Two days later, Jeff stepped into the phone box down the street from the
hotel. He'd given his sons some money and had forced them to leave John and
Tin-Tin alone. They were recovering steadily, much in part to three
different medicines Brains had whipped up, and he'd even seen John watching
Virgil and Scott play tennis from his balcony earlier that morning.
After ushering Virgil, Scott and Gordon into a diner on the main road of the small town they were vacationing in, Jeff had left them to find a private place so he could radio through to Alan in Thunderbird 5 without drawing suspicion. The boys had wanted to follow him, but he'd given them strict orders to stay where they were.
He pressed insistently on the call button on his watch, trying to get through to his youngest son. "International Rescue from Jeff Tracy." He said, watching the screen flash gray and then fade to black. Getting fed up with his watch, which was refusing to connect his signal to Thunderbird 5, Jeff tried once again. "Alan Tracy from Jeff Tracy. Alan, can you hear me?"
The screen flickered brightly and a warped picture of Alan appeared inside its limits. He sighed with relief as it straightened itself out. "How's it going up there, Alan?"
"Fine, father. No emergency calls have come in as of yet. I think you should be fine for the rest of your vacation."
As fine as we can be, thought Jeff. "That's great news."
"How is everyone down there?" Alan asked, the picture disappearing and then coming back repeatedly until Jeff hit his watch on the side of the telephone box. Brains had made them to withstand just about everything, but sometimes the equipment wouldn't transfer signals from space to Earth.
"Good," Jeff hesitated slightly, wondering if he should worry Alan with the events that had occurred over the last few days.
"Just good? What's wrong, dad?"
"John and Tin-Tin had a bit of an accident." Jeff could see the immediate change in expression on Alan's face as he mentioned his girlfriend's name.
"Are they all right? Tin-Tin. . .is she okay?"
"Yes, she's fine. I'll give you the details later, Alan. I can't talk here, and we're losing contact."
"I understand." Alan bit his lip and looked into the monitor above the control panel of Thunderbird 5. "Are you sure she's okay?"
"I'm sure." Jeff reassured him. "We'll see you back on the island in a week's time. Don't worry, Alan. We have everything under control. Both Tin- Tin and John are recovering quickly."
Alan sighed with relief. "That's good to hear. Thanks for letting me know."
Jeff smiled at his son and, with a quick goodbye, closed the signal as someone rapped on the phone box door. He stepped outside and they chewed him out for using the booth without using the phone. He ignored them and headed back to the diner.
When he reached it, it didn't take him long to find the table Scott, Virgil and John had claimed as their own. He could hear their voices long before he saw them and grinned at the joking argument Virgil and Scott had immersed themselves in.
"I want a rematch," Virgil was saying as Jeff took his seat beside him.
"I'm not playing you again. I won fair and square. You're just mad because you lost." Scott retorted.
"What are they talking about?" Jeff leaned across the table towards Gordon as the two continued to bicker.
"The tennis game this morning. Scott beat Virgil by only a few points and Virg wants to play him again."
"But Scott's worried Virg would win." Jeff finished, looking at his oldest son.
"That's not true! You know I would beat him again if we played." Scott protested.
"So play me then." Virgil answered smugly. "Or are you afraid?" He began making chicken noises between chuckles.
"Has anyone ever told you that you don't act 24?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you don't act 26?" Virgil shot back.
Scott lunged across the table at his younger brother and Gordon grabbed him just before he knocked Virgil's tall glass of water onto his lap.
"Settle down, boys. Tonight you can play another game and settle this fight." Jeff told them.
Virgil grinned at Scott, knowing he wouldn't go against their father. Scott glared at him, trying hard not to break out into laughter as their food came. Virgil finally cracked, welcoming Scott to join him, and Jeff and Gordon looked at each other as the two laughed like hyenas at their childish fight.
+++
That night, Virgil sat down at the piano in the restaurant and looked out over the audience. John and Tin-Tin had joined Jeff, Gordon, Scott, Brains and Kyrano at a table near the front so they could watch him as he played. Butterflies stirred in his stomach but he fought them down and placed his hands on the keys.
Ten minutes and two songs later, Virgil paused for a breath, the ring of polite applause pounding in his ears. He couldn't help but smile as he saw John, looking at him proudly from his seat, clapping just as hard as the rest. It was evident he was getting better, and the bruises had faded to pale splotches. The welts had scabbed over, leaving bumps in their place and the whip marks were little more than scars, thanks to Brains' home remedies.
