Unforgotten
AN – Wow, this story is very nearly twice as many chapters as unexpected encounter now... I'm not sure how it got so long! Thank you all reviewers for continued support. Harlow, I really appreciate your reviews but I'm really just pleased you are getting to read and enjoy this story :)
Disclaimer – I don't own Thunderbirds
Chapter Forty Three – Gun Point
There was a tense silence as Jeff stood watching the Hood threatening his youngest son. He could hear Gordon muttering behind him, something about Alan not being able to simply stay put. Jeff slowly letting his gun fall from his fingers and drop to the floor. Following their father's example, Virgil and Gordon also both relinquished the weapons they were carrying.
"Excellent," the Hood smiled cruelly as he directed a guard to collect the dropped weapons. "I'm glad you are finally beginning to see reason." He shoved Alan forwards, who tripped and sprawled on the floor. "Of course, I am not a reasonable man." He pointed his gun at Alan. "Do you have any last words?"
Suddenly, all hell broke loose. Gordon leapt forwards, diving on top of Alan's prone form and shielding him from whatever might come. At the same time, the Hood was tackled to the floor by a figure who leapt from the shadows, the gun discharging as it hit the paving but luckily missing all the people in the room.
The Hood quickly shoved Scott away from him, rolling and standing up. Scott also got to his feet and was about to leap forwards when he seemed to fall into a stupor. Gordon, seeing what was happening, scrambled to his feet and grabbed his oldest brother, forcing him to turn away. "Don't look into his eyes!" Gordon instructed.
The Hood chuckled darkly as he surveyed the group of Tracys in front of him. "Well well, this is a surprise. Guards!"
A group of six guards came out of the shadows behind the group, four more following from the main door area. Jeff and Virgil huddled near Alan with Scott and Gordon standing guard around them. Jeff was helping Alan to his feet, who sported a cut lip but nothing that appeared to be more serious.
"I'm not sure quite how you managed to get free, but you won't be enjoying it for long. Capture them!" The Hood called, gesturing at the group of men in the middle of the room. At the same time, he pressed a button on one of the pillars no doubt to bring more guards to them.
Scott shook his head as he watched the guards approached. "If you have been coerced into being here, believing that your god demands this of you, put your weapons down and you won't be harmed."
The Hood snarled. "Ignore him! They cannot hurt you! But I've changed my mind, capture the rest – kill him."
Scott looked towards the nearest guards, the group of four. "No one will blame you for walking away." His father and brother looked incredulously at him but he was focussed on the four guards in front. One wavered looking unsure but the other three pulled up their rifles and took aim.
Fluidly, Scott drew a ray gun and threw a second to Gordon. Between them, they dispatched two of the four guards and Gordon quickly aimed again and hit the third as he was distracted by the fate of the others. The fourth dropped the weapon and backed away, turning and running out of the door at the furious expression on the Hood's face. "Kill them all," he snarled, gesturing to the other guards lurking behind them.
They all ignored Scott's offer of clemency and brought up their guns, aiming at the group of Tracys as though they were a firing squad.
A blur of black leather catapulted into their midst, ripping the rifles away. Two of the guards were downed when the butt of the rifle caught them hard across their heads and a third was hit with a thrown knife. Scott picked off a fourth and Gordon caught the fifth in the leg. The last standing guard, seeing what had happened to the others turned to run but instead found himself face to face with the infamous Cat Burglar. He gasped as she smiled grimly, her knife already in use. He sank down in front of her and she kicked him out of the way.
"What is the meaning of this!" The Hood cried, frantically pressing the button in the pillar. "Where are the rest of the guards?"
Angel slowly walked over to him, stepping over groaning men as she did so.
Scott casually leant against a pillar as she progressed, stalking towards her prey. "Your first mistake," he told the Hood casually. "Is that you kidnapped me in the first place."
The Hood snarled at him. "What exactly are you going to do? You are International Rescue, you rescue people not kill them." He didn't seem to realise that there were nine bodies around the room suggesting otherwise.
"Maybe not," Scott shrugged, not moving from his position against the pillar and looking very nonchalant. Jeff was looking at his son curiously, Virgil with wide eyes. Gordon was glaring at the Hood and Alan just looked confused. "But she isn't International Rescue. She's the Cat Burglar, world renowned thief. And also, as I found out quite recently, a very competent assassin."
