"Yes, father, I do believe the crooks have been nabbed." John was saying as
Scott entered the living room the next morning. His brother was talking to
Jeff via the screen that replaced his portrait on the wall.
"What are you two talking about?" Scott wondered, picking up the newspaper the mail plane had dropped off a few hours before.
"Two men robbed a bank in London last night, and John's been following the messages since this morning. He thinks the guys have been caught already." Jeff explained.
"That's good," Scott answered, mindlessly flipping through the pages of the paper. When he didn't see anything that caught his eye, he put it down and sat on the couch.
"Is something the matter, son?" His father asked.
"Nope, not at all. Just a bit tired I guess."
They looked up as Tin-Tin came in with a tray of tea. She placed it down and turned to Scott. "Brains wants to see you in the lab. He's picking up a strange signal and he needs a second pair of ears," she told him, pouring a cup for herself and Jeff.
"I'm right on it." Scott left the room and the other two continued the friendly conversation with John.
"What's going on, Brains?" Scott asked as he strode into the laboratory a few moments later.
"I've got er, something u-u-unidentifiable on t-t-the radar." The engineer said. He turned on the speakers and let Scott listen to the waves of sound it was sending in their direction.
"It sounds like it's an aircraft, rather than a boat. Is it?"
"Y-Y-Yes, it's in the a-a-air."
Scott knew he had heard the signal before. "Do you remember the last time we heard this sound from the scanner, Brains?"
Brains didn't reply, he was running tests to try and find out what kind of plane made a sound like the one they were hearing. The scientist had created a new version of the radar to detect exactly what was approaching them so the members of International Rescue would know whether it would be a threat to the organization and what exactly they had to do to keep their secret safe.
Gordon walked into the lab just then. "Hey, what's that noise?" He asked.
"We're not sure. It's familiar though, do you know what it could be?"
"Yeah, I've heard that one before. Wasn't it before someone visited the island? I can't remember when that was though," Gordon answered thoughtfully.
The three men listened for a few minutes longer, seeing the little blip on the screen getting nearer and nearer to the island with each passing second. Then Scott and Gordon looked at each other wide-eyed, recognizing the sound at the same time.
"Eddie!" They cried in one voice.
Gordon and Scott took off, running back down the hall towards the living room.
"Eddie Houseman is on his way!" Gordon said, looking around at everyone.
Alan, who was watching TV from the couch, made a face. "Eddie?"
"That's enough, Alan," Jeff warned as he sat down behind his desk.
"Operation cover-up!" Chorused Virgil and Gordon with identical grins. They watched as the portraits of them in their uniforms gave way to casual ones along the wall.
Tin-Tin came inside from where she had been on the deck. "What's going on?"
The brothers looked at each other, knowing the subject of Eddie was something Tin-Tin hated talking about. Having him around wasn't going to be much better.
"Eddie's coming for a visit," Scott told her.
"Eddie? How come? Did he call? Are we expecting him?" Tin-Tin's expression changed slightly and she glanced at Alan, knowing how much the youngest Tracy despised the man.
"We don't know why he's coming, Tin-Tin, but we weren't expecting him." Jeff answered.
"Gordon, go get Virgil. I think he's touching up the paint on Thunderbird 2 after that run in with the palm trees last week. We'll have to make sure he's out of the hangar before Eddie gets here." Scott said.
Gordon disappeared and found himself in Thunderbird 2's hangar a minute later. "Virgil!" He called.
"Up here!"
Gordon looked up to see his brother on his stomach on the nose of Thunderbird 2, going over a large scratch with his paintbrush and a tube of green paint. Virgil looked down at him, not the slightest bit worried at being so high off the ground without any means of help if he were to fall.
"You'll have to finish that later, Virg. We're about to have a visitor."
"Who?" Virgil slowly slid across the body of his craft until he was close enough to the ladder he had propped up against the side. Gordon held it as Virgil swung down, holding the paintbrush in his teeth.
"Eddie Houseman."
"What does he want with us?"
"Beats me. His ETA is about six minutes, so we have to get upstairs and try and look like we're not waiting for another call." Gordon said.
"And if we get one while he's here?"
"Then we'll have to distract him or something." Gordon started for the door. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah, I'm coming." Virgil stashed the paintbrush and tube in one of the buckets full of supplies for cleaning the ship and followed his brother back into the lounge.
+++
Eddie looked down at the island they were rapidly approaching out of the window of the airplane his friend Fred was piloting.
