One of these days, I think someone is going to push me off one of my own cliffhangers. :-P
When we left things:
Brains had an idea he was working on, Virgil was desperately trying to get the ship to move, and Scott? He was having troubles of his own.
Time for chapter 6.
The Choice
by Girl-Detective
Chapter 6 - A Plan in the Making
There was no time for Scott to react.
He had been leading the last group of scientists to safety when the latest quake opened up the frozen ground wide.
Unfortunately, he was standing over that very patch of ground.
Scott felt himself falling downward until one of the scientists made a leaping dive and caught his arm, stopping his descent further into the newly made hole. The other two scientists surrounded them, and helped pull Scott safely back up to their level on the frozen ground.
Gasping for breath, Scott turned to look at the hole that he was pulled out of. It was the biggest he had seen so far, and looked to be twice as deep. Falling into that could have injured him, or worse.
He turned back to the scientists that had been his rescuers. "Thanks."
"You are welcome," replied the one that caught him. "Am I right in assuming these quakes are man made?"
Scott nodded.
One of the others piped up. "Whoever it is, they must be stopped. If the tremors continue at this rate, the whole of Antarctica will break apart!"
That was the last thing he wanted to hear. They stood a better chance in Thunderbird Two, but they needed to get moving and fast.
Scott motioned on ahead. "What matters now is that we get to a place of safety. Follow me and stick close."
-Half hour before deadline-
when Gordon reached Brains lab, he found the scientist in a state of excitement. His hands worked furiously over the controls of a computer that was near him, and he was relaying numbers to John via a video screen.
He approached Brains. "It looks like you have an idea brewing. How can I help?"
Brains motioned to a nearby chair with a separate video screen. "I-I need you to man t-the comm station while John and I try fr-frequencies. If we can f-find the right one, we can block the d-device the Hood is using, and we will be able to reach Scott and Virgil as well as t-the Hood."
Gordon took the seat eagerly. "Well, let's get to it then."
Virgil was sweating bullets.
Three of the scientists from the encampment had managed to reach his position, and told him that Scott went to retrieve the other three members of their camp. Virgil helped the scientists inside and got them secured, and then turned his attention back to the sensors and the controls.
His sensors were telling him little more than he already knew- the mountains of ice and snow surrounding them were becoming more unstable by the minute. Virgil also managed to pick up Scott's position on the scanners, but without communications or the ability to fly, he was of no use. He happened to load the mole onboard before they went searching for Alan, but he doubted that even that would work at this point.
"Th...Bi..2...C...in.."
A burst of static from communication panel. It was the first thing he had heard since the Hood had proclaimed that this was a trap. Virgil turned his attention to the communication panel. He found that the controls still wouldn't respond to him, but whoever was trying to reach him seemed to be working at it, because the static kept changing in pitch.
"Come on...I know someone is trying to get through."
He stared hard at the panel, listening intently until finally a distinct voice came through loud and clear.
"Thunderbird Two come in! If you can hear my voice please respond!"
-Gordon!-
Gordon's came through loud and clear, so on a hunch he tried the comm panel one more time.
"This is Thunderbird Two, is that you Gordon?"
Virgil heard a loud whoop issue from the comm panel.
"Virgil, am I ever glad to hear your voice. What's your status?"
"We have been grounded, apparently by the Hood. There has a ton of quakes in the area, and Scott is outside rounding up some scientists being threatened by them," Virgil replied.
Gordon's image finally appeared on the comm screen. "According to Brains, there's a device the Hood has been using to cause those effects on you two, but they have found a jamming frequency. You should be able to take off now, and those quakes should level off."
"Just the words I wanted to hear. These mountains of ice and snow were making me nervous," Virgil said as he started pre-flight checks. This time the controls responded as if nothing happened. "What about the Hood?"
"Now that his influence is gone, the sensors are working again on Thunderbird Five," Gordon stated, "John just told us that the Hood has turned and is plotting a course for our island. You better pick up Scott, get those scientists to safety, and get back here on the double."
"FAB." Virgil replied with enthusiasm. He relayed the news to the scientists on board, then activated his engines for take-off.
Jeff checked his watch and headed outside towards the launching area for Thunderbird Two.
No time left on the deadline. At least Scott and Virgil were safe, John notified him of that many moments ago. They were in the process of getting the scientists to safety, so there was no worries there. Jeff had one more quick conversation with Tin-Tin and Brains, then had made sure that all of the silos were secured so that the Hood could possibly only land in the area that he was heading towards.
Once he was in place, Jeff settled in to wait, leaning against the rough exterior of the hangar used by Thunderbird Two.
His choice was made, and he only hoped that it was one that he would not regret.
