"(Electric crackling)" "(Footsteps)" "(Crackling)" "(Fizzing)" "Yes?" "Who is it?" "(Electric crackling)" "Who are you?" "(Intense crackling)" "(Steed) Extraordinary!" "To make that sort of impact, he must've weighed about ten tons, or be travelling about 100 mph." " Rollerskates?" " He wasn't wearing any ..." "I don't think." "Maybe he was practising a ski jump." "Launched himself from over there, flew through the air ..." "And forgot to apply his brakes?" "No explanation at all." "Well, whatever it was, it was something very nasty." "Mr Steed?" "Mrs Peel?" "I'm Cynthia Wentworth-Howe, top hush secretary to the Minister." " How do you do?" " "Top hush"?" "We assistants come in four grades:" "confidential, secret, most secret and top hush." "You've reached the top of your profession?" "Not quite." "My ultimate ambition is to achieve the special category of button lip." "The pinnacle of secrecy." "Not a single syllable passed on, before being vetted, examined, coded and cleared." "But to business." "I must assist you in any way I can." "Good!" "Let's start with the man who got plastered!" "Pla...?" "We assistants don't approve of levity, Mr Steed." "The gentleman in question was Dr Charles Gray, AD," "Mem of Royal (Instavic), CBE." "RIP." "Dr Charles Gray was a brilliant and respected scientist, engaged on electronic development for the Ministry." "His work was of a specialised and highly secret nature." " Electric fans?" " I beg your pardon." "This is the diagram of an electric fan." " Oh ..." " Specialised and highly secret?" " We'd better have a look in the safe." " What?" "Dr Gray's safe." "We'd like to look at his papers." " His secret papers?" " You have the right idea." " You'll have to sign a chit." " Right." "In triplicate." "(Steed) The three-headed bureaucrat." "Gray wasn't killed for the plans of a fiendishly new electric fan." "Still warm!" "If you want to take any papers away, there'll have to be a special dispensation from security." "There's no need to bother." "Now that's a neat trick." "Burn the inside of a safe while it's locked and sealed on the outside." " What were the papers in there?" " I ..." "I suppose they were the details of Project 90." " Pardon?" " Project 90." "Now that sounds more interesting." "I'd no idea what the project was." "It was abandoned some months ago." "They overspent their allocation and got no results." "They?" "This was the team." "They were based at Risely Dale Research Centre." "That's been closed down, too, now." "You recognise Dr Gray, of course." "That's Dr Cresswell, Mr Mankin, Mr Jubert and poor Mr Bryant." " Poor Mr Bryant?" " He fell out of a window last week." " Badly hurt?" " Mortally." "It was on the 12th floor." "That leads Mankin, Cresswell and Jubert." "That has a fine Gallic ring to it." "And your French is impeccable." "Au revoir." "Er ... don't forget to return the key." "(Electronic pulse intensifies)" "(Electric crackling)" "Mr Jubert?" "You missed lunch again." "You really ought to eat something." "(Crackling)" " Mr Jubert?" " Call the generator room." "Hurry!" "Tell them there's something wrong with the power supply." "Hello?" "(Crackling intensifies)" "Did you get the generator room?" "Miss Clarke!" "(Whirring machinery)" "(Explosion)" "(Coughs)" "(Engine starts)" "(Car pulls away)" "(Miss Clarke groans)" "Wh-what happened?" "I was rather hoping you could tell me." "I ..." "I'm not sure." "I came out to use the phone and ..." "there was someone here." "A man, I think." "And a sound." "A strange sort of sound." "Strange?" "How?" "What kind of sound?" "Well, it was ... weird." "Like ... (Crackles)" "Like that." "(Car pulls up)" "(Electronic whirring)" "(Whirring intensifies)" "(Screams)" "(Crackling)" "Steed?" "Steed?" "(Banging)" "(Rustling)" "(Steed) Oh ..." "Steed!" "You don't happen to be carrying a large brandy, do you?" "No, I'm travelling light." "What happened?" "Are you all right?" "(Grunts)" "Well, it happened like ..." "I haven't the faintest idea." "It was something to do with a door." "No, doors that fight