Dangerous Secrets

Chapter 18

OUTSIDE BUCKINGHAM PALACE

The new lot of guards walked over to their posts with brisk, military strides. The previous shift then left. The new shift were the human-looking robots and cyborgs. Some of the new shift entered Buckingham Palace. Three of them were Gordon, Alan, and Rae, who had gotten their hands on some weapons. After entering the palace, Alan raised his arm (pretending to be wiping his nose) and whispered into a miniscule communication device on his sleeve, "We're in."

THUNDERBIRD 5

"Good," John whispered. "I'm monitoring the place to keep an eye on you three."

13 DEVONSHIRE STREET, LONDON

Kayo flipped over onto her back. Now she was lying on her back, the assailant underneath her. She got off the attacker and looked at the person. It was a young woman in a GDF uniform. The woman jumped up and swung a fist. Kayo ducked and swung her leg, knocking the woman off her feet. But the woman didn't fall. Instead she did a back flip and got back on her feet. Both the woman crouched in defensive postures.

Kayo punched the woman in the solar plexus, causing her enemy to double over in pain. Kayo then delivered some well-aimed punches and kicks, knocking the woman out. She's like a spider, being able to climb up the walls and on the ceiling, Kayo thought, wishing she could do that. A shrill alarm sounded. Kayo pulled out her holo-disguise device and holographically disguised as a GDF soldier. She walked through the aisles until she came across another GDF soldier, who had just turned on the lock down mode. "Excuse me?" Kayo asked. The GDF soldier turned around, a male. "Where are the prisoners? A Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward; her chauffeur, Aloysius Parker; a young boy called Adam Hanson; and a teenage girl, Ms Kerry Phillips. Colonel Casey wants me to take them away to the decided place for execution," Kayo enquired.

He checked his watch. Kayo knew that it was soon going to be 8 a.m., the time for the execution. "Alright. Come on. I'll show you," and he turned and led the way through the building. He stopped at one door and pressed his palm on a biometric scanner next to the door. It scanned his hand, and then the door swung open. "Wait here," he ordered before going inside and emerging a few minutes later with an uncooperative Lady Penelope. Penelope was squirming, kicking, doing everything she could to break free. Two other soldiers came over. "Take this woman to the vehicle and chain her in there. Then come back to get the others," the man ordered.

"Yes, sir!" they saluted and dragged Penelope off. Kayo felt so bad. She desperately wanted to beat the hang out of them - probably could take them all with a hand tied behind her back to boot - but knew that right then, discretion was the better part of valour, as the saying goes. The man then led Kayo to the rest of the prison cells, where he took Parker, Adam and Kerry out. The two guards and the man dragged them off, with Kayo following. They stepped outside and into a garage where an armour-plated vehicle was waiting. Never driven one of them before,  Kayo thought. Darn! The three GDF soldiers took Kerry, Adam, and Parker inside and then climbed out a few minutes later.  "They are chained up. Here is the keys," and the man gave her the keys.

Kayo accepted the keys and climbed in, closing the hatch. She decided to wait until they were away from there before freeing them, as much as it pained her. She went over to the controls and examined them. She turned off her holo-disguise, then called Thunderbird 5, using a signal that no-one could trace or pick up. John would know how to drive the blimin' thing as he used to be a GDF soldier before Jeff created International Rescue. "K, what's up?"

"No time to explain, but I really need to know how to drive one of the GDF's armour-plated vehicles," Kayo replied. John talked her through the instructions, and soon Kayo had the vehicle out of the street and heading for Buckingham Palace, after she tore out the tracking antennae that was on the dashboard. She stopped the thing briefly to free Penny, Parker, Kerry, and Adam. "Now, what's happening with Gordo, Al, and Rae?" she queried.