New Experiences 2
Inside the rollicking carriage the children were having a ball. Some were sitting with their noses pressed up against the windows, watching the scenery flash by. Others had decided that they were too hungry for to wait for lunch and were eating. None of them were worried by the absence of their carers.
"What's that?" Richard pointed at a lever situated at one end of the car.
His older brother had schooled Mike up on trains. "It stops the train if you really, really need it to. But if you stop the train when you don't really, really need it to you get into big, big trouble."
"Oh." Richard started at the lever. How could such a little thing get you into big, big trouble? "We'd better not touch it then." The two boys wandered back to their seats.
*****
Gordon stood looking down through the open hatch in Thunderbird Two's underbelly. He'd made air to ground transfers many times and several air to air transfers, but air to train transfers? Below him the loco jumped about alarmingly.
"You ready to go?" Alan shouted at him above the roar of the wind and machinery.
Gordon rechecked that his line was tethered safely, ensured that the brake wheel was tucked securely inside his jump suit and flashed his brother the thumbs up sign.
"We're ready to go." Alan radioed Virgil.
"F.A.B. I'll try and keep Two in line with the engine, AND away from those cliffs."
"F.A.B. I'll keep this line open to keep you informed of developments."
"Right."
Gordon took a deep breath and stepped out onto nothing. The line held and he was slowly lowered towards the old engine.
Virgil eyes darted to the monitor relaying his position relative to the train and then back to the cockpit window. A rocky crag loomed up in front of him. With no time to shout a warning to Gordon and Alan he pulled back on the steering column and Thunderbird Two rose sharply into the air.
Suspended below Thunderbird Two's undercarriage, Gordon was flung about like a rag-doll. "Hey what gives!" he started to yell, when the crag flashed past his feet alarmingly close. "Whew, that was close."
"Gordon!" Alan's voice rang in his ears. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tell Virg. I don't want anymore near misses like that one."
Once again the great plane started to get close to the train. Glancing down Gordon coughed as smoke and steam rushed up to greet him. He glanced up at Thunderbird Two and was struck by the juxtaposition of the two vehicles. Ancient and modern. Both triumphs of their age. Both at some time deemed to be 'state of the art'.
He had no time to continue his musings as Mavis was just over a metre beneath his feet. At that moment the iron horse swung round a corner, Thunderbird Two keeping pace. Centrifugal force swung Gordon out away from the engine. As both train and plane straightened up he once again found himself a metre above his objective.
"I need a metre more." He radioed Alan.
"FAB!" From Alan's position Gordon's progress was largely obscured by the smoke streaming from the funnel.
Gordon was now standing on the roof. "Cut me more slack." He unhooked a magnetic grab from his belt and attached it to the engine's iron cladding. It held firm. "Right I'm disengaging the line." The umbilical cord that connected him to Thunderbird Two swung free.
Mavis rounded another corner!
Gordon was flung sideways and went over the edge!
The magnetic grab held!
As the train straightened up again he took the opportunity to use the momentum to swing into the cab.
The noise was deafening. He freed himself from the cable that tethered him to the magnetic grab and spoke into his telecom.
"Gordon to Mobile Control."
He could just make out Scott's voice. "Mobile Control to Gordon. Receiving you."
Gordon turned the volume up to maximum. "You're going to have to shout, Scott. I can barely hear you."
Scott made a couple of adjustments to Mobile Control. "How's that?"
"Better." Gordon turned to face the bewildering array of levers and wheels and braced himself against the rolling action of the engine. "I'm inside the cab. Now what!"
Scott poured over the plans spread out in front of him, Martin standing at his shoulder pointed to a part of the diagram. "The brake wheel goes there."
"Thanks." Turning back to the microphone Scott relayed instructions to Gordon. "You see where it goes?"
"I think so..." Once again Mavis rounded a corner violently. Once again Gordon was thrown to one side, the brake valve wheel skittering out from his outstretched hand. He lunged at it as the train cornered again and it slid out of his reach towards the open door. Frantically he scrambled after it and managed to loop a finger through just as it started falling into the wildly racing countryside. Hugging it to himself he took a moment to steady his nerves. "That was close." He crawled towards the controls aware of the heat emanating from the firebox. Once in position he slowly stood up.
