Non-Participation II - Four.

It was paradise.

A tropical paradise.

Stretched out on a deck chair, gazing out over the blue Pacific Ocean, in the shade of a palm tree, feeling the warmth of the sun beat down through its leaves, I was nearly able to forget about the bombsite that was my home.

Alan and Scott had left for Thunderbird Five almost as soon as we'd arrived on the island. They'd sat down on one of the couches in the living room, Jeff's mother had told us that our rooms were ready, and when I looked back both of the Tracy boys had disappeared. It was unnerving to say the least.

Mind you the launch of Thunderbird Three had been something else. It was with awe that Trixie and I had stood on the balcony and watched the great space ship launch itself from the bowels of the earth.

"From this angle it looks as though it passed straight through the centre of that round building." I'd commented to Jeff.

"It did." He'd told me.

Virgil had appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere, wiping his hands on a greasy cloth. "Chris! Great to see you again." He'd enthused. "Nice to meet you, Trixie. Excuse me while I go wash my hands." He disappeared off down the hallway.

Kyrano, Jeff's manservant, Tin-Tin's father, had shown us to our rooms, directed us to the amenities, given us a welcoming drink and left us to freshen up.

Mrs Tracy had given us a brief tour of the house and shown us nothing of International Rescue's operations. The only sign we'd seen of anything out of the ordinary were the five portraits of Jeff's sons dressed in their uniforms. As we'd admired these pictures Trixie had whispered in my ear - "If only I were sixty years younger..." She and Mrs Tracy had instantly become firm friends and were in deck chairs a few feet away having a good gossip. Mainly about the Tracy boys. And how hard it was to get them married off.

Now, as I relaxed, it was hard to believe that all this advanced technology was under our feet, out of sight to prying eyes. Surely there was nothing secretive about this billionaire's home!

The sound of a piano playing floated down from the main villa. I remembered that Virgil was reputed to be quite a pianist and wondered if he was the musician. I eased out of my deck chair, determined to find out.

He was seated at the white baby grand. "Hi Chris." He didn't stop playing. "How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks." I replied. "How's the hearing?"

"Pardon?" Virgil answered, and then grinned. In the few times that we'd communicated since we'd met, it had become a standing joke between us, and as the music flowed from his fingers, I once again felt relieved that it was only a joke.

"I hear Alan's made a bit of a mess at your place." He finished some jazz and started a classical piece.

I screwed up my face. "That's putting it mildly. When I left poor Gordon and Tin-Tin were repairing the hole in my bedroom ceiling and Brains was sorting out some wiring. I understand Alan had separated it all, to make things easier for Brains, without realising that Brains had already assembled it. I won't go into what else he's broken."

"I'm really sorry about all the trouble he's caused." Virgil apologised. "He's not usually that accident prone, otherwise Father wouldn't let him be part of the team. He can be quite useful - sometimes." I could hear a mixture of older brother pride and resignation in his voice.

"So what do you guys do to fill in your hours?" I asked. "I mean, living on a tropical island doesn't sound like hard work."

He didn't let up on his playing, seeming to be quite content to practise and talk to me at the same time. "Oh we keep busy. We're always running simulations on our various bits of equipment to keep us up to speed. Or we're doing maintenance - I was just repairing the winch mechanism on Thunderbird Two. When we have spare time we all have our little hobbies. Mine is playing the piano and painting..."

"You paint? Any of these your work?"

"Oh, a couple." Now that I looked I could see the initials V.T. in the bottom of many of the artworks.

"Hey. You're good!"

"Thanks. John's always writing up his astronomical findings. He gets a great view from Thunderbird Five. Alan's often off searching archaeological digs on the island, or reading one of his motor racing magazines, or..."

"Or spending time with Tin-Tin?" I hazarded.

Virgil chuckled. "You guessed. If you were to ask either of them they would say there was nothing between them, but we all know different."

"I guess Gordon's pass time is dreaming up practical jokes."

"Yeah, or putting them into action."

"I think he's plotting one now, for Alan's benefit."

"As revenge for being left to clean up your place? That sounds like our Gordon."

"So what does Scott do to relax?"

Virgil stopped playing. "You mean besides eat? Here's Thunderbird Three now. You can ask him yourself. Have you met John yet?"

"Only over the radio."

"They'll be coming to this room as soon as they land, so you'll get to see him face to face soon."

I wandered out onto the balcony to see the return of Thunderbird Three. It came thundering out of the sky, seemingly determined to plough nose first into the ground. And then stopped a few hundred feet above the island. It rotated vertically and then slid gracefully, tail first, into the round house.

When the noise from the space ship had died away I wandered back into the lounge. Jeff Tracy was already there talking to Virgil. Trixie joined us, eager to meet John. She flopped into a couch. "Boy it's hot out there."

"Ah, Trixie." Jeff said to her. "You might want to consider changing seats. That one's going to be used in a moment."

Mystified she stood up and then seated herself in a nearby armchair.

I watched her and then turned back. "Hey! Where did the couch go to?"

Two heads, one blond, the other significantly darker, rose up out of the hole vacated by the couch. They were seated on the piece of furniture.

"Hi there." Scott said.

We were staring at them open mouthed. "What on... I would never have picked that!" I exclaimed.

"Crafty isn't it?" The one I knew to be John said. "Nice to finally meet you in person Chris, Trixie."

He shook Trixie's hand and I couldn't resist smiling as I could see going through her mind 'If only I were sixty years younger.'