By Vicki Lister

12:10pm

July 5^th 2071

The woman gasped as she staggered back against the wall behind her. Her hand had flown to her bosom as the bullet entered her chest and she stared dumbfounded at the blood now blossoming over her fingers.

With her face screwed up with pain, she sank down against the back wall, gazing up at the man who stood over, his figure gently slipping in and out of focus.

“No… please…” she gasped, fighting off the cloudy haze that was fogging her vision.

“It’s too late. You should have known that I would get you… would track you down eventually.” She winced as his hard, dark voice pounded through her aching head. The man grimaced, and raised the gun once more, aiming it squarely between her eyes. The woman shook her head pleadingly, looking deep into the eyes of her colleague, her friend, searching for that old glimmer that she knew so well… But the cold eyes that gazed back into her own were wrought with hatred and disgust. She gave a sob of despair. His finger tightened on the trigger and she choked, tasting blood in her mouth.

“Please, please don’t do this…” she began, but it was useless. Adam Svenson pulled the trigger and a second gunshot rang around the chamber.

And he watched, a cruel smile lingering over his lips, as Rhapsody’s lifeless form sank to the floor.

2:04pm

March 31^st 2071

Glancing at his watch once more, he sighed and sank back against the chair, his eyes flicking around the room restlessly. Captain Scarlet observed him over the top of his newspaper, struggling to suppress a grin.

“Problem, Adam?” he asked casually, returning to his paper, pretending not to notice the quick response from his colleague as he flipped his eyes round from the door where he had been looking.

“What? No…. of course not… why do you say that?” he remarked quietly, attempting to imitate his usual, casual voice, but failing miserably. Paul grinned at him, folding up his newspaper.

“Adam, you have just checked your watch four times in the last two minutes. What are you waiting for?”

“Wha... waiting for?” he asked. Paul gave a curt nod, arranging his features into an innocently puzzled expression.

“Nothing, Paul!” Adam laughed hollowly. Paul smirked.

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that the Angel patrol is due in, now would it?”

“Er… no… of course not…erm… are they? I had no idea…” Adam blushed and avoided his friend’s gaze as he picked up the discarded newspaper and began flicking through it.

“Adam.” Paul smiled gently as he watched his friend. “You don’t have to pretend you know. I know you well enough by now to know when you are lying to me.” Adam looked up and nodded with a defeated sigh.

“Oh all right. I was waiting for Symphony, ok? Are you happy now?” He frowned at Paul, annoyed as his friend’s face cracked into a triumphant grin. “No need to smirk about it.”

“Sorry, Adam,” he grinned happily and Adam grunted in response. “You finally gonna ask her out then?” Adam jerked involuntarily then muttered angrily as the newspaper slid out of his grasp… spreading itself over the floor.

“I can’t think what you mean,” he muttered, stuffing the papers back together and shoving them back on the table.

“Come on Adam.” Paul, no longer smiling, gazed at his partner. “You know perfectly well what I mean.” Adam surveyed him quietly then opened his mouth to speak but shut it again hurriedly as the chute doors slid open, and Destiny, Rhapsody and Symphony, extracting themselves from their seats, walked in. Paul grinned as Adam leapt to his feet. Destiny and Rhapsody grinned at Adam, and then settled themselves down next to Paul. Symphony, removing her helmet, wandered over.

“Hey Adam!” she smiled breezily, ignoring the hearty sniggers that were coming from the sofa. “You okay?” Adam nodded wordlessly. Paul sighed and nudged him with his boot, sending him forwards. He turned around and threw a disgruntled look back at Scarlet, who smiled at him innocently.

“Er… I was wondering…” he muttered, turning back to Symphony, “If you fancied coming out for a drink tonight. I’ve got leave you see, and I just wondered….”

“Great! I’d love to!” She smiled at the somewhat startled expression on Captain Blue’s face.

“You… you would? Great!” he grinned happily. “So… er… I’ll pick you up at 8?”

“8 it is,” she returned his smile and nodded gratefully. “I’ll see you then, ok?” Adam nodded reverently and sank back into the chair, trying- without much success- not to look too pleased with himself, as Symphony left the room.

“What?” he asked innocently at his three colleagues who were smirking at him. “I don’t know what you’re looking so happy about… it’s just a few drinks, between friends…”

“Course it is, Adam. You just keep telling yourself that,” replied Destiny with a grin. He gave her a withering look and climbed to his feet once more.

