Scott was the first of the three awake at just past six. Virgil had
collapsed on the foot of the bed and slept in an uncomfortable heap. Scott
forced himself up, remembering the events of the early morning and checked
the two victims to make sure they were alive and breathing.
John stirred as Scott propped him higher up on the pillows and opened his eyes slightly to look up at his brother. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Scott leaned down to hear him.
"They wanted us dead," John muttered so quietly Scott's ears almost didn't pick it up. Before he could get more details, John's eyes closed and he fell back to sleep.
Virgil shifted his weight and fell off the bed with a thump, jolting him awake. He rubbed his head, wondering how he'd ended up on the floor and used the comforter to pull himself to his feet, still weary from the little rest he had gotten. Scott, who would usually have found the stunt hilarious, was in no mood to laugh. He acknowledged Virgil's presence and left John's side to grab a shirt from Virgil's suitcase. He threw it at his brother, noticing his lack of clothes since he'd given his smock to Tin-Tin to keep her warm.
Virgil nodded his thanks, not daring to speak in case he woke up Gordon, John or Tin-Tin and pulled the shirt over his head. Then he sat down on the bed and looked at their two patients, shock etched on his face. Even though he had been in a similar position for most of the morning hours, he still couldn't believe the state they were in.
After a few minutes, he rose and stepped out of the room as quietly as possible, closing the door behind him with little more than a soft squeak. Scott wondered where he was going, but was soon preoccupied by Tin-Tin rolling dangerously close to the edge of the bed and tried to find a way to get her closer to John without awakening her.
Virgil stood outside the hotel room and blinked a few times, getting used to the harsh light that flooded the hallway. He swallowed his tiredness and strode to Brains room, which was sandwiched between his and Gordon's. He didn't even have to knock before the door was pulled open and a perfectly awake looking engineer.
"How do you do that?" Virgil yawned.
"Do, er, what?" Brains asked.
"Wake up so early and know I'm coming?"
"T-T-The early b-bird gets the w-worm." He replied sensibly. "And I h-heard your s-shoes."
Virgil dropped the subject and made himself focus on the matter at hand. "John and Tin-Tin were attacked last night, Brains. Do you have any of your magic potions that would help them out?"
"T-They are n-not magic, er, potions, V-Virgil. T-They are chemical s-s- substances used for h-h-healing."
He ignored the comment and continued. "Do you have any that would help whip marks, cuts, and burns?"
Brains' eyes opened wide behind the thick lenses of his glasses. "W-Whip marks, cuts and b-b-burns?" He repeated.
Virgil nodded.
"L-Let me s-see what I h-h-have." Brains opened the door and Virgil stepped inside, looking around in awe at all the different bottles and equipment scattered throughout the room. To someone who wasn't used to seeing it, it might look like a mess, but he knew everything was set out in a logical order and to Brains this was neat and tidy.
The engineer went through a bunch of bottles, reading the labels carefully. Finally, he returned to Virgil with a transparent blue liquid, marked "Bruise B-Gone" in Brains' precise handwriting.
Virgil couldn't help but smile at the title. "Did you make this stuff?"
"Y-yes. It s-s-should ease their p-pain and, er, fade the b-bruises."
"Do you carry all this with you wherever you go?" He asked, indicating the materials spread around Brains room.
Brains nodded. "It's n-n-not often t-that I g-g-go on v-vacation."
"Thanks, Brains."
"Y-You're welcome, V-V-Virgil."
Just as he were about to close the door and head back to his room, Brains stopped him. He turned off the light and stepped out of the room, locking the door and following Virgil down the hall to inspect John and Tin-Tin himself.
+++
Jeff banged repeatedly on Gordon's door. He waited a minute, and when no reply came, moved across the hall to Scott's room. The door didn't open there either. The next room, the one next to his own, was John's. Getting discouraged, her raised his fist and dropped it against the polished wood, wondering where everyone had gone.
