Captain
Scarlet rolled his eyes and threw the newspaper he had been reading to one
side. “Well, talk about taking things
literally!”
“What?”
Scarlet
shook his head at her. “If it’s not
Ochre making ‘The Mess’ look like a bomb’s hit it, it’s you using ‘The Lounge’
to slop around!”
Ochre
looked up at the Captain over the top of a book and scowled. “Oh, thanks!”
The
Lieutenant was also addressing Scarlet with an annoyed frown. “And if you don’t mind, I HAVE just come off
duty – I’m tired… Sir.”
“Ha!
‘Tired’ – you don’t know the meaning of the word! You’ve had it pretty lightly,
so far, Lieutenant.”
“Not
through choice, I assure you.”
Captain
Ochre rolled his eyes, and returned to his book.
Captain
Scarlet’s mood, however, changed at the mention of the sport. “Who’s playing, and what’s the score?”
“Don’t
you dare – Hampshire’s playing.” Captain Scarlet stood up; ready to tackle the
remote from the lower-ranking officer if necessary.
“So? I
put it on, and my team ain’t there.”
“Yes,
but mine is.” Scarlet frowned, quickly trying to come up with a good reason for
“Wha’
d’you mean?”
He
smiled at her. “I’ll see if I can talk
the Colonel into sending you on the next mission. Uh… that is… provided I don’t have to act as
your partner!”
The
Lieutenant rolled her eyes at him, but set the remote down on the coffee table
beside her.
“Good
girl,” Scarlet noted. “Now, let me watch
my game in peace.”
Scarlet
laughed as he tried to defend himself against her blows. “Alright, ALRIGHT!”
Captain
Ochre took his eyes off his book to watch their antics. He shook his head, torn between amusement and
annoyance, as he tried to work out whether they were more like friends or
rivals. “Hey! You mind keeping it down?
You’re breaking my concentration.”
The
Lieutenant gave another yawn, returned to her seat and began to look at the
sports’ section of the paper. “Anyway, while we’re on the subject of cricket,
Captain Scarlet…”
“Yes?”
“There’s
a game I’d like to see, taking place at Lords.
It’s a charity game, and…”
“
“Of
course I knew that, Lieutenant!” Scarlet became ‘serious’ and narrowed his eyes
at her. “Well, if
The
Lieutenant was tempted to make him guess, but she decided against it. “Well,
“Typical!
Scarlet
frowned. Now, what would she mean by
THAT? I thought she WAS indestructible… He was just about to voice his
question when he saw that she had returned to her paper.
“And
speakin’ o’Gloucester, they’re doing well.
Wiped the floor wi’ Zomerzet, las’ weekend, by the looks of this
report!”
He
chuckled. “As if that means anything!”
The
Lieutenant looked across at him. “Well,
Zir, it’s a shame you never believe the papers – says ‘ere that ‘Ampshire is
most likely to come top o’ the league…”
Scarlet
laughed. “Oh, they’ve got SOMETHING
right, then!”
“Look,
will you two stop bickering like a pair of kids?” Ochre demanded, finally
losing patience altogether. “If I have
to put up with any more of this, I’ll make you eat that sports’ section between
you!”
Scarlet
nodded, as he turned to her with concern.
“Yes, and so do I, Lieutenant.
Are you alright?”
“Oh,
yeah. Juz’ run down – couldn’t sleep,
last night.”
“Well,
you take care of yourself, Lieutenant – and that’s an order.”
Scarlet
waited for her to leave, and then turned to Ochre. “You know, you didn’t have to be so harsh,
Rick.”
“HARSH?
The two of you were driving me nuts!”
“Yes,
but I think you rather upset her…”
Ochre
frowned at him, and then smirked. “Oho!
I get it… you’re interested in her, aren’t you?”
Feeling
himself reddening, Scarlet shook his head.
He wished that his colleague didn’t have to decide to torment him every
time he was pleasant toward one of the female members aboard Cloudbase. “No, I just don’t think that’s the best way
to speak to someone who is still very new here.
She might not have known that you were joking…”
“Good,
because I wasn’t!”
“Rick…”
Ochre
returned to his book, thus ending the conversation.
Lake
stretched out on her bed, and stared at the ceiling. She hadn’t even bothered to remove her boots,
and was already close to falling asleep.
I’ll just… shut me eyes a moment – that won’t do any ‘arm – then I’ll
sort meself out… Before she was even aware of it, the Lieutenant was lost
to the world.
Captain
Blue grinned as he watched Captain Scarlet jumping around in front of the
television.
“Come
on – try for a six!”
“Paul,
are you ok?”
Scarlet
stopped and turned to him. He gave an
embarrassed smile. “Uh… Hello, Adam…
have you been standing there for very long?”
“Long
enough, Paul. What’s all that about a
six?”
“I want
to see the batsman go for a big hit – and to be caught out.”
Blue
frowned. “What d’you mean?”
“Essex
is batting.” Scarlet chuckled. “Poor
blighters don’t stand a chance…”
“I take
it you don’t support them, then.”
“No, I
certainly don’t. I support Hampshire –
the WINNING team.” The Brit grinned brightly.
Captain
Blue shook his head. Scarlet could be
annoying enough when he was sat in front of a cricket match, but he was at his
worst when he was in THIS kind of mood.
He decided to leave him to it and joined Ochre, who was still struggling
with his book.
Lieutenant
Lake’s nap was interrupted as she thought she heard something. If she was right, it had only been a very
faint sound, and yet… “THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE MYSTERONS. WE KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR US, EARTHMEN. THE RAIN AT LORDS WILL STOP PLAY. WE WILL BE AVENGED.”
“Uh…
what?” Lake stared at the now silent loudspeaker beside her bed through bleary
eyes. “What are you on about, now?”
Moments
later, the Lieutenant was seated in the Conference Room, with the rest of
Cloudbase’s personnel. Colonel White had just asked for their immediate
thoughts on the threat, and a number of the officers had began to talk at once.
Captain
Aquamarine had mentioned some lyrics from ‘Blood on the Rooftops’, by Genesis,
but Scarlet had argued that they wouldn’t take the time to listen to a song and
base their threat on that. “And in any
case,” he finished, “I’ll wager that when your song is talking about ‘the rain
at Lords stopping play’… or whatever it was… that they’re talking about a
cricket match.”
Lake
nodded. “I think so, too.”
“The
Mysterons agree with ME, then!” Ochre piped up, grinning. “That game is absolute cr…”
“Thankyou,
Captain Ochre, but we are not here to discuss our views on sports.” Colonel
White dealt him an icy stare. “Now,
could you PLEASE explain to me why the Mysterons would bother to threaten a
cricket match? It makes no sense.”
“Could
they be threatening the ground itself?” Captain Cerise ventured.
Lake
shook her head. “I dunno… that doesn’t
make much sense, either…”
Scarlet
turned to her, suddenly. “Wait!
Lieutenant, didn’t you mention something about Lords, earlier?”
The
Lieutenant nodded, slowly. “Might have
been Lords… yes, I think it was. There’s
going to be a charity match taking place there… sometime.”
Colonel
White gave her what he hoped was a patient smile. He was quite used to Lake only remembering
half of the information that she needed.
“Can you remember where you found out about it, Lieutenant?”
She
nodded. “Yes, Sir. Shall I fetch it?”
“Please
do.”
As Lake
rushed out, Captain Blue frowned. “Do
you think it’s important, Colonel?”
“I want
to cover everything, Captain. After all,
there might be a further clue.”
“I just
don’t understand why the Mysterons would worry about some stupid game,” Ochre
commented.
Captain
Cerise poked him in the side. “For one
thing, cricket is NOT a ‘stupid game’… and for another thing, the charity that
the money goes to from this game might be important.”
Scarlet
nodded. “VERY important, if the
Mysterons want to stop it.”
“Here
it is!” Lake called, running into the room eagerly, and placing a newspaper in
front of Colonel White.
“Hmmm…
very interesting… the earnings will go to ‘Sporting Chance’ and the game is to
be between Gloucester and Surrey.”
Lake
nodded, eagerly. “That’s not the half of
it! Did you see who’s to be acting as umpire there?”
“Steven
J. Everett…” Colonel White stared at the paper in disbelief. “Why on Earth would HE be there?”
“Who?”
Captain Grey inquired, puzzled.
“One of
the British politicians,” Captain Scarlet explained.
Lake
nodded. “He used to be an umpire, a few
years back, if I remember rightly.”
“And
one heck of a cricketer, in his day.” Scarlet added, so as not to be out done.
“Well,”
Colonel White handed the newsprint back to the Lieutenant, “it seems that the
Mysterons have a few good reasons to interfere with this game. There is more than one politician involved,
and a good number of VIPs will be there...” he scanned the document again. “Steven Everett, Victoria Harris, Philip
Bond, Kevin Davis and Tania Baker.”
“What
is our assignment, Sir?” Lake asked, eagerly.
“I’ll
want a few of you taking part in the game, if it can be arranged, so those of
you with some skill are to put your names forward. The rest of you will either be seated with
the VIPs who will be watching, or acting as security staff.”
“I used
to play for my school’s cricket team, Sir,” Captain Scarlet ventured.
Lieutenant
Green had turned from working at his computer.
“I have some skill, Colonel.”
“That
should be fine, then. That means that
there should be at least one Spectrum member on the field at any given time.”
Lake
and Cerise exchanged brief glances. Lake
was first to speak up. “Colonel, Captain
Cerise and I have some skill, but neither of us have played professionally.”
Colonel
White nodded. “That would bump it up to
two Spectrum officers per team. That
should be plenty to keep an eye on things.”
Cerise
smiled, eagerly. “That’s right in the
thick of the action – perfect!”
“Alright,
but I want you to remember this: the game can be quite dangerous, with that
ball travelling at around 90 miles per hour – I want you all to be
careful. Also, I do not want you
becoming too involved in the game; and not keeping your eyes open for
trouble. Understood?”
“Perfectly,”
Captain Scarlet replied on behalf of everyone concerned.
Colonel
White studied the faces of the four officers who had volunteered to take part in
the game. He gave a slight smile, and
then sent Scarlet, Cerise, Green and Lake to go and get some practice. The four left eagerly.
“This
mission’ll be right up their street,” Captain Blue remarked.
The
Colonel agreed. “Now then, as for the
rest of you, your orders are as follows…”
Captain
Scarlet grabbed a bat, and took position in the nets. “Try and bowl me, Lieutenant!”
Lake
and Green exchanged glances. “Which
Lieutenant, Captain?” Lake enquired.
“Whoever
thinks they stand the better chance,” Scarlet shrugged.
Captain
Cerise gave Lieutenant Green a sly wink.
“Go for it.”
“Here
goes…” Green grabbed a ball from the pile.
He took a fast run up, leapt into the air, and threw the ball with all
his might.
“Argh!”
Captain Scarlet was caught off guard by the way Green’s first attempt
swung. As he tried to hit the ball, he
lost balance, only catching air with his bat.
“Owzat!”
Lake laughed.
“Out.”
Cerise replied.
Scarlet
came back, looking sullen. “I must be a
bit out of practice – I haven’t played in ages.” He scowled at the pair of
sniggering women beside him. “You have a
go, if you think you can do better!”
Lake
took the bat, and grinned at Captain Cerise.
“Go for it, Sue.”
“With
pleasure.” Cerise’s first shot was a Yorker.
It hit the Lieutenant on the foot, as she went for a big swing.
“Oi!
