Under Fire
"Virgil!" I shouted, but the name was obliterated in a loud explosion from the console beside where Virgil was crouching.
Smoke filled the computer room and I grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran back into the room, spraying the general area where I had last seen the International Rescue man.
The smoke grew thicker and I started to cough, my eyes were smarting and it was becoming difficult to breathe. Explosions were happening everywhere and I still hadn't found Virgil.
I could hear the ominous cracking of the fire off to my left, and behind me I thought I heard an evil laugh.
It was forgotten when I, once again, cannoned into Virgil.
"You're alive." I yelled and tears streamed down my face, though from smoke or relief I wasn't sure.
He was wearing a facemask and pulled another out of his pocket and gave it to me. I put it on and immediately found it easier to breathe. Virgil then grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back towards our original entrance. "Better to try to get out a way where we know there's an exit." He yelled as he swung his laser around in preparation for attacking the door.
I hoped the door was open and was disappointed when we, once again, came upon a dead end.
Only this time something was different. There was a line of singed metal leading from the bottom to halfway up the door. As I watched the line grew.
"Must be Scott!" Virgil exclaimed and started to cut his way through from the other side.
Shortly after he'd begun cutting I noticed that Virgil's wristwatch started beeping. Virgil ignored it, so I did too.
Just before the two cuts met, Virgil stopped cutting and led me away from the door.
Moments later the laser cuts met. Then the door budged slightly. Virgil rubbed his ear. "Come on Scott," he muttered.
The door fell towards us.
Scott was standing there. He too had a respirator mask on. "I saw smoke." He said. "Are you both okay?"
"Come on. Let's get out of here!" Virgil said urgently.
Scott led the way with Virgil bringing up the rear.
We reached some steps, leading downwards, and Scott stopped. "Still here?" he asked.
"Yep." I said.
Virgil didn't say anything.
"Okay Virg.?" Scott asked, a look of concern on his face.
"The smoke's spreading" Virgil said urgently.
Indeed the smoke appeared to be following us, rolling along the corridor. We ran down the stairs and then a short way to the left.
We reached the bottom and I pulled up short.
It was Virgil's turn to cannon into me.
"Sorry" he said.
It was the scene of destruction that had stunned me. Rubble was strewn everywhere. Furniture lay broken around the room. In the middle a giant machine projected out of the floor, its' orange casing capped by what appeared to be a large, chrome screw.
I suddenly realised that Gordon was in a door in the side of the machine. "1! Over here!" he called.
I sprinted over and he assisted me inside and escorted me to a seat. As he showed me how to put on the harness I realised that Scott had sat Virgil down and was looking at him full in the face.
"Okay, Virgil." He said. "What's wrong?"
"Can't hear you I'm afraid Scott." Virgil was trying to sound light-hearted. "A computer exploded beside me and the concussion's knocked out my hearing. All I can hear is a roaring sound. It's getting better though."
Scott was frowning and then to my surprise started communicating using sign language, speaking out loud at the same time. "Any pain?"
"No. I feel fine."
Gordon abandoned me to check out his colleague. "What can you hear, Virgil?" he signed and said.
"I'm starting to hear some sounds." Virgil told him. They continued to fuss over him. "Guys." He said. "Can we get out of here first?"
"Okay." Scott conceded. "You keep an eye on him," he ordered Gordon. He then strapped himself into a seat. The machine, I assumed it must be the 'Mole', came to life.
It was an eerie experience. We seemed to be moving backwards and the 'Mole' changed its orientation from nose up, to being level, to nose down. All the time our gimballed seats kept us orientated upright. At least I thought we were upright. It was quite disorientating.
Gordon kept on checking Virgil's progress. "How many fingers, Virg.?" he asked and then held up three on his right hand.
"I know you were a Boy Scout, Gordon." Virgil said exasperatly. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. I grinned in return.
"Hey, Virgil." Gordon touched his colleague on the arm to get his attention. "Thunderbird Two is the ugliest craft in our fleet. Right." He did not sign but nodded emphatically to encourage Virgil to follow suit.
"No!" Virgil shook his head.
"Aw, you heard." Gordon complained. Virgil looked blank and Gordon signed the phrase.