“Well, I must be going anyway… things to do…”

“Dates to prepare for…” continued Rhapsody and Paul simultaneously. Adam sighed and attempted a frown at them, but after a few seconds he gave up and grinned at them both.

“Whatever. See you later, guys…” And with that he left the Amber Room with a slight spring in his step. Paul shook his head in amusement as his partner left.

“If he was any happier he would be skipping,” remarked Paul with a grin. “It’s about time those two got themselves together.” Destiny nodded whilst Rhapsody observed Paul quietly. Noticing the direction of her gaze he turned to look at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked and she noted the subtle concern in his voice.

“Nothing,” she replied with a smile. “I was just thinking…”

“About what?” Scarlet leaned towards her, struggling to keep the curiosity out of his voice. Rhapsody smiled vaguely, biting her lip and looking at the floor.

“Well seeing as they are off out tonight… I was just wondering…”

“If I fancied coming out for a drink too?” Scarlet grinned as Rhapsody nodded blushingly. “I’d love to,” he replied, causing Rhapsody to look up again, smiling.

“You would? Great! Er… 8’o’clock?” Paul nodded happily and Rhapsody returned his grin, then stood up. “Well I’ll see you later then, Paul. See you, Destiny!” And with that she departed. Paul watched her go then sat back in his chair, pretending not to notice the mocking grin that Destiny was now throwing him. His eyes flickered over the paper once more, not really seeing it. Scarlet fought to keep a stern face as he felt a bubble of happiness rise within him at the prospect of a dinner date with Rhapsody.

***

7:57pm

March 31^st 2071

Paul stopped dead, and felt his mouth drop open, as Rhapsody emerged from her quarters. “Heya Paul…” she trailed off seeing him staring at her unnervingly. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked worriedly.

“Nothing,” he replied quietly, shutting his mouth abruptly. “It’s just… you look stunning!” Rhapsody grinned and twirled around, her deep red floor-length dress springing out around her as she did so.

“Do you think so?” she remarked quietly. Paul smiled softly and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I know so,” he murmured, as Rhapsody blushed furiously. “Come on, let’s get going.”

***

10:13pm

March 31^st 2071

Adam watched Symphony quietly as she talked. It was strange, he remarked, how easy it was to talk to her. How comfortable he felt. He had been longing for this for months but at the same time he had been worried that he would mess it up somehow, that the words would get mixed up whilst en route to his mouth and he would end up saying something stupid or offensive, but it was in fact no harder than it was talking to Paul, or Rick. Symphony paused to take another sip from her glass. She watched him over the brim, surveying him silently.

“Adam…” she asked cautiously, lowering her glass.

“Yes?”

“Why did you invite me here?” Adam reeled back at the question. Why? What did she mean? Was he supposed to have some ulterior motive? Wasn’t she enjoying herself? Adam’s mind flooded with panic as he searched frantically for an answer.

“Why? What do you mean, ‘why’?” Symphony smiled gently, amused by the sudden panic that she had evidently caused the self-conscious captain. She calmly reached across the table and took his hand.

“I meant why today suddenly? Was it just because you had leave or what?” Adam relaxed- but only slightly.

“Well… sort of… yes I suppose…” he mumbled.

“Sort of?” The Angel raised her eyebrows quizzically.

“Well… I’ve actually been trying to pluck up to courage to ask you for months” he mumbled, feeling his face flush red as his spoke. But Symphony simply smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

“I’m glad you did. Cause I’ve been waiting for you too as well!” Adam looked up at her, wondering if she was joking, but the shy and embarrassed smile that she flashed him confirmed that she was telling the truth. He smiled back happily.

“Are you ready to order, sir?” Adam nodded at the waiter then proceeded to place his order.

12:17pm

April 1^st 2071

“Come on, Paul, I know you’re hiding something.” Paul looked up from his cup, stirring his coffee and smiling in what he hoped was an innocent way.

“What? I’m not hiding anything!”

“Paul! You have been grinning to yourself all day! I’m not stupid you know!” Captain Scarlet struggled to suppress a grin as he seated himself opposite his colleague.

“Look at yourself Adam!” he retorted, both trying, and failing, to sound annoyed.

“Yes but we both know why I’m grinning. Why are you?” Paul sat back in chair smiling. Adam frowned at him. It was unlike his friend to keep secrets like this. He watched him for a while then sighed and gave up. “Fine,” he muttered angrily. “You wanna keep secrets then go ahead and be my guest.” Paul sighed at the irritated expression on his friend’s face. It wasn’t that he was trying to keep secrets from his comrade… it was just… things were complicated. If anything ever did happen between him and Rhapsody then he knew that Colonel White would have to be informed and he wasn’t sure that either he or Rhapsody were ready to face up to that just yet. No. It would be better if they kept it quiet… for now at least.

