Much drama.
"Mr Tracy? There's an urgent call for you."
Jeff looked up from the paperwork burying his desk. He smiled gratefully at his secretary as she handed him the phone and he held it to his ear. "Hello?"
A steely yet unexpected voice spoke to him. "Mr Tracy, this is is Gordon's commanding officer."
Jeff felt the hairs prickle up on the base of his neck. "Admiral Denver? What can I do for you?"
"Jeff, I'm afraid I haven't got time to be anything other than blunt. We've got a serious situation developing at the base. Gordon's been involved in a high speed collision."
"He's WHAT?" A wave of panic kicked Jeff in the chest.
"He was testing one of our new hydrofoils when it lost control and crashed."
Jeff closed his eyes in a wince and his mouth dropped open, grief ripping through his facial features.
"He's alive, Jeff."
Jeff's eyes snapped open and a sensation of relief flooded him. "Where is he?"
"He's in Marineville Community General."
"I'll have my private jet fly me over there immediately."
"We'll make arrangements with the hospital for your arrival." the Admiral let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry, Mr Tracy. I'll give you a full rundown of the incident when you arrive."
Jeff hung up on the man, too preoccupied to verbally respond. The businessman shakily began organizing his desk and hapharzardly shoving confidential documents into his briefcase as it was the only thing he could think to do. His mind had gone blank. Stressed out by the clash of emotions hitting him all at once, he let out a choked gasp. Denver's words were running through his mind on a loop. All he could think of was his fourth born.
Gordon…
For the second moment in his life, Jeff Tracy felt his whole world caving in on him.
John lazily flicked through the television channels as he lay on his apartment couch, letting out a little yawn. He'd just finished dinner and was now settling in for the night and was deciding what to watch. He considered having an all-nighter to blast through all the Star Wars films (minus the sequels), but was kinda beat from studying so hard. Going to bed early just wasn't his style.
He heard his mobile phone go off in his pocket and John wiggled it out, seeing his Grandma's name lit across the screen. He flicked the slider across and answered the call. "Hello, Grandma?"
"Oh Johnny!" he heard her whimper, "It's your brother!"
John's heart started to race. "Grandma?"
"Put the news on!"
With a deep frown, John flicked to one of the central news channels. Splashed across the bottom of the screen was a banner saying BREAKING NEWS, but John was more concerned about the image above it. His frown morphed into an expression of worry. The picture showed the smiling face of his red-headed brother - a shot taken from his Olympic days. But why was he on the news? John turned up the volume of the television and listened to what the newscasters were saying.
"-developing in Marineville. The one in control of the vessel at the time was Gordon Tracy, son of billionaire businessman and ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy. On the scene we have Eddie Kerr, our senior reporter. What's it like over there, Eddie?"
The footage changed to a shot of Marineville. Reporter Eddie Kerr was standing on the pier behind what appeared to be the burnt out wreckage of some sort of boat, surrounded by emergency vehicles.
"Thanks Tom. As you can see behind me there is still a lot of commotion on the site of the crash. It's believed Gordon has been pulled from the wreckage and is now on his way to hospital. I'm hoping to-"
John swore loudly and dropped the remote in a panic. He jumped to his feet and darted his head around as he tried to figure out what to do. He then remembered his Grandma and quickly held the phone back up to his ear. "G-Gordon!"
"Your father is heading to Marineville as we speak. He wants you boys to meet him there!"
"I-I'll fetch Alan! And you! I-I just… Virg! Gordon… Gordon!"
"C-Calm down Johnny," came the restrained voice of his grandmother. "Collect the boys and I'll meet you at the airfield."
"But Virgil's in Denver!"
"He's in New York for that vacation of his, remember?"
John winced as the panic threatened to break him down. "Right, yes, yes, sorry. Tell you what, I'll pick up Alan and take him to the airfield then we'll pick up Virgil on route to Marineville. C-Can you let him know?"
"I'll contact him now."
"Thanks Grandma." John composed himself. He ended the call and hurried into his hallway, grabbing his coat and his car keys. He patted himself down. "Okay, keys, phone, c-coat. Hospital. Does he need something bringing? Is he even alive? Oh Gordon…"
John ran out the front door, slamming it and locking it behind him.
"So you're really considering a career in space?" his friend asked as he kicked the soccer ball to him.
