Hour Nine

The following takes place between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on the day Washington, D.C. was destroyed.

08:00:10

There was nothing but darkness. No matter which way she looked, her eyes picked up no trace of light. She couldn't even tell if she was standing or floating or lying down or what. She felt perfectly fine, as though she hadn't a care in the world. How had she come to be in this place? Where was this place?

"My daughter."

"Father?" A gray glow arose before her, a caricature of sunrise, casting shadows across her face. She watched as a figure approached. When it came into full view, she recognized it immediately. "Father!" Tin-Tin raced forward to meet him...again, unable to tell if she were actually running or just flying.

Kyrano held her tightly, kissing the top of her head as she nestled into his arms. "My child. I am so happy you are here."

She pulled back a bit and looked into his eyes. "Where are we, Father?"

"We are in the middle of time and space."

"I don't understand."

Kyrano seated himself on a large pillow that suddenly appeared. Tin-Tin couldn't even see the floor it was sitting on. He reached down and patted a second pillow that appeared directly in front of him. "Come, Daughter. Sit with me."

She lowered herself to the pillow, her legs crossed Indian-style.

"This is the Great Void, Tin-Tin," he began to explain. "It is within this special place that spans the whole of all that is and is not where minds may meet."

"Are we projecting?"

"That is one way of looking at it, yes. In reality, I am lying in a hospital bed."

"A hospital bed? Why?"

"I am afraid that I was attacked by The Hood again. My body was unable to withstand the assault. It was the worst attack ever. And so my heart seized."

"Father!" she cried, her hands reaching out to grab his. "We're not-I mean, are we-we're not dead, are we?"

"No, no, calm yourself, my child. We both live still."

"If you're lying in a hospital bed, I mean, if you're ill back there on Earth...what about me? Why am I here?"

"I do not know for certain. What is the last you remember?"

Tin-Tin thought hard. She was finding it difficult to get past where she was right now, difficult to recall anything other than waking up here in the dark.

Sensing her confusion, Kyrano said, "You and Gordon are being held hostage aboard a submarine."

Those words brought everything flooding back to her. "Oh, Father!" she exclaimed, eyes filling with tears. "We were meditating. Gordon and I, we were meditating for you. I felt your heartbeat slowing! We were trying...we were trying to keep you going, trying to save you!"

"Ah, yes. I felt a presence. I felt it faintly, but I knew someone was with me. Thank you, my daughter. I believe you and Gordon have saved my life."

The two hugged fiercely and then parted, hands holding tight to one another's. "But I don't know what happened. I remember reaching that plane, Father, the one you always spoke of. The one I could never reach on my own before today. I found Gordon. I found his mind. I could hear him, and I know he could hear me."

Kyrano nodded and smiled. He had always known that one day Tin-Tin would come into her own where her abilities were concerned. It seemed that day had come. "What happened next?"

"I-I felt something...no, someone. They were evil, Father! They were so evil! They invaded my thoughts, they took my mind...they took my mind...oh, God!" She launched into his arms again, sobbing as the agony of the experience washed over her anew. "He took my mind!" she wailed.

Kyrano's face hardened. It couldn't be. He wouldn't have done that. Would he? "Was it...was it your half-uncle, Tin-Tin?"

She sat up straight, looking wildly into his eyes. "Oh, my God. Yes. Yes, it was him! I know that now. I didn't know it then, but you're right, it was! I told him...Father, he made me tell him!"

"Tell him what?"

"Where we were. Where I was. He knows we're on the sub! He's coming to find us! Oh, my God, oh, my God."

"Calm, Tin-Tin. Relax. Do you remember anything else?"

Tin-Tin closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. She thought and thought, desperately trying to recover those terrible moments, and what had happened after. Finally, she nodded her head and looked into her father's eyes.

"I lost consciousness. I could feel myself floating above my body. Gordon...Gordon was frantic. I-I was having seizures. After that, I don't remember anything else. Oh, Father, what are we going to do?"

"We must find a way to contact Mr. Tracy."

"But how? How can we do that from this place?"

"I do not know for certain that we can. But we must try."

