Jeff cut communications then looked up from his desk. It was then that he noticed both crutches on either side of the secret door to TB2. Jeff sat there puzzled looking at them, then suddenly leaped out of his chair, sending it flying into the wall. He headed to the guest door, knowing that the pilot door was a one way slide. When the door opened, he froze at the sight of Virgil dangling at the end of the slide where he normally would have entered TB2. Forgetting all about the Virgil/Victor names, he called out, "HANG ON, VIRGIL!!" He looked around him, panic starting to rise. What was the quickest way to close over 100 feet of distance between Virgil and the hard cement floor? He slammed the intercom next to him, "BRAINS, TB2 HANGER NOW!!" He was still looking feverishly around when he heard Virgil say, "I can't hold on much longer, hurry!" He looked down at the podless canyon and realized that the pods themselves can cut more than half that distance.
Jeff punched the button that moves the conveyor belt with the pods, not caring which direction it moved. He just wanted a pod underneath Virgil should he fall, he would have a better chance of survival if the distance was shortened.
Brains was out of breath when he ran into the hanger from below. He looked around and only saw the pods moving, but no humans.
"Brains, up here!" he heard Jeff yell. Brains looked up and horrified saw Virgil dangling from the slide. Pod 3 was now directly underneath him. The fall was still too much to handle especially if he was going to land on his newly restored knee. Brains stared at the pod, then at Virgil, then the pod. A ladder won't work because there is no place to rest the upper end of the ladder. What about some of their equipment that can extend to incredibly long lengths. Two machines that came to mind were in pod 6, which………….was the one in use.
"I g-got it Mr. Tracy. Hold on V-Virgil just another m-minute. P-Please hold on!" he called. He then raced into pod 2 and pulled out a large folded soft plastic object. He then ran to the side of the hanger and retrieved the ladder frequently used to get up on the pods for maintenance. "H-hold on V-Virgil!' he yelled again. Manhandling the ladder, he positioned it against pod 5 and quickly climbed it. When he reached the top he threw the large soft piece of folded plastic directly underneath Virgil, holding the piece of rope that was attached to it. When it landed, he yanked hard on the rope and the plastic started to inflate rapidly.
'The rescue mattress!' Jeff thought. Brains got the idea for this from watching Hollywood stuntmen do high falls, except this was modified slightly to fit IR needs. "Good thinking Brains!" Jeff yelled down.
The mattress was about ¾ inflated when Virgil gave out with a yell and started free falling towards the ground. He hit the air mattress flat on his back. But due to the curvature the pods and the force of the hit, both mattress and man slid off the far side of the pod with Brains helplessly looking on grabbing empty air. Brains slid down the ladder at reckless speed. Jeff headed straight to the elevator.
As Jeff approached the far side of the pod he found Brains kneeling beside an unconscious Virgil. "My God," Jeff said, "Will this roller coaster ride with Virgil ever end!" He turned and left, quickly returning with the antigravitational gurney. "Brains, how is he?"
"There's n-nothing broken. B-but I think he hit his head p-pretty hard. I c-can't tell if h-he re-injured h-his knee because it was s-still swollen from the s-surgery. I c-can tell b-better once we get him t-to the sick room."
Scott and Gordon returned at the same time since TB2 was closer to base than TB1 when they turned around. Scott was worried when he didn't get the clearance to land. There was no answer from base. He quickly scanned the area for aircraft, and satisfied that it was clear enough, opened the pool remotely. TB2 was landing on the runway as per normal. However when Gordon went to taxi into the hanger, there was a pod in the way. He radioed Scott to tell him of the odd occurrence especially since there was no answer from their dad upon the hale.
Scott was the first inside. Since Gordon had to get out of TB2 and leave her on the runway he ran up the outside steps. He took them 2 and 3 at a time. He met Scott in the lounge. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except…..Virgil's crutches.
"What are they doing there?" Gordon asked.
Scott just shrugged and called out. "Dad?"
He went to the intercom, "Dad, are you in the house anywhere?"
The return call worried both Scott and Gordon. "We are in the sick room."
Both brothers hurried down to the sickroom, feeling sick themselves and not knowing whom it was that needed care. They broke into the room like two bulls in a china shop.
"What happened?!" they asked in unison.
"From what I could tell, Virgil went to explore the hidden entrance to TB2. I don't know if he saw something or remembered something. But one thing he didn't remember, that the slide is still there even when TB2 is gone. He must have been facing the wall, when it flipped him inside. I found him hanging on for life at the end of the slide."
Jeff conveyed the entire home rescue to the boys.
Scott and Gordon looked at their brother. Looking up, Gordon said, "He doesn't look like he fell and hit the floor. What did you guys do?"
As Jeff continued with the details, Virgil started to stir. He wasn't waking up quietly, he was fighting as if he was having a nightmare. Beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Take it easy, Virgil." Scott said quietly. Jeff looked down at his unconscious son as he spoke to Scott, "I don't know what this has done to his memory, so use his other name as well. He could respond to either Virgil or Victor."
When Virgil started thrashing violently Brains told Jeff, "I t-think I had b-better sedate him. He m-may hurt h-himself in this st-state of agitation."
"Can you sedate someone who is unconscious?" Gordon asked.
"W-well it isn't the typical m-medication. It is m-meant more for p-people like Virgil. It is closer to b-being a muscle relaxant, s-seems to have a c-calming effect."
Jeff nodded his approval and Brains gave him an IM injection. Virgil slowly relaxed. "U-unfortunately Mr.Tracy, this c-could mean that h-he will be out f-for several more hours."
"Thanks, Brains." Then turning to Gordon, "Will you tell your grandmother that I will be dining down here tonight."
When Scott walked into the sickroom at 2:00 AM, he found his father slumped over, snoring lightly. He thought 'Oh, boy, dad is going to have a terribly stiff neck when he wakes up.' He walked over to his father and gently shook his shoulder. "Ow," came the reply as Jeff started to rub the back of his neck. "I don't think I will ever be able to straighten out again." Then looking at Scott, "What are you doing here?"
"I want to take over watch for you. Go stretch out on your own bed, straighten out those crooked kinks." Scott helped his father to the door.
Before Jeff left he asked, "Want me to make a cup of coffee for you?"
Scott thought a moment, "You know that sounds good, but why don't you go to bed, I can get the coffee. Virgil won't be alone for more than a minute."
"OK, 'nite, son"
"My name is Virgil!" could be heard coming from the sickroom. But no one was there to hear it.