Chapter Ten: Answers
~~
Not long after Thunderbird Two returned to Base, Jeff called a meeting in the living room. Everyone was assembling when Tin-Tin walked in. 'Mr Tracy, John's asleep at the moment, would you like for me to wake him?'
Jeff was about to nod when he changed his mind. He knew well of the special bond between John and Gordon, as he had seen it flourish over the years. He had an idea that although they were all desperately worried, John in particular was probably feeling the shock.
'No, don't wake him,' he said. 'If he has anything to say, I'll talk to him later.' Jeff took a moment to compose himself before addressing those in the room. 'All right, we're here to discuss how it happened, and how we're going to find him,' he said, making use of euphemisms, as the subject itself needed no introduction.
The group, in particular Scott, Virgil and Tin-Tin, began to deliberate the events leading up to the disappearance of Gordon.
'So, you dived on top of Gordon, whilst Virgil came out with a slight concussion and an injured arm?' Jeff said, trying to clarify what had happened. Scott cringed, hating the way it sounded as though he had abandoned Virgil. 'Why Gordon, specifically?'
Scott and Virgil threw each other uneasy glances; they alone knew the reason why. 'He was closest,' Scott said hastily, lying through his teeth. Jeff accepted this justification for the moment.
'So, whilst Virgil received treatment, Gordon started work in the Firefly,' Scott said, trying to move proceedings on as quickly as possible. He continued to relay the story, until he remembered what it was leading to. 'I was talking to him over the communications when...'
'When what?' Jeff said, slightly impatiently.
'He cut the communications.'
Jeff sat for a moment, absorbing this, before slowly asking, 'Why did he do that?'
Scott explained the argument that had taken place, sinking lower and lower into his chair as he spoke. 'He felt that I didn't trust him, and he told me so,' he finished.
'Gordon just went off on one,' Virgil said, adding to the conversation. 'I can't remember ever seeing him rant like he did today.'
'The worst part is, what he said was true,' Scott said, shocking the members of the room as he admitted this. 'Gordon's been irrational lately, and he can be a hothead at the best of times. I wanted everything to run smoothly today, and I hate to admit it, but a part of me didn't trust Gordon enough to let him get on with his job without me monitoring him. That's not the whole story, though.'
'What else?' Jeff asked, wondering how much more there could possibly be. His seemingly eternal day had so far consisted of one missing son, one injured in a rock shower, and a third now admitting that he did not trust his brother.
'It'll sound crazy, but I have to tell you anyway. I've been having dreams lately, dreams that come true. I first dreamt that Grandma won her sewing machine, and woke up to find it had actually happened, and then I dreamt that Alan had the flu, which is partly how I knew to go straight to his room when I woke up. Then the dreams stopped for a few days until last night, when,' he paused, daring himself to say it, 'I dreamt that Gordon fell into some kind of huge hole during a rescue. That's why I've been acting strangely today, because I've been so worried.'
Those in the room took a moment to grasp hat Scott had said before Jeff spoke, 'Now things are beginning to fall into place.'
~~
John awoke from his light doze, facing the window framing the golden sun disappearing over the murky grey horizon. For a moment, he did not know where he was, or why he felt so miserable or so drained, but then the events of the afternoon came flooding back to him, washing away those brief moments of blissful ignorance.
He tried to remember back to the conversation that had taken place between himself and Gordon directly before he had lost contact with his brother. He had established that an argument had taken place between Gordon and Scott, due to the eldest brother not trusting Gordon. And then he, Gordon, had admitted to being irritable, and before John could get an answer as to why, he was gone.
No, wait, there was something Gordon had said, he had uttered one thing, seven little words, before the communications had died.
'I got a letter the other day.'
John knew that mail had arrived the previous day, but if Gordon had meant then, he would have said 'yesterday.' Before that, there was the delivery that included his Grandma's sewing machine. John knew that the letter could hold valuable answers, so he made no hesitation in jumping off of the crumpled quilt on his bed and going directly to Gordon's room, in search of answers.
~~
'Tin-Tin, could you go and wake up John, please? He needs to fill us in on what was said before the accident,' Jeff said, deciding that he had had enough time to rest and reflect.
'Yes, Mr Tracy,' Tin-Tin said, leaving her chair and heading to John's room, which was at the furthest end of the corridor. It was not long before she came to it, letting the door slide back before stepping inside. To her surprise, she found that John was nowhere to be found.
She headed back to the lounge, this time at a quicker pace, asking 'Mr Tracy, is he in here?' as she entered.
'He's not in his room?'
