUR CELLS!"
"Make us," snickered another inmate, trying to goad him into a fight.
Captain Liberty tried to contact the control. "Aquatraz, this is Captain Liberty! We have an ARGH!"
The inmates pounced and a brawl broke out.
"RIGS!' Kayo cried before she too was attacked by the inmates advancing on her. Soon both were overpowered and forced down onto the floor but several free inmates who were desperate for a chance to let off steam and have their twisted way of fun.
From the safety of the now secured control office, Warden Sharpe watched what was happening with a delighted grin on his face.
Hayley had untied Colonel Jennings and helped her out of the bunker where she gave her some water. "Are you okay, Colonel?" she asked.
"Do I look okay, Captain?" Colonel Jennings replied bluntly.
Hayley began to think. That sounded a lot more like the attitude that Colonel Jennings had had before. "What happened?" she asked.
"Not sure," replied Colonel Jennings. "I was heading back to my quarters when I was hit by something. When I came to, I was tied up inside that bunker. I have no idea how long I've been in there but it felt like hours."
"You look very dehydrated," said Hayley. "Shall I get more water?"
"No, I'll be okay," said Colonel Jennings. "But there's clearly a traitor in our ranks, Madison. We need to find them and flush them out if they're still here."
"I doubt they've hung around, Colonel," said Hayley. "Maybe we-" She cut off suddenly. "Hang on…"
"What?" asked Colonel Jennings.
Hayley had gone very pale. "But…if you've been here…who went to Aquatraz…"
Colonel Jennings frowned. "Aquatraz? Well it sure as hell isn't me. What's going on, Madison?"
Hayley knew she had a lot of explaining to do.
Kayo couldn't see Captain Liberty due to the amount of inmates that had piled themselves on top of her. All her focus was now on finding a way out.
"You're mine, matchstick," teased one of them.
"I'm gonna make you my own personal doll," jeered another.
This made Kayo sick and angry. With each impact on top of her, she found that the kinetic energy in her suit was powering up. "Get…off…ME!" she shouted, letting out a blast of blue energy which threw all of the inmates off. She then gained the upper hand, jumping, punching and drop-kicking any inmate that tried to get near her. If one did manage to grab hold, she quickly zapped them and they let go again. She then escaped from those trying to get her and began attacking those piling on top of Captain Liberty. She was successful in getting several off so she could pull him out, but wasn't successful in preventing one from stealing his shield.
"HA-HA!" jeered the large inmate. "YOU'RE SHIELD IS MINE NOW, FLAG-MAN!"
"THAT ISN'T YOURS!" Captain Liberty thundered. "HAND THAT OVER!"
The inmate began to run away with the shield whilst the others blocked off Captain Liberty's route. Looking the other way, the inmates who'd been tormenting Kayo were closing in as well.
"Now we've got you!" sneered one of the inmates before both sides began charging.
Kayo then spoke up. "I have an idea," she said. "Do you trust me?"
"With my life," Captain Liberty replied.
"Good," said Kayo. "Throw me up in the air and then jump over the side.
Surprised by the request, Captain Liberty did as he was asked. He grabbed Kayo around the waist and threw her up several feet into the air, causing the inmates to stop dead and look up in astonishment whilst Liberty then leapt over the railing before swinging himself on a metal bar and dropping down on the walkway below, landing right in front of the inmate who'd taken the shield.
Kayo meanwhile was on her way back down towards the walkway with around forty inmates looking to try and catch her. As she dropped, the blue energy within her suit was powering up again, glowing brighter and brighter as she picked up speed, which soon began to worry the inmates. "Prepare to fall, boys!" Kayo said as she hit the walkway and released the energy from her suit. The shockwave caused the entire room to glow bright blue as it knocked every single inmate backwards, those not getting hit by it were instead hit by the large numbers of other inmates as they landed on top of them.
As the light returned to normal, Captain Liberty confronted the inmate with the stolen shield. "I won't tell you again," he said angrily. "Hand…it…over!"
The inmate sneered. "You want it? GO FETCH!" he yelled and threw the shield across the cell block. Another inmate tried to catch it, but chickened out and ducked due to the velocity that it was going. It hit the wall and bounced off, darting across the middle of the cell block and cutting through some of the support cables that held up the walkways. The walkway lurched and Captain Liberty and the inmate were almost thrown over the side as it tilted. Then they saw the shield bounce off the walls three more times in different places before heading back in their direction. The inmate's eyes widened with glee. "Yes…YES!" he said delightedly. "COME TO PAPA-OOF!"
