GRAFTON had been sitting in one of the passenger seats in the open-sided Helijet. Upon hearing the sound of Thunderbird Shadow going down. He jumped out of the seat and hurried over to the left side opening where a triumphant-looking Hicks was looking down in satisfaction. Grafton gazed down at the white froth in the water where Thunderbird Shadow had hit the water. It had gone straight under and disappeared from view.
Grafton began shaking with delight. "We got her…" he gasped. "WE GOT HER!" He punched the air in delight and almost fell out of the Helijet only Hicks grabbed him.
"Steady, boss," Hicks said. "You'd be safer sitting down."
Grafton grabbed his most faithful bodyguard by the arms and shook them hard. "Hicks…I LOVE YOU!" he thundered. "You're getting a bonus for this!"
Hicks was pleased. "Thank you, sir."
Grafton did a small hop and a skip as he returned to his seat and began to examine the box that contained the canister with the nerve agent in it. "And this little beauty is going to help me get revenge on all the people who have wronged me," he said. "International Rescue. The Cabal. That traitorous wife and son of mine! They will all PAY! Nobody gets the better of Warren Grafton!"
"Is that so?"
Before Hicks and Grafton had a chance to process the sound of the voice, an arm reached up from underneath the open doorway on the left-side of the Helijet, grabbed Hicks by the back of his pants and pulled him right out of the aircraft.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!"
Grafton darted his head to the left just in time to see Hicks disappear out. "Hicks? HICKS!" He ran back to the opening and stared out to watch helplessly as his bodyguard tumbled down and landed with a splash in the water. He turned back around and then froze to see Kayo sitting where he had been.
"Hiya," smiled Kayo sweetly.
Grafton stood frozen to the spot for a few seconds. "What? WHAT?!" he exclaimed and pulled out his gun from the inside coat of his pocket. But he didn't get a chance to use it. Kayo jumped up and kicked him in the torso which knocked him out of the side of the Helijet. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. But he didn't fall into the river like Hicks did. As soon as she'd kicked him, Kayo had fired her grapple gun which latched itself to Grafton's ankle. As he fell, she attached the launcher magnetically to the roof of the passenger bay so when it became taught, Grafton stopped falling. Now he found himself dangling upside down moving through the air underneath the Helijet.
The pilot of the Helijet had been completely unaware of what had been going on and the first he knew of anything was when Kayo suddenly appeared in the cockpit and aimed her stun-gun at his head. "Don't try any ticks," she warned. "Take us to Ellis Island. Make a soft landing."
John and Colonel Jennings had been waiting for news. Soon they got what they were hoping for.
"This is Captain Liberty. The courier biker friend is in our custody."
"Kayo reporting in. Grafton is secured. I'm diverting his Helijet to Ellis Island."
"Excellent work," said Colonel Jennings. "I'm on my way. Captains Liberty and Madison, take your prisoner to Ellis Island and we'll all rendezvous there."
"Roger that, Colonel," said Captain Liberty.
"Oh, and you might want to send a boat to pick up his bodyguard. He may have fallen out of the Helijet due to carelessness," added Kayo.
John and Colonel Jennings exchanged knowing looks via their respective holograms. They knew full well what Kayo meant by that.
"I'll see that it's done, Kyrano," said Colonel Jennings. She then turned to John. "Thank you for this, Tracy. I'll be passing my highest gratitude to your father when today is over."
"Maybe save that until after all targets are secured, Colonel?" said John. "Them - and the other two."
"Ah, yes," said Colonel Jennings. "Any news on that front?"
John checked his scanners. "Funny you should mention that, Colonel," he said. "They are literally coming up to the Grafton estate now."
Whilst International Rescue and the GDF had been busy in New York to take down Grafton, other forces were at work in order to seize and apprehend anyone who was considered an ally of his that could potentially cause trouble further down the line. That included Larissia and Tristan, even though Larissa had made it no secret about her disdain for her ex-husband and that they were no longer to be associated with him, her actions whilst she was married to him, trying to force International Rescue to court without any proper evidence had already put her reputation on the line. But when asked to come in, Larissa refused and was now holed up inside the family home at Malibu Point and with the family's private security force now guarding the estate like it was a top secret military installation. Attempts by the Police to gain access had ended in failure and had resulted in two Police Officers getting seriously injured by gunfire from the security men.
