KAYO continued to dive down after the escaping mercenaries. Crossbones quickly realised that his attempt to kill her had failed. He rolled himself over and produced a pair of sub-machine-guns which he used to fire rapidly at her. Kayo produced another shield, this time out of her right arm and used it to block the bullets. She then dived around to the side and out of his line of sight.

"KILL HER, YOU IDIOTS!" Crossbones shouted at the others.

One of the mercenaries flipped himself over. He also had two high-powered pistols which he began to shoot at Kayo. Kayo deflected them as well. One hit one of the other mercenaries in the leg who yelped in pain. Kayo then got underneath the one shooting at her and grabbed the cord. She pulled it and it deployed his parachute. He cried out in alarm as the parachute pulled him up and away from the others.

Crossbones swore under his breath. Then he noticed a canyon down below. "Down there!" he ordered. "Lose her! Whatever it takes!"

The four other mercenaries did just that with Crossbones following behind. Kayo didn't lose sight of them however and was soon in the canyon as well. "You're not gonna lose me that easily, boys," she remarked.

Up and down and round several jagged rocks they flew. The mercenaries seemed to have no fear diving through tiny holes between the rocks and scaring the life out of Colonel Jennings who no longer seemed as fearless as everyone was meant to believe. Kayo took no chances and also diverted around the tiny danger areas. It all seemed very familiar to her, this kind of chase. She began to remember a similar chase she'd had with The Hood and three of his hoodlums in the French Alps after their escape from the chateau. The only difference here was it was baking hot and hard rocks, not snow and hard rocks.

They soon reached the end of the narrow canyon and came out into a much larger one. Whilst there was far more room to manoeuvre, Kayo quickly discovered the dangers were far from over. A machine-gun was heard to be firing and high-velocity bullets struck the canyon wall at the exit, causing Kayo to dive down and come up again, narrowly avoiding getting hit. Looking up she saw that two large grey helicopters had come out of nowhere and joined the fight. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Kayo cursed. She pressed a button on her suit.

Far behind, the signal from Kayo's suit was received by the remote system of Thunderbird Shadow. It detached its mooring claws from the top of the now abandoned Flyer and set off in the direction following Kayo's signal. With its incredible speed, it took no time at all for it to catch up to where the action was.

"Thunderbird Shadow - engage aerial takedown mode!" Kayo said into her wrist-controller.

With the order locked into the computer, Thunderbird Shadow's automated controls would target any and all threats to its pilot and take it out.

The two helicopters had split up. One was chasing Kayo away from Crossbones and the other mercenaries who were heading for the second.

The one chasing Kayo was immediately detected as a threat by Thunderbird Shadow and it closed in behind. Locking onto the helicopter, it fired a single small missile out from under its port wing. It struck the tail section and sent the helicopter spiralling out of control. Before the crew aboard had a chance to even realise what had hit them, it slammed into the canyon wall and was obliterated in a fireball.

As Kayo chased after the mercenaries again, she quickly realised that the second helicopter wasn't what they were aiming for. This one was now coming in to attack her as well. Instead of using its front-mounted cannon though, the side door was open and a mercenary was using a mounted machine-gun to fire at her. However he quickly changed his direction of fire towards Thunderbird Shadow which was now fully visible again. This allowed Kayo to swoop underneath the helicopter and come up the other side. She turned round and fired a grapple which caught the mercenary and pulled him out the open door on the other side.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!" he screamed as he plummeted to his death.

This action sickened Kayo. She hated having to take lives in order to save others, but in these kinds of situations it would be impossible to save everyone.

The pilot of the helicopter saw his colleague get yanked out the side and began calling his name. "PAUL! PAUL!"

"FAIS ATTENTION!" screamed the second man in the cockpit, pointing forwards.

Thunderbird Shadow was coming straight at them, but before he had a chance to take evasive action, a red laser beam shot out of the tip of its nose and sliced the rotors of the helicopter clean off. Unable to remain in the air, it plummeted downwards to crash into the canyon below, exploding as it hit the ground.

"That's two down," Kayo remarked out loud to herself. "There has to be more." In the distance, she could just make out the outlines of the remaining mercenaries and Crossbones. There was indeed a third helicopter ahead of them and it looked like they were boarding it mid-flight.

