The Tracy Women Part 3 Becca.
Disclaimer: None of the characters from the Thunderbirds belong to me.
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Chapter 10: It was my fault.
"Virgil, John can you hear me," yelled Scott.
"Yeah we can hear you Scott," replied Virgil.
"And we are fine," added John. Who had been awoken by Scott's yell.
"Thank god," said Scott. He looked down at the mud covered Thunderbird 2. He could just make out the top of her.
"How bad is it?" asked Virgil all he could see in front of him was mud.
"Not as bad as I first thought. Why don't you try raising the hull from the pod. It may free some of the mud," said Scott.
"Any idea what caused the mud slide?" asked John.
"Yeah I did," said Scott quietly. He had only just realized that it was him taking off that had caused the mudslide.
"What do you mean it was your fault?" asked Virgil confused by his brother's comment.
"My engines caused the mud slide," he said not looking at either of them.
"Scott there is no way of knowing that it was your engines that caused this," said John. He could see that Scott was feeling really bad.
"Oh come on John. It had to be. Everything was fine till then," he said angrily and cut the transmission. He needed a couple of minutes to compose himself. He was so glad they had both been in Thunderbird 2 and not beside her.
He watched as Thunderbird 2 slowly raised up. Most of the mud ran off the sides. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 1," said Virgil hoping Scott would answer. He was worried about his brother.
"Go ahead Virgil," said Scott. His pale face on the screen did nothing to allay Virgil's fears.
"We are going to use Brains' new invention to clear the rest of the mud," explained Virgil.
"Ok. Keep in touch. I am going to see if the slide did any other damage and he signed off once more.
"Ok Scott," replied Virgil and he turned to John.
"Do you think he is ok?" he asked.
"Not sure. He definitely thinks this is his fault," replied John remembering how pale Scott had looked. Virgil activated Brains' new invention. It was a self cleaning device designed to clear almost anything off Thunderbird 2. Luckily it seemed to be working. John and Virgil were still worried about Scott. It wasn't like him not to keep in touch. Virgil checked the scanners and could tell they were clear enough to take off. He gently lowered Thunderbird 2 back onto her pod.
"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 1. We are clear for take off. Where are you Scott?" asked Virgil.
"Now coming back round. It was just you guys that were caught in the mud slide," he said. Scott felt a little calmer now as they were both safe. He just couldn't get the nagging thought that this was his fault out of his head.
Thunderbird 2 took off and came round to join Thunderbird 1.
"See you back at base Scott," said Virgil as he saw Thunderbird 1 head off.
"FAB," replied Scott.
Virgil and John both relaxed a little once they were on their way but they decided to radio base and warn them that Scott was blaming himself for what had happened.
Scott landed and completed his post flight checks. He then headed up to the lounge.
"Hello son," said Jeff smiling. Virgil had warned him that Scott was in a bad way and Jeff could see that instantly. He agreed with Virgil that there was no way of telling if it was his engines that caused the slide or not.
"Hi father," replied Scott. He was muddy and tired and not ready for an interrogation.
"Why don't you get cleaned up son and we can debrief later," said Jeff knowing his son was not ready to talk yet. Scott smiled gratefully and left the room.
He went to his room for a shower. He paused along the way to check his phone. Becca had said she would call later on. He saw he had a missed call and a text from her.
Hi Top gun. Hope the rescue goes well. Dad will be fine. Call me later. Bex.
Scott was happy that Mr Carter was ok. He had always got on really well with him. He jumped into the shower and wished Bex was here with him. She always knew what to say to make him feel better. He jumped in the shower. After he was dressed he headed to the lounge and joined the others. They all delivered the relevant information and Virgil explained about the second mud slide. Scott stayed quiet unsure of what to say to his father. He was so distracted he never noticed the others leaving and his father approaching.
"There is no way of knowing it was your fault son," he said laying his hand on his eldest's shoulder.
"It was dad," Scott said quietly.
