The next morning, Scott tugged on his clothes and then wrapped his right
wrist in a tensor bandage he always carried with him. He tried to be as
prepared as possible, no matter where he was, because he never knew what
might happen, especially on a rescue. He wandered down the hall to Virgil's
room and rapped gently on the door.
His brother opened it, his eyes still hazy with sleep. "What, Scott? It's not even ten yet, I'm not done sleeping."
"I need to tell you something. I'd tell dad, but he'd make us leave for sure. Can I come in?"
"Sure." Virgil moved away from the door and sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs, motioning for Scott to do the same. "What's going on?"
"Someone pushed me down the stairs."
"You woke me up to tell me that?" Virgil asked grumpily. "Are you sure you didn't fall?"
Scott held up his injured wrist. "If I fell, it wouldn't have been with enough force to have hurt this much." He answered. "I felt them push me."
"So why are you telling me?"
"I think someone is out to get us."
"Who, like Alan?" Virgil rolled his eyes as he remembered being backed into a corner the night before.
"No, not Alan. There's something weird going on here. Last night, someone called my name but it wasn't any of you. I know that much for sure. And then, the next thing I knew, I was lying on the carpet. While I was trying to find out who it was that was yelling, someone came up behind me."
Now Virgil looked a bit more awake. "People have tried to sabotage us before, but never while we've been on vacation. Why do you think someone would bother now?"
"They must want us out of the hotel for some reason," Scott mused. He looked up at Virgil. "Promise not to tell dad?"
"Yeah, I promise. But I don't see why we shouldn't."
"I'm not ready to go home yet, and our holiday has just begun. Everyone'd hate me for cutting it short."
"I see your point. All right, I'll keep my mouth shut." Virgil agreed, running his hands through his bed-head brown hair.
"Thanks, Virg." Scott stood up. "Want to go get some breakfast?"
"Are you kidding? I want another few hours of sleep. Wake me when it's time for lunch."
Scott chuckled. "Okay. See you later."
"Yes, see you. Oh, and Scott?"
He turned back to his brother as he opened the door. "Yeah?"
"Be careful."
"I will. Bye, Virgil." Scott smiled at him and left the room.
+++
After breakfast the next morning, Virgil set out his easel, donned his painter's cap and doused his brush in water before sitting down on the chair he'd placed on the edge of the cliff. He eyed the painting, deciding what part to paint next and then chose a pale green from his palette.
He ignored the cries of Scott, Alan and Tin-Tin. The three were horsing around in the pool, trying to see how much they could splash each other. Virgil was surprised Scott had joined in their game, as he always seemed to be the sensible one and couldn't care less for horseplay.
"Forget the painting and come in the water, you old man," called Alan playfully, his voice carrying over the water.
"Hey, boy, watch it with the 'old man' business," Scott answered, dunking his youngest brother under the water and holding his head there for a second before allowing Alan to come up for air.
That started the war. Alan jumped on Scott and pushed him under as Tin-Tin tried to pull them apart yet stay out of the line of fire. Scott yet out a loud war cry as he splashed Alan and threw the beach ball at him. It bounced off the blonde's head and Alan glared at him. Scott looked down at the damp tensor bandage around his wrist and then unwound it, throwing it onto his towel that sat on a plastic chair on the side. His wrist was feeling immensely better, and he was sure the exercise and the cool water was a big help to the healing process. He glanced up just in time to see the beach ball come flying at his face and ducked.
Jeff chuckled as he and Lady Penelope watched the boys playing as if they were still children. He was glad more than ever that he'd suggested the idea for a vacation. It was allowing them to loosen up a bit and not have to worry about their lives, as well as any others.
Just as Virgil was dotting the top of his hills with sunlight, his brush dancing off the canvas, he felt cold water begin to drip down his back. He turned and painted a large yellow-green streak across Alan's wet stomach and then resumed his painting as if nothing had happened.
Gordon found this hilarious and was laughing so hard he fell off the diving board into the water. He'd been planning to show them just how a perfect dive was supposed to be executed, but instead managed an artistic-looking belly flop. Scott saw this as an opportunity to soak his other brother and set about doing so. Tin-Tin joined in until Gordon looked like a drowned dog, his hair hanging in front of his eyes and a huge smile on his face.
"So, you coming in or not?" Alan asked, wiping the paint off his skin as best he could. His efforts only smeared it into a bright mess and he eventually gave up.
"Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Geez, Virg, you're painting for heaven's sake. Give it a rest and come in the pool, will you?"
