Thunderbirds: Penelope's Perils Part 9

As the express finally rattled past them and was gone straight down the tunnel out of sight, Daphne and Gordon braced themselves for the sight that would meet their eyes. To their relief, however, as they peered over the edge of their narrow platform, they saw Lady Penelope being cut free from her bonds by Virgil. The gunshots had been Virgil firing through the winch rope that had suspended the ladder in the path of the express and when it had snapped, the ladder had fallen to the floor, carrying Lady Penelope to safety.
"Thank you, Virgil," she smiled, as he helped her to her feet.
"Any time," he replied wih a grin.
"Lady Penelope, are you alright?" Daphne asked, hopping down to join her.
"I'm fine, Daphne."
"Thank goodness."
"Phew!" Gordon exhaled as he leaned against the wall. "That was close!"
"Not so fast!" snarled Godber. His right hand was bleeding from Daphne's bullet but he held the gun in his left. "No one move," he snapped, pointing the gun at the Professor. "Or the Professor will die."
"Godber, please-!" began Sir Jeremy but Godber silenced him with a look. "Hands up!" he said to Gordon. "And drop your weapons; all of you!"
With a clatter, the guns of Virgil, Daphne and Gordon fell to the floor. Godber seized the incarcerated Professor and dragged them both to the door, his gun still trained on the Professor. "Now, don't try to follow me! One way or another I will get that formula and-!"

But, Godber never finished. It was in the nature of a certain robot to take matters into his own hands sometimes and as his prime function was to protect his mistress, so it was that he used his knock-out-ray whenever he detected that she was in danger. Godber crumpled to the ground, dropping the gun and the Professor almost fell over as he was suddenly released, but Gordon grabbed him just in time.
"Well done, K9!" Daphne cried, running up to him.
"Affirmative, Mistress!" K9 made a motion with his head that looked very like a nod. "Suggest he is restrained, Mistress!"
"A talking robot dog?" the Professor exclaimed. "Well, now I have seen everything!"
Everyone laughed as Daphne used her super-web to tie up Godber. "No," the Professor corrected himself, "NOW I have seen everything!"
Gordon and Virgil went to untie Sir Jeremy and Tintin. "You guys ok?" Virgil asked.
"We are now," Tintin replied. She nodded at the assistant at the desk. "Is he..?"
Gordon went over and felt for a pulse. "No, he's dead. But at least no one can control the train with this thing any more."
That made Daphne remember something. "Oh, my God! Alfred!"
"Who?" Lady Penelope asked.
"Our attendant. Godber threw him from the train, but he might not be dead. We have to find him."
"Daphs, if he was working for Godber-" began Gordon.
"No, you don't understand, Gordon; he left a note telling us that we were in danger; he was trying to help us. He would have if Godber hadn't got to him first."
"Well, where did Godber throw him out?" Tintin asked.
"I don't know, it was dark; but we hadn't got to Anderbad yet."
"It could take us ages to find him, Daphs," Virgil pointed out.
"I know." Daphne bit her lip. "If only I had a DNA sample, K9 could track him...wait! Lady P, have you still got that note?"
"Yes, right here in my handbag," she replied, producing it. "Along with your Flip."
"K9, scan for fingerprints, if you please."
K9 waggled his ears. "Fingerprints belong to Alfred Leroux, Mistress."
"Where is he, K9?"
K9 reeled off a list of co-ordinates. Virgil nodded. "Now that's more like it!"

"There!" Tintin pointed as Thunderbird 2 landed. "I see something down there!"
"This is the spot," Virgil agreed.
Daphne leapt first from the craft and hurried over to the figure lying on the ground. Poor Alfred, she thought as she turned him over. His face was spattered with his own dried blood from a cut on his temple and his clothes were dusty and covered in morning dew. "Alfred!" she cried. "Can you hear me?"
"Is he-?" asked Gordon, right behind her.
The man's eyes fluttered open. "Daphne? You are alive!"
"Yes, Alfred."
"Godber-?"
"Don't worry about him!" Gordon grinned, jerking his head towards Fab1 where a very disgruntled looking Godber was still bound and gagged on the back seat. "He's not going to be making you do anything bad for a while, Alfred!"
"Come on," said Daphne. "My friends will get you to hospital."