"No." Virgil told him when he understood. "I just know that when you've got that look you're up to something."
From the driver's seat Scott laughed. "He's got you there, Gordon."
We'd stopped our horizontal movement and appeared to be rotating about a pivot point. "We're above ground and locking onto the 'Mole's' trolley." Gordon explained. "We'll now be able to drive straight into Thunderbird Two's pod."
Virgil looked at me. "Are you okay?"
I gave him the thumbs up signal.
There was a sudden change in orientation, which was, Gordon explained, the 'Mole' climbing up the ramp into the pod.
The motors died away.
Scott climbed out of his seat. "How's the patient?"
"No change that I can see." Gordon said.
"Hey if you guys are going to talk about me," Virgil complained, "at least do it in a way that I can understand."
"How's the hearing?" Scott was signing now.
"Better. I could hear the 'Mole's' motors before you switched them off."
"Can you hear what I'm saying?" Scott asked.
Virgil shook his head and flinched.
"What's wrong?" Gordon crouched down so he was level with the still seated Virgil.
"Bit of a headache." Virgil admitted.
"Okay. I'm making a command decision here." Scott sounded authoritative. "You're going to the sick bay and Gordon's going to fly Thunderbird Two."
Virgil was not impressed. "I'm fine. I can fly Thunderbird Two."
"So can Gordon. You know he's perfectly capable."
Gordon looked hurt. "Anyone would think you didn't trust me."
"Would you trust me to pilot Thunderbird Four?"
Gordon was affronted. "No way!"
"See!" Virgil looked smug as if he'd won the battle.
But he'd lost the war. "Doesn't change anything." Scott was saying. "You're resting. I'm not having you upset our passenger."
He winked at me and once again I was struck by the similarity between the three men. I guessed that working together closely and trusting each other like they did, they'd take on each other's characteristics. But then another thought struck me. Surely all three couldn't be related?
Still grumbling, but I had the feeling that it was more out of duty than conviction, Virgil allowed himself to be led out of the 'Mole'.
Gordon showed me to the now familiar cabin of Thunderbird Two. I sat in my 'usual' seat.
"Don't worry about our little arguments. We're all protective of our own craft." Gordon assured me. "Scott knows perfectly well that there's no way that Virgil would attempt to fly a plane if he wasn't fit. And Virgil was just teasing us. He's the last person to take any unnecessary risks. That's why we've lived so long at this game."
"Doesn't Scott like flying Thunderbird Two?" I asked.
"I don't think he minds it." Gordon said. "Why?"
"He seems to be in command. I thought he'd want to fly it."
"No. He'll be flying Thunderbird One. He hates the idea of anyone else flying his baby as much as any of us do."
"Thunderbird One's here too? Who's keeping guard?"
"No one. We're deep in the Malaysian Jungle."
"Weren't you worried that guy would try and steal one or get photos or something?"
"Not really. We're over five miles away from his HQ. It's unlikely he even knew we were here until the 'Mole' came through his floorboards."
"How'd you know that I..."
But Scott had entered the flight deck.
"How is he?" Gordon asked.
"Took a painkiller and went out like a light," Scott told us.
"Will he be all right?" I was concerned that Virgil may have been permanently injured rescuing me. I would have felt responsible.
"We'll get our medical team to check him over, but I think he will be." Scott reassured me. "I wouldn't mind betting he'll be up here telling Gordon what he's doing wrong, before we reach our destination."
"Where are we going?" I asked eagerly.
"We're going to hand you over to the care of someone who can look after you until you get home." Scott told me.
"Oh." That didn't tell me much.
"What happened to the guy who kidnapped you?" Gordon asked.
"Dunno. I couldn't see where he went with all that smoke. How'd you find us?" I asked Scott.
"I got worried when I couldn't raise Virgil, so I went to his last known reference point. I could see where you'd been, because of the hole in the door, but apart from that you'd both vanished into thin air. I reasoned that maybe there was a hidden door somewhere, so I used a device that enables us to find exits in the dark or in smoke filled rooms. I must tell our Engineer that I've discovered that it also works on secret doors." Scott finished smugly.
