Chapter Two
"Thunderbird 1 to Base. I have arrived at Danger Zone. I'm going to have to land about three miles away from the epicenter. It's right on the fault, and I don't want to take any chances."
"F.A.B., Scott. Virgil's arriving in just under eleven minutes. Be careful."
"I will, Father. Thunderbird 1 out."
He kicked the reverse thrust on Thunderbird 1's belly into action and had soon made a soft, easy landing on the desert sand. On approach he'd seen several areas of fire, with smoke so dense in the air he'd had to rely entirely on his instrument panels for part of his descent. But without any contact with local rescue officials, it was difficult to know exactly where the team was needed.
As such, the first thing he did was pull the hover bike out of 1's cargo hold and head for Lancaster, about three miles distant. He had to find someone who could tell him something. He had less than 9 minutes now before Thunderbird 2 arrived, and it was his job to direct his brothers, Brains and Tin-Tin to wherever they had to be.
When he reached the city limits, he realized with horror that in spite of all the retrofitting done and the new technology being applied statewide to decrease the damage done by earthquakes, the city was in ruins. Buildings were down no matter where he looked. Several fires burned out of control, and he could hear the wails of people in need.
He sped toward the sound of a siren, ignoring the rubble and downed palm trees along the way. When he finally reached the fire engine, he stopped the hover bike so fast he nearly flew out of the seat.
It had been smashed to pieces by an office building that had fallen directly on top of it. No doubt it happened during an aftershock. "Sonofabitch!" He got off the bike and ran up to the area surrounding the crushed rescue equipment, calling out for any survivors. But there was no response. Electrical lines crackled and sparks came at him. He leapt back out of the way just as his watch beeped.
"Thunderbird 2 to Mobile Control."
"I'm here, Virg."
"Where, Scott? We've landed and don't see you."
"I'm in Lancaster. It's a mess, Virg. The only fire truck I've found was flattened by a building."
"No local officials?"
"No. There are people out and about, but nobody that looks in charge."
"Where do we go?"
"Hang on. Mobile Control to Thunderbird 5."
"Here, Scott."
"Any more news at all?"
"Not really. Looks like the area you're in was hardest hit. Lots of damage in outlying areas, but I'd say that's the right place for you to be."
"All right, Alan, I'll take that advice. Mobile Control out. Virgil, come in."
"With you, Scott."
"I want every piece of equipment deployed, and I mean now. Everyone fan out and just go wherever you can find someone who needs help. Start right here in Lancaster."
"F.A.B., Scott. Are you coming back here?"
"Yes, I'll get Mobile Control set up and see about trying to contact someone."
"Okay. Virgil out."
Scott hated this. Hated it more than anything. They were working blind, as blind as bats. They had pretty good intuition as a unit, having done this for just about a year now. But without direction of any sort? Odds were people would die just because they didn't know where to look.
Grinding his teeth, Scott returned to the hover bike and headed back the way he'd come. When he got to about half a mile from the city's edge, he saw the ground begin to shake.
"Mobile Control to all units!" he yelled into his watch. "Aftershock!"
He kept going as fast as he could on the bike, praying nothing would fall on him. Unfortunately, it seemed, his prayers were not to be answered.
The last building left partially standing swayed as he came upon it. He took a good look at it, trying to judge how fast it would fall, and whether or not he could make it past before it did. He had to try. There was no time to lose.
But Fate had other ideas.