Disclaimer: Same as always, I don't own the TBs or the Tracys.
A/N: I normally try to steer clear of this kind of story but for some reason I was in a dark mood and wrote this.-sam1
Quietus
Something that serves to suppress, check, or eliminate.
Release from life; death.
"DAMN YOU! GOD, DAMN YOU TO HELL FOR TAKING HIM! Collapsing into a heap on the rocky cliff of my island home, I couldn't stop the tears of anguish and loss. My brother had been literally ripped from my grasp after a rescue and had died in my arms.
Flashback
"Whew, that was an out and out mess." Swiping my already filthy hands down the front of my IR uniform, I attempted to rid myself of more of the mud. Grinning, my brother threw an equally muddied arm around me and hugged me close. "You do realize that I was trying to get the mud off not…" Whatever I'd intended to say was cut short by a knife suddenly appearing at my brother's throat. My brother was jerked backwards from my grasp with a sharp gasp. A small trickle of blood oozed around the knife and trailed down his neck.
"Don't move and maybe I'll let him live." The manic gleam in the man's eyes told me that he had no intention of letting my brother go. Cautiously, I raised my hands in a show of submissiveness. I'd do whatever I could to ensure the safety of my brother.
"Please let my teammate go," I said. "We came to help and want nothing more than to get back to base and shower." Trying to appear non-threatening, I relaxed my stance but could do nothing to ease the tension in my face or shoulders. Suddenly, my brother's hands clawed at the hand holding the knife.
"At least you have a base to return to," the man snapped. "My wife and son were just two of my family members that were carted off to the morgue. What's one more life?" Before I could react, the man whipped the knife across my brother's neck, hard and deep. Dropping him like unwanted garbage, the man then buried the knife in his own chest. After dragging my brother to safety, I tried to stop the flow of blood and call for help at the same time.
"VIRGIL, HE'S DOWN!" My voice was raspy when I called for help and protectively held my brother. "NEED MEDICAL TREATMENT, STAT!"
"On my way." My older brother's curt reply barely contained his worry. A slight tug on my hand made me look down. Green eyes dulled by pain stared up into my eyes that I knew were wide open with fear. Fear of losing him so violently.
"Tell…them…love all…" A gurgling sound and a sigh followed his words before he could continue. "Best…friend and…brother." His final words were barely a whisper as he died in his best friend and brother's arms.
"NO, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME," I shouted, shaking my brother just a bit. "I'M NOT READY TO LET YOU GO!" Virgil arrived a few minutes later to find me leaning over our brother and crying. "He's gone, Virgil." My red-rimmed eyes shifted to Virgil's brown eyes that suddenly teared up. Somehow the two of us got their fallen teammate and brother back to Thunderbird Two and radioed back to base.
"Thunderbird Two to Base." Virgil had made the call because I wouldn't leave sickbay. Scott's face appeared on the monitor and quickly realized something was wrong but Virgil blurted it out before he could ask. "He's dead, Scotty, he killed our brother."
End flashback
The few days after Gordon's murder were hard on everyone but worse for me, the brother who'd witnessed it. Jeff had cut short a meeting he'd been at, Scott ordered Brains to bring the brother manning TB5 home, and Lady P and Parker flew in from England. Gordon's funeral was the last thing I could handle and as soon as I could I fled to the cliff top where we'd spent many hours talking.
"Why? Why did he have to kill you?" I looked to my side as I always had when he and I had talked about anything and everything.
"He'd already lost everything, Allie."
"I hate him, Gordy, because he took my best brother and friend from me. I'm not ready to let you go." Gordon smiled sadly at me.
"I'll always be with you, Allie, but I can't stay here like this. I have to move on but I will meet you again when it's your time. I love you, little brother, never forget that." Slowly, his form shimmered and wavered until it was gone, leaving me alone. A strange sense of warmth flared in my chest and a tentative grin tried to show itself.
"I love you, too, Gordy," I whispered. "And thank you."
"You're welcome." The ghostly whisper may or may not have been my imagination as I made my way to my worried family.
He missed the shimmering reappearance of his brother who had been joined by a petite blonde-haired woman. "Will he be alright, Mom?"
"Yes, Gordon, he will because he won't forget your love for him," she answered. "Just as you all remembered my love for each of you." Reluctantly, they faded away until they were needed again.