Kayo knew they were too far ahead for her suit to catch up. As advanced as it was, it only allowed her to glide, not fly. She therefore got Thunderbird Shadow to fly underneath and open its cockpit canopy to allow her to drop down into the pilot's seat. She then set off in pursuit.

They were just about to catch up with the helicopter and Kayo noticed that the mercenary carrying Colonel Jennings was just about to board. Maybe I can snag them before they get inside, she thought.

THUD! Kayo jumped and looked up to see one of the other mercenaries who hadn't boarded had landed on top of the canopy. He was now trying to break the glass with a hammer, only it wasn't even denting the glass.

"Get off!" Kayo snapped, dropping Thunderbird Shadow down and then doing a barrel-roll. The mercenary almost fell off but only just managed to keep his grip on the canopy. He did however lose the hammer and had no other means of trying to break in. Kayo grunted in annoyance. "You're really gonna make me do this, aren't you?" she remarked and pushed Thunderbird Shadow's engines up to full power. It rocketed forwards, leaving the startled mercenary at the exact spot where the craft had been.

For the mercenary, one moment, Thunderbird Shadow was there, the next it was gone. He was almost static in one spot. "Qu'est-ce que le?! AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH!"

With the mercenary taken care of, Kayo banked Thunderbird Shadow around and rocketed back up towards the helicopter.

By now Crossbones, the remaining three mercenaries and Colonel Jennings were aboard the helicopter which was now trying to make a run for it.

The mercenary who'd been hit in the leg was getting it treated but he was whimpering in the pain. "Will you keep still?" the medic aboard the helicopter said. "I can't treat if you twitch."

"Ça fait mal! Ça fait mal!" sobbed the mercenary.

"Yes, of course it hurts, but I can make it better," said the medic.

"KEEP GOING, WE'RE CLOSE!" Crossbones shouted to the pilots. He then grabbed Colonel Jennings and held his helmet close to hers. "If we get to the border, she can't follow," he sneered.

Unseen by everyone, Kayo had flown Thunderbird Shadow underneath the helicopter and then used her grapple to pull herself up. She leapt inside and stood at the doorway, much to the astonishment of everyone. "Hiya," she said sweetly.

"RAAAAAAAAAARRRGGH!" bellowed the mercenary who'd had Colonel Jennings on his back. He jumped up and charged at her but she grabbed him and threw him past her. Only for him to accidentally bump into the medic and causing them both to fall out of the helicopter.

"Non! NON! AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGH!" they were heard to scream as neither had any parachutes or air-brakes.

Kayo turned back round to see Crossbones had grabbed Colonel Jennings and dived with her out of the other side "NOOOOOO!" she screamed as they went.

"Damn it!" cursed Kayo. She then noticed the injured mercenary, staring at her with terror in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," she apologised before diving out after Crossbones and the Colonel. The one remaining uninjured mercenary tried to grab her but she kicked him back as she went.

Thunderbird Shadow dropped back and continued its protection protocol by firing a second missile, this time from under the starboard wing. The helicopter exploded instantly and the wreckage plummeted down towards the ground.

Kayo continued her pursuit of Crossbones and Colonel Jennings. The Colonel glanced back to see that Kayo was following. Kayo could see the expression on her face. It spoke only two words - 'Help me'.

"Don't worry, Colonel, I'll save you!" Kayo called.

"No, you WON'T!" bellowed Crossbones as he tried to evade her by diving between the canyon rocks.

As Kayo continued her pursuit, John came over the radio in her helmet. "Kayo!"

"Kind of busy, Thunderbird 5."

"Kayo, check your location!"

The aerial map came up on the display in Kayo's helmet. It showed that they were extremely close to the border between Tunisia and Libya.

"You need to get this over with now!" John said.

"I presume that crossing into Libya is a problem?" asked Kayo.

"It is with unauthorised military action, yes!" said John. "You have to secure Colonel Jennings and get the hell out of there!"

"Oh, believe me, John," Kayo said, "I'm done with chasing and being chased today!"