That’s not very sporting!” Lake laughed, and handed her bat to Cerise. “Your go – but don’t expect any mercy.”
“Colonel
White, Spectrum, here. Could you put me
through to Mr S.J. Everett, please?”
There
was a click at the other end, and then a rather flustered-sounding voice came
to the line. “Colonel White, of
Spectrum?”
“Yes,
Mr. Everett. I understand that you are
supervising a charity cricket match, this weekend.”
“That’s
right. But I fail to see why that
concerns Spectrum.”
“We
believe that the Mysterons have threatened to… interfere… with the match. If you agree, I would like to post a few of
my top agents at Lords – just to improve security.”
“Is
that absolutely necessary?”
Colonel
White frowned. Trying to convince VIPs
to listen to him certainly didn’t get any easier. “It could prove VERY necessary, Mr. Everett.”
“Then I
suppose I can’t very easily refuse, can I? Where would you like your people
stationed?”
“A number
at the doors – in uniform – to check the guests entering, some in plain clothes
– in the crowds – and four taking part in the game.”
“Colonel,
do you have any idea how difficult that will be? I can’t just replace four of
the players!”
The
Colonel frowned. “It would be a good
idea, Mr. Everett, to put members in the very centre of the game, where they
can see everything. Uh… that is… IF it
can be arranged.”
The man
at the other end gave a weary sigh.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thankyou,
Sir.”
Lieutenant
Lake stepped out of the car that she and the other members had arrived in. She stared up in awe at Lords Cricket
Ground. She’d once gone there to watch
her team play, but had never dreamed of playing as one of them! She shivered,
as a chilly breeze caught her in the face.
“S’cold, this morning. ‘Ope it warms up before the game’s underway.”
Captain
Cerise smiled at her. “You won’t even
notice the weather, once the game’s started, Ems. We’ll have more important things to think
about.”
“I certainly
hope the two of you will have more energy on the field – you won’t be able to
stand around chatting, then!” Captain Scarlet rolled his eyes at them,
impatiently.
“We’re
on separate teams at any rate, bossy boots!” Lake remarked, cheekily.
“And
that’s just as well, if you want my opinion!” Scarlet shot back.
Lake
was about to give an answering retort, when Green stood between her and
Scarlet. “Well, shall we go on in?
Colonel White said that they’d be expecting us.”
No
sooner had the Spectrum officers entered the building then Steven Everett
greeted them. “Thankyou for agreeing to
play, at such short notice,” he said, in a rather loud voice. “It’s difficult to replace ONE sick player,
but FOUR…!”
“I
understand, Sir,” Captain Scarlet replied, shaking his hand, “We couldn’t
possibly cancel a game such as this, could we?”
“No,
indeed not,” Everett agreed. “Please,
come with me. There are a few things
that need to be discussed.”
Lake
took a step to follow, but was caught off guard by a wave of nausea. She stopped and closed her eyes as she tried
to fight off the attack, and wondered how Scarlet and Cerise were feeling.
“Ems?”
Lieutenant Green stood beside her, putting an arm around her to offer support.
Cerise
turned back. “Are you alright?”
As she
often did, Lake activated the telepathic link that she and Cerise had between
them, by way of answering. ‘Mysteron.
I’m going to take a look around – cover for me.’
‘Don’t
go alone, Ems.’
‘S.I.G. I’ll take Lieutenant Green with me, then.’
‘Be
careful.’
Lake
cast her what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
‘Don’t worry.’
Green
was watching Lake with a concerned expression.
While she and Cerise had been involved in their private conversation,
she had gradually looked more drained.
“Ems, are you sick?”
“No. No, I jus’ wan’ zome air…” she gave him a
small smile, as she hinted: “All the
travellin’, prob’ly.”
“I’ll
go with you,” Green told her, helping her out.
Everett
took a seat at his desk, smiling. “Well,
this is certainly an unusual match! It’s not every day that we have a handful
of Spectrum officers taking part! I’m only sorry about the circumstances behind
it.”
Captain
Scarlet nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
Everett
frowned, suddenly. “What has happened to
your colleagues? I thought we were to have four of you playing. Have you had to change your plans?”
“No,”
Captain Cerise shook her head.
“Lieutenant Lake is… a bit prone to travel sickness. She’s had to get some fresh air.”
Captain
Scarlet stood up. “Perhaps I should
check on her…”
“No,
Captain, Green’s with her – I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Cerise said, with a
quick smile.
Everett
was frowning. “I hope she’ll be well
enough to take part…”
Cerise
nodded, assuredly. “Lieutenant Lake is
as tough as old boots, Sir – I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
After a
fruitless search, Lake and Green agreed that the only thing they could do was
to go back inside. Lake shook her head
in frustration. “Sorry, Seymour… but I
KNOW that I felt something…”
“That’s
ok, Ems,” Green assured her, gently.
“But there’s no-one about, now, and you’ve stopped… detecting…”
His
colleague shivered. “That don’t exactly
make me feel better.”
“Yeah,
I know it doesn’t… but we’ll keep our eyes open.”
Lake
nodded, and followed him back inside, slowly.
Everett
had already given Captains Scarlet and Cerise their kits when Lake and Green
returned.
Captain
Scarlet watched them enter. He could see
that Lake looked somewhat preoccupied.
“Are you alright, Lieutenant?”
“Yes
thanks, Sir. I suppose the drive was a
bit much…” she took a seat, and cast Everett an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry
to have kept you waiting.”
Everett
shook his head. “That’s fine, as long as
you’re fit to play.” He handed over the two remaining kits. “These have a
number of microphones fitted, apparently, so be careful what you say. Now, I’d like to show you around – I want you
to LOOK as if you’ve been here many times before, by the time the rest of the
players get here. First of all, I’ll introduce
you to my colleagues – we’ll want to see what you’re made of.”
Lake smiled,
as she remembered the practicing that she and her colleagues had done, to
prepare. She felt sure that they’d fit
right in with those that had been there before – especially after all that
Colonel White had arranged, with a top cricket coach.
Colonel
White rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. He
was seated at his desk in Cloudbase’s Control Room, watching all that was
taking place at Lords via some security cameras. “Everything seems to be taking shape.”
“Yes,
Sir,” Captain Ochre agreed. “The game should
be starting, soon.”
“In
another hour,” Colonel White corrected.
Ochre
pressed a button on the console in front of him, as a light blinked on it. “Spectrum Control.”
“This
is Captain Blue, reporting that everything’s S.I.G. Captain Scarlet reports that Lake felt
something, earlier, but all seems to be in order.”
Colonel
White took up the conversation. “Is that
all you have to report, Captain?”
“Yes,
Colonel. Everyone’s in position, and
ready for the first move.”
“S.I.G.,
Captain. Keep me informed.”
“Yes,
Sir.”
Lieutenant
Lake paced, restlessly. First she stood
at the balcony, then she turned, checked her watch, and wandered back into the
dressing room. Cathy “Cat” Burton, the
Gloucester Gladiator’s captain, had introduced the two ‘new recruits’ to the
team; Martin Swift, Andrew West, Julie Lloyd, Geoffrey Lowe, Angela Reed, Mark
Lynne, Sarah Browne, David “Rex” King, and Thomas Lewis; but still she felt
nervous and restless.
“Ems,
would you sit down?” Green asked, as he watched her. “You’ll be too tired to make a good score, at
this rate, and besides, you’re making me dizzy.”
“Sorry,
Griff,” she took a seat, crossing her legs.
“I’m always like this, before a game.
I know it’s silly…”
Cathy
Burton put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t
worry about it – just don’t let the Lions see.
If they thought they could get under your skin, they’d canon that ball
at your head!”
Lake
smiled. She couldn’t help comparing
cricket to the war of nerves between Earth and Mars – in both cases; the opposition
tried all they could to put you off in order to catch you out.
Burton
cleared her throat, and addressed the team as a whole. “Now, seeing as we had a fair drop of rain,
last night, I should think the ground will still be damp, when we get out there. The run rate will be slow, and the conditions
should be just right for some swing bowling.
So, what we want to do is to get Surrey in first, to bat while the
conditions are stacked in the bowler’s favour.
We then skittle them out cheaply, and take our turn batting when the
conditions have improved for the batsmen.”
Captains
Scarlet and Cerise were being introduced to their team. The captain of the Surrey Lions, Matthew
Fletcher, introduced them to the rest of the members: Jack “Hammy” Hamlyn,
Simon Pratchett, Samantha Watson, Sean Watson, Bev Flegg, Lee Mitchell,
Jonathon Smart, Alice Fox and James Hull.
Once
the introductions were over, Fletch explained the situation – in much the same
way as Cat Burton had, for Gloucester.
Everett
held up a coin, as he stood between the two team captains. “Heads or tails?”
“Tails,”
Matt Fletcher said, decisively.
Everett
nodded, and flipped the coin. He studied
it, once it had landed. “Heads. Burton, your team wins the toss – would you
like to bat first, or second?”
“Second,”
Cat Burton decided.
Lake
stood up, as her team captain came in with a determined look on her face.
“Right,
Surrey is batting first. Swift, I want
you to take first bowl – and see that you make them VERY uneasy!”
“Ok,
Cat.”
Burton
pulled on her sweater. “Play begins in
fifteen minutes. Let’s get a move on.”
Meanwhile,
seated on the roof of a tall building, not far from Lords Cricket Ground, was
Captain Black. He held his binoculars to
his face, and waited for the action to begin.
Colonel
White tuned into the game coverage on television, and watched the players
coming onto the field. The commentators
began to explain the line-up, and up came the teams’ information. He suddenly realised just how much Everett
had done to help maintain his officers’ cover.
The Surrey batting order then came up.
1 Samantha
Watson (batter)
2 Jonathan
Smart (batter)
3 Matthew
Fletcher (captain)
4 Sue
Bevan (batter)
5 Lee
Mitchell (wicket keeper)
6 Simon
Pratchett (batter)
7 James
Hull (batter)
8 Alice
Fox (spin bowler)
9 Paul
Metcalfe (fast bowler)
10 Beverly Flegg (medium
bowler)
11 Sean Watson (spin
bowler)
“Colonel,
what does ‘batter’ mean?” Captain Ochre asked, as he read through the batting
order.
White
turned around. “It means ‘batsman’,
Captain. They changed it to ‘batter’,
when they decided to allow women to take part in the sport to the same extent
as men.”
“Ah. Political correctness,” Ochre commented.
The
Colonel frowned. “Apparently,” he left
it at that, returning his attention to what was going on at Lords. He could see the fielding team getting into
position, with the captain of Gloucester standing right behind the batsman who
was on strike.
Ochre
was tempted to crack a joke about one of the players being named ‘Fish’, but
decided against it. It was clear that
his C/O had a lot on his mind. He
returned to the small monitor in front of him.
Hope I get to watch Sue play!
Captain
Blue was waiting at the doors, checking everyone with detectors before he allowed
them to enter. So far, all was
quiet. No Mysterons had been sighted
trying to get through the doors, and no-one had been behaving strangely. As Lieutenant Lake was rather emotional, he
was tempted to put her ‘detection’ down to nerves or over excitement… but on
the other hand, her sixth sense was usually pretty accurate.
He
looked up at the box where he knew that Captains Aquamarine and Magenta were
seated with the VIPs, watching the game.
Rather them than me – I’d fall asleep before the game had been on for
ten minutes!
Lieutenant
Lake was beginning to get into the game.
