Chapter Eleven – Sleigh Ride
Disclaimer - (To Rudolph) - CC, the fan fic writer, doesn't own the Thunderbirds. She (and the bank) own a Chevy but seaQuest also isn't hers. She doesn't need a lawyer, as she makes no money. Her goal is to be read, and go down in history...(as the best ELF/ALF ever!!)
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward tossed down her communicator in frustration. Sighing, she picked the offending object up and slipped it into her purse. Parker should have FAB-1 ready to go. While they were more than aware that they could not get to Tracy Island until the storm passed, it made the pair feel better that they could be close enough to swoop in quickly once the weather had cleared. Clasping the purse in her hand, Penny turned o leave her room only to see Parker standing in the doorway.
"M'lady," A shaken Parker began. "A constable from the Metropolitan Police just left. Ignatius Weasley was killed in a house fire less than an hour ago."
"Tragic Parker, but how is that relevant to us beyond losing a potential link to the Hood?"
"The constable said it is appearing as if someone killed him by remote control. According to the power grid, someone hacked in and overwhelm anything that could be accessed remotely, overloading them."
Penny gnawed her lower lip briefly. Knowing that the prison break had been engineered by somebody remotely accessing and overriding the computer system made her more than aware that someone was tying up loose ends. But would this help or hurt the Tracys? The need to get to her friends had become more urgent than ever.
"Scottie!" Virgil screamed above the howling winds. Moving as quickly as he could, flinching as bits of natural debris flew through the air, burning his eyes and nicking his exposed skin. At the pool's edge, Virgil's eyes were drawn down to the small smear of blood that was dissipating in the rain that had begun to fall. Forcing his eyes from that horrible sight, Virgil quickly scanned the choppy water and spotted his oldest brother at the bottom of the pool. Jumping into the water, Virgil took a deep breath before plunging into the water. Grabbing Scott's limp body, the middle Tracy son pulled his older brother to the surface.
Forcing Scott's limp form out of the pool, Virgil climbed out and knelt next to his brother. Feeling for a pulse, Virgil sighed in relief when he detected a steady rhythm under his finger. It didn't appear that Scott had been under long enough for that to hurt him. But that wasn't what Virgil was concerned about. With a gentle touch, he could feel the bleeding welt on the back of Scott's head. Ideally, Virgil knew he should get help and cautiously move Scott into the house. But with the rain becoming heavier and the wind conditions more hazardous, Virgil didn't want to risk leaving Scott out there by himself. Hauling Scott into a fireman's carry, praying he wasn't doing more harm than good, Virgil carried his burden into the villa.
Jeff Tracy and Nathan Bridger had made their way from the cove to a wider one a short distance away. When Jeff saw the stealth boat secured just off shore, he felt no interest to examine it more closely. While Bridger muttered anxiously about the fact that a Ausland Confederacy military vessel was there, in UEO territory – worse, on a private island of one of the UEO biggest defense contractors – Jeff knew from the cold fingers clutching at his heart that this was no military or political strike. This was the devil who haunted the Tracy Father's dreams. The Hood was back.
Without a word, Jeff turned and began to head back to "Alan's Cove". The need to find the boys was building with a matching intensity to the rising storm. Nathan wasn't sure what had so clearly terrified Jeff, but he did know that it did not bode well for the boys they both loved.
The rain was beginning to dig into Jeff and Nathan's skin, as the wind and resulting debris made it harder to see. Turning to Bridger, Jeff raised his voice in order to be heard. "Nathan, the boys would have had to pass us to go directly back to the house. They must have entered an access point and gone in through the hangers. Only…" Jeff's voice trailed off as he contemplated what the results of that could be. As he realized that Nathan was watching him in puzzlement, Jeff sighed. "If Alan took them in through the hangers AND the others have done a weather-lockdown there are only certain paths they could take. Most of them lead directly past the 'Birds. I guess Lucas is going to find out about IR whether he was ready or not."
Wiping the rain from his face, Nathan also sighed. "Well, where is the nearest entrance?"
Thinking quickly, Jeff led the way to a small cave. Walking to the back of the cavern, only about five feet, Jeff pushed a rock down, revealing a palm-print identification panel. "This leads to a storage unit. We should be able to get in from there."
Entering through a door that had slid open in the false stone front, motion sensors lit the room up quickly. Nathan looked around in surprise. A wide variety of mechanical supplies, safety equipment, even boxes marked as "medical supplies" lined shelves that covered the walls and went up to the ceiling. Jeff had already crossed most of the wide room when the door behind them – which had slid shut once both men had entered – suddenly echoed with a loud bang. The lights flickered for a moment, before completely going out. The room was now lit by emergency lighting only.
By the dim lighting, Jeff began to examine the door to the outside. Lowering his head, he sighed. "I forgot to close the security panel, didn't I?" At the newest puzzled look sent his way by Bridger, Jeff leaned his head back against some boxes on the nearest shelf. "If the security panel were to be compromised – maybe by something flying into it – it could mess with the power to this room. Random glitches like that are easily corrected if either someone in command and control or Thunderbird Five notice them." At the now hopeful look on the sea captain's face, Jeff dashed his expectations. "But communications off the island are down for the moment and whoever is in Command and Control would have to be looking for the problem. If it continues for fifteen minutes, an alarm would be sounded, but we are stuck here for that amount of time."
Bridger smiled. "Well, we can wait fifteen minutes." At the distressed sound Jeff made, Nathan began to become upset himself. "We can spare fifteen minutes, can't we?"
Jeff, who had been leaning back with his eyes closed, opened them. Bridger's breath stilled at the fear that was reflected in his friend's eyes.
"I pray we can, Nathan," Jeff said softly. "I am praying with all my heart that we can."
