THUNDERBIRD 4 continued on its way with Gordon keeping his eyes peeled for anything useful. It wasn't long before he began to. "I've located a few pieces of wreckage," he told the others. "The current has taken them quite a way from the crash site."

"Listen, Gordon," said John. "My scans show you're less than ten miles from Vostula. They could still pick you up on their radar."

"Gordon, you'd better turn back," said Virgil. "If you get into trouble, we won't be able to help you."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Guys, relax! I told you, they won't," he said. "Brains didn't make these ships radar-proof for nothing, you know?"

John and Virgil gave in for the moment.

"He's sounding stubborn," observed Hayley.

"He never learns," Virgil replied grimly.

"You'd think after losing his previous ship he'd learn to be more careful," said John.

"He is for a while, but soon reverts back to his old self," said Virgil.

Inside the control room of Vostula, Boztran was finishing a cup of coffee. "Mmm," he said approvingly. "Just what I needed."

"Drink it quick in case the Commander comes back," said Ervick-Tao.

"Bah, he won't," said Boztran. "I expect he's fast asleep."

The two men continued with their conversation, not thinking to look at the instruments.

Time went on, and Virgil, John and Hayley were getting restless. "Thunderbird 4, turn back!" said John. "You're less than eight miles from Vostula!"

"Not yet, John," replied Gordon. "I've located a lot more wreckage. The device must be nearby."

John gritted his teeth. "Fine, Gordon, but they must know you're there by now!"

Both Gordon and John were kind of right in their assumptions. Brains had indeed fitted the Thunderbird ships with a special coating across their hulls that absorbed radar and sonar-waves. But there was one thing that even he had yet to achieve. Engine silencers. This had worked with Thunderbird Shadow due to its unique design, but with something like Thunderbird 4, trying to keep sound through water was next to impossible. Even the Bereznik and Russian submarine caterpillar propulsion system wasn't entirely as fool-proof as they had originally believed. As Gordon made his way further on, he couldn't have noticed a tiny underwater microphone concealed within some nearby rocks.

As Thunderbird 4 approached an underwater cliff, Gordon thought he saw something large and man-made resting up against it. He turned Thunderbird 4 slightly to starboard and his eyes lit up as the lights illuminated the grey object. "I found it!" he said triumphantly. "It's lodged in a crack in the rocks, but it shouldn't be too difficult to get free."

"Good work, Gordon," said John, although he didn't sound relieved yet, "but don't hang around longer than you have to!"

Gordon moved a lever in Thunderbird 4's cockpit which activated the robotic-arms. He then began to ease his craft towards the bomb as carefully as he could. Even though he knew there was no danger of the bomb exploding, he knew that just handling it was dangerous. "Focus…focus…" he told himself. "I can't mess this up."

Boztran and Ervick-Tao's conversation had turned to football scores. "No, no, you're wrong," Boztran insisted. "They won, three-two!"

"It was a two-all draw!" said Ervick-Tao.

"You want to bet?" asked Boztran.

"Okay, I don't mind taking your money. A week's pay?"

"Done! I think-" Boztran began to say when he suddenly cut himself off and turned his attention to the instruments. There was a red light flashing on one of the consoles.

"What is it?" asked Ervick-Tao.

Boztran fiddled with the controls and checked the radar. There was nothing showing up on it, but the instrument with the red light was linked to the underwater microphones, and from it, he could hear the strange sound of what appeared to be an engine. "Microphone 86 has picked something up!" he realised. "Quick! Get the Commander down here!"

Ervick-Tao pressed a button. "Commander?"

"Yes?" a sleepy response answered.

"We've picked up an unidentified sound on one of the microphones."

"I'll be right with you!"

Retrieving the bomb was proving to be harder than Gordon had originally thought. His plan was to put the grabs of Thunderbird 4's arms around the bomb and simply lift it out. But getting the grabs underneath it was tricky due to how narrow the crack was. For a few moments he believed he'd managed it, but when he tried to lift it up, it slipped out and fell back into the crack.

"Damn!" Gordon cursed.

"What's wrong?" asked Virgil over the radio.

"It's wedged tighter than I thought," Gordon replied. "I'll need a few minutes."

"John, is there anything in the area?" Virgil asked.

"Negative, but EOS will alert us if anything else does move," replied John. "Maybe we'll get away with this?"