Captain Liberty used the distraction to make his move. He jumped up and kicked the inmate in the side of the torso, knocking him aside and allowing him to catch the shield before using it to spin around and slam the face of it into the inmate's own face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. But then two of the support cables failed simultaneously and the walkway tipped on its side. "WOAH!" Captain Liberty cried as he almost fell off but managed to grab the railing. "KAAAAAAAAAAAYO!"
Kayo looked over the side of the walkway she was on and gasped. "HANG ON, I'M COMING!" she called and leapt over the railing. She tried to grab Rigby but landed on the railing as she did so and caused it to break off.
"YAAAAAAAARRGGGGGH!" they both yelled as they fell twenty metres towards the floor at the bottom of the cell block.
Thinking quickly, Captain Liberty threw Kayo onto his back and then put the shield between him and the rapidly approaching floor. "BRACE!" he yelled and Kayo shut her eyes tight as she held on.
CLANG! The shield made a horrendous echoing noise as it slammed into the floor which reverberated off all the walls and caused incredible pain to the ears of anyone who heard it.
Even through Kayo's helmet she seemed to feel it. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. "That's some power."
"I know right?" Captain Liberty replied as he picked them both up off the floor. "Man, would you look at that?"
As Kayo dusted her suit off, she stopped and stared in astonishment at the large indent that was now in the floor where the shield had been. "Good grief!" she exclaimed. "That thing is strong."
It was as well. The shield had no visible damage on it at all.
The sounds of angry roars from above made them look up to see that the inmates who hadn't been knocked unconscious were now scrambling down all the stairs towards where they were.
"I think we've outstayed our welcome," remarked Kayo.
"We need to get back to control and seal them in," said Captain Liberty. "They cannot be allowed to roam free within the main complex."
Together they hurried for the airlock doors that would take them into a special travel-tube cart that connected back to the main control ship where they'd originally come in from. But after sealing the inner door and climbing into the cart, they were about to open the outer when a sudden explosion rocked the complex. They looked ahead and stared in shock as the travel tube fell away and crashed onto the seabed.
"Something's destroyed the tunnel!" exclaimed Captain Liberty.
Kayo felt chills down her spine. Behind them, banging their fists away at the airlock doors trying to get in was well over a-hundred angry inmates trying to get them. In front of them was the deep Pacific Ocean. "Captain…I do believe we're trapped," she said. She then pushed a button on her wrist controller. "Thunderbird Shadow to International Rescue. Mayday! We have a situation!".
Hayley had to tell Colonel Jennings everything. From the tip-off and orders to find The White Ghost and allowing International Rescue to take part in the takedown then going to Aquatraz with Captain Liberty and Kayo. By the time she'd finished, the Colonel was looking shocked and angry. "You should have known from the start something was wrong, Madison!" she snapped. "You know damn well that I don't want International Rescue getting involved with GDF business and I would never have permitted such a thing!"
"Kayo did have her suspicions," Hayley admitted. "We should have heeded those."
"You should have your own," said Colonel Jennings. "But I guess it doesn't matter now. How long ago did they go to Aquatraz?"
"A good few hours," said Hayley. "I've delivered the accomplices of The White Ghost to the maximum security centre, following, er, fake you's instructions."
"Well, you've done one good thing today then, Madison," said Colonel Jennings as she got to her feet. "I can't fault you for that. Good work. But let's get to Central Control and warn Aquatraz of what's going on."
"If things haven't gone wrong already," Hayley muttered to herself as she followed the Colonel towards the control building.
Kayo's emergency call went directly to Tracy Island where she relayed the situation to Jeff, Scott, Gordon and Virgil. "At the moment, we're safe, but I don't know for how much longer," she was saying. "Even our combined strengths won't be enough to take down all of these inmates."
"And if the outer airlock door fails, water will gush in and drown everyone inside," said Jeff. "Okay, Kayo, we're on our way. Just try and hold your own."
"F-A-B," said Kayo. "But please hurry," she added in a shaky voice.
"Wow, she's scared," remarked Gordon.
"Can you blame her in that situation?" asked Virgil.