back." "Yes, it was a car door." "It was around here, there was a blue van." "And it bit you?" "Well, I went to open the rear door, and then ..." "Bingo!" "... a galaxy of stars then oblivion." "Do you think someone came up behind you?" "No, no, I'm sure they didn't." "I remember, there was a very odd noise." " What kind of noise?" " Well, very odd." "It's hard to describe." "(Mimics crackling)" "Like that?" "Yes, like that." "Maurice Jubert's secretary heard it too." "The late Maurice Jubert." "He's dead." "It seems to me we're on the right track." "And that's about all." "Steed?" "Could it have been a woman, whoever it was that attacked you?" "It's make-up." "Very odd, greasy sort of make-up." "Looks as though we're dealing with a slippery customer." "(Footsteps)" "Ah ..." "Dr Cresswell!" "It's very nice to see you." "This is the gentleman I came down to see." " (Emma) How do you do?" " Oh, allow me." "My name's Steed." "I'm sure the Ministry told you we were coming." "Oh, yes, that's right." "But I wasn't expecting ..." "Oh, Mrs Peel is, at times, a little impetuous." "Do you always greet your visitors at gunpoint?" "Good heavens, no." "No, I'd been out shooting rabbits and I didn't expect ..." "Please don't apologise." "Very glad to contact you." " You were in charge of Project 90." " Er, yes ..." " Absorbing project." " You know about it?" "Couldn't understand why it was cancelled." "You still have a lot of friends at the Ministry." "Does that mean the project is going to be opened again?" "Not here." "Let's discuss it later at your home." "You do live near here?" " Well, yes, just a quarter of ..." " Over a cup of tea?" " Oh, well ..." " Maybe even a drink." " Well, I suppose so ..." " Good man." "Mrs Peel will join us later." "She wants to have a thorough look round Risely Dale." "Well, this is a pleasant spot." "And very conveniently close to the old research centre." "Er, yes." "Well, I didn't think there was much point in moving." "And I must say that retirement doesn't have any of the terrors that I expected." " Why did you retire so early?" " I didn't have very much choice, did I?" "Of course, Project 90 getting the chop and all that." "More or less." "Naturally, I disagreed with the decision." "Naturally." "All the same, we could do with a few breakthroughs in that field." "Exactly." "High-frequency electronics has tremendous potential." " Sherry?" " Thanks." "High-frequency electronics?" "The Americans have poured millions into it." "Of course they have." "We were well established, you know." "We were developing ultra-high frequencies when the team went dotty." " Dotty?" " Broadcast power." " Oh, broadcast power." " I was against the idea from the start." "It just isn't feasible, broadcasting electricity by radio wave." "But you were the director of the project." "Yes, well, at first it seemed harmless enough, simple bench tests." "But before I knew it, they were building generators." "They were using funds allocated for other work." "It got out of hand." " And then the Ministry closed you down?" " Hmm." "Years of work thrown away on a senseless pipe dream." " An entire project ruined by one man." " One man?" "The fool who started us on broadcast power, Mankin." "James Mankin." "(Crackling)" "(Crackling)" "Remarkable." "Astonishing." "Erm ... some kind of natural phenomenon." " Natural?" " Er, yes ... a fireball." "You know, a cloud of static electricity." "Erm ... some sort of freak phenomenon." "That could be possible." "Well, I won't detain you any longer." " Thank you for the drink." " Well ..." "Don't worry, I'll find my own way out." " Find anything?" " Yes." "I also heard something." " A sort of crackling sound." " You should've seen the fireworks." "Look, Steed, just there." " (Steed) A handprint." " Preserved in make-up." "When do you think you'll get your first bite?" "Never, if you keep on talking." "Oh, terribly sorry." "I forgot you were a top hush girl." "You know, it's quite surprising to find you doing this." "It's nice to get away from people once in a