Eddie Houseman looked around the room as he packed his suitcase. He was
returning to his home for the next few weeks after the construction of a
new road had been completed with flying colours. Now it was time for a
relaxing vacation and the final stages of planning for his next assignment.
The large transport machine he and his crew were being moved around the country in took an unexpected turn, causing Eddie to lose his balance and stumble into his dresser. The radio that had been tuned to one of his favourite stations fell off it and landed on the wooden floor with a loud crash. The music faded out as the radio connected with the ground and one of the speakers broke off the main structure and began rolling across the room. It lodged itself under Eddie's cot and he knelt down to try and fish it out.
"Oh, great," he muttered to himself, realizing that it was against the back wall. He'd move the bed later, before he left, and retrieve the speaker.
That was when Eddie heard the voices. He stood up and looked around, his eyes narrowing as he wondered where they were coming from. No one else was in the room with him, he was sure of that. But sure enough, someone was talking to someone else. He glanced down at the smashed radio on the floor and noted that it was still on, even though the music was no longer playing.
Before Eddie could figure out what station his radio had switched to, a familiar voice crackled from the remaining speaker. It was blocked by static, but Eddie could recognize that tone anywhere. It was the voice of Tin-Tin Kyrano, a woman he'd once been involved with. Curious as to how she had come to be on the radio, Eddie slid down onto his stomach on the floor and put his ear to the amplifier to hear better. He would have picked it up, but he wasn't sure whether his radio would continue to get that station if he moved it.
".Receiving you loud and clear, Scott. Virgil is lowering the grabs now." Tin-Tin's words blared into his ear as the static faded and another voice replaced hers. This one was deeper, more masculine.
"FAB, Tin-Tin." There was a pause before the conversation began again. "Ten degrees to the left, Virg."
Eddie was thoroughly confused now. He remembered visiting the island Tin- Tin and her father were presently living on and was now trying to remember who else had been residing in the massive house. There was another man, Mr. Tracy he recalled, and his sons. How many were there? Four when he had arrived, but he had a feeling from the way they had talked amongst themselves that there was another one. He pushed the thoughts from his mind as his conscience took over and he wondered if he was invading anyone's privacy by listening to the conversation.
No, Eddie told himself, my radio tuned into this station by accident. It's just a coincidence that Tin-Tin happens to be using this to talk to other people. She doesn't know I'm hearing everything she says.
"Close grabs.now!" The male voice was fairly familiar to Eddie, though he couldn't quite place his finger on who it could possibly belong to.
"They're slipping, Scott! I don't think we can hold her much longer!" Tin- Tin came through to his ears again and Eddie couldn't help but wish things had worked out for them.
Maybe I'll go visit the Tracy's again while I am on my holiday. I would sure love to see Tin-Tin again, Eddie thought as he listened intently. He couldn't figure out what exactly was going on, but from the urgent expression in the voices Eddie was sure it was some kind of emergency.
A loud clatter came through the speakers, cutting off Tin-Tin's sentence as she said something about people in a railway car. Eddie heard her gasp before calling urgently, "Where is the crew?"
"On the ground, in the other car. We'll douse that fire and head back to base."
"FAB, Scott."
Eddie didn't know what to think of the dialogue he was hearing, but he'd never heard anyone say 'FAB' in place of 'roger' before. It was a curious thing that Tin-Tin and her friends were discussing, and Eddie didn't have any reason not to keep listening in on their conversation.
"Thunderbird One to Base and Thunderbird Two," came the man's voice again.
Thunderbird. The word was well-known to Eddie, as he had been saved by International Rescue in their two huge crafts only a short while before. He wondered what Tin-Tin had to do with the ships, or whether it was International Rescue he was spying on.
"This is base," the throaty voice triggered something else in Eddie's brain as he registered it as the father of the family Tin-Tin was living with.
"Mission accomplished," there was the hint of a smile in the one Eddie now knew as Scott's voice. "Returning to base."
"I'm right behind you." Another person came into the exchange and Eddie still had no idea what was going on.
