A Hard Place chapter Nine – Moving Earth
by Angel Mouse
John jogged at a constant pace through the jungle that was on the island. He jumped over some logs and headed towards where he could hear a stream running. He didn't trust Meriza as far as he could throw him and trusted the hunters even less. He stopped a moment, pushing the sleeves of his top up slightly.
He could hear a stream getting closer and he knew that would be the perfect place to begin to loose his trackers. He had seen Mason give Meriza the knife that was currently tucked in his belt and he trusted him even less than Meriza. He reached the stream and looked around, grinning when he spotted what he was looking for.
He waded into the stream and began walking upstream, working against the flow of water until he reached the over hanging branch that he was aiming for. He reached up for the over hanging branch and tugged at it, smiling as it proved to be sturdy enough.
Reaching up with his second hand he jumped slightly and began to pull himself along, hand over hand until the branch was thick enough that with a grunt of effort he swung his body back and forth until he pulled himself up onto the branch. He swung himself around until he was sitting on the thicker branch. He then crawled along until he was by the trunk of the tree. He examined it a moment and then he began to climb higher, into the thicker foliage and he kept going for a few minutes until he was up as high as he could go in the tree.
The leaves and branches were thick enough that he wouldn't be spotted from the ground. He made sure he was in a secure spot and wouldn't fall and he sighed, leaning back against the tree. He took his hat off and folded it up, slipping it into his belt. He took out the knife and began to examine it. He didn't trust this knife as far as he could throw it, and he could throw it pretty far. He ran his fingers over it, checking for anything out of the ordinary.
His sensitive fingers – so used to doing heaps of delicate repairs on Thunderbird Five's innards – soon picked up that something didn't feel right. Frowning, he checked the top of the hilt and then grinned slightly in triumph. Using his thumbnail and then taking the IR badge off his sash, he used the edge of his IR badge; he finally got the top of the hilt open. And there it was, a tracking device, flashing merrily away.
Knowing that it had been put in there by Mason, John picked it out and put it in his pocket. He had an idea to throw them off his trail. He put the knife back together and put it on the branch. He slipped his sash off over his head and picked the knife up. He began to cut into the sash and sighed softly.
"Sorry Grandma, I'll make it up to you." He cut strips off the sash and looked around, finally spotting what he was looking for. He reached up and using the knife – that was proving to be very sharp – he cut a small piece of a tree limb off.
Taking the strips of his sash he got out the tracking device and tied it in a piece of the strong cloth. He then took the small parcel of cloth and began to wrap it around the branch. He tied it tightly and using one hand, he stood up, steadying himself against the tree. Looking around to see if any hunters were near, and upon not seeing them, he reached back his hand and threw the limb as hard as he could into the river.
It landed with a splash into the river and began to float downstream. He watched it go with a smile on his face. No way in hell would Mason and Meriza would track him now, they'd follow blindly the tracking device that he'd just sent on its merry way. John smiled as he stood there, liking the feel of fresh air on his face and the feel of nature against his hand. He lifted his head to the sun and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the sun fill his soul.
Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes and with a sigh, he began to climb down, once more pushing the fear that was eating at him away. But he still couldn't help whispering the next words. "Hurry up Scotty; I really need you right now."
Thunderbird Two
Virgil held the large craft steady as they took off from the US military base. Scott was in the back with the soldiers getting them settled and Virgil set course for the island where John was. He missed his brother more than he thought he would. More than he normally did when John was on Thunderbird Five. Moving the controls gently he headed out. Just then his radio beeped.
"Thunderbird Four to Thunderbird Two, come in please." Virgil switched the radio on; smiling slightly as Gordon's face appeared. Gordon had left the island three hours ago to reach the outskirts of the island where John was being held. Because Thunderbird Two would be carrying the soldiers to the island, Gordon had left early to get into position, as there wouldn't be any room for Thunderbird Four in the pod area with the soldiers. That way they would all be prepared and in position for when the rescue took place.
"Hey Virgil, what's your ETA?" Virgil glanced at the instruments and smiled slightly.