"Virgil!" I shouted, but the name was obliterated in a loud explosion from the console beside where Virgil was crouching.
Smoke filled the computer room and I grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran back into the room, spraying the general area where I had last seen the International Rescue man.
The smoke grew thicker and I started to cough, my eyes were smarting and it was becoming difficult to breathe. Explosions were happening everywhere and I still hadn't found Virgil.
I could hear the ominous cracking of the fire off to my left, and behind me I thought I heard an evil laugh.
It was forgotten when I, once again, cannoned into Virgil.
"You're alive." I yelled and tears streamed down my face, though from smoke or relief I wasn't sure.
He was wearing a facemask and pulled another out of his pocket and gave it to me. I put it on and immediately found it easier to breathe. Virgil then grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back towards our original entrance. "Better to try to get out a way where we know there's an exit." He yelled as he swung his laser around in preparation for attacking the door.
I hoped the door was open and was disappointed when we, once again, came upon a dead end.
Only this time something was different. There was a line of singed metal leading from the bottom to halfway up the door. As I watched the line grew.
"Must be Scott!" Virgil exclaimed and started to cut his way through from the other side.
Shortly after he'd begun cutting I noticed that Virgil's wristwatch started beeping. Virgil ignored it, so I did too.
Just before the two cuts met, Virgil stopped cutting and led me away from the door.
Moments later the laser cuts met. Then the door budged slightly. Virgil rubbed his ear. "Come on Scott," he muttered.
The door fell towards us.
Scott was standing there. He too had a respirator mask on. "I saw smoke." He said. "Are you both okay?"
"Come on. Let's get out of here!" Virgil said urgently.
Scott led the way with Virgil bringing up the rear.
We reached some steps, leading downwards, and Scott stopped. "Still here?" he asked.
"Yep." I said.
Virgil didn't say anything.
"Okay Virg.?" Scott asked, a look of concern on his face.
"The smoke's spreading" Virgil said urgently.
Indeed the smoke appeared to be following us, rolling along the corridor. We ran down the stairs and then a short way to the left.
We reached the bottom and I pulled up short.
It was Virgil's turn to cannon into me.
"Sorry" he said.
It was the scene of destruction that had stunned me. Rubble was strewn everywhere. Furniture lay broken around the room. In the middle a giant machine projected out of the floor, its' orange casing capped by what appeared to be a large, chrome screw.
I suddenly realised that Gordon was in a door in the side of the machine. "1! Over here!" he called.
I sprinted over and he assisted me inside and escorted me to a seat. As he showed me how to put on the harness I realised that Scott had sat Virgil down and was looking at him full in the face.
"Okay, Virgil." He said. "What's wrong?"
"Can't hear you I'm afraid Scott." Virgil was trying to sound light-hearted. "A computer exploded beside me and the concussion's knocked out my hearing. All I can hear is a roaring sound. It's getting better though."
Scott was frowning and then to my surprise started communicating using sign language, speaking out loud at the same time. "Any pain?"
"No. I feel fine."
Gordon abandoned me to check out his colleague. "What can you hear, Virgil?" he signed and said.
"I'm starting to hear some sounds." Virgil told him. They continued to fuss over him. "Guys." He said. "Can we get out of here first?"
"Okay." Scott conceded. "You keep an eye on him," he ordered Gordon. He then strapped himself into a seat. The machine, I assumed it must be the 'Mole', came to life.
It was an eerie experience. We seemed to be moving backwards and the 'Mole' changed its orientation from nose up, to being level, to nose down. All the time our gimballed seats kept us orientated upright. At least I thought we were upright. It was quite disorientating.
Gordon kept on checking Virgil's progress. "How many fingers, Virg.?" he asked and then held up three on his right hand.
"I know you were a Boy Scout, Gordon." Virgil said exasperatly. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. I grinned in return.
"Hey, Virgil." Gordon touched his colleague on the arm to get his attention. "Thunderbird Two is the ugliest craft in our fleet. Right." He did not sign but nodded emphatically to encourage Virgil to follow suit.
"No!" Virgil shook his head.
"Aw, you heard." Gordon complained. Virgil looked blank and Gordon signed the phrase.
