A “Captain Scarlet
& the Mysterons” story
Captain Scarlet slowly opened his
eyes to find himself looking up at a low, curved, grey ceiling that he recognised
instantly as part of the cabin of a Spectrum Passenger Jet. He was lying on the standard medical bunk,
which could be fixed against the cabin’s wall, to safely transport any wounded
agent whenever necessary. It wasn’t the
first time Scarlet had woken on this bunk – but this time, he had to admit, he
was grateful to actually wake up, considering the last images he had in his
memory.
He coughed loudly; there
was a bad taste in his mouth that was irritating him intensely. Almost
immediately, he saw a hand appear in his line of vision, holding a paper cup.
“Water?” Scarlet turned
his head to his left to see Captain Blue seated there, watching him with some
concern on his face. Blue smiled
slightly at his friend, who raised himself on his elbow, pushing down the
blanket that was covering him and reaching for the cup. He drank the contents avidly.
“Easy,” Blue said, witnessing as his colleague
nearly choked on his last gulp, “there’s plenty more where that comes from.”
“Thanks,” Scarlet
replied, sighing with contentment. “I
needed that – haven’t felt so thirsty in years…”
Blue grimly shook his
head. “I’m not surprised, considering
the amount of water you coughed up earlier, you’re probably pretty dehydrated…”
Scarlet gave his friend
a questioning, hesitant look, hardly daring to ask the question that came to
his mind. He looked down at himself, seeming
to notice for the first time that he wasn’t wearing anything under the
blanket. He turned back to Blue
again. “I take it you didn’t find me in
time before I was… dumped in the drink?”
Blue slowly shook his
head. “No, sorry. You’d already been down for some time before
Ochre and I found you. According to
what we were able to gather, almost an hour.”
Scarlet shivered. “I was almost
hoping you wouldn’t say that…”
Blue gave a deep
sigh. “We had to wait for Spectrum
divers to get you out of there. We
brought you back to New York HQ and right into this SPJ, before heading for
Cloudbase. We did CPR on you right
away… You started showing signs of life
as soon as we got all that water out of your lungs.”
“How were you able to find me, anyway?”
“Matt Riordan. He gave us a call at Spectrum New
York.”
“Riordan?!” Scarlet repeated in surprise. “I was captured at his apartment. He called
you?”
“He seemed to be very afraid for
his life. And as much as afraid of being implicated in the murder of a Spectrum
agent. He was shot for his…
indiscretion. By his own people. When we found him, he was in a bad way, but
he was able to tell us where to find you.
He’s at the hospital, right now, under close surveillance. He won’t be able to get away, of course, but
in case his ‘friends’ want to finish the job…
I don’t know if he’ll be well enough for us to interrogate him later
on.” Blue paused a second, giving his colleague time to take it all in. “A lot
happened while you were missing, Paul.
There was a Mysteron threat…”
“I know. That’s the last thing I heard from the
colonel before I was captured…” He
paused for a second, running his hand through his hair. It was still damp from his earlier
experience. He recalled how filthy the
water he had been thrown into was, and grunted. He’d need a good shower when he got back to Cloudbase… “How’s Magenta?” he asked suddenly, looking
up at Blue again.
“He came out of his coma
about an hour ago,” Blue answered.
“According to Doctor Fawn, he feels fine. No lasting ill-effects from his
experience, it seems. Maybe he’s a
little disoriented…”
“I can relate to that,”
Scarlet recalled, shivering. “Drowning
can do that to you.”
Blue tilted his head to the side.
“What exactly happened to you, Paul?
Who did that to you?”
“I don’t know if you’ll
believe me,” Scarlet muttered, swinging his legs off the bunk and sitting up,
while keeping the blanket wrapped round himself. “I’m not even sure I can believe it myself…”
“You don’t say,” Blue
replied with a pensive nod. “It has
something to do with the present Mysteron threat, right? Was that why Riordan was so afraid?”
“How did you know it had
something to do with the present threat?”
“As I said, a LOT
happened while we were looking for you… During which we found indications to
the fact that the people involved with your… ‘disappearance’… were also
involved in the threat.”
“You’ll have to tell me
all about this threat, Blue,” Scarlet grumbled, “because I don’t have any idea
what it’s all about.”
“And you WILL tell me
about what happened to you.”
“Of course.” Scarlet gave a deep sigh. “Okay, I’d better start with my visit to
Matt Riordan’s apartment, then… And who ambushed me there… You better sit tight – because I’m certain
you’ll be as shocked as I was when I saw who it was…”
* * *
With a frustrated gesture, Patrick Donaghue slapped the
newspaper down on the desk. The headlines of the afternoon edition were a
upsetting reminder that his first, well-orchestrated attempt on Commander Ian
Stewart’s life had been a complete failure.
Violent
explosion at Spectrum Maximum Security Building shakes whole neighborhood. Terrorists, Spectrum agent dead. And right underneath, a smaller headline,
less dramatic, which had apparently no link with the preceding news: Swearing-in
ceremony of new WGPC Supreme Commander to be held in New York. That meant, beyond any doubt, that
Stewart was alive and well – and ready to assume his new post of command in the
next few hours.
To say that Donaghue wasn’t surprised would have been a
lie. He knew, of course, the efficacy
of the MSB security, as well as that of the Spectrum agents who had been
protecting Stewart. Lieutenant Green
was an unknown factor he had not accounted for in his carefully crafted
plan. Donaghue would have bet
everything that the young Trinidad-born
officer had been instrumental in Stewart’s rescue. He was as proficient – if not more so – as Donaghue himself with
computers and electronic gadgets. So he
must have found a way to counter the failsafe locks that Donaghue had applied
to every system in the Presidential Suite, in order to trap Stewart and his
bodyguards inside, with no apparent way to escape. If there was just ONE flaw in Donaghue’s plan, then Green would
have been the one to find it – and that had permitted Spectrum to save
Stewart.
But it didn’t matter.
It was only a short reprieve.
Commander Ian Stewart would die soon, at the hands of the
Mysterons. And Donaghue was committed
to do it in such a way that it would hurt Spectrum too.
Puffing on a freshly lit cigar, Donaghue turned to the
window behind him and looked out thoughtfully.
The World Government Police HQ in New York stood on the other side of
the street, beyond the large private parking lot where police cars were lined
up in perfect order. He smiled thinly. For what it was worth, Ben Fisher was a
relatively brilliant man; he had acquired this building many years ago, so to
keep an inconspicuous and close
surveillance post on the WGPC building – without anyone suspecting anything
about it. Plus, he had his own moles in
the building, one of which, Captain Tony Brealey – the late Jeff Tyler’s
contact – was a close colleague of Stewart himself.
According to the information Donaghue had been able to
glean on Brealey, the latter secretly despised and hated Stewart – he was
jealous of his fame and the success he had earned in his career. The two men
had started out almost at the same time and with the same rank within the Police Corps, as colleagues, and
apparent friends. But they were quite
different. Stewart had a high standard
of values; he was a totally incorruptible police officer – so morally upright that it could only be
sickening for a man like Brealey, who was quite willing to accept bribes and
sell out his associates if it might prove profitable for his career or his
wallet. And yet, despite all his shady
dealings, Brealey had never been able to accede to the rank and position that
Stewart had ascended to through his hard work and straight ethics. Brealey found himself stuck in a perpetually
subordinate role to Stewart. Obviously,
he blamed and loathed Stewart for that
role. Certainly, his feelings towards
his superior were even worse now that Stewart was about to be named to the highest
post there was in the WGPC – that of Supreme Commander.
Nothing would please Brealey more than to see Stewart
fall. And he was willing to help. For a price, of course. A price that he thought Donaghue would be
willing to pay.
All the arrangements had been made. And Brealey had been suitably allured by
receiving his first, very generous down payment for his upcoming service. It was more money that he had ever dreamed
of having all at one time. And the
promise that he would receive the same amount after the deed was done had
secured his reliability. At least temporarily.
The fool had no idea whatsoever that he would not live long
enough to benefit from this money.
A knock at the door made Donaghue turn on his heels.
“Enter!” he called, removing the cigar from his mouth. He watched as Josh Kirby and Ox entered, one
after the other, and approached him.
Kirby was carrying a box that he gave to Donaghue. Putting it on the desk, Donaghue lifted up the top to
check the contents. He nodded
approvingly and closed the box.
“Perfect,” he declared.
“We’ll be able to proceed to plan B now.” He turned to face his men, and noticed how Kirby was eyeing the
newspaper, trying to look inconspicuous.
He wasn’t really succeeding. “You
got a problem, Josh?” Donaghue asked, in a suave enough tone.
“N-no, sir,” Kirby answered, snapping from his reverie to turn
his attention to his boss. He felt himself wilt under the scrutinising stare of
Donaghue, and lowered his eyes. “Well, no, that isn’t true,” he admitted
reluctantly. “I was wondering… why risk another attempt right now? Surely, there will be other opportunities
later. Better opportunities. Security around Stewart will be so tight
now, how could we possibly hope…”
“Josh.” Donaghue’s
tone was falsely friendly, and it was so obvious that it made Kirby’s skin crawl. He heard the annoyed sigh of his boss and raised
his eyes to see that Donaghue was staring at him implacably – with the kind of
look that admitted no questioning of his orders. “There WON’T be other opportunities, Josh,” Donaghue spelled out
slowly, as if he were a teacher trying to explain a lesson to a difficult
student. “It’s now or never. After the ceremony, when he’s Supreme
Commander of the WGPC, Stewart will fly to the Supreme Headquarters in
Paris. We won’t be able to touch him
there. It’s while he is still here, on our own turf, that we’ll be able to get
at him. After that, it will be nearly impossible. No, no, right now, at the swearing-in ceremony – that’s where
he’ll be the most vulnerable.” Donaghue put his hand on Kirby’s shoulder. The latter nearly shivered under his
touch. “Believe me. It’s now or never. And this time, we WON’T
fail.”
Kirby wasn’t convinced of that; but what he was convinced of was that, most
certainly, Donaghue was willing to do anything to get to Stewart. He didn’t doubt that it meant killing them
all, if necessary. He swallowed hard
and shook his head nervously. It was better not to discuss Donaghue’s
orders. “Of course, Mr. Donaghue,” he
said with as much assurance as he could muster.
“Good,” Donaghue said with a satisfied smile, turning
around to the window. “Everything is
set, then. The best snipers we have are
on the roof, ready to act at a second’s notice. All our men are armed and ready, and Brealey has been bought to
our cause. We CAN’T fail…” He took a puff of his cigar and then, as if
a new thought had crossed his mind, turned back to Kirby and Ox. “But there is one thing,” he said
pensively. “We have to get rid of all
the proofs the police and Spectrum might find at the main office.”
“You’ll think they’ll go up there, Mr. Donaghue?” Kirby
asked with a frown.
“Cody and Billy haven’t come back,” Donaghue remarked. “They might have been arrested – they might
talk to the police.”
“Not them, sir.
They’ll keep their mouths shut.”
“What about Riordan?
We don’t know if they finished him or not. So, it’s quite possible that Riordan would tell the police – or
Spectrum – about our office. And
perhaps the rest.” Donaghue crushed his
cigar into the ashtray. “This is a risk
we cannot take. Go back there,
Josh. Destroy everything. Paper, computer, the whole building
even. Don’t leave a single trace.” He gestured toward Ox, standing behind
Kirby. “Ox will go with you.”
“Ox?” Kirby said, his face becoming pale.
“I can’t spare anyone else, Josh,” Donaghue replied
sternly. “Ox will be sufficient help. I suggest you go and get on with the
job. Right now, Josh. Time is of
the essence.”
“O-of course, Mr. Donaghue,” Kirby answered, nodding
nervously. “I’m on to it. Don’t
worry.”
Receiving an acknowledging nod from his boss, Kirby turned
on his heels and quickly disappeared through the open door. The silent Ox was about to follow, more
slowly, when Donaghue discreetly called him back. “Ox.”
The giant stopped in his tracks and turned around; Donaghue’s
eyes were cold and without emotion when he spoke next.
“If he makes one wrong step, Ox,” he said between his
teeth, “you know what to do. And if
anyone from the police or Spectrum shows his face…”
He left the sentence hanging. Ox didn’t need further instructions. He answered with a brief, unemotional nod, and turned to leave,
without uttering a single sound.
Donaghue grunted with satisfaction, and reached for his cigar-case.
He knew he could fully count on Ox to do a good job.
* * *
Escaping Doctor Fawn
soon after his arrival on Cloudbase had been easier than Scarlet had
expected. It was true he had mostly
recovered from his ordeal since he had been rescued by Blue and Ochre, and so
Fawn merely examined him very quickly, for possible trauma of any kind. Physically, Scarlet was fine, and once Fawn
had made sure of that, much to Scarlet’s ever-increasing impatience, he started
asking questions of Blue, who had escorted his friend to sickbay, while Ochre
had gone to Colonel White to make a full report of the events. That was the cue Scarlet needed to leave the
examination room. While Blue – fully
aware of Scarlet’s plans – kept Fawn busy, the English captain pretended the
need to go to the head, and sneaked out.
He needed to see Magenta.
