Countdown to Adventure
Standard disclaimer: I don't own the thunderbirds...
A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews...(sorry for the delay in getting this up, I've been out of action. Surgery then painkillers, which make writing interesting if not legible.)
Well the action continues... dangers aplenty....
Enjoy.
TBZ.
Chapter 13 – Rescues...
The sound of an engine approaching caused the three interlopers beneath Thunderbird two to still. Slamming his crowbar against the stubborn hatch, Mullion swore violently. "Mullion, Concentrate." Trangh approached the giant man, "Open the door." his eyes seemed to change colour, taking on a reddish cast.
Mullion shook his head, a feeling of pressure lifted and he cast a resentful sneered at Trangh, which the smaller man ignored. Mullion turned back to his task, he didn't like Trangh Belagant, but the man had money and turned a blind eye to Mullion's excesses. So for the moment he did what he was bid without complaint.
At the front of the Pod, Transom muttered under her breath. She had crossed the remaining wires in a logical sequence. So far she hadn't found the last remaining connection that would give her entry into Thunderbird two's security system and thereby opening the pod doors. Frantically thy tried to break into the large plane, as nearer and nearer came the sound of the approaching bike.
Trangh returned to his seat in the four wheel drive, his head lowered and tilted slightly as if listening. Abruptly he called his voice little more than a whisper, "Enough". Instantly Transom and Mullion ceased what they were doing and turned to him, their faces devoid of expression. Trangh sneered, 'These lesser beings irritated him, but soon he wouldn't need them..' his thoughts were cut short. The approaching bike and its two riders were close, only the low cloud continued to conceal them from his sight. He recognised the thoughts of the elder, the one he'd spoken with in the village. 'Fool.' he thought, then looked at the large plane, 'Maybe not so foolish...' "Mullion, Transom. Come. We have other matters to attend to." the two minions climbed into the vehicle and Mullion starting it with a roar hurtling into the nearby jungle just a Jeff Tracy broke through the last of the cloud cover, two hundred metres from Thunderbird two.
Jeff heard the roar of an engine as he approached Thunderbird two; a sudden foreboding filled his heart. John lay behind him insensible, vulnerable and Jeff had no way of protecting him if the kidnappers where waiting at Thunderbird two for them. For a moment Jeff slowed, should he return to the village and call Scott, wait till he could return with his eldest son. Scott's cool head in difficult or emotional situations was something Jeff had come to rely on over the years. Unlike Jeff who tended to shut down, panic if he was honest, when any of his family was in danger, Scott turned to ice. He was able to think in a coldly logical manner. Shaking the thoughts away, Jeff slowed and approached cautiously, suddenly wishing his was armed. 'Maybe Scott had a point...' he thought ruefully. As the cloud cleared, Jeff surveyed the area around Thunderbird two, there were tyre tracks and the mud was churned up around the front of the pod. Someone had been far too near Thunderbird two. Pressing a button on the ATB Jeff activated the Pod to open and quickly drove up the ramp, allowing the pod door to close behind him. He heard the rumble of Thunderbird two as she settled down over the pod. Parking near the forward lift, Jeff had a quick look around. Nothing seemed disturbed within the Pod. A quick check of the security log from the pod's computer panel revealed a problem, but one he'd deal with later. First he had to get John up to the infirmary and onto the bio bed, so he could be assessed out more thoroughly.
Turning to the blond, Jeff winced, John lay strapped against the equipment locker, his head dropped forward, torso straining the webbing of the straps as he slumped, Arms hanging at his side, the material of the uniform was torn and bloody, Jeff wasn't sure how much of the damage had been done by the river and how much by himself, he'd not been as gentle as he would have liked in his rush to get John to Thunderbird two. Undoing the straps he allowed John to slump into his arms. An involuntary groan matched the one John gave. "Whoa. Easy now." Jeff muttered, trying to get a good grip on the young man, now the adrenaline had passed, Jeff found the idea of lift John daunting. John had recently topped his father in height, and while he'd probably not reach Scott's height, he was no light weight. Jeff huffed. "No more chocolate Johnny." He hoisted the younger man across his shoulders and stumped to the elevator, hitting the button with his elbow.
On the utilities deck, Jeff shuffled down the corridor to the infirmary and lowered John as gently as he could on to one of the two bio beds. John dropped like a bag of potatoes, his head hitting the railing on the way down causing Jeff to wince and look around expecting a reprimand. He heaved a sigh of relief that Virgil hadn't seen his clumsy performance, then thought better of the notion, 'I wish Virgil was here now.'
Taking the helmet from John's head again, he gently stripped the younger man down to his shirt and shorts, both of which were damp. Jeff did a quick assessment, padding the steadily bleeds on John's right shoulder and thigh, and leaving the other cuts and scratches for Virgil to attend to later. Wrapping a blood pressure cuff around John's upper arm, and electrode patches on his chest, temple and earlobe, Jeff attached John to the state of the art medical computer built into the infirmary. He shortly had the reassurance that while John remained unconscious, he's vital signs were within normal ranges.
