I originally hadn't planned to continue the last chapter, but I had a lot of requests, and this fitted in with Whumpay Day 7: Rage/Mercy.

Enjoy!

Scott was livid. He was incandescent. In fact, he didn't think he had ever been in such a rage. They had fallen into a clever trap, and now his two youngest brothers were missing.

It was all his fault.

He should have been the one to go with Gordon to the investment meeting, but the GDF had called with an urgent 'request' for a meeting, one he could not turn down. Still, he didn't really want Gordon to go alone, and Alan had volunteered. TI business may not be on Alan's agenda just yet, but Scott knew his brother was as shrewd and as bright as the rest of them.

So while Gordon and Alan attended the meeting in California and then spent the rest of the day and night surfing and living it up, Scott was holed up in a stuffy meeting discussing the latest attempt of the GDF to get their hands on iR technology.

Only, it didn't quite work out like that.

By the time Scott had landed, made sure he was both prepared and presentable, Gordon should have been winding up his meeting. Scott strode with confidence through the halls to the designated room, nodding at people as he passed. His escort was nervous, and possibly a little awed, but they handled themselves well, depositing Scott in a meeting room with three other people, one of which he knew well.

'Colonel Casey,' he said, inclining his head in greeting. She gave him a tight smile. 'Scott. I'm sorry to drag you out here at such short notice. May I introduce you to General Bron and General Grafton. These gentlemen have raised concerns about International Rescue that I have not been able to allay.'

He spent the next four hours repeatedly saying 'No' in varying ways and degrees while the two pushed and pulled and tried their best to tear down every argument he used. It was another fruitless and frustrating day. Why they thought that because they were Generals it would have any different outcome Scott didn't know. What he did know was that he didn't trust these two men at all.

Looked like iR had more people to worry about.

Still, he put the wasted time out of his mind and, removing his tie as he settled in his jet, he called John. 'I assume you heard all that?' His brother nodded. 'There's something not quite right about this situation, John. I want you to run those two through your databases.' John grinned. 'You already did, didn't you.' It wasn't a question, and it was accompanied by an eyeroll.

'There isn't much on either of them, both exemplary records, but I agree, something doesn't seem right about all this. I'll get EOS digging.' Scott sighed. Why they had to go this far to protect themselves, protect their ships, often dismayed him. 'FAB, John. Can you patch me through to Gordon, please? They should have finished three hours ago I suspect they will be dining out by now.' And with that he started his pre-flight checks.

'Scott, they aren't answering.' Scott frowned. Sure, they may be living it up a little, but Gordon would never ignore a call. 'John?' His brother was frowning. 'I can't find either of them!'

It took them 18 hours to track down what had happened and where their brothers were being held. It turned out that their kidnappers were either stupid, or there was more going on here.

If Kayo was white hot with fury over the death of three of her security personnel, it was nothing compared with the rage at what might have happened, be happening, to her brothers. The three of them set off in Two to go get them, Virgil just as angry as everyone else. His bear didn't often come out, but it was out in full force today.

The building was part of an abandoned industrial estate, and Virgil wondered why those who wanted to harm his family so often chose such sights. Two wasn't a quiet gal, so she was set down quite a way back, and the three were soon joined by Penny and Parker.

Getting in was easy, which made everyone wary. John and EOS were an unstoppable team on Five, and soon electrics were shorting out and things were going haywire. Distraction was good, and soon John had sent a map pinpointing life signs. There were eight, five going in one way and three in another, and they split up, Virgil, Penny and Parker after the bigger and Scott and Kayo after the smaller group.

Gordon and Alan had drifted off. Despite their injuries, just being together was enough comfort to allow sleep to claim them. But they were rudely awoken by the door slamming open, and all six men rushing in. For a wild moment Gordon thought they were being rescued, but the men wasted no time hauling both brothers up by their bound hands.

The men were livid, he could see that, but as they exited the room, Gordon found himself dragged one way with his three original captors plus one of Alan's, while Alan was pulled the other way. He tried to shout and struggle, only for the extra man to gag him and cuff him solidly. It left his head ringing. And from the muffled noises that were rapidly diminishing, Alan had suffered the same treatment.

He was dragged by two men, and one in front and one behind. They really wanted to keep him, it seemed. They hadn't got far though, before the man in front, going around a corner, disappeared. There was no sound, and the man bringing up the rear came forward. Only to collapse and fall backwards the minute he turned the corner. There was the tiniest 'phut' sound, one that Gordon was very familiar with. His captors tightened their hold.

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward was just as at home in a figure-hugging black catsuit and knee-high black boots as she was in her normal attire, and as she rounded the corner with Parker and Virgil in tow, she still looked the glamourous lady she was. Not a hair was out of place. Even the snub-nosed pistol in her hands looked like it was made for her (it was).

Gordon's mouth dropped open as she dispatched both men in quick succession. God, he loved this woman, and by the twinkle in her eyes as she stepped up to him and gently closed his mouth after removing the gag, he was pretty sure that she knew it. Parker made short work of his bonds and then Virgil was there. Hug first, scanner second. And did Gordon need that hug.

