Scott looked on in quiet amusement at the two pairs of legs sticking out from the inspection hatch. Both sets of overalls were covered in grease stains and carbon residue. One set was rolled up several inches leaving thick bands around the ankles. He made a mental note to put some smaller overalls on the next supply order. Virgil's spare set swamped the much smaller chemist and he had his suspicions that Claire was going to be sticking around for a while.

Muffled voices drifted out from the inner workings of the giant green craft that was currently holding their attention.

"Can you increase the pressure inside the fuel injection system?"

"Possibly. I might be able to increase the flow rate from the injector pump but she is already pretty highly strung."

Scott knew that these discussions could have been kept within the labs and didn't need a practical examination of Thunderbird Two but Virgil was proud of his craft and for once his audience seemed quite willing. He also knew this was something Brains could have gone over with Claire but his brother seemed to be taking a deep personal interest in the project. If he wasn't out on a mission or working out he could generally be found with the two scientists getting up to speed on the progress that had been made.

Scott aimed a kick at one of the larger boots and was rewarded with the sound of cursing and dropped tools.

Virgil shuffled out of the hatch to investigate.

"What the hell, Scott? Can't you just use the comms like any normal person?"

Scott quirked an eyebrow.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

He received a glare from Virgil that only served to confirm his suspicions.

By this time Claire had also extricated herself from inside the plane. She grabbed a cloth and wiped the grease off her hands, an action that was hampered by the long sleeves that were rolled up just as much as the legs.

She was still wary of Scott and wasn't quite sure how to read him. Sometimes he was completely relaxed but at others times the Commander persona came to the fore and she felt like she would never measure up the high standards he expected.

Virgil helped her to her feet then turned back to his older brother.

"So why are you down here?"

"Just checking up on how things are going." The specifics of exactly what things were left vague.

"It's going fine. We should be able to move on to field testing soon. The samples all performed as expected under lab conditions and production now seems consistent."

Scott nodded. "That's good. Just let me know when you are ready but don't rush it. We can't risk retuning Two and filling her with this new juice until you are absolutely certain it's safe to take to the skies."

"You don't have to worry about that. With both Claire and Brains on the case there is no way a single drop is going in the tanks until they are both certain the mix is right."

Of that, Scott was in no doubt. Brains had a tendency to overengineer everything and, when it came to her lab work, Claire was equally safety conscious. Coupled with Virgil's devotion to his 'bird that bordered on infatuation the three made a good team.

He paused, as though deliberating some internal turmoil. Sometimes he wished he could just let things run their course but they had responsibilities and International Rescue needed it's operatives to be fully focussed.

"Virg, get cleaned up. I want you upstairs in my office in five minutes." He turned and left leaving no room for arguments or questions.

Precisely five minutes later Virgil entered the office and claimed a seat.

"What's this about, Scott?"

"Is there anything I ought to know?"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, is there anything going on between you and Claire that I ought to be aware of? The pair of you seem to be spending an awful lot of time together lately"

"Of course we are spending a lot of time together. Weren't you listening down in the hangars? We are nearly ready for live testing. Seriously Scott, we are just friends."

He received a raised eyebrow in return. Scott knew his brothers. In the same way it was obvious to him that Gordon harboured stronger than average feelings towards Lady Penelope, so it was clear that Virgil was drawn to the laboratories by more than just the project. Evidently, if Virgil's feelings were reciprocated then Claire wasn't acting on it. He just hoped Virgil didn't get hurt; from what he had seen the chemist was more volatile than the substances that were the tools of her trade.