In The Hood's Hideaway

Mae carefully examined the room she was in. Looks like a communications center, she thought. She slipped quietly over to the door. Hmm. Can I lock this thing? I don't want to be disturbed.... The lock was an electronic one, opened by a code, but one that operated from the other side. She pulled at the door. Locked already! This weirdo sure is paranoid! Oh well, I should hear him coming with that lock and then I can hide... but where? Her eyes lighted on the turbo lift in the far wall of the room Yeah, that will do! she thought, nodding appreciatively. Now, to figure out what all this stuff does, she said to herself as she approached the bank of computers and screens that dominated the center of the room.

The Hood was frustrated. "I cannot find my brother anywhere! He was so close! Did he discover my base or not? I must know! This will require a deeper trance. But not here. My bedroom, where I will be more comfortable."

She backtracked down the main hall and out of her inner sanctum, but instead of turning left to her command center, she turned right and passed through a set of double doors. This took her into her state-of-the-art kitchen. A doorway from there led her to her workroom, where dozens of masks peered out with sightless, empty eyeholes as she strode through and into her own bedroom. The large round bed with its red silk coverlet beckoned to her, and she climbed to its center. Sitting in the lotus position, she began the process of driving her consciousness deeper into the other realm.

Sally ached from sitting in the same position. Her feet and hands were numb from the lack of circulation, and the parts of her that had contact with the stonework were numb from the cold. Her frustration levels were rising, and so was her anger... at herself.

"I can't just sit here and wait for rescue," she said aloud, her own voice sounding loud in her ears. "I've got to do something. What am I tied with? Rope? Plastic handcuffs? There's got to be some sort of release to it. Let's see if I can touch my ankles with my fingers and try and get myself untied."

Having made up her mind to do something, anything constructive, she began to work her fingers, trying to get the circulation back into them so she could feel enough to release herself if possible. The exercise was painful, but she could feel a certain amount of warmth beginning to fill her fingers, and with that warmth, the return of some tactile senses.

"C'mon, Sally. Just keep at it," she encouraged herself through gritted teeth as she grimly continued moving her fingers and hands.

"What's our ETA to Ipoh?" Valentina asked again.

"7.5 hours," Jeff said. He looked back at his youngest daughter. "I'm sorry, Val, but this isn't Thunderbird One, or even Thunderbird Two. This helijet isn't even supersonic, and that's why it's taking so long to get to Kyrano's family estate."

"Then why did we take it?" she asked, scowling.

"Because it's far more flexible than a jet," Jeff explained patiently.

"Yes, Miss Valentina," Kyrano chimed in from the co-pilot's chair. "There is runway at Ipoh, but none at my family's old home. We will need the helijet if we are to land close to the old temple."

"A-And this is the helijet with the, uh, stealth package, too," Brains added. "It really is the, uh, best choice for this e-endeavor."

Val sat back in the passenger's seat, her arms folded. "Then I hope none of you mind if I take a nap. That emergency call got us all up very early."

"Be my guest, Val," Jeff said, internally thanking the stars that she would be quiet for a while. "I'll wake you when we get closer."

Val stifled her immediate, smart-mouthed reaction. She was genuinely worried about her sisters and she knew that her father really didn't need any more of her caustic comments. Instead she said, "Please do, Daddy. Then maybe I can spell you and give you some time to rest." Then she put back her seat and settled down to nap.

Jeff and Kyrano exchange surprised and amused glances. "Sounds like my youngest is learning to hold her tongue," Jeff murmured.

"An excellent time to learn to do so," Kyrano quietly replied as he reached out to tweak a control.

"We need to find Mae and Sally," JC reiterated as she reached up on tiptoe to open Thunderbird One's hatch.

"And how do you intend to do that?" Christa asked. "There's something jamming our communications equipment."

"You'll see. Give me a boost, will ya?" JC said to her older but smaller sister.

"I've got a better idea. Why don't you tell me what you're after, then you can give me a boost and I'll get what you're looking for," Christa suggested.