08:16:40

Ruth barged into the ICU, tearing the accordion walls surrounding Alan's bed away with the strength of ten women half her age. "Alan!" she cried when she saw him. She slammed her hand into the alarm button on the wall next to his bed, then ran around to the other side and took in the state of the ventilator and heart monitor. "Alan, come on, breathe! Breathe!"

Within seconds, a male nurse came running in, followed by a female nurse. "What is it?" he asked.

"He's stopped breathing, the machines were turned off!"

"What?" The male nurse ran for the intercom. "ICU, Bed 4, Code Blue, stat!"

Ruth heard alarms ring as the nurse gently pulled the tube out of Alan's throat. "Do something!" she cried. Then she turned to the female nurse and said, "Close this place down! I know who did it! He might still be here!"

She nodded and ran out of the room to the nurse's station with Ruth hot on her heels. Hitting the switch for Security, she yelled, "Immediate lockdown! Seal all exits now!" She turned to Ruth and asked, "Who is he?"

"Frank Jacobs, a man that raced once with Alan several years ago. During some test runs, Alan lost a wheel and smashed into his car. Jacobs was laid up for nearly a year and he's never forgiven Alan."

"Ma'am, what's he look like?"

"He's about six feet tall, early thirties, light brown hair, dark brown eyes...he was wearing a white lab coat."

The nurse repeated her description into the microphone while Ruth headed for the staircase she'd seen Jacobs take.

"What's happened?" came the Security Chief's voice over the phone. "Why are we after this guy?"

"He just tried to kill a patient!"

08:20:22

"Thunderbird 1 to Base."

"What is it, Scott?"

"I can't raise Grandma. She's not answering her com."

"Have John get in touch with the hospital and find out what's going on."

Just at that moment, John's voice broke through. "Thunderbird 1 and Base from Thunderbird 5!"

"Strength 5, go ahead."

"Scott! It's the hospital in Arlington! They've just gone into Lockdown!"

"What?" Jeff bellowed. "What happened?"

"They're saying something about a man who just tried to kill a patient in ICU! No...oh, God...it was Alan!"

"Oh, my God!" Scott cried. "Why would someone try to kill him!"

"Dammit! John, what's his condition?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to get through to 'em now, but they're not responding. Everything's a mess down there between the D.C. victims and now this."

"It can only mean one thing," Scott said, his hands tightening around Thunderbird 1's controls. "Canton must know he's there. He must've either gone there himself or sent someone."

"Open it up, Scott. Get there as fast as you can. If he knows Alan's there, he'll soon find out about Virgil. John, get hold of Mobile Control and see if you can't arrange for agents to be posted with them. When you get the hospital on the line, tell them exactly who's coming so they'll let them in."

"F.A.B.!"

"And John? I want them armed."

Megan just sat wide-eyed listening to the exchange. After what Scott had said earlier, she sensed his bond with Virgil went beyond camaraderie. Now, hearing the frantic tones used by John, Jeff and Scott, she began to truly wonder about International Rescue. They seemed like more than just an organization. They almost seemed like...family.

"Hold tight, Meg," Scott said, barely realizing he'd shortened her name. "We're going to ten thousand."

She nodded and closed her eyes as she felt the pressure on her body increase. God, was this nightmare ever going to end?

08:25:33

Ruth exited the stairwell into the hospital Lobby and ran straight for the front door. "Did you catch him?" she asked the two security guards who stood nearby.

"No, ma'am, we haven't seen anyone matching the description Nurse Blevins gave us. Are you his grandmother, the one who recognized the guy?"

"Yes!" Just then a car drove past the front doors, not more than ten feet away. Ruth's eyes widened. "That's him! That's him! That's Frank Jacobs! Let me outta here!"

She hit the emergency open button on the side of the sliding glass doors and raced out into the parking lot, the two security guards on her tail. "We have to go after him!" she cried.

Just then, a police vehicle screeched to a halt right in front of them. The policeman opened the window and yelled, "Did you catch him?"

Ruth opened the passenger door and got in the car, slamming the door shut behind her. She turned to the two shocked guards and said, "You protect those International Rescue boys, or there'll be hell to pay!" Then she turned to the policeman and said, "After him! He went that way!"

