Episode Seven:- Dreams within dreams.
As Scott entered the lounge he heard a sigh and glancing to his right he saw his sister drop the file that she had been reading onto the coffee table beside her and lean back, resting her head on the back of her chair. Walking over he paused beside her and looked down.
"Looks like you could do with a break. Fancy a walk on the beach?"
She looked up unsmiling
"I guess so. Anything would be more productive than reading all that again."
Reaching up to take the proffered hand she raised herself to her feet and followed her brother across the room and down the steps to the patio and beach. All was quiet at the poolside as they passed it, all of the other house members being engaged elsewhere in the villa.
As they walked over the sand Scott eyed his younger sister. Although obviously stronger than the day before she still looked tired. She had slept late, waking only shortly before lunch, which Grandma had insisted she eat in bed, and had afterwards been allowed to rise and dress and go to the lounge. There her father and brothers had told her as much as they knew of her movements after the sinking of the "Caribbean Star" - which was precious little. None of it had been familiar to her and after a while her family had left her in the lounge, reading slowly through the file of information that had been sent to them by Agent 65. Now her thoughts were clearly elsewhere as she walked by her brother's side, her eyes looking into the distance, not noticing the island or the sea.
"How're you doing kid?" Scott asked. There was a pause before any reply came.
"I don't know Scott, I really don't." Jane stopped and turned towards the sea, looking out at the horizon as if seeking answers in the waves. "This is all so strange. It's like a dream somehow, well, actually more like a dream within a dream." She turned and looked up at him "Do you ever have those times when you wake up and you know you've had a really detailed, vivid dream but you just can't remember it? Like it's just on the edge of your perception but you can't touch it?"
Scott nodded silently. Jane turned and continued walking along the beach.
"It's like that. There's something there, I know there is. But it's just over the border. I feel like all that's needed is one thing, one fleeting image and I'll remember the whole lot." she stopped and then kicked forcefully at a pebble lying on the sand, sending it scudding away a few feet along the beach. "But I just can't remember a thing!" The words were forceful and filled with frustration. "Not one darned thing! I must have read that file a dozen times since you all left, searching, hoping that something will be familiar, that I'll remember a face, a place, a voice, anything. But there's nothing Scott, absolutely nothing."
She turned and faced him again and then held up her arms and turned around to encompass the scene around them.
"And then there's all this, the island, you, Dad, the rest of the guys- it's like I've never been away - in my head. But everything around me tells me that I have - the house has changed, you've made so many alterations, finished so many of the things we were still working on when Tin-Tin and I left for Europe. I nearly got lost yesterday getting to the dining room from the sick-room. Do you realise that? I nearly got lost in my own home!"
Scott shook his head and opened his mouth to reply but his sister continued.
"And the house isn't the only thing that's changed. You've all changed too. Dad's got more grey hairs and more lines. I've only seen a little of you all today but it's already obvious - you're all much more mature and responsible than you were before - well, except maybe for Alan." she finished with a grin.
"Well that's Alan for you" he quipped "still the baby of the family."
"Yeah, isn't he just." Again she paused. "Nearly six years Scott - that's one heck of a long time to not be able to remember. No faces, no events, nothing! It's almost as if it didn't exist. As if ....." she paused.
"Go on"
"As if I'm still in a dream. I feel as if I'm still dreaming and eventually I'll wake up and find I'm still on the 'Caribbean Star' before those explosions, lounging in the sun and waiting for dinner. How stupid is that?"
She stood before him, her head hanging down and her shoulders slumped in defeat. Scott reached out and gripped her by the shoulders.
"Hey, it's alright." he put a finger under her chin and tipped her head up so that she was looking at him. "You're not being stupid at all. You've been through a lot in the last three weeks. Your body's still recovering from all the punishment it's taken. Don't be surprised if your mind takes a little longer."
"But that's just the problem Scott. Last time it took nearly six years - and then I only remembered because some thug tried to beat my brains out. How long is it going to be this time?"
"Not that long!" Scott was vehement in his statement, wanting desperately to encourage his sister. "Look, last time you were alone. None of us knew you were alive, never mind where you were. This time you've got all of us. We know where you've been and who you've been with. If needed I'll fly you over to Vermont myself and we can go visit the search and rescue team there to get you to remember."
He felt her relax beneath his hands as some of the tension left her.
"Yeah, yeah I guess we could at that. I hadn't thought of that." Smiling now she looked up at her brother. "Thanks."
He returned the smile and slipped his arm through hers, turning them back towards the house.
"Come on, I reckon we've gone far enough for now. Besides, there's something we need to do back at the house."
"Oh, what?"
"I'm going to give you a proper tour. You're right, we've changed the place a lot since you left and now you're back you need to see it and be a part of it again. And the first thing we're going to do is to get you back to your old room, now that you're fit enough to leave the sick- room."
Arm in arm they made their way back over the beach towards the house where lights were starting to appear in the windows.
That night Jane Tracy slept in her old bed, in her old bedroom for the first time in many years. In her absence her room had been turned into one of the many guest bedrooms of the villa. Many of her personal belongings and clothes had been boxed up by Jeff Tracy and his sons and put away in one of the store-rooms as they did not wish to part with them. As Scott was showing her back to her old room other members of the family had joined them and the evening had been spent in a joyful and happy reclamation of the items from store and their restoration back into their original places.
The full tour of the base, however, had to wait. The emergency signal went off early the next morning as the family was rising. Scott and Tin- Tin in Thunderbird One, followed closely by a full complement of Virgil, Gordon, Alan and Brains in Thunderbird Two, all left before breakfast, bound for mainland China where a devastating earthquake had levelled large portions of a major city and severely damaged outlying districts.
During the more than three days that followed the four remaining members of the household spent most of their time in the lounge following the developments of the large-scale rescue going on thousands of miles away. The International Rescue team worked in shifts with the other world-wide rescue and relief organisations that had also gone to the scene, trying to find and extract as many victims as possible from under the piles of rubble. Between shifts they slept in the beds provided in Thunderbird Two. When they returned all were exhausted, covered in dirt and dust and interested only in getting clean, having a warm meal and then going to sleep.
