Happy New Year Everyone!
Back at last - my computer had a longer holiday than I did.
On with the show...
Chapter 5 *TELEVISION*
_____________________________________________________________________________
"Good Evening, this is Network News. I'm Judy Long.
Tonight's main story: A fire in a local industrial estate has trapped two people. One a member of International Rescue, the other a five year old girl.
The fire which has extensively damaged 6 buildings was discovered late this afternoon. International Rescue had been called in to rescue 17 people trapped in the offices of "Merton & Co."
It appears that the young girl, Cassie Marie Mountain, had run away from home and was hiding in one of the warehouses when she was trapped by the fire. One of International Rescue operatives went in to save her and has also been trapped. Last reports were that both were well, but we have information to hand that another explosion has cut all communication between those trapped and the rescuers. Police are as of yet unsure of what caused the blaze.
These pre-recorded pictures show flames leaping at least 600 feet high. We are unable to bring you live pictures as one of International Rescue's vehicles are trying to put out the blaze. This station respects International Rescue's request for privacy and will bring you no further footage of this rescue..."
_____________________________________________________________________________
A languid hand waved through the beam, turning the TV off. She turned to her butler standing beside her. He was the first to speak.
"Lumme, M-lady, which one do you think h'it h'is."
"I don't know Parker, but Mr Tracy must be very worried at the moment. I'll give him a call. The least we can offer him is moral support." She took the teapot he was holding. Twisting the knob on the top she spoke to the teapot. "England calling International Rescue..."
Jeff Tracy looked up at the beeping sound. His first glance was towards the five portraits of his sons, but their eyes remained blank in their identical frames. He then turned towards the portrait of Lady Penelope. The beads were flashing in time with the beeps. "Come in Penny."
"Jeff, I just heard the news..." Lady Penelope paused, unsure of how to phrase her next question. Jeff answered it for her.
"It's Virgil..." he filled her in with all the details as he knew them.
"I know its not much comfort, but if Parker and I can be any help, you won't hesitate to call, will you Jeff?"
"Thanks Penny. It helps to know that you're there if need be."
Scott hovered in Thunderbird Two above a towering pillar of fire. The undercarriage of the great plane reflected orange in the flames. "This is going to be tricky" he muttered to himself. He reached for the switch marked vertical extinguishers.
A fine spray of Dicetyline emitted from Thunderbird Two's undercarriage. It coated the scene below it in a fine white mist. The fire shrank back from the white assault.
Scott carefully lowered Thunderbird Two into the channel that he had created. Flames still leapt past the crafts wings, but below him, where it mattered, the fire was subsiding.
Tin-Tin grabbed the microphone. "It's working!" she exclaimed to Brains and Gordon. "Stand by to go in!"
"FAB, just give us the word" was Gordon's reply.
Closer and closer to the top of the building, if it was still there, sank Thunderbird Two. Too low and the crafts vertical jets would nullify the effect of the Dicetyline, too high and the Dicetyline would not be able to do its work.
It required the skills of an experienced pilot. Skill that Scott was sure that he had, but he was used to the feather-light controls of Thunderbird One, controls that he was able to use instinctively. In comparison Thunderbird Two felt heavy and sluggish. "Virgil would have found this job a piece of cake" he reflected.
Time ticked by. The fire seemed to have found its second wind and was resisting all efforts to stifle it. "I can't give up," Scott thought, "but I'm only wasting precious time and Dicetyline here." He voiced his thoughts to Tin-Tin at Mobile Control, "I'm coming in to land, I'm not doing any good."
Tin-Tin sounded disappointed. "FAB Scott. I'll alert the others."
Why was the rescue taking so long? It seemed as if they'd been lying there for hours. The explosion had stunned them, until Cassie had started screaming again. It was only then that Virgil had found his voice and tried to radio the others. But there had been no reply. "Perhaps they're hurt?" Virgil thought "Maybe there's nobody left to help us." He quickly dismissed that thought as being silly and dragged his attention back to the little girl beside him.
Cassie had stopped screaming, but her breathing seemed strange. Her eyes, as big as saucers, transmitted the fear that she was no longer able to articulate. She was breathing faster than she was before, and her chest heaved as she gasped for air.
"She's hyperventilating!" Virgil knew that the human body needed a certain amount of Carbon Dioxide to live, and that when the CO2 levels became low the instinctive reaction was to breathe harder and faster until the patient blacked out. Panic had brought on her hyperventilation which had been exacerbated by the very thing that was saving her life. Her oxygen cylinder had been designed for only short periods of use and contained little Carbon Dioxide. The time honoured method of treatment was to hold a paper bag over the patients face. This was, of course, impractical at the moment. He knew that his own oxygen supply had been designed for longer use and contained a more balanced mixture of gases, but that wouldn't help her.
He did the only thing he could. He turned off her oxygen supply, speaking to her as he did so. "It's alright Cassie, calm down. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise, and pixies keep their promises don't they."
She nodded and slowly her breathing returned to normal. Virgil turned her oxygen supply back on.