"What if Thunderbird 2 had taken off first. Thunderbird 1 would have been buried and it wouldn't have been so easy to rescue her."
"Yeah but it wasn't."
"It very easily could have been. You are not always first to leave the scene Scott. Your brothers are not mad at you and they don't blame you for this. Neither do I," said Jeff and he hugged his eldest son. Scott relaxed in his arms for a second then pulled away.
"I better get some sleep," he said smiling slightly. Jeff could still see a hint of blame in his son's eyes but knew he was not going to get through to him.
"Ok son. Sleep tight," he said as Scott stood up.
"You too. Night dad."
"Night son."
Dawn the next day found Scott on the beach. He always got up early but he couldn't sleep so he had given up. He kept pulling his mobile out of his pocket and then replacing it. He wanted to call Becca. He needed to hear her voice. Suddenly the phone began to ring. He didn't recognise the number.
"Hello," he said wondering who it was.
"Hi Scott," said a voice he instantly recognized.
"Becca. I was just going to call you."
"Cool. I rang to see how it went today. I heard a rumour that your brothers were caught in a mud slide," she said not wanting to say too much in case someone was listening.
"Yeah they were but they are ok."
"Oh that's good to hear. You're not ok though are you. You blame yourself don't you."
"How did you work that out?" he asked wondering how she could know so much from a short chat.
"I know you Scott remember. You always do this."
"Yeah I guess I do but they are my younger brothers and I am supposed to look after them."
"You do Scott."
"Yeah. I knew talking to you would make me feel better."
"That's what I am here for and a source of amusement for your brothers."
"Yeah thanks Bex."
"Look I better go. I am on duty soon. Take care Scott."
"You too. Call me later ok."
"I will Bye."
"Bye," he said and hung up the phone. He began walking once more but he felt a little better about everything.
Scott landed Thunderbird 1 and took in his surroundings. They had been called out by a group of men who were trapped in an underground vault. The oxygen was running out and the local services had no equipment to break through the door. Scott saw Thunderbird 2 land gracefully beside her sister ship. He walked over as the pod door opened.
"Any word from them Scott?" asked Virgil.
"No nothing at all. There is something about this I don't like," said Scott.
"Yeah like where are the rescue services," said Alan noticing that they were the only ones on scene.
"I think we should go in and check it out just in case," said Scott.
"I agree Scott. There could still be someone trapped," said Virgil.
They all approached the building with caution in case it was a trap. Scott ordered Alan to stay outside. He didn't want anything to happen to his youngest brother. Alan was annoyed by this. He was getting tired of being the baby of the family. As they entered what must have once been a lounge. They came face to face with two men heavily armed.
"Drop your weapons," said one. Both complied knowing it never paid to argue when a gun was pointed at your head.
"Very good."
"What do you want," said Scott.
"Why your Thunderbird machines of course," replied the other one.
Alan was getting worried outside. He had heard no word from Scott or Virgil and it wasn't like them not to keep in touch. Alan suddenly spotted movement from a top window and knew instantly it was a trap. He crept to the door. Scott would kill him for leaving his post but he had to do something. He crept through the door and then followed the voices. He saw a second entrance to the room and headed for that one. From his position. He could see that Virgil and Scott had been separated. The two men were conversing quietly but still kept and eye on their hostages. Alan tried to catch Scott's eye but he couldn't. Alan saw that one of the men had his gun pointed at Virgil and was ready to shoot. He pulled out his gun and shot the other mans gun out of his hand before he could do it. Virgil reacted quickly and tackled the other gunman to the floor.
As Alan walked in. He caught a glimpse of something just behind Scott. Alan suddenly realized what it was and dived forward. He shoved Scott to the ground as a gun went off. Virgil turned and fired at the third hidden gunman. He shot him in the shoulder knocking him down. He then raced to his fallen brothers.
Authors Note: So was Scott shot or did Alan get in the way. Please read and review.