"We'd better," said Hayley. "There'll be hell to pay if we don't."

The tension was so strong that she started to forget how cold it was outside her suit.

Commander Reznik-Chan had now joined Boztran and Ervick-Tao in the control room. They checked the large map on the wall showing the location of the microphones. The ones that had picked up the sounds of the unusual noise were flashing red showing them exactly where it was coming from.

"What's the radar showing?" the Commander asked.

"Absolutely nothing, sir," replied Boztran. "But the microphones are picking it up perfectly."

"What's the distance?" asked the Commander.

"Around seven-point-five miles."

"Then there's an intruder in our sector!" the Commander declared. "Sound the alarm!"

An alarm began to wail as Ervick-Tao pushed a button.

"Send out the Reavers!" ordered Reznik-Chan. "Tell them to seek and destroy!"

Boztran returned to his desk and spoke into the radio. "This is control to Reavers! Intruder alert! Repeat - intruder alert! Immediate deployment!"

The Reavers were a pair of the Berezniks' most modern submarines. They were long, sleek and very fast. With speeds of up to twenty knots underwater, it was their job to make sure that the exclusion zone was kept free of any unwanted guests. As soon as the order was given, the two vessels numbered 29 and 34 were released from their mooring clamps and began to make their way out of the base heading in the direction of the unknown sound.

Gordon's luck hadn't improved on his second attempt to free the bomb from the crack. Once again it slipped out of the grabs and fell back down. "Damn it!" Gordon cursed. "Just come out of there, will you?"

He began once again, this time taking a different approach. He put one grab up towards the highest part of the bomb which was out of the crack and gently twisted it so that it began to work loose which would allow him to place the other grab on the lower section and then lift it clear.

Virgil, Hayley, Amanda and John waited anxiously for updates. Even though they were in three separate places, all of them could feel the same amount of tension between them. It was starting to get unbearable. And it was about to get worse.

"Come on, Gordon!" Hayley said at last, breaking the uneasy silence.

Virgil had been watching the radar linked in from Thunderbird 5. Then his heart skipped a beat when something appeared right at the edge. "John, what's that?" he asked.

"What's what?" asked John.

"Bottom right!" said Virgil.

"EOS?"

"Confirmed!" EOS said. "Two contacts, coming from the direction of Vostula!"

"And they're heading right for Thunderbird 4!" John realised. "Gordon, get out of there! You've got two contacts heading your way! They must be Vostula's defence subs!"

"I've almost got it, John!" Gordon said stubbornly. "I need only a few seconds. How far away are they?"

"Four miles and closing!"

"I'll make it!" Gordon said. "She's coming!" And sure enough, with the second grab firmly gripping the bomb, he was able to lift it out of the crack. "I got it!"

"Finally!" said Virgil.

"Well done, Gordon," said John. "Now get the hell out of there!"

"I'm not staying, you know!" Gordon retorted as he turned Thunderbird 4 around and started to head back in the direction that he came from.

The Reavers were also closing in on Thunderbird 4's position. Whilst they couldn't detect any contacts, they were tuned into the sound microphones and were going to use those to guide them in.

Commander Reznik-Chan made a call to both subs. "Base to Reavers. I want the intruder found and destroyed. Fire missiles on sight!"

The crews of the submarines made their preparations. They loaded missiles into their launch tubes and got ready to attack the moment they located their target.

Thunderbird 4 was fast, but Gordon found that trying to reach top speed whilst carrying a heavy bomb was next to impossible. He looked at his radar. Whereas the pursuers couldn't directly see where he was, he could see where they were. He felt sweat trickling from his forehead as he tried to find a way to outmanoeuvre and leave them behind. However, moving at high power meant that Thunderbird 4 made more noise and the Reavers were able to follow a path leading them straight towards him.

John, Virgil and Hayley could do nothing. Whilst Hayley and Amanda waited nervously on the ice, they had no means of seeing what was going on. John and Virgil could however and they watched with huge anxiety as the contacts drew closer and closer to Thunderbird 4. Like Gordon, they had sweat coming off their foreheads despite the cool air-conditioning of all three Thunderbirds.

"Thunderbird 4, they're less than a mile from you!" said John.

Gordon growled in frustration. "I don't get it! How are they able to track me? I'm supposed to be undetectable!"