"Sixty-seven minutes. I'm keeping the speed down to give Penny time." Gordon nodded.
"Good idea. I'm almost in position; I will be in about ten minutes." Gordon paused and Virgil looked at him.
"What is it Gordon?" Gordon sighed and looked at Virgil.
"You really think this will work Virgil?" Virgil put as much confidence as he could into his voice.
"Of course it will Gordon. We'll have him home tonight and have a huge welcome home party just like we planned." Gordon looked at him and then smiled.
"Yeah I know we will. Guess I'm just worried is all." Just then Scott came into the cockpit and over heard the last bit. He put his hand on Virgil's shoulder and squeezed it, leaning over he looked at Gordon and smiled at his younger brother.
"Don't worry Gordon, nothing will go wrong. John will be fine and we'll have this all wrapped up by lunch time." Gordon smiled and nodded, heartened by his big brother's words.
"Okay Scott. Watch yourselves. Thunderbird Four out." The channel closed and Virgil looked at Scott, concern on his face.
"You really believe that, don't you Scott?" Scott smiled and nodded.
"I have to Virgil. I have to believe that he'll be fine, that he'll come home and he'll be safe." Scott paused a moment and Virgil could see the worry in his eyes. Scott blinked and the worry was replaced by determination. And the promise of divine retribution for who ever this Meriza person was that had taken his brother. "I have to believe that Virgil, because we need John, we all do, too much for anything to happen to him." Virgil nodded and turned back to his controls.
"How's our guests back there?" Scott gave a small laugh and stood up.
"They all love it. But they are trying to hide it. They are all edgy and eager to get into it. They have all been briefed and as you expect, all pretty mad that a member of International Rescue has been kidnapped. A couple of them have been rescued by us before, so they are eager to help." Virgil smiled and grinned at Scott.
"That's nice to know. Any familiar faces back there?" Scott nodded.
"A couple but they have all been briefed really well. They won't be giving away any secrets. Father said that they were the best of the best and all had high security clearances." Virgil grinned slightly as he adjusted the controls minutely.
"Plus the fact we've covered anything and everything up back there helps."
"That it does." Scott squeezed his shoulder once more.
"I'd better get back there and make sure they are all okay. Let me know when we're closer so I can get the jamming device up and running."
"FAB Scott." Scott left him to it and Virgil gave a soft sigh. If things went to plan, in three to four hours time their missing brother would be back with them, safe and sound. Scott was their big brother and he felt responsible for them all. Virgil could tell that Scott was still blaming himself for John's abduction but they all knew it wasn't his fault.
It could have easily happened to any of them. But the fact that this whole horrible mess had happened to John, someone that was normally not on rescues and who his whole family thought would be constantly safe in Thunderbird Five; that had hurt the brothers most of all. And for that, someone was going to pay dearly. They had all promised themselves that.
Meriza's Island
John watched from above as the group of inept hunters passed below him. He had been hiding in the trees when ever he had heard the hunters coming near him. So far he had been completely unimpressed by the calibre of the people that were apparently meant to be hunting him. These people were supposed big games hunters and the like, yet they were useless.
The odd hunter seemed to know what they were doing, but John was being careful. He waited for a few minutes until the jungle fell silent again and scrambled down the tree. He struck out in a southerly direction, hoping that he'd run into Penny and her friend on the way.
He'd been wracking his brains to try and remember where he'd seen that man before and then it had hit him. He'd been with the police at the rescue site, so when he had been whispering the frantic instructions this morning, John was inclined to trust them. He knew that Penny wouldn't be with anyone that they couldn't trust.
So he kept going in a southerly direction, hoping that this nightmare was almost over. He fear that had been growing in him since this nightmare had started was slowly being pushed away by the thought of his brothers were coming for him. He could imagine their reactions now for when he got home.
Gordon would literally stick to his side like glue and wouldn't leave his side for at least a week. Virgil would make him pose for another one of his paintings, just so that he'd been in John's company for at least a week. Alan would be calling him every day from Thunderbird Five and offering no doubt to stay for a little bit longer, that would last all of two or three days and then he'd be back to begging off duty.