Virgil was three quarters through the next song when he heard a ticking sound. He didn't know what it was, so he ignored it. During the song after that, however, it got louder and more persistent. He tried to block it out, but it drummed in his brain. Virgil dared to raise his head and look around, realizing he seemed to be the only one who heard it.
As he launched into the last song he was planning to play, something snapped. He heard it before he felt it and seconds later, was propelled off the polished bench. Virgil flew through the air and crashed into one of the dining tables. Glass shattered around him and people shrieked as the piano exploded, wooden splinters shooting in every direction. Flames hurled themselves at the diners and licked at the wallpaper behind what had been the piano. He stared at it as the table he had landed on slid sideways, sending him toppling onto the ground. It fell on top of him and he used it as a shield from the bright fire as his eyes roamed the room for his family.
Scott had a terrified Tin-Tin in his arms, John was on the floor having been pushed backwards by the blast, and the others were helping people up on either side. Gordon was looking around desperately for Virgil, wondering what had happened to him.
Virgil made his way towards them, tripping over fallen chairs and fallen people, and being careful not to step on the broken glass. He grabbed Scott and pointed at the door, afraid there might be more explosives in the piano. Scott picked up Tin-Tin, who was too stunned to move, and hauled her out of the restaurant while Virgil helped the others get organized.
Another shuddering bang made everyone dive for cover. Virgil and Gordon knocked heads as they threw themselves to the floor and John fell on top of them. Raising his eyes, Virgil saw that the piano bench, exactly where he had been sitting, had flared up in it's own fire, an explosive hidden inside the compartment used for music books.
Jeff, having jumped into command, yelled orders at his sons as Kyrano and Brains fled the room. Virgil stood and pulled Gordon and John up beside him as Scott came back to help.
Together, they made sure everyone was all right and escorted them hastily out of the dining room. Anyone who protested evacuating was thrown over their shoulders and taken outside, despite their angry words to the Tracy brothers. John, limping around on the crutch they'd bought him in town that day so he wouldn't be so immobile, led a group of kids into the cold night air and made them stay put until he found their parents. Virgil and Scott assisted two elderly couples while Gordon and Jeff tried to keep curious onlookers away from the fire.
Virgil yelled at Jeff as he saw the stage begin to pulse. His father looked over his shoulder and pulled Gordon to the ground just as the bottom panel blew out with a roaring crash. It sent Virgil into the large glass window, which shattered under his weight. He landed on his back on the patio, feeling broken glass poking into his skin through his shirt. He lay there, trying to get his breath back, before standing up and jumping back inside, catching his leg on the shards stuck in the window frame.
John hobbled toward him to make sure he was okay and commented worriedly on the trail of blood flowing down his brother's back under his t-shirt. Virgil shooed him away and used the broken window as another escape route, ordering people to get out as fast as possible as the fire began to consume more than half of the dining room.
Scott showed up with a fire extinguisher and aimed it at the base of the main blaze, the one that had grown from the exploding of the piano. He released the white foam and a loud whooshing sound took over the crackle of flames as it sprayed the sparks that threatened to ignite the rest of the restaurant.
By now, smoke filled the dining room and the people they hadn't managed to get out were coughing and lying on the floor, trying to keep away from the heat and dirty air. Virgil and Gordon towed more people out of the room while Jeff found another fire extinguisher and helped Scott try to control the rapidly spreading fire.
John was nowhere to be seen. Virgil, leading a mother and her twin sons out of the room, dared look around the corner at the crowd of people trying to see what was going on. His older brother was waving his crutch around and creating a barrier between the open doors and the curious people. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the look of his beaten-up sibling threatening the spectators to stay back while moving the crutch through the air like a madman.
Scott barreled into him as he ran out of the restaurant. "Everyone's out!" He yelled to John and Virgil as Jeff and Gordon emerged from the doors, covered in soot and choking on the smoky air. People around them cheered at the news that no one had been hurt and that the fire department was on their way.
Gordon kicked the doors shut, trying to keep the spreading fire at bay, and collapsed on his knees in a coughing fit. With every gasp his back ached, reminding him of the boating accident that had almost taken his life. He continued to cough as Scott helped him to his feet.