At that moment, two more helicopters appeared. One was the same as the others, the second was an old Apache Gunship which was closing in on Kayo and Thunderbird Shadow which was close behind.

Crossbones reached the first helicopter and zipped inside where one other mercenary helped get the still bound Colonel Jennings into a seat. "GO! GO! GO!" he yelled to the pilots. He then spoke through his helmet's headpiece to the gunship. "SHOOT HER DOWN! AND THAT PLANE OF HERS!"

The Gunship's pilot armed two missiles, but he couldn't seem to get a lock onto Thunderbird Shadow. "I can't get a lock, sir."

"JUST SHOOT, DAMN YOU!" screamed Crossbones.

So the pilot pressed the button. Two missiles shot out from the sides of the Gunship. However, neither of them headed for Thunderbird Shadow. Instead they locked onto the one flying object that could be tracked - the other helicopter.

"Oh, no…" Kayo said, realising what was about to happen. "No, no, no, NO!" She raised her arm and fired the grapple at the helicopter. It locked on and reeled herself in. Before she'd even entered, she changed her trajectory and lunged at Colonel Jennings, grabbing her and pulling her out of the other side of the helicopter before Crossbones or the other mercenary could stop her.

"NO!" bellowed Crossbones in a rage. Then as he turned to shout orders at the helicopter crew, he froze as his eyes fixed on the first of the two missiles that was closing in on them. "SHI-!' he yelled and jumped out of the helicopter just as the missile struck. It exploded and was completely destroyed.

The pilot of the Gunship stared in shock as the remains of the helicopter fell down towards the ground. "Oh, ma merde. Qu'est-ce que j'ai fait?" he asked himself. A cry from his co-pilot behind wasn't enough for him to realise in time what was happening next. With the first helicopter destroyed, the second missile had been circling around looking for a new target. Unable to lock onto Kayo or Thunderbird Shadow due to their stealth abilities, it soon doubled-back and rocketed straight back at the aircraft that had fired it. Only seconds too late did the horrified pilot realise that his life was about to end. "MERDE!" he screamed and threw his hands over his face as the missile slammed into the Gunship. There was a final almighty explosion as the Gunship was torn apart and the remains fell down into the canyon where they would hit the ground hundreds of feet below.

The sandstorm got closer with every passing minute whilst Virgil, Alan and Ballard worked to get the balloon fixed up. Alan found some repair material and used superglue to patch up the holes in the canopy after pulling it out of the sand and shaking it to get as many grains as he could out. Virgil worked on fixing the engine, cleaning it out and then doing what quick maintenance he could in order to get it working again. Ballard went inside the capsule to make sure all the instruments were working.

"Right, that's the engine cleaned out and serviced," Virgil said to Ballard through the open hatch.

"And the canopy's been repaired," added Alan.

"Great," said Ballard. "I've managed to reboot the power to the capsule's control systems. Let's see if it will work." He anxiously pushed a button.

The engine coughed and spluttered, but didn't fire.

"Uh-oh…" said Alan. "That's not good."

"Try it again," Virgil urged Ballard. "It might take a few attempts."

Ballard gritted his teeth as he pushed the button again and again. "Come…on…you…stupid…piece…" His last two words were drowned out by a sudden roar as the jet engine came to life, sending a flame into the canopy. It slowly began to expand.

"It started!" Virgil said excitedly. "More, Mr Ballard!"

Ballard pushed the button again. More flame was produced putting even more hot air into the canopy. Then slowly, as it filled up, it began to rise and lift upwards off the ground, bringing the engine and the harness up and back to its proper position above the canopy.

"All right! Woo-hoo!" said Alan.

"Incredible!" exclaimed Ballard. "You boys are geniuses!"

But Virgil glanced around behind the capsule. "Don't celebrate just yet," he warned. "The sandstorm is almost here. You'd better get airborne."

Brains then appeared over the balloon's hologram-projector. "Mr Ballard, in order to ensure s-safety from the storm, your best chance is to get above it before it hits too hard."

"I agree," said Ballard. "Although I'm not sure she's got enough power to lift that quickly."

"We'll make sure you make it," said Virgil. "Get yourself in the air. We'll be close-by in Thunderbird 2 to assist."