“I’m sorry Adam, it’s not that, it’s…” Paul watched his partner’s face as it gazed into his, curiously. “I’m grinning because…” He hesitated. “I’m grinning because Colonel White said yesterday that I’m being given an additional week of paid leave. I’m going to go to Spain I think,” he grinned guiltily. “I’m really looking forward to it.” He didn’t like lying to his friend but what choice did he have? Blue observed him for a moment but then thankfully he accepted his explanation without question. It wasn’t really a lie after all… he had been offered a week’s paid leave, in August, … it was just a slight adjustment from the truth, that was all.

“Anyway what about you? How did your date go last night?” Adam blushed and grinned. “Well then, I take it?” Adam nodded silently. Paul smiled at his friend and waited for him to continue, knowing that his excited nature would overcome his embarrassment sooner or later. He was right.

“It was perfect!” he gushed happily. “We’re going out again tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Wow she’s keen!”

“I know!” Blue smiled happily and Scarlet grinned at him. This was the happiest he’d seen his friend in months.

11:48pm

April 16^th 2071

The woman stood waiting under the shelter of the bridge. Rain swept across the path in front of her and she shrank back against the stone wall behind her, pulling her black hood further forward to hide her face. A man appeared at the end of the lane, and walked down to meet her.

“How do I look?” asked the woman, pulling back the hood, and stepping out into the light of a nearby street lamp. He observed her quietly then nodded.

“Perfect. Did you get it?” The man’s deep voice echoed quietly, bouncing back off of the stone walls.

“Yes. It’s here.”

“No problems?”

“Nope. They checked my image and asked me a few questions. There were going to give me a finger print scan, but I just fluttered my eyelashes at the security guy a few times and… presto,” she smiled darkly at the man who nodded his approval.

“You know what to do, then?” he enquired darkly. She nodded.

“I’m ready when you are. As soon as I get my next orders.”

“Good. I will contact you soon. Be ready.”

9:21am

April 17^th 2071

THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE MYSTERONS. WE KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR US, EARTH MEN; WE ARE TRANSMITTING ON ALL OF YOUR TELEVISION AND RADIO FREQUENCIES. ONE OF YOUR SPECTRUM AGENTS WILL BETRAY YOU ALL. OVER THE WEEKS AND MONTHS YOU WILL SUFFER GREATLY AT THE HANDS OF SOMEONE THAT YOU ONCE CALLED A FRIEND. YOU WILL PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR YOUR ACTS OF AGGRESSION ON MARS, EARTH MEN. YOU WILL BE BETRAYED.

***

9:22am

April 17^th 2071

“Lieutenant Green? Call an emergency conference. I want Captain’s Scarlet, Blue, Magenta and Ochre summoned to my office immediately to discuss the latest Mysteron threat.”

“Yes sir.”

“Meanwhile I want you to start analysing our personnel files please. I want this traitor located.”

“Right away, Colonel.” The colonel merely grunted in response and sat himself down behind his desk. Within a few minutes the four captains were seated around the desk alongside him. He observed them all quietly.

“I trust you all heard the latest Mysteron threat,” he enquired. They all nodded.

“Do we have any suspects sir?” asked Scarlet.

“Not at this point Captain. The lieutenant is analysing a list of all of our Spectrum personnel in an attempt to find a possible target. But, apart from that, all we can really do is sit back and wait for them to make the first move.”

12:09am

April 25^th 2071

Rhapsody Angel moaned softly and turned over in her sleep, her soft red hair flowing over her pillow. A shadow paused outside the door, listening hard, listening for the soft and steady breathing that comes with sleep. As the desired sound reached his ears, he smiled, leaning over to type in the personal code to the door lock. With a soft beep the door slid open and the figure stepped inside, sliding it shut behind him.

Rhapsody stirred slightly but slept on soundlessly. The figure advanced.

A floorboard creaked underfoot, causing Rhapsody’s eyes to snap open, but as she was facing away from the door this action went unnoticed. The shadow moved on, causing Rhapsody to freeze and brace herself for attack. As his cold fingers closed over her shoulder she flipped round delivering an expert karate chop to his head. The figure gave a startled yell of pain and surprise and staggered backwards, crashing to the floor. Rhapsody leapt out of bed ready to continue to attack. Paul moaned weakly from the floor, and Rhapsody, recognising the voice quickly switched on the light then covered her mouth in horror when she realised the identity of the intruder.

