I do not own the Thunderbirds, and I am making no profit from this story.

When International Rescue began, the Tracy boys all liked dogs – growing up on a farm, they'd always had a dog or two around. A dog was a happy-go-lucky friend who would play with you during the day, curl up on the end of your bed at night, and eat the vegetables you didn't want at the dinner table – as long as you could sneak them off your plate without an adult noticing, anyway.

By the time they had a couple dozen rescues under their belts, though, the brothers' opinions had changed considerably. They wouldn't go so far as to say that they had come to dislike dogs…they just had considerably more respect for what those teeth could do to a uniform – and to the skin underneath the uniform.

They didn't blame the dogs – after all, International Rescue did have a tendency to burst into homes when the dogs were already stressed.

They did meet plenty of friendly dogs, as well as plenty of dogs whose threats didn't amount to anything – yippy little ankle-biters, as Alan called them, or big dogs that made a lot of noise, but kept at a safe distance.

The brothers quickly learned to watch for the quiet dogs with an intense stare, an upright tail, raised hackles and stiff posture. Those were the truly dangerous ones, and those dogs were the reason they asked Brains to develop some sort of dog repellent. Brains' solution was a tiny ultrasonic device implanted in their watches. When activated, it would harmlessly repel an aggressive dog. It proved to be quite effective, and perhaps no one was more grateful than Virgil a few weeks after the devices were installed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Virgil saw the "Beware of the Dog" sign on the door he was working to pry open, but he had also seen a dog house in the front yard, crushed by a tree that had fallen during an earthquake an hour earlier. So when he finally got the door open, his eyes went straight to the prone figure he could see in the next room, with no thought of a dog.

He hurried toward the fallen man, his assessment of the patient beginning from several feet away – male, approximately forty, unconscious but breathing. The man lay half buried by a pile of debris that had apparently fallen from a tall bookshelf; he had most likely been knocked out by a heavy plaster bust that was in pieces on the floor near his head.

Virgil dropped to his knees beside the man, continuing his exam.

The man stirred and blinked, staring up at him with a confused expression. "What…who?" he tried to ask.

"Take it easy, sir," Virgil said. "I'm with International Rescue. I'm here to help you."

The man groaned, struggling to keep his eyes open. He reached for Virgil's arm and feebly clutched it. "You have to get out," he said. "I don't think I can call him off…"

"Call who off?" Virgil asked.

"Zeus," the man whispered, his eyes blinking shut and his hand falling limp.

Virgil quickly checked for a pulse and was relieved to discover that the man had simply dropped back into unconsciousness. He activated his wrist comm. "Scott, I'm gonna need a hover stretcher at my location."

"FAB. Want me to send Alan over to give you a hand?"

"If he's not needed somewhere else, then sure," Virgil replied.

"All right, he's on his way."

"FAB."

Virgil slung his medical supplies pack off his back and dropped it to the floor, but as he was reaching for the zipper, some hint of movement or whisper of sound made him look up sharply.

Instinct alone got his arm up in time to protect his throat as a massive German Shepherd sprang toward him, diving in for the kill. One word exploded through Virgil's mind as the powerful jaws clamped around his right forearm and the weight of the dog sent him tumbling backward onto the floor: Zeus.

He hit the ground hard, the air whooshing from his lungs. He struck at Zeus' face with his free hand, but the dog growled and shook his head, lunging backward and tugging Virgil along the floor.

Spikes of pain shot up Virgil's arm as the dog ground its teeth. Shouting – though he didn't even know what he was saying – Virgil tried to brace his feet against the floor and grab the dog's collar. Zeus pulled him off balance again, though, viciously shaking Virgil's arm as if it were the prize in a game of tug-of-war. Any illusion that it was a game, however, was dissolved by one look at the blazing hatred burning in the eyes of the dog. Clearly the powerful animal saw him as a threat to his fallen master.

Suddenly Zeus let go of his arm and lunged forward again. Virgil flung up his arm again, but the dog brushed past it, zeroing in on Virgil's throat.

"Hey!"

A voice cracked through the air, and then Zeus was cringing away, crouching back into the corner.

