A Small Rescue
Note: This is the longest piece for TAG I've ever actually managed to finish. (That I'll probably think of a better title for in a couple days. lol) Thank you many times over to ScribeOfRed for looking it over for me.
"Thunderbird 5, from POD explorer... I just finished securing the building here at 4th and Main. Anywhere else you need me?"
Truthfully, Virgil was ready to head back to Thunderbird 2 and then home. A meal, a long shower, some painkillers, then bed—not necessarily in that exact order—was what he was more than ready for at this stage. Unfortunately, his brother's reply to his transmission put his desires on hold for a little longer.
"Yes, actually, can you head a few blocks down 4th, Virgil? There's a small apartment building that the authorities reported as being evacuated, but I'm picking up a life sign. It's a little too small to be an adult, however."
Not an adult? Frowning, Virgil sat a little more upright in his seat as he considered what it could be. There weren't a whole lot of possibilities in an area like this. "A dog or a child?" he suggested, brows furrowing in worry.
"I don't have any reports of an unaccounted for child in the area, so it's possible it could be a pet, but... better check to be sure," John advised, pausing slightly mid-sentence. John was very good at hiding how tired he was, but not good enough to stop Virgil from picking up on it.
"F.A.B." he responded, wasting no time in turning the POD down the street. With the possible safety of a child on the table, time couldn't be wasted. With a few blocks to drive down, however, there was time to check on his brother. "You okay up there, John?"
"I'm fine, Virgil. I've just been awake really far past my bedtime." Virgil could practically hear the smile in John's voice. "Don't tell Grandma."
"Heh, don't worry, I won't tell," Virgil promised with a chuckle. He wouldn't tell, but it didn't mean he wouldn't worry. It was hard to tell just how much sleep John got up there, sometimes. "After this, I think we'll have to leave things to the local crews for awhile. We all need some rest," Virgil added, pointedly.
It was always hard to walk away when it felt like there was still work to be done, but as he'd had to remind Scott not so long ago, even they had limits, and Virgil knew he was reaching his. If he was reaching that point, his brothers would be too.
Pulling up the holographic map John had sent to him, he came to a stop outside the building John had marked. Popping the POD hatch, Virgil eased himself out, cringing as muscles chose to ache in protest. Ignoring them, he gazed up at the rather unremarkable three story building. It didn't take him long to spot some visible cracks in the structure. It might have survived the earthquake, but it was no place for anyone to be until it could be properly reinforced.
Donning his exosuit, Virgil brought up the diagram of the building once more, checking where the life sign was located. Conveniently, it did appear to be somewhere on the ground floor. "Alright, I'm headed in," Virgil reported to John as he stepped through the entrance.
The power for most of the city was off, leaving the building eerily dark inside. Despite having been occupied hours earlier, the way doors had been left open in the tenants' rush to leave made the building feel just that little bit more creepy. Switching on his shoulder-mounted light, Virgil blinked as its beam lit the hallway. "Hello? Anyone there?" he called loudly, pausing to listen.
A left behind dog seemed like it would be more likely than a child, but he couldn't hear any sounds, much less any distinct dog-like ones as he made his way slowly down the corridor. With most of the doors left open, it made it easy to check the apartments, but he hadn't found any sign of life in any of them.
"Any luck, Virgil?"
"Not yet, Thunderbird 5. I haven't found anyone."
Lifting one arm, he brought up the hologram again, noting the indicator was still there. "But it has to be here somewhere..."
Walking down to the last door on the floor, he discovered it was not just closed but also locked. That wasn't going to be a problem, of course, but just as he was about to force the door open, a sudden sensation led him to turn instead.
Virgil let out a sharp cry of surprise.
The light had revealed a small figure, huddled halfway up the staircase. Large, fearful eyes peered down at him. It looked almost as frightened as Virgil was pretty sure he'd looked himself, at least for a moment there.
It was just a child.
They stared at each other for a silent moment, before she suddenly bolted up the stairs, a stuffed animal tucked under her arm.
Heart thudding wildly in his chest, Virgil took a moment to breathe deeply, in and out, trying to calm it. The atmosphere of the building had apparently managed to get to him a bit. "Virgil?" John spoke up meanwhile, having heard his brother.