The Irish captain, he
discovered, had been moved from the private room that had been previously
assigned to him into the men’s ward – which, Scarlet reflected, was an
encouraging sign that he was on his way to a quick and full recovery. Walking down the main corridor of the
sickbay in the grey overall taken from the SPJ, he passed by a couple of
nurses, who at first addressed him an odd look – but who recognised him almost
immediately, and smiled at him. He
barely answered their gracious welcome – his mind was all set on the meeting he
was about to have with Magenta.
Finding his colleague
was easy – Magenta was all alone in the ward.
Spectrum personnel, aside from the occasional injuries or colds, were
surprisingly healthy people. Which was
a good thing, considering the confined environment in which they lived; Fawn
was extremely careful to isolate any sign of sickness as soon as it appeared so
it wouldn’t spread – Colonel White would certainly not appreciate that in the
least. So Magenta had the ward all to himself
– all to himself, that is, except for the lone visitor who was seated on a
chair by his bed. Scarlet permitted
himself a slight, brief smile as he crossed the ward towards the pair, and
could hear their faint, whispered exchange.
He wasn’t all that surprised to find Destiny there, keeping the Irishman
company.
His smile had
disappeared completely when he reached the side of the bed, and both of them
looked up at him.
“Captain Scarlet!”
Magenta beamed a genuinely warm smile at his colleague, which within seconds
faded to an inquiring expression as Scarlet merely stared almost blankly in
reply.
“Is everything all
right, Captain Scarlet?” asked Destiny, rising from her seat.
Scarlet took a deep
breath and nodded. It wasn’t hard to
see that he was distracted, but it had been a difficult time for him – for them
all.
“Destiny,” Scarlet
began, “I have to talk to Captain Magenta, would you mind leaving us for a
while?”
Destiny smiled. Of course, Scarlet wanted to thank Pat for
saving his life, that was understandable.
Gently patting the Englishman’s arm, Destiny nodded. “Of course, Captain, I’ll see you both later,
perhaps.”
Magenta’s smile returned
as he squeezed Destiny’s proffered hand before she turned to leave.
It was during times like
this that Scarlet would normally want to have his radiocap in his hands. He would never openly admit to being nervous,
but he felt it. Like a thousand
butterflies flying irregular churning patterns inside him. Thank goodness, Magenta had no inkling of
his feelings. Scarlet knew it was
unfair of him to feel this way. This
was the real Captain Magenta, the
real Patrick Donaghue, sitting up under the sheets, not the Mysteron
reconstruction that had killed him.
But, quite involuntarily, he found himself pondering, wondering if the
real Patrick Donaghue had ever been anything like his Mysteron
counterpart. There was so much he
didn’t know about Magenta. The Irishman always seemed so open and eager to please;
but now, as he thought about it, what did Scarlet actually know about him? Only what he was prepared to tell. Even Ochre couldn’t possibly put his hand on
his heart and swear to know everything about the man.
But then, they all had
their secrets, didn’t they?
“Are you going to tell
me what’s wrong, or are you going to make me guess?”
The abrupt question drew
Scarlet from his musings. Magenta was looking up at him with a faint,
encouraging smile. Almost embarrassed at
being caught out, Scarlet cursed himself inwardly. He had forgotten just how observant Magenta was and how adept he
could be at figuring facial expressions and body language.
“It’s good to see you
looking so well,” he finally managed.
Magenta fixed him with a
curious gaze. No, he thought,
that wasn’t
it. Give him time, he’ll come out with
it.
“You saved my life,
Scarlet,” he replied, with a warmer smile.
“Thanks hardly covers it.”
“I very nearly didn’t, I
mean you actually…” Scarlet tapered off, suddenly realising that Magenta may
not have been told the full story of his time in the lake.
“Died? Is that the word
you were about to say?” Magenta nodded sombrely. “They told me. They explained
all about that mammalian diving reflex and all that going into a state of
hibernation stuff… But – I don’t quite
know if you can actually say that I died.
Not really. But it was so very
close to it, wasn’t it? Still, not what you
can experience yourself.” He paused for a moment before looking up and
staring Scarlet squarely in the eyes. “God, Paul, how do you do it? I mean, I know you’ll recover and everything,
but I just did too and I never want to go through that again!”
Scarlet gave a short
laugh. “You want to know?”
Magenta nodded slowly.
“I don’t know. I guess I feel like I have to keep proving
myself.”
“To whom?” asked Magenta,
astounded by the reply.
Scarlet shook his head.
“Maybe to myself?”
“You don’t need to prove
yourself to us, that’s for sure. You’ve
done that a thousand times already!
You’re a decent guy, Paul. You
know, when I first joined, you were the first one to accept me without condition.”
Scarlet raised his eyes,
startled by the words. Before killing
him, the Mysteron Donaghue had said almost exactly the same thing to him. All
of Scarlet’s darkest thoughts and fears came rushing back into his mind. What else about Magenta was similar to the
reconstruct? Had he killed in cold
blood before?
Maybe Ochre would
know?
“What?” Magenta asked quickly, seeing a fleeting expression
crossing Scarlet’s face. “What’d I say?”
“Nothing.” Scarlet shook
his head. “How do you feel?”
“Okay,” Magenta replied,
still curious about Scarlet’s reaction towards him. “For someone who just
drowned. How about you?”
Scarlet smiled thinly.
“About the same.”
Magenta offered yet
another puzzled stare. Scarlet was
talking in riddles.
“You must have been
pretty scared,” Scarlet added, changing the subject.
Magenta sighed and
raised his eyebrows. “You bet! I expected my life to flash before my eyes –
you know, that old cliché. But it
didn’t. I just kept thinking about how
I’d let my family down. Scarlet, I have
to make peace with my father. You know,
I’m not in any rush to die, but this experience made me realise – I could die
any time. I need to sort this out.”
Scarlet nodded
reflectively. “I know how you
feel. There’s nothing like dying to get
things into perspective.”
“What goes through your
mind? You know…when you die. Well, just before really,” Magenta asked,
with an uncertain frown.
“It depends,” Scarlet replied,
somewhat cagily.
“On what?”
“What I’m doing, where I
am, how long it takes, who kills me.” Scarlet bit his lip, it was out before he
realised. Clearly, he couldn’t push
recent events out of the forefront of his mind. As much as he tried to remind himself that the man before him had
nothing to do with his murder, it was so very hard. He cursed himself over and over.
This was an uncomfortable enough situation. He remembered how much he had expected people to accept him
following his return from the control of the Mysterons and here he was now,
having so much difficulty simply talking to the real Magenta after his
duplicate – NOT the real Magenta –
had killed him. Damn it!
“Paul, what’s wrong?”
Scarlet shrugged
absently. “Just a little tired, I think. I haven’t really had time to stop,
lately.”
Garbage! Magenta reflected, even more suspicious of his
colleague’s behaviour. What aren’t you telling me, Scarlet?
“No uniform?” he
observed, trying to get to the bottom of the mystery about which Scarlet seemed
reluctant to talk.
“No.” Clearly, he wasn’t about to elaborate on
that particular subject. The Englishman
sighed. “Look, Pat, I don’t know how to
tell you this, but…”
“Captain Scarlet,” the
clipped English voice sounded behind him, “I’d like to hear your report
now. In Doctor Fawn’s office.”
Turning on hearing the
familiar voice, Scarlet stood to attention, discovering his commander standing
only a few feet behind. “Yes, Colonel.”
“Captain Magenta, I hope
you’re feeling better,” White continued, stepping forward, and offering a
genuinely warm smile to the recovering officer.
“Yes, sir, much better,
thank you. Perhaps you could put in a
good word for me with the doctor?” he answered cheerily. “I would very much
like to… leave this place.”
White’s smile broadened
at the captain’s boldness. “We’ll see,
shall we, Captain?”
Magenta grinned in
reply. “Thank you, Colonel.”
“Captain Scarlet, if you’ll
please follow me?”
Scarlet saluted Magenta
with a nod, and stepped behind White, both of them leaving the ward in
silence. They went into Doctor Fawn’s
office, where they found Captain Blue and Captain Ochre, waiting. Fawn was absent at the moment. Upon the colonel’s request, Scarlet closed
the door behind him.
“I fully expected to
find you lying in a bed resting, Captain,” White said, turning to his star
agent. “After what Captain Ochre had
told me of your ordeal in his report... And what Captain Blue just confirmed to
me when I found him earlier…”
“He SHOULD be resting,
Colonel,” Blue approved eagerly, addressing a stern glance at his partner.
“I’m fine, sir,” Scarlet
retorted quickly. “Much better than I
was earlier. As Captain Blue must have
told you, they only needed to remove the water from my lungs for me to revive.”
“You were shot, by your
own admittance,” Blue observed.
Scarlet dismissed the
remark with a wave of the hand. “The
shot didn’t kill me –”
“Nevertheless,” Blue
continued, “after what you’ve been
through, I think you should –”
“Enough,” White called
sternly. “Captain Blue, I understand
your concern. But considering the situation, I need all available men on duty.
Captain Scarlet, if you REALLY feel
better…”
“I am, sir.”
“Good. Then I officially put you back on duty.”
Scarlet addressed him a grateful nod.
“Although if I had known you were up and about, I would have asked you to come along to the Control Room,
and not come down here myself,” White grumbled. If not for what he had just experienced, Scarlet would have
probably smiled at the remark – along with Captains Ochre and Blue. The Old Man was always trying to show
himself so strict and tough; they knew him better than that. He was always concerned about the welfare of
his officers. “Since we’re all here, I
suggest we don’t waste any more time and get down to the business at hand,” the
colonel continued with a more business-like tone. “Captain Scarlet, if you would please give me a quick report of
what happened to you during the last few hours…”
Scarlet started immediately. White, of course, had been informed about
this earlier by Ochre, but he always preferred to hear directly from the
horse’s mouth. Succinctly, Scarlet gave an account of what had happened to him. White listened silently, with no
interruption. As always, Scarlet’s
report was clear and concise. When the
young officer finished, silence followed, during which White was thoughtful for
a moment. He finally cleared his
throat.
“I’m glad you’re all right, Captain. That was
an horrendous experience if ever I heard one.
And I would understand if you don’t feel at your peak at the moment to
resume your duties.”
“I’m all right, sir,
believe me. I want to be a part of
this.” Scarlet raised a brow,
meaningfully. “The Mysterons tried to put me out of commission. I think I have a score to settle with them.”
White felt the edge in
his younger compatriot’s voice but said nothing about it. “I expect Captain Blue told you everything
about what happened during your - disappearance?”
“He did, sir.”
“Good. As you know, gentlemen, following the latest
Mysteron attack, heavy damage was done to the Maximum Security Building,
notably to the Presidential Suite, the escape tunnel, lifts, electronic
devices, and so on. But those are only
material damage that can be repaired quite easily. The important thing is that the MSB has served the purpose for
which it was built, and Commander Stewart is alive and well. And temporarily out of danger.”
“Temporarily, yes,”
Ochre agreed. “Because the Mysterons
will surely attempt another attack before the swearing-in ceremony.”
White nodded. “Some of the bodies found in the tunnel were
formally identified as members of the Donaghue gang. It serves to confirm how the Mysterons had planned to carry out
this threat,” he noted gloomily. “They
intended to use the knowledge of the one man who knew all about the security
devices of the Maximum Security Building – and who had been responsible for the
updates of those very devices.”
“And who, at the same
time, knows the most about Ian Stewart,” Blue observed. “Wasn’t he the police detective who tried
to catch Patrick Donaghue when he was head of the Syndicate?”
“You’ve done your
homework, Captain Blue,” White approved.
“Indeed he was. So the duplicate
of Donaghue took back control of his old gang – and of some other gangs now
affiliated to it – by killing the then head of that Syndicate, Ben Fisher. It seems he now has powerful resources – finances,
manpower, and armaments – to carry out his masters’ attack. He has already proved he can use this to
very dangerous effect.” He paused for a
moment. “As long as Patrick Donaghue’s doppelganger is alive, and as long as
the swearing-in ceremony has not taken place, Ian Stewart is in danger,” White
remarked. “Although, he might think he
is safe now.” He shook his head. His
officers could almost hear him think what a ‘bloody thick-headed nuisance’
Stewart might be. “Commander Stewart
still needs Spectrum’s protection, until the swearing-in ceremony. He insisted on having his own men participate
in providing his security, since they would already be providing security to
the WGPC Building in New York.”
“Spectrum and WGPC’s
best working together?” Ochre said, raising a brow.
“Stewart would not have
it any other way, for Spectrum’s presence to be accepted. Although a Mysteron threat is Spectrum’s
prerogative, and by that fact, puts Stewart under our protection, the WGPC
Building IS the responsibility of the World Government Police. I had no other choice but to agree. On the sole condition that Spectrum would be
in charge of things.”
“I hope Stewart
understood that,” Ochre muttered almost inaudibly.
Incredibly, Colonel
White, who was standing at the other side of the room, heard him very
well. He looked directly at him,
folding his arms on his chest. “Yes,
Captain Ochre, I made that very clear
to our friend Commander Stewart. He
will follow Spectrum’s directives to the letter. I imagine he has been sufficiently impressed by Captain Grey and
Lieutenant Green’s actions during that last attempt that very nearly succeeded.”
“And rightly so,” Blue
acknowledged. “Without them, he
wouldn’t even be alive.”
