14)
"Can't a guy catch a break," Alan hissed when he reread once again the threatening mail from the Hood. At the crack of dawn Alan had woken up and went to check on his e-mail to see if he had gotten any job requests, but instead he found himself threaten by a crazy lunatic who extended his threat towards his family and friends. "That's all I'm asking. So why can't he just give up already?"
Alan fidgeted with his fingers, thinking this was very bad if he had already managed to track him this far down. Alan couldn't even imagine the longer lengths the Hood was willing to go till he had Alan and the program. Anxiety grew as his thoughts shifted over to what he was going to do about the situation. He couldn't give in to what the Hood wanted nor did he want to put his family and friends at risk because of it. Alan had already tried the run-and-hide tactic and look where that got him, so the only option left was facing his enemy straight on. Though this was a typical Alan move, he knew that there was no way he could be able to do it while he was still on the island. First, because he didn't want them involved in his mess more than they already were, despite not being completely aware of it. Secondly, there was no way his dad was going to let him leave the island any time soon because of his 'stunt' yesterday. So that left him with not many choices than running away from the island. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, after all he had done it once three years ago, but the difference this time was that now he had the three watchdogs on his back and everybody else who grew more and more suspicious of him every day. They wouldn't easily let him go anywhere by himself. Alan pondered by this as he shut down his computer and went into the bathroom to get a shower.
A shower worked miracles on relaxing him whenever there was something on his mind or his was physically stressed, it worked even more right then with the haunting thoughts that was currently occupying half of his brain. The warm water was soothing and slowly he began putting those thoughts away. He decided that he could think about it later when he had some kind of idea what to do. It was just nice to be free and unguarded, even if it was just for a couple of minutes and it was in the shower being completely naked. Not that he ever had impulses to walk around naked other than when he was a young toddler, which he had not much memory off thankfully, but he felt that he didn't need to hide who he was and could just be for minute a young man named Alan.
However when he stepped out of the shower and cleaned the steam of the mirror, the illusion of just Alan was gone and replaced with Luke Shepard. He grabbed a towel and dried first his body before ruffling his blonde hair. There were still traces of the brown hair dye he had used on few hair tips back when he began running from his family, but it was barely noticeable now unless they knew exactly what they were looking for. His family wouldn't have noticed it unless they actually brushing his hair from tip to tip, and for which he was glad for the discretion. It kept up the illusion that Alan Tracy had brown hair while Luke Shepard had blond for outsiders that weren't aware of his identity. However he had learned quickly that when you dye your hair in a totally different color than your natural hair color, it tends to get difficult to wash out.
Someone knocked on the door, making Alan surprised that there was someone else up other than him and Kyrano. He changed quickly into another pair of shorts and a light blue t-shirt and walked out of the bathroom to answer the door. He assumed it was Kyrano who wanted to ask him to help him out with something. If it were his dad then he would seriously close the door shut before his dad had a chance to try to interrogate him again, which he for one wasn't willing to attend to, since he had gone out of his way to avoid him more than usual. However he was wrong on both accounts as he opened the door and saw Tin-Tin there with sneaky expression on her face.
"Tin-Tin?" Alan was dumbfounded over seeing her this early in the morning. She looked like she had just woken up since she was still in her light orange pajamas, but her hair had been brushed and was kept in a high ponytail. So she must have been awake for a while before coming to his room all of a sudden. "What are you doing here?"
Tin-Tin grinned like a child on Christmas morning, anxious over opening her presents. Alan wasn't sure what was going through her head, but he knew one thing. She had a sneaky and devious plan that would possibly lead not only her, but also both of them in trouble. And strangely enough he was curious and actually wanted to be a part of whatever she had planned, since there was nothing currently that was going on. Of course other than the huge threat towards everybody he cared about and the guarded watch over him thanks to his dad and brothers.
"How would you feel about leaving the island for a while?" Tin-Tin asked, though she still hadn't stopped grinning. Alan wanted to laugh out loud of whatever was going on, but kept silent as he cocked his head in wonder.
"I would love to, but I'm grounded, remember?" Alan said amused. "I'm not supposed to leave the island or go anywhere without someone watching me."
"I'll be there and so will Fermat," Tin-Tin said. "So you wouldn't be on your own."
"Do you really think Mr. Tracy will allow me to leave with you two?" Alan questioned. "He doesn't trust me for a moment and probably not with you two since we are friends. None offense, but I really think I shouldn't step on more of his toes despite how fun that is."
"Come on," Tin-Tin said mockingly sad. "Have you not broken more rules up till now? So why should it matter if you broke one more."
Alan thought about it for a second, but knew that she was right. What harm could happen if he broke one more rule? It is not like they could kill him or decided to throw him to the sharks, and frankly he didn't care if they demanded that he left the island since that would make his problem much easier.
"What did you have in mind?"
Jeff and his three sons were sitting in the kitchen together with Kyrano, Brains and Onaha eating breakfast as he explained John's return and his recently discovered threat from the Hood. First they all stayed quiet, but the silence didn't remain for long when Scott suddenly slammed his hands hard on the table and rose from his seat.
"DAD!" Scott bellowed, while staring furiously at his father's calm demeanor. Jeff knew that Scott would react this the moment he heard the news, but he had hoped his son didn't shout and lose his temper. After all Scott was a leader figure to his brothers, so if Scott lost control then he wasn't sure if Virgil and Gordon could control their emotions either. "Are you serious about this?"
"You mean that the Hood was actually threatening you to give up Luke and this mystery program or else he would hurt you?" Virgil asked, with a small tone of fright in his voice. Of course Virgil was worried for his family just like Scott, especially now that they had no clue where Alan was or if he ever planned on coming home so they all could make amends with him. However now wasn't the time to worry about the dangers, instead facing the dangers together as a family just like they have always done till now.
"Yes, however I have not yet spoken to Luke about it," Jeff said. "But I don't think this is prank from Luke or anyone else, especially when he extended the threat to us."