And Scott, Scott wouldn't stop watching him until he was reassured that John was safe, sound and in one piece. He'd probably make Brains examine him a hundred times to make sure of it. His Father would talk to him for hours most likely on the latest going ons in the space community, just to spend time with his quiet son. And Grandma, she'd constantly cook and cook and cook for him.
When he returned to duty on Thunderbird Five she'd most likely send him up with so much food that there wouldn't be any room for any of the normal supplies that got sent up there. Those thoughts brought a smile to his face, they were the things that he missed and always looked forward to when he got home.
Mason frowned and stared down at the tracking device in his hands. It showed that John wasn't moving. That he was in the one place and had been for the last twenty minutes. If it was him, he would have kept moving. The only reasonable explanation he could come up with was that John was setting a trap for him.
So he crept forward with extra caution towards the sound of running water. He crept through the bushes making no noise and pausing every few moments. After what felt a long time he finally pushed his way through and frowned at what he saw. Or actually what he didn't see. He couldn't see John or any signs of a visible trap.
He looked around, his eyes examining anything and everything, trying to see if there was a trap. After a long moment he finally spotted something by the banks of the river itself out of the corner of his eye. He crept closer and finally he saw it.
It was part of John's sash and it was wrapped around a branch or something. He reached down after a moment, first checking to make sure that nothing was going to come out of the bushes and clock him one, and picked the branch up, staring at it. After a moment he swore in frustration as he saw what was in it.
The tracking bug he had placed in the knife he had given John was wrapped in the remains of the sash. He crushed the bug in his hand, cursing loudly. He had underestimated John's intelligence but he wouldn't again. The bit with the radio should have tipped him off.
Dropping the now crushed bug and branch, he turned around and looked upstream. If it had been him, he would have thrown it downstream and then kept going upstream until he could safely get out of the water without leaving any tracks. Taking a calming breath, Mason began his trek upstream.
John scrambled over some rocks, moving quickly as shots rang out over his head. The two hunters, probably the only decent ones besides Mason out there, had spotted him a few minutes ago and had opened fire before they could even get a decent bead on him. He ducked behind some rocks for some cover and began looking around to see if there was anywhere he could loose these hunters.
Finally he spotted some dense looking bushes leading towards some trees that he could use for cover and could hide in. Once they were gone he could keep making his way towards the southern end of the island and rescue. He looked up at the sun, judging that it was mid morning, so he'd been on the run for at least two, perhaps three hours. He pushed back some of his sweaty hair and puffed out a sigh of frustration.
"Dam Scott, why can't you be here to get rid of the bullies again?"
Scott was walking with Virgil, bouncing a basketball as they headed for the outdoor courts to play some one on one after school. Suddenly Gordon and Alan came running around the corner, Alan was in tears. Scott frowned in momentary anger, John was meant to be picking up Gordon and Alan. Gordon was panting hard.
"Scott! Come quick! Some boys are beating up Johnny!" Scott dropped the basketball and took off at a run, the rest of his brothers following behind him. They rounded the corner and Virgil stopped, holding Gordon and Alan back while Scott pelted towards the three older boys that were holding John down and beating on him.
"Todd! Stop that right now!" Virgil looked at Gordon and Alan.
"Wait here." He took off after Scott, knowing that his brother would need his help getting John away from those bullies. Scott by this time had reached the three boys and was standing in front of him, fists clenched as he stood before his younger brother on the ground. Scott stared daggers at Todd, one of his classmates.
"Dammit Todd, what do you think you're doing?" Todd sneered at Scott, he'd never been a fan of the Tracy brothers and had always taken everything opportunity he could to put them down or put them in their place.
"Just teaching this brainiac a few manners is all."
