SPECTRUM IS WHITE
Epilogue
Colonel White extended his left arm
to put the cup on the low table set next to the wheelchair. Giving a grunt of exasperation, he reached
for his right shoulder, and irritably rubbed the bandage covering it, sliding
his hand under the pyjama top.
“I wouldn’t
touch it if I were you.”
White gave a
sideways look toward the man quietly seated in front of him, his legs crossed
and himself holding a cup of tea.
“I can’t help
it,” the colonel replied grumpily.
“It’s itching like mad!”
“Which means
it’s healing, right?”
White gave the
man a rueful smile, before turning to look thoughtfully through the Promenade
Deck window. On the upper runway, down
below, he could see the three Angel craft, waiting for take-off, with Angel One
and her pilot at the helm. He was
wondering which of the girls was there at the moment.
“Penny for your
thoughts, sir?”
The colonel’s
attention came back to his visitor.
Senior Agent Thomas Wade, of Spectrum Intelligence, had made the trip
from London to Cloudbase especially to see him, and it wasn’t to pay him a
formal visit. White shifted
uncomfortably in his chair, and reached again for his bandaged shoulder. Seeing the bemused smile on Wade’s face, he
stopped, and lowered his hand, resting it in his lap.
“I don’t think
you’d be making a very good investment, Thomas,” he answered to Wade’s comment.
“Oh, I don’t
know,” Wade replied, narrowing his eyes at the older man. “I’m sure there’s a lot going on in your
mind at the moment…” He shook his head. “I’m glad you’re feeling better now. You didn’t look well at all in that hospital
in Newcastle last week.”
Colonel White
nodded slowly. He didn’t remember much
about his arrival at The Princess Margaret Memorial Hospital in Newcastle,
where he had been rushed right after the explosion on the Sir Francis Drake. He was
unconscious, having lost a lot of blood.
Not so much, he was told, as to put his life in danger, but enough to
cause worry. The hospital staff had
been wonderful with him – especially considering the fact that Spectrum had
practically taken over the place.
Everybody going in and out was thoroughly checked out, especially those
who had to come into contact with the colonel.
Spectrum was concerned about the safety of its commander and was taking
no chances. All the while, however,
making sure that its presence didn’t disturb the well-being of the other
patients – who, White was sure, were certainly wondering what all that activity
going on for just one person was all about.
There had even been a couple of guards permanently assigned to keep
their eyes on him. White was still
wondering today – with a certain dry humour – if they had been there to protect
him, or to make sure that he wouldn’t get it into his head to escape Spectrum
yet again. Most probably for both
reasons.
Spectrum didn’t
need to worry. From the moment he woke
up in that hospital, the memories had started flowing back into his mind,
giving him so many migraines in the following days that Doctor Fawn – who had
came directly from Cloudbase to consult with the hospital doctors – had to
prescribe him a strong daily dose of painkillers. Fortunately, after four days, Fawn determined that White had
responded well to this treatment, and he ordered him weaned off the
medication. By that time, Colonel
White’s memory was back, and the disastrous effects – and side effects – of the
Dream Spinner were mercifully
gone. But it had left him with a
certain bad taste about what he had done.
Because he remembered it. There
were admittedly a few confused details here and there – mainly about the
moments that had been the most hectic in that entire incident – but most of it
was clear enough for him not to like what he had recalled.
“How long
before you’re back in command, Colonel?”
White came out
of his fugue, hearing Wade’s voice addressing him. “At least another week,” he answered. “Maybe two.”
“Always the
optimist, aren’t you?”
White gestured
toward his left leg, elevated in a brace.
“This leg’s keeping me down. I’m
still convalescing until it’s healed enough for me to put some weight on
it. I can’t wait to be out of this
wheelchair, I can tell you!”
“Well, at least
you’re out of sickbay now,” Wade remarked.
White gave him
a whimsical smile. “Maybe because I
escaped?”
“You’re not
serious, are you?” Wade answered, laughing softly.
The colonel
shook his head. No, of course he
wasn’t. Or it would be a sure bet all
of Cloudbase would be on alert to find him right now! In reality, Doctor Fawn had thought it wise and healthy to let
him be brought to the Promenade Deck.
It was certainly a much more agreeable place to recuperate than the
four, boring walls of a room in sickbay.
“You know,
Colonel, in a way, seeing you like this, it’s kind of a relief.”
Colonel White
gave Agent Wade a withering look; the man quickly shrugged his shoulders. “What I mean is, the fact that you’re
healing at a normal rate means that you weren’t Mysteronised.”
“Thank you, “
the colonel grumbled. “You’re really
too kind.”
“You know that
Agent Conners was convinced that you actually had been Mysteronised?”
“Conners,”
White repeated, musing. “Yes. I remember he paid me a visit in hospital.”
It was the day
after the Spectrum commander had been admitted. Special Agent Conners had arrived at the hospital and had asked –
no, ‘demanded’ was more the word – to see him without delay. Captain Blue was already there, with Doctor
Fawn. White didn’t feel well enough at
the time to receive visitors; he was only just starting to recover from his
various wounds and the loss of blood he had suffered, and was right at the
height of those awful headaches caused by his returning memory. Due to Conners’ growing insistence, and
perhaps to avoid him making a scene right in the middle of the hospital
hallway, Fawn had reluctantly agreed that he could see his patient. But he had specifically forbidden him to ask
any stressful questions for the moment.
Conners was satisfied enough with that, and Blue entered with him, to
make sure he would follow the doctor’s orders.
At least, that was the official reason.
The encounter was uneventful. To all appearances, anyway. White was still very weak, and was looking
pale. He was nearly knocked out from
medication and merely acknowledged the man’s presence – probably the most civil
encounter the two men had ever had.
There was a nurse in there, removing the colonel’s soiled bandages to
check on his wounded shoulder. Under
Blue’s watchful eye, Conners did nothing more than look on, as the nurse tended
to the wound and put a new dressing on it.
He merely asked White how he felt now, if he would be so kind as to
agree to see him when he recovered, to answer a few questions, and politely
wished him a speedy recovery. Then he
went quietly out the door. So much for
his theory that the Spectrum commander had been taken over by the Mysterons.
White hadn’t
seen Conners since that moment. He had
learned that Conners had questioned the hospital staff who were there when he
had been admitted, and that he had consulted the files regarding his admission
and the care he had received. But he
hadn’t come back to bother the colonel again.
That was intriguing enough, in White’s view. Conners wasn’t the kind of man to let go that easily.
It occurred to White that Conners had been taken off the
investigation. The fact that Wade was
now in front of him was a good indication that he had been right.
“Sorry he
disturbed you there,” Wade said with a rather apologetic smile. “But he was so sure of his theory that he
convinced even me.”
White raised an
eyebrow. The Intelligence agent
shrugged again.
“I’ve got to admit, he had some
valid points. That’s why I gave him
permission to come to Cloudbase in the first place, while this latest affair
with the Mysterons was happening.”
“I trust his
suspicions – and yours at the same time – have been laid to rest?” White
remarked, eyeing the other man carefully.
“Oh,
certainly,” Wade agreed, sipping the last drop of tea from his cup.
“Mister Conners
must have been disappointed,” White noted, for he knew the man didn’t like him
at all.
Wade seemed
surprised by his remark. He shook his
head. “Disappointed? No… I wouldn’t say that. Upset that he was wrong, perhaps.”
“I bet.”
Wade poured
some more tea into White’s cup and handed it to him. The colonel nodded his thanks.
“Colonel, I
know Special Agent Conners didn’t have any real evidence to back up his
accusations… But as I said, he had
valid points. We couldn’t reach you,
nobody had seen you or heard from you in days…
And your Cloudbase officers weren’t helping any. They were so secretive about this
affair… It was looking suspicious.”
“Enough to
warrant an investigation?”
“Enough to look
into it, anyway. I’m sorry. If I had been able to actually contact you…”
“But you
WEREN’T able to contact me.”
“No. And that’s why I permitted Conners to go on
with his investigation.” Wade
sighed. “I think he went a bit
far. Going to the extent of actually
accusing Cloudbase officers…”
“Well, don’t be
too hard on him,” White murmured, looking down into his cup. “He could have been right.”
“About you
being Mysteronised?”
Colonel White
nodded thoughtfully. Senior Agent
Thomas Wade didn’t know the entire story.
Not the full details, anyway.
That was a difficult matter, and White didn’t know yet how to handle it,
whether the truth should be brought out or not. Mainly because of Cloudbase officers’ involvement in hiding it in
the first place. He realized that they
had done this out of a sense of loyalty toward him, and to keep and protect
Spectrum’s integrity – or so they said.
White had no reason to doubt them.