"No." Virgil told him when he understood. "I just know that when you've got that look you're up to something."
From the driver's seat Scott laughed. "He's got you there, Gordon."
We'd stopped our horizontal movement and appeared to be rotating about a pivot point. "We're above ground and locking onto the 'Mole's' trolley." Gordon explained. "We'll now be able to drive straight into Thunderbird Two's pod."
Virgil looked at me. "Are you okay?"
I gave him the thumbs up signal.
There was a sudden change in orientation, which was, Gordon explained, the 'Mole' climbing up the ramp into the pod.
The motors died away.
Scott climbed out of his seat. "How's the patient?"
"No change that I can see." Gordon said.
"Hey if you guys are going to talk about me," Virgil complained, "at least do it in a way that I can understand."
"How's the hearing?" Scott was signing now.
"Better. I could hear the 'Mole's' motors before you switched them off."
"Can you hear what I'm saying?" Scott asked.
Virgil shook his head and flinched.
"What's wrong?" Gordon crouched down so he was level with the still seated Virgil.
"Bit of a headache." Virgil admitted.
"Okay. I'm making a command decision here." Scott sounded authoritative. "You're going to the sick bay and Gordon's going to fly Thunderbird Two."
Virgil was not impressed. "I'm fine. I can fly Thunderbird Two."
"So can Gordon. You know he's perfectly capable."
Gordon looked hurt. "Anyone would think you didn't trust me."
"Would you trust me to pilot Thunderbird Four?"
Gordon was affronted. "No way!"
"See!" Virgil looked smug as if he'd won the battle.
But he'd lost the war. "Doesn't change anything." Scott was saying. "You're resting. I'm not having you upset our passenger."
He winked at me and once again I was struck by the similarity between the three men. I guessed that working together closely and trusting each other like they did, they'd take on each other's characteristics. But then another thought struck me. Surely all three couldn't be related?
Still grumbling, but I had the feeling that it was more out of duty than conviction, Virgil allowed himself to be led out of the 'Mole'.
Gordon showed me to the now familiar cabin of Thunderbird Two. I sat in my 'usual' seat.
"Don't worry about our little arguments. We're all protective of our own craft." Gordon assured me. "Scott knows perfectly well that there's no way that Virgil would attempt to fly a plane if he wasn't fit. And Virgil was just teasing us. He's the last person to take any unnecessary risks. That's why we've lived so long at this game."
"Doesn't Scott like flying Thunderbird Two?" I asked.
"I don't think he minds it." Gordon said. "Why?"
"He seems to be in command. I thought he'd want to fly it."
"No. He'll be flying Thunderbird One. He hates the idea of anyone else flying his baby as much as any of us do."
"Thunderbird One's here too? Who's keeping guard?"
"No one. We're deep in the Malaysian Jungle."
"Weren't you worried that guy would try and steal one or get photos or something?"
"Not really. We're over five miles away from his HQ. It's unlikely he even knew we were here until the 'Mole' came through his floorboards."
"How'd you know that I..."
But Scott had entered the flight deck.
"How is he?" Gordon asked.
"Took a painkiller and went out like a light," Scott told us.
"Will he be all right?" I was concerned that Virgil may have been permanently injured rescuing me. I would have felt responsible.
"We'll get our medical team to check him over, but I think he will be." Scott reassured me. "I wouldn't mind betting he'll be up here telling Gordon what he's doing wrong, before we reach our destination."
"Where are we going?" I asked eagerly.
"We're going to hand you over to the care of someone who can look after you until you get home." Scott told me.
"Oh." That didn't tell me much.
"What happened to the guy who kidnapped you?" Gordon asked.
"Dunno. I couldn't see where he went with all that smoke. How'd you find us?" I asked Scott.
"I got worried when I couldn't raise Virgil, so I went to his last known reference point. I could see where you'd been, because of the hole in the door, but apart from that you'd both vanished into thin air. I reasoned that maybe there was a hidden door somewhere, so I used a device that enables us to find exits in the dark or in smoke filled rooms. I must tell our Engineer that I've discovered that it also works on secret doors." Scott finished smugly.