Alan nodded as he captured the ball with his foot. "Yeah. Dad was super proud of John when he decided he wanted to do that so I figured I'd give it a try."
"You're doing it just to make him proud?" Brady asked, retrieving the ball as Alan kicked it to him.
"It's not just that. I guess it's always been a pipe dream of mine but I never really thought I had what it takes." Alan explained.
"Do you feel like you're competing with your brothers?"
"Of course not! We all have a path we have to follow. I just didn't think I was clever enough to go through with mine until I saw my mid-term report."
"Stop underselling yourself! You're super smart!" Matt grinned.
Alan smiled. "Thanks. It's either this or racing and I'm pretty sure Dad would throw a fit if I told him that." he chuckled to himself, looking up as a car horn honked in the background of the playing field. The three friends laughed together, seemingly ignoring the noise.
The honking became more erratic and Alan frowned at the sound. He narrowed his eyes and they widened when he saw his older brother madly gesticulating through the front of the car window. "John?"
"What's he doing here?"
Alan didn't like this. "Hey guys, I'm gonna get going. Catch you later?"
"Yeah, no problem."
"Seeya Alan."
Waving off his friends, Alan ran across the field and made his way to his brother's car, opening the passenger door. "What's up, John?"
"Belt up." John commanded, looking over his shoulder as he waited to pull out.
"What's happened?" Alan asked as he slid into the car and did up his belt, not liking the way John was practically trembling. "John?"
"It's Gordon. He's in hospital."
Alan gasped, "What? Why? Is he alright?"
"I don't know. It was on the news. He was in some sort of boat crash."
"Boat… crash?" The blonde paled in his seat, hands balling into fists at the sickening image. He didn't know much about what Gordon was actually doing in the WASPs but Alan was pretty sure piloting boats was not on that list. And hadn't his brother just spent the last year underwater? So why had he crashed a boat? Why did it have to be Gordon who crashed it? What did Gordon ever do to deserve that?
Alan needed to see Gordon and he needed to see him NOW.
"Virgil! Virgil, I need to get to Virgil!"
"Mr McCain, Virgil is about to perform an important recital that'll determine what grade he leaves with! You can't just come barging in here! Whatever you need to tell him can wait." the music teacher huffed thoughtlessly, trying to keep her schedule in order.
"No, you don't understand! It's his brother!" Mark cried, trying to push past her. "Please, I need to talk to him!"
From the wings where he was waiting on the other side of the stage, Virgil was shaking with anxiety. As part of his final grade Virgil had to perform a piano recital in front of a live, paying audience, so naturally, he was terrified. He liked playing for his family and his family alone, so the idea of having to perform for around a hundred or so people filled him with dread.
He let out a sigh as he waited for his turn on the stage. As he looked towards his teacher to wait for his cue to join the stage, he spotted his panicked best friend, who had been waiting outside for him. He frowned at Mark's frantic gestures and his heart backflipped in his chest when he saw his normally stern teacher widen her eyes at something Mark had obviously told her. He watched the duo as they gestured for Virgil to come over to them so he slipped to them backstage.
Virgil felt his smile falter as he approached them. "What's wrong?"
"Something's happened."
"Mark?" Virgil seized up, not liking his friend's tone.
"Mr Tracy, I'm afraid your brother has been involved in a quite serious incident."the teacher cut in.
"Which one? What's happened?" Virgil asked, feeling his panic start to surface.
"Gordon! H-He was in a crash!" Mark stuttered, "Y-Your grandma called you. I tried ignoring it but she rang you like eight times so I knew something wasn't right so I phoned her back and she told me! I-It's all over the news!"
"W-What?" Virgil was in a state of disbelief.
"Mr Tracy, you better go now. I'll rearrange your recital for another day. I'm so sorry about your brother."
Mark lead his friend outside the venue. "She said you have to meet them at the airport!"
"But Mark, I don't understand! What's… happened?" Virgil was in denial.
"Virg, Gordon's been injured. You have to go to him."
"Gordon…"
Mark lead a shaking Virgil away.
Scott had just completed another successful flight. He was standing by his jet, having finished his post-flight checks, and was writing his report when his Commander came barrelling over to him, face morphed into a scowl. Scott frowned. He knew this couldn't be good.
"Tracy, we need to talk."