And judging by what Shelby had told him, while he was on the Drake, it had turned out their
suspicions about what could happen had been right. Beside, could he be less loyal to them than they had been to
him? But keeping all this a secret from
Intelligence didn’t seem right to Colonel White. It made him uncomfortable.
At least, part
of the truth was out. Wade knew about
the real meaning behind the Mysterons’ cryptic threat. He knew about their intention of using
retired Admiral Charles Grey and the ship he had commanded twenty-five years
ago to strike at a cruise liner full of innocent people. He knew about Colonel White having been
kidnapped at some point, that they tried to drug him – but he wasn’t aware of
the full extent of what he had had to endure from those who had captured him.
As far as Wade
knew, because of his personal involvement in this affair, Colonel White had
simply joined in the ground operation to stop the Mysterons. And that it had turned out terribly wrong
and nearly had deadly consequences for him.
“They could
have done it,” White responded to the Senior Agent’s remark. “They probably would have done it, if their
plan had not called for them to use me as a human to enter the Naval Armament
Depot in Bristol… And to eventually
make me witness the deaths of all those people onboard the de Brus. I suppose I was
lucky, even considering… everything that happened.”
“Well, the
point is, Colonel, that they didn’t do it.
And I guess that’s what really counts.
For all of us. And more
importantly, for you.”
“Thank you,
Thomas.”
Wade
frowned. “You didn’t tell me exactly
how you managed to convince them you were on their side.”
White
shrugged. “They drugged me. They thought they had me under their power.”
“But you
weren’t.”
“No.”
“They tried to
trick you into doing things for them, but YOU tricked THEM.”
“That’s about
it, yes.”
“How did you
achieve that, exactly?”
White smiled
slightly. “I suppose I proved stronger
than they anticipated.”
“I won’t
dispute that, Colonel.” Wade stared at
the older man for a few seconds. “And
Spectrum had this operation under control all the time?”
There was a
note of scepticism in Wade’s tone.
White grinned again, this time broadly.
“Have you ever seen me leaving anything to chance, Thomas?”
“When you’re
out of options, sir, I would have to say yes.”
“I knew what I
was doing. I was a ground agent once.”
“A LONG time
ago.”
“Now, that’s
not very tactful, Thomas! I’m still
quite capable of handling that kind of situation myself. I’m not that old!”
“Which can only
be a comforting thought for me. I turn
fifty next week…”
“Happy
birthday.”
“…And I’m sure
I don’t have half the energy you have yourself.”
And certainly not half the bruises, White mused grimly. His muscles and bones would still be aching for weeks to come, he
was sure of that.
“Anyway,
Colonel, what I’m saying is: you’re still Spectrum’s supreme commander. We need you. You shouldn’t take unnecessary risks like that.”
“You know, I
wasn’t exactly given the choice to get involved or not!” White answered with a
forced smile.
Wade gave a
smile of his own; he shook his head.
“I do hope this
experience will be enough for you and that you’ll stay quiet for a while. You’d better leave that kind of activity to
your men.”
“I’ll try to
keep that in mind next time I’m kidnapped,” White replied dryly. “Which, hopefully, will NOT happen again!”
“I hope so too,
Colonel. But with the Mysterons…”
“I’m not ONLY concerned with the
Mysterons, Thomas.” White paused. His stare became cold and somewhat
distant. “There’s the Network as well,
now. I don’t much fancy the idea of
having a group of human collaborators with the Mysterons running around. And who seem to have infiltrated world
security organisations.”
Wade nodded
grimly
Sounds coming
from the access door, a few yards away from them, attracted the two men’s
attention, and made them raise their heads in the same instant. They saw Rhapsody and Destiny enter through
the sliding door, closely followed by Harmony and Symphony; all of them were in
animated conversation, and seemed in a good mood. Having spotted where Colonel White was sitting, they headed
toward him. Wade smiled slightly and
got to his feet, putting down his empty cup.
“It seems you
have important visitors, sir,” he said to White, before consulting his
watch. “I should get going,
anyway. I must be in London this
afternoon.”
“You’re
finished with your investigation, then?” White asked quietly.
“What
‘investigation’?” Wade replied with an
innocent expression on his face.
“Nobody said anything about an investigation. It was just a courtesy visit, sir. To get your news…”
The tone used by Senior Agent Wade
was enough for Colonel White to understand that the man knew much more about what
had happened than he was letting on.
But, for some reason, he was choosing to keep silent about it. The Spectrum commander nodded thoughtfully,
thankful that, for his officers’ sake, THIS man was, in any case, more
understanding than Martin Conners.
“Do inform me
if you have any new developments concerning the investigation into that Network
organisation,” White requested of him.
Following
standard procedure, Spectrum Intelligence had been handed everything discovered
about that organisation during the recent operation. That was Intelligence’s role, anyway, to do that kind of
job. To the colonel’s surprise, Wade
shook his head.
“Not yet, I won’t.” White addressed him a withering look, but
Wade simply smiled again. “Sorry. But I shouldn’t even have bothered you with
it today. Doctor Fawn would have my
guts if he finds out I mentioned it to you.
Says it’s a hazardous subject, as far as you’re concerned. For now, anyway. And remember, you’re convalescent. So no work for you for the time being.” He watched, as the four Angel pilots approached. “I’ll leave you in good company, for now.”
“Have a good
trip back home, then. And give my
regards to your charming wife.”
“Will do,
Colonel. Take care of yourself.”
Senior Agent
Wade gave the colonel an encouraging pat on his good shoulder, and then turned
away from him. He walked through the
group of Angels, exchanging salutations with them in passing, before directing
his steps toward the exit. He soon
disappeared behind the sliding door.
The four Angel pilots had reached
Colonel White and stood quietly in front of him. He stared at them, full of curiosity. Instinctively, he reached again for his itching shoulder, but
stopped short. He dropped his hand down
again, hoping nobody had noticed. He
gave a shy smile around.
“Shouldn’t at
least two of you be in the Amber Room right now?”
His tone was
civil enough, and very quiet, but the Angels thought they heard a certain note
of disapproval in it. They exchanged
discomfited glances, obviously unsure how to respond to this remark. White regretted his words right away. That
wasn’t very nice of you, Charlie. The
girls have obviously come for a social visit.
He cleared his throat, uncomfortable, and tried to make amends.
“I’m sorry,
ladies. I’m forgetting that I’m still
convalescing and off-duty. I can’t
order you around for now.” The smile he
gave had something singularly malicious about it. “So I suggest you take advantage of the situation while it
lasts.”
“We won’t stay
long, sir,” Symphony assured him, speaking for them all. “We don’t intend to jeopardize Cloudbase’s
security.”
“I’m sure you
don’t.” White shook his head, a puzzled
twinkle in his eyes. “So, how can I
help you?”
“Actually,
sir,” Harmony replied, “that should be our line.”
“Sorry?”
“We appointed
ourselves the welcoming committee,” Symphony explained.
“Welcoming
committee? You sound as if I’d been
gone a very long time!”
“Well, you’ve
certainly came a long way, sir,” Rhapsody remarked. “And it felt like an eternity before you… er…”
“…came back to
normal?” the colonel offered, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Rhapsody
nodded. Destiny moved closer to
White. “We wanted to welcome you back
officially, sir,” she said with her deep, accented voice. “And to tell you how good it is to see you
back amongst us… Melody shares the
thought too, but as you guess, she’s actually on duty, in Angel One. She asked me to convey her good wishes on
her behalf.” She then bent down and
kissed White on both cheeks. “Bienvenue, mon Colonel,” she said in a
very official tone.
A totally
startled White stared at Destiny, then at each of the other girls for a moment,
not sure how to act. Then he gave a
big, broad smile, one of those the Angels seldom saw from him. He was only known to smile like that when he
was in a remarkably good mood, which wasn’t too often.
“That’s really very kind of you,
Angels,” he said gently. “Thank you.”
“We really were
concerned for you, sir,” Harmony remarked.
“And still are
a bit,” Symphony added.
Her tone was betraying her
discomfort. Looking around, Colonel
White realised instantly that the sentiment was shared by the others.
“Well, there’s
no need for that, anymore,” he answered, wanting to reassure them. “The nightmare is over now, and I should be
back on duty very soon.” He moved
uneasily in his wheelchair, trying to find a more comfortable position, and
then ran his good hand over the back of his sore neck, grunting. “I’ll really be glad to be out of this
thing. I feel like I’m growing roots in
here!”
The Angels exchanged glances again;
then, they spread out around their colonel.
He watched in perplexity, while Rhapsody took his cup to pour some more
tea. Harmony moved behind him; he
suddenly felt her small but strong and warm hands on his shoulders, starting to
gently rub them. He was too startled to
react right away.
“You just have
to relax, sir,” he heard the Chinese girl’s quiet voice tell him. “A little massage is just what you need.”
