"What'd you find, Scott?" Jeff asked as he walked down the aisle and took a seat next to his son.
"Well, Penny got herself to Long Island on Fireflash. She and Parker have checked out the Michener home, but there isn't a trace that anyone was killed there."
"What?"
"Nothing, Dad. No blood, no tape marks, nothing. Like it never happened and was never investigated. She also went to Agent Twelve's home. It had been ransacked, but she can't find any trace of him. She's checking out leads now, but says it may be some time before she comes up with anything useful. I don't expect to hear from her again until about five hours from now."
Jeff ran a hand through his hair, leaning back and sighing as he looked across the aisle to where Jenny was reclined, sleeping. "You know, if he is following us, we're going to lead him right to Base."
"I'd thought of that. I don't think we should go home."
"Well, we can't just stay on the mainland forever." His train of thought was interrupted by Scott's watch signaling an incoming call.
Scott raised his watch level with his face. "This is Scott Tracy."
In spite of some unusual interference that made the screen a bit fuzzier than usual, Lady Penelope appeared in the watch. "Hello, Scott. I'm afraid we've run into a bit of trouble."
"Trouble?" Jeff repeated, leaning over so he, too, could see Penny. "What kind of trouble?"
"A most unfortunate kind!" came a low, growling voice. Jeff's and Scott's eyes widened as a new face filled the watch. A face neither of them recognized. "We meet again, Jefferson Tracy."
Jeff's jaw set, right along with Scott's. "What do you want, Hood?"
"Oh, it's very simple. I have one of your people. You have one of mine. A fair exchange, mm?"
Jeff's heart started pounding in his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have anyone or anything that belongs to you."
"Come now, you wouldn't want anything to happen to the fair and lovely Lady of England, would you?" They watched in horror as the Hood put a gun to Penelope's head. "I know you aren't quite as fond of her as you are of my niece, but I can't believe you would just let her die."
"You bastard," spat Jeff.
But the Hood only laughed. "You will come alone with Jennifer to the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. I am transmitting the exact coordinates now. If you are not there in five hours, your Lady and her butler will die."
Scott's watched blanked out. He looked up at his father. When their eyes met, unspoken thoughts passed back and forth between them at a rapid-fire pace. Finally Jeff turned away, looking over at Jenny, who was not only now fully awake, but looked as though she'd heard most, if not all, of the conversation with her former uncle.
Jeff's mind spun out of control. Penny was like a member of his family. Hell, shewas a member of his family. He knew her so well, and Parker, too. It'd be a cold day in Hell before he let anything happen to either of them. But then there was Jenny. The woman who had whirlwinded into his life, at first seemingly innocent, then had changed to enemy status, then back to good again. He'd been unable to stop thinking about her for the past year, and now he'd found her again, only to...to what? To turn her over to the Hood?
No way. He couldn't do it. But he couldn't let Penny die, either. He turned back to Scott. "I want every available agent with combat knowledge in that forest now," he ordered. "I want the rest of your brothers here in double-time. And I want you to contact Colonel Terry. He owes me, and I'm about to ask for payment."
"Yes, sir," Scott nodded, rising and heading for a satellite vidphone near the rear of the jet.
Jeff rose and headed up to the cockpit. He told the pilot to file a new flight plan, and told him exactly where. With that done, he returned to sit down next to Jenny.
"Jeff, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"You should just trade me."
"Are you out of your mind?" he practically bellowed. "He'll kill you!"
"Yes, but if you don't...Jeff, I saw the look on your face when you saw whoever this Penny is. You care a great deal for her."
"Yes, I do. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to sacrifice one life for another. Penny wouldn't want that."
"Jeff, listen to me," she said, drawing his face around so that their eyes met. "I've already caused you so much trouble. I lied to you, I betrayed you, and still you've shown me nothing but kindness. But I'm not worth any more trouble for you, your family or those you love."
"You are one of those I love," he said softly, reaching out to touch her cheek. His words surprised even him, but goddammit, they were true. He shook his head sadly. "I can't lose you, Jenny. I can't lose another..." His voice cracked and he looked away.
Jenny wrapped her arms around his right arm and laid her head on his shoulder. "How are you going to get her back, then?"
"By springing a surprise of my own on the Hood," Jeff replied. "I already told you, I'm not letting him control my life anymore. We'll get Penny and Parker back, and without sacrificing you."