The Tracy's hurried upstairs before the fire fighters showed up and crowded into Brains' room, where he, Tin-Tin and Kyrano had gathered. They asked what had happened anxiously while the men took seats around the room - Scott, Virgil and Gordon on the bed, John on the sofa after moving aside some cables from Brain's equipment and Jeff leaning against the wall.
"No casualties?" Tin-Tin wondered when they finished telling the story.
"Nope, none at all." Scott answered gladly. He wiped at the sweat on his forehead and sighed.
"Are we all right to go to sleep, do you think? They won't want to talk to you, will they?" She asked.
"I think we're all right for tonight. We should get some rest. It's been a long day," replied Jeff.
The boys agreed and said their farewells, heading back to their respectful rooms. Kyrano helped a stressed and still pained Tin-Tin back to their room while Jeff walked down the hall to his. There was no one on the floor expect them - everyone was downstairs near the action. It didn't matter that they yelled goodnights to each other before closing their doors.
+++
The next morning, Virgil woke up in a puddle of blood. He threw off the covers and looked down at his red sheets, racking his brain as to how it had gotten there. The night before, he had been so tired he hadn't bothered to change his clothes. Now he ripped off his shirt and inspected the deep gash in his back caused by a large chunk of broken glass. He'd landed on its point and it had dug into his skin, ripping a hole in his t-shirt.
Virgil took the sheets off the bed and put them in a pile on the floor before trying to get the blood off his back using the bathroom mirror. He winced as the water he was cleaning it with flowed into the cut. After that, he found a long, thick piece of bandage in his first aid kit and wrapped it around his midsection, putting enough pressure on the gaping flesh to halt it's bleeding.
He found a clean shirt and threw it over his head before calling the front desk to send someone up to take his dirty sheets. After he'd remade the bed with fresh ones supplied by the maid, Virgil gingerly lay down on his side and fell back into a restless sleep.
Next door, Scott opened his eyes to a muffled pounding. He raised his head and looked around the room, trying to find the source of the sound. His ears told him it was coming from the tiny living room and he grabbed a pair of scissors from his shaving kit as a weapon, in case someone had broken in. The sight that awaited him made him drop the scissors and open his mouth in shock.
Gordon sat on his couch, bound, blindfolded and gagged. LEAVE was written in bold black letters on his forehead.
After ushering Virgil, Scott and Gordon into a diner on the main road of the small town they were vacationing in, Jeff had left them to find a private place so he could radio through to Alan in Thunderbird 5 without drawing suspicion. The boys had wanted to follow him, but he'd given them strict orders to stay where they were.
He pressed insistently on the call button on his watch, trying to get through to his youngest son. "International Rescue from Jeff Tracy." He said, watching the screen flash gray and then fade to black. Getting fed up with his watch, which was refusing to connect his signal to Thunderbird 5, Jeff tried once again. "Alan Tracy from Jeff Tracy. Alan, can you hear me?"
The screen flickered brightly and a warped picture of Alan appeared inside its limits. He sighed with relief as it straightened itself out. "How's it going up there, Alan?"
"Fine, father. No emergency calls have come in as of yet. I think you should be fine for the rest of your vacation."
As fine as we can be, thought Jeff. "That's great news."
"How is everyone down there?" Alan asked, the picture disappearing and then coming back repeatedly until Jeff hit his watch on the side of the telephone box. Brains had made them to withstand just about everything, but sometimes the equipment wouldn't transfer signals from space to Earth.
"Good," Jeff hesitated slightly, wondering if he should worry Alan with the events that had occurred over the last few days.
"Just good? What's wrong, dad?"
"John and Tin-Tin had a bit of an accident." Jeff could see the immediate change in expression on Alan's face as he mentioned his girlfriend's name.
"Are they all right? Tin-Tin. . .is she okay?"
"Yes, she's fine. I'll give you the details later, Alan. I can't talk here, and we're losing contact."
"I understand." Alan bit his lip and looked into the monitor above the control panel of Thunderbird 5. "Are you sure she's okay?"
"I'm sure." Jeff reassured him. "We'll see you back on the island in a week's time. Don't worry, Alan. We have everything under control. Both Tin- Tin and John are recovering quickly."
Alan sighed with relief. "That's good to hear. Thanks for letting me know."
