Scott was fidgeting.
Virgil sighed as his brother tugged at his collar and set his tie askew for the third time in the last ten minutes.
Without a word, Virgil stepped in and straightened it again. It was a good tie. The flecks of bright blue in the deep midnight offset his brother's eyes perfectly. Combined with the pale blue-grey shirt and the charcoal jacket, Scott was the epitome of the chief executive he needed to be.
On the outside at least.
John sat in the corner of the austere atrium, head buried in his tablet with a frown on his face. "It appears that they are making a move. Becket…it has to be Becket." His space brother went quiet again, his deep blue-grey suit wrinkling as he hunched over, poking at his tablet. His frown deepened.
Scott tugged at his collar again.
Virgil sighed.
This day had to come. They had been falling towards it since the day they lost Dad.
Virgil swallowed. It hurt so much. A blink and a flex of his shoulders. Now was not the time for grief. They had already grieved, but now the world was demanding more.
And if they didn't soldier up, the world might take everything from them.
With the loss of their father, confidence in the Tracy brand and business had plummeted. Sure, the great Jeff Tracy had five sons to carry his legacy.
But they were not the great Jeff Tracy.
It had fallen on Scott's shoulders to rescue the family business, to show strength where there was grief. To show that the next generation was just as tough and determined as the previous one.
Part of Virgil wished they didn't have to take this on. After all, International Rescue was enough. The three of them were stretched to the limit.
But Dad's legacy was more. And they had to step up and be more.
Dad had been one.
How the hell had he managed it all by himself?
Virgil knew the answer, but it hurt.
The only way his father had been able to do what he did was by sacrificing everything else.
But now was not the time for bitterness.
"Scott, please stop doing that." It hissed between Virgil's teeth as he had to straighten his brother's tie yet again.
His brother grunted, letting his shoulders drop. "I just want to get this over and done with."
There was a snort that was suspiciously triumphant from John's direction. The whispered 'Gotcha' only confirmed that suspicion.
"What are you doing?" An edgy Scott made for a cranky Scott.
"Not much. Just dishing a few just desserts."
Virgil frowned, but Scott spun on his heel with a groan. Virgil grabbed his arm.
"Hey, you've got this."
Blue eyes darted to him. Scott was known for his confidence and his ability to charm anyone on the planet. But Virgil knew that underneath all the bravado lay a lot of doubt and a damaged self-esteem.
It was circumstance, but was also upbringing.
Virgil dropped his voice lower. "Do you trust me?"
The frown he got for that was deserved. "Of course, I do, you know that."
"Then trust me now. You've got this. We're not going to lose Dad's company. You're going to walk in there and introduce them to Scott Tracy."
His brother straightened just that bit more, broad shoulders filling out the suit jacket to its fullest.
Blue eyes glistened.
John slipped out of his seat and strode over to stand beside Scott. "Now's the time. They think they're about to succeed." The smirk on John's face pretty much negated that result.
Virgil drew back his eldest brother's attention. "We're Tracys, Scott. You've got John, you've got me and we've got you. They don't stand a chance." Virgil fixed his eyes on his brother's desperate to hammer the message home. "Dad would be proud."
That did it. Something sparked in the blue of his brother's irises and his face settled into the more familiar commander Virgil knew in the field.
One last line under his breath. "You've got this."
Scott held Virgil's eyes a moment longer before he suddenly spun and stalked towards the double doors of the conference room.
Virgil and John hurried to catch up.
But it was with pride that Virgil stood beside his brother as he strode through those doors. Virgil was at his right, while John was at his left.
The three eldest Tracy brothers walked into the boardroom and it fell deathly silent.
Commander Tracy raised his head just a little, eyes scanning the room, eyeing business men and women alike.
"I'm Scott Tracy. I'm here to take my father's place."
-o-o-o-