Realising that a more unexpected tactic was required, Colonel Jennings had originally tried to assign the capture of Larissa and Tristan to Kayo, but after learning of Grafton's attempted acquisition of the stolen nerve agent, it was decided to give task to two people who Jeff said were equally as good as Kayo was - Lady Penelope and Parker.
FAB1 was positioned out of sight of the main gate to the estate. It was already in its black stealth mode so as not to stand out. Inside, Penelope and Parker readied themselves for what they had to do. Both were dressed in black leather suits. Both also had the holographic technology that they had used to masquerade as Wanda and Luigi with them ready.
"Are you ready for this, Parker?" Penelope asked.
"H'I suppose it's too late to say I should 'ave gone to the bathroom first, m'lady?" Parker answered.
"Quite," said Penelope. She tapped the face of her watch which activated the hologram and changed her face to the brunette, short-haired woman with the identity of Wanda.
Parker did the same, tapping his watch and changing his face to one with white hair and a handlebar moustache to become Wanda's driver Luigi. "Now, Agent Lamour?"
"Now, Luigi."
FAB1's engine started and it began to move forwards with the headlights turned off. It turned the corner of the street it had been in into the one that led up to the main entrance to the estate.
The two security men stationed on the gate noticed the car turn towards them and start to approach at a normal speed. They looked at each other. The blonde one spoke into his communicator. "Hey, Hartman. Are any of Mrs Grafton's people due to visit?"
"Negative, Brock. But then again, Mrs Grafton has insisted on no visitors whatsoever. Why do you ask?"
"We got a car approaching. And it's not the cops."
"Unless they're undercover?" said the brown-haired guard on the gate.
Before anyone else could reply, both men were startled when the approaching car's headlamps suddenly turned on full beam. "GAAAAARGH!" they exclaimed, throwing their hands over their faces in order to protect their eyes.
FAB1 then engaged flight-mode and lifted up off the road, passing over the main gate and landing on the opposite side on the driveway leading up to the house. By the time the two men had recovered their starry eyes, FAB1 was already long gone.
The guards on the grounds were taken completely by surprise at the sight of a jet-black saloon car on the estate having gotten over the security fence. They began pulling out their weapons and started shooting at it. As FAB1 raced past, Parker released two plumes of knock-out gas from the sides of the vehicle. The gas had an instant effect and soon each guard was coughing and spluttering before falling to the floor, unconscious.
Soon they were approaching the house where up to ten men had come running out from their main posts to form a line across the steps leading up to the front doors.
Inside the house, Larissa and Tristan had been busy packing up special documents and several other possessions ready to leave the country and escape the law that wanted them. Larissa felt betrayed by the justice system for turning on her family and made it no secret how enraged she was. "This is despicable!" she fumed. "I had the absolute perfect life! I had everything I wanted! How dare they try and take it from me?"
Tristan had just been alerted by what was on the security cameras. He began to freak out. "Mom?"
"What?"
"We're being raided!"
Larissa turned round from the box she'd been packing. "What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded and came over to the computer screen. She then froze at the sight of the black car making its way up the drive and taking out the security force. "How the hell did that get through the gate?!" She changed the camera feed to look at the one covering the gate. Both became very confused to see that the gate was still intact and not damaged.
"What's happening?" Tristan asked in a shaky voice.
Larissa now switched to the camera covering the main entrance to the house. It showed the security men lined up with their guns raised, ready to take on the intruders. "Relax, Tristan. They won't get past my men. Just watch."
But Tristan wasn't convinced. He continued to watch, his hands trembling as the black car raced towards the front of the house.
"FIRE!" the Head of Security shouted.
All ten men began shooting their guns at FAB1. But the bullets just bounced off the bodywork and glass dome.
"Friendly bunch, aren't they?" remarked Penelope. "And they appear to have the door locked."
"Not for long," said Parker with a smirk. He pushed a button on the dashboard. The grill of FAB1 opened up to reveal the missiles.
The eyes of the Head of Security widened and he stopped shooting when he saw the missiles. He had not expected a car to be armed like that.
Parker used FAB1's targeting computer to lock onto the front doors of the house. "Target locked."