*****
The children in the train had crossed the line from enjoyment to fear. They had not been warned that the trip would be as rough as this. Those who had initially regarded the bucking ride as something akin to a roller coaster hugged one another. Those who wanted the reassurance of their teachers were starting to panic. Children were screaming and shouting.
Mike looked at Richard. "I think we should pull the lever."
"But we might get into trouble!"
A bag fell out of an overhead locker and hit one of the girls. She started to cry.
"I don't care. I don't like it." Mike stood up and started to make his way towards the lever, dodging flying bodies and bags. A particularly violent turn sent him head first against the bulkhead. He collapsed to the floor and lay still. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his face.
"Mike!" Richard cried. "Mike!"
*****
Back at base Scott was keeping Jeff and Neil up with the play. "The train's nearly reached Septsville and we've just received word that a full oil tanker has broken down on the level crossing."
"That's not good." Jeff commented.
"That's not the worst," Scott told him. "It's bordered by a housing district including a school. Police are evacuating everyone but it's taking time. And," he added, "to keep things really interesting, Martin's just informed me that there's every possibility that the boiler might overheat and explode. Gordon and those kids wouldn't have a chance."
"Um...Couldn't you sort of 'harpoon' the train, somehow, and sort of reverse tow it?..." Neil tapered off, sure that his idea sounded ridiculous.
Jeff looked at him. "That might work! How about it Scott?"
"I'll check what Virgil thinks..." Moments later Scott was back on line. "He says it's a good idea but it won't work with the cliffs around. However there's a clear straight section of track for a couple of miles leading into Septsville. If Gordon doesn't bring the train under control by then we'll try it." He paused. "Good thinking Neil."
Neil smiled shyly.
*****
Up in Thunderbird Two Virgil and Alan were keeping a close watch on events. "There's only ten miles to go. He's cutting it fine." Alan sounded strained.
"Yeah. We might have to resort to Neil's harpoon trick." Virgil glanced at Alan. "You'd better get the harpoon ready. I'll get Thunderbird Two into position." He steered the great plane so that it was directly behind the last carriage. He opened the communication line to Alan. "We're too high at the moment. As soon as we're clear of the cliffs I'll bring her down to the lowest, safest height. We want to pull on the train horizontally not vertically."
"F.A.B." Alan was ready and waiting, strapped into the control seat, a device very much like a harpoon in front of him. He could see the ground whistling below him and tried to estimate their speed. The train was easily doing 150 miles per hour. It was a miracle it hadn't jumped of the tracks.
Back in the locomotive Gordon was having difficulty bracing himself against the forces of the racing train. His hand kept on jumping about as he tried to position the wheel. With a triumphant cry he at last slid the wheel home and turned it as far as it would go. He then grabbed a lever and started applying the brakes.
'Mavis' hit the last curve before the final straight. Gordon grabbed the engineer's chair to steady himself and then resumed pulling on the brake. The wheels started to lock.
"She's not going to stop in time!" Virgil could see Septsville and the tanker in the distance. He lowered Thunderbird Two till the giant plane appeared to be almost running along the ground. "Alan! Fire when ready."
Alan squinted through the cross hairs in the eyepiece. He had the train in his sights. His finger activated the launching mechanism. With a whoosh the 'harpoon' flew from Thunderbird Two's undercarriage and hit home in the rear wall of the guard's van. "Activate retros!" he ordered Virgil.
Virgil reduced Thunderbird Two's speed. The harpoon line grew taut and held. Slowly the train started to slow down, the locked wheels screeching and hissing as sparks flew, the friction causing the metal to glow red.
Looking out through the locomotive's window, Gordon could see the tanker ahead. The driver was still in his cab, frantically trying to get the engine to start. He looked up in fear and seeing the steam train bearing down on him, deserted his vehicle, diving for cover in a nearby ditch.