Early the following day Scott and Alan left for Thunderbird Five, taking Alan to replace John in the space satellite. After the initial take-off procedures and amid the routine monitoring of the course and operation of the space-craft their conversation turned to the prolonged rescue they had just attended.
"I hate 'quakes." confessed Scott "The rescues always take so long."
"They sure do" replied Alan with feeling "but it's not so much the length of the rescue that bothers me but that Tin-Tin is out there with us. A danger zone is no place for a woman - I hate it when she goes out with us." He fell silent for a minute then added "Still, I guess that'll be the last time."
"How do you reckon that?"
"Well now Jane's back then when we need someone else to man mobile control I guess she'll be doing it"
As that comment drew no response from his older brother Alan looked sideways at Scott.
"That is what'll happen isn't it Scott? I mean, that was the original plan when Dad was setting up International Rescue in the first place right? Jane was going to go out with you in Thunderbird One and run mobile control while you joined the rest of us in the rescue. Now she's back Tin-Tin can stay safe back on the island and we'll have an extra pair of hands available for every rescue, not just the large scale ones that Tin-Tin's been covering."
"I don't know Alan. Maybe it won't work out like that now."
"Why shouldn't it Scott? Don't you think she'll want to?"
"It's not what Jane wants to do that's going to count here Alan, you know that. This is Dad's show and what he says goes - like it always has. Anyway you just said it yourself - 'a danger zone is no place for a woman' - that means any woman, not just Tin-Tin."
Alan glared at Scott
"So you don't think Dad will want Jane to replace Tin-Tin? It's OK for Tin-Tin to be put in danger for International Rescue but not for Jane is that it?"
"That's not what I said Alan and it's not what I meant."
Scott's reply was snapped back at the younger man and his face showed his irritation. He didn't want to have this conversation and he certainly didn't want to have it with his youngest brother.
"You know what it did to Dad when we thought Jane was dead. The reason Tin-Tin doesn't go out on all the rescues with us is because Dad doesn't want to put her into more danger than is absolutely necessary"
Scott drew in a long breath forcing himself to calm down.
"Look Alan, let's just leave it. Jane's only been back a few days and she's not even fully fit yet. Let's wait and see what Dad says."
Alan glared at his brother and then, much to Scott's relief he turned back to the controls of Thunderbird Three, his back stiff and straight.
"Sure, whatever you say big brother"
His face remained clouded and sullen and the remainder of the journey passed in silence. Once Thunderbird Three had docked with Thunderbird Five Alan rose to his feet and picked up his bag from the corner locker where it had been stored for the flight. He turned and started for the doorway that led to the docking tube.
"Alan"
The younger man stopped.
"Yeah?" He didn't look at his brother but stood staring staight ahead.
"Don't worry, we'll look after her. We care about her as well you know."
Alan's shoulders sagged a little before he straightened them and turned to his eldest brother.
"I know."
He turned and started towards the airlock door. As he got there he stopped and turned back again.
"Scott?"
"Yes Alan?"
"Take care of them both"
"We will. Take care of yourself too little bro'. See you in a month."
Alan nodded and vanished through the doorway.
A few minutes later the space rocket disengaged from the orbiting space station, and turned to return Scott and John Tracy to the blue orb that hung silently below them.
"So how is she Scott?"
John's voice brought Scott out of his contemplation and he turned to see his younger brother's bright blue eyes regarding him quietly.
"Jane?"
"Of course Jane. Who else would I mean? How is she? Really?"
Scott thought for a moment before answering.
"She's finding it difficult John. She's come back to a family that has moved on in the last six years. IR has changed us all but she hasn't been around to see it - so far as she's concerned she left less than a month ago to go with Tin-Tin to sort out that business about the agents in Europe. As well as all that, she's aware that she's been living a totally different life, separated from us all for the last six years but can't remember a thing about it. She's concerned that she might never remember, that she'll never be able to bridge the gap and tie the two sides of her life together."
"But it doesn't matter where she's been for six years!" John's eyes were perplexed and concerned "She's back home now where she belongs, back with us. It's not as if she'll be going back to Vermont is it? It doesn't matter if she can't remember what that life was like does it?"
Once more Scott sat silent, not answering the question thrown at him by one of his brothers.
"Does it Scott?"
Scott looked at his brother, noting the unease that showed in his face.
"John, I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that for now Jane's having difficulty finding her feet again. More than part of that is because she's got questions going around in her head that she can't answer, that we can't answer, about what she's been doing for the last six years. So far as I can see, until she's resolved that she's still going to feel cut off from the rest of the family."
There was silence for a couple of minutes as John considered Scott's reply. His response, when it came, brought a smile to his brother's lips.
"Toss you for flying Ladybird to Vermont."
When the sofa carrying both Scott and John rose through the floor of the lounge John barely had time to stand up before two arms were wrapped around him and he found himself looking down into the face of his sister. Although she wore a broad smile and was obviously genuinely glad to see him he was concerned to find himself the subject of a detailed visual examination, her eyes searching his face seeking and yet dreading to see...something. It didn't take long for her to find it and her face fell slightly as she did.
"What's wrong?"
Scott was talking to Jeff at the desk and neither were paying attention. No-one else was in the room to hear his question.
"You've changed." Her voice was low and didn't carry beyond the two of them "The tele-vid isn't as good as eyes - it looked as if you might be the same. I was hoping..." she bit her lip and shook her head. "Oh well."
Wrapping his arms around his sister John gave her a tight squeeze.
"It's still me, even if I do look older. You're still my little sister and I'm so glad that you're back."
He held her close for another few seconds and then pushed her gently away, put an arm around her shoulders and turned towards the door.
"Now, I reckon it must be lunch time. What do you think? Let's go see if there's any of Grandma's home cooking available."
After lunch it was decided that the long-delayed tour of the base would be delayed no longer. John and Jane rode down on the sofa to Thunderbird Three and spent a couple of hours going over the inside and surrounding of the space-craft and its hanger. They also paid a visit to the round house which had been fully decorated and equipped since Jane had last been on the island. As the location of the main stockpile of books and records for the family it was a place where many of the family members found solitude and peace when they were wanting to get away from the remainder of the inhabitants for a while.
