Chapter 19.
Gordon didn't think he'd ever exited Thunderbird Four quicker.
Upon reaching something that semi-resembled dry land, he abruptly docked the little yellow submarine and launched himself out the rear hatch before Kayo could so much as ask where they were.
The aquanaut cringed as his gut audibly groaned, grimly acknowledging that he'd celebrated being diagnosed as lactose intolerant by downing eight cheesy tacos and a glass of milk mere hours after ripping the envelope containing his results open. He'd have to watch what he ate over the course of the evening, or else his stomach would surely betray him. He'd been lucky this time around – sheer willpower and a white-knuckle grip on Thunderbird Four's controls had saved him from utter ruin, but he wasn't confident it would be enough to see him through the return journey.
Gordon splashed his way up the beach he'd surfaced at, pausing to slap a palm against the window of the submarine's cockpit, "Wait here! I just need to…erm…check in with some friends who I want you to meet."
Before Kayo could object, Gordon tore off up the shore, cursing under his breath when he noticed the mini cam hovering a discreet distance away.
Back on Tracy Island, Scott and Virgil were enjoying the show a little too much.
"Oh man!" Scott gasped, dragging a thumb across his teary eyes, "Poor Kayo. Can you imagine what would have happened if Gordon had lost control for even a nanosecond?"
"Probably not much," Virgil replied, slapping a hand against the sofa cushions as he watched their brother beeline to the nearest bathroom, "Any 'accidents' would have been sealed inside Thunderbird Four like a can of tuna, along with Kayo's screams of regret no doubt."
John meanwhile, was feeling slightly sorry for Gordon. As the bearer of countless allergies himself, he knew how awkward and unplanned their effects could be. On the one hand, he was happy to finally have a fellow allergy sufferer in the family. On the other, he felt remorse over Gordon's inevitable breakup with all things dairy. The aquanaut practically lived for lactose. Milk, cheese, yoghurt, and ice cream were staples in his diet, and the redhead very much doubted that he would go through the separation dry-eyed.
Alan seemed torn between copying his eldest brothers, and siding with his fellow blond. Though he'd never admit it out loud, Gordon was his secret favourite. Sure, he usually went to Scott for comfort, Virgil for life advice, and John for homework help, but a special bond always existed between the youngest members of a sibling chain.
Just as Scott and Virgil were inseparable, fuelled in part by the mere eleven months that separated them, Alan felt a particularly strong connection to Gordon. Their age gap might have been a bit larger than the one dividing Scott and Virgil, but their bond was easily as tight.
In the end, Alan opted for the pity camp.
Gordon meanwhile, was feeling no affinity towards any of his infernal brothers. He knew they were laughing at him, and he knew they were no doubt deriving great entertainment from his plight.
If they wanted a show, he'd give them a damn show.
Barrelling into the first bathroom he could find, the aquanaut braced himself against the doorway of one of the cubicles before turning around to face the small group of people crowded around the sinks. He waited until he could see the mini camera hovering outside a nearby window before clearing his throat loudly.
"Excuse me, but I think the sauerkraut in my sardine and onion sandwich I ate for lunch went bad. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for any discomfort I may cause you fine people. If your bathroom enquiry is not urgent, I recommend that you evacuate now for your own health and wellbeing."
It took less than four seconds for the room to empty.
A new personal record.
Gordon beamed in triumph before turning and treating the mini cam to a rather crude finger gesture. Unfortunately, his brief moment of conquest came to a rather undignified halt when his stomach gave an embarrassingly loud gurgle, audible to the mini cam even through the double glazing of the window. With a stumble that lacked any sort of dignity, the aquanaut threw himself into the safety of the cubicle and slammed the door shut behind him.
Back on Tracy Island, Alan's allegiance had fallen victim to the sheer hilarity of the situation and switched camps.
-x-
Kayo scowled as she watched a significantly happier looking Gordon potter back towards Thunderbird Four.
She'd found out the results of the aquanaut's hydrogen test before he'd even seen the letter waiting for him on the kitchen counter. She made a point of checking every piece of mail that arrived on Tracy Island, for security purposes of course.
Hence why most of the boys opted for paperless communication.
Shadow's pilot knew she'd taken a risk getting inside the pressurised cockpit of Thunderbird Four with Gordon and his new dairy allergy. She'd considered blackmailing him with the threat of informing Lady Penelope about his new 'condition' if he failed to keep his gut under control, but had decided against it. The risk of getting forcibly ejected in one of the dry tubes had been too high.
"Where have you been?" Kayo hissed as Gordon opened the hatch of the submarine and helped her out, "I nearly got swept away by the tide."
"High tide isn't for another hour at least," Gordon exclaimed, waving a dismissive hand, "Did you really think I'd abandoned you?"
Kayo scowled and bent to adjust her flip flop, "You certainly seemed more concerned with meeting up with your friends. Where are they, anyway? Are we going to be spending the evening with them as well?"
Gordon's stride faltered when he realised he'd been caught in his own lie. Well, it wasn't all a lie. He had visited the area a few months ago to save a dolphin caught in a dredge net. The nearby town relied heavily on the cetaceans and the tourists they attracted for business, so the locals had been more than friendly towards him after he'd completed the rescue with zero casualties. The ensuing publicity that the region had received as a result of International Rescue's presence had been a welcome bonus.
