Thunderbird 1 down
Chapter 3
John studied the map in front of him carefully, using his laptop to get the information he needed while his brothers, Dad and G paced in front of him. Lady P, who had arrived 10 minutes prior, was sitting deathly still on the sofa, Parker putting his time to good use and making tea and coffee for everyone.
"Got it." John said, making everyone crowd around the table the map was laid out on. "This is where we receive an accurate position for them." He said, pointing to where the fire was. "They would have started towards home before they realised the problem, so the only place they could have landed is here." He pointed to a large expanse of land on a map on his tablet, showing a closer view of the location. "I've calculated their altitude and speed and estimate that they are somewhere on this line." He pointed to the yellow line he had drew across the ocean on the map. "I know it's not much…"
"It's more than we had." Lady P said, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Ok. Virgil, Gordon, get out there and find them." Jeff said, putting a hand on John's shoulder. "Good job son."
"Dad, at the speed they were doing, there is no way they could have survived that." John whispered, looking down at the data on his laptop.
"We have to keep hope John. They wouldn't give up on us, so we can't give up on them." He replied, unknowingly repeating Scott's words to Evie earlier.
"I'm not giving up hope Dad. I want them home more than anything. But the data doesn't lie. I can't ignore the facts." He said. He looked up when he saw G move out of the corner of his eye.
"Don't." He said, looking at John. "Don't you dare say that some numbers on a screen prove anything. If the data on their location was false, then maybe so was the data of their speed."
"He's right son." Jeff said. "Maybe we don't know their actual speed. Maybe they found a way out and are on their way home now."
"I hope you're right Dad. I really hope you're right." John sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes, oblivious to Lady P on the phone to other IR agents.
In Thunderbird 2, Virgil was approaching the area that John had pointed them to. "How do you want to do this? You search underwater and I search the surface?" He asked Gordon.
"Yeah. I'll go get ready." Gordon replied, his usual chirpiness missing.
"Gordon, we'll find them." Virgil said, putting the 'bird on auto pilot and spinning his chair to face his brother.
"But how will we find them? You heard what John said. They were going too fast." He said, sinking further into his chair.
"Do you know what Evie did when you had your hydrofoil accident?" Virgil said, making Gordon wince. "The search and rescue crews were ready to give up and leave you there, saying that you were most likely dead. She kicked the captain in the nuts and wouldn't stop hitting him until they carried on looking for you, and 10 minutes later, they had you on board the sub, alive."
"She did?" He asked, frowning. He had never heard of what had happened before he woke up in the hospital.
"And in the hospital, when the doctors said that you would never walk again, that all the facts said it would be impossible, Scott told them where to shove their facts and never gave up hope that you would walk again. And you proved him right when you walked out of that hospital. That was the easiest $50 Scott ever made." He said, leaning forward, his elbows on his legs. "They didn't give up on you when you needed them. Now they need you and you need to make a choice. Give up, or fight for them."
Gordon sighed and looked out of the windshield, tears falling down his face. Crying seemed to be all they could do at the minute. He turned back to face Virgil, fire in his eyes. "I am going to find them. And I am not going to stop until I do." He got up and headed into the pod, doing the launch procedure faster than he ever had before. He was going to find them, no matter what.
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"What are you doing?" Scott coughed, looking at the screen in front of Evie.
"Trying to find the flight data." She replied, breathing heavily. The oxygen was running out and Evie knew that sooner or later, she would have to go underwater to breath and send Scott out with the oxygen tank and diving suit.
"Why?" He asked, sitting back down as he got light headed.
"I fixed the engines last week after Alan burnt them out trying to do a crazy stunt. They should have been working perfectly." She said, looking at the data. "First we lost all power to the primary engine, then the secondary. Then the generators just fried. This wasn't an accident."
"But who could do something like this?" Scott asked.
"I can think of someone." She said, raising her eyebrows. Scott knew who she meant instantly.
"The Hood? He's dead." He said, frowning at her.
"He was supposed to be dead before he invaded our home and we never saw the body." She said, looking out of the window as Scott started coughing again. "The air's getting thin. You have to go."
"Not without you." He said, a determined look on his face.
"Scott, I won't make it. Not with a concussion. You can get out and I can breathe under the water." She said, crossing her arms.
"Our brothers will find us." He said.
"Not in time. Scott, the water's at your chest! Neither of us can breathe properly! I am not going to let you die here because you're too damn stubborn for your own good." She snapped, coughing slightly.
"And I am not going to leave you here to die! You might be able to breath underwater, but how long are you going to be able to survive without food? And if you can't swim far, what are you going to do if something finds you?" He asked, frowning at her.
"Scott, please." She whispered, tears falling down her face. "I can't let you die."
"I promised Mum I would keep you all safe. I can't do that if I leave you." He said.
"And what are you going to do if you die? You can't look after everyone from the grave!" She spat, regretting her words as he flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
"I know." He said, standing up and pulling her into a hug. "We'll get out of here."
"At least put the mask on to help you breathe." She said, looking around. "It's either that or choke on water." He frowned but did as she asked anyway. Evie frowned as she looked out of the window, seeing something. "Do you see that?"
"What?" He asked, forgetting about the mask as he saw what she saw. "Are they lights?"
"It's a sub!" She said, trying the lights on the 'bird, frowning when they didn't work. She used her powers to try and get their attention, but it didn't have the desired effect. The sub turned and moved away from them, making their hearts sink.
"No!" Scott shouted, punching the water that was still rising.
"They were there. They were right there." She muttered, staring at where the sub was. "Put the mask on Scott." He looked at her and saw her eyes dropping from the lack of oxygen.
"Evie! Don't fall asleep." He snapped, placing the mask on and pulling her off the chair, slowly dunking her head under the water so she could breathe easier. She locked her eyes with him, giving him a small smile. They knew they needed to be saved soon, or one of them wouldn't make it.
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"Thunderbird 2 from Thunderbird 4. You found anything Bug?" Gordon asked, sighing as he didn't see anything.
"That's a negative. I've been over the area twice. They must still be in one piece." Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You having any luck?"
"No. I passed a sub who think they saw flashing lights, but they don't know the co-ordinates." Gordon replied, looking down at his radar. "Why is this so hard?"
"I don't know. I don't know." Virgil said, looking out of the window. "Ok, head to the next search grid. Hopefully you'll have more luck than me."
"If they are alive, why wouldn't they just swim out?" Gordon asked, manoeuvring the small sub around some rocks. "They're in water, so Female Thunder will be able to swim, and there is a diving kit in every 'bird, so Fly-Boy could use that."
"One of them must be hurt. They wouldn't leave without each other." Virgil replied, letting out a small laugh. "They're both too stubborn for their own good."
"Seems to be genetic." Gordon said, leaning back in his chair.
"How much air do you have left?" Virgil asked, knowing Gordon would need to change the tanks soon.
"2 hours." He replied, looking at the screen. "I'm heading to the next grid. Hopefully I'll find something soon."
"FAB Nemo. I'm going to land to conserve fuel. There's not much I can do right now." Virgil said, heading towards land.
"FAB. I'll let you know what I find." Gordon said.
"Stay on open comms. And don't downplay anything." Virgil said, smiling slightly. "Follow your instincts. They've never let you down before." All they could do now was pray. Pray that Evie and Scott would be fine until Gordon found them.
Here you go! Sorry it's late guys. Work and college have been mental! I've barely had time to write assignments, let alone this fic. It should get better after next week when I finish college for Christmas.
Thanks for the reviews
Emma