"Try not to hit anyone if you can help it, Parker," said Penelope. "I'd rather not have blood on our hands."
"Let's 'ope they can duck quickly, m'lady." He pushed the button.
A single white red-tipped missile shot out of the front of FAB1 and rose up to pass over the security men and dive down towards the front doors.
"INCOMING!" bellowed the Head of Security.
Terrified, the entire group of security men began running away and throwing themselves to the ground to avoid the incoming missile.
Larissa and Grafton were also taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the weapon. They both let out gasps of shock. "MOM, LOOK OUT!" screamed Tristan. He grabbed his mother and threw them both to the floor just as the missile struck the front doors. The explosion ripped them and the porch as well as the upper lobby to the house completely apart. Debris went flying across the lobby and over the balcony that overlooked the lounge near to where Larissa and Tristan were. They were just out of harm's way when the debris came crashing down. "We're gonna die," Tristan whimpered, squeezing his mother tightly. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
"Get OFF!" screeched Larissa, shoving him off of her. "YOU ALMOST SQUASHED ME, YOU STUPID BOY!"
"But, Mom, I was saving you!" protested Tristan.
"I DON'T NEED SAVING!" shouted Larissa. She glanced across the room and noticed a large shot-gun that Grafton had laying on the wall that he'd forgotten to put away. She scrambled to her feet, hurried over and grabbed it. She then found it was still loaded. "Here!" she said, throwing it to Tristan. "I'll get the box of documents down to the plane. Don't let ANYONE past you. Understand?"
Tristan stared at the shot-gun. "But, Mom. I can't use this!" he said.
"WELL YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO!" she thundered, grabbing as many boxes as she could and hurrying through a secret door behind the bookcase.
FAB1 had now driven into the house through the now wrecked lobby and came to a stop. Penelope and Parker opened the doors and stepped out. Reaching the balcony, they looked down at the debris-filled lounge and saw a bewildered and scared Tristan trying to figure out how the shot-gun worked. He didn't see either of them.
Penelope also noticed the secret door round behind the bookcase. Larissa hadn't realised it was still open. "Mrs Grafton must have gone through there," she whispered to Parker. "I'll go after her. Can you deal with the young man here?"
"With pleasure," replied Parker uneasily. The sight of the shot-gun was bringing back bad memories of his criminal days with Light-Fingered Fred and Gomez. Gomez used a shot-gun when robbing banks. It wasn't a weapon Parker wanted to remember at all.
They managed to creep down the stairs to the lounge and Penelope disappeared behind the sofas whilst Parker attempted to go behind the piano to hide from Tristan. He could see Tristan turn in the direction of the table that Penelope was about to move from to behind the sofa. If he saw her, she'd be in big danger. Then he saw a discarded can of Diet Pepsi on the floor nearby. Thinking quickly, he picked it up and threw it at the wall. It went clunk and Tristan jumped about a foot in the air before spinning round. "AAAH! WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Penelope made her move, from behind the sofa to behind the table, and then around the bookcase before disappearing down the secret passage. Unfortunately, Tristan turned just in time to see the back of a person disappear down the passage.
As Tristan had his back to him, Parker decided to make his move. He moved out from behind the piano and ran up behind Tristan. He grabbed him and caused him to scream in terror. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!" In his panic, he pulled the trigger. The shot-gun went off causing them both to fly backwards across the room and crash into the piano, causing it to collapse. Tristan wriggled free as he dropped the gun and turned to face his attacker as Parker started to untangle himself from the pieces of the piano. He found himself full of disbelief that what he considered an old man was the one who'd come to try and take him and his mother. "YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ME, MAN!" he shouted and tried to kick Parker back down. But to his shock, Parker caught his leg and held it in place. Parker looked up and smirked before pushing back and causing Tristan to fall onto his back.
"Stay-a down," Parker said in his Luigi voice. "It-a be a lot simpler for-a us all."
Tristan was a coward, but not that much of one. "I don't think so!" he said and tried to get back up only for Parker to punch him. He meant to just get him across the cheek but accidentally hit him in the eye instead.
As Tristan shrieked in pain, Parker almost apologised, but quickly pulled his act together and stopped himself. "I-a told you to stay-a down!"
