INSIDE the cockpit of the Apache was Lacey, Grafton's loyal secretary who the GDF and International Rescue had never encountered before. Her loyalty knew no bounds and she would do anything for her boss without so much as questioning whether it was the right thing or not. Nine times out of ten with Grafton it wasn't but to Lacey it was. She was at the controls of the Apache and pulled the trigger button on the control stick. The powerful side-mounted machine-guns began shooting hot lead down onto the surface of the tarmac on the top of the Car-Vu.
Hayley, Penelope and Parker had to dive behind the closest source of cover which was the Cheetah. But they soon had to make a run for it when the helicopter moved around. It was horrendously close but they managed to get behind FAB1.
"WE CAN'T KEEP THIS UP!" Penelope shouted above the noise of the bullets bouncing off FAB1's bodywork. "WE HAVE TO GET TO PROPER COVER!"
"WE'LL BE SAFER INSIDE THE CAR, M'LADY!" bellowed Parker.
Hayley looked over at the support beam where the terrified Amanda was trying to get out of the grip of Grafton who was wearing a disgusting smirk. "I'M NOT LEAVING HER!" she yelled.
"YOU CAN'T HELP HER IF YOU'RE RIDDLED WITH BULLETS!" shouted Penelope.
It was at that moment that Thunderbird 1 began to approach the Car-Vu.
"Where the hell did that come from?!" demanded Rigby.
Kayo was on her communicator. "Lady Penelope? Hayley? Can you read me?"
They couldn't because of the noise.
Scott called Thunderbird 5. "John, do you have eyes on them?"
"Affirmative," said John. "That gunship's got them pinned down behind FAB1. Its moving to change position. They're not gonna last long against it unless they find proper cover."
"And Grafton?" asked Rigby.
"He's on one of the side gantries with Miss Thompson," said John.
"I see them," said Kayo. "West-side, Scott."
But Scott wasn't thinking about Grafton and Amanda. He was looking at the Apache. "We have to get that chopper away from here," he said.
"Or there's a better option," said Alan from Thunderbird 2. "Shoot it down."
"Alan, I don't want to take lives!" Scott snapped.
"Yeah, well I doubt the pilot of that chopper thinks the same as you!" said Gordon. "I'm with Alan."
"As am I."
Scott blinked. He'd never known Virgil to be on board with such a suggestion. "V-Virgil?!"
"Do it, Scott," said Virgil sternly. "Or I will when we get there."
Scott didn't need to ask why Virgil was being like this. He knew it was the same as Gordon. Both their girls were the ones being targeted by the Apache. However, before he could say anything, it was Jeff who cut in.
"Nobody's shooting anything down!" Jeff barked. "Scott, just race past the tower. Give the pilot a scare and try to lure it away. The GDF can deal with it when they arrive."
Scott wasn't entirely comfortable with getting so close to such a dangerous aircraft, but he knew that it was going to be Penelope, Parker and Hayley's only chance. "F-A-B," he said.
Thunderbird 1 roared forwards, screaming past the Car-Vu and immediately catching the attention of Lacey. "What the?!" she exclaimed. She stopped shooting down at those on the tower and changed the direction of the Apache, heading off after Thunderbird 1.
"NO, YOU STUPID WOMAN!" Grafton bellowed into his earpiece. "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH THAT! GET THEM!"
The distraction had worked though. Parker was able to open the door of FAB1 to get Penelope inside. But instead of joining them or making for the safety of her own car, Hayley began running towards where Grafton and Amanda were. She pulled out her stun-gun and opened fire whilst Grafton fired back despite Amanda's attempts to try and throw off his aim. She performed a forward roll and ducked down behind some concrete.
The Apache was turning to come back around for another pass. Hayley saw it and knew now she had to make for her car. She bolted towards it and then dived behind it when it opened fire again. Bullets ripped up the tarmac and the concrete at the side of the car park. Some pieces almost hit Grafton and Amanda.
"WATCH IT, LACEY!" shouted Grafton. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KILL THEM, NOT US!"
"I'm sorry, Mr Grafton," answered Lacey. "They're making things more difficult than they should be. I'll get them on the next pass."
Kayo could now see a chance for her to join the fight. "Get us underneath the top section, Scott," she said. "I can climb up and take Grafton without him knowing I'm there."
"I'm coming too," said Rigby.
"My suit can help me out there, Rigs," said Kayo. "You don't have yours."
"You'll be completely unprotected out there," agreed Scott.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?" snapped Rigby.
