"Gordon… Are you in here?"
"Alan?"
"Yep."
"Are you alone?"
"Yep."
"Thank heavens for that. How'd you find me?"
"When you leave a note on Dad's desk, in full view, saying you've gone up to the caves, you're pretty easy to find."
Gordon chuckled.
Alan swung his torch around until it lit up his brother. He made his way over the rocky ground and found a flat rock beside Gordon to sit on. "So… Why are you here? Why not somewhere on the beach in the light?" He switched off the torch and waited for his eyes to become adjusted to the gloom.
"Promise not to tell anyone?"
"Of course."
"I'm hiding from Virgil. He doesn't know about this place, I haven't brought him here yet."
"You're hiding from Virgil?"
"I know, it sounds awful, but I needed a break."
Alan frowned in the darkness. "Huh?"
"Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I'm able to help him. But I needed some time to do something that I wanted to do, not something that will help him as well."
"And what you wanted to do was hide in a cold, dark cave?"
Gordon was silent in the darkness.
"Gordon?" Alan prompted.
"No. I wanted to escape from him."
Alan heard Gordon give a sigh. "So you were hoping to get in a little quality time by yourself?"
"Yeah."
"Well don't worry. I won't break your cover. The only problem is everyone else will know where you are when they go past Dad's desk."
"Yeah. But so long as they don't tell Virgil I'm safe. He can't read well enough yet, especially when the words are written backwards. And I can be found if there's an emergency."
"What do you think your wristwatch communicator's for?"
Gordon chuckled. "Believe it or not I didn't consider that. I must be really tired."
"What you need is something to take your mind off things."
"Such as?"
"You haven't played any practical jokes in a while."
"I haven't had the opportunity. I haven't even had the time or energy to plan anything."
"So here's your opportunity. I'll help. Let's plan something against Virgil. He's an ideal target at the moment."
"Alan! I wouldn't!"
"Neither would I. But you can't tell me that the idea hasn't crossed you mind. We'll sit here and come up with a few hypothetical ideas."
"A little hypothetical revenge."
"If you like."
They spent the next half-hour hatching out plans, working out scenarios and devising details. Eventually Gordon grew tired of brainstorming. "What's the use of these plans if we're never going to use them?"
"Regard it as harmless therapy. Next time you feel like telling Virgil where to go, you can smile sweetly and imagine his face when he finds you've swapped rooms." Alan shone a light onto his watch. "We'd better start thinking about getting back. Feeling more relaxed?"
"Yeah, thanks, Alan." Then Gordon gave a mischievous snicker. "I just thought of another one. I could tell him that Tin-Tin's got a crush on him."
He couldn't see Alan's face harden. "You what?"
"Relax. I've already told him she's off limits."
"Why?"
"Way back at the beginning he made some comment about her being pretty, and I told him we regard her as a sister, nothing more. He accepted that and hasn't said anything since, so I guess he's forgotten about it."
"Hmmn," Alan said darkly as he checked his watch again. "I've got to pack my bags ready for this afternoon. Are you coming back with me?"
Gordon heard him stand and could just make out his outline change position. "Yes, I guess I'd better," he said reluctantly as he stood, stretched, and started walking towards the dim light from the cave's entrance.
Alan tagged along beside his brother. "I guess things'll be different, one way or another, when I get back from Thunderbird Five."
"I hope so. Fingers crossed that we've got the old Virgil back, huh."
"Fingers crossed."
Virgil sat alone up at the lookout. He often came up here. Sometimes it seemed to be the only place on the island where he could find something approaching peace with himself and his situation. Sometimes it felt as if he'd only been alive for a single month, with only one month of memories to hold onto.
The strain was beginning to show – on everyone. People were getting scratchy. They were all trying to help, but Virgil felt that none of them really wanted to. They wanted him to go away.
That included Gordon. Virgil had noticed that recently he would ask for Gordon's help and a resigned expression would cross the redhead's face briefly before the usual relaxed countenance would reappear.
Gordon was clearly growing tired of his role as protector.
Virgil was saddened by the thought that their friendship was becoming strained. He looked out at the horizon and thought about the other people in his life. He tried analysing his relationship with each of them.
Alan:
They'd started off okay. Once Alan had got over the fear of the amnesia, they'd become friends. But over the last few weeks, friendliness had turned to something else. It was as if Alan couldn't trust Virgil. As if he were suspicious of him for some reason.
And Virgil had no idea why.
