Chapter 29.
Gordon hated mornings.
"Twelve?" the aquanaut asked, his face devoid of all expression.
Over on the holoprojector, Penelope nodded sympathetically.
"Twelve?" Gordon asked again, as if somehow hoping the answer would be different.
Penelope just nodded again.
"Twelve?" Gordon tried one more time, convinced his ears were deceiving him.
Penelope sighed and gave another nod, "Yes, Gordon. Twelve."
"Twelve?!" Gordon squawked, steadfastly refusing to believe what he was hearing.
Over at the kitchen island, John snapped, "Holy hell on a Thunderbird, Gordon! She said twelve! Twelve! Twe – elv! Comes after eleven and before thirteen! The number of months in a year, the atomic number of magnesium, and the number of brains cells in your head apparently. Twelve!"
Gordon looked outraged, "Seriously? How did I only manage to score twelve?"
Penelope glanced down at her notes uncertainly, "Well, you scored okay in the fashion category. Kayo wasn't overly thrilled with your choice of yellow, but she did think the idea of coordinating outfits was original. You scored a three there. The activity and location were fun, and Kayo really enjoyed learning to samba, however you parading off with several other girls left a bit to be desired in that department. We understand that you inadvertently consumed a lot of alcohol, but unfortunately we have to judge what we see. Going off with another person while on a date, intentionally or unintentionally, is a major faux pas, hence Kayo's decision to only give you a one for that category. You did manage to claw some points back by paying for all of her drinks, however, and managed to net yourself a four for the budget side of things. Your manners were excellent for most of the evening, but again, indulging in the attention those other women showed you hindered your score and brought it down to a two. Finally, did Kayo think you were second date material? Gordon, I can honestly say that you would have scraped a pass in this category had you not abandoned her and accidentally brought a different woman home with you. Again, we realise it was an accident, but unfortunately we can't afford to be lenient, hence your score of two for that section. Altogether, that brings your final total to twelve. If it's any consolation, both myself and Parker had particularly high hopes for you, and I myself am not prepared to lower them until I've seen you in action again. Sober."
Gordon didn't answer, his socks generating static as he shuffled angrily towards the freezer. Penelope tracked his journey with concerned eyes, and even John glanced up from his crossword in intrigue.
"I should probably leave you two in peace," Penelope reasoned as she watched Gordon yank out a carton of ice cream, "You boys take care and enjoy the rest of your morning."
"Likewise, Lady P," John politely replied as their London agent signed off. Gordon remained silent, forgoing a bowl in favour of bringing the entire tub to the table with him.
"Would you like a box of tissues to go with that ice cream?" John asked, his voice neutral, but with a mocking undertone to it.
Gordon stifled the scathing reply that was desperate to make itself heard by shovelling a spoonful of mint chocolate chip into his mouth.
He really hated mornings.
-x-
It was a beautiful day on Tracy Island.
The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and Brains was blowing shit up in his lab.
Kayo sighed as she kicked the door to her room shut and stretched leisurely.
Yep. Today was going to be a good day.
Thunderbird Shadow's pilot had a spring in her step as she descended the staircase and padded towards the kitchen, her mind straying to what she'd ram down her throat for breakfast. Maybe she'd scrounge some of Scott's expensive coffee, or one of John's bagels, or a bowl of Gordon's ridiculously sugary cereal…
She was just about to grab her trusty carton of soy milk when a small cough sounded behind her. Rolling her eyes in irritation, she kicked the fridge shut and pivoted to face whichever infernal Tracy had made it their mission to interrupt her morning routine.
As usual, she wasn't disappointed.
A long table that looked as if it belonged in a boardroom was resting on the empty section of patio at the head of the pool. Behind it, four of the five Tracys were sat, each with a stack of paper and glass of water in front of him. Closer inspection revealed that they were all wearing matching hoodies with iR's logo emblazoned across the front, a refreshing change from their usual casual ensembles.
In an effort to distract herself from how good Scott looked in a hoody, Kayo allowed her eyes to rest on the empty chair at the end of the row, "The Tracy council appears to be missing a member."