Scott gritted his teeth. And that's why I never liked you, he thought to himself. But then he heard the sound of a slap.
"What the HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Rigby bellowed, rubbing the left side of his face.
Kayo fixed him with a very stern glare that caused him to start a cold sweat. "Don't…you…dare…talk to him or any of my brothers like that," she said dangerously. "You are staying here. END of discussion." She turned back to Scott. "Can you put me down there?"
"Sure…" replied Scott, somewhat spooked by Kayo's anger.
Rigby returned his seat and stayed quiet whilst Kayo got herself ready.
Scott brought Thunderbird 1 down so it was out of sight of those on the top of the Car-Vu. However, whilst Grafton hadn't seen it go down, Lacey in the Apache did. "I don't know what you're up to, International Rescue, but you're gonna pay for imprisoning my boss!" She began to dive the Apache down towards Thunderbird 1.
Scott had gotten Thunderbird 1 as close to the tower as he dared before opening the underside hatch. He fired the cable down which attached itself to the metal construction. "Cable secured," Scott said.
"Going down," said Kayo. She attached the harness and the abseiled down onto the tower, releasing the harness and using the magnetic parts of her nanotech suit's gloves and boots to allow her to climb.
Scott released the cable and backed away. He had noticed how silent Rigby had gone. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he said.
Rigby said nothing.
"It's okay," said Scott. "I know what it's like."
"What?" Rigby asked.
"Getting hit by Kayo," said Scott.
"You can say that again," said Rigby. He looked towards the back of Scott's head just visible above the chair. "Sorry for being rude to you," he said. "I'm just…stressed."
"It's okay, I understand," said Scott. He then peered around at the humbled Captain. "We'll save your girl, Cap."
Rigby looked at him, but before he could say anything, a warning cry from John cut through the inside of Thunderbird 1. "SCOTT, LOOK OUT!"
Scott snapped back around and looked at his radar screen. There was the Apache coming right at him.
Kayo had seen it as well. "SCOTT, GET OUT OF HERE!" she cried.
Scott quickly brought Thunderbird 1 and fired the main boosters just as Lacey fired two missiles from the sides of the helicopter. They were heat-seekers and had locked on. Scott grimaced as he pulled Thunderbird 1 back to head upwards. "HANG ON!" he yelled to Rigby.
Parker and Penelope were safely inside FAB1. "H'Are you okay, m'lady?" asked Parker.
"Yes, Parker," said Penelope. "But where's Hayley?"
Parker checked FAB1's mirrors. "It would h'appear she's trying to take Mr Grafton on," he said.
Penelope looked out of the back of FAB1. She could see Hayley was pinned down. She was trying to shoot at Grafton whilst he was shooting back. She opened her compact. "Hayley, you need to get back in your car. It's the safest place for you."
"I need to save Amanda!" Hayley said. "And besides, I can't get to the car without him getting a shot at me."
"Then we'll give you cover," said Penelope. "Parker."
"Yus, m'lady," said Parker, already putting FAB1 into reverse. The pink vehicle quickly sped back along the car park and stopped with its back end shielding Hayley.
"That's got you covered," said Penelope. "Now move!"
Hayley tried to keep as low as possible as she sprinted for the Cheetah. Grafton tried a couple of shots but his bullets only bounced off the bulletproof glass dome of FAB1. Hayley was soon back inside the Cheetah and began nursing a grave on the top of her hand that she'd picked up from sliding along the tarmac. "I'm in!" she said.
It was at that moment that Thunderbird 1 came roaring back into view, climbing almost directly upwards into the sky with the two missiles chasing after it. Both Scott and Rigby were pushed back into their seats by the G-force as Thunderbird 1 accelerated away at top speed.
Whilst all this had been happening, the GDF forces were arriving. Flyers and Trucks were getting into position on the edges of the park area where the Car-Vu was located. Colonel Jennings had ordered all the Flyers to keep their distance so that they didn't become targets of the Apache.
"Colonel, all ground units are in place," said a Lieutenant. "What are your orders?"
"Just get all civilians out of the park," said Colonel Jennings. She looked up at the Car-Vu. "Only International Rescue can save Thompson now."
Thunderbird 2 was approaching as well. From their positions in the cockpit, Virgil, Gordon and Alan could see the long thick vapour trail of Thunderbird 1 as well as the much thinner ones of the missiles.
"Thunderbird 1, if you bring those missiles our way, I can target and destroy them," said Virgil.