Tristan suddenly made his move. He managed to swing his leg and trip Parker up. Parker fell and then Tristan scrambled for the shot-gun. Parker saw this and knew he could get there quickly enough to stop him from getting it. He scrambled away himself to take cover and jumped through the window just as Tristan carelessly fired the gun. As Parker yelped, he smashed through the glass just as Tristan's bullet shattered the glass above. Parker then dropped down out of sight and disappeared.
Tristan didn't know if he'd hit the intruder but ran over to the smashed window before peering out to see. He looked down the cliff to the Pacific Ocean far below. There was no sign of the intruder. "I got him…" Tristan gasped. "I GOT HIM!" He jumped for joy. "MOM, I GOT HIM!" But then he remembered that Larissa wasn't there. She'd gone down the passageway. And then he gasped as he remembered that he'd seen a figure heading down after her. "MOM! MOM, I'M COMING!" He bolted off down the corridor, still carrying the shot-gun.
What Tristan hadn't seen was that Parker hadn't fallen to his death. Instead, he'd managed to conceal himself underneath the overhanging part of the house, out of sight. "H'I 'ate shot-guns," he said with a grimace.
Penelope had managed to find out where the secret passage led to. It was to the underground hangar where the Graftons kept their private aircraft. She saw Larissa by the small cargo hatch, starting to load the boxes of files into the small white and blue plane. Larissa was so busy trying to work quickly that she did not notice that she had been followed. It wasn't until she'd turned after putting a box aboard that she let out a scream of surprise to find a woman she didn't recognise at first pointing a gun at her.
"Hello, Mrs Grafton."
Larissa was unarmed and she raised her hands in surrender. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want?"
"I'm Agent Lamour from the FBI," said Penelope. "I'm here to take you in."
Larissa's expression hardened. "And what if I refuse?" she asked.
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Mrs Grafton," said Penelope sternly. "You and son are-"
"MOM!"
Both women looked up to see Tristan had sprinted out of the secret door onto the walkway up the back wall of the hangar.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Tristan yelled at Penelope and fired the shot-gun which caused him to almost jump out of his skin again for he hated the noise. But his aim was also terrible. The shot completely missed Penelope and instead hit a nearby fuel drum which exploded.
"WATCH OUT!" Penelope yelled and shoved Larissa to safety before getting caught by the shockwave. It threw her over and she bumped hard into one of the undercarriage legs of the private plane. Then she hit the floor and became unconscious. She'd been knocked out.
The GDF Flyer carrying Colonel Jennings had already picked up Hayley, Captain Liberty and the biker and was now coming into land on Ellis Island where Kayo had already arrived with the Helijet. She had both Grafton and the pilot secured with zip-ties and a boat was coming in with the unconscious Hicks.
"Well done, Miss Kyrano," said Colonel Jennings. "A fine piece of work."
"Thank you, Colonel," replied Kayo. "He's all yours."
Two soldiers came forward and pulled Grafton to his feet. "GET YOUR STINKING HANDS OF ME!" he bellowed. "I HAVE RIGHTS! WHERE'S MY ATTORNEY?!"
"You mean your ex-wife, Mr Grafton?" said Colonel Jennings. "She won't be helping you."
"Oh, she will!" said Grafton. "I'm not done with her yet! Like I'm not done with ANY OF YOU!" He managed to break free from the soldiers' grips and lunged at Kayo, only for her to perform a right-hook across his face and knock him down to the ground. His glasses broke as they fell off and he bashed his nose on the hard concrete. He screeched in agony as blood began dripping out. "You ABSOLUTE-"
"BE QUIET!" Colonel Jennings shouted, silencing him for a moment. "Mr Grafton. I've been wanting to say this for a while. You're under arrest."
Grafton looked up at her with his twisted and bloody nose. He sneered. "This isn't over," he said. Then he looked at Kayo. "And I still got a victory over you!" He began to laugh. "How does it feel to lose your precious Thunderbird? Huh?"