The talk ended and Eddie stared blankly at his busted radio. What had he just heard, and why was Tin-Tin a part of it? He didn't think it had anything to do with International Rescue, but he was interested all the same.
At that moment, Eddie decided he was going to drop by and see precisely what was up on the island. He threw some extra clothes in his suitcase for the trip, knowing he'd be returning to the large road construction vehicle soon enough. I'll get one of my friends to fly me out tomorrow morning and go find Tin-Tin, Eddie thought. Maybe she'll take me instead of that wimpy Alan kid she had her eye on.
+++
Scott let out a whoop as he reappeared in the living room, a large grin on his face. "That was probably one of the most exciting rescues we've been on. The fact that we saved all those people is even better," he commented to his father, absently wiping mud off his cheek.
Virgil came in a few minutes later, closely followed by Tin-Tin. They looked equally as happy as Scott. "I was so afraid when that car fell from the grabs. It would have been horrible if there had been people in it," she said.
"Yeah, Scott, why did you have us move that part of the train if there was no one inside?" Virgil questioned, walking stiffly towards the couch. His uniform was covered in caked- on dirt and it looked like he had half the desert in his hair. The other two weren't much better.
"I didn't realize it was empty at the time." As Scott went to sit down, Jeff instantly wrapped his arms around his son and boosted him back to his feet. Scott twisted and looked at him. "What was that for?"
"You're a mess and a half. Take a shower before you do any relaxing," his father said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Good job, boys." He turned back to his other son as he said it, and then glanced at Tin-Tin. "You're an asset to rescues lately, Tin-Tin."
The young Malaysian woman blushed under the filth on her face and remembered that she had been a big part of the last mission the Tracy brothers had been on. If it hadn't been for her, two people would have died from drowning in the ocean off the coast of California.
"Now, I want you all to clean up before supper." Jeff returned to his commanding self and the three found themselves immediately standing up straighter.
"Yes, sir!" Scott gave his father a salute and hurried off to the bathroom to shower, leaving muddy footprints in his place.
Tin-Tin followed and disappeared into her room while Virgil used the other free bathroom. Jeff watched them go, shaking his head at the mess their boots had made of the carpet.
The large transport machine he and his crew were being moved around the country in took an unexpected turn, causing Eddie to lose his balance and stumble into his dresser. The radio that had been tuned to one of his favourite stations fell off it and landed on the wooden floor with a loud crash. The music faded out as the radio connected with the ground and one of the speakers broke off the main structure and began rolling across the room. It lodged itself under Eddie's cot and he knelt down to try and fish it out.
"Oh, great," he muttered to himself, realizing that it was against the back wall. He'd move the bed later, before he left, and retrieve the speaker.
That was when Eddie heard the voices. He stood up and looked around, his eyes narrowing as he wondered where they were coming from. No one else was in the room with him, he was sure of that. But sure enough, someone was talking to someone else. He glanced down at the smashed radio on the floor and noted that it was still on, even though the music was no longer playing.
Before Eddie could figure out what station his radio had switched to, a familiar voice crackled from the remaining speaker. It was blocked by static, but Eddie could recognize that tone anywhere. It was the voice of Tin-Tin Kyrano, a woman he'd once been involved with. Curious as to how she had come to be on the radio, Eddie slid down onto his stomach on the floor and put his ear to the amplifier to hear better. He would have picked it up, but he wasn't sure whether his radio would continue to get that station if he moved it.
".Receiving you loud and clear, Scott. Virgil is lowering the grabs now." Tin-Tin's words blared into his ear as the static faded and another voice replaced hers. This one was deeper, more masculine.
"FAB, Tin-Tin." There was a pause before the conversation began again. "Ten degrees to the left, Virg."
Eddie was thoroughly confused now. He remembered visiting the island Tin- Tin and her father were presently living on and was now trying to remember who else had been residing in the massive house. There was another man, Mr. Tracy he recalled, and his sons. How many were there? Four when he had arrived, but he had a feeling from the way they had talked amongst themselves that there was another one. He pushed the thoughts from his mind as his conscience took over and he wondered if he was invading anyone's privacy by listening to the conversation.