"This gives even more reason to let the cops handle it," Scott argued. "So send the kid back and problem solved." No surprise that Scott wanted Luke off the island, ever since he had gotten here he had either complained or annoyed the kid to now end. However Luke didn't seem at least offended by his actions and simply ignored him and continued working on his computer or some kind of invention. Despite the fact that Jeff didn't necessary got along with Luke, but he did find it slightly amusing to see someone ruffling Scott's feathers. However he didn't want to send him away until he was completely sure on the situation and also because he still wanted to find out more about Luke and his past. Even though he wasn't sure why he was so curious about him, but maybe since Luke reminded him of Alan and maybe if he helped the boy then maybe he could stop blaming himself.
"No, I will not send him away until we get to the bottom of this," Jeff disagreed on his oldest son's notion. "And I expect you all to stand by my decision and together we might be able to put this madman away. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Scott affirmed, didn't say anything else, but huffed back into his seat and crossed his arms in defiance.
Virgil and Gordon nodded in agreement because they didn't want to defy their father's orders, since they trusted him enough to make a rational decision that included minimal damages of the conflict.
Then conversation ended and silence took over the room with the exception of clinking sound from the cutlery and the glasses. This was a normal occurrence for the Tracy family the last few years, not much talking around the table except for a couple of Gordon's stupid jokes and talks about rescues. Jeff missed the family meals with everyone being in the same room, but even before Alan disappeared family dinners usually consisted him, Scott, Virgil, Gordon and the rest of the household. If Jeff ever got asked in what he would change different about his life it would probably be having a better relationship with his family, more specifically his relationship with Alan. His other sons had grown up in a normal environment before moving to the island when they were around their pre-teen and teens, while Alan was just passed the stage as a toddler and was even wilder than the rest of them when they had moved to the island. And it didn't get better when his sons was sent to boarding school while Alan was left alone. When Alan actually was sent to boarding school his attitude and wild ways always got him in trouble and easily kicked out of almost every prestigious boarding school in the country. The time when he got expelled after blowing up the chemistry lab during an experiment was the only time Jeff knew that it had been an accident, but no one else seemed to believe it since people always judged Alan based on his prior errors. Thus making it even harder to find a school for him, but that didn't matter much to Alan since all he wanted was being homeschooled and work for International Rescue. Of course it was at that point where his relationship with had taken a turn to the worst, rephrase worst than they had in the earlier years.
"By the way dad, where is the kids?" Virgil asked. Jeff was taken back by the question, but when he thought about it he had not seen Luke, Tin-Tin or Fermat all morning. Though he didn't expect that Luke would show up with both him and the boys around, but it was unusual that Tin-Tin and Fermat hadn't come down for breakfast. Which is why he thought immediately something was going on and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it at all.
"I don't know, I haven't seen them all morning," Jeff said. "How about you boys?"
His sons shook their heads in refusal and Jeff looked at Brains, Kyrano and Onaha to see if they knew anything.
"I asked Tin-Tin if she could go to the mainland to get some supplies," Onaha said hesitant. "Though I didn't say anything to her about bringing Luke or Fermat. I was sure Fermat was needed here to run the command center since Brains was going to switch places with John and in case there was an IR call. And Luke being grounded it makes no sense why she would bring them along."
This brought concern in Jeff's mind. He wasn't too concerned about Tin-Tin and Fermat being on their own on the mainland, but with Luke involved he was certain that it was bad idea to let him roam around without supervision. Then there is the fact that Luke had a huge wanted sign on him from the Hood, putting everyone including his family at risk.
"Gordon, can you go and check both Luke's and Fermat's rooms to if they are there?" Jeff asked determined, but with a hidden anger in his voice. If those kids have left the island without permission then he was certainly not going to be a calm individual when he got his hands on them. "Virgil, Scott, you two go and check the labs and silos you in case they have decided to play a little hide-and-seek game."
The boys nodded and left the kitchen in military command, not even give the order a second thought. Jeff grabbed the bridge of his nose and silently prayed that his suspicions was wrong and that the kids were still on the island, but something in his mind told him that he shouldn't keep his hopes up. After all this kind of disobedience was not unfamiliar in the Tracy household.
Closing the door to Fermat's room, Gordon continued his search to find the teens who may or may not still be on the island and headed towards Luke's room. Gordon smiled thinking about the mysterious and weird teen, he found strangely enough very fun to have around the house despite his incapability to follow orders. The house has been so quiet the last three years that the silence was almost smothering him. He missed his little brother and his missed pulling pranks on their older siblings like they used to do whenever Alan was home. No one seemed to bother to care if he pulled a prank on them, well almost. If the prank was almost revealed at the wrong time, like when he had put salt in the sugar jar and his dad had been too tired to realize the switch. Let's just say the result of that prank had been being grounded from entering the pool for two weeks, which is like an eternity for him at least.
He liked Luke despite the fact that he really hasn't spent much time with him other than watching over him. The kid was amazing with vehicles in both making them and driving them, especially after he searched online to find a video clip of his racing days. And the fact that he was still so young and managed to keep his own business working and was working hard in order to do so, showed that the kid could do things when he put his mind into it.
He opened the guest room that was currently occupied by Luke and was surprised to see how clean and almost untouched the room was. It was almost like no one was living there in the first place. His backpack was leaning next to the balcony door and his computer was on the desk together with heavy piles of books next to it. Gordon actually hoped that his room could give a further clue on who the kids was or at least trying to hide away, but he decided to focus on the task he was given and looked around the room and the bathroom to see if Luke was playing hide-and-seek with them. However there was no sign of neither Luke nor Fermat had been in their rooms recently.
