Just a quick one...

Chapter Six - Challenge One: Gordon

To Penny's surprise, there was a distinct lack of the rivalry and posturing which had been a feature of the build-up to the games when the brothers met at the pool for the first competition.

"This is Gordon's event," Jeff said, when the aristocrat expressed this view. "Everyone knows it. The only question is who's going to come second, and my boys have never seen that as much of an achievement. Just enjoy the peace and quiet, Penny - it's not going to last."

"Penny, will you do the honours?" Alan asked, holding the starting pistol out to her.

"I'd be delighted," she told him, allowing him to lead her to the top of the pool where the rest of the Tracy boys were warming up, lunging and stretching and pumping up already bulging muscles. As if that wasn't enough to set a red-blooded aristocrat's heart racing, they then peeled off tee shirts and shorts to reveal - as Tin-Tin had promised - some rather tiny Speedos.

Penny would have been happy to enjoy the view for a while longer, but Alan called his brothers up to the pool's edge.

"Over to you, Penny," he said.

Penny raised the pistol.

"On your marks!" she called.

The five brothers moved to the very edge of the pool, faces set in determination.

"Get set!"

They bent forwards, ready to dive in. Scott was closest to Penny and the woman couldn't help but notice the way his Speedos shifted against his hips as his muscles flexed, revealing even more bronzed skin. She sighed, wondering if his tan really did go all the way down...

"Milady?"

Penny jerked out of her reverie to see all the non-competitors staring at her, whilst all the Tracy brothers except Gordon wobbled slightly as they tried to hold their positions.

"Oh, my goodness. I'm terribly sorry. I don't know what came over me." Penny blushed as Grandma treated her to a disdainful sniff, whilst Tin-Tin tried to hide her laughter.

"Get set... GO!"

The starting pistol fired and the race was on.

Naturally Gordon entered the water first, closely followed by the Scott, Virgil, Alan and...

"John?"

John was still standing at the edge of the pool, rubbing his calf. "I'm okay, Grandma," he assured her. "Just a touch of cramp." He took a few tentative steps. "Dammit! Sorry, Grandma, but it's just so frustrating after all the extra practice I put in. I'd gotten pretty good, you know." He caught Penny's eye as he said this, daring her to contradict him.

She said nothing, but Grandma wasn't letting it go that easily. "You had to hold that position for far too long. Jeff, call the boys in. We'll restart the race."

"No, Grandma!" John's response came smartly. "We can't, it's not fair on the guys and anyway, we agreed there'd be no second chances. Rules are rules, you know." He hobbled away quickly, leaving everyone but Penny staring open-mouthed after him. After all, when had John Tracy ever cared for rules? Penny, however, was trying to keep a straight face as she registered that the leg he was favouring now wasn't the one he'd claimed to be affected a moment earlier. Not that she blamed him for wanting to find a way to avoid the humiliation which would have accompanied a public display of his somewhat individual swimming style.

It was no surprise when Gordon finished the race some twenty seconds ahead of his brothers. "I held back," he informed the others as he pulled himself up onto the poolside. "Didn't want to embarrass them too much. Hey, where's Johnny?"

He laughed when his grandmother informed him of John's misfortune. Penny thought he wasn't fooled, either. But he said nothing, turning back to the pool to watch the mighty battle being fought between Scott and Virgil. There was barely half a metre between them as first one, then the other, moved ahead. They were neck and neck as they reached the poolside and Jeff and Kyrano, who were adjudicating, finally declared it a tie after much deliberation. Neither brother was happy, insisting they'd been robbed and demanding the installation of cameras, sensors and any other devices which would differentiate between them in the future.

Alan was last, though he took his defeat in good humour, declaring that at least he had a couple of points, unlike poor John who still had nothing.

Gordon grinned as he accepted his medal from Tin-Tin, then the brothers towelled themselves dry and headed up to the lounge where the first points were entered onto the scoreboard.

"Now the contest really begins," Jeff muttered to Penny. "From here on in, any of them could win it."

"Indeed. What's next?"

"It's a good one. Tin-Tin's engineering challenge."

"How exciting." Penny had to draw on all her skills as MI5's top mistress of deception. An engineering challenge? The boys would be wearing overalls - and where was the fun in that?