Sighing, Virgil gave in and put his brush in the small container of water at his feet. He stood up and stretched, threw off the robe that covered his bathing suit and allowed Alan to push him into the refreshing water.
The pool was getting crowded now. Tin-Tin, Scott, Virgil, Alan and Gordon occupied it's transparent depths and more water was splashing onto the tiles every second they were in it. Jeff moved his chair back so his loafers didn't get wet and Penelope did the same, worried about her vibrant pink high-heels.
"How's Kyrano, Jeff?" Lady Penelope asked, having heard about what had happened before she had arrived.
"He's doing just fine. Tin-Tin is making him take it easy for a few days, in case his wounds are more than skin deep, but otherwise he seems all right to me. Poor Kyrano's being held in his room against his will," Jeff answered, chuckling.
A minute later, Parker crossed the bridge in his no-nonsense manner and placed a tray of cups on the table. Beside it, he put down the large pitcher of lemonade and the Tracy's jumped out of the pool to get a drink. Even in the radiant heat, Lady Penelope's butler wore his usual brown uniform, no matter how much the London agent protested how hot he must be in the outfit.
When they finished their snack, Virgil went back to his painting and Tin- Tin pulled Alan back into the pool for a rousing game of water basketball. Scott was just stretching out on a lounger when a family of four - a mother, father and two teenage girls - came towards them. He casually kicked his father in the leg, cutting short Jeff and Penelope's intricate discussion about Thunderbird Two.
The young girls eyed the Tracy's as Scott put on a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the sun's rays. Tin-Tin was giggling as the taller of the two began to look particularly interested in Alan. To silence her, he passed the beach ball quickly, giving her no choice but to pay more attention to it than the girls.
Lady Penelope took a long sip of her lemonade, watching the newcomers from under the brim of her large straw hat. She turned her head as Virgil let out an anguished cry, which also caught the attention of the girls. He swiped angrily at the waves on his easel, trying to hide the drop of white paint he'd accidentally dropped in the middle of the sea.
Fed up with it for the moment, he dove into the pool to cool down his frustration. Alan met him when he came up for air and promptly pushed him back under. The middle Tracy brother kicked furiously, surprised at Alan's strength. When he finally managed to get his head back to the surface, he shot daggers at the blond with his eyes.
"Stop showing off, Alan. You're too old for those girls. And what about Tin- Tin?" Virgil hissed.
Alan pushed him back under, his ears going a bright shade of red. Tin-Tin laughed and pulled Alan's hand off of Virgil's head so he could come up for oxygen. "Stop being so mean to your brother, Alan," she lectured jokingly. "He'll get you some day."
"What's he gonna do? Hijack Thunderbird Three?"
"Alan!" Tin-Tin cried, risking a look over her shoulder at the family as they opened one of the umbrellas on the tables. She stepped on his foot and Alan gasped. "What was that for?"
"Zip your lips, Alan." Virgil instructed in a hoarse whisper. "Watch what you say."
"Sorry." Alan looked at his girlfriend and brother sheepishly, having not meant to say anything about International Rescue in the presence of people that weren't whom he was vacationing with.
Virgil pushed away from him and began floating on his back. His eyes were closed and stayed that way until a large splash beside him flipped him over on his stomach and he got an unwelcome gulp of pool water.
The dark head that appeared beside him, complete with eyes shining with mischief, made Virgil groan. "Can't a guy get any peace around here?"
"Not with them around," Tin-Tin answered, indicating Scott and Alan who were dueling for who got to go up the ladder first. Scott had traded his lounger in for the pool again and had purposely tried to jump in as close to Virgil as possible.
"How did I get stuck with these kids? You two are so immature."
"We heard that!"
They abandoned their friendly fight and swam towards Virgil.
"Ready, Alan?"
"Ready, Scott."
"Go!"
Virgil got another surprise as two grown men threw themselves on top of him, forcing him back under the water. He managed to fill his lungs with air before they pushed him down and waited until they got tired of the lack of reaction before pushing himself back to the surface.
"You're no fun, Virg." Scott complained good-naturedly.
Virgil, fed up with their childish games, climbed out of the pool and headed for his paints. Nodding cheerfully to the family and then to the other Tracy's, he packed up his easel and walked back across the bridge to the hotel.
"Whoa, who put the bee in his bonnet?" Alan wondered as he and Scott watched their brother leave the rest of the family behind.
"He's worried. Hold on a second." Scott hoisted himself up onto the tiles and took off after his brother. "Virgil! Wait up!"
