CHAPTER SIX.
The time had come. Taking a deep breath Gordon wiped his hands and dropped the rag onto the workbench, having just replaced the zyolithic crystals in the Life-support unit wing of his sub'. The aquanaut had been counting down the hours, then minutes since breakfast. He knew every member of his family were about their allotted tasks, his father attending to his business interests, his brothers deeply immersed in their own maintenance schedules. Easing himself out his Thunderbird and exiting the pod of Thunderbird Two, Gordon rounded the corner, his objective, the nearby workshop.
"Going somewhere?"
Gordon jerked and craned his neck upwards at his artistic brother who was watching him from one of the observation ports of his Thunderbird.
"Er, no." he replied as he u-turned back towards the pod. "Damn!"
"Did you say something?"
'What, have you got supersonic hearing?' he mouthed silently at his eldest brother who was in the adjoining port. He heard them say something and chuckle.
Back in his Thunderbird, Gordon decided to try again after a few minutes, once the dust had settled. But, much to his chagrin, he encountered them, a second time.
"Got itchy feet there Gordon?"
If only his eldest brother didn't look so smug while he was stood there, as if on guard.
"Anyone'd think you guys were watching me."
"You done the diagnostic checks on Thunderbird Four's Life-supports systems yet?"
"Why?"
"What about the replacement zyolithic crystals?"
"What are you fellas, my warders?"
"What makes you say that?"
"It feels like a damn prison 'round here these days; I feel like I'm forever tripping over one or the other of you. Anyone'd think I was a security problem or something…...and yeah, the crystals have been replaced." He grumbled as he headed back to his sub', plotting and scheming. He missed the conspiratorial winks Scott and Virgil exchanged, as they resumed their 'watch.'
Gordon paced back and forth in Thunderbird Four's pod, his mind racing. His brothers were too wily, it was almost as if they knew he had an agenda, knew about the new Thunderbird, but they couldn't. That was top secret. Only three people were aware of her existence. His father, Brains and himself, and he was desperate to get a look. What he needed was a distraction.
'That was it!' Gordon grinned, banging his fist into his palm as his eyes lit on the fire alarm. Okay, it was unethical, but desperate times called for desperate methods. His father would no doubt tear a strip of him, if he was caught and couldn't bluff his way out, but as long as he could sneak a look at that new machine Brains was working on, it would be worth it. How else was he expected to cause a distraction. It would be risky, but he could be there and back before he was missed and the 'surprise' he wasn't supposed to know anything about, wouldn't be spoiled.
Gordon hit the button and waited. As he'd expected, Scott and Virgil shot into the hanger, issuing him orders as they looked for the source of the fire. He used the valuable few seconds to duck towards the labs workshop, the echoes of his distracted brothers wreaking a smile of satisfaction, as he made it unhindered.
His face dropped like a stone as the door of the lab slid back and he came face to face with the last man he wanted to see.
"Oh; er, hi there Gordon. I-if y-you'll just hang on a minute, I-I'll just get you the, er, tray."
Gordon stood there with a blank face, wondering what the heck Brains was on about. He wasted valuable seconds and by the time he'd rallied himself and stepped over the threshold, Brains had returned and thrust a used lunch tray in his hands.
"I-it is really good of you to o-offer to take it back to the kitchen for me. With all the work I-I have on at the moment, I sort of forgot. Thankyou Gordon."
Gordon opened his mouth to speak, only to be faced with a closed door.
********
"Ah, erm S-Scott, I thought you'd like to know I've er, dealt with that little problem….security hazard over. Thanks for the tip-off, a-although the alarms are in place."
"No problem. It's good to see those measures of yours working well."
"Oh, erm thankyou Scott."
"You're welcome. I'll let Dad know, you've had a 'visitor.' He'll be pleased to know our sneaky brother hasn't disappointed him and is living up to his name. Pity I missed his face, I'd have liked to have seen that."
"Me too." Virgil seconded.
Brains grinned at them from his watch, "Yeah, you would have liked it, he did sort o-of look a trifle despondent."
The brothers laughed at the understatement.
********
Later that day:
"Ow! That's my foot you're stood on."
"Sorry."
"Virg', get your elbow out of my ear." John winced.
"Sorry."
"Umph!"
"That wasn't your head my wrench just connected with, was it?" The scowl he received as Scott rubbed at his crown had Virgil apologising for the third time in as many minutes. "S'not my fault."
"Oh yeah; it was your elbow……."
"…….And your foot and your wrench ….."
"Okay; okay. But there isn't room to swing a cat round here."
"We're not doing this to swing cats…..even if we had one." John said amiably.
Virgil looked at his partners in crime, his affable features lighting up, "Yup, I know. Gordon's going to love this."
Scott and John exchanged amused looks, "Yep, I reckon you're right."
"I can't wait to see his face." John gave them both a rakish grin.
"It'll be worth waiting for." All agreed before recommencing work.
"Scott, mind where you're sticking that box spanner!"