She had a slight headache, but as she usually felt worse than that when
a Mysteron was in the vicinity, she dismissed that as a sinus problem, probably
down to the slight chill in the breeze. Besides that, everything seemed to be
fine.
“Catchit!”
The
shout from her captain brought her back to Earth, and she focused on the
ball. She took two steps back, and
leapt, plucking the ball out of the air.
“Owzat!”
“And
that’s Jonathan Smart out for 5. Let’s
see if his captain can do any better…”
Captain
Ochre scowled at the monitor. “Shuddup!
I’d like to see YOU do better!”
Colonel
White chuckled. “Well, Captain, for
someone who thought the game was rubbish, you certainly seem to be enjoying
it.”
“I just
hate it when people talk like that, Sir.
Makes me wish I could stick that microphone of his where the sun…”
“I get
the picture, thankyou.” White interrupted.
Lieutenant
Green touched Lake’s arm, and passed her a drink. “That was a good catch.”
“Thanks,
Griff. I suppose I was just in the right
place at the right time.”
“Well,
I thought you were great.”
Lake
could feel herself reddening. “Thanks,”
sighing, she rubbed her cold glass across her forehead.
“Is
anything wrong?” Green put a hand on her shoulder.
“Ems?”
Cat Burton went to her side. “Are you
alright?”
“Yeah…
just a sinus ache. Should pass on its
own.”
Burton
nodded, slowly. “Alright, but keep an
eye on it – and let me know if it gets any worse.”
Lake
nodded. “Will do.”
“Griff,” Burton turned to Green and handed him
the ball. “I want you bowling into them,
next. Let’s see how many wickets we can
get for free.”
He
smiled, eagerly. “Right.”
Lieutenant
Green cannoned into Matthew Fletcher.
Fletcher
hit the ball with all his might – straight for Steven Everett. Lake shuddered, as she realised what was
going to happen, and threw herself between the umpire and the speeding
ball. It hit her in the shoulder,
turning it into a mass of pain. “Ow!”
She was knocked off balance by the force of the impact, cradling her injury as
she fell.
“Are
you alright?” Everett crouched beside her.
“Uh… I
think so… yes. I’m sorry, I suppose my
reflexes weren’t good enough to catch that one.” Lake pulled herself to her
feet, rubbing her shoulder and trying not to wince.
“Are
you sure there’s nothing broken?”
The
Lieutenant flexed her fingers, carefully, and then swung her arm. “I’m fine, Sir, I assure you. Thankyou for your concern.”
Everett
smiled, as he remembered Captain Cerise’s earlier words – tough as old
boots. “Well, all the same, I think
you should have that shoulder looked at… ”
with that, he called a medic over.
“What’s
going on down there?” Captain Ochre asked, as he stared at the confusion on his
monitor.
Colonel
White shook his head. “I don’t know,
Captain, but it looks as if Lake was hurt.”
“Here’s
the replay. Murray-Stone dived for what
looked to be a good catch, but the ball caught HER instead,” the television reported. “She took a glancing blow to the shoulder,
but wasn’t injured. The game will now
continue…”
“Don’t
sound so concerned,” Ochre muttered, with annoyance.
White
cast him a quick glance. “I know,
Captain, some of them DO seem to enjoy it, when things like that happen.”
“Makes
me wonder whether there’s a Mysteron in the commentary box…”
The
Colonel shook his head. “No,
Captain. That's just the way some people
are.”
Lake
had to admit that she felt foolish.
She’d watched cricket many times before, and the umpires always got out
of the way of the ball – perhaps she’d just panicked. On top of that, she’d failed to catch the
ball and hurt herself.
Lieutenant
Green stood beside her. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah,
I’m ok – it doesn’t even hurt, anymore,” Lake lied, in an annoyed tone. “Look, aren’t you meant to be bowling,
Griff?”
Green
was neither fooled nor impressed.
“Alright, then. I’ll speak to you
later.” With that, he returned to his marker and prepared for his next run up.
Lake
got back into position, and prepared to stop some runs. She watched Green run in to bowl another good
ball. Watson hit the ball with all his
might.
Mark
Lynne caught it just before it bounced, and rolled as he hit the ground.
The
umpire nodded at the appeal from Gloucester.
“Out.”
Captain
Cerise came onto the field and settled at the crease.
Geoffrey
Lowe took over bowling from Green. He
took a short run up, and threw the ball at the Spectrum Captain. Cerise swatted it away, and swapped ends with
Fletcher.
Lake
rubbed at her forehead and tried to focus on the game. She was still positioned near Everett, where
she could both watch him and take part in the game. The going was becoming difficult, as she
began to feel that the Mysteron plan would surely be dropped on them,
soon. Time was moving on, slowly. She watched Fletcher’s wicket fall, and that
was closely followed by that of James Hull.
Captain
Cerise had made 25 runs, and it was beginning to look as if she would soon be
overtaking Fletcher’s score – the highest so far. Angela Reed threw what looked to be an easy
ball to hit, but it turned at the last moment. Cerise caught the ball with the
edge of the bat, and it swung into the air.
“Seymour!”
Lake called, as she saw that the ball was heading in his direction.
Green
moved accurately, following the ball with his eyes, and plucked it out of the
air.
“Out!”
called Everett.
Cerise
removed her helmet and cast the jubilant Green a quick glance. “You wait, Griff…”
The
wickets fell pretty quickly. Lake
couldn’t help relaxing at her post, in terms of looking out for Mysterons. Her
head had stopped troubling her, and her spirits had lifted a great deal.
Captain
Scarlet was seated on the balcony, already in his pads, and waiting for his
turn at the crease. He turned to
Cerise. “That’s definitely a bowler’s
wicket, out there. What with the run
rate being slowed by the moisture…”
Cerise
nodded. “I know, Paul. The only chance we’ve got is for it to STAY
damp.”
“By the
looks of it, there’s fat chance of that,” Scarlet muttered. “Look, the weather’s improving.”
Cerise
closed her eyes, and leaned against the rail.
“Are
you alright?”
“I
think I’m getting a headache,” she rubbed at her forehead.
Matt
Fletcher took a seat beside the two Spectrum officers, and frowned. “Is that what got you out?” he enquired.
“No, it’s only just come on…” Cerise shook her
head, slowly.
Fletcher
folded his arms. “Then let’s hope it
subsides before we’re out there fielding.
I’ll want you to put as much effort in as possible.”
“I’ll
be fine… I just need to take an aspirin…”
Fletcher
shook his head. “You have to be careful
about taking any form of drug – it can get you into a lot of trouble, if you
use the wrong sort. It’s better if you
just fight it off without medication.”
Scarlet
put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get
you a glass of water – that should help.”
Cerise
cast him a grateful smile. “Thanks,
Paul.”
“That's
alright,” Scarlet rubbed his own forehead, and hoped that someone would get the
message. “I'm not feeling all that well,
myself...”
“Anything
to report, Captain Blue?” Colonel White enquired.
“No,
Sir. Everything’s pretty quiet… the
Mysterons seem to be leaving their attack a little late.”
The
Colonel frowned. “I know, Captain, but
you can rest assured that they’ve made their plans. They’ll make their move, soon enough.”
Captain
Scarlet stood at the crease, and prepared for a big hit. Lieutenant Lake, though she had not been
rated as a bowler, had been invited to have a try with the ball. He smirked at her, and used one of her
favourite taunts. “Come an’ ‘ave a go,
if you think yer ‘ard enough!” he jeered, trying to imitate her accent.
Lake
scowled at him, and ran up to bowl. Her
first attempt was a wide, flying high above his head so that he couldn't hit
it.
“Pathetic!”
Scarlet continued smirking at her.
With a
low growl, the Lieutenant tried again.
This time, she gave him a bouncer, which hit his helmet.
The
higher-ranking Spectrum officer grinned at her, and Lake knew he meant to tell
her to keep her temper.
Drawing
a deep breath, she ran up again, giving him a well-aimed throw.
Scarlet
swatted it away, and achieved a four, running two of them.
Lake
sighed, putting her hands on her hips.
She took the ball from the fielder who had received it, and tried again.
The
ball hit the ground, and then swung. The
Spectrum Captain tried to send the ball for another boundary, but hit it with
an edge, sending it spinning into the air.
“Catchit!”
the Lieutenant yelled, as she watched the ball intently.
Cat
Burton placed herself directly under the falling ball, catching it with ease.
“Owzat!”
Lake screeched, excitedly.
“Out!”
Everett declared.
Colonel
White frowned, as he watched Scarlet head back for the dressing room. “Lake and Scarlet certainly seem to be rather
aggressive toward each other…”
Ochre
was tempted to ask whether he’d only just noticed, but remained silent.
“Hmm… I
suppose I’ll have to have a quiet word with them, later. I don’t want them becoming rivals.”
Ochre
turned from working at his computer. “They work together when it counts, Sir. Besides, I expect they were trying to make it
LOOK as if they were opponents. It’d
look strange, if they behaved differently, wouldn’t it?”
White
nodded, thoughtfully. “You could be
right, Captain.”
The
last of the wickets fell before lunchtime, which meant that they ate
early. Lieutenant Lake took a seat
beside Green, who seemed reluctant to let her out of his sight. She smiled at her protector, with an amused
glitter in her eyes.
“What’s
so funny?”
Shrugging,
she wound some spaghetti around her fork, before meeting his eyes. “You are, Griff. What’s the matter? You seem scared to leave
my side.”
“It’s
not that, Ems. It’s just that…” he
frowned, suddenly feeling awkward.
“How’s your arm?”
“Oh,
that! I told you, earlier – it doesn’t even hurt, anymore.”
Green
watched her, carefully. She certainly
didn’t seem to be in any discomfort. “I
liked the way you tricked Ca… Metcalfe, by the way.”
“Tricked
him?”
“Yes. You gave him a few balls that he couldn’t hit,
gave him one that he could score off, and then threw one that would get him
out.”
Lake
blushed. “Thanks, but it wasn’t
intentional…”
Green
put a hand on her shoulder, grinning.
“You were lucky, then.”
Cerise
groaned and leaned her head against the wall.
Captain
Scarlet watched her with a worried frown.
“Sue, try to eat something – perhaps it’ll make you feel better.”
“I
can’t eat…”
Matt
Fletcher turned to add his two penny’s worth.
“If you’re too ill to eat, you’re certainly too ill to take part, Bevan. I’m afraid you’ll have to sit the rest of the
match out.”
Scarlet
nodded. “He’s right.”
Cerise
stared down at the pile of food on her plate, and forced herself to eat a
mouthful.
“That’s
right – have as much as you can,” Scarlet advised.
Fletcher
stood up, and headed for the gents’.
Cerise
straightened up slightly, and took another bite.
“Better?”
Scarlet enquired, watching her.
“A bit,
yes. Perhaps you were right, and it IS
just hunger.”
‘This
is Captain Black, relaying instructions from the Mysterons. Fletcher, only you can hear this voice. You will use the first opportunity you get
to take out Steven J. Everett. The Earthman
must die.’
‘The
Mysteron instructions will be carried out.’
Lake
stood at the balcony, fidgeting, as she watched the fielders getting into
position below.
Lieutenant
Green stood beside her. “What’s wrong,
Ems? You look edgy.”
“I
don’t know. Just a feeling – I can’t
place it.”
“I know
what you mean,” Captain Blue’s voice told her, over the radio. “The Mysterons should be putting whatever
plan they have into action, real soon.”
Lake
bit her lip.