"Roger!" said Ballard. "And if we don't meet again, thank you for everything."

Virgil nodded before closing the hatch.

Ballard cracked his hands and took the controls. "Okay, my beauty. Time to fly."

Kayo turned herself and Colonel Jennings around to fly away from the border between Tunisia and Libya. With only one seat in her ship, Kayo knew she couldn't get the Colonel inside her craft so she landed them both down on the ground with Thunderbird Shadow flying an orbital defence nearby.

"It's okay, Colonel," Kayo said as she cut the zip-ties off her wrists and ankles. "You're safe now."

Colonel Jennings was as white as a sheet. She was shaking heavily and her breathing was rather fast.

"Woah, woah, woah, easy, Colonel," Kayo said. "It's okay. Take deep breaths. Deep breaths."

Colonel Jennings did so. She repeated and eventually she began to calm herself down.

"That's it," said Kayo. She then took a bottle of water out of a secret compartment in the back of her suit. "Drink?"

The Colonel nodded and gulped down some water. Too fast at first and ended up coughing it back up.

"Hey, hey, hey. Slow sips, Colonel," said Kayo. "Your body's in shock. Gotta treat it with care."

Colonel Jennings followed Kayo's instructions and took smaller sips of water. Eventually she began to feel better. She wiped her mouth and then looked at Kayo. "How…How the hell did you do that?" she asked.

"It's my job," said Kayo. "Sometimes you have to perform crazy stunts in order to save lives."

Colonel Jennings was at a loss for words. "I…I…I don't know what to say," she said. "There's no way any of my people could have pulled off what you did!"

"And it's for situations like this why Colonel Casey often came to us for assistance," said Kayo. "With the greatest of respect, Colonel. You might not want International Rescue to get involved with GDF operations and we don't unless we're asked to. We can do things like, let's say, recover lost explosives deep under ice."

Colonel Jennings gulped as her mind flashed back to what had happened following the recovery of the bomb. "So I see…" she said. "Hang on...I've just realised who you are. You're the one who-"

"Defeated Captain Liberty by accident in front of a crowd of people?" Kayo said. "Yeah...I am."

Just then they heard an angry shout coming from above. They looked up to see Crossbones diving towards them. His arms were outstretched to try and either throttle Kayo or recapture Colonel Jennings. Whatever his intention was, Kayo acted quickly to make sure he didn't succeed. She grabbed Colonel Jennings and threw them both out of the way. Crossbones crashed into the ground at speed and began spinning and bouncing along, clipping the rocks and screaming in pain as pieces of his armour were ripped off his body before eventually coming to a stop about thirty metres away from them.

Kayo and Colonel Jennings stood up and looked over to see where Crossbones had ended up. "Did he tell you much?" Kayo asked. "About his intentions?"

Colonel Jennings shook her head. "Not a thing," she replied. "Although he would have delivered me to someone."

Kayo frowned. "You know him?"

"Not personally, but we've been tracking him for a while," said Colonel Jennings as they carefully made their way over towards where he'd landed. "His name's Brock Rumlow. He's a mercenary-for-hire. Will do anything for money. Heists, assassinations, kidnappings, you name it, he's done it."

"Strange that we've never heard of him before," said Kayo.

"I suspect Colonel Casey would have shared this info with you," said Colonel Jennings. "I didn't because, well…"

"You didn't trust us?"

"What, no!" said Colonel Jennings hastily. "Well, er." She let out a sigh. "Look, I have never had any problems with International Rescue. But, I just see you people as a rescue organisation, not police or military."

"Well, you're not entirely wrong, Colonel," remarked Kayo. "Mr Tracy tries to avoid us getting involved with dealing with criminals. It's just that there are some situations that no Police, Army, or even the GDF can handle, hence why we're brought in. Like...retrieving lost nuclear bombs from the bottom of the sea."

"Yes…I realise that now," said Colonel Jennings. She looked very different from the first time Kayo had encountered her. She no longer seemed the threatening leader that she had been before. She now looked ashamed of herself.