Scott was already heading for the revolving wall panel. "We're gonna need Thunderbird 4 for this," he said. "I'll fly ahead and monitor the situation from the control center."
"Well, don't just sit there!" Jeff snapped at Virgil and Gordon. "Get going! There's no time to lose!"
"F-A-B!" said Virgil and Gordon with determination.
The three brothers made their way down their respective launch tunnels to the waiting Thunderbirds. Once aboard Thunderbird 1, Scott began to make his way up to the launching bay underneath the pool whilst Virgil dropped down into Thunderbird 2 before selecting Module 4. Gordon then joined him moments after the main body had been lowered into place. Thunderbird 2 then taxied out of the hangar and along the runway through the avenue of palm trees before being lifted into place on the launch ramp. At the same time, the pool had been moved back to allow Thunderbird 1 to be able to launch.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
The engines of both Thunderbirds roared into life with Thunderbird 1 zooming out of the space where the pool usually was whilst Thunderbird 2 soared off the ramp, both leaving long vaper trails behind them as they went.
"Thunderbirds are GO!" said Scott as Thunderbird 1 rocketed ahead of Thunderbird 2 in the direction of Aquatraz.
Colonel Jennings and Hayley entered the main GDF Control Hub. "Get me Aquatraz, on the double!" she ordered.
The controllers gazed in a stunned silence, all had believed that Colonel Jennings had been out at Aquatraz.
"This is the real Colonel!" Hayley told them. "There's an imposter on Aquatraz."
"I need to speak with the Warden, now!" ordered Colonel Jennings.
With that instruction, the controllers set to work trying to make contact with Aquatraz. But they had no luck.
"Can't you get through?" Colonel Jennings asked.
"Negative," said a controller. "Not getting any response at all."
"Get me the security footage," said Colonel Jennings. "I need to know what the hell is going on in there?"
Hayley meanwhile was trying to raise Kayo or Captain Liberty. But she was having no luck either. "No use, Colonel. I can't get through to them either."
Colonel Jennings gritted her teeth. "Keep trying, Madison," she said. "Where's that footage?"
"Can't access it, ma'am," said another controller. "Something's blocking us out."
"Hack in then," said Colonel Jennings.
"We've tried, but the encryption is beyond our capabilities," said another controller.
"You mean to tell me that we have no way of finding out what's going on?!" Colonel Jennings said, her voice raising a little.
The controller looked timid. "Y-Yes, ma'am," she stammered.
Colonel Jennings growled in frustration. She turned back to Hayley. "Well?"
"Still nothing, Colonel," said Hayley. "I do have a suggestion…which you'll probably not like."
"Go on?"
"I know someone who's very good at breaking encryptions," said Hayley. "But he's not in the GDF."
"Don't tell me," said Colonel Jennings, rolling her eyes. "He's with International Rescue?"
"Correct, Colonel," said Hayley. "I know you don't want anything to do with them, but we need to find out what's happening at Aquatraz. And they may be our only chance to do so. The only other alternative is to go there ourselves and that'll take time."
Colonel Jennings was silent for a few moments. "We'll do that anyway," she said. Then she sighed. "Okay, Madison. Just this once we'll call on International Rescue for assistance. But we're ONLY going to ask them to break this encryption," she said. "We'll do any field work ourselves."
"Understood," said Hayley. "May I?"
"Yes, get on with it!"
Hayley adjusted the radio controls. She didn't want to make it look as though she was being too personal with International Rescue. "Calling International Rescue. This is Captain Madison of the Global Defence Force. We need assistance."
The call was received not from Tracy Island, but by Thunderbird 5. John frowned when he heard the way Hayley spoke, but quickly realised that there had to be a reason why she was talking the way she was. "This is International Rescue. We're receiving you, Captain Madison. What's the situation?"
"Hello, Joh-n," Hayley suddenly gulped, realising what she'd done. Colonel Jennings gave her a look, but she realised there was no point in hiding it anymore now.
"Is something wrong, Hayley?" John asked.
"Long story short, yes," said Hayley uncomfortably. "I take it you know that Kayo, Captain Liberty and myself took down The White Ghost this morning?"
"Yes, I am aware."