Damn, Gordon thought. His dad wasn't going to like it if they didn't find them. Then he noticed a small piece of paper on the desk. He took the note and read its contents and swore once again on the inside. His dad was definitely not going to like this and Luke was going to be in so much trouble when his dad got a hold on him. Sometimes he could almost bet that Luke's habit in getting in trouble was almost identical to Alan's habit for getting into trouble on more than daily basis. They even had the same ability to drive his father crazy by being stubborn and defiant against everything his dad expected and ordered them to do. Gordon didn't waste time dilly-dally over how similar Luke and Alan, instead he ran out of the room to inform his dad on the status on their situation.
"I-is this really s-such a g-good i-idea?" Fermat stuttered as Fermat, Tin-Tin and Alan got off the boat that had just docked at the mainland. "W-we are going to b-be in s-so much t-trouble if we g-get caught."
"Will you just relax Fermat," Tin-Tin said slightly annoyed. "Its not like we left to elope with Luke as our witness. We are just going to the market to buy some supplies for my mom and head right back to the island."
Fermat nodded defeated, knowing far too well that there was no way he could change her mind. Alan smirked over the interaction, reminding him of the times that both he and Tin-Tin forced Fermat to go along on their crazy plans. The only difference between him and Tin-Tin on that point was that she actually listened when Fermat warned about something unlike him who would jump into the fire without a second thought. Alan didn't know how much he had missed his best friends until he began spending time with them again and seen how much they changed and still stayed the same as when he left.
"Hey, Luke," Tin-Tin called out. Alan lifted his head in the direction he heard Tin-Tin call out for him and saw they were already starting to walk towards the market place. "Are you coming?"
Alan didn't think much over the question as he nodded as a confirmation and began following after them. His mind was occupied with thoughts that wondered if they could ever forgive him for being selfish and stubborn when he left them behind and stopped making direct contact with them. There were million reasons for his distance and his refusal for revealing to them who he was now. However he was unsure if they could see past the hurt and anger they probably had on him and be understanding to his whys, not that he didn't trust his friends' sincerity on his motives for running away, but he was afraid for the rejection he could get from them. Who would want to be friends with a guy who was willing to lie and hide from his family and friends in order to conceal his identity?
If there was a time when Jeff had ever been truly exasperated by the teen's antics, it was when he read through the note that was left in Luke's room.
Luke, Fermat and I left to go to the mainland to gather up some supplies for my mom.
Be back in a couple of hours.
Love Tin-Tin
Jeff wasn't sure if this was Tin-Tin's way of rebelling the adults in her life, but he was almost certain that Alan had influenced her to question and the authority's rules in the earlier years. His son's impetuous behavior was almost an impossible task to steer on the right path and he was unknowingly or not dragging Tin-Tin and Fermat into his crazy plans. Even without Alan leading 'rebellion squad' Tin-Tin and Fermat grew into young adults with a rule breaking behavior, well Tin-Tin grew more into it than Fermat, but he usually tagged along and tried to keep the crazy plans to the minimum. And Luke was already starting to get on Jeff's last nerve with his rule breaking and his impetuous behavior regarding everything that involved control over him as an individual.
In frustration Jeff slammed his hands on the table, scaring both Onaha and Brains by the sudden noise. Meanwhile Scott, Virgil and Gordon stood quietly on the other side of the table, watching their dad being exasperated over the teens' disobedience.
"Get them back to the island!" Jeff bellowed to his boys, too upset to care about IR operations or retrieving John from TB5. "I will not tolerant this kind of behavior from Tin-Tin and Fermat, especially when they knew that Luke wasn't allowed to the leave the premises."
"I'm already on it dad," Scott exclaimed. "We'll take one of the private boats and go to the mainland to retrieve them."
"Maybe it is best that we wait for them to get back," Virgil suggested. "What's the worst that can happen? Luke is being watch closely by Fermat and Tin-Tin, so we can rest assure that he isn't going to runaway or meet up with any strangers. And besides they are good friends, so they should be allowed to spend time together without being monitored by us all day long."
"That is beside the point Virgil," Jeff said, unwilling let go of his anger despite knowing too well that Virgil had a good point in his suggestion. "Luke is very troubled and the more we try to deny it, the more he is going to screw up and get himself in serious trouble. And he is already in big trouble with the Hood hanging on his neck, threatening him and everyone around him including us."
"But dad, you always say that we need to make decisions with calm mind," Gordon intervened in the discussion. "Right now you are trying to make decisions based on hurt pride and wild emotions."
Jeff sighed and slowly began to calm down after his outburst. Virgil and Gordon were right. There was no need to make hasty decisions until he had everything under control. Dragging the teens back home wasn't going to solve any problems; instead it will create problems from both sides. And John did suggest that he should cut Luke some slack and give the freedom that he wants. Maybe it was for the best if he didn't blow the situation out of proportion. However he didn't get the time to dwell on it when the IR alarm went off, meaning they were called on another rescue.
"Boys, you know the drill!" Jeff took instantly commando over the situation, almost putting behind the topic of the conversation. The boys hurried off to get to the silos while Jeff stayed behind giving orders to the rest of them. "Brains, you will come along on this one, since we can switch you with John up on five after the rescue."
"Y-y-yes, Mr. T-tracy," Brains replied and followed after Virgil and Gordon.
"Kyrano, since there are no one else here you are in charge of the command center. You and Onaha will be in charge until Fermat, Tin-Tin and Luke get back, and when they do send them to my office and keep them there till I get there. So I can reprimand them for their irresponsible behavior."
Kyrano and Onaha nodded and Jeff left the breakfast table to get ready for the rescue operation. He would have to deal with this mess when he got back from the rescue and more agreeable to discuss the situation. He could only hope that Luke didn't manage to drag Fermat and Tin-Tin into trouble.
Alan was pretty sure that Tin-Tin was related to the devil. There was simply no way anyone other than the devil could convince two guys to carry the groceries for her without much effort. Both he and Fermat refused, knowing far too well that carrying shopping bags was a pain in the ass for every guy on the planet. However she managed to convince them by simply moving her eyelashes and saying encouraging words on how strong they were compared to her, insinuating that she was weaker than them.
