Summary: Adam Casey (Alan Tracy) has lived on his own for three years. He has lived in total anonymity by living a quiet life. He is happy, working as a car mechanic in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, his idyllic life is shattered when an old enemy manages to escape imprisonment.
Chapter 1: A New Life & A New Story
"Alright Tom! I've finished installing those new brake lines for Mrs. Walton!" as I wiped my grease covered hands on my work jeans as I told my boss about the repairs that I had done on the Chrysler mini-van.
From across the garage, my boss, Tom, stood up from where he was and walked over, "Okay Adam, let's give it a test to make sure everything's working properly." The older mechanic's hair had grayed and turned white, giving him a kindly grandfatherly look, which I thought suited his personality quite nicely. The old mechanic refused to retire no matter how anyone tried to convince him, but as stubborn as he was, he was also wise and kind, treating all of his employees like members of his own family. I never got the chance to really know my own grandfather, as he died when I was only four, but Tom was more than willing to try and fill the void that my family never seemed to want to.
I have remained hidden for three years. I cut my hair, got colored contacts, and made a decent attempt at growing facial hair to ward off anyone's suspicion of who I really was, and hiding in suburbs of Pittsburgh pretty much guaranteed my anonymity. No one would think to look for me here, and it had the benefit of being the city that never saw the Thunderbirds, but it did unfortunately have its own Tracy Enterprises office, and it was actually the third largest office in the United States, what with Pittsburgh being completely re-imagined. However, it was only on occasion that I went downtown, so I was pretty much safe.
When people think of Pittsburgh, they think of dirty, smelly factories. They think of pollution. They think of the steel industry, and that Pittsburgh's an environmental disaster. They're wrong. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, and probably one of the cleanest cities around nowadays. When the steel industry and factories went away, businesses, churches, colleges, hospitals, and families moved in to pick up the broken pieces, turning it into something amazing. It has its faults, but I've never seen a city with more community than Pittsburgh. I've been to New York and Boston, San Francisco and Las Angeles, and even London and Washington D.C! Yet it's in Pittsburgh I've seen that the people are the most neighborly and friendly. From the inner city to the suburbs, the people of Pittsburgh are helpful and kind. That's why I came here.
I knew I hurt Dad with what I had done, but I couldn't bear his disappointment any longer. I couldn't bear the expectations of being in a family of overachievers, and nothing I did seemed to earn their respect for long. Even being part of International Rescue had lost its shine to me. I was still bullied by Scott, John, Virgil, and Gordon. I was tired of being left out and pushed aside. I was still the baby, and I hated it. I needed to stand on my own two feet. I needed the chance to be me. I wanted to be able to grow up. Ironically, I still wasn't entirely free to do that. Even though I had pretty much created the perfect false identity, I still couldn't be Alan. I was Adam now, and I could never be Alan again as long as I hid from the world, my family, and my past. However, I knew for a fact that I could find Alan within Adam, even if Adam isn't my real identity.
Still, I was happier than I was for a long time. I worked as a car mechanic, and I worked as part of my company on the side, not as the owner, of course, but listed as an employee, who was paid extremely well. I bought a small house in the town of Export, a small, quiet suburb about thirty minutes east of Pittsburgh, and I kept to myself mostly. I went to church on Sundays, and walked to work. I didn't drink, even though my false identity said I was twenty one. I was breaking enough laws as it was already, I wasn't going to get caught getting drunk or being stupid.
When it was found out that I had run away, the press went ballistic. It became a front page article in the New York Times, a leading story for People Magazine and Entertainment Today, and every other major and minor tabloid and newspaper that you can think of. I was honestly surprised that there was so much press coverage as my family usually tries its hardest to avoid the press. I wouldn't return though, I wasn't ready, and probably wouldn't be for a long, long time.
Back in the present, Tom started the mini-van and put in drive going a few inches before stopping. He drove out of the garage and he repeated this process several times, until he was certain that there was no reason for there to be problems when Mrs. Walton came to pick it up.
The old man got out of the car, and walked back into the garage, "It's working alright! Good job Adam! I'll get Lisa to call her to tell her it's ready. This is your last repair job for the day, so why don't you clock out, and head home?"
"Sure." I said, "I've got to pick up some groceries, and I've got to deposit my paycheck before the bank closes." and then I grinned teasingly, "You sure you don't want me to help close down the shop, old man?"
A mock glare appeared on Tom's face, but his eyes held a laughing twinkle, "Old? Who you callin' old? I'm still in the prime of my life, thank you very much!" and he headed into his office, before he looked over his shoulder his eyebrow raised, "I'll be fine, you go on and relax. You work way too hard. Hard to believe it's been over two years since I met you, and I don't think I've ever seen you take a vacation." His tone showed it was a command, not a request.