“We’ll
handle it fine, Ems,” her fellow Lieutenant reassured her, placing his hand on
her shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
Matthew
Fletcher took the ball, and began to polish it.
He then stared at it, for a while.
Scarlet
watched him, with curiosity.
Fletcher
finished polishing his ball, and began to take a run up. He stopped in mid-sprint, and came back.
“Everett,” he called, tossing the ball to the umpire, “I think there’s
something wrong with the ball you gave me.”
Everett
studied it carefully, and tossed it back.
“It’s fine, Fletch.” No sooner had he released it, than the ball
exploded. Everett reacted quickly,
dropping to the floor.
Cerise
went to his side, quickly. “Sir, are you
alright?”
“Y…
yes… just…” the VIP umpire stared up at her, visibly shaken. “What happened?”
The
Captain kept herself from giving a relieved sigh. “I don’t know, Sir. We’ll have to check a few things, before the
game can continue.”
Seated
in Cloudbase control, Colonel White jumped.
“What on Earth…?”
“The
ball exploded!” Captain Ochre exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “Sir, surely we’ll have to call the match
off? It’s too dangerous – the innocent by-standers…”
White
shook his head. “It’s a bit late for
considerations such as that, Captain.
We’ll have to find out what went wrong and continue. Put me through to Captain Blue.”
“S.I.G.”
“We’re
looking for the culprit, Sir, but we’re not having much luck,” Blue reported.
“The Mysteron could be anywhere, by now.”
“Well,
I want the match stalled until the situation is neutralised. There are too many innocent by-standers.”
“Captains
Magenta and Aquamarine are trying to do just that, but the VIPs don’t want to
know, Sir.”
“Alright,
Captain, I’ll see what I can do.”
Lake
watched the confusion below her, and tried to work out what had happened. “Seymour, we’d better find out what’s going
on…”
“Lake,
Green, this is the situation,” Captain Blue’s voice announced, over their
hidden radios. “A Mysteron has planted
bombs in some of the equipment, and we have to locate them. We’re currently trying to get the place
evacuated.”
“Right,”
Green replied.
The
pair tried to usher their team out of the dressing room in an orderly fashion.
“Hey!
What are you doing?”
“Who do
you think you are?”
Lake
pulled out her identification, quickly.
“Spectrum. Lieutenants Lake and
Green – we have reason to believe that this match is being sabotaged, and our
orders are to evacuate this building immediately.”
That said,
the team seemed to be much more willing to co-operate.
Once
they were sure that everyone was out, Lake and Green raced back inside to
locate the booby traps.
“Where
do we start?” Green asked, as he and Lake searched for Blue.
Lake
shook her head. “It’s a big enough
place, who knows what…” she stopped, and braced herself against the wall.
Her
fellow Lieutenant stopped running, and returned to her side. “Ems! What’s wrong?”
“Feel…
weak – faint…” she shivered, violently.
“Mysteron… in vicinity…”
“I hear
you, Lieutenant,” Blue’s voice told her.
“Where are you?”
“Near…
near the… commentary box…” Lake swayed, and passed out.
“Lieutenant?
Lake, can you hear me?”
Green
put Lake into the recovery position, answering Blue’s hails as he did so. “She’s passed out, Sir. What should I do?”
“Stay
where you are – I’ll send Captain Grey over to help you.”
Blue
shook his head. Trust Lake to faint
when we need her! Whatever she was detecting must be pretty strong…
Meanwhile,
Captains Scarlet and Cerise were explaining things to the security guards on
the field. “Just get everyone out, and
stay with them,” Captain Scarlet said, quickly.
“We’ll handle things here.”
“But,
surely, this is our responsibility…” one guard argued.
Captain
Cerise shook her head. “No, it’s the
people here who are your main responsibility.
Get them all out, safely, and notify us if anyone is missing.”
“And
for pity’s sake, stay with them,” Scarlet added.
“What
else can we do, if they’re our responsibility?” the guard enquired.
Scarlet
nodded his approval. “Good point.”
Cerise
watched everyone pile through the exit, as Captain Scarlet began to look for
booby traps.
Lake
opened her eyes, slowly. Her head was
pounding, and she could hear the whirring of something electronic. Right,
where the heck am I? As she cast a glance around – still fighting to get
her eyes to stay focused – she thought she heard a snigger.
“You
Earthmen are frail, aren't you?”
That
voice... I know that voice... The Lieutenant frowned. “Wh...
where are you...?” Wincing she tried to rub at her throat, which suddenly
seemed both dry and sore. What the...
my arms! I can't move my arms! She was bound tightly to a chair by what
looked like electrical cables, and scarcely able to move at all.
“What's
the matter, Scarlet Lady? Aren't your eyes what they used to be... or is that
the problem?”
Lake
bristled. She knew exactly what the
Mysteron agent was talking about – before she had been retrometabolised, her
vision hadn’t been very good. The
Mysterons, seeing her poor sight as a weakness, had repaired the problem when
they recreated her – it proved to be one of the few things that the young woman
thanked her enemies for. “Show yerself,
Martian…”
The owner of the voice took a step
forward. Lake was surprised to see one
of the commentators standing before her.
“Kieth
Marksbury! I thought I recognised your voice!”
The
Mysteron agent smirked at her. “You
sound surprised, Earthwoman.”
The
Spectrum officer coughed, and shook her head.
“Hardly. Seeing as we were
looking for Mysterons in the crowds, and players, the agent had to be someone
else.”
Marksbury
laughed at her. “You aren't as clever as
you like to think, SL.”
Neither
are you, Mysteron scum, the Lieutenant stared back at him defiantly.
“Are
you thirsty?” the Mysteron asked, suddenly.
Knowing
better than to say “yes,” Lake remained silent.
“You
certainly LOOK thirsty,” he continued, fetching a large jug full of water. “We don't want you getting dehydrated – I'm
sure Spectrum will want you back safe and sound.”
The
Spectrum Lieutenant watched him in silence, as he came forward with the
water. You don't expect me to take a
drink from you, do you? I'd have to be in a far worse state than THIS!
Marksbury
seemed to be about to let her have a drink, but then at the last moment, he
poured it over her head.
Lake
gasped as the icy water chilled her.
“Clumsy
of me,” the Mysteron commented, in a tone that was even colder than the water.
Green
returned to the place where he and Grey had left Lake, to check on her. He frowned, finding only a discarded jumper,
which had been draped over the Lieutenant.
“Ems?”
“What's
wrong, Lieutenant?” Captain Cerise asked him, coming to his side.
Green
shook his head. “Lieutenant Lake has
gone off, somewhere. I guess she felt
that she shouldn't have been sitting around, during a Mysteron threat.”
“But
you said that she was unconscious.”
“Yes,
Captain, but you know how quickly she can revive...”
Cerise
nodded. “And knowing Lake, she'd feel
she was letting Spectrum down while she was doing nothing.”
The
Lieutenant nodded. “Exactly.”
“We'd
better find her. If she's wandering
around, still feeling groggy...”
The two
officers exchanged worried glances.
Marksbury
watched Lake shivering beneath the wire coils, which bound her to her
chair. “Too cold for you, Scarlet Lady?
Don't worry – you'll warm up, soon enough.”
The
Lieutenant stared up at him. “Wh...
what... what do you want from me?”
“From
you? Nothing! I just want Spectrum's co-operation, that's all.”
“A
hostage situation? It won't work! They won't negotiate for MY sake!”
The
Mysteron laughed at her. “They'll do
exactly what I want them to do, Earthwoman – make no mistake about that!”
Lake
was certain that this would not be the case.
When she had became a Spectrum officer, she had known all the dangers,
and agreed to face them. She was well
aware of the fact that, if need be, Spectrum would abandon her.
Marksbury
smirked at her. “Whether Spectrum do as
I want or not, it will make no difference to you, Earthwoman. Perhaps you should have continued to work
with us Mysterons, after all.”
Lake
sat up as straight as her bonds would allow.
“I'd sooner die!”
“Well,
that just about sums up your choices.”
With one of his awful sniggers, Marksbury left the small room.
“I'm
not getting anything from Lake's kit,” Captain Grey cast Cerise a worried
glance. “Is there no sign of her, at
all?”
Cerise
shook her head. “Nothing. Lieutenant Green and I made a thorough
search, but...”
“Captain,”
Green interrupted her, “you and Lake... you have a telepathic link, right?”
“Yes,
but I can't get anything from her that way, either...”
The
Lieutenant looked downcast. “Not even a
feeling?”
“Nothing
at all – it's as if someone's keeping us from communicating.”
No
prizes for guessing WHO, Grey thought, darkly. “Well,
give me a couple of minutes, and then...”
“Earthmen,”
a voice boomed over a loudspeaker.
All
eyes turned to the large screen which was usually used to display replays,
scores and other information.
“I have
Lieutenant Lake, and if you want her back, you will do exactly as we say...”
The
screen showed them a clear view of the Lieutenant, tied down by electrical
cables, and soaked to the skin.
Cerise
shuddered. “He's going to electrocute
her!”
“If you
fail to abide by our instructions, Lieutenant Lake will be cooked. Do you hear, Earthmen?”
Cerise
turned to Green. “She must be being held
up in one of the broadcasting studios.”
“Right,”
the Lieutenant agreed.
“I've
got a plan, but I'll need a diversion,” the Captain told him. “Think you can do it?”
“Of
course, Captain.”
Marksbury
returned, and gazed down at the captured Lieutenant through cold eyes. “Don't worry, you won't be suffering much
longer.”
Lake
shivered violently. “Spectrum won't give
in to you – you may as well finish me now.”
“Whatever
happened to your self preservation, Scarlet Lady?” the Mysteron laughed at
her. “Does Spectrum mean so much to
you?”
“What
does it matter? You told me yourself – I'll die whether Spectrum come through
or not – which they WON'T!”
“You're
wrong, Earthwoman. Each member of your
organisation has a certain importance, and they won't want to lose you. They'll want you back, like they would a
high-tech piece of equipment.”
Standing
near the open door, Captain Cerise and Lieutenant Green had heard enough.
“He's
going to kill her,” Green whispered.
Cerise
shook her head. “He wants something from
us, first.”
The
Lieutenant looked at the open door.
“I'll distract him, Captain, like we agreed.”
“Thanks,
Griff. I'll get her.” Cerise ducked out
of sight, as Green went to the door.
“Let Lieutenant Lake go.”
Marksbury
looked up. “I'll let her go... IF you
and your people do a few things for me, Earthman.”
“Like
what?” Green asked.
The
Mysteron smirked at him. “I want to talk
with Captain Scarlet – go and get him.”
“Why do
you want Captain Scarlet? He's not the only capable member of Spectrum.”
“Huh!
You are ALL supposed to be capable, but from what I've seen so far...” he
gestured toward Lake. “THIS one was very
easy to capture. Weak and useless, and
left with no-one to help her.”
Green
clenched his fists. “Alright, I'll call
Captain Scarlet – but don't you harm her.”
Marksbury
smirked at him. “That's more like it.”
Captain
Cerise crept into the room next door to Marksbury's. With any luck, this room will connect to
the one next to it. They usually have
some form of fire door. She was
indeed in luck. Each of the rooms were
connected with a little passage, to make escaping from an emergency quick and
easy. After ensuring that the alarm was
disabled, the Captain opened the door a crack.
In the
next room, Marksbury was waiting somewhat impatiently, while Lieutenant Green
spoke into his cap radio. Lieutenant
Lake was seated near to the door, with her back to it. Cerise couldn't tell what condition she was
in, but she could see her shivering violently beneath her bonds.