Both fell silent as they approached where Crossbones lay. Pieces of his armour were scattered in a long trail and they noticed the rocks had streaks of blood on them. When they reached him, they found him in a dreadful state. His arms and legs had been ripped and most of his armour was either damaged, scratched or completely torn apart. His helmet too had been badly smashed and part of his face could be seen. He was groaning in agony, but was able to look up at the two women as they stood over him. "I…had…you…" he wheezed at Colonel Jennings.

"Whatever ransom you were going to put on me was never going to get paid to you, Rumlow," said Colonel Jennings.

"Ran…som…?" repeated Crossbones. He began to laugh but stopped and began coughing up blood due to the many internal injuries he'd also suffered. "There…was…never…going…to…be…one…"

Kayo bent down to stare into his dying eyes. "Someone hired you to kidnap Colonel Jennings," she said. "Who was it?"

Crossbones grinned. "A…real…pity…" he said. "Would have…enjoyed…seeing him…rant…on TV...about you…again." He then began to choke heavily. Before Kayo could do anything he coughed, spluttered, choked again, and then became silent and still.

Kayo scanned the body, but there was no heartbeat. "Damn…"

"Has he just-"

"Yes, Colonel," said Kayo. "He's gone."

Colonel Jennings cursed under her breath. "So we don't know who's behind this?" she said.

Kayo thought hard for a moment as she processed what Crossbones' last words had been. "Actually, I think I might," she said. "It's only speculation, mind."

"Go on?"

"Grafton."

Colonel Jennings blinked. "Come again?"

"He rants about us," Kayo said. "Grafton's the only person who's taken to TV to try and make our public image look bad."

Colonel Jennings thought. "He offered us some new equipment," she said.

"He did?" asked Kayo. "What sort?"

"He didn't say," said Colonel Jennings. "He only said that I was to come and see his demonstration in a few days' time."

Kayo faced the Colonel and looked deadly serious. "Not that it's my job to advise you on how to do your job, Colonel, but I would strongly suggest turning down any offers Grafton gives you. He'll do anything to try and make himself and his companies look better than International Rescue. You could be falling into a bad deal. His supposed own rescue operation failed spectacularly at Rig-15 and we had to sort it out for him."

Colonel Jennings looked disturbed. "And no gratitude from him?"

"None at all," said Kayo. "And it almost cost the life of his son."

Just then, the rumble of vehicle engines could be heard as some GDF Trucks came into view. Captain Liberty jumped out and ran over. "Colonel! Thank God you're okay!"

"Yes, Captain, I am," said Colonel Jennings. "Thanks to…Kyrano here."

"Call me Kayo."

Colonel Jennings smiled. She held out her hand. "I owe you, Kayo," she said. "Thank you for saving me. If there's anything I can do in return, just ask."

"For me, we're good, Colonel," smiled Kayo. "Although, if you don't mind me saying, I do believe you owe a member of your team something. Lucky you were talking to her when you got attacked otherwise she wouldn't have called us in to save you." She nodded to Captain Liberty. "Captain," she said and pressed a button to call Thunderbird Shadow.

Colonel Jennings and Captain Liberty watched as Kayo grappled herself back up to Thunderbird Shadow and then flew away from the scene.

"Are you okay, Colonel?' asked Captain Liberty.

"Yes, Captain," she replied. "Although there's a couple of very big mistakes that I need to rectify. Take me back to HQ."

"Shouldn't you see a doctor, ma'am?" asked Captain Liberty.

"You have one with you?

"Yes…"

"Then get them to check me out on the flight," said Colonel Jennings sharply. "The sooner I can fix my mistakes, the better I'll feel."

The Hot-Air Balloon was now up off the ground again. Ballard put more and more hot air into the canopy to get not only maximum lift, but hopefully some greater speed to try and escape from the incoming sandstorm which was now less than half a mile away. Thunderbird 2 was also airborne, hovering a short distance away with Alan and Virgil watching the balloon with eagle eyes, ready to come in and help if required.

"The storm's almost here, Mr Ballard," said Virgil. "Is that the best speed you have?"

"I'm afraid so!" Ballard replied grimly. "I've already overloaded the canopy with hot air. If I put in too much, it'll-"

"Burst?"

"Quite!"

Just then, the storm arrived and completely engulfed the two aircraft. Straight away, alarms went off in the capsule, warning Ballard of impending doom.