Virgil applied more reverse thrust, trusting that the rear panel in the carriage would hold. Miraculously it did and 'Mavis', her cowcatcher nudging the tanker slightly, ground to a halt.
Gordon let out the breath that he'd been holding and wiped sweat from his brow. It wasn't only the heat from the firebox that had caused him to perspire. He swung down out of the cab and headed back to the passenger carriages. "Gordon to Virgil. I'm going to check on the kids."
"FAB."
Back at the station the Simpsons and the Engineers were shouting and hugging each other in delight. "It worked!" Sam whooped. "I can't believe that you did it, but it worked!"
Scott received a big hug from Andrea. "How can we thank you people?"
Gordon was issuing instructions to the children. "Right, I want everyone to get off the train and go and assemble by that tree over there. Someone will be along soon to look after you."
Richard tugged at his sleeve. "Mike's sick." He said.
Gordon found Mike, still unconscious, and radioed Mobile Control. "Scott, get an ambulance down here. One of the kids has taken a knock to the head and is out cold. The rest seem to be all right but could do with some reassuring."
"FAB". While the sergeant was radioing for medical help Scott turned to the Simpsons. "I guess you'll be wanting to get to your charges a.s.a.p."
"Yeah," Sam looked at his watch. "We won't be there for at least half an hour on those roads. We'd better get moving." He and his wife started towards the door.
"Just a minute," Scott told them, "give me a hand getting my gear on board Thunderbird One and I'll fly you down. We should be there in five minutes."
"Really?" Andrea brightened at the thought. "You'd do that? That's wonderful."
Thunderbird one actually arrived before the ambulance. Sam and Andrea briefly thanked Scott for the ride and then rushed over to the children, towing Fred and Lucy with them. They were soon swamped in a sea of kids, all talking excitedly, all wanting to tell their version of events.
Scott jogged over to the train and climbed aboard. Inside his brothers were applying first aid to Mike. "How's the kid?"
"He's just come round." Gordon told him. "He's still pretty dazed."
An ambulance officer arrived at the scene. "I hear someone's injured."
"Yeah," Gordon indicated Mike. "Apparently he was thrown against the bulkhead and knocked unconscious. I estimate he's been out for about ten minutes."
"Thanks." The ambulance officers took over tending Mike as the International Rescue team alighted from the train.
"Well done fellas." Scott congratulated his brothers. "You did a good job."
They stopped to look at 'Mavis'. Her cowcatcher was wedged underneath the body of the truck.
"Whew," Alan whistled. "That was close."
Gordon stifled a yawn. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm about ready for bed. Just as well I don't have to fly us home." He gave Virgil a sympathetic pat on the back.
"It's all this excitement," Virgil told him. "You can't take it."
"Really?" Gordon looked affronted. "Do you want me to fly us home?"
Virgil backed away with his hands raised in mock protest. "No thanks. I want to get home in one piece. Besides," he looked at Gordon's grimy hands and clothes, "I don't want anybody getting my machine dirty."
Back at Tracy Island John had finished relaying the good news. "If it hadn't been for that harpoon idea of Neil's things would have been a lot worse."
"You're right," Jeff agreed. "Just as well I hired him. Well done Neil."
Neil looked a little uncomfortable at the comment. "It was nothing really, just an idea, it was the guys who did all the hard work."
"Yyyes," Jeff agreed slowly, "but in this job you also need to be able to think laterally. It's no good us having all this equipment if we can't think of the most effective ways to use it."
"Well," Neil shrugged, "I guess it was seeing Thunderbird Two that gave me the idea. It's a whale of a size, and the shape's not dissimilar." He yawned. Outside it was still dark. It would be at least a couple of hours before the sun would make its appearance.
Jeff noticed the yawn. "Why don't you go to bed. There's nothing else going to happen now. The boys will come home, clean down their machines and go straight to bed themselves. They won't be in the mood for chat, and you'll want to be wide awake when we start training." He leaned back in his seat, his hands clasped behind his head. "Your first International Rescue rescue..."
