It was the noise that got to Virgil and Gordon the most as they approached the sinkhole. Usually victims came in two varieties: terrified and quiet or terrified and loud. They didn't usually cheer at the sight of the IR blues loudly enough to cause concern about a further collapse. Then the chanting began.

"Rescue! Rescue! Rescue!"

The two brothers looked at each other in disbelief.

"Good luck" Virgil said as Gordon exited the DOMO and gathered the winching gear.

"I don't suppose you wanna swap?"

"No" Virgil replied firmly before getting the DOMO situated. He'd had to drive round and under the unsupported ramp then use the extending arms to push against the structure and take its weight. The downside of the was that his view for the foreseeable future was of a solid concrete ramp.

Gordon was starting to wish for that view. He'd attached a safety line to a structurally sound pillar further back from the collapsing ground and had gingerly approached the edge. The three teenagers could be clearly seen standing huddled together at the centre of the hole. They were filthy but evidently in high spirits. As they caught sight of Gordon one jumped in the air and began waving, the other two both started talking at the same time. Gordon wouldn't have been able to understand them even if they were speaking English at the rate they were going.

"I need you to calm down for me" he said raising his voice, but that had the opposite effect. Gordon resisted the urge to huff. They can't have been that much younger than he was but they were acting with an immaturity even Alan had grown out of by age ten.

That's probably not fair he chided himself. Everyone reacts to danger and stress differently.

He spotted Scott's drone and gave it a wry salute.

"Which one of you speaks English?" he called down

"I do!" the shortest of the three responded.

"What's your name?" Gordon asked looking around for something close by that was safe enough to secure the winch to. Ideally, he would have braced it over the hole but it was too large and the far side seemed to be crumbling still.

"Bahir!"

"Okay Bahir, I need you to tell your friends what is about to happen." Winch secure he began checking the ropes and attaching the first safety harness. When he was ready, he carefully made his way to the ridge and began to lower the harness down. "I'm sending you a harness; I need one of your friends to get into it."

"Why must they go first?" Bahir shouted back sounding put out.

"Because you're the only one who can understand me. I need you to keep telling me what you can see from down there" Gordon replied pointedly not saying that Bahir would be the only one who could tell him immediately if something had gone wrong.

"Okay" the boy sounded uncertain. "Tunar has used one before, he goes, umm, I don't know the word. Climbing, but down?"

"Abseiling" Gordon guessed. "Good that will help. Ask Tunar to show you and your other friend how the harness is meant to be put on."

This was relayed and the elder boy began pestering Bahir about something. The harness had hit the floor now but all three boys were ignoring it.

"Tunar wishes me to ask if he can say he helped International Rescue now?" Bahir huffed.

"He can't say anything if you don't get into the harness" Gordon said under his breath. Instead of that he shouted down. "He's helping get all three of you out, but I need you get a move on."

"Thunderbird One to Thunderbird Four, how're thing going Gordon?" Scott cut through. Gordon kept a vigilant eye on the trio as Tunar assisted the third boy into the harness. He seemed to be making quite a show of it though. Then Gordon realised he was filming himself and talking to his camera.

"Slower than I'd like. They're currently filming themselves fitting the safety harness" he ground out temper flaring. "HEY! There's no time for that now. Get in the harness so I can get you out of here before that concrete block comes down!"

"Easy Thunderbird Four" Scott said. "They're just kids."

"They're idiots" Gordon retorted.

"Maybe so but it's our job to get them out of there."

"I would do if they would just hurry up!"

"I've got an idea" Scott said and the drone began to drop lower towards the boys. There was then a screech below and Bahir began to shake the camera he'd been holding. Tunar suddenly looked up, past the drone and straight to Gordon and began shouting something at him.

"Tunar wishes for you to hurry" Bahir supplied.

"Thank you Thunderbird One" Gordon said impishly then began the process of hauling the first boy out of the sinkhole. Once he was up and disconnected Gordon motioned for him to stand to one side, well away from the hole and sent the rope down for the next. Now that he'd started getting the teenagers out it was a relatively fast process. He soon had both Bahir and Tunar out and he patched through to Virgil.

"I've secured the victims and I'm going to evacuate them now. I'll come back and give you a hand to pack the gear."

"No need, if you can get it out from under the ramp, I'll put it on the DOMO myself."

"FAB." Gordon dragged the winch and harness well back and motioned for the boys to come with him. Sighing in relief as they did so then frowning as they ran on ahead without any consideration for the deteriorating building they were in.