John:
Virgil had liked John during the short time they'd been together. John had been friendly, and caring, and helpful, and understanding…
And then he was taken away. Sent back to 'Thunderbird Five'.
Why was it necessary for one man to remain alone in a space station that received and relayed emergency messages?
Virgil couldn't answer that one.
Jeff Tracy:
His father?
Why did he always think that as if it were a question?
Virgil had liked his… father. He'd felt safe around him when it had felt as if the rest of the world were spinning out of control. He'd liked him as a man, and for his principles and caring manner…
A manner that had changed over the last couple of weeks. Jeff Tracy was becoming distracted and somewhat aloof whenever he was around Virgil. While tutoring him in his reading, the lessons had become shorter and less entertaining.
It was as if Jeff Tracy was ashamed to be near him and was in a rush to get away. Was he ashamed of a son who couldn't even read properly?
Virgil wondered if he was ashamed of something else.
Grandma Tracy:
A kindly, caring old soul, who would make the most mouth watering concoctions, and then would look at Virgil as if expecting him to react in some way that he was unable to, and then move away…
Clearly she'd taken to heart the way he'd reacted when they first met…
'First' met?
Like so many others in this group she avoided him. Maybe not to the extreme of some, but she kept her distance, careful not to touch him in any way. It sometimes meant some strange contortions on her part, but it seemed to keep her happy…
And made Virgil feel guilty.
Brains:
What a strange name. If he was so clever why couldn't he come up with a cure for amnesia?
The only time Virgil really got to see Brains was for meals and when the latter put some new gadget on his head in hopes of finding a cure for the condition.
Virgil wasn't able to put much faith into Brains' inventions.
Kyrano:
Virgil felt that he didn't really know Kyrano. He knew he was Tin-Tin's father. He knew he was Jeff Tracy's servant. He knew Kyrano was very, very inscrutable.
That was all Virgil knew.
Virgil stretched his back, rubbed his neck, and ran through the list of people. Had he missed anyone out…?
Scott.
His closest brother?
It wasn't as if Scott was avoiding him. It was as if…
Who was he kidding? Scott was avoiding him. All through this last month people had been telling him how close he and Scott had been and yet Scott was doing all he could to keep some kind of barrier between them. He was never unfriendly or cold, but he was never friendly or welcoming either.
Maybe Scott didn't like him now that he had amnesia. Maybe something about him had changed so much that Scott couldn't stand it. Maybe…
Maybe it was a lie.
Maybe he and Scott hadn't been that close…
Maybe Scott didn't know Virgil.
Maybe none of them did.
In summary, the way Virgil saw it, Gordon was getting sick of him, Scott was avoiding him, Alan was suspicious, and John was simply absent. Jeff Tracy was aloof, Mrs Tracy was uncomfortable, Kyrano was inscrutable, and Brains wasn't that brainy.
Only Tin-Tin appeared to genuinely want to help.
Virgil couldn't help smiling when he thought of her. She was always cheerful, always ready to give him her time, always willing to be his friend.
Virgil needed to know that he had a friend. It was a source of comfort to him.
A source of comfort in the midst of this inescapable nightmare.
Sometimes he found the urge to escape almost unbearable. At those times, he'd either retreat to the studio to work on the Traceset, or to practise on the keyboard. Yesterday, after a long practise session he'd actually plucked up the courage to try playing a tune he'd heard on the radio on the baby grand in the lounge. He'd impressed himself with his own abilities.
Or else, if things were really pressing in on him, he'd head up here, away from the reminders of what he didn't know, into the fresh air and try to work out his frustrations on paper.
He looked down at the sketchpad and compared its scene with that spread out before him. He was reasonably satisfied with the result. The palm trees looked realistic, the beach seemed to be at the right perspective, and he'd got the sunlight glinting off the waters just right. The only thing missing were the filmy tendrils of smoke that were rising from the Round House. He started to sketch them in and then stopped, his brow creased in thought.
He looked back at the Round House. He couldn't think of any reason why there should be smoke coming from there. There were no chimneys or fireplaces that he could recollect. He was sure that it must be made of fire retardant material to withstand the intense heat of Thunderbird Three's rockets. And that hadn't been launched since John had gone back to Thunderbird Five… or wherever.
So why the smoke?
Curiosity aroused, he set off along the path towards the distinctively shaped building.
The smoke was quite thick in places by the time he got there, and was clearly seeping through gaps in several open windows.