Lady Penelope and Parker had left early that morning after the London agent had received a call that one of her royal friends was visiting near her home. She'd left him a note with her apologies and had disappeared even before he had woken up.
Hearing the racket in the hall, a disheveled Scott stuck his head out of Virgil's room. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand back through his tousled hair before yawning and greeting his father.
"Where is everybody?"
"In here." Scott replied tiredly. "Who are you looking for?"
"Whoever I can find. What's going on?" Jeff asked.
Scott's face turned hard as he looked at his dad. "John and Tin-Tin. . ."
"What about them?"
"Well, they're in a bad way."
"What happened?" Jeff became concerned at Scott's slightly angry and worried tone. He crossed the corridor to stand behind his son and read the pain reflected in his eyes. "What happened?" He repeated quieter.
"They were attacked. Last night, after they left." Scott answered in a monotone. "They - they're not in good condition." He swallowed hard before stepping back and admitting Jeff.
Four pain struck heads turned toward him. Gordon and Virgil looked worn out and Jeff could almost see the wheels turning in Brains head. He didn't know what for, but the engineer looked like his mind was absent from the room. Kyrano was beside Tin-Tin, kneeling on the floor and clutching her hand, tears rolling like waterfalls down his cheeks. Jeff was taken aback at the sight of his son and Tin-Tin lying on the bed, two bodies painted with vibrant bruises and cuts.
"Why?" Jeff breathed almost silently, his eyes fixed on the two attack victims.
"We're not quite sure." Scott put a reassuring hand on his father's arm. "They were hurt in basically every way possible - whipped, hit, punched, burned." He said, his voice wavering and beginning to feel choked as he explained. "And then dropped on the beach by their attackers to wait for high tide when the sea would take them away." His words faded out.
"They were left for dead?" Jeff asked, hardly believing his ears.
Scott nodded, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of what would have happened if he, Gordon and Virgil hadn't found them when they did.
Jeff looked around at his sons, his mouth forming a hard line. "This isn't the first thing to happen, is it?" He questioned, seeing what resembled guilt in their expressions.
The three Tracy boys shook their heads and looked at the carpet, feeling ashamed at not telling their father what had happened already. If they had, maybe he would have made them go back home and John and Tin-Tin wouldn't have been preyed upon by whoever was going after International Rescue.
He walked over to Gordon and Virgil, who were sitting on the couch they'd moved into the bedroom so they could keep an eye on their patients. Virgil, who was perched on the arm of it, raised his head as he advanced. "Tell me, Virgil," Jeff said, his voice gentle yet commanding.
"Scott was pushed down the stairs."
"And?"
Virgil wasn't surprised his father knew more had occurred. They could never keep anything from him. "And I. . .I fell off my deck into the pool."
Jeff looked out the window, lost in thought. "Two floors?" He asked.
Virgil nodded reluctantly and played with the upholstery on the couch with his fingers, afraid to meet his father's gaze. He felt horrible for swearing Scott to secrecy, and being sworn by Scott to do the same. It was partly his fault Tin-Tin and John were hurt and he couldn't shake the culpable feelings that took over his mind.
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"We didn't want to worry you. We're on vacation." Gordon answered for his brother, who had lost all colour to his face.
"You're worth more than my holiday." Jeff replied, still staring out the window at the light blue hues of the sky. Gordon could hear him sigh quietly. "But I understand."
"You do?" Gordon was surprised at the answer, unsure of what was going through his father's head.
"Yes. You wanted to get to the bottom of this, you didn't want me to take you home since you aren't often on vacation and you didn't want whoever is trying to chase us out of the hotel to win."
Virgil, Scott and Gordon exchanged glances. Jeff Tracy wasn't a predictable man, but he didn't usually go around catching his sons off guard.
"Isn't that right?" Jeff asked after a moment of silence.
All three nodded as he turned back around and looked at them.
"From now on, you all must tell me everything that happens." He searched their faces for any trace of defiance but they agreed. "And I want to know anything you find out about the person behind this. Do you understand?"