"I can outrun them, Thunderbird 2," Scott replied. "But once they lose me they'll be searching for a target. You'd better be ready to deal with them."
"F-A-B."
Scott pushed Thunderbird 1's speed even further and soon it had left the missiles far behind. As he had predicted, their sensors lost their lock and they began to drop back downwards as they tried to find another target.
"They're dropping back down," said Virgil. He turned to Gordon. "Get ready to take them out."
"F-A-B," said Gordon.
Grafton was getting frustrated. He could no longer shoot at Hayley, Penelope or Parker for they were inside their respective vehicles. He looked down and could see the GDF forces all around the park. He began swearing to himself.
"Just give it up, will you?" Amanda said. "You aren't getting out of this!"
"Oh, we are!" retorted Grafton, tightening his grip on her still bound hands. He then spoke into his earpiece. "Lacey! Come get us! We're leaving!"
"On my way," replied Lacey as she turned the Apache around to head back towards the tower.
Kayo was most of the way up the tower's support beams. She could just start to see the beam where Grafton and Amanda were. "Almost there," she told herself. "Just need to get a little closer so I can grapple on." She then heard the sound of the Apache coming back. It was coming into her sight. She wasn't sure if the pilot could see her, so she activated the optical camouflage just to be sure.
Penelope and Parker had noticed the Apache as well.
"It would h'appear they're coming back for more, m'lady," said Parker.
"And given that they've decided to use their deadlier weapons, I don't feel we should give them the opportunity to use them," said Penelope. "Parker, get ready to attack."
"Yus, m'lady," said Parker. He drove FAB1 around until it was directly facing the approaching helicopter. He opened up the grill with the car's own missiles ready to shoot.
Lacey had noticed FAB1 changing position. Her lip curled. "I know your car has weapons, Lady Penelope. But they're nothing compared to mine!" However, before she even had a chance to get the helicopter's weapons ready, a warning alarm sounded in the cockpit. She gasped. The radar was showing two very fast projectiles coming in behind her. "What the?!" She looked around. Her eyes went wide with horror. It was the two missiles she'd fired at Thunderbird 1. They'd found a new target. Her! In a panic, she activated the countermeasures. The Apache fired out a large amount of flares. The first missile was drawn away by one of the flares and detonated harmlessly out of harm's way. The second missile however somehow managed to avoid the flares entirely and slammed straight into the back of the helicopter. In an instant, Lacey lost all control and the aircraft began to lose altitude, heading on a collision course straight for the Car-Vu.
"Errr, m'lady…!" Parker said, eyes widening.
"Get us out of here, Parker!" Penelope cried. "Hayley, move!"
Hayley looked and saw it too. "Oh, God!" she cried, slamming her foot hard on the accelerator.
FAB1 had switched to flight-mode and was very quickly flying up off the top of the platform. The Cheetah sped towards the downward spiral roadway that they'd come up.
Grafton and Amanda saw the helicopter, which now had a plume of smoke and flame coming out of its back disappear from view underneath the platform. "Lacey?" Grafton said urgently into his earpiece. "LACEY!"
Underneath the platform, Kayo had deactivated her camouflage when she saw that the Apache was heading straight for the support beams where she was climbing. "Oh, no!" she gasped.
"Kayo, get out of there!" John said urgently over her radio.
Kayo jumped clear and used her grapple-gun to fire a cable up to the beam where Grafton and Amanda were.
On the ground, Colonel Jennings and the troops could do nothing but watch on helplessly. "Bloody hell!" exclaimed Colonel Jennings.
The brothers inside their Thunderbirds also had a front row seat for what was about to happen. Thunderbird 1 had dropped back down just in time.
Lacey had been fighting frantically against the controls. She looked up just in time to see what she was about to crash into. She let out a terrified scream as the Apache smashed into the three support columns that connected the platform to the main tower itself. It exploded upon impact, creating a massive fireball. The entire tower shook violently. The roadway that connected the spiral to the base of the platform gave way just as Hayley was about to exit onto it.
"OHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GOD!" Hayley cried out in terror as the Cheetah began to plunge towards the ground.
"COLONEL!" shouted the Lieutenant, pointing.
Colonel Jennings then saw the Cheetah falling. "MADISON, USE YOUR FLIGHT MODE!" she bellowed into her walkie-talkie.
"Flight-mode?" Hayley repeated. Then she realised. "FLIGHT-MODE!" She quickly grabbed the lever between the seats that folded out the wings. The car began to level out but it was still going at great speed. At the very last second, Hayley managed to get it to land on the grass and slammed on the brakes. The car skidded for almost fifty metres before eventually coming to a stop, leaving a long trail of churned up grass in its wake.