"I told you," said John. "They have very advanced detection systems. Guess they can even detect our ships."

Just then, Hayley had a thought as a sudden memory came back to her. "Gordon, listen to me. Do you see anywhere to hide?"

Gordon looked around. Then he noticed the opening of a cave entrance. "Yes, there's a cave on my left!" he said.

"Right, get in there and cut all your power!" Hayley ordered.

Gordon did as he was told. He turned Thunderbird 4 towards the cave, came to a stop in front of it and then reversed back in as far as he could before turning off the power and cutting the lights. Then, he waited.

Boztran blinked in surprise. "Sir! We've lost the signal."

"What do you mean?" demanded Commander Reznik-Chan.

"The noise has subsided," said Boztran. "The microphones aren't picking anything up. But the last strong contact was around here."

Reznik-Chan spoke to the Reavers again. "Base to Reavers. The enemy has likely cut their power to try and evade you. They must be right at your location. Find them!"

Virgil felt himself tense up as the enemy contacts drew in very close. "They're right on top of him!" he realised.

The Reavers slowed right down as they began to look over the area in front of the cave. Gordon kept silent and still and waited nervously as he saw the lights of the subs scouring the area. One came across the cave entrance causing him to tense up. However the light didn't penetrate right through the cave and therefore didn't touch Thunderbird 4. Phew, he thought to himself. That was close. "Thunderbird 2 and 5? I'm in a cave. They have just passed. They didn't see me, but they're still looking."

"Listen, Gordon, you can't stay there any longer, or they could begin a wider search," said John. "You need to make a move soon!"

"I know the situation, John," said Gordon. "I'm going to try something. He turned the power back on, but only half-power. Just enough to get Thunderbird 4 moving. As he emerged from the cave, he turned on very dim lights so he could see but not enough to alert the subs should anyone be observing through cameras. He saw the stern end of Reaver-34 disappearing round behind a rock whilst 29 was already out of sight. Gordon checked the scanner. He noticed more rocks on the other side of the canyon where he was. He wondered if firing a missile to cause an explosion to distract them would work, but then realised that would only prove further that an intruder really was in the exclusion zone. He therefore decided to make a slow and silent break for it whilst the Reavers were distracted. And that's exactly what he did.

From their positions in Thunderbirds 2 and 5, Virgil and John felt immense relief when they saw that the distance between Thunderbird 4 and the Reavers was opening. Gordon was making an escape and they had no idea where he was.

"He's done it!" said John. "He's out of the exclusion zone."

"They can't follow him, can they?" asked Virgil anxiously.

"Not without violating their rules, no," said John. "Let's hope they conclude it as being a malfunction of their equipment."

Gordon brought Thunderbird 4 up towards the surface after reaching the edge of the ice field. "Coming to you, Thunderbird 2," he said. "Get ready to receive the package."

"F-A-B, Thunderbird 4," said Virgil. He brought Thunderbird 2 over where Thunderbird 4 was coming up and lowered a grab from underneath the nose. Once Thunderbird 4 had broken the surface, it attached onto the bomb and Thunderbird 4 released its grip. "I got it," said Virgil as he took Thunderbird 2 up. "Get back in the module and I'll pick you up once I've delivered it to the GDF."

"F-A-B," answered Gordon. He watched as Thunderbird 2 began to head over the ice, then proceeded to move Thunderbird 4 back towards the waiting module that was still floating nearby.

Hayley and Amanda were stood by the Recovery truck as they watched Thunderbird 2 approach with the last of the bombs. They guided him in and he carefully lowered it down onto the back of the truck. "You're there," said Hayley. "Thank you, International Rescue."

No reply came from Thunderbird 2. Confused, Hayley looked up in time to see the platform under the 2 open to reveal Virgil standing on it. He stood at the edge and looked down lovingly at her. She looked back up at him and grinned through the visor. It was the first time they'd laid eyes on each other in person in what felt like months. Hayley's work with the GDF had prevented her from coming to visit him on Tracy Island. She switched to a secure channel. "Love you," she said.

"Love you more," Virgil replied. The platform then lifted back inside and it was now that Virgil could finally let out the mistake he'd made and began rubbing his cheeks. "BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" he exclaimed. "God DAMN THAT'S COLD OUT THERE! BRRRRR!"

