Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.
I just couldn't resist on this one. Every episode I'm sure someone jinks it. Enjoy!
Scott paused on his way to the kitchen, glancing at what the rest of the family were doing. He was only going to get a coffee, but seeing them crowded around the television made him feel perhaps there was something he was missing out on.
Crossing the room, he took one glance at the set and opened his mouth to ask what it was they were all so intently waiting for. It seemed to be a news report of sorts, but as far as Scott was aware, there was nothing major going on in the world. Yet something had his family gripped, for even John's portrait was active so he could be a part of whatever this was. He opened his mouth to ask, but Virgil – knowing him too well – simply held up his hand and the words died in Scott's throat. He moved slightly closer.
"Fireflash 5 is ready for her first test run. This time, nothing will go wrong…"
Scott groaned.
He forgot about his coffee and any plans he had for the rest of the day. Instead, he moved across to his lamps and the secret entrance to his hangar. He had forgotten about the Fireflash being tested again today. Part of it was deliberate – he hoped if he refused to give it any attention, then maybe for once it wouldn't demand he went over there to sort it out. But now the presenter had uttered those words, he knew better.
Just as he was about to active the lamps – knowing he may as well save some time by running the pre-flight checks now so he could launch as soon as John received the call – Virgil glanced over.
"What are you doing, Scott? There isn't a call out."
"There will be in about five minutes."
"What do you mean?" Their father had looked around now, a frown on his face when he saw the expression on Scott's own and where his eldest son was standing. Scott rolled his eyes and gestured at the television.
"Do you really think now he has said everything is going to be fine that will be the case?"
"Of course, they've done all the tests and -,"
"Breaking news. It seems something may have gone wrong. The landing gear has jammed. The Fireflash has no way of landing. Even a crash landing could kill all of the crew."
"Dad, they're patching in an emergency call." While his father turned to address John, Scott whisked himself through to the silos and patched into the briefing that way. Apparently they were going to do it the way they had done their first rescue.
"It will be easy, you've done it before."
Scott cut the line as soon as his father said that, muttering under his breath as his fingers flew over the controls and he set about initiating the launch sequence. It was second nature to him now and it took no time at all until he was shooting into the air and becoming nothing more than a streak on the horizon for the rest of the family. Once he had set his course, Scott opened up the link with Virgil.
"Have you got the spare elevator cars?"
"Why would I need them?"
"Just bring them, Virg, please. I have a feeling that things are going to go wrong on this rescue."
"Why? You heard Dad…"
"Exactly," Scott said, cutting the line rather than risk either of them saying anything else that would jeopardise the rescue. He deliberated not connected to John either – just to be on the safe side – but then realised he hadn't been paying attention to half of the briefing and probably needed to know a little more about what was going on.
Luckily, John was professional and to the point, giving his older brother no cause for concern about why they shouldn't be able to handle the rescue.
A few hours later found Scott touching down in London. He couldn't help but roll his eyes as he started shifting Mobile Control from Thunderbird One, heading towards the office in London Airport that he had used before. He was surprised he didn't know all of the Fireflash team by name yet. After all, they did seem to be called out every single time a new model was even invented.
"Glad you could come," a man held out his hand, which Scott ignored in favour of setting up his equipment. He wasn't in the mood to hear how it wasn't their fault and there was nothing they could have done to foreseen this.
"I know you normally ask about the security and I can safely say that nothing can get within ten miles of this place, we have it all sealed off. I'm in charge of security."
Scott merely nodded, not trusting what would come out of his mouth if he opened it. After a moment, he knew he couldn't stall any longer.
"What's the situation here?"
Another man stepped forward, quickly highlighting what was happening. Scott nodded in all the right places, making sure the communications were open with Thunderbird Two while the man spoke. It was easier for Virgil to hear it himself rather than Scott try and report – it meant if the artist had any questions, there was no fear of something being missed by Scott relaying the answers.
"But don't worry," the man finished up, "they have plenty of fuel and can circle for hours if needed. You have plenty of time."
Scott was rather proud of the fact he didn't head-butt Mobile Control as a way of venting his frustration. He waited until the man had moved away before speaking quietly into the mic, making sure no one other than Virgil could hear him.
"You better hurry it up, Virgil."
"Why? You heard what he said. We'll be fine."
"Exactly." Cutting the line over Virgil's confusion, Scott turned his attention to the job and set about making everything ready for Thunderbird Two's arrival. He just wished he could forget the foreboding feeling his brother's final words had given him. If only Virgil knew what saying something like that would mean.
