Here's Chapter 12, enjoy guys!
Ten minutes later, the Tracy brothers were attempting to use whatever resources they had to try and get themselves out of the situation.
Scott was still majourly freaked out, what older brother wouldn't be, but he felt much better knowing that he had all of his siblings working together. Although they were all very different, all five Tracy boys were fiercely loyal and protective and were a force to be reckoned with when they were united. Scott hoped to use some of that Tracy unity to figure out how to get Alan and Gordon out of the flaming ocean.
'Alright then' John was saying, 'I have given this a lot of thought and with the resources we have there's no way we're gonna be able to put the fire out. So...' He murmered, hoping to give his brothers a chance to think about his idea.
'... I think that I should bring TB5 down.' He waited for the reaction, he knew would come.
'NO!' Scott shouted immediately, 'Absolutely not!'
'Scott..' John began, but his older brother was having none of it.
'We don't need anyone else in danger here John' he said determinedly 'you're safe up there, so that's where you're gonna stay.'
'No, I'm not Scott.' John replied feeling heated now. He hated the older brother tone. 'You know as well as I do that TB5 is equipped with water cannons and if I put the speed 420 thrusters on that Brains just assembled, I can be there in less than an hour.'
'John..' Scott warned, his tone stating that he was not to be messed with.
'Um. listen,' Gordon said into the radio, 'I hate to agree, but Johnny's right. With TB4 out of action there's no way we can do anything from down here.'
Scott was about to interrupt when Virgil gave him a 'shut up and listen to our little brother' frown.
'The way I see it, we have two options.' Gordon continued, his intelligent mind whirring, 'one, we wait for the Navy to get here to help...'
'We can't do that Gordo' Scott said , 'it'll take too long to get here. What's option two?'
'Option two, is getting TB5 down.' Gordon answered, 'John's right with TB1 and 4 wrecked and TB2 with no water cannons, TB5's the only one that can help.'
'I don't think we have much choice.' Alan added
Scott sighed as Virgil spoke, 'Yep' he said softly, 'I don't like the sound of John travelling through the atmosphere either, but he's our only hope.'
Scott sat frowning at Virgil and then into his intercom.
'Well' he stated indignantly, 'It seems that you've all ganged up on me.' But he knew deep down they were right. He just didn't need to worry about another troublesome younger brother.
'Fine John' he said 'I guess you're right, keep us posted all the way.' he said seriously,then added, 'take her down.'
Jeff sat on the balcony of the Tracy villa, he wanted to listen to the rescue, but he couldn't. These weren't strangers, these were his sons. He couldn't listen for fear he'd hate what he would hear. He couldn't bear losing one of his boys. It would be the end of him. His heart told him to listen but his head told him not to. In the end he stood on his feet, he would follow his heart and pray to God and Lucille to take care of his boys.
John couldn't believe it, he'd caved, Scott had actually caved. It was completely unthinkable that the eldest Tracy sibling would ever back down to his brothers, but he'd done it. He'd actually done it. Hardly able to stifle a grin John answered his brother.
'FAB Scott!' he exclaimed with far to much gusto, 'Taking her down!'
He threw the controls down and buckled himself up. It was going to be scary. It had been 2 years since TB5 had had to attempt re-entry and John himself had done it only once. He knew the risks. The atmosphere would be extremely hot and John would have to position TB5 at just the right angle or he and the craft would be burnt to cinders. He understood Scott's concern, but all he could think was that now he could do something. His brothers were depending on him. He could actually help save them.
And THAT felt good!
It felt DAMNED good!
Contrary to his older brother's assessment of his feelings, Virgil was very worried for John's safety. He knew the risks they all did and he didn't like them at all, but he also knew that John was a darned good pilot, perhaps the best out of all of them, even Scott. Because Virgil was the closest in age to John he also knew his brother inside out and well enough to know that he would be thrilled about their decision.
John hated being up in the Space Station when there was a rescue. Virgil had had many a late-night conversation, when their father was in bed with his younger brother about TB5.
He remembered what John had told him,
'It's not that I don't love it up here Virg' he'd said, 'cos I really do. It's just sometimes I feel so distant,so separate from everyone, know what I mean?'
At the time Virgil hadn't, but he did now. He knew how hard it must be for John, to be able to see the rescue but not help. The feeling of helplessness, he didn't know if he would have the strength of character to man TB5.