Hayley climbed into the cab of the lorry to join Amanda and the remaining crew as they headed back towards the GDF Flyer that was waiting for them on the thicker ice. Amanda noticed the happy look on Hayley's face. "That's him, isn't it?"

"How could you tell?" Hayley replied.

Amanda grinned. "Honey, I know a woman's man when I see one. You've done well for yourself. He's cute."

"Yeah, well, hands off, he's mine," said Hayley.

The two Captains laughed. Then Amanda spoke again. "You've nothing to be worried about, Hayley," she said. "I already have someone."

Hayley smiled. "Congratulations," she said.

Commander Reznik-Chan looked at the large map of the area. "No traces?"

"No, sir," said Boztran. "Nothing."

The Commander growled. "Could the equipment be faulty?"

"No, Commander. The equipment is perfect. No faults."

"Commander?" Ervick-Tao called over. "Take a look at this!"

The Commander and Boztran came over to look at a photo that had just been sent to him via a satellite.

"Well…" said Reznik-Chan. "That certainly is interesting!"

Hayley entered Colonel Jennings' office back at the GDF Headquarters. "You wanted to see me, Colonel?"

"Yes, Madison," Colonel Jennings replied. "How did it go?"

"Fairly well," said Hayley. "One bomb was hard to locate but we got them all back so all's good."

"Excellent," said Colonel Jennings as she looked through some papers. "I'll be sure to thank International Rescue for their assistance as well."

Hayley froze. "I'm…sorry?"

Colonel Jennings gave her a look. She then without saying a word, took one of the pieces of paper out of the pile and placed it on the table for Hayley to see. Hayley felt her insides turn as cold as the ice had been. It was a satellite photograph of Thunderbird 2 flying over the wreckage of the XV-104 with the Missile Recovery truck just visible. Oh…no… Hayley felt herself say.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Madison…" said Colonel Jennings. "But didn't you say to me that you wouldn't be getting International Rescue involved?"

"I did."

"Then WHY THE HELL WERE THEY THERE?!" Colonel Jennings suddenly bellowed, jumping up from her desk.

Hayley jumped at the Colonel's shout and tried to come up with the best answer that she could. "We couldn't find the fourth bomb," she said at last, trying her best to sound professional. "I realised there was only one place it could be and that was under the ice. But I needed proof, so I asked Thunderbird 5 to look for us."

Colonel Jennings shook her head disapprovingly. "I've said this before, Madison. I do NOT want them doing OUR work!"

"We don't have anything that could have recovered the bomb, Colonel," Hayley pointed out. "What did you expect me to do? Leave it there for the Berezniks to find?"

"That's besides the point, Madison!" snapped Colonel Jennings. "If they had, we'd have dealt with it in a diplomatic way! Or…you could have gotten the W.A.S.P.s to go and get it, seeing as they are your former colleagues, am I right?"

Now that she'd mentioned it, Hayley did start to think possibly that would have been another option, but even the World Aquanaut Security Patrol's finest vessels would have gotten there as quickly as Thunderbird 2 had.

"I am not happy with this, Madison," Colonel Jennings continued. "When I give orders, they are to be followed, to the letter! Consider yourself confined to the base until further notice."

Hayley decided to speak up. "Colonel, with all due respect, that isn't fair," she said. "You told me to get those bombs by any means necessary. I know it's not how you would have wanted, but it was the only way to get the job done."

"Are you sticking by that?" asked Colonel Jennings.

"Yes!" said Hayley sharply.

"Hmmm," said the Colonel, walking slowly back towards Hayley. "Tell me, Madison, is that all it was? Or was it so you could get a chance to see your boyfriend?"

Hayley went white and looked at Jennings. "B-Boyfriend?" she stammered.

"Don't pretend I don't know, Madison!" snapped Colonel Jennings. "I know you're in a relationship with the one who flies Thunderbird 2. This isn't the first time you've called him in to help you, is it? No. I was reading up on your reports and how you got him to help with your first assignment in Africa."

"We couldn't complete the mission without his help," said Hayley.

Colonel Jennings scoffed. "Nonsense! I know the truth. You haven't seen him for months, have you? Not since The Cabal's big attack. Well, let me make this clear. Your relationship with Virgil Tracy is compromising your efficiency!"