"I thank you again guys for carrying the bags," Tin-Tin said innocently. She was just done purchasing a bag of oranges and handed the bag to Alan. "What would I do without you strong guys to help me out shopping for my mother."
"Yeah-yeah," Alan murmured. He was annoyed that he was dragged into grocery shopping, but it was better option than being back at the island with his family that he was pretty sure hated his guts for what it was worth. "We both just love to go around carrying heavy bags in a market filled with people."
Tin-Tin smiled and was amused by Alan's sarcastic response. Alan hasn't had much experience with girls other than Tin-Tin and Sarah, but he could never understand how girls always seemed offended by the most stupid things and amused by the same stupid things. It is simple, girls are just complicated no matter what how you tried to look at it.
They continued to walk passed different booths when Alan noticed old man begging on the side of the street. He stopped in front of the man and leaned down and pulled out a couple of US dollars from his pocket, since he didn't have any other currency on him, and put the money into the plastic cup next to the man. The old man looked up to see who had given him money and was surprised to see someone so young as Alan voluntary give away money, since people rarely acknowledged beggars on the street.
"Thank you," the man whispered in appreciation. Alan smiled and said a sincere 'you're welcome'. He rose up and noticed that Tin-Tin and Fermat was looking at him like he had gone crazy. It was easy to deduce that they wanted to talk with him, probably get an explanation over what he just did. However Alan was suspicious that that wasn't all they wanted to talk about.
They found a bench next to one of the jewelry stalls, Tin-Tin and Fermat sat next to Alan while he leaned down towards the ground. Alan was thinking over how he was going to handle it, even with the few white lies he had made up things could easily get out of hand and he wasn't certain that he would be able to keep things hidden when people was curious and suspicious of everything he did.
"Why did you give that old man money?" Tin-Tin asked softly. "Has it something to do with you past as a homeless?"
"I guess that is one part of it," Alan said, still staring at the ground, avoiding both Fermat's and Tin-Tin's faces. He was always a little short whenever people wanted to talk about his past on being homeless in detail, even though he had met much kind and generous people on the street, there had been some bad and terrifying people living there as well. Bad people, who would beat up, do drugs or kill innocent people. "I wanted to help even if it isn't much, but these people would appreciate even the smallest token."
"How do you know that they aren't going to use the money to buy drugs?"
"I don't," Alan said sharply. He didn't want to question their intentions, since some of them don't even deserve that kind of treatment. "I have no right to judge them, since I know how desperate they are to live."
Both him and Tin-Tin went quiet and didn't say anything after that. Fermat had been quiet the whole time, listening instead of being judgmental over Alan's reasons for helping the old man. Alan was actually quite glad that both of his friends didn't hover over him, pushing to find more information about him and his past. They seemed to respect his need for space and privacy, unlike his family who would both hover and drive him nuts.
"A-are anyone t-t-thirsty?" Fermat said suddenly. Obviously trying to stop making the conversation awkward as it was at the moment.
"Sure," Tin-Tin answered, while Alan nodded in agreement. The weather was nice and the temperature was hot under the blazing sun. So a cold drink was more than a tempting offer.
"Okay, there is a booth over there," Tin-Tin pointed at the booth across from where they were sitting. "Looks like they are selling sodas and ices teas, so any preferences or should I just pick something?"
Both boys shook their heads and Fermat tagged along with Tin-Tin to help out, meanwhile Alan stayed at the bench in complete silence. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of secrets and lies, suffocating him. What was he going to do? Of course he could try run away now, since he had the opportunity and means to take out the Hood, but he didn't want to get Tin-Tin and Fermat in trouble or not being hundred percent sure that the Hood wouldn't attack the island if he left. But what was he going to do then?
Someone put a hand on his shoulder, making Alan both forget what he was thinking about and become defensive over whoever grabbed his shoulder. It was a young native child who didn't appear as a threat or wish to harm him in any way. He handed out a cellphone and said in a bad English accent:
"For you…Man told me to,"
Alan wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a bad feeling about it. However he smiled gently at the boy, to ease his worry and took the phone. The boy ran off, leaving Alan alone.
"Hello?" Alan said cautiously, not trusting for one moment that whoever was on the other side of the line was nice guy.
"You are a hard man to find Mr. Shepard," a dark voice said. Alan felt all his hairs stick up when he heard the voice, since knew far too well whom he was talking to. The Hood.
"Well, you seemed to be doing just fine," Alan said sarcastically. "You send goons after me at the police station, you search my home, threaten me and now calling me. If I didn't know any better I would think you had a big crush on me."
"You hold a great significant to my plans Mr. Shepard," the Hood said. "Or should I rather say Mr. Tracy. Alan Tracy."
Alan froze on the spot. The million-dollar question was overtaking his brain. How could he have known? His family and friends didn't even put the pieces together, so how could a lunatic of a villain know?
"Alan, you sound surprised. I would recognize you and your work anywhere," the Hood laughed.
"How did you know?"
"I keep eyes on everything I might consider useful such as your computer program," the Hood began explaining. "However I got interested in you specifically when one of my old contact told me about a young teenage boy who was far too stubborn to die."
Alan considered what he was saying, but even with that explanation it didn't tell him who he was. So he asked:
"Who told you about me?"
"I believe it's an old acquaintance of yours. Ivan Kirsanov," the Hood said. "You managed to send his son Dmitri Kirsanov to prison for drug trafficking in Moscow last year."
Damn it, Alan thought furiously. How he wished he never had heard that man's name again. Ivan Kirsanov was head of the Russian mob and his son Dmitri had been next in line to be boss when Alan had stumbled accidently to the drug operation. His testimony against the mob had managed to put Dmitri in prison and secured himself a spot on the mob's hit list. They didn't waste time trying to kill him while he had been in Russia. It was only a miracle that he managed to get out of the country alive.