When he looked back at her, she believed him one hundred percent. If anyone could pull it off, she knew, it was Jeff Tracy. Still, she just didn't think it was right. Maybe by the time they got to New Mexico, she could change his mind. But only if...her face fell. Only if he thought she wasn't who she said she was. He'd just admitted he loved her. A man in love wouldn't let the woman he loved just be led to her death. And though she did believe Jeff was capable of anything he set his mind to, she was also keenly aware of what the Hood was capable of.
Jenny took a deep breath and buried her face in his chest as his arm came around her shoulders. If she couldn't convince him otherwise, she realized she might have to take matters into her own hands. As far as she could see, it might come down to being the only way to keep Jeff from losing whoever Penny was. I don't want to die, she thought, fighting to keep her breathing steady. But I don't want her to die in my place.
"...and as long as we have the entire area surrounded, he can't possibly get away," Jeff concluded. He looked into the faces of each of his sons transmitting from Thunderbird 2, and Scott, seated by his side. They were speaking via the vidphone at the rear of the jet. "Listen to me, boys. I know this is some dangerous stuff we're walking into. But Penelope's life is at stake. I won't let her die."
"We're with you one hundred percent, Dad," Gordon said as the rest of them nodded their assent.
"We don't want Penelope or Jenny to die, Dad," Virgil added.
"And we want that bastard Hood as much as you do," Alan said with a scowl.
"John?"
"Dad, none of us will ever really be able to have any peace unless the Hood is dealt with once and for all. I'd say this is our opportunity to take him down."
"See, Dad? We're all with you. Now, I say we need to get this plan into action. Colonel Terry and his men are standing by for your orders."
All at once Jeff flashed back to his military days. His days of giving orders, of commanding men, of flying missions and striving to be the best. He looked at each of his sons in turn. "I don't say it as much as I should," he said softly. "But you are the finest team in the world. I'm honored to call myself your father. And I'm proud of each and every one of you."
The brothers exchanged uncomfortable glances, but the grins on their faces told their true feelings. "Just give the word, Dad. We all know what to do."
"The word?" Jeff quizzed, quirking an eyebrow at his eldest. "Okay, son. The word is given."
Jeff backed away as Scott took over the vidphone, giving orders, making arrangements, basically taking over the entire operation. For a moment he felt left out in the cold. Sure, it was his plan, and sure, he was ultimately in charge. But he watched with barely concealed admiration as Scott handled it like the pro he knew he was. Yes, he was proud of them all. And they were fully capable of handling all of this without him, he guessed. His earlier thoughts about big changes came back to him now full-force. Maybe it wasn't only time for changes for his sons. Maybe it was also time for him to start thinking about stepping down.
Jeff kept in contact with Colonel Terry via two-way headset as he drove. Scott was in charge of the same things that made him an expert at Mobile Control – getting everyone where they had to be, when they had to be, also using a headset. Three hours had passed; they'd taken off from LA, all right, but had not gone on to New Mexico at all. Instead, they'd landed in Flagstaff, Arizona, and were now headed out to the Gila National Forest via a large, black Hummer Jeff had purchased on-the-spot from a local Flagstaff car dealer. Jeff and Scott knew the Hood would be looking for their jet over New Mexico airspace. Chances were, he'd have eyes out over the surrounding states as well, but they decided it was best to take every precaution and use every potential advantage they had, and so at last they neared their destination.
"Scott? Report."
"Everyone's set, Father. Thunderbird 2 has landed just north of the forest. Team met no resistance, Two is secure. Colonel Terry?"
"Terry's men are in position. We had a little trouble with Sector C due to terrain, but the men have just reported in that they're green."
Jen watched and listened in fascination. It was like being on the front lines of a war, with everything taking shape around you and you having no idea how the hell it had all happened. Her attempts to talk Jeff out of doing anything other than turning her over to the Hood had proven futile, to say the least. She figured the exchange would probably go down face-to-face: she and Jeff on one side, the Hood and Penny on the other. Jeff had kept the operation details pretty secret, so she really didn't know what they had planned at all. But if it got to the point where they were in a face-to-face, she knew what she wanted: Penny back to Jeff safe and sound.