“Massage?”
White repeated hesitantly. “I admit
it’s tempting but I don’t think…”
“You are all
knots in here. Relax. You will feel better afterwards.”
He could
already feel the heat through his neck muscles; he had to confess, it wasn’t so
bad at all; and he would probably had enjoyed himself much more if he didn’t
feel it was somehow unbecoming.
“Harmony, I
really do think that you should…”
“Have some more
tea, Colonel?” Rhapsody interrupted
him, handing him back his cup.
“Would you like
to come closer to the window?” Symphony asked in turn. She had firmly taken one handle of the
wheelchair, while, at the same time, Destiny had done the same with the other
one. White saw the two girls locking
eyes with each other, in an almost challenging pose. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. While the girls’ attention was very flattering, it was also
becoming too overwhelming – and also quite embarrassing. But he didn’t want to sound ungrateful, or
lose patience with them. After all,
they were only trying to be nice to him.
And considering the recent events, if he were to get angry, there was a
good chance that it would alarm them.
“Ladies,
please,” he tried with as even a voice he could produce. “I really, REALLY don’t think I need all
this fuss. While I find it very
flattering, I’m quite capable of fending for myself.”
“We’re NOT fussing!” Destiny protested. She sounded offended at the thought.
“Yes, you are,”
Colonel White insisted between his teeth, keeping himself under control.
“But even so,
sir,” Symphony then replied, “we don’t get the chance to do it too often.”
White almost snorted hearing
that. He considered himself too old to
be the centre of such attention from young women… and at the same time, still
much too young to accept being treated like an ageing and impotent old man.
The access door
a few yards from the spot where they all were slid open, without anybody even
noticing it. Captain Scarlet entered
the Promenade Deck, a gift-wrapped package in his hands, and stopped in his
tracks on seeing Colonel White surrounded by the four Angels. He tilted his head to one side and looked
with perplexity at the scene. Then,
understanding of what was happening dawned on him, and he smiled with
amusement, seeing how unsettled his commander appeared to be.
Swiftly, before
his presence became noticed, he slipped into the cover of a copse of high
bushes near the door and kept watching what was going on. The
old man looks as if he needs some help, he noticed, trying very hard not to
laugh. He wondered how long he would be
able to keep himself in check. Not
long, if he were to bet on it. The best
thing would be to intervene discreetly.
Scarlet dropped
down his cap mic. “Captain Blue?” he
called, almost in a whisper, so nobody would hear him. “Do you feel like mounting another rescue
mission today?”
Meanwhile,
Colonel White was really starting to get annoyed with all the attention he was
getting. Impatiently, he tried to brush
away Harmony’s massaging hands, still working on his shoulders.
“Harmony, stop
that,” he said with apparent exasperation in his tone. “That will be enough, thank you very much.”
“Are you sure, Colonel?” the Chinese girl asked, obviously
disappointed. “You are still a little
tense…”
“Yes, yes, I’m
sure. Your massage did me a lot of
good.” White sighed deeply. “I’m just… tired. I think I’d better go back to my room.”
“Are you
feeling all right, sir?” Destiny asked in concern.
“Yes, I’m all
right. I’m JUST tired.” White was distraught. He didn’t want to get angry, so he wouldn’t upset
and frighten the girls, but if he was to say he was feeling tired, and judging
by their worried expressions, he would alarm them all the same, but for a
different reason. How could he get away
from their attentions?
At about that
desperate moment, the Promenade Deck speakers let out a loud whistle, and a
stern voice made itself heard through it, startling almost everybody in the
room:
“Attention all
personnel! Routine exercise for all
on-duty personnel. Report to stations
immediately. Angel pilots, prepare to
take-off for target practice. Off-duty
personnel report to the conference room in ten minutes!”
That was the
voice of Captain Blue; the Angels looked at each other with dismay upon their
faces.
“Oh no!”
Harmony murmured.
“Captain Bligh
strikes again,” Symphony murmured under her breath.
White gave her
a curious look; he had enormous trouble not to let out a sigh of relief. He tried to hide his satisfaction behind a
faint, somewhat shy smile. “You’d
better go now, ladies. Before you catch
hell from your acting commander.”
“Right,”
Destiny agreed with a sigh. “Let’s go,
girls. You know Captain Blue does not
like to wait.”
The others
reluctantly nodded their acknowledgment, before moving toward the access door,
regretfully leaving the colonel behind.
Symphony and Harmony were marching up front, very quickly, and the
hidden Scarlet could see the intense dissatisfaction on their faces.
”I will be glad when the colonel is back in command,” Harmony
commented with a grumbling tone.
“Tell me about it!”
Symphony replied between her teeth.
“I’ve had about enough of Blue’s power trips! Wait ‘til I get my hands on him!”
Uh-oh! Adam’s
in trouble with his lady friend, Scarlet mused, not without a certain amusement. He wondered how his friend would get out of
that one, and find a way to defuse
Symphony’s anger.
Not really a problem there,
actually.
The two remaining Angels were about
to follow their fellow pilots, when Colonel White suddenly caught hold of
Rhapsody’s forearm, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back toward him with an inquiring look. He exchanged a glance with her, before
looking down, uncharacteristically hesitant when he next spoke:
“I… er… I would
like to talk to you for a few minutes, if you please, Rhapsody.”
She
hesitated. Destiny was only three feet
away from them, wondering if she should wait or go.
“I’m… scheduled
for duty in Angel Two, sir, and…”
“Oh, do
stay!” Destiny suddenly
interrupted. “I’ll cover your shift for
you this time, Rhapsody.”
The English
pilot shot a withering look at her grinning and departing friend.
“Thanks,
Destiny,” she said coolly, keeping herself from frowning. “Leaving me with the monkeys again, are
you?”
Rhapsody could
almost hear Destiny chuckle mischievously.
Scarlet was still hidden behind the bushes, unnoticed. He watched as the French woman strode out
through the sliding door to get into the elevator. Then he turned his attention back to Colonel White and Rhapsody. He stayed where he was, and waited. Now was not the moment to show himself, as
he had a feeling the colonel had some unfinished business to attend to with the
Angel pilot. The latter was standing in
front of her commander, waiting to know what he wanted from her. She could see the puzzled expression in his
blue eyes, as he was staring at her.
“I hope I’m not
the monkey?” he asked, unsure.
Rhapsody
chuckled. The confusion in White was
understandable, considering the exchange she just had with Destiny, but had
absolutely no motivation. She smiled
kindly.
“No, sir, that
had nothing to do with you. It’s an old
story and, as they say: you had to be there.”
She paused a second, then cleared her throat. “Now… what can I do for you, sir?”
White was now
looking rather sombre. He shook his
head. “Sit down, please.”
Rhapsody was really
curious to know what this was all about; she obeyed his request, and sat on the
chair in front of him. She waited for
him to speak. The colonel seemed
uncharacteristically shy, right now. He
was avoiding looking her straight in the eye, and was staring, without really
seeing, at the tip of his slipper, at the end of his injured, elevated
leg. It took several seconds before he
could bring himself to address the young woman.
“I… hem… I
wanted to see you in private, Rhapsody.
So I could offer you my most sincere apologies.”
She
frowned. “Whatever for?”
“Do you need to
ask?” White finally raised his eyes to
look at her. “My behaviour towards you…
was inexcusable.”
“You weren’t
yourself, sir. You don’t need to
apologise.”
“Yes, I
do. Rhapsody, I can’t even BEGIN to
forgive myself. The LEAST I can do now
is ask for YOUR forgiveness.” White’s
features became hard. “I kidnapped
you. Mistreated you… Terrorised you. I… I hit you. And even
held a knife against your throat.” He
shivered at the mere thought of that moment, and swallowed hard, before
clearing his throat. “God knows what
could have happened if you hadn’t been able to contact Spectrum. Dear Lord, maybe I could have…”
He stopped;
Rhapsody could only imagine what was going through his mind, by seeing the pain
in his blue, suddenly distant eyes. She
leaned toward him, gently reached for his hand, and smiled warmly.
“I really don’t
think you would have hurt me, sir.”
“I wish I could
be certain of that,” he replied gloomily.
“But I had so little control over myself at the time…” He shook his head, sighing. “I really never meant you to get hurt, Rhapsody. Not willingly, anyway. But… to think that because of me, you were
almost raped…”
“Because of
you?”
“I feel responsible. If I had not taken you prisoner, that scum
Dempsey would NEVER have come near you.”
“You can’t know
that. I could have been killed instead
– and Captain Ochre with me – in your friend’s house.” White kept silent; apparently, he wasn’t
convinced. Rhapsody moved on: “Sir,
that’s the kind of risk that comes with our job. I wouldn’t be in Spectrum if I didn’t accept that. Or if I couldn’t take care of myself.”