Scott absently shuffled his papers and sighed, "Alan's punctuality needs some serious work. Virg, I thought I asked you to call him at seven and pretend it was nine?"
Gordon's eyes widened somewhat, "I lied and told him our weekly meetings had been moved from eleven to eight."
John bit his lip, "I might have hacked into his phone and changed the time settings to read PM instead of AM. And done the same with all of his clocks and watches while he was asleep."
Before Scott could berate either brother, there was a sudden pattering of feet at the top of the lounge staircase, closely followed by a very dishevelled looking Alan skidding into the room.
Kayo fought the urge to laugh as she took in Alan's appearance. The youngest was wearing mismatched socks, his pyjama bottoms, and a shirt that was inside out. His hair was sticking up in every imaginable direction and his blue eyes were wide with panic.
"Guys!" he cried, "What the hell is the time?!"
Kayo gave up resisting and barked a laugh before returning to her breakfast, "Loving the new look, Alan. Tell me, is this the sight some lucky lady will someday get to wake up to each morning?"
Alan flushed an unhealthy shade of scarlet. He turned on his heel and made to head back in the direction of his room, but was stopped by Gordon's voice.
"Weekly meeting, Allie," the aquanaut reminded, patting the empty chair next to him, "The quicker we start, the quicker we finish."
Alan gave a sigh of defeat and trudged over to take his place on the Tracy panel, his eyes narrowing in confusion when he spotted a lone chair positioned on the opposing side of the table.
"What's that doing there? And why are we sat in a line? Don't we usually just sit around the kitchen table?" Alan asked, looking to Gordon for clarification. Unfortunately, his favourite brother's attention was focussed on the biscuit he was dunking in his tea, a habit he'd picked up from Parker.
"All will be revealed in good time," Scott replied, turning his attention to Kayo and motioning to the lone chair, "Please, have a seat."
Kayo gave a long-suffering sigh as she finished stirring her coffee. She had every intention of playing along, mainly out of curiosity to see what kind of scheme the guys had cooking, but also out of pity. She knew all about their little stint behind bars.
As she lowered herself into the chair, coffee in hand, Kayo couldn't help but feel like a truanting pupil sat before a panel of vexed teachers. John's murderous expression and Virgil's tired eyes only added to the ambience.
Scott cleared his throat and took a dainty sip of his water, "Kayo, we've called you here today to have a mature discussion about this little 'exercise' you and Lady P have been running. All of our scores have been logged and we're aware of the final outcome."
Kayo peered over the rim of her mug, "You all exceeded my expectations just by surviving."
Scott quirked a brow, but didn't break pace, "In reverse order, Gordon came last, John fourth, Virgil third, Alan second, and myself first. Taking into account the total number of points available and all of our individual results, our mean collective score was eighteen out of twenty five. It should have been higher, but Gordon ruined everything."
"Hey!" Gordon glanced up from dunking his third biscuit to shoot Scott a glare, "I was sabotaged by that jerk Carlos! I've barely a penny to my name now, thanks to him and his stupidly expensive coconut water."
"Gordon," Virgil groaned, "We've been over this. It wasn't coconut water."
The aquanaut gave a dismissive sniff and returned to his dunking, "Doesn't change the fact that I was sabotaged."
Scott ignored his fish brother and flicked his blue eyes back to Kayo, "All that aside, I know that none of this is new information to you."
Kayo sighed and downed a gulp of coffee, "You do remember that the whole idea was mine in the first place? Lady Penelope was just in charge of organising the numbers and delivering the bad news."
Scott smiled and flicked through the pile of papers in front of him, "Which coincidentally just so happens to be what I'm in charge of this morning."
Kayo's eyes narrowed in confusion, "In charge of what?"
"Organising the numbers and delivering the bad news," Scott repeated, his tone cheery, "Don't take any of it personally though. It's all strictly in the name of research."
When Kayo didn't respond immediately, Gordon waded in to offer some much needed clarification.
"Really Kayo," the aquanaut drawled, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table, "You seriously didn't think that you were the only one keeping score, did you?"