Chapter 28

"This is Thunderbird one to base."

"Go ahead Thunderbird one."

"I've reached the danger zone. A second slide is underway; you should see it Father! The Rocks look like they're being carried away by the current, except there's no river!"

"How long have you been monitoring the activity, are there any other emergency services on the scene?"

Scott glanced at his watch before checking his instrument's. "About five minutes now. There are no teams on the ground - it's too dangerous currently, but there is a police helijet that's airborne with me. They've advised this second rock slide started twenty minutes after the last one. They haven't been able to contact those in the bunker yet so we have no idea what the situation is. The village has a population of five hundred according to the stats John gathered."

"Alright son, I'll advise Thunderbird two to hang back a bit. Let us know as soon as you have a secure landing area."

"F.A.B"

Thunderbird Two cut through the cloud laden skies as she increased in altitude before leveling out once again. Virgil was running at half pace after his father had advised him to hang back and await further instruction. It felt odd to be pulling back on the acceleration when they were heading to a rescue. His fingers tapped on the wheel nervously. It was quite the situation. One hundred and 20 tonnes already and now another rock slide which would only add to the load. Did they know the pressure capacity of the bunker? How much air did they have? Had it been compromised by the tremors? Virgil knew these would be the kind of questions Scott would be gaining intel on right now but he couldn't help but try to anticipate the risks involved. It was part of his training after all. He bit his lip in concern. This rescue could easily be an all-nighter and beyond.

Alan had claimed the co-pilot's seat next to Virgil so he didn't even have to look at Gordon, he was still seething from earlier. They way Tin-Tin had been so quick to cut him off wounded him. She never let him explain or gave him the time to express his view so that when he did, he couldn't help but blow his top. He deserved to know if he was being dumped. Alan wondered if it would be so painful if she'd met a stranger. His stomach was in knots, he felt deeply betrayed that his own brother had some kind of hold on her. Had she been waiting for him to slip up so she could be free? No, no way! she's not like that his inner voice protested, but burning jealously within told him it was true.

Gordon played with the strap across his shoulder, he should be elated. This was his first rescue in almost half a year but instead all he wanted to do was to get back home. He knew Alan was blinded by his bitterness (as usual) but he'd inadvertently sown a seed of hope in Gordon's heart and Gordon detested him for it. He had been doing all the right things; distancing himself from her slowly, repressing his feelings and trying to be adult about the situation. To learn to live without ever knowing if they could be together, if he could have the honour to call her his partner. To love her. He had even stopped himself from pinning Alan against that wall the night he had come home and shaking him till he apologised to her and admitted he wasn't worthy of her love. Now all his hard work had been ruined, he was at the end of his tether and when they were done here; when professionalism would no longer dictate his actions, he would hold back no more.

The rock and scree spread for miles in all directions. Huge fissures had opened in the earth to form new cliffs where there had been mountain sides only hours before. Scott had not been idle whilst waiting for the rock slide to subside and had quickly identified a large plateau with a semi- flat cap as a suitable place to land. It was still some kilometres off the danger zone but that simply couldn't be helped on this occasion. By the time Thunderbird two arrived he had established mobile control and was deep in communication with the local authorities and John. Luckily John's translation software wasn't needed on this occasion, Scott's former unit had been deployed on a lengthy humanitarian mission in this region. He was by no means fluent but he knew enough to get by.

There was a tense moment as he observed the sister craft land, he strained his ears and eyes for any signs of subsidence – thankfully she landed without a hitch. He watched as she rose upwards on her struts. The Excavator rolled out alongside the mole before picking up their pilot. They trundled over before nosily rolling to a stop nearby.

"Right; gather round." Scott stood and handed out three tablets with a satellite image in both 3D and thermal options. "The local emergency services noted the first call was received in the early hours of this morning. They haven't been able to communicate with anyone since but the caller had stressed that most of them made it to the bunker so that will be our primary focus. The search teams will continue to recon from the air and see if they can identify any more survivors for us to rescue."

Scott pulled up a satellite image onto the larger screen of mobile control, adjusting the dials to strengthen the picture. "The activity has now ceased but John has advised us to be mindful that all the ground around here will remain unstable for days. There will likely be aftershocks. For that intent and purpose, he will be monitoring the scans with Brains for any activity as our early warning and I will remain here to ensure the fleet remains stable."

"Where do you want us?" Alan interjected as he secured the tablet in his concealed trouser pocket.

"I want Virgil to start creating a path from above, to the west of the bunker there is actually minimal rubble compared to the rest of the buried structure, Brains is confident you might be able to reach them from there but its gonna take a steady hand. Drill in the wrong place and you could start another slide."

Virgil nodded. "Alright, I'll patch in Brains for support and get started." Scott nodded in dismissal as Virgil sprinted over to the truck and hoisted himself in.

"I want you two to use the mole to extract as many people as you can. Brains has already triangulated the best possible course for you but feel free to call if you hit a snag. If you start underground from here, you're less likely to disturb what's above but you're going to have the channel at the exact depth you've been given, too close to the surface and you could start another slide."