Virgil stopped, balancing his tub of water in one hand and his easel and palette in the other. "What?"
"What's up with you today?"
"Nothing's up with me, Scott. I'm just cautious I guess. I don't know how you can go about having so much fun when it's plain someone around here wants us out of the hotel."
"I shouldn't have said anything. I've ruined your vacation," Scott said solemnly.
Virgil shook his head, small drops of water flying into the air from his hair. "You haven't ruined anything. Now is the perfect time to do some thinking and I plan to find out what exactly is going on here so we can enjoy ourselves."
"But we are enjoying ourselves. Come on, Virg, loosen up a bit. We promise not to splash you if you come back in the pool."
"No, Scott. I'm going to put this stuff away," he raised one arm, indicating his painting, "and try and find some quiet so I can puzzle this out. Okay?"
"Are you mad?"
Virgil looked surprised. "No, I'm not mad. What would make you think that?"
"You left in such a hurry, I wasn't sure."
A small smile appeared on Virgil's face. "No, I'm not mad," he repeated. "I'd just like some peace for a change, all right?"
"All right." Scott headed back to Alan and Tin-Tin, who had persuaded Gordon to play Marco Polo with them.
Virgil watched him go for a minute, and waited until loud calls of "Marco!" and "Polo!" sped across the cool air to his ears before going back to his room.
+++
A knock on his door startled Virgil, who was reading a book on the patio of his room. He put it down and walked back inside, pulling open the door when he reached it.
"Master Tracy?"
He looked at the little man before him and nodded slightly. "Can I help you?"
"I have a request from the manager," the bellboy was timid and nervous, fidgeting more with every word he spoke. Virgil waited patiently for him to continue, curious about what the manager of the hotel would want him for. "He. . .he says we would like to hire you as a. . .a piano player in the lounge at supper for as long as you're here."
Virgil raised his eyebrows in wonder. The man misread the expression for one of defiance and hastily continued, "He said he would pay your room bill if you were. . .were to comply to his request."
He smiled. "Tell him I'd be glad to do it." Virgil shook the bellboy's hand and quickly read the name on his tag. "Thank you for finding me, Timothy. But make sure you tell your boss that I don't want him paying for any of my bills, is that clear?"
The small man nodded and bowed his respects, then hurried back down the hall to resume his hotel duties. Virgil stared in awe at the door, the shock visible on his face. Snapping out of his daze, he chuckled and returned to his deck to read more of his book.
His brother opened it, his eyes still hazy with sleep. "What, Scott? It's not even ten yet, I'm not done sleeping."
"I need to tell you something. I'd tell dad, but he'd make us leave for sure. Can I come in?"
"Sure." Virgil moved away from the door and sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs, motioning for Scott to do the same. "What's going on?"
"Someone pushed me down the stairs."
"You woke me up to tell me that?" Virgil asked grumpily. "Are you sure you didn't fall?"
Scott held up his injured wrist. "If I fell, it wouldn't have been with enough force to have hurt this much." He answered. "I felt them push me."
"So why are you telling me?"
"I think someone is out to get us."
"Who, like Alan?" Virgil rolled his eyes as he remembered being backed into a corner the night before.
"No, not Alan. There's something weird going on here. Last night, someone called my name but it wasn't any of you. I know that much for sure. And then, the next thing I knew, I was lying on the carpet. While I was trying to find out who it was that was yelling, someone came up behind me."
Now Virgil looked a bit more awake. "People have tried to sabotage us before, but never while we've been on vacation. Why do you think someone would bother now?"
"They must want us out of the hotel for some reason," Scott mused. He looked up at Virgil. "Promise not to tell dad?"
"Yeah, I promise. But I don't see why we shouldn't."
"I'm not ready to go home yet, and our holiday has just begun. Everyone'd hate me for cutting it short."
"I see your point. All right, I'll keep my mouth shut." Virgil agreed, running his hands through his bed-head brown hair.
"Thanks, Virg." Scott stood up. "Want to go get some breakfast?"
"Are you kidding? I want another few hours of sleep. Wake me when it's time for lunch."
Scott chuckled. "Okay. See you later."
"Yes, see you. Oh, and Scott?"
He turned back to his brother as he opened the door. "Yeah?"
"Be careful."
"I will. Bye, Virgil." Scott smiled at him and left the room.
+++
After breakfast the next morning, Virgil set out his easel, donned his painter's cap and doused his brush in water before sitting down on the chair he'd placed on the edge of the cliff. He eyed the painting, deciding what part to paint next and then chose a pale green from his palette.