“Ow! Dianne, that hurt!” he groaned feebly. She hurriedly knelt down beside him, biting her lip to stop the laughter escaping from her lips.

“I’m so sorry, Paul, I didn’t realise it was you!”

“Jeez, are you this welcoming to all your boyfriends?”

“No, just the ones that try to sneak up on me when I’m sleeping!” Although Paul complained she knew that he didn’t mind really, after all, it wasn’t as if he was going to be permanently injured, now was it? Even as she watched she could see the blood on his forehead slowing and drying as the skin knitted itself back together.

“I wanted to surprise you!”

“Well you did, and once more I had the pleasure of surprising you back!” She smiled at him and pulled his arm around her shoulders, dragging him to his feet. He moaned again and with her help staggered over the bed, making a big show of groaning with each movement and holding his hand to his bleeding head. “Oh trust you to milk it for all it’s worth!” She smiled at him again and went into the bathroom, returning with a damp flannel which she then used to mop him up. He sat watching her quietly as she cleaned the already half healed wound.

“Sorry Rhapsody, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“For the last time, Paul, call me Dianne, please. And it’s ok. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Yeah well I’m sure you can always find a way to make it up to me…” he remarked quietly smiling at her gently. She studied him closely then neatly folded up the flannel, leaving it on the bedside table.

“Oh really? And what might that be?” she enquired with a grin. Paul smiled broadly as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a soft embrace. Her arms wound around him and she murmured softly into his ear… “Oh… so that’s what you have in mind, is it?”

5:54am

April 26^th 2071

“Colonel, I have Spectrum Headquarters, London, on the line. They need to speak with you Sir. They say it’s urgent.”

“All right, Lieutenant, put them through.”

“Yes sir.”

“Colonel White? This is Agent Blackburn, Spectrum Security. I need to discuss a minor break in with you that took place yesterday.”

“A break in? At Spectrum Headquarters?”

“Yes sir. That’s why we are contacting you. We think that this is linked to the Mysteron threat.”

“How so?”

“The items stolen were several papers and reports concerning Spectrum and Cloudbase. Documents that would be of little use to thieves but which are of great importance to Spectrum. Documents that could prove to be devastating if they fell into the hands of the Mysterons.”

“I see. Do we have anything to go on?”

“Well, we know that it must have been an inside job. The safe where the documents were being kept can only be opened by Spectrum personnel with a Spectrum ID card.”

“So this could be the traitor that the Mysterons were referring to?”

“Well it certainly looks that way sir. I’m sending details of the theft through to your central mainframe. Such as, times, etc. I want you to do a run down of all the Spectrum personnel with ID cards that were off duty during that time.

“Yes sir. I will get Lieutenant Green to report any findings we have.”

“SIG, Colonel.”

“SIG.”

***

7:13am

April 26^th 2071

“I have that report, Colonel.”

“Well done, Lieutenant. Any leads?”

“Well sir, Captains Ochre and Magenta were off but they can confirm each other’s alibis sir. The report states that the break in occurred between the hours of 12 o’clock, midnight and 1:30 am. In order to reach there in time, the traitor would have to have left Cloudbase by 11 pm at the latest. They each confirm that they stayed up in the Amber Room for a nightcap until 11:30pm.”

“Very well, Lieutenant, you may strike them from your list. I trust the security footage in the Amber Room has been checked?”

“Yes, sir, their stories check out.”

“Very well, who else?”

“Rhapsody and Symphony Angels were both off duty too sir. Captain Blue says that he…er… met up with Symphony after his and Captain Scarlet’s shifts ended at midnight, so that cancels her out.”

“Very well. What about Rhapsody?”

“She says she was alone in her room all night. Her shift ended at 10pm so she certainly had the time to get there, but Rhapsody wouldn’t….”

“Don’t allow your personal feelings to interfere, Lieutenant,” replied the colonel sharply. The lieutenant’s dark cheeks flushed slightly and he stared resolutely at the screen in front of him.

“Yes, sir.”

“So she’s a possibility then. Anyone else?”

“No sir. She is the only one with a Spectrum ID pass who would have had the ability to get there in time. Everyone one else was on duty sir.” The colonel nodded solemnly.

“Very well. Please inform the London Headquarters of this.”

“Yes sir. What about Rhapsody?”

“What about her? We have no proof that she has done anything wrong. It may well have been another member of Spectrum from one of the other bases. She remains on duty unless we find any evidence that we should do otherwise.”