That little crisis over he began to take stock of their situation. The explosion had hurled more debris around them and over them. One particularly big hunk of timber had landed across his hip. He had no doubt that he would have a large angry bruise there for days to come. He didn't think that he could have received worse injuries.
The fire had crept closer. He could feel its heat through his protective armour. He was grateful that he had put the extra fire blanket over Cassie earlier. She was going to need more protection now. Looking up, and flames and smoke jostled for his attention above their heads. He estimated the inferno was about three feet away.
Looking back at Cassie and another thought crept into his mind. A few moments ago too much oxygen had been a problem, but what would happen when they ran out. He only had one, small spare cylinder, if he could reach it. He would give it to Cassie when she needed it. It didn't occur to him to use it himself if his own supply ran out.
He tried to estimate how much air he would have left. He'd used the same cylinder during his rescues at "Merton & Co" which had taken about an hour. There was about three hours worth of air in a fully filled cylinder. How long had he been trapped here?
Why did he do this job? Why did he risk his neck for other people that he would probably never see again? Apart from Eddie Houseman, and those incidents with the monorail, every person he'd rescued had been a total stranger, someone he'd no emotional ties with. And yet he'd persisted in flying a great green plane, that physical logic suggested had no right to fly, out to risk life and limb to help some person he didn't even know.
He let his thoughts drift even further. Back to the island. Back to fresh air, sunshine, palm trees, his family.
He remembered the first time he had flown Thunderbird Two. When he'd disembarked he'd slapped Brains on the back. "She handles like a dream, Brains." And Brains, the brilliant inventor of the craft, had blushed and looked downwards shyly.
He remembered the good times he and his brothers had had together. Sure there had been arguments, but by and large they had got on well. Despite the age differences, they had always played together, inventing their own games, forming bonds, establishing roles that were serving them well in their present occupations.
He could picture his father, feel the security of being by his fathers side. Feel the warm glow of contentment as his father praised him for achieving something new. "Look Dad, I painted this picture."
"That's great son, I'm real proud of you."
His memory went back even further, to when he last saw his mother. He hadn't thought about her for a long time. He tried to remember what she looked like. He knew he and his mother had a lot in common. "Well Mom, perhaps we'll be together soon."
The thought startled him. "What am I doing. I'm not ready to die. I'm certainly not going to let Cassie die. She wants to see her mother too, and her father. I'm going to make sure that we both get to see our parents again."
He tried to think of what he could talk to her about. He'd had little experience in what five year old girls were interested in. He'd never had an interest in dolls except the mannequins he and his brothers practised life saving techniques on. What else did little girls like. Painting? Music? It was worth a try.
Scott slammed his fist into his palm in frustration. "What else can we do, Brains?"
Brains raised his head from the portable computer where he working on some unfathomable equations. "W-we can try 5SFJ."
Gordon was aghast. "5SFJ! But Brains, you've said it yourself, that stuff's too dangerous to use in this situation."
Brains blinked at him owlishly through his blue rimed glasses. "That's true, if we, ah, release the formula in the general vicinity of V-Virgil and the girl. B-But if we use 'Fire-Fly' to fire a capsule of 5SFJ into the two wings of the w-warehouse, we can extinguish much of the fire and concentrate our efforts on the d-danger zone." He indicated the computer. "I-I've calculated how much 5SFJ we will require and the precise position it needs to be f-fired into."
Scott looked doubtful. "I don't know Brains, it's a big risk. D'you think it'll work"
"A-At the moment, I can see no other c-course of action. Our o-only other option is to let the fire burn itself out." Was the reply.
Scott sighed. "By which time it might be too late. We've got no other choice, and we're wasting time standing round here talking. Brains you make up as many capsules of 5SFJ as you think we will need. Gordon and I'll go and transfer the remaining Dicetyline from Thunderbird Two to the 'Squirt'."
Tin-Tin informed Jeff Tracy of the next plan of action. He wasn't impressed.
"Are they sure they know what they're doing? We both know the effects of that stuff."
Tin-Tin tried to reassure him. "We've exhausted all other options, Mr Tracy, and Brains thinks that as long as we fire it into the right area it should be alright."
Jeff took a breath to calm his nerves. "Okay. Brains is in a better position to assess the effectiveness of this than I am. If he thinks it will work, we had better try it. What does Scott think of this course of action?"
Tin-Tin had to be honest. "I got the impression that he wasn't totally happy with it either. But like you he is willing to accept Brains' judgement."
"Tell the boys good luck. We're with them all the way."
"FAB Mr Tracy."
Cassie's air supply was almost extinguished. With stiff fingers Virgil replaced the spent cartridge with a fresh one. He spoke reassuringly to her when he had finished.
"There, that's done. How are you feeling?"
"Okay, but Everest is getting hot!"
Virgil chuckled. "I'm afraid Everest is going to have to stay hot until we get out of here. You were telling me about what you do at school."
Cassie brightened up. "We play games. I like playing games. My favourite is 'touch tap'." She proceeded to explain how you play the game. Virgil pretended to understand all the rules by exclaiming in what he hoped were the appropriate places. It was very hard to hear her voice above the roar of the flames. And to be fair, Cassie's instructions weren't exactly clear.
