The Ransom (Part 4)
By Jenny Taylor
Then, in amongst with the other, friendly holograms, another hologram appeared, his face concealed, feeding the fear and dread into the household and smashing all hope of those inside, hope that it would be Virgil safe and alive.
But, instead of the missing Tracy, it was the mysterious face of their mortal enemy.
"I wondered why it took you so long to answer." The Hood spoke in amusement, looking at the holograms. The holograms of the Tracy household, including his niece, Kayo, the commanding chief of the GDF, Colonel Casey and finally Lady Penelope and her faithful servant, Parker, are watching in silence.
"Well, isn't this quite the party," The amused villain spoke with a smile, "I assume that you are all well aware of the situation involving the missing Tracy."
"Where is my brother?" Demanded Scott, the Hood laughed in amusement.
"I thought that answer would be quite obvious to you. He's with me!"
"LIAR!" Scott shouted, angrily. "Show me proof!"
"If you insist, I'll show you your precious little brother." The villain accepts Scott's demand, turns away from the camera and nods to a henchman off screen and then came a hologram of a tired and sleeping Virgil.
There's mixture of feelings which came flooding into the room, a feeling of relief, relief to see that Virgil is alive, but, there is also a feeling of shock and dread due to the sight of seeing Virgil shackled and restrained to what looks like a metal table.
"What have you done to him?" Scott shouts angrily again, demanding answers to the state of his little brother.
"Nothing, for now," The villain replied gleefully, sending shivers of dread down the family members' spine.
"What do you mean, for now?" Demanded Scott, his voice is filled with dread and fear, anticipating on what the Hood wants, but at what cost to Virgil.
"For now I intend on keeping your brother alive and unharmed, that is if the demands are met." The villain answered in his business mode. "But! If you refuse to co-operate," The Hood raises his right hand and clicks his fingers.
Then the family hears a metal door opening, they turn to look at Virgil, who looks like he's just woken up by the noise and it looks like that Virgil is staring at two henchmen, who's just walked into his cell.
They can see that the henchmen were carrying two buckets each, then Virgil's face turned from a mixture of determination and uncertainty to shock and horror and then he starts to struggle as one of the henchmen standing behind him pours the contents of the bucket onto his head, which forces Virgil to keep his mouth shut and his body reacts to the contents.
The family and friends of the kidnapped Tracy watched in horror as the second henchman, standing beside Virgil's legs, poured the contents from his first bucket onto the helpless prisoner from the waist down to his feet, after the first henchman emptied his first bucket. The prisoner gasps in shock and his body starts to shiver.
Gordon, being the only aquanaut in the family, can tell what the contents which is being poured onto his older brother. "They're pouring freezing cold water and ice onto Virgil!" He screamed.
"NO!" Scott shouted in horror and anger.
"Virgil!" Alan cried in despair. Everyone else is showing a mixture of horror, shock, anger and disgust, at the way Virgil is being treated by his captors.
"Stop! Why are you doing this to me?" He cried as his torturers laughed and began to pick up their last buckets.
"Virgil!" They all cried helplessly, as the first henchman poured his last bucket of ice-filled, cold water onto Virgil's face. The Hood laughed menacingly.
"I can assure you that while you can see and hear your pathetic brother, he cannot see nor hear you." The villain's voice filled with pleasure and glee.
"Stop! Stop it please!" Alan begged as he was crying and lifting his hands to cover his face, while Grandma hugged him, looking at Virgil's torture in anger.
"Leave him alone!" Scott shouted as his voice is filled with anger and hurt as the second henchman poured his last bucket over Virgil's legs, causing Virgil to gasp and shiver violently.
"Stop this at once Hood!" Colonel Casey snapped angrily, "You've made your point!"
"Why are you doing this to him?" Demanded Scott still in shock as the henchmen picked up their empty buckets and turned to leave the shivering prisoner alone, laughing. The Hood returned to his business mode, his voice raised.
"This is only a taste of your brother's fate. IF you refuse to accept my demands!"
"D - demands?" Alan spoke nervously. Everyone stood silently and nervously as they wait to hear what the demands.
Scott and Gordon quickly look at the hologram of their trapped brother. He was shivering and soaked to the bone, breathing heavily as he tries to control the shivering. It was clear that Virgil is starting to suffer from cold shock and hypothermia. Then they look back at the Hood as he was about to spell out his demands.
"My demands are simple. I want your organisation as well as their machines and equipment." Everyone mouths dropped as the villain continues to speak. "Also I want your island base as well."
Everyone looked at each other, shocked and stunned. They knew what the villain is after so they can get the captured Tracy back.
But there's a dilemma.
If they give the Hood International Rescue in ex-change for Virgil, there'll be no-one to rescue those who need rescuing. PLUS they would give up everything that the late Jeff Tracy worked so hard to make his and his boys dreams into reality, which will hurt. But at least they will be reunited with Virgil if they gave the Hood what he wanted.
On the other hand, if they refuse to hand over the Thunderbirds, they'll lose Virgil to, what look like clues from Virgil's icy water torture, a watery grave.
The Hood can see that the family and friends of his prisoner are terrified and confused as they didn't know what to do. He smiled and decided to break the silence by addressing to the eldest brother of the family.
"I can see that you are all aware of my demands and that the fate of your brother is in your hands, Scott Carpenter Tracy." Scott turned and faced his nemeses. His feelings are a mixture of anger, fear and dread as soon as the villain announced his full name.
Anger came because the Hood knew his full name.
Dread, because he's dreading on the fact that he's been chosen to make a fateful decision, because he's in-charge of International Rescue and as the man of the family and he's the eldest of the five brothers.