"Ivan sent me a picture of you as well, in case I ever stumbled into you. And knowing your appearance and information on your life, I figured out who you really was."
"Should I give you a medal for figuring it out?" Alan said as he turned to see if Tin-Tin or Fermat was close by to listen to his conversation. He was lucky when he saw his friends still standing in front of the booth arguing with the seller about the price, meaning he had a couple of minutes. "However you wanted require a computer program I'm supposed to have made, then I got to disappoint you since I have not made such computer program."
"Alan, you and I know that you're not telling the truth, but I guess you do it to keep you family and friends safe. However I'm starting to lose my patience on you giving up the program and yourself," the Hood said exclaimed.
"Even if I had the program, what would you need me for anyway? You already have computer experts working for you," Alan argued, but kept his voice low in order to not raise suspicion.
"But I do need you Alan. You are the only who knows the program in and out, also because I see great potential in you," the Hood said, but with voice that could convince anyone to do his bidding without a second thought. "Your father doesn't see what you can do and how much you are worth with your knowledge and abilities."
He was doing it again, playing on Alan's insecurity about his dad and about International Rescue. He was afraid of being pushed away and be considered useless in his father's eyes. The Hood knew how much he wanted to be acknowledged and appreciated by his dad, like a heavy burden on his heart.
"It doesn't matter. I don't have the program and even if I did there is no way I would have given it to you," Alan said determined with a hidden anger in his voice. "So back off and leave me and my family alone."
For a moment the Hood was quiet before he began laughing a sinister laugh, not even the slightly scared or worried about what he had just said.
"I'll give you three days to give yourself and the program up, but after that I will show no mercy on you, your family or your friends. They will be killed because of you unless you do what I say and let me remind you that I'm aware where the island is located, so running is futile."
"Where is the location of the drop?" Alan asked with caution. He didn't trust the Hood for a second, but it was better to play along for now until he found a loophole in his plans.
"Down at the docks, one o'clock sharp."
That was when Alan began to notice men with dark suits and sunglasses approaching from every side. If he wasn't already paranoid or had an overactive imagination he wouldn't have paid much thought it, but it was too suspicious for it to be a coincidence.
"What about these goons? If I have three days, then why are they here?" Alan asked, but he had a bad feeling in his stomach that he already knew why they were there.
"I figured you need an incentive to do what you are asked to do, see you soon Alan."
The he heard Tin-Tin scream out and he turned to see one of the men in black grabbing Tin-Tin and Fermat, struggling to get out of their grip. Alan gritted his teeth, thinking that he wasn't going to let the Hood take away his friends. He needed to act, and this time he wasn't going care about if his identity was revealed or not. Now there was a lot more at stake if he didn't protect his family and friends from the mad man.
"You're not getting the program," Alan said in threatening manner, now the gloves were definitely coming off and stop running away from his problems. "So let me just say one thing to you before I go and kick your goons in the ass. It's game on…"
He threw away the phone and instantly leaped towards where Tin-Tin and Fermat's located.
If there was one thing Tin-Tin really hated at the moment was the feeling of being useless, especially when these men in black ambushed her and Fermat all of a sudden. They held a tight grip around her wrist, making it impossible to break free. Of course she tried to kick and struggle out of their hold, but nothing seemed to face them. And the worst part was that no one tried to help. Tin-Tin could understand that they were scared, but shouldn't it be in a human's nature to help?
"DUCK!" someone yelled out. Tin-Tin turned to see Luke running towards them with a face filled with anger and determination. Feeling both scared and relieved that someone was coming to their rescue, she almost didn't register what Luke had just said. However she quickly ducked down and Fermat followed her doing. The men didn't react as quickly when Luke punched one of the men straight in the face and twisted his body a second later to take out the other guy who was holding Fermat. Tin-Tin managed to break free due to the diversion Luke had given.
"RUN!" Luke yelled and began to drag her and Fermat away. Neither she nor Fermat needed to be told twice as they into a crowd full of people. The men yelled after them and began following not far behind.
"W-we need t-to get back to the i-island," Fermat said with exhausted voice. He had never been very athletic, being more the geek in school than Mr. Popular; so high-pace running would easily knock him down. "W-we should head down to the d-docks."
"No, they'll probably figured out we would take that route, knowing well that we can't get back to the island without a boat," Luke protested. We ran past the path towards the docks and headed down to the local businesses.
"What do suggest we do?" Tin-Tin asked. She was starting to get very tense. Who was these men and what did they want with them? She had absolutely no clue, but it was pretty clear that Luke knew exactly who they are and what they wanted. She wanted to ask him, but now didn't seem to be the best time as those men was coming after them.
"I have an idea," Luke said, while running into a hidden alley by a café and shoe shop. "A crazy idea, but an idea might be crazy enough to work."
Well, that sounds comforting, Tin-Tin thought as she and Fermat followed Luke into the alley and surprisingly weren't followed by the men in black. However in the alley there was a hidden shop or should she rather say a motor repair garage, which looked like it was ready to fall apart any minute now. But that didn't seem to matter to Luke as he entered the shop calling out loud:
"Mario! Are you there? It's me, Luke."
Luke walked past a couple of damaged cars when he stopped in front of an old Camaro, where a pair of feet was sticking out from under the car. Luke shook one of the feet with his right foot. It didn't take long before the rest of the body rolled out from under the hood and met a mid-twenty Hispanic man. He was tall with black hair and was covered in tattoos, sweat and motor oil with distinctive annoyed expression on his face. He probably was pissed that someone interrupted his work and Tin-Tin didn't blame him considering what kind of car he was working on, but then he took a closer look to who was interrupting his work.
"Lucky!" Mario said with huge smile on his smile and pulled Luke close to give him a 'man hug'. "What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to show up before next month."