"Well, the Colonel Jennings that tipped us off and has gone to Aquatraz isn't Colonel Jennings," said Hayley. "It was an imposter. I found the real Colonel tied up in a bunker, and now we've lost contact with Aquatraz. I can't get hold of Captain Liberty or Kayo either.."
John bit his lip. "Funny you should call about this," he said. "At this very moment, Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 4 are on their way to Aquatraz to rescue Kayo and Captain Liberty from a cell block of escaped convicts."
Colonel Jennings couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Escaped prisoners?!" she said, almost knocking Hayley out of the way. "How many?"
"I'm guessing you're Colonel Jennings?" John asked.
"So what if I am?"
Wow, Kayo wasn't wrong about her, John thought to himself. "Er, Kayo didn't say. But definitely Cell Block B is where she and Captain Liberty are trapped. The travel tube between it and the main complex has also been destroyed.
Colonel Jennings and Hayley exchanged looks.
"John, we need to see what's going on in there," said Hayley. "There's some kind of encryption that is preventing us from accessing the security cameras. Could you break it for us?"
"Send it to me and I'll see what I can do," said John.
"Thank you," said Hayley gratefully.
"Whilst you do that, we'll be heading to Aquatraz ourselves," said Colonel Jennings.
Thunderbird 1 was far ahead of Thunderbird 2 and flying just above wave-top level as it approached Aquatraz. "Thunderbirds 1 and 2 from Thunderbird 5," John's voice was heard over the radios.
"Go ahead, Thunderbird 5?" said Scott.
"Receiving loud and clear," added Virgil.
"I've just spoken with Hayley and Colonel Jennings," said John. "Seems the situation in Aquatraz is worse than we thought."
"How so?" asked Scott.
"Hang on, I thought Colonel Jennings was in Aquatraz?" asked Gordon.
"She's not, Gordon, that's the problem," said John. "Hayley found the real one tied up in a bunker on the main base. The one that went with Kayo and Captain Liberty is an imposter."
"Who's probably gained control of the prison and let all the inmates out," Scott realised. "I expect the whole place is on lockdown."
"Well they've been unable to access the security footage," said John. "I'm trying to break the encryption so that we can see for ourselves what is going on down there."
"So long as they don't get to Kayo and Liberty and we can get them out beforehand," said Virgil.
"But what about the inmates themselves?" asked Scott. "What do we do with them?"
"They aren't our problem, Thunderbird 1," said John. "All we're doing is rescuing Kayo and Liberty. The GDF will retake the prisoners once control is regained."
"How are you getting on with the encryption?" asked Scott.
"Slow," replied John. "Whoever's set it up, they're good. But so am I. Gotcha!" he then said triumphantly. "Colonel Jennings, I've gained access to the security footage. Sending it through now."
Colonel Jennings and Hayley were aboard a Flyer along with several troops. They watched on their monitor screen as security footage from inside Block B was shown. They were shocked by what they saw. All of the inmates that were still conscious were gathered around where the entry point to the airlock was located. They were kicking, punching and ramming things into it to try and get it to open.
"That doesn't look good," said Hayley.
"No, it doesn't," agreed Colonel Jennings. "Tell me, Madison. What do you know of Aquatraz?"
"Only that it houses the most dangerous people on the planet and that nobody has escaped it," said Hayley. "The Hood only managed it because of a plan by Colonel Casey that backfired."
"Yes, I heard about that," said Colonel Jennings. "That was the beginning of her downfall."
Hayley had to bite her tongue. She had a lot of respect for Colonel Casey but did not want to say anything that could jeopardise how Colonel Jennings was with her right now.
"Tracy, show us the other blocks," said Colonel Jennings.
A please wouldn't have been welcomed, John thought to himself. Like Hayley he was having to hold his tongue. "Remote access is already yours, Colonel," he said. "Search as you please."
"Very well," said Colonel Jennings. She checked the other cameras. "Block A - clear. Block C - clear. Block D - clear. Block E…clear. Block F clear. Block G…clear. Block H - clear."
"Only Block B that's got prisoners loose?" asked Hayley.
"Yes…" said Colonel Jennings. "Does that seem fishy to you?"
"Extremely," replied Hayley. "It's like whoever stole your identity wanted them to be there."
Having heard all of this, John relayed the news to the others. "It's only the block where Kayo is that has prisoners on the loose," he said to Scott.
"Then this has been deliberately set up?" said Scott.