"Yeah well you know that if teach one Tracy, you and your goons are going to have to teach us all." Todd and his two goons took a look at the determination on the faces of Scott and Virgil. He saw the other two Tracy kids not far away and what's more, he saw quite a few other kids as well, all coming to the aide of the Tracy brothers. Todd just glared at Scott and turning on his heel walked away, his goons behind him. Scott watched him go a moment and then turned to see Virgil helping John to his feet. There was blood on his lip and a red mark on his cheek.
Scott looked at John and winced, his quiet brother had been bullied for a while now and Scott had tried his best to stop it, they all had, including teachers but for some reason, Todd had it in for them all. Scott took one look at John and sighed softly. He glanced at Virgil and Virgil nodded slightly.
"I'll take Gordon and Alan home Scott, you look after John." Scott nodded and Virgil walked away and Scott looked at John. He reached out and gently put his hand on John's shoulder.
"Are you okay John?" John sighed and bent down, picking up his school bag.
"Yeah I'm okay. Just getting a little sick of this shit from Todd is all." Scott stared at his younger brother a moment and then fell into step beside him as they slowly walked behind their younger brothers.
"John I have no idea where you picked that language up from." John just gave a soft laugh as he glanced at his brother.
"You should learn to keep your voice down at night when you're talking with your buddies and I'm up on the roof taking readings for my astronomy class." Scott gave a slight blush and waggled his finger.
"Just don't let Dad here you okay?"
"I'm not silly Scott." Scott smiled.
"Yeah I know John. So, what was it about this time?" John sighed.
"Wanted me to do his homework for him again and I refused. Then he started pounding on me, again." Scott sighed. Ever since John had been getting better and better marks and had become known as one of the schools brighter students, Todd and his cohorts had been trying to extort homework out of John. Naturally John kept refusing and just as naturally they kept beating him up. Most of the time though Scott managed to stop it before it got to bad but John still came home occasionally looking a bit bedraggled. So far, luckily his Father hadn't caught on what was happening to his quiet son.
"John, your almost as good as me when it comes to self defence, so why don't you defend yourself against that jerk?" John sighed, shifting his bag onto his other shoulder.
"Because then he wins Scott. If he knew I could literally beat the floor with him then he wouldn't get the point of me defying him all the time."
"And just why do you keep defying him John, why don't you just beat him once and be done with it?" John sighed, running a hand through his very dishevelled hair.
"Because then he'd win. He know that I'd finally stooped to his level. And that would make me no better than him." Scott thought about his words a few moments and then sighed. John always thought things through a lot more than Scott did. Scott just slung his arm around John's shoulder and smiled at his younger brother.
"I don't know John, sometimes I wonder if you don't think too much." John just laughed softly and they walked behind their younger brothers.
John scrambled through the bushes as the memory of that day pushed itself into his mind. He grabbed a branch and swung himself up and around behind the tree he was aiming for. He then leaned against it, catching his breath for a moment. He then froze as he could hear the hunters that had been tracking and shooting at him pass close by.
He watched them as they passed within twenty feet from where he was standing. They walked by and kept going and he breathed a soft sigh of relief. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes for a moment as he concentrated on pushing the fear to the back of his mind. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off the tree and began the steady jog again towards the rendezvous with Penny and his brothers.
He pushed his way slowly but steadily through the undergrowth and after a few moments, stumbled into a path and tripping up on a tree root, he stumbled and fell to his hands and knees. He looked up and stared at a pair of pink boots next to a pair of dark boots. He looked up and a huge smile appeared on his face. A hand was put down and he reached up, taking it gladly and was helped to his feet. Penelope smiled at John and then reached out with open arms, wicked grin on her face. He laughed and gave her a great big hug.
"Penny, you are a sight for sore eyes." Penelope laughed and hugged him back. He always surprised her how slim he was but strong. After a moment she let him go and studied him. He looked fine, dirty but fine. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. The man cleared his throat and held out his hand.
"Captain Nigel Striker. Good to see you in one piece." John shook his hand and smiled.
"Thanks for helping out with everything."
"It's my pleasure. Now, shall we get out of here shall we?" John laughed.
"Oh I'm more than ready to go home." They laughed softly and began walking along the path towards the southern end of the island.