The scanner showed several cracked ribs, none fully broken thankfully, and multiple bruises. His brother looked a mess, and the bruising on his face was vivid. As they moved to get back to Two, Gordon pulled away, trying to go in the opposite direction. It didn't take much to figure out where he wanted to go, and Virgil grinned at him as he said, 'don't worry, Scott and Kayo have gone after Alan.'

With that Gordon relaxed, and with that relaxing came all the aches and pains he had been hiding for Alan's sake. Thank goodness Virgil was strong enough to help him to Two's infirmary.

Alan had been treated in much the same fashion, two thugs pulling him along as that man walked ahead. They walked quickly through several corridors until they entered a room. There was a chair and Alan was forced into it, hands undone and bound behind him and ankles tied to the chair too. The two men were sent out and Alan was left alone. With him. And he stood behind Alan, leaving him in no doubt as to what he was. He was a shield.

There was a small noise and then silence. Then his brother and sister entered the room. The man behind him stepped forward, placing his hand on Alan's shoulder and what felt like a gun against his temple. Great.

Scott's eyes widened in surprise. This was not the person he was expecting, and the smirk on the man's face showed that he knew it too. He watched hi squeeze Alan's shoulder until the teen gasped. Scott automatically stepped forward as Kayo stepped to the side.

'Enough. Stay where you are, both of you, or I'll blow his brains out.' They froze. Both might be very skilled in combat, but they weren't fast enough for point blank range. 'That's better. You know, you never cease to amaze me. You got here faster than I had anticipated, which is a shame, because I'm not quite ready for you yet. Nevertheless, I am a man who can improvise.'

He removed the gun from Alan and pointed it at Kayo, but his eyes never left Scott's. 'I wasn't expecting this one,' he said, squeezing Alan's shoulder again. 'I was expecting you. Well, my intel may have…Stop or I will put a bullet in you.' He'd seen Kayo inching forward, but she stopped at his words.

Scott needed to get control of the situation, and he couldn't do that while they were effectively at stalemate. So he did the only thing he could.

'If you want me I'm right here. Let my brother go and I will come quietly and willingly.'

As expected, that statement was met with various reactions. Alan, despite the gag, was making it very clear what he thought of that, as was Kayo, in her silent way, her eyes narrowing in displeasure.

'Hmm, I think I could be persuaded to do that. If…' the man paused, and Scott knew he was being bated. The others had strict instructions to take Gordon back to Two, not to follow them, and even if they had, with Alan in such a position it wouldn't have made any difference.

'If what?' The grin was slightly unnerving.

'If you shoot your partner.'

Scott had been prepared for all sorts of demands. Shooting Kayo had not been one of them. He knew it was a tranq dart, but still, the thought of purposely shooting her…as if he could read Scott's mind the grin widened while the grip on Alan's shoulder intensified.

'If you don't shoot her, then I will.' His finger tightened on the trigger.

Scott looked to Kayo and she gave the slightest of nods. Scott tried to apologise with his eyes, even as he raised his gun.

And shot her.

It seemed that time had slowed down suddenly as Kayo crumpled to the ground, and Scott couldn't help but worry. The sedative was practically instantaneous and she'd be out for around three hours, plenty of time for someone to get away.

Finally, the pressure on his shoulder was released, and Alan watched with fearful eyes as the man came around to the front of him and aimed his gun at Scott now. His brother smiled warmly at him. 'It will be alright, Allie,' was an easy lie that fell from Scott's lips, and Alan struggled hard against the bonds as the two men disappeared from the room.

Penny was getting concerned. They were taking too long. She looked at Parker and he nodded. Turning at Virgil's sigh, she offered him a small smile, and he nodded in return. Just as the two started to move, John swore.

'Scott's dropped off the scanners and Alan is back up.' Penny and Parker ran for the building while Virgil asked about Kayo. 'She's still there, but her telemetry has changed. She looks like she's asleep?' It was Gordon who spoke though. 'What has our idiotic big brother done now?' There wasn't even a hint of amusement in his voice, and John kept the comms open while their London agent and her man investigated.

It took a short while to get to the room where John had pinpointed the signals coming from, and they carefully crashed in to find an unconscious Kayo and a frantic Alan. Rushing over to undo the gag, Parker got an earful of Alan's shout, 'he's taken Scott,' a completely unnecessary observation since Scott was obviously not here, and neither was the man. Come to think of it, they hadn't even asked Gordon who the other person was, too intent on getting him treated. 'Who was it, Alan?' he asked whilst cutting through his wrist bonds.

'It was Colonel Janus, or rather, the man we know as Janus.'

That made things a little more complicated. The man was supposed to be in prison, yet again it seemed that the GDF couldn't hold it's important prisoners. For the last time Penny had seen him, Janus had sworn revenge, and now it looked like he was going to get it.

'And Kayo?' Penny asked, checking her friend over. 'He made Scott shoot her or he was going to do it himself.' Penny frowned. She wondered if Janus knew that iR only used tranq darts, but she guessed it didn't really matter, the end result was the same.

Scott Tracy was now at the mercy of a man who had sworn to kill him.