Scott continued, "How is Virgil doing?"
Jeff answered, "He is sleeping right now. He was given a strong pain pill because of his headache."
"Thanks for the update, dad. I will call back later to see how he is doing. Scott out."
Jeff said, "Ok Scott, try not to blow anything up. Jeff out."
Scott fumed to himself, "that is the second time I was told to not blow up anything. I didn't blow anything up the FIRST time!"
TB3 slid smoothly into her bay at home. It was morning already. When John found his dad, Jeff said, "Feel like going to the office tomorrow? We can meet after dinner tonight to go over some details that you will need. It will give you most of the day today to relax."
"Sure dad. I'm going to freshen up a bit now, eat a bit of breakfast then take a nap. It was a long night."
Although going to the office was not one of John's favorite things to do, it was a change from TB5. He was going to get a total of three months away from her. Mind you, he liked being up there, but sometimes the loneliness got to him. It was nice to be on earth for a long stretch of time. Also, there is a lot to do in the city. He could hit theaters, displays, and museums of art, natural science and even space museums. Who knows, maybe even meet someone. He could also feast on different foods, he had to admit he wasn't the best cook. Well maybe he was a good cook, but he got tired of his own cooking. He was actually looking forward to a week in the city, just not the part behind the desk making decisions.
He checked into the hotel and familiarized himself with his surroundings. He was in walking distance of Tracy Industries, so he didn't need to bother about a car even though one would be provided for him whenever and wherever he wanted to go with or without driver. But he was looking forward to doing a lot of walking. There is just so far that you could walk up in TB5 and even on the island for that matter. For dinner he turned left out of the hotel and just started walking. It was a nice evening. After a 15 minute stroll, he finally stopped at a Mongolian BBQ. He was alone tonight, but he didn't mind, considering he ate alone most of the time anyway. He had a good book with him and sat quietly reading, eating and periodically people watching. He liked to watch people but tried not to look like he was studying them. Half way through his meal he started to feel uncomfortable. He had the feeling that he was being watched himself. There was no reason for him to feel like that. He looked around at the other customers, but none of them seemed suspicious. He couldn't shake the feeling through the rest of the meal. On his walk back to the hotel he kept more vigilant than usual. He kept looking behind him expecting someone to be there. But there wasn't. He was glad to be back in the safety of his hotel room. "That was creepy", he thought to himself.
Virgil awoke without a headache for the first time in 3 days. He lightly touched the laceration, and it was healing nicely. The staples could come out in another 4 days. He then felt for the goose-egg, and that too was subsiding. He still doesn't remember where that came from though. He knows he didn't get it from the explosion because he was sitting against the wall, awake and lucid, for at least 30 minutes before John and Alan showed up and he didn't have the lump then. He got up and showered and went to breakfast. "How are you feeling today, Virg?" asked Jeff.
"Pretty good today, actually. I was going to go to TB1 today and refamiliarize myself with her again. See if she needs any maintenance."
"Good," said Jeff. "Gordon is going to work with Alan in TB4. They are both comfortable enough with TB2, that they don't need any refresher from you. But when John comes back, I want you to work with him in 2. If we have a call before John returns, you will be in TB1, Gordon will handle TB2 and if it is a water rescue, Alan will be in 4."
"What about when John is back?" inquired Virgil.
"I'm still thinking about it. I most probably want him on TB2. But he needs more time on TB1 as well. If we have any water rescues, I will still leave that to Alan I think." Jeff replied. "I am still working the details out. I might have John do TB4 and put Gordon in TB1, that will give both more experience in another Thunderbird other than their own."
John walked to the office the next day. It was an overcast day, so he carried an umbrella. He refused the ride when security called asking if he wanted a car brought around front to take him to Tracy Industries. He really enjoyed stretching his legs and setting a good pace. Something he couldn't do either in space or on the island. But he wasn't looking forward to sitting behind the desk meeting with managers and other businessmen face to face. But that was part of the package. He walked into the outer office and was greeted by Mrs. Greenville. Although he just barely remembered her because he was there so infrequently, she greeted him as if he had been coming there everyday for the past 20 years. She even remembered how he liked his coffee. He never asked her to get him a cup, she did it because she truly liked the Tracys and wanted to do small favors for them. She gave him 15 minutes to settle in, log into his computer, and pull up his e-calendar then she walked in with his coffee and a hard copy of his calendar.