Not sure what else to do he ran around to the steps leading up to the door. Once there he stopped. He placed the back of his hand on the door, feeling for heat – a sign of fire.
The door was cool to his touch.
As he stopped to consider his next action he heard a sound from inside.
The sound of a body falling heavily.
Now Virgil was worried. He banged on the door and shouted.
There was no reply.
The door was still cool, but he was reluctant to risk opening it in case the sudden intake of air caused the fire to flare up and out at him.
But if someone was in there… In trouble…
He ran back down the steps and found a sturdy branch. He raced back up and stopped, ducking down several steps below the level and to the right of the door. Using the branch as an extension of his hand, he pushed the button that slid the door back.
Smoke poured outwards and upwards as the door hissed open.
There was no sign of fire.
Greatly relieved, Virgil took a deep breath and crawled under the blinding smoke into the building. He was sure that he wouldn't have far to go…
He was right. His searching fingertips came across an outstretched hand. He moved further forward, grabbed some clothing and pulled the body back towards the door and fresh air. Now he was able to see who the victim was…
Tin-Tin's face was pale, and she didn't appear to be breathing.
Eager to get her away from the acrid smoke, he automatically pulled her into a fireman's lift and carried her to the ground at the base of the steps. Already his mind was going through the steps of coronary pulmonary resuscitation.
Check the airway is clear…
Check whether the patient is breathing…
Check the circulation…
He laid her gently on the ground…
"M-M-M-Mr T-T-T-T!" Brains ran into the lounge.
Jeff looked up. "What, Brains?"
"S-S-S-S," Brains stopped in frustration. "F-F-F-F… R-R-R-R…"
"Whoa," Jeff rounded the desk and placed his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Calm down! Take a deep breath… Now, what's wrong?"
"S-S-Smoke!" Brains managed to gasp out.
At once Jeff became concerned. "Where?"
Scott was on his feet, his mind already preparing a plan of action. His brothers were poised, ready for his command.
"R-R-Round House."
"What!"
"T-T-Tin-T-T…"
"Tin-Tin's there?" Alan asked in alarm.
Brains nodded.
"Let's go!" Scott ordered.
"Boys…!" Jeff started to say, but they'd already departed to their emergency stations. "Well… I guess I'm not in charge at the moment. Do you want to head up to the Round House, Brains? I'll let Mother know, and… I don't want to worry Kyrano unnecessarily, but he should be told. I'll take care of that too."
"Y-Yes, Mr Tracy."
"Okay. I'll meet you there shortly…"
Much to Virgil's relief, Tin-Tin had started coughing as soon as he placed her on the ground, so he rolled her into the recovery position. Her hair fell over her eyes and he tenderly brushed it back and tucked it behind her ear.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Virgil?" she coughed again.
"Relax. You're safe."
"What…" she appeared to remember what had happened. "How'd I get out?"
"I pulled you out. How are you feeling?"
"Okay…"
Worried, Virgil glanced back up at the building. Smoke was still pouring out of the door. "Is anyone else in there?" he asked.
"No." Tin-Tin shook her head and attempted to sit up.
"Take it easy, Honey," Virgil said anxiously. "Just lie there a bit."
"No, I'm okay," Tin-Tin protested, and managed to get into a sitting position.
The wind changed direction. They were smothered in a suffocating wall of smoke. Tin-Tin started choking again.
"Come on, let's get you away from here," Virgil coughed. He picked her up and carried her to a convenient flat rock upwind of the Round House. "Comfortable?" he asked as he supported her, letting her lean against his arm.
"Yes. Thank you…"
There was a roar from three hoverbikes driven by men wearing fire resistant coveralls.
Scott cut the power to his 'bike and jumped off, grabbing a first aid kit. "Gordon! Check the perimeter!" He ran over to where the two people were sitting. "Tin-Tin! Are you okay? What happened?" he was untangling an oxygen mask as he said this and pressed it over her face, pulling the strap back over her head. Alan hovered about anxiously.
"I don't know," she replied, the mask fogging up as she spoke. "I was checking the alarm system when the place filled up with smoke."
"Any flames?"
"No."
"Gordon!" Scott called. "Anything?"
"Negative. No external sign of fire, but there's a heck of a lot of smoke."