Alan and Gordon stood apart refusing to look at each other. "Do we a problem here?" Scott barked sharply. The tense behaviour between the two by the pool earlier had not gone unnoticed, Scott couldn't have them unpack that again now.

"Nope, we'll get on it now." Gordon flipped the key card up in his hand, he was the one who'd driven the mole out of the pod, he'd be dammed if he was going to give up control.

"Good. Off you go."

They both took their respective seats, Alan glowering the whole time. Gordon refused to acknowledge him as he belted in. Alan loaded the tablet into the dock on the dash which would set their course before turning his attention to the external cameras.

The silence was tangible as Gordon stared resolutely pushed forward the controls, the sound of thousands of tonnes of earth rained down all around them as they tunnelled deeper with the occasional scraping and dinging of rocks as they clanged against re-enforced steel.

"You're detouring by twenty degrees."

Gordon's jaw tightened. "How about you do something useful like radio wing command to see if he's made contact with the casualties yet? Instead of wasting our air."

Alan was just about to retort when "Mobile base to mole, come in. Mobile base to mole. Come in." Scott's tone was professional as ever but those who knew him could hear he was frustrated.

"Why don't you answer? I might deviate another twenty degrees just by talking."

Alan gritted his teeth. "This is the Mole to Mobile control. Go ahead."

"What's your status?"

"We are approximately ten minutes away."

"Keep up the pace. We've now managed to confirm there are three hundred fifty people in the bunker."

"Gee that's a lot of people to evacuate in the mole." Gordon murmured as he increased the speed marginally. He didn't want to bore too fast in case he triggered any unwanted movement.

"It is; but we're still hopeful that Virgil can clear the front entrance and take the majority of people through that way. You guys will be entering from the far emergency exit. Take as many as you can, be aware there's likely to be wide spread panic. These guys have been trapped for almost eight hours now."

"Ok thanks Scott. We'll report in once we are on the scene." Alan signed off.

"You know that was code for punching the daylights out of fearful people is not an approved method of assisting them?"

Alan couldn't help but take the bait. "That was once and a very different situation."

"Um hum. Anyway, looks like we've arrived. Let's check in with Brains." Gordon opened up the line that would connect them directly with base. The grinding of the rotors wound down as Gordon killed the switch. It was darker than night but thankfully the moles lights lit the exterior. They were in some kind of service corridor about the size of an underground train line. Directly in front of them was a large concrete door which looked clear thankfully. They really didn't want to have to drill through it as it might compromise the structural integrity.

"Mole to base. Hey Brains we've arrived, some advice would be welcome. Here is our video feed." There was a bout of silence as the scientist surveyed the data. Alan and Gordon were so deep underground they couldn't see Brains as the video was too distorted when they ran both feeds simultaneously. "Hmmm. Well the ah….. Door frame and the door itself looks to be structurally sound but there is an ah… significant problem." Gordon automatically flicked open the channel that would link to mobile control.

"Problem being?" prompted Alan.

The printer on the desk started to produce a series of slides. "Y-You'll ah… see from the images that the wall to your left has a large crack from ceiling to floor. There is also one on the right. It looks as if the actual bunker has been compromised by the err sheer weight of the rocks. Probably impacted further by the fact they would have fallen from great speed and height onto the roof above which has caused an ah massive displacement. Y-you are safe for now but there's an eighty percent chance of collapse.

"Good to know, thanks Brains. in that case we'll get to it. Can you monitor the situation for us?"

"S-sure."

"Fellas, take as many people as you can in one trip even if they have to stand." Instructed Scott.

"F.A.B" Replied Alan.

They both stood to hop out of the mole grabbing first aid kits which they strapped across their bodies. They had no idea what to expect, the signal was still patchy and any communication they'd had with those inside the bunker was hard to decipher. Alan held his torch high, the light from the mole also projecting behind them. The walls were dank with moisture from the recent rains, sediment was still pitter-patting from above them where the mole had broken through the service tunnel. Their footsteps echoed on the stone slabs as they approached the door.

"The mole has capacity for twenty-five seated so realistically if we really pushed it, we could take forty - Forty five?" Alan wanted to confirm the plan prior to coming face to face with the panicked public. Now they were here it was easier to segregate their differences until the job was done.

"Sounds like a plan, we prioritise the injured first, then the kids and women agreed?"

"Agreed."

Above ground Virgil was grappling with the sheer amount of rubble. He wiped an arm across his wet brow. It was painstakingly slow; he knew he'd come quite far in the forty minutes he had been going but he still felt like he had achieved very little. Some of the boulders were taking twice as long to crack with the drill simply due to their sheer size but Brains had expressively warned them, they couldn't use explosives on this one, the ground was too unstable. He sighed.