Fear, because he has to make that fateful decision, the decision between his family and the world. His thoughts were interrupted by that voice, the voice that sends fear and dread into the hearts of those who crosses that villain.
"Since I am aware that you are so busy with your wonderful organisation," Everyone looked at the villain, filled with dread and confusion "Therefore I have generously decided to give you a time limit to make your decision."
"What time limit?" Kayo demanded. The others froze.
"I will give you 24 hours to make your decision, otherwise," The Hood then points to the hologram of the cold and helpless Virgil, menacingly. "It's bye-bye Virgil Tracy."
A mixture of shock, horror and anger filled the room. Scott stood up angrily to face the faceless villain.
"24 hours isn't enough!" Scott shouted his voice border lined between demanding and protesting. "We need more time!"
"24 hours only! And no more!" The Hood replied angrily as Scott stood back in despair. "Otherwise," The villain once again points threateningly to Virgil's hologram. "I'll dispose your precious brother here and now!"
"NO!"
"DON'T!"
"PLEASE!" Everyone cried, panicked and pleaded with the villain, until he lowers his pointed hand and stood tall to silence his audience.
"So," The villain said slowly in a business kind-of-way. "You want your brother alive then?" Everyone stood silently and a scared-looking Scott nodded.
"Yes." Scott spoke, exhausted and defeated.
"Very well then," He paused to compose himself before communicating with a terrified Scott. "You have 24 hours only to make your decision, starting from midday Australian Eastern Daylight Time. I shall contact you after the time is up. Have a nice day gentlemen and ladies."
And with that, the holograms of the masked villain and a hypothermic Virgil disappeared leaving the Tracy family and friends with a mixture of negative feelings, sitting in silence and looking at each other, until Lady Penelope's faithful servant, Parker spoke.
"S-ho we now know w'at that blaggard's after, w'at do you whant us to do Mister Scott?"
"I don't know Parker." The exhausted Tracy replied, sitting on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, shaking his head. "I just don't know."
"Perhaps I could re - remind you on what you w – wanted us to do before we c – communicated with the Hood." The scientist chipped in as his hologram appeared above the comms table.
"Did you and John find where the Hood is keeping Virgil, Brains?" Scott looked up to the holograms of Brains and John, sounding hopeful.
"We did find him, but." Brains replied, hesitantly and sadly.
"But what?" Gordon demanded impatiently. "What's the problem?"
"The problem is that the Hood is on the move." John replied in report mode. "He's been communicating with us on his ship."
"Does that mean that Virgil is on-board with him?" Alan asked, as he starts to fight back the tears, still worried.
"I'm not sure," John replied before looking towards their head of security. "What do you think Kayo?" Kayo stood looking thoughtful for a few seconds before replying.
"Judging from the evidence from the kidnapping in Sydney and the way that Hood's henchmen acted to his instructions, I'd say there's a 90% possibility that Virgil is in the Hood's ship."
"So how do we rescue Virgil from him?" Alan asked his eldest sibling.
"I don't know Alan," The eldest brother replied. "But, I am open to any suggestions." Scott looks around the room, looking for answers, until John breaks his thought.
"I'm afraid that finding and rescuing Virgil will have to wait guys. We have a rescue situation on our hands that needs our help."
"But we need to find Virgil." Alan protested until the colonel interrupted.
"You do what International Rescue does best Alan. Helping people who are in trouble." She said sternly before turning to Scott. "Scott, I know that finding Virgil is important, but there are people's lives at stake and needs you. Both your father and your brother would want you to keep going."
"Also the Hood has given us 24 hours to reply, which is more than enough time for us find him." Kayo chipped in, calmly as she places her hand onto Scott's shoulder, looking straight into his eyes. "Have faith Scott, I… we will find Virgil and bring him home."
Scott looked around the room seeing the determination on the faces of the British agents, Colonel Casey, Brains, John and Grandma. Alan took some deep breaths in order to calm himself down while Gordon sat on the edge of the couch looking towards him, looking worried.
Scott knew what has to be done. He has to be strong for his younger siblings, for his family and friends who relied on him for comfort, support and reassurance. He took a deep breath to regain his composure and authority, placing his hand on Kayo's shoulder.
"Thanks Kayo, colonel, Lady Penelope and Parker, this means a lot."
"Don't thank us yet. We still got a long way to go if we're going to find him." Kayo reminded Scott reassuringly.
Scott nodded, turned and walked towards the two youngest siblings and lowered himself so that his blue, comforting eyes are level with a pair of honey coloured eyes of Gordon and a pair of sky blue of Alan, placing one hand on Gordon's shoulder, the other on Alan's, as he speaks to them in smoother hen mode.
"Alan, Gordon. I know that Virgil is in danger and I know that this is hard on everyone, but we need you to help save the lives of others. I know that this mission will not be easy without Virgil, but we must try our best to do what we can to save others. This is what dad would have wanted and so does Virgil. So are you going to help save the lives of others?"
"Yes." Gordon nodded confidently.
"Alan?"
"I guess, but what about - " Alan was about to protest, but Scott cuts him off.
"Alan! We need to be professional about this. We need to trust the GDF and our agents worldwide if we're going to find Virgil. Okay?"
"It's – it's just," Alan stuttered until Grandma placed her hand onto his shoulder.
"Listen kid." She said softly and in a manner of wisdom. "Your brother is right. You need to have faith in those who will do everything in order to get Virgil back. And they will find Virgil and bring him home. But right now, there are people who need your help, so get out there and save those people."
"Okay Grandma, I'll do it. I'll do it for Virgil." Alan replied, full of determination.
"Thanks Grandma." A relieved Scott thanked his grandma before turning towards John, in command mode. "What's the situation there, John?"