When he assumed that she had finished her explanation he said, "Well, that sounds like fun. My brothers and I will have to play that sometime."
"Do you have brothers?"
"That's torn it." He thought. "I'd better not give too much away now." Aloud he said "Yes I have."
"And sisters?"
"No" Seeking to turn the conversation away from himself he asked her "Would you like any brothers or sisters?"
Cassie pondered this question for a while before she answered. "If he was like Everest, or a pixie like you, yes I would like a brother. But not if he's like Tanya's brother." She then started to tell Virgil about her friends brother who always teased them.
Scott had finished explaining to the fire chief, his department's part in the plan. "So when we give the signal you move your men in as fast as possible."
The fire chief almost saluted his understanding. "My men are in position and waiting your instructions. Which side are you going to take out first?"
Brains had joined them by now so Scott let him answer this question. "W-We'll attack the north end and then t-the south.
"I m-must emphasise though how important it is for y-your men to stay back, until we give the s-signal."
The fire chief nodded gravely. "I understand."
Tin-Tin was manning the Mobile Control. Gordon was waiting in the 'Squirt', he was joined by Scott. "All set?" he asked.
"Yep. Now we just have to wait for Brain's signal." He reached for the radio. "Tin-Tin, can you read me?"
"Strength five, Scott."
"How about you Brains"
"L-loud and clear."
"Right, we'll keep this channel open. I want to hear every command."
"FAB"
"FAB"
"In you go Brains, and good luck."
"T-thanks Scott."
The 'Fire-fly' rumbled forth from the bowels of pod Five. Brains consulted his notes. "Now for the north end," he said to himself. "I've got to load shell one for this end. Just enough 5SFJ to extinguish the fire in this wing. I'm lined up correctly. Double check. Yes that's right. Cannon set at the correct angle. Check!"
Gordon listening on the open channel hit the mute button so that his words wouldn't be transmitted. "I don't get it," he said to Scott "When he talks to us, he's stuttering all over the place. Now that he's muttering to himself his speech is perfect."
"I guess he's concentrating so hard that he forgets about his shyness." Scott theorised.
Gordon flicked the switch on the mute button again, just as Brains spoke into the radio.
"'F-fire-Fly' r-ready."
It was the message Scott had been waiting for. "Fire cannon!"
They weren't prepared for the roar as the shell hit. A fireball rose 900 feet into the air.
Scott's mouth went dry "What have we done?"
Teresa clung to Mitch crying. "Are they trying to kill them?"
There was a yell from Brains over the radio. "It worked! Send the fire appliances in!"
Tin-Tin gave the signal to the fire chief, who gave the order to his men. Fire trucks moved in and started to play water onto the blackened shell of what was left of the north part of the building.
Inside the north end of the building it was freezing cold. The 5SFJ had expanded, expelling the oxygen outwards and upwards. It was as though someone had blown out a giant candle. It had then frozen everything inside the building so the fire couldn't take hold again. The water from the fire brigade helped to stop the fire in the central part of the building from thawing out the north end and re-igniting the remaining wood.
Brains turned the 'Fire-fly' southwards to repeat his task. The second explosion, while just as loud as the first, didn't surprise them as much. Time for the 'Squirt' to move in. Gordon engaged the motors.
What was happening? First an explosion to the left of them, and then one to the right. Was it the centre, and them, next? Cassie was screaming hysterically again. She had managed to free an arm, which she was flailing about. Virgil was hit several times before he managed to pin her arm down. He tried to talk to her to calm her, but she couldn't hear his voice above the roar that was getting louder every moment. He froze. He knew that sound. He strained to look through the inferno towards the source of the noise.
Gordon pointed at a gauge. "We're getting low on Dicetyline."
Scott frowned. "I shouldn't have used so much with Thunderbird Two. We're going to be limited to one attempt"
"We're just going to have to make it count then." Gordon squared his jaw stubbornly and concentrated on his job at hand.
Ahead of them the flames parted. "Look!" Scott pointed incredulously. "There's a clear path." He nudged his brother. "Let's go."
Donning their protective hoods the pair ran out of the safety of the 'Squirt' and into the unknown. Scott carried a jack and Gordon a Dicetyline sprinkler.
There was a chink of blackness. No fire, no smoke, just welcome, cool, darkness. Virgil knew what that meant. "We're here!" he yelled. "International Rescue, we're here!"
Scott paused "Did you hear that? It's Virgil. C'mon!" They continued on blindly.
Miraculously the fire and smoke lifted and there lying under a pile of debris were the objects of Scott and Gordon's quest.
As he rushed towards Cassie, Gordon slammed the Dicetyline sprinkler into the ground and a spray of its contents gushed forth, cooling everything it touched.
Scott was by his brothers side. "How're you Virg.?" he asked.
"All the better for seeing you guys."
With the help of the jack, Gordon and Scott were able to quickly release Virgil and Cassie from their prison. Gordon scooped Cassie up and ran back down the Dicetyline corridor. Virgil found himself half carried and half dragged by Scott, in the same direction.
The fire wasn't willing to give up its prize that easily. One last untouched pile of barrels succumbed to the heat. The explosion equalled that caused by the 5SFJ.
