Thank you so much once again for all of the amazing support.
Keeping a closer eye on his brother than he would ever admit to, Virgil led the way out of the silos, judging by the distant sound of voices that the rest of the family had managed to get Gordon as far as the elevators. Even as the voices faded away upstairs, Virgil spared Scott another glance.
"What are you going to do?"
"About Dad?"
"No, about the midgets that are taking over your room. Of course about Dad."
Rolling his eyes, Scott gave his brother a slight shove. He could tell just how stressed-out his younger sibling was, for sarcasm wasn't normally Virgil's strong point.
"I don't know, Virg. He stopped me from going after you and look what happened."
Knowing that his brother wasn't referring to the fact that there wasn't anything he could have actually done, but that it was the principal of the matter, Virgil frowned.
"Scott, he's our father."
"He's also our commander. But I'm not sure what role he was in when he reacted. We've always tried to keep a line between the family and International Rescue, but when something like this happens... Well, you know as well as I do that it can be hard to stay objective."
"Wait a minute." Coming to a stop, Virgil stuck out his arm, bringing his big brother to a halt as well. There was something about the way the older man had worded that last statement which, Virgil had to admit, worried him. "You're not thinking about stopping rescues, are you?"
"I honestly don't know, Virg. Maybe it is safer until we at least know who this creep was? You were on the other side of the world this time. How the hell has he caused the accidents - or attacks in today's case - in both places?"
"Oi, slow coaches, are you coming?"
Hearing Alan's yell, Virgil gave Scott a deep, searching look, worry coursing through him. He couldn't help but think that he'd preferred it when his brother had been angry; at least he knew how to react to that side of the Field Commander.
"Promise you won't say anything until we know how Gordon is?"
The anxiety must have been written all over Virgil's face, for Scott sighed, but nodded. Once more leading the way, Virgil couldn't quite believe he had even had that conversation with Scott. He had a strong feeling it was the fact that the Field Commander hadn't been out there on the rescue that was making him talk like this, but the younger brother had certainly never heard the older man sound so concerned about the future of International Rescue. He was normally the one reassuring the rest of the family that what they were doing was the right thing. This was certainly something new.
Nothing more was said until they reached the lounge. Gordon was awake again, leaning back in exactly the same position Scott himself had recently been in. His eyes were closed, but as the two missing brothers appeared, he managed to crack one open, smiling feebly. Immediately crossing the room, Scott crouched down in front of the aquanaut.
"How you doing, kiddo?" he asked gently, his eyes flickering in concern as Gordon winced as he tried to shift position.
"Like I've run into a wall. Repeatedly," Gordon muttered. Before Scott could say anything else, however, the redhead spoke again. Reaching out and grasping Scott's wrist somewhat weakly compared to what he was normally capable of, he frowned at his brother.
"What about you?"
"Me?" Scott exclaimed, sounding incredulous as he glanced over his shoulder at his two other earthbound younger brothers. Virgil merely rolled his eyes, but Alan couldn't help it and burst out laughing. Gordon had no idea that Scott had been sedated, Alan himself only finding out when Jeff had reappeared in Thunderbird Two, but the prankster knew his brother well enough to know that Scott was not going to be taking it well that he hadn't been there when everything had gone wrong.
"That is a good question, son. How are you?"
Jumping violently, Scott had to admit he hadn't even noticed Jeff appear, but as he turned, he caught the warning look that Virgil was trying to shoot him. Sighing, he knew that he hadn't been quick enough to mask the annoyance on his face, but glancing back over his shoulder at Gordon, he knew now was not the time.
"Traumatised. Virgil called me a dork," he whined pathetically, causing said brother to raise his eyebrows in disbelief. As Scott followed up his announcement with an impressive pout, Alan once more found himself laughing. He knew full well that was not what the issue with his oldest brother was, but he was just grateful that Scott wasn't trying to take it further. The accidents had been winding his brother up enough; the argument earlier that day between Scott and Virgil had proven that. The youngest Tracy couldn't help but think that should Scott raise the issue of precisely how Jeff had stopped his son going after the rest of his brothers, a full scale row of the kind not seen for a long time would emerge.