Angel had got much closer to the Hood by now, who gave up on pressing the button and stood up straighter with a scornful expression. "Assassin, hm? Well I am the master of the temple, and I will not be defeated!" His eyes began to glow as he exerted his will on the woman in front of him. She simply reached up and pulled her mask until it covered her eyes, leaving her blind. Despite not being able to see, her head tracked the Hood's every movement as he began to move through the room.
Then she pounced, raining blows on him that he could not return. He was a solidly built man and he had some martial training, but Angel danced. She had prepared for this throughout the night at the monastery, ducking and weaving wearing a blindfold whilst trying to land a blow on an unseen opponent. Now she put that practice into use, twirling around him while he helplessly flailed at her.
Eventually she had an opening and she weaved in, claws flashing. One rake down his face was enough to cause his to collapse, legs buckling as he fell rigidly to the floor.
"Poison?" he gasped as she moved her mask back so she could see again. "How unoriginal for an assassin."
"Not quite," Angel murmured, kneeling by his head. "They don't want you dead, not yet anyway. Simply something to keep you still while they decide what they want to do with you. They have a greater claim than I."
"A paralytic agent?" Scott mused, coming to her shoulder and gently resting his hand on the nape of her neck.
"He will be able to see and comprehend everything but not move a muscle." Already the Hood was unable to speak, the movement of his eyes the only sign that he was awake.
"We need to turn him over to the authorities, Grey too." Jeff had approached and was looking at the Hood with something bordering on disgust.
"No," Gordon also had come over and he shook his head firmly. "A deal is a deal." Angel looked towards him and an expression of understanding passed between them.
"Where are the shadows?" She asked the redhead.
"They were making sure no more guards could interfere," was Gordon's reply. "Other than these," he swept his arm around to indicate the people lying prone around them. "All the other guards were stopped from coming up here. I'll go get them."
Without a backwards look he trotted off out of the main temple doors. "Who has he gone to get?" Jeff demanded.
"Um, the monks I guess," Alan answered after a brief glance at Angel. She was still watching the Hood, although after a few moments she brought a small communicator Brains had given them up to her mouth.
"Hi, we've managed to find them and they are all safe and well. What's going on out there?"
There was a crackle on the line, then a voice that unmistakably belonged to John answered her. "There have been several groups running out of the temple and away down one of the tracks. They haven't found the craft, I think they are just trying to get out of here. It's like you put the fear of God into them."
Angel snorted. "For once it wasn't me. We're wrapping up here now, we'll be coming out soon."
Scott gingerly moved his hand to his face, a move that Jeff noticed. "How badly are you hurt?"
"Nothing that a few days rest won't fix," Scott replied. "It's just a bit tender right now. He wasn't really able to land a good blow."
Gordon had returned, bringing with him the two shadows from the monastery. "Here he is," Gordon gestured towards the prone form of the Hood.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Jeff asked, looking at the new arrivals. They ignored him completely, looking only to Angel. One of them stepped forwards and began speaking to her quickly in a language that the rest didn't know. She replied in kind, using quick hand gestures to emphasise her point. Then the tallest one nodded before reaching down and slinging the Hood over his shoulder despite the man's large stature. The second bowed respectfully to Angel and Gordon in turn, following his brother monk from the room.
Angel turned back to the rest of them. "They said that there is no one else left in the monastery."
"Look here, why did you just let them take that man? He is a criminal that needs to be brought to justice." Jeff drew himself up to his full height as he stared at the strange figure in black in front of him.
Angel pulled off her mask, shaking her hair free and running a hand through it to release the knots.
"Annie!" Jeff gasped, realising now who the woman was. Virgil had already guessed based on Scott's behaviour towards her.
"He will be brought to justice." She stated firmly in response to Jeff's question. "I very much doubt he will ever taste free air again."
"They will give him a trial?" Virgil asked hesitantly.
"He has already been found guilty," Angel replied. "They will enact the punishment."
"He should be tried in a court of law." Jeff insisted. "We are not judges or executioners."
Angel fixed him with her impassive gaze. "Who are you to meddle in their affairs? You do not even know how he has wronged them."
"What about Ethan?" Virgil asked. "We'll take him back with us?"
"Ethan is dead," Scott informed him. "We will notify the authorities… unless…" He turned to Angel questioningly. "Will they want him too?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure, probably not. But the people that he forced to commit criminal acts in the name of their god… they may have other ideas." Jeff seemed not to know what to make of the casual discussion between his eldest and the woman he knew as Annie, he watched them both carefully as they talked.