The 'Squirt' was driven backwards with the force of the shock. Debris flew out over the assembled onlookers. The silver hull of Thunderbird One trembled with the shock-waves and a tattoo of debris rained against Thunderbird Two's fuselage.
Teresa and Mitch held their breath. Brains rose up from where he had crouched behind Mobile Control and surveyed the scene before him. Tin-Tin reached for the communication switch, fingers shaking.
"Mobile Control to the 'Squirt'. Do you read me? - Scott, Gordon, are you there?"
"The 'Squirt' to Mobile Control. All passengers safely aboard. Be with you in a couple of minutes. Tell Cassie's parents she's okay. Virgil's fine too."
Teresa and Mitch laughed and hugged each other in pure relief. As the 'Squirt' reversed out of the conflagration other members of the various rescue organisations clustered around Brains and Tin-Tin congratulating them.
As if realising that the game was over the fire died down and the framework of the building glistened blackly in the lights as the fire squad moved in to extinguish remaining hot spots.
As Scott stopped the 'Squirt', Gordon opened the exterior door and removed the last fire blanket from around Cassie. He picked her up, and as he turned to take her outside he kicked something. A silver bundle rolled under the cot she had been lying on. "C'mon Cassie." He said. "Let's go see your parents."
Her face lit up. "Mummy and Daddy?" she exclaimed.
Scott walked over to Virgil. "You feel up to meeting the Mountains?"
Virgil looked at him "Yeah well, I guess if the Mountains won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the Mountains."
Scott made a face. "If you're making puns like that, you must be okay!"
Virgil stood up and then fell to the floor with a yell of pain.
Scott quickly crouched beside him, his face creased with concern. "You're hurt!"
Virgil managed a wry smile. "Not really. It's just that having that lump of wood on my leg so long, my leg's gone to sleep. It's just waking up and I've got a king size case of pins and needles." He noticed the silver bundle under the cot. "Hey, she's forgotten Everest." He pointed to where the bear was lying and Scott retrieved it for him.
Looking at Everest's button eyes staring at him through the hood, Virgil suddenly felt a wave of emotions wash over him. He buried his face in his hands to try to control the memories and emotions. Fear, relief and tiredness jumbled up inside of him and tried to come to the surface. He hadn't felt this exhausted in a long time. Scott sat beside Virgil and put his arm around him in a brotherly hug. They stayed that way for a moment until Virgil gave a sigh and gingerly flexed his legs. He seemed to be debating as to whether to say something. Finally he spoke.
"You know, while I was in there, and it was getting hotter, and noisier, and I'd lost communication with you guys, I nearly gave up. Totally. I started wondering why I'm in the rescue business. Why I'd risked my neck." He nodded towards the open door. They could see Cassie excitedly talking with her parents, eyes shining. They were all holding hands, creating a ring that no disaster could break. "That's the reason why I'm in this business." He looked back at Scott. "I wouldn't change a thing in my life."
Scott surprised by this speech, was unsure what to say, but nodded in understanding. "It must have been pretty rough." He said eventually.
Virgil gave a sudden smile and stood up, leaning on Scott's shoulder as he did so. "C'mon big brother. We've got to give Everest back."
They stepped outside the 'Squirt' and Virgil was hit by what seemed to be a flying embrace and a kiss on the cheek. He gave Tin-Tin a squeeze in return and said "That magazine was right. Our female members are pretty sexy."
Tin-Tin blushed and lightly hit him on the shoulder. "Oh Virgil" she scolded.
Virgil took Brains hand and shook it warmly. "I guess I owe you guys a great big thank you."
They walked over to the family reunion. The ring of Mountains broke and Mitch took a step back as Virgil handed the silver bundle to Cassie. "Here's someone who's missing you."
"Everest!" Cassie excitedly removed her toy from his protective layer and hugged him. "Thank you Pixie Virgil."
Virgil aware that his brothers were stifling some laughter behind him decided that he had better make some introductions. "Cassie, I would like you to meet some friends of mine. This is Brains, and Tin-Tin and Pixie Scott and Pixie Gordon. They were the one's who saved us."
Cassie's eyes grew round "Wow, more pixies. Thank you Pixies." She looked at Tin-Tin. "Are you a fairy?"
Tin-Tin gave a light laugh, mainly at Scott and Gordon's embarrassment. "No, I'm just a friend of the pixies."
Mitch grabbed Virgil's hand and pumped it vigorously. "Cassie has already said it, but I want to add my thanks too..."
Teresa giving Virgil a kiss of thanks added "If only there was some way we could repay you. You risked your life to save our daughter." She looked at Cassie and the look was all the repayment Virgil needed.
"Just remember," he gave her a wink as he spoke, "that we pixies are secretive folk." He crouched down beside Cassie, tapped her on the nose and made her giggle. "We don't tell everyone our names, just special people. So now we have to make you an honorary pixie, and you have to promise not to tell anyone else what we are called."
Cassie gave a solemn nod. "I promise" she said. Her face split into a wide grin and she threw her arms around Virgil. "Thank you Pixie Virgil."