"My 'second'" Neil reminded him.
"Your 'second' then. How'd you find it?"
"Exciting and frustrating. I won't feel I'm really involved until I get to actually go out on a proper rescue."
"We'll see how you go with the training. You might find you're involved sooner than you think. In the meantime," Neil was stifling another yawn, "go to bed!"
Neil stood up and gave a mock salute. "Yes Sir!"
It wasn't until late in the next day that Neil was able to question the Tracy boys about the previous nights rescue.
They were in the shooting gallery practising with laser guns.
"Wasn't it frightening being lowered onto that train?" Neil asked Gordon.
Gordon shrugged. "I won't say that you get used to being in dangerous situations, but you learn to harness your emotions. It keeps you focused on what's going on around you." He aimed at a target 30 metres away and pulled the trigger. He missed the target. Looking at his gun he muttered "Must need recalibrating."
Neil smiled and watched Scott aim at another target. The target glowed yellow as it registered a hit on the rim. Virgil lined up a target next to his older brother and succeeded in getting a little closer to the bullseye. His target shone orange.
Neil had his second attempt. His first had been a complete failure, this second time he wasn't any better.
They became aware that they had company. Lady Penelope and Parker had witnessed Neil's dismal attempts.
Lady Penelope looked at Neil with sympathy. "Don't worry, I'm sure all you need is a little practice."
Neil glared at his gun, "I don't need a little. I need a lot!"
Scott proffered his gun. "Care to show us how it's done Penny?"
Lady Penelope waved an airy hand. "Now Scott, you know how I dislike such things."
"Yeah, right." Scott didn't sound convinced. "How about you Parker."
"Don't mind hif H'I do." Parker took the gun, inspected it and in one fluid motion raised it to eye level and let off a shot. His target glowed red.
"Bullseye!" Alan clapped Parker on the back. "Good shooting. Didn't realise that marksmanship was part of the safe crackers armoury."
"H'I never carried a gun meself," Parker told him, "but hit was 'andy to know 'ow to use one. 'Cause H'I'm not a patch on 'er Ladyship."
"Sure you don't want a go Penny?" Virgil asked.
"No thank you." Lady Penelope was fiddling with her charm bracelet. "I seem to be having a problem, Neil, would you help me remove this."
"Of course," Neil undid the clasp. "Hey you've got some neat charms on here. Horse, flower, gun, bird, dice, telephone... Do any of these do anything?"
"One or two have their own little secrets." Lady Penelope took the bracelet from him. "Such as this one..." In a movement almost too fast to see she raised the charm shaped like a gun and took aim. The farthest target exploded in a cloud of red sparks. "Dear me, it seems to be rather too powerful. I shall have to get Brains to modify it a little."
Neil was standing there, his mouth hanging open. "Strewth." He eventually managed to say. "The guys were telling me about some of your talents, and I didn't know whether to believe them. I do now."
"Grace, Charm and Deadly Danger, is her motto." Virgil told him. "Never underestimate either Penny or Parker. They'll always surprise you."
"Now my dear boy, don't exaggerate." Lady Penelope told him. "We just help where we can." She turned back to Neil. "We came down to say good bye. I have a charity function that I'm due to attend tomorrow and I'm afraid that I just can't let the Duchess of Royston down. The dear lady would never forgive me."
Neil was unsure how to farewell a titled lady. "Well goodbye Lady Penelope and thank you for recommending me for this job."
"It was my pleasure" Lady Penelope told him. I'm sure that you will fill the position admirably." She turned to leave. "Come Parker we had better, ah, depart."
The Tracy boys weren't at all concerned about protocol. "Yeah, and next time you're here you can give us all lessons in shooting, Parker. We'll make sure Penny gives you some spare time." Scott took his gun back from the butler.
Parker looked pleased that he could teach 'them Yanks', as he affectionately but privately called them, something. "H'it would be my pleasure, Mister Scott."
"Great." Said Scott. "Until next time then..."