"It would seem that way," said John grimly.
"I'm approaching Aquatraz now," said Scott. "I'll see if I can get to the control room and find out what is going on."
"If you can get past the guards that is," said Virgil.
"Don't worry, leave that part to me," said John. "I'll pre-warn them of your arrival, Thunderbird 1."
"F-A-B," said Scott.
But as Thunderbird 1 descended towards the landing platform, he was startled when anti-air cannons began shooting in his direction.
"Woah! What the?!" he exclaimed, spinning his ship around to escape. "John, I thought you told them not to challenge me?!"
"I can't get through, Scott!" John answered. "Nobody's responding."
Scott glanced down at the four guards who were stationed on the landing platform. He could tell that it was not them responsible for what was going on as they were looking confused as well.
"We don't have time for this!' Scott growled. "I'm gonna take those cannons out. They can bill us later if they want to." He then used the targeting computer to lock onto the cannons whilst flying around at high speed, faster than the cannons could target him. Then he pressed a button and two small missiles were launched from Thunderbird 1. They hit the cannons and destroyed them. "That should do it," he said. "Now, let's see what the guys have to say."
The guards ran over to Thunderbird 1 as soon as it landed. Scott was expecting to find them aiming their weapons at him, but was surprised when they didn't.
"International Rescue?" said one of the guards. "What the hell is going on?"
"I was hoping you could tell me, soldier," Scott replied. "You know there's trouble down below?"
The guards looked at each other. "What are you talking about?" one asked.
Scott showed the footage of Block B via his wrist controller. "Does that answer your question?"
The guards stared in disbelief.
"Gentlemen, the Colonel Jennings you saw earlier is an imposter," Scott explained. "We suspect the person has somehow taken control of the prison. We need to get to the control room and try and regain control."
"You got it, mister," said the lead guard. "Follow me."
As they headed for the doors leading into the elevator, Scott got a call from Thunderbird 2. "Thunderbird 1, we're approaching the exclusion zone of Aquatraz. About to launch Thunderbird 4."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 2," said Scott. "Thunderbird 4, Aquatraz has sentry submarine drones. They might be in the power of the imposter. Be on your guard and take them out before they can even attempt to take you out."
"Understood," said Gordon who was by now inside the cockpit of Thunderbird 4.
Virgil brought Thunderbird 2 down close to the surface of the water. "Releasing module…now!" He moved a lever. The docking clamp was released and Module 4 dropped down onto the surface. Once it had settled, the door ramp opened and Thunderbird 4 was lifted up before Gordon fired the boosters and it slipped down into the water.
"Thunderbird 4 is GO!"
Scott and the guards had now reached the doors leading into the elevator. But when the lead guard tried to access it, it was denied. "Damn it! It's rejecting my pass!"
Scott grimaced. "Then the intruder has full access!"
Thunderbird 4 dived deep to the ocean floor before making its way towards Aquatraz. Gordon had never seen Aquatraz in person. The only time International Rescue had been before was the time that a power failure had taken place when the prison was newly built and it had almost ended in a escape for The Hood and The Chaos Crew if not for the intervention of Kayo and Lady Penelope, who had been helping Kayo with Thunderbird 4 due to Gordon being bed-ridden at the time after his encounter with The White Ghost's now deceased brother Montgomery McCullen.
Soon the large imposing shape of the tanker that made up Block B "Woah…that's big…" he said to himself. He then pressed a button. "Kayo, this is Gordon. Do you read me?"
Kayo's hologram appeared on the console projector. "Gordon! Am I glad to see you? Where are you?"
"Approaching the ship where you are," said Gordon. "I take it you're still safe?"
"For now," Kayo replied. "But the door's integrity is starting to fail. Please hurry."
"F-A-B," said Gordon. "Should be with you in a minute." As he got closer, he began to look around for any sign of the sentry submarines. But they were nowhere to be seen. Strange, he thought to himself. I thought they would be right on me.
Thunderbird 4 soon reached the outer airlock door where Kayo and Captain Liberty were trapped.
"Errr…you do realise that when I remove this door you're gonna get swamped with seawater, right?" Gordon said to them.
"Yes, we're aware, Fish-Boy," said Captain Liberty. "Just get us out of here."
Fish-Boy?! Gordon felt insulted but he wasn't going to confront the Captain about it. Now I know how Alan feels about being called Rocket-Boy.