Back at last - my computer had a longer holiday than I did.
On with the show...
Chapter 5 *TELEVISION*
_____________________________________________________________________________
"Good Evening, this is Network News. I'm Judy Long.
Tonight's main story: A fire in a local industrial estate has trapped two people. One a member of International Rescue, the other a five year old girl.
The fire which has extensively damaged 6 buildings was discovered late this afternoon. International Rescue had been called in to rescue 17 people trapped in the offices of "Merton & Co."
It appears that the young girl, Cassie Marie Mountain, had run away from home and was hiding in one of the warehouses when she was trapped by the fire. One of International Rescue operatives went in to save her and has also been trapped. Last reports were that both were well, but we have information to hand that another explosion has cut all communication between those trapped and the rescuers. Police are as of yet unsure of what caused the blaze.
These pre-recorded pictures show flames leaping at least 600 feet high. We are unable to bring you live pictures as one of International Rescue's vehicles are trying to put out the blaze. This station respects International Rescue's request for privacy and will bring you no further footage of this rescue..."
_____________________________________________________________________________
A languid hand waved through the beam, turning the TV off. She turned to her butler standing beside her. He was the first to speak.
"Lumme, M-lady, which one do you think h'it h'is."
"I don't know Parker, but Mr Tracy must be very worried at the moment. I'll give him a call. The least we can offer him is moral support." She took the teapot he was holding. Twisting the knob on the top she spoke to the teapot. "England calling International Rescue..."
Jeff Tracy looked up at the beeping sound. His first glance was towards the five portraits of his sons, but their eyes remained blank in their identical frames. He then turned towards the portrait of Lady Penelope. The beads were flashing in time with the beeps. "Come in Penny."
"Jeff, I just heard the news..." Lady Penelope paused, unsure of how to phrase her next question. Jeff answered it for her.
"It's Virgil..." he filled her in with all the details as he knew them.
"I know its not much comfort, but if Parker and I can be any help, you won't hesitate to call, will you Jeff?"
"Thanks Penny. It helps to know that you're there if need be."
Scott hovered in Thunderbird Two above a towering pillar of fire. The undercarriage of the great plane reflected orange in the flames. "This is going to be tricky" he muttered to himself. He reached for the switch marked vertical extinguishers.
A fine spray of Dicetyline emitted from Thunderbird Two's undercarriage. It coated the scene below it in a fine white mist. The fire shrank back from the white assault.
Scott carefully lowered Thunderbird Two into the channel that he had created. Flames still leapt past the crafts wings, but below him, where it mattered, the fire was subsiding.
Tin-Tin grabbed the microphone. "It's working!" she exclaimed to Brains and Gordon. "Stand by to go in!"
"FAB, just give us the word" was Gordon's reply.
Closer and closer to the top of the building, if it was still there, sank Thunderbird Two. Too low and the crafts vertical jets would nullify the effect of the Dicetyline, too high and the Dicetyline would not be able to do its work.
It required the skills of an experienced pilot. Skill that Scott was sure that he had, but he was used to the feather-light controls of Thunderbird One, controls that he was able to use instinctively. In comparison Thunderbird Two felt heavy and sluggish. "Virgil would have found this job a piece of cake" he reflected.
Time ticked by. The fire seemed to have found its second wind and was resisting all efforts to stifle it. "I can't give up," Scott thought, "but I'm only wasting precious time and Dicetyline here." He voiced his thoughts to Tin-Tin at Mobile Control, "I'm coming in to land, I'm not doing any good."
Tin-Tin sounded disappointed. "FAB Scott. I'll alert the others."
Why was the rescue taking so long? It seemed as if they'd been lying there for hours. The explosion had stunned them, until Cassie had started screaming again. It was only then that Virgil had found his voice and tried to radio the others. But there had been no reply. "Perhaps they're hurt?" Virgil thought "Maybe there's nobody left to help us." He quickly dismissed that thought as being silly and dragged his attention back to the little girl beside him.
Cassie had stopped screaming, but her breathing seemed strange. Her eyes, as big as saucers, transmitted the fear that she was no longer able to articulate. She was breathing faster than she was before, and her chest heaved as she gasped for air.
"She's hyperventilating!" Virgil knew that the human body needed a certain amount of Carbon Dioxide to live, and that when the CO2 levels became low the instinctive reaction was to breathe harder and faster until the patient blacked out. Panic had brought on her hyperventilation which had been exacerbated by the very thing that was saving her life. Her oxygen cylinder had been designed for only short periods of use and contained little Carbon Dioxide. The time honoured method of treatment was to hold a paper bag over the patients face. This was, of course, impractical at the moment. He knew that his own oxygen supply had been designed for longer use and contained a more balanced mixture of gases, but that wouldn't help her.
He did the only thing he could. He turned off her oxygen supply, speaking to her as he did so. "It's alright Cassie, calm down. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise, and pixies keep their promises don't they."
She nodded and slowly her breathing returned to normal. Virgil turned her oxygen supply back on.