"Paris is so romantic, isn't it?" Daphne asked.
They were back in Paris; for now that Sir Jeremy had found the Professor and all was well, it was time for them to enjoy a real holiday for a while. They were sitting outside the Cafe' Atalanfe again, only this time there was no Godber watching them and waiting to poison them.
"It is indeed." Gordon reached across the table and took her hand. "You look lovely tonight, Daphs."
"Thank you." She smiled. "You scrub up rather nicely yourself, Gordon!"
He was about to kiss her when Alan came up to them. "I don't get it!" he exclaimed. "As soon as we get to Paris, the other two are off to have some fun - why not me?"
"Because you're too young for clubs, kiddo!" Gordon replied, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, cheer up, Alan," Daphne said. "Parker's going to be here soon and when we ge back to the hotel, we're all going dancing."
"Oh, great!" Alan exclaimed. "I'll love dancing with Parker! He does a very interesting rumba, they tell me!"
Daphne smiled at the jest. "You know, Alan, there's someone else you can dance with."
"Who?"
"Well, if we're all going to be pairing off together; then I guess it'll go Gordon and me, Lady Penelope and Sir Jeremy and, who's left? You. And then Tintin."
"Tintin? Really?"
"Oh, it's just a dance, Alan; nothing else has to happen."
"Besides, she might say no," Gordon added with a grin.
"What are we talking about?" Tintin had just come up to them.
"Funnily enough, we were just talking about the dance tonight," Gordon replied.
"Oh." Tintin smiled. "I guess I'll be on my own for that, then."
"You could dance with me." Alan looked down at his feet. "If you want..."
"Ok."
He looked up in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah. We'll have a laugh."
"Ok, great!"
"Well, it's a start," Daphne smiled as Alan and Tintin went over to Lady Penelope and Sir Jeremy's table.
"Alan and Tintin?" Gordon grinned. "Good luck making that happen, Daphs!"
"Your trouble, Gordon," she teased, "is that you have no faith in love!"
His face became serious. "I've got faith in us, Daphne."
"I know."
They laid their hands together for a while, linked, neither of them speaking. Daphne finally broke the silence. "You know what I was scared of most of all when Godber had me tied up?"
"What?"
"That I'd die and you'd be heartbroken when you found out and that you might kill yourself."
His smile was back. "Daphs, you must be the only person I know who only fears for her own life because she cares about how everyone else will feel!"
Just as they were kissing, Alan called over to them. "Hey, come on guys, we're leaving! There'll be time for you to do that later!" Tintin laughed. Gordon and Daphne smiled and went over to their friends just in time to hear Sir Jeremy saying "Why, Penelope, old girl; you haven't touched your Pernod!"
"Um, no, Sir Jeremy," she replied, "because the last time I had a Pernod at this bar I was just raising it to my lips when - BANG - I was off on another adventure."
"Well," he smiled, "drink up and see what happens this time."

There was indeed a bang and then another and another; and everyone laughed in delight as they realised that fireworks were shooting off in the sky.
"Wow! Look at that one, Tintin!"
"Oh, it's beautiful!"
"I say, Penelope, did you see that one?"
"Oh, aren't they lovely!"
"Oh, look at that!"
"This is so amazing!"
Gordon wrapped his arms around Daphne's waist from behind and kissed her hair. "Alright?" he asked.
She smiled. "I'm with my friends and you; the Professor's been found safe, Godber's behind bars, Albert's recovering and we're here in Paris watching fireworks. I'm more than alright, Gordon."
"Oh, look at that one!"
"They're so cool!"
"I have never seen anything like this before in my life!"
"Wow!"
"Cool!"
"Just spectacular!"
"Oh!"
"They're making the whole sky red!"
"Oh, look!"

The Hood is back and up to his old tricks again and the gang finally get new uniforms in the next installment of Thunderbirds: The Mighty Atom!

Base by LoveAnime321