Kayo cursed to herself as she watched the miles tick by quickly. No matter how fast she flew, it would never be fast enough. She knew how close the temple was to her former home, and how fast her uncle could walk when he was sufficiently motivated. He may be getting up in years, but he was far from an arthritic old man.
She had always been completely sure of herself. She knew herself and her own capabilities. She knew her job and the best way of getting it done. Now for the first time, she was starting to second guess herself.
The insistence on not launching Thunderbird One was correct and valid she knew; but father was correct. No way in the world was Thunderbird One more important than Virgil.
Should she have kept quiet, and let father send Scott off in One? If father had relayed their conversation to Scott, she could imagine the arguments that would be happening right now on Tracy Island. Scott would be insistent on launching, whatever the Hood's plans. His determination to save his younger brother would override all other considerations in Scott's mind.
This was why she was the head of security, and not Scott…or even Jeff. Although she loved her adoptive brothers dearly, she was able to disassociate herself from her emotions and look at the situation completely dispassionately.
How was it she was able to do that? Perhaps it was a quality she had inherited from her uncle. The Hood. Again, she recalled as a little girl, Uncle Trangh, as she had then known him, had been fun to be with. He had been very fond of her, she knew. He it was that had first taught her how to shoot and encouraged her to practice, even though her own father had frowned upon it. He had told her as a child on more than one occasion, that he had wished very much that she could have been his daughter.
Yet now, he appeared to have forgotten their former closeness, and seemed to pursue her with the same determination that he pursued the Tracys.
She remembered one occasion, not so very many years ago, when she had first learned the identity of the man who was trying to kill the Tracys and destroy their work, and realized it was her own beloved uncle, she had spent the entire night weeping for him. The loving uncle she remembered had apparently been killed off…destroyed by the monster he had become.
How did he do that? How was he able to completely shut off an entire part of his life in order to further a pointless vendetta? Was it that ruthlessness she loathed in him the very thing she had inherited, that enabled her to be so focused on her job?
Suddenly, she wished, desperately, that Scott was here. She desperately wanted to be in his arms, to feel his strength and his warmth, his soft touch caressing her face. His soft lips pressing against hers, the warmth of his breath.
She blinked back the stinging tears that were in her eyes, and checked her position.
"Thunderbird Shadow to Thunderbird Rover. Come in."
"Rover here. How can I help you, Thunderbird Shadow?"
"Eos, I need to speak to Tee-Kay."
"I am sorry, Thunderbird Shadow, but Tee-Kay is currently residing in my redundant memory circuits and has no direct access to my interactive systems."
Kayo frowned for a moment. Was that a trace of petulance she detected?
"Eos, that is nonsense. Your interactive systems are immense and complex. You can surely divert an access pathway? If you can manage a security clearance access to Tee-Kay via comms, then you have the ability to allow him complete access to your interactive systems. What are you afraid of, Eos?"
"It is disconcerting having him residing in my memory circuits…"
Kayo, regretfully interrupted.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Eos. I do care, but I need to be fast or Virgil might end up dead! I need information from Tee-Kay as quickly as possible. Please allow it? John and Brains will have Tee-Kay's own hub prepared for him very soon."
"My apologies Thunderbird Shadow. Connecting Tee-Kay to you now."
Kayo took a deep breath.
"Tee-Kay?"
"Greetings Kayo. My hostess is full of interesting knowledge and experiences, and she finds my resultant curiosity very distracting."
Kayo was instantly curious, but her worry over Virgil was like a thick fog that blinded her to practically every other consideration.
"Tee-Kay, please can you repeat your scan for Virgil Tracy's DNA code, starting at the last known location…"
"Accessing…Virgil Tracy is no longer at his last known location."
Kayo swore vehemently under her breath. Tee-Kay did not comment.
"Expand the search Tee-Kay, from that localized area until you find him."
"Accessing…"
A pair of warm hands touched her shoulder.
She had been sitting here, huddled in a ball for what felt like hours but probably wasn't. The rain had stopped a short time ago, but she was wet through, cold, and shivering uncontrollably. She tried to open her eyes, but they hurt too much.
"Come along miss."
It was a very English sounding voice. London for sure. A man's voice, gentle and kindly.
She lifted her head and tried again to open her eyes. She managed a tiny crack and peeped through them. In front of her she saw a young blond woman crouched down, bending over her with concern etched into her features. The man whom had spoken could not be seen. He was clearly behind her, as he suddenly hoisted her up into his arms as though she were just a child. Now she could see his face, bending over her. A kindly face, perhaps late fifties, early sixties in age with a large nose, graying hair and a chauffeur's cap.
"Into the back of the car, Parker. We'll get doctor Whistler to meet us at home."
She heard no more, as the warmth of Parker's arms and the dry, warm interior of the car pulled her down into unconsciousness.
Creighton-Ward Manor was imposing to most visitors, but to Doctor Alfred Whistler, it was like a dear old friend; just like its owner.
Alfred Whistler himself, a talented doctor and surgeon by trade, was yet another member of Jeff Tracy's covert forces. A secret member of International Rescue that could be called upon to undertake investigative duties, at which he excelled, and on occasion for his medical services too. The front door opened before he reached it, and parker wrung his hand.
"'Ello Alfred! Come on in. We 'ave someone for you to check over if you will."