Jeff smiled at his son and, with a quick goodbye, closed the signal as someone rapped on the phone box door. He stepped outside and they chewed him out for using the booth without using the phone. He ignored them and headed back to the diner.
When he reached it, it didn't take him long to find the table Scott, Virgil and John had claimed as their own. He could hear their voices long before he saw them and grinned at the joking argument Virgil and Scott had immersed themselves in.
"I want a rematch," Virgil was saying as Jeff took his seat beside him.
"I'm not playing you again. I won fair and square. You're just mad because you lost." Scott retorted.
"What are they talking about?" Jeff leaned across the table towards Gordon as the two continued to bicker.
"The tennis game this morning. Scott beat Virgil by only a few points and Virg wants to play him again."
"But Scott's worried Virg would win." Jeff finished, looking at his oldest son.
"That's not true! You know I would beat him again if we played." Scott protested.
"So play me then." Virgil answered smugly. "Or are you afraid?" He began making chicken noises between chuckles.
"Has anyone ever told you that you don't act 24?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you don't act 26?" Virgil shot back.
Scott lunged across the table at his younger brother and Gordon grabbed him just before he knocked Virgil's tall glass of water onto his lap.
"Settle down, boys. Tonight you can play another game and settle this fight." Jeff told them.
Virgil grinned at Scott, knowing he wouldn't go against their father. Scott glared at him, trying hard not to break out into laughter as their food came. Virgil finally cracked, welcoming Scott to join him, and Jeff and Gordon looked at each other as the two laughed like hyenas at their childish fight.
+++
That night, Virgil sat down at the piano in the restaurant and looked out over the audience. John and Tin-Tin had joined Jeff, Gordon, Scott, Brains and Kyrano at a table near the front so they could watch him as he played. Butterflies stirred in his stomach but he fought them down and placed his hands on the keys.
Ten minutes and two songs later, Virgil paused for a breath, the ring of polite applause pounding in his ears. He couldn't help but smile as he saw John, looking at him proudly from his seat, clapping just as hard as the rest. It was evident he was getting better, and the bruises had faded to pale splotches. The welts had scabbed over, leaving bumps in their place and the whip marks were little more than scars, thanks to Brains' home remedies.
Virgil was three quarters through the next song when he heard a ticking sound. He didn't know what it was, so he ignored it. During the song after that, however, it got louder and more persistent. He tried to block it out, but it drummed in his brain. Virgil dared to raise his head and look around, realizing he seemed to be the only one who heard it.
As he launched into the last song he was planning to play, something snapped. He heard it before he felt it and seconds later, was propelled off the polished bench. Virgil flew through the air and crashed into one of the dining tables. Glass shattered around him and people shrieked as the piano exploded, wooden splinters shooting in every direction. Flames hurled themselves at the diners and licked at the wallpaper behind what had been the piano. He stared at it as the table he had landed on slid sideways, sending him toppling onto the ground. It fell on top of him and he used it as a shield from the bright fire as his eyes roamed the room for his family.
Scott had a terrified Tin-Tin in his arms, John was on the floor having been pushed backwards by the blast, and the others were helping people up on either side. Gordon was looking around desperately for Virgil, wondering what had happened to him.
Virgil made his way towards them, tripping over fallen chairs and fallen people, and being careful not to step on the broken glass. He grabbed Scott and pointed at the door, afraid there might be more explosives in the piano. Scott picked up Tin-Tin, who was too stunned to move, and hauled her out of the restaurant while Virgil helped the others get organized.
Another shuddering bang made everyone dive for cover. Virgil and Gordon knocked heads as they threw themselves to the floor and John fell on top of them. Raising his eyes, Virgil saw that the piano bench, exactly where he had been sitting, had flared up in it's own fire, an explosive hidden inside the compartment used for music books.
Jeff, having jumped into command, yelled orders at his sons as Kyrano and Brains fled the room. Virgil stood and pulled Gordon and John up beside him as Scott came back to help.
Together, they made sure everyone was all right and escorted them hastily out of the dining room. Anyone who protested evacuating was thrown over their shoulders and taken outside, despite their angry words to the Tracy brothers. John, limping around on the crutch they'd bought him in town that day so he wouldn't be so immobile, led a group of kids into the cold night air and made them stay put until he found their parents. Virgil and Scott assisted two elderly couples while Gordon and Jeff tried to keep curious onlookers away from the fire.