"Okay. Get the equipment! We're going in! Alan! You stay here. Keep an eye on Tin-Tin… Also keep checking the perimeter for any sign of fire or any increase in the amount of smoke. Let me know immediately if you spot any…" Another hoverbike levitated into view. "Ah, good… Brains! Help Tin-Tin will you! Come on, Gordon." The pair of them donned their protective helmets and mounted the steps to the smoke consumed doorway.
Brains dismounted and retrieved his more extensive first-aid kit from the storage compartment. He placed a vital signs monitor on Tin-Tin's wrist. "S-Seems normal," he said, taking the reading. "How's your breathing feeling?"
"I'm okay, Brains," Tin-Tin reassured him.
Brains smiled. "I-I'll let Mr Tracy and your father know." He retrieved a transmitter from his kit.
Tin-Tin went to remove the oxygen mask.
"L-Leave it on," Brains advised. "At least until we get back to the house."
Alan finished a circuit of the Round House. He saw nothing out of the ordinary until he came upon the little tableaux again. He scowled at Virgil who still had his arm about Tin-Tin.
He was about to say something when another hoverbike roared into the scene. Jeff Tracy dismounted…
"See anything, Gordon?" Scott asked.
"Negative." Gordon peered through the image that was projected onto the visor of his helmet. With this device the smoke was invisible to them while their surroundings were standing out clearly. "What do you think caused it?"
"Don't know. I'm more concerned about why we weren't alerted when the fire first started," Scott stated as he moved forward slowly. "The alarms can't have been working. They should have been ringing the house down!"
"Yeah. That's not good. We're lucky it didn't happen in one of the sleeping quarters at night."
"Keep looking. If we can find out what's wrong, we can prevent it happening again."
They kept up their slow procession checking the main hallway and the rooms leading off. They came to an open panel in the wall and a pile of tools on the floor.
"Must be where Tin-Tin was working?" Gordon suggested.
"Why was she up here?" Scott asked. "She said something about checking the alarm system? Why?"
"Don't know."
"Why were you up here, Tin-Tin?" Jeff asked.
"I was doing some routine checks on the safety systems," she replied through the oxygen mask. "I discovered that there was a fault in the fire alarm up here."
Brains nodded in agreement. "Sh-She came up here to repair it."
"Did you find what was wrong?" Jeff asked.
Tin-Tin shook her head, the oxygen line rattling against its canister. "I'd only just opened the main control box, when I became aware of smoke. It must have started on the far side of the building. Like an idiot I thought I could outrun it. I know I should have crawled, but I thought…" she shrugged hopelessly.
"How'd you get out?" Alan asked.
His father looked at him. "I thought you were checking the perimeter."
"It's all clear. I wanted to check that Tin-Tin was okay."
"I'm fine, Alan," she smiled at him through the mist of oxygen. "Virgil saved me."
Embarrassed, Virgil saw four pair of eyes turn to him. "I didn't do anything special. Just pulled her out."
"I'd collapsed," Tin-Tin admitted.
Brains frowned and checked her VSM again.
Scott and Gordon examined the area around where Tin-Tin had been working and found nothing amiss. They continued on.
Scott opened up a radio link. "Anything we should be aware of, Alan?"
"Negative. We're all clear out here."
"How's Tin-Tin?"
"She's fine."
Scott stopped in his tracks. There was something in the way that Alan had said 'she's fine' that didn't ring true. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Alan said abruptly.
Scott and Gordon looked at each other and shrugged. They continued following the curved layout of the building.
"Hello! What's this?" Gordon turned his heat locator towards the wall.
"What have you found?"
"A definite hotspot. Have you got a reading?"
"Yep." Scott was examining his own heat locator. "It's pretty localised."
"It's also behind this panel," Gordon felt along the panel's edge.
"Got the extinguisher ready?" Scott asked. "I'm going to break through."
"F-A-B."
Scott made short work of the wall and exposed the interior cavity. The meter registering the amount of smoke in the room escalated sharply. "No sign of any fire,' he grunted. "But it's sure hot in here."
Gordon pointed his extinguisher into the cavity and gave it a burst. Almost immediately their sensors showed a dramatic decrease in the levels of smoke and heat.
Scott cautiously peered back into the hole. "The wiring's charred. Must be where it started."
"So what caused it?" Gordon asked impatiently.
"I – don't – know," Scott said slowly. "I can't see… Hang on!"
"What!"
"Here's the culprit," Scott reached inside and pulled something out.
"Well! The little devil! He won't be doing that again," Gordon exclaimed.
"How'd it get in here?" Scott asked. "I thought we'd done a good job in sealing this place."