“At the moment,” White
continued, “Captain Grey and Lieutenant Tan are assigned to Commander Stewart’s
protection. Lieutenant Green is back on
Cloudbase and has returned to his communication console. His presence is no longer required on ground
operations, since you’ll all be assigned to this mission.”
“He did a wonderful job
down there, from what I heard,” Scarlet remarked.
“Indeed he did,” White
approved with a nod. “That young man
will never cease to surprise me.” He turned to Scarlet, narrowing his eyes at
him suspiciously. “When I found you in
the ward, Captain Scarlet, I hope you were not about to tell Captain Magenta
about that Mysteron reconstruct of his who’s wandering around New York?”
Scarlet gave a
sigh. “I will admit, sir… I don’t know
exactly if I was going to tell
him. But I figured that if someone
would know that doppelganger, and what he might be up to now, it would be
Captain Magenta. After all, they’re the
same man…”
“No, they’re not,” Ochre
protested in a low tone.
Scarlet turned to him, a
bit surprised by his outburst. “Whether
you like it or not, Captain Ochre, you have to admit that the Mysterons chose
their agent perfectly. Patrick Donaghue
was the best candidate they could use for the mission of killing Commander
Stewart. He knew him when he was head
of a crime syndicate… He had clashed
with him.”
“In order for his business
to survive, he had to know about the
man trying to trap him,” Blue said in turn.
Ochre pondered these
words for a moment. “Yeah,” he admitted, “he certainly knows the guy…but they
are not the same man.”
“We have to find that
reconstruct,” Scarlet insisted.
White raised an
inquiring brow. “I supposed you’re
volunteering for that particular mission, Captain?” he observed quietly. “If I remember correctly, the last time you
volunteered to go after a member of his gang, you very nearly didn’t come back
alive… If I were you, I’d pray that
Special Agent Conners never finds out about all that misadventure – after what
you told him before your departure.”
Scarlet almost reddened under the calm remonstrance. White scrutinised
him closely. “Tell me – would it be because you have a ‘score to settle’ with
him?”
“Sir, you know me better
than that,” Scarlet replied, looking almost hurt by his superior’s
assumption. “You said it yourself: as long as the reconstruct of Patrick
Donaghue is alive, Ian Stewart is in grave danger. If we find the reconstruct before he launches his attack…”
“So you thought that
information from Captain Magenta could help us locate his doppelganger?”
“Sir – I know, it’s
probably a bad idea, but…”
“I volunteer.”
While they were talking,
the door in front of which Scarlet was standing had slowly opened, and a voice
– faint with an obvious crack in it – had made itself heard. Everyone in the room shuddered upon recognising
it, and Scarlet turned around, his heart nearly missing a beat. Captain Magenta, in his pyjamas, was
standing awkwardly in the doorway, holding himself upright against the frame. His face was ashen, and the expression on it
so lost and devastated – like a man in total shock.
“Captain Magenta,”
Colonel White then said, his voice sterner than he really intended it to sound,
“how long have you been standing behind this door?”
Magenta made an effort
to stand upright. “Long enough,” he answered in a low tone, trying to muster as
much assurance in his voice as he could.
“You heard everything?”
Ochre asked with dismay.
“I heard enough.” Magenta gave a meaningful stare at Scarlet,
who was looking at him in total silence, standing like a statue. “Paul, I’m so
sorry…”
“It wasn’t your fault,
Pat,” Scarlet answered charitably. “It wasn’t
you…”
Magenta measured his
colleague’s look; Scarlet didn’t look away, and yet, Magenta sensed his
awkwardness toward him, despite what he had just said. How
could I really blame him? the Irish officer thought bleakly. After what
happened to him? He looked away,
and simply nodded, very slowly. “I hope
that answer will be enough to make me feel less responsible.” Magenta stepped inside the room, and Scarlet
made way for him, permitting him to go directly to Colonel White. “Colonel, I want to participate in this
operation.”
“Captain, you’re hardly
able to stand,” White responded. He had
noted how Magenta was now supporting himself on Fawn’s desk. Noticing the direction of his commander’s
stare, Magenta straightened up.
“I’ll be all right,
sir. Please. I have to be a part of this mission. There’s… there’s an malevolent copy of me
down there… out to kill people…” Magenta quivered and felt his legs losing
their strength. He needed to sit down,
a thing he wouldn’t normally do in front of his commander, unless the latter invited
him to. Behind him, Blue was pushing a chair
forward, and he felt Ochre’s and Scarlet’s hands reaching to help him
down. He nearly shoved them away,
wanting to prove that he was able to manage by himself, but accepted the chair, on which he sat
heavily. His face was even paler than
earlier, reflecting the inner torment he was feeling. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that there was
now a Mysteron agent in his image, which had probably been created during that
brush with death he had had recently.
“I have to help stop
him,” he muttered, looking right at White’s apparently stern face. “He’s already done too much damage… too many
victims… in my name…” He looked up at Scarlet, who was looking
down at him, with a face almost as set as White. “You know what I’m going through, Scarlet, right? You know I have to…” He stared briefly at
the colonel. “…I have to prove myself.”
He looked back at
Scarlet. The latter seemed to lose his stiffness,
and a light of empathy appeared in his blue eyes. He visibly relaxed, and gave
a brief nod, looking away as he did.
White slowly shook his
head. His expression softened upon
hearing his officer’s plea. How could
he accept it, without endangering him, in his present state of health –
physically and psychologically?
And yet, how could he
refuse him?
“You don’t have to prove
anything, Captain Magenta,” he replied to the Irish captain’s latest remark. He
gave a deep sigh. “All right,” he said,
watching as Magenta’s face lit up with hope and gratitude. “You’ll be part of this mission.”
“But Colonel…” Ochre
started to protest.
“BUT,” White continued,
raising his hand to still his officer’s objections, “you’ll be in a restricted
role – OUT of the danger zone, OUT of Commander Stewart’s way so he will NOT
see you at any time, and you will
abstain from any other involvement in the mission than the post you’ll be
assigned to.” He looked squarely at a
silent Magenta. “That means NO heroism
of any kind, Captain.”
“Sir,” Magenta answered
with a beaming – although still tired – smile, “All I’m asking is to
participate – in any way I can be useful.
I’ll do whatever I’m told.”
“Good,” White said with an
approving nod. “That’s settled
then. So perhaps we can now get down to
serious business, and settle on a plan of operation. Here’s how we’ll proceed…”
* * *
Captain Ochre made his
way along the hospital corridor. It
wasn’t difficult to work out which of the many rooms housed Matt Riordan; the
two Spectrum guards standing outside one of the doors made it very plain. As he approached, the two men stood to
attention.
“At ease.” Ochre
addressed them, then frowned as there was almost no change in their stance or
bearing. “Seriously, guys, at ease. I want to talk to you.”
It was the first time
either of the two men had met a Cloudbase officer and the pair were determined
to make a good impression; the revelation that the officer in question seemed
to be a regular guy almost took them by surprise. The pair made a visible attempt to relax and Ochre almost smiled
at their efforts.
“How’s the patient?”
“No trouble, sir, I
don’t think he’s well enough to move yet.”
“No, I dare say you’re
right, but I’m more concerned about people trying to get in than out. Remember,
no one is to enter this room without authorisation. You have the list of authorised personnel?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good,” Ochre nodded,
reaching for the door handle. “I’m going to question him.”
“Captain,” one of the
guards cut in, blocking his path.
“Yes, Sergeant?”
“Can I see your
identification, please?” he asked almost apologetically.
Ochre smiled and nodded
again as he drew out his Spectrum pass. “Good, very good.”
Satisfied with his
credentials, the guards stepped aside and allowed Ochre into the small single
ward.
Even having seen the
extent of Matt Riordan’s injuries, Ochre was not prepared for the sight before
him. Riordan lay on the bed, his upper
body slightly propped up by two or three pillows. A dual drip, delivering blood
and a saline solution, was feeding into his left arm. A thin tube with a double opening supplying oxygen lay beneath
Riordan’s nostrils. A clip secured onto
the middle finger of his left hand measured his heart rate and a number of
other attached wires led to machines and digital displays that Ochre couldn’t
hope to understand.
As he stepped closer,
Riordan opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he forced himself to
wake. Ochre noticed a flicker of
recognition in Riordan’s tired eyes and a barely audible groan.
“Gotta hand it to you, Mr
Riordan, you’ve got more lives than a cat.”
“Alive?” he grumbled.
“Are you sure about that?”
“The doctor assures me
that you’ll make a full recovery,” Ochre replied brightly.
“If that’s the same
doctor who confidently told me that inserting these drips wouldn’t hurt a bit,
then he’s a liar!”
Ochre smiled. Yes,
Riordan was going to be all right.
“I need some information, Mr Riordan.”
Riordan sighed. “I know,
but I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I’m sorry, Mr Riordan,
I know how you must feel, but we don’t have that luxury.”
“You know how I
feel? Do you really? I find out that one of my friends is dead
and has somehow been replaced by someone, no, something that looks and sounds just like him. Same face, same bearing, same memories,
everything. Except, no, this guy’s a homicidal maniac! And you know how that feels, do you?”
Ochre took a deep
breath. Yes, he knew exactly how that felt.
A couple of years ago, it had been he who had found Scarlet’s original
body and he who had found it most difficult to come to terms with that, and
accept that the Captain Scarlet who had survived the fall from the Car-Vu was,
in fact, the man he knew.
“We’ve been dealing with
the Mysterons for a long time, Mr Riordan. I’ve seen a lot.”
There was something
about Ochre’s tone, at once empathising and yet filled with sadness. Riordan felt a surge of guilt as he
remembered that here stood the man who Pat Donaghue himself had once described
as his best friend. He knew exactly how
Riordan was feeling and had very probably lost many more friends to the
Mysterons.
“What can I tell you?”
he asked in a subdued tone.
“Donaghue, you know, is
a Mysteron duplicate?”
“Yes, he told me as
much,” Riordan replied quietly. “Hardest thing I ever had to hear. Scared me
half to death.”
Ochre nodded knowingly.
“He killed Fisher too?”
“Yeah, and some others.
Oh!” Riordan suddenly broke off with a look of concern on his face. “I’m sorry,
Captain, your friend, Captain Scarlet. I forgot,” he added awkwardly.
Ochre said nothing, merely staring in reply. Riordan stared
back, almost squirming uncomfortably under his gaze.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t
thinking. Did you find him? Was he
there? In –” He paused again as he shivered at the thought “– in the water?”
“You sounded sure he
would be there when we found you.”
“Well, I didn’t see him
dropped. I just assumed… I mean – I didn’t even see him killed.”
“Did Donaghue tell you
he’d killed him?”
“Yes. Well, no, not
exactly. Just that he was going to deal
with him, but the way he dealt with everything and everyone was to kill.”
Riordan looked even more miserable.
“Well, Mr Riordan,”
Ochre smiled, “I’ve got what will hopefully be a pleasant surprise for you.”
Riordan raised an
eyebrow and watched the Spectrum captain open the door and beckon to
someone. As he turned back into the
room, he was followed, to Riordan’s surprise, by another Spectrum captain he
recognised very well.
“But, I was so sure..”
Riordan spluttered. “Then he didn’t kill you?” he frowned almost immediately as
he realised it was such a ridiculous question. “I’m… I’m so sorry,
Captain. I realise it was mostly my
fault that you got caught and were almost killed. I –”
“Mr Riordan,” began
Scarlet in a business-like, almost curt tone, “what can you tell us of
Donaghue’s plans?”
“Not much,” Riordan
admitted. “He didn’t tell me, didn’t trust me. I don’t think it took him long
to realise that I knew something was
wrong with him, but I’d never have guessed what in a million years.”
“You can’t tell us
anything?”
Ochre glanced briefly at Scarlet. Yes, it was true that Scarlet frequently cut through niceties,
but today he seemed almost abrupt, unkind even. It simply wasn’t like him.
“Well –” Riordan paused
for a deep breath, grimacing at the effort. “Can I have some water, please?”
Scarlet merely stood awaiting
the reply, leaving Ochre to round the bed and pour out a glass.
“Here, Mr Riordan, sip
it slow,” suggested Ochre as he handed him the glass.
“Matt, please,” he
replied as he took the glass gratefully. “I guess I’ll hear ‘Riordan’ quite
enough when I go to prison.”
“Mr Riordan?” Scarlet
continued. “Can you tell us anything?”
Riordan turned his eyes
back to Scarlet; they were once again half-closed and his face had drained of
what little colour it had previously shown.
“Something to do with
the WGPC building. He wanted a
schematic, guard rosters, personnel, all kinds of detailed stuff.”
“Makes sense,” agreed
Ochre. “Since the swearing-in ceremony for Stewart will be taking place
there. Anything else, Matt?”
“Not really. I mean, I can give you names, office
addresses, that sort of thing. Not sure if it’ll help though.”
“Give us what you can,
Matt,” Ochre replied with a smile, “then we’ll leave you to get some rest.”
Riordan duly furnished
Ochre with as much detail as he could on remaining Syndicate members and their
offices. As Ochre jotted the
information down, he noticed Scarlet’s expression growing ever more sullen and
dark. Thanking Riordan for his efforts,
despite his pain and discomfort, the two Spectrum officers left the room and
headed down the corridor to the small filing office they had commandeered.