It was John's strength and patience (learned from sharing a room with Gordon and Alan, in their younger years) that had prompted Jeff to put him in TB5. But Virgil knew how hard it got for John at times.
He looked over at Scott who was frowning as he spoke to Gordon through the radio. This would hit him hard, this new threat to John would have him worrying about three of his younger brothers. Still as much as he loved his older brother, Virgil gave a silent salute to John, it wasn't many people who could get Scott Tracy to back down. Smiling to himself despite the growing knot of fear in his stomach Virgil left Scott at the controls and went to make coffee.
Gordon and Alan were worried too, they both knew as their older brothers did the risk to John that re-entering the atmosphere would bring . However they also knew there was no other way out.
Alan watched Gordon as he spoke to Scott. He saw that Gordon still looked pale and the blood that had oozed from the cut in his head earlier had begun to congeal and dry. Alan looked searchingly at his brother's face for signs of pain. He detected none, but knew how good Gordon was at hiding it. They'd learned this after the Hydrofoil accident. Gordo had been extremely good at keeping quiet when he was in pain, a trait that had caused each of his brothers and his father a great deal of concern. Alan decided to keep a close watch on Gordo.
Gordon concentrated hard on what Scott was saying.
'I know it's risky Scott, we all do.' He answered.
'I just want you all back safe and sound.' Scott was saying.
'I know you do' Gordon replied his voice full of affection for his eldest brother, 'but you can't..'
Alan interrupted him.
'Yes Alan, I'm fine' Scott heard Gordon mutter in annoyance.
'What? No it's fine, the bloods dried.' Scott's ears perked up at this. 'No I'm not dizzy... yes I would tell you... Go and get me a band aid then!' he grumbled in exasperation.
Scott's senses were now on alert.
'Blood?' he asked sharply, 'are you ok.'
Gordon silently groaned to himself, now Scott was on the case, 'Yes I'm fine' he answered, 'Just a knock on the head that's all.' Although he'd never admit it to his brothers his head had begun to throb horribly and he felt a little woozy, but there was no way in hell he'd let his interfering brothers know it.
'Gordon,' Scott was saying , worry now painfully clear in his voice, 'Head injuries are serious, I thought you said you were ok.'
'I'm fine!' Gordon repeated, a little more harshly than he'd wanted to. He needed to talk to Scott, but he couldn't with Alan in the room, that's why he'd sent him to get a plaster.
Scott was worried, Gordon was keeping something from him, he felt it.
'Alan!' he heard his brother say incredulously, 'I don't care if the plaster has ducks or clowns on it!'
Scott had to laugh at this. And at Gordon's next comment
'No, I want the clown one!'
Serious again Scott addressed his brother, 'John'll be there within the hour, don't worry ok?'
Hearing the noncommittal 'hmmph' from his brother, he sighed.
'Gordon' Scott said firmly, 'earlier you got mad at me for not being straight with you, now I get the feeling your not being straight with me. What's going on?'
Gordon sighed, his older brother could read him too well.
'Scott' he replied, 'I'm worried that Alan and I don't have an hour, the oxygen's running out, after that I don't think there'll be any real need to hurry and get us out.'
'Gordo' Scott whispered struggling to keep his voice steady, 'are you saying your tanks only last a couple of hours.'
'No Scott, that's not what I'm saying' Gordon said steadily, causing Scott to breathe a sigh of relief, 'we only have one tank, one being the operative word, it won't last us more than an hour', he said trying to sound strong, 'then it's thankyou and goodnight.'
Scott gasped, heart pounding, 'Gordo are you saying what I think you're saying?'
'Yep' his brother replied, 'Alan and I will be dead in over an hour.' his voice took on it's matter of fact tone again, '. so do you think you could tell John to make it fast?'
YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO...
WILL GORDON AND ALAN SUFFOCATE TO DEATH? WILL VIRGIL AND SCOTT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING? WILL TB1 CONTINUE ITS FIERY FLYING? WILL JOHN BE FRIED IN THE ATMOSPHERE?
FIND OUT IN CHAPTER 13 OF 'THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRACYS' (13'S AN UNLUCKY NUMBER, UH-OH!)
Round of applause please........
John felt the engines begin to rattle uncontrollably and the whole of TB5 began to shudder and shake violently knocking his astronomy books and trinkets from the shelves.
Grasping the controls desperately he fastened himself even tighter into the seat.
'This is it', he thought, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, his heart in his throat.