"Oh, no! Today is all about you, and me," Gordon replied, jabbing a thumb at his chest confidently, "We don't need anyone else tagging along."
Kayo's green eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Still, I'd like to at least meet these friends of yours. Call me paranoid, but I make a point of investigating anyone who tries to get chummy with any of us."
A frown was offered, "Why?"
"Because they could be gathering intel on behalf of someone else," Kayo hissed, "Engineering social situations under the guise of becoming 'friends' is one of the most common techniques used in undercover work. You of all people should know that."
Gordon paused before shrugging, "I'm not Scott. Or John."
"But you're still a WASP graduate and a fully-fledged member of International Rescue," Kayo muttered, scanning the beach with a distrustful eye, "So, where are they? You've only just got back, so they can't have gone far."
Gordon felt himself start to sweat, the prospect of his score falling spectacularly short of his brothers suddenly feeling like a very real threat. He'd had so much time to prepare, plus the extra bonus day when Kayo had been in Argentina, and yet he'd somehow managed to start digging a rather nice hole for himself just five minutes into the evening.
Clearly, he was staying true to form.
"Gimme a second," Gordon stalled, his voice slightly higher than usual. Trying and somewhat failing to mask his panic, he scanned the beach, caramel eyes hunting for the least-likely-to-speak-English person he could see.
His salvation came in the form of a small, dark-skinned child, who may or may not have been homeless.
"Hey…erm…Pedro!" Gordon yelled, seizing Kayo's hand and waving manically at the oblivious youngster, "It's me, your old pal Gordon again. I know we just spoke, but I'd like you to meet my pretty lady friend here."
'Pedro', who Gordon realised might actually be female upon closer inspection, stared at the approaching duo with wide, fearful eyes.
"This is Kayo," Gordon gabbled, his voice three times its usual speed, "Can you pronounce that? Kay – oh? She and I are out on a date. Can you pronounce that? Day – ate? Anyway 'lil dude, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm burning daylight and Kayo here is foaming at the bit. Let's catch up properly when I'm not entertaining the ladies, okay? See you around!"
Before 'Pedro' could scream or burst into tears, Gordon tightened his grip on Kayo's hand and steamrolled off up the beach, breaking stride slightly to 'accidentally' let a couple of fifty dollar bills slip out of his pocket and onto the sand near where 'Pedro' had previously been scavenging.
"See? He's practically a Tracy," Gordon exclaimed, panting slightly as he recovered from his previous babbling frenzy, "Me and him go way back."
"Uh huh," Kayo replied, her concern over the confidentiality of International Rescue's operations diminishing when she caught sight of 'Pedro' seizing Gordon's discarded bills and bolting to the nearest place that sold food.
The mad ascent up the beach was interrupted by Gordon pausing to empty sand from one of his boat shoes.
"Are those comfy?" the aquanaut asked, nodding at Kayo's flip flops as he smacked his palm against the sole of the shoe in his hand.
Kayo frowned and glanced down, "I thought you said they'd be fine for whatever it is we're going to be doing?"
"They go with your outfit wonderfully," Gordon praised, absently stuffing his foot back into his shoe, "I just don't know how comfy you'll be in them after a few hours of dancing."
Green eyes widened in shock, "Dancing? You never mentioned anything about dancing! Where the hell are we, even?"
Gordon smiled and pointed towards the top of a nearby mountain, where a huge statue with outstretched arms stood watch over the city below like a giant, if somewhat eerie, sentinel.
"Rio?" Kayo exclaimed, mentally smacking herself for failing to recognise the distinct notes of the samba music that was being played from somewhere nearby.
Gordon's expression turned impish.
"Don't worry about the shoes. I can always carry you if things get too much."
-x-
Back in the safety of Tracy Island's lounge, Scott and Virgil shared a look of dubious intrigue.
"I don't fancy his chances of boogying with a bloated stomach," Virgil commented, shaking his head while readjusting the pillow behind his back.
"Oh, I do!" Scott countered, his expression stony, "He still has to pay for that stupid fart prank he pulled on me."
"Already taken care of," John replied, pairing his comment with an airy flick of the wrist, "Your pride was avenged yesterday morning when I explicitly asked our resident aquanaut to order extra cheese with the tacos."
Scott didn't seem quite as thrilled as John had hoped, no doubt because his own idea of revenge had featured sardine juice in Gordon's shampoo, however he was polite enough to offer the redhead a high-five of gratitude.
"Isn't there some sort of medication he can take?" Alan asked, reaching over Virgil to grab a fistful of popcorn.
John shook his head, "Dietary changes are the most reliable and sustainable form of treatment for lactose intolerance. Though in Gordon's case, I imagine this will be met with significant resistance."
Scott snorted, "If things start to go south, I'll take Thunderbird One and evacuate him before he can blow his ass out of his pants."
"What a waste of fuel," John admonished, turning his nose up in disapproval,
Scott shrugged, "Not really. Freeclimbing Sugarloaf Mountain is on my bucket list."
"I hate to interrupt your exchange, but I want to see our resident guppy shine in all of his butty-guppy glory," Virgil interrupted, motioning for Scott and John to be quiet, "I don't think he's realised the one fatal flaw in his otherwise watertight plan."
Alan frowned, "And that is?"
The smile on Virgil's face practically cast its own shadow.
"He can't dance."