Keeping
a careful eye on Marksbury, the Captain edged forward, and hid behind the
equipment that Lake was attached to.
Taking a knife out of her pocket, the Captain began to sever the cables,
one by one.
“Thankyou,
Captain,” Green cut communication and turned to Marksbury. “Captain Scarlet is coming.”
“Well,
he'd better be quick, or it may be too late for your friend, back there.”
Green
cast a quick glance at Lake. He was
secretly wondering what could be taking Cerise so long.
The
Mysteron laughed at his unease. “No need
to worry – if I was going to kill her, I'd do it while the whole of your
organisation was here to witness it.”
Yes,
that sounds like JUST the sort of thing that you'd do!
Captain
Scarlet appeared in the doorway. “You
wanted to talk to me, Marksbury?”
The
Mysteron agent nodded. “Yes. If you want Lieutenant Lake back alive, you
must surrender.”
“And if
I refuse?”
“You
will watch her die a very painful death that she will not return from. And then you will join her.”
Scarlet
frowned and shook his head. “I'll
surrender AFTER you let Lake go.”
Marksbury
shook his head. “I don't trust
Earthmen.”
“And I
don't trust Mysterons, which means we have a problem.”
Cerise
listened quietly, as she continued her work.
She wondered what Scarlet was going to do.
“Don't
try to be too clever, Captain. I'm
holding all the aces, don't forget.”
The
Captain spread his hands wide. “If you
refuse to trust me, why should I trust you? Whenever I have done so in the
past, I've been tricked.”
The
Mysteron scowled at him, darkly. “You
Earthmen have a lot of nerve! All you know is how to cheat, scheme and destroy,
and then you complain about other lifeforms.”
“Well,
as you ARE the greater beings, perhaps you should set us an example to follow,”
Scarlet commented.
Marksbury
looked as if he were about to lunge for the Spectrum Captain. “Don't mock us, Scarlet!”
Cerise
snapped the last cable, and helped the Lieutenant to stand. She indicated for Lake to make her escape and
turned the electronic equipment on to full, before following her colleague back
through the escape door.
“I am
still waiting for you to surrender, Captain.”
Scarlet
shook his head in defiance. “You'll have
a long wait.”
Marksbury
lunged for him.
The
Captain sidestepped, and kicked him into the severed wires.
The
Mysteron gave a horrific scream as the sparks began to fly.
Captain
Scarlet turned to Lieutenant Green, so as not to watch the unpleasant
spectacle. “And that's why you don't
touch a live wire with wet hands, Lieutenant.”
As they
left the broadcasting section, Captain Scarlet got in touch with his
partner. “Mysteron agent dealt with,
Captain Blue.”
“Great!”
came the reply. “How's the Lieutenant?”
“Oh,
she's fine. I'm just going to see that
she stays out of harm's way until we’re ready for her.”
“S.I.G. Captains Grey, Aquamarine and I have just
finished checking the place over for booby traps. Negative.”
“Are
you sure?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes. That ball must've been a one off.”
The
Captain frowned, thoughtfully. “That's
very strange... then what were the Mysterons planning?”
“I'm
not sure we want to know...” Lake commented, under her breath. She added, in a louder tone; “Well, they've
tried two tricks... surely that's it, now?”
“Don't
count on it, Lieutenant,” Scarlet replied.
He turned, looking at her with concern.
It was clear to him that she had been hoping that they could now call it
a day. “Are you alright?”
Lake
nodded, tiredly. “I'm... ok.”
Lieutenant
Green put an arm around her. “Captain
Cerise and I will look after her, Sir.
She'll be fine.”
“I
don't doubt it,” the Captain replied, with a grin.
“What
do you mean, they're gone?” Captain Scarlet exploded.
The
security guard standing before the Captain shrugged. “One of your colleagues came to take them
somewhere safer, Sir.”
Scarlet
and Blue exchanged glances. “Why weren't
we informed?”
“I
don't know, but he said Cloudbase sent him.”
This
was certainly news to Scarlet. He was
quite sure that Colonel White would have notified at least one of the officers
stationed at Lords. “This officer...
what did he look like, and did you catch his codename?”
“Well...”
the security official looked awkward.
“He looked... unkept...”
“Scruffy?”
Captain Scarlet asked.
The
official shook his head. “No, Captain,
not like that. He looked sort of...
ill.”
“Did
you get his codename?” Blue asked, repeating his partner's earlier question.
“Yes. Captain Black.”
Scarlet
closed his eyes, and cursed under his breath.
Blue
groaned. “I'll call Cloudbase...”
“What
is it, Captain Blue?” Colonel White's voice asked, over the radio.
“Captain
Black was here, Colonel. He managed to
trick the security guards to hand over the VIPs, while Marksbury kept us
occupied with his attempt on Lake.”
“Then
it was a trick,” White summed up, with annoyance. “ How is the Lieutenant?”
Blue
smiled. “Much better, Sir.”
“I'm
glad to hear it.”
“Captain
Cerise and Lieutenant Green are keeping a close eye on her, though.”
“That's
a good idea, Captain,” Colonel White commented, in a quiet yet angry tone. “She most certainly should not have been left
alone while she was unconscious.”
Even
though that had not been Blue's fault, he nodded. “I know, Colonel, but that was unavoidable.”
“Very
well, Captain. Have you any idea as to
where the VIPs may have been taken?”
“Not
yet, Sir.”
“The
Angels have been notified. They will
look for Black. I suggest you give them
all the information that you can offer.”
“S.I.G.,
Colonel.”
As the
news of the missing VIPs was reported to the rest of the Spectrum members, Lake
hung her head. “This is my fault, isn't
it? If I hadn't been captured...”
Cerise
touched her arm, gently. “Of course it
wasn't your fault. You were captured
because you were left alone when you were in no condition to defend yourself.”
Captain
Scarlet was addressing the rest of the Spectrum personnel. “Captain Blue, Captain Grey, I want you to
help me gather all the information we can.
We have to try to work out where Black was heading.” He turned to Aquamarine. “The ground has been secured, now,
Captain. You can tell the security
officials to let everyone back in – slowly.”
“The game
can't continue, Sir,” Green pointed out.
“The Mysterons have taken one of the umpires, and four of the players
are unable to take part, on account of having to find him.”
“One
thing at a time!” Scarlet groaned.
“We'll return everyone to their seats, and bring out the band that
entertained everyone at lunch time. That
should keep things a bit calmer, for the time being.”
Lake
nodded, eagerly. “Good plan. What shall I do?”
“You
have two choices, Lieutenant. You can
either go around giving out your autograph, or you can sit quietly and
recover.”
“I HAVE
recovered – I want to help.”
The
Captain turned to Magenta, ignoring the Lieutenant's argument. “Captain, call the Angel leader, and ask her
what she can see up there.”
“Captain
Charlotte,” Lake interrupted him. “Let
me help – this situation is MY fault.”
“You'll
do as you're told, and stop being a blasted nuisance,” Scarlet replied. “You look exhausted, and I could do without
you fainting on us, again.”
Cerise
put an arm around the Lieutenant, gently.
“He's right, Ems. You don't look
very well, and you need to rest a bit...” she scowled in Scarlet's direction,
“though he didn't have to be so unkind about it.”
“I
don't blame him, myself,” Lake mumbled, sitting back down with an unhappy sigh.
Steven
Everett took a seat in a musty room of an old warehouse, beside Victoria Harris
and Kevin Davis, as Captain Black had politely requested. “I don't understand... why have you brought
us here?”
Black
pulled an old crate over, taking a seat opposite them. “The Mysterons would not expect to find us
here. Spectrum usually takes its...
guests... to a maximum security building, but that is a pretty obvious choice.”
Everett
nodded. “I see. The idea is that we lie low here for a while,
so that your colleagues can track down the Mysteron agents and deal with them.”
“Exactly.”
“So...
what do we do, while we're lying low?” Tania Baker enquired.
The
Mysteron agent shrugged. He had to keep
Everett and the rest of his captives from wondering what was going on. All that he had to do, therefore, was to keep
them talking. “Perhaps you can tell me
more about the charity game that you were in the middle of.”
“Of
course,” Everett smiled. “What would you
like to know?”
Meanwhile,
outside, a handful of Mysteron agents were piling explosives in the main
section of the warehouse. With luck, by
the time Spectrum arrived on the scene, it would be too late.
An SPV
sped through the city of London. Captain
Scarlet was driving, while his field partner spoke with the pilot of Angel One.
“Angel
Leader, is there any sign of the missing SPC?” Captain Blue asked.
“Not
yet, Captain,” Destiny Angel replied.
“We'll try...”
Blue
frowned, as the Angel became silent. “Destiny?
Angel One, do you read?”
“Do not
panic, Captain. I am still here. I think I just caught a glimpse of what we're
looking for.”
“Great
– where, Destiny?”
Lieutenant
Lake had begun to pace, hands clasped tightly behind her back. She frowned, in a state of mind that was
somewhere between sulking and worrying.
“Ems,
sit down,” Captain Cerise was through with asking politely. The Lieutenant was rapidly becoming annoying.
Refusing
to so much as answer, she continued to pace up and down.
“SIT
DOWN!”
Lake
turned to her, angrily. “I don't want
to. I want to help – this is MY fault!”
The
Captain shook her head. “You're not
doing yourself any favours, Ems.”
“I'm
past caring.”
“Will
you stop it? Look, if you'd allowed yourself more time to recover, and were in
a better frame of mind, I might be more inclined to go and follow Scarlet and
Blue with you...”
The
Lieutenant smiled at her. “Thanks,
Captain.”
“Why?
What did I say?”
“The
magic words! Come on – they might need back-up.”
Cerise
frowned at her. “Ems, I said...”
“Oh, I
know what you said. Don't worry – I'll
rest on the way.”
“And
how do you propose...?”
Lake
grinned. “Don't worry – I've got it all
worked out.”
“I
hope...” the Captain began, but Lake had already run off. Groaning, Cerise followed.
Captains
Scarlet and Blue stood in a place just out of sight of the warehouse. All seemed very quiet.
“Well,
I don't think we should enter by the front door – it's too obvious, and there's
a window much too close to it.” Scarlet said to his partner, thinking aloud.
“Right,
ok. So, what do we do?”
The
British Captain looked up at the roof, but didn't reply.
Blue
smirked. “Your favourite entrance,
then.”
Captain
Cerise drove the SPV that she and Lake had requisitioned in the general
direction that Captains Scarlet and Blue had taken, over quarter of an hour
previously. She took her eyes off the
screen momentarily, casting the Lieutenant beside her a concerned glance. “Are you alright?”
“Provided
I relax and keep me eyes closed, yes.”
Cerise
shook her head, returning her attention to the monitor. “I thought you said that you don't get travel
sick.”
“'M
usually pretty much immune, but I haven't had enough opportunity to adjust to
these things. Only been in one twice
before.”
“I
suppose everyone has things that they struggle with...”
“Huh,
and some more so than others...” the Lieutenant remarked, miserably.
Cerise
remained silent. When Lake was in a mood
like this, nothing that anyone could say would make her feel any
different. She jumped slightly, as her
partner sneezed. “Ems...?”
“I'm
ok, ok? Look, don't worry so much, and keep your eyes on the bloomin' road.”
“I'm
sorry, Captain Scarlet.”
The
Lieutenant scowled, but didn't reply.
