Emotional Roller coasters – Chapter 8 of In Enemy Control
Thank you, for the reviews and next part and then final chapter will be up soon. Thanks Tikatu for her usual expertise in correction.
"I have won! I have won, International Rescue!" Menacing laughter boomed around the lavish golden temple until the evil eyes of the Hood were brought to the attention of the large screen before him.
"NO!"
"My weapon! It's been destroyed!" The Hood slammed his fist down on to the sophisticated control unit, as all the telemetry from his most successful mission ended.
The Hood felt like he was beaten again, until a glimmer of what he would call hope filled his mind.
"Who fired first, the weapon or Thunderbird Five?"
It was a worrying mission they were on. Neither had spoken about the fact that lives were in danger, this time IR members' lives. They had arrived at their destination in the fastest possible time, and now it was time to play their part in this very personal rescue. In both their hands they held International Rescue weapons, prepared to face the people who had brought worry and misery to the 'IR family'.
"Get ready. I want to take them by surprise." The words were spoken in a soft manner but were lined with an edge of worry. Was it to late to help?
They had watched the area for a few minutes and discussed the best choice of action, but with being in such an isolated spot it seemed too easy.
"Go." The older man did as he was instructed and planted low powered explosives on the metal door, then stood back ready. A low bang was heard, sounding like a series of explosions as the sound echoed around the secluded, slightly hilly region they were in. The dust flakes cleared the air and scattered all over the cold, steep, concrete steps below them that led to a series of doors.
"Let's go Parker." The elegant Lady Penelope selected her target out of the four doors in front of her.
"Yes, milady. Shall I go first, milady?" The grey-suited butler and protector of her Ladyship asked the young woman standing next to him.
"Please do, Parker." The young blonde directed her butler, but also her dear friend, to the door while she covered the entrance.
The red door swung open and revealed a mass of control panels and highly advanced equipment, while an old scientist lay unconscious on the floor.
"He's alive, milady," the butler informed her as he checked the white-suited man for a pulse and assessed his injuries.
"Good, he is going to be very helpful. You go and get the first aid kit from FAB 1 and I shall call Jeff." The beautiful woman moved over to inspect the equipment and space charts spread all over another of the walls.
"Well, someone had been busy trying to find us. However, it looks like John has successfully destroyed the weapon, as far as I can see." The very intelligent woman informed her collaborator as he returned from FAB 1 and started to treat the nasty cut on the back of the professor's head.
"I had better call in." The young woman pulled out her compact make-up case, which was incredibly a communication system to Tracy Island.
"Lady Penelope calling International Rescue headquarters, come in please." The British woman hoped to have news that would please her dear friend, but from the look on Jeff Tracy's face she may have been to late.
"Go ahead, Penny." The look of exhaustion and concern lined his face, which deeply hurt Lady Penelope.
"Jeff, the weapon has been destroyed and we have found the scientist involved. Are the boys okay?" Concern edged into her soft voice in the last few words.
"That's great, Penny, but I want to know what he has just done, Thunderbird 3 was targeted again just before the weapon was destroyed, I know nothing else yet." Jeff relayed the information coldly from his desk, with a very upset-looking Gordon and Virgil sitting nearby.
"FAB, Jeff. He is waking now." The deep blue eyes of Lady Penelope looked hurt by the news that more of this nightmare was still to come.
John Tracy slid his drained body against the cold metal walls of Thunderbird Five. John was quiet and loving in nature and could handle a crisis quite well but being alone, on a dark, damaged spaceship was something different. Especially knowing that all his past hours of work hadn't stopped this nightmare, and had put his much loved brothers in yet more peril. The tears were being to form, but he again forced himself to control his feelings. He pulled up his head and moved his weary body over to the sensors to see how his brother were and the damage obtained from the last attack.
"Scott…?"
"Alan…?"
"You two all right…?" John forced the desperate feeling of pain from his voice and concentrated on the task.
"Answer me, now!"
" Christ, John, I don't think I have ever heard you shout like that before." The voice of his baby brother filtered through the speakers at both Tracy Island and TB 5.