"You..." Unable to finish his sentence, Virgil just shook his head. "Moron."
Gasping dramatically, Scott found his eyes were twinkling as he glanced over at Alan. Their little game was certainly working enough to relax their youngest brother, and letting his gaze shift onto John's active portrait, Scott grinned. John was shaking his head at his brother, a smirk accompanying the action. He too knew precisely what Scott was doing, and, like Alan, was grateful to his brother for defusing the situation.
"Da-ad," Scott whined, dragging the name out into two syllables the way Alan had been notorious for doing when he was young. "Virgil's calling me names."
"And what do you want me to do about it, Scott?" Jeff asked, amusement lacing his tone as he sat down in his chair, an unspoken message shooting between him and his oldest son. He wasn't fooled for an instant, he knew precisely the true meaning behind the annoyance in Scott's expression, and knew that it was nothing to do with what Virgil might have called him. The pilot had been called worse, after all. But Scott was equally aware that Jeff's question was meant on more than one level. His father wanted to know what his son expected him to do to sort out the chaos the family was in. Scott had always had faith in Jeff, perhaps more so than the rest of his brothers. They had all looked up to Scott, but he had turned to Jeff. The father knew it was going to be important to make sure he had got his oldest son back on side. The rest of the boys followed their brother; Jeff was more than aware of that.
"Um..." Scott muttered, his grin turning more genuine when he realised he hadn't thought this far. Dropping the pretences, he finally managed to extract his wrist from Gordon's grip and crossed the room, ruffling Virgil's hair as he did so and getting his hand batted away for his efforts. Shaking his head fondly, Jeff climbed to his feet, his eyes also fixed on Virgil. Crossing the room, he gently placed his hands on his son's shoulders, visibly checking him over.
"Dad, I'm fine," Virgil mumbled, trying to push his father away whilst avoiding eye contact.
"I want Brains to check you over properly. Who knows what that fall did - you didn't look well at all in Two."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Almost immediately, Scott was back in front of him as well. Groaning, Virgil knew if there was going to be anything that would reunite his father and oldest brother, it would be them thinking something was wrong with him.
"A few bruises, maybe. I'm fine."
"Give your old man peace of mind, Virg. Let Brains check you over," Jeff said quietly, and meeting the man's gaze, Virgil swallowed before nodding gently. There was almost a haunted look in Jeff's eyes, something that clearly showed how much stress he was under. The last thing Virgil wanted to do was to make matters worse.
"Good man. I would have ordered you to submit, but I'm glad to see that you have more sense than your brother."
As Scott's face clouded over, Virgil quickly took the pilot by the arm and pushed him into a nearby seat. He had no desire to restart the debate between father and son about Jeff's preventative measures.
"Debrief, boys. We need to know what happened out there." As Jeff's tone turned far more professional, Virgil caught Scott's eye as he sat up straighter, seeing him turning slightly pale as he did so. Shaking his head, the medic knew that he was going to have his work cut out keeping both him and Gordon in check.
For the next hour, voices filled the lounge. To start with, the brothers went through the actual rescue, knowing that they couldn't afford to leave anything out. Despite someone clearly trying to kill them, they were all aware that the rest of the world was relying on them. Trying to get that point across more adamantly than he normally did, Virgil found himself watching Scott. He had to know whether his brother had seriously been thinking about questioning their operation, or whether it had just been the frustration talking. Listening to him praise Alan for his work on Mobile Control and watching the way the youngest seemed to light up from inside with the praise, Virgil knew his answer. Scott would never give up on what they were doing, no matter how bad things got.