That caught Tin-Tin off guard, other than everything else in this situation that is. According to Mario it sounded like Luke had been here before and came rather often, but that didn't make sense. Why would Luke come here?
"I know, but plans changed and I ended up coming earlier," Luke explained. "However I'm not here to work some extra cash."
"Good," Mario chuckled. "You work too much and it is not very healthy. So why are you here? I'm pretty sure it wasn't to look at my pretty face."
"No," Luke confirmed. "I'm here because I need That."
The smile turned quickly to a frown of disapproval when Mario heard what Luke was asking for. She and Fermat looked at each other to see the other knew what they were talking about, but quickly shook their heads and continued to witness the interaction between Luke and Mario.
"¿Es esto una broma?" Mario said in Spanish with a voice that was hinting anger and frustration towards Luke. "What could you possibly need That for unless you found someone who wanted to invest in it, since it is you creation, but I'm sure that is not the reason."
"I'm in trouble and I need to get my friends back home safely," Luke said, looking down on the floor. Whatever he was hiding he wasn't going to elaborate whatever it was. "I know I promised that I wasn't going to use it until I found someone who wanted to invest, but they are my friends and I don't want them to get hurt because of me. Please Mario!"
Mario didn't say anything, but released a deep sigh and asked them to follow him to the back of the store. The trio did what they were asked and followed Mario into a small room in the back.
Tin-Tin assumed that they were talking about a car they could use to get to the next harbor and take a boat back to the island, but she was dead wrong when she realized that when they mention 'That' was actually a motorcycle with a sidecar. The design was similar to the rocket board Luke had made, but the motorcycle was even more elaborate and modified to be considered as an ordinary vehicle. If she didn't know any better she would think it was part of a spy movie or something.
"D-did you make this?" Fermat asked with great fascination over the vehicle.
"Um…yeah, I work with most vehicles. However it is my engines that I'm well known for," Luke said, but he sounded surprisingly modest when someone talked about his inventions. It was almost like he wasn't used to being acknowledged for his abilities.
"A-amazing," Fermat said with a dazzled voice. Tin-Tin agreed on that notion, but didn't say anything. No matter what she could have said, it wouldn't justify how amazing and talented Luke was. However the nagging feeling still resided inside. She was worried about whatever he was hiding and how big this secret was and the possibility it might blow up in their faces in the future.
"Okay," Alan said, after taking a check-up on the motorcycle. He had actually named it SkyBike, considering how it was similar structured with on the design and ability of the motorcycle to it successor SkyBoard. It was one of his biggest accomplishments and his main pride, which was why Mario had been angry with him for using it now without gotten any money or acknowledgement for his hard work. "Fermat, you'll take the sidecar while Tin-Tin will sit behind me on the motorcycle."
"Alright," Tin-Tin and Fermat took their positions, meanwhile Alan checked outside to see any of the Hood's goons lurking around. Apparently Mario noticed his odd behavior and sauntered next to him. Alan felt bad for breaking his promise to Mario, especially when he was one of the people who had actually believed in him on his inventions and ideas.
"Lucky, are you sure about this?" Mario asked concerned. "I know you wouldn't break your promise for something insignificant, but you're willing to use that just to bring you friends safe. So I have to ask are they worth it?"
Alan nodded and whispered: "Yeah, they are worth it because they are my best friends and I owe them much for all the hurt and pain I put them through. I can't ask them for forgiveness for what I have done since I don't deserve it, but I hope that they see how sorry I am and how proud I am of them."
Mario didn't say anything for a moment, but he put his hand in Alan's shoulder as comfort and understanding towards his intentions.
"Then I will let you go," Mario said. "But you'll make a new promise to me after whatever is going on in your life is settled that you will continue to work on your ideas and make them a reality. Because I can see great things in your future, kid. The world should be able to see it too, don't you think?"
"Thanks Mario."
Alan felt a piece of his guilt for involving Mario to his mess, slowly disappear and being replaced by relief. However that moment didn't last very long when a large crashing sound entered the shop. Mario ran over to what was going on, followed by Alan who had a bad feeling that it was his uninvited party guests.
Men in black were trashing everything in shop and turned cranny to find them. Seeing them ruin Mario's shop in order to find them infuriated Alan and he was about to give them a piece of their mind when Mario grabbed his shoulder, holding him back from doing something stupid.
"Get out of here. I will hold them off as long as I can," Mario said sternly. "Remember why you came here in the first place."
Alan knew Mario was right, so he mumbled a thank you and ran in to the backroom. Tin-Tin and Fermat looked up at him, confused over what was going on, but Alan didn't have the time to explain the messed-up situation.
"LET'S GO!" Alan ordered, taking his seat on the motorcycle. Fermat and Tin-Tin did what they were told with Fermat in the sidecar and Tin-Tin sitting behind Alan. Alan didn't wait around to see if they were ready, instead turned on the engine making it sound like a roaring lion. He could barely hear the shouting and when the door opened with a slam, Alan stepped on it and with furious speed he drove out of the shop.
The mission had been successful at least to Scott's opinion. They had been called to help finding a couple of lost students on a mountain trip in Canada and they managed to find the students in the perimeter a few miles away from where they had set camp. Now he was on his way to pick up John and switch him with Brains, who was slightly sad that he hadn't been able to say goodbye to his son before he left for Thunderbird 5.
When they reached the space station he was surprised to find John standing right in front of the door, especially when he normally that triple check everything was good with the system.
"This is new," Scott said, facing his younger brother with an amused smile on his face. "Normally I have to drag you out the door. So what the sudden change little brother? Did you miss my wonderful face that much?"
"I'm just excited to get home. There is nothing wrong with that," John said innocently. If Scott had been an idiot he might have believed his brother's words, however he wasn't an idiot when it came to his younger brothers and he knew that something was up with John.
"Right," Scott folded his arms. "What's going on John?"
"Okay, I really wanted to meet this modern-day MacGyver," John admitted. "He sounded pretty cool considering his hardships and accomplishments he went through."
