A Hard Place part eleven: A Brother's Saviour

by Angel Mouse


Scott just held John tight in his arms as his brother softly sobbed against his shoulder. After about five minutes Scott smiled gently at John as he looked down at him.

"It's okay John, your safe now. I think it's about time we got you home, don't you?" John took a deep breath, controlling his sobs and then pushing himself gently out of Scott's arms, looking up at his big brother. He wiped his eyes with his hand, smearing blood and dirt even more all over his face. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"There's nothing more than I want to do right now Scott than go home." Scott grinned at him and raised his wrist to speak into his watch, slinging the rifle he had brought down with him over his shoulder.

"Hey Virgil, I've got a wayward brother that I've found here that wants to go home. Think you can accommodate us?" Scott winked at John and John laughed a little, calming down now that Scott was by his side and he was finally safe for the first time in over a week. Virgil's laughter came over the watch and John grinned at Scott.

"Think I can do that. Lowering winch for you both to come aboard." They both looked up and watched as the rope lowered further and Scott reached out to grab it. He snagged it and began to hook them both up to it. John stayed his hand a moment and looked at him, his blue eyes serious.

"Scott thanks for coming for me. I mean it. For a minute there, for a minute I didn't think I'd be coming home in one piece." Scott just smiled gently at him and squeezed his shoulder a moment, his own blue eyes locking with his brothers.

"You know I'll do anything for you John. Now, let's get you home back where you belong." John just nodded and helped Scott harness the two of them together. Scott made sure the rope was attached firmly and raised his wrist again. "Okay Virgil, bring us up." The rope straightened and they began to rise off the ground slowly.

It was then that it happened. They were slowly being raised upwards to Thunderbird Two when there was a shout and they could hear shots being fired. Suddenly out of the bushes Meriza burst into the small clearing that they had just left. He had a rifle in his hands that he must have gotten from the soldiers that had arrested him. John felt his stomach clench in fear and he couldn't help but yell out as fear for his brother.

"Scott! Watch out!" Before Scott could even raise his arm to unsling the rifle from his shoulder Meriza had raised the rifle he had in his handcuffed hands and fired off half a dozen rounds towards them both before he spun around as he was hit by numerous shots fired by the soldiers.

The soldiers came pouring into the clearing and quickly surrounded his body. John's eyes hadn't left the scene below them and when Meriza's body hit the ground, he let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"It's over now." John looked up and suddenly he noticed that Scott was slumped over. "Scott? Scott! Scott!" John began to shake Scott but he held his hand up as he felt something sticky from Scott's shoulder. He looked at his hand and saw blood on it. He then studied Scott for a long moment that felt like eternity and noticed blood flowing from a wound in his shoulder. He scrambled quickly and looked his brother over. It looked like a bullet had found the one small chink in Scott's armour and had gone right through his shoulder. John grabbed Scott's hand and raised the watch to his mouth.

"Virgil, pull us up urgently! Scott's been shot!"

Thunderbird Five

Alan had been pacing back and forth along the control room for what felt like hours now. He was frantic with worry and really wanted to be with his family right now. The last thing he had been told was that Gordon was taking Lady Penelope and Captain Striker to the Carrier that was going to take the captured hunters away. And that was almost an hour and a half ago. He was getting more and more frustrated as the time went by. Suddenly the com beeped and he literally flew across the floor and hit the channel to open it.

"Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird Five,"

"Thunderbird Five here, go ahead. What's going on Virgil?" Alan managed a tight smile. "I'm going out of my mind up here."

"Scott's got John and he's okay. Looks like from up everything is fine. The soldiers have taken the bloke that was threatening John away, so he's all nice and safe now." Alan breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank god for that. I don't mind telling you Virgil that I've been worried sick stuck up here. There's nothing more than I want right now than to be down there with you guys." Virgil laughed and smiled warmly at Alan.

"We know Alan, we all know. But that's how John feels all the time. Now, can you contact home and Gordon, let them know that he's okay and we're going to be on our way back soon." Alan nodded as he settled in to begin making a few calls.

"That's such a good thing to hear Virgil."

"I know. Hang on a sec Alan, Scott's calling." Alan waited and listened to the conversation that his two older brothers were having. He giggled at Scott's words about finding John and could imagine the two of them rising to Thunderbird Two. But then his heart froze as he heard Virgil swear.

"Bloody hell! Watch out Scott!"

"Virgil, what's going on?"

"Meriza's loose! Oh god, he's firing at Scott and John!" Alan couldn't help springing to his feet and throwing his hand out to stop something completely out of his control. And then his heart practically stopped as he heard John's voice over the radio.

"Virgil, pull us up urgently! Scott's been shot!" Alan felt tears bringing to run down his face as he heard John's words. He dashed away the tears as he hung on his brother's every words. Because right now he was only holding on by a sheer will from panicking about what had happened to his brothers. One moment he was on cloud nine as they had finally found his older brother John, and now he was in the depths of despair because his eldest brother had been shot! Never more than right now did he wish he was on the ground.