"Yes, father." They answered in one voice.
Jeff's next sentence was cut off as John let out a hoarse moan, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. His chest lifted and fell repeatedly as he drew in each strained breath, every inch of his body feeling bruised and beaten. The others had fallen still at his awakening, and even Kyrano's tears had halted.
"John," Jeff began. He cleared his throat, finding his voice thick with emotion. He didn't continue - he didn't have anything else to say.
"Father," John croaked. Scott rushed to his side and helped him sit up so he could see him better. "Oh, my head. . ." He groaned, shutting his eyes against the splitting pain coursing behind his temples. John steadied himself and looked down at his battered uniform. He could see three quarters of each leg, most of his stomach and all of his arms since the sleeves had been pulled off in the struggle against his attackers.
"John, you should change. And put some of this on." Scott picked up the 'Bruise B-Gone' Virgil had left on the dresser.
His brother nodded and Scott helped him up off the bed. Virgil handed him a pair of his pants and a loose fitting t-shirt and the two ushered John into the bathroom to fix himself up.
They waited uncomfortably, hearing John's muttered words of pain as he spread the 'Bruise B-Gone' on his cuts and welts. Virgil looked at the door, remembering Brains had warned him it might sting when applied to the sore areas. The engineer was still barely there, sitting cross-legged on the floor and leaning against the couch. As Virgil moved his eyes to him, Brains jumped up and hurried out the door. He looked at Gordon, wondering what had gotten into him.
John opened the door of the bathroom and leaned against the frame, panting with the effort changing and applying Brain's concoction had caused him. He took a few timid steps back to the bed, looking lost in Virgil's shirt. John's lithe form didn't fill it out the way his brother's broad shoulders did.
Scott caught him as he fell. With help from Gordon, he put John back on the bed and looked on as he passed out before their eyes.
Jeff watched the scene silently, worried not only for John and Tin-Tin, but also for his other sons. Now that something had happened to Scott, John and Virgil, it only left Gordon. He wondered if he would become the next martyr in the horrible games the felon was playing with the boys of International Rescue.
John stirred as Scott propped him higher up on the pillows and opened his eyes slightly to look up at his brother. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Scott leaned down to hear him.
"They wanted us dead," John muttered so quietly Scott's ears almost didn't pick it up. Before he could get more details, John's eyes closed and he fell back to sleep.
Virgil shifted his weight and fell off the bed with a thump, jolting him awake. He rubbed his head, wondering how he'd ended up on the floor and used the comforter to pull himself to his feet, still weary from the little rest he had gotten. Scott, who would usually have found the stunt hilarious, was in no mood to laugh. He acknowledged Virgil's presence and left John's side to grab a shirt from Virgil's suitcase. He threw it at his brother, noticing his lack of clothes since he'd given his smock to Tin-Tin to keep her warm.
Virgil nodded his thanks, not daring to speak in case he woke up Gordon, John or Tin-Tin and pulled the shirt over his head. Then he sat down on the bed and looked at their two patients, shock etched on his face. Even though he had been in a similar position for most of the morning hours, he still couldn't believe the state they were in.
After a few minutes, he rose and stepped out of the room as quietly as possible, closing the door behind him with little more than a soft squeak. Scott wondered where he was going, but was soon preoccupied by Tin-Tin rolling dangerously close to the edge of the bed and tried to find a way to get her closer to John without awakening her.
Virgil stood outside the hotel room and blinked a few times, getting used to the harsh light that flooded the hallway. He swallowed his tiredness and strode to Brains room, which was sandwiched between his and Gordon's. He didn't even have to knock before the door was pulled open and a perfectly awake looking engineer.
"How do you do that?" Virgil yawned.
"Do, er, what?" Brains asked.
"Wake up so early and know I'm coming?"
"T-T-The early b-bird gets the w-worm." He replied sensibly. "And I h-heard your s-shoes."