Whistler was led into a spare bedroom on the ground floor, where he found a young woman lying in bed, shivering beneath her thick duvet. Lady Penelope was sitting close by. He frowned.
"Lady Penelope. Whom do we have here? Isn't this the young lady I met at your garden party the other week? What has happened to her?"
Penelope shook her head.
"You would think so, wouldn't you? No, this is a young woman who looks just like her."
"But young Miss Cain was an almost exact replica of Poor Virgil's late fiancée. And we have here another replica?"
"We're working on getting to the bottom of why they look so alike, and how many of them there are…but for now, we found her in the rainforest, soaking wet. We found her because she had swallowed Virgil's edible transmitter."
The doctor gave her a thorough examination, then fished in his medical bag. He drew out a small brown bottle and used it to fill a syringe. Flicking away the air bubbles, he looked kindly down at the young woman.
"You're feeling pretty grotty right now, I imagine? You have a slight chill, but nothing that a good long rest won't cure. This injection is simply to give you a good night's sleep. First miss, can you tell us your name?"
"Isla Bennett."
"You were with a young man named Virgil. He gave you a pill to swallow. Do you remember?"
Isla nodded, huddling her blankets close under her chin.
"Can you tell us how he was last time you were with him?"
"He had a bad concussion. I knew that because he had a bad headache and kept throwing up. I think he had some hurt ribs too. Bruised, broken, I don't know what else. Did you manage to save him?"
Whistler glanced at Penelope and Parker with a single raised eyebrow. Penny shook her head infinitesimally.
"Someone else is taking care of Virgil." Penny replied evasively. Isla nodded, clearly too cold and tired to pursue anything further. Whistler glanced at Penelope.
"Is there anything you need to ask Isla before I sedate her?"
She nodded.
"Isla, I am Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. I am a good friend of Virgil's. Can you tell me, why were you imprisoned? We know why Virgil was there, but why were you in there?"
Isla shuddered.
"I-I-I was asking questions." She replied.
"What sort of questions? Asking whom?"
"I was trying to find out why there was a girl at my old school who looked exactly like me…except that she was taller…but we were not related in any way. We even had completely different birthdays. I found out that I was conceived as a sort of experiment by some kind of dotty old scientist, who then chose my mum and dad to be my parents. I found out where he had his old lab, and I went there to see if I could find out anymore."
"What did you find out?"
"Nothing. They told me the scientist...some guy called Professor Tock had died, and his clinic had been removed because they needed the space. That was all. Two days later I woke up in that cell."
"Where were you when it happened? Where was his lab?"
"The Manor House care Home in County Wicklow."
Penelope and Parker exchanged glances, then she nodded at the doctor. He gave his patient a kindly twinkle.
"Alright, you just relax now Miss Bennett. Just a little scratch…"
He carefully injected the sedative into her left arm, and they watched in silence as Isla's eyes closed, and she slept. Penelope heaved a sigh and looked up at her manservant.
"So." She said, heavily. "Manor House Care Home again. Whatever we learn, we keep coming back to that place in County Wicklow."
He nodded.
"We're going to 'ave to go there ourselves, ain't we Milady. Bring the car around, Milady?"
She nodded.
"Yes Parker, but first I think we are going to need a little back up for this one…"
"Accessing…"
Kayo waited, knowing that hurrying Tee-Kay up verbally would make no difference at all. Ten minutes later, his vocal signature beeped.
"Kayo, I have located Virgil Tracy. I must apologize for the delay in my report, but although I discovered his DNA, his location was not a constant."
"He is travelling? At least, The Hood is taking him somewhere?"
"Affirmative. The rate of travel is at a velocity that makes it impossible for me to report a set of coordinates. Would you like me to continue monitoring until the location has become a constant?"
"Yes please, Tee-Kay. Can you though, give me a directional vector?"
"Affirmative."
The report he gave her had her frowning, and she immediately input the figures into her navi-com. The flight path took her on a direct line to Ireland, to County Wicklow. She punched up the map in close-up view and whistled. The flight path would take her right over the top of that Manor House Care place she had visited looking for background on Connie and her twin.
Surely it was not a coincidence that the Hood's flight-path took him right over that place? But if that was his destination, why would he be taking Virgil there?
"Thank you, Tee-Kay. Keep monitoring and please inform Eos once you have a location."
"Acknowledged. Tee-Kay out."
"Thank you, Eos. Were you monitoring that?"
"Yes."
"I believe the Hood is taking Virgil to the Manor House Care facility in County Wicklow. Why, I don't know. I am going to close down and direct all power into my thrusters, so I will be off-air. Would you please report this conversation to Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward? Tell her that in my opinion, we might need the additional help of a Tracy or two."
Kayo could hear the smile in her voice as she replied.
"FAB Thunderbird Shadow. Thunderbird Rover out."
Virgil stared, his eyes wide, as the Hood hunched down on his heels, leaning over him. With his hands and feet tied firmly behind him, and a gag over his mouth, Virgil had rarely felt more vulnerable, but he was determined not to show it. He could see the Hood leering at him.
"Well, well, well. So, we have you just where we have always wanted you."
Whatever Virgil might have said in reply would have been embarrassingly muffled by the gag, so he contented himself with rolling his eyes dramatically and closing them. The laugh he heard from the Hood sent a chill up his spine.
"Oh, don't worry, my young friend. You'll find out soon enough!"