She knew that she really owed Cerise an apology – especially seeing as
her partner outranked her – but was just not in the mood, right now.
Cerise
cast her an amused smirk, before directing her eyes back to the monitor before
her. “Come on then, Lieutenant, what's
the plan?”
“We
find Black, and give 'im a good kicking.”
“Right...
and what about booby traps, or other Mysterons?”
“Uh...”
The
Captain shook her head. “Ems! I thought
you said that you had all this worked out!”
“Well...
I... I mean... uh...”
Cerise
shook her head. It was clear that Lake
hadn't been feeling her usual self, or else she would have taken much more into
consideration. She was already
regretting agreeing on taking her partner to help Scarlet. “Right, we need a plan. Now, how do you intend to find out where
Captain Black went? I mean, this is a large city...”
The
Lieutenant chuckled. “Oh, THAT'S easy,
Captain – I'll radio the Angels.”
“Go on,
then.”
Captain
Scarlet stood on the roof of the warehouse, and waved to his partner to come
up.
Blue
powered up his hoverpack, and was soon at the British Captain's side. “Now what?” he whispered.
“We
have to take Black by surprise, somehow...” Scarlet frowned. “What we really need is some kind of
diversion...” his epaulettes flashed white, and his radio cap crackled into
life.
“Captain
Scarlet,” Destiny's voice called, “I just heard from Lieutenant Lake. She says that she and Cerise will be with you
very soon.”
“I'll
kill her...” Scarlet muttered, beneath his breath.
“Captain?”
“S.I.G.,
Destiny. Thankyou for the
information. They may provide the
diversion we need...”
Captain
Cerise pulled up near the warehouse that Destiny Angel had directed her to, and
looked down at her partner. Lake had
crumpled up in the seat, and gone to sleep.
“Ems, come on!”
The
Lieutenant groaned. Before she'd even
opened her eyes, a pain began to throb between her eyes.
“Are
you ill?” Cerise leaned over her, awkwardly.
“No...
Think it's...” Lake screwed her eyes up, tightly.
The
Captain nodded, knowingly. “Mysterons.”
“...Yeah...”
“Well,
come on, Ems – we won't be of any help at all, sitting here.” she pressed a
button, and the door on her side slid open.
Closing
her eyes and leaning her head back against the chair, the Lieutenant groaned
again. She then sat up and followed her
partner's example.
Scarlet
watched the roadside, carefully. “Where
on Earth are they?”
“Well,
Captain, like you said – if they had any sense, they'd approach with caution.”
“I
suppose you're right.”
Blue
sighed. It was clear that his partner
was still annoyed that they hadn't listened to him and let them handle the
situation alone. He pointed at the
bushes that acted as a perimeter fence.
“There – I thought I saw a flash of pink...”
They
watched Cerise and Lake split up and sneak around, looking for a way in. Without seeming to communicate in any way,
they wove around to enter via a back door.
“They're
in.” Blue commented, needlessly.
Scarlet shook his head in admiration. That telepathic link of theirs certainly
seems to prove useful!
No
sooner had Scarlet and Blue entered than they received a call from Lake. “There are some boxes stacked down here –
they're full of explosives. They've got
enough here to take out the block, not to mention the building!”
“Lieutenant,
where is Black? He's most likely to be holding the detonator.”
“I'm
not sure, Captain Scarlet... There are so many rooms...”
“Look,
use your sixth sense – try to find him that way. Captain Blue and I are searching the upstairs
area.”
There
was silence at the other end, for a while.
Scarlet was just about to ask the Lieutenant whether she was still
receiving when she began to talk in a hoarse, excited whisper. “It's very dusty, down here, but one of the
doors has been opened, recently, and there are a number of footprints down
here. Could it...”
“Yes!”
Scarlet hissed back, in a tone similar to hers.
“You and Cerise burst in on him – Captain Blue and I will be with you in
a moment.”
Blue
stared at his partner, as he broke contact.
“What
is it?”
“Well,
when you said you'd kill them, I didn't realise you meant it!”
Lieutenant
Lake paused at the door, and listened.
She could hear voices in the room, talking in a perfectly calm way. Hmm... Perhaps ol' Black is just observing
these people... she put her hand on the door handle, ready to burst in.
Cerise,
standing behind her, frowned. 'What
is it, Ems?'
'They're
just talking. In a civilised manner, I
mean. Is it such a good idea to barge in
on them? I mean... what if...'
The
Captain shook her head. 'We've got
surprise on our side. If we wait, we'll
lose that.'
Lake
twitched her nose, and nodded. 'Too
right. Ok, Sue, I'll go first.' Turning
the handle quickly, she sprang into the room, gun at the ready.
Black
looked up. “Lieutenant Lake, it's a
surprise to see you... ALIVE.”
“A PLEASANT
surprise, I hope, Captain Black?” she pointed her gun at him, narrowing her
eyes. “Now, be a good chap an' drop yer
weapons.”
The
Mysteron agent stared back at her. “You
would not shoot me. Not in cold blood.”
“Why
not? That's what we do... to traitors.” she moved away from the door, so that
Cerise could enter. She was glad that
the Mysteron was following her with his eyes.
“Drop yer weapons – I won't say it again.”
As
Cerise crept in and fixed her weapon on the Mysteron, he grabbed Everett, using
him as a shield. “You're too slow,
Earthwoman,” he snarled at Lake.
The
Lieutenant lowered her pistol, looking defeated. She noticed that Black had not pulled out a
weapon, however. “It seems I still needs
some training...” she muttered, ruefully.
Sneezing suddenly, she accidentally pulled the trigger of her
pistol. “Ow!” dropping her weapon, she
held her foot.
While
Black was watching her partner, Cerise got behind him and poked her gun into
his back. “Let Mr Everett go, Mysteron!”
she snapped.
Scarlet
and Blue had heard the shot and burst into the room. Blue went to Lake's side, as Scarlet assisted
Cerise. The Mysteron agent let go of the
politician, and held up a detonator.
“Four Spectrum officers and a handful of politicians. This has certainly been a good day!”
Scarlet
swallowed. If he shot the detonator, who
was to say that the bullet wouldn't hit somebody? It would most definitely pass
through the small device. While he and
Cerise stood rigid, Blue took aim and prepared to fire. At the same moment, Black disappeared.
“Blast
it!” Captain Scarlet cursed. He turned
to Blue. “Nice try, Captain. Now quick – we must get out of here!”
Lake
scrambled up, and winced. “You go on –
I'll be too slow.”
Scarlet
nodded, and he and Blue began to guide the VIPs out.
Cerise,
however, would not leave her partner.
“Ems...”
“You go
on – I'll be right behind you,” after taking a couple of steps, her leg
collapsed beneath her.
“I'm
not leaving you, Lieutenant. You can
either let me help you, or struggle on your own – but I'm not leaving your
side.”
Lake
nodded, and put her arm around her partner, leaning on her. “Thanks...”
“Never
mind that, now. Let's just get out of
here.”
Scarlet
and Blue had just got the last of the VIPs away from danger and into the
waiting SPVs when the building went up.
The two Captains watched in silence.
Both Cerise and Lake were indestructible, and so in theory they could
survive the blast. However, they both
knew that Lake's retrometabolism had been weakened when she had been released
from the Mysterons' control... Scarlet suddenly found himself feeling very
guilty.
“Look!”
Blue pointed at some movement, behind a swirling cloud of dust.
Captain
Cerise emerged, dragging her partner as best she could.
Scarlet
ran to her side, quickly. “Here, let me
help you. Are you both alright?”
Coughing
and spluttering, Cerise set the Lieutenant down. “I’m alright…” she cleared her throat of the
last of the dust. “Took some blows to my
back and shoulders, but nothing feels broken.”
“Good,”
Scarlet replied. “What about the
Lieutenant?”
“I
don’t know. She came through the worst
of it, but then she passed out as we were getting clear.”
“Shock,
I expect.”
Cerise
shook her head. “I don’t think so. Lake’s tougher than that, Captain Scarlet.”
The
Lieutenant coughed, and opened her eyes, weakly.
“Ems?”
her partner touched her arm, gently.
“Are you alright?”
“Uh…
yeah. Foo’ ‘urts, though…”
Kneeling
beside her, Scarlet checked her over.
“Your foot is still bleeding, Lieutenant…”
“It’ll
stop, in a minute.”
Shaking
her head, Cerise assessed the damage done.
“I think you should see a doctor.”
Deciding
that she wasn’t in the mood for this, Lake glanced about her, and then gave a
half-hearted smirk. “Don’ see any about,
d’you?”
“Don’t
start, Lieutenant,” Scarlet scolded.
“You’ve done yourself some serious damage – don’t you understand that?”
“S’not
fatal.”
“Lieutenant,
be quiet.”
Cerise
turned to Scarlet. “What now, Captain?”
“I’m
going to call Cloudbase. Lake has REALLY
shot herself in the foot, this time.”
“Oh,
ha… ha… ha…” Lake muttered, rolling her eyes.
“No pun
intended,” Scarlet added in an apologetic tone.
Captain Grey was satisfied that the threat was
over. He, Magenta and Aquamarine had searched
the building but had found no further threat.
He
looked up at the crowd of spectators who were waiting for the game to
continue. They still seemed to be
patient, enjoying the music of the entertainers, and giving some of the teams’
players items to sign.
“What
now, Captain?” Aquamarine came to his side.
“I
guess we await further developments.
Captains Scarlet and Blue are heading back – they should be here,
shortly.”
“And
Captain Cerise? And Lieutenant Lake?”
Grey
nodded. “I assume they’re heading back,
too…” he chuckled. “They’d better be,
anyway – as far as I know, they’re still meant to be out there playing.”
Lieutenant
Lake was seated beside Captain Scarlet in one of the SPVs. She glanced at Mr Everett, who was seated
opposite her, beside Philip Bond.
The
Captain frowned. “So… what do you plan
to do about this game, Lieutenant? I can’t see you running much, somehow.”
“I’ll
be fine, thankyou,” she turned to glower at him.
Scarlet
shook his head, but didn’t take his eyes off the screen. “If you’re finding it difficult walking, I’d
love to see you running between the wickets.”
Lake
winced, but remained silent.
Mr
Everett cleared his throat. “I’ll see
about a runner, Lieutenant.”
“Thanks,”
she shot Scarlet another scowl. “See,
Captain? I’ll be fine.”
The
Captain snorted, but didn’t reply. She’ll
have a hard job just standing at the wicket with an injured foot, as well!
Captain
Blue was as annoyed as Scarlet. He had
said nothing up until now, concentrating on driving the second SPV back to
Lords Cricket Ground, but felt that he should say something. “If it wasn’t for the fact that a helicopter
couldn’t get here for at least another hour, you and Lake would be on your way
back to Cloudbase.”
“I
know,” Cerise mumbled, miserably. Her
back and shoulders were still aching, and she was currently unable to drive as
a result.
Shaking
his head, Blue continued. “What did you
think you were doing? I was sure you were told to stay at Lords.”
“Lieutenant
Lake didn’t want to stay behind and do nothing…”
“Surprise,
surprise…”
Cerise
stared at him. It was unusual for Blue
to react in this way. “Well, can you
blame her? Her job was to stay out of the way, according to Scarlet – I don’t
think I’d have liked that, either.”
“You’re
not SUPPOSED to LIKE following orders, Captain.” Blue pointed out, frowning.
Cerise
rolled her eyes, but didn’t reply.
Captain
Grey was the first to welcome the VIPs back.