Hayley and Captain Liberty looked at Kayo. They hadn't realised that Thunderbird Shadow had crashed into the river. But they were quick to notice that Kayo didn't seem bothered. Instead of hitting Grafton for the remark, her serious glare turned into a sly smile. "Funny you should mention that," she said and pushed her wrist controller. A few seconds later, the water erupted as with a whoosh and a roar, Thunderbird Shadow burst out from beneath the surface and climbed up into the air, circling round to hover close to the island. Kayo looked back at Grafton who had an expression of pure disbelief on his face.
"W-W-What?!" Grafton stammered. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I SAW IT CRASH!"
"Good job our engineer upgraded her to survive underwater for short periods," Kayo smiled. "You see, Grafton. "You could never get one over us. And you never will."
Grafton began cursing under his breath as the soldiers pulled him to his feet and dragged him away to the waiting Flyer.
"One down, two to go," said Colonel Jennings.
"Yes," said Kayo. "I hope Penelope and Parker are having an easier task than we did."
Parker by now had managed to pull himself back up through the window just as the Head of Security and two of the other security members appeared. "FREEZE! DON'T MOVE!"
Parker jumped behind the long sofa as the three men opened fire with their guns. He had realised where they were in relation to FAB1 and had an idea. He grabbed the remote control keys and pushed a button. With a rumble and a roar, FAB1's engine started, taking the security men completely by surprise. They turned round as the car moved towards them. They screamed and yelled and tried to jump clear but were caught by the car as it hit the barrier on the edge of the balcony. The barrier was smashed and the three men fell down with it, landing in crumpled heaps on the floor amongst the debris and began groaning in pain.
Parker saw his chance now to make it to the secret door and escape to find where Penelope and the two Graftons were.
It was lucky that only one fuel drum had exploded. The rest were empty so the fire caused by the exploding drum was kept minimal and wasn't too near to the aircraft. Larissa had landed under the port wing. Tristan ran over to help her, completely ignoring the fire he'd caused.
"Mom! Are you okay?" Tristan asked anxiously. SMACK! Larissa swung her arm and hit him over the head as hard as she could. "OW!" he whimpered. "STOP DOING THAT!"
"YOU IDIOT BOY!" Larissa shrieked. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!"
"I was trying to save you," Tristan sniffled, tears forming in his eyes.
"Oh, for goodness sake, don't be such a baby!" snapped Larissa, snatching the shot-gun off him. Then she noticed that Penelope was lying a few feet away, unconscious. And unfortunately for Penelope, she'd landed on her watch and caused the hologram tech to become damaged upon the hard impact. It had deactivated to reveal her real face.
Larissa and Tristan rolled her over. "Who is she?" Tristan asked.
"I don't know," Larissa replied. "But we're going to take her with us. But the more important question is how did she get past you?"
"I was attacked by an old dude," said Tristan. "But don't worry, he's dead. He jumped out of the window when I shot him."
"Well, at least you did something right," said Larissa. "Although I forbid killing, Tristan! I am a person of the law. Bring her aboard."
Tristan looked down at the unconscious Penelope. "Wait, take her with us?"
"Yes! She's not an officer of the law. She was disguised!" said Larissa. "She's a spy. Now get her on the plane! I expect she's got back-up on the way."
So Tristan picked Penelope up and carried her up the steps into the cabin of the small but luxurious cabin of the plane. Neither of them noticed Parker enter through the doorway. He froze when he saw Penelope being carried inside the plane. "Oh…crikey…" he groaned.
Tristan placed her down in one of the seats whilst Larissa pulled up the steps and closed the door. "Wait, what if she wakes up?" he asked.
"Then tie her up," said Larissa. "Gag her as well. She cannot be allowed to cause us any more trouble."
"But this is kidnapping!" objected Tristan. "We're not criminals!"
"It's a citizen's arrest, Tristan!" snapped Larissa. "She broke into our house trying to kidnap you and me! We will hand her to the authorities once we get to a remote area. Now get on with it!"
Tristan wasn't at all comfortable with this but he did as he was told. He found some rope and a clean cloth from the store cupboard and used them to bind Penelope's hands and feet before tying the cloth around her head and into her mouth. Now she was completely at their mercy, but did not regain consciousness.
Parker waited above the hangar door for his moment to act. As the small light aircraft emerged underneath, picking up speed as it headed along the runway, he let go and dropped down on the top of the fuselage.
Larissa and Tristan heard the thud.
"What was that?" asked Tristan.