Jeff sighed; he had no idea how much damage John may have sustained to his head. He could find no obvious injury. John's continued unconscious state worried Jeff, but there was little he could do until his other sons returned.
Thinking of them he moved to the control panel by the door and opened a connection with Thunderbird two communications.
Jeff frowned at the static. The storm had moved off from their direct location, but was still causing interference. "Scott do you read me."
"Sc....re."
Shaking his head and the poor reception Jeff got straight to the point. "Scott, John's unconscious I need Virgil here ASAP. Have you found Gordon and Virgil yet?"
"Neg.....look...u know."" Scott's response was broken but understandable, even if it wasn't what Jeff wanted to hear.
"Roger" Jeff acknowledged, he looked at John, "Just hold on John, Just hold on." Jeff knew Scott would be doing everything he could to get Virgil back to John.
----
Scott followed the track along the edge of the jungle. It ran in parallel with the fissure that had brought down trees, blocking part of the path. Climbing through the branches and over the large trunk, Scott prayed that the other mine entrance was still clear. If it wasn't he'd have to return to the main mine complex and try to reach his brothers from there. Misty clouds swirled around him as he carefully negotiated the overgrown path. Moisture condensing on his visor and uniform, seeping in an chilling his already damp skin. Scott shivered involuntarily; he was cold, tired and hungry. He thought longingly of the meal Grandma would have prepared at home. 'A warm bath wouldn't go astray either.' He thought.
Clambering over another fallen tree, Scott looked up from climbing under the massive trunk and looked up into a dark opening. He gave a sigh of relief. Switching on his torch as well as the helmet lights he began the trek into the mine, pushing in LEPs as he quickly moved from the more used areas into the older and less maintained areas of the mine. He turned left and right without hesitation, confident in his sense of direction. Deeper and Deeper he travelled, knowing he'd have to reach a lower level before being able to move upward to where he hoped to find his brothers. "Just hope Virgil had the sense to stay put." he muttered, thoughts of his younger brothers played on his mind, memories from childhood and more recent times. He have a cheerless shake of the head, "It had to be those two." he smiled sadly wondering if being stuck in the mines for several hours had cured Gordon and Virgil of their enmity. "Probably not." Thinking of Gordon caused Scott's steps to speed up. He knew Gordon would find being trapped particularly hard. "I'm coming little brother. I'm coming."
----
Trangh Belagant watched quietly from the shadows of the jungle as the ATB broke through the low cloud cover, the vehicle slowed and Trangh noted the two figures. One obviously injured. He gave a smile of satisfaction. As Thunderbird two rose on its stanchions allowing the pod to open and accept the approaching bike, he gave a sneer, 'Next time you won't be so lucky. Next time I'll be prepared.' As the bike disappeared into the cavernous depths, the pod door closed and Thunderbird two settled down like a hen over her chicks, Trangh's sneer turned on his companions. "Come Mullion, Transom. The plane awaits, as does my brother and his lovely wife."
----
Jeff stood and stretched from his position beside John. He frowned in consternation, John's vitals had remained steady, the bleeding had stopped, but still he remained essentially unconscious. Picking up a monitoring pad, Jeff decided to follow up on the security breach the computer had notified him of earlier.
Taking the elevator back down to the pod, Jeff opened the port access hatch and moved to the front security panel of the pod. This was the master external panel, it gave access to all the others and the pod it's self. He frowned heavily at the damage caused. The protective cover lay in the mud, its edges curled up, obviously levered off. The frown deepened into a worried scowl as he noted the green lights across the top of the panel, all five were alight. It would only have taken the 'Open' button to have been pushed for the pod to have opened to the invaders. "Why didn't they open it?" he wondered, he shook his head and pulled the wires apart haphazardly. 'John and Brain's will have to rethink security.' Jeff reflected as he moved around to the aft hatch. The metal surround was scratched and had gouges dug into it. In the mud lay a crowbar, it's edge bent and buckled by the tough skin of Thunderbird two. Jeff gave the destruction a closer look. While the damage was annoying and the hatch would need replacing, the risk of a breach was minimal. Only the very outer skin had been peeled back. "Still six inches of metal for them to get through." Jeff muttered. Returning to the port hatch, Jeff stepped back inside and deactivated the external access. It would take someone on the inside to open the hatches, the external panels and ATB's signal were locked out.
Thinking of the ATB's Jeff tried to contact Scott again. He'd been trying every fifteen minutes, but had no response in the last hour and a half. As hard as he tried he couldn't bury his fear that something terrible had happened to his other boys.