Virgil dropped the subject and made himself focus on the matter at hand. "John and Tin-Tin were attacked last night, Brains. Do you have any of your magic potions that would help them out?"
"T-They are n-not magic, er, potions, V-Virgil. T-They are chemical s-s- substances used for h-h-healing."
He ignored the comment and continued. "Do you have any that would help whip marks, cuts, and burns?"
Brains' eyes opened wide behind the thick lenses of his glasses. "W-Whip marks, cuts and b-b-burns?" He repeated.
Virgil nodded.
"L-Let me s-see what I h-h-have." Brains opened the door and Virgil stepped inside, looking around in awe at all the different bottles and equipment scattered throughout the room. To someone who wasn't used to seeing it, it might look like a mess, but he knew everything was set out in a logical order and to Brains this was neat and tidy.
The engineer went through a bunch of bottles, reading the labels carefully. Finally, he returned to Virgil with a transparent blue liquid, marked "Bruise B-Gone" in Brains' precise handwriting.
Virgil couldn't help but smile at the title. "Did you make this stuff?"
"Y-yes. It s-s-should ease their p-pain and, er, fade the b-bruises."
"Do you carry all this with you wherever you go?" He asked, indicating the materials spread around Brains room.
Brains nodded. "It's n-n-not often t-that I g-g-go on v-vacation."
"Thanks, Brains."
"Y-You're welcome, V-V-Virgil."
Just as he were about to close the door and head back to his room, Brains stopped him. He turned off the light and stepped out of the room, locking the door and following Virgil down the hall to inspect John and Tin-Tin himself.
+++
Jeff banged repeatedly on Gordon's door. He waited a minute, and when no reply came, moved across the hall to Scott's room. The door didn't open there either. The next room, the one next to his own, was John's. Getting discouraged, her raised his fist and dropped it against the polished wood, wondering where everyone had gone.
Lady Penelope and Parker had left early that morning after the London agent had received a call that one of her royal friends was visiting near her home. She'd left him a note with her apologies and had disappeared even before he had woken up.
Hearing the racket in the hall, a disheveled Scott stuck his head out of Virgil's room. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand back through his tousled hair before yawning and greeting his father.
"Where is everybody?"
"In here." Scott replied tiredly. "Who are you looking for?"
"Whoever I can find. What's going on?" Jeff asked.
Scott's face turned hard as he looked at his dad. "John and Tin-Tin. . ."
"What about them?"
"Well, they're in a bad way."
"What happened?" Jeff became concerned at Scott's slightly angry and worried tone. He crossed the corridor to stand behind his son and read the pain reflected in his eyes. "What happened?" He repeated quieter.
"They were attacked. Last night, after they left." Scott answered in a monotone. "They - they're not in good condition." He swallowed hard before stepping back and admitting Jeff.
Four pain struck heads turned toward him. Gordon and Virgil looked worn out and Jeff could almost see the wheels turning in Brains head. He didn't know what for, but the engineer looked like his mind was absent from the room. Kyrano was beside Tin-Tin, kneeling on the floor and clutching her hand, tears rolling like waterfalls down his cheeks. Jeff was taken aback at the sight of his son and Tin-Tin lying on the bed, two bodies painted with vibrant bruises and cuts.
"Why?" Jeff breathed almost silently, his eyes fixed on the two attack victims.
"We're not quite sure." Scott put a reassuring hand on his father's arm. "They were hurt in basically every way possible - whipped, hit, punched, burned." He said, his voice wavering and beginning to feel choked as he explained. "And then dropped on the beach by their attackers to wait for high tide when the sea would take them away." His words faded out.
"They were left for dead?" Jeff asked, hardly believing his ears.
Scott nodded, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of what would have happened if he, Gordon and Virgil hadn't found them when they did.
Jeff looked around at his sons, his mouth forming a hard line. "This isn't the first thing to happen, is it?" He questioned, seeing what resembled guilt in their expressions.