Together they looked at the rear-view mirrors on the outsides of the cockpit. The plane then lifted up off the runway into the air. Larissa raised the landing gear and began to head South along the coastline. "I highly expect that was a bump in the runway," she said.
"Really?" asked Tristan. "I thought it came from the roof?"
Larissa gave him a look. "Don't be absurd!" she snapped. "Nobody could get onto a plane whilst it is moving!"
Penelope was starting to come round. She could feel the rope around her wrists and ankles. She tried to move them but they were tight. The cloth between her teeth was tied tight so she could barely make any noise at all. She sat herself up and glanced out of one of the windows. She then blinked in surprise. "Park-mmmph-er?!" she exclaimed.
Parker was out on the starboard wing of the aircraft. He glanced back beyond the tail as the coastline of California was getting further behind as the plane started to climb higher into the sky. He knew they needed a quick escape route so he managed to reach into his pocket with one hand whilst clinging onto the wing for dear life with the other and pushed the key button again. It sent a signal to FAB1 which was now being examined by the remaining security men. All jumped back in shock as it turned itself on and engaged its automatic pilot and flight-mode. It took to the air and before any of the men could start shooting, it zoomed forwards and smashed through the large panoramic window, flying off into the sky and leaving them dumbfounded.
Parker was crawling his way along the wing and trying to reach the top maintenance hatch of the engine. He pulled open the lid and grabbed hold of the wires.
It was at that moment that Tristan happened to glance in the rear-view mirror outside his window. He let out a gasp. "M-Mo-Mom! L-Look!"
Larissa turned her head and stared at the mirror. They could see Parker on the wing. "What on earth?!"
"See!" said Tristan. "I told you that thud came from above!"
"Oh, shut up!" snapped Larissa. "Hold tight. I'm going to shake him off!"
But before she could even attempt to shake Parker off, Parker pulled the wires out of the engine. Alarms sounded in the cockpit and it immediately began to power down. Within a few seconds, the engine lost power completely and stopped running. The plane began to tilt over to the right forcing Larissa to work hard in order to try and correct it.
"Crazy old man!" Larissa fumed. "He'll kill us all!" She turned to her son. "Go out there and get him!"
Tristan almost choked. "What?! Out there?!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, out there!" said Larissa.
Tristan couldn't believe what he was hearing. His own mother was ordering him to do something that he considered to be suicidal. "Oh, for God's sake-"
"YES, FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUST DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!" screamed Larissa.
Tristan went white. "Right…" he managed to whisper before unstrapping himself from his seat and heading out of the cockpit. He walked through the passenger area past the sofa where Penelope sat. "Don't you dare try anything," he said, trying to sound strong.
Penelope mumbled a response. Then she stuck her legs out and tripped him up. Angry, he got to his feet, grabbed a tin of soup from the kitchen cupboard and threw it at her. Penelope had to duck back with it missing her nose by a few millimetres.
Tristan then grabbed a sharp knife from the drawer. "You think I'm weak?" he said to Penelope. "Just watch this!" And with that he kicked open the door of the aircraft. Due to them being in the air it broke off its hinges and fell away down into the water far below. Tristan sounded braver than he really was. He began to climb out onto the wing, doing his best not to look down. It was also really hard due to the harsh winds from being up in the air. Trying to climb out was a really big struggle for him.
By the time he and Parker had pulled themselves upright, they found themselves facing each other over the opposite sides of the fuselage. Tristan grabbed the knife and swung it at Parker but missed. Parker pulled himself up onto the top of the fuselage and moved himself backwards towards the tail section. Tristan swung the knife again, and missed. He pulled himself forwards and swung again, and missed again. Parker soon found himself holding onto the plane's radio aerial. Tristen grunted and swung the knife again and again, but still kept missing. Soon he was within striking distance of Parker, and yet still oblivious to a more obvious danger than being on the top of a moving aeroplane.
Parker was desperately trying to hold the aerial. But unfortunately for both him and Tristan, his fingers slipped and he had to grab onto the fuselage itself. The aerial had been bent back and it recoiled, hitting Tristen right between the eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!" Tristan screamed as he lost his holding on the aircraft and fell off. "EEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Larissa's own scream at seeing her son falling towards the ocean went right through the aircraft. She knew straight away what he'd done wrong. "YOU STUPID, USELESS, BOY!" she wailed before sobbing heavily. "WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT A PARACHUTE ON?!" Then she buried her face in her face and sobbed harder.
