Part 40
You, John and the Commander gaze at the massive tanks and vats in near despair. The lorries carrying the soldiers away, tearing out to a safe distance at eighty miles an hour before turning to try and rendezvous with the refugees from the villages. On the horizon the sky is red with an angry fire against a black sky. It's impossible to deny any more that the volcano is active and the commander doesn't try.
"In their tanks and vats each component is safe." The commander tells you. "But if they are mixed uncontrollably...."
[What do we do, John.] You ask silently. He answers by calling Tim.
[Which are the key ingredients, TIM? Quickly!]
It takes eight increasingly anxious minutes and twelve trips with powerful matter transporter units before the most toxic or psychoactive of the chemicals are off the site. With TIM's help you and John set coordinates for the deep and lifeless ocean troughs, for well out into space, even in one case the permanent ice of Antarctica and transport the chemicals in their vats to widely dispersed corners of the globe. Several you will have to recover and neutralize properly later. For now all that's important is getting them away. Tanks are ripped out of the piping network with metallic tearing noises and the Commander watches wide-eyed as his base is ripped apart.
"Done!" Declares John eventually.
[Jay! John! You must leave at once!] TIM's voice is reaching a near frantic level and you glance at the volcano in time to see it's sides begging to fall away, the shockwave of the eruption rolling down the mountain towards you. There is barely time to shove a matter transporter set for outside the blast zone into the Commander's arms and watch him disappear before you both jaunt through the front of the shockwave.
"John! Jay!" Elizabeth embraces you both as you emerge into the Lab and lingers with an arm around John's waist. She, like Andrew and Hsui Tai, is smoke blackened and still coughs occasionally in the clean air of the Lab, but in the relief of seeing each other safely home such details are irrelevant. You just revel for a moment in the joy of being together and back in the Lab.
You all find seats, pleased to take the weight off your feet after the last few exhausting hours. For a change TIM doesn't complain at you for dirtying his clean Lab.
"What about the people we've been trying to save?" John asks after a few moments. "Did they get clear, TIM?"
"It is difficult to assess the size of the explosion, John, since the atmosphere is obscured by dust and the watchdog satellite cannot obtain clear pictures. I believe, however, that the groups of villagers you have been assisting were sufficiently distant from the volcano to be outside the initial blast radius. If the promised help arrives from the nearby towns they should suffer no long term health problems."
"You mean they're alright, TIM?" Elizabeth laughs.
"I believe that is what I just said." TIM says with dignity.
"We ought to go and check that the rescue is on its way." John says worriedly but you nudge his arm and indicate the sofa where Andrew is already curled up asleep, his head in Hsui Tai's lap as she begins to nod off. You can feel yourself yawning too and John sighs. "I suppose you're right, we could all do with some rest. Besides if we stay there until the real authorities show up now we might have rather a lot of explaining to do."
"I believe in this case, John," TIM tells him, "The Tomorrow People can consider this a job well done."
"Thanks, TIM." John looks blearily at you. "Well, Jay. Now you see the kind of mess we get ourselves into. Ready for some more?" But you don't hear him.
You're already asleep!
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