She sat down and started, "Good morning Mr. Tracy, it's been a while, but I'm glad to see you back. Do you have your calendar up on your screen?" John nodded "yes". She continued, "Good. The first appointment is with Carosel Brothers Corp. They are long time business partners. They want to discuss funding for their new project. Did your father update you on this at all?" Again he nodded "yes". "Good. The next appointment is with your project managers. They need to discuss priorities, the direction the industry is headed and how Tracy Industries fits into the new picture. Your next appointment after that has me puzzled. They said they are old friends but I don't recognize their names. If you want me to cancel that one I will." John looked at the names. They didn't look familiar to him either. Maybe they didn't realize which Tracy was in today, they could be Virgil's friends or Scott's friends, even friends of his dad. He didn't want to be rude, so he said, "I will see them. They might be friends of my father or brothers."
She said, "Fine. Your first appointment is in ½ hr. Can I get you anything?"
John answered, "That will be all for now Mrs. Greenville, thank you very much."
The morning was long and boring with the first two appointments. As soon as the three men from the last morning appointment came in, the supposed 'friends', John felt that something was not right. He had a very bad feeling about them. They walked in with big smiles on their faces. Hard, fake smiles. They eyes were very dark. Even the man with light blue colored eyes, had a darkness to them, a deadly look. John stood up and welcomed the three strangers into his office and when he sat down slid his hand back nonchalantly and turned on the intercom one way so that Mrs. Greenville could listen in. It was a subtle move. He hoped that she wouldn't come in to let him know of his 'mistake'.
"Hello gentlemen, I don't believe I caught your names. You said you are acquaintances of the Tracy family?" John began.
"Mr. Tracy," the blue-eyed creep stated, "I can tell you already know we aren't friends of you or your family. But we do know who you are. You are one of Jeff Tracy's sons. Truthfully, it didn't matter which one of yous showed up, it would still feed our purpose."
"And that would be?" snapped John.
"Why money of course. I'm sure your daddy would pay plenty to have his son back safe, and sound and alive." Blue-eyed creep sneered.
Mrs. Greenville was puzzled at first when she started to hear the conversation going on in Mr. Tracy's office. But the conversation went sour so fast that she decided to sit and listen. As soon as it became apparent that it was a kidnapping in progress she called security. Then she left the office as per protocol. They cannot force John to do anything by threatening her and they cannot force her to do anything by threatening him. So company protocol was to call security then vacate the office. Because of the vast amount of money that flowed through the company and highly confidential projects that they frequently handled, Tracy Industries security was the best around. The desk guard hit the switch that locked all the doors. He then pressed the blue button on the console indicating trouble. It would at least alert all the guards that something was wrong even if they didn't know what. Using the security cameras, they deducted that Mr. Tracy was still in his office on the top floor. So the guards normally stationed on each floor performed a lockdown and told everyone to stay where they were. The elevators at this point would work only from the top floor. Mrs. Greenville had contacted the head of security and told him what happened, and it was relayed to each individual guard via radio, similar to what the police use. The police were then contacted. The plan was to catch them in the lobby. It was a foolproof plan. It would be only the guards, Mr. John Tracy and the three kidnappers. Watching the cameras they saw the foursome leave the office and get into the elevator. The guards stationed next to the elevators and hidden in crevices and behind plants were prepared. But the elevator never opened. It stopped on the floor above them. They hadn't realized that they the kidnappers had a radio too and heard the conversation all the security guards just had.
The kidnappers were panicking. They got off the first floor above the ground floor, dragging John along. He was trying to think of something, anything. They hadn't tied him because they were planning on just walking out the front door. That plan went out the window. Just at that moment one of the larger conference rooms opened up and out poured 28 people for their lunch break. That was when the situation went from a kidnapping to a hostage situation. One of the kidnappers, the darkest one, shot his gun off into the ceiling yelling at the people to file back into the conference room. The gunmen filed in behind the hostages dragging John. They pushed John into the middle of the noisy crowd then they huddled together off to the side of the large group of people. Another shot was fired, a woman screamed, and the blue-eyed creep told the throng to "SHUT UP!!".
Jeff answered the called, "Go ahead Scott, what do you have?"
Scott's face replaced his portrait, he was white as a ghost, "Father, we haven't been called directly but I heard of a hostage situation,.."
Jeff interrupted Scott, "Scott, I know we rescue people, but that is from natural disasters. We are definitely not set up for hostage negotiations. The police and professionals need to handle that one."
"Dad, the hostages are in the Tracy Industries building. John is one of them."