Thunderbird Two

Virgil brought the winch up faster and set the large craft into hover mode as he undid his belt to go down and help John.

"Virgil, what's going on?" Virgil cursed silently as he forgot that Alan was listening.

"Alan, let Gordon know I'll be coming in hot and fast and to have a doctor on standby. I'm not sure how bad Scott is until I get to him." He could hear the fear in Alan's voice but before he could say anything to reassure his brother their training took over.

"Okay Virgil. Make sure they are okay. I'll keep this channel open, so just yell when you know what's going on." Virgil nodded as he headed out of the cockpit.

"Okay Alan. And Alan, it'll be okay." There was a short pause and then Alan's voice came back on, slightly steadier.

"I know Virgil. See to our brothers." Virgil scrambled out of the cockpit heading towards the area where the winch was stored. He rushed through the door to see John trying to undo the harness with one hand. He could clearly see the blood running down his arm and that his other hand was practically useless at the moment.

"John! Thank god your okay."

"Virgil! Help me with this. I think the bullet went straight through his shoulder." Virgil helped John to undo the harness and between them they got Scott over to the nearby bed in the small medical section of Thunderbird Two. They quickly got Scott out of the armour and John grabbed a medical kit, handing it to Virgil. Virgil quickly got a couple of thick bandages out and pressed firmly against the wound. He looked over at John and managed a tight smile.

"I'll give you a huge hug hello in a minute John." John nodded, moving over to Virgil's side and putting his hand over the wound.

"Thanks Virgil, I'll appreciate that. Look, get us back to the carrier where we can get a doctor to look at this wound properly." Virgil reluctantly took his hand away as he knew what John was saying made sense. John easily took over putting pressure on the wound.

"Okay, make sure you strap yourselves in. I'm not going to be subtle about getting us there quickly."

"Okay Virgil." Virgil stood up and went to head back to the cockpit but paused and without missing a beat, he leaned over and hugged John hard from behind.

"It's good to have you back Johnny." And with that, he ran out back to the cockpit. Virgil strapped himself into the cockpit chair and took the large craft off hover mode and heaving on the stick, heeled the massive ship hard to the right and straight out to sea.

"Alan, Scott's been shot straight through the shoulder. Radio to Gordon and have him have a surgeon stand by on the carrier. John's also been shot by the looks of it, but not as bad I don't think."

"Okay Virgil. I'm on it." Alan's voice wavered for a moment but became strong again. "And tell John that I'm glad he's okay."

"Will do Alan. You'll let Dad know what's going on."

"That I can Virgil, after I've called Gordon."

"Thanks Alan. I'll let you know how things are when we get to the carrier and a doctor's seen Scott and John."

"Okay Virgil. Thunderbird Five out."

Thunderbird Four – berthed at World Navy Carrier Enterprise

Gordon had been pacing back and forth along the deck for a few minutes now, trying to control his impatience at not hearing any news. Lady Penelope came up on deck and strode over to his side. Captain Striker was being seen by the navy surgeon below decks. Lady Penelope walked over to his side and smiled warmly at him.

"You're wearing a hole in the deck Gordon." Gordon stopped pacing and laughed, running a hand through his shock of red hair.

"Sorry Penelope. Just worried I guess." Penelope smiled and leaned on the rail, Gordon joining her after a moment.

"As you have every right to be Gordon, your brother is missing and in danger, of course naturally you're worried." Gordon sighed.

"Yes, terribly worried to tell the truth Penelope."

"Well, hopefully soon we'll have some good news." And as he said that, his watch beeped and he grinned at Penelope. "Speak of the devil. Go ahead Alan." Alan's face was grim but there was joy behind his eyes.

"Gordon, John's fine! They got him. But something happened and Scott's been shot. John's hurt as well. Virgil's on his way there right now, at top speed. He said get a surgeon and doctors ready for when he gets there." Gordon's spirits rose when he heard Alan's first words and then plummeted when he heard the news about Scott. He swallowed and barely noticed Penelope's hand on his arm in support.

"Okay Alan, I understand. I'll have them standing by, ready for his arrival. Do you know how far away they are?"

"About ten minutes Gordon." Gordon nodded.

"Okay Alan. Tell Virgil it'll be okay and I'll have everything ready for them when they get here."

"Thanks Gordon. Thunderbird Five out." The channel closed and Gordon pushed himself off the railing and looked around.

"Okay Penelope, you be okay here for a few minutes?"

"Go Gordon. You have things to do." He smiled his gratitude at her and took off at a run to find the Captain of the Carrier.