None of the International Rescue team had even noticed Hayley's dramatic exit from the Car-Vu. Their focus was on the tower's now perilous situation. The whole top section was starting to tilt over to the left.
"The whole thing's gonna fall!" Scott exclaimed.
"AMANDA'S STILL ON THERE!" cried Rigby. "DO SOMETHING!"
Virgil knew immediately what to do. He quickly brought Thunderbird 2 in towards the tower. "Get those Pods configured for air-repair, NOW!" he barked at Gordon and Alan. The two youngest brothers didn't even acknowledge Virgil for they were already running for the exit of the cockpit before he'd even finished. Virgil brought his craft directly above the tower.. He opened the hatch on the underside of the module and fired two grapple cables onto the ends of the platform. This stopped it from going over. "I got it!"
"No, you haven't, Thunderbird 2," said John, who was examining the tower's condition via a holographic scan. "The base of the supports has given out. You won't be able to hold it for long."
"Which is why Alan and Gordon are taking the repair Pods out," said Virgil.
Two green Pods with rotor blades and repair arms dropped out of the opening underneath Thunderbird 2 one after another and began to head underneath the platform to begin the repairs. Virgil carefully used his ship's thrusters to try and pull the platform back to a level position.
Scott decided it was best to check on Kayo. "Kayo, do you read me? Where are you?"
"I'm just hanging out here, Scott," Kayo replied. "I'm right underneath Grafton and Amanda. I'm gonna see if I can take him."
"Make it quick, Kayo," said Virgil. "I'm not sure if our repair attempt is gonna work or not."
Kayo began to winch herself up towards the support beam. "This will be more than quick," she said.
Colonel Jennings hurried over to the Cheetah to check on Hayley. She opened the door and found a rather shaky-looking Hayley still clutching the steering wheel. Hayley was staring straight ahead, not having even registered that the door had opened. "Madison?" Colonel Jennings said. "Are you okay?"
Hayley couldn't seem to answer. Very slowly, her head turned slightly and she made eye contact. Then she nodded rather vigorously.
"Come with me," said Colonel Jennings as she prized Hayley's fingers off the wheel. "I'll get you checked out. MEDIC!"
Grafton hadn't noticed Kayo underneath him. He and Amanda had almost been thrown off the beam when the platform had begun to tip but both had managed to grab onto a metal beam each and hold on tight. This had been tough for Amanda as her hands were still tied but she managed it somehow. As soon as Thunderbird 2 had gotten the platform level, she'd tried to shuffle away, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"STOP!" Grafton said, jumping to his feet and aiming his gun. "Where do you think you're going?"
Amanda turned back to face up. "For God's sake, just give it up already!" she said. "What do you honestly think you're gonna get out of this?"
Grafton moved slowly towards her. He was hobbling a bit because his ankle had twisted when he'd fallen under the beam's sudden movement. However he was trying to ignore the pain with his anger. "I still have you," he said. "I still hold all the cards!"
"Is that so?"
Grafton stopped dead. The voice had come from behind him. Amanda peered round and gasped. Grafton turned around and almost dropped his gun in surprise. There was Kayo, now inside the beam herself. "W-W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" Grafton exclaimed and raised his gun. Amanda saw her chance. She hurried forwards and kicked Grafton up the bottom. He yelped and jumped. He tried to turn back towards her but Kayo struck him across the face. He fell down and the gun fell out of his hand. "NO!"
Kayo then stood on his back. "Stay down!" she ordered.
Suddenly the tower gave another violent shudder and they nearly all fell out of the beam.
"Guys, this isn't working!" Gordon said. "The tower's too badly damaged."
"You'd better get off there, Kayo," added Alan.
"Agreed," said Kayo. "I have Grafton and Amanda. Scott, come and get us."
"On my way," said Scott.
With Grafton down, Kayo could finally cut the zip-tie around Amanda's wrists. Amanda threw her arms around her. "Kayo…" she said, tears of relief welling up. "I thought you'd been killed."
"You won't get rid of me that easily," said Kayo. "Are you okay?"
"I will be once I'm back on the ground," said Amanda. She ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm a mess, aren't I? Some wedding this turned out to be."
