Gordon stopped the police before they left and then went back inside to see what was happening. Virgil and Scott had pinned the woman to the thinly carpeted floor despite her wiggling and screamed insults.

"So, Spiderwoman, feel like stopping some crime today?" Scott grumbled into her ear as he folded her hands behind her back to keep her from escaping. He had recognized the ocean-blue eyes the minute he saw them from across the room.

"Get off me, Tracy. I'll have you sued for harassment!" She screeched.

"I'll have you locked up for attempted murder," Virgil retorted, trying to hold her flailing legs still.

This shut the woman up and she stopped trying to kick Virgil in the face. The boys held her tightly until the cops came and picked her form up off the ground. She glared at the brothers as they locked her in similar handcuffs to her associate.

Before the police could take her away, Scott suddenly jumped in front of them, bringing them to a stop. "Can I look in her purse?"

"Her purse?" The male officer seemed surprised. "I suppose so. What do you intend to find in there?"

"A key, to her hotel room. There's one other person involved in this and we've yet to find him." Scott reached for her bag and managed to open it, ignoring her shrill protests. He dug around for a second before pulling out a keycard, exactly what he had guessed he would find. He thanked the officers, pocketed the card and watched them lead her outside.

Virgil and Scott pushed their way through the crowd that had gathered, awed whispers floating around them. With a quick word to their families, they took off up the stairs to try and locate the hotel room the woman was staying in.

"The card's blank, Scott. How do you plan on finding the exact room it will open? There must be hundreds in this hotel!" Virgil said as they walked down the hall on their floor.

"I'm guessing we won't have to look far. They were probably on the same floor as us, so they could watch every move we made and plan their attacks." Scott answered, taking the card from his pocket and fitting it into the first door they came to after their father's room.

The card slid in and the light above the slot went red. It wasn't the room they were looking for. They continued down the hall until they reached the last door on the left. Virgil was becoming impatient and wanted to just go downstairs and get the hotel to scan the card and find out what room it belonged to.

"Aha!" Scott grinned triumphantly as the light turned green and the door swung open.

They walked inside cautiously, wondering what awaited them on the other side. Virgil and Scott weren't sure where the Hood was hiding out, and if he were in the room, it could mean a deadly fate for the both of them.

Scott crept towards the wall and turned on the light, bathing the living room they had entered in a dim glow. Nothing was out of place as far as he could tell – there was no suitcase, no trace whatsoever of any human life. The brothers went into the bedroom and found a similar scene. It looked like no one had set foot in the room for days and they knew the maids had cleaned it recently because the smell of air freshener hung in the air.

"Now what?" Virgil asked, looking around.

"I think we've hit a dead end. But why would she have this card if she wasn't staying in this room?" Scott wondered.

"Beats me." Virgil murmured, his eyes landing on a piece of paper on the bed fluttering in the open window. He walked over to it and picked it up, his eyes widening at the crudely handwritten letters.

I'll get you someday, International Rescue.

+++

The speedboat flew across the Pacific Ocean towards Tracy Island, Jeff at the wheel. Tin-Tin, Brains, Kyrano, and his sons were crowded onto the seats behind him, the latter group participating in a conversation with raised voices, trying to be heard over the slamming of the hull against the waves.

"What I don't understand is why he wanted us out of the hotel in the first place," Gordon yelled at Scott.

"I don't know why either. Do you think he might have wanted to rob the place or something?" Scott shouted back.

Gordon shrugged and Virgil picked up the train of thought. "Why would he want to rob the hotel? It's not like they have anything he wants. The Hood seems only to be interested in plans, specifically ours. There must be another motive behind it."

"Maybe he just wanted to get us while we were on the mainland, since he doesn't know where base is." John volunteered, peering out over the dark sea towards Tracy Island, which loomed in the distance and got nearer with every passing second.

"But why would he want to hurt us? Wouldn't he want to call us out for a rescue and steal our plans?" Scott asked loudly.

"The Hood is a twisted criminal, Scott. You never know what he could be thinking." Tin-Tin told him, resting her head on her arm as she leaned forward to join in, Kyrano watching the waves as they passed in a blue blur next to her.

"I'm just glad you're all okay," Jeff called over his shoulder, steering the boat away from a floating log.

"Thank you, Mr. Tracy," Tin-Tin smiled brightly, relieved the Hood hadn't fatally wounded any of them.

"I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing Alan," Scott teased from the seat to her right.

Tin-Tin let out an exaggerated sigh. "Only two more days."

The boys laughed and Virgil looked at John. "How about you, John? Feel ready to get back to Thunderbird 5?"

"As long as it means getting a break from you all," His brother answered, grinning. "I can see why I like it up there so much. It's so quiet."

Gordon grabbed the end of his crutch and pulled, sending John sprawling onto the floor since he'd had his hands locked around it during the ride. Then, feeling bad for picking on his injured brother, Gordon helped him back onto the plastic bench built into the side of the boat.

"You deserved that," Scott said jokingly as John glared at Gordon.

"Perhaps, but I'm sore enough as it is," John rubbed his knee for emphasis.

"I'm still wondering why the Hood decided to go after International Rescue while we were on vacation." Tin-Tin's hair whipped about her face in a black cloud as the others turned back to her.

"I want to know what he wanted with us. He obviously wanted us to leave, or else he wouldn't have written it on Gordon's head, but there's no reasonable explanation for any of it," Virgil said thoughtfully.

Scott looked out over the ocean, his eyes reflecting the tossing waves topped with white caps. "I guess we'll never know."

********************

One more chapter to go, guys! Then I'll try and post one of the other TB fics I'm currently working on. . .you will read it, won't you? :)

Angelina