Quick update as promised. Nearly there (unless I manage to lose my edits again!)...
Chapter Thirty-Five
Even if she hadn't been rigged to explode at any moment, Gordon would have hesitated to set foot inside Thunderbird Four. The sight of the gaping hole in the hull was bad enough, but what really got to him was the fact that his pilot's seat – the one he'd spent months breaking in until it moulded itself to the contours of his body, keeping him secure and comfortable as he'd faced any number of perilous situations – had been removed and placed on the side of the dock. A half-empty mug sat on the ground next to it, and the thought of someone sitting down for a quick coffee-break whilst they surveyed their handiwork and considered what further indignities to inflict on the sub, infuriated Gordon. Swearing again that he'd get his revenge, the aquanaut cast another glance at the blue light on the nearest bundle of explosives, then steeled himself to look inside his 'bird.
He refused to climb through the hole which had been cut into her side, stubbornly activating the airlock, even if it did cost him precious seconds.
"Hello, girl," he whispered once he was out of sight and sound of John - though he knew his brother would have understood completely. "I've missed you."
The airlock door slid open and he gazed around the decimated cockpit, suddenly too upset to be angry at the state of her or the fact that she'd been filled with so many explosives that there would only be fragments left when they detonated. Not that it would make a whole lot of difference. There was nothing left of her, she was just an empty shell. Even if she escaped being blown apart, he didn't think he'd ever find all the pieces to put her back together again. Sir Reuben's people had done too good a job.
Forgetting that he was supposed to be hurrying, he stood in the middle of the cockpit mourning his 'bird and remembering some of the adventures the two of them had shared. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that this nightmare had never happened and he was out in the ocean depths. He could almost do it. Almost...
A cry from the direction of the living quarters startled him and, with a promise to Four that he'd soon be back, he leapt through the hole in her side, hoping he'd heard what he thought he'd heard: that Scott had been found and - equally worthy of celebration - two of Sir Reuben's people had been captured.
Sure enough, Parker really was there, urging them to come and see as he ran over to the bags they'd brought with them, extracting a fold-up stretcher and heading back the way he'd come. Thunderbird Four forgotten for the moment, Gordon followed him, John close behind.
Grandma had always sworn that whenever Gordon entered a room he'd make enough noise to wake the dead. Scott wasn't quite so badly off, but upon his brother's arrival he blinked his one good eye open and managed the faintest of smiles. The reunion was emotional, although Scott could do little more than whisper how glad he was to see them before drifting off again. Gordon wished more than anything that they'd found his brother in better condition, but Brains and Virgil seemed happier now that Scott had come round, assuring him that he wasn't going to die on them just yet, although he'd need some serious attention once they got him back to Thunderbird Two.
Penny and Parker had withdrawn to the other room in order to give the brothers some privacy. They'd taken Freddy along with them and listened in amusement as a still-groggy Sahara tried to convince him that she'd come back to save him. Freddy was having none of it, informing her that he no longer trusted her and that, given their current situation, he'd be doing all he could to help International Rescue and MI5. Penny watched him thoughtfully and, when the Tracy brothers announced that they were ready to move Scott, she ordered Freddy to come along with her, asking Parker to stay and keep an eye on the others - just in case.
Gordon didn't realise what she'd done until he'd set Scott down next to Thunderbird Four.
"What's he doing here?" he asked. He knew Freddy hadn't had anything to do with his brother's injuries, but the man still had to be held to account for his part in stealing his 'bird.
"He's going to help us," Penny told him. "We need him to get us upstairs. The security locks need a palm print." With a warning to Freddy to stay exactly where he was, she moved across to the others for a whispered discussion, not wanting the man to realise that she was well-acquainted with the men from International Rescue.
Her explanation had done nothing to pacify Gordon.
"What do you want to go upstairs for? In case you hadn't noticed, Penny, this place is going to blow at any moment. We've got Scott; we've done everything we came here to do. We've got to get out of here."
"Calm down, Gordon," John said. "Penny, what do you have in mind?"
"I'd like to try to capture Sir Reuben."
John considered this for a moment. His father had expressly forbidden such a move, but Penny hadn't been there to receive the orders and she clearly had her own agenda, one he rather liked. "I'd be happier if I could collect the bug I planted," he said slowly. "MI5 won't miss it when they search that office. I'd rather our technology didn't fall into their hands, even if we are on the same side."