Something snapped when Scott heard his brother's excited reason to come home. If there was one subject he really didn't like to talk about, it was the subjects that involved Luke. He didn't know why, but there was something about Luke that he couldn't stand.
"Why the hell would you even look forward to meet this guy!?" Scott exclaimed. "He is a butt faced miscreant."
"Butt faced miscreant?" John asked. "You really need to work on your insults, especially when you are already so good at using vulgar language, and by the you have to pay the swear jar."
"Come on John, the kid is a screw-up and he is dragging everyone into his mess without thinking about the consequences," Scott said, after waving his goodbye to Brains and went back to TB1 closely followed by John.
"Maybe there is more about the kid that meets the eye," John said, slightly annoyed over his brother's prejudgment. "And I want to see what he is like for myself."
"Whatever I don't care," Scott put his hands up to surrender to John's nonsense. "Just be careful. You don't know how wild stray dogs really are before it's too late."
The Tracy brothers took their seat and prepared themselves for the travel back to the island, not knowing that things were about to explode soon.
These guys don't seem to quit, Alan thought as he drove fast through the street. He had already changed his escape routes five times, since the men in black either followed after them in cars or blocking all the roads out of the town. Just like right now he has two cars following behind him and driving like it was taken out of car chase scene from Fast and Furious.
"I-is this the p-plan?" Fermat said loudly, due to the roaring engine so loudly Alan could barely hear him. "D-driving around u-until they get t-tired."
Alan thought over for a second, in the end he really didn't have such an amazing plan, he thought he would try as things went on. However he hadn't expected that these guys were going to such pain in the ass.
"We have to split up," Alan said suddenly, and both Fermat and Tin-Tin looked at him like he was crazy.
"And how do you suggest we do that? We're on a motorcycle with a sidecar attached to it," Tin-Tin exclaimed into his ear.
Alan gave them a sneaky grin and pushed a button on the steering panel. Suddenly the sidecar was driving on by itself. Fermat looked horrified by the sudden change and turned once again towards Alan.
"W-WHAT IS G-GOING ON?" Fermat yelled out. "W-WHY IS THIS T-THING DRIVING ON I-ITS OWN?"
"I have modified the sidecar, so it works similar to a ordinary car," Alan explained with this odd joy on his face. "I hope you are prepared to drive and follow the plan."
"B-but I don't e-even have a d-driver's license!"
That caught Alan off guard. His best friend was a genius in pretty much anything that involved engineering and computers, but among other activities he could be the dumbest genius ever.
"Then I suggest you learn fast since you have two guys around two o'clock," Alan yelled out and steered hard to the right, while Fermat did the same and because of the sudden movement the guys trailing Fermat crashed into fruit and vegetable booth. Alan let out a small chuckle and continued to drive in high speed.
For a while drove around town trying to lose or deliberately getting them to crash into something. And it worked to the first few times at least, because they managed to see the pattern and managed most of the time to avoid their attempts. Alan figured it was time to complete part two of this crazy plan, which basically involved getting back to the island and not get caught.
"Hey Fermat," Alan said. "Follow after me to the docks. They may think they can stop us there, but they don't know the unholy power of my motorcycle."
"A-alright," Fermat confirmed. "I-I will t-try to d-drive t-this thing."
Alan drove to the docks and quickly saw two goons standing at the gate and two others standing next to the boat they had used to arrive at the mainland. Okay let's get things kicking, Alan thought as he drove straight towards the water.
"Fermat, drive up next to me," Alan instructed. "So I can reattach you to the bike."
"N-now you t-tell me," Fermat said sarcastically and drove up next to him.
Alan chose to ignore answering that comment and instead pushed the button, slowly pulling the sidecar back to the motorcycle. Then he pulled another switch on the steering panel, which activated the rocket-powered engine on each side of the exhaust pipes. He tilted the bike up in the air and when he reached the edge of the dock he sped up and flew into the mid-air. Everyone including Fermat, Tin-Tin and the Hood's minions looked astonished and shocked over seeing a motorcycle flying in the air, without any indication that it was going to fall into the water anytime soon.
"Oh my god!" Tin-Tin said, completely lost for words to describe what she was thinking or feeling.
"T-this is b-beyond ordinary e-engineering," Fermat leaned slightly over from the sidecar to look at the water beneath them. Alan smiled a small smile and began driving or should he rather say flying in the direction of where the island was located. They could hear shouting coming from the mainland, but neither of them really cared about what was going on. The best thing for them now was that they got back to the island, but Alan was growing slightly nervous the closer they got to the island. Based on how things had developed to the worse, Alan didn't see much alternative in trying to hide the fact about the Hood anymore, especially now that he had begun to act and was willing to do anything to reach his goal whatever that is. He only hoped that his dad didn't blow it out of proportion, making him do something really stupid in return.
"What were you guys thinking?" Jeff said furiously. "You leave the island without proper permission and you almost got yourself in serious trouble. How much trouble can you get yourself in just a couple of hours?" He was beyond furious in Alan's opinion, but he kept that to himself and continued to listen to his dad ranting about how incredibly stupid and irresponsible he, Fermat and Tin-Tin was for leaving the island. They had been sent immediately to his dad's office when they arrived at the island and had been listening to his dad's reprimanding for about thirty minutes now and it was still on going.
"We are sorry Mr. Tracy," Fermat and Tin-Tin apologized, while Alan stood there with his arms crossed refusing to apologize for anything not until his dad knew all the facts. And apparently his dad noticed his refusal as well when he stared him down.
"Is there a problem?" his dad asked, but Alan understood clearly it wasn't a question. It was a order and he was obliged to answer.
"Yes, for the matter of fact there is a problem," Alan unfolded his arms and his hands hit the table with a shake. "You haven't asked us if we are alright and you haven't even let any of us tells you what really happened at the mainland?"