Gordon, who during the whole discussion had been walking around the room and studying it, suddenly called over. "Hey, come and have a look at this."
He found himself surrounded by his brothers and father – all except for Scott, who had stayed behind to talk to Angel quietly. Gordon pointed at a curtain made out of chains of golden beads.
"Look!"
With a tug on a rope to the side, the curtain swung open – and revealed a statue. A statue of a very familiar figure.
"Kyrano!" Virgil gasped, looking up at the golden statue of their housekeeper and friend. "Why is there a statue of Kyrano here?"
"The Hood is Kyrano's half-brother," Alan told him, not taking his eyes from the statue. "Or at least, that's what Angel and Tintin thought. I guess this confirms it."
"It must be the foci that he's been using all this time." Gordon said, studying it. "If we destroy it, Kyrano will be free from his influence." He clambered up onto the pedestal. "Look out!" He called, just before bracing himself against the wall of the alcove the statue was in and shoving it hard with his feet.
With a groan the statue began to move, slowly at first before gravity helped and it crashed to the ground. To everyone's surprise it appeared to be made of real gold, the soft metal compressed by the impact but not shattering.
"Hey!" Gordon called, climbing onto the base of the pedestal and reaching inside. "Look at this." He brought out a large crystal, about the size of a small fist.
"What is that?" Virgil asked, holding his hand out. Gordon dropped the crystal into it.
"I bet this is the source of his power thing. We need to smash it."
Virgil studied it critically. "I've got some things in the lab back home which would do it."
"What about in the lab in Pod 5?" Alan asked. "We brought it with us."
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Gordon agreed, looking around with distaste. "We've probably got some clothes that would fit you as well stashed somewhere."
"Hey, how come Scott has clothes?" Alan asked, noticing for the first time that his oldest brother wasn't dressed in the same grey top and boxers that the other two were.
Scott grinned at him from across the room. "Angel brought me some, what else?"
"Is someone going to explain what's going on?" Jeff asked, frustrated. "Why is Annie here… although I'm guessing Angel is your real name? But Scott said you were the Cat Burglar, whoever that is. Why are you here at all? Who were those men that took away the Hood?"
"I'm here because Scott was here," Angel replied simply. "And amongst ourselves, you may call me Angel. Now though, I think we should leave." She looked around the large room. "The monks will come and reclaim this place now, allow the local people to rest at last." She turned to leave via the main entrance, stopping and touching one of the pillars with one hand. "I hope you can rest too now, Aima." She spoke so quietly that only Scott could hear her, he glanced curiously but she shook her head to indicate she would explain later.
Outside, they met John who engulfed his father and brothers in large hugs, also grabbing Angel into a hug before she could move away. "Thank you for getting them back," he whispered into her ear, she nodded tightly in response. "This way," he indicated, leading them to the clearing where they had landed the craft. Once there, they piled into Thunderbird 2 to watch the crystal being destroyed and to try to remove the cuffs from the wrists of Virgil and Jeff.
That done, Jeff straightened up, rubbing his wrists where the cuffs had been fastened tightly. "I think it's about time you told me what you've been up to," he started firmly. "Not that I'm not incredibly relieved you managed to find us, but there is a lot I don't understand."
"I'm not sure I could explain everything," John replied honestly. "You'd need to ask Angel." He looked around the pod. "Where is Angel? And Scott?"
A distant roar caused them all to run outside, looking bewildered at Thunderbird 1 took off. It turned in the air before retracting its wings and disappearing above the trees.
John raced up into the cockpit and frantically hit some buttons on the console. "Thunderbird 2 calling Thunderbird 1, come in Thunderbird 1."
"John," Scott was sitting calmly in the pilot seat Thunderbird 1 as though he hadn't just been held captive for days and then been beaten. For a moment there was a stunned silence as they realised that Scott had taken off and left his brothers and father in the middle of the jungle.
"Scott, what are you doing?" Jeff asked in confusion, finally breaking the silence. "I understand you are eager to head back to the Island but there are questions that need to be answered."
"But they don't need to be answered right now, dad." Came the calm reply. "I'll come to the Island in a couple of days. But, right now, I need a chance to rest and heal."
"But where are you going?" Jeff seemed completely bewildered, his eldest was usually a pinnacle of strength and solidarity. This behaviour, from him, was incredibly out of character.
There was only a sense of peace about Scott as he replied. "Right now dad, I'm going home."