A faint smile
swept across the colonel’s lips, at the memory of how he had found Dempsey,
with a broken nose, sprawled at the feet of the young woman he had attempted to
assault.
“Yes, I know
you can take care of yourself,” he said, nodding thoughtfully. He then pointed to the dressing put on his
left temple. “I still have the wound to
prove it.”
Rhapsody
scowled. “I hope it doesn’t leave a
scar.”
“Don’t worry,
it won’t. And you’re not the only one
responsible for that, you know: I got repeatedly hit over the head, during that
dreadful adventure. I wish it would
have brought me back to my senses before I made a mess of things!”
That was a
pitiful attempt at a joke. Rhapsody
shook her head, still feeling bad.
“Nevertheless, I’m really sorry I hit you with that bottle.”
“Don’t be. I deserved it. Rhapsody, you were afraid for your life. You thought I was a Mysteron; I had become
violent. How could you know I wasn’t
going to hurt you?”
“I could have
killed you.”
“You didn’t
kill me; in fact, I would say that you saved my life after that. I remember.
YOU could have been killed when you pushed me away from that
bullet. You could have been hit instead
of me. But you didn’t hesitate.”
“I knew the
truth by then. That you had been
drugged, and were not really aware of what you were doing. I couldn’t let you be killed. I HAD to do something.”
“Regardless of
everything I had done to you?”
“Really,
sir… I can hardly hold that against
you.”
“Not even for
the way I embarrassed you?”
Rhapsody stared
at him; wondering what he could be referring to exactly. White sighed; he looked very uncomfortable. “You know…
That question I asked you.
About… you and me…”
He watched as
understanding then dawned on her. He
thought he saw some red coming to her cheeks, but it was just for a moment, as
she slowly settled straight on her chair, and nodded thoughtfully.
“Oh, now I
see. THAT question.” She cleared her throat. “Well, yes… I must admit it WAS
embarrassing.”
“I don’t know
what possessed me to ask you that!” White said, with a bashful enough
expression on his face. “I… my mind was
in complete turmoil at the time. With
huge gaps in my memory. I couldn’t even
remember most of my past, except through a thick haze. Let alone remember exactly what had happened
the day before! I thought for certain
that you were involved with… my capture by the enemy. So I…” He stopped,
scratching his head in embarrassment.
“I rather naturally assumed you had seduced me… in order to…”
The colonel
stopped again, seeming at a loss for words.
Rhapsody could see how unsettled he was by the whole situation. He had gone through enough, she
reflected. No sense in dragging it out.
“I forgive you,
sir,” she said gently. “I accept your
apologies. For everything.”
White blew a
deep sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“…But under ONE
condition,” Rhapsody added swiftly.
He stared at
her, concern in his eyes, but was quickly reassured when next she spoke: “I
still recall that I owe you that bottle of brandy I broke over your head…”
“Rhapsody…”
“I told you I
would replace it,” Rhapsody continued, without listening to the colonel’s
protests. “So, next time I go to my
father’s, I’ll sneak into his cellar… and steal the best bottle of brandy he
has, just for you.”
White stared at
her with perplexity. He frowned. “From your father’s cellar?” He gave it some deep thought, then nodded
slowly. “Would you make it a bottle of
Cognac, instead?”
Rhapsody
chuckled. “Whatever you want, sir.”
“You’ll drink
it with me.”
“Here on
Cloudbase?”
That was a
joke, of course; and White knew that perfectly well. “Of course not,” he replied, with a frown of fake
seriousness. “You know that drinking on
duty…”
“…is a most
serious offence,” Rhapsody finished for him.
He nodded
musingly. “I do tend to repeat myself,
don’t I?”
“Not that
often, sir.”
“You’re trying
to be nice to me, now.” White shrugged. “I was thinking that, I owe you something
myself; a musical, next time we’re both in London…”
“That’s not
really necessary, Colonel.”
“But I do
insist. And I won’t take no for an
answer.”
Rhapsody
sighed. “All right, then. Since you put it that way.”
“Although I’m
not sure Les Misérables will still be
on when we’re next able to get down there,” White remarked.
“It doesn’t
matter, sir. Whatever it is, I’m sure
it will be fine.”
“Then it’s
settled.” Colonel White gave the young
woman pilot a satisfied grin. He was
looking as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Well, that went better than I thought it
would,” he noted with a sigh. “I’ve got
a lot of amends to make to a lot of people, you know. After all the things I did…”
Rhapsody
nodded, understandingly. “That can’t be
easy for you,” she noted, knowing her commander’s pride, and how difficult it
must be for him to apologise to so many people, even – or rather especially –
when he wasn’t really responsible for all that had happened.
“I know my
failings, Rhapsody. And, no, it’s not
going to be easy. But I have to admit,
it’s going really well up so far.
People have been so… understanding.”
“They know what
you’ve been through, sir. That
shouldn’t surprise you.”
“Maybe so, but…
I’m still feeling very bad about all this.
I put everybody on edge, shot at people, threatened them… Doctor Fawn
wasn’t so sure I wouldn’t attack him, the first day he visited me in that
civilian hospital. And poor Captain
Magenta… what I did to his nose...”
“He’ll survive,
sir,” Rhapsody smiled. “You know he’s
tough. With his background, it's
probably not the first time either.”
“Well that doesn’t minimize the fact
that I nearly killed him,” White grumbled.
“He DID accept my apologies, quite gracefully, I might add. Despise his rather… chaotic background, he’s
also a very decent and nice person.”
White looked thoughtful for a moment.
“You know, Captain Ochre surprised me most of all.”
“Really?”
“Well, knowing him,
I fully expected him to hold a grudge against me, considering I put a bullet in
his shoulder.”
“He doesn’t?”
White shook his
head. “No, quite the contrary,
actually. He was really quite
magnanimous. Said we were even, as I’d
been shot through the shoulder too.”
White frowned, thoughtful. “He
even recommended to me the nurse who took personal care of him during his
convalescence.”
Rhapsody gave
him an odd look. “Nurse Lang?”
“Yes, that’s
the name. Ochre says she’s
extraordinarily caring. She should
start this afternoon. You know her?”
“I’ve… heard of
her.” Rhapsody hesitated. She was trying her best not to openly
chuckle at Ochre’s far too obvious attempt at a practical joke at the colonel’s
expense. That he should even have the
nerve to actually do it was disconcerting enough. Obviously, THIS was his way of really getting even with his
commander.
Seeing the
expression on the young pilot’s face, Colonel White realised something was
afoot. He narrowed his eyes at her,
curious.
“What? Is something wrong? Or have I said something funny?”
“Funny,
sir?” Rhapsody paused, pondering what
to do or to say. She didn’t want to
blow the whistle on Ochre. On the other
hand, keeping silent seemed awfully unfair to White.
“Have you ever
read Virgil, sir?”
The colonel
stared at her; what an odd question… “A
long time ago, yes.”
“Then, you must
know what he said about Greeks bearing gifts?”
She didn’t
elaborate; not that she would have the time to do so, if she had wanted
too. The access door had just opened
and they heard footsteps approaching; raising their heads to see who it was,
they saw Doctor Fawn, in full uniform, approaching cheerfully, a smile on his
face and a medical bag in his hand.
“Still here are
you, Colonel?” he said, addressing White.
“I thought I wouldn’t have to search for you too long.” He glanced at Rhapsody. “And you’re in charming company, I see.”
“Well, thank
you, Doctor,” Rhapsody replied, smiling.
Fawn nodded
toward White, still addressing the young woman. “I trust he’s been behaving himself?”
“Of course he
has!” Rhapsody scoffed. “What a thing
to say!”
“Well, I’ve got
my reasons,” Fawn deadpanned. “He’s not
the ideal patient, you know. I have all
the trouble in the world persuading him to rest in sickbay.”
“So that’s why
you sent me here now, is it?” White reflected.
“To get some peace and quiet.”
“Nothing gets
by you, does it, sir?” Fawn removed his
cap and put it on the table, along with his bag. “Mind if I borrow him for a few minutes, Rhapsody? I’ve got a few check-up tests to perform.”
“Not again!”
Colonel White moaned with obvious discontent.
“I thought I was finished with those tests!”
“Not as long as you are under my
responsibility and until I’m fully satisfied that you’re all right,” Fawn
replied dryly. “You’ve been through a
lot, sir, and I want to make sure you’re completely recovered before I agree to
release you from sickbay… and then back to active duty. I don’t want you risking a relapse of any
kind.”
White scowled
at those words. He didn’t need Doctor Fawn
to patronize him at all. But there was
little point protesting; the chief medical officer was the one calling the
shots in these circumstances, and even White had to follow his orders.