He ignored the cries of Scott, Alan and Tin-Tin. The three were horsing around in the pool, trying to see how much they could splash each other. Virgil was surprised Scott had joined in their game, as he always seemed to be the sensible one and couldn't care less for horseplay.
"Forget the painting and come in the water, you old man," called Alan playfully, his voice carrying over the water.
"Hey, boy, watch it with the 'old man' business," Scott answered, dunking his youngest brother under the water and holding his head there for a second before allowing Alan to come up for air.
That started the war. Alan jumped on Scott and pushed him under as Tin-Tin tried to pull them apart yet stay out of the line of fire. Scott yet out a loud war cry as he splashed Alan and threw the beach ball at him. It bounced off the blonde's head and Alan glared at him. Scott looked down at the damp tensor bandage around his wrist and then unwound it, throwing it onto his towel that sat on a plastic chair on the side. His wrist was feeling immensely better, and he was sure the exercise and the cool water was a big help to the healing process. He glanced up just in time to see the beach ball come flying at his face and ducked.
Jeff chuckled as he and Lady Penelope watched the boys playing as if they were still children. He was glad more than ever that he'd suggested the idea for a vacation. It was allowing them to loosen up a bit and not have to worry about their lives, as well as any others.
Just as Virgil was dotting the top of his hills with sunlight, his brush dancing off the canvas, he felt cold water begin to drip down his back. He turned and painted a large yellow-green streak across Alan's wet stomach and then resumed his painting as if nothing had happened.
Gordon found this hilarious and was laughing so hard he fell off the diving board into the water. He'd been planning to show them just how a perfect dive was supposed to be executed, but instead managed an artistic-looking belly flop. Scott saw this as an opportunity to soak his other brother and set about doing so. Tin-Tin joined in until Gordon looked like a drowned dog, his hair hanging in front of his eyes and a huge smile on his face.
"So, you coming in or not?" Alan asked, wiping the paint off his skin as best he could. His efforts only smeared it into a bright mess and he eventually gave up.
"Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Geez, Virg, you're painting for heaven's sake. Give it a rest and come in the pool, will you?"
Sighing, Virgil gave in and put his brush in the small container of water at his feet. He stood up and stretched, threw off the robe that covered his bathing suit and allowed Alan to push him into the refreshing water.
The pool was getting crowded now. Tin-Tin, Scott, Virgil, Alan and Gordon occupied it's transparent depths and more water was splashing onto the tiles every second they were in it. Jeff moved his chair back so his loafers didn't get wet and Penelope did the same, worried about her vibrant pink high-heels.
"How's Kyrano, Jeff?" Lady Penelope asked, having heard about what had happened before she had arrived.
"He's doing just fine. Tin-Tin is making him take it easy for a few days, in case his wounds are more than skin deep, but otherwise he seems all right to me. Poor Kyrano's being held in his room against his will," Jeff answered, chuckling.
A minute later, Parker crossed the bridge in his no-nonsense manner and placed a tray of cups on the table. Beside it, he put down the large pitcher of lemonade and the Tracy's jumped out of the pool to get a drink. Even in the radiant heat, Lady Penelope's butler wore his usual brown uniform, no matter how much the London agent protested how hot he must be in the outfit.
When they finished their snack, Virgil went back to his painting and Tin- Tin pulled Alan back into the pool for a rousing game of water basketball. Scott was just stretching out on a lounger when a family of four - a mother, father and two teenage girls - came towards them. He casually kicked his father in the leg, cutting short Jeff and Penelope's intricate discussion about Thunderbird Two.
The young girls eyed the Tracy's as Scott put on a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the sun's rays. Tin-Tin was giggling as the taller of the two began to look particularly interested in Alan. To silence her, he passed the beach ball quickly, giving her no choice but to pay more attention to it than the girls.
Lady Penelope took a long sip of her lemonade, watching the newcomers from under the brim of her large straw hat. She turned her head as Virgil let out an anguished cry, which also caught the attention of the girls. He swiped angrily at the waves on his easel, trying to hide the drop of white paint he'd accidentally dropped in the middle of the sea.
Fed up with it for the moment, he dove into the pool to cool down his frustration. Alan met him when he came up for air and promptly pushed him back under. The middle Tracy brother kicked furiously, surprised at Alan's strength. When he finally managed to get his head back to the surface, he shot daggers at the blond with his eyes.
"Stop showing off, Alan. You're too old for those girls. And what about Tin- Tin?" Virgil hissed.
