Whumptober Day 13: 'Are You Here To Break Me Out?'


John had never been gladder of Brains and his amazing, well, brain, than he was today.

Thunderbird Shadow, hidden from view, followed the ambulance through twists and turns as it rolled through the countryside. John, sat behind Kayo and conferred with EOS. They were trying to work out where the bus was heading, for it looked like the route was going to lead them out of Bereznik…and down through Austria.

They needed to know where he was heading before they swooped in to save Scott, otherwise this could simply happen again, and John would burn the world before he let anyone else take Scott again. He was hopeful though, if they were heading to Austria then as long as they didn't lose them iR would be on safe soil to act.

It was EOS that warned them. There was a large, long tunnel coming up which would cut through the Carpathians. If they were careful they could trap them on the other side, since the road led to a large viewing area.

Thinking hard and fast, John skimmed the schematics of Shadow then alerted Virgil to move Two to the clearing. He should just make it in time. Shadow would follow the bus and the car into the tunnel. It wouldn't be the first time Kayo had done this and it sure wouldn't be the last, and John bit his lip as they followed.

No way he was letting anything take his eyes off where his brother was. Not now that they were so close.

The tunnel was one of the few remaining ways into Bereznik that only had border guards. Everywhere else was covered by high fences and razor wire, electrified in some areas. Joh guessed that the people in charge needed some way to escape their own country should the worst ever happen, and this was certainly remote – the nearest village was many miles away.

Kayo flew into the tunnel after the small convoy. She thanked Brains that he had made Shadow so manoeuvrable, there were lights hanging down from the ceiling that forced her to keep Shadow behind the convoy. As she concentrated on keeping them clear from the walls she half-listened to EOS' conversation.

The bus was heavily shielded, but when Kayo had brought them close enough EOS had managed to hack that shielding. It meant that now she could show her family the inside of the ambulance.

Scott was laid out on a stretcher, straps in place and both hands and feet cuffed to the metal parts of the stretcher. He was obviously asleep, probably drugged to make the moving easier. Both John and Kayo's blood boiled at the thought. The man sitting in the back with him was watching Scott closely, hand resting on the gun on his thigh.

John sighed. They were obviously taking no chances with Scott. He turned his attention to the occupants of the car. There was something familiar in the coding of the shielding on the car. EOS hadn't managed to break it at all, the only reason they knew there were at least two people in the car was because they were extrapolating.

Virgil decided while they were flying that he would land Two around a sharp bend just after the viewing area. He didn't want to give the men any opportunities to see him and turn around. Alan agreed, and Virgil gave him a ghost of a smile. They both weren't here to rescue Scott, but to evacuate him once a rescue had been made.

He had thought at one point that they would leave him and Alan behind. While the more military of their family planned in the Round House Virgil and Alan had made sure each thunderbird was as prepped and ready to go as could be. But Grandma had put her foot down. No, they could not be there for the rescue itself, but Two would be needed to take care of Scott when they had freed him.

Both Alan and Virgil had hugged her tightly after that, eliciting much eye-rolling from her. As if she'd make them stay behind.

Bringing his 'bird into land, positioning her so that she blocked the road entirely – this was one time he was very grateful that EOS could and did route traffic away from the area – Virgil and Alan left the safety of Two and stood in front, ready to rush forward and help.

Timing was everything. The speed that the convoy had been going had been measured by John and EOS and Virgil, so that by the time Two had landed the ambulance should have been exiting the tunnel.

But there was no sign of them.

Confused, Virgil started forward carefully, not wishing to be run over by a speeding bus, but there wasn't even a sound of them approaching. He shared an uneasy look with Alan before activating the comm.

'John?'

'Virgil? What's wrong?'

'We are at the tunnel mouth but you are not.'

'What the hell?'

John's fingers flew over the holographic information in front of him. Kayo ground her teeth as she flew.

'That's not possible, Virgil. We still have some way to go to reach the entrance.'

'Then I don't know where you are, but you are not at the entrance you told me to be at.'

'Sh**.'

'There!'

EOS' clear voice rang out.

'There. There is a hidden turn.'

'Where are we heading, EOS and will Virgil and Two get there in time?'

'The tunnel doubles back through the tail end of Bereznik and on into what is left of Poland.'

'Poland?'

'From there they could take Scott anywhere.'

'Virgil, can you get there in time?'

'I will be there, John, even if I have to burn Two out to get there.'

John smiled. He knew what Virgil meant and he knew his brother would be as good as his word. Alan gave a sloppy salute that reminded him of Scott so much for a moment John thought his heart had stopped, and then they were running. John flicked them away and called up the known map of the tunnel.

'Show me where, EOS.'

Ten minutes ago they had diverged. There was a service tunnel marked on the map that was far larger than shown, and the turn had been seamless. John cursed. At least they were still on them, but coming up there was huge open area that had several exits.

'Kayo, we need to hit them now. If we wait we could lose them in the maze of exits from the clearing up ahead.'

'FAB.'

Finally it was time to act. She pulled Shadow ahead and hovered over the ambulance. They had planned for this eventuality. John, Kayo-trained, dropped onto the top of the ambulance while Kayo flew over the car, noting the diplomatic plates, and pulled up in front of the car and turning the shielding off.

The driver of the car slammed on the brakes as anticipated and the ambulance did the same. Kayo stayed in the cockpit as the driver looked out over the steering wheel at her ship.

The person in the back of the ambulance, as predicted, climbed out to see what the fuss was about, allowing John the time to climb aboard. He gasped as he took in his brother's thin frame, but there was no time for that now. He needed to secure Scott, then they look after him. John hit the comm with the prearranged signal and took position by the door.

She couldn't see who the driver was but suddenly the car lurched forward, scraping the underneath of Shadow. John's signal came just as Kayo was about to turn to follow. She hesitated a second, but she remembered what John had said to her on the way over here.

They needed to make sure this wouldn't happen again. She shot off after the car leaving John to deal with the two in the bus. Kayo had every confidence in him.

The ambulance driver started the engine, but he had to wait for the other thug to get back in the bus. He looked in the mirror and started. He was just in time to see the man fall back onto the floor and not get up. He turned the engine off and climbed out to see what was going on.

Crouching down, he felt for a pulse and yes, it was there but the man was unconscious. He turned to see what had happened to see a man dressed all in black. His hands were crackling.

'I won't let you take him again.'

And hands were pressed against him and he knew no more.

John looked at the hand tasers Virgil had created based on Havoc's, and a ferocious grin spread across his face. Oh. Oh, he like these. He liked these a lot. He took some bandages and bound the men up and left them to get back to Scott.

Using one of Alan's tin can cutters John made short work of the restraints. He pulled a blanket off a shelf and covered his sleeping brother with it and sat down beside him, one hand holding Scott's, while he asked EOS to connect him with Virgil, Gordon and Grandma.

Without a word John swivelled his watch to show them all Scott and he echoed the sighs of relief.

And to everyone's delight Scott's eyes opened.

They were cloudy with whatever drugs were in his system, heavy with sleep, but Scott smiled and everyone relaxed a little more. John's hand was squeezed a little.

'John? Are-are you really here?

'Yes, Scott. I'm here.'

'Are you here to break me out?'

'Yes, Scott. We're here to break you out and bring you home.'

'Bout time.'

Eyes fluttered shut to John's chuckling.