Virgil waited for Gordon's signal then disengaged the DOMO. The ramp barely moved as it took its own weight back and, once he was sure it wasn't suddenly going to give out on him, Virgil put the machine in reverse and swung round to the abandoned gear. Over the radio he heard Gordon frantically report to Scott that he'd lost sight of one of the boys and could Scott please look out for him?

Virgil had quickly packed up when a loud bang echoed from somewhere above him. He felt the vibrations of it in his bones and heard the edge of the sinkhole give a little more.

"Time to go" he said swinging back into the DOMO. That was when he saw Gordon's missing teenager. He was wandering back to the sinkhole taking photos as he went. Another bang echoed from above, louder this time, and Virgil saw a crack appear in the ceiling above the boy. He barely had time to register what he was doing, throwing himself out of the DOMO and grabbing the teenager, he swung him around and pushed him in the direction of the great machine. Above them the ceiling bulged, groaned and suddenly gave way in a roar of mortar and dirt. Something heavy struck Virgil on the shoulder, forcing him to his knees. He tried to get his hands underneath him to push himself upward again but the left one wouldn't cooperate. He didn't have time to think about that now. The boy was pulling uselessly on the DOMO's door handle, not realising in his panic that you needed to swing it down like a lever. Virgil surged to his feet, ignoring the white-hot throb from his left shoulder, pushed the boy aside, opened the door and ushered him in. He had to push the boy from the driver's seat before he could throw the machine into gear and swing for the exit. Detouring around the new pile of debris he was outside in moments, only stopping the DOMO when he'd reached Thunderbird One. Now he had a new problem, the pain in his shoulder was growing more intense as the adrenalin was wearing off. He couldn't move his arm to release the door. He tried twisting his right arm round but the pain took his breath away.

"Virgil."

The door was open.

"Just breathe Virgil."

That sounded like Scott. He opened his eyes - when had he closed them? – and saw his elder brother on the steps of the DOMO.

"Come on, let's get you down from there." Mindful of the clearly injured shoulder Scott gently manoeuvred Virgil round and supported him down the steps. Focusing solely on his breathing Virgil found himself deposited on the seat for mobile control.

"What happened, Virgil? Why did you leave the DOMO?" Scott carefully began removing Virgil's bandolier, nimble fingers probing the injury. Virgil stifled a cry as Scott's fingers travelled upwards.

"One of the boys came back for photo's just as the ceiling destabilised" he managed between breaths. Scott nodded.

"We thought it might be something like that. Vidadi's tearing strips off them all. This is definitely dislocated" he concluded.

"Put it back in" Virgil ground out.

"Virgil, I can't tell if it's broken or not. We'll do more damage of it is."

"Please Scott, just put it back in."

It was the pleading that made up Scott's mind. Virgil had a high tolerance for pain, gamely ignoring bruising or stitched wounds that would have had most people stretched out on the sofa. Crossing to mobile control he ordered down a few supplies from Thunderbird One. He soon had a sling and some bandages to brace Virgil's arm once it was been relocated. He pulled out a needle and began filling it with anaesthetic.

"No point" Virgil said. "It won't take effect quickly enough."

"Alright, then as soon as we're done, we're getting you to Two and getting some proper pain relief in you. Gordon will have to fly her home."

Virgil nodded mutely. His immediate agreement to someone else flying his 'bird was the final straw for Scott. If he saw those kids again, he would damn well make them sorry for being so stupid. Instead, he set his hands on his brother's arm and braced himself.

"This is going to suck" he warned and got another nod in return. "On three. One" he pulled and Virgil was unable to hold in a cry of pain.

"Bastard" Virgil managed, glaring at his older brother.

Scott nodded in agreement and quickly strapped the arm up and got it into the sling. "Alright let's get you home." He put Virgil's good arm over his shoulder and began to steer his brother in the direction of the great green 'bird.

"Where'd the DOMO go?" Virgil asked, clearly not having noticed it drive away.

"Gordon packed it up for you. I've also had him start pre-flight. You should be ready to go."

They ascended the ramp into Thunderbird Two and Scott pulled down one of the patient beds.

"Alight, lie down" he said gently.

"Sitting up is going to be less painful."

"Maybe, but once you got some of this in you, you'll wish you were lying down" Scott said shaking the vial he'd just got from the store cabinet.

"No way. You know that stuff makes me loopy." Virgil eyed the vial with obvious distrust.

"You need something, Virgil."

"I need to be home and in a hot shower" he groused.

"I think that'll have to wait for a while. Grandma's going to want to look at you and x-ray that shoulder. Take the pain killer Virgil. You can sleep most of it off on the way home."

"Fine, but if I start singing Cabaret again, I'm blaming you."

Scott chuckled.

"Fair enough."