Scott joined them there and took Jane on the underground monorail system to the storage hanger of Thunderbird One where he took her through the various changes that had been made since she had last seen the facility. Thunderbird One had been complete before she had left and she had been heavily involved with Scott in the planning and design of the aircraft because of her planned involvement with its use on rescues. Although small changes and upgrades had been made by Brains over the years as needed, these were still relatively few and quickly covered. After less than an hour the two siblings made their way through many of the passageways that riddled the island towards the cavernous hanger where Thunderbird Two was housed.
"You've done a fair bit of shifting things around down here Scott. I don't remember half of these doorways and there seem to be some new side- passages as well. I thought we'd done the bulk of the excavating before I left"
"So did we. These weren't all done at once. The majority of these we've added in the last year or two. With all the improvements that Brains has made to the equipment there are always new things coming up that we can use and that become essential for rescues. We needed more space to store things. Equipment for rescues is kept in TB2's hanger so it's close to hand when we're loading up. A lot of these storerooms we use to keep maintenance equipment that we can get at our leisure when we're going over the machines."
"The last year or two?"
"Uh huh"
"But there's so many of them. How did you get them all done in that time? Surely they must be very small rooms?"
"No, reasonable size. Do you remember the miniature prototype of the Mole that Brains created, it only took one of us at a time?"**
"Oh yes, I remember. You used that?"
"Yeah. It worked fine and was small enough to be used here where we don't have vast amounts of room to manoever. Do you want to see the rooms?"
"Sure - I might as well get used to what's where."
They moved to the nearest door but just as Scott opened it he felt the familiar vibration of his watch. Lifting his arm Scott activated the device.
"Scott here."
Virgil's face filled the watch face.
"Scott, are you anywhere nearby? Gordon and I are in TB2's hanger. We're having difficulty with the tracking for the grabs. We need an extra pair of hands. Can you help?"
"Sure thing Virgil. Jane and I are on our way there anyway. We're by the maintenance store-rooms. We'll be right down."
Scott closed the link and turned back to his sister who was standing in the darkened doorway, looking into the room.
"Coming Jane?"
"Hmmm?"
She stood gazing into the darkness, a puzzled look on her face.
"I said are you coming? Virgil and Gordon need some help in Thunderbird Two."
Not changing position his sister answered absently.
"No, that's ok. You go ahead, I'll catch up."
Puzzled, but keen to go and help his brothers Scott turned away.
"OK - just follow the corridor when you're ready. We're right at the end."
As he strode off down the corridor his sister took a tentative step into the room.
Virgil wiped his arm over his face to brush away the lock of hair that kept falling in his eyes, oblivious to the streak of grease that attached itself to his cheek and forehead as a result.
"OK Scott" he called in a tired voice, "try that."
There was a faint purr as power hummed through the equipment and the grabs finally closed smoothly and correctly. Scott ran through the procedure a couple of times more and each time the grabs opened and closed to completion. Happy that the job was done he operated the controls to settle Thunderbird Two back down on its stilts.
"I guess that just about wraps it up."
Scott stood next to his brown haired brother and grinned.
"You know, we'd have got on quicker if you'd put the grease on the tracking to begin with rather than painting your face with it."
"What? Oh" Virgil grinned as the comment registered.
"We'd also have got on quicker if you'd been here to help in the first place instead of swanning around the base with Jane all afternoon." His eyes twinkled as he made the comment, letting his brother know he was only joking "Honestly the minute a woman appears on the scene you're hopeless"
"Well someone had to show her around. If you, Gordon and Alan hadn't got the kit so dirty in the first place you wouldn't have to spend all this time cleaning it." Scott looked around and frowned
"Where is she anyway? She should have been here ages ago."
Virgil looked up from where he was wiping his hands and face on a clean cloth.
"I don't know Scott. Once you got here we were working and I haven't thought of it since."
He moved over to the doorway of the Thunderbird machine and stuck his head outside. Seeing Gordon bending down packing tools away nearby he called out.
"Hey Gordon."
His younger brother looked up.
"Have you seen Jane anywhere around?"
"No" Gordon shook his head "I hadn't thought about it since Scott got here but I haven't seen her."
"She must have found something mighty interesting in that store-room." Scott clapped Virgil on his back as he moved past him through the doorway. "Come on, let's go find her."
As she walked past the door and entered the room it seemed as if she were experiencing deja-vu. The light from the passageway illuminated only the first few feet to her light adjusted eyes and by it she could make out stacks of shelves disappearing into the gloom. She stood in the semi- darkness for a number of minutes, trying to grasp the memory that stood on the edge of her consciousness. At last she left the dull circle of light cast in from the outside passage and entered the full dark of the storage area. As she reached the shelving she suddenly gasped, grasping at the side of the unit for support as the room seemed to spin and melt around her and become another room, in another place.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
They were coming. They could not be far behind her now. She had to get away from here. Hiding would be of no use, eventually they would find her again and then the needle would appear to be followed by darkness.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
She pulled herself upright and staggered on. There had to be another door, another way out.
~ ~~~~ ~~~~~
A whirling kaleidoscope of images, her head spinning and her body sick and in pain. She had fleeting images of faces, cruel, hard and mocking and their voices circled in her mind, questioning, questioning. She fought the voices - she must not remember. She must say nothing, nothing. Nothing of the secrets, plans and codes, nothing of her family, of her father, of her home. If only she could forget, forget it all.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~
The room went on before her. It was fully dark here but she did not need light to see. The images were within her head, she knew where she was. She knew who was behind.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Darkness again. A bed beneath her that rose and fell of its own accord, sickening her stomach and causing her head to swell and shrink as the waves of invisible motion affected her body. A boat! She was on a boat! Or was she? Perhaps it was all in her mind, a result of the drug. The drug - how it sought to open her mouth, to cause her to spill out all that she knew! To tell them what they wanted to know. She must not, she must be silent. It would be better if she were unconscious, or dead - beyond the recall of water and hard hands, then they could never hear her speak. She must not tell them. Oh, that she could forget. If only the drug they used to make her speak would instead wipe her memory so she could remember nothing. Escape, she must escape. She must get out.