Inside the rollicking carriage the children were having a ball. Some were sitting with their noses pressed up against the windows, watching the scenery flash by. Others had decided that they were too hungry for to wait for lunch and were eating. None of them were worried by the absence of their carers.
"What's that?" Richard pointed at a lever situated at one end of the car.
His older brother had schooled Mike up on trains. "It stops the train if you really, really need it to. But if you stop the train when you don't really, really need it to you get into big, big trouble."
"Oh." Richard started at the lever. How could such a little thing get you into big, big trouble? "We'd better not touch it then." The two boys wandered back to their seats.
*****
Gordon stood looking down through the open hatch in Thunderbird Two's underbelly. He'd made air to ground transfers many times and several air to air transfers, but air to train transfers? Below him the loco jumped about alarmingly.
"You ready to go?" Alan shouted at him above the roar of the wind and machinery.
Gordon rechecked that his line was tethered safely, ensured that the brake wheel was tucked securely inside his jump suit and flashed his brother the thumbs up sign.
"We're ready to go." Alan radioed Virgil.
"F.A.B. I'll try and keep Two in line with the engine, AND away from those cliffs."
"F.A.B. I'll keep this line open to keep you informed of developments."
"Right."
Gordon took a deep breath and stepped out onto nothing. The line held and he was slowly lowered towards the old engine.
Virgil eyes darted to the monitor relaying his position relative to the train and then back to the cockpit window. A rocky crag loomed up in front of him. With no time to shout a warning to Gordon and Alan he pulled back on the steering column and Thunderbird Two rose sharply into the air.
Suspended below Thunderbird Two's undercarriage, Gordon was flung about like a rag-doll. "Hey what gives!" he started to yell, when the crag flashed past his feet alarmingly close. "Whew, that was close."
"Gordon!" Alan's voice rang in his ears. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tell Virg. I don't want anymore near misses like that one."
Once again the great plane started to get close to the train. Glancing down Gordon coughed as smoke and steam rushed up to greet him. He glanced up at Thunderbird Two and was struck by the juxtaposition of the two vehicles. Ancient and modern. Both triumphs of their age. Both at some time deemed to be 'state of the art'.
He had no time to continue his musings as Mavis was just over a metre beneath his feet. At that moment the iron horse swung round a corner, Thunderbird Two keeping pace. Centrifugal force swung Gordon out away from the engine. As both train and plane straightened up he once again found himself a metre above his objective.
"I need a metre more." He radioed Alan.
"FAB!" From Alan's position Gordon's progress was largely obscured by the smoke streaming from the funnel.
Gordon was now standing on the roof. "Cut me more slack." He unhooked a magnetic grab from his belt and attached it to the engine's iron cladding. It held firm. "Right I'm disengaging the line." The umbilical cord that connected him to Thunderbird Two swung free.
Mavis rounded another corner!
Gordon was flung sideways and went over the edge!
The magnetic grab held!
As the train straightened up again he took the opportunity to use the momentum to swing into the cab.
The noise was deafening. He freed himself from the cable that tethered him to the magnetic grab and spoke into his telecom.
"Gordon to Mobile Control."
He could just make out Scott's voice. "Mobile Control to Gordon. Receiving you."
Gordon turned the volume up to maximum. "You're going to have to shout, Scott. I can barely hear you."
Scott made a couple of adjustments to Mobile Control. "How's that?"
"Better." Gordon turned to face the bewildering array of levers and wheels and braced himself against the rolling action of the engine. "I'm inside the cab. Now what!"
Scott poured over the plans spread out in front of him, Martin standing at his shoulder pointed to a part of the diagram. "The brake wheel goes there."
"Thanks." Turning back to the microphone Scott relayed instructions to Gordon. "You see where it goes?"
"I think so..." Once again Mavis rounded a corner violently. Once again Gordon was thrown to one side, the brake valve wheel skittering out from his outstretched hand. He lunged at it as the train cornered again and it slid out of his reach towards the open door. Frantically he scrambled after it and managed to loop a finger through just as it started falling into the wildly racing countryside. Hugging it to himself he took a moment to steady his nerves. "That was close." He crawled towards the controls aware of the heat emanating from the firebox. Once in position he slowly stood up.