"Everything's okay, John. I found our life sign—stand by."
"F.A.B."
Tapping off the comms for now, Virgil approached the stairs, peering up them. He really hoped she hadn't gone further up the building. "Hey, you still there?" Virgil called softly. "I'm sorry if I scared you. You really surprised me!"
He waited a moment, seeing if she'd appear. No luck.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you, I promise," he said, sinking down to one knee, hoping to seem a little less intimidating. Waiting patiently, he first saw fingers appear from around the corner, then a face slowly peeked out, peering down at him again.
Offering her a smile, Virgil set down one of the exosuit arms so he could free a hand. "There you are. Hi there," he greeted her, keeping his voice as gentle as he could. "What are you doing on the stairs?"
The child, of only maybe three years old by Virgil's approximation, shyly regarded him for a moment before answering. "Can't find Mommy."
The building had supposedly been confirmed to be entirely evacuated. How had they missed her? Or had she found her way back in somehow? But where was the mother? Surely she'd have come back here looking for her? Unless the building had been more damaged than Virgil had thought on the upper floors and something had happened—and that was a trail of thought Virgil didn't really want to continue right now.
The mystery of how she was here could wait until later; right now he just had to get her out of here. "I'm afraid your mommy isn't here. It's just you and me," he explained to her. "Would you like to come with me? We can try to find her."
She sniffled, wiping her face with her arm before giving a couple nods and began descending the stairs. "I'm Virgil, what's your name?" he asked her once she was standing on the lower steps, close enough for him to offer her his hand.
"Sophie," she answered, hesitantly. It took a moment, but she placed her hand in his.
With a reassuring smile, he gently curled his fingers around her small hand, giving it a little shake. "Well, Sophie, it's nice to meet you. Who's your friend?"
"This is Bunbun," Sophie said, turning the stuffed rabbit for him to see.
"Nice to meet you too, Bunbun," Virgil said, shaking the paw of the stuffed toy. "Now, think you and Bunbun can hold on tight? We need to get out of here."
He really didn't want to rush or frighten her, but the longer they stayed inside the more at risk they were. Luckily, Sophie nodded, allowing him to scoop her up and perch her on his arm. She wound her arms about his neck, her stuffed bunny's ears clenched in one fist.
Slipping his other hand back into the exosuit, he rose carefully to his feet, cringing at being reminded again by his body he needed rest. He'd barely gone a few steps before John's voice came over the comms, raised in alarm.
"Virgil! I'm detecting an aftershock. You need to get out of there!"
Internally kicking himself for taking too long, Virgil picked up the pace as the ground below them began to shake and something sounded like it was cracking above them. Quickly, Virgil realized there was no way they were going to make it out in time. There were pieces of the ceiling already falling down around them. Making a split second decision, Virgil instead sidestepped into the first apartment's doorway and crouched protectively over Sophie as he braced the exosuit to take the weight of anything that might come down on top of them.
It was a bit like an avalanche—a comparison that shook him to the core—rumbling and crashing down around them. Virgil could only close his eyes while Sophie desperately clung to him.
Seconds felt like hours, but eventually the rumbling stopped and the world around them began to settle. Eventually only the odd bouncing pebble broke the silence.
Opening his eyes didn't help much. The pocket they were in was dark but for a few cracks of light—a good sign, at least. They weren't too far buried, but there was something immensely heavy bearing down across Virgil's back. He and his exosuit were all that seemed to be keeping it in place.
He ignored that problem for now, his attention first on the child he was sheltering. "Sophie? You okay?"
Virgil didn't get an answer, but he felt small arms squeeze around his middle and heard a muffled sob that soon erupted into frightened crying. "Hey… hey, it's okay. Shhh, it's going to be okay," he tried to reassure her, wishing he could do more to comfort her.
"Virgil?"
"We're okay, John," Virgil replied to his worried brother, "but we're going to need some help."
"We?"
"The life sign was a child. Her name's Sophie," Virgil explained, realizing he hadn't even gotten to telling John what he'd found.
"F.A.B. Scott and Gordon will be there as soon as they can," John responded.
"Tell them they might need some equipment from Thunderbird 2. I'm pinned, John. I don't know by what, but there's no way I can get out from under it myself."