"Who the hell are you and what do you think you're doing in my car?"

Impatient as she was to give chase, Ruth knew the cop wasn't going to budge without an explanation. "I'm from International Rescue."

Chang eyeballed her. A little old lady? With International Rescue? "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"Young man, do I look like I'm kidding?"

"I'm sorry, but if you don't show me somethin' quick, I'm placing you under arrest. You can't just commandeer a squad car."

One of the security guards approached them. "Officer, she's who she says she is."

Chang eyed the man suspiciously. "ID, ma'am."

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Ruth reached into her purse, pulled out her wallet and shoved it in the officer's face.

"This doesn't say International Rescue. It says Ruth Tracy."

More than slightly put off, Ruth retorted, "International Rescue is a secret organization. Do you think we advertise who we are?"

Chang seemed nonplussed.

"The man you're letting get away just tried to kill one of our operatives. I have a feeling he was put up to it by the man who's responsible for what happened to D.C."

Whether convinced or simply interested in trying to catch the D.C. bomber, the cop handed her ID back to her without further ado. All four tires left rubber on the asphalt as the policeman hit the gas. The two guards just looked at each other.

"Jesus," one of them said. "So much for what they say about little old ladies."

08:27:51

"What the hell is going on around here?" Dr. Gray yelled as the alarm bells rang insistently. He'd just finished fusing the two severed ends of Virgil's posterior femoral artery into the anterior. Thankfully, it was a success, and color began to return to the unconscious man's face as new blood traveled from IV bags into his body.

One nurse, who'd run out the door and spoken to another, hurried back into the OR. "Dr. Gray, it's the other man from International Rescue! Get to the ICU!"

"Dammit!" the doctor swore as he ripped the latex gloves from his hands and pulled his surgical mask down. "Get Dr. Shea in here to start repairing the muscle, now!"

"Yes, Doctor."

He sprinted out of the room and down the hall to the ICU, where he found Nurse Abel Crane leaning against the wall panting. "Report," he barked, shining his penlight into each of Alan's eyes in succession.

Nurse Crane stood up straight and replied, "He wasn't breathing when I arrived. I removed the tube and started CPR. He only came back about forty seconds ago."

"How the hell did this happen?"

"Don't know, Sir. The lady who was here said the machines had been turned off."

"Jesus...this'll set him back but good, if not permanently damage his brain. His pupils are dilating, that's a good sign. Stand back, let me intubate him again. His breathing is far too labored for my liking. And I want you prepare a room on the eighth floor. It's the safest, most secure area of the hospital. We'll move him as soon as you're ready."

"Yes, Sir!" Nurse Crane responded as he left the room.

"What is it with you guys?" Gray said as he unwrapped a sterile breathing tube and approached Alan's bed. "Why the hell is everyone so bent on seeing you destroyed?"

08:34:16

"There he is! That's his car!" Ruth cried as the squad car rounded a corner. She raised her wrist communicator to her face. "Ruth calling Thunderbird 1! Ruth calling Thunderbird 1!"

Frowning and looking sidelong at her, the policeman asked, "Who is this guy? And for that matter, who are you?"

"I told you who I am. And that man is Frank Jacobs, someone who has a bone to pick with the man he just tried to kill." Ruth turned to him, craning her neck to see his name badge.

"Sergeant Bill Chang, at your service, ma'am," he said.

She nodded and turned her face back to the front window. "Don't you dare let him out of your sight, Sergeant Chang."

Chang nodded as a voice came from somewhere in the vicinity of Ruth's arm. "Thunderbird 1 here. What's your status?"

But instead of listening in, he had his own job to do. He pressed a button on his CB unit. "Dispatch, car Two-Oh-Four, Code 8, in pursuit of vehicle, suspect in an attempted 187. Suspect vehicle is late model tan two-door, 10-28 on license Frank Edward Henry Four-Two-Two. Vehicle headed east on I-66. Copy."

"Roger, Two-Oh-Four."