*****
The children in the train had crossed the line from enjoyment to fear. They had not been warned that the trip would be as rough as this. Those who had initially regarded the bucking ride as something akin to a roller coaster hugged one another. Those who wanted the reassurance of their teachers were starting to panic. Children were screaming and shouting.
Mike looked at Richard. "I think we should pull the lever."
"But we might get into trouble!"
A bag fell out of an overhead locker and hit one of the girls. She started to cry.
"I don't care. I don't like it." Mike stood up and started to make his way towards the lever, dodging flying bodies and bags. A particularly violent turn sent him head first against the bulkhead. He collapsed to the floor and lay still. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his face.
"Mike!" Richard cried. "Mike!"
*****
Back at base Scott was keeping Jeff and Neil up with the play. "The train's nearly reached Septsville and we've just received word that a full oil tanker has broken down on the level crossing."
"That's not good." Jeff commented.
"That's not the worst," Scott told him. "It's bordered by a housing district including a school. Police are evacuating everyone but it's taking time. And," he added, "to keep things really interesting, Martin's just informed me that there's every possibility that the boiler might overheat and explode. Gordon and those kids wouldn't have a chance."
"Um...Couldn't you sort of 'harpoon' the train, somehow, and sort of reverse tow it?..." Neil tapered off, sure that his idea sounded ridiculous.
Jeff looked at him. "That might work! How about it Scott?"
"I'll check what Virgil thinks..." Moments later Scott was back on line. "He says it's a good idea but it won't work with the cliffs around. However there's a clear straight section of track for a couple of miles leading into Septsville. If Gordon doesn't bring the train under control by then we'll try it." He paused. "Good thinking Neil."
Neil smiled shyly.
*****
Up in Thunderbird Two Virgil and Alan were keeping a close watch on events. "There's only ten miles to go. He's cutting it fine." Alan sounded strained.
"Yeah. We might have to resort to Neil's harpoon trick." Virgil glanced at Alan. "You'd better get the harpoon ready. I'll get Thunderbird Two into position." He steered the great plane so that it was directly behind the last carriage. He opened the communication line to Alan. "We're too high at the moment. As soon as we're clear of the cliffs I'll bring her down to the lowest, safest height. We want to pull on the train horizontally not vertically."
"F.A.B." Alan was ready and waiting, strapped into the control seat, a device very much like a harpoon in front of him. He could see the ground whistling below him and tried to estimate their speed. The train was easily doing 150 miles per hour. It was a miracle it hadn't jumped of the tracks.
Back in the locomotive Gordon was having difficulty bracing himself against the forces of the racing train. His hand kept on jumping about as he tried to position the wheel. With a triumphant cry he at last slid the wheel home and turned it as far as it would go. He then grabbed a lever and started applying the brakes.
'Mavis' hit the last curve before the final straight. Gordon grabbed the engineer's chair to steady himself and then resumed pulling on the brake. The wheels started to lock.
"She's not going to stop in time!" Virgil could see Septsville and the tanker in the distance. He lowered Thunderbird Two till the giant plane appeared to be almost running along the ground. "Alan! Fire when ready."
Alan squinted through the cross hairs in the eyepiece. He had the train in his sights. His finger activated the launching mechanism. With a whoosh the 'harpoon' flew from Thunderbird Two's undercarriage and hit home in the rear wall of the guard's van. "Activate retros!" he ordered Virgil.
Virgil reduced Thunderbird Two's speed. The harpoon line grew taut and held. Slowly the train started to slow down, the locked wheels screeching and hissing as sparks flew, the friction causing the metal to glow red.
Looking out through the locomotive's window, Gordon could see the tanker ahead. The driver was still in his cab, frantically trying to get the engine to start. He looked up in fear and seeing the steam train bearing down on him, deserted his vehicle, diving for cover in a nearby ditch.