Penelope heard Larissa's scream of anguish. She kind of felt sorry for her, but couldn't allow herself to feel much sympathy. She'd managed to pull the cloth out of her mouth and was now biting the ropes that were tying her wrists together. She looked up just as Parker began to awkwardly pull himself in through the doorway. "Parker?"
"M'lady!" Parker said, trying to regain his breath as he yanked himself inside and came over. "H'Are you 'urt?"
"No, I'm fine, Parker," Penelope replied. "But I would appreciate it if you could get me out of here."
Parker scrambled along the floor and began to untie the rope around Penelope's boots.
"I do hope also you had nothing to do with that poor young man's fall?" Penelope added.
Parker swallowed hard. He knew it was partly his fault having lost grip on the aerial and felt there was no reason to hide it. "Sorry, m'lady," he apologised. "But I'm h'afraid that the h'aeiral slipped h'out of me 'ands!"
"Oh, dear," said Penelope. "That's very unfortunate." She'd managed to free her hands and placed a caring hand on Parker's shoulder. "Please don't fret, Parker. You couldn't help it."
"MURDERER!" The scream came from the cockpit as the door burst open to reveal a completely enraged Larissa. She pulled out a small handgun that she'd taken from Grafton's weapons locker and began shooting at Penelope and Parker rapidly.
Parker grabbed Penelope and pulled them both out of the open door of the aircraft.
"WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Penelope squealed in surprise.
There came a thud as they both landed on the wing of FAB1 which had now caught up. The door and canopy were already open so Parker was quickly able to usher Penelope inside and get in himself to close the door and canopy quickly as the enraged Larissa appeared at the door and began unloading her gun at them. The bullets harmlessly bounced off the car's bodywork and canopy.
"Crikey!" exclaimed Parker. "Maybe crazy is the word h'I should 'ave used?"
Larissa continued firing until the gun clicked empty. She then threw the gun out of the plane in frustration only for it to miss FAB1 completely as it had moved out of the way.
The plane lurched suddenly and began to drop down towards the ocean. Larissa was thrown back inside and landed painfully against the side of the table. With its starboard engine out, the plane also began to bank round sharply to the right. Larissa scrambled back to the cockpit despite the pain in her hip. But before she could even reach the controls, her eyes fell upon what was visible out the window - the cliffs. And there was nothing that she could do to prevent the inevitable. "AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
There was nothing that Penelope and Parker could do but watch helplessly as the plane smashed into the cliff and was obliterated in the fireball that came with it. The wreckage fell down the cliff and ended up on the beach below, some parts remained on fire and smouldering.
"I don't think there's much point in checking if she survived, Parker," said Penelope.
"No, m'lady," Parker replied grimly.
Colonel Jennings and Kayo walked into the big cell block on the GDF Headquarters main base. It was here that Grafton had been brought to. His nose had been bandaged and the blood had been cleared up. He'd also been given a pair of glasses linked to his needs to replace the ones that had been broken.
"Come to gloat about your proclaimed victory?" Grafton sneered.
"I fail to see how this is proclaimed, Grafton," answered Colonel Jennings. "You were caught with possession of a dangerous weapon. You resisted arrest and attempted to flee. You also caused millions of dollars worth of damage with your Thunderbolts stunt."
"And not to mention you've harassed International Rescue for no reason whatsoever other than to try and boost your ego."
Grafton went red with anger. "NO REASON?!" he roared, running up to the cell bars. "I HAVE EVERY REASON TO HATE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE! YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE! IF YOUR COLLEAGUE HAD JUST RECOVERED MY PLANE LIKE I TOLD HIM TO, THINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT!"
Colonel Jennings and Kayo weren't impressed. "So petty," they remarked together knowingly.
Grafton swore quietly. "Don't think this is over, Miss Kyrano," he growled. "I know who you are. Your uncle told me. You think locking me away will save you? No…my wife and son are still out there. They will see that they need me, and when my wife pulls the strings to get me free, we will sue you and International Rescue for what we're owed. Five-hundred million dollars, WILL BE OURS!"