"What?!" exclaimed Hayley. "No, Colonel, that's-"

"Well, it ends now!" snapped Colonel Jennings. "I will not have relationships interfering with the people under my command. Consider your relationship with him over, as of now!"

Hayley's mouth fell open in horror. Then she turned angry. "You have no right to do that!" she fumed.

"AND YOU'VE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" bellowed Colonel Jennings. "AND UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE COURT-MARTIALED, I SUGGEST YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Hayley was shocked into silence.

Colonel Jennings pressed a button on her desk and two guards walked in. "Escort Captain Madison to her quarters," she instructed. "And she is to stay there until I say otherwise. Madison, hand over your communicator and private phone. You will be having no contact with him whatsoever. I will break the news to his father when I give him a piece of my mind."

Hayley shook her head. "You can't do this," she said, trying to resist the urge to start crying.

"Yes, I can," replied Colonel Jennings. "Now, hand them over!"

Hayley hesitated. Then with extreme reluctance she did so, all the while trying not to burst into tears.

"Thank you," said Colonel Jennings. "Now get out of my sight!"

Without a word, Hayley stormed out the office followed by the guards whilst Colonel Jennings looked at the International Rescue-issued communicator with disgust.

Hayley refused to acknowledge the guards and stormed ahead of them. They tried to catch up but she left them behind as she entered her quarters and slammed the door hard behind her. She stood shaking with anger for a few moments before catching sight of a photo of her and Virgil on her nearby table. She grabbed it and looked at it as tears began to fall from her eyes. Then she collapsed to the floor before bawling her eyes out. Her whole world had just been turned upside down.

Virgil and Gordon were outside the house by the pool talking with Alan, Scott and Kayo, the latter of which after having had the heart-to-heart with Scott had finally regained her confidence to come out and talk again.

"So you're saying that Dad flew in an airplane race with Lady Penelope's father?" asked Scott.

"Yeah, it's crazy that he never told us that!" said Alan. "I mean you should have seen that thing, it looked a mess!"

"And he wants Brains to restore it?" asked Gordon. "I'd love to see that."

"Me too," agreed Virgil. "I love old planes."

Alan groaned. "I don't," he said. "They're too slow and ugly."

"Don't let your dad hear you say that," said Kayo as the others laughed.

Scott then glanced up towards the villa and his happy face turned into a concerned frown which Virgil was quick to notice. "Are you okay, Scott?" he asked.

"What's up with Dad?" Scott asked.

The others turned to look. They could just make out Jeff by his desk. He was standing up and moving in a rather erratic way. He looked like he was having an argument with someone. Concerned, they all got up and went back to the open doorway leading into the kitchen only to find Grandma blocking the way.

"Don't go up there," Grandma warned. "Your father's having a blazing row."

"Er, yeah, we can tell," replied Scott, for they could now hear Jeff's raised voice shouting at someone.

"Man, he's really mad," remarked Gordon.

"Who's he yelling at?" asked Alan.

"That new colonel in charge of the GDF," said Grandma.

"Jennings!" hissed Kayo.

"Sounds like she found out you boys helped with the recovery of that bomb," said Grandma.

Virgil and Gordon exchanged looks. Then they all heard something that made them go numb.

"IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND THAT YOU'RE GONNA END THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MY SON AND YOUR CAPTAIN, YOU ARE SEVERELY MISTAKEN!" Jeff was heard to shout.

"AND AS I TOLD MADISON, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME HOW TO RUN MY OPERATION, MR TRACY!" Colonel Jennings was heard to shout back.

Virgil suddenly felt his heart racing. "Hayley?!" He began to run towards the stairs.

"Virgil, wait!" said Scott as the others tried to run after him.

Jeff was red in the face and very angry. "I will not stand for this, Colonel Jennings," he snapped. "You're making a BIG mistake!"

"The only mistake I've made is not imposing sanctions on you people sooner!" retorted Colonel Jennings. "Never again will you people be allowed to interfere with the GDF's operations. We will be in control of you. Mark my words." And with that she ended the call before Jeff could respond.

Virgil burst in just as Colonel Jennings' hologram switched off.

Jeff didn't see his son or the others arrive at first. Instead he grabbed the red videophone and literally threw it across the lounge, smashing it against the wall next to Virgil's rocket painting.

"Dad?" said Scott, breaking the awkward silence. "What's going on?"