JC glanced at her sharply. The sun was up and the early morning light made stark shadows in the corners of the temple as well as shadowy places created by the jungle trees. The two Tracys had flitted from one to another as they made their way back to the Thunderbirds, hoping that the people inside the hideout wouldn't be able to mark their progress. They made it back to their craft before the sun was too far up over the horizon and the dark areas dried up in its light.

"Okay, okay," JC conceded. "I figure that we can find out not only where Sally and Mae might be but also how many people we're up against if we use the thermal imager in Thunderbird One."

Christa blinked, blinked again, then hit herself in the forehead. "Duh! That's a great idea! Why didn't we think of that before?"

"I dunno," JC answered. "Maybe because we're tired? This has been a long night with little sleep."

"True," Christa agreed. "So, are you going to take Thunderbird One up for a look or get out one of the portables?"

"Thunderbird One would do it faster. One or two passes and we'd have it," JC said. "That is, if the imager isn't jammed the same way our communications are."

"Okay, then. Boost me up, and I'll let down the rope ladder," Christa said.

Her sister raised an eyebrow. "I'll do it. But I have dibs on the pilot's seat." She made a stirrup with her hands, and Christa stepped into it.

"You can have it," the smaller woman said, her voice muffled as she entered Thunderbird One's cockpit. She stuck her head out the hatch as she lowered the rope ladder. "Flying this thing is like flying a greased pig. It's too damn slippery."

"I'll tell Sally you said that," JC informed her with a wicked grin as she climbed up into the cockpit.

Christa's indignant "Don't you dare!" was swallowed up by the roar of Thunderbird One's VTOL engine as JC took it up into the brightening morning sky.

Mae had almost completed her circuit of the round communications station. She peered into every screen, trying to figure out where in the complex each visual image came from. She stopped at one screen, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Sally!" she squeaked, as she viewed the infrared image of her oldest sister. Sally was wriggling, so Mae knew she was alive. "But where is she?" She peered at the image and noticed that the screen had the title of Prisoner Cell One. "Prisoner Cell One! That doesn't help me any!" Fuming, she stepped away from the bank and looked at it through narrow eyes, making a quick secondary evaluation of the equipment. She zeroed in on one set of controls.

"Now, this looks like that radar jamming equipment from the Eagle, the stuff we got pictures of so Brains could invent a countermeasure. I bet that if I turned this off, the temple would become visible to scanners." She moved the switches to the "off" position. "Hmm. There's got to be a communications dampener, too." Walking around the circular bank again, she looked up at the screen where the Thunderbirds were under scrutiny. "Hey! Where's JC going? Or is it the weirdo, stealing Thunderbird One? I'd better find that dampener and turn it off!"

Deep in a trance, the Hood was unable to hear the loud take off of the much-coveted Thunderbird One. Nor was she able to detect the resonance of her brother's mind coming ever closer. She was, however, able to make contact with her primary puppet....

Tin-Tin's eyes opened suddenly, their brown depths eclipsed by a yellow glow. Slowly, he sat up on Thunderbird Three's couch, moving, not of his own volition, but at the command of his evil aunt.

Yes, my nephew. You will be my eyes this day and show me what may be seen, she directed. A tiny spark of defiance still lingered in Tin-Tin, making its presence known by a mental, no!, but with a savage joy she crushed it beneath her overpowering will.

Zombie-like, stumbling on the steps to the study, Tin-Tin left the lounge, heading for the lower levels of the house and the bowels of the underground complex.

Moments later, Ruby entered the lounge with a cup of tea and some scones to keep her fortified. She took in the empty couch with the blanket thrown back and her eyes widened. "No!" she cried. "Where could he have gone? I have to find him!" She put her cup and saucer down on a table, and picked up the hypospray that Brains had left to use on Tin-Tin. Then she headed out to the balcony, calling the Malaysian's name.