Jeff answered, "He is sleeping right now. He was given a strong pain pill because of his headache."
"Thanks for the update, dad. I will call back later to see how he is doing. Scott out."
Jeff said, "Ok Scott, try not to blow anything up. Jeff out."
Scott fumed to himself, "that is the second time I was told to not blow up anything. I didn't blow anything up the FIRST time!"
TB3 slid smoothly into her bay at home. It was morning already. When John found his dad, Jeff said, "Feel like going to the office tomorrow? We can meet after dinner tonight to go over some details that you will need. It will give you most of the day today to relax."
"Sure dad. I'm going to freshen up a bit now, eat a bit of breakfast then take a nap. It was a long night."
Although going to the office was not one of John's favorite things to do, it was a change from TB5. He was going to get a total of three months away from her. Mind you, he liked being up there, but sometimes the loneliness got to him. It was nice to be on earth for a long stretch of time. Also, there is a lot to do in the city. He could hit theaters, displays, and museums of art, natural science and even space museums. Who knows, maybe even meet someone. He could also feast on different foods, he had to admit he wasn't the best cook. Well maybe he was a good cook, but he got tired of his own cooking. He was actually looking forward to a week in the city, just not the part behind the desk making decisions.
He checked into the hotel and familiarized himself with his surroundings. He was in walking distance of Tracy Industries, so he didn't need to bother about a car even though one would be provided for him whenever and wherever he wanted to go with or without driver. But he was looking forward to doing a lot of walking. There is just so far that you could walk up in TB5 and even on the island for that matter. For dinner he turned left out of the hotel and just started walking. It was a nice evening. After a 15 minute stroll, he finally stopped at a Mongolian BBQ. He was alone tonight, but he didn't mind, considering he ate alone most of the time anyway. He had a good book with him and sat quietly reading, eating and periodically people watching. He liked to watch people but tried not to look like he was studying them. Half way through his meal he started to feel uncomfortable. He had the feeling that he was being watched himself. There was no reason for him to feel like that. He looked around at the other customers, but none of them seemed suspicious. He couldn't shake the feeling through the rest of the meal. On his walk back to the hotel he kept more vigilant than usual. He kept looking behind him expecting someone to be there. But there wasn't. He was glad to be back in the safety of his hotel room. "That was creepy", he thought to himself.
Virgil awoke without a headache for the first time in 3 days. He lightly touched the laceration, and it was healing nicely. The staples could come out in another 4 days. He then felt for the goose-egg, and that too was subsiding. He still doesn't remember where that came from though. He knows he didn't get it from the explosion because he was sitting against the wall, awake and lucid, for at least 30 minutes before John and Alan showed up and he didn't have the lump then. He got up and showered and went to breakfast. "How are you feeling today, Virg?" asked Jeff.
"Pretty good today, actually. I was going to go to TB1 today and refamiliarize myself with her again. See if she needs any maintenance."
"Good," said Jeff. "Gordon is going to work with Alan in TB4. They are both comfortable enough with TB2, that they don't need any refresher from you. But when John comes back, I want you to work with him in 2. If we have a call before John returns, you will be in TB1, Gordon will handle TB2 and if it is a water rescue, Alan will be in 4."
"What about when John is back?" inquired Virgil.
"I'm still thinking about it. I most probably want him on TB2. But he needs more time on TB1 as well. If we have any water rescues, I will still leave that to Alan I think." Jeff replied. "I am still working the details out. I might have John do TB4 and put Gordon in TB1, that will give both more experience in another Thunderbird other than their own."
John walked to the office the next day. It was an overcast day, so he carried an umbrella. He refused the ride when security called asking if he wanted a car brought around front to take him to Tracy Industries. He really enjoyed stretching his legs and setting a good pace. Something he couldn't do either in space or on the island. But he wasn't looking forward to sitting behind the desk meeting with managers and other businessmen face to face. But that was part of the package. He walked into the outer office and was greeted by Mrs. Greenville. Although he just barely remembered her because he was there so infrequently, she greeted him as if he had been coming there everyday for the past 20 years. She even remembered how he liked his coffee. He never asked her to get him a cup, she did it because she truly liked the Tracys and wanted to do small favors for them. She gave him 15 minutes to settle in, log into his computer, and pull up his e-calendar then she walked in with his coffee and a hard copy of his calendar.