TB5 flew wildly into the upcoming atmosphere
Ten minutes later, the Tracy brothers were attempting to use whatever resources they had to try and get themselves out of the situation.
Scott was still majourly freaked out, what older brother wouldn't be, but he felt much better knowing that he had all of his siblings working together. Although they were all very different, all five Tracy boys were fiercely loyal and protective and were a force to be reckoned with when they were united. Scott hoped to use some of that Tracy unity to figure out how to get Alan and Gordon out of the flaming ocean.
'Alright then' John was saying, 'I have given this a lot of thought and with the resources we have there's no way we're gonna be able to put the fire out. So...' He murmered, hoping to give his brothers a chance to think about his idea.
'... I think that I should bring TB5 down.' He waited for the reaction, he knew would come.
'NO!' Scott shouted immediately, 'Absolutely not!'
'Scott..' John began, but his older brother was having none of it.
'We don't need anyone else in danger here John' he said determinedly 'you're safe up there, so that's where you're gonna stay.'
'No, I'm not Scott.' John replied feeling heated now. He hated the older brother tone. 'You know as well as I do that TB5 is equipped with water cannons and if I put the speed 420 thrusters on that Brains just assembled, I can be there in less than an hour.'
'John..' Scott warned, his tone stating that he was not to be messed with.
'Um. listen,' Gordon said into the radio, 'I hate to agree, but Johnny's right. With TB4 out of action there's no way we can do anything from down here.'
Scott was about to interrupt when Virgil gave him a 'shut up and listen to our little brother' frown.
'The way I see it, we have two options.' Gordon continued, his intelligent mind whirring, 'one, we wait for the Navy to get here to help...'
'We can't do that Gordo' Scott said , 'it'll take too long to get here. What's option two?'
'Option two, is getting TB5 down.' Gordon answered, 'John's right with TB1 and 4 wrecked and TB2 with no water cannons, TB5's the only one that can help.'
'I don't think we have much choice.' Alan added
Scott sighed as Virgil spoke, 'Yep' he said softly, 'I don't like the sound of John travelling through the atmosphere either, but he's our only hope.'
Scott sat frowning at Virgil and then into his intercom.
'Well' he stated indignantly, 'It seems that you've all ganged up on me.' But he knew deep down they were right. He just didn't need to worry about another troublesome younger brother.
'Fine John' he said 'I guess you're right, keep us posted all the way.' he said seriously,then added, 'take her down.'
Jeff sat on the balcony of the Tracy villa, he wanted to listen to the rescue, but he couldn't. These weren't strangers, these were his sons. He couldn't listen for fear he'd hate what he would hear. He couldn't bear losing one of his boys. It would be the end of him. His heart told him to listen but his head told him not to. In the end he stood on his feet, he would follow his heart and pray to God and Lucille to take care of his boys.
John couldn't believe it, he'd caved, Scott had actually caved. It was completely unthinkable that the eldest Tracy sibling would ever back down to his brothers, but he'd done it. He'd actually done it. Hardly able to stifle a grin John answered his brother.
'FAB Scott!' he exclaimed with far to much gusto, 'Taking her down!'
He threw the controls down and buckled himself up. It was going to be scary. It had been 2 years since TB5 had had to attempt re-entry and John himself had done it only once. He knew the risks. The atmosphere would be extremely hot and John would have to position TB5 at just the right angle or he and the craft would be burnt to cinders. He understood Scott's concern, but all he could think was that now he could do something. His brothers were depending on him. He could actually help save them.
And THAT felt good!
It felt DAMNED good!
Contrary to his older brother's assessment of his feelings, Virgil was very worried for John's safety. He knew the risks they all did and he didn't like them at all, but he also knew that John was a darned good pilot, perhaps the best out of all of them, even Scott. Because Virgil was the closest in age to John he also knew his brother inside out and well enough to know that he would be thrilled about their decision.
John hated being up in the Space Station when there was a rescue. Virgil had had many a late-night conversation, when their father was in bed with his younger brother about TB5.
He remembered what John had told him,
'It's not that I don't love it up here Virg' he'd said, 'cos I really do. It's just sometimes I feel so distant,so separate from everyone, know what I mean?'
At the time Virgil hadn't, but he did now. He knew how hard it must be for John, to be able to see the rescue but not help. The feeling of helplessness, he didn't know if he would have the strength of character to man TB5.