Thunderbird Two

Virgil saw the carrier come into sight and was pleased to see that the deck was cleared off. Even though it was the world's largest aircraft carrier it was still only just big enough to have Thunderbird Two land on it. Virgil set his course for it quickly and turned a hard right. He had to drop the empty pod first; the extra weight would practically sink the carrier. He moved Thunderbird Two into position and hovered for a moment.

"Hold on Johnny, I'm dropping the pod!" He flicked the switch to drop the pod and Thunderbird Two gave a shudder as the large green middle section of the large craft suddenly came free and dropped with a massive splash into the water. The green lights came on saying that the drop had been successful and Virgil smiled grimly.

"We're right back here Virgil."

"Good." Virgil then moved the craft slowly towards the awaiting carrier. He moved the craft with delicate touches as he made his way slowly down. He flicked open the loud speaker as he approached the carrier.

"Attention below, clear the deck, I'm coming in for landing!" Sailors cleared the deck quickly and Virgil began the slow and careful process of lowering the large craft down.

The jets roared loudly and forcefully but Virgil just eased the large craft down with a gentle kiss he landed on the deck. Shutting down the engines he breathed a sigh of relief when everything showed in the green. He quickly unbuckled his belt and scrambled out of the cockpit, heading for the medical area of Thunderbird Two. He came into the room to find John struggling to undo the straps holding Scott in place.

"Here, let me John." John moved to one side, cursing softly under his breath and Virgil couldn't help the small grin on his face as he undid the straps.

"Hey, you don't want to let Grandma hear you talk like that."

"I know." John flashed him a grin as he went over to grab the litter off the wall. Virgil just grinned and they both carefully moved Scott onto the litter. Virgil saw the blood running down John's arm and frowned.

"Are you going to be okay helping me lift this?" John nodded.

"I could lift it even if I couldn't Virgil, you know that." Virgil nodded, knowing that it was true. John was sometimes the most stubborn of his brothers. Virgil went over and opened the door to the outside and there was a stretcher waiting already with a doctor and two medics. The doctor came running in and straight to Scott's side.

"What have we got here?"

"We think the bullet went straight through." The doctor examined Scott a moment and then nodded.

"Looks like your right. Come on; let's get him out of here and down to sickbay." The doctor gestured and the two orderlies came in, lifting up the litter and taking it out. The doctor was by Scott's side and the two brothers followed behind him, Virgil pausing a moment to close and lock up Thunderbird Two. Gordon was waiting for them both and the three brothers trotted along behind the stretcher. Gordon stuck to John's side and slapped him on the back as they followed the trolley into the ship.

"John man, it's good to have you back." John flashed him a quick smile.

"Good to see you to again Gordon." They arrived outside sickbay and the doctor stopped them with a raised hand.

"You'll have to wait here. I need to examine him fully. I will be back as soon as I have some news on him." The doctor turned and went into the sickbay and Virgil went to follow but John held him back with a shake of his head.

"Let the doctor do his job Virgil." Virgil just sighed, knowing John was right. They moved over to just inside the sickbay and leaned against the wall, watching the staff as they worked. Gordon stood next to John and then noticed his arm.

"John, you're hurt as well!" John glanced at his arm; it had been numb now for a while he barely even noticed it any more.

"Oh yeah, just a scratch I think." Gordon snorted as he pushed himself off the wall and began to walk over to get a nurse.

"Yeah and I'm going to spend a week on Thunderbird Five. Excuse me, nurse!" John tried to stop him but was stopped from saying anything himself by suddenly being engulfed in a huge hug from Virgil.

"Told you I was going to give you a big hug when we got down and stopped running around frantically." John just gave a soft laugh and lost himself for a moment in his brother's embrace. Moments later he was ambushed from behind by his younger brother.

"Hey your not forgetting me in this let's crush John hug of yours Virgil." The three brothers just stood there a moment, hugging each other hard. After a moment there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. They released each other and John just blushed slightly as they turned to see a nurse watching them. The nurse gestured for him to follow her.

"Come on sir, lets get you looked at." She just gently grabbed John by the arm and led him to an examination table and the two remaining brothers just looked at each other and laughed, worry for Scott pushed to the back of their minds for a moment in the sight of their fair haired and very dirty looking brother getting bossed around by a rather sweet looking nurse. Just then the doctor came back out to them, a small smile on his face.

"Good news gentleman. The wound isn't that severe. Just requires stitching, but he has lost a bit of blood so we're going to give him a transfusion and stich him up. Then you'll all be fine to go home." Virgil smiled his thanks.

"Thanks Doctor, it's really appreciated."

"Not a problem. Now I understand that one of you has some previous injuries from some captivity or something?" Virgil pointed to John.

"He was beaten about two days ago, and then shot sometime today." The doctor nodded.

"Okay, I'll take a look at him once I've finished with the stitching of your friend in there. It shouldn't take any more than an hour or so." He nodded to them and went back into the room where he was working on Scott. Virgil just looked at Gordon and they shrugged at each other, leaning against the wall as they waited for their brothers.