The Ransom (Part 11)
By Jenny Taylor
"Why did you order your goons to dump the water on me?" A determined Virgil asked. His captor chuckled.
"The reason why I ordered my minions to pour the water onto you is just for show." The Hood smiled, his captive gasped in a combination of shock, fear and anger.
"When you mean for show, you mean to tell me that the torture was being shown to my family?"
"Yes…" The villain smiled. "And they have fallen for it."
"What do you mean, fallen for it?" Virgil asked, but after a few seconds the answer came to him, causing him to raise his voice in shock and anger. "You mean to tell me that, if they refuse to give you what you want, you'll kill me. BUT, instead of killing me, you're going to use me for one of dad's discarded projects?!"
The arch-villain smiled again. "You're smarter than you look… Virgil." He compliments as well as stroking the forehead of his victim, making the victim wince by the movement and gasping for air in panic.
Sadly unseen by Virgil, who's panicking at the realisation of the truth of the situation, the Hood shuffles his chair so that he faces centrally at Virgil's neck and places his free hand onto his blind and bound victim's chest. This action almost caused Virgil to go into a panic attack, but after a few minutes, he begins to relax.
Well, almost. With the realisation and sensing the weight of both his captor's hands, one on his forehead and the other on his chest, is making him nervous. Why did he place his hands on me? Why? Questions filled his mind again due to panic, but he stops himself.
He breathes in and out slowly, trying to calm himself down as much as possible before he starts asking more questions to the arch-villain. As he calms down, he slowly starts to pull some of the pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle together.
So…The Hood had contacted my family, using my personal communicator. He had told them his demands and the consequences if, they refuse to give him what he wants. The consequences came in a form of water torture, to torture both me and my family. That stunt nearly killed me!
But yet…that stunt is a diversion! A diversion to make my family think the Hood will kill me if they refuse. But in fact…he wants me alive! For one of dad's discarded projects… with me possibly being as the guinea-pig in that project. Diversion or not, it's looking more and more likely that I won't see my family again.
Virgil frowns at the thought of not seeing his family again. He wants to be with them, but… given the situation he's currently in and what the evil villain has in-store for him after his family believes that he's dead. The hope of being reunited with his family is fading away, into the dark, bottomless pit of the darkest reality.
"Well, that was shorter than I expected." Alan said frowning, glancing at a frowning Gordon who nodded in agreement.
It was clear that Dr. Jaycee Anderson was telling them the basic part of her story, due to the fact that she's got a young patient to look after and she was preventing International Rescue from doing their jobs. They can tell that she wants to tell them the more complicated parts of her story. Want is an understatement, she's desperate! Scott rubs her back in comfort.
"Jaycee," Scott spoke in comfort and reassurance, which made her look up at him, teary-eyed. "I can tell that there's more to this than what you're telling us now and that you want to tell us. You are obviously smart enough to know that young Joe here needs your help, by telling us the basics." The doctor nodded.
"I also need help, friends and family, but due to that hated GDF, I can't." She added sadly.
Scott faces squarely into her eyes, with his hands on her shoulders and a face of friendly determination. "Jaycee… I promise that I will do my best to help you, but now, Joe needs your help and we need you to do you duty as a medic. Can I rely on you to do this?"
Jaycee takes a deep breath and nods. "Yes." She briefly turns to Alan. "I'm sorry for shouting at you like that Alan."
"Forget it Jaycee. We didn't know what's going on between you and the colonel. Here." Alan replied as he hands back her helmet, which she accepts and with Scott's help, places her helmet back on her head.
"Alan. I'm gonna switch job roles with you, so I'm giving you my laser cutter, jet pack and control of Thunderbird 1, while I assist Jaycee here with her patient." Scott orders as he gives Alan his laser cutter, jetpack and the remote controls to Thunderbird 1.
"F.A.B." Alan replies as he joins Gordon in cutting and removing the debris.
"Thank you Scott. I could do with some help right now." Said a relieved Jaycee.
"You're welcome. So what do you want me to do?" Scott asks, readying himself to assist as medically as he can.
Jaycee takes a deep breath to regain her composure and looks down at Joe. "Joe?"
"Y-yes?" A nervous Joe responded looking at the doctor with fear and confusion.
"I'm sorry for scaring you like that. It's just that there are certain things that I can't ignore and makes me explode." She apologises to her young patient.
"Just like what happened a few moments ago?" He asked. The doctor nodded.
"Yes. I don't like it, but there's nothing that I can do about it without help. And it makes me angry, upset and…"
"Lonely?"
Jaycee looks at Joe in the eye. It was obvious that he's listened to her story, even though it was basic, but being held an emotional doctor, or hero in his eyes, and to hear her past sufferings, it's probably something that he won't forget for a while.
"Yes." She nodded. "That's why I'm helping children in accidents and situations like these, to get them reunited with their families and friends. To give them a chance that I never got. I maybe an adult on the outside, but inside, I'm a lonely, traumatised child."
She bows her head with tears threatening to fall, then she notices a hand on the side of her helmet, she follows the hand towards its owner. It was Joe's. Her eyes met his. His brown chocolate eyes are filled with calm and symphony and smiling?
He's smiling after what he's been through so far? Jaycee was surprised to see Joe smiling as well as, even though he was aiming to touch her face, she's wearing her helmet so his hand ended on the helmet instead.
"Do you know what my mom would say in a situation like this, Rescue Girl?" He asked. The doctor shook her head. She's was surprised even more by having been called by one of her nicknames.
Does this mean that he still trusts me? Her heart quickens a little and waits for Joe's answer.
"She said, that even if you're alone and far away from those whom you love and trust, they are still with you in spirit, which means that you are never alone." He smiled. Scott and Jaycee looked at each other, wide-eyed in surprise. Neither of them had any idea that a saying like that would come from a child.
"Your mom told you this?" Scott asked, still surprised.
Joe nodded. "Yes, mom lost her mom and dad in a terrible accident when she was 10 and was looked after her grandparents and they told her the same saying as I just told you." He smiled and comforting and understanding smile.
Scott suddenly felt like he saw himself as a kid again, from that fateful day when he and his brothers lost their mom. And to have that saying from a young patient hurts and yet comforting at the same time. He looks up at the doctor. He can see that she's upset.