'No, Mr Tracy,' she said, now concerned for the fair-headed boy, 'would you like for me to search for him?'
'No, don't worry, I'll look,' Jeff said, getting up from his chair. 'The rest of you can go to bed,' he added, looking and seeing that it was well past two in the morning.
~~
John soon found the letter he was looking for, in the desk drawer amongst the rest of Gordon's general clutter. He paused for a moment, contemplating as to whether this was the right thing to do, but he assured himself that Gordon would have told him anyway, plus he needed answers, so he proceeded to carefully open the envelope and unfold the letter.
'Dear Gordon,' the letter began.
'We are writing to inform you of the passing of our beloved daughter, Carly, in a car accident last week. I know that although you both went your separate ways a few years ago, we know you were both great friends for a number of years and so we invite you to attend her funeral on 21st May, at St Peter's Chapel, Boston (see enclosed map.) Yours sincerely, Dan and Sarah Reid.'
Now it all made sense to John, the reason why Gordon had not been himself since receiving the letter. John remembered Carly Reid well, as she was one of Gordon's closest friends from the age of eight, and spent quite a bit of time at the Tracy house. There were many firsts related to Carly, many of which only John knew about, including the first date, first kiss, and more. The two were so close that Gordon had intended to propose to Carly, once he had finished his time in WASP, but the two had not seen each other since Gordon's hydrofoil accident. And then, when International Rescue commenced, Gordon knew that the chance had gone.
John snapped his head up, suddenly aware of a presence in the room, and saw his father standing in the doorway.
'Dad,' John said, standing up from where he had been crouching on the floor, 'I found this in Gordon's drawer, when I remembered he told me something was up, and this explains what.'
Jeff took and read the brief letter, and sighed gravely once he had finished. 'Those two were close,' he said, letting on that he knew more about their relationship than he had been told. 'So this is why Gordon's been acting unusually, and,' he paused, 'I think this is the reason he made that rash decision to break the door down on that rescue.'
John told his father that he could see why Gordon was generally out of sorts, but not why he would specifically break down a door.
'It is a known way to react to the death of someone. Although usually, the person would avoid danger at all costs, for fear that they too will die, Gordon has done the opposite, as he is living like there is no tomorrow and so is taking foolish risks. I just pray to God that he'll have seen sense by now, and will have kept his head, wherever he is.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~
Not long after Thunderbird Two returned to Base, Jeff called a meeting in the living room. Everyone was assembling when Tin-Tin walked in. 'Mr Tracy, John's asleep at the moment, would you like for me to wake him?'
Jeff was about to nod when he changed his mind. He knew well of the special bond between John and Gordon, as he had seen it flourish over the years. He had an idea that although they were all desperately worried, John in particular was probably feeling the shock.
'No, don't wake him,' he said. 'If he has anything to say, I'll talk to him later.' Jeff took a moment to compose himself before addressing those in the room. 'All right, we're here to discuss how it happened, and how we're going to find him,' he said, making use of euphemisms, as the subject itself needed no introduction.
The group, in particular Scott, Virgil and Tin-Tin, began to deliberate the events leading up to the disappearance of Gordon.
'So, you dived on top of Gordon, whilst Virgil came out with a slight concussion and an injured arm?' Jeff said, trying to clarify what had happened. Scott cringed, hating the way it sounded as though he had abandoned Virgil. 'Why Gordon, specifically?'
Scott and Virgil threw each other uneasy glances; they alone knew the reason why. 'He was closest,' Scott said hastily, lying through his teeth. Jeff accepted this justification for the moment.
'So, whilst Virgil received treatment, Gordon started work in the Firefly,' Scott said, trying to move proceedings on as quickly as possible. He continued to relay the story, until he remembered what it was leading to. 'I was talking to him over the communications when...'
'When what?' Jeff said, slightly impatiently.
'He cut the communications.'
Jeff sat for a moment, absorbing this, before slowly asking, 'Why did he do that?'
Scott explained the argument that had taken place, sinking lower and lower into his chair as he spoke. 'He felt that I didn't trust him, and he told me so,' he finished.
'Gordon just went off on one,' Virgil said, adding to the conversation. 'I can't remember ever seeing him rant like he did today.'
'The worst part is, what he said was true,' Scott said, shocking the members of the room as he admitted this. 'Gordon's been irrational lately, and he can be a hothead at the best of times. I wanted everything to run smoothly today, and I hate to admit it, but a part of me didn't trust Gordon enough to let him get on with his job without me monitoring him. That's not the whole story, though.'