Jeff was shaking with fury so much that they had to help him sit down before he could speak again. "Colonel Jennings…" he said with gritted teeth. "She's punishing Hayley for calling us in."

"What? Why?" demanded Virgil. He began to hurry towards his room. "I need to talk to her."

"You can't!" Jeff cut in. "She's confiscated all the equipment that we secretly gave her as well as any communicators. She's completely isolated now."

"But, I have to talk to her!" protested Virgil.

Jeff looked like he was about to cry. "I'm sorry, son," he said. "But Jennings has said that your relationship with Hayley is compromising her…and that it's no longer a thing."

Virgil's face went as white as a sheet. His lips began trembling. "W-W-W-W-Whaaaaaaa-?"

Scott stared at Jeff. "Are you saying that Colonel Jennings is forcing him and Hayley to break up?!"

Jeff didn't answer at first. But then he gave a slow, solemn nod.

Now it was Virgil who began shaking as he tried to process what this meant. Then he let out a scream of anguish and fell to his knees, bawling his eyes out whilst Grandma, Scott and Kayo all tried to comfort him. Jeff wanted to as well, but his own legs were still wobbling from the anger he'd felt. He hung his head sadly.

Gordon and Alan looked at each other in disgust. "This is outrageous!" Gordon fumed. "She has NO right to do this!"

"Can't you do anything about it, Dad?" asked Alan.

"I wish I could, son," replied Jeff gloomily. "By God I wish I could. But what happens next is in the hands of the World President."

"The World President?" repeated Gordon. "Surely he can't make her allow them to be together?"

"Not that," said Jeff. "But the sanctions that Colonel Jennings wants to put on us. I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation."

The night turned into probably the most heart-breaking that both Virgil and Hayley had ever felt. They had no means of talking with each other and both lay on their beds, shedding tears and wondering if they would ever get the chance to see each other again.

It was a similar story for the rest of the Tracy family. Nobody could sleep. They all felt terrible for Virgil and Hayley and wished there was something they could do to help.

Eventually Scott found he couldn't lay down any longer so he got up to go and get himself a cold drink. He found Kayo down there already. "Got the same idea?" he asked.

"Mmhmm," Kayo replied. "I knew that Colonel was going to be trouble, Scott. The way she yelled at me after I accidentally defeated Captain Rigby, I should have known that Hayley and Virgil were going to have their relationship jeopardised at the very least. I never thought it would result in this though."

"She's another threat that we don't need," Scott agreed. "We need to teach her a lesson."

"Agreed," said Kayo. "But how do we do it without her sending the entire GDF forces upon us?"

Scott wished he had the answer, but he did not.

Colonel Jennings assumed wrongly that she could get her way with the planned sanctions she'd drawn up to use against International Rescue. To get them passed, she had to go through none other than the World President himself. And to her dismay, he was appalled by what she wanted to do.

"Absolutely NOT!"

"But, Mr President-"

"No, Colonel! I will NOT BE ALLOWING THIS!" The World President thundered. "The Commander of Vostula is one of the bad sides of Bereznik and I can assure you that Bereznik's own president does not want a world war! International Rescue did the right thing by recovering that bomb."

"But, sir, it was a GDF military matter!" Colonel Jennings protested. "I can't have a private organisation that was set up to save lives, running operations in place of the people I command!"

"And because of their actions, lives have been saved, Colonel!" snapped The World President. "If that bomb had been dropped on Hong Kong, Sydney, Washington or even Unity City, have you ANY idea of the consequences of that?!"

Colonel Jennings fell silent. That wasn't a question that she had a response to.

"I didn't think so," The World President said. "Now whatever grudge you've developed against them, you drop it! If you don't, I'll see to it that you'll lose your command, Jennings! Do not go around believing that the Global Defence Force is better than International Rescue, cause they're not! Good day!" And he hung up the holo-call before Colonel Jennings could answer.

Colonel Jennings was furious as she banged both her fists against her desk. "Damn you, Mr President!" she cursed. "How dare you say the GDF isn't better than International Rescue! Well, I'll prove you wrong." She lay back in her chair and rubbed her eyes, trying to think of how to do it. Then a thought struck her. She pressed some buttons on her desk to call someone that she never thought she would. "Ah, hello, Mr Grafton," she said when the hologram of the person she was calling appeared from the projector. "Tell me about the proposition that you had for me?"