"I'll tell them. You hang tight."
"Heh… There's nothing more I can do," Virgil responded with a strained smile as he tried to ignore how his arms were already trembling.
With the comms silent while John undoubtedly spoke to his brothers, Virgil turned his attention back to Sophie. She was still sniffling, but she'd managed to calm down a little. "How's Bunbun doing?" Virgil asked her, trying to find something to distract himself with as much as her.
"She's okay."
"Good! Glad to hear it. Looks like she's going to need a bath, though."
Virgil felt her nod a little against his chest. "Her dress is all dirty."
"I think all three of us are looking pretty dirty," he responded, cracking a small smile. "Soon my brothers will get us out of here and we can all get cleaned up."
He only got a nod again in response, then only silence filled the air. Minutes ticked by painfully slowly. Every moment, the pain that lanced across his shoulders and arms grew, with just no way to relieve them at all.
His charge was clearly picking up on his discomfort. He felt Sophie's grasp around his middle tighten with every hitched sound that managed to escape him. Virgil was trying to hide he was struggling, but it clearly wasn't entirely working.
"J-John?"
"They're just finishing up and heading to Thunderbird 2," John reported.
"F.A.B." Virgil acknowledged, wishing they were a little further along than that, but whatever was keeping them had to be important. His brothers would never keep him waiting without good reason.
"Just a little longer, Kiddo," he murmured to her, cringing as he heard something shift above them. "They're coming."
Virgil began to hum. He started quiet and slow, but soon picked up volume, even softly singing a few lines. It wasn't often he sang around anyone, but he figured she'd be the last one to judge his singing ability.
Then something shifted again and this time he felt it.
He couldn't contain the agonizing cry that suddenly burst forth as the pressure increased above him. Fear that he wouldn't be able to hold on was starting to become very real.
"They're aboard Thunderbird 2, Virgil. It really won't be much longer now."
Oh. John had heard that.
"John… I don't know…" Virgil hesitated at saying anything more. Kids were so smart and he knew from how tightly she was clinging to his middle now she'd just been terrified all over again.
"You can do this, Virgil," John spoke quietly, having switched to using the speaker in Virgil's helmet to try and keep their conversation between the two of them. "You're the only one I know who could."
"I appreciate… the vote of confidence, but…" He'd been attempting to reply somewhat lightheartedly, but it was interrupted by another bout of pain shooting down his shoulders. He stifled his cry, but tears were now gathering in his eyes. It had easily been twice as long as the last time he'd found himself in a somewhat similar situation.
"There's no 'but' about it. Here, let me put you through to Scott."
"Virgil?"
"Scott…"
It was a bit of a relief to talk to Scott, because Virgil knew there was nothing else he'd need to say to explain how he was doing. Scott would know—and he did. Scott likewise didn't have to tell him so, as Virgil could hear it in his voice.
"Just a few more minutes, Virg, I promise."
It was a rare day that his big brother ever broke a promise and today definitely wouldn't be one of them. Sure enough, not even a minute after Scott's transmission, Virgil could hear Thunderbird 2's engines overhead. Closing his eyes, Virgil could only listen, unable to even hum for Sophie anymore.
Then came the distinct sound of debris being moved, and soon light flooded into their pocket of space, which was quickly blocked by the silhouette of one Gordon Tracy. Crawling to them, Gordon came to a pause for a moment, noticing Virgil's expression, but quickly turned his attention to Sophie.
"Hey there! Sophie, right? How about we get you out of here?" he offered, reaching out to take Sophie from where she was curled up below Virgil. Instead of letting go, her grasp around his middle only tightened.
"It's okay, Sophie. This is my brother, Gordon. He's going to get you and Bunbun out of here, okay?" he tried to reassure her, each sentence a struggle to get out. He was relieved to feel her nod and let go of him, allowing Gordon to gather her up into his arms instead.
As soon as Gordon and Sophie were gone, Virgil screwed his eyes shut again, letting out a long groan, now able to vocalize his discomfort—though 'discomfort' was a heck of an understatement at this point. Sweat mingled with tears, trickling down his jawline and dripping somewhere into his helmet.
"Virgil, Scott's—"
"Right here," Scott interrupted John's transmission.