Kayo stared at him. Then she and Colonel Jennings looked at each other in stunned silence. That was one very large sum of money. But before either could answer, Colonel Jennings's phone went off. "Excuse me," she said. "Colonel Jennings? Ah, Lady Penelope. Have you got them?" There was a pause whilst she listened. Her expression changed suddenly which both Kayo and Grafton noticed. "Oh…I see…That's very unfortunate. Yes, I can receive footage." There was a ping sound from the phone. "Yes, I got it. Thank you. I am sorry to have put you through this, Lady Penelope. Thank you for telling me. And for trying. That goes for your driver as well. Thank you again. Goodbye." She ended the call.
"Is something wrong, Colonel?" asked Kayo.
Colonel Jennings turned back to face them. She didn't answer Kayo, but instead addressed Grafton. "Your wife and son won't be coming for you, Mr Grafton," she said in a low voice. She pressed the screen of her phone and brought up some holographic video footage from one of FAB1's cameras. Grafton and Kayo watched in shock as they saw the Graftons' private plane crashing into the cliffs and exploding. "Seems in their attempt to flee from our people, they messed up their flying," Colonel Jennings said. "I'm sorry, Grafton. They didn't survive that." She then nodded for Kayo to follow her. They left, leaving Grafton silent for once. He fell back against the wall and slid down to the floor. The realisation was finally hitting him that nobody was going to come and help him now.
Following the incident, Penelope and Parker had gone to Tracy Island where they informed the rest of the team. They felt awful about what had happened.
"I'm so sorry everyone," Penelope said. "I feel like we failed to save them from their fates."
"It's very unfortunate," said Jeff. "Nobody deserves to lose their lives. Not even the Graftons. You did what you could, Penny and Parker. But I guess Larissa had already sealed hers and her son's fates by getting on that plane."
Kayo then returned. She caught the tail end of the conversation. "You tried, and that's what matters," she said. "Nobody's going to hold you responsible."
"H'Except Mr Grafton probably, Miss," said Parker meekly.
"Does he even know?" asked Scott.
"Yeah, he does," said Kayo as she sat next to Alan. "Colonel Jennings and I were with him when Lady Penelope called in."
"And how did he take it?" asked Virgil.
"Bet your ears are still ringing from it," joked Alan.
But Kayo didn't laugh. "Actually…he didn't say anything."
"Really?!" said Gordon. "Nothing at all?"
"Nope," said Kayo. "Although he did reveal what his and his wife's goal was if they did succeed in getting us to court."
"Which was?" asked Jeff.
"I'm not sure I want to know," remarked Scott.
"They were going to sue us for loss of property and extensive damages," Kayo said. "I won't tell you the amount though. That even caused me to feel a little sick."
"Yeah that we can do without knowing," said Jeff.
Brains then came in and Virgil was quick to speak to him. "Hey, Brains. Any luck with finding that energy source?"
"N-No, Virgil," replied Brains. "That's the t-thirteenth time you've asked me in the past few w-weeks. I cannot find any t-trace of it. With the greatest of respect, p-please don't ask again."
"Seriously, Virg?" said Alan. "You're still worked up about that?"
Jeff agreed with Alan. "Yes, Virgil. Just let that go, will you? That energy hasn't been seen since then. You cannot let it be on your mind anymore."
Virgil looked down ashamed at his knees. "I'm sorry," he apologised. "It's just…I don't like having the control of my ship taken from me like that."
"It briefly took control of Thunderbird 1 briefly too, remember?" said Scott. "But then it took control of The Hood's Thunderbolt mech and ended up destroying it. So if you ask me, we should be thanking that energy source. Wherever it came from."
"Do you have any idea where it could have come from, Brains?" asked Gordon.
Brains shook his head. "Absolutely n-no idea, Gordon," he said. "For once, it has gotten me b-baffled."
Unseen by everyone, a tiny crackle of orange energy fizzled through the security camera that looked over the lounge. It then made its way through the system down into the depths of Tracy Island to Brains's lab. It left the main computer, bypassed MAX who failed to notice it and returned to where it had originated from - the still motionless body of The Mechanic, whose eyes had suddenly opened, and were glowing orange!