Eventually though, Alan knew the time had come to recount precisely what had happened. Starting off hesitantly, his voice slowly gained more confidence as he spoke about how the man had come up behind him, forcing him away from Mobile Control with the gun. Finally,Alan got to the point where he had run out of words, still slightly stunned about the way Gordon had just fallen from the sky and saved his life. Sensing the younger man was having trouble getting the words out; Virgil took over, one glance at Gordon showing that the younger man had fallen asleep once again. Speaking slowly, he began going through what had happened at their end of things. Starting with the reports that Gordon knew something was wrong by Alan's use of code-names, he worked all the way through to finding out about the accidents and then the race to reach their younger brother in time. Finally, Virgil quietly recounted the final fight, how the man had just sent Virgil flying despite the fact that the young man had a gun aimed at his head.
"So we have no idea where he went?" Jeff asked hesitantly, turning to face John. His son immediately caught onto the man's meaning and quickly began to bring up the read-outs from the rescue. He had already started looking through them as soon as he had found out what had happened, but for the life of him, he couldn't get a trace on the man. If this was indeed the same man who had been responsible for the other two rescues, then this would have been the third time he had nearly bested International Rescue's technology. For the Space Monitor, it was as good as declaring war.
"Or who he is," Virgil muttered, sitting down himself having been pacing throughout his account. He hadn't quite considered just how close he had been to losing both of his brothers, but reliving the moment, it had certainly shaken him.
"He knew who I was though," Alan said quietly, seeking out Jeff's reassurance in the silence that had fallen over the room. "Even before Gordon said my name, he knew precisely who I was."
"This is just getting more and more dangerous," Scott muttered, standing up himself and copying Virgil by beginning to pace. "How did he know about the rescue?"
"Scott, anyone within a fifty mile radius knew about that rescue. Even the news teams were there," John responded quietly, trying to keep his only older brother calm.
"Fine. So what about the other two?"
"Sabotage," a quiet voice stated, making the entire family jump. Turning, Scott found Gordon watching him. Attempting to push himself further upright, the redhead turned towards John. "You know I'm right, Johnny, I know you do."
"The rope?"
"You agreed that it could have been cut. And now you know there was someone else there," Gordon pressed, determined that at least one of the brothers was going to admit that he could be right about this. They had been so quick to shoot him down previously, but now they had no choice but to see that he had a point.
"They never did find out what caused the sudden flood," Alan cut in, thinking back on Scott's almost disastrous rescue.
"Nor the fires," Virgil added. Immediately, a deadly silence fell across the room, each member of both the family and the organisation thinking the same thing. Someone had set up those rescues to try and put an end to International Rescue. And now it appeared they knew they would be putting an end to the Tracy family as well.
"So who the hell is it?"'
"Dad, Penny's trying to make contact," John suddenly said, finally glancing back up from his readings. Nodding his understanding, Jeff flicked a switch. The most rarely used of the portraits immediately merged into the real thing.
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, at your service."
"You don't say," Gordon muttered, receiving a warning look from his father and a nudge from Virgil at the same time. Although there was also a smile playing across Virgil's mouth, for Penny's need to introduce herself every time never ceased to amuse him.
"Hey, Penny."
"Good morning, Jeff, darling."
"Says who?" Scott practically growled, shooting Alan a murderous look as the younger man yanked him back into his seat, just to stop his pacing.
"Enough, boys," Jeff scolded, turning his attention back to the aristocrat as he spoke. "You have news, Penny?"
"I finally have a lead on the man caught photographing the Thunderbirds."
Blinking, it took Jeff a few moments to catch up. He had completely forgotten about that incident. It seemed so insignificant now, compared to the idea that someone was trying to kill his sons. Even so, he knew that Penny had spent a lot of time and effort tracking down this man, and any potential threat to International Rescue was also a threat to his family.
"You have a name?"
"Not as such," Penny admitted, glancing down as she spoke. "But we have a picture. I thought perhaps you might be able to do something with it?"
"John?"
"I might be able to get a name," the blond confirmed, although Jeff could see that his son's mind wasn't really on the matter. Not that Jeff could blame him; they had someone else who needed to be found long before this man.
"Alright, Penny, send it through."
As Penny turned away, clearly intending to carry out Jeff's instructions, the father turned back to his sons. Without saying anything, an unspoken message was sent flying around the room, a clear indication that they were going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what.
