Chapter 4 – Searching for secrets
As Kayo entered the main room on Tracy Island she could see Scott, Brains and Alan were unusually busy looking through data screens. She could hear Gordon's voice downstairs in the kitchen as though he were conversing with someone on the light type.
"What's going on?" she asked as the boys turned around to look at her as she approached them.
"Dad's been keeping secrets from us," Alan grumbled darkly and Kayo felt the flutter of butterflies in her tummy as he said it. She knew Jeff had kept her secret, did they finally know?
"It seems like dad was involved in a project with some dangerous materials, but it's all top secret and we're not having much luck figuring out what it was exactly or why he was interested in it," Scott explained and Kayo quietly breathed a sigh of relief for herself. The boys looked like they'd been sifting through information all night and were pretty exhausted. Grandma Tracy carried a tray of coffee mugs over to the table where they were sat and she shared a glance with Kayo.
"I'm sure your father had his reasons for keeping you out of this," Grandma Tracy tried to reason with Scott, she could tell he was growing angry over the secrecy surrounding this part of his father's work. He sighed deeply in reply. She had to admit, she was worried for Kayo if the boys kept digging that they might find her secret too. She understood that Kayo wasn't ready to reveal that gem of information just yet and she wasn't sure how they'd all react given their already anxious state. Gordon bounded up the stairs from the kitchen and smiled a greeting to Kayo as he grabbed a mug of coffee from Grandma Tracy's tray.
"So?" Scott queried the aquanaut.
"My buddy at WASP said they were barely involved with the project," Gordon informed the room. "Especially after I was shipped off elsewhere."
Scott looked disappointed, "Thanks for trying Gordon."
Gordon smiled, "He was able to tell me that WASP were assigned to secure a site for the project and he was under the impression that once that was done they'd be keeping tabs on whatever was going on. He reckons that only the Commanders really knew what the project was about but they stone-walled when he asked them about it. He also said that Professor Borender put some sorta petition in to the World Council with dad's help and the project was removed from their remit after that."
"A petition for what?" Alan asked curiously.
"To build a refinery." Virgil stated as he entered the room. His clothes and hair were covered in dust and he dumped a heavy cardboard box in the middle of the table in front of them. A thick cloud of dust rolled off it making them all cough.
"What is that thing?" Gordon questioned waving the dusty air from in front of his face.
Scott scrutinised the writing on the side of the box, 'SCOTT / OXFORD'. He looked up at Virgil who gave him a knowing glance in return. Scott had attended both Oxford University in England and Yale University in the States, but since all his work had been electronic he was at a loss as to what could possibly be contained in the old dusty box. Perhaps in answer Virgil flipped the lid off the box to reveal it full of old files in various coloured folders.
"Where did you find this?" Scott questioned as he, Brains, Gordon, Alan and Kayo gathered around the table to inspect its contents.
"Dad's … other office," Virgil explained.
"What other office?" Scott demanded, just how much had their father hidden from them?
"I'll show you later," Virgil answered, "There's boxes labelled for each of us, mostly they contain dad's original ideas and plans for the Thunderbirds designs," he smiled and gave a little laugh, "there's a lot of old vehicle plans in mine for the pods."
Scott pulled a purple file out of his box and looked over the details. It seemed like some information on a failed project for some kind of reactor as far as Scott was able to tell. "These files aren't for Thunderbird 1?"
"No," Virgil answered, "They're all in your 'YALE' box, but this box did have this in it." Virgil pulled out a file and laid the blueprints flat on the table.
Brains inspected the details of the plans and confirmed Virgil's assessment that it was the design for some kind of refinery but he was having difficulty completely understanding what it was designed to refine. Scott looked over the hand written remarks around the sheet and couldn't find anything that referred to Toxerlene.
"How do you know this is related to what Borender was working on?" Scott asked.
Virgil pointed to the information panel in the corner of the sheet, "It's dated 2054, the same year Gordon was talking about, and the structural design is reinforced to withstand undersea pressures."
"So, what? Gordon asked, "We think dad built this in secret for Borender to finish his work?"
"Where is it?" Alan questioned.
"I guess that's another question the Professor will have to answer for us," Scott surmised sullenly.
They were interrupted by John's hologram appearing above them. "Tracy Island, we have a situation."
"Go ahead John," Scott stated in reply.
"I lost contact with Lady Penelope and Parker as they entered the Anderbad tunnel. I think the minerals in the mountains are interfering with the signal." John explained, "It might just be a coincidence but their monotrain suffered a power failure about five minutes ago, it's moving again now, but I think there might be trouble."
"Copy that Thunderbird 5," Scott stated, "I'm sending Thunderbird 2 to check it out."