“Yes, Colonel White.”

3:12pm

April 30^th 2071

“RHAPSODY!!!” Rhapsody stumbled forwards, covering her ears with her hands in response to this sudden outburst. Rubbing her ears, she turned around to see Captain Scarlet running full pelt down the corridor towards her. Smiling at the worried looking captain, she removed her hands from her ears.

“Hey Paul. Sorry I didn’t quite hear you then… some idiot felt like bellowing my name and I seem to have gone temporarily deaf as a result.” Paul frowned at her light hearted humour as he reached her.

“Dianne I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Where were you?” The Angel looked into his eyes, frowning at the concerned look on the fellow Spectrum officer’s face.

“Sorry, I was in sickbay. Why, what’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“You’re under suspicion, you know, for the robbery at the headquarters!” he hissed, glancing around worriedly as he did so. Rhapsody hung her head, her strawberry blonde hair spilling out over her shoulders.

“I know,” she muttered thickly. Paul sighed and slipped his hand under her chin raising her head until he was looking straight into her eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell them? I could have given you an alibi!”

“But we agreed to keep it quiet, Paul!” she whispered softly. “It doesn’t matter if they suspect me. I know I’m innocent, you know I’m innocent, and sooner or later they will catch the real culprit and then everyone will know that.” Paul nodded silently, appreciating the sacrifice that she was making for their relationship. He drew his arms around her as she buried her head in his shoulder.

“It’s ok,” he murmured softly. “I’m here. It’s going to be fine.” She nodded bleakly, but as the memory of their conversation washed over Scarlet he froze slightly, pulling her back from his shoulder.

“You were in sickbay?” he asked. Rhapsody smiled at the pained look of worry that was now spread over the young Captain’s handsome face.

“Yes,” she smiled tauntingly. “I was getting some sleeping pills, I’ve not been sleeping that brilliantly lately.” Scarlet frowned confused and she smiled at him, snuggling against him once more. “You snore, Paul.”

10:18pm

May 12^th 2071

Symphony gasped and her hands flew to her mouth as she gazed around the room in rapt silence.

“Adam… this is so… incredible!” The room was covered in flowers and there were candles glowing softly in each of the four corners. Lying on the bed was a large present wrapped in gold paper. Adam appeared at her shoulder smiling sheepishly.

“You like it?” The Angel in front of him turned around and wrapped her arms around him, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

“I love it. But you didn’t have to do all this…”

“I know I didn’t but I wanted to. It’s our six week anniversary, you know!”

She smiled at him warmly. “I know,” she whispered. “But I still can’t believe that you did all this for me.” Captain Blue smiled and drew her into a kiss, closing the door behind him.

8:08am

May 20^th 2071

“Colonel White? There’s been another break in. A Spectrum pass was used to rob a top security vault in New York yesterday.”

“What was stolen?”

“The research of a top nuclear scientist. He was working on a new chemical explosive.” The colonel sighed.

“Another typical Mysteron target. What time?”

“It was in the morning sir. It’s estimated that the robbery occurred somewhere between the hours of 9am and midday.”

“Yesterday morning? Didn’t Rhapsody Angel request to have yesterday morning off?”

After a fractional pause the young man sighed and confirmed the colonel’s suspicions with a nod. The colonel sighed and bowed his head. “I’m going to have to report this to London Headquarters. Have Rhapsody Angel summoned to my office will you, Lieutenant.”

“Yes sir,” replied the lieutenant, sounding much more saddened than his usual upbeat self. With a glum voice he bent over the radio and muttered “Rhapsody Angel, report to Colonel White’s office immediately.”

***

8:32am

May 20^th 2071

Tears streaming down her face, Rhapsody ran blindly through the maze of corridors, searching for her own quarters… searching for somewhere to hide… to be alone. Salt tears blinded her vision as she ran on, stumbling blindly without a clue where she was or where she was running to. A blue haze moved into her line of vision, but with less than a second to react, the collision both seemed, and was, inevitable. White and pale blue pounded to the floor in a jumble of colours and body parts with the owners of each moaning greatly and trying to no avail to extract themselves from the other. Adam groaned and pulled himself up, rubbing his arm.

“Rhapsody? Are you ok?” She nodded numbly, trying subtly to wipe her face on her sleeve. Please she thought desperately I can’t be seen looking like this! Adam frowned at her and pulled her arm away, seeing the tears spouting from her eyes before she had a chance to cover them.

