CHAPTER THREE.
"Now we've got to make this sound believable; you ready bro'?" he whispered, his eyes locked on the second counter of his watch.
Scott barely had time to more than nod before John raced into their rehearsed speech.
"So Dad's organised this as a surprise then?"
"Er…." Scott watched John's face working wordlessly, the dig in the ribs kick-starting him. "…….yeah, that's right."
"And Gordon doesn't suspect a thing?"
"Er; no."
The abrupt cessation of padding feet informed them both they had captured their audience, and they grinned into the knowing silence.
"When's Dad gonna tell him?"
"Think he's just gonna present him with it." Scott said, finding his flow.
"Boy is he in for one heck of a surprise; I can't wait to see his face when Dad shows him the blueprints for the new Thunderbird Four." John Tracy sounded so convincing he almost had Scott believing him.
"Where is he anyway?"
"Dunno." Scott replied, knowing full well Gordon's ears were burning just round the corner, tuned into every word, and the mental image that went with it had the dimples on Scott's face deepening as he grinned broadly.
As if on a telepathic link Gordon pressed further into the shadow, measuring his breathing.
"Well we've got to make sure he doesn't find out…..wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."
"Where are the plans for the new Thunderbird anyway?"
"Brains' has them in the office of his lab; got them well and truly under wraps."
"Then we'll have to make sure they stay that way; Dad's relying on us to make sure the kid doesn't find out." John winked.
Gordon Tracy held his breath until he was certain his two elder brothers had retreated to their rooms. Peeling himself away from the wall, he let out silent whoop of delight. His eyes burned intently as he replayed the conversation over in his head.
'A new Thunderbird Four.'
Dashing to his room to quickly shower and change, Gordon's mind worked feverishly as he hopped on first one leg, then the other while trying to slip into his jeans, tripping over the casual cluttered disarray of his room in his haste. His mind was bouncing back and forth images -as he shrugged into a clean shirt- and struggling to come up with a design for the new underwater craft. He had his ideas, but for the life of him Gordon couldn't draw up a mental picture and he knew the only answer would be to sneak a look for himself.
'The blue prints were in Brain's office,' they'd said. His excitement mounted at the thought of sneaking a look at those blue prints. It wasn't going to be easy, but he had to see them. Checking the coast was clear he made his way stealthily along the corridor and down to the underground lab near TB2's hanger. He didn't know exactly where to look but he had a shrewd idea. Brains could be a bit absent-minded at times, and he hoped this would be one of them. He fervently hoped the scientific genius was not in his lab, but figured he'd cross that bridge if and when he came to it. With hindsight he knew it was a little too soon after the sun tan lotion caper he'd played on John, to be caught in the vicinity of the lab again, but with any luck Brain's would have forgotten about that, especially, Gordon grinned, if he was wrapped up in this new design.
Unbeknown to him the reason he found it so easy was the fact everyone was monitoring his progress on the bio sensors with interest, including the absent-minded genius.
Chapter four will follow shortly.
More intrigues and Gordon suffers palpitations as he is drawn ever deeper into the 'Payback' trap.