while." "(Steed) I'm not people, I'm business, Ministry business." "It's my day off." " May I make a suggestion?" " What?" "I would say a Flaming Kestrel fly for these waters." "No." "I prefer a Red Coachman." " You're a fishing man, then?" " I lease a stretch on the Test." "As a matter of fact, I got a 10lb salmon last week." " Really?" "Where?" " In Bond Street." "I was walking by a hotel and it fell out of the window, straight into my arms." "There was a contretemps with the chef, a very volatile fellow." "But he had no aim with a salmon." "Of course, I threw it back." "It'd be hardly sporting to hold onto it." "Now that suits you." "Very good for the face muscles." "Might as well get as much laughing in as you can, before it happens." " Before what happens?" " Before you get elevated to button lip." "You can hardly laugh in button lip." "(Giggles)" " Well, what can I do for you?" " Project 90, I want to see the files." "The files?" "But that's utterly impossible." "No one sees the files." " Only red card holders." " But surely..." "I'm sorry, it's out of the question." "Red card holders only." "The red card, well, that's about as rare as a salmon in Bond Street." "Mr Steed ..." "I'd no idea." "(Tuts)" "(Quacking)" "All the confidential war records are kept here." "Have there been many confidential wars?" "Cleaning must be a bit of a problem." "No cleaners with red cards?" "I can hardly see the prime minister whisking his way around here with a mop." " Or maybe I could!" " Mr Steed, voices aren't raised here." "Oh, I'm so sorry." "This is the one you need." "Project 90." "You seem to have pyromaniac mice." "There'll be a terrible fuss." "A full inquiry." "Play havoc with your fishing." "Now, how do I find out about Project 90?" "The only person who can help you now is Mankin." "James Mankin." "Mr Mankin's very busy at the moment." "Do you have an appointment?" "No, but I'm sure he'll see me." "John Steed from the Ministry." "One moment." " Mr Mankin?" " 'Yes, what is it?" "'" "Mr Steed is hereto see you." "He says he's from the Ministry." "'Very well." "Send him in." "I'll see him.'" " Go through, please." " Thank you." "Mr Mankin?" "(Generators humming)" " Mr Mankin?" " Yes?" " Very kind of you to see me." " I'm very busy." " You did say the Ministry, Mr Steed?" " Yes, about Project 90." " Oh?" " And broadcast power." "Is it possible?" " Your Ministry doesn't seem to think so." " But you do?" "I spent years proving it." "All it got me was the sack." "Dr Cresswell thinks it wasn't fully proved." "Dr Cresswell doesn't think." "Why are you so sure about broadcast power?" "Why are you so interested, Mr Steed?" "Because someone has been trying to destroy all trace of Project 90 and the people who worked on it." "I heard about Bryant and Charles Gray." "Accidents, they said." "No accidents." "Yesterday, Maurice Jubert was murdered." " Well?" " You seem to be taking it very calmly." "I'm busy, and I don't believe a word of it." "I can assure you they were not accidents." "I don't doubt it." "But not because of Project 90." "The applications of broadcast power are quite ordinary, Mr Steed." "There was no motive for murder in any of the work we did." "You could be mistaken." "Very well, I'll show you." "As simply as possible." "This device here produces static electricity." "A development of a Wimshurst machine?" "Oh ... well, that makes things easier." "The electrostatic energy is converted into a high-frequency wave pattern here, fed into this transmitter and, er ..." "Just about ready." "You see this electric fan?" "No wires, no hidden batteries, but observe ..." "No power source other than the energy I'm broadcasting." "That's very strange." "You know, Dr Gray was designing a fan when he was murdered." "That doesn't mean a thing." "This is the type of equipment we used on the Project." "Hardly the ultimate weapon, Mr Steed." " What if ...?" " Do be careful!" "What if the range and power were unlimited?" "And it could be unlimited." "If we'd been given time to develop it, you could power