“What’s up?” Ochre asked
as soon as the door was closed.
“Nothing’s up,” replied
Scarlet sourly.
Ochre caught him by the
arm and turned Scarlet to face him. “Yes there is. Now, I don’t know what it is
and maybe you don’t want to discuss it with me, but...”
“You know Pat well,
don’t you?” Scarlet butted in.
“Yeah, for my sins.”
“What was he like in the
Syndicate?”
“Well, I never really crossed
swords with him. He was in New York and I was in Chicago. I mean, I knew who he was and all, but...”
Ochre cut himself off in mid-sentence and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Why?”
“Did he kill? I mean, he never talks about his Syndicate
days much...”
“No, he doesn’t.” Ochre’s tone became harsh. “Probably
because he’s keen to put it all behind him.”
“But did he ever kill?”
Scarlet persisted.
“No, he didn’t,” Ochre
replied sharply.
“You’re telling me that
it was just that easy for an exact
duplicate to change into being a ruthless mob boss, capable of killing any
and all rivals and anyone else standing in his path?”
“Hey!” Ochre bristled.
“Let me take you back a few years. You’re telling me that it’s in your nature
for you to kidnap and threaten to kill the World President?”
“I was a soldier,
Ochre,” Scarlet replied sourly. “Like it or not, I’m a trained killer. The
difference is that I killed out of duty.”
“So you think because
you’d killed before that, Pat must have too? Is that it?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly
it. How else would his duplicate find it so easy to do?”
“Now are you going to
tell me that every person who’s ever been Mysteronised and then killed people
on behalf of the Mysterons must all have been killers before, too? Because if you are, then the WGPC
can’t be doing all that great a job, can they?
All those uncaught murderers loose on the streets…”
“Well I don’t know, it just...”
“And me? What does that say about me, eh? My best friend’s a murderer? No, Scarlet,
no, you’re wrong.”
“He killed me, Ochre!” Scarlet snapped suddenly.
“He even had the gall to apologise for having to do it, because he considered
me as a friend, and…”
“That wasn’t Pat!” Ochre
cut in sharply. “I don’t believe I’m hearing this! And from you!
You, of all people, are
doubting Pat, based on the actions of a Mysteron double? You? And you expect me to understand?”
“Well you gave me a hard
enough time when it was me in the same position, I thought you’d understand!”
Ochre let out a long
sigh, dropping his shoulders.
“And I was wrong and
stupid! Paul, Pat was no killer. Sure, he’s learned to now, but only when
it’s absolutely necessary and...”
“What?” Scarlet
prompted, following Ochre’s abrupt stop.
Ochre’s brow furrowed
deeply. “You don’t see what he’s like later on. It eats him up, Paul.” He shook his head sadly. “Pat’s no cold-blooded
killer. He wasn’t one before; he isn’t
one now. He will never find it easy
to kill someone. Oh sure – he’ll do it
if he has no choice. If it’s his duty
to do so. Because he knows his duty.
But he’ll never like it. Never.”
Scarlet pondered that
revelation silently for a moment. He
finally lowered his gaze, feeling
ashamed of his doubts.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed.
Ochre shrugged. “I know
you’re not blaming Pat – not Pat
himself anyway. But the shock of seeing what someone could be capable of is
quite nasty. Doesn’t mean they are like
that, though. I know that about you and
you know it about Pat.”
Scarlet nodded as he
exhaled deeply. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.”
Both men’s eyes met in a
gaze of mutual understanding just as the door opened, revealing the tall
striking figure of Captain Blue.
“Hi,” Blue greeted them
cheerily. “Did you get anything?”
“Not much,” Scarlet replied,
with a dissatisfied shrug. “A few leads. How about you?”
“Zip. Those guys who
tried to kill Riordan have closed up tighter than a clam. They won’t even give
their names. We running an ID scan to find out who they are.”
“Don’t blame them,”
Ochre commented. “I’ll bet they think
Donaghue has a very long reach. They’re afraid of what he might do if they
talk.”
“Okay,” Blue began, “what do you
have?”
“Some names and
addresses. We’ve been waiting for you
so we can check them out,” Scarlet replied. “One of those addresses seems to be
the gang’s main offices. We may start
there.”
“Right,” Blue nodded.
“And I’ll get back to the WGPC building,” Ochre said. “We
know something’s going to happen there, just not what it is yet.”
“Just don’t let Commander Stewart see you, unless it really
can’t be helped,” added Scarlet.
“I’ll blend with the
crowd,” Ochre grinned, “No-one will even know I’m there.”
“Yeah,” Scarlet
chuckled, “that’s what I like about these uniforms - so inconspicuous!”
* * *
Kirby pushed the last
wad of documents into the shredder and pressed the button; ribbons of paper
fell onto the basket underneath the machine, which was already thoroughly full,
and fell down to the floor on all sides.
They had disposed of the last piece of evidence the police might use
against them, if they ever raided the place.
Minutes earlier, Ox had destroyed the computer in Donaghue’s office,
after Kirby had erased the hard drive. Not that it would matter that much, Kirby
reflected, looking over his shoulder, and watching as Ox was spreading gasoline
all over the place. There won’t be that much left of the place
in a little while.
Ox had thrown the now
empty jerry can into a corner of the room.
It was, as far as Kirby had been able to notice, the fourth can he had
emptied that way. Kirby sniffed with
disgust. The building was now
impregnated with a strong, distasteful odour that was literally churning his
stomach.
“Is it really necessary
to go that far?” Kirby asked, as Ox came to stand in front of him.
The big man shrugged his
huge shoulders. “Boss’s orders,” he
replied matter-of-factly. “Better not
take any chances, in case the police or Spectrum come sneaking in here.”
“We wouldn’t be in this
mess if we had not attracted Spectrum’s attention to begin with…” Kirby stopped before adding another
sentence. He just had noticed the odd
way Ox was glaring at him. Damn. Too late to back off now… “Admit it, Ox,
you’re thinking the same as me. If we
had not attacked that Security Building…”
“The boss had his
reasons, Mr Kirby,” Ox replied icily.
“As he had his reasons
to leave the others behind like he did?” Kirby said. “Ox, you didn’t like it any better than I did.”
“Couldn’t be helped,” Ox
remarked, offering his boss’s own answer to the incident.
“You really think that?”
Kirby insisted. “Donaghue’s so
determined to get to Stewart – it’s like an obsession of his. Ox, I’m afraid of what lengths he’ll go to
to kill the man.”
“What are you saying, Mr
Kirby?” Ox asked, with a suspicious glitter in his eyes.
“Ox… After the others…
we might be next to be sacrificed to the boss’s obsession.”
The glitter in Ox’s eyes
became hotter, and Kirby suddenly grew concerned that he had said too much; Ox
might not be a very bright man, but he was excessively loyal to his boss. Especially when this boss was Patrick
Donaghue. He probably didn’t like
hearing someone badmouthing him. Ox,
however, didn’t say anything, and turned around, reaching for another jerry can
behind him.
“We’d better get moving
and finish this job,” he mumbled.
Kirby shivered. “Ox,
didn’t you hear a word I said?”
“I heard!” Ox snapped, turning
around sharply. “Now, please, Mr
Kirby: don’t say another bad word
against Mr Donaghue. Or I will be
forced to tell him about it. Please, I
don’t want to do that.”
“I know he sent you with
me so you could keep an eye on me,” Kirby moved on. “He thinks I might use the first opportunity to get out, right?”
“Will you?” Ox asked
coldly.
Kirby shrugged. “Donaghue knows he can rely on you. He knows
your loyalty to him. And it’s all to
your honour, Ox. But, Ox… we can’t rely on him. It’s not in our interest to stay with this
madman…”
“Mr Kirby…”
“He’ll be the death of
us all,” Kirby continued, not letting the bigger man continue. “Ox, deep down, you know it’s true.” He took Ox by his huge shoulders, looking up
into his wary eyes. “We have to get out while we still can…”
“I can’t abandon the
boss like that…” muttered Ox, shaking his head obstinately.
“You would die for a man like that? Who has little interest in the lives of his
own men? You saw what he did to the
others. Damn it, he condemned them to
death by pressing that remote control button.
He killed them!”
Kirby could see that Ox’s
confidence was wavering – yet, he was
still reluctant to admit the truth of what was being told to him. Kirby wanted desperately to get out of the
fire before it was too late – but he had little hope of escaping Ox’s
vigilance. If he couldn’t talk him into
joining him, he feared that he would have to shoot him. But using a gun against Ox, it would mean
killing him at the first shot. He had
little doubt that the big man would be able to strangle him with his bare hands
if he was only wounded.
Looking at Ox, in the hope that he
would not have to take that risk, Kirby heard a faint sound, coming from the stairwell
beyond the door. Ox heard it too, and
both men turned their heads in the same direction. Someone was coming – trying to sneak up on them, but betrayed by
the creaking of the wooden steps. Kirby
paled, while Ox’s face became a mask of determination. Swiftly, the giant moved toward the door.
Upon their arrival in front of the
building, Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue had seen the lone car parked in the
abandoned parking lot. A gleaming, brand new car, of the latest model, that
seemed a little out of place, considering the surroundings. Checking out the number on the license plate
gave them the identity of its owner, and they knew they might have hit the
jackpot: according to the records, Josh
Kirby was one of the top members of the Ben Fisher’s gang. Had
been, was a more accurate term, actually – considering that his old boss had
been murdered – and that he more than probably was now taking his orders from
Fisher’s murderer: Patrick Donaghue’s
Mysteron duplicate, now turned mob boss for the purpose of his mission.
Whoever might be in the building,
however, Blue and Scarlet intended to catch them. They needed a lead on Donaghue’s whereabouts, and the possibility
of finding a member of the gang in this place was a chance they were not
willing to let slip by. They had
entered, as quietly as possible, hoping to surprise their quarry. The first floor provided few clues that
someone was there – except for the fact that the whole place was stinking with
a strong gasoline odour.
They heard rushing sounds coming
from the second floor and moved to climb the stairs. Scarlet took the lead, with Blue close behind. Both had their guns drawn and were careful
not to make any sound. It wasn’t easy –
the wooden stairs creaked under their boots as they climbed. They just hoped it would go unnoticed. They couldn’t hear any other sounds coming
from the second floor, though; maybe they would surprise whoever might be up
there.
When Scarlet arrived at the top of
the stairs, he found himself standing in a narrow corridor. In front of him was an open door, beyond
which he could see an apparently empty room. He stepped forward and stopped in
the doorway. The smell of gasoline was
even stronger here, and that made him prick his nose; empty jerry cans were
lying in a corner, not far from him.
One of them was still pouring out its contents onto the floor; it was as
if it had been hurriedly thrown there…
As he suddenly became aware that
there was someone there in this room, near to him, Scarlet saw a huge shadow
coming from the right side of the door; big hands grabbed him by the front of
his uniform and pulled him inside, with such force that his feet
momentarily left the floor; he smacked
face first into the wall facing him, almost knocking himself down in the
process.
Seeing his colleague manhandled
that way, Blue jumped forward; his forehead collided with the door, which had
been slammed closed, and he was thrown back toward the stairs. His gun had escaped from his hand and
clattered down the steps toward the first floor; if he had not caught hold of the railing at the last possible
moment, he would have followed the same trajectory. Shaking himself, he turned his attention back to the door, behind
which he could hear the sound of a furious fight.
Scarlet didn’t have the time to
recuperate after his encounter with the wall before a fist hit him violently in
the back, between the ribs. Twice.
That hurt, and knocked all the breath out of him. He had lost hold of
his gun by the third blow; it was as if
huge hammers were slamming into him.
Somehow, right at this moment, he guessed who was pounding into him like that.
When a big hand took him by his
collar and turned him around to push his back violently against the wall, he
saw he had been right; and he saw the surprise and confusion in Robert Oxbury’s
face as the giant, his right fist up, ready to strike, froze instantly upon
seeing the face of his victim
“You!” Ox gasped, apparently not believing his eyes. “You should be dead!”
Scarlet offered a forced grin.
“Surprise, Mr. Oxbury!” he said with a grunt, and pressed his foot against Ox’s
belly to try to push him away.
Amazingly, it did the trick, and the giant’s hold on him broke. Ox stepped back.
That was the moment Blue chose to
enter the room, through the door, breaking it down with a loud crashing sound
in the process, and stumbling into the middle of the room. Ox turned on his
heel to face him; Blue rarely had to face a man who was taller than himself –
if he was impressed by the man’s massiveness, he didn’t show it for so much as
a second and attacked on sight, punching him in the jaw. He was astounded to see that the only effect
it had was to make the giant divert his eyes.
He looked with wide-opened eyes as Ox slowly turned an angry stare on
him, spitting out blood as he did so. A
faint but distinct clinking sound was heard as something hit the floor.
“You BROKE one of me teeth…” Ox
growled, glaring murderously at Blue, taking a threatening
step forward. Blue didn’t wait for the giant to be on him and threw another
punch; Ox literally caught the fist in his massive hand and Blue yelped,
feeling as if his fingers were being crushed.