“Just be glad
that I don’t need you down in sickbay this time,” Fawn continued, less
harshly. “I’ll do some simple routine
check-ups right now, and you’ll still be able to admire the view.”
“Small
consolation,” White grumbled under his breath.
He knew very well that Fawn had heard him, but the doctor acted as if he
hadn’t.
“He’s all
yours, Doctor,” Rhapsody announced, getting to her feet. “I really must be going now. I should be in the Conference Room. You know Captain Blue doesn’t joke about
discipline.”
“Not another one
of those dreadful lectures?” Fawn said, lifting an eyebrow. “Well, at least this time, I don’t have to
give it.” He smiled gently. “Do tell me what this one is all about.”
“Are you sure
you REALLY want to know?” Rhapsody
leaned toward the colonel. “Get better
soon, PLEASE, sir,” she told him, almost in confidence. “We can’t wait to have you back in command!”
“I’ll do my
best,” White promised. “With the
doctor’s expert help.”
Rhapsody answered with a smile and
then, after nodding her goodbyes to Fawn, took her leave, striding toward the
exit. Behind her, she could hear the
doctor opening his bag, before asking Colonel White to give him his free arm,
so he could to take a blood sample. The
grumble she heard coming from her commander told her he was reluctantly
agreeing to the demand.
The Angel pilot
had reached the door, but didn’t have time to open it before she heard a
rustling sound coming from behind the bushes to her right. Glancing that way, she saw Captain Scarlet
emerging from them, a bashful and mischievous smile upon his handsome
face. She frowned in perplexity.
“How long have
you been hiding in there?” she asked, in a falsely accusatory tone.
“Long enough to
wonder if I should get jealous,” Scarlet answered with a faint laugh. He gave a quick glance in Colonel White and
Doctor Fawn’s direction; too involved with the medical check-up, neither were
paying attention to what was going on around them, and hadn’t seen him
yet. Scarlet gently took his fiancée by
the arm and pulled her behind the bushes, although not as far as he had
previously been himself; he then permitted himself to kiss her cheek.
“Careful, now,”
she whispered, putting a hand on his chest, as if trying to stop him from going
further, but obviously not really wanting to.
“You’re taking an enormous risk, here.”
“I spend my
entire life taking risks, Angel,” he reminded her with a smile. “This is just one more… And one that’s worth it, might I add.”
“That’s not the
risk I was referring to,” Rhapsody replied with a mischievous grin of her
own. “If you start spying on me now…”
“What, frustrated that I might
actually be better at it than you are?”
Scarlet laughed. “Anyway, I
wasn’t spying on you.” He glanced once
more toward Colonel White, who, at the moment, was giving every appearance of a
man who had really had enough, as Doctor Fawn listened to his heart rate with
his stethoscope. “I just guessed that
the colonel wanted to clear things between the two of you. So I kept out of the way, so he could have
the opportunity.”
Rhapsody
nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “He wanted to apologise. For the way he acted toward me. It seemed to be important to him.”
“I can relate
to that,” Scarlet remarked, his eyes not leaving White. “He seems a lot better, now.”
“He IS a lot
better, Paul,” Rhapsody replied with a smile.
“It’s really good to see him coming back to his old self.”
“THAT I can
also relate to.” Scarlet stared at the
young woman with a thoughtful glance.
“Did he… mention anything yet about the ring?”
“Not a word as
yet,” she answered shaking her head.
“Paul, I’m pretty sure that if he had intended to ask me about it, he
would have done so just now.”
“Unless Fawn
interrupted him.”
“I didn’t get
that impression.” Rhapsody thought for
a moment. “Could it be that he doesn’t
remember?”
“Doctor Fawn
did mention him having some confused recollections,” Scarlet nodded, wondering
about that himself. “Maybe that’s one
of them.” He shrugged. “I expect we’ll find out soon enough.”
Meanwhile, Doctor Fawn was still
doing his check-up on a morose Colonel White, who was placidly waiting for him
to finish checking his blood pressure – hopefully as soon as possible, as he
hated to go through these routines. He
was looking about, trying to take his mind off it, and not to look as impatient
as he was feeling. It was then that,
turning his head in the direction of the door, he noticed that Rhapsody had not
yet left. She was still there, standing
next to the closed door, talking with Captain Scarlet. White could see both of them well, half
hidden behind a copse of bushes. Their
conversation seemed to be agreeable enough, judging by the way the young woman
was smiling. And Scarlet was smiling
back at her. Warmly… affectionately, even…
Seeing them
there together reminded White of something.
He frowned, searching in his mind for the memory. He knew it was something that had happened
recently, when he was under the influence of that Dream Spinner; but it kept eluding him…
And suddenly,
he remembered. The ring Rhapsody wore
on the chain around her neck, with that small charm he had also seen on
Scarlet. A halo on two wings on one
side for both; St. Michael the Archangel on the other side for Scarlet. And it was a sure bet Rhapsody’s also had
the same design.
It hit White
like a ton of bricks, just as he saw Scarlet’s hand gently stroking Rhapsody’s
cheek.
“I’ll be
damned,” he muttered under his breath.
He couldn’t
find anything more to say. All he could
do was stare at the young couple in complete disbelief.
Everything he
had witnessed recently concerning these two was falling into place in his
mind. The charms, the ring – a RED
stone, for God’s sake, that should have been so obvious! – the way Rhapsody had
blurted Scarlet’s first name when he had jumped through that roof window in Bristol;
the obvious concern and anger he had sensed in the captain when he had faced
him, using the young woman as a shield.
Now everything
was becoming clear.
White shuddered. He suddenly realised how close – how very
close – Scarlet had really been to killing him, when White had attempted to
goad him into finishing the job by telling that lie about how he had ‘had his
way’ with Rhapsody. He was now feeling
very lucky that Scarlet had stopped long enough to think rationally about it,
before pulling the trigger. The
temptation must have been very strong: the colonel was speaking about the woman
he loved.
“If you ever
say anything against them, I promise you, I’ll find a way to keep you in
Sickbay until next autumn.”
Hearing that
ominous threat coming from Fawn, Colonel White almost jumped and turned to face
him, his incredulity fully apparent on his face. The doctor was glaring sternly back at him.
“YOU knew about
this?” White said in a very low tone.
Fawn
nodded. “Yes, I know about it. I’ve known for several months.”
“Several
months?” White repeated. “You mean to
say it’s been going on for that long?”
He shook his head, obviously baffled, and eyed Fawn suspiciously. “And how do YOU know, anyway? Are you in their confidence?”
“Hardly. I found out by myself, quite simply. I started noticing that Rhapsody came over
to Sickbay nearly every time Scarlet was brought in after serious injury. And then there’s the obvious clues.” He raised his eyebrows at White. “Haven’t you noticed how they’ve been
behaving towards each other during Sunday tea?
The way they look at each other, the smiles… the way they’re attentive
to each other? It became quite obvious
to me those two were in love.”
White rolled
his eyes. He let out a deep sigh. “I can’t believe I’ve been so blind! Well now, yes, it’s making sense!” He quickly looked toward the young couple he
could still see through the bushes, making sure they weren’t hearing his
conversation with Fawn. Satisfied that
they weren’t, he turned a stern look toward the doctor.
“To think I
didn’t notice a thing and YOU did… Why
didn’t you tell me?”
Fawn snorted loudly.
“Sorry, colonel, and without meaning any disrespect to you, it wasn’t my
secret. I’m not supposed to know
myself. I didn’t tell THEM I
know.” He smiled and added,
half-jokingly, “Besides, all this went on in MY Sickbay, and as you well know
what goes on in there is strictly confidential. Why would I have told YOU?”
White nodded in agreement with Fawn’s observation. “I must look like a fool,” he grumbled.
“Well, you
don’t look like a fool. Or you’d be in
plenty of company. I don’t think many
people know about it, as I’m pretty sure they’ve kept it to themselves. It’s probable they only told a chosen few.”
“I can think
who,” White remarked sharply. “So
they’re keeping this their own personal secret… Why?”
“Maybe they
view this as their ‘secret garden’, in this crazy life of ours?” Fawn
suggested.
White scowled. “Are you sure it’s ONLY that?”
This habit
seemed to be spreading amongst his senior staff, he reflected inwardly. First, there was Captain Blue and Symphony
Angel. He knew that they had been
romantically involved with each other for a long time, although they were
trying to keep a low profile, not wanting anybody to know about it. They weren’t succeeding very well at it, and
if they thought nobody had noticed, they were badly mistaken. Colonel White was certain that just about everybody
on Cloudbase knew. It wasn’t very
difficult to find out, anyway, no matter how hard they were trying.