I grinned, my guilt being expressed through the exhaustion that I had felt lately. Tom was right, ever since I started working for him, I hadn't taken a single day off, and I also worked overtime covering for Tom's other employees when they called off. It was a Tracy habit, we were unfortunately habitual workaholics, and I frowned as I thought about my family for the first time in months. Maybe it was time for a nice long vacation, "Sure Tom. I'll get some rest, I promise. Thanks for the work."
The old man nodded, and he entered his office, leaving me in the garage, and I proceeded to the front where Lisa, our receptionist was, to clock out.
"Hey Adam, you done?" The black haired woman was Tom's daughter, and she was also finishing up for the day, adding up the register and finalizing reports for all of the repairs done today. I knew she was ready to go home given the expression on her face. She was exhausted, as she had to watch her son while she worked today, as an unexpected school closing had happened and she was unable to find a babysitter. Derrick was normally a very active little boy, but I could see he was now sitting in a chair watching the TV, looking bored. In fact, he was so bored that he was watching the news.
"Yeah, I'm heading out..." I answered Lisa giving her an encouraging smile, "Hey Derrick, if you're really bored, how 'bout I take you over to Dairy Queen for some ice cream while your mom finishes up work?"
His head snapped up, and the ten year old ran over, a huge grin on his face, "Really?! Can I go Mom?"
She laughed as she turned to me, "Honestly Adam, you spoil my son way too much! You don't even bother taking care of yourself, you even forget to eat! But when it comes to my kid, you're all over him!"
I grinned and shrugged sheepishly, knowing what she said was true, but then my eyes caught what was on the news, and I frowned. Lisa also turned to see what had caught my attention and her eyes widened.
The World News Network reporter actually looked frightened as she stood before what looked to be a huge brick wall, "This just in! The Hood as he has been known to the world since his attack on the Thunderbirds, five years ago, has escaped from the Belmarsh maximum security prison here behind me! He has been held since his incarceration for his attempted murder of International Rescue's operatives, and his use of their equipment in the attempted robbery of the Bank of England London Branch! It has been confirmed that he is currently armed and dangerous. Prison authorities have noted that in his escape he managed to also free several of the prison's most dangerous prisoners, including Abdullah Riki, a terrorist responsible for the near bombing of a TransAtlantic flight in 2009, and Mark McDuke, labeled to be one of the most dangerous men in Europe by Interpol."
The reporter continued walking along, the heavy concrete walls at her left now,"Considering that the Hood's most likely target is International Rescue, authorities have taken specific security measures, although they were not available for comment. We do have word that the United States Navy has taken to defending International Rescue's secret headquarters, although one must ask will that be enough to stop this man who managed to escape one of the highest security prisons in the world," and she stopped almost dramatically motioning for the cameraman to focus the camera above her, " and was also being capable of this?"
We all stared at the destruction. It was as if the entire second floor of the prison had been through the London Blitz. A whole section of the wall of about fifty to sixty yards was completely gone, reduced to rubble which lay on the ground and smoke rose from the remains of the explosion. Obviously, the Hood had outside help. Even with his psychic powers, he would never have been able to destroy so much wall without some serious explosives.
"Oh my God..." and I turned quickly at Tom's voice. His face was pale and terrified, which went against his normally calm demeanor, speaking volumes to Derrick because he never saw his grandfather so afraid.
The reporter continued going on and on about the damage and how it was believed to have been caused, but I stopped listening. Nothing was ever simple. I just had to deal with the same freakin' psychopath that should have been executed because he was far too dangerous to be left alive, and knowing my luck he would find me and would try to kill me again. Even after showing him mercy, instead of dropping him, he
My thoughts were interrupted, when I heard Derrick ask "But why? International Rescue are heroes...why would anyone want to hurt them?"
Before I could stop myself, I replied, "Because you can't save everyone..."
At this, Lisa and Tom looked at me strangely, both knowing immediately that I knew something more about the Hood that most people didn't know, though they had no idea how I knew, while Derrick looked confused and said, "Huh?"
Shaking my head, I replied, easily distracting the boy, "Nothing squirt...let's go get that ice cream."
"Alright! I want a blizzard!" and Derrick ran outside, the Dairy Queen wasn't too far from the shop, just next door, but before I was able to leave Lisa asked.
"Adam, what do you know?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know, and please don't ask." I answered probably a bit more harshly than I intended.
"Adam!" my boss exclaimed, startled by my stern tone.
"I'm sorry, just forget about it, please..." I pleaded and I left them to follow Derrick leaving Lisa and Tom absolutely bewildered. Why couldn't the past stay in the past? Why couldn't things remain simple? Why did I feel that my life was about to come crashing down?
Later, I would honestly believe I had some form of prophetic gift because I didn't know how right I was going to be.