
12:10pm
July 5th
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
31st 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
31st 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
31st 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
1st 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
16th 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
17th 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
17th 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
25th 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
26th 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
26th 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
30th 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 12th
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 20th
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 20th
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 20th
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 20th
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 28th
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 28th
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.”