Virgil, gasping for breath, mind spinning from the shock of the attack, slowly turned his head to see Alan standing at the door, pressing a button on his watch. "Alan," he breathed. "Good timing." He shakily sat up, cradling his arm.

Alan hurried forward, his vivid blue eyes fixed on Virgil's shredded uniform sleeve, which was beginning to turn red. His mouth quirked in a tight little smile. "Animal Control, at your service," he said, gently pulling back Virgil's sleeve and wincing at the bite marks. He glanced over at the dog. "Big dog."

Virgil made a flourishing gesture with his left hand. "Alan, meet Zeus." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, then pushed himself up to his feet, trying to ignore the slightly shaky feeling in his legs. "Got the stretcher?"

Alan stood up too, shooting Virgil a quick, assessing look. "Yep. But how about if I take care of this guy and you go have one of the ambulance crews patch you up?"

Virgil bent down and rummaged through his pack, pulling out a roll of bandages. "Nah, I'm fine," he said. "I'd rather have Brains look at it later. For now, I'd just appreciate it if you could help me move this man." He hastily wrapped a few layers of bandage around his arm.

Alan rolled his eyes and stepped forward to work on the man, muttering something under his breath that sounded rather like, "Stupid, stubborn brothers!"

Working together – somewhat awkwardly, as Virgil had to use only his left hand – they got the victim loaded onto the stretcher and set it to hover so they could easily push it to the nearest triage station. As they moved toward the door, the dog raised his head and let out one plaintive whine.

Despite what had happened, Virgil couldn't help but feel sorry for the dog – he'd only been defending his master from a stranger, after all. "Sorry, Zeus," he said. "We'll get someone here to help you out soon."

Zeus looked at Virgil and bared his teeth.

Alan laughed. "I think you two really connected, Virg," he said. "You sure you don't want to try to make friends with him?"

Virgil grimaced. His arm was really throbbing. "He may be man's best friend, but not this man's best friend," he said. "I'll tell you what I'll do, though." He went back in the house and found a big bowl. Keeping a wary eye on the dog, he filled the bowl with water and left it on the floor. "In case Animal Control takes a while to get to him."

They shut the door behind them and picked their way down the street with the stretcher gliding between them.

Alan raised his watch to his lips. "Hey, Scott? Can we get Animal Control to this house to evacuate a dog?"

"Sure," Scott replied. "I'll call them in a minute."

"Just make sure they're prepared – he's a big German Shepherd named Zeus, and he likes to use people as chew toys. I think Virg is gonna need some stitches."

"What?" Scott demanded. "Is he okay?"
"Oh, he says he's fine," Alan said, smirking. "I know I always bleed when I'm fine!"

"Brat," Virgil muttered.

Alan stuck his tongue out at him. "You'd do the same to me," he whispered. Speaking into his watch again, he told Scott, "On the plus side, I can report that Brains' ultrasonic thingy works great!"

"Well, good, I'm glad to hear it," Scott said dryly. "Virg?"

Virgil rolled his eyes and spoke into his own watch. "Yeah, Scott, I'm okay. Just a few scratches."

"He's downplaying it!" Alan called.

Virgil glared at him. "Just because you saved me doesn't give you a free pass to be as annoying as possible."

Scott ignored Virgil and Alan's argument. "Well, Virgil, I want you to report back here as soon as you've dropped off your patient. Alan, keep searching the buildings along that street," he told them.

"FAB," Virgil and Alan chorused.

Alan split off toward the nearest house.

"Hey, Alan," Virgil called after him.

Alan turned around to walk backwards. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Alan threw Virgil a cheeky grin and a casual salute, spinning back around. He bounded up the steps of the house, but turned around again at the top. "Hey, Virg," he called.

Virgil paused the stretcher. "Yeah?"

Alan's grin widened. "Cave canem!" he said, and disappeared inside the house.

Virgil shook his head and started walking again. "Cave canem," he muttered to himself. "Beware the dog." He rolled his eyes as he noticed Scott hurrying toward him, eyes fixed on the blood-stained bandage around his arm. "How about 'cave brotherum?'" he grumbled.