"Mr Ballard! We've lost sight of you! Are you okay?" Virgil asked urgently.

"Argh! This is worse than the last one!" he cried. "The canopy will be ripped apart!"

"What are we gonna do, Virg?" asked Alan anxiously.

Virgil narrowed his eyes. He flicked a switch, changing the inside of the cockpit windows into an infra-red mode. Now he could see the heat signature being created by the balloon. "Time for one hell of a boost!" he said. He applied power to Thunderbird 2's engines and dropped down before moving quickly forwards and underneath the balloon. He carefully brought Thunderbird 2 up until the bottom of the capsule was resting on top of the module. Then he applied more power to the VTOL thrusters and began to push it upwards.

"What the?!" exclaimed Ballard. "What's going on?"

"Relax, Mr Ballard!" Virgil said. "Just giving you a little push!"

With engines rumbling, Thunderbird 2 continued to push the balloon upwards. For a few moments it was tense. Visibility was almost zero due to how thick the sandstorm was. But then suddenly, they burst out of the top and into bright sunlight above the clouds.

"Heavens!" exclaimed Ballard as his ascent slowed and stabilised. "How did you do that?"

"Gave you a lift with Thunderbird 2," smiled Virgil. "So long as you stay up here, you'll be safe. But I would recommend you land at a suitable airport or something just to make sure your craft is able to make the last part of your journey."

"Oh, I will," said Ballard, grinning from ear to ear. "Well…I had hoped to make this journey without any help. But it was bound to happen at some point, I guess. Thanks again, boys. And don't listen to that nut-job Grafton. You guys are the best! Cheerio!"

"Bye," said Alan and Virgil and waved as the balloon headed away from them.

"We seem to be getting that a lot lately," Virgil remarked.

"Well, let's face it. Who does like Warren Grafton?" said Alan.

"Not many," agreed Virgil. "Well, I guess that's it. Mission complete, Brains. We're heading home."

"Actually, V-Virgil, I need to ask a favor," said Brains.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Could you p-pick up that other capsule you found and bring it back to Tracy Island with you?" asked Brains. "I w-want to run some tests on it."

Virgil and Alan exchanged puzzled looks. "Sure, if you want, Brains," said Virgil. "We'll go get it."

"T-Thank you," said Brains. "I'll m-meet you back on the island. Over and out." He signed off.

"Hmmm," Virgil said thoughtfully as he turned Thunderbird 2 around. "I wonder what he wants with it?"

"Say, where did John go?" asked Alan. "He seems to have disappeared."

Virgil frowned. "Huh. You know, I hadn't realised until you said that," he said. "Strange. Very, very strange."

"What do you mean you're not attending my demonstration, Colonel?" demanded Grafton via a holographic projector.

"If my memory serves me correctly, Mr Grafton, I said I'd consider your offer to come," replied Colonel Jennings. "I never said I would take it."

"You can't pull out, Colonel!" protested Grafton. "What I have to show you will significantly upgrade your tech and people and make them even greater than they already are! You will be faster, stronger and a lot more efficient than-"

"International Rescue?"

Grafton fell silent. "What?"

"You know, there was a time when I thought International Rescue had no business dealing in the affairs of the Global Defence Force, Mr Grafton," said Colonel Jennings. "But after what I went through today, I know now that we cannot be without them. My life was in danger and nobody on my crew could help me."

"Which is exactly why you need to attend the demonstration, Colonel!" said Grafton. "With my tech, you won't need the protection of International Rescue! You'll be unstoppable and prevent people like Cross-" He choked and broke off rather suddenly.

Colonel Casey turned her head to face him fully. She raised her eyebrows. "Cross?" she asked.

Grafton didn't answer. He'd suddenly gone rather pale.

Colonel Jennings leant closer to the hologram of the businessman. "Let me make myself very clear, Grafton…if I find out you had anything to do with what took place today…I'll have you thrown in prison…and without trial. Not even your wife will be able to help you then."

Grafton was beginning to sweat. He then glanced at his watch and pulled himself back into a puffy and pompous state. "You'll regret turning down my offer, Colonel," he said. "Mark my words. When the time comes, you and the world will need me." And with that, he closed down the link.