"Who are these people you're visiting anyway, Eddie?" Fred asked.
"Old friends." He answered blandly, wondering what Tin-Tin had been up to since he'd last seen her.
"Who's the girl?"
"What girl?"
"I know you too well, Eddie Houseman. What girl are you chasing this time?" Eddie could almost hear the smirk in Fred's words.
"Nobody you'd know, Fred."
His friend laughed and the plane began its descent towards the island. Eddie thought he saw someone standing on the deck watching but they turned too quickly to be sure. The landing was smooth and within only a few minutes, Eddie found himself standing on the runway of Tracy Island, holding a small suitcase.
The first person he saw was the father of the group, Mr. Tracy. Eddie smiled at him and shook his hand as they exchanged greetings. From above the cliff where Thunderbird 2 was hidden, the others watched, wondering why Eddie had come to their island when there clearly wasn't anything there for him anymore.
"I wish you had called, Eddie. We would have made more effort to be prepared for your arrival," Jeff stated, leading the young man into the house.
"No need to prepare anything for me, Mr. Tracy. I'm sorry I didn't give you any notice, but I just decided to come visit yesterday," Eddie replied.
"What made you think of us?"
"Well, I got this weird station on my radio and I could have sworn I heard your voice, and Tin-Tin's, and two of your sons' I believe. I don't know what to make of it, so I thought I could come and ask you."
By now they had entered the living room and the four brothers casually sitting on the couches glanced at each other as they heard Eddie's last few sentences. Tin-Tin was perched like a statue on the arm of the chair Alan was sitting in and didn't even look up when Eddie and Jeff came into the lounge.
Jeff peered at Scott and could see the alarm in his son's eyes. With a fleeting look, he silenced any comments the eldest boy would have said and turned back to Eddie. "Do you have the radio in question with you?"
"Of course." Eddie opened his suitcase and pulled out a dented little box with a missing speaker. "It fell off my dresser, and that's when I began hearing your voices."
"Are you sure it was us?"
"I'm not positive, but nearly. I mean, I heard Tin-Tin loud and clear." He raised his eyes from the radio to her, just in time to see her looking uneasily at one of the sons - Virgil, Eddie recalled. "And she was saying your sons names. I heard you too, Mr. Tracy."
Scott twisted around and looked at Virgil inquisitively. Virgil shrugged, just as curious as Scott as to what Eddie had heard.
"What are you two talking about?" Scott wondered, picking up the newspaper the mail plane had dropped off a few hours before.
"Two men robbed a bank in London last night, and John's been following the messages since this morning. He thinks the guys have been caught already." Jeff explained.
"That's good," Scott answered, mindlessly flipping through the pages of the paper. When he didn't see anything that caught his eye, he put it down and sat on the couch.
"Is something the matter, son?" His father asked.
"Nope, not at all. Just a bit tired I guess."
They looked up as Tin-Tin came in with a tray of tea. She placed it down and turned to Scott. "Brains wants to see you in the lab. He's picking up a strange signal and he needs a second pair of ears," she told him, pouring a cup for herself and Jeff.
"I'm right on it." Scott left the room and the other two continued the friendly conversation with John.
"What's going on, Brains?" Scott asked as he strode into the laboratory a few moments later.
"I've got er, something u-u-unidentifiable on t-t-the radar." The engineer said. He turned on the speakers and let Scott listen to the waves of sound it was sending in their direction.
"It sounds like it's an aircraft, rather than a boat. Is it?"
"Y-Y-Yes, it's in the a-a-air."
Scott knew he had heard the signal before. "Do you remember the last time we heard this sound from the scanner, Brains?"
Brains didn't reply, he was running tests to try and find out what kind of plane made a sound like the one they were hearing. The scientist had created a new version of the radar to detect exactly what was approaching them so the members of International Rescue would know whether it would be a threat to the organization and what exactly they had to do to keep their secret safe.
Gordon walked into the lab just then. "Hey, what's that noise?" He asked.
"We're not sure. It's familiar though, do you know what it could be?"
"Yeah, I've heard that one before. Wasn't it before someone visited the island? I can't remember when that was though," Gordon answered thoughtfully.
The three men listened for a few minutes longer, seeing the little blip on the screen getting nearer and nearer to the island with each passing second. Then Scott and Gordon looked at each other wide-eyed, recognizing the sound at the same time.
"Eddie!" They cried in one voice.
Gordon and Scott took off, running back down the hall towards the living room.
"Eddie Houseman is on his way!" Gordon said, looking around at everyone.