That little crisis over he began to take stock of their situation. The explosion had hurled more debris around them and over them. One particularly big hunk of timber had landed across his hip. He had no doubt that he would have a large angry bruise there for days to come. He didn't think that he could have received worse injuries.
The fire had crept closer. He could feel its heat through his protective armour. He was grateful that he had put the extra fire blanket over Cassie earlier. She was going to need more protection now. Looking up, and flames and smoke jostled for his attention above their heads. He estimated the inferno was about three feet away.
Looking back at Cassie and another thought crept into his mind. A few moments ago too much oxygen had been a problem, but what would happen when they ran out. He only had one, small spare cylinder, if he could reach it. He would give it to Cassie when she needed it. It didn't occur to him to use it himself if his own supply ran out.
He tried to estimate how much air he would have left. He'd used the same cylinder during his rescues at "Merton & Co" which had taken about an hour. There was about three hours worth of air in a fully filled cylinder. How long had he been trapped here?
Why did he do this job? Why did he risk his neck for other people that he would probably never see again? Apart from Eddie Houseman, and those incidents with the monorail, every person he'd rescued had been a total stranger, someone he'd no emotional ties with. And yet he'd persisted in flying a great green plane, that physical logic suggested had no right to fly, out to risk life and limb to help some person he didn't even know.
He let his thoughts drift even further. Back to the island. Back to fresh air, sunshine, palm trees, his family.
He remembered the first time he had flown Thunderbird Two. When he'd disembarked he'd slapped Brains on the back. "She handles like a dream, Brains." And Brains, the brilliant inventor of the craft, had blushed and looked downwards shyly.
He remembered the good times he and his brothers had had together. Sure there had been arguments, but by and large they had got on well. Despite the age differences, they had always played together, inventing their own games, forming bonds, establishing roles that were serving them well in their present occupations.
He could picture his father, feel the security of being by his fathers side. Feel the warm glow of contentment as his father praised him for achieving something new. "Look Dad, I painted this picture."
"That's great son, I'm real proud of you."
His memory went back even further, to when he last saw his mother. He hadn't thought about her for a long time. He tried to remember what she looked like. He knew he and his mother had a lot in common. "Well Mom, perhaps we'll be together soon."
The thought startled him. "What am I doing. I'm not ready to die. I'm certainly not going to let Cassie die. She wants to see her mother too, and her father. I'm going to make sure that we both get to see our parents again."
He tried to think of what he could talk to her about. He'd had little experience in what five year old girls were interested in. He'd never had an interest in dolls except the mannequins he and his brothers practised life saving techniques on. What else did little girls like. Painting? Music? It was worth a try.
Scott slammed his fist into his palm in frustration. "What else can we do, Brains?"
Brains raised his head from the portable computer where he working on some unfathomable equations. "W-we can try 5SFJ."
Gordon was aghast. "5SFJ! But Brains, you've said it yourself, that stuff's too dangerous to use in this situation."
Brains blinked at him owlishly through his blue rimed glasses. "That's true, if we, ah, release the formula in the general vicinity of V-Virgil and the girl. B-But if we use 'Fire-Fly' to fire a capsule of 5SFJ into the two wings of the w-warehouse, we can extinguish much of the fire and concentrate our efforts on the d-danger zone." He indicated the computer. "I-I've calculated how much 5SFJ we will require and the precise position it needs to be f-fired into."
Scott looked doubtful. "I don't know Brains, it's a big risk. D'you think it'll work"
"A-At the moment, I can see no other c-course of action. Our o-only other option is to let the fire burn itself out." Was the reply.
Scott sighed. "By which time it might be too late. We've got no other choice, and we're wasting time standing round here talking. Brains you make up as many capsules of 5SFJ as you think we will need. Gordon and I'll go and transfer the remaining Dicetyline from Thunderbird Two to the 'Squirt'."
Tin-Tin informed Jeff Tracy of the next plan of action. He wasn't impressed.
"Are they sure they know what they're doing? We both know the effects of that stuff."
Tin-Tin tried to reassure him. "We've exhausted all other options, Mr Tracy, and Brains thinks that as long as we fire it into the right area it should be alright."
Jeff took a breath to calm his nerves. "Okay. Brains is in a better position to assess the effectiveness of this than I am. If he thinks it will work, we had better try it. What does Scott think of this course of action?"
Tin-Tin had to be honest. "I got the impression that he wasn't totally happy with it either. But like you he is willing to accept Brains' judgement."
"Tell the boys good luck. We're with them all the way."
"FAB Mr Tracy."
Cassie's air supply was almost extinguished. With stiff fingers Virgil replaced the spent cartridge with a fresh one. He spoke reassuringly to her when he had finished.
"There, that's done. How are you feeling?"
"Okay, but Everest is getting hot!"
Virgil chuckled. "I'm afraid Everest is going to have to stay hot until we get out of here. You were telling me about what you do at school."
Cassie brightened up. "We play games. I like playing games. My favourite is 'touch tap'." She proceeded to explain how you play the game. Virgil pretended to understand all the rules by exclaiming in what he hoped were the appropriate places. It was very hard to hear her voice above the roar of the flames. And to be fair, Cassie's instructions weren't exactly clear.