anything, cars, aircraft, entire cities." "But Cresswell never believed in it, he treated it like a toy." "But he surely gave the authorisation for the research?" "And forced us into a demonstration we were all against." " And you failed?" " Of course!" "I knew we'd fail." "It was too soon, we weren't ready." "At least Cresswell got the sack, along with the rest of us." "What are you doing here?" "Still developing broadcast power?" "Wish I was." "This is a commercial outfit." "I spend most of my time tarting up stereophonic sound and radar." "But whenever I get the chance, I return to this." "Then I should be careful, Mr Mankin." "I have a feeling someone has another use for broadcast power." "(Intense electrical pulse)" "(Crackling)" "(Tyres screeching)" "Mrs Peel ..." "Do you know anyone who wants to buy a vintage Bentley in a new two-tone shade of green and slightly singed?" "I have just survived an electrifying experience." " I'll swap you all the details ..." " For a large brandy?" "Ah." "I was driving along the road, minding my own business, enjoying and breathing the good country air, contemplating the glories of England in summertime ..." "You were driving along ..." " ... when I noticed a van following me." " The one with handles that fight back?" "Right, and as soon as I recognised the fact ..." " Pop!" " Pop?" " Bang." "Splat." " Bang." "Splat." "All my car's wiring burnt out, the car was full of smoke, I was blinded." "There was a gatepost rushing towards me, but with tremendous verve and élan and, I may say, great driving skill ..." " And a good deal of luck." " Anyway ... it was a very near thing." "The car's still working, but all my little dials are kaput, even the altimeter." "Never mind, if one day you're driving at more than 10,000 feet," "I'm sure you'll notice." "What do you think did it?" "Broadcast power." "Sending electricity just as you would, er ..." "a radio message." " That's what Mankin was working on." " You saw Mankin?" "Oh, yes, I saw Mankin." "And I gave him something to think about." "(Telephone rings)" "Hello?" "Yes, he's here." "For you." " Hello?" " Steed?" "Mankin." "Look, what you were saying started me thinking, so I decided to ride out to Risely Dale." " Oh, you've actually been there?" " Yes, I'm there now." "Look, Steed, I think you may well be right." " Something is going on." " Hold on, Mr Mankin." "Mankin's at Risely Dale now." "He's onto something." "Or up to something." " Do you want to meet him?" " I'll see you later at Cresswell's." "Hello, Mr Mankin?" "Ah, Mrs Peel is on her way right now." "Right." "I'll be waiting." "(Engine revving)" "(Electronic pulse)" "(Crackling)" "(Electronic humming)" "(Crackling)" "(Engine starts)" "Hello, Dr Cresswell." "Not disturbing you, I hope." " Well, I'm rather ..." " Good!" " I thought you'd be free." " Well, I'm extremely busy ..." "Forgive the unconventional entrance." "It's basic training, old habits die hard." " Do you mind?" " Steed, I don't wish to be rude   but I was deeply engrossed in this circuit diagram." "I thought you were pacing the floor." "It looked as though you were waiting for someone, but you couldn't have been, if you were engrossed in the circuit diagram." "I-I-I was thinking." " Go ahead, I'll be as quiet as a mouse." "You're extremely edgy, Dr Cresswell." "You've been working too hard." "Why not some of this excellent sherry?" "It is excellent." "Steed, what do you want?" "Information." "Mankin seems to feel that you were sabotaging Project 90." "Are you sure you're not waiting for someone?" " Oh, it's ridiculous!" " What is?" "Mankin's suggestion is ridiculous." "Why should I or anybody wish to sabotage Project 90?" "Broadcast electricity." "I thought the Ministry had abandoned that particular ..." "Perhaps the Ministry have, but somebody else is still pursuing it." "It'd make a neat secret weapon, if it were possible." " If." " That's what I said, "If."" "(Footsteps)" "Ah, erm ..." "Haworth." "This is an unexpected pleasure." "I didn't expect to see you." "This is Mr Steed from the