Sergeant Chang flipped on his lights and sirens and picked up speed as he tried to keep the car in sight. Then he spoke again. "Possible identification of subject: Frank Jacobs. Run a 10-20a. And get a chopper in the air!"

"Roger that, Two-Oh-Four. Air Five ETA four minutes. 10-29, license plates registered to Franklin Quincy Jacobs, aged 34, 6'1", 210 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. Last known address 374 Marshall Drive, Ft. Myer, Virginia."

"That's him!" Ruth cried. "Please don't let him get away. Please."

"I'll do my best."

08:42:00

"Base and Thunderbird 1, come in!"

"Here, son."

"With you, John. I've got Grandma on the wire. She's in a squad car, but there was interference and I couldn't hear half of what she was saying. How's Alan?"

"Alan's okay, best I could get from the nurse I spoke to was that some guy unplugged his ventilator and he stopped breathing, but they've got him hooked up again."

"Son of a bitch!" Scott cried, slamming his fist onto the armrest of his seat.

"Who was it, John?"

"I've tapped into the frequency being used by the Arlington police. Hang on, Father, I'm gonna play back so I can see if they've identified him."

They couldn't hear the playback, but they heard John gasp.

"What? John!"

"Father, I-I don't believe this. It's Frank Jacobs. They're in pursuit now."

"Frank Jacobs?" Scott asked incredulously. "The guy Alan tangled with at Bonneville? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"God," Jeff breathed. "That wreck laid him up for a year. But that can't be why he tried to kill him. Canton must've gotten to him. There's no way Jacobs alone would've known Alan was in that hospital. John, you get on with the Arlington police and make certain they take him alive. We need to know for sure if it was Canton who put him up to this."

"F.A.B." There was a moment's silence before John spoke again. "I'm getting the latest on Virgil!"

Scott held his breath.

"They've stopped the bleeding and he's stabilizing as we speak."

Scott exhaled in one big rush of air. "Thank God," he whispered.

"They're working on patching him up now. I guess his leg's pretty torn up from what the nurse is reporting. They're also going to place Alan in a secure ward, and I've got six agents headed to the hospital to stand guard."

"Scott, when you get there, make sure they put Virgil in that ward, too. And find out where the hell Grandma is!"

"F.A.B. We'll be arriving in about twenty minutes."

"I'll keep you posted on developments. Thunderbird 5 out."

"I'm glad Virgil's going to be okay," Megan said, noticing how Scott visibly relaxed.

"Thanks, Meg." Then, as if just then realizing it, he added, "Sorry about that. I seem to have shortened your name on you."

She smiled. "No problem. Meg works." She hesitated for a moment before asking, "There's something different about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't mean you, personally, I mean...all of you."

Uh-oh.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were family. You even called that lady Grandma."

Scott started slightly as he glanced down to where she sat. What did he say to that? "Well, I guess we might as well be. We get into some pretty hairy situations. And since she's the oldest of the bunch, we all call her Grandma."

She seemed satisfied with that for the moment. Scott reminded himself to try and be a little more cautious from here on in. This Megan Crawford was already too close to the truth for comfort.

08:48:06

"I believe I have located him."

"I can't sense him, Father."

"No, I do not think you will be able to do so. He is a very difficult man to reach. His mind is not as open as I would like. Join your energy with mine, my daughter. Perhaps together it will be enough."

Tin-Tin nodded and grasped her father's hands. Closing her eyes, she allowed her thoughts to mingle with his and could almost tangibly feel the energy flowing between them.

"This will work," Kyrano said as he closed his eyes. "It must."

08:49:59

Jeff had just finished loading four Depressurization Diving Suits along with other supplies and equipment onto Thunderbird 4 when he suddenly felt dizzy. The metal toolkit he held in his hand clanged to the floor as he staggered back against the hull.

"Jeff!" Penny cried from the side hatch of 4. She ran out to where he had leaned over, his hands on his thighs. "Jeff, what's wrong?"

"Don't...know..." he gasped. "Dizzy..."

"Jeff, sit down at once," Penny ordered, pulling him down to the floor. "Put your head between your knees."