"We'll be fine, Gordon," said Kayo. "We have our helmets. Get that door open."
"F-A-B."
Thunderbird 4's robotic arms were deployed and Gordon began to use the one with the laser cutter to cut through the door.
Inside the ship, the inmates who'd been trying to break the inner door down were suddenly made to stop when they realised what was happening.
"STOP!" shouted the one who was leading.
"Are you crazy?" asked another. "We've almost got 'em!"
"If we open that door, the block will flood and we'll all drown!" snapped the leading inmate. "Get the hell back! They're lost to us!"
The remaining inmates reluctantly stepped back and grumbled in frustration.
It wasn't just the inmates who'd realised what was going on either. Warden Sharpe had noticed from external security cameras that Thunderbird 4 was on the scene and attempting to cut into the hull of the ship. "At last!" he said. "I was beginning to think they'd never show. Let's make sure they don't discover what's really going on." He began to adjust the controls.
Kayo's nanotech suit helmet had been activated to cover her face. Captain Liberty revealed that his helmet had a special holographic shield that could be used to shield his face from water. Both were ready as the water leaked in as the door was cut through. They waited until it had fully flooded over their heads before grabbing hold of metal rails on the sides of the airlock..
"Okay, Gordon," said Kayo. "Pull it off."
Gordon gently put Thunderbird 4 into reverse. It backed away and pulled the door out of the side of the ship. He then allowed the door to fall to the seabed before turning his craft a full 180-degrees before opening the rear doors of Thunderbird 4's own airlock to allow them to swim across into it.
Once the water had drained out, they removed their helmets. "Thanks, Gordon," said Kayo.
"Don't mention it," replied Gordon.
"We need to get to Central Control," said Captain Liberty. "We need to find out what's going on."
Scott had also been busy with his laser. Unable to get the elevator to work, he and two of the guards had gained access to the main shaft via the service tunnel alongside it. He used his grapple to winch them all down and soon they were at the bottom, located within the older Aircraft Carrier that made up the main control complex of Aquatraz.
As they made their way through the corridors, they heard a groaning sound coming from behind one of the doors. Scott scanned through the door and saw a figure trying to get off the floor who was in some severe discomfort. "What's behind that door?" he asked.
"That's the Warden's office," replied one of the guards. "Can't you read, Mister?"
Scott glared at him for a second before noticing the name on the door. He growled quietly and rolled his eyes before hitting the button that opened the door. There was the Warden, rubbing his head and trying to reach for his cane.
"Easy, sir, I got you," Scott said as he helped him up.
"Colonel…Jennings…" said Warden Sharpe. "She-"
"Is an imposter," said Scott. "Yeah, we know."
"Wait, she's what?!" spluttered Warden Sharpe.
"Yes, I'll explain later," said Scott. "You stay here and recover." He then hurried out after the guards who'd already made their way to the control room.
"Wait…wait!" Warden Sharpe protested as he tried to follow.
Scott found the guards outside the door to the control room.
"It's jammed!" one of them said. "We can't get in."
Before Scott could reply, he got a call over his radio. "Thunderbird 1, this is Thunderbird 4. I have Kayo and Captain Liberty on board, but we can't get the airlock doors on the main control section to open."
"Leave that to me, Thunderbird 4," said Scott. "I'm about to break down the doors. I expect our imposter is inside."
"Understood," said Gordon. "Standing-by."
"Imposter?" Kayo asked who'd overheard over the radio. "What imposter?"
"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Gordon replied.
"Don't know what?" demanded Captain Liberty.
"That wasn't Colonel Jennings who came here with you," said Gordon. "That was an imposter."
Kayo and Captain Liberty exchanged looks of shock.
"Gordon, that's impossible," Kayo said. "We'd have known if-"
"Well, you didn't, Kayo," said John who had also been listening in along with Virgil. "And Gordon, you might want to watch your six. You've got bogies coming in."
Gordon turned Thunderbird 4 around to see a group of five robot mini-subs approaching. He gritted his teeth. "And there they are," he said. "Was wondering where they'd got to."