She sat down and started, "Good morning Mr. Tracy, it's been a while, but I'm glad to see you back. Do you have your calendar up on your screen?" John nodded "yes". She continued, "Good. The first appointment is with Carosel Brothers Corp. They are long time business partners. They want to discuss funding for their new project. Did your father update you on this at all?" Again he nodded "yes". "Good. The next appointment is with your project managers. They need to discuss priorities, the direction the industry is headed and how Tracy Industries fits into the new picture. Your next appointment after that has me puzzled. They said they are old friends but I don't recognize their names. If you want me to cancel that one I will." John looked at the names. They didn't look familiar to him either. Maybe they didn't realize which Tracy was in today, they could be Virgil's friends or Scott's friends, even friends of his dad. He didn't want to be rude, so he said, "I will see them. They might be friends of my father or brothers."
She said, "Fine. Your first appointment is in ½ hr. Can I get you anything?"
John answered, "That will be all for now Mrs. Greenville, thank you very much."
The morning was long and boring with the first two appointments. As soon as the three men from the last morning appointment came in, the supposed 'friends', John felt that something was not right. He had a very bad feeling about them. They walked in with big smiles on their faces. Hard, fake smiles. They eyes were very dark. Even the man with light blue colored eyes, had a darkness to them, a deadly look. John stood up and welcomed the three strangers into his office and when he sat down slid his hand back nonchalantly and turned on the intercom one way so that Mrs. Greenville could listen in. It was a subtle move. He hoped that she wouldn't come in to let him know of his 'mistake'.
"Hello gentlemen, I don't believe I caught your names. You said you are acquaintances of the Tracy family?" John began.
"Mr. Tracy," the blue-eyed creep stated, "I can tell you already know we aren't friends of you or your family. But we do know who you are. You are one of Jeff Tracy's sons. Truthfully, it didn't matter which one of yous showed up, it would still feed our purpose."
"And that would be?" snapped John.
"Why money of course. I'm sure your daddy would pay plenty to have his son back safe, and sound and alive." Blue-eyed creep sneered.
Mrs. Greenville was puzzled at first when she started to hear the conversation going on in Mr. Tracy's office. But the conversation went sour so fast that she decided to sit and listen. As soon as it became apparent that it was a kidnapping in progress she called security. Then she left the office as per protocol. They cannot force John to do anything by threatening her and they cannot force her to do anything by threatening him. So company protocol was to call security then vacate the office. Because of the vast amount of money that flowed through the company and highly confidential projects that they frequently handled, Tracy Industries security was the best around. The desk guard hit the switch that locked all the doors. He then pressed the blue button on the console indicating trouble. It would at least alert all the guards that something was wrong even if they didn't know what. Using the security cameras, they deducted that Mr. Tracy was still in his office on the top floor. So the guards normally stationed on each floor performed a lockdown and told everyone to stay where they were. The elevators at this point would work only from the top floor. Mrs. Greenville had contacted the head of security and told him what happened, and it was relayed to each individual guard via radio, similar to what the police use. The police were then contacted. The plan was to catch them in the lobby. It was a foolproof plan. It would be only the guards, Mr. John Tracy and the three kidnappers. Watching the cameras they saw the foursome leave the office and get into the elevator. The guards stationed next to the elevators and hidden in crevices and behind plants were prepared. But the elevator never opened. It stopped on the floor above them. They hadn't realized that they the kidnappers had a radio too and heard the conversation all the security guards just had.
The kidnappers were panicking. They got off the first floor above the ground floor, dragging John along. He was trying to think of something, anything. They hadn't tied him because they were planning on just walking out the front door. That plan went out the window. Just at that moment one of the larger conference rooms opened up and out poured 28 people for their lunch break. That was when the situation went from a kidnapping to a hostage situation. One of the kidnappers, the darkest one, shot his gun off into the ceiling yelling at the people to file back into the conference room. The gunmen filed in behind the hostages dragging John. They pushed John into the middle of the noisy crowd then they huddled together off to the side of the large group of people. Another shot was fired, a woman screamed, and the blue-eyed creep told the throng to "SHUT UP!!".
Jeff answered the called, "Go ahead Scott, what do you have?"
Scott's face replaced his portrait, he was white as a ghost, "Father, we haven't been called directly but I heard of a hostage situation,.."
Jeff interrupted Scott, "Scott, I know we rescue people, but that is from natural disasters. We are definitely not set up for hostage negotiations. The police and professionals need to handle that one."
"Dad, the hostages are in the Tracy Industries building. John is one of them."