Scarlet jumped onto Ox’s massive
shoulders, holding onto his head and trying to force him to let go. Grunting with frustration, Ox easily swatted
Blue away, and backed against the wall, trying to squash Scarlet against it, as
if he were an annoying fly. Scarlet’s
back took the blunt of the shock and he grunted at the pain. It took Ox a second shove to finally force
him to let go, and Scarlet fell against the wall, half-stunned. Ox’s hand grabbed him again by his
collar. He peeled Scarlet off the wall
and threw him, spinning, in the direction of Blue, who was coming back for a
second round. The American captain was ready, and caught his colleague as he
almost fell to the floor.
“You all right?” Blue asked
hastily.
“Never felt better!” Scarlet
gasped.
Blue hurriedly pulled him back to
his feet as Ox was coming in, charging like the proverbial bull. Both Spectrum agents were ready for him and
hit him with the same punch – which had the effect of stopping him in his
tracks. More blood spilled from his mouth, but that didn’t seem to bother
him. He shoved Scarlet aside like a rag
doll and encircled both his huge hands around Blue’s throat. The blond officer gasped, searching his
breath, trying to break the bigger man’s grip. His knees started to buckle.
“You Spectrum officers are really a
pain,” Ox growled between his teeth, looking down into the face of the gasping
man.
“Thanks for the idea…” wheezed
Blue. His booted foot went up and hit
Ox where he thought it would really count; it did have the desired effect of making Ox loosen his grip. Blue shoved his arms upward between Ox’s,
forcing him to release him – and hit him with all his strength in the mouth
again. For the first time, the giant’s
legs swayed.
He was finally brought down when
Scarlet, coming back once again, now determined to finish it off, broke a
wooden chair he had found lying in a corner directly onto the man’s skull. Ox’s knees gave way and he fell heavily on
the floor, moaning, at the feet of the two Spectrum officers, who were looking
down, breathing hard.
“Not very refined,” Scarlet panted,
looking at the piece of wood still in his hand. He threw it away. “…But effective nevertheless.”
“Can you believe that guy?” Blue replied,
shaking his right hand. He grimaced. “I
think I broke a finger or two…”
“Not to mention he nearly snapped
your head off like the cap of a Coke bottle…”
Scarlet reflected.
“You weren’t doing any better
against him, I will remind you!”
“Well, at least, teamwork
got the job done…”
Scarlet carefully leaned over to
pick up his gun from the floor; that’s when he noticed a shadow trying to slip
throughout the still-open door. Another
man, that neither he nor Blue, all too busy with trying to bring Ox down, had
seen up until this moment. And who was
now making a break for it. Scarlet
brought his gun up, training it on the man.
“Hey, you! Not so fast! You’re not going anywhere!”
Amazingly enough, that was the
moment that Ox chose to straighten up from the floor, taking Scarlet and Blue
totally by surprise, and pushing them away from him. The gun spat a wild shot into the ceiling as Ox ran toward the
exit, pushing aside Josh Kirby, who had stopped in his tracks upon hearing
Scarlet’s warning. Kirby fell back, and let out a cry of pain, as the
big man stepped over him and all but jumped down the stairs, making them creak
noisily under his weight. Blue and
Scarlet were at the top of the stairs just as he reached the first floor,
Scarlet getting ready to shoot to stop him.
“You might kill him,” Blue advised,
stopping his colleague from pulling the trigger. “We may need him alive.”
“You’re right,” Scarlet grumbled,
putting the gun away and starting to run down the stairs. “I’ll go after him. Stay with the other one and see what he
knows!”
“Be careful!” Blue called after
him. His colleague had already
disappeared through the door, running after the fleeing giant. Blue looked down at the man lying on the
first upper steps of the staircase. His
right foot was at an odd angle, and he was moaning piteously, gritting his
teeth against what seemed like an enormous amount of pain.
“Okay, mister, what’s your story?”
Blue asked him harshly.
Kirby looked up at him, his face
pale and contorted with pain. “You don’t
know how glad I am to see you,” he
exhaled with a whimper.
“Are you, now?” muttered Blue with
a frown. “Now you’re going to tell me
what you were doing with that monster-man – and where in Hell we can find
Patrick Donaghue!”
* * *
The Mysteron duplicate
of Patrick Donaghue looked coldly out of the window, with his binoculars, in the
direction of the WGPC building. From
where he was standing, he could see the front entrance very well, where police,
officials, journalists, television crews and the merely curious had gathered in
packs to attend Ian Stewart’s swearing-in ceremony as the new Supreme Commander
of the World Government Police Corps.
There was a multitude of policemen on the ground, along with Spectrum
agents, working together now to provide
security. Vehicles of both organisations were spread around, at strategic
points – surveillance vans and patrol cars, and even a SPV and two MSVs which
had transported Stewart and the World Court judge who would preside over the swearing-in.
Donaghue scoffed
loudly. A large stage, with a lectern,
had been put up in front of the building’s entrance, with microphones and
speakers. The news had it that the
ceremony would be performed outside. It
was so much like Stewart to decide to do that – an obvious, arrogant way of
telling the ‘terrorists’ who had recently threatened his life that he would not
be intimidated. Donaghue imagined that
Colonel White wasn’t too happy with this new development. Probably, the Spectrum commander had debated
the point, and protested loudly. And of
course, considering what Donaghue was seeing now, he had lost the argument.
It didn’t matter that
much. Soon, Stewart would be dead. And all those preparations outside would
have been for nothing.
Donaghue had just
checked on his men’s positions. There
were three snipers on the roof, with long-distance rifles, ready to shoot
whenever they received the word from their boss. Other men, armed with handguns,
were standing surveillance at various windows. A driver was waiting at the wheel of his van, in the sub-basement
garage, ready to make a quick getaway with whoever remained of his companions, if
it became necessary.
Everything was ready.
What a shame… Donaghue mused, almost feeling sorry
that they were all making all that effort for nothing.
He checked the
ammunition in the Spectrum-issue colour-coded gun he took from the table behind
him. Perfect. The magazine is
full. He put it back on the table,
then picked up the red-coloured tunic laid next to it. Scarlet’s tunic, that he had kept since the
moment he had captured the indestructible agent. He slipped into it, over the dark Spectrum uniform he was already
wearing. Scarlet was taller, perhaps a
little leaner than himself, but the tunic was of the same size as Magenta’s, so
it fitted perfectly. Donaghue pulled
the zipper up and fastened the belt.
Then he checked on the hidden knife in his right sleeve; one flick of
the wrist was enough to operate the mechanism allowing the knife to slip into
his hand, ready to be used if he needed it.
He would rather put a bullet into Stewart’s brain, he reflected, but if
all else failed, he would be more than satisfied to slit his throat
instead.
He put the knife back
into place. His hand then reached for the phone. And he quickly tapped in a
number he knew by heart.
“Spectrum New York HQ. How can
we help you?”
“I have information
about the whereabouts of Patrick Donaghue’s gang,” Donaghue then said, in a very
calm voice. He looked out through the
window, his features becoming cold.
“You’ll find them in the 2020 Building, just in front of the WGPC
Building. Their snipers have a grand
view of the stage on which Commander Stewart’s ceremony will take place…”
There was a surprised –
but short – pause. “Can I ask your name,
sir?”
“I’m just a concerned
citizen doing his duty. JUST be sure
Spectrum arrests those scum.” With
that, Donaghue hung up swiftly. No
sense permitting Spectrum to trace the call just yet. They didn’t need to know it was coming from the same building he
just had mentioned. A quick survey of
the building by the Angels and or helicopters would prove to them that he had
told the truth.
Quietly, he took the
brilliant scarlet cap from the table, and tore away the mic from the visor, not
wanting anyone to try to contact Scarlet – and find him out instead. He put the cap on, before looking himself in
the mirror. His hair was longer than Scarlet’s,
and thicker… But the illusion, at a distance,
would work perfectly. That would be all
he would need to enter the WGPC Building without attracting too much attention
– while the rest of the Donaghue gang would unwittingly cause a diversion for
Spectrum.
He picked up the gun
again and put it into the holster.
“Right. Now down to serious
business.”
He left the room, took
the stairs down, and directed his steps
to the unguarded rear entrance. Nobody
from inside the building noticed when he came out and quietly walked away, not
looking behind, and taking a detour in order to enter the WGPC building.
He failed to see the
tall, bulky man who had arrived seconds earlier, stopping his car on the nearby
parking lot, and who was looking in his direction with an odd look of confusion
splattered on his face. Robert Oxbury
had recognised his boss, wearing the uniform of one of the Spectrum officers he
had just fought a few moments earlier, and apparently abandoning the
surveillance building, and the rest of the gang. He slowly got out of his car, not taking his eyes off Donaghue’s
red-clad silhouette as he was walking
away.
Ox didn’t know what it
could mean. He had no idea of what
might be going on. But he had every
intention of finding out.
He closed the door to
his car and started to follow his boss at a distance.
*
* *
To Ochre, it was almost
unnaturally peaceful around the WGPC building.
On the few visits he had made, the place had been a hive of activity
with lots of coming and going of, amongst others, police, prisoners and their
legal representatives. Today, the place
was still and silent. The building only
contained those people authorised to be there on the protection roster for
Commander Stewart and the World Court Judge who would swear him in to his post
as Supreme Commander of the World Government Police Corps. Despite reports to the contrary, Ochre
sensed that something was wrong and it frustrated him that he didn’t know what,
exactly.
“Calm down or leave me
alone!” grumbled Magenta. “I can’t bear
your pacing any longer!”
Inside the large Spectrum
surveillance van, Magenta and Ochre were manning an impressive array of
monitoring equipment. Over the previous
thirty minutes, Ochre had paid less and less attention to the screens, which
had revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and become firmly convinced of his
assertion that something was
wrong. As large as the van was, the
sheer volume of equipment held within dictated that Ochre had to turn every
three or four paces and the sheer monotony of it was driving Magenta to
distraction, away from his surveillance instruments, and it irritated him.
“Something’s wrong,”
Ochre explained.
“I know,” Magenta
answered curtly.
“You do?”
“Yes, you’re losing your
grip on reality! Now sit down! You’re making me dizzy.”
Ochre frowned. “Something’s wrong!” he repeated.
“What’s wrong, Rick?” Magenta asked tiredly.
“I don’t know,” Ochre
sighed. “Something.”
Magenta smiled
sympathetically; it was rare for Ochre’s police instincts to fail him. “I’ll do
a sweep with the cameras.”
Ochre watched over
Magenta’s shoulder as the van’s first camera performed a full sweep of the area
but discovered nothing untoward.
Magenta shook his head as he looked up.
“Can’t shake it, Pat,”
Ochre shrugged. “I’m certain that…” He
was suddenly interrupted by an incoming communication, and lowered his cap mic.
“Captain Ochre.”
“Captain, this is Sergeant Holroyd, Spectrum
Headquarters New York.”
“Yes, Sergeant, what is
it?”
“We’ve had an anonymous tip-off, sir. Members of the Donaghue gang on the roof of
the 2020 building with sniper rifles.”
“Get one of the Angels
to overfly the building,” Ochre replied urgently.
“Melody Angel has already confirmed unusual activity
on the roof of the building, Captain.”
“Good work,
Sergeant. Out.”
“What is it?” asked Magenta,
intrigued.
“I’ve located my nagging
doubt,” Ochre replied distractedly, before once again lowering his microphone.
“Grey, get the commander inside, we have trouble.”
A rather perplexed Magenta watched on the monitor,
where he could see Grey hastily following those last instructions, while Ochre
was making a further call to Captain Santini, the leader of one of Spectrum’s
special commando teams. Ochre explained
the situation and plan of action, with Magenta listening intently, frowning
deeply as his colleague referred to the men in the 2020 Building as ‘Donaghue’s
Gang’.
“They’re not my men,” he
grumbled, as he got to his feet.
“Where do you think
you’re going?” Ochre asked, ignoring Magenta’s complaint.
“Coming with you.”
“Oh no, you’re not!
You’re in no fit state to go rushing around fighting. Remember what Colonel
White ordered? You’ll stay right here, understand me?”
“Yes, mammy!” Magenta
grumbled, sitting back.
“Just stay out of
trouble. Not too much to ask, is it?” Ochre frowned as he opened the door and
stepped down from the van to meet the commando team.
“Captain
Santini?”
“Sir.”
“Right, let’s go.”
Magenta stared miserably
at the monitors and watched Ochre lead the commando team towards the building
opposite. If he were honest with
himself, his friend was right. He wasn’t
physically capable of storming the building, but he hated it when Ochre was
right. He could be unbearable. Magenta sighed as he continued to watch the
monitors. Everything was happening on
the roof. It was going to be a very
dull watch. Leaning back in the chair,
Magenta was secretly grateful that he
was allowed to rest. He was feeling rough,
and finding it difficult enough just trying to remain seated upright; he had rather
underestimated just how bad he felt.
Still, with any luck, the problem would be resolved shortly. Ochre and his team would catch the gang unawares
and hopefully that would be that.
Magenta allowed himself a half smile; he knew that sounded too
easy.