Alan pushed him back under, his ears going a bright shade of red. Tin-Tin laughed and pulled Alan's hand off of Virgil's head so he could come up for oxygen. "Stop being so mean to your brother, Alan," she lectured jokingly. "He'll get you some day."
"What's he gonna do? Hijack Thunderbird Three?"
"Alan!" Tin-Tin cried, risking a look over her shoulder at the family as they opened one of the umbrellas on the tables. She stepped on his foot and Alan gasped. "What was that for?"
"Zip your lips, Alan." Virgil instructed in a hoarse whisper. "Watch what you say."
"Sorry." Alan looked at his girlfriend and brother sheepishly, having not meant to say anything about International Rescue in the presence of people that weren't whom he was vacationing with.
Virgil pushed away from him and began floating on his back. His eyes were closed and stayed that way until a large splash beside him flipped him over on his stomach and he got an unwelcome gulp of pool water.
The dark head that appeared beside him, complete with eyes shining with mischief, made Virgil groan. "Can't a guy get any peace around here?"
"Not with them around," Tin-Tin answered, indicating Scott and Alan who were dueling for who got to go up the ladder first. Scott had traded his lounger in for the pool again and had purposely tried to jump in as close to Virgil as possible.
"How did I get stuck with these kids? You two are so immature."
"We heard that!"
They abandoned their friendly fight and swam towards Virgil.
"Ready, Alan?"
"Ready, Scott."
"Go!"
Virgil got another surprise as two grown men threw themselves on top of him, forcing him back under the water. He managed to fill his lungs with air before they pushed him down and waited until they got tired of the lack of reaction before pushing himself back to the surface.
"You're no fun, Virg." Scott complained good-naturedly.
Virgil, fed up with their childish games, climbed out of the pool and headed for his paints. Nodding cheerfully to the family and then to the other Tracy's, he packed up his easel and walked back across the bridge to the hotel.
"Whoa, who put the bee in his bonnet?" Alan wondered as he and Scott watched their brother leave the rest of the family behind.
"He's worried. Hold on a second." Scott hoisted himself up onto the tiles and took off after his brother. "Virgil! Wait up!"
Virgil stopped, balancing his tub of water in one hand and his easel and palette in the other. "What?"
"What's up with you today?"
"Nothing's up with me, Scott. I'm just cautious I guess. I don't know how you can go about having so much fun when it's plain someone around here wants us out of the hotel."
"I shouldn't have said anything. I've ruined your vacation," Scott said solemnly.
Virgil shook his head, small drops of water flying into the air from his hair. "You haven't ruined anything. Now is the perfect time to do some thinking and I plan to find out what exactly is going on here so we can enjoy ourselves."
"But we are enjoying ourselves. Come on, Virg, loosen up a bit. We promise not to splash you if you come back in the pool."
"No, Scott. I'm going to put this stuff away," he raised one arm, indicating his painting, "and try and find some quiet so I can puzzle this out. Okay?"
"Are you mad?"
Virgil looked surprised. "No, I'm not mad. What would make you think that?"
"You left in such a hurry, I wasn't sure."
A small smile appeared on Virgil's face. "No, I'm not mad," he repeated. "I'd just like some peace for a change, all right?"
"All right." Scott headed back to Alan and Tin-Tin, who had persuaded Gordon to play Marco Polo with them.
Virgil watched him go for a minute, and waited until loud calls of "Marco!" and "Polo!" sped across the cool air to his ears before going back to his room.
+++
A knock on his door startled Virgil, who was reading a book on the patio of his room. He put it down and walked back inside, pulling open the door when he reached it.
"Master Tracy?"
He looked at the little man before him and nodded slightly. "Can I help you?"
"I have a request from the manager," the bellboy was timid and nervous, fidgeting more with every word he spoke. Virgil waited patiently for him to continue, curious about what the manager of the hotel would want him for. "He. . .he says we would like to hire you as a. . .a piano player in the lounge at supper for as long as you're here."
Virgil raised his eyebrows in wonder. The man misread the expression for one of defiance and hastily continued, "He said he would pay your room bill if you were. . .were to comply to his request."
He smiled. "Tell him I'd be glad to do it." Virgil shook the bellboy's hand and quickly read the name on his tag. "Thank you for finding me, Timothy. But make sure you tell your boss that I don't want him paying for any of my bills, is that clear?"
The small man nodded and bowed his respects, then hurried back down the hall to resume his hotel duties. Virgil stared in awe at the door, the shock visible on his face. Snapping out of his daze, he chuckled and returned to his deck to read more of his book.