"You make a good point," his dad said. "Please do tell what happened after you three left to roam around the mainland."
Alan sighed and told everyone what had happened in the market place with the Hood and the attempted kidnapping. However he kept out the pieces about his identity being revealed by the Hood, the connection between him and the Russian mob and about the Hood's other attempts to get to him. Alan didn't want to explain and continue to lie about his life, especially now when his family and friends have become targets because of him. He needed to solve this on his own like he has done for last three years and besides withholding information doesn't exactly count as lying, did it?
"This is not good," His dad began thinking out loud after Alan was done explaining what had happened. "We need prepare for an attack…let see put you kids somewhere safe…then the boys and me will fend them…hmm….what about International Rescue?"
Alan wasn't sure what pissed him off the most, the fact that his father had ignored him or the fact that he wanted to hide him away and wouldn't let him help. This reminded him of the old times when his father just sent him away in effort to give him a normal life, without even seeing or asking what he truly wanted.
"Excuse me, but you can't decide what we have to do or not," Alan said fiercely. "And it is my problem, so it is my job to solve my mess."
"No!" his dad refused. "You have done enough, now let someone with more control over the situation handle things. Besides I promised your friend to keep you safe, which is exactly what I'm about to do."
Alan could almost kill Sarah and her stupid agreement with his dad, which was by the way without his consent. She knew that he could take care of himself and she certainly knew that his relationship with his family was pretty much estranged. So why in the world did she put him in this position with his dad?
"That's beside the point, I'm not a child. I can take care of myself," Alan exclaimed. "So stop restraining me from doing what I have to do. I know what to do."
"No, you are not going to do anything." his dad slammed his hands on the table, in a similar manner to how Alan had done earlier. "It might have been you who caused this, but it is my problem now. So it is my responsibility to clean this up."
"You're wrong, it is me he wants. He has already sent threatening emails and searched my place in New York before the attempted kidnapping, so don't tell me that it is not my problem…" Alan realized his mistake, but it was too late. His father realized that this was not the Hood's first or second attempt to get to him and he found out Alan had deliberately held back information.
"You knew there was other attempts and you didn't say anything before."
"I thought it wasn't that serious and that I could handle it," Alan tried to defend himself, but knew that his dad wasn't going for it.
"You thought that you could handle someone like him!" his dad yelled. "He is a dangerous criminal and is willing to harm and kill anyone who stands in his way in order to reach his goal. How could you be so irresponsible and stupid to do this on your own!"
"STOP!" Alan yelled out, and began pacing around the room in fury. "Just stop. Stop telling me what I can and what I cannot do. Stop telling me how irresponsible and stupid I am, since I already quite aware of that fact. And stop comparing me to your lost son. You are probably the reason why he left in the first place!"
That comment certainly flared up his dad's temper and he began regretting those words the moment he had said them, however the damage was already done.
"You have no right to mention my son!" Jeff bellowed. "You don't know nor do you understand me, my son or my relationship with my son, so don't try pretending that you do!"
Alan knew that his dad wasn't aware whom he was talking to, but hearing those words hurt him almost like someone pierced a knife into his heart. He could feel the tears building up, but he forced them to stay inside since he didn't want to cry in front of his dad or his friends. So Alan bowed his head slightly to hide his face before turning around and ran out of the office without hesitation. He could hear his name being shouted, but at that moment he couldn't care less about his dad or about Tin-Tin and Fermat. So instead he ran out of the house and went to the only place he could think.
When Alan reached the beach the first thing he did was jump into the water, to cool his head down, as Gordon would say. By the time he got up from the water all his feelings were in turmoil and he had no clue what to do with them. His greatest desire was to leave this prison of an island, but then there was his family and friends to think about. He couldn't let them go into danger, no matter what kind of conflicts that was currently going on with him.
Alan stumbled back to land and the soft feeling of sand tickled his feet. However that didn't stop him from pacing back and forth, thinking and mumbling to himself about what he was currently feeling.
"Fantastic job back there Alan," Alan ranted, while pulling his fingers through his soaking wet hair. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut and pretend to agree with your dad. No, of course not. Because I tend to make things difficult for myself, that's why. And look where that got me. I tricked, lied and pissed off my dad, my brothers and to my friends. Then there is the bonus prize where a criminal lunatic targets me and wishes to use me against my family. You are stupid fool Alan Tracy!"
The sound of twig snapping got Alan's attention and turned around to see who or what was there. It was a person, who had followed after him, but this person wasn't someone he considered a threat or a surprise for that matter when that someone had followed after him. However that idea died immediately when that someone spoke:
"Alan?"
Alan knew that his identity exposed and he wasn't sure what he was going to do now.
.
.
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Here is the long expected chapter you all been asking for. Alan's identity has been revealed, but who did? You'll find out in the next chapter. This is my longest chapter ever and it is not going to happen again, since it is way too stressful and takes a lot of time to finish. But now we are reaching the point where everything is coming together and slowly towards this story, but the ending isn't going to happen the next few chapters for now.
You might have noticed that I had written a dialogue in spanish, so to clarify this I'm not spanish nor have I ever taken spanish. So if you are wondering that it means go to google translate to see the translation.
Some time ago I got a review that said that I made SPAG errors, well let me tell you that I don't care if some of you think that or not, since this is my story and I can do whatever I want with it. My main point with this story is entertain you, so if I'm not realistic enough or spelled things correctly then so be it. I plan to correct my spelling error once I'm done with this story or when I feel like doing it. My focus right now is on give out chapters and complete this story.
So thank you for the reviews, favorites and followings. And I hope you all will continue doing so and you can also just PM me if you like and I will answer as soon as I can. But remember I'm studying at the university so I can't spend that much time writing and updating my stories. So I will update when I can, but it will be some time before I update this one again since I switch between updating two stories so I wouldn't lose motivation or get bored writing.
xXrebelgirl07Xx