Chapter 81.
It was another hour before the Tracys ceased playing hide and seek with Havoc and returned to what remained of Kayo's birthday celebration.
Havoc had nearly died twice during the aforementioned hour. Once when Sherbert had snuffled around the base of the fireplace, only to be failed by his non-existent snout, and then again when Virgil and Penelope had arrived to join the search. The Tracys may have been poor guard dogs, but they were excellent sniffer dogs. Every conceivable hiding place in the room had been exposed and scrutinised. Furniture had been moved, floorboards lifted, and the room scanned for heartbeats and unregistered heat signatures.
She thanked the stars for her jamming tech.
After checking both neighbouring rooms as a precaution, the brothers had called it quits and relinquished responsibility to Casey and Rigby. Gordon and Kayo's motives had personal origins, but even they knew where the boundaries of professionalism started and ended.
What really baffled Havoc was how not one of them had thought to stick their head up the chimney. Scott, Virgil, and John all held advanced degrees, Gordon was a former Olympian, and Alan was one of the youngest astronauts in the world. Surely all of that brainpower combined was enough to make checking a giant hole in the wall a priority?
Havoc sincerely hoped she'd never end up in a position where her life was in the hands of such intellect.
Then again, being wedged up a chimney that was in desperate need of a sweep wasn't representative of a particularly high IQ either. Still, things could be worse. At least she could finally stop bracing her legs against the wall and give her thighs a well-earned rest.
Too bad she hadn't anticipated getting stuck.
-x-
Kayo's heart sank when she returned to find the terrace deserted and two of the doors leading to the indoor living area smashed.
A subsequent debrief from EOS revealed that Fuse had stormed the premises looking for his sister shortly after Virgil and Penelope had headed down to the basement. Guests had panicked and scattered, furniture had been broken, and Kayo's pile of presents had mysteriously gone walkabouts. Much to Gordon's amusement, the silk bras that Penelope had gifted her were among the missing.
Despite putting on her couldn't-care-less face, Kayo was distraught. She knew her friends had gone to time and expense to secure her gifts, and knowing they were now in Fuse's grubby hands made the pain twice as sharp.
Gordon, ever attentive, was quick to note Kayo's distress.
"Chin up," he chirped, his earlier anger absent, "We can still throw you a Tracy style party! There's a twenty-four-hour convenience store half a block away from here. I'll go and pick up a cake. Alan? Can you and Virgil call some of the people who've left and get them to come back? We don't need many; Grandma, Kip, Ned, Gladys, Brendon, Kat, and O'Bannon will suffice. Maybe extend invites to Captain Taylor, Brains, and Moffie while you're at it. John, you're in charge of music. I've heard you DJ'ing up on Five when you think the comms are off and you've got some serious skills, bro."
John's cheeks darkened to the same shade as Thunderbird Three. His ABBA obsession was a secret he'd hoped to take to his grave. Trust Gordon to find out.
"Actually Gordon, we'll come with you," Scott sighed, "From the looks of things, Kayo's gifts weren't the only souvenirs Fuse helped himself to."
Gordon swept his gaze over the luxurious buffet that Penelope had painstakingly organised. All that remained was a single plate of steamed broccoli. Apparently, Fuse's affinity for explosives didn't extend to the gastrointestinal variety.
"He took all the food?!" Gordon sputtered, shock radiating to the tips of his hair, "But-? Why-? How-? And, wha-? What a pig!"
Penelope rolled her eyes, yanked her compact out, and tried to establish a link with Brains.
"Quite so."
-x-
After twenty minutes of sweet-talking and string-pulling, Penelope had managed to re-secure the attendance of forty-five of the original seventy guests.
"We're going to need a lot of food to keep all these people happy," she warned, "Gordon, I don't think this is a task you can complete on your own. Why don't all five of you go together? Parker can finish tidying up, and I'll welcome people as and when they return."
"What about Kayo?" Alan asked shyly.
Gordon shrugged, "She could come with us? I can't think of a better place to spend a birthday than the bread aisle of a convenience store in the middle of an unfamiliar city."
He was rewarded for his wit with a cuff around the ear from Virgil.
-x-
The six members of International Rescue sashaying down a deserted pavement in the middle of the night in Buenos Aires wasn't a sight one saw every day.
Yet, it was this very scene that the local residents were treated to as they began to close their curtains and put their children to bed. Even without their gear and Thunderbird vehicles, the brothers were fairly easy to identity, even from a distance.