It was John's strength and patience (learned from sharing a room with Gordon and Alan, in their younger years) that had prompted Jeff to put him in TB5. But Virgil knew how hard it got for John at times.
He looked over at Scott who was frowning as he spoke to Gordon through the radio. This would hit him hard, this new threat to John would have him worrying about three of his younger brothers. Still as much as he loved his older brother, Virgil gave a silent salute to John, it wasn't many people who could get Scott Tracy to back down. Smiling to himself despite the growing knot of fear in his stomach Virgil left Scott at the controls and went to make coffee.
Gordon and Alan were worried too, they both knew as their older brothers did the risk to John that re-entering the atmosphere would bring . However they also knew there was no other way out.
Alan watched Gordon as he spoke to Scott. He saw that Gordon still looked pale and the blood that had oozed from the cut in his head earlier had begun to congeal and dry. Alan looked searchingly at his brother's face for signs of pain. He detected none, but knew how good Gordon was at hiding it. They'd learned this after the Hydrofoil accident. Gordo had been extremely good at keeping quiet when he was in pain, a trait that had caused each of his brothers and his father a great deal of concern. Alan decided to keep a close watch on Gordo.
Gordon concentrated hard on what Scott was saying.
'I know it's risky Scott, we all do.' He answered.
'I just want you all back safe and sound.' Scott was saying.
'I know you do' Gordon replied his voice full of affection for his eldest brother, 'but you can't..'
Alan interrupted him.
'Yes Alan, I'm fine' Scott heard Gordon mutter in annoyance.
'What? No it's fine, the bloods dried.' Scott's ears perked up at this. 'No I'm not dizzy... yes I would tell you... Go and get me a band aid then!' he grumbled in exasperation.
Scott's senses were now on alert.
'Blood?' he asked sharply, 'are you ok.'
Gordon silently groaned to himself, now Scott was on the case, 'Yes I'm fine' he answered, 'Just a knock on the head that's all.' Although he'd never admit it to his brothers his head had begun to throb horribly and he felt a little woozy, but there was no way in hell he'd let his interfering brothers know it.
'Gordon,' Scott was saying , worry now painfully clear in his voice, 'Head injuries are serious, I thought you said you were ok.'
'I'm fine!' Gordon repeated, a little more harshly than he'd wanted to. He needed to talk to Scott, but he couldn't with Alan in the room, that's why he'd sent him to get a plaster.
Scott was worried, Gordon was keeping something from him, he felt it.
'Alan!' he heard his brother say incredulously, 'I don't care if the plaster has ducks or clowns on it!'
Scott had to laugh at this. And at Gordon's next comment
'No, I want the clown one!'
Serious again Scott addressed his brother, 'John'll be there within the hour, don't worry ok?'
Hearing the noncommittal 'hmmph' from his brother, he sighed.
'Gordon' Scott said firmly, 'earlier you got mad at me for not being straight with you, now I get the feeling your not being straight with me. What's going on?'
Gordon sighed, his older brother could read him too well.
'Scott' he replied, 'I'm worried that Alan and I don't have an hour, the oxygen's running out, after that I don't think there'll be any real need to hurry and get us out.'
'Gordo' Scott whispered struggling to keep his voice steady, 'are you saying your tanks only last a couple of hours.'
'No Scott, that's not what I'm saying' Gordon said steadily, causing Scott to breathe a sigh of relief, 'we only have one tank, one being the operative word, it won't last us more than an hour', he said trying to sound strong, 'then it's thankyou and goodnight.'
Scott gasped, heart pounding, 'Gordo are you saying what I think you're saying?'
'Yep' his brother replied, 'Alan and I will be dead in over an hour.' his voice took on it's matter of fact tone again, '. so do you think you could tell John to make it fast?'
YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO...
WILL GORDON AND ALAN SUFFOCATE TO DEATH? WILL VIRGIL AND SCOTT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING? WILL TB1 CONTINUE ITS FIERY FLYING? WILL JOHN BE FRIED IN THE ATMOSPHERE?
FIND OUT IN CHAPTER 13 OF 'THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRACYS' (13'S AN UNLUCKY NUMBER, UH-OH!)
Round of applause please........
John felt the engines begin to rattle uncontrollably and the whole of TB5 began to shudder and shake violently knocking his astronomy books and trinkets from the shelves.
Grasping the controls desperately he fastened himself even tighter into the seat.
'This is it', he thought, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, his heart in his throat.
TB5 flew wildly into the upcoming atmosphere