"Mr Tracy!" She pushed herself to her feet as he strode into the room, Jack Dunning on his heels.

He held up a hand, a slight smile on his face. "It's Scott, please." He gestured to his companion. "I believe you've already met Jack?"

Mr Dunning dipped his head in her direction.

"Yes, and I'm Anna."

Scott's smile curled around his dimples and her heart skipped a beat. She realised that this was the first time she had seen the head of the Tracy household out of uniform.

It made a big difference.

Every hair was combed into place. The suit was sharp, spotless and expensive. Gone was the emergency responder with dirt on his face, this Scott Tracy oozed money and power.

And was still so bloody tall.

She looked away and made herself busy with grabbing a couple of chairs. She dragged her own chair out from behind her desk. "Have a seat, gentlemen. What can I do for you?" As they sat, so did she.

Assessing blue eyes fastened onto her. "I'm looking for a solution to a situation and I believe you might be able to help me."

"Yes?"

"Alan is recovering and will soon need to return to his schooling. My father placed him at this school for various reasons including proximity and safety. Kyrano is our security specialist and a resident of this town. Dad thought Alan and Gordon would be safe here and able to get the education required." He swallowed. "Unfortunately, he was proven wrong."

"I'm sorry." It wasn't her fault, yet it needed to be said.

He exhaled, looking down a moment. "So am I." Those eyes caught hers again. "And I am very sorry you became involved. The threat was to my family, not to you. I can only thank you for what you did to protect Alan and Rory."

She stared at him. "I'm no heroine, Scott. You and your brothers saved me as much as Alan and Rory."

"Not according to Rory."

"Rory? How is he?"

"We've made arrangements for him and his mother. They're safe. Which leads me to the situation we have at hand."

Anna raised an eyebrow. She didn't miss the fact that Scott did not answer her question.

He straightened in his seat. "I've made some enquiries and apparently you have some experience in distance education?"

She stared at him. "Yes. I spent some time with the School of the Air in central Australia. Why?" It had been early on in her career, her sense of adventure spurred on by the unknown across the Tasman. Turned out the unknown was very dry, dusty and red. She decided that she much preferred being in the same room with her students, and on this side of the Tasman.

"Alan has made it very clear that he would like to finish his school year with you." He gestured at the classroom they were sitting in. "But I can't let him return here. It is not safe. Kyrano is adamant. So..." And she saw the hesitancy in his eyes.

The head of the Tracy household had only been the head a matter of months. She wondered how old he actually was.

"I was hoping you would be willing to facilitate some distance learning for Alan and Rory."

"Rory?"

"I've spoken to Mrs MacIntyre and she is willing to allow us to sponsor her son in his education. He has been having some difficulties since the incident."

Oh, Rory. Anna had been having a set of nasty nightmares. Rory was only twelve. It angered her beyond belief that he had had to suffer so much.

But, to the point. "What did you have in mind?"

"Would you be willing to continue my brother's education until the end of the year? Via distance learning."

She had expected it as he explained the situation, but to have it actually asked laid out what it meant. She held his gaze, her mind automatically grabbing and assembling what would be needed. She would have to balance her class duties with the workload associated with offsite learning. There was just over a quarter of a year left. They were coming up on school holidays, so that could be used to her advantage.

He must have seen something in her eyes. "We're willing to pay you whatever you need."

She arched an eyebrow. "It isn't a consideration of money, Scott. More one of time and workload." But she knew she was going to say yes, regardless.

For Alan. For Rory. If she could help them just a little after the hell they had gone through, she would. Of course, money never hurt and she certainly wasn't in a position where she could afford to ignore it, but it wasn't the main consideration. It was whether she could do it.

"It is a lot of work, Scott. Have you considered other distance education services?"

He sighed. "Trust me, John has been very thorough in supplying the options available." He paused as if considering what to say next. "Alan...is having some difficulties and I would like to minimise the change required." Another pause and for the briefest of moments she saw the same man who had picked up his little brother so gently from that dirty bed. "Alan begged me to ask you."

Her heart lurched.

He straightened himself in his seat and the professional business man returned.

But she knew the truth.

"I will assess what needs to be done." What else could she say? "I will need the school holidays, at least, to prepare."

His smile snuck out from behind his facade. "Thank you, Anna. Tell me what you need and we will provide it."

She eyed him a moment. She had no doubt of that. Worried big brother or no, Scott Tracy was obviously a powerful man, used to making things happen.

Work was likely to take over her life in the next few months. An internal sigh.

It was only a few months. She would get through it and it would help two students who desperately needed it.

But something that had been niggling her since the men walked in still remained unaddressed.

Why was Jack Dunning here?

Blue eyes caught her thought before she could voice it. God, they were so blue.

A suave smile curled those lips and she realised he had caught her staring.

Shit. This man was about to become her employer. She was a professional, goddamnit. She straightened in her seat.

The lawyer eyed the both of them. "Scott, there is the other matter at hand." It was a subtle prompt, but Scott snapped to.

"Yes." A swallow. "Anna, IR security has been keeping tabs on you and your movements."