Alan, who was watching TV from the couch, made a face. "Eddie?"
"That's enough, Alan," Jeff warned as he sat down behind his desk.
"Operation cover-up!" Chorused Virgil and Gordon with identical grins. They watched as the portraits of them in their uniforms gave way to casual ones along the wall.
Tin-Tin came inside from where she had been on the deck. "What's going on?"
The brothers looked at each other, knowing the subject of Eddie was something Tin-Tin hated talking about. Having him around wasn't going to be much better.
"Eddie's coming for a visit," Scott told her.
"Eddie? How come? Did he call? Are we expecting him?" Tin-Tin's expression changed slightly and she glanced at Alan, knowing how much the youngest Tracy despised the man.
"We don't know why he's coming, Tin-Tin, but we weren't expecting him." Jeff answered.
"Gordon, go get Virgil. I think he's touching up the paint on Thunderbird 2 after that run in with the palm trees last week. We'll have to make sure he's out of the hangar before Eddie gets here." Scott said.
Gordon disappeared and found himself in Thunderbird 2's hangar a minute later. "Virgil!" He called.
"Up here!"
Gordon looked up to see his brother on his stomach on the nose of Thunderbird 2, going over a large scratch with his paintbrush and a tube of green paint. Virgil looked down at him, not the slightest bit worried at being so high off the ground without any means of help if he were to fall.
"You'll have to finish that later, Virg. We're about to have a visitor."
"Who?" Virgil slowly slid across the body of his craft until he was close enough to the ladder he had propped up against the side. Gordon held it as Virgil swung down, holding the paintbrush in his teeth.
"Eddie Houseman."
"What does he want with us?"
"Beats me. His ETA is about six minutes, so we have to get upstairs and try and look like we're not waiting for another call." Gordon said.
"And if we get one while he's here?"
"Then we'll have to distract him or something." Gordon started for the door. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah, I'm coming." Virgil stashed the paintbrush and tube in one of the buckets full of supplies for cleaning the ship and followed his brother back into the lounge.
+++
Eddie looked down at the island they were rapidly approaching out of the window of the airplane his friend Fred was piloting.
"Who are these people you're visiting anyway, Eddie?" Fred asked.
"Old friends." He answered blandly, wondering what Tin-Tin had been up to since he'd last seen her.
"Who's the girl?"
"What girl?"
"I know you too well, Eddie Houseman. What girl are you chasing this time?" Eddie could almost hear the smirk in Fred's words.
"Nobody you'd know, Fred."
His friend laughed and the plane began its descent towards the island. Eddie thought he saw someone standing on the deck watching but they turned too quickly to be sure. The landing was smooth and within only a few minutes, Eddie found himself standing on the runway of Tracy Island, holding a small suitcase.
The first person he saw was the father of the group, Mr. Tracy. Eddie smiled at him and shook his hand as they exchanged greetings. From above the cliff where Thunderbird 2 was hidden, the others watched, wondering why Eddie had come to their island when there clearly wasn't anything there for him anymore.
"I wish you had called, Eddie. We would have made more effort to be prepared for your arrival," Jeff stated, leading the young man into the house.
"No need to prepare anything for me, Mr. Tracy. I'm sorry I didn't give you any notice, but I just decided to come visit yesterday," Eddie replied.
"What made you think of us?"
"Well, I got this weird station on my radio and I could have sworn I heard your voice, and Tin-Tin's, and two of your sons' I believe. I don't know what to make of it, so I thought I could come and ask you."
By now they had entered the living room and the four brothers casually sitting on the couches glanced at each other as they heard Eddie's last few sentences. Tin-Tin was perched like a statue on the arm of the chair Alan was sitting in and didn't even look up when Eddie and Jeff came into the lounge.
Jeff peered at Scott and could see the alarm in his son's eyes. With a fleeting look, he silenced any comments the eldest boy would have said and turned back to Eddie. "Do you have the radio in question with you?"
"Of course." Eddie opened his suitcase and pulled out a dented little box with a missing speaker. "It fell off my dresser, and that's when I began hearing your voices."
"Are you sure it was us?"
"I'm not positive, but nearly. I mean, I heard Tin-Tin loud and clear." He raised his eyes from the radio to her, just in time to see her looking uneasily at one of the sons - Virgil, Eddie recalled. "And she was saying your sons names. I heard you too, Mr. Tracy."
Scott twisted around and looked at Virgil inquisitively. Virgil shrugged, just as curious as Scott as to what Eddie had heard.