"You both okay?" John ignored the reply by Alan and repeated his question.
"Yes, I think. Tell me you destroyed that thing." Scott's deep voice pleaded with John for a 'yes' reply.
"Course I did, the target practice paid off perfectly." John felt slightly better but felt that his feelings of things getting better were about to take a dramatic plunge downwards.
"Good."
Unusually for England the temperature was very warm, without any rain, but Lady Penelope couldn't help but shiver. This was due to the information she had willingly gotten from the frightened old scientist.
"There is nothing we can do. She is set on her course and there is no way we can change it." The scientist decided not to move, basing his decision on two guns being pointed at him.
"You had better not be lying to us. It isn't a wise idea to cross International Rescue, Professor." The young woman pointed out in a deep meaningful voice from her position above the old man.
"I am telling the truth. There is nothing we can do. Thunderbird 3's course has been set, in two and a half hours she will collide."
"Lady Penelope calling International Rescue headquarters." She had never felt so unwilling to call Jeff Tracy that right that second.
"Jeff, I think both Thunderbird Three and Five need to hear this as well. You had better patch them through." An apprehensive look appeared on Jeff's face and Virgil and Gordon shared an anxious glance, causing Virgil to instantly placed his arm around his aquanaut brother.
"Okay, Penny, everyone can hear you." Jeff nervously replied.
"Jeff, the scientist was working for the Hood." Virgil had a threatening look on his tanned features and Gordon seemed to tense a lot at the information.
"The last firing at Thunderbird Three was to knock her off course, or to be more accurate on course. A collision course with a radio satellite, a manned radio satellite station, impact time two hours thirty minutes." The silence was thick and emotion filled from both England, the middle of the pacific and the edge of the Earth's atmosphere.
After a breathless few moments, Jeff Tracy said. "Thanks, Penny. Hold on to that scientist. International Rescue base, out."
He turned his head to face his Earth bound family.
"Virgil, Gordon, launch Thunderbird 2 as soon as possible, head up to the edge of the atmosphere and wait for instructions."
"Dad maybe…" Scott started his protest from TB 3.
"No, Scott, you two just stay put. We're going to get you out of there." The argument came not from Jeff but from Gordon.
"Thank you, Gordon. Virgil, Gordon, get going, and be careful, boys." Jeff looked at his sons sadly and embraced both of them with a brief hug, questioning what his mouth had just said. He was sending even more of his sons into danger, but he knew that was the only way to help.
"Brains, Tin Tin, what do you think?" There was almost a pleading for a glimmer of hope in Jeff's words as both Gordon and Virgil disappeared into the walls.
"I'm not s-sure, M-Mr T-Tracy. If T-Thunderbird 3's engines are powerless, there is nothing w-we can d-do."
"We should radio the satellite and inform them. They maybe able to move and stop the collision." Tin Tin spoke up although she was filled with worry for her adopted family.
"Good idea. Let's hope they can help. Get me the frequency, would you?" Jeff found hope in his youngest son's girlfriend's voice, but was pushed back into despair at Scott's voice.
"Dad, Thunderbird 2 is going to be up here in what, two and a quarter hours at best? That's cutting it a bit fine, don't you think?"
"Right now it's the best plan, Scott."
Jeff sensed an edge of hidden information in his voice.
"What is it, Scott?" Jeff asked firmly knowing it was the only way to get an answer from his heir.
"Dad." Scott looked over at Alan who was still sitting, shivering against the walls of the great space rocket.
"We have got two hours and twenty five minutes before we get fatal carbon dioxide poisoning." Jeff Tracy felt his hands tremble and his heart crush as he and everyone else heard Scott's words.
"We are already getting really sick." Scott just listened to the silence on the airwaves.
Great were going to suffocate and then get blown to pieces, and innocent people are going to die because of us.
Unless we take plan C, a plan only Thunderbird 3 was capable of, which would save the innocent people in the radio satellites lives..
Alan considered the options as he watched his brother relay the information to his father, but deep down he knew it would have to happen if all else failed.
Plan C - Operation Self-destruct!