Chapter 80.

Left, right, left again.

Havoc swore out loud as she darted down one seemingly endless hallway after another, Gordon hot on her heels.

She'd ceased following her holographic communicator and was tanking mindlessly from one room to another, desperately trying to shake her blond-haired pursuer. Every time she thought she'd lost the aquanaut, he'd put on a sudden burst of speed and make up the distance in mere seconds. His swimmer's physique gave him explosive thigh power, while his toned arms would no doubt make quick work of wringing her neck when he eventually got close enough.

No, he'd never harm her. Of that, Havoc was certain. The world may have harmed the Tracys, but they would never harm it back. That was one of the reasons why The Hood was so intent on hounding them; he knew they'd never fully retaliate.

Then again, the way Gordon was snarling gave a hint of a different story with a very different ending.

In the background, Alan gasped loudly and collapsed against the doorframe Havoc and Gordon had just bolted through. Clutching his side as a stitch took hold, the youngest was in no shape to evade the oncoming human torpedo that was Kayo Kyrano.

"Gyaah!" Alan shrieked, flinging himself to the side in an attempt to avoid being pancaked by Thunderbird Shadow's pilot, a metaphorical trail of fire blazing in her wake as she zoomed past the youngest Tracy.

"Fuse!" Havoc panted, skidding around a corner and diving into what looked like a master bedroom, "You gotta get me out of here! I've got the fish, the midget and the cow all tailing me!"

"I can't get a lock on your position!" came Fuse's whiney reply, "Stop moving so much!"

"My cover's blown, you dimwit!" Havoc all but yelled, gasping in horror when she saw Kayo overtake Gordon, "I stop moving, I die!"

"Okay, okay," Fuse replied, "I'm bringing the Cruiser up now. Try blowing some stuff up to throw them off."

Through the fog of fatigue, Havoc managed to squeeze a smirk, "Now that, I can do."

A holoball was tossed to the ground.

-x-

"I've alerted Colonel Casey and Captain Rigby to Havoc's presence," John announced, fingering his comm device in a bid to establish a connection with Gordon or Alan, "Hello? Guys? If you can hear me, don't engage Havoc direct. I've alerted the GDF and help is on the way."

Scott fought the urge to roll his eyes. The next Ice Age probably would have come and gone by the time Casey, Rigby and 'the GDF' eventually caught up with Havoc and his brothers. Global Defence Force…more like Global Delayed Force.

"Let Gordon handle this," Scott countered, bracing his elbows against his knees, "This got personal for him the moment Havoc left him for dead in the Marindata Ventfields. He's got Alan and Kayo to back him up if things get dicey."

Penelope blinked in shock, her blond eyebrows travelling north, "You're seriously willing to offer Alan as backup in a situation that has the potential to turn dangerous?"

Scott sighed and dragged a hand across his sore cheek, "Gordon won't let anything happen to him. I'm afraid the events of this evening have forced the last of the fight out of me. Once Gordon and Kayo apprehend Havoc and hand her over to the GDF, I'm going straight to Gran Roca Ranch for a week."

John frowned and consulted the calendar on his phone, "But that'll mess up the test flights Brains has scheduled for Thunderbird Three's new ramjet."

Scott shook his head, "No John, you misunderstand me. I'm going on my own. I honestly need a break from being…well…from being Scott Tracy for a while. This rescue drought hasn't been kind to me."

The redhead opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Penelope briskly clapping her hands together, "Boys! I understand there is much to discuss, but I must remind you that we have a highly dangerous member of the Chaos Crew currently being pursued by three unarmed members of our own team. I think it would be prudent if we put our personal problems on temporary hold and go and provide assistance. I've notified Parker of the situation and he's in the process of setting up a roadblock. Havoc won't be able to use Spoiler as a means of escape once he's finished."

John nodded in agreement, "A capital idea, Lady P. We'll split up and corner Havoc long enough for the GDF to secure her. Scott, you and I will head up to the roof. Heat signature readings show that Gordon and Kayo are currently two floors above us. Virgil, Lady P, you secure the lower levels. There are two elevator shafts that lead directly to the basement, and I don't trust that Havoc won't use one of them as an escape chute."

"F.A.B," came the collective response. Scott discarded his soggy Armani blazer and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up before trotting off after John. Virgil patched himself through to EOS and managed to pull up a holographic blueprint of the building they were in. Guilt chewed at him when he remembered that it was indeed someone's home they were steamrolling their way through

Havoc's fault. Not his.

"Oh, hold up Virgil!" Penelope stammered, hopping on one foot as she tried to loosen the ankle strap on one of her heels, "I haven't got the right shoes on!"

Thunderbird Two's pilot could feel a headache taunting the back of his eyes, "Do you need a piggyback?"

Penelope waved a hand vaguely and kicked the sole of her left heel against the floor, "No thank you, just give me one minute…"

Four minutes later…

"Why don't you go and help Parker with the roadblock?" Virgil suggested, eager to get moving, "I can secure the basement on my own."