No, Eddie told himself, my radio tuned into this station by accident. It's just a coincidence that Tin-Tin happens to be using this to talk to other people. She doesn't know I'm hearing everything she says.
"Close grabs.now!" The male voice was fairly familiar to Eddie, though he couldn't quite place his finger on who it could possibly belong to.
"They're slipping, Scott! I don't think we can hold her much longer!" Tin- Tin came through to his ears again and Eddie couldn't help but wish things had worked out for them.
Maybe I'll go visit the Tracy's again while I am on my holiday. I would sure love to see Tin-Tin again, Eddie thought as he listened intently. He couldn't figure out what exactly was going on, but from the urgent expression in the voices Eddie was sure it was some kind of emergency.
A loud clatter came through the speakers, cutting off Tin-Tin's sentence as she said something about people in a railway car. Eddie heard her gasp before calling urgently, "Where is the crew?"
"On the ground, in the other car. We'll douse that fire and head back to base."
"FAB, Scott."
Eddie didn't know what to think of the dialogue he was hearing, but he'd never heard anyone say 'FAB' in place of 'roger' before. It was a curious thing that Tin-Tin and her friends were discussing, and Eddie didn't have any reason not to keep listening in on their conversation.
"Thunderbird One to Base and Thunderbird Two," came the man's voice again.
Thunderbird. The word was well-known to Eddie, as he had been saved by International Rescue in their two huge crafts only a short while before. He wondered what Tin-Tin had to do with the ships, or whether it was International Rescue he was spying on.
"This is base," the throaty voice triggered something else in Eddie's brain as he registered it as the father of the family Tin-Tin was living with.
"Mission accomplished," there was the hint of a smile in the one Eddie now knew as Scott's voice. "Returning to base."
"I'm right behind you." Another person came into the exchange and Eddie still had no idea what was going on.
The talk ended and Eddie stared blankly at his busted radio. What had he just heard, and why was Tin-Tin a part of it? He didn't think it had anything to do with International Rescue, but he was interested all the same.
At that moment, Eddie decided he was going to drop by and see precisely what was up on the island. He threw some extra clothes in his suitcase for the trip, knowing he'd be returning to the large road construction vehicle soon enough. I'll get one of my friends to fly me out tomorrow morning and go find Tin-Tin, Eddie thought. Maybe she'll take me instead of that wimpy Alan kid she had her eye on.
+++
Scott let out a whoop as he reappeared in the living room, a large grin on his face. "That was probably one of the most exciting rescues we've been on. The fact that we saved all those people is even better," he commented to his father, absently wiping mud off his cheek.
Virgil came in a few minutes later, closely followed by Tin-Tin. They looked equally as happy as Scott. "I was so afraid when that car fell from the grabs. It would have been horrible if there had been people in it," she said.
"Yeah, Scott, why did you have us move that part of the train if there was no one inside?" Virgil questioned, walking stiffly towards the couch. His uniform was covered in caked- on dirt and it looked like he had half the desert in his hair. The other two weren't much better.
"I didn't realize it was empty at the time." As Scott went to sit down, Jeff instantly wrapped his arms around his son and boosted him back to his feet. Scott twisted and looked at him. "What was that for?"
"You're a mess and a half. Take a shower before you do any relaxing," his father said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Good job, boys." He turned back to his other son as he said it, and then glanced at Tin-Tin. "You're an asset to rescues lately, Tin-Tin."
The young Malaysian woman blushed under the filth on her face and remembered that she had been a big part of the last mission the Tracy brothers had been on. If it hadn't been for her, two people would have died from drowning in the ocean off the coast of California.
"Now, I want you all to clean up before supper." Jeff returned to his commanding self and the three found themselves immediately standing up straighter.
"Yes, sir!" Scott gave his father a salute and hurried off to the bathroom to shower, leaving muddy footprints in his place.
Tin-Tin followed and disappeared into her room while Virgil used the other free bathroom. Jeff watched them go, shaking his head at the mess their boots had made of the carpet.