Face to face with his big brother, Virgil couldn't summon any words—not that they were needed.
"Just need to get these jacks in place. We gotta go careful, because what's left of this building couldn't be more unstable, so just hold on a minute more for me, Virgil. Hold on..." Scott told him as he right away began placing a pair of lifting jacks on either side of him.
A moment later, Virgil could feel the load lift up just enough to take the pressure off, signifying his freedom. Though free, he was barely able to crawl a foot forward before collapsing.
"No resting yet. We gotta get you out of here before you can do that," Scott chided gently, touching the button to release the exosuit from Virgil's boots. "Can you pull your arms out?"
"Hang on," Virgil uttered.
Given his arms felt like something akin to jello, it was a slow process to pull his hands free from the exosuit's arms, but he managed in the end. Scott then rolled him to his back, hooking his arms beneath Virgil's, and half lifted, half dragged him back out through the hole they had made. Once clear of the rubble, Scott sunk down beside him, pulling his helmet off for him.
There was a soft breeze which felt wonderful against his face. The breeze was replaced with a pair of ungloved hands, cupping his head and thumbs rubbing some of the dampness from his cheeks. Scott's gaze met his for a moment before he was suddenly tugged into a tight hug.
"You gonna be okay?" Scott asked quietly, only now allowing Virgil to have a glimpse of just how frightened his brothers had likely been for him through this.
"Nothing a long bath and some extra-strength painkiller won't fix," Virgil answered, somehow finding the ability to joke a little again as he rested his head against his brother's shoulder.
"Virgil…"
"Sore and a little shaken up—no pun intended—but I'm okay, Scott. I promise," he gently reassured his big brother, pulling back and giving Scott's shoulder a squeeze.
Scott still looked somewhat skeptical, but the moment between the two brothers was brought to a sudden halt when something collided into Virgil's side. Once more he found his middle being clung to. Sophie had managed to escape Gordon's grasp judging how he was chasing after her.
"Whoops! Sorry guys. She managed to slip away on me," Gordon explained sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it." Virgil chuckled as he was finally now free to put an arm around her and hug her in return. "You okay, Kiddo?" he asked her and received a quiet nod in return.
"We need to find her mom," Scott said as he got back up to his feet. "Got anything, Thunderbird 5?"
"We've had no luck so far, I'm afraid," John spoke up over the comms. "There's still no reports of a missing child and the local authorities are overwhelmed right now."
"That's why we've offered to keep an eye on her until her mother can be found," came a new voice.
The three of them exchanged glances before Scott spoke up, "Grandma…"
"Don't you worry, Scott. I've got it covered," Grandma said in a tone that brooked no argument. Considering their grandmother had looked after all of them at one point or another, there was little case to suggest she couldn't handle one small girl. "Now, you boys get yourselves home. You're all overdue for some much-needed rest."
"F.A.B. Grandma," Virgil acknowledged with an exhausted smile.
While Gordon set about pulling the exosuit from the rubble, Scott helped Virgil and Sophie to Thunderbird 2 and got them settled for the trip home. Conceding with only a sigh, Virgil even agreed that Gordon could pilot, as he really was in no condition for it himself.
The trip home was over before it barely felt like it had begun, thanks to dozing in and out the whole way home. Sophie was left to Grandma Tracy's care while Virgil did exactly as he'd told Scott, spending far too long in the bathtub before falling into bed after a dose of medication.
It turned out his own treatment hadn't been enough. Woken by an incoming call from Thunderbird 5, he couldn't extract himself from his bed to save his life.
"Virgil?"
John's hologram popped up on his side table five minutes later, casting a bright glow in the otherwise dark room. Virgil's only response was a long, miserable groan.
"Sorry," John apologized sympathetically. "I kinda figured you wouldn't be up, but I thought you should know—Gordon and Alan are going to take Thunderbird 2 out on a mission. Don't worry, Scott's going too."
There were a lot of things he could have said to that, but in the end Virgil's answer was just another long groan with a mumbled F.A.B. amidst it. Virgil had expected his room to darken once more as John signed off, but it didn't come.
"Should I get Grandma to come up?" John asked suddenly, now sounding worried.