Glancing to his left as
he caught a movement from the corner of his eye, Magenta brightened as he saw
on another screen Captain Scarlet heading towards the WGPC building. He flipped the communications channel
switch, but immediately switched it off
again. He had to keep Scarlet informed
about the current situation, he knew that, but it would be best discussed face
to face, of that he was certain. Well – for him, anyway. That was a good enough
excuse. Anything other than remaining cooped up in this van! Of course, if he said one word to the effect
that he had left the van without authorisation, Scarlet would be down on him
like a ton of bricks. He knew that
Scarlet would be furious with him for risking his health and potentially
placing himself in danger, but, he told himself, there were very few options
available to him. Sure, he could
contact one of the WGPC guys and ask for Scarlet to report to the van, but he
was perfectly happy to pretend not to have thought about that option. Throwing
down his headset onto the desk, Magenta headed for the doors at the back of the
van. He knew that he shouldn’t, but
then, hadn’t his whole adult life been based on ‘things he shouldn’t’? He was hardly straying from expectations.
Closing the doors to the
van, Magenta stared in the direction that Scarlet had been walking. Gone already.
“He’s quick on his
feet,” Magenta complained. “Or maybe
it’s just that I’m not right now,” he corrected himself with a frown.
It wasn’t a
problem. There was only one place
Scarlet could be headed – into the WGPC building itself. At as brisk a pace as he could manage,
Magenta set off after him.
* * *
For Ox, it had not been
difficult to get ahead of his boss, Patrick Donaghue. Despite his size and sheer bulk, Ox was surprisingly light on his
feet, stealth playing quite a significant part of his job.
He now stood in the
shadows and watched with discontent as Donaghue, dressed in a Spectrum uniform,
approached the building. Ox’s mind was in turmoil. He had always believed that ‘Mr Donaghue’ would return to lead
the Syndicate back to its former glory, despite Mr Riordan’s protestations to
the contrary. He knew, he’d felt
it. But as he stood, staring as the man
in question approached, he wondered if he had been right. Yes, it was him – of course it was him – but
so much had changed, more than Ox truly wanted to accept. For the first time since he had been
entrusted with the role of enforcer within the mob, years ago, he found himself
doubting his boss. He had always been
loyal, almost obsessively so. No one
would dare utter a word against
Donaghue in his presence, even now when things were obviously so very bad. Josh Kirby had earlier feared the possible
repercussions of voicing his concerns.
Now it was Ox’s
turn. As much as he hated to admit it, Mr
Donaghue had let them down. It was
unthinkable and he felt betrayed, even hurt.
But he was determined to know why.
“Mr Donaghue,” he called
as he stepped from the shadows. His
huge form stood not quite in Donaghue’s way.
It was intimidating enough in itself, but the giant couldn’t quite bring
himself to threaten his boss.
Donaghue stopped in his
tracks and frowned in obvious surprise.
“Ox, I didn’t expect to
see you here,” he replied uncertainly.
Ox paused for a few
seconds, realising that this would be no easy task.
“Ox?”
“A lot of the men are dead,
Mr Donaghue…” Ox left the sentence hanging. He felt awkward and uncomfortable.
“Yes, that’s
unfortunate, but I never said it would be easy,” Donaghue replied
callously. “Have you destroyed the evidence?”
“Yes. No. Not quite.” Ox
shook his head. “Mr Donaghue, you never
killed before. No one ever died. You
never did nothing like this. How could you come back and tear the gang apart
like this?”
“Ox, I have a job to do.
Please go. We’ll discuss this later.”
“No, Mr Donaghue, you’ve
gone too far,” Ox replied, barely believing that he was saying the words.
“There’s been too much killing. It has
to stop! Nothing is that important.
You’re not like this…”
“Oh, but you’re wrong,
Ox. Ironic really, don’t you think? If
not for you, I think the men would have bailed on me long ago.”
“Don’t do this, Mr
Donaghue, please. Prove me wrong about you.”
Donaghue sighed. “I’m sorry, Ox, truly I am, but you’re far
from wrong.”
Ox’s brow furrowed, as
he stared in confusion at the man standing before him. Glancing down, he froze in stunned silence
as he noticed the pistol in his boss’s hand. It was a total shock. There was no way that he could comprehend
his fate in the brief moments allowed to him.
Ox barely felt the bullets enter his chest; there was almost no sound,
as the shots were muffled by the gun’s silencer. Heat washed over him in waves as he clasped his hand over
the gaping wound. One last brief glance
into Donaghue’s eyes revealed that his
boss had no remorse for his actions, not even a glimmer of compassion. In too much pain to do little more than
gasp, Ox slipped silently to the ground. Without even a backward glance,
Donaghue walked on towards the WGPC building and his intended target.
* * *
The downed man was the
first thing Magenta saw as he rounded the corner. The blood was hard to miss, but what was harder was the fact that
he recognised the man. Even from that
distance and angle, his features were clear.
Magenta’s heart leapt into his throat as he defied his own injuries to
run to the man he had once called his friend.
In the distance, he saw Scarlet heading inside. Magenta was confused. Surely he’d seen the injured man? He would never just ignore a man lying dead
or dying, almost in his path.
“Ox?” Magenta’s eyes
were wide with the horror of the sight before him, and were inexorably drawn to
the gaping chest wound from which blood still oozed. “Ox!” he cried, shaking
the man’s shoulder.
It was only the briefest
of flutters at first, but Magenta saw immediately that Ox was still alive. Ox
was badly injured, and Magenta had seen enough of those kinds of injuries to
know they were fatal. The giant would be dead in a matter of minutes. He cursed himself over and over for leaving
his cap in the van. Calling for help
would have to wait until he was inside the building.
“Mis… Mr Donaghue?”
“Easy, Ox, I’ll get some
help for you. You’ll be okay.”
“The men, boss… why? Why
did you leave them to die?”
“No-one else will die,
Ox and especially not you, my friend.”
“Why… Why d’you shoot
me, boss?”
“I didn’t…”
Shock suddenly hit
Magenta. And realisation dawned on
him. That hadn’t been Scarlet he had
seen earlier. The peculiar behaviour
was suddenly explained. He should have realised – the walk wasn’t Scarlet’s at
all. How blind could he be? That was his
walk.
The Mysteronised Donaghue.
A Mysteron was entering
the WGPC building and Magenta knew his intentions.
“I’m sorry, Ox, I have
to go. I have to put an end to all this. I’ll call for someone to help you, I…”
“I… I knew you wouldn’t…
leave me to die.” Ox gave the faintest of smiles and then, grunting noisily,
closed his eyes and stopped moving.
“Ox?”
Magenta didn’t receive
any answer from his motionless friend.
His jaw tightened. A low,
disgusted and angry growl rolled into the Irish captain’s throat, as he got to
his feet and looked with fiery eyes in the direction of the WGPC building.
‘I won’t have
my name dragged through the mud,’ he
thought with righteous fury. ‘No more
killing. You’ll be this Mysteron’s last
victim, Ox. I swear it!’
***
In a small glassed-in
room not far from there, where he had set
up his operational office, Lieutenant Tan was checking on the latest reports
from Spectrum security patrols on the premises, while Police Captain Anthony
Brealey, seated on the other side of the desk, was doing the same with the
reports handed to him by WGPC personnel.
Both men were growing more concerned as time passed, fully aware that
the closer they were to the swearing-in ceremony, the closer they also were to
the moment when Donaghue’s gang would attack.
Already, the earlier alert from Captain Ochre had served as a reminder
that the time was now very near. From what they had last learned, Spectrum was presently leading an assault on a nearby building,
where snipers and members of the gang had
been spotted earlier. Since then, they had
had no further news that the WGPC building was threatened. Maybe, as far as they knew, the danger had
been averted.
Tan’s epaulettes flashed
suddenly, and the lieutenant lowered his mic to answer the call. “Spectrum officer approaching door number two, sir,” he heard the
voice in his ear.
He rose from his seat and walked to the door
to open it and see who might be coming. From where he was standing, he could
see the glass door, behind which two Spectrum men were standing guard, one of
them holding a Mysteron gun. He saw
the tall figure clad in the very recognisable bright red uniform, coming their
way with a quiet enough step, while apparently fiddling with the mic of his
radiocap. “That’s Captain Scarlet. He
seems to have trouble with his cap mic. Let him pass, Tremaine. No need to
check him out with the Mysteron detector.”
“S.I.G.”
“Another one of your colour-coded officers?”
Brealey grunted from behind. “Seems
there’s an awful lot of those in your organisation, Lieutenant.”
“That colour-coded officer is one of
Spectrum’s best operatives, Captain Brealey,”
Tan informed the WGPC officer in a calm voice. “He might have come to offer better back up for the operation.”
“Oh,” Brealey said with
a quiet nod. “Then if he has trouble
with his communicator, it might be
better if we greet him properly, wouldn’t it? He might have interesting
information to give us concerning what’s going on outside.”
Tan concurred and
stepped out of the office, followed closely by Brealey, to walk down the
corridor toward the glass door, his eyes set on the officer in the red uniform
who had nearly arrived there.
He opened eyes wide with
surprise when, upon reaching the guards, ‘Scarlet’ suddenly pulled out his gun
and shot the first one at almost point-blank range. Tan stopped in his tracks, as the second guard was shot too, before
his very eyes. By that time, he had
seen the man’s face – and knew instantly it wasn’t Captain Scarlet, but the
Mysteron double of Captain Magenta that everyone had been looking for. He reached for his own gun, lowering his cap
mic at the same instant.
“Damn it! It’s…”
He never had time to
draw his gun or to call for help. From
behind him, Brealey suddenly gave a violent shove that sent him face first into
the wall, knocking him off balance, and sending his cap flying from his
head. Then, his own gun in hand, the
WGPC captain used the butt to hit the Spectrum lieutenant over the head with
such violence that it drew blood. Tan
gave a loud moan and slid to the floor, where he lay unconscious.
Brealey quickly took the key from his belt and ran over to
the door, which he unlocked and opened
wide for Donaghue. He helped him haul
the two dead guards inside and hid them inside a closet, into which they also
threw the still unconscious Tan.
Brealey locked the door and, puffing with tension, turned to the Mysteron agent standing by his
side.
“I can’t believe that
went as well as you thought it would, Donaghue,” he mumbled.
“With your help, it did,”
Donaghue replied. “I had no doubt it
would succeed.”
Brealey gave a deep
frown, sighing as he recovered his normal breathing rate. “Using that Spectrum
uniform to enter was a great idea. They
didn’t suspect you, thinking you were one of their own.”
Donaghue smiled
thinly. More importantly, they thought I was Scarlet. And so they didn’t use the Mysteron detector on me… That
gave him the advantage of being able to come close enough to strike without
them being suspicious of any wrong-doing.
“Stewart is in Room 7A –
seventh floor. You can’t miss it.”
“Certainly not, since you’ll show
me where it is.”
“Oh no, Donaghue,”
Brealey replied, taking a step back.
“The deal was to help you get inside. Then it’s up to you. I’m not going any further with you. While you busy yourself with Stewart, I’ll
get rid of that Spectrum officer before he denounces me as your accomplice.”
“Lieutenant Tan is of no
consequence to you,” Donaghue replied coldly.
“I need you, Captain Brealey,
and you will help me. There’s no turning back for you now.”
“There’s nothing you can
do to force me, Donaghue,” Brealey replied arrogantly. “And indeed, you need me. You will need my help again to avoid capture
– and get out of here alive.”
“So you think that can
protect you from me?” Donaghue raised
his gun, much to Brealey’s alarm. He
apparently didn’t expect this. “You’re wrong, Earthman.” There was but a
single gunshot; a bullet between the
eyes, Anthony Brealey was propelled against the wall and rolled onto the floor,
dead. A mere moment later, two circles
of green eerie light slowly traced across his prostrate body…
Then the Mysteron double
of Patrick Donaghue raised his eyes and met those of a new Captain Brealey,
standing over the dead body of the man whose face he wore.
“Now, you will help me,”
Donaghue said coldly.
The new Mysteron
duplicate nodded his consent and turned on his heel, preceding his accomplice
in the direction of the elevator.
* * *
“Are you sure it’s wise
to stand in front of that window, Captain Grey?” Commander Stewart asked in a
sceptical tone.
“There’s nothing to worry about,
Commander. Spectrum took additional security measures for your protection. All of the windows here and in the room
housing the World Court judge have been lined with a reinforcing, bullet-proof
material. It’s totally transparent,
but no bullet will pass through, I assure you.”
“Then it would take
someone quite extraordinary to get to us?”
“Yes, Commander,” Grey
nodded grimly. Knowing exactly who was
trying to kill Commander Stewart worried him even more. If there was anyone more likely than Patrick
Donaghue to find a way to break through the tight wall of security, then Grey
had never met him, and seriously doubted that he ever would.
“You seem concerned,
Captain. Is there something I should know?”
“No, sir,” Grey smiled
reassuringly, “I’m sure everything will be fine this time.”
Before Stewart could
comment on Grey’s obvious lie, a buzzing noise drew Grey to the internal
communicator.
“Captain Grey,” he
announced as he answered the call.
“It’s Captain Brealey, sir,”
came the voice over the
radio. “ Captain Scarlet has just
arrived, I’m bringing him to you now.”
“Thank you, Captain,
we’ll be expecting you,” replied Grey, thankful to receive the additional
Spectrum presence. Scarlet’s help certainly wouldn’t be too much in the
circumstances.
“You’re being relieved,
Captain?” Stewart asked with a surprised tone in his voice.
“No, sir. We’re just
stepping up security, that’s all.”