Virgil applied more reverse thrust, trusting that the rear panel in the carriage would hold. Miraculously it did and 'Mavis', her cowcatcher nudging the tanker slightly, ground to a halt.
Gordon let out the breath that he'd been holding and wiped sweat from his brow. It wasn't only the heat from the firebox that had caused him to perspire. He swung down out of the cab and headed back to the passenger carriages. "Gordon to Virgil. I'm going to check on the kids."
"FAB."
Back at the station the Simpsons and the Engineers were shouting and hugging each other in delight. "It worked!" Sam whooped. "I can't believe that you did it, but it worked!"
Scott received a big hug from Andrea. "How can we thank you people?"
Gordon was issuing instructions to the children. "Right, I want everyone to get off the train and go and assemble by that tree over there. Someone will be along soon to look after you."
Richard tugged at his sleeve. "Mike's sick." He said.
Gordon found Mike, still unconscious, and radioed Mobile Control. "Scott, get an ambulance down here. One of the kids has taken a knock to the head and is out cold. The rest seem to be all right but could do with some reassuring."
"FAB". While the sergeant was radioing for medical help Scott turned to the Simpsons. "I guess you'll be wanting to get to your charges a.s.a.p."
"Yeah," Sam looked at his watch. "We won't be there for at least half an hour on those roads. We'd better get moving." He and his wife started towards the door.
"Just a minute," Scott told them, "give me a hand getting my gear on board Thunderbird One and I'll fly you down. We should be there in five minutes."
"Really?" Andrea brightened at the thought. "You'd do that? That's wonderful."
Thunderbird one actually arrived before the ambulance. Sam and Andrea briefly thanked Scott for the ride and then rushed over to the children, towing Fred and Lucy with them. They were soon swamped in a sea of kids, all talking excitedly, all wanting to tell their version of events.
Scott jogged over to the train and climbed aboard. Inside his brothers were applying first aid to Mike. "How's the kid?"
"He's just come round." Gordon told him. "He's still pretty dazed."
An ambulance officer arrived at the scene. "I hear someone's injured."
"Yeah," Gordon indicated Mike. "Apparently he was thrown against the bulkhead and knocked unconscious. I estimate he's been out for about ten minutes."
"Thanks." The ambulance officers took over tending Mike as the International Rescue team alighted from the train.
"Well done fellas." Scott congratulated his brothers. "You did a good job."
They stopped to look at 'Mavis'. Her cowcatcher was wedged underneath the body of the truck.
"Whew," Alan whistled. "That was close."
Gordon stifled a yawn. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm about ready for bed. Just as well I don't have to fly us home." He gave Virgil a sympathetic pat on the back.
"It's all this excitement," Virgil told him. "You can't take it."
"Really?" Gordon looked affronted. "Do you want me to fly us home?"
Virgil backed away with his hands raised in mock protest. "No thanks. I want to get home in one piece. Besides," he looked at Gordon's grimy hands and clothes, "I don't want anybody getting my machine dirty."
Back at Tracy Island John had finished relaying the good news. "If it hadn't been for that harpoon idea of Neil's things would have been a lot worse."
"You're right," Jeff agreed. "Just as well I hired him. Well done Neil."
Neil looked a little uncomfortable at the comment. "It was nothing really, just an idea, it was the guys who did all the hard work."
"Yyyes," Jeff agreed slowly, "but in this job you also need to be able to think laterally. It's no good us having all this equipment if we can't think of the most effective ways to use it."
"Well," Neil shrugged, "I guess it was seeing Thunderbird Two that gave me the idea. It's a whale of a size, and the shape's not dissimilar." He yawned. Outside it was still dark. It would be at least a couple of hours before the sun would make its appearance.
Jeff noticed the yawn. "Why don't you go to bed. There's nothing else going to happen now. The boys will come home, clean down their machines and go straight to bed themselves. They won't be in the mood for chat, and you'll want to be wide awake when we start training." He leaned back in his seat, his hands clasped behind his head. "Your first International Rescue rescue..."