'What else?' Jeff asked, wondering how much more there could possibly be. His seemingly eternal day had so far consisted of one missing son, one injured in a rock shower, and a third now admitting that he did not trust his brother.
'It'll sound crazy, but I have to tell you anyway. I've been having dreams lately, dreams that come true. I first dreamt that Grandma won her sewing machine, and woke up to find it had actually happened, and then I dreamt that Alan had the flu, which is partly how I knew to go straight to his room when I woke up. Then the dreams stopped for a few days until last night, when,' he paused, daring himself to say it, 'I dreamt that Gordon fell into some kind of huge hole during a rescue. That's why I've been acting strangely today, because I've been so worried.'
Those in the room took a moment to grasp hat Scott had said before Jeff spoke, 'Now things are beginning to fall into place.'
~~
John awoke from his light doze, facing the window framing the golden sun disappearing over the murky grey horizon. For a moment, he did not know where he was, or why he felt so miserable or so drained, but then the events of the afternoon came flooding back to him, washing away those brief moments of blissful ignorance.
He tried to remember back to the conversation that had taken place between himself and Gordon directly before he had lost contact with his brother. He had established that an argument had taken place between Gordon and Scott, due to the eldest brother not trusting Gordon. And then he, Gordon, had admitted to being irritable, and before John could get an answer as to why, he was gone.
No, wait, there was something Gordon had said, he had uttered one thing, seven little words, before the communications had died.
'I got a letter the other day.'
John knew that mail had arrived the previous day, but if Gordon had meant then, he would have said 'yesterday.' Before that, there was the delivery that included his Grandma's sewing machine. John knew that the letter could hold valuable answers, so he made no hesitation in jumping off of the crumpled quilt on his bed and going directly to Gordon's room, in search of answers.
~~
'Tin-Tin, could you go and wake up John, please? He needs to fill us in on what was said before the accident,' Jeff said, deciding that he had had enough time to rest and reflect.
'Yes, Mr Tracy,' Tin-Tin said, leaving her chair and heading to John's room, which was at the furthest end of the corridor. It was not long before she came to it, letting the door slide back before stepping inside. To her surprise, she found that John was nowhere to be found.
She headed back to the lounge, this time at a quicker pace, asking 'Mr Tracy, is he in here?' as she entered.
'He's not in his room?'
'No, Mr Tracy,' she said, now concerned for the fair-headed boy, 'would you like for me to search for him?'
'No, don't worry, I'll look,' Jeff said, getting up from his chair. 'The rest of you can go to bed,' he added, looking and seeing that it was well past two in the morning.
~~
John soon found the letter he was looking for, in the desk drawer amongst the rest of Gordon's general clutter. He paused for a moment, contemplating as to whether this was the right thing to do, but he assured himself that Gordon would have told him anyway, plus he needed answers, so he proceeded to carefully open the envelope and unfold the letter.
'Dear Gordon,' the letter began.
'We are writing to inform you of the passing of our beloved daughter, Carly, in a car accident last week. I know that although you both went your separate ways a few years ago, we know you were both great friends for a number of years and so we invite you to attend her funeral on 21st May, at St Peter's Chapel, Boston (see enclosed map.) Yours sincerely, Dan and Sarah Reid.'
Now it all made sense to John, the reason why Gordon had not been himself since receiving the letter. John remembered Carly Reid well, as she was one of Gordon's closest friends from the age of eight, and spent quite a bit of time at the Tracy house. There were many firsts related to Carly, many of which only John knew about, including the first date, first kiss, and more. The two were so close that Gordon had intended to propose to Carly, once he had finished his time in WASP, but the two had not seen each other since Gordon's hydrofoil accident. And then, when International Rescue commenced, Gordon knew that the chance had gone.
John snapped his head up, suddenly aware of a presence in the room, and saw his father standing in the doorway.
'Dad,' John said, standing up from where he had been crouching on the floor, 'I found this in Gordon's drawer, when I remembered he told me something was up, and this explains what.'
Jeff took and read the brief letter, and sighed gravely once he had finished. 'Those two were close,' he said, letting on that he knew more about their relationship than he had been told. 'So this is why Gordon's been acting unusually, and,' he paused, 'I think this is the reason he made that rash decision to break the door down on that rescue.'
John told his father that he could see why Gordon was generally out of sorts, but not why he would specifically break down a door.
'It is a known way to react to the death of someone. Although usually, the person would avoid danger at all costs, for fear that they too will die, Gordon has done the opposite, as he is living like there is no tomorrow and so is taking foolish risks. I just pray to God that he'll have seen sense by now, and will have kept his head, wherever he is.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~