Agent 15 was surprised and frightened. His other boss had suddenly contacted him. Has he discovered that I am working for his adversary as well? The agent wondered. The female that also worked with him, a Japanese lady, would not have told as she was also working for the adversary. But before he could dial the number, his phone vibrated. This time the caller was Colonel Casey, head of the Global Defence Force.

He quickly accepted the call, putting it on speaker. The other guy could wait. "Yes, Colonel Casey?" he said, composing himself.

"Lieutenant Bosworth, I have an assignment for you," Casey informed him with her monotonous tone she always used.

Oh, good, the man known as Bosworth thought. Gives me a chance to avoid him a little bit longer. "What is it, Colonel?" he enquired.

"I have just received a call from Jeffrey Donald Tracy. He has just called in to say that he has found the pilot's corpse washed ashore on his island. You and I are going to pay him a visit to run an official investigation. The usual rigmarole," Casey said.

Bosworth's ears perked up. Diana Winter's body had been found! A lead to the USB, he realized. "What time to we leave?"

"Right now. I'll meet you at my chopper in ten minutes." Casey went to hang up, then remembered something. "Oh. Just one other thing, Bosworth," she added. "Tell that Japanese woman...my second-in-command...Colonel Akane to come with us."

"Right away, Colonel." They hung up. Bosworth pocketed his phone. Perfect! Colonel Casey had unwittingly led them to the USB, and had requested his mate, "Akane" to come as well, who was also helping to search for the USB. Things could not have gone better!

TRACY ISLAND

Rae poured a drink for the awaking girl from a jug of water that her and Virgil always kept in the medical unit just in case their patients (or themselves) ever became thirsty. Virgil glanced at her and noticed what she had done. "Good idea, love," he said. Just then, the girl opened her eyes and looked around. She started and looked frightened at being in a strange place. She looked at Rae and Virgil apprehensively, but once she saw Alan she relaxed and even smiled a bit. "You look like my dad when he was a teenager," she said quietly.

Alan looked back and forth between the girl and Virgil, the head doctor, wondering what to do. Virgil subtly motioned for him to come forward and talk. Then, Virgil motioned to Rae to keep an eye on things while he quickly left, intending to tell his father. "Hello," Alan said. "I'm Alan. Alan Tracy."

"I'm Kerry Philips," the girl said. Kerry cocked her head slightly to the side and studied Alan with narrowed eyes, like she was thinking. "Tracy...Trac-!" She sat up a little straighter. "I vaguely recollect a guy my dad knew called S..Scott Tracy. I last saw him when I was three," Kerry said to Alan.

So this is Winters daughter, Rae realized. Poor girl, losing her mother. What's going to happen to her? She noticed that Kerry had immediately taken to Alan, which she thought was a good thing. Alan brightened up. "Scott's my brother," Alan said. "He remembers you, too!"

Kerry looked pleased. "That's great! Mum said he was always a good kid."

Alan chuckled. "Kid? Scott's always serious! Doesn't allow us to have any fun as he is rather protective."

The girl laughed. "According to my mum, Scott was always rather childish. Playing pranks, not taking life too seriously. But she liked him. I remembered he always played games with me when he came to visit."

Alan and Rae looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "And we thought we knew him," Rae murmured. Kerry then looked at her.

"Who are you?" Kerry asked.

Rae smiled. "My name is Rae Levy. I'm a nurse. You had some cuts on your face, so the doctor and I have been taking care of you," Rae explained.

Kerry frowned. "Where am I?"

COLONEL CASEY'S CHOPPER

Bosworth and Akane, real name Mary Simmons, were inside the chopper. Colonel Casey had just finished briefing them on what Bosworth and 'Akane' were supposed to do while one of the other members of the GDF was piloting the chopper to Tracy Island. Simmons and Casey were supposed to go inside Jeff's house while Bosworth and the pilot were to stay behind to keep an eye on the chopper.

"So, why does a world-famous billionaire and ex-astronaut, who's grandfather founded NASA, and himself travelled through space, who carved the way for NASA to go and colonise Mars, want to move onto an island with his children and his mother?" Simmons asked.

Simmons suspected that Casey knew why, but that she was not about to tell them that. "Maybe because he likes peace and quiet," the colonel replied.

"Approaching Tracy Island," the pilot reported.

"Good," Casey said. She pulled out a holo-projector and called Tracy Island. A holo-image of an aging Jeff Tracy appeared. "Jeff, we are approaching the island. Going to land in approximately..." she quickly checked her watch, "four minutes. Is the heli-pad ready for us?"

Heli-pad? How advanced is this island? Simmons wondered. "Yes, Colonel. All ready. Permission granted to land," Jeff replied, cheekly adding the last bit.

Colonel Casey ended the call with a curt, "The GDF does not need permission to do anything."

T/B/T/B/T/B/T/B/

After the chopper had landed, and Simmons and Casey had disembarked, Bosworth pulled out his phone to send a text message to the Arabian man and his other boss, when the pilot turned around and aimed a gun at his head. "Put down the phone," the pilot ordered. Bosworth tried to reach for his gun. "Don't!" Bosworth stopped. The pilot's face seemed to be suddenly fuzzy. Then, the face changed to his other boss. One he had forgotten that it was a good idea never to cross.

The Hood.