“Rhapsody?” he asked incredulously. “Rhapsody what’s wrong?” Rhapsody just shook her head desperately and scrambled to her feet, looking for somewhere else to flee to but Adam was too quick. Leaping to his feet, he pulled her round to face him.

“Rhapsody what is it?” he asked, so softly that the Angel felt herself weakening.

“It’s Colonel White,” she sniffed at last. “He’s… he’s suspending me from duty.” The Angel fought hard against the wave of emotion that those last four words brought, but struggled to hide the agony that she was feeling. Adam stepped back in surprise.

“Suspending you? Why? What for?”

“There’s been another break in. In New York. It happened whilst I was on leave and they think I did it. He says that although they can’t convict me without proof, he feels that it is ‘his duty to protect Spectrum’ and in order to do so he feels that he has to suspend me.” Adam nodded, not knowing what to say. Of course he’d heard the rumours going round but had always scoffed at them. Rhapsody would never do anything like that, but now it looked as though the evidence was stacked against her.

“For how long?” he enquired quietly.

“Indefinitely,” she mumbled. “Basically until they find out who’s really behind all this.” She wiped her face resolutely. “I’m sorry Adam, I’ve got to go.”

“Are you sure you should be alone right now?” he enquired delicately. “Do you want me to get Symphony to stop by?” She shook her head sadly.

“No, thank you. I think I would rather be alone.” He nodded, watching her as she trailed off, head drooping. Could Rhapsody really be behind all this?

***

3:29pm

May 20^th 2071

Adam held up the jewellery box, tilting it forward so that the other Spectrum officers could see the glittering mound of sparkling diamond within it.

“Ah man! Talk about rock samples, you must have half the world’s supply of carbon wrapped up in that thing!” Blue smiled at Captain Ochre as he said this.

“A fair amount of it, yes, thank you Rick.”

“Isn’t this a bit soon Adam?” asked Magenta. Adam frowned at him, but it was Paul that spoke first.

“Who cares? It may have been only two months since they started going out but it’s been a lot longer since they first fell for each other! As far as I’m concerned you two are made for each other, mate, it’s just a shame that it took you both such a long time to realise it!” Adam grinned at him thankfully.

“True. And I can see that you’re going to make the perfect best man. Or at least do a good speech.” Paul shook his head laughing.

“No way mate, I’ll be your best man gladly but for me that’s just about as soppy as it’s going to get!” Rick and Pat laughed at that whilst Adam just raised his eyebrows at his friend.

“So when are you going to get married? Ooh, you should have it at Halloween, it’s the perfect setting and it will give you plenty of time to prepare!” Rick burbled excitedly.

“You and your Halloween, Rick,” replied Patrick with a grin, shaking his head in mock despair.

Adam laughed. “Hold your horses you two, I haven’t even proposed yet!”

Rick smiled sheepishly whilst Paul hooted with laughter. “So you’re going to go all out then? All Angel bridesmaids…. The full works?” Paul asked with a grin.

“That’s the plan? Apart from Rhapsody obviously… I guess that depends on the…er.. ‘situation’ with her at the time.” Adam smiled, slightly confused as his friend’s smile faded.

“What situation?” he enquired quietly, trying to keep his voice light and jokey. Adam gave his partner a surprised look.

“Well you know, what with her getting suspended and all…” He trailed off at the look of horror on Paul’s face.

“What do you mean, suspended? Why?”

“Well after the break in New York she’s quite a heavy suspect I think,” replied Adam, confused by his friend’s behaviour.

Paul scrambled to his feet. “Is she ok? I’d better go and see her.”

Adam stood up, his brow furrowed. “Paul, she said she wants to be alone. Why are you so concerned anyway?” Adam asked, stepping back in alarm at the look of fury that Paul shot him as he headed out the door.

“I’m her friend, Adam,” he replied, striding out the door.

***

3:41pm

May 20^th 2071

A furious banging on her door raised Rhapsody from her state of half collapse on the floor. Her, and half the dead. She staggered over to the door, wiping her face on a tissue as she did so. “Who is it?” she slurred half heartedly through the door.

“It’s Paul, will you let me in?”

Rhapsody scowled and pressed the button next to the door, causing it to slide open. Paul stepped in and looked around for a moment before spotting her. Shutting the door quietly, he stepped over to her. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” he asked softly, quickly removing the whisky glass from her fingers.

“Dark’s nice…” she muttered sleepily, sliding down the wall next to the drinks table. Paul sat himself down next to her, wrapping one arm around her and pulling her close to him. “I’m going, Paul,” she whispered miserably. “I’m leaving Cloudbase.”