"Gordon, those things are armed to the teeth," warned Virgil. "You got to get away before-"
"Oh, no, Virgil," said Gordon defiantly. "I am beyond sick of my ship being attacked. This time, it's me who's going to attack first!" He pressed some buttons and then a bigger one. It sent out an EMP which fried the circuits of the approaching submarines. Their power cut out and one by one they dropped to the seabed, kicking up huge clouds of dust as they hit the bottom. "If only I'd had that before," Gordon remarked.
Using his laser, Scott managed to break open the door to the control room and the two guards darted in with their weapons. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" one shouted at the lone figure standing inside. "OR WE'LL…" He broke off and both stared in surprise at the sight of Warden Sharpe who turned to face them. "Stand down, gentlemen," he said. "Everything is-"
"Who the hell are you?!" Scott demanded as he followed the guards inside.
"I'm the Warden," said Warden Sharpe. "And-"
"AAAH!"
Scott and the guards looked behind them. A second Warden Sharpe, the one Scott had found in the office had appeared at the door and he was totally freaked out by the sight of a double of himself. So much so that he fainted.
Scott and the guards turned their attention back to the other Warden. "I repeat my question," Scott said in a dangerous voice. "Who…are…you?!"
The second Warden smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked slyly before dropping a smoke grenade that filled the room and obscured their vision momentarily. By the time it had cleared and they could see again, he'd vanished.
"Damn it!' cursed Scott.
Just then they all felt and heard the sound of a distant explosion coming from somewhere within the complex.
"What was that?" Captain Liberty asked.
"Thunderbird 5, did you pick that up?" asked Scott.
"Affirmative," replied John. "Looks like it came from the ship that's furthest out from the rest of them."
Kayo and Captain Liberty looked at each other again with horror in their eyes. Kayo spoke urgently into her radio. "Scott, it's Kayo. can you check the cameras for Block H?"
"Negative," replied Scott. "All systems are down here."
"Gordon, take us to Block H!" Kayo ordered.
"Why, what's wrong?" Gordon asked.
"JUST DO IT!" Kayo screamed, catching all four brothers off-guard. They'd never heard her sound like that before.
"Err…F-A-B?" Gordon said, still shocked by the outburst.
Scott, Virgil and John began to talk privately. "What was that all about?" Virgil asked.
"No idea," replied Scott. "But I sure as hell didn't like it."
"There must be something in that ship," John said. "It's like she knows something's wrong."
All three fell silent. They all began to get an uneasy feeling and although they didn't say it, they all knew what each other was thinking and were praying it wasn't true.
Gordon brought Thunderbird 4 around to the end of Block H and around to the sunken Aircraft Carrier's left side. "Ohhh…" said Gordon. "That's not good."
"Gordon, I'm going to take a look," said Kayo. "I need you to come with me."
"Hey, I'm coming too!" said Captain Liberty.
"Is your suit designed for these depths?" Kayo asked.
"It's tough…" he replied. "But…"
"Then stay here," ordered Kayo as she re-entered Thunderbird 4's airlock.
Kayo and Gordon exited Thunderbird 4 and made their way towards the Aircraft Carrier - and the huge hole in the side of it. Gordon was quick to notice how fast Kayo was swimming in order to get inside. "Slow down, Kayo, we don't know what's in there!"
Kayo didn't reply. She just kept on going, swimming through the hole and inside the now flooded ship. She swam up to the central walkway and came to a dead stop. Her eyes went wide with horror as she looked around at the now six empty cells that surrounded her. "No…nonononono...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
By the time Gordon had caught up, he found Kayo on the walkway on her knees…and crying with rage. "What the hell?"
"Gordon, what's happening?" Scott asked over the radio.
"I don't know, Scott," replied Gordon. "But…Kayo's in a hell of a state."
Captain Liberty then spoke up. "What do you see, Tracy?" he asked. "Are they still in their cells?"
Gordon looked around. "Who?" he asked. "All the cells are empty. Who was even in here?"
But Captain Liberty didn't answer. What Gordon had said had made him fall completely silent. He fell back against the wall of Thunderbird 4's passenger bay and slid down. Then he punched the floor and shouted a very foul word.
"Gee…" said Virgil. "What the heck is going on?"
Scott turned to the real Warden Sharpe who was awake again and sitting in a chair. "Warden…who was in Block H?"
Warden Sharpe went white. But eventually, he managed to find his voice. "The…The Cabal…" he said shakily.