Ministry." " This is Peter Haworth." " Delighted." "Ooh!" "Forgive me, sprained a tendon playing bridge." " You play a rough game, Mr Steed." " I expect you called for those papers." "Well ... there we are." " I won't keep you, then." " Don't go now, you've only just arrived." "Dr Cresswell's the host, but I'm doing the honours." "He's off-colour today." "You're an electronics expert too, I imagine." "Those papers are very complex to the layman." "Well, he does occasionally assist me." "So you've worked together before?" "Project 90, eh?" " (Car horn)" " Ah, that must be Mrs Peel." "Told her to meet me here." "She may have some news from Risely Dale." " I thought I told you to kill her." " I thought I had." "Mrs Peel!" "How did it go at Risely Dale?" "False alarm." "Oh, I'm sorry, we haven't met." "Mrs Peel, Peter Haworth." "You know Dr Cresswell." "Hello." "Hadn't we better go?" "We'll be late for dinner with Mankin." "What dinner ...?" "Oh, yes." "Thank you for jogging my memory." "I think, gentlemen, we better say goodbye." " Goodbye." " Allow me." "Ooh!" "I am sorry." " My pleasure." " I don't usually fall for strangers." " Well, goodbye, Mrs Peel, Steed." " Goodbye, doctor." "Goodbye." "What was all that about?" "You didn't trip, we don't have a dinner engagement, and to plumb the depths of utter banality with "I don't usually fall for strangers ..."" "It was a corny situation calling for corny measures." "I wanted to get my hand on his collar." "Didn't you see?" "It was thick with make-up." "Odd, greasy sort of make-up." "There should be enough here to put under a microscope." "Good girl." " And Mankin?" " Dead, I'm afraid." "Electrocuted." "So would I be, if I didn't have rubber soles on my shoes." " And the kick on the shins?" " Oh, that?" "I just felt like that!" "Are you sure you took care of Mankin?" "Oh, yes." "Gave him a nasty shock." "So, they've all gone, then?" "Mankin, Gray, Bryant, Jubert." "All their files are destroyed." "All the dangers are eliminated." "Except for Steed and Mrs Peel." "They can only guess what's happened, they don't know how it was done." "I think it's about time we showed them." "Steed?" "Yes, I know it's late." "I've been slaving over a hot Bunsen burner." "Yes, I've been doing tests on that sample of make-up." "It contains particles of aluminium." "And there are also traces of a non-conducting oil." "It doesn't conduct electricity." "That's right, it acts as a sort of insulation." "(Crackling)" "Well, it's ..." "It's perfectly logical." "Ordinary make-up insulates a girl against all sorts of things." "No, not those sort of things" "Against the wind and the weather, for example." "So why not a make-up that insulates the wearer against high voltage?" "Hmm?" "All right." "Yes, I'll see you tomorrow." "(Crackling)" "I want you in my arms again, Mrs Peel." "Into my arms." "Good morning, Mrs Peel." "I trust you slept well." "As well as can be expected." "What time's breakfast?" "I would've rung, but, as you can see, I'm all tied up." "And you'll stay that way." "Ah, it's you, my shocking friend." "I hate to tell you, but I think you're losing your power." "Quite deliberate." "We didn't want to kill you ... yet." "And I'm sure you have a very good reason." "Certainly." "I imagine you know where you are." "I'm at Risely Dale." "That's obvious." "Then there's the question of Steed." "Steed?" "That's all we want." "That's why we had to keep you alive, Mrs Peel." " To get Steed to come here." " I'm the bait." " Two for the price of one." " He'll know it's a trap." "Not if you call him." "And you will call him, when I have edited our little conversation." " 'I imagine you know where you are.' - (Emma) 'I'm at Risely Dale.'" "(Telephone rings)" " (Steed) 'Hello?" "'" " Forgive me." " (Emma) 'Steed?" "'" " Mrs Peel, good morning." "How are you?" "Mrs Peel, are you all right?" " Where are you?" " (Emma) 'I'm at Risely Dale.'" "Mrs Peel?" "Hello?" "(Line disconnected)" "He'll be here in about 30 minutes." " Perhaps." " Oh, he'll come." "He may have his suspicions, but