----
In the kitchen of the bungalow Onaha stood watching the storm as it passed, the clouds slowly climbing up the valley and dusk descended. She wiped a tear from her cheek, Kyrano was in the next room and he would hear her if she cried. She sniffed and wiped her nose, her gentle husband was distraught, although he tried not to show it. Tian was all they had, if they lost her... Onaha stomped on the thought. Jeff had been a good friend for many years. He had helped Kyrano when he was a young man in the United States. Jeff had acted with unheard of kindness, as US Air Force Officer he'd have been expected to have ignored the Marines hazing a civilian employee, especially when that civilian wasn't 'an American'. But Jeff hadn't turned his back, he'd taken on the three Marines, putting two in hospital. Kyrano had brought him home for dinner the following weekend. That had been long ago, thirty years almost, a life time. Onaha sighed, 'No Jeff won't fail us. He will bring me back my Tian.'
A shadow out the window caused Onaha to frown and lean towards the opening, a flicker of movement and the shadow disappeared around the corner of the house. Dropping the dish cloth she'd been holding she move towards the side door, 'Perhaps it is one of Jeff's boys.'
She reached out for the door handle as she heard the creak of steps on the veranda.
In a instant that stretched for an eternity she watched as the door was thrust open violently, the wood splintering, the hinges and lock shattering. Behind her Kyrano burst into the room, his hand held out as if warding off an evil spirit. Onaha turned to him, a scream on her lips. His eyes wide with a golden halo, the pupils slitted, Kyrano cried, "Tidak. Tidak." (No! No!) Onaha felt a whoosh of air stream past her like a mini hurricane, it picking up the scraps of broken door and the massive man that had broken through it and tossed them out into the night with a crash. In seconds the kitchen was quiet once again, Kyrano dropped to one knee a hand on the floor stopping him falling any further he looked at his wife fear for her in his eyes, "Onaha Pergi. Meninggalkan. Cepat." (Onaha Go, Leave. Hurry)
Quickly Onaha ran to his side, kneeling and wrapping her arms around him. "Kyrano? What happened?
"Hush... Cinta." (Hush... Love.) Kyrano held a finger to her lips, "They are still close. You need to run."
Onaha shook her head, "Not without you."
Stroking her face, Kyrano smiled, "I am too weak... it was too much."
"Not without you." Onaha insisted pulling him to his feet she dragged him towards the front door only to find a tall foreign woman standing there an ugly smile on her face. The woman dived to block the doorway and reached out to grab at Onaha. Again Kyrano pushed his hand out, "Tidak." the woman was thrust backwards as if hit by a bus, and Kyrano collapsed at Onaha's side.
Lurching through the door, Onaha dragged Kyrano with her. They stepped around the prostrate woman and staggering ran for the front gate of the mining complex. Behind them they heard shouting and foot stepped racing in pursuit of them. In tears Onaha stumbled to a stop beneath the large form of Thunderbird one. She looked back towards the mine then at Kyrano at her side, 'What happened?' she wondered giving her husband a wary look, shaking the sudden fear away, she reached out to the man who had been the centre of her life for thirty years. "Kyrano? Please we have to hurry." She pulled at him to follow her towards the track.
Shaking his head and breathing heavily, Kyrano pulled her to his side, "Tidak. Not that way." He straightened and pointed into the jungle, "That way."
Nodding in agreement, Onaha pulled his arm over her shoulder and dragged him towards the faint jungle track, the darkness swallowing them.
----
Terror filled the dark void as Virgil and Gordon fell for what felt like forever. Clinging to the lattice of the cage they felt the rush of air as it sped past in the vast darkness that enclosed them. Their voices pierced the void with screams of terror. The rapid terrifying ride ended with a jolt that sent the two boys into heaps in the corner of the small cage. Sitting shakily Gordon looked around his surroundings and crawled to Virgil's side. "Virg'?"
Virgil looked up with a groan. "Are we alive?"
Gordon looked around again, "I think so."
Helping each other to stand, they stumbled to the door of the cage, by chance or fortune the cage had stopped so that they were just below an adjoining tunnel. Looking at the gate Virgil shook his head, "It's meant to swing out." His breathing hitched as pain sliced through his chest, he wrapped his arms around himself.
Gordon groaned in defeat and sank against the lattice work of the cage. He looked up at the roof beyond the rubble that had accumulated on the roof of the cage he saw only blackness. Not the blackness of a night sky, but an impenetrable gloom, 'Back end of hell.' He thought and frowned for a brief moment he'd thought he'd seen a flash of light pass over the shaft. He shook his head, 'Great now I'm seeing things.' "We can't get back out the top." he replied to Virgil's previous statement in an undertone, afraid to speak too loudly in fear of bringing the rubble down on them.