"My 'second'" Neil reminded him.
"Your 'second' then. How'd you find it?"
"Exciting and frustrating. I won't feel I'm really involved until I get to actually go out on a proper rescue."
"We'll see how you go with the training. You might find you're involved sooner than you think. In the meantime," Neil was stifling another yawn, "go to bed!"
Neil stood up and gave a mock salute. "Yes Sir!"
It wasn't until late in the next day that Neil was able to question the Tracy boys about the previous nights rescue.
They were in the shooting gallery practising with laser guns.
"Wasn't it frightening being lowered onto that train?" Neil asked Gordon.
Gordon shrugged. "I won't say that you get used to being in dangerous situations, but you learn to harness your emotions. It keeps you focused on what's going on around you." He aimed at a target 30 metres away and pulled the trigger. He missed the target. Looking at his gun he muttered "Must need recalibrating."
Neil smiled and watched Scott aim at another target. The target glowed yellow as it registered a hit on the rim. Virgil lined up a target next to his older brother and succeeded in getting a little closer to the bullseye. His target shone orange.
Neil had his second attempt. His first had been a complete failure, this second time he wasn't any better.
They became aware that they had company. Lady Penelope and Parker had witnessed Neil's dismal attempts.
Lady Penelope looked at Neil with sympathy. "Don't worry, I'm sure all you need is a little practice."
Neil glared at his gun, "I don't need a little. I need a lot!"
Scott proffered his gun. "Care to show us how it's done Penny?"
Lady Penelope waved an airy hand. "Now Scott, you know how I dislike such things."
"Yeah, right." Scott didn't sound convinced. "How about you Parker."
"Don't mind hif H'I do." Parker took the gun, inspected it and in one fluid motion raised it to eye level and let off a shot. His target glowed red.
"Bullseye!" Alan clapped Parker on the back. "Good shooting. Didn't realise that marksmanship was part of the safe crackers armoury."
"H'I never carried a gun meself," Parker told him, "but hit was 'andy to know 'ow to use one. 'Cause H'I'm not a patch on 'er Ladyship."
"Sure you don't want a go Penny?" Virgil asked.
"No thank you." Lady Penelope was fiddling with her charm bracelet. "I seem to be having a problem, Neil, would you help me remove this."
"Of course," Neil undid the clasp. "Hey you've got some neat charms on here. Horse, flower, gun, bird, dice, telephone... Do any of these do anything?"
"One or two have their own little secrets." Lady Penelope took the bracelet from him. "Such as this one..." In a movement almost too fast to see she raised the charm shaped like a gun and took aim. The farthest target exploded in a cloud of red sparks. "Dear me, it seems to be rather too powerful. I shall have to get Brains to modify it a little."
Neil was standing there, his mouth hanging open. "Strewth." He eventually managed to say. "The guys were telling me about some of your talents, and I didn't know whether to believe them. I do now."
"Grace, Charm and Deadly Danger, is her motto." Virgil told him. "Never underestimate either Penny or Parker. They'll always surprise you."
"Now my dear boy, don't exaggerate." Lady Penelope told him. "We just help where we can." She turned back to Neil. "We came down to say good bye. I have a charity function that I'm due to attend tomorrow and I'm afraid that I just can't let the Duchess of Royston down. The dear lady would never forgive me."
Neil was unsure how to farewell a titled lady. "Well goodbye Lady Penelope and thank you for recommending me for this job."
"It was my pleasure" Lady Penelope told him. I'm sure that you will fill the position admirably." She turned to leave. "Come Parker we had better, ah, depart."
The Tracy boys weren't at all concerned about protocol. "Yeah, and next time you're here you can give us all lessons in shooting, Parker. We'll make sure Penny gives you some spare time." Scott took his gun back from the butler.
Parker looked pleased that he could teach 'them Yanks', as he affectionately but privately called them, something. "H'it would be my pleasure, Mister Scott."
"Great." Said Scott. "Until next time then..."