"I don't like it," Gordon said.
"If we can stop him blowing this place up we'll save Four," John pointed out, smiling a little as Gordon turned to survey his craft, his resolve clearly wavering.
Virgil still needed to be convinced. "He could just blow this place up once he realises his people are missing."
"He won't do that straight away. I'm sure we've got time. If he's not in his office we'll come straight back. But he could be just metres above us. Do you really want him to escape?"
Virgil considered this. He, too, wanted Sir Reuben captured. MI5 could do the job, but it seemed wrong to give them the satisfaction when it was International Rescue who had been most badly hurt by the man. He walked across to Freddy.
"Any idea how long the countdown is on those things?" he asked, indicating the explosives.
"The default is two minutes," Freddy said.
Virgil didn't like it. "Not enough time for you to get back here and get away," he said as he headed back to the others. "And that's assuming we get that long. They could have set it for thirty seconds - or less."
"But the upper levels aren't rigged to explode," John pointed out. Unless the whole thing collapses we'll be okay."
"It's a risk we don't need to take," Gordon said, dragging his eyes away from Thunderbird Four.
"You're not going to take it," John said. "You're going to get the boats set up ready for us to make a quick getaway. Brains, Virg, you stay too, Scott needs you."
"Maybe you should take Scott out now," Penny said, cutting Virgil off before he could say anything else. She didn't like the idea of Scott having to wait any longer than necessary for the help he needed.
"Good idea," John said. "You can have Scott set up in Two's sickbay by the time we're ready to be picked up."
Virgil didn't like it. Gordon didn't like it either, but as John and Penny turned to confer with Freddy, they knew they didn't have any choice. There was no talking either of them out of something when they'd made their minds up and it wasn't as if they had the time to argue.
"Okay, we're off," John called.
Brains had expected them to take the direct route up to Sir Reuben's office via the elevator, but instead Freddy turned towards the living quarters.
"Freddy's going to take us a different way," Penny told him. "We can't use the elevator, just in case Sir Reuben's in his office. We don't want to warn him of our arrival."
Then they were on their way.
"Be careful," Virgil called after them, knowing he was wasting his breath.
"If they get blown up, you're telling Dad," Gordon muttered as he came to stand beside his brother.
"Thanks. Right then, shall we get the boats? The sooner we're set up, the sooner we can get Scott out of this place."
"Come on," Gordon said. "It'll be quicker if we both go."
Virgil handed Brains his gun, reminding the man to stay alert, then followed his brother into the water. Brains watched them go before looking distastefully down at the weapon. All it took was one moan from Scott and the gun was forgotten, shoved into his pocket as the genius gave all his attention to the injured man.
As the elevator doors slid open, Marcus braced himself for an immediate confrontation with one of the International Rescue operatives. But the corridor was deserted and he made his way nervously to the door, keying in the security code and placing his palm on the pad next to the lock. There was a click and the door slid open as Marcus raised his gun, his whole body shaking.
Nothing.
With a last, longing glance back up the corridor – reminding himself that the wrath of Sir Reuben was bound to be far worse than that of International Rescue - Marcus made his way to Thunderbird Four. His orders were clear: find Sahara and Thomas and get them out, or create a diversion to allow Eric Younger to do it if the odds were too strongly stacked against him. He'd been given the easier task - they knew that it was most likely that Sahara and Thomas would have been locked in the rooms where the original hostages had been kept, but there was a chance that they would have been brought to the dock ready to be moved off the island. Since no aircraft had been spotted, it seemed clear that the invading force must have come via boat. But there was no boat to be seen. Maybe they'd already left.
His brief spark of hope didn't last long as he heard a low voice murmuring something. Edging forward, he spotted his hated rival sitting on the ground next to Scott Tracy. Hackenbacker was doing something to an IV and seemed oblivious to Marcus's presence.
Marcus had never hated the man as much as he did at that moment. There he was, fit and well and ready to return to his old life. He couldn't help wondering what his own future held. If he was captured, well, the answer was easy - he'd spend the next twenty years at least in a prison cell. But even if he escaped, the future was uncertain. Exile in one of the world's most ruthless dictatorships offered the immediate advantage of freedom, but in the long-term, who knew what would happen. Dictators had a habit of being overthrown and their minions subjected to all sorts of unpleasantness. Marcus couldn't help wishing he'd never met Hackenbacker. Certainly, if it hadn't been for him, none of this would have happened.