"Er, sorry Virg'."
"John, drop us those pliers will ya……no, not the engineers, the snipe nose."
"Here you go, have you done with the welding gun yet?" John asked, handing Virgil the small pliers.
"Ow!"
"Erm, sorry John." Virgil said as the welding gun slipped from his grip.
"At this rate I'll have no skin left on my knuckles. How come you take up so much room anyway?"
"Just lucky I guess." Virgil responded genially.
"Move over will you?" John said, rubbing his knuckles.
"Uh. Get your knee out of my back."
"That's not mine, it's John." Virgil quickly defended.
"Oh, er, right. Sorry Virg'. John……"
"It's done. You know we'd be better working in pairs, less cramped."
"But that's not how Dad wants it done. Besides it's going to take us all our time with the three of us to get it finished before that slippery brother beats us to it. We've already scuppered him twice now. He almost beat us last time. Next time we might not be so lucky."
"With all the fail-safes Brains has put in place? You worry too much Scott."
"Maybe, but with Gordon it pays to be alert, he's one devious customer."
"How's it going boys?"
"Ow!" "Umph!" "Argh!"
"Sorry boys." Jeff said casting them a conciliatory look. "Hey this is looking good." Jeff gazed around him appraisingly, "you boys have done well."
All three disentangled themselves and sat up, pleased.
"What brings you down here Dad?" Virgil enquired.
"Just been to see Brains, he's finished the first part of his 'Operation Payback.'"
"Already?"
Jeff nodded. "So I thought I'd see how much longer my boys are going to be."
"We're just about the start on the electrics, then there's just the er, paint job……about another sixteen, or so, working hours should do it." Scott enlightened him.
Jeff stood, toying with the loose coins in his pocket a satisfied look on his face as he cast an analytical eye over the craft his sons had been working hard on, every spare minute, while their brother was taking his daily swim or engaged in some other diversionary activity organised by Jeff.
"So where is our errant brother anyway?" John asked, dropping a small flathead screwdriver which promptly disappeared down the back of Virgil's shirt.
"Ugh!"
"Sorry." John appeased.
"In the pool." Jeff felt the corners of his mouth twitching as his sons collided and jostled with one another. "Virgil, how would you like to give Brains a hand?"
Secretly pleased to have a little more space to work in Virgil readily obliged.
With a final approving smile Jeff left the precincts of the main underground workshop/laboratory adjoining Brains' laboratory and headed back to where he'd left his fourth born son.
********
Jefferson Tracy rolled over and reached out an irritated hand, snatching at the source of the persistent bleeping that was nothing to do with the familiar rescue alarm sound. He opened a bleary eye as the timbre of Brains' voice cut through the groggy fog of his sleep.
"Ah, er, Mr. Tracy, h-he's on his way a-again."
"Damn it all, but he's persistent, this is the third night this week. The lab's locked?"
"O-of course."
Okay Brains, I think it's time to take some drastic action." Jeff knew his sons would have been forewarned in the same instant he had been, all the watches alarms were interlinked. Scott confirmed this as his father gave orders for Gordon to be intercepted.
"We're already on our way Dad."
After issuing further orders Jeff threw back his covers and reached for his dressing gown, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Normally alert, the nocturnal habits of his fourth born were catching up on him. Snapping on his watch, he headed for the underground lab, a determined look on his face.
*********
Gordon Tracy frowned; 'how the heck had they managed that'. He'd been careful, sneaky, underhand even, waiting until almost three in the morning after finding his daytime sorties had been in vain. This was the third time they'd headed him off. 'How were they doing that? What was it with everyone round here, couldn't anyone sleep?' He'd expected every self respecting person to have the decency to stick to their beds so he could rummage around in peace, 'but no, not this lot……..damn it all.' Doubling back would be pointless; he could hear Scott and Virgil close on his tail. 'And how come whenever he was within two hundred yards they seemed to come out of the woodwork.' He was too late to get back via the monorail, if he could just by pass his brothers and get to the passenger lift chute first, he might make it back unseen…..
"GORDON!" the exasperated tone of his parent halted him faster than a collision with a brick wall. With deliberate slowness he turned round. The conciliatory smile he plastered his father with had the effect of water off a duck's back. Drawing close he watched as one by one his brothers joined their parent, Brains lastly, all sporting the same enigmatic air.
"One more trip out of bed and that new piece of kit you're hoping to adopt will end up at the bottom of the Pacific….permanently! Now get back to bed and let us all get some sleep. You'll get your unveiling in the morning."
Gordon didn't question how his parent knew he was down there, it was sufficient he did. Other things where whirling round in his head, 'The unveiling.' It was going to happen in the morning. 'His baby.' He didn't wait to be asked twice, but complied. His father and brother's hadn't waited to see if he was following them, it was as if they took it for granted he would. They weren't wrong.
********
Chapter seven, the great unveiling, to follow shortly. The day has arrived, at last, and it is one Gordon will never forget.