For the more he'd talked about her, the more Jen had wondered just how close the two were. He sounded like he loved her a great deal, yet she couldn't tell what kind of love it was. The same as he felt for his sons? Or the same as he felt toward her? Had they had a past history together in terms of a relationship? Or was it a matter of trying to save a best friend rather than a lover? They'd told her that Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward was in charge of all of International Rescue's agents. That she herself was the top agent, quite possibly in the world. That she and her butler, Parker, had gone to the ends of the Earth and back to save Jeff's and his sons' tails on more than one occasion. And that her information, insight and dedication were extraordinary.
But Jenny wondered if there weren't more to it than that. Maybe one of his sons was involved with her? Then again, did it really matter? Jeff had told Jenny he loved her, not a handful of hours before. And that meant he wasn't going to let either of the women meet a deadly fate at the hands of the Hood. Still, Jenny sat there kicking herself for what she'd done. Oh, how she wished she could take back how things had happened. Why had she thought it okay to share company secrets like she had? Loyalty to a man who didn't even trust her enough to tell her his name? And to what end? The destruction of this incredible family?
It was almost too much for one woman to bear on her shoulders. So much was at stake here. So very, very much. And in spite of their assurances to the contrary, Jenny knew she was responsible. She looked over at Jeff, who glanced sideways at her and offered her a wink, but there was no mirth in it. He was trying to reassure her, but he and Scott were so tense she thought their muscles might just spring out of them at any second. "Jeff?" she finally asked. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Do?" he repeated.
"Well, you've got everybody else doing something – your sons, the military guys you called in. And I've been here with you the whole time, but nobody's told me what you want me to do."
Jeff looked back at Scott as though seeking confirmation of something. She saw Scott nod his head, which prompted Jeff to speak. "We don't want you to do anything. We want you to stay safe."
"You're kidding. You're risking your lives and I'm supposed to what, wait in the car?"
"That about sums it up," Scott said.
"No way. Come on, guys, I'm the one who got you into this a year ago. The least I can do is help you get out of it."
"Jenny, you're not trained in combat. Your skills are battling over conference room tables, not sniping hostiles."
"Well, isn't he going to ask to see me?"
"We're not planning on letting it get that far," Scott said matter-of-factly. "So you won't need to be seen. By anyone."
"Okay," Jeff said, abruptly pulling the Hummer off to the side of the road. "From here on in, it's just me. There's the Jeep Colonel Terry left for me."
Jenny looked up to indeed see a Jeep sitting empty on the opposite side of the road. "Wait, you—you're going in there alone?"
"Technically, yes. That's what the Hood wanted. Non-technically, no. Gordon's hiding in the trunk of that Jeep, and he should have a dark brown wig with him. Virgil and Alan are stationed right at the coordinates the Hood gave us. John is on the other side of the clearing there, and Colonel Terry's men are all over the forest. Special operations: you don't see them or hear them unless they want you to."
"But you're a sitting duck in that open Jeep," Jen said as Jeff got out of the car. She quickly opened the passenger door and ran around the front. "Wait!"
"I have to go. I want to be there earlier than the pre-arranged time."
"I know," she replied. "I just...I wish you wouldn't take this risk. You or...or Gordon, or any of your sons. Just let me go with you. He'll take me, you'll get Penny, and you're done."
"Jen," Jeff said, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking right into her eyes. "Do you really think the Hood is a man of his word? That he'll just give me Penny and Parker if I hand you over to him? Do you really think he's going to just let us leave?"
"I..." she faltered, looking away. "I guess not, no. From what you've told me and what I already know on my own, he'll kill you on sight."
"That is a distinct possibility."
"Which means I may never see you again." She fought to keep her emotions in check, but to have found Jeff again only to lose him?
"I'm wearing a bulletproof vest. And I've got the men in the forest covering me." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be okay."
"Dad," Scott said as he climbed into the driver's seat. "Gotta go."
Jeff nodded, wrapped his arms around Jenny for a far too brief hug, then jogged across the road and tapped on the trunk of the Jeep. Jen looked at Scott, who indicated with a nod of his head that she was to get back into the Hummer. She looked back to see a man about Jeff's height with ginger-colored hair standing with him. She recognized him as Gordon Tracy, and felt a pang as he put the dark brown wig on his head. I shouldn't be letting them do this, she thought. But one look back at Scott told her she didn't have a damn thing to say about it. With one last look at Jeff as he climbed into the Jeep's driver's seat, she ran back around the Hummer and jumped in.