A scraping sound - a key in the lock. A mocking voice and then hands, hands that were calloused and hard and grasping. Touching everywhere, loosening her clothes, reaching beneath. Her eyes shot open - dark hair, brown eyes above her. A mirthless grin and then hands in her hair, tearing her head backwards. Lips at her throat, hot, fetid breath reeking of alcohol and smoke. 'Get up! Get up! Now's your chance. It's now or never'. A quick move, her nails in his face, thumbs in his eyes, pushing, gouging as she got off the bed. A hoarse cry and a blow to her face that sent her spinning across the cabin and spawling over a chair. Then he was there again, wrenching her to her feet and pinning her against the wall. And again the reek of alcohol and stale tobacco as he pressed against her, holding her jaw in an iron grip and forcing her mouth open by brute force as he leaned forward to take what he desired. In desperation she brought both hands up to his ears with as much force as she could, at the same time bringing her knee upwards to hit as hard as she could. He staggered backwards, cursing and wretching and she was free, out of the door and running, running through corridors that still swayed and moved. Up stairs, through doors. Running, running.
The door stood open as they reached it but the room was in darkness. Scott reached for the switch but was stopped by his brother's hand.
"Remember all those times when we thought she was asleep and she'd be hiding under the stairs or behind a door before she'd jump out at us as we went by?" Virgil's eyes glittered with mischief as he looked at his brother. "How about we give her a proper welcome home?"
Scott thought for a moment and then grinned
"It's been a long time since we made her jump properly. It'll be just like old times."
Grinning the brothers silently entered the room, separating slightly to search more easily and then come upon their target from both sides, unawares.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
The ships's passages seemed endless. Behind her she could hear pursiut. She turned aside, opening a door and slipping inside. Turning she found herself in semi-darkness in a store room lined with shelves carrying goods of all sorts. She stumbled forwards - there had to be another door , another way out.. If they caught her she would have to fight but she was only one - they were many. She followed the wall around, came to a corner, turned and carried on until she reached another corner. No door. There was only one.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
The two brothers padded forward into the darkness, their feet only making the lightest of sounds in the still room. They could hear faint movements of fabric ahead of them and ragged breathing. She was here, with the light off, hiding, enjoying the anticipation so much that her breathing gave away her presence. Waiting for them. They would enjoy this. This time it was Jane that would jump not them. Working together silently, using the common bond of understanding that had grown between them over the years they approached their prey cautiously, not wanting to announce their presence until the last moment.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~
She could hear them now. They were here. In the dark. Hunting. For her. She would have to fight. It was her only chance. In the dark, in the confusion, if she could get to them before they got to her, she might be able to stop them long enough to get away. She stretched out her arm cautiously over the nearest shelf, feeling for anything to help her. The first shelf yielded nothing but on the shelf beneath she found something she could use as a weapon. Lifting it she turned and began to move back towards the only door.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
Scott grinned to himself. His sister's patience had obviously decreased over the years. When she was young she had been known to hide for up to an hour, waiting for her victims to appear when they thought it was safe. He couldn't have been with Virgil and Gordon for more than a third of that time before coming to look for her but if he wasn't mistaken his sister was giving up and leaving the store room already. Trusting that Virgil was in position he moved forward, ready to jump as she went past.
As she edged along a set of shelves there was a swift movement behind her, a shout of victory and a tall, stocky figure leapt out at her from behind. Expecting the attack she dropped and whirled, raised the weapon in her hands and swung for the knees of her attacker. Weapon collided with flesh and the cry of victory turned into a shout of pain as the figure was knocked sideways and came crashing down at her feet. Bringing the weapon up above her head she brought it down over the shadow's back and shoulders then she turned to flee.
Another figure appeared before her and she ran into its arms before she had time to react. Hands grasped at her shoulders, striving to capture her. She heard words, imprecations but could not make them out. Her heart was pumping too violently now and her blood was roaring in her ears. Twisting and turning she nearly wrenched herself free of her assailant but his hands had become entangled in her shirt and as she turned to flee once more she lost her balance and fell to the floor, twisting and landing on her back. The sudden loss of balance took her captor by surprise and he too fell, landing partly on her legs, trapping her.
She was completely desperate now, desperate to escape, to avoid what must surely come. Her attacker was nearly on his knees, shouting at her, one hand on her hip holding her down, the other seeking her arm. She had to get away, had to escape. She hadn't been able to hit the other one hard enough - he would recover soon and then she would be lost.
She still held the weapon in her hand. With a last effort she brought it up sharply and it was caught between her hand and the side of his face as she smacked it home. Momentarily stunned his grip slackened and she kicked her legs free from under him and clamboured to her feet. Backing up she realised that in the confusion she had become disorientated. The way to the door was in front of her. Her assailants, both of whom were clambering to their feet, were between her and it. At her back was a cold wall.
"Lay one more finger on me and I swear I'll kill you." The words were all she had to fight off the fear and panic that rose in her throat. A facade of strength ground out from between clenched teeth that would convince no-one. "I'll tell you nothing and if you try to stop me getting out of here I'll send you to rot in Hell where you belong. Now get out of my way."
Her assailants looked towards each other briefly but before either could reply another voice came out of the darkness.
"WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON HERE AND WHY ARE YOU ALL IN THE DARK?"
With that the room was flooded in light and Jeff Tracy saw two of his sons standing unsteadily before his daughter, battered and bruised from the large piece of pipe that she was wielding in her hand. Her hair and clothes were dishevelled, her face pale and her eyes large with terror.
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** Many thanks to Tikatu for allowing me to borrow this wonderful idea of a prototype for the Mole. It was mentioned in "Mole People", a chapter of Tikatu's story "Father's Day".
Disclaimer: The Thunderbirds characters are owned by someone other than me although Jane Tracy is, I believe, my invention.
I intend only to borrow them and will return them in one piece.