Virgil let out a huff and glanced up and frowned, he could have sworn he saw a light flicker above them. Rubbing at his eyes he glanced at Gordon noting the helmet lights were getting dull, barely illuminating Gordon's face, let alone their surroundings. Closing his eyes he rubbed the gathering tears away and looked at his younger brother. "I'm not going to let this happen." he muttered to himself, "Com'on Fish." Taking a firm grasp on the gate, Virgil pulled, his chest screaming for him to stop, ignoring the pain, Virgil pulled again and the gate gave a squeal of protest. Virgil gave a wail of pain and let go of the gate, slumping against the cage wall. Joining his brother Gordon pushed Virgil out of the way and grasped the gate where Virgil had levered it away from its clasp and pulled, the gate gave a little more. Standing beside his younger brother Virgil grasped the gate and gave Gordon a 'kick ass smile' together they wrenched the outward swinging gate inwards. Give each other a high five. The two boys faced the shaft wall and the opening into a passage at shoulder height. Virgil looked at the tight space. They only had a foot of room between the floor of the passage and the top of the cage gate. "It's tight." With a lot of scrambling and pushing Gordon was able to push Virgil up into the tunnel. Leaning down, Virgil helped to pull Gordon up. Exhausted the two sat breathing heavily, slumped against the wall.
"Any idea where we are?" Gordon asked.
Virgil shook his head.
Closing his eyes in exhaustion, Gordon sighed, feeling himself slipping into sleep, he forced his eyes open to find Virgil across from him snoring. Smiling he climbed to his knees and crawled across the passageway, "Hey sleeping beauty." he nudged Virgil forcefully.
Grunting Virgil woke with a start. "What?" he looked around then met Gordon's eyes, "I thought it was a nightmare."
"Nope." Gordon gave a half-hearted grin, "Sorry."
"Hummm. Me too." yawning Virgil dragged himself to his feet with Gordon's help. He looked at the cage, it's roof covered in dust and rubble. Gordon joined him and they looked up and down shaft shuddering. "Wonder how far we fell." Gordon speculated.
Virgil shrugged, "Don't know. I'm just glad we stopped before we hit the bottom."
Looking at his older brother Gordon agreed, he gave a snort of laughter, Virgil looked terrible, his uniform was barely recognisable, the material torn and dirty. Looking down at himself, Gordon found himself in a similar state. "Now what?" he asked, looking back at Virgil.
Virgil shrugged then groaned as his ribs protested. "Same as before. We look for a path leading up."
Gordon gave him a stern look, "This time look where you're going, got it?"
Virgil nodded solemnly and started down the tunnel.
----
John opened his eyes to a murky grey ceiling, he glanced around at his surroundings keeping his eyes squinted against the bright light which sliced through his head like a blade. Noting the equipment and the beeps and hiss as the BP cuff inflating on his arm, John grimaced. He was in the infirmary on two. 'Damn I didn't want to be the first.' he grumbled to himself, 'Virg'll never let me forget it.' He allowed his eyes to slide closed, and drifted for a moment, the sound of the door opening rousing him. Glancing over at the form he gave a small smile, "Dad." he called in a dry whisper.
"John!" Jeff rushed across the room to his son's side. "John you're awake."
"Yeah." John grimaced and coughed.
Quickly Jeff grabbed a bottle of water and offered John a straw. Sipping thirstily John slumped back against the pillows. Grasping his father's arm John tried to lift himself up, "What...?"
Pushing him back down, Jeff gave a tired smile, "Just lay back and rest. You've been unconscious for at least three hours."
"Where are the others?" John demanded, surprised at not finding Virgil at his side gloating.
Jeff's smile faded, "I'm not sure. Scott's looking for the boys...." he trailed off and had to force John back on the bed again, "If you don't lay back I'll sedate you." Jeff threatened.
John gave his father a calculating look, he wasn't sure his dad would even know which medication was the sedative, but he wasn't willing to risk it. "Fine... Tell me..." he coughed again and Jeff offered the water, taking a sip, John collapsed back on the bed. "What happened?"
So Jeff related everything he knew so far.
Agitated John sat up.
"John will you just lay down."
Pushing his father away John scowled, "I'm fine." He pushed the button to raise the head of the bed and leaned back. "Get me a laptop... I'll fixed the security."
Jeff gave his son a no nonsense look, "John. You need to rest."
With a dark scowl John swung his legs over the side of the bed, "Either get me a laptop or I'll get it myself." He growled.
Jeff glowered at John. For a minute the two exchanged defiant looks. Angered by his son's continued rebelliousness, but realising he wasn't going to win this time, Jeff compromised, and gave John the laptop still sitting on the bench top.
Satisfied John sat with a laptop on his thighs and accessed the various sensors built into Thunderbird two and began to build a security net around the large plane. After a clever bit of hacking and a little assistance from Brain's he was able to extend the net around Thunderbird one. Now anything that approached either of the two machines would be detected using the same technology they'd used to detect buried miners. They were able to get heat signatures and movement, if not video. "First Job when we get home," John muttered, "Security."
He watched his father pacing as he monitored the radio, making attempts to contact Scott every few minutes.
Doing a first sweep of the area around Thunderbird one John noted two forms that seemed to stagger into range of the plane, they hesitated for a moment then headed off in a different direction, disappearing into the jungle. Shortly after two other forms appeared, one particularly large they quickly passed under Thunderbird one's security net and carried on in the original direction the others had been travelling.