When he assumed that she had finished her explanation he said, "Well, that sounds like fun. My brothers and I will have to play that sometime."
"Do you have brothers?"
"That's torn it." He thought. "I'd better not give too much away now." Aloud he said "Yes I have."
"And sisters?"
"No" Seeking to turn the conversation away from himself he asked her "Would you like any brothers or sisters?"
Cassie pondered this question for a while before she answered. "If he was like Everest, or a pixie like you, yes I would like a brother. But not if he's like Tanya's brother." She then started to tell Virgil about her friends brother who always teased them.
Scott had finished explaining to the fire chief, his department's part in the plan. "So when we give the signal you move your men in as fast as possible."
The fire chief almost saluted his understanding. "My men are in position and waiting your instructions. Which side are you going to take out first?"
Brains had joined them by now so Scott let him answer this question. "W-We'll attack the north end and then t-the south.
"I m-must emphasise though how important it is for y-your men to stay back, until we give the s-signal."
The fire chief nodded gravely. "I understand."
Tin-Tin was manning the Mobile Control. Gordon was waiting in the 'Squirt', he was joined by Scott. "All set?" he asked.
"Yep. Now we just have to wait for Brain's signal." He reached for the radio. "Tin-Tin, can you read me?"
"Strength five, Scott."
"How about you Brains"
"L-loud and clear."
"Right, we'll keep this channel open. I want to hear every command."
"FAB"
"FAB"
"In you go Brains, and good luck."
"T-thanks Scott."
The 'Fire-fly' rumbled forth from the bowels of pod Five. Brains consulted his notes. "Now for the north end," he said to himself. "I've got to load shell one for this end. Just enough 5SFJ to extinguish the fire in this wing. I'm lined up correctly. Double check. Yes that's right. Cannon set at the correct angle. Check!"
Gordon listening on the open channel hit the mute button so that his words wouldn't be transmitted. "I don't get it," he said to Scott "When he talks to us, he's stuttering all over the place. Now that he's muttering to himself his speech is perfect."
"I guess he's concentrating so hard that he forgets about his shyness." Scott theorised.
Gordon flicked the switch on the mute button again, just as Brains spoke into the radio.
"'F-fire-Fly' r-ready."
It was the message Scott had been waiting for. "Fire cannon!"
They weren't prepared for the roar as the shell hit. A fireball rose 900 feet into the air.
Scott's mouth went dry "What have we done?"
Teresa clung to Mitch crying. "Are they trying to kill them?"
There was a yell from Brains over the radio. "It worked! Send the fire appliances in!"
Tin-Tin gave the signal to the fire chief, who gave the order to his men. Fire trucks moved in and started to play water onto the blackened shell of what was left of the north part of the building.
Inside the north end of the building it was freezing cold. The 5SFJ had expanded, expelling the oxygen outwards and upwards. It was as though someone had blown out a giant candle. It had then frozen everything inside the building so the fire couldn't take hold again. The water from the fire brigade helped to stop the fire in the central part of the building from thawing out the north end and re-igniting the remaining wood.
Brains turned the 'Fire-fly' southwards to repeat his task. The second explosion, while just as loud as the first, didn't surprise them as much. Time for the 'Squirt' to move in. Gordon engaged the motors.
What was happening? First an explosion to the left of them, and then one to the right. Was it the centre, and them, next? Cassie was screaming hysterically again. She had managed to free an arm, which she was flailing about. Virgil was hit several times before he managed to pin her arm down. He tried to talk to her to calm her, but she couldn't hear his voice above the roar that was getting louder every moment. He froze. He knew that sound. He strained to look through the inferno towards the source of the noise.
Gordon pointed at a gauge. "We're getting low on Dicetyline."
Scott frowned. "I shouldn't have used so much with Thunderbird Two. We're going to be limited to one attempt"
"We're just going to have to make it count then." Gordon squared his jaw stubbornly and concentrated on his job at hand.
Ahead of them the flames parted. "Look!" Scott pointed incredulously. "There's a clear path." He nudged his brother. "Let's go."
Donning their protective hoods the pair ran out of the safety of the 'Squirt' and into the unknown. Scott carried a jack and Gordon a Dicetyline sprinkler.
There was a chink of blackness. No fire, no smoke, just welcome, cool, darkness. Virgil knew what that meant. "We're here!" he yelled. "International Rescue, we're here!"
Scott paused "Did you hear that? It's Virgil. C'mon!" They continued on blindly.
Miraculously the fire and smoke lifted and there lying under a pile of debris were the objects of Scott and Gordon's quest.
As he rushed towards Cassie, Gordon slammed the Dicetyline sprinkler into the ground and a spray of its contents gushed forth, cooling everything it touched.
Scott was by his brothers side. "How're you Virg.?" he asked.
"All the better for seeing you guys."
With the help of the jack, Gordon and Scott were able to quickly release Virgil and Cassie from their prison. Gordon scooped Cassie up and ran back down the Dicetyline corridor. Virgil found himself half carried and half dragged by Scott, in the same direction.
The fire wasn't willing to give up its prize that easily. One last untouched pile of barrels succumbed to the heat. The explosion equalled that caused by the 5SFJ.