He frowned at her. “Don’t be silly, you’re not going anywhere, you’re just drunk, that’s all.”

“I’ve been suspended…”

“I know you have but that doesn’t mean that you are getting kicked out, Dianne!” He tried to give her a hug but she pushed him away angrily.

“I know it doesn’t but I don’t care. I’m leaving. I’ve got a flight booked for tomorrow. There’s no point in staying here if I can’t work.” As he listened, Paul felt a heavy weight falling through his stomach. He stared at her….leaving? She can’t… she couldn’t leave…

“Rhapsody, you can’t leave! They made a mistake, they’ll realise soon…” He trailed off at the sight of her shaking her head sadly. “Please, Rhapsody, Spectrum needs you. I need you!” Rhapsody sighed and slid over to him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. He clung to her desperately, not wanting to let go.

“I’m sorry, Paul. I’ll miss you too but I can’t stay. My mind’s made up. I leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? But… but what about me?” he asked quietly. She smiled up at him sadly.

“I love you, Paul, but I can’t stay here for you. It won’t be for long. Just until this gets sorted. It’s for the best.”

Paul nodded sadly, stooping his head to give her a kiss. “I’m going to miss you,” he whispered. She sighed and hugged him closer. Paul shook his head. “No, I’m not giving in this easily. What were you doing the morning of that break in anyway? Weren’t you on patrol?”

“No, I had the day off. I was on leave.”

“Where?” he asked, but Rhapsody only shook her head in response.

10:58pm

May 28^th 2071

“All Senior Personnel, please report to Central Control immediately, this is a red alert, repeat, all senior personnel to Central Control immediately…” Captain Scarlet looked up as the cool female voice sounded the red alert through the Officers’ Lounge. Captain Blue was already on his feet, waiting for his partner to rise alongside him.

“Come on Paul, we’d better get going,” he said impatiently. Paul grunted in response, sliding his newspaper down onto the table before climbing to his feet. Adam sighed as they headed out of the room. Paul had been so moody lately, and he couldn’t work out why. For the week since Rhapsody left he had been so quiet and sullen, very unlike his usual self. He had taken to spending the majority of his off-duty time alone in his room, and it was only by sheer force that he had managed to drag him out today for a quick cup of coffee before their shift.

“Paul… are you sure you’re ok?”

“Fine.” His monosyllabic and emotionless reply made Adam shiver slightly. He hated it when Paul spoke like that. It reminded him of when Paul was under Mysteron control…

“Are you sure? It just seems like ever since Rhapsody left…”

“Rhapsody should never have left Cloudbase. She was innocent.” His sharp reply was tinted with a rare anger that made Adam look up in surprise.

“She chose to leave, Paul. It was her own decision. I didn’t realise that you two were so close…”

“We’re not. She’s just a friend.” Paul sighed and headed on towards Central Control, pulling ahead of his partner and leaving him to trail after him alone. He entered Central Control a few seconds after Scarlet and hurriedly seated himself between Captains Ochre and Magenta, all who were awaiting his arrival. Captain Grey smiled at him quickly as he slid into his seat. Once he had sat down Colonel White cleared his throat and turned to address them all.

“I called you all here to discuss a very serious matter that has arisen. There has been another robbery. The Spectrum Headquarters in Washington D.C. were broken into a few hours ago by a senior member of staff of the Spectrum organisation.”

At last though Captain Scarlet silently. Rhapsody is in England, so at least they can’t pin it on her this time.

“A staff list of personal details for all the senior members of Spectrum was stolen. If this fell into the hands of the Mysterons then it would prove to be devastating.”

“What sort of details did the list include?” asked Magenta quickly.

“Specific names and addresses. Family details. Details that could be used to blackmail individual members of Spectrum.” Magenta nodded gravely.

“Do we have any leads sir? Rhapsody’s in England at the moment, isn’t she?” asked Captain Ochre curiously, not noticing the sharp glance from his fellow Spectrum Agent as he muttered the Angel’s name. Colonel White only sighed and lowered his head in reply.

“Roll the footage, Lieutenant,” he muttered gravely. The seven men in the room turned to look at the oval screen as the image of a high security vault flickered onto it.