By the time he had turned back to the screen, Penny had sent through the picture. Almost immediately, a loud crash resonated through the room, causing all the boys to jump and turn simultaneously towards the door. They hadn't even heard Kyrano come in, but the tray that was now laying on the floor clearly showed that he'd been bringing them refreshments. Virgil and Scott instantly leapt to their feet and hurried over, the latter pausing long enough to push Gordon back down as he tried to rise. As Scott quickly set about clearing up the mess, Virgil helped a slightly shaky Kyrano lower himself into the nearest chair.
"I thought you might recognise him, Kyrano, dear," Penny said softly, her eyes fixed on the Malaysian.
"What is it? Who is it?" Scott cried, his desperate need to regain control of the situation more than evident in his voice.
"Father!" Before anyone could even contemplate beginning to answer him, Tin-Tin came hurrying into the room, her concerned eyes immediately seeking out her father. Crouching next to him with one hand resting lightly on his knee, she seemed to be searching his face intently. Knowing what the pair of them were like in being able to read each other, Jeff motioned for Scott to step back, trying to keep his son calm. Unaware that he was mirroring John's earlier thoughts, Jeff couldn't help but wonder whether all he had been doing for the past day or so was keeping control of his eldest son. The family couldn't say whether Tin-Tin had managed to glean anything from her father, but eventually, she turned back to face the rest of the room. Almost immediately, her attention was drawn by the image of the man, and, letting out an audible gasp, she looked towards Jeff.
"Mr Tracy, it's him! The one who attacked Brains and me in the desert last year!"
His face immediately clouding over as he thought back on the race against time to save their lives, Jeff frowned.
"Looks like we have ourselves two potential killers to catch," the Tracy patriarch muttered darkly, ignoring the quizzical frown his top agent was sending him. "Boys, any..."
"Wait a second," Gordon interrupted, sitting up properly again as he narrowed his eyes at the image. "Virgil, can you work some magic with it?"
"What's wrong, Gords?"
"Give him a big walrus moustache," the redhead said quietly, and knew immediately by the way Virgil's face took on a slightly thunderous expression that his immediate older brother knew precisely what he was implying.The looks that went shooting around the rest of the family showed that they too were beginning to realise what their aquanaut was getting at, and a stony silence fell across the room. Taking control of the equipment, Virgil set about following Gordon's instructions, wincing when he caught sight of how it was coming out. He hated having to do anything artistic on a machine, much preferring the feel of brush in his hand, but he knew that was the last thing on anyone's mind right now. Eventually, he completed his task, and, feeling his breath catch in his throat, he turned back to face Gordon.
"Recognise him, Alan?" Gordon said quietly, his tone anything but its normal light-hearted self. His voice actually sent shivers down Jeff's spine, for his prankster of a son sounded nothing short of deadly. Swallowing hard, Alan moved across the room to get a better look, only to stumble back slightly when he took a proper look.
"Dad, that's him! That's the man..."
As a rush of noise exploded in the room as each person expressed their outrage, Jeff shut his eyes. So not only had this man attempted to kill two of their members in the past, he was now back to try and destroy the family. Considering it had been a reasonable time since Penny had first been given her mission of trying to locate the man, he had obviously been monitoring their actions for some time. And if he had indeed known precisely who Alan was, he could potentially know everything about them.
"Kyrano?" Moving through the chaos that was his lounge, Jeff avoided Scott as he resumed pacing, registering Virgil's attempts to keep Gordon sitting down before placing his hand on his old friend's shoulder. "What is it?"
"Mr Tracy, I think I know who he is," Kyrano whispered almost silently, swallowing hard whilst avoiding Jeff's gaze.
"Who?" Jeff pressed, a certain sense of urgency infiltrating his voice. Kyrano might have the answers about the man who was threatening his sons; he didn't have the time to be patient, not any more.
"He's known as the Hood."