-Thirty minutes past deadline-
Brains and Gordon sat in the lab area, and watched Jeff waiting for the Hood on the video screen.
"Dad can sure come up with the craziest plans," Gordon muttered, "He's been out there a half hour already and the Hood hasn't shown yet."
"He's only g-going by the info he g-got from Tin-Tin," Brains replied. "Your father ordered me to come up with a plan to track the Hood b-but not tell him about it so that's w-what I did."
"But why?" Gordon asked.
The answer came from a distinct feminine voice sounding inside his head. "Because the Hood can get into your head, that's why."
Gordon looked around wildly, leaving Brains puzzled, until he looked over at the doorway and spotted Tin-Tin. "Was that you?"
The young girl nodded, then came over to join them. "My uncle can do that even easier than I can. If you guys had figured out a plan together, he would have probed Mr. Tracy's brain until he found the information."
Gordon shook off the uneasy feeling. "Fair enough, but a little warning next time before you do that, Tin-Tin? It felt like tiny fingers probing in my head and-"
Brains, who was watching the video feed, cut him off. "L-Look!"
They all turned to stare at the video screen as they saw the familiar form of Thunderbird Three come in for a landing.
Jeff watched unmoving as Thunderbird Three came to a stop on Thunderbird Two's take off point.
He decided to let the Hood make the first move, but was surprised when the Hood didn't exit the craft. Instead, Jeff saw the hatch to Thunderbird 3 open and the Hood's voice sounded sharply in his mind.
"Don't just stand there, Jeff, come in. I am here to take you to your son."
-Walk into my parlor said the spider to the fly.- Jeff thought bitterly. He reluctantly walked towards Thunderbird 3 and the open hatch.
The trio in Brains' lab watched as Jeff climbed through the hatch of Thunderbird 3. The hatch then quickly sealed behind him, and they could hear the whine of the engines as it powered up and took off high into the sky. Brains' hands moved swiftly over the controls of his computer workstation. With a flourish, he executed the commands that he typed in, then smiled as an audible beeping came through the system.
"The signal is coming t-through nicely."
"A tracking signal? All part of the plan you concocted, right?" Gordon asked as he watched line after line of data scroll on the workstation Brains was using.
Brains nodded. "I gave Jeff a watch to wear t-that shields a communicator and a t-transmitter. It uses low level power, so it should go undetected by the Hood."
"Excellent," Gordon proclaimed, "then we have a line to my dad. We just have to use it at the right time."
"We w-will need to k-keep close tabs on the H-Hood. Mr. Tracy stressed that rescuing Alan w-was first priority, and any operation should start once we get a lo-loc- fix on where he is," Brains stated.
Gordon thought for a moment, then contacted Thunderbird Two. The images of Virgil and Scott quickly appeared on the video screen. "Guys, what's your ETA? Dad has already left and we need to get going before the trail gets cold."
Virgil was the one to answer. "About forty five minutes. We ended up dropping the scientists off in Russia and we are just flying back now."
"W-we don't have much time," Brains declared, "from what the tracking signal is indicating, the H-Hood has set his course for somewhere near Malaysia."
"Near Malaysia?" echoed Tin-Tin. "My uncle could be taking Mr. Tracy to where he had his old diamond mine."
"Diamond mine? It's possible. The Hood kept on about how dad left him to die there," Gordon pondered, then posed the question to Scott and Virgil. "What do you think guys?"
"I think it is our best shot," Scott declared, "we are only fifteen minutes away from Malaysia, we can triangulate our position so that we are far away enough from the Hood's detection, and we have the mole on board to go underground if we need to. Gordon, go ahead and take Thunderbird 1 and rendezvous with us. Knowing the Hood, we will probably need all of the help we can get."
Gordon stood quickly. "FAB."
He quickly headed towards the silo for Thunderbird One.
Jeff sat uncomfortably in the co-pilots seat of Thunderbird 3 and stared at the Hood. He tried to get an idea of where they were going, but the Hood's quick movements over the controls made it almost impossible.
After a few moments, he turned to Jeff with a smile. "Relax, Jeff. Enjoy the ride. We will be back to the beginning of things soon enough."
"'The beginning of things'?" Jeff echoed. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
The Hood chuckled softly and adjusted their speed to a higher setting.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Brr. Last chapter is coming soon, and I've got things primed for a Jeff/Hood showdown.
No promises on when it'll be out unfortunately. There's a hiring freeze for the job I want, and my department is due to downsize soon. -sighs- Things will work out, but it is keeping me busy.
Thank you guys for the reviews and well wishes. I am hoping I am doing this genre some justice at any rate.
Till Later,
Girl-Detective