Stewart nodded, quietly
impressed.
Only moments later, a
knock at the door was heard, followed
by a call. “Captain Brealey, sir.”
Grey checked the monitor
linked to the corridor beyond the door.
The image on the screen confirmed that it was indeed Captain
Brealey. Behind him, partially obscured
by the tall, broad figure of Brealey, stood Scarlet. Everything seemed quite
normal. As soon as Grey opened the
door, Brealey strode in and handed Grey an open file, drawing his attention to
some photographs contained within.
“Captain Grey, these men
have been spotted in the vicinity. Are
you familiar with any of them?”
Grey gave the photographs a cursory glance, and passed the
file back to Brealey. It seemed very strange for Brealey to be bothering him
with this detail. If they were members
of the Donaghue gang, then it would be highly unlikely that he would know them
and surely it was more appropriate for the WG police themselves.
Far too enthusiastic,
thought Grey. That’s what happens I suppose
when individuals want to impress Spectrum with their competence. He even blanked his own commander. He’ll be
in trouble for that later.
“No, sorry, I don’t
recognise any of them. Scarlet...” Grey
began as he turned to face who he thought was his colleague. His eyes opened wide with surprise as he
spotted the Mysteron sporting Scarlet’s lost uniform. Reaching for his gun, he
yelled, “Commander, get down!”
Grey’s gun was barely out of its holster before the heavy
file in Brealey’s hands came crashing down on the back of his head and
neck. Not suspecting Brealey to be a
Mysteron, Grey had allowed him to get behind him. Believing his only foe to be immediately in front of him, the
blow had come as a complete surprise.
The dazed captain staggered forward, raising the gun and firing as he
did so. The shot missed its target, the
valiant effort drawing mocking laughter from the Mysteron.
“Not good enough, Grey,”
Donaghue commented coldly. His own gun
was now in his hand, trained on a stunned Stewart, making sure that way that he
wouldn’t make any unwise move. Brealey
had pulled the gun from Grey’s grasp and swiftly removed the cap from his
head. He pushed him to the floor, at
the foot of a large, solid, round table; Grey’s hands were pulled behind him
and secured with handcuffs behind one of the table’s sturdy legs.
“Now then, Commander,”
Donaghue began, as he walked toward his intended victim, “We have some business to attend to.”
“Donaghue!” Stewart
gasped in disbelief as he suddenly recognised the man who had spoken as the
former New York mob boss. “Patrick Donaghue!
I can’t believe…”
“It’s not Pat Donaghue,”
Grey corrected, raising his head, his voice slurred. “He’s a Mysteron…” He
tried to move to check the sturdiness of his handcuffs, but at the same time,
Brealey smashed the barrel of his gun against his face, knocking him
half-unconscious. “Shut up!” the Mysteronised
man barked at him.
“Brealey, are you
insane?” Stewart snapped angrily. “You,
siding with that…”
“That what?”
Donaghue raised his gun, pointing it directly under Stewart’s nose. That compelled the man to shut up instantly;
he stared down into the barrel, before raising his eyes to look into the cold
eyes of the Mysteron.
“Where have you been?”
he grumbled. “You just
disappeared. No sign of you for the
last few years – were you afraid you were going to get finally caught? Were you feeling the heat, Donaghue?”
Donaghue permitted
himself the faintest of smiles. “You
really have no idea what you’re dealing with here, Commander…”
“I know a sleazeball when I see one, Donaghue,” Stewart hissed
between his teeth. “I always knew you
were one, but never would I have thought you would sink so low, you basta…”
“You have mere minutes
to live, Commander,” Donaghue cut in implacably. “I suggest you choose your last words carefully. Soon, you will be executed, as the Mysterons
ordered, right in front of that window.”
“What do you hope to
achieve?” Stewart asked angrily, hoping to stall what seemed to be inevitable.
“You REALLY don’t know
what you are dealing with, Commander,” Donaghue replied with another faint,
sneering grin. “This will be a double
victory for the Mysterons. Beyond that
window is the world’s press, broadcasting live. What they will see is ‘Captain Scarlet’ – Spectrum’s number one
agent – murdering Commander Ian Stewart.
Pictures beamed around the world, live and uncensored. No amount of denials from Spectrum will
quell public fears – after all,
everyone will have seen it with their own eyes. It will certainly be the end of Scarlet’s career and the
beginning of the end for Spectrum.
Then, Commander, who could stop us exacting our revenge on you, pitiful Earthmen?” Donaghue finished with an air
that was a chilling combination of superiority and malice.
“Earthmen?” Stewart repeated with a furrowed brow. “What are you…?”
“If you really believe
all that, Mysteron, then you’re seriously underestimating us all!” Grey
suddenly interrupted from his place, having regained a little of his senses,
trying hard to sound as though he were certain that help was on the way. His
intervention certainly wasn’t to Brealey’s taste, for the Mysteron agent kicked
him violently in the side, making him gasp in pain.
“I told you to keep your
mouth shut, Earthman!”
“Be careful, Captain
Grey,” Donaghue said in turn, glaring coldly in Grey’s direction. “Those
strands of hope you’re clinging to are very fragile.”
Donaghue turned to Commander
Stewart who stood opposite him, his bearing erect and noble. Half-stunned by the last attack from
Brealey, Grey managed to look up at Stewart, frustrated that he was unable to
prevent his murder and yet at the same time, impressed by the courage he was
displaying.
“You face death, Commander.”
Donaghue’s expression, whilst still cold and dispassionate, exhibited the
slightest flicker of what might almost have been respect – perhaps a remnant
from the real Pat Donaghue’s own regard for the man and his abilities. The two
of them stood briefly, eye to eye, unmoving until Donaghue himself broke the
tension and forcibly dragged Stewart in front of the window and forced him to
his knees. Stewart’s pride and
determination to face the situation without exhibiting fear was still very much
in evidence, but it was clear that neither would Stewart pass up the
opportunity to fight. Donaghue was able to see that, and exhorted his intended
victim to put his hands on his head.
“You know the drill,
Commander,” he said, in the same merciless tone he had used ever since he had
entered the room. “Palms up… Now, that’s better. I know you won’t be trying anything to
escape your fate.”
With an expression
filled with loathing, Stewart eyed both Mysterons carefully, hoping to see an
opportunity to save himself. His
situation seemed desperate.
Donaghue smiled as he
noticed the buzz of activity outside as the representatives of the world press noticed
Commander Stewart held at gunpoint at the window. He carefully kept out of view
for now, glancing at the bulletproof covering over the glass, ironically meant
for Stewart’s protection, which would actually assist in his execution by
protecting his killer.
Satisfied that the
moment had come to carry out the Mysterons’ orders, Donaghue placed his finger
firmly on the trigger and prepared to step forward in full view of the watching
press.
To his right, the door
suddenly burst open, distracting Donaghue long enough for Stewart to lower his
shoulder and barrel into his legs.
Knocked off balance, Donaghue stumbled backwards; the shot meant for
Stewart instead embedded itself in the wall.
Regaining his footing, Donaghue turned furiously toward the newcomer and
was momentarily taken aback by the sight of the man who had just entered the
room.
“Magenta!” Grey cried a
warning. “Brealey’s a Mysteron!”
Magenta spun to his
left, as he caught the movement of Brealey raising his pistol. At the same
instant, Grey raised his legs and pushed his feet hard behind the Mysteronised
policeman’s knees, bringing him down.
Grateful for his colleague’s intervention, Magenta fired twice, felling
Brealey instantly. The distraction was enough time for Donaghue to act. Leaping forward, he grabbed Magenta by the
waist and wrestled him to the ground.
Slamming Magenta’s right hand viciously on the floor was enough to make
him lose his pistol.
“So,” the Mysteron
finally said, looking coldly into his
double’s face, “you’re not dead after all?
But I can feel you are weak. I’m
surprised you have the energy to stand, never mind put up the feeble effort
you’re managing now!”
It was true, Magenta was
struggling under the weight of the Mysteron; whatever move he tried to free
himself was countered. It was all he
could do to keep Donaghue from pointing the gun in his direction.
“That’s the problem with
fighting yourself.” Donaghue stared
coldly down. “I know all your moves.”
All the while, Commander
Stewart, whilst obviously stunned at the scene before him of two men wearing
the same face and fighting it off, still had the presence of mind to edge
towards Magenta’s dropped gun. From the
corner of his eye, Donaghue spied him as it was almost within his grasp.
“No, Commander.” He turned
his own pistol towards Stewart.
With a grunt of effort,
Magenta took advantage of the distraction and heaved his body to the left,
pulling Donaghue with him. Donaghue
pulled out of his grip and hauled himself to his feet, landing a vicious kick on
his human counterpart as he did so.
Temporarily disabled by violent tearing pains from behind his ribcage,
Magenta gasped for air and tried desperately to focus his blurred vision.
Seeing Stewart finally place his
hand on the lost gun only served to spur Donaghue into action. He lashed out
with a second violent kick, this time forcing Stewart’s hand against the floor,
almost crushing it in the process; Donaghue watched with satisfaction as the
pistol skittered away once more.
“Magenta!” yelled Grey.
Now on his knees, his
vision blurring with pain and weakness, Magenta had never looked so pale. Driven by sheer determination, plus a
considerable measure of anger at the misuse of his name and reputation, Magenta
launched himself forward as Donaghue stood back from Stewart, getting his
balance again and ready to pull the trigger.
Hurried footsteps and
voices could be heard beyond the open door, now closely approaching the room,
but Donaghue would not be distracted or denied this time. He squeezed the
trigger – and screamed in frustration as he saw Magenta crash into Stewart’s side,
shoving him away. A short, desperate
cry of pain from Magenta as he fell was the first indication that the bullet
meant for Stewart had found another target.
Donaghue turned towards
the door in time to see Captains Ochre and Scarlet, weapons drawn, heading
towards him. He tried to shoot at them, but his gun refused to fire. Growling with anger, he overturned the large
desk behind him, managing to secure himself a brief respite, as it threatened
to roll onto the downed Magenta. Ochre
and Scarlet rushed forward to halt its progress, and laid their hands down on
the edge of the desk just in time to prevent it rolling onto Magenta’s legs and
crushing them.
A frustrated Scarlet
turned to see Donaghue fleeing from the room.
“I’ll get him, you take care of Magenta!” Scarlet barked,
breaking into a run.
“S.I.G.,” Ochre replied,
as he bent over his field partner with concern in his eyes. “I thought I told
you to stay in the van?” he muttered as he held a cloth down firmly over the
bullet wound on his friend’s shoulder, in order to stem the blood loss.
Lowering his cap microphone, Ochre continued, “Urgent assistance, Room 7A,
officer down.”
“Ha!” Magenta
weakly replied to his remonstrance,
“you just want all the action for yourself…”
“You stupid Irishman!”
Ochre snapped, as he closed the communication channel. “You nearly killed
yourself!”
“You don’t get rid of me
that easily,” Magenta grimaced, as Ochre pressed harder with the now blood
soaked cloth.
“Well, stop bleeding
then! You need this stuff!”
“Er...excuse me?”
Stewart interrupted somewhat hesitantly.
Ochre looked up. “I’m sorry, Commander. Are you all right?”
Stewart shook his head
dismissively. “I’m fine, but...” He paused as he tried to find a way to phrase
the question.
“Rick? Rick Fraser?
Is that you? And… Patrick Donaghue?” The rest of the question wouldn’t
materialise, so shocked was he by the sight before him.
Magenta managed a weak smile as he looked up at the man
who, several years ago, had tried so very hard to arrest him on a number of
occasions but had never managed to make the charges stick.
“Always a pleasure to
see you, Commander,” he managed, despite the pain.
“But how… what…” Obviously lost for words, Stewart looked in
the direction where the Mysteron doppelganger and the Spectrum officer wearing
the same coloured uniform had disappeared.
“You just… saved my life…” He
frowned deeply. “But if YOU are
Donaghue… then WHO was that other man –
that other Donaghue… who tried to kill me?”
Magenta grimaced a
pained smile. “My evil twin?” he
suggested feebly. He could see the
perplexity in Stewart’s face – and the annoyance in Ochre’s.
“Stop the pleasant
banter,” the American officer replied with bad humour. “You need your rest, Captain. Keep quiet.”
“Can somebody get me out of these handcuffs?”
came a frustrated voice from the other side of the room.
Both Ochre and Stewart
turned their heads towards Grey. Ochre
grinned as he seemed only now to notice his predicament.
“You should learn how to pick locks,” Magenta commented
between two painful coughs.
Grateful to finally see
the arrival of a medical team, Ochre casually tossed a set of keys to Commander
Stewart. “If you don’t mind, sir.”
“Er, no, of course,”
replied Stewart, still unable to fully accept the presence of a man who he
believed to be dead and the former mob boss working side by side as Spectrum
officers.
“Ochre, how did you know
there was trouble?” asked Grey as he rubbed his wrists to restore circulation.
“It was rather easy to
figure out when we found a mammoth of a man lying in the parking lot, not far
from one of the WGPC building door – and who Scarlet identified as a member of
the Donaghue Gang.”
“That’s Ox,” Magenta
then murmured. “I – I found him too. Ochre, I know I shouldn’t have gone after
that Mysteron agent, but… when I found Ox dying, I…” He closed his eyes and
sighed. “…I had to stop the killing.”