But Scarlet and
RHAPSODY? White hadn’t seen that
one. If he had to bet on somebody, the
colonel would have thought that more than anyone else, it would be Destiny who
would be involved with him. After all,
they already had been in the past, before Spectrum, even discussing marriage at
one point.
They were
certainly discreet about it, he mused, as he glanced once again toward the
couple. But still, now that he knew,
his eyes were opened to the obvious.
They loved each
other.
Knowing that something was going on,
and acting upon it, were two different things, though. Spectrum didn’t really have specific
regulations concerning those matters, but military rules were pretty strict on
the subject. Not forbidding it
completely, but keeping a close watch and control on it. Even going to such lengths as separating the
people involved, and keeping them from being stationed at the same place. And Spectrum tended to follow military
rules. The problem had never presented
itself, except with Captain Brown’s relationship with communications operator
Becky Evershaw. But even then, it was
different, as Evershaw was stationed in London Headquarters, and Brown on
Cloudbase. There was no reason to
oppose them seeing each other and eventually getting married. Now THIS was another matter, and White
didn’t know what to do about it yet, with any of those under his command. And since it hadn’t affected anybody’s work
in any way up until now, he had simply looked the other way.
But he was
wondering now if it would still be possible for him to continue acting that
way. Between Captain Scarlet and
Rhapsody Angel, things were very serious.
The ring he had
seen on Rhapsody… If he didn’t miss his
guess, it was an engagement ring.
As if he had
guessed Colonel White’s reflections on the situation, Doctor Fawn leaned toward
him, to address him with a warning edge to his voice:
“I meant what I
said earlier, Colonel. Don’t oppose
that relationship of theirs, or…”
“Give me some
credit, Doctor!” White replied in annoyance, snapping out of his thoughts. “What make you think that I would oppose
them, anyway?”
“You’re angry.”
“I’m not
angry.”
“Yes, you
are. Your blood pressure blatantly says
so.”
White
scowled. “I’m annoyed, Doctor. Not angry.
And I find this very frustrating.”
“Because you
feel they should have told you? Well,
they’ve been involved with each other for a long time, but maybe they don’t
consider it serious enough for…”
“It is
serious. They’re engaged.”
Fawn frowned
with perplexity. “For somebody who just
found out about this relationship, you seem to know an awful lot more about it
than I do!” he noted dryly. “Are you
sure?”
“Yes, quite
sure. I saw it, when I saw her in… that
state, you know, when her blouse was torn.”
He turned a somewhat embarrassed glance up to Fawn. “She was wearing a ring, on a chain round
her neck… a RED stone, surrounded by diamonds.” He paused and smiled slightly.
“I didn’t make the connection then, but of course it’s rather obvious
NOW, when you think about it.”
“Engaged,” Fawn
repeated, pondering it. “Why yes, it is
serious.” He shook his head. “That’s why you’re so concerned.”
“Yes, now you see I have reasons,
Doctor. I don’t know how to handle
it. There could be complications
concerning regulations…”
“Damn the
regulations, Colonel! What about
Scarlet’s well-being?”
White frowned
deeply, surprised by the doctor’s sudden outburst. “What do you mean exactly?”
“That should be
obvious. I mean his unique
situation. Or doesn’t it occur to you that
this relationship could do him a lot of good?”
White kept staring at him, still looking thoughtful, and Fawn sat down
next to him. “Do you remember how it
was in the beginning for him? How he
would often withdraw from the others, feeling that he didn’t fit in, and
intensely aware of how different he was from any other human being?”
White nodded
thoughtfully. “Yes, I do remember how
concerned you were about that,” he said.
“And you shared that concern with Doctor Weiss.”
“Scarlet’s come
a long way since those early days,” Fawn continued. “His acceptance by his peers was important to him. But I know he must still have doubts,
worries, about his humanity. That
incident with his father, not so long ago, was a good indication of that. He felt the blow very strongly.”
“Fortunately
for him, his father came around,” White reflected. He narrowed his eyes at Fawn.
“Still… You think this
relationship is a good thing?”
“I’m convinced
of it. It’s the next logical step down
the path of acceptance for him. It can
only reconcile him with the rest of the human race.” Fawn paused a second, seeing the concerned look on the Spectrum
commander’s features. “Just be
thankful, sir, that it IS Rhapsody.
Could you imagine the implications if the lucky girl were a civilian?”
“I’d never even
thought about that,” the colonel muttered.
“Yes, I know
there could be obstacles due to his… difference. But I sincerely think they can beat that. So, Colonel, I don’t think it would be wise
to add other complications due to some military rubbish concerning…”
“Did I ever say
I would oppose them?” White sharply cut in.
“But you said…”
“I only voiced
my concerns about military regulations, Doctor. I never said I would act on it.”
White was looking in the direction of Scarlet and Rhapsody. He noticed that the young woman was now on
her way out, heading toward the exit door.
The colonel nodded slowly. “I’ll
reserve my judgement for now. See how
this relationship develops. And give
them a chance to tell me about it, in their own time.”
“I think that’s
the best course of action for now, sir,” Fawn said, with obvious satisfaction.
“Then I’ll
decide what to do,” White added.
Rhapsody had just left the Promenade Deck, and as the door was closing,
Captain Scarlet emerged from behind the bushes to walk toward the colonel and
Fawn, with a flat gift-wrapped package tucked under his left arm. “Not a word about this,” White quickly
muttered. “We never had this
conversation.”
“Of course not,
sir,” Fawn answered under his breath.
He greeted
Captain Scarlet with a broad smile, while the latter nodded to him.
“Hi, Doc. How’s your patient today?”
“IM-patient,” Fawn
deadpanned. “I swear, Captain, he’s even worse than you! I’m beginning to think I’m not really
appreciated on Cloudbase.”
“You’re
imagining things, Doctor,” White replied.
“Of course you’re appreciated.”
“Yes,” Scarlet
agreed. “Where would we be without
you?”
“Yes, you say
that NOW…”
Fawn saw the
intense look Colonel White was aiming at him and understood clearly the message
he was trying to pass. The doctor
cleared his throat, put his instruments in his bag, and closed it. He took his cap from the table and put it
back on.
“Okay, the
tests are finished for now,” he said quietly.
“We’ll finish this later on, in Sickbay, Colonel.”
“Can’t wait to
get back there,” White replied between his teeth; Scarlet grinned at that, but
hastily wiped the smile off his face.
“I’ll leave the
two of you to chat alone,” Fawn announced.
“I’ll see you later, sir.”
White nodded
and the doctor went his way toward the exit.
Scarlet sat down on the free chair in front of the colonel, putting the
package at his feet and his cap on the table.
A curious White gave a quick glance at the package, but Scarlet feigned
not to notice it.
“You look a lot
better today, sir,” the captain said, clearing his throat.
“I feel better
everyday, Captain,” White nodded quietly.
“I should think I’ll be back at work shortly.” He gave the faintest of smiles.
“Of course, considering the circumstances, I wouldn’t DARE say at the
moment that I envy your healing ability…
But it would be nice anyway, if just for a little while!”
“Well, don’t be
in too much of a hurry,” Scarlet said, chuckling. “You’d better make the best of the situation and take the time to
rest before taking your command back.”
“Why? Are you and Captain Blue making such a bad a
job of command? Made such a mess of
things that I’ll have to clean up after you?”
“Well… no. At least, I don’t think so. But we do realise that it’s YOUR job. And let’s face it, you do it better than we
do.”
“Cut the
crap. The truth is that both of you
hate riding a desk. Don’t you think I
don’t know that by now?”
Captain Scarlet
answered with a rather bashful smile.
White took a sip of his tea.
“Which reminds me; you probably got Rhapsody into trouble.”
He saw the
younger man shudder slightly. Serves you right, he thought with
satisfaction.
“What do you
mean by that, sir?” Scarlet asked, apparently unsettled by the remark.
“Just now, I
saw you chatting with her by the door.”
Scarlet seemed even more uncomfortable.
White nodded slightly, enjoying himself tremendously, but trying not to
show it. “She had to report to the
Conference Room for a lecture or something like that. I’m afraid I kept her behind a little too long. And you delayed her even more.”
“Oh!” The broad smile on Scarlet’s face was one of
relief. White noticed it, but said
nothing. “I don’t think she’ll have
problems, sir. The… hem… the summons to
the Conference Room was my idea.”
“YOUR idea?”
“When I arrived
a moment ago, I saw you were quite… in distress in the Angels' company.” Scarlet laughed. “I thought it best to ask Captain Blue to intervene to free you.”
“And so he
takes the plunge, and you come out of it smelling of roses, as the others don’t
know you were behind it,” White said with a bemused tone. “Sneaky, Scarlet. But if I were you, I’d watch my back from now on. Captain Blue does not take kindly to being
taken for a ride. I’m quite sure he’ll
get back at you for that.” He grinned
mischievously. “He let it slide last
time, I don’t think he will this time.”
