Chapter 3. Operation Eddie
Gordon listened to his father's summary of the problem from the cockpit of Thunderbird 2. "Sure, I remember the interview, but do you think the guy will remember me? It's nearly ten years ago and he must have interviewed hundreds of people since then."
"That's a chance I'm not prepared to take," said Jeff. "You're going to have to do an 'Operation Eddie'." Ever since the rescue of Tin-Tin's friend Eddie Houseman, Jeff had drawn up a scheme to protect the secrecy of International Rescue from people who might be in a position to identify them. "So remember boys – don't use names, just call signs. And Gordon, make sure Mr Meredith sees you as little as possible."
"FAB, Dad. If I wear my wetsuit then the hood should cover my hair and part of my face, and with the cutting goggles on as well he won't see much of me. Then hopefully I can be back down the tunnel to Thunderbird 4 and into my seat ahead of him, so all he'll see then is the back of my head."
"ETA now 10 minutes," cut in Virgil. "Gordon, you'd better get down to Thunderbird 4 and strap yourself in."
Fifteen minutes later, Gordon was sinking through the depths in Thunderbird 4, happy to be back in what he regarded as his own private world. The vivid colours of the Great Barrier Reef flashed by him as he headed down towards the co-ordinates of the undersea hotel. Soon he could see it coming into view ahead of him. The quarters which housed the stranded tourists were easy to spot as they were the only ones with lights on. He manoeuvred his craft towards the window and looked in. Oddly enough, his arrival did not seem to be creating the interest he would expect. Two small boys were looking towards the window and pointing, but the young woman who was presumably their mother was bent over the figure of the older man who was sitting propped against the far wall, and barely gave him a glance.
Gordon moved his ship to below a clear section of wall adjacent to the window and pressed the release that would send out the flexible airlock hose. A clang, followed by a reassuring series of green lights on his control panel told him it had made a secure contact. Climbing through the airlock and into the flexible tube, he irised open the far end to reveal the wall of the hotel building. Making sure his goggles were in place he began to cut.
The section of wall fell inwards with a loud clang. "International Rescue at your service!" said Gordon.
The young woman turned to him, panic etched on her face. "Oh, I'm so relieved somebody's come. I think my father's had a heart attack."
Gordon climbed through the hole and went to look at the man lying slumped against the wall. His skin was a greyish blue, and his pulse, when Gordon felt his throat, was thin and unsteady. 'So much for minimum contact,' he thought briefly, 'but then this guy doesn't look like he could recognise anyone at the moment, except possibly the Grim Reaper.' Aloud he said 'Well, we'd better get him into Thunderbird 4, then I'll see what I can do for him" Turning to the two young boys he said, "See that hole I've just made in the wall? If you go through it you can slide down into my submarine." To the young woman he said, "Give me a hand to carry your father over there, then I'll go first and we can get him into my craft."
It took quite a bit of careful manoeuvring to position the semi-conscious man next to the hole. Gordon then climbed in, and with Donna behind her father, they were able to ease him down into Thunderbird 4. Gordon closed the airlock and operated the switch to release the tube from its grip on the building. He went to his medicine cabinet and followed the instructions he found on a bottle marked 'Suspected heart attack – ONE tablet only to be placed under patient's tongue'. He then unlooked the facemask from the rack which held his scuba gear and fitted it over the patient's face, adjusting the flow to give pure oxygen.
He looked across at Donna. "I think that's all I can do for him now. We'll head for the surface and get him to a hospital." Crossing to the control chair, he pressed the radio. "TB4 to TB2. Come in please."
Virgil's voice came back. "TB2 here. What kept you? I was starting to get worried".
"There's been a complication. It looks like Mr Meredith has suffered a heart attack. Can you arrange to fly us straight to a hospital when you pick us up? I'll be surfacing in about ten minutes."