Ochre snorted. “Well, I don’t know if ‘your friend’ will
live, but…”
“Ox’s alive?” an astonished
Magenta interjected. “I- I thought he
died…”
“He might not survive
the day,” Ochre said. “But he was still alive when we found him, and
handed him to the medics. Tough guy
like that, hard to kill.” He looked
over at Grey. “We then entered the building, and we found the real Brealey’s
body. And Tan locked in a closet, he
told us what had happened to him. Then
it was easy – we heard the sounds of gunshots and fighting that obviously were
coming from this room.”
“Tan’s okay then?”
replied Grey with a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, they just knocked
him out.”
“Are you okay,
Commander?” asked Grey, turning to his charge.
“Yes, Captain, thank
you, I’m quite fine.” He turned to Ochre, with an inquiring stance. “You will
have to explain all this to me later, Rick. At least, I hope you will…”
“Whatever we’ll be
allowed to tell you, Ian,” Ochre replied with a forced grin. “It’s a long story… as I’m sure you can
imagine.”
Ochre suppressed a smirk
as Commander Stewart, nodding thoughtfully, settled himself in a chair.
“We should have been
assigned to him all along,” Ochre whispered in Magenta’s ear, “I don’t think
I’ve ever seen him so quiet!”
***
In pursuit of Patrick
Donaghue’s Mysteron double, Captain Scarlet saw him pushing open a door and
disappearing behind as it closed.
Scarlet opened the door in turn, and found himself in a narrow
stairway. He could hear footsteps
echoing from overhead and raised his
eyes to see the silhouette of Donaghue rushing up toward the roof. He followed suit, not wanting to lose his
quarry; he made a call with his cap mic
to report their positions and request the Spectrum Angels and helicopters to assist
once he was on the roof.
He took a second to stop
and get his breath back when he reached the door leading out into the open, and
behind which he knew Donaghue had disappeared.
No doubt, he thought, the Mysteron was waiting for him on the other
side. Carefully, his gun well in hand,
he opened the door and looked about, searching for any sign of his quarry. He couldn’t see any trace of him, but he
knew he could only be somewhere out there.
He stepped out, looking around once again, taking into account any
possible hiding places where Donaghue could be. There wasn’t much of anything onto the flat roof of the WGPC
building. At the other end of it, there
was a helicopter pad, presently empty -
which was a good thing, since Scarlet didn’t doubt one instant that if a
craft had been there, the Mysteron would have instantly seized the chance to
take the helm – and would possibly have crashed it against the building at the
very storey where his prey was kept. At
this point in his mission, Donaghue had absolutely nothing to lose, and would
do anything to see it complete.
He had to be stopped at
any cost, not only in order to protect Stewart before the start of the swearing-in
ceremony, but also for Captain Magenta – the real Pat Donaghue – who certainly wouldn’t
appreciate that there was a Mysteron double of himself loose in the world,
capable of killing any and all for his masters.
Scarlet took one more
careful step onto the roof, his senses on alert. Still nothing – and it was beginning to get unnerving. A sound from over his head made him look up
and he saw an Angel craft passing by.
Its pilot surely had a grand view of the roof, and would be able to tell
him where he would find his quarry. He
lowered his cap microphone.
Then he heard a new,
creaking sound, that made him spin around.
From the top of the
booth that housed the staircase, he saw a red and black silhouette jump at
him. He didn’t have time to raise his
pistol to shoot, before his attacker landed heavily on him, bringing him down
roughly to the ground. The shock drove
the air out of Scarlet’s lungs and half-stunned him; the gun escaped from his
grip and clattered away, out of reach.
Scarlet gasped when
Donaghue’s hands encircled his neck tightly and started to squeeze his throat;
he grabbed for the Mysterons’ wrists, trying to force him to let him go. Donaghue leaned on him, his face an implacable
mask of coldness.
“I need your gun,
Scarlet,” he said between his teeth. “I
need it to finish my mission. You won’t
be needing it – I’m sure you won’t mind lending it to me, my friend.”
The last words made
Scarlet see red. Gritting his teeth
against the pressure on his throat, Scarlet found the strength to remove
Donaghue’s fingers and then pushed his hands up, slowly. “I… am… not... your… friend!” He pushed his opponent up and sent him flying head over
heels. Taken by surprise, the Mysteron
made a spectacular flip before falling on his back.
Taking advantage of this
moment of reprieve, Scarlet got back to his feet and reached for the stunned
Mysteron, forcing him to stand, and then sent his fist into his stomach,
angrily. Donaghue bent double.
“First of all,” Scarlet
said between his teeth, “this tunic
isn’t yours…” In a fraction of a
second, he had unzipped the tunic and had literally torn it from Donaghue’s
back, roughly pushing the Mysteron away
from him. With a disgusted gesture he
threw the tunic away from him, as if it had been dirtied by the simple fact
that it had been worn by his opponent.
He then advanced threateningly toward Donaghue, who, temporarily
stunned, was regaining his balance after such a violent shove. “Secondly,” Scarlet continued, pointing an
accusing finger at him, “I’m friends
with Pat Donaghue…” He sent his fist
into the Mysteron’s face, angrily. “The
REAL Pat Donaghue. Captain Magenta, you
remember? The man whom who just got
shot to protect your would-be victim…”
Donaghue tried a punch
at Scarlet, who stepped back to evade him, before hitting the Mysteron in turn,
with an uppercut to the jaw, throwing him back. “You are not even fit to polish his shoes… Let alone bear his name.”
Donaghue shook himself,
trying to regain his composure. He
wiggled his jaw, as if wanting to put it back in place. “I can see you’re very angry with me, Paul
– can’t blame you, actually, after I dropped you in the river… But somehow – I
knew you would get better. After all,
you always do.”
“Well, it’s NO THANKS to
you!” Scarlet barked, his fists clenching.
“If not for Riordan, Spectrum might not have found me at all! You’re
NOTHING but a murderer! A Mysteron duplicate dragging my friend’s name through
the mud…”
“Then what does that
make you, Paul?” Donaghue asked tauntingly, stepping back as Scarlet
approached. “Another ‘Mysteron
duplicate’, just like me? An impostor
trying to live a life that isn’t his own?”
Scarlet narrowed his
eyes, a murderous expression on his face.
“I know who I am,” he seethed ominously. “And I know who you are
- and who you are not.” He stopped his advance,
barely two feet away from Donaghue, who was now standing close to the edge of
the roof. Scarlet was watching him very
closely, wary of what he might be up to now.
“You can never be Patrick Donaghue, even at his worst.”
The Mysteron duplicate
nodded very slowly; discreetly, he was keeping his right hand out of Scarlet’s
view. One flick of the wrist dislodged
the knife that was hidden inside his sleeve.
It slid down into his hand, inconspicuously. Scarlet was nearly close enough for him to use it. “Well, I’m sorry to hear you say that, old friend…”
Goaded by the last
remark from the Mysteron, Scarlet took another step forward. Donaghue avoided the coming fist and tried
to strike in turn. Scarlet’s other hand
caught hold of his wrist before the knife struck. The two men were holding together in a close hand-to-hand tussle,
each peering into the other’s face, the knife between them, only centimetres
from Scarlet’s chest. “I have to kill
you – and finish my mission,” Donaghue said between his teeth, struggling to
try push his knife into his opponent.
“That’s what all
Mysterons say,” Scarlet replied implacably. His hand gave a sudden twist to
Donaghue’s wrist and he pushed with all his weight, driving the blade deep into
the Mysteron’s abdomen and then up to his heart. Donaghue gave a deep throaty cry, his free hand clutching his
opponent’s shoulder; his eyes opening
with obvious disbelief that the
Spectrum officer had not hesitate to stab him so viciously.
“And for the last time,
I am not your friend,” Scarlet
finished icily. Feeling Donaghue
falling backward, he freed himself from his clutches; Scarlet tried to grab Donaghue
when he saw him tumbling over the side of the roof, but wasn’t able to hold
him. The Mysteron fell, and crashed
into a series of power lines beside the building and entangled himself in
them. Scarlet half-covered his eyes, against
the violent display of electric flashes that surrounded the Mysteron’s
body. He heard a cry of pain, amidst
the loud crescendo of sizzling sounds. He narrowed his eyes, trying to
see. The flashes gradually died down,
as smoke mounted from the point where the Mysteron double of Patrick Donaghue hung
from the cables, what was left of his body and
uniform still burning. His face was still recognisable enough – and from
where Scarlet was standing, he could see his eyes, wide open, staring into
nothingness.
He gave a disgruntled
sigh and stepped away in disgust, his stomach nearly churning. Seeing an electrocuted dead body –
especially one who was wearing a friend’s face – wasn’t a pretty sight.
The door from the booth
behind him flew open and Scarlet turned around, tensing. Captain Blue appeared in the doorway, his
gun drawn, and ready to use it. Both
men relaxed when they saw each other and Scarlet gave a deep sigh of
relief. He left the side of the roof
and walked toward his colleague, reaching for his cap as he did so. Blue walked fully onto the roof and
approached him.
“Is it finished?” he
asked, watching as Scarlet casually picked up his gun from the ground to
re-holster it.
Scarlet simply
nodded. “Yes, over and done.” He turned around, looking toward the edge of
the roof from where Donaghue had fallen. The Mysteron duplicate of his friend
was dead – but killing him wasn’t something he had liked to do. He felt as if he had killed Magenta
himself. It was a really bad feeling;
he felt sick in the stomach. But also,
he felt somehow relieved. Not that he had settled HIS score with the Mysteron,
but that he had somehow righted a terrible wrong. Pat was a good man. He certainly didn’t deserve that an evil,
alien creature had been killing people, using his name.
“Come on,” Blue said,
patting his friend’s shoulder. “Let’s
go down. We still have some unfinished
business to attend to.”
Scarlet nodded his
agreement. He followed Blue to the door leading to the stairs, at the same time
lowering his cap microphone for his report to Colonel White concerning the
final fate of the Mysteron agent.
*
* *
When Scarlet and Blue
came back to Room 7A, they found that the paramedics had already
arrived, and were carefully putting
Captain Magenta onto a stretcher, with Captain Ochre standing close by and
surveying the scene like a vigilant watch dog.
At a short distance from them, Captain Grey was keeping Commander
Stewart company, as they, too, were watching with interest. The Irishman was pale, and a dressing had
been applied to his wounded shoulder, a red dot marking the place where he had
been shot, but he looked more relaxed now.
When they all saw Scarlet coming back, all eyes, save for the
medics’, turned to him. Grey made a step forward. “It’s finished?”
Scarlet nodded, noticing
that Grey, too, was very pale. His face
was bruised, and he had blood on the back of his neck. He gave a look in
Magenta’s direction, and back again at Grey. “I think you should go too, Grey,”
he noted. “You need medical care
too. Captain Blue and I are relieving
you.”
Grey gave a deep, slow
sigh, seemingly letting go of all his tension.
He nodded, reaching for his cap
he had put on a low table. “I suppose
you’re right,” he commented. “I need
the rest. I’m busted.” He turned to
Stewart and saluted him briskly. “I’m
leaving you in good hands, sir…” He
didn’t wait for a reply and accepted the helping hands of a medic, who came to
escort him towards the door, while Captain Blue was taking his place beside the
commander.
“You too, Captain
Ochre,” Scarlet said. “I think it would
be better if you leave the premises before someone else from the WGPC sees you
and recognises you. I think Blue and I
can cover things from here. You can go back to the surveillance van.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that,”
Ochre acknowledged. “After I have seen
Captain Magenta to the medicopter, Captain, if you don’t mind…”
Scarlet moved closer to Magenta. The medics were raising the stretcher to a
level that permitted them to stand in order to finish preparing their
patient. Magenta grimaced a little, and
then looked at Scarlet who was gazing down at him with concern. He reached out for him and Scarlet took his
hand comfortingly. “You got him, Paul?”
“Yeah, I got him,”
Scarlet replied quietly. “He won’t use
your name to hurt anyone anymore.”
Magenta gave a deep sigh
of relief; it seemed to send a shooting pain through his shoulder and he
grunted, closing his eyes. Scarlet tilted his head to the side.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I guess I will be,
now,” Magenta replied, opening his eyes.
“I’m just not used to getting hurt, I think.” He smiled thinly. “I
still don’t know how you can do it over and over again, taking bullets like you
do. ” he added. “The pain is
terrible… And I’m not sure the pay is
worth it…”
Scarlet chuckled at his
friend’s attempt at a joke. He squeezed
his hand as the medics finished making Magenta comfortable, and seemed ready to
go. “You did fine, Captain Magenta,” he
said with an assured tone and a broad smile.
“That was a great job you did today.”
Magenta smiled in turn,
his eyes closing tiredly; his hand let go of Scarlet’s, as the stretcher
started to roll away and the medics took him out of the room, with Ochre
following closely behind. “I’m not sure
it’ll be enough to keep me out of trouble with the colonel, though,” he slurred
faintly. He wasn’t sure if anyone had
heard him. With a sigh of contentment,
he closed his eyes completely and allowed himself to sink into a state of
partial sleep.
Any comments? You can
send an E-MAIL to the SPECTRUM
HEADQUARTERS site!