“Er… what time
are you talking about, sir?”
White gave an
exasperated sigh. “Come on now! I know all about it. I know about the time Captain Blue organised
all those awful lectures and target practice, so nobody would notice YOU
weren’t on Cloudbase anymore… but had gone after ME, instead, to protect me
against that death threat the Mysterons had pronounced against me.”
Scarlet frowned, staring with
perplexity at his commander. “How long
have you known about that, sir?”
“Since the very
beginning. I discovered it after my –
our return from the U.S.S. Panther II.” White scoffed loudly. “What, did you really think you could teach
an old dog new tricks?”
“Why didn’t you say anything at the
time?”
“Because if I
had, I would never been able to condemn you to death without doing the same for
Blue.” White smiled with
amusement. “The results certainly would
not have been the same. And it would
have spoiled my fun.”
Scarlet
nodded. “You really meant to go easy on
us.”
“It would have
been difficult to act differently, wouldn’t you say? You DID save my life that time.
Albeit in a rather unorthodox way.”
He took another sip from his cup.
“And I wouldn’t be too quick to say I went easy on you. Remember afterwards?”
Scarlet blew a
sigh. “Right. The boxing match.” He
remembered it, all right. It was the
night after Colonel White had ‘sentenced him to death’, but instead pretended
it was a waste a time, since he was indestructible. Scarlet, unable to sleep, had gone to the gym, in order to let
off some steam, hoping he would be able to sleep after. He had only been there for about an hour,
laying into the punching bag, when Colonel White came in, and had determinedly
shoved a pair of boxing gloves into his hands.
Scarlet had understood the meaning of that gesture, just by looking at
his commander’s grim and stern features.
It was the colonel’s way of getting even for that punch Scarlet had
thrown at him. And there was no way he
would have accepted no for an answer.
“You wiped the
floor with me that night,” the captain mused quietly.
White
scoffed. “Nonsense! You let yourself be beaten! Frankly, I was disappointed. I expected more competition out of you.”
“I couldn’t
very well hit you back after what had happened before, sir. I was in trouble enough as it was.” Scarlet grinned, amused. “But if it’s any consolation, you pack a
mean left hook.”
“You would say
that now,” White grumbled. “After that
fight we had in the woods… THAT time,
you didn’t hold back.”
“No, I didn’t,”
Scarlet sighed. “Sorry. But you were quite a handful. You gave me a lot of trouble.”
“Did I,
really?” White mused, rubbing his chin.
Scarlet
chuckled. “Oh yes, sir. You certainly did!”
White grinned
broadly. “Not bad for a man of my age,
eh?” There was some sort of satisfied
glimmer in his eyes that amused Scarlet greatly.
“Your memory
seems to be getting better as well, sir,” the captain noted.
White shrugged. “I admit there are a lot of confused
details.” He looked over at Scarlet,
watching his reactions, but couldn’t see anything. Instead, the young captain shook his head.
“Confused
details, sir?”
“Yes,
especially concerning the most hectic episodes. And those few times I lost control of my temper.” The colonel scratched his ear, apparently
unsettled. “It’s a really strange
feeling. My mind was a blur most of the
time. It was as if my mind was telling
me how to act, and I had no other choice but to comply. And at other times, it was the other way
around: as if I was a totally different man doing all those things, but with my
mind having no control over my body. I
believe that’s when I lost it, most of the time. It’s difficult to explain.
That must be really confusing to try to understand.”
Scarlet shook
his head. “Remember, sir?” he said
quietly. “I’ve been through the same
thing.”
The Spectrum
commander nodded, thoughtful. He was
now staring intensely at the smiling young man seated in front of him. He heaved a deep sigh. “What am I going to do with you?” he said
almost in an undertone.
“Me, sir?”
Scarlet asked, frowning in puzzlement.
“You. Captain Blue. Everyone.” White shook
his head, apparently concerned. “I know
what you all did for me. Keeping silent
about my disappearance, the whole deal with the Dream Spinner… Not telling
Spectrum Intelligence. Do you realise
you’ve landed me in it? Tell me, how
should I handle that?”
Scarlet knew
that question would come. He had been
dreading this moment from the very beginning; to tell the truth, he didn’t know
how to answer Colonel White. But he was
determined to defend himself – and all the others. If need be, he would take full responsibility. He lowered his gaze, and cleared his throat.
“Sir, if I can
say so myself, I…”
“No, you’d
better stop right now.” Scarlet looked
back up into his superior’s face. White
was still staring straight at him, with as determined an expression as Scarlet
had ever seen on him. “I know what
you’re going to tell me,” White continued.
“If I were to blame you, you’d insist on taking all this on yourself,
saying it was your idea to start with.
That you convinced Captain Blue and the others to follow your lead. On the other hand, if I were to thank you,
and commend you on your actions, you’d say that you weren’t alone in acting
that way, that all the others contributed to help defuse a situation that have
disrupted Spectrum’s integrity.” White
sighed. “The situation was indeed
difficult to handle. The Mysterons
tried to deal Spectrum a blow from which it might never have been able to
recover.”
Scarlet
frowned. “Are you saying we were right
to act the way we did?”
“No,” White
said shaking his head again. “I’m
saying that you were lucky it paid off.
The Mysterons weren’t able to carry out their threat by using me, and
Spectrum came out of it unscathed.” He
paused a second, weighing what he was to say next. “And, if I may personally add, I was also very lucky, that you
all stood by me to help me get through it.”
He nodded briefly, his eyes not leaving the young man, staring at him,
waiting. “Thank you.”
Scarlet shook
his head slowly. White’s reaction –
while understandable – was somehow unexpected, in the sense that he hadn’t
expected him to voice it so directly.
“That was the
least we could do for you, sir,” the young British captain answered.
The Spectrum
commander looked down. “I wonder… I know YOU are behind this. There’s not a doubt in my mind about that. I’d like to know… why did you PERSONALLY do
it? Why did you take so much risk to
help me that way?”
Scarlet
sighed. “I had a personal debt toward
you,” he answered.
“About what
happened two years ago?” White
shrugged. “I couldn’t act differently.”
“I know it wasn’t
only a strategic move, sir,” Scarlet interrupted. “You didn’t know about my healing ability at the beginning, so
you didn’t do it to have an ‘indestructible agent’ who would eventually even
the score with the Mysterons. When I
escaped from their clutches, you believed in me and you didn’t let me
down.” He shook his head. “You were in a similar situation. I couldn’t do less for you than you did for
me.”
White
sighed. He nodded slowly. “Yes,” he admitted. “The situation was quite similar, wasn’t
it? Now I have a better understanding
of what you’ve been through. And how
frustrated you must have been knowing you’d done all that without being able to
stop yourself.”
“I try not to
dwell upon that, now.” Scarlet paused a
second. “I feel like the lucky one: I
don’t remember any of the things I did.
While YOU, on the other hand…”
“I admit,
Captain, it’s a bad feeling. But I’d
rather think it’s ME who’s the lucky one.”
White carefully eyed his compatriot.
“They didn’t kill ME. Although
they did try very hard. And I know I
have to thank you, Paul, for their failure.”
The use of his
real name, in his commander’s mouth, in those circumstances, made Scarlet smile
with some contentment. Even more than
the 'thank you' in itself. “Well, well,
well,” the captain murmured. “Are you
mellowing, sir?”
White
scoffed. “ME? Mellowing? Not on your
life, Metcalfe! Don’t be ridiculous!” He lowered his gaze and conspicuously eyed
the gift-wrapped package at Scarlet’s feet.
“Now, when are you going to give me that present which is obviously for
me?”
Scarlet
laughed, hearing the grumbling tone of his commander and the obviously
impatient curiosity beneath it. He
reached for the package, and put it on the colonel’s lap, carefully avoiding
his injured leg. “A welcome home gift,
sir,” he told him. “I would say it
comes from all of us but… I have to
give credit to Captain Blue and Captain Grey for retrieving it for you.”
White stared
inquisitively at the gift, wrapped in gold foil paper, and tied up with a large
white ribbon. It rested heavily on his
lap. Awkwardly, keeping it from falling
with his right hand, still in its sling, he used his left to tear off the paper
in large pieces. Scarlet watched him, a
big grin on his face, waiting.
It wasn’t long
before White had removed enough of the paper to peer at what had been given
him. It was a large, heavy, and thick
brass plaque. He stared at the object
with stunned astonishment. He knew it
so very well. He stroked the words
engraved on the burnished surface, a thoughtful look upon his face.
The inscription was short and
simple.