"Obviously not good enough… Shall I foam it?"
Scott stood back. "Go to it."
Gordon took up another canister and sprayed into the wall. The foam that was ejected quickly congealed and hardened, sealing the damaged wiring and preventing oxygen from getting in. "There we go," he said in satisfaction, "International Rescue saves the day again."
They double-checked the interior of the building, ensuring that there were no other hotspots.
Scott looked around. "We'll have a heck of a clean up job in here. There'll be soot everywhere!"
"Well don't start ordering people around when we do it. Virgil's probably convinced now that you're some kind of tyrant."
"Tyrant? What's that supposed to mean?"
"The way you were ordering us about before we came in here…"
"That's my job!" Scott said indignantly. "Doesn't matter whether the rescue is at home or in deepest Mongolia, my job is to co-ordinate and that means giving orders!"
"I know that! But I wish you'd give Virgil a chance to get to know you better, and not just as Genghis Khan."
"Genghis… Now look, Gordon! Do you think you could do a better job as Rescue Co-ordinator?"
"No. And I would never suggest that I attempt to. But I wish you'd stop running away from him."
"Running away? I've never run away from anyone or anything in my life!" Scott protested angrily.
"You could have fooled me. Anyone would think you didn't like him!"
"You know why I…"
"You know there's not a person on this island who would mind if you'd take a more active role in helping him," Gordon continued on.
"I can think of one person who'd be against it," Scott muttered darkly as he started to pick up their discarded gear.
Gordon watched him for a moment. "Can I tell you something, Scott?"
Scott was concentrating on packing some of the equipment into his bag. "Shoot," he said absently.
"You're not going to like it."
"What have you done? Put glue on Thunderbird One's seat?"
"No. I…" there was no hint of humour in Gordon's voice. "Promise you won't get mad with me?"
Still crouched on the floor, Scott looked up at him. "This sounds serious."
"I guess you could say it is…"
Scott waited patiently.
Gordon took a deep breath and plunged in. "I sometimes wish he'd died."
Scott froze. Then he straightened and looked at his brother. "You what? Who?"
"Virgil," Gordon said quietly. "Instead of getting amnesia I wish… sometimes… I wish he'd died instead."
"Whoa!" Scott exclaimed. "Back the truck up. I can't have heard you properly. You wish he was dead?"
"No. I'm glad he's alive, but… But sometimes I wish he'd died." Gordon watched Scott's features darken in anger. "Don't hate me," he pleaded.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this."
"I just think… that… if he'd died we'd be starting to get over it by now. It's been nearly a month."
"I don't understand," Scott was struggling to maintain his temper.
"Look at us all. We're in a kind of limbo. While Virgil's still got amnesia and is still with us, we know something's wrong and we keep on hoping that it'll right itself. But we can't live as we normally did. If he'd died we'd have accepted it by now."
"Accepted it…?" Scott's voice had a dangerous quality to it. "Do you remember when Ma died…?"
"No I…"
"…Because if you did you'd know that it takes longer than a month to get over something like that. It's something you never recover from. I don't believe you, Gordon! He's your brother. He's OUR brother!"
"It's not that I want him dead. I… I love him, like a brother," Gordon tried to smile an ingratiating grin through his protective mask.
"You're tired, Gordon!"
"No I'm not. I'm exhausted! I haven't had an uninterrupted nights sleep in a month! That's what I'm on about!"
"I'm getting out of here," Scott snarled. "I'm not going to listen to any more of this! I don't even want to think about it." He took a step and then whirled round back onto his brother. "And if I hear you've mentioned this to another soul, I'll… I'll do something to you that you'll never find in a manual of good leadership. Something that Genghis Khan would have been very familiar with." He began to stalk towards the door.
"Scott…"
"I can't believe it!"
"Scott…"
"Dead!"
"Scott!"
Scott winced as his eardrums were assaulted by the shout, amplified by the speakers in his hood. He spun back, dropping some of his equipment. "What!"
"Don't storm off like this. Listen to me."
"What do you want, Gordon? Absolution? Do you want me to say it's okay to wish that Virgil were dead? Because it's not gonna happen!"
"No! What I want is to stop thinking like this! I want to be able to have a good night's sleep! I want to know that life is as it always was! I want you to stop feeling sorry for yourself! I want you to help more! I want this nightmare to end!"