Shifting a little, intending to look up at his holographic brother to tell him he was fine, the plan was instantly aborted as muscles painfully protested. He hadn't wanted to distract his family from the mission, but he had a feeling at this point John would talk to Grandma no matter how he answered. "Please," Virgil finally gritted out, giving up that just lying there stubbornly would improve anything.
"Hang on." John went silent while he presumably spoke to their grandma. "Okay, Grandma and Brains will be up in just a minute," he reported back a moment later.
"Thanks, John."
"Anytime."
As promised, his grandmother was soon at his side, Brains not far behind. Several heating pads and some far stronger painkiller later, he was finally up and moving by later that day, much to his relief. The villa was still relatively quiet, his brothers having returned from their mission and gone to get more rest themselves. Settled at his piano, he was entertaining a captive audience of two—Sophie and his grandmother—when John's hologram glowed into existence.
"I've got some good news," John said, with a widening smile. "We've located Sophie's mom. She'd been heavily injured during the quake and taken to a neighbouring city hospital. She's awake now and doing well."
"That's a relief," Grandma interjected, giving her small charge a warm smile. "Isn't it?"
John then turned his attention to Sophie herself, giving her a gentle smile. "Your mom can't wait to see you." His gaze shifted to Virgil. "You feel up to taking her, Virgil?"
Virgil had already left the piano bench and was scooping Sophie up when John posed his question. "Let them know we're on our way," he said, confirming his intentions. Despite still being a little sore, he really wanted to see this through.
Landing at the hospital a couple hours later, they were met by a kindly nurse who was there to bring Sophie inside. Realizing all too well he could cause more commotion than Thunderbird 2 landing there already undoubtedly had, Virgil set Sophie down and squatted before her.
"I'm afraid this is as far as I go," he told her gently, a little sad he couldn't take her the rest of the way himself. "You go take good care of your mommy, okay?"
Sophie nodded in response with a soft affirmative before suddenly throwing her arms around his neck, dropping Bunbun in the process. It took everything not to choke up there and then as he hugged her back. Gently pulling her away a moment later, Virgil picked up her dropped stuffed bunny, offering it back to her. "Go on, she's waiting for you."
Still squatting, he raised his hand, giving a small wave to her as the nurse took her by the hand and began leading her to the building. "Bye, Sophie!"
Waving back at him, she quickly vanished from his sight, into the building.
"Virgil," John greeted him a week later.
Grabbing a rag, Virgil started trying to clean the grease from his hands as he approached the hologram of his brother, assuming he was likely about to be sent off on a mission. John floated above Virgil's workbench, projected from a litetype that was half buried there.
"What you got, John?"
"A call for you, actually," he replied with a smile, before he vanished to be replaced by a young women. He didn't know who she was and yet there was also something very familiar about her. It only took a moment to put two and two together.
"Hello… You're Virgil?"
A smile spread right across his face. "That's me. You must be Sophie's mom?"
"Yes, that's right! I just really wanted to get in touch so I could thank you for what you did for Sophie. She's been talking nonstop about you ever since they brought her to me."
Virgil couldn't hide the look of surprise on his face. Sophie had been the epitome of quiet while she'd been in their presence. "Really?"
Sophie's mom chuckled. "Yup. You're her new hero."
"Well... I'm honoured."
"Oh, speaking of…" After a moment's pause, Sophie appeared in her mother's arms. "Look who's here, Sophie!"
Her small face lit up in an instant. "Virgil!"
"Would you like to say thank you to Virgil?"
"Thank you for saving me and bringing me to my mommy! And Bunbun says thank you, too!" Sophie spoke eagerly, leaving Virgil momentarily surprised again. He quickly snapped out of it to smile warmly to them both.
"You're welcome," he managed out, suddenly feeling as choked up as he had just last week. "To both—er—to all three of you. I'm just glad we found her."
"Me too," she replied, hugging her daughter a little bit closer. "Thank you so much again. Take care!"
"You too!"
The call came to an end, and John reappeared with a quiet smile as Virgil returned to trying to clean his hands through misty eyes. He was suddenly feeling a need to go spend some time at the piano.
"It really is all worth it, isn't it?" John said softly, finally breaking the silence.
"Always."