"Johnny! Gordon! I need help!" Virgil was calling out even as he entered through the kitchen. Vaguely, he noticed the Onaha wasn't there and realized that the woman must have gone down to the smaller villa she shared with her family to secure it as well. With the way the winds were now howling, he was sure she would most likely remain in her quarters for some time.
At the sound of Virgil's panicky voice, John and Emily came running in to meet him at the door between the kitchen and living room. John's eyes went wide at the sight of his only older brother being carried in by the middle Tracy son. Reaching out, he began to share the burden of carrying the unconscious Scott into the living room. As soon as he was laying flat on the nearest sofa, Emily began to examine him. Without looking up from her ministrations, Emily started to sharply bark orders. "Virgil, go get some blankets and supplies from the infirmary. John, get my bag. It should be next to the bed in the guest room."
Virgil stood, panting, even while John ran off to get Emily's medical bag. "Should I get the stretcher so we can take him down to the infirmary?"
Emily shook her head. "No, not yet. I don't want him moved any more than we have to. But we need to get him warm and dry. So grab some towels as well." Briefly glancing up at Virgil, she gave a gentle smile. "Besides, as I hear it, Scott would be playing Houdini on us the second our back was turned if we brought him to the infirmary and he thought he didn't need to be there." At Virgil's surprised look, Emily chuckled as she returned to her cursorily examination of Scott's head wound. "You'd be amazed what your brother talks about in bed."
Virgil couldn't leave the room fast enough. More urgent than getting the supplies for Scott was escaping any thoughts of John engaged in activities that while Virgil could not claim ignorance of, he much preferred not to think of any of his brothers involved in said activities. Ever.
Lucas slowed as he looked around. His jaw had dropped as he looked at the thing most people had never even seen up close. Thunderbird One. "Man," he breathed. "That is so freakin' cool. Ben will never believe this." His face twisted slightly as he realized that he couldn't tell Ben. He couldn't tell anyone. How could Alan live with keeping such a secret? He knew Alan could keep secrets. He had kept silent about what had happened to him with that perv of a professor. And Lucas knew that if he had just asked, Alan would have never told what happened to Lucas at Node-3.
But this? Lucas knew that Alan might work sometimes, to some degree, with the Thunderbirds. But for most of the year, Alan was away at school. How could he deal with watching his family on the vid, seeing them risking their lives for strangers? It would tear at his friend's very soul. Lucas knew how much Alan loved his father and brothers, how much his personal happiness was tied into being a part of his family. It was one of the reasons Alan had been so afraid to tell his family about what had happened to him. He had been afraid that they would not see him the same way. As for Alan never telling him, when had the other teen gotten the chance? It wasn't like he could have told him while they were on the internex. And Alan would have to be very cautious about who he told, or else endanger those he loved.
Confusion swept over Lucas. What gives? How could he have been so unreasonable with Alan? Lucas knew he could be hot-tempered but it usually took a lot to push him over the edge. Lowering his head, Lucas decided he had to go back and find Alan. He had left the younger boy alone, knowing that the mad man that had tried to kill Alan during the…Lucas groaned. OK. The Tracys were the Thunderbirds. Last spring the Thunderbirds' home base had been attacked by a terrorist who called himself the Hood. Lucas remembered seeing the villain on the vid. Alan said "some crazy guy who hated my dad tried to kill me." The Hood had tried to kill his friend. Man. Alan would have been only fourteen at the time. What kind of monster tried to kill a fourteen-year-old kid? A cold chill stole Lucas' breath away. The same kind of monster that was now going to try and kill a fifteen-year-old kid that was who. Lucas turned around, determined to find and protect his friend, only to freeze at the sight in front of him.
"Lucas Wolenczak, I presume?" A red-headed woman with glasses glared at Lucas. But it wasn't the harsh look on her face that clutched at Lucas' heart. It was the small gun she had pointed at his chest that stole his breath away.
Gordon had looked up from the monitor he had been trying to adjust. He had lost all contact with Thunderbird Five a few minutes earlier. Gordon had thought he had heard Virgil's voice raised but now there was nothing. Virgil and Scott must have finished outside and had gone to join Emily and John. Part of Gordon wished he was in their, teasing the lovebirds, enjoying the fire John would have started in the fireplace, sipping hot chocolate, trying to distract Alan from the storm outside…Closing his eyes in pain, Gordon wondered where his little brother was. Even with the storm shutters up, Gordon could hear the gale raging outside. Allie hated storms. He hoped his father had found Alan before the weather had turned so foul.
Suddenly, Gordon's eye was caught by a movement on one of the monitors. Lucas? What was the kid doing approaching Thunderbird One's silo? And where was Alan? Adjusting the camera angle, Gordon was shocked to see Transom approaching Lucas' position. If she was here, where was the Hood or Mullion? Grabbing a hand gun Jeff kept in a secured drawer, Gordon ran over to the portraits. As the panel slid shut and Gordon began the decent to One's silo, he prayed that he would get there in time. Alan did not need the pain that his friend's death would bring. And Gordon was determined to spare Alan any more pain.
A/N - Yeah, I messed with Scott and trapped the dads. Virgil is once again confronted with evidence of his brothers intimate lives (did that with Scott and Kate in JTBC). He doesn't handle that well. Not much Alan here, but he will be back soon. Can Gordon help? Will Lady P and Parker be able to get there in time (in truth, it's pretty doubtful). And Lucas had met up with Transom and nothing good can come from that. AND before anyone comments on Gordon wondering where the Hood AND Mullion are, remember, they don't know Mullion was killed.
So, I have updated. Please fulfill your part of the verbal contract. REVIEW!! - CC