"I can imagine."
"Is everyone okay at home Penny?" John held a branch out of the way for her to walk past it and she smiled at him.
"Yes they are. Worried a lot about you naturally but they are all glad to know finally where you are and what's happening." John smiled to himself as he led the way.
"That's good to know. I miss them and I can't wait to see them all again." Penelope opened her mouth to say something as John ducked under a branch when a shot rang out and Nigel spun, falling to the ground with a shout of pain.
John spun around, crouching down and pulling Penelope down next to him. His eyes scanned the area and finally he spotted the sun glinting off a gun barrel. He cursed softly under his breath as he knew of only one person that it could be. He looked at Penelope and he reached out, dragging Nigel into the small shelter offered by the bushes. He looked at Nigel and saw there was a gun shot wound to his arm.
"That doesn't look good." John reached into his pocket and got out the remains of his sash. He quickly bound it around the wound on his arm and then looked up as a voice rang out.
"Come on out John. I don't care about your friends, I just want you." John stiffened at the voice and Penelope looked at him.
"John?" John took a deep breath and finished wrapping Nigel's arm.
"Penny, take Captain Striker and head for the rendezvous point with the guys. I'll be along once I've taken care of a few things."
"Come on out John, hell, I'll even let your friends go." Penelope put her hand on John's arm and looked at him. She could clearly see fear but determination in his eyes.
"John? What's going on? Who is that?"
"It's Mason. Look, take Captain Striker, get to Gordon. I'll be along as soon as I can." Penelope looked at him and frowned.
"John you can't take this man on. I've read his file, he's dangerous." John's eyes hardened and he looked at her, squeezing her hand gently.
"So am I Penny." He smiled gently at her. "It'll be okay. Just tell Scott that I'll need rescuing myself if you don't hear from me in a few hours." And with that, he sprang to his feet and took off running up the track. Penelope watched in growing horror as a man sprang from the bushes and took off after him. The man was heavily armed and with growing apprehension Penelope began to worry even more about John. But it was so like him to think of others before himself. She took a deep breath and looked down at Nigel.
"Come on Nigel, you heard him. Let's go to the rendezvous point and get him some help." Nigel grunted and she helped him to his feet.
"I'm sorry Penelope. Fat lot of help I've been." Penelope swung her arm around him and they kept walking, going as fast as they could towards where they were meeting Gordon.
"It's alright Nigel. You did the best you could; none of us could have foreseen this happening."
John ran as fast as he could and every so often a bullet would whiz near him. His heart was pounding and sweat was beading on his forehead. He scrambled over rocks, climbing as quickly as he could, ducking and weaving, trying to keep a moving target. He tried the best he could but suddenly he heard a shot ring out and felt a sharp pain in his arm.
He spun, tripping and fell down the rocks he had been scrambling over. He landed awkwardly and shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. He tried to push himself to his feet but as soon as he put weight on his left arm he let out a moan of pain and fell back down. He rolled onto his back and wrapped his arm around the wound.
He took a deep breath and pushed the pain to the back of his mind. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself up and staggered to his feet. He took a couple of steps, gaining strength as he went. He tried to pick up his pace and draw away from Mason but he didn't get to far before he heard a rifle being cocked behind him.
"That's far enough John." John turned around slowly, his hand on his arm and he could feel the blood slowly seeping through his fingers. He stared hard at Mason, his eyes hard as ice. Mason stood there before him, rifle hanging almost negligently in his hands.
His stomach clenched in fear and he tired to fight it back as his mind raced frantically. He took a few slow steps back, trying to figure out what to do. "Don't even think about it John. I have you finally. And you know what; you've made it a great hunt John. I appreciate that." John frowned hard, shifting slightly and watched him. After a moment he finally spoke, his tone sarcastic.
"Glad to be off service." Mason just smiled and opened his mouth to speak again when a shot rang out.
A body hit the ground with a soft thunk moments later.
Tbc.. In our next chapter things take a twist and turn for the worse.. but for who?
