The Hood's hollow laugh of triumph echoed in the room. It was Kyrano who noticed Jeff Tracy's suddenly white face and the hand clutched to his chest. The murder of his second oldest son and his all but adopted son had taken their toll on the older Tracy.
"Father!" John cried out sharply.
"No…"Scott felt as if his world was collapsing around him, but he was given no time. Once again the Tracy brothers turned to him.
"Kyrano and John - get Father into bed. I'll get in touch with Penny. No, better yet, Gordon go take Thunderbird One and get her and Parker. We are all safer together. Tin-tin, can you look after Father until we get the doctor here?"
The girl nodded as well as the others sped off to follow his orders.
Scott was left alone in the room for a moment and he let his shoulders
drop. "Oh God Virg, how can I do this without you?" he said in a broken
voice.
"Don't tell me you can walk without me." Virgil snapped.
"You need to take care of Brains first. I'll follow you as well as I can." Out of immediate danger, the friction between Virgil and Marie was slowly escalating. Brains with an apparent dislocated shoulder and other injuries was too out of it to act as a buffer between the two.
"If there is one thing I've learned in my work, I don't leave anyone behind, ever." Virgil growled.
"People get left behind all the time. The ones who are weak, hurt, alone…we get…they get left behind and learn to live with it."
"Not with me they don't." Virgil pulled the girl to her foot and with little ceremony slung her over one shoulder. His other hand was around Brain's waist and he almost literally carried his two companions through the hot steamy tropical jungle they had found themselves.
"You...you...Neanderthal..." Marie snarled.
"Oh be quiet." Virgil gave her a sharp slap on her backside. "You can slap my face later."
"It'll be a right cross to the kisser."
"Why? Didn't you like it?" Virgil noticed that the woman became silent with that retort.
She cowered in the back of her den like one of small prey that she normally hunted. Her kits mewled hungrily around her, but she hadn't been the queen of this island for all these years out of foolishness. She would wait. And then she would hunt. And she would kill.
The jungle ended suddenly and they found themselves on a beach that would have been the envy of any resort. The fresh water stream dumped itself into the pounding surf of an azure ocean. The soft sand was difficult to walk on and Virgil stumbled and fell with his burdens. Luckily Brains landed on top of Virgil cushioning his fall though he cried out in pain. Marie was unfortunately under both men.
"Are you all right?" Her muffled voice was worried. "Virgil? Brains?"
"Just a sec." Virgil eased himself carefully out from under Brains supporting his half conscious friend. Marie got an elbow in her side and a little squished in the process, but never made a peep except for a woof of air when his shoulder hit her ribs.
The sun was beginning to set as Virgil and Marie bent worriedly over their injured friend.
"It s-s-seems t-to b-b-be dis-dislo-located." Brains' stutter was more pronounced as he bit out the words between his teeth. "You-you'll have to-to reduce it."
"Okay buddy, just hang in there." Virgil looked in askance at Marie who shook her head ruefully. He rolled his eyes in response.
"How do we do this Brains? Neither of us has done it before."
"Jus-just pull the ar-arm str-straight. It w-w-will p-p-pop." Sweat was running down the scientists face and he was shivering in shock.
"All right." Virgil swallowed. "Marie, you hold his shoulder's steady and pull them when I pull his arm."
The other two were sweating just as badly as Brains after several painful and frustrating tries the shoulder popped into place with a rather disturbing crunch. Brains' arm was then tied into a neat package and sling with his own shirt and Marie's blouse. She hadn't even blushed when the silk camisole was displayed. She calmly took Brains' glasses off and cleaned them.
"Th-thanks." He whispered.
"We need them to start a fire before the sun disappears." Virgil explained. He had gotten up and had come back with a pile of burnable vegetation. Brains' thick lenses were excellent for focussing the last rays of the sun and soon they had a small cheery fire on the beach.
"Darn. I forgot the marshmallows."Virgil joked as he scooped a hip hole and a mound of sand for Brains to lie down on.
"That's all right dear." Marie added just as straight faced. "I forgot the picnic lunch, not to speak of the bug spray." She swatted at a flying buzzing thing.
Virgil grinned tiredly. It was funny, but he suddenly felt relaxed around the woman. When push came to shove, she came through. It was like they had been working together for years. She reminded him a bit of Gordon. Gordon was such a tease and a pain in the neck at times. A typical little brother. As he watched her fuss a bit over Brains, his feelings were not at all fraternal. He admired the way the firelight shone off the pearly sheen of that wisp of silk that was now her shirt. Then again, not at all like Gordon.
The fire was more for mental comfort than physical, at least they were in tropical climes. Even though the temperature had dropped with nightfall, it wasn't totally uncomfortable. Despite the rigours and traumas of the last day, the three couldn't sleep. Brains shifted uncomfortably, the dislocation had been reduced, but the muscles were incredibly sore and he suspected a few back muscles had been torn as well as ribs bruised.
"Wanna pillow?" Marie asked softly offering her shoulder.
"Would p-prefer a b-b-bed." He replied. "N -no, thank you."
"I know, not fluffy enough." She sighed.
"I'll take you up on that offer." Virgil said quietly. "Just right." He said and settled his head on her shoulder. He could hear her heartbeat and felt her breath as it stirred his hair, a strange feeling of peace and calm settled over him and sleep wasn't so elusive.
Drat that Tracy, he was twice the size of Brains and three times heavier. Yet, the trust of his head on her shoulder was a comforting weight. His hair was incredibly soft and fine and tickled her nose slightly. It was easy to stroke it away from her face once and hard not to do it again.
Brains moaned slightly, half asleep, causing both Marie and Virgil to
raise their heads slightly. When they heard a sigh and a half snore they
returned their heads to the soft warm sand. Sleep overtook both as overtaxed
bodies and minds gave up.