The only bright spot right now was the fact that all the IR men had disappeared, presumably still up in the living quarters with their prisoners. Actually though, Marcus thought, maybe that wasn't such a good thing. Eric Younger would never be able to take on all of them and Thomas would remain a captive. With no one to fly them away, Marcus and Sir Reuben would just have to sit it out and wait for their arrest.
Marcus cursed himself for not learning to fly. Why hadn't he? He knew why, of course - he'd enjoyed the prestige of having one of Sir Reuben's pilots transport him around the world. But it would have been so easy to learn, especially for someone of his intelligence. The brilliant and oh-so-perfect Hiram Hackenbacker could fly, of course – Marcus had overheard him talking to Professor Franklin about his work for Jeff Tracy, which included developing new aircraft. He found himself resenting his rival more than ever.
He was about to turn back to the elevator when he suddenly pulled up sharply. He studied Hackenbacker carefully. He wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings, his whole focus on the injured man. There was neither sight nor sound of any of the others. Maybe things weren't so hopeless after all...
He wouldn't have done it if there had been anyone else around, but when his opponents amounted to one man who'd been beaten into unconsciousness and another who was even less physically imposing than Marcus himself, not to mention the fact that he carried a gun and, as far as he could see, Brains didn't, Marcus decided the odds were stacked high enough in his favour for him to risk it. The prospect of escape - and the thought of Sir Reuben's face when he realised that the man he'd spoken to so contemptuously just a few minutes earlier had managed to save the day - spurred him on and, clutching his gun with hands that barely shook at all now, he crept closer to his target.
Brains was completely unaware of his presence, still leaning over Scott who'd passed out again. Marcus was standing right beside him and had placed the gun in his back before he realised what was happening.
"Hello, Motormouth," Marcus whispered. "Did you think I'd forget about you?"
Eric Younger had been held up on his way down to the lower levels. As he'd approached the entrance he'd heard hurried footsteps coming down the corridor and had quickly slipped into a nearby lab, ducking down under the window and listening intently. A second later the footsteps passed and he risked raising his head to see what was going on
When he saw Penny and John, with Freddy marching along between them, he sat back and considered his options. They were presumably going to confront Sir Reuben, aided by Freddy who'd apparently switched sides in an effort to help himself. Brave of them, he thought, giving credit where it was due. The place was rigged to explode and they'd passed up the chance for a quick getaway. It made his life more complicated, though. He debated whether to go after them, then decided against it. They were armed - he'd seen the weapons they carried. He could take out one of them easily enough, but both? And with Freddy likely to get in the way? The risk of harm to himself was too great. He needed back-up and for that he needed Sahara and Thomas.
As he let himself out of the lab and continued on his way, he let his mind run through the various options. Sir Reuben was presumably captured by now. A rescue attempt would be dangerous and time-consuming. Why bother? All he cared about was Sahara. He needed Thomas to fly the helicopter, but he didn't need Sir Reuben. Maybe they should just make a run for it while they could...
He'd see what Sahara had to say. After Sir Reuben's reluctance to save Freddy she might well be willing to leave him behind. He hoped she wasn't going to insist on saving Freddy, though the fact that the man had changed sides might well persuade her that he was a lost cause.
Reaching the entrance to the hidden complex he slipped inside. But instead of making his way down the corridor, he opened the door of a store cupboard, climbed onto a pile of boxes and removed one of the panels in the ceiling. There were no partitions in the ceiling space to indicate the different rooms, just a mass of cables. Pulling himself up, he slowly and carefully slid himself along in the direction of the living quarters.
A couple of minutes later he stopped. He guessed he'd be near enough in the right place and, carefully prising up the corner of one of the panels, he squinted through the gap, smiling when he realised he'd judged the distance perfectly. He'd reached the room where Scott and Freddy had been held. Pulling the panel right up, he jumped down, readied his weapon, then walked quietly to the door. One of the International Rescue men was there, as he'd anticipated, but the man was clearly unaware of his presence, instead dividing his attention between the room in which the hostages were being held and the corridor.
It was an easy matter for Younger to raise his weapon, push the door open a fraction, and fire. The man dropped instantly and Younger kicked him out of the way as he unlocked the door and announced his arrival to those inside.