"We'll put things right," said Kayo as Thunderbird 1 drew overhead. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Scott had lowered the cable down to the beam. Kayo went to grab it for Amanda. Unfortunately, they had both taken their eyes off Grafton who had now managed to pick himself up. With the rage burning harder than ever, he let out a bellow and charged at them like a bull. Before he could grab them though, the tower shifted yet again. Grafton fell right through a gap in the beam but managed to grab hold of Amanda's dress, pulling her out as well.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Amanda as Kayo managed to grab her hand.
"I'VE GOT YOU!" Kayo shouted. "HANG ON!"
The tower shifted again and Alan had to move his Pod out of the way. "Woah, that was close!"
"Virgil, we can't do this!" said Gordon. "The repair's failed again."
"Get clear, both of you," ordered Virgil. "Scott's picking the others up. As soon as they're clear, I'm letting go. Lady Penelope, please inform Colonel Jennings of our plans when you land."
"Understood, Virgil," said Penelope as FAB1 descended towards the ground where the main GDF force was located.
Nobody seemed to have noticed the drama on the gantry beam. Kayo was laying flat on her front with her legs wrapped around part of the cross-beams. She had hold of Amanda's arms with both hands and was clinging on tightly. Grafton meanwhile was clinging tightly to the bottom part of Amanda's dress. All three looked down. It was a very long drop. The tower seemed even higher than it actually was.
Grafton looked up at Kayo. He gritted his teeth and raised one hand to get a better grip on Amanda's dress. Then he gave a sharp tug.
"OW!" shrieked Amanda. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"IF I'M GOING DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU BOTH WITH ME!" Grafton bellowed. He tugged again. Only this time there came a ripping sound. His weight was proving too much for Amanda's dress. It was starting to tear. Grafton felt himself drop a bit. "NO!" he yelled and tried to pull himself up again. The dress ripped a bit more and he dropped again. "NO!"
Kayo tried desperately to pull both Amanda and Grafton up, but the combined weight was too much for her. She let out a strained cry. Amanda was too terrified to know what to think or do. Her legs continued to kick about in fear. Grafton made another attempt to pull himself up Amanda, but the strain on the back of the dress became too much for it to take anymore. To Grafton's horror, with one final RIP, it tore off completely.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Grafton's scream was heard by everyone at ground level. All the GDF personnel and the evacuated civilians who could still see the Car-Vu watched in horror as this body dropped like a stone several hundred feet to the ground far below.
The dropping of Grafton had made the strain on Kayo's arms lighter, but she was growing tired, and whilst she still had a grip on Amanda, she wasn't sure whether her arms or legs were going to give out first. "AMANDA! YOU'RE SLIPPING! I CAN'T HOLD YOU!"
The two women gazed into each other's eyes. The fear was easy to see for them both. After all this, was it really the end of them?
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Kayo's arm. It was Rigby, having slid down the cable without any kind of safety-harness to grab her. "I'VE GOT YOU!" he said. He used his super-serum strength to haul them both up until they could both grab onto the cable.
The tower lurched again and Kayo's grip with her legs gave out. All three swung away from the beam as it began to tilt over.
It took Kayo and Amanda a few seconds to realise they were no longer on the tower. However, both seemed to have lost their voices.
John on the other hand, who had been watching everything from Thunderbird 5, could see that Kayo and Amanda were safe. "Scott, they're on your cable! Winch them up!"
"F-A-B!" said Scott, reversing the winch to reel the cable in.
"Thunderbird 1, get clear!" said Virgil. "The Car-Vu's going down!"
Scott quickly applied power to the underside thrusters, pulling Thunderbird 1 and those hanging on underneath clear of the danger.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Virgil's voice boomed over Thunderbird 2's tannoy.
"EVERYONE DOWN!" Colonel Jennings ordered.
Everyone on the ground took cover behind bushes, trees, fences, walls and vehicles. Virgil released the cables. The London Car-Vu immediately crumpled under the damage it had sustained from the Apache crashing into it. The whole platform dropped onto the main supports and spiral roadway, smashing everything in its path before finally slamming hard into the ground creating a mini-earthquake that was felt as far away as Portsmouth and Norwich.
Scott put Thunderbird 1 on autopilot and got out of his seat as the underside hatch closed once Kayo, Rigby and Amanda were safely inside. Now free to embrace, Rigby and Amanda immediately began an emotional cuddle and kissing as tears of relief trickled down both their faces. Kayo simply collapsed against the inside of Thunderbird 1. She was exhausted. But she was just about able to look over at Scott and between them they were able to share a smile of equal relief.
The battle of the London Car-Vu was over.