"Not happening!" Penelope snapped, cursing when she tried to insert a finger down the back of one heel and nearly toppled over in the process, "That would be far too dangerous. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. Just bear with me for two more seconds…"

Virgil exhaled through his nose. Scott's threat about the next Ice Age coming and going suddenly felt like a genuine possibility.

Eight minutes later…

"Over there!" Penelope exclaimed, pointing at an electronic panel on the wall, "Disable the control mechanisms for the garage doors. That should make escape on this level impossible without the use of heavy machinery."

Virgil winced as Penelope readjusted her iron grip on his shoulders, ignoring the way she was nudging him with her calves as if he were some kind of horse.

"Hold up!" Penelope instructed, leaning over Virgil's shoulder to show him the fresh set of coordinates EOS had just sent to her compact mirror, "Tracking shows that Havoc has ceased moving. From the looks of it, she's holed up in the second floor drawing room."

"How far is that?" Virgil asked grimly.

Penelope double checked the numbers in front of her, "Up the main staircase, second floor, first door on the right, currently unlocked."

"Can you seriously not walk?" Virgil queried, choking when Penelope looped an arm around his neck to stabilise herself.

"Excuse me, Mr Tracy," Penelope began, her tone deeply disapproving, "But you were the one to extend the initial offer of a piggyback ride. Furthermore, both myself and Kayo went for pedicures prior to our arrival this evening, and I am not about to risk spoiling my top coat by lolloping around barefoot like a cavewoman."

Virgil felt his left eye twitch in the same way Scott's so often did, "A little less whining please, Penny."

"I am not whining, I am complaining," Penelope retorted, "Do you want to hear whining?"

Virgil kept his mouth firmly closed.

"Because this is whining!" Penelope continued, her tone becoming high and nasally, "Your shirts not pressed! Your pants don't match your socks! Why couldn't you have worn a suit like Scott? Do you even know who Armani is? It smells weird down here, why aren't you opening a window? Oh my goodness, is that a smudge on your collar? And why aren't you taller?"

Virgil closed his eyes and sighed, a sudden affinity for suicidal lemmings momentarily engulfing him.

-x-

Havoc knew the game was up.

She'd been chased around the godforsaken house of Kayo's government friend three or four times. Her lungs were burning, her thighs were cramping, and she was fairly certain she'd run the equivalent of the London marathon.

Remarkably, Kayo and Gordon still refused to let up. It was amazing what the power of hatred could do to a person's fitness levels.

Gordon hated her for leaving him for dead. There was no coming back from that.

Kayo hated her for kissing Scott. There was also no coming back from that.

Havoc hastily checked her purse, cursing when she realised that she had only one holoball left. She hadn't been particularly sparing with them, but had assumed that she'd have enough to cover her tracks until Fuse arrived.

Not that the blasted things had been doing their job…she'd had five separate holographic representations of herself running around at one point, however Gordon and Kayo hadn't been fooled. They'd kept their eyes firmly locked onto the real Havoc and had ignored her digital twins as if they were nothing more than potted plants.

Plan A (extract the DNA and leave the premises unannounced) had failed. Plan B (extract the DNA and leave the premises announced) had failed. Plan C (abandon the DNA and leave the premises unannounced) had failed. Plan D (abandon the DNA and leave the premises announced) had also failed. The whole 'leaving the premises' thing appeared to be causing a bit of an issue.

Time for Plan E.

Tossing her final holoball over her shoulder with a silent salute, Havoc darted into the next room she came across and slammed the door shut behind her. Furious banging commenced half a second after she'd turned the lock.

"Havoc!" came Gordon's muffled voice, "You are under arrest! Open this door or I'll introduce it to the business end of my very expensive shoe!"

Havoc snorted.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

'Oh. He was serious.'

Gordon possessed the most lower body strength of all the Tracy brothers. Even without Kayo's help, it was unlikely the door would withstand his kicking for long.

Desperation fuelling her once again, Havoc glanced around the room, silently cursing the bulletproof windows rich people (including the one whose house she was trapped in) insisted on having. They made breaking, entering, and escaping ten times harder than was strictly necessary.

The sound of splintering wood nearly sent Havoc into orbit.

Throwing caution to the wind, she dove for the nearest and most convenient hiding place she could see.

The chimney.

Another thing rich people insisted on having…

Havoc had barely wedged herself out of sight before the door flew clean off its hinges, giving way to a furious looking Gordon and wrathful looking Kayo.

The next fifteen minutes passed in a blur of uncomfortable confusion as the pilots of Thunderbirds Four and Shadow searched every square inch of the room they'd just gained entry to. Havoc's heart sank into her boots when Scott and John showed up several minutes later to join the search.

Then Sherbert rocked up and began snuffling around the hearth…