This sent a horrible sickening feeling through all four of the Tracy brothers. The very thing they'd been worried about was true.
By the time the GDF Flyer carrying Colonel Jennings and Hayley arrived at Aquatraz, International Rescue had already left. Warden Sharpe sat on a wheeling office chair waiting to greet them with Captain Liberty by his side.
"Captain Liberty, report!" said Colonel Jennings. "What's going on?"
"Situation under control mostly," said Captain Liberty. "The escaped convicts in Block B have been secured with sleeping gas and are being returned to their cells as we speak."
"Excellent," said Colonel Jennings. "But what do you mean by 'mostly'?"
Captain Liberty and Warden Sharpe looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to reveal the bad news.
"Something's happened…hasn't it?" Hayley asked.
Captain Liberty finally plucked up the courage. "We were played," he said. "The Cabal has escaped."
This sent a sickening feeling through Hayley whilst Colonel Jennings went red with anger. "How?!" she demanded. "Where's the imposter?!"
"Gone as well," said Warden Sharpe. "Whoever they were, they masqueraded as me to get access to the prison."
Colonel Jennings was seething. Hayley and Captain Liberty exchanged looks. They couldn't believe how easily they'd fallen for such a deception.
The mood was no better on Tracy Island. Everyone except for Kayo and Grandma, the latter of whom was taking care of the former who'd suffered a minor breakdown as a result of the day's events, were in the lounge. Nobody knew what to think. There was anger, dismay and depression. They'd worked so hard in the past to get their enemies locked away so they'd no longer be a problem for them. And yet…once again, they'd managed to outsmart them and the GDF and escape what had been created especially to keep them imprisoned.
"Someone punch me," Gordon said at last.
"What for?" asked Alan who was sitting beside him.
"To wake me up from this nightmare," Gordon retorted.
"If only it were a nightmare," growled Scott. "But I'm afraid it's not!"
Jeff finally spoke up. "Boys…let's face the truth. It is a nightmare, but a real one. It's pretty obvious that The White Ghost intended to get herself arrested so she could get access to Aquatraz in order to help free her fellow Cabal members."
"Yeah, but how?" asked Virgil. "She's a desperate young woman who wants to be rid of her condition."
"Agreed," said Brains. "To come up with s-such a scheme as this, it would take a lot of p-planning and coordination. I h-highly doubt that Miss McCullen would have been able to p-pull all this off by herself."
"Meaning there could be someone else helping her to achieve this?" asked Alan.
"If there is, I bet I know who," said Gordon.
"If you say Grafton, I will punch you, Gordon!" said Scott.
"Actually, I was…" said Gordon uneasily.
"You can get that idea out of your head, Gordon," said Jeff sternly. "Grafton's a cruel and cunning person, but even he wouldn't stoop to that level. No…The White Ghost has probably recruited more members. From now on, we must be on our guard. Always. Understood?"
The others mumbled grimly in agreement.
Grafton was standing by the window of his villa, gazing out across the ocean. He turned to see Larissa and Tristan walk in having just returned home.
"Hello, Dad," said Tristan.
"Ah, you're up, boy," Grafton replied. "Better?"
"Getting there," said Tristan.
"Our baby's on the mend," said Larissa affectionately. "And about time too. Come. Let us have dinner. You coming, Warren?"
"I will in a while," said Grafton. "I just need to change my attire."
Leaving his wife and son to start sorting out the dinner, Grafton made his way into a concealed secret elevator that he'd had installed in the house to take him down to his own personal garage underneath the house. It was here where he kept his vast collection of expensive cars. He had thought about giving one a good clean and polish when he became aware that he was no longer alone. Turning around, he saw six figures walking out of the darkness. The leading one was Laura. "Success?" he asked.
"Success," Laura replied. She turned so that Grafton could lay eyes on The Hood, Silver Swan, Noel, Kruger and Schultz. "Mr Grafton…this is The Cabal."
Grafton gazed in amazement as a malicious grin appeared across his face. "The Hood, is it?"
The Hood stepped forwards. "Greetings, Mr Grafton," he said warmly, shaking hands with him. "I hear you have a bit of a problem? One that perhaps we can help you with?"
"If by problem you mean International Rescue?" said Grafton. "Then hell yes I do."
Now it was The Hood who smirked. "That makes all of us," he said. "Let's talk, shall we?"