That drew her up short. "What?"

"There were some concerns regarding the MacIntyres and their connections to organised crime." Jack's voice was matter of fact. "You are a witness and/or a victim of both incidents. The Tracys were concerned for your safety."

She hadn't noticed anybody following her. Of course, she had considered the possibilities. Thoughts like that had kept her awake at night. But her conversations with the police had been reassuring.

"The police said there wasn't anything to worry about. That the MacIntyres were in custody."

Scott's voice was quiet. "We have traced a connection to a worldwide crime ring. John, in particular, is concerned." He held out a mobile phone. "We would like you to have this."

She reached out and took it from him. Latest Tracy phone, worth a couple of thousand dollars. Completely outside her price range.

She looked up. "Why?"

"It has a direct connection to Thunderbird Five and we will be able to track you."

"You could follow me?"

Scott's voice was quiet. "Yes."

He left it as a simple fact.

"Why?"

"For your safety."

"What could you do from space?"

"We have security in the vicinity and can respond immediately."

"So, you are following me anyway."

"Yes."

She held his gaze.

"We protect those we care about and Alan cares about you. Virgil, in fact, threw a fit after you left the hospital. He demanded we provide security." A snort. "If he had given me a chance to answer, I could have told him that I had already spoken to Kyrano." He didn't look away, his eyes as challenging as hers. "The threat is there. We want to negate it."

She hadn't seen any security following her. She hadn't seen Kyrano since the incident. Not that she had been looking. The thought that there were people watching her, hiding behind buildings...

"You should have told me." An indrawn breath. "I work in a school surrounded by children. If I am a danger to the kids..."

"You're not."

"How do you know that?"

"We're monitoring the situation-"

She shot to her feet. "How can you possibly guarantee that nothing will happen?!" The thought of a MacIntyre with a gun in her classroom was absolutely terrifying. "I have a responsibility to my students. How could you let me return to work when you knew that was a possibility?"

Scott stood up, his hands out obviously in an attempt to placate her. "Anna, you are not a danger to your students. Kyrano has you under surveillance, you're safe."

"I'm safe? Like Alan was?" The words were out of her mouth before she could think and she regretted them immediately as the man in front of her paled.

"That hole in our security has been plugged. I'm sorry we were unable to prevent that incident." His voice was still strong and determined, but there was an uncertainty, a guilt in his undertones. This was a man trying to do the right thing.

"An apology is not necessary. That was not your fault. The point I am trying to make is that International Rescue is not omniscient. If there is a threat, I should not be in this school. How could I face the parents of my students should something happen? How could you?"

She grabbed the paperwork on her desk and shuffled it into a pile, her mind going through all the things she would need to do to resign from her position. But then, where would she go? Where would she be safe? She found her handbag in her hands and stared at it a moment. Looking up, she found both men calmly staring at her.

"Anna, I'm sorry." And there was the young man who had lost his father only a matter of months ago. The suit suddenly seemed too big for him, the blue in his eyes just that touch unsure.

The door to the classroom was pushed open, no knock, no hesitancy. Kyrano strode in as if on cue. Dressed in loose black pants, a grey polo shirt and runners, his hair tied back at the nape of his neck, he appeared insignificant, a dad at the school to pick up his kids.

Only the sharp green of his eyes betrayed that he was anything but.

"Ms Kent, you and your students are safe. You have my word."

He spoke as if his word was a certainty.

Anna sat down, thoughts swirling around her head, her whole body wilting. "How can I risk it? With so much at stake?" Her career, her life, was not worth those that filled this room, this building, on a daily basis.

And her family...Dee, her partner, hell, even the dogs. Her flatmate...

Her elbows hit the desk and her head fell into her hands.

The scuffle of footsteps. A tentative touch on her shoulder. She looked up to find Scott crouched down beside her, blue eyes intense. No longer towering above her, now looking up at her. "You are safe, Anna. I promise."

He held her gaze. He was the commander of International Rescue. He was asking her to trust him.

Trust him.

"You. Are. Safe."

So many questions. How could they monitor her at all times? Her family? Her friends? Her students? It wasn't humanly possible.

But this was International Rescue, they dealt in miracles, they made things happen.

A lump caught in her throat.

Voice small. "Okay."

Those eyes softened just a little and his hand squeezed her shoulder.

His voice was gentle, no doubt the same voice he used on frightened people he was rescuing.

She was frightened people.

Could she be rescued?

A flicker of steel in those eyes answered that question.

"Kyrano is in charge of your security, John is monitoring from orbit and Jack is tackling the legalities. We will find those responsible and remove the threat. International Rescue has resources across the globe and we are mobilising. You need us, that phone will have a Thunderbird on your doorstep in minutes."

She stared at him. "All for one small town school teacher."

He unfolded and straightened up to his full height, looking down at her. The confident and certain young man returned and steeled his stance. "It is what we do."

A blink and she found herself believing him. It was little more than faith. Hope.

"Okay." This time her voice was stronger. "Tell me what I need to do."

That suave smile curved his lips again.

-o-o-o-