As Scott entered the lounge he heard a sigh and glancing to his right he saw his sister drop the file that she had been reading onto the coffee table beside her and lean back, resting her head on the back of her chair. Walking over he paused beside her and looked down.
"Looks like you could do with a break. Fancy a walk on the beach?"
She looked up unsmiling
"I guess so. Anything would be more productive than reading all that again."
Reaching up to take the proffered hand she raised herself to her feet and followed her brother across the room and down the steps to the patio and beach. All was quiet at the poolside as they passed it, all of the other house members being engaged elsewhere in the villa.
As they walked over the sand Scott eyed his younger sister. Although obviously stronger than the day before she still looked tired. She had slept late, waking only shortly before lunch, which Grandma had insisted she eat in bed, and had afterwards been allowed to rise and dress and go to the lounge. There her father and brothers had told her as much as they knew of her movements after the sinking of the "Caribbean Star" - which was precious little. None of it had been familiar to her and after a while her family had left her in the lounge, reading slowly through the file of information that had been sent to them by Agent 65. Now her thoughts were clearly elsewhere as she walked by her brother's side, her eyes looking into the distance, not noticing the island or the sea.
"How're you doing kid?" Scott asked. There was a pause before any reply came.
"I don't know Scott, I really don't." Jane stopped and turned towards the sea, looking out at the horizon as if seeking answers in the waves. "This is all so strange. It's like a dream somehow, well, actually more like a dream within a dream." She turned and looked up at him "Do you ever have those times when you wake up and you know you've had a really detailed, vivid dream but you just can't remember it? Like it's just on the edge of your perception but you can't touch it?"
Scott nodded silently. Jane turned and continued walking along the beach.
"It's like that. There's something there, I know there is. But it's just over the border. I feel like all that's needed is one thing, one fleeting image and I'll remember the whole lot." she stopped and then kicked forcefully at a pebble lying on the sand, sending it scudding away a few feet along the beach. "But I just can't remember a thing!" The words were forceful and filled with frustration. "Not one darned thing! I must have read that file a dozen times since you all left, searching, hoping that something will be familiar, that I'll remember a face, a place, a voice, anything. But there's nothing Scott, absolutely nothing."
She turned and faced him again and then held up her arms and turned around to encompass the scene around them.
"And then there's all this, the island, you, Dad, the rest of the guys- it's like I've never been away - in my head. But everything around me tells me that I have - the house has changed, you've made so many alterations, finished so many of the things we were still working on when Tin-Tin and I left for Europe. I nearly got lost yesterday getting to the dining room from the sick-room. Do you realise that? I nearly got lost in my own home!"
Scott shook his head and opened his mouth to reply but his sister continued.
"And the house isn't the only thing that's changed. You've all changed too. Dad's got more grey hairs and more lines. I've only seen a little of you all today but it's already obvious - you're all much more mature and responsible than you were before - well, except maybe for Alan." she finished with a grin.
"Well that's Alan for you" he quipped "still the baby of the family."
"Yeah, isn't he just." Again she paused. "Nearly six years Scott - that's one heck of a long time to not be able to remember. No faces, no events, nothing! It's almost as if it didn't exist. As if ....." she paused.
"Go on"
"As if I'm still in a dream. I feel as if I'm still dreaming and eventually I'll wake up and find I'm still on the 'Caribbean Star' before those explosions, lounging in the sun and waiting for dinner. How stupid is that?"
She stood before him, her head hanging down and her shoulders slumped in defeat. Scott reached out and gripped her by the shoulders.
"Hey, it's alright." he put a finger under her chin and tipped her head up so that she was looking at him. "You're not being stupid at all. You've been through a lot in the last three weeks. Your body's still recovering from all the punishment it's taken. Don't be surprised if your mind takes a little longer."
"But that's just the problem Scott. Last time it took nearly six years - and then I only remembered because some thug tried to beat my brains out. How long is it going to be this time?"
"Not that long!" Scott was vehement in his statement, wanting desperately to encourage his sister. "Look, last time you were alone. None of us knew you were alive, never mind where you were. This time you've got all of us. We know where you've been and who you've been with. If needed I'll fly you over to Vermont myself and we can go visit the search and rescue team there to get you to remember."
He felt her relax beneath his hands as some of the tension left her.
"Yeah, yeah I guess we could at that. I hadn't thought of that." Smiling now she looked up at her brother. "Thanks."
He returned the smile and slipped his arm through hers, turning them back towards the house.
"Come on, I reckon we've gone far enough for now. Besides, there's something we need to do back at the house."
"Oh, what?"
"I'm going to give you a proper tour. You're right, we've changed the place a lot since you left and now you're back you need to see it and be a part of it again. And the first thing we're going to do is to get you back to your old room, now that you're fit enough to leave the sick- room."
Arm in arm they made their way back over the beach towards the house where lights were starting to appear in the windows.
That night Jane Tracy slept in her old bed, in her old bedroom for the first time in many years. In her absence her room had been turned into one of the many guest bedrooms of the villa. Many of her personal belongings and clothes had been boxed up by Jeff Tracy and his sons and put away in one of the store-rooms as they did not wish to part with them. As Scott was showing her back to her old room other members of the family had joined them and the evening had been spent in a joyful and happy reclamation of the items from store and their restoration back into their original places.
The full tour of the base, however, had to wait. The emergency signal went off early the next morning as the family was rising. Scott and Tin- Tin in Thunderbird One, followed closely by a full complement of Virgil, Gordon, Alan and Brains in Thunderbird Two, all left before breakfast, bound for mainland China where a devastating earthquake had levelled large portions of a major city and severely damaged outlying districts.
During the more than three days that followed the four remaining members of the household spent most of their time in the lounge following the developments of the large-scale rescue going on thousands of miles away. The International Rescue team worked in shifts with the other world-wide rescue and relief organisations that had also gone to the scene, trying to find and extract as many victims as possible from under the piles of rubble. Between shifts they slept in the beds provided in Thunderbird Two. When they returned all were exhausted, covered in dirt and dust and interested only in getting clean, having a warm meal and then going to sleep.