The three Tracy boys shook their heads and looked at the carpet, feeling ashamed at not telling their father what had happened already. If they had, maybe he would have made them go back home and John and Tin-Tin wouldn't have been preyed upon by whoever was going after International Rescue.
He walked over to Gordon and Virgil, who were sitting on the couch they'd moved into the bedroom so they could keep an eye on their patients. Virgil, who was perched on the arm of it, raised his head as he advanced. "Tell me, Virgil," Jeff said, his voice gentle yet commanding.
"Scott was pushed down the stairs."
"And?"
Virgil wasn't surprised his father knew more had occurred. They could never keep anything from him. "And I. . .I fell off my deck into the pool."
Jeff looked out the window, lost in thought. "Two floors?" He asked.
Virgil nodded reluctantly and played with the upholstery on the couch with his fingers, afraid to meet his father's gaze. He felt horrible for swearing Scott to secrecy, and being sworn by Scott to do the same. It was partly his fault Tin-Tin and John were hurt and he couldn't shake the culpable feelings that took over his mind.
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"We didn't want to worry you. We're on vacation." Gordon answered for his brother, who had lost all colour to his face.
"You're worth more than my holiday." Jeff replied, still staring out the window at the light blue hues of the sky. Gordon could hear him sigh quietly. "But I understand."
"You do?" Gordon was surprised at the answer, unsure of what was going through his father's head.
"Yes. You wanted to get to the bottom of this, you didn't want me to take you home since you aren't often on vacation and you didn't want whoever is trying to chase us out of the hotel to win."
Virgil, Scott and Gordon exchanged glances. Jeff Tracy wasn't a predictable man, but he didn't usually go around catching his sons off guard.
"Isn't that right?" Jeff asked after a moment of silence.
All three nodded as he turned back around and looked at them.
"From now on, you all must tell me everything that happens." He searched their faces for any trace of defiance but they agreed. "And I want to know anything you find out about the person behind this. Do you understand?"
"Yes, father." They answered in one voice.
Jeff's next sentence was cut off as John let out a hoarse moan, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. His chest lifted and fell repeatedly as he drew in each strained breath, every inch of his body feeling bruised and beaten. The others had fallen still at his awakening, and even Kyrano's tears had halted.
"John," Jeff began. He cleared his throat, finding his voice thick with emotion. He didn't continue - he didn't have anything else to say.
"Father," John croaked. Scott rushed to his side and helped him sit up so he could see him better. "Oh, my head. . ." He groaned, shutting his eyes against the splitting pain coursing behind his temples. John steadied himself and looked down at his battered uniform. He could see three quarters of each leg, most of his stomach and all of his arms since the sleeves had been pulled off in the struggle against his attackers.
"John, you should change. And put some of this on." Scott picked up the 'Bruise B-Gone' Virgil had left on the dresser.
His brother nodded and Scott helped him up off the bed. Virgil handed him a pair of his pants and a loose fitting t-shirt and the two ushered John into the bathroom to fix himself up.
They waited uncomfortably, hearing John's muttered words of pain as he spread the 'Bruise B-Gone' on his cuts and welts. Virgil looked at the door, remembering Brains had warned him it might sting when applied to the sore areas. The engineer was still barely there, sitting cross-legged on the floor and leaning against the couch. As Virgil moved his eyes to him, Brains jumped up and hurried out the door. He looked at Gordon, wondering what had gotten into him.
John opened the door of the bathroom and leaned against the frame, panting with the effort changing and applying Brain's concoction had caused him. He took a few timid steps back to the bed, looking lost in Virgil's shirt. John's lithe form didn't fill it out the way his brother's broad shoulders did.
Scott caught him as he fell. With help from Gordon, he put John back on the bed and looked on as he passed out before their eyes.
Jeff watched the scene silently, worried not only for John and Tin-Tin, but also for his other sons. Now that something had happened to Scott, John and Virgil, it only left Gordon. He wondered if he would become the next martyr in the horrible games the felon was playing with the boys of International Rescue.