“Sir Francis Drake - 2045”
White looked up
at Scarlet; the latter couldn’t define the expression upon his commander’s
face. There was confusion, and
puzzlement, sadness and pride at the same time. What was absolutely sure was that he did not appear untouched.
“This plaque
was on the bridge of the Drake,” the
colonel murmured.
Scarlet
nodded. “I know. I saw it there.”
“How… how in
God’s name did you get it? I thought it
had sunk with the ship!”
“Well, yes, it
did.” Scarlet shook his head. “It was Grey and Blue’s crazy idea to try
and see if they could salvage it. My
fault, I presume, since I mentioned it.
They thought you would be glad to have it as a souvenir. Seeing how emotional you seemed when the Drake was destroyed…”
“I was
emotional?” White repeated, frowning, ready to protest the insinuation.
Scarlet quickly
held up his hands. “…Just a little,
sir,” he added swiftly.
White turned
his attention to the plaque, filling his eyes with it. “I…
This is really an overwhelming gift, Captain,” he murmured. “Please, would you convey my thanks to…” He stopped and shrugged. “No.
I’ll personally thank Captain Blue and Captain Grey when I next see
them.”
Scarlet smiled
again; he opened his vest pocket and fished something out of it. “And I
have something for you, too.”
He put into
Colonel White’s opened palm a small chain, weighted down by two laminated
dog-tags, bearing the Spectrum logo. “I
believe these are yours. Sorry. I didn’t have time to give them back to you
sooner.”
White raised
his hand, holding the chain, and looked at the dog-tags dangling in front of
his eyes. “Thank you,” he said, nodding
to Scarlet. “I was wondering if you
still had them.”
“Of course I
had them,” Scarlet replied. “When I
found them in my hand, after waking up in the Drake‘s Sickbay, I realised you had left them as some sort of
message to me.”
“I’d found them
on me. A pity I didn’t find them
sooner! I wonder if it would have made
a difference, anyway…” White cleared
his throat. “I wanted to let you know
that I believed you were telling me the truth.”
“That’s more or
less what I worked out.”
“Do you think
I’m still worthy of these?” White asked, frowning with doubt.
Scarlet was perplexed
by the remark. “I’d say you had more
than EARNED them back, sir!” He sighed
deeply. “Sir, you had it pretty bad
down there, during this whole affair.
You did so well, considering your situation. That Dream Spinner contraption…”
White shivered. The mere thought was still uncomfortable for
him.
“It really
screwed up your mind,” Scarlet continued carefully. “It rendered you unstable.
You were drugged, brainwashed…
You didn’t know who were your allies and who were the enemy. Looking at you now, it’s easy to see that
you’ve recovered pretty well… Or else
we wouldn’t even be able to have this conversation.”
“You wouldn’t take the risk of
leaving me alone either, would you, Captain?” White asked, raising an eyebrow.
Scarlet smiled
briefly. “According to Doctor Fawn,
only two people ever succeeded in completely recovering from the Dream Spinner treatment,” he said
quietly. “Well, now I’d say we can add
a third name to that list.”
“A pity we
weren’t able to locate where that… thing is hidden,” White grumbled. “Knowing that it could still be used to
subvert other minds…” He shuddered
again. “I’m glad Captain Blue escaped
that fate. That isn’t something I’d
wish on anybody. The memory of what it
did to me will haunt me ‘til the day I die.”
“We’ll find it,
sir,” Scarlet promised. “We’ll find
that thing and the people operating it.”
“The Network,” White growled with
disgust in his tone. “We CAN’T let them
continue their coercive work, Scarlet.
They could do a lot of damage.
Especially if they have infiltrated world security organisations.”
Scarlet nodded grimly. “And according to Captain Blue, considering
what that ‘doctor’ told him, they could have infiltrated even Spectrum.”
Colonel White
scowled. “Yes, I know. I’m not too happy about that.”
“Intelligence is already working to find
these people. Unfortunately, for now,
we don’t have much to work on. Except
for the few things that you, Captain Blue and I discovered.”
“You’re right,”
White mumbled. “That isn’t much.”
“Senior Agent
Wade told me that we couldn’t even get anything conclusive from the mercenaries
who were captured at Liberty Base and
the few survivors of the Drake explosion. It turns out they were simple hired hands,
selling their services to the highest bidder.
They can’t tell us anything of importance. We have to assume those who were in the know were killed when the
ship exploded.”
Scarlet shook his head slowly, seeing his
commander’s grim-looking face.
“Eventually, they’ll make a move – a mistake – that will permit us to
find them.” He paused a short instant,
before continuing: “They’ve made this personal. They WON’T escape us.
It’s only a question of time.”
“The sooner the better,” White
continued, musingly. ”And what about
the ‘doctor’?”
“He’s still in
a deep comatose state, since he was caught in that explosion at Liberty Base.”
“Has he shown any signs of returning
to life yet?”
“He has, actually. The doctors are hopeful he’ll awaken, but
unfortunately, it looks like it could be a long process.”
“I really can’t say I feel sorry for
his present state,” White remarked with a scowl. “Not after what he did to me.
But still, it’s a shame that he can’t give us any information for now.’
“Intelligence had him transferred to
Spectrum Medical Centre, in Atlanta. If
he ever wakes up, and is able to talk, you can be sure he will be questioned.”
White noted
sombrely. “Let’s hope we CAN get some
information about this organisation he’s a part of.”
“The way I see it, sir, AT LEAST
we’ve put him out of circulation.”
Scarlet slowly came to his feet, taking his cap from the table and
putting it on. “In that state, he won’t
be able to brainwash anyone anymore.
For A LONG time.”
“Yes,” White
agreed, nodding. “Since you put it that
way… It is a comforting thought.” He eyed the young officer who was standing
in front of him. “You’re leaving me
now, Captain?”
“As much as I’d like to stay and
continue this talk, sir, I’ve got duties to attend to,” Scarlet answered. “Or else I’ll have to attend the lecture
Captain Blue‘s organised in the Conference Room!”
White smiled in
turn. He extended his left hand to the
young man. The latter looked at it
awkwardly for a short moment before reaching for it. “Thank you, Captain Scarlet,” the colonel said gravely. “I really owe you one this time.”
“I only did my
duty, sir.”
“You did more
than that, Paul. You did FAR more than
that.”
Scarlet’ smile
broadened. He squeezed the colonel’s
hand one last time before releasing it…
…And bringing his
own hand to his brow in a smart and very military salute.
* * *
Night had
fallen on the Spectrum Medical Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, where everything was
quiet. It wasn’t one of Spectrum most
closely guarded facilities, but it had a handful of security guards on the
premises and nobody was allowed in or out without going through a very thorough
identity check. No documents or
materials were to leave the Centre, not even the slightest bit of paper, as
very sensitive issues were dealt with inside its walls.
The SMC didn’t
have a detention section, as it never had need for any, until that moment. The prisoner that had been brought here four
days ago, from a military hospital in Scotland, had been put in a room in the psychiatric
wing. Plunged in a deep coma, he was
hooked to machinery intended to keep him alive, and to monitor his vital
signs. He was closely watched over by
doctors and nurses, who took observations at regular intervals, unable to do
more at the moment for him.
He had stayed
stable ever since his arrival. Nothing
indicated whether he would soon wake up or whether, conversely, he would sink
deeper into his coma.
There was a
guard at the nurse’s station, one block down the hall, keeping an eye on
comings and goings; he knew everybody who worked there, civilians and
military. He had no reason to assume
there would be any wrongdoing on the part of any of these people.
The door
leading to the comatose prisoner was out of the guard’s view; busy checking on
a young orderly coming out, he didn’t even notice somebody going in that
direction. Silently, the door was
pulled shut, and the newcomer came near the bed, silently, to peer down on the
sleeping patient. The monitor at the
head of the bed was beeping regularly, all its readings normal.
The visitor
stroked the prisoner’s hair, in an almost apologetic way. “I’m sorry…” a voice murmured, “but you have
become a security hazard. I hope you
can understand… But I have no choice
but to do this.”
A hand took a
syringe from the pocket of a white jacket and slid the fine needle into a tube
connected to the man’s arm. An
injection was swiftly made. There was
nothing inside the syringe but air. No
trace would be left. Nobody would
suspect anything; they would all believe the patient had died of natural
causes.
The visitor put
the syringe back in the jacket pocket and turned around; he went out through
the door as quietly as he had come in, leaving it half open, listening to the
regular beeping sound of the machinery, as he unhurriedly strode down the
hallway towards the nurse’s station.
It was only
when the visitor had turned a corner to disappear behind a door that the
beeping sound in the prisoner’s room became suddenly irregular and the
machinery emitted a warning signal to inform the medical personnel that
something was wrong.
The beeping had
stopped to change into a long wailing, by the time the visitor had left the SMC
psychiatric wing…
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