It was not Kyrano who answered the concerned father, however, but Penny, speaking amazingly clearly through the noise. Despite her clipped tones, Jeff still found he had to strain his ears over the noise that was emerging from his sons. Virgil was trying to calm his older brother down, but his own posture was showing that he was just as furious as Scott, and given the chance, the two of them would have been back in their 'birds and after this Hood character like a shot. John was shouting to make himself heard over the rest of the noise, trying to tell Virgil something, but it was clear from the look on his face that his younger brother couldn't hear him any better than Jeff could. Alan was, as expected, talking to Gordon, but the brothers seemed to be gripping each other's arms. It was harder to say who was trying to stop who though, Alan stopping Gordon from rising or Gordon stopping Alan from mirroring his older brothers' actions and trying to leave. As Penny made to say something else, Jeff had had enough.
"Quiet!" he bellowed and silence immediately fell across the lounge, even Penny closing her mouth with an audible snap. She was the only one who looked surprise by his outburst, however. Even Tin-Tin merely gave him a long look before turning her attention back to her father.
"That's better." Jeff was barely aware of how heavily he was breathing, not realising that his eyes were reflecting the same fury that was more than obvious in his three eldest sons. "Penny, send through any information you have on this man. Boys..."
"On our way, Father," Scott interrupted as both he and Virgil began to walk across the room.
"You're not going after him, Scott," Jeff said quickly, stepping into Scott's path. Luckily for him, Virgil also paused, looking over his shoulder at his father and brother.
"But Dad..."
"We're not going through this again, Scott." Jeff responded, his voice much quieter this time as he locked eyes pointedly with his firstborn.
"Dad, he almost killed Alan and Gordon. Not to mention he could have seriously hurt Virgil."
"Exactly. If he can take out three of your brothers that easily, what chance do you think you have on your own?"
"He won't be on his own," Virgil cut in, moving across the lounge to come and stand next to his brother, lifting his chin defiantly.
"The answer is no. Scott, don't make me stop you again."
"You wouldn't," Scott challenged, although his voice wavered with uncertainty as he glanced towards Virgil, clearly trying to find out whether Jeff could get away with sedating him again without causing more harm. As Virgil shook his head ever so slightly, Scott turned his gaze back onto Jeff. To his concern, his father just met his look steadily.
"Who says I meant you? I still need to get Virgil checked over."
As Virgil caught onto his meaning and stumbled back a few paces, shaking his head frantically, Scott swallowed hard. Raising his eyebrows, Jeff let his hand wander slowly towards his watch.
"Stand down, Scott."
"You wouldn't risk it..."
"Scott, please," Virgil practically begged, continuing to back away from his father. In normal circumstances he knew that the thought wouldn't have even crossed Jeff's mind. But he himself could feel that sense of desperation, the need to do something to protect the rest of the family. And whilst he would never admit it to his oldest brother, he wasn't sure what they would actually be able to do. He had witnessed firsthand exactly how powerful the man was. Not to mention that he had disappeared without a trace. Virgil didn't even know where to suggest they began to look for their mysterious attacker. But at the same time, he wouldn't let his brother go out there alone. He knew it was because he would follow Scott into a situation they wouldn't be able to walk out of that Jeff was even contemplating what was running through his head.
"Don't make me tell you again, son."
The three of them were barely aware that the rest of the lounge had remained silent, all watching the confrontation with bated breath. Alan had half-stepped away from Gordon, but the older brother had yet to relinquish his grip, reinforcing Jeff's ideas about his youngest son being just as bad as his oldest. Even so, the redhead was half off the couch himself, clearly intending to involve himself one way or another.
For a long moment, nothing was said. Jeff and Scott had locked eyes, both determined that they were not going to back down; both adamant that their way was the right one. As Jeff's hand began to stray towards his watch once more, Virgil lost patience. He had no idea whether his father would make good on his threat and sedate him just to make Scott back down, but remembering how determined Jeff had been to get his artistic son checked over, Virgil was leaving nothing to chance.
"For God's sake, Scott, stop it."
"He's not going to get away with this."