that won't matter." "He won't suspect you." "And you are going to kill him." "Oh, spare my blushes!" "Mrs Peel, you are looking at a superman." "You're wrong." "His pectorals are far from perfect." "He's a prototype, the first of many." "His power is unlimited." "Balls!" "His power is limited by what your little blue van out there, your mobile generator, is capable of giving out." "Say about 10,000 volts?" "Oh, no, Mrs Peel, much more than that." "We take the power from a small engine, but we build it up, transform it." " We push it up and up ..." " Until he becomes a walking dynamo." "The technique is so simple." "First, he is sprayed with ..." "With a non-conductive oil." "It acts as an insulation, a protection." "Then comes a substance containing aluminium particles." "A sort of outer skin." "You said that you had destroyed all the files." " I did." " It was an educated guess, doctor." "Plus a little research." "What a great pity, Mrs Peel, that brilliant mind won't be with us much longer." "I must test the generator." "A walking dynamo." "My pectorals may leave much to be desired, Mrs Peel, but I'm the most dynamic man you are ever likely to meet." "(Electronic pulse)" "Hear that?" "Power, broadcast power." "A life force flowing into me, fed by radio waves, making me the most powerful man on earth, a king, omnipotent!" "Careful you don't blow a fuse." "Oh, no." "My protection is guaranteed." "You see, you were right." "The inner skin protects me, the non-conductive oil." "And the aluminium particles carry the electric charge?" "Very good, Mrs Peel." "Top marks." "The power ripples across my skin like muscles." "At least 25,000 volts of it." "I can kill, burn and destroy." "A superman." "And in a few months' time, there will be a hundred like him." "For what purpose?" "You might call it a take-over bid, Mrs Peel." "Society owes me many things, and when my army of supermen moves in on society," "I shall dictate the terms then." "I will bring the government to its knees." "I will become the government." "I will rule." "What happens if there's a power cut?" "The table is completely insulated, Mrs Peel." "But soon, you will be charged with 25,000 volts." "And then whoever touches you will earth you." "The shock will kill both you and the person who touches you." "I'm sure Mr Steed will want to free you." "It's rather elaborate, but it's in the nature of an experiment." "A technique that we've been wanting to try for a very long time." "Steed's coming." "(Groaning)" "(Generator humming)" "(Groaning)" "(Groans)" "Mrs Peel!" "I recognise those eyes anywhere." "I knew you had sterling qualities, but bright silver?" " Where are your hallmarks?" " (Desperate groaning)" "Don't worry, have you out in a jiffy." "Time for pleasantries later." "Steed, I happened to be charged with 25,000 volts!" "I attribute that to your personal magnetism." "I mean it, listen to that generator." "Lucky I'm not earthed, then." "I'm wearing rubber galoshes." "The English gentleman's best friend, guaranteed to protect you against the vagaries of our delightful climate and also 25,000 volts." "Oh!" "(Intense electronic whirring)" "There's something wrong." "She's still holding the charge." "It's up to me, then." "(Crackling)" "Cresswell's a complete megalomaniac." "He's planning to take over the country." "Well, we've got to stop him." " Now, how does that fit, madam?" " Not exactly snug, but adequate." "Steed!" "Now!" "You ruined his make-up." "Steed, where have you been?" "I've been waiting for you." "I've been messing about with all this electricity." "I don't know how, but I'm magnetised." " I'm stuck to the car." " (Giggles)" "It's not laughing matter, Mrs Peel!" "How am I to call a garage and tell them I'm stuck to my ...?" "Well, how am I to call a garage?" "Look, this is most indelicate of you." "Now, let me see." "How can I be constructive?" "Erm ... what are you, AC or DC?" "I've never had occasion to find out!" "Here ..." "let me give you a hand." "(Crackling)" "Don't fight it, Mrs Peel." "We're inseparable."