"Yeah…sure we will, Grafton," remarked Colonel Jennings. There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Hayley walked in. "You wanted to see me, Colonel?"

"Ah, Madison, come in," said Colonel Jennings. "Close the door, please."

Please? Hayley was surprised by this sudden politeness but decided not to question it as she closed the door.

"Take a seat," said Colonel Jennings, offering her the seat opposite the desk.

Hayley did so, confused.

"Would you like a drink?" asked Colonel Jennings, pulling out a bottle of gin from the desk drawer.

"Err, thank you, but I'm okay, Colonel," said Hayley.

"Very well," said Colonel Jennings as she poured herself a small glass. She then sat down and took a swig. "Mmmm."

Hayley shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't sure what was going to come next.

Colonel Jennings composed herself and thought about her words very carefully before finally speaking. "I owe you two things, Madison. Firstly - an apology. What I have done with regards to your relationship with one of the Tracy brothers, I was out of line. I honestly didn't believe that International Rescue had any business getting involved with our problems. After what I went through today, I realise now that I couldn't have been more wrong. Nobody in our ranks could have pulled off that kind of rescue."

"Rescue is in their name, Colonel," Hayley said.

"This is true," she replied. "I just believed that the GDF could always sort out its problems. Clearly not."

"And the second thing?"

Colonel Jennings looked at her for a second, and then remembered. "Ah, yes. The second thing I owe you is a 'thank you'. I believe it was you who called International Rescue and informed them of my situation?"

"Yes, I did," said Hayley. "Crossbones sent out a radio warning to us saying he wouldn't hesitate to kill you if he saw any GDF or International Rescue trying to get close to the Flyer. But I knew that Kayo would be able to get in without being detected."

Colonel Jennings finished her drink. "After how rude I was to you, Madison, I'm surprised you decided to do that."

"My personal feelings don't matter, Colonel," said Hayley, although deep down it really did. "You are my superior officer. I wouldn't exactly have done myself any favours by just letting those crooks take you."

Colonel Jennings smiled. "I'm grateful," she said as she put the glass down on the table. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Captain. Would you be prepared for a clean slate and start over? I feel it'll be better for us all if you were out in the field again."

Hayley was surprised, but not prepared to challenge it. "Yes…Yes, of course, Colonel," she said. "Thank you."

Colonel Jennings smiled a bit more. "My pleasure," she said. "Sorry for putting you through hell."

Hayley was about to answer, then her eye fell upon the bottle. "Actually, do you mind if I have one?"

Colonel Jennings looked at the bottle, then grinned as she picked it up and began to pour another glass for Hayley. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said.

After pouring herself a second and Hayley her own, the two officers clinked their glasses and drank. For Hayley, it was going to take time to fully forgive Colonel Jennings, but at least this was a step in the right direction and not the wrong one.

Kayo walked into Brains' lab where she found everyone already there. Brains was going over the mysterious black Escape Pod with a scanner whilst Jeff, Gordon, Scott, Virgil, Alan and Grandma were all observing. John too was watching via video link.

"Late-night party and no invite?" Kayo said cheekily.

"Ah, Kayo!" said Jeff. "Good to see you."

"How's the Colonel?" asked Scott.

"She was shaken but no significant physical or mental damage," Kayo said. "Those thugs beat her up quite badly. But she'll get over it."

"Does this mean her mind has changed about us?" asked Gordon.

"I'll say," smiled Kayo. "She couldn't thank me enough for saving her life. And I think she's probably by now given an apology to a certain someone. I reckon it won't be long before she gets back in touch with you, Virgil."

Virgil looked as though he was about to cry with happiness. "Oh, Kayo! Thank you! Thank you!" And before anyone knew it, he'd grabbed Kayo and picked her up in a big hug before spinning her around.

"Woah, easy there, Virgil!" said Grandma with a grin as the others started laughing.

"Oh!" Virgil stopped suddenly and put Kayo. "I'm so sorry…" He turned red with embarrassment.