Sally reached down toward her ankles, feeling around her boot heels and walking her half-numb fingers up toward where she was bound. It was difficult to maneuver; one shoulder was propped against the wall, her buttocks were lifted off of her feet, and she was bent backwards as far as her spine would allow. She arched back again, trying to get a little more reach. Her fingertips brushed against the bonds, the roughness of the material proclaiming that at least her ankles were tied with rope.

"Where there's rope, there's a knot. I just have to find it," she ground out, making another attempt to grasp the thick cord that limited her ankles.

The flight was proceeding smoothly though Jeff was getting sleepy. He jerked himself awake, and reached out to tap Kyrano, who seemed to be woozy as well. The retainer shook his silvered head.

"Time for a change of co-pilot, I think," Jeff said kindly.

"And perhaps of pilot?" Kyrano commented.

Jeff shook his head, indicating a negative. "I'm good for another hour."

Kyrano raised an eyebrow, and smiled slightly. "Then, Jeff, so am I."

JC made a preliminary pass over the temple structure, then turned again to make another run. "Do you have the thermal imager up?"

"F-A-B, she's up and running," Christa said, sitting on one of the low jump seats that Sally used when she had a passenger.

"Great. Now, let's see just how many people we have to deal with here."

JC made the second run at a relatively slow speed and a low altitude, wanting to get the best scan of the temple that she could. She was concentrating on flying her sister's Thunderbird, and so didn't look at the thermal imager's display. Christa, however, did, and she frowned.

"This can't possibly be right," she said, shaking her head.

"What can't be right?" JC asked.

"According to the thermal imager, there are only three people in the building."

"What?!" JC cried. "Lemme see." She squinted at the screen and whistled. "The thermal imager must be jammed, too."

"Let's make another pass, just to be sure," Christa suggested.

"Won't hurt, I suppose. Okay. One more run." JC turned Thunderbird One around and made another slow flight over the temple.

Christa shook her head. "Still three people and still in the same places. Whatever is jamming our communications is jamming the thermal imager, too."

Suddenly, their wrist telecomms vibrated. "Yeow!" cried Christa, shaking her hand as if stung. She activated the communicator. "Mae?"

"Oh, Christa! Thank God!" Mae called, relieved. "Where's JC?"

"She's here with me."

"Oh, good! Somebody took Thunderbird One!"

JC pressed a stud on her watch. "We took Thunderbird One, Mae. It's safe."

Mae slumped with relief. "I'm so glad! I thought the weirdo had stolen it!"

"No, Mae. We took it up to see if we could find out how many people were in the temple by using the thermal imager. Listen, can you try to find out what is jamming our sensors?" JC asked. "Then we can get a proper reading...."

"Oh, the jammer is already off," Mae informed her. "I turned that off first. Then I found the communications dampener...."

JC and Christa exchanged glances, their eyes wide, then JC cut Mae off. "Listen, Mae. Where are you in the temple?"

"Uh, in the communications room," Mae replied, confused.

"How did you get there, Mae?" Christa asked.

"Oh, I climbed down through one of those pagoda-y things on the roof."

"Which one, Mae? If you're looking at the front door, which one was it?" JC was already turning around and flying back to face the facade of the Hood's lair.

"Let me think. Okay. It was the one on the right. In front."

JC brought Thunderbird One to hover over the center of the temple, while Christa tried to figure out where Mae's directions put her in the temple.

"I think she's right here." Christa pointed to a heat signature on the grid. Then she glanced wryly back at JC. "How about we call up her homing signal?"

JC groaned, then shook her head violently. "Good idea. This lack of sleep is definitely clouding my judgement!" She flicked a switch on the pilot's seat control pad, and the lilac colored dot that represented Mae was superimposed on the heat signature that Christa had pointed out. Moreover, a light blue dot shone to the left of Mae's position.

"Look, look!" Christa cried. "Sally!"

"Hey, that's great!" JC said. "Her watch is still functioning!"

"Now we know who is where," Christa reasoned. "And more importantly, we know for sure that there are only three people in that building."

"Sounds to me like the odds are more than even," JC said with a grin. "We just have to figure out how to get in... and get Sally out."