Two by two they strolled down the street, three different conversations overlapping as the peace of the night was temporarily shattered.
"Hey, what was your gift to Kayo?" Virgil asked, glancing sideways at Scott, "I thought you got her that rather sickening bunch of flowers?"
Scott shrugged and kept his eyes fixed on the horizon, "Nothing, just a small token."
Virgil snorted as he recalled the size of Kayo's 'token', "Pull the other one, bro. Whatever you got her was big and you deliberately didn't tell any of us about it. C'mon, you can trust me."
Scott still refused to make eye contact, "It's nothing Virgil, okay? I just picked something up on the flight over that I thought she'd appreciate. End of story."
Virgil frowned, "That explains why we lost you momentarily over Santiago."
Up ahead, Gordon and Alan were locked in an intense debate over a video game whose release date had been delayed for a second time. Scott sighed and cast an anxious glance over his shoulder at Kayo and John, who were happily gabbing away about a meteor shower that was due to arrive in a few weeks, "She's been complaining about Shadow giving her a bad back during long flights. I grabbed her one of those AirSpine pillows her search history is littered with."
Virgil felt his eyelids recede into his head, "Scott, those are four hundred dollars apiece!"
A shrug, "Mine cost three hundred and eighty-five."
A long silence ensued, during which the only sounds were those of John prattling on about space debris and Alan's gaming lamentations. Scott's chemistry with Kayo was wonky, but undeniably apparent. He met Kayo's attitude head-on with one of his own and had enough self-esteem to absorb the worst of her sassiness. He also lacked the patience for a woman like Penelope, despite what the media claimed. While he considered their London Agent to be more of a family member than a colleague, he'd never been able to view Kayo in the same sisterly light that John, Gordon, and Virgil did. Alan was an entirely different story, but then again, he was a teenager.
There could be no denying it. While Gordon would probably go to the end of the world to get Penelope the blade of grass she wanted, Scott was much more independent. He wasn't in possession of the same breed of sensitivity as Virgil and Gordon, and worked well with people who craved action. Like Kayo.
Thunderbird Dos had seen and heard enough.
"Oh, this is stupid," Virgil muttered, "Stand back and shut up."
Scott barely had time to process his brother's words before Virgil turned around and began walking backwards, his eyes fixed on the jabbering duo that was Kayo and John.
"Hey, Kayo!" he interrupted, ignoring John's all too common look of irritation, "Do me a favour and go out with my brother here, will you? That gift of his that Fuse stole was a four-hundred-dollar pillow. Coming from a guy as frugal as him, that speaks volumes. All I got from him for Christmas was a set of batteries to go with the flashlight he got me for my birthday. Just promise that you'll give him at least three seconds warning before you snog him again, okay?"
Much to everyone's surprise, Kayo flicked her eyes over to Scott and smiled, "Deal. Pizza and a movie, eight o'clock, Friday. Make sure you keep your mitts off my margherita though, otherwise I'll only give you two seconds warning."
Virgil smiled as Kayo detached herself from John and quickened her pace so that she could walk alongside Scott. Ever observant, he fell back to give his older brother some space and his younger brother some company.
"That was so cheesy I could smell it from back here," John grouched, his discomfort at Virgil's intervention evident, "You know we're all adults here, right? I'm fairly certain Scott doesn't need your help."
Up front, Gordon and Alan were taking turns sipping from a can of soda they'd mysteriously acquired. John's scowl of discomfort turned into a grimace of disgust when Gordon thumped his chest and let out a loud belch, much to Alan's amusement.
"Gordon!" he snapped, "Cut it out!"
"Loosen up, Space Carrot!" Gordon drawled, passing the can back to Alan and motioning to his diaphragm, "Alright little bro, breathe deeply, then when you feel an air bubble begin to form, block the front of your mouth with your tongue. Oh, don't look at me like that, John. It was only a belch."
John's expression was as deadpan as a corpse, "I literally just heard an icecap disintegrate."
A snort of laughter ripped out of Virgil's nose as Kayo fell back, promptly seized the can from Alan, and knocked back a generous slug. A tense silence ensued as she tried to ascertain if she'd gotten the correct ratio of air to fizz, only to be broken two seconds later by a belch that made Gordon's sound like a hiccup.
Virgil's snort turned into a full-blown cackle as he took note of the disgusted expression on Scott's face.
"She's all yours, bro."