Virgil yelled at Jeff as he saw the stage begin to pulse. His father looked over his shoulder and pulled Gordon to the ground just as the bottom panel blew out with a roaring crash. It sent Virgil into the large glass window, which shattered under his weight. He landed on his back on the patio, feeling broken glass poking into his skin through his shirt. He lay there, trying to get his breath back, before standing up and jumping back inside, catching his leg on the shards stuck in the window frame.
John hobbled toward him to make sure he was okay and commented worriedly on the trail of blood flowing down his brother's back under his t-shirt. Virgil shooed him away and used the broken window as another escape route, ordering people to get out as fast as possible as the fire began to consume more than half of the dining room.
Scott showed up with a fire extinguisher and aimed it at the base of the main blaze, the one that had grown from the exploding of the piano. He released the white foam and a loud whooshing sound took over the crackle of flames as it sprayed the sparks that threatened to ignite the rest of the restaurant.
By now, smoke filled the dining room and the people they hadn't managed to get out were coughing and lying on the floor, trying to keep away from the heat and dirty air. Virgil and Gordon towed more people out of the room while Jeff found another fire extinguisher and helped Scott try to control the rapidly spreading fire.
John was nowhere to be seen. Virgil, leading a mother and her twin sons out of the room, dared look around the corner at the crowd of people trying to see what was going on. His older brother was waving his crutch around and creating a barrier between the open doors and the curious people. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the look of his beaten-up sibling threatening the spectators to stay back while moving the crutch through the air like a madman.
Scott barreled into him as he ran out of the restaurant. "Everyone's out!" He yelled to John and Virgil as Jeff and Gordon emerged from the doors, covered in soot and choking on the smoky air. People around them cheered at the news that no one had been hurt and that the fire department was on their way.
Gordon kicked the doors shut, trying to keep the spreading fire at bay, and collapsed on his knees in a coughing fit. With every gasp his back ached, reminding him of the boating accident that had almost taken his life. He continued to cough as Scott helped him to his feet.
The Tracy's hurried upstairs before the fire fighters showed up and crowded into Brains' room, where he, Tin-Tin and Kyrano had gathered. They asked what had happened anxiously while the men took seats around the room - Scott, Virgil and Gordon on the bed, John on the sofa after moving aside some cables from Brain's equipment and Jeff leaning against the wall.
"No casualties?" Tin-Tin wondered when they finished telling the story.
"Nope, none at all." Scott answered gladly. He wiped at the sweat on his forehead and sighed.
"Are we all right to go to sleep, do you think? They won't want to talk to you, will they?" She asked.
"I think we're all right for tonight. We should get some rest. It's been a long day," replied Jeff.
The boys agreed and said their farewells, heading back to their respectful rooms. Kyrano helped a stressed and still pained Tin-Tin back to their room while Jeff walked down the hall to his. There was no one on the floor expect them - everyone was downstairs near the action. It didn't matter that they yelled goodnights to each other before closing their doors.
+++
The next morning, Virgil woke up in a puddle of blood. He threw off the covers and looked down at his red sheets, racking his brain as to how it had gotten there. The night before, he had been so tired he hadn't bothered to change his clothes. Now he ripped off his shirt and inspected the deep gash in his back caused by a large chunk of broken glass. He'd landed on its point and it had dug into his skin, ripping a hole in his t-shirt.
Virgil took the sheets off the bed and put them in a pile on the floor before trying to get the blood off his back using the bathroom mirror. He winced as the water he was cleaning it with flowed into the cut. After that, he found a long, thick piece of bandage in his first aid kit and wrapped it around his midsection, putting enough pressure on the gaping flesh to halt it's bleeding.
He found a clean shirt and threw it over his head before calling the front desk to send someone up to take his dirty sheets. After he'd remade the bed with fresh ones supplied by the maid, Virgil gingerly lay down on his side and fell back into a restless sleep.
Next door, Scott opened his eyes to a muffled pounding. He raised his head and looked around the room, trying to find the source of the sound. His ears told him it was coming from the tiny living room and he grabbed a pair of scissors from his shaving kit as a weapon, in case someone had broken in. The sight that awaited him made him drop the scissors and open his mouth in shock.
Gordon sat on his couch, bound, blindfolded and gagged. LEAVE was written in bold black letters on his forehead.