The 'Squirt' was driven backwards with the force of the shock. Debris flew out over the assembled onlookers. The silver hull of Thunderbird One trembled with the shock-waves and a tattoo of debris rained against Thunderbird Two's fuselage.
Teresa and Mitch held their breath. Brains rose up from where he had crouched behind Mobile Control and surveyed the scene before him. Tin-Tin reached for the communication switch, fingers shaking.
"Mobile Control to the 'Squirt'. Do you read me? - Scott, Gordon, are you there?"
"The 'Squirt' to Mobile Control. All passengers safely aboard. Be with you in a couple of minutes. Tell Cassie's parents she's okay. Virgil's fine too."
Teresa and Mitch laughed and hugged each other in pure relief. As the 'Squirt' reversed out of the conflagration other members of the various rescue organisations clustered around Brains and Tin-Tin congratulating them.
As if realising that the game was over the fire died down and the framework of the building glistened blackly in the lights as the fire squad moved in to extinguish remaining hot spots.
As Scott stopped the 'Squirt', Gordon opened the exterior door and removed the last fire blanket from around Cassie. He picked her up, and as he turned to take her outside he kicked something. A silver bundle rolled under the cot she had been lying on. "C'mon Cassie." He said. "Let's go see your parents."
Her face lit up. "Mummy and Daddy?" she exclaimed.
Scott walked over to Virgil. "You feel up to meeting the Mountains?"
Virgil looked at him "Yeah well, I guess if the Mountains won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the Mountains."
Scott made a face. "If you're making puns like that, you must be okay!"
Virgil stood up and then fell to the floor with a yell of pain.
Scott quickly crouched beside him, his face creased with concern. "You're hurt!"
Virgil managed a wry smile. "Not really. It's just that having that lump of wood on my leg so long, my leg's gone to sleep. It's just waking up and I've got a king size case of pins and needles." He noticed the silver bundle under the cot. "Hey, she's forgotten Everest." He pointed to where the bear was lying and Scott retrieved it for him.
Looking at Everest's button eyes staring at him through the hood, Virgil suddenly felt a wave of emotions wash over him. He buried his face in his hands to try to control the memories and emotions. Fear, relief and tiredness jumbled up inside of him and tried to come to the surface. He hadn't felt this exhausted in a long time. Scott sat beside Virgil and put his arm around him in a brotherly hug. They stayed that way for a moment until Virgil gave a sigh and gingerly flexed his legs. He seemed to be debating as to whether to say something. Finally he spoke.
"You know, while I was in there, and it was getting hotter, and noisier, and I'd lost communication with you guys, I nearly gave up. Totally. I started wondering why I'm in the rescue business. Why I'd risked my neck." He nodded towards the open door. They could see Cassie excitedly talking with her parents, eyes shining. They were all holding hands, creating a ring that no disaster could break. "That's the reason why I'm in this business." He looked back at Scott. "I wouldn't change a thing in my life."
Scott surprised by this speech, was unsure what to say, but nodded in understanding. "It must have been pretty rough." He said eventually.
Virgil gave a sudden smile and stood up, leaning on Scott's shoulder as he did so. "C'mon big brother. We've got to give Everest back."
They stepped outside the 'Squirt' and Virgil was hit by what seemed to be a flying embrace and a kiss on the cheek. He gave Tin-Tin a squeeze in return and said "That magazine was right. Our female members are pretty sexy."
Tin-Tin blushed and lightly hit him on the shoulder. "Oh Virgil" she scolded.
Virgil took Brains hand and shook it warmly. "I guess I owe you guys a great big thank you."
They walked over to the family reunion. The ring of Mountains broke and Mitch took a step back as Virgil handed the silver bundle to Cassie. "Here's someone who's missing you."
"Everest!" Cassie excitedly removed her toy from his protective layer and hugged him. "Thank you Pixie Virgil."
Virgil aware that his brothers were stifling some laughter behind him decided that he had better make some introductions. "Cassie, I would like you to meet some friends of mine. This is Brains, and Tin-Tin and Pixie Scott and Pixie Gordon. They were the one's who saved us."
Cassie's eyes grew round "Wow, more pixies. Thank you Pixies." She looked at Tin-Tin. "Are you a fairy?"
Tin-Tin gave a light laugh, mainly at Scott and Gordon's embarrassment. "No, I'm just a friend of the pixies."
Mitch grabbed Virgil's hand and pumped it vigorously. "Cassie has already said it, but I want to add my thanks too..."
Teresa giving Virgil a kiss of thanks added "If only there was some way we could repay you. You risked your life to save our daughter." She looked at Cassie and the look was all the repayment Virgil needed.
"Just remember," he gave her a wink as he spoke, "that we pixies are secretive folk." He crouched down beside Cassie, tapped her on the nose and made her giggle. "We don't tell everyone our names, just special people. So now we have to make you an honorary pixie, and you have to promise not to tell anyone else what we are called."
Cassie gave a solemn nod. "I promise" she said. Her face split into a wide grin and she threw her arms around Virgil. "Thank you Pixie Virgil."