Scott looked at his brother whose voice had risen to such a pitch that it seemed that he might break down at any moment. "We've got to get out of here. They'll all be wondering what we're doing."
"No, they'll think we're triple checking everything. Please let me explain. I don't want you mad at me like this."
"Fine! Explain! You've got until I get to the door. After that I don't want to hear another word!" Scott picked up his dropped articles and began trekking back along the hallway.
Gordon ran after him and grabbed his shoulder. "Listen to me! You must realise how this is tearing us apart! Just give me five minutes."
Scott gave an irritated sigh and placed his bag on the floor. "You've got two."
"Okay." Relieved, Gordon took a deep breath. "Do you realise that I haven't played a practical joke in the past month…"
"Is that what this is about? You're feeling sorry for yourself? Well sorry, Gordon, but I'm not interested." Scott picked up the bag and turned for the door.
Gordon ran round and placed himself in Scott's way. "No! It's not only about me. There's you as well…"
"Don't bring me into this! It's not me who wants our brother dead!"
"You're already involved. You're treating Virgil as if he's a leper and you're scared to go near him. As a result you're in a bad mood all the time and you take it out on the rest of us."
"I'm not scared…"
"Yes you are. You're scared you'll upset him. You're scared you bring on another of those attacks, whatever they were. Do you realise that he hasn't had one in weeks?"
"Shows I'm doing the right thing then."
"Rubbish, Scott. Those attacks were coincidence, pure and simple. Nothing to do with you."
"I wish I was sure of that."
"And there's not only the way we've been behaving. There's Alan as well. You've seen how he looks when Virgil and Tin-Tin are together."
The bag slipped from Scott's fingers again. "Yes."
"And John… He's been lucky being up in Thunderbird Five away from all this…"
"I've been giving him updates."
"So have I. But an update is nothing compared with being involved in the situation. It's going to be a heck of a shock to him to find out how we're all not coping. And Dad…"
Scott looked sharply at Gordon. Now he was prepared to listen.
"…You must have realised how strained he's become over the last few days. He's trying to pretend everything's normal, but we both know the stresses he's under. At some point he's going to explode in one way or another, and I don't want to be around when that happens… And Grandma…"
Scott held up a hand. "Okay, Gordon. I've got the picture," he said quietly.
"It's just that every now and then I look at us all, and remember how we were, and wish things were the same as they'd always been."
"I wish that too, but trust me, Gordon, Virgil's death wouldn't have solved our problems. It would have created a whole lot of new ones."
"I know," Gordon said sheepishly. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I had to get it off my chest… I've been feeling guilty… I don't want him dead. I'm glad he's still with us, but I want… I NEED to know that things will get better." He looked back at his big brother. "Do you understand now?"
Scott nodded sombrely. "Believe it or not, I do. I don't agree with your solution, but I do understand."
"You're not mad with me?"
Scott shook his head and started walking on slowly. "You've been under a heck of a lot of strain haven't you?"
Gordon nodded and followed. "I'm not cut out to act as big brother to my big brother. That's your role! Or John's."
"Well, John's back tomorrow. Maybe he'll be able to help you."
"Or you could…"
Scott shook his head regretfully. "No I couldn't."
They stopped.
"Well, here's the door," Gordon said, trying to sound as if they'd just had a friendly chat over coffee… "Thanks for listening. I'm sorry if I upset you."
"You startled me, that's all. That's the last thing I would have expected you to say."
"You don't hate me?"
Scott shook his head. "No, Gordon. I don't hate you. Do you feel better now?"
"No…" Gordon said sadly. "Not really. The nightmare's continuing on, isn't it? But," he straightened his shoulders decisively, "I'm not going to let myself think anything so horrible again."
"Good," Scott said firmly. "Once we're through this door, the whole subject's forgotten. Okay?"
"Okay. Thanks, Scott."
"Smiles on. Nothing's wrong. We've dealt with nothing more serious than some barbequed wiring. Right?"
Gordon plastered a smile to his face. "Right!"
The door slid open. They emerged into the daylight. Everyone was looking at them as they removed their helmets.
Almost everyone.
"Well, that's another job well done," Gordon said cheerfully.
Scott looked at the faces regarding them. None of them looked especially happy. They were registering varying degrees of disapproval, dismay, or in Tin-Tin's case, disgust. Worriedly he crouched down so he could get closer. "How are you feeling, Honey."
"Fine," she said bluntly.
He was taken aback by the curtness of her reply. "What's wrong?"