Early the following day Scott and Alan left for Thunderbird Five, taking Alan to replace John in the space satellite. After the initial take-off procedures and amid the routine monitoring of the course and operation of the space-craft their conversation turned to the prolonged rescue they had just attended.
"I hate 'quakes." confessed Scott "The rescues always take so long."
"They sure do" replied Alan with feeling "but it's not so much the length of the rescue that bothers me but that Tin-Tin is out there with us. A danger zone is no place for a woman - I hate it when she goes out with us." He fell silent for a minute then added "Still, I guess that'll be the last time."
"How do you reckon that?"
"Well now Jane's back then when we need someone else to man mobile control I guess she'll be doing it"
As that comment drew no response from his older brother Alan looked sideways at Scott.
"That is what'll happen isn't it Scott? I mean, that was the original plan when Dad was setting up International Rescue in the first place right? Jane was going to go out with you in Thunderbird One and run mobile control while you joined the rest of us in the rescue. Now she's back Tin-Tin can stay safe back on the island and we'll have an extra pair of hands available for every rescue, not just the large scale ones that Tin-Tin's been covering."
"I don't know Alan. Maybe it won't work out like that now."
"Why shouldn't it Scott? Don't you think she'll want to?"
"It's not what Jane wants to do that's going to count here Alan, you know that. This is Dad's show and what he says goes - like it always has. Anyway you just said it yourself - 'a danger zone is no place for a woman' - that means any woman, not just Tin-Tin."
Alan glared at Scott
"So you don't think Dad will want Jane to replace Tin-Tin? It's OK for Tin-Tin to be put in danger for International Rescue but not for Jane is that it?"
"That's not what I said Alan and it's not what I meant."
Scott's reply was snapped back at the younger man and his face showed his irritation. He didn't want to have this conversation and he certainly didn't want to have it with his youngest brother.
"You know what it did to Dad when we thought Jane was dead. The reason Tin-Tin doesn't go out on all the rescues with us is because Dad doesn't want to put her into more danger than is absolutely necessary"
Scott drew in a long breath forcing himself to calm down.
"Look Alan, let's just leave it. Jane's only been back a few days and she's not even fully fit yet. Let's wait and see what Dad says."
Alan glared at his brother and then, much to Scott's relief he turned back to the controls of Thunderbird Three, his back stiff and straight.
"Sure, whatever you say big brother"
His face remained clouded and sullen and the remainder of the journey passed in silence. Once Thunderbird Three had docked with Thunderbird Five Alan rose to his feet and picked up his bag from the corner locker where it had been stored for the flight. He turned and started for the doorway that led to the docking tube.
"Alan"
The younger man stopped.
"Yeah?" He didn't look at his brother but stood staring staight ahead.
"Don't worry, we'll look after her. We care about her as well you know."
Alan's shoulders sagged a little before he straightened them and turned to his eldest brother.
"I know."
He turned and started towards the airlock door. As he got there he stopped and turned back again.
"Scott?"
"Yes Alan?"
"Take care of them both"
"We will. Take care of yourself too little bro'. See you in a month."
Alan nodded and vanished through the doorway.
A few minutes later the space rocket disengaged from the orbiting space station, and turned to return Scott and John Tracy to the blue orb that hung silently below them.
"So how is she Scott?"
John's voice brought Scott out of his contemplation and he turned to see his younger brother's bright blue eyes regarding him quietly.
"Jane?"
"Of course Jane. Who else would I mean? How is she? Really?"
Scott thought for a moment before answering.
"She's finding it difficult John. She's come back to a family that has moved on in the last six years. IR has changed us all but she hasn't been around to see it - so far as she's concerned she left less than a month ago to go with Tin-Tin to sort out that business about the agents in Europe. As well as all that, she's aware that she's been living a totally different life, separated from us all for the last six years but can't remember a thing about it. She's concerned that she might never remember, that she'll never be able to bridge the gap and tie the two sides of her life together."
"But it doesn't matter where she's been for six years!" John's eyes were perplexed and concerned "She's back home now where she belongs, back with us. It's not as if she'll be going back to Vermont is it? It doesn't matter if she can't remember what that life was like does it?"
Once more Scott sat silent, not answering the question thrown at him by one of his brothers.
"Does it Scott?"
Scott looked at his brother, noting the unease that showed in his face.
"John, I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that for now Jane's having difficulty finding her feet again. More than part of that is because she's got questions going around in her head that she can't answer, that we can't answer, about what she's been doing for the last six years. So far as I can see, until she's resolved that she's still going to feel cut off from the rest of the family."
There was silence for a couple of minutes as John considered Scott's reply. His response, when it came, brought a smile to his brother's lips.
"Toss you for flying Ladybird to Vermont."
When the sofa carrying both Scott and John rose through the floor of the lounge John barely had time to stand up before two arms were wrapped around him and he found himself looking down into the face of his sister. Although she wore a broad smile and was obviously genuinely glad to see him he was concerned to find himself the subject of a detailed visual examination, her eyes searching his face seeking and yet dreading to see...something. It didn't take long for her to find it and her face fell slightly as she did.
"What's wrong?"
Scott was talking to Jeff at the desk and neither were paying attention. No-one else was in the room to hear his question.
"You've changed." Her voice was low and didn't carry beyond the two of them "The tele-vid isn't as good as eyes - it looked as if you might be the same. I was hoping..." she bit her lip and shook her head. "Oh well."
Wrapping his arms around his sister John gave her a tight squeeze.
"It's still me, even if I do look older. You're still my little sister and I'm so glad that you're back."
He held her close for another few seconds and then pushed her gently away, put an arm around her shoulders and turned towards the door.
"Now, I reckon it must be lunch time. What do you think? Let's go see if there's any of Grandma's home cooking available."
After lunch it was decided that the long-delayed tour of the base would be delayed no longer. John and Jane rode down on the sofa to Thunderbird Three and spent a couple of hours going over the inside and surrounding of the space-craft and its hanger. They also paid a visit to the round house which had been fully decorated and equipped since Jane had last been on the island. As the location of the main stockpile of books and records for the family it was a place where many of the family members found solitude and peace when they were wanting to get away from the remainder of the inhabitants for a while.