He nodded dumbly and leaned forward. The room spun uncontrollably and his stomach lurched in protest. "God...Pen...Pen..."

Penny raised his wrist to her face. "Brains! Brains, it's Jeff! Come quickly!"

Brains' face appeared in the watch, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, the world around him exploded in a violent flash of white. The picture danced wildly for a moment and then the image winked out.

"Brains!" Penny cried, just as Jeff fell over into her legs, catching her off-balance and knocking her to the floor. "Jeff!"

08:52:49

"What the hell is he coming here for?" Sergeant Chang bellowed as Jacobs' car plowed through one of the side gates at Arlington National Cemetery.

Ruth peered through the windshield into the sky where she saw a police helicopter hovering overhead. The CB was alive with calls shooting back and forth between it and the ground units following them. She'd given up trying to get through to Scott, making a mental note to ask Brains why the hell their transmission had been so broken. Chang took her by surprise when he braked hard, and she had to brace herself against the dash to keep from flying forward.

"10-96, Arlington National Cemetery, east side," he said into the CB as he threw his car door open. "Stay put! He's out and running!"

She didn't even have a chance to answer as Sergeant Chang sprinted away. She could see Frank Jacobs in the distance on top of a small rise. He looked back over his shoulder once before disappearing from view.

"The hell I'll stay put," Ruth muttered as she opened the door. "He tried to kill my grandson."

As she got out of the car, she could hear sirens approaching, but they sounded awfully far away to her. At her age she couldn't run too fast, but she jogged as quickly as she possible to catch up to them, thankful that Virgil had always encouraged her to stay in good shape. When she reached the small hill, she stood there for a moment, trying to see between all the ornate headstones and vaults that filled the area ahead.

And then she caught sight of them. Chang had made good time, he was only about twenty feet behind Jacobs, but the latter was hiding behind the Iwo Jima monument, and she could tell Chang wasn't aware of his location. When she looked into the sky, she saw the chopper hovering over Jacobs, but there were more obstructions than just the monument beneath it, so Ruth doubted it would be able to give Chang the exact pinpoint he needed. She started down the hill, determined to catch up to the sergeant.

"Ruth to Thunderbird 1."

"Grandma, what the-where are you?"

"Arlington National Cemetery. He's running, it's Frank Jacobs, Scott, he's running and the sergeant's gone after him."

"I know it's Frank, John heard it over the wire. What happened to you before, why couldn't I get through to you?"

"I don't know, " Ruth huffed. "How far away are you?"

"Not far, just hang on, we'll be there fast."

It was a game of cat and mouse. Chang knew his suspect was hiding somewhere up ahead. He drew his gun and flattened himself against a nearby vault. He didn't want to use his portable CB to contact Air Five for fear of giving his own location away to the suspect. Peeking around the corner, he gave himself the all-clear before dashing to the next structure, a tall monument that was just about the width of his body. Flattening himself against it for a moment, he then ran to the next vault. He continued zigzagging from structure to structure, making his way closer to where Air Five hovered above.

As he crouched behind a smaller headstone, looking back the way he'd come, he saw something that made him mad as a hornet. It was Ruth, and she was headed directly for him. "Damn that woman! How'd I know she wouldn't stay in the car?" he muttered. "Get down!" he called out. "Stay back!"

She hesitated for a moment before hiding behind the tall monument he'd used for cover only minutes before. Then she peeked around it and watched as Chang made his way to another monument. When he turned to check on her location, she pointed over to his right. He nodded, realizing she must have seen where Jacobs was hiding when she came over the rise. He looked around the edge of his cover and stepped out from behind it, fully intending to run for the statue only three feet to his right.

Ruth looked just in time to see Jacobs emerge from behind the Iwo Jima monument. In his hand was a gun. Chang froze. Jacobs looked beyond him to where Ruth stood transfixed.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Tracy!" he called out.

Chang slowly raised his weapon toward his suspect.

"You won't get away with this, Frank!" she yelled.

Chang's gun was almost level with Jacobs.

"Won't I?" Frank sneered. "We'll just see about that."

And then a shot rang out.

08:59:58

08:59:59

09:00:00