John frowned, and pulled up a map of the area. If they continued on in the same direction the first two would cut a direct path to Thunderbird two, while the others would reach the track that lead from the mine and meandered around the valley, eventually reaching the clearing where Thunderbird two rested.
"Hey Dad." John called cursing that he couldn't record what the nets were picking up.
"I think something's going on...." he explained what he'd seen, Jeff frowned,
"Sound's like someone could be after Kyrano and Onaha." he looked at the map John had displayed, "Which way did they go." Jeff asked in urgent concern.
John pointed it out. Nodding Jeff ordered, "Wait here."
Shaking his head, John tried to stand up, but collapsed in his father's arms, putting his second son back on the bed, Jeff gave him a glare that once would have had him running for his room. "Stay. Watch for your brothers."
Returning the glare, John reluctantly nodded.
Leaving the room Jeff jogged up to the cockpit and crossed to his seat, reaching into a hidden compartment under the seat he pulled out a hand gun and box of cartridges. Pocketing a handful of the nine mill cartridges he checked the gun, loaded it and checking the safety again, tucked it in the back on his pants.
From the infirmary John watching his father left the safety of Thunderbird two and head into the jungle in the direction they believed Kyrano and Onaha had run.
----
Scott followed the steeply descending tunnel his mind focussed on the memorised path he needed to take. The sound of rushing air and what sounded like a scream didn't register with him at first. He'd been so focussed and used to the silence of the mine that his ears had tuned out. Looking up with a start he glanced around trying to place the sound. Back tracking rapidly he came to a junction and took the right hand tunnel, hurrying he came to another junction and stopped listening carefully.
He shone his torch down each of the three tunnels. Not a sound or breath of air. Frustrated he chose the first tunnel at random. The brief sound of rocks falling caused him to stop and he looked back the way he'd come listening intently. Turning he strode back to the junction and listened, the sound had disappeared. Growling in frustration he took another tunnel striding into the gloom. The sudden drop nearly caught him of guard. Stumbling back and scrambling away from the shifting soil as it fell into the shaft. Scott lay on the ground and allowed his heart to return to a semblance of normal. Once he'd regained his breath he crawled to the edge of the shaft and looked down.
The shaft dropped in a dark void the shifting gravel making no sound as it fell. Scott swallowed tightly wondering how deep it was. Flashing his torch around he spied a cage partway down, covered in rubble. It appeared to be lodged just one level below him. The chains that held the cage rattled, soil and gravel trickled slowly from the shaft above where Scott lay. He glanced up just in time and pulled his head in quickly to see a large chunk of wood as it crashed past him and collided with the cage below. Horrified at the close call, Scott crawled back from the edge of the hole. He'd never understand John's attraction to these dark places.
Standing he shuddered, 'The sooner I find the brats and get out of here the better,' he thought. Retracing his steps he found his original path and continued down into the depths of the mine.
----
Looking down the equally dark passageways trying to decide which path would lead him to the surface Virgil huffed in frustration, behind him Gordon studied another passageway. Virgil looked over his shoulder at his brother; Gordon's behaviour had really impressed Virgil, he'd behaved with remarkable maturity. Looking back at the three passageways Virgil tried to think of a way to decide or decipher the correct path to follow. The sudden weight of responsibility he'd felt earlier felt lighter as he realised that being the middle brother he'd always have someone else beside him. He'd never be alone. Virgil's admitted being the middle brother had had its advantages; he had always had someone else to turn to, an older brother to take charge and fix problems, younger ones to mess around with. The thought brought his eldest brother to mind. 'Who had Scott turned to? Dad had been away a lot, so who had Scott had to fix his problems?' Virgil wondered. His mind wandered as he looked into the darkness only illuminated by his helmet lights for a very short distance now, the batteries were failing fast. With visor raised he could feel the moist air of the mines on his face. "Hey Gordo, do you know what they mined here?" he queried as the light from his helmet refracted off the walls in an almost green luminescent quality.
Gordon shrugged, "I don't care. I just want to get...." Gordon froze as a crash from the tunnel they'd just left reverberated throughout the mine. Racing back to the shaft they saw that the cage was gone. Looking at his brother in shock, Virgil shuddered. "I'm glad we got out."
Gordon nodded, lost for words. Silently the two turned from the empty shaft and returned to finding a way to the surface.
----
Jeff trudged through the dark jungle, the sun was setting in the far west beyond the mountains, but in the jungle, night had already settled in. The sound of nocturnal animals on the prowl kept Jeff on his toes. He had no real path to follow only a general direction, so he didn't like his chances of finding Kyrano and Onaha, but he couldn't leave them out here alone. They had been good friends, people he trusted, he wouldn't leave them to the machinations of kidnappers or worse. Stumbling over a log Jeff crashed to his knees and only just avoided landing on his face. Standing and wiping his hands on his uniform, Jeff grimaced, "I'm getting too old for this." he muttered.