Scott joined them there and took Jane on the underground monorail system to the storage hanger of Thunderbird One where he took her through the various changes that had been made since she had last seen the facility. Thunderbird One had been complete before she had left and she had been heavily involved with Scott in the planning and design of the aircraft because of her planned involvement with its use on rescues. Although small changes and upgrades had been made by Brains over the years as needed, these were still relatively few and quickly covered. After less than an hour the two siblings made their way through many of the passageways that riddled the island towards the cavernous hanger where Thunderbird Two was housed.
"You've done a fair bit of shifting things around down here Scott. I don't remember half of these doorways and there seem to be some new side- passages as well. I thought we'd done the bulk of the excavating before I left"
"So did we. These weren't all done at once. The majority of these we've added in the last year or two. With all the improvements that Brains has made to the equipment there are always new things coming up that we can use and that become essential for rescues. We needed more space to store things. Equipment for rescues is kept in TB2's hanger so it's close to hand when we're loading up. A lot of these storerooms we use to keep maintenance equipment that we can get at our leisure when we're going over the machines."
"The last year or two?"
"Uh huh"
"But there's so many of them. How did you get them all done in that time? Surely they must be very small rooms?"
"No, reasonable size. Do you remember the miniature prototype of the Mole that Brains created, it only took one of us at a time?"**
"Oh yes, I remember. You used that?"
"Yeah. It worked fine and was small enough to be used here where we don't have vast amounts of room to manoever. Do you want to see the rooms?"
"Sure - I might as well get used to what's where."
They moved to the nearest door but just as Scott opened it he felt the familiar vibration of his watch. Lifting his arm Scott activated the device.
"Scott here."
Virgil's face filled the watch face.
"Scott, are you anywhere nearby? Gordon and I are in TB2's hanger. We're having difficulty with the tracking for the grabs. We need an extra pair of hands. Can you help?"
"Sure thing Virgil. Jane and I are on our way there anyway. We're by the maintenance store-rooms. We'll be right down."
Scott closed the link and turned back to his sister who was standing in the darkened doorway, looking into the room.
"Coming Jane?"
"Hmmm?"
She stood gazing into the darkness, a puzzled look on her face.
"I said are you coming? Virgil and Gordon need some help in Thunderbird Two."
Not changing position his sister answered absently.
"No, that's ok. You go ahead, I'll catch up."
Puzzled, but keen to go and help his brothers Scott turned away.
"OK - just follow the corridor when you're ready. We're right at the end."
As he strode off down the corridor his sister took a tentative step into the room.
Virgil wiped his arm over his face to brush away the lock of hair that kept falling in his eyes, oblivious to the streak of grease that attached itself to his cheek and forehead as a result.
"OK Scott" he called in a tired voice, "try that."
There was a faint purr as power hummed through the equipment and the grabs finally closed smoothly and correctly. Scott ran through the procedure a couple of times more and each time the grabs opened and closed to completion. Happy that the job was done he operated the controls to settle Thunderbird Two back down on its stilts.
"I guess that just about wraps it up."
Scott stood next to his brown haired brother and grinned.
"You know, we'd have got on quicker if you'd put the grease on the tracking to begin with rather than painting your face with it."
"What? Oh" Virgil grinned as the comment registered.
"We'd also have got on quicker if you'd been here to help in the first place instead of swanning around the base with Jane all afternoon." His eyes twinkled as he made the comment, letting his brother know he was only joking "Honestly the minute a woman appears on the scene you're hopeless"
"Well someone had to show her around. If you, Gordon and Alan hadn't got the kit so dirty in the first place you wouldn't have to spend all this time cleaning it." Scott looked around and frowned
"Where is she anyway? She should have been here ages ago."
Virgil looked up from where he was wiping his hands and face on a clean cloth.
"I don't know Scott. Once you got here we were working and I haven't thought of it since."
He moved over to the doorway of the Thunderbird machine and stuck his head outside. Seeing Gordon bending down packing tools away nearby he called out.
"Hey Gordon."
His younger brother looked up.
"Have you seen Jane anywhere around?"
"No" Gordon shook his head "I hadn't thought about it since Scott got here but I haven't seen her."
"She must have found something mighty interesting in that store-room." Scott clapped Virgil on his back as he moved past him through the doorway. "Come on, let's go find her."
As she walked past the door and entered the room it seemed as if she were experiencing deja-vu. The light from the passageway illuminated only the first few feet to her light adjusted eyes and by it she could make out stacks of shelves disappearing into the gloom. She stood in the semi- darkness for a number of minutes, trying to grasp the memory that stood on the edge of her consciousness. At last she left the dull circle of light cast in from the outside passage and entered the full dark of the storage area. As she reached the shelving she suddenly gasped, grasping at the side of the unit for support as the room seemed to spin and melt around her and become another room, in another place.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
They were coming. They could not be far behind her now. She had to get away from here. Hiding would be of no use, eventually they would find her again and then the needle would appear to be followed by darkness.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
She pulled herself upright and staggered on. There had to be another door, another way out.
~ ~~~~ ~~~~~
A whirling kaleidoscope of images, her head spinning and her body sick and in pain. She had fleeting images of faces, cruel, hard and mocking and their voices circled in her mind, questioning, questioning. She fought the voices - she must not remember. She must say nothing, nothing. Nothing of the secrets, plans and codes, nothing of her family, of her father, of her home. If only she could forget, forget it all.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~
The room went on before her. It was fully dark here but she did not need light to see. The images were within her head, she knew where she was. She knew who was behind.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Darkness again. A bed beneath her that rose and fell of its own accord, sickening her stomach and causing her head to swell and shrink as the waves of invisible motion affected her body. A boat! She was on a boat! Or was she? Perhaps it was all in her mind, a result of the drug. The drug - how it sought to open her mouth, to cause her to spill out all that she knew! To tell them what they wanted to know. She must not, she must be silent. It would be better if she were unconscious, or dead - beyond the recall of water and hard hands, then they could never hear her speak. She must not tell them. Oh, that she could forget. If only the drug they used to make her speak would instead wipe her memory so she could remember nothing. Escape, she must escape. She must get out.