"No, he's not. But until we have more than a name, we can't do anything," Jeff responded carefully. To his utmost relief, Scott finally exhaled sharply, nodding as he stepped away from his lamps and sat back down again. Making to step up behind his brother to make sure Scott wasn't going to try anything else, Virgil jumped when his father stuck out a hand, grasping his arm lightly. Nothing was said, but an unspoken apology shot from father to son, causing Virgil to nod softly with a small smile. Message received and understood.
"Dad, what do we do?"
It had been many years since Jeff had heard Alan sound that vulnerable, and, rubbing his hand across his face wearily, the father sat down heavily at his desk. "Penny, you're coming over to the island. We need all the hands we can get, especially if Scott and Gordon are both out of action."
Ignoring the immediate protests he got for his words, Jeff kept his eyes locked on the aristocrat as she nodded her consent, signing off with a flourish, no doubt informing Parker that they were leaving immediately.
"John, I need you to get in touch with the emergency services in the area. We need to know what they found."
"F.A.B." John responded, turning in his chair as he did so, clearly intending to make good on his father's instructions and set to work straight away. He might not be able to threaten to go straight after this guy in the way his brothers could, but at least there was something he could do to help.
"Shouldn't John be packing?" Alan suddenly said, standing up and bouncing his gaze between his blond brother and his father. John had paused mid-action, also turning to face Jeff.
"Alan... Are you sure you still want to go?" It was Scott who spoke this time, but to Jeff's relief, his previous anger seemed to have melted away as he traded concerned looks with Virgil.
"Why wouldn't I?" Alan responded, looking completely blank.
"Kiddo, you were almost killed."
"So were Gordon and Virgil, doesn't stop them," Alan argued, turning his attention away from Scott and back to their father. "Besides, Johnny's sick. He needs air, you know that. I'm absolutely fine; Gordon and Virgil were the ones who were hurt."
"We're not necessarily talking about your physical state, Alan," Jeff said gently, watching his son closely. He was glad he had not been the only one reconsidering letting Alan take his shift in Five, but as John turned away to hide another coughing fit, he knew that the youngest member of their team had a point. Jeff knew the only reason why John hadn't managed to shake himself free of the virus was the lack of fresh air. A few days on the island would do him the world of good.
"I'm fine, Dad. If you want to worry about anyone's mental state, then you can start by explaining what the hell is going on between you and Scott."
Blinking in surprise at Alan's slightly forceful tone, Jeff started, for it was not one he was used to hearing from the youngest Tracy. What unnerved him more, however, was how much like Scott he sounded.
"Nothing," Scott muttered, not particularly wanting another little brother to know that Kyrano had managed to get the better of him.
"So why were you...ooh. You sedated him?" Finally, the pieces all fell into place and Alan found himself gaping at his father, unable to believe that Jeff had gone to such extremes. One glance at Gordon – once again resting back on the cushions because sitting up was too much effort – and Alan knew that whatever game this creep was playing with them, he was winning. He hadn't seen the family in this much turmoil since Gordon's hydrofoil accident.
"Are you sure you want to come up, kiddo?" John broke through the conversation on the island, determined that they were going to make it through at least five minutes without his only older brother and his father shooting daggers at each other.
"Johnny, you need to be at home, man. Besides, technically I should then be in the safest place, so I don't know what everyone's problem is." Feeling satisfied that this argument would at least stop the rest of the family from worrying about him, Alan found his attention caught by a movement from behind him. Tin-Tin had helped her father out of the chair, and, with a glance at Jeff – who immediately nodded his understanding – began to lead him from the room. At Alan's words, however, she paused, giving the young man a long, searching look. Smiling gently at her, Alan attempted to reassure her that he was indeed fine, though he couldn't help but feel a rush of gratitude shoot through him when she turned back again.
"In that case, Alan, John, start packing. The boys will come and get you as soon as Penny arrives, John. I want this figured out quickly. Continue making contact with the emergency teams at the accident zone until then."
"F.A.B." Turning away again, John disconnected himself from the island, knowing that if he didn't, he would never get anything done. Despite the worry coursing through him about his brothers' safety and the fact that someone was trying to kill them, the blond couldn't stop a slight rush of excitement from spiralling down his spine. He was going home.