Scott had finally established authority over the search and rescue, fire, medical and police teams in a battle of wills with the chiefs and senior officers. It being so remote these teams had been drafted in from the next largest town over one hundred and thirty kilometres away. At one point he his patience was thoroughly tested whilst they all shouted over each other but he had managed to wade in and convince them that his plan of action was the best possible course of action. Reluctantly they had agreed. Now he had two search and rescue teams heading to locations John had provided based on the thermal imaging scans Scott had taken of the area upon arrival. The Police were setting up an emergency evacuation site where the people would be transported to safety and the medical teams were establishing a medical bay in the most secure location that Brains had recommended. This meant Scott could now concentrate on ensuring his brothers were supported so that hopefully they would be retrieving the first causalities soon.

Gordon clipped the decoder to the control panel for the door, a couple of minutes later the keypad flashed a luminescent green and they were in. The noise hit them on entry. Hundreds of people talking, shouting, wailing. Chrildren crying. For a moment they were simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in such a small space. It was painfully basic within the emergency shelter. It was also immediately apparent that it was overpopulated. The smell of hot bodies in a tightly confined space assaulted their senses, making their nostril's flare. People were huddled on the wooden benches and the floor in their family groups.

"We're going to need a translator."

"On it." replied Alan.

A hushed silence was descending sweeping through the crowd like a tusami as they strained to catch a glimpse of their rescuer's, people nudging each other and quickly standing and craning their necks as they tried to get a look.

Scott voice sounded over the comms as he spoke in Nepali. "This is International Rescue. Please remain calm, we are here to help. The situation is dangerous you must be guided by our operatives. Our rescue vehicle is small therefore we can only take so many of you at a time starting with the injured. Do not push, rush or try to flee. Our operatives will take you when its your turn - not any sooner."

Alan and Gordon braced themselves. In a crowd this large there was always a risk of a stampede, it only took a couple of runners. Scott advised them that he had asked for the injured to be prioritised, they dared not leave the door in case anyone slipped by. The noise suddenly broke out again with voices rising as they tried to make their way to the front of the were pushed and elbowed out of the way as the rabble ensued again. They both looked at each other. Boy! This was going to be a long one.

Virgil felt like he was getting close, the rocks and boulders were starting to give way to smaller rubble and scree which was encouraging. The dot flashing on his screen indicated he was just minutes away from making contact with the doors. "Come on old girl… don't fail me now." He patted the dash as the excavator squealed against an especially solid bit of rock. Then suddenly the resistance gave way causing him to surge forwards. He brought the bucket down to scoop the last of the rubble away before making the final descent. There was the door! "This is the excavator to mobile control. I've made it! I'm at the door! Send down the rescue team and we can start and evacuation."

"Well done, Virgil! That's fantastic!" Gordon and Alan had been sent in the mole as back up as they didn't think the bunker would be accessible from above ground. With both them and Virgil now beginning evacuations they should be able to get everyone out reasonably quickly which was imperative, there could be more seismic activity at any moment.

"Base to mobile control."

"Receiving you base."

"How goes the operation? Do you have an ETA on completion?"

"Not yet. We're just extracting the first casualties now but there's an estimated Three hundred and fifty odd in the bunker and another one hundred missing. How are we doing on the seismic activity?"

"Brains predicts there could be some aftershocks but thinks the worst have passed. We're monitoring the situation closely. There have been two additional call outs in the last hour but John's managed to divert them to other emergency services."

"Right. Well we'll try and get done here as soon as we can so we can be available should we be required."

"Alright, keep us briefed on the situation."

"Will do." Scott eyed the flashing beacon on channel five. One of the rescue teams. This was going to be long and arduous despite his peppy promises to his father. He could just tell.

Gordon and Alan were on their third return trip. It was becoming a lot swifter now they had a routine going and a pre-drilled path. Gordon continued to man the controls whilst Alan refilled the first aid kits and grabbed the next load of water bottles ready to hand out. He'd just sat down when the emergency beacon flashed. Scott's voice filled the cabin. "Brace yourselves incoming aftershock! You have two minutes!"

They both looked at each other in shock. Usually, they had much more warning but everyone knew how unpredictable the tectonic plates and fault lines could be here. They were almost at the bunker there was no time to turn back.

"We're too far under Scott, Shutting down and implanting emergency procedures now." Gordon pressed the button that set the automatic harnesses off, no sooner had they wrapped around them the shaking began. "Hold on!" he shouted. Alan braced himself for impact against the desk. The whole cabin reverberated around them, the vibrations snaking up his arms and legs. Gordon cut the engines and squeezed his eyes shut; the room was spinning. He no longer knew which way was up or down. They were falling. The lights in the cabin flickered out as their world crashed around them. "Alan?"

"I- I'm here!"

Gordon stretched towards where he thought his brother would be, his hand tracing across the desk. A vicious jolt and his world went white before he was catapulted into darkness. The sound of earth splitting finally ceased as the vibrations subsided. The pale blue glow of the emergency lighting kicked in, supplies were strewn all over the place, cupboard doors swinging on busted hinges, water bottles had burst leaving slick trails. Two prone figures were slumped against the controls, Gordon still had his hand outstretched palm down, inches from the crook of Alan's elbow. Alan's other arm hung limp off the desk, his head slumped to one side. "ALAN!... GORDON!... REPORT! A – an…G…" The radio crackled before reverting to static.