He then turned to Captain Scarlet, for a private conversation. “We’ve given the whole ground a thorough
search. No sign of any more Mysterons.”
Scarlet
nodded. “Splendid. In that case, perhaps we can finish this
game…”
Grey
frowned. “Won’t the Colonel want us to
head back?”
“I
don’t think so,” the Brit shrugged his shoulders. “It would be very difficult for Mr Everett
and his colleagues to bring in four replacement players, so far into the game –
let alone explain the need away.”
“I
suppose you’re right…”
“Besides,
if we tire Lake out, it might shut her up for a while…” Scarlet continued, with
a smirk.
Grey
frowned, but said nothing.
“Well,”
Scarlet turned to Cerise, Green and Lake.
“I think we should change back into our kits BEFORE heading back to the
dressing room. There are too many people
around who might put two and two together.”
Lake
sighed. “And get out of our uniforms
WHERE?”
“Well…”
he glanced around, thinking carefully.
“I bet
the loos’ll be crowded – no chance of maintaining secrecy there,” Cerise
remarked.
Scarlet
nodded. “Good point.”
Everett
had been listening, quietly. “I’ll find
you some rooms – there are always a couple left to spare. I won’t be a minute.”
“Thankyou,
Sir,” Captain Scarlet smiled, as he watched the VIP leave.
Matthew
Fletcher watched the now kitted out Cerise and Green help Lieutenant Lake back
to the Gloucester dressing room. Don’t
know when to call it a day, do you, Earthmen?
Mr
Everett noticed him, and came to his side.
“Everything alright, Fletch?”
“Yes…”
Fletcher turned to the VIP umpire. “I
think so… still a bit shaken up, after what happened earlier. What was that all about?”
Everett
shook his head. “Never mind that,
now. The people behind it have been
dealt with, so all that remains is for us to give the spectators the
entertaining match they came for.”
“I can do
that,” Fletch grinned. “I’ll see that
they get plenty of excitement!”
Captain
Cerise put a hand on Lake’s shoulder.
“Well, back to being opponents, Ems.
Take care of yourself, alright?”
“Yeah,
ok. I wish you luck with the
wicket-taking… you’re gonna need it!”
“Wanna
bet?” Cerise chuckled. “Surrey has
always been better than Gloucester – you’re going to be thrashed!”
The
Lieutenant narrowed her eyes. “I very
mu…” she was cut off by a sneeze.
“Aww,
should you sit the rest of the game out? You can bring in a back-up player,
can’t you?”
Lake
straightened up, deliberately putting all her weight on her injured foot. “I don’t give in without a fight, Sue. You know that.”
The
Captain was just about to argue that a cricket game wasn’t half as important as
a show down with the Mysterons, when she remembered where she was and who might
be listening. Sighing, she nodded. “Just be careful, alright?”
“I’m
not stupid,” she gave a lopsided grin.
“See thee in the pub, later, ok?”
Cerise
had to keep herself from laughing. ‘I
take it you mean the Officers’ Lounge?’
‘But
of course.’
“Ok, in
the pub, then.” With that, she turned away, heading for her own dressing room.
Cat
Burton frowned, as her two missing players returned. “Still here, then?”
Lieutenant
Green nodded. “Well, I thought this was
meant to be an important match...”
The
Captain of Gloucester nodded. “Yes, it
is. I appreciate your sticking around,
Lieutenant.”
“Griff,”
Green corrected. “Just carry on calling
me Griff – no-one’s meant to know we’re from Spectrum.”
“Please,
Cat, as far as you’re concerned, we’re just two new players that you’re trying
out,” Lake added, limping to a chair.
“Oh no
– you’re hurt!” Burton went to her side.
“What’s wrong? Are you fit to play?”
Lake
nodded. “I’m fine, Cat. Mr Everett thinks that I just need a runner…”
“I
think I’ll be the judge of that, if you don’t mind…” Jason Hunter, Gloucester’s
coach, stepped forward. “I’ll get the
physiotherapist to look you over, before we do anything else.”
The
Lieutenant turned to Green, silently asking him to take up the argument. They both knew that it was important, with
her retrometabolism, that Lake was not checked over by someone from outside of
Spectrum’s ranks.
“A
Spectrum doctor has already looked her over.
It’s nothing serious.” Green lied, wishing that this was the case.
Hunter
frowned, but nodded. “Alright then… but
if it gets too much, say so.”
Lake
nodded. “I will.”
Cerise
downed a glass of water, and took a seat beside Captain Scarlet. “Well, when do we get back out there?”
Rolling
his eyes, he studied his watch. “Ten
minutes. Are you ready?”
“Yep,”
Cerise grinned at him. “What about you?”
Scarlet
laughed. “Oh yes, I’m ready…” he gave an
unpleasant smirk. “SOMEONE owes me a couple
of bouncers – not to mention a wicket!” He received a thump in the arm, for
that remark.
Fletcher
called his bowlers together. “Well, we
want to skittle Gloucester out cheap and fast.
Try giving them a couple of Yorkers – especially with Murray-Stone.”
Scarlet
and Cerise exchanged glances. “Why,
Fletch?” Scarlet enquired.
The
team captain gave an unpleasant smile.
“Because she’s been hurt, somehow.
Aiming for her legs and feet should give her plenty to think about.”
Cerise
winced. ‘Ems, I really think you
should sit the rest of the game out.’
Captain
Ochre turned to his Commander-in-Chief, questioningly. “Sir, what’s happening with the match?”
“I’ve
given the members involved permission to finish the game, Captain. Mr Everett requested it, himself.”
Ochre
frowned, puzzled. “But… I thought the
threat was over…”
“Well,
yes, it certainly should be, by now.
However, I feel they’ve earned a little time off, while all is
quiet. They have done a good job.”
Boy,
I wish I were down there, now! Ochre thought.
Chuckling,
the Colonel turned back to his monitor.
“At any rate, this is a further test on their skills, stamina and
wit. We could class cricket as a form of
training.”
Captains
Cerise and Scarlet took position in the field, with Surrey’s county team.
The
first batters at the crease were Julie Lloyd and Mark Lynne. Fletcher began to direct his players into
different positions.
Time
wasting, Cerise
thought, with annoyance. She almost
didn’t obey when he directed her to stand near the boundary rope. Something was nagging at her, and she was
reluctant to move too far away from Everett.
However, with two Mysteron attempts over, she reasoned that the threat
must surely be finished with.
The
team’s captain tossed the ball to Sam Watson.
“Get them out, Sammy.”
Watson
nodded, and took his first run up.
Fletch
then positioned himself near to Everett.
Lieutenant
Green was seated on the balcony with Lake, watching the game taking shape
below. Against his advice, she stood to
clap for each and every boundary scored, testing her injured foot as she did
so. She wondered just how much damage
she had really done to herself.
Shrugging, she returned her attention to the game outside.
Burton
joined them. “How are they doing, down
there?”
“Pretty
well. Both Mark an’ Julie ‘ave got a
couple of boundaries, each,” Lake reported.
“And
how are YOU doing? You can sit the remainder of the match out if you need to.”
The
Lieutenant shook her head. “I’m not
passing up the chance to play for me county, Cat – this is a dream come
true. I will sit it out if I have to,
but I just want to see how I go, first.”
Burton
nodded. “Fair enough, I won’t say any
more.”
At the
drinks break, Captain Cerise joined Scarlet.
“What’s
wrong, Sue? You didn’t seem to be concentrating much, just now…”
Cerise
shook her head. “That headache’s back,
Paul. It was putting me off.”
“Hmm…”
Scarlet lowered his voice. “Something’s
been bothering me, too. Did you notice
the way Fletch said about throwing the ball at Lake? He really sounded as if he
was out to get her.”
“Yes, I
noticed, but that might have just been him looking for a way of putting her
off…”
“Do you
think that’s all it was?” Scarlet asked in surprise.
Cerise
shook her head. “I might… but I keep
remembering the way he gave that ball to Everett… Remember, Everett couldn’t see anything
wrong…”
“Yes…”
Scarlet frowned, thoughtfully, “Being an experienced umpire, Mr Everett should
have noticed something odd about the ball, if there was anything noticeably
funny about it… unless… unless Fletcher knew something he didn’t!”
“Good
work,” Captain Blue’s voice called to them, over their hidden receivers, “you
could be right – it DOES sound suspicious.
Anyway, don’t worry about it – we’ll deal with ‘Fletch’, now.”
Cerise
and Scarlet nodded, not answering verbally.
A
second later, a member of the ground staff ran up to Fletch, and the two
exchanged a few words. After a moment,
Matt Fletcher nodded, said a few words to Simon Pratchett, and left the field.
“Now
what?” Lee Mitchell asked, frowning.
Pratchett
shrugged. “He just said that he’d be
back in a moment.”
However,
instead of the captain returning to continue the game, the ground staff member
came back out. “Matt’s been called away
– personal problems, of some kind. I’ve
been sent to take his place on the field.”
Pratchett
nodded. “Ok, I guess that means I take
over as captain…”
Cerise at last was able to concentrate on the
game, and intended to enjoy it to the full.
She had begun to stop boundaries and was feeling one of the team. She grinned, as Captain Scarlet gave her a
thumbs up.
“Sue!”
she’d already seen the ball come off the bat at a funny angle. Carefully, Cerise followed the ball with her
eyes. Jumping, she plucked it from the
air just short of the rope.
Captain
Scarlet watched her in disbelief. Cerise
seemed to hang in the air, grabbing the ball with ease. He punched the air, joining the rest of the
team in a huge celebration. As Julie
Lloyd made her way back to the pavilion, he congratulated his fellow Spectrum
member.
Lake
sighed, shaking her head. “Blast!”
“Hey,
that’s forty-three for one – that’s not all that terrible,” Burton pointed
out. “Our team can bat all the way down
the order, so we’ll be fine.”
Green
nodded. “We only need another
hundred-and-eighty-nine.”
Chuckling,
Lake nodded. “We can score that easy!”
“With
the weather so much dryer, the pitch is on our side, again,” Burton added.
“I
guess you have to hand it to Surrey,” Green remarked, “They’re certainly making
a real fight out of it!”
Colonel
White watched the game with interest. He
would have expected even Scarlet to be showing signs of tiring, by now. However, both he and Cerise were still going
strong. As he watched, Mark Lynne was
caught LBW, and had to return to the dressing room with forty-eight runs.
Ochre
frowned. “What does LBW mean, Sir?”
The
Colonel turned away from his screen.
“Leg Before Wicket, Captain. It
means that if his leg hadn’t been in the way, the ball would have hit the
stumps.”
“But,
Sir, I thought you said that the ball isn’t supposed to hit the stumps. That’s right, isn’t it?”
Chuckling,
the Colonel explained. “It’s a method of
avoiding cheating – if the bats… BATTER were to deliberately stand in the way
of the stumps, he wouldn’t have to bother hitting the ball with the bat. As a result, he would be impossible to get
out.”
The
Captain nodded. “So it’s to make things
fairer.”
“Exactly.”
White gave another chuckle, “I didn’t know you had any interest in this game –
I’d have thought baseball was more your cup of tea, Captain.”
“Yeah,
well… I guess I’ve got a personal interest in it, with some of my colleagues
playing, Sir. I want to follow what’s
going on.”
Lake
turned to Mark Lynne, as he returned to the dressing room. “You were bloomin’brilliant.”
“Thanks,
Ems,” Mark shook his head, sighing. “I
just wish I’d stuck around long enough to make at least my half century.”