A scraping sound - a key in the lock. A mocking voice and then hands, hands that were calloused and hard and grasping. Touching everywhere, loosening her clothes, reaching beneath. Her eyes shot open - dark hair, brown eyes above her. A mirthless grin and then hands in her hair, tearing her head backwards. Lips at her throat, hot, fetid breath reeking of alcohol and smoke. 'Get up! Get up! Now's your chance. It's now or never'. A quick move, her nails in his face, thumbs in his eyes, pushing, gouging as she got off the bed. A hoarse cry and a blow to her face that sent her spinning across the cabin and spawling over a chair. Then he was there again, wrenching her to her feet and pinning her against the wall. And again the reek of alcohol and stale tobacco as he pressed against her, holding her jaw in an iron grip and forcing her mouth open by brute force as he leaned forward to take what he desired. In desperation she brought both hands up to his ears with as much force as she could, at the same time bringing her knee upwards to hit as hard as she could. He staggered backwards, cursing and wretching and she was free, out of the door and running, running through corridors that still swayed and moved. Up stairs, through doors. Running, running.
The door stood open as they reached it but the room was in darkness. Scott reached for the switch but was stopped by his brother's hand.
"Remember all those times when we thought she was asleep and she'd be hiding under the stairs or behind a door before she'd jump out at us as we went by?" Virgil's eyes glittered with mischief as he looked at his brother. "How about we give her a proper welcome home?"
Scott thought for a moment and then grinned
"It's been a long time since we made her jump properly. It'll be just like old times."
Grinning the brothers silently entered the room, separating slightly to search more easily and then come upon their target from both sides, unawares.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
The ships's passages seemed endless. Behind her she could hear pursiut. She turned aside, opening a door and slipping inside. Turning she found herself in semi-darkness in a store room lined with shelves carrying goods of all sorts. She stumbled forwards - there had to be another door , another way out.. If they caught her she would have to fight but she was only one - they were many. She followed the wall around, came to a corner, turned and carried on until she reached another corner. No door. There was only one.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
The two brothers padded forward into the darkness, their feet only making the lightest of sounds in the still room. They could hear faint movements of fabric ahead of them and ragged breathing. She was here, with the light off, hiding, enjoying the anticipation so much that her breathing gave away her presence. Waiting for them. They would enjoy this. This time it was Jane that would jump not them. Working together silently, using the common bond of understanding that had grown between them over the years they approached their prey cautiously, not wanting to announce their presence until the last moment.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~
She could hear them now. They were here. In the dark. Hunting. For her. She would have to fight. It was her only chance. In the dark, in the confusion, if she could get to them before they got to her, she might be able to stop them long enough to get away. She stretched out her arm cautiously over the nearest shelf, feeling for anything to help her. The first shelf yielded nothing but on the shelf beneath she found something she could use as a weapon. Lifting it she turned and began to move back towards the only door.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
Scott grinned to himself. His sister's patience had obviously decreased over the years. When she was young she had been known to hide for up to an hour, waiting for her victims to appear when they thought it was safe. He couldn't have been with Virgil and Gordon for more than a third of that time before coming to look for her but if he wasn't mistaken his sister was giving up and leaving the store room already. Trusting that Virgil was in position he moved forward, ready to jump as she went past.
As she edged along a set of shelves there was a swift movement behind her, a shout of victory and a tall, stocky figure leapt out at her from behind. Expecting the attack she dropped and whirled, raised the weapon in her hands and swung for the knees of her attacker. Weapon collided with flesh and the cry of victory turned into a shout of pain as the figure was knocked sideways and came crashing down at her feet. Bringing the weapon up above her head she brought it down over the shadow's back and shoulders then she turned to flee.
Another figure appeared before her and she ran into its arms before she had time to react. Hands grasped at her shoulders, striving to capture her. She heard words, imprecations but could not make them out. Her heart was pumping too violently now and her blood was roaring in her ears. Twisting and turning she nearly wrenched herself free of her assailant but his hands had become entangled in her shirt and as she turned to flee once more she lost her balance and fell to the floor, twisting and landing on her back. The sudden loss of balance took her captor by surprise and he too fell, landing partly on her legs, trapping her.
She was completely desperate now, desperate to escape, to avoid what must surely come. Her attacker was nearly on his knees, shouting at her, one hand on her hip holding her down, the other seeking her arm. She had to get away, had to escape. She hadn't been able to hit the other one hard enough - he would recover soon and then she would be lost.
She still held the weapon in her hand. With a last effort she brought it up sharply and it was caught between her hand and the side of his face as she smacked it home. Momentarily stunned his grip slackened and she kicked her legs free from under him and clamboured to her feet. Backing up she realised that in the confusion she had become disorientated. The way to the door was in front of her. Her assailants, both of whom were clambering to their feet, were between her and it. At her back was a cold wall.
"Lay one more finger on me and I swear I'll kill you." The words were all she had to fight off the fear and panic that rose in her throat. A facade of strength ground out from between clenched teeth that would convince no-one. "I'll tell you nothing and if you try to stop me getting out of here I'll send you to rot in Hell where you belong. Now get out of my way."
Her assailants looked towards each other briefly but before either could reply another voice came out of the darkness.
"WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON HERE AND WHY ARE YOU ALL IN THE DARK?"
With that the room was flooded in light and Jeff Tracy saw two of his sons standing unsteadily before his daughter, battered and bruised from the large piece of pipe that she was wielding in her hand. Her hair and clothes were dishevelled, her face pale and her eyes large with terror.
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** Many thanks to Tikatu for allowing me to borrow this wonderful idea of a prototype for the Mole. It was mentioned in "Mole People", a chapter of Tikatu's story "Father's Day".
Disclaimer: The Thunderbirds characters are owned by someone other than me although Jane Tracy is, I believe, my invention.
I intend only to borrow them and will return them in one piece.