“This is footage from one of the security cameras,” remarked Lieutenant Green, somewhat sadly. The five captains watched silently, as a slender figure, clad in black, crept onto the screen. She performed an impressive back flip onto the top of one of the motion sensors in the corner of the room. She fitted it quickly with a mirror, causing the laser beam to bounce back into itself, disabling the alarm. The woman then flipped back onto the floor and used a small detonation device to open the main vault doors. As she heaved back the heavy door, her black hood slid down, revealing her face. It was Rhapsody. Her light red hair was tied back in a pony tail and she smiled sinisterly into the camera before heading off back out the door, clutching the papers. Captains Blue and Ochre gasped whilst Captain Magenta simply nodded in somewhat stunned but accepting shock. Captain Grey stared blankly at the screen, quietly accepting what he already knew. Captain Scarlet stared open mouthed at the screen, unable to accept what he was seeing. No… no surely… not Rhapsody… it couldn’t be… But wait. It couldn’t be. Looking at the time display in the bottom right hand corner told Scarlet that the robbery occurred at 4:03 in the afternoon. That would make it about 9pm in England. A time at which he was speaking to Rhapsody on the phone.

“All of Cloudbase is now on red alert. Rhapsody has now been positively identified as the Mysteron threat.” Colonel White’s sharp words broke through the shocked haze that was enveloping Scarlet’s mind, breaking his chain of thought.

“She must be located and brought in before she can cause any further damage, and before this list is handed over to the Mysterons. I have fed her photograph into the police system in America, under the pretence that she is an international terrorist. If she is caught on any security camera in America, then we will know.”

“What if she’s escaped overseas, sir?” asked Blue, glancing worriedly at his pale friend sitting opposite him as he did so.

“Although that is a possibility, as only two hours have elapsed since the crime, I think that it is safe to assume that she is still in the U.S. As soon as she is sighted, Angel One will be dispatched to capture her, with Angels two and three and two captains as backup.” The captains all nodded in agreement, apart from Captain Scarlet who continued to stare up at the screen, a shocked and somewhat dazed and confused expression on his handsome face.

“You four,” he said, indicating Scarlet, Blue, Magenta and Ochre, “will take it in turns, in shifts, to be on standby in case she is sighted. Six hours on, six hours off, round the clock, until she is caught. Captains Ochre and Magenta will be on duty first tonight. I want Captains Blue and Scarlet ready to relieve them at 0600 hours tomorrow. Captain Grey will continue his usual duties but will stand in for any captains that find themselves indisposed during their shift.”

“Yes sir,” rang hollowly through the room as the five men muttered their response.

“Very well. Dismissed.” Four colourfully clad Spectrum captains rose heavily to their feet and headed out the door. Once outside, Captain Scarlet speeded up suddenly and strode off in the direction of his quarters. Captain Blue watched him then followed him quickly, running to catch up with him as he turned the corner.

“Paul! Hey, Paul!” Adam sprinted around the corner and immediately collided with a mass of red tunic, which had paused just around the corner to see who was yelling to it. Adam staggered backwards and fell over, whilst Paul hurriedly scrambled back onto his feet.

“What?” he grumbled, brushing down his scarlet jacket and offering a hand to his friend, who took it gratefully.

“I just… I just wanted to check you were ok. What with Rhapsody…” Adam fell silent and Paul’s face tightened dramatically as the Angel’s name escaped his mouth.

“It wasn’t her,” he muttered darkly before turning around and heading off down the corridor again. Adam watched him go sadly, knowing that it would be useless to follow him. Maybe he just needed some time alone, he remarked thoughtfully. He had received a great shock when the woman’s hood fell back. He’d been the one person that seemed truly convinced of Rhapsody’s innocence. Adam sighed and headed back to his own quarters. Symphony Angel would be off duty in a couple of hours and he wanted everything to be perfect for his special night…

***

11:27pm

May 28^th 2071

“Dianne? Dianne, are you there? Pick up please! Dianne? DIANNE?”

“Ok ok, Paul, I’m here! Jeez, no need to shout!”

“Sorry, what took you so long?”

“I was in bed! What’s wrong? Has something happened? You sound worried.” Paul couldn’t help smiling a little at that. That was so like her. She was always so concerned with everyone else, always first to notice when someone was upset…

“Paul? Paul, come on, we spoke two hours ago. If you’re phoning me again then it means that something’s happened. What is it?”

Paul swallowed hard and told her about the third break in.

“But… but that means I’m off the hook. You said it was in Washington, right? And they know I’m here. And if they got security footage…”

“Yes they did. Of you.” A stunned silence followed this sudden announcement.

“What? What do you mean ‘of me’?” she asked shakily.

“Exactly what I say. They have footage of you robbing the vault, Rhapsody. They think you’re in America. You’re wanted by the police.”