Cat
Burton shot him a compassionate smile.
“Well, you’ve put us well on the way to winning, Mark. At the end of the day, it’s all down to how
well the team performs as a whole… though I’d have liked to see you make at
least fifty, myself.” That said she stood up.
“Well, I suppose I’d better get the rest of my gear on.”
Captain
Scarlet was standing near to the wicket keeper.
He watched Dave King score boundary after boundary. On a couple of occasions, he’d just avoided
hitting the ball with the edge of his bat, and the Spectrum Captain felt sure
that it wouldn’t be long before he was caught out.
King,
however, seemed to be having a good deal of luck. He made half a century in a matter of leaps
and bounds, and seemed to be well on the way to achieving a hundred.
Scarlet
shook his head, trying to keep himself focussed on the game. At the same moment, there was a loud ‘CRACK’
and the leg stump flew out of the ground.
Bowled him! Fantastic! He ran to Alice Fox, to congratulate her.
Lake
stood, as Cat Burton left the dressing room.
“Best get ready – I’m up, next.”
“Are
you sure that’s a good idea?” Green asked, watching his colleague hobble back
inside.
“For
goodness sake, Seymour! I’m going to work with a runner, what more do you
want?”
“I want
you to take it easy, Ems.”
Lake
scoffed. “I’ll be fine – the trouble
with you is that you worry too much!”
Green
shook his head. And your trouble is
that you don’t worry enough, Ems!
Scarlet
watched Bev Flegg prepare for a run up.
He began to will her to bowl Cat Burton out first ball. Flegg steamed in at full power, but Cat
swatted it away. She swapped ends with
Thomas Lewis, putting him back on strike.
Never mind, Bev, get Lewis out instead. Go, go, go!
Flegg
ran up again, and this time managed to hit the stumps behind Lewis. The batter turned to stare at the middle
wicket, which was leaning at an angle.
He shook his head, and headed back to the pavilion.
Scarlet
was ecstatic. He leapt into the air
cheering, before congratulating the bowler.
“My
turn,” Lake stood up, slowly. She was
surprised at how tired and weak she felt, but was determined to at least try to
make a score.
“Ems,”
Green was watching her with a concerned expression.
“What
is it, Griff?”
Shaking
his head, he stood up to follow her.
“I’ll be your runner.”
“Metcalfe,”
Pratchett tossed the ball to Captain Scarlet.
“Give it your best shot.”
Scarlet
nodded, polishing the ball. “Gladly.” He
watched Lieutenants Lake and Green arrive at the crease and frowned, darkly.
“She
shouldn’t be all that difficult to get out – remember what Fletch said?”
“I do
indeed…”
Blinking
to force her eyes to focus, Lake swung her bat in a practice motion, and lent
on it, propping herself on it. As if
through a haze she watched Scarlet taking a run up, and by a miracle hit the
ball that he sent flying in her direction.
Green
tensed as the ball flew toward the boundary rope.
“Go!”
Burton was already running as she called to him.
Green
frowned, but took off. He was quite sure
that the signal should have come from Lake, though, and he was certain that it
wasn’t in her character to pass up the chance for a few runs. He returned to the wicket that he had started
from, and turned to the batter still at the crease. “Ems, are you ok?”
“Uh…
yeah. Yes, Seymour, I’m fine.”
“Are
you sure?”
“Yeah…”
Lake nodded, and took a deep breath.
“Bit cold, though…”
Green
frowned, again. Lake swung the bat in
another practice sweep and gave a short gasp.
“Ems?”
“Water…”
Lake took a shaky breath. Her hands felt
numb, and a sick, light-headed feeling was gripping her. She didn’t even notice her runner calling for
assistance and moving to her side.
Vaguely aware of falling backwards, she somehow remembered the wickets
behind her. She brought herself forward,
forcing herself to lean on her bat for support with a last effort to avoid
giving up her wicket. Then her world
went dark.
Green
watched his colleague crumple to the ground and grabbed her. “Ems! Ems, d’you hear me?”
Cat
Burton raced up to help. “What’s wrong?
What happened?”
“Well,
that’s one less Gloucester player that Surrey has to worry about!”
“Yep. That leaves Gloucester 102 for 5. Talk about a collapse!”
Ochre
shook his head with annoyance, as they replayed Lake passing out at the crease
in slow motion. “Huh! Listen to ‘em –
they think they’re so… FUNNY!”
The
Colonel didn’t reply to his remark. He
was already fed up with telling the Captain to ignore the commentators.
“Sorry,
Colonel.” Ochre turned to his C – in –
C. “Is Lieutenant Lake on her way back
to Cloudbase?”
White
nodded. “Yes, Captain Ochre. Why do you ask?”
I
bet Green wishes he could go with her…!
The
Colonel noted his expression, and frowned.
“Does something amuse you, Captain? Perhaps you have something you’d
like to share?”
“Oh,
no, Sir!” Ochre chuckled. “I guess it’s
just that my sense of humour is as sick as the commentators’…”
“In
that case, kindly keep it to yourself,” White remarked, shaking his head.
Lake
opened her eyes, carefully. She could
see something just in front of her.
Frowning, she tried to force her eyes to focus on it…
“Hi,
Ems. How are you feeling?”
“Cerptain
Caprise?” she sat up, slowly, as she realised what the ‘thing’ she had seen
was.
“That’s
‘Captain Cerise’. But seeing as I’m off
duty, ‘Sue’ will be fine.” she smiled at her partner. “How are you feeling? You had us all very
worried.”
The
Lieutenant frowned, trying to find a good description. “I… feel… glad to be alive.”
Cerise
nodded. “That’s good…”
“And
I’m CERTAINLY feeling fit for duty!”
“Over
my dead body – and over Fawn’s, too.
You’re not well enough, at the moment.”
“Huh!”
Cerise
sighed, and took a seat on the bed, being careful not to sit on her
partner. “Can’t you remember what
happened?”
Lake
frowned. Suddenly, her expression
changed, as she re-lived a chain of events, rather like a sequence of
highlights. “Me foot…”
“Is
broken. You also shot a couple of veins,
which is why you were feeling faint.” Cerise shook her head. “Didn’t you KNOW that you were bleeding to
death?”
Lake
shuddered, and put a hand on her stomach.
“Feel sick…”
“I’m
not surprised.” Cerise clenched her fists.
She didn’t want to be too hard on her partner, but she was angry that
she’d put herself through so much needlessly.
“Would you mind telling me why you did all that to yourself? You must
have been feeling terrible!”
“I…”
sighing, the Lieutenant lowered her eyes.
“I just wanted to prove myself, I suppose…”
“Look,
you didn’t have to prove yourself, to me or anyone else. You see, Spectrum works as a UNIT – we’re not
a gang of individuals doing our own thing.
We have to trust one another. We
wanted you to stay out of the way because you looked ill, not because we
thought you were useless.”
Lake
looked as if she were about to cry.
Sighing,
Cerise put an arm around her. It was
clear that the Lieutenant was still feeling unwell, or she wouldn’t have
responded to the argument in such a way.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll
drop it, ok?”
Lake
sneezed into her hand and groaned. “I
understand why you’re angry, Captain.
It’s just that… at the time, it seemed… right.”
The
Captain stared at her partner. Then,
much to Lake’s surprise, she began to laugh.
“And you wonder why the Mysterons used to call you ‘Scarlet Lady’! Ems,
whatever did Scarlet teach you?”
The
Lieutenant scowled at her. “Not funny,
Sue.”
“No, of
course it’s not. I’m sorry.” Cerise
stifled a giggle, and became serious again.
“You’re just lucky I’m not reprimanding you in the way that I SHOULD –
I’ll leave that to the Colonel.”
“Oh NO
– the Colonel!” Lake went into a coughing fit, and Cerise thumped her on the
back.
“Don’t
get yourself worked up. Relax.”
The
Lieutenant closed her eyes, taking a few slow, deep breaths. When she turned to her partner again,
however, she still looked nervous. “I
dread to think what the Colonel’s going to say…”
“We’ll
face that together.”
Lake
smiled, lying back against the pillows behind her. “Thanks, Sue.”
“Well,
we ARE partners,” the Captain smiled at her.
“AND friends… and I WAS supposedly responsible for you.”
“That’s
why I feel so bad… the whole time, you and Seymour… AND Scarlet… you were all
telling me to be careful… and I was just too stubborn to listen. Have I got you into trouble?”
“Never
mind that, now. Doctor Fawn wants you to
concentrate on resting, and getting better.
You’ve taken a lot of punishment.”
“A shot
foot, Sue. That’s not much.”
“You
lost a lot of blood, you know – which is why you’re so poorly.”
Lake
sighed, heavily. “I get the picture…”
“Ems…”
Lake
sighed, and hugged her partner. “Don’t
worry – I’ll be alright. I’m just fed
up.”
“Don’t
be.” Cerise smiled.
Yawning,
the Lieutenant smiled. “I’m sorry… it’s
just that…” she shook her head. “Anyway,
who won?”
Cerise
turned away. “I’m sorry, Ems…”
“Why?”
Lake stared at her with a confused expression.
“Was it as bad as all that? How much did Gloucester lose by?”
“One
wicket, and a couple of runs…”
Lake
frowned. “Then… if I hadn’t… oh, NO…!”
Cerise
turned back, laughing. “I was teasing –
I’m sorry. Surrey lost by an innings and
a couple of wickets.” She grinned, as her partner’s expression changed from
relief to happiness – to anger.
“Sue,
when I’m fully fit for duty, you’ll regret that!”
“I
regret it now!” Cerise ducked, laughing.
Lake
pulled a pillow from behind her, and hurled it at her partner. “You’re a rat! A giant, pink RAT!”
“Ems…!”
Cerise looked and sounded very hurt. “Sometimes,
you’re so… MEAN!”
“Oh,
come here!” Lake hugged her partner, sighing.
“Thanks for being here.”
Cerise
chuckled. “That’s alright. Lieutenant Green wanted to be here for you,
when you came round, but he was needed in the Control Room. Apparently, Rick broke something on the
computer when he got angry about something.”
“No,
it’s not. I’ll get him to explain
himself, later. It had better be good!”
The
Lieutenant smiled.
Cerise
squeezed her arm, and stood up. “Now,
you concentrate on recovering, alright?”
“S.I.G.,
Captain,”
“I need
something to eat,
The
Lieutenant lay back, as Cerise left. She
found herself wondering what had made Captain Ochre attack the computer in the
Control Room. She chuckled. “Yes, Rick, it had CERTAINLY better be
bloomin’ good!” she yawned, closing her eyes.
In moments, the deep, almost comatose sleep that recovering
retrometabolic people require had washed over her.
Captains
Ochre and Cerise were eating together in the Galley. At first, they remained quiet, just enjoying
the meal, and eachothers’ company. At
last, Cerise spoke. “What happened to
the computer, Rick?”
“Oh,
nothing much. Green was quick enough,
putting it right. He wanted to visit
“Poor
Ochre
didn’t comment.
“So…
what did you do to the computer?”
“I…
kicked it.”
Cerise
laughed. “Why? I know you said you were
angry, but…”
“Well,
I WANTED to kick those commentators. We
recorded the highlights, so you’ll probably see why.”
“Rick!”
“Look,
just be thankful I wasn’t in the commentary box with them, ok?”
Captain
Cerise nodded, beside herself with laughter.
“Remind me NEVER to watch a sport of any kind with you!”
THE END