Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I have been away. Forgive me for the shortcomings in this chapter. There are many!

LADY PENELOPE CREIGHTON-WARD

We have searched every inch of this lonely house and found nothing at all. I really believe that these…these villains have their main base some other place, and only came here as a way to hide their prisoner. There presently seems no other option but for Parker to remain undercover, which of course, means that for now he has to remain as a prisoner of the GDF until this gang effects a rescue…if they do. If they do not, then the hope is that Parker can extract information from his fellow prisoners. Colonel Casey is planning on keeping them imprisoned within the same block so that they are within hearing of one another.

Personally I am of the opinion that it is a slim chance, but one we cannot afford to dismiss.

Kayo is currently overseeing the tearing down of the inner walls in the hope of finding some secret hiding place, but she knows as well as I that the chances are slim to none of finding anything.

Surely no criminal gang would make the mistake of keeping important, incriminating documentation in the same place as an important hostage. We need to find their main base.

It will help when we know the full identities of the men that were captured. Time, I think, for Kayo and I to join forces in interrogating them.

Well, I have to admit that I am encouraged by how well that went. None of the prisoners were willing to say anything, naturally, even to admitting their identities. These days however, with regular DNA charting and fingerprinting of everyone that enters any of the major professions, approximately nine-tenths of the world's population is readily identifiable. It is possible of course, to have one's personal details expunged from world databases, but only a very few are aware of the fact.

I am one of the few.

I saw to it that I and my closest personal friends were removed from these records a long time ago, back at the start of International Rescue, when their identities were kept strictly secret.

Before the Hood outed them.

These prisoners were identified as a mix of one former army veteran, a disgraced former police officer, a retired general practitioner, one electrician, two engineers, one of them sacked for theft, the other sacked for indecent exposure to his superior's teenage daughter. The other man was not found in any database, although by his present attire, it is likely he worked in a sector that is not currently required to subscribe to the official ID system. A janitorial smock, covered by a stripy apron that suggested his role was that of cook and general housekeeper.

The only other person taken is an elderly lady who calls herself Olive Harcourt. Olive appears to be old and bewildered, somewhat frail and wobbly on her feet. In fact, everything you would expect of any ordinary little old lady. But then, why on earth would she be a member of a gang of this kind? Her DNA came back as unregistered, which by itself means very little. But, add to that the fact that the system registered her fingerprints as having been altered…or at any rate, false…this makes her existence here a mystery indeed.

Kayo and I decided to start our interrogations. We started with Olive, taking it gently, as though we fully believed that she was everything she seemed to be. She was very plausible, claiming to have been living in the house as a housekeeper whilst the owner was away, until this gang came in and took over.

After a few minutes, I arranged to give her a cup of tea and sat her in a more comfortable chair on the other side of the office. Then we brought in the former janitor.

I asked him a few simple questions, not really expecting any answers from him, whilst Kayo kept an eye on Olive.

During the interrogation, Olive sat calmly ignoring us, sipping her tea. Our prisoner, however, kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye and seemed greatly nervous.

Why oh why would a harmless little old lady make him so jumpy?

Kayo has now obtained Eos' mobile unit, and Eos has downloaded herself to it. Eos has the capability of scanning in much more depth than any machine currently possessed by the GDF, and because she is still fundamentally Thunderbird Five, she has immediate access to all of its files and information. It is something of a long shot, but there is something about Olive that just does not ring true.

Eos could not find any trace of anyone by that name anywhere that could possibly be the old lady still calmly sitting in Casey's office, guarded by two GDF officers.

I know what Kayo is thinking, because I cannot help but have similar thoughts. The Hood is a master of disguise. What if Olive Harcourt is the Hood? That would explain the janitor's apparent trepidation at her presence during his interrogation, but this whole scenario…it is not the Hood's style at all.

Or is it?

Kayo and I follow the Colonel into her office, where Olive is still sitting, slightly antsy now, having finished her tea and wondering how much longer she will have to keep waiting?

"I'm sorry Olive, but we have investigations ongoing." Casey says in a soothing tone. "We need to trace the rest of the men who were using that house as a base. Can you tell us anything more about them?"

Olive shakes her head sorrowfully.

"Only that one day I was preparing my old car for a drive into the city, and the next moment, I was forced indoors, and told to stay in the basement. If I stayed put I would be treated well. If I refused, I would end up regretting it. That's all."

"So you stayed put in the basement? For how long?"

"It felt like forever. But yes, I stayed there. It was set up as an extra lounge of sorts. It has a microwave oven and a comfy sofa, plus a large storeroom next door, so I just stayed put and was thankful to be still alive."

Kayo glances down at Eos, and then looks up and catches my eye.

"Excuse us for a moment, Colonel." She says, and I follow her from the room. Eos speaks aloud as soon as we are out of range.

"Lady Penelope, that person you are interrogating is not a female at all. It is a man dressed up."

"Can you identify the man, Eos? Is it the Hood?" Kayo asks urgently. Eos responds as efficiently as ever.

"Negative. It is not the Hood. I estimate that the person wearing the disguise is approximately thirty to forty years of age. The Hood is certainly nearer to sixty."

Kayo's eyebrows raise, and she looks at me.

"The Boss?"

I nod.

"If we let him know we have penetrated his disguise, we will not learn anymore. I suggest we let him go…let her go."

Kayo frowns, then sighing, she nods.

"It's the only way. Eos, if we let him go, can you track him?"

"Now I have been able to scan him and obtain his full biological information, I will be able to keep track of his movements from Thunderbird Five."

"Will you not need a tracker of sorts, like you did to find John?"

"Negative. He has already ingested a powerful tracker. It was dissolved into his tea. It will integrate into his tissues, and take approximately forty-eight hours before it dissipates enough to make tracking impossible."

Kayo stares at me, the surprise on her face makes me want to giggle,

"You, Penny? You put a long-range, long-acting tracker in her…his tea? How did you know?"

I shrug.

"It seemed the safest way. I have learned the hard way to take no chances. Let's let the Colonel know, and then finish the rest of our…interviews. Eos, will you return to Thunderbird Five, and commence continuous tracking, please."