Touching his com-link, Jeff made contact with John.
"How are you going?" John asked in concern, his father sounded out of breath.
"I'm fine John. Have you heard from Scott."
John shook his head tiredly, "No. Nothing... I've been trying every ten minutes..."
Jeff closed his eyes and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, "Just keep trying."
"F-A-B." John acknowledged, a slight smile curved his lips as he thought of his younger brothers.
Glancing at the computer screen as he spoke to his father, John frowned, "Dad. There's someone approaching you from the south east, twenty meters. I think."
Jeff stood and pulled the nine millimetre Browning from his waist and positioned himself behind a tree. "Radio silence." he ordered quietly.
In hushed suspense Jeff and John waited.
----
Gordon followed Virgil to the intersection of passages. He was beginning to lose hope. They had escaped death twice so far, three times if he counted Virgil's fall, he shuddered when he thought about the cave in, then Virgil falling down the shaft, and the cage falling. He watched as Virgil gave choosing their path his full attention, 'As if it's gonna make a difference,' he thought morosely. "Just pick one Virg'....." his voice faded away as a soft whimper echoed along the passageway. Both boys looked at each other. "Did you hear that?" Gordon asked not sure if he trusted his own ears.
"Yes." Virgil moved down one passageway in search of the source of the cries. He found that the sound faded so he returned to the junction and tried another passage, "Fish, you try that one."
Gordon nodded, now he had a focus other than himself he found his own fears dissipating. He crept into the dark passage trying to keep his foot falls silent so he could hear the hushed cries. The sound was definitely louder the further he travelled into the passage. Turning back to the junction he called urgently, "Hey, Virg' this way." Virgil appeared at the junction his broad grin lite by his helmets internal lights. Quickly the brothers followed the sounds of the cries. Travelling deeper and deeper into the mine, they passed several junctions at each one Gordon marked their passing by pushing LEPs into the walls of the passages.
----
Scott crossed an intersection his pace a steady mile eating trot, barely stopping long enough to press the LEPs into the passageways. Shoving the two LEP's in the wall without looking he glanced down at his supply, grateful that the survival pack he'd picked up had an extra supply. He gave the passageway a quick look to ensure the LEPs were glowing before carrying on and frowned, there were three LEP's in the wall. Two close together and a third a few inches to the right and below where he'd placed his. Scott smiled, he'd found them. "Good boys." He muttered.
Pulling his two out, he turned to face the other passageways, checking the one he'd just left and finding only his one, he crossed to the others, finding the right one on his first try, two LEPs firmly in place. Grinning Scott shoved his own LEPs in his pocket and began following the path his brothers had laid out.
----
Kyrano leaned heavily against his wife; he could feel her trembling with fatigue, her strong grasp around his waist gave him the courage to carry on. He knew she wouldn't leave him, especially in his weakened state. Quietly they moved through the jungle that had become home in the last few years. The darkness and animals of the jungle held no fear for him, but the monsters that pursued them, they were another matter. Kyrano knew who they were, the ones that had worked for his brother. They had frightened him when his brother controlled them, without his brother's protection they terrified him. He feared it was they, who had taken his little girl, and hoped he was wrong. He knew what the huge monster pretending to be a man did for pleasure. The villages didn't live in fear of him for no reason.
Crossing a small stream, the couple stumbled up the far bank. Kyrano slipping and sliding, only being held up by Onaha's determination. Reaching the top of the rise beyond the stream, Kyrano stilled and put a restraining hand on his wife's arm. Instantly Onaha stopped. Silently they studied the jungle. Somewhere nearby Kyrano could sense a presence, unable to determine the identity he pulled Onaha away, placing himself between the unseen threat and his wife. He could sense the stillness in the other, anticipation. Bracing himself internally he called out, "Show yourself."
Silence echoed through the jungle, even the night animals stilled. Then with a burst of movement and noise the other form stepped from hiding calling, "Kyrano? It's Jeff!"
Shoulders drooping with relief, Kyrano sighed, "Jeff?"
Quickly he moved towards his friend, if he could get Jeff to take Onaha to safety, he could lead their hunters away.
As the three gathered the moon broke through the clouds lighting their small section of jungle, Jeff grasped Kyrano's hand, "What happened?" he pulled Onaha into his side with a strong arm.
Kyrano shook his head, "No time to explain Jeff, you need to take Onaha to your plane..." he was cut off by Onaha's protests, which in turn where interrupted by John. "DAD! There's someone else coming up from the east." John's voice was edged with panic.
Looking in that direction, Jeff and Kyrano acted together, grabbing Onaha and running towards Thunderbird two. Behind them the sound of bullets ripping through the jungle caused the bird life to burst into raucous flight.
The three raced through the jungle, Jeff allowing Kyrano and Onaha to overtake him, turned and returned fire, he had no target, he just hoped to slow their pursuers.