Jeff took the communications unit from Scott's waist. "I thought you knew procedures better, Scott." His voice was quietly angry as flicked a switch from 'transmit only' and snapped the microphone button to the off position.
"You mean you heard…" Scott turned his attention to Virgil who was studiously examining the moss on a rock.
"Oh, heck," Gordon said quietly. "I guess it sounded pretty bad. I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you try to warn us?" Scott asked.
"I wanted Virgil to hear first hand how you two work together," Jeff said coldly. "We heard more than we expected. If that's an example of how you normally carry on during an emergency, I'm not impressed."
"Sorry," Scott said meekly.
No one said anything for a full minute.
"So… what caused the fire?" Alan asked with forced cheeriness.
Scott held out his hand. Lying in his palm were the charred and mangled remains of an insect slightly smaller than a mouse. "A dolgeta." He dropped it to the ground.
"Decided to snack on the wiring did it?" Alan's tone still sounded false as he tried to relieve the tension in the atmosphere. "I don't know why those beasts have a taste for electrical items."
"Dolgetios Tracii," Brains explained hastily, also trying to fill the void the silence had created. "Th-They are endemic to this i-island, N-No mice occur here naturally, and dolgetas have evolved to fill their niche. Th-They are omnivorous and will eat a-almost anything. Unfortunately they are drawn to wires, and c-circuit boards, which is why we sealed all the buildings when we built them. I must examine the R-Round House thoroughly and find the entrance point. It'll take some t-time and I will need help…"
No one appeared to be listening to him and he lapsed back into an uneasy silence wondering if it would be tactful to leave quietly.
Tin-Tin wasn't worried about being tactful as she stood abruptly. "I'm going back to the house," she said brusquely. Then she turned to the man crouched at her side and gave him a grateful smile "Will you help me with the oxygen cylinder, Virgil?"
Before Virgil had a chance to stand up or reply, Alan pushed between them, causing his brother to fall backwards. "I'll do that!" He picked the cylinder up.
"But I asked Virgil," Tin-Tin insisted, reaching out to help him to his feet. "He's the one who saved me. I want to thank him when I've got rid of this mask."
"Can't you thank him with it on?" Alan asked anxiously.
"It's okay," Virgil mumbled. "You help her, Alan. I… I've got to go find the sketchpad anyway… I dropped it somewhere." He briefly raised his face to the surrounding group, but didn't look Gordon in the eye.
Gordon suddenly found himself wishing he could crawl into a dolgeta's burrow.
Virgil lowered his eyes back to the ground, shoved his hands into his pockets, and turned away. "Virgil!" Tin-Tin protested, but he was already walking slowly back down the path.
Everyone looked accusingly at Alan whose expression was a mixture of defiance and shame. "Don't blame me! I didn't wish him dead!"
Gordon groaned. "I didn't mean it!" he protested.
"Leave Gordon alone, Alan," Scott ordered. "You don't understand."
"And you do? You've hardly spent 10 minutes with Virgil for the past month!"
"I've done that for him…"
"Really!"
"Oh!" Angrily Tin-Tin tore off the oxygen mask. "You… Men!"
"Tin-Tin!" Brains protested.
"I'm alright, Brains! I don't need that thing." She turned on the Tracy boys. "It's not Virgil who needs reminding that you're his brothers! It's you three!" She stomped over to where Virgil had discarded the pad earlier and found the pencil nearby. She picked them up and thrust them at Gordon. "You'd better apologise…!" He accepted them guiltily as she rounded on the other two Tracy brothers. "All three of you! I'm going home!"
"Can I help you down the path, Tin-Tin?" Alan asked.
"Leave me alone, Alan! I don't need your help." Tin-Tin turned her back on him. "Virgil!" she called. "Wait!"
He stopped when he heard her call and reluctantly turned back. He waited for her to catch up with him, which she did quickly, slightly out of breath.
"You should be taking it easy," he told her. "Not running after me."
"I wanted to say thank you," she insisted.
He waved her thanks away. "It was nothing. Anyone would have done it. Any of them."
"But it wasn't them, it was you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Virgil."
Virgil reddened in embarrassment, touched his cheek, and took a step backwards nearly stumbling into a ditch in the process. "I… You… I'll see you back at the house." He resumed his trek back to the Villa at twice the speed he had been walking before.
She caught up with him and laced her arm through his in a friendly manner. "We'll go home together."
From above five figures watched them leave.
None of them were happy…