In the half an hour it took Virgil to arrive, Scott thought maybe he was being paranoid after all. Nothing seemed to happen. But when Thunderbird Two was seen in the distance, it was as if all hell had just broken lose. Instruments seemed to be flashing at the team and Scott could only stand there, watching helplessly as he waited to hear what was happening.
He understood some of it when his own instruments started beeping at him.
"Someone is photographing Thunderbird One. I thought you said no one could get within ten miles of this place?"
"He won't get away from us," the security man vowed, clicking his fingers at another couple of men. The three of them hurried from the room and Scott sighed. Deep down, he knew they would never find whoever that had been. But it didn't seem as if a security breach was the only thing that was going wrong, not considering the way the rest of the staff were running around. Scott eventually managed to snag one of them and demanded an answer. After all, if they were here to supposedly help, it would be useful to know what was going on.
"The fuel tank on the Fireflash is leaking. They are managing to contain it to prevent a blast but it means if they don't come down to land in the next fifteen minutes, they won't have enough fuel to try again and will crash."
"Did you hear that, Virg?" Scott muttered, turning back to Mobile Control. He could hear Thunderbird Two now and knew that his brother had arrived. Virgil merely grunted in response and Scott knew he was working hard to try and get into position in time. In a way, Scott was glad. It meant his brother couldn't say anything else that could jink it.
Knowing there was nothing he could do from here for now, Scott moved to the window and glanced towards the sky. He could see the Fireflash circling ahead and a voice over the static in the background informed him that Virgil had made contact and were telling them to start their approach. As the radio fell silent, Scott watched as the three elevator cars came rolling out of Thunderbird Two and set off at full speed down the runway even as the Fireflash banked.
"Keep in control, Virg," Scott found himself muttered under his breath, afraid to blink. He had yanked the mic closer to him so he could call out instructions should he need too, but he knew the best thing was to just let Virgil do his job.
"Fireflash, pull up! Your left wing is damaged, it won't be able to take the pressure."
Scott groaned. "Virgil? What's the situation?"
The plane shot overhead and Scott could already see it turning for another approach.
"I don't think the wing is going to take the pressure of landing on the pads, it might jolt the whole thing."
"Might or will?"
"Not sure."
"Try it," Scott ordered, hating himself for having to say it. "We're out of time to try anything else, they have three minutes to land before they are dead anyway."
"F.A.B." Scott watched as the cars skidded to a stop and shot into reverse. Admiring Virgil's skill at handling them – especially after what had happened the first time they had been used – Scott found that his hand was slipping into his pocket and he was crossing his fingers. He didn't dare say anything, not after the way this day was going. Instead, he was just hoping.
Three and a half damaged cars, a plane that practically exploded the second everyone was clear and a brother with a concussion later and Scott was reporting to his father that it had been far from an easy rescue and despite Virgil's earlier confidence, they had not been fine.
What made matters worse was that Scott had no choice but to leave One behind in order to get Virgil home. The airport had vowed it would be safe yet Scott found himself putting in a call to Penny as soon as they were far enough away to ask her to take over security. But it was either leave Thunderbird One behind, or Two with all the equipment. There were fewer things remaining if Scott flew Thunderbird Two home for Virgil was in no fit state to fly, not when he could see the stars John loved so clearly whizzing around his head.
It felt like one of the longest flights home for Scott and not just because the craft was so much slower than he was used to. He knew he was brooding yet he wasn't inclined to do anything about it. He was having enough of a challenge trying to keep Virgil sitting still – his brother had flatly refused to stay in the sickbay – and listening to the man criticising his flying the whole way home was almost more than Scott could take. It was only through the fear of jinking things that stopped him from saying anything.
But finally, they were home. Brains and their father were quick to check over Virgil and announce he had got off lightly, he just needed some rest and he would be fit for action within a few days. After checking for himself that Virgil was fine, Scott found himself heading to bed and simply crashing down on it.
A few moments later, his door opened and Grandma slipped in.
"You're quiet today, Scott. Is everything okay?"
"Just tired," Scott admitted, attempting to smile for the old lady so she didn't worry. Grandma fussed around the covers for a moment.
"You just rest then. Everything is quiet and peaceful now, you get some sleep."
"Grandma…" Scott moaned, shoving the pillow over his head in the hope it would do the trick to block out what she had just said.
"Now what is wrong?"
Scott, however, was saved from answering by the klaxon going off.