An insane ten minutes of running and dodging bullets and they broke into the clearing. Jeff halted and dropped to the ground allowing the others to race across open ground as he opened fire on the jungle giving his friends the cover they needed to reach safety. As the pod opened to receive the couple, Jeff jumped to his feet and raced as he hadn't in many years. Collapsing on the floor of the pod and dropping his head to the floor in exhaustion, Jeff noticed the doors closing.
----
Pushing the two LEPs in a wall as he entered a new junction Gordon noted his supplies were running low, he tipped the packet of small metal pins topped by a plastic capsule into his hand, and counted, 'eleven left. That's three more junctions.' "Hey Virge, how many LEPs do you have?" Virgil stopped and returned to where Gordon was standing and pulled his own small packet out of his belt compartment, counting, "Twenty three."
"Good. I don't want to run out." Gordon stated, "Give them here and I'll keep marking our course. Virgil nodded and handed over the small pins. He returned to following the sounds of the crying. The boys carried on in this fashion for an indeterminate time, neither mentioned that they were hungry, thirst and tired. The cries drew them on and while they had a purpose their own dire circumstances didn't seem quite so bad.
They had travelled down several levels in the mine and were now many meters below ground, the sounds of the crying steadily becoming louder. Both boys wondered at the sound, it seemed strange that they were able to hear it at such a distance, although sounds travelled well in a cave system like this, it still seemed unusual. Gordon was beginning to worry again about their supply of LEPs when the sound suddenly intensified. Virgil leapt forward and raced down the passage as Gordon hurriedly pushed the last two LEPs in the wall, one remained in his clenched fist, and he prayed he wouldn't need any more.
Racing after his brother Gordon skidded to a halt as he rounded a bend and nearly collided with Virgil who stood looking up, above them a shaft climbed towards the surface, within it a cage was jammed, the hunched form of Tian still in her nightclothes and wrapped in the dirty sheet trapped inside. She huddled in the corner of the cage whimpering silently. Gordon suddenly noticed he could no longer hear the cries. He shook his head. 'She must have exhausted herself and stopped crying.' he thought.
"How we gonna get her?" Virgil asked, the door to the cage was facing the wall of the shaft and there was only a matter of a foot or two between the wall of the shaft and the cage.
Gordon shook his head. "I don't know."
Virgil moved closer to the stricken girl and called out softly, "Tian? Tian can you hear me?" he received no response. Looking at Gordon, Virgil shrugged and stepped closer Virgil called, "Tintin? It's Virgil and Gordon. We've come to get you out! OK?"
The child looked down at them with vacant eyes rocking in her hunched position. Virgil shook his head, "She's in shock and probably the first stages of hypothermia. We need to get her out of there.
Gordon nodded, "Good idea." He looked around the passageway and at their empty tool belts, "Any idea how?"
Virgil shook his head, "Nope."
"May be I have." The sudden voice behind the brothers had them jumping three feet in the air and spinning on the spot. "Scott!" The younger boys dived into their older brother arms. "Scott... how?....where?... what?"
Scott laughed, "Hey! Calm down, I came look for you when you didn't check in. Found your ATB, which is in a ditch!" he glared at Virgil, "... and came looking for you. When I saw the rock fall I figured you'd been trapped behind it so I found another way in and luckily our paths crossed. I saw the LEPs and followed your trail. Though why you came all the way down here I don't know. Still at least you found Tian."
Gordon and Virgil looked at each other. "We followed her cries." Gordon stated.
"Cries?" Scott shook his head, "I haven't heard a thing since I came down here. Haven't you noticed that the sounds are deadened in this place, no echo or anything. It's really unnerving." He shuddered and then looked up at the cage, "Com'on we need to get her out. Virgil's right she'll be hypothermic."
Gordon and Virgil exchanged puzzled looks, both the fact of Scott being unnerved and him not hearing Tian was strange to them. Shrugging the strangeness away the two younger brothers turned to watch Scott approach the cage.
Scott pulled his helmet off and stepped in close under the cage. Moving to the shaft wall he looked up between the cage and the wall then looked at Gordon, "Hey Fish, think you could get through there if I gave you a boost? You're still the smallest..." He looked at Virgil with a smirk, "Just."
Gordon joined him below the cage and looked up where Scott was pointing. "Yeah. I should be able to fit. Then what?"
Scott grinned "Then you wiggle your skinny butt into the cage and lower Tian to me."
Gordon nodded willing to give it a try. He took his helmet off and stepped into Scott's linked hands to be hoisted up on Scott's shoulders. The young teen grabbed at the underside of the cage and scrabbled his way up the side, squirming around to reach the gate. Pulling on it he realised it was stuck tight, even if he could open it he doubted he'd be able to squeeze through. Tian might squeeze out, but she showed no signs of being aware of them. "Tian. Tian." Gordon called trying to get the girls attention. Still there was no response, the child sat in the corner rocking, her eye's clamped close and hands clasping the end of a necklace between them. Gordon looked down at his eldest brother. "I can't open the gate, it's jammed tight and she can't hear me."