But Kayo wasn't mad. She couldn't help but giggle as well. "Oh, Virgil, you big teddy bear," she teased and gave him a playful tickle on the arm. Kayo then turned her attention to the Escape Pod. "So what do we have here?" she asked Jeff.

"A mystery is what it is, Kayo," said Jeff. "Virgil and Alan found it in the Sahara whilst searching for Robert Ballard."

"No idea where it's from?" asked Kayo.

"None at all," said Jeff. "It has no insignia, markings, or anything."

"Then what's it doing here?"

"Brains asked us to bring it," said Alan.

Kayo scowled at Brains who'd just completed his scanning. "Taking a risk?" she said. "That's unlike you Brains."

"I've t-taken far bigger risks, Kayo," Brains replied. "Boarding P-Project Sentinel for one thing."

"Entering an active volcano," added Virgil.

"Abseiling onto a moving train from Thunderbird 1," said Scott.

"Going to Mercury and Mars," Alan piped in.

"And exploring Atlantis," finished Gordon.

"Yes, okay, boys, I think we get the point," said Jeff. "Well, Brains?"

"The reason I asked them to bring it is because the initial s-scan that was made of this capsule showed me something that made no sense at all," said Brains. "Whilst the outside temperature of the c-capsule was registered at around forty degrees centigrade, the inside was registering at minus 166 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Isn't that like the temperature of a cryogenic pod or something?" asked Gordon.

"Correct," said Brains. "Which is why I am wondering if this capsule one from a lost s-space mission that has been forgotten about."

"Someone could be inside?" asked Scott.

"We ran a scan but didn't register anything," said Virgil.

"You wouldn't at that temperature," said John.

"Which is why I w-wanted you all to be here when I open it," said Brains. "We d-don't know what is inside. And I'd like to be prepared for defensive action is n-needed."

"That can be arranged," said Kayo. She reached around behind her back and pulled out her stun-gun. "Scott, Gordon, on me."

Scott and Gordon pulled out their concealed weapons too.

"Alan, Virgil, Mother, stand back with me," said Jeff, ushering the others to get back.

Scott and Gordon flanked on opposite sides of Kayo and readied themselves in case whatever was inside the capsule turned out to be hostile.

Brains cautiously went up to the capsule and used a hacking lock device to open the door. There was a deep hiss and jets of cold air escaped as the door slowly began to open. Everyone felt tense and a sense of unease as they waited to see what was about to be revealed. But when the door had finished opening and the cold air had cleared, all they could see inside was darkness. Except for a small square blueish-white light near the top. Brains shone a torch inside, revealing a second door with a window where the light was coming from. It appeared to have frosted over.

"Well, Brains?" Jeff called over.

"It would appear that it does indeed contain a c-cryotube, Mr Tracy," Brains answered.

"So someone could be inside," Scott said.

Brains cautiously moved into the capsule and up to the frosted window. He could feel his legs start to wobble like jelly as apprehension flooded through his body. He raised his right hand and wiped away the frost on the window before peering inside. "AAAAAHHHH!" he screamed suddenly and jumped backwards, falling out the capsule and landing hard on his back.

"BRAINS!" the others shouted and ran to check on him.

"Brains, what is it?" Jeff asked urgently. "Are you okay?"

Brains' eyes were as wide as saucers. His lip was trembling and his skin was rather pale.

"He looks like he's just seen a ghost," remarked Alan.

Scott stood up and stared hard towards the small window of the cryochamber. He raised his weapon and began to cautiously make his way towards it.

"Scott, what are you doing?" asked Kayo.

"Taking a look," replied Scott plainly.

"Be careful son," warned Jeff.

Scott glanced back and nodded. The others waited with trepidation as Scott entered the capsule and peered through the window into the pod. What he saw made his eyes widen and the inside of his body suddenly felt as cold as the temperature inside the pod. "Holy…" He was too stunned to finish the exclamation.

"What is it?" asked Jeff. "What do you see?"

Before Scott could reply, there came a hiss of cold steam from the capsule and the front began to open up to reveal the cryotube inside. Everyone froze and gasped in astonishment when they saw who was inside.

"My...God...!" exclaimed Jeff.

"Is that who I think it is?!" said Gordon.

"Yes..." said Scott. "The Mechanic!"