Scott sighed looking at his brother as he balanced his weight, knees against the cage and back against the wall. "Try the gate again. It's all we can do. No way will I get up there. I don't even think Virge would fit."
Gordon nodded and grabbed the gate with both hands determined to keep tugging till it gave way or he did. The sudden give of the gate on his first tug surprised and nearly dislodged him. The gate swung open with ease as if it had been pushed from inside the cage, clanging against the shaft wall. He reached into the cage, like he'd believed the space was too narrow for him to fit but by stretching he was able to brush his fingers across Tian's arm. The child jumped and looked up at Gordon. Gordon recoiled, her dark eye's seemed to glow with a golden halo then with a blink, dark innocent eyes stared into his. "Gordon?" the girl's quiet voice questioned.
Gordon shook himself, he must have imagined her eyes glowing eyes just didn't glow. He gave his best reassuring Tracy smile, "Yeah that's right. Gordon. Scott and Virgil are here as well. We're gonna get you outta here. OK? Com'on over here and I'll pass you down to Scott."
The child nodded and shuffled across to Gordon. With a lot of gentle persuasion Gordon encouraged the child out of the cage and into his lap. Bracing himself firmly, Gordon turned the child around so her body rested across his lap and gently lowered her feet first to his brother below. Scott grabbed Tian by the ankles as Gordon held on to her upper arms, suspended between the two brothers, she looked up at Gordon, trust in her tired eyes. Looking up Scott gave a quick nod that he had her and Gordon released his charge. Her shriek was cut short as Tian fell into Scott's arms and he lowered her quickly to the ground, taking off his flight suit jacket and wrapping it around her. He looked at Virgil crouched by his side, "Check her over while I get Gordon." Virgil nodded.
Returning to the shaft Scott found Gordon hanging from the bottom of the cage, his feet still nearly six feet from the floor. "Just what did you think you were gonna do?" Scott queried. Gordon looked down. "Jump?"
Scott snorted, "And break your legs. Here." He grabbed Gordon's calves and placed his brothers feet on his own shoulders. "Right. Brace your right hand on the wall." Gordon complied. "Now crouch and give me your left hand." Balanced steady on Scott shoulders Gordon followed Scott's instructions. With a small leap he jumped to the floor and stood grinning up at Scott.
Scott ruffled his hair. "Well done Fish." He turned to Virgil, "Well how is she?"
"Cold." Virgil looked up, "And tired, we need to get out of here."
Scott nodded, couching to pick up the child. Gordon grabbed both his and Scott's helmets and joined his older brothers. "Ok this way." Scott instructed, his long strides carrying him back up the way they had travelled, reaching a junction he turned right and led Virgil and Gordon up a passage they had passed in their pursuit of the illusive crying.
Remembering the crying Virgil shook his head, how was it that he and Gordon had heard it over such a vast distance, but Scott who must have only been a few meters behind them had heard nothing. He shook his head, deciding that caves, whether man made or natural were just plain weird and that John could keep them.
Gordon didn't even notice they had reached the outside of the mine until he brushed against a shrub. The sky was so overcast and the jungle path so dark that there was little different from the underground passages of the mine. Scott led the way back around the jungle path, clambering back over the fallen trees to the clearing where he'd originally found Virgil's ATB. He lowered the sleeping child to the ground and looked at the vehicle with its front wheels bogged in the mud. Shaking his head he looked at Virgil, then smirked at Gordon, "See what happens when John teaches someone to drive?" Scott stated, a grin threatening to crack his face in half. Gordon sniggered, while Virgil gave both brothers a filthy look. "You gonna complain or help me get it out?" he queried.
Scott laughed out right, "Keep ya pants on Flash. I'm just gonna contact Dad first. Then we'll get you back on the road. Check Tian out for me. OK?" Virgil stepped forward taking the girl from Scott's arms and lowered her to the ground quickly. He peeked at Scott to see if he had noticed, exhaling in relief when Scott raised his wrist communicator without looking at Virgil, "Scott to Thunderbird two."
"Scott!" Jeff tone was rife with apprehension, "Scott have you found them? Have you got them?"
"Yes Dad, I've got them right here and they're both in one piece..." He looked the two boys over noting the various bruises and scratches they boasted and frowned at Virgil who seemed to be favouring one side. "...Well relatively, nothing a good meal, a bath and a few days rest won't fix. And we've found Tian."
Jeff collapsed on the seat next to John's sleeping form. "Thank god." He pulled himself together, "Ok get back here. I'll let Tian's parents know we've found her."
"F-A-B Dad." Scott replied, grinning at Gordon.
Jeff shook his head. It looked like the cipher was going to stick.
TBC
A/N: Well that was a long chapter.... question is has the danger passed? And will Scott figure out Virgil's problem... Next chapter as soon as I can....
TBZ...