Lady Penelope stood on the front porch of the Soble house, speaking quietly to Parker. The house was even now crawling with every law enforcement officer that it could hold as they gathered evidence, but Lady Penelope's main concern was for Jeff Tracy. She could see him where she had left him half an hour before, sitting on the curb with his head in his hands. Gordon and Virgil stood nearby, their stances echoing the hopelessness they felt.
"Where are the two sons that Jeff and the boys managed to get?" Lady Penelope asked suddenly.
"They're in the back of the police cruiser in the driveway, milady," Parker replied.
Lady Penelope nodded. "I'll want to speak with them in a minute."
"Very good, milady," Parker answered.
Lady Penelope moved away from the house, heading for her old friend. She paused long enough to place a comforting hand on Virgil's arm, then moved to stand beside Jeff.
"Are you all right, Jeff?" she asked quietly.
Jeff looked up at her. "We were so close, Penny. Alan was right here! And now that man has three of my boys!"
"I know," Lady Penelope said.
"The . . . the room that Alan had been held in . . . there was blood on the bed," Jeff stammered. The fear and worry gave way to unbridled rage. "That son of a . . . he hurt my son."
Lady Penelope said nothing. She had seen the room for herself and had felt angry as well.
Jeff stood, bristling in his fury. His sons immediately moved closer, but didn't dare speak. They recognized their father's temper in full force.
"Jeff, I'm going to have a word with the two you and the boys captured," Lady Penelope told her friend. "I've been checking into their backgrounds myself, and I think I may have an idea."
Jeff nodded and followed her over to the cruiser Parker had indicated. He glanced behind him to make sure his two remaining sons were following.
The two sullen stares that met them caused Lady Penelope to falter slightly. The resemblance they bore to the boys she knew so well was astonishing. Steeling herself, she said, "My name is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, and I am a very close friend of the Tracys. I have a few questions to ask you."
"You're wasting your time," said the man Lady Penelope knew to be Josh Soble.
Lady Penelope looked over at Elliot. "Your father has committed a serious crime, not only in kidnapping but in harming a child. You know what he has done is wrong and shouldn't be allowed. If you know anything that can help us locate the missing boys, please, tell us."
"Forget it, lady!" Josh snapped.
Lady Penelope's eyes were locked with Elliot's. She saw the indecision there and pressed harder.
"Do you really think that your father is justified in harming a defenseless child?" she asked. "I can appreciate the anger you might feel towards Jeff Tracy, but do you think his son is the one who should suffer for it?"
"Elliot, don't listen to her," Josh ordered his younger brother. "She's on his side! Don't betray our family!"
"There was a tunnel in your basement that led to the sewer system," Lady Penelope continued, not breaking her eye contact with Elliot. "Where would your father go from there?"
"Elliot, keep your mouth shut," Josh said, clearly worried at his brother's weakening state.
"Please, help us to save Alan and the others," Lady Penelope pressed. "Don't let any more innocent people be hurt by this situation."
A charged silence fell over the group. Jeff bit his tongue, tempted to reach into the cruiser and shake the answer free.
Elliot sighed. "I didn't think he would really hurt the kid. Dad really believed he was trying to help him."
"Elliot!" Josh hissed.
"Dad's wrong, Josh, and you know it!" Elliot replied sharply. He looked past Lady Penelope, meeting Jeff's eyes. "Sir, I'm sorry for what's happened. If I had known, I would never have gone along with this."
Jeff edged closer. "Where is he taking my sons?"
"There's a junkyard about two miles from here," Elliot answered, ignoring his brother's cursing. "That's where we were supposed to meet if anything went wrong, or if we got separated. He'll probably be there for the night, then move out in the morning."
Lady Penelope smiled kindly at Elliot. "Thank you."
As the Tracys and Lady Penelope hurried from the cruiser, Jeff turned to Lady Penelope. "How did you know he would talk?"
Lady Penelope smiled at him. "Based on what his background told me, and from what I found out from some neighbors, Elliot is a lot like his Aunt Lucy."
Jeff paused and turned back to the cruiser, then looked at Lady Penelope. "Thanks, Penny."
Lady Penelope's smile widened. "Anytime, Jeff. Now go on. I'll send the help along after a bit. Go find your boys."
"Sit down!" Chris ordered, shoving John onto the floor of the junkyard office. John glared up at Chris, but didn't say anything.
Scott started to lunge at Chris again, but Luke gave him a shove from behind. The eldest Tracy landed on the ground beside John, grinding his teeth in frustration. Before he could move, Luke dropped Alan on top of the two of them and laughed, joining his father on the other end of the office.
Scott and John pushed their anger aside as they shifted Alan into a more comfortable position. Scott cradled Alan on his lap as John began to examine his wounds. As he began to lift Alan's shirt, Alan began to stir.
"Hey, Sprout, you all right?" Scott asked, brushing the hair out of Alan's eyes.
Alan's eyes flickered open, and he looked up at his big brother. "Where are we? Are we home?"
"Not yet, Sprout," John answered, gently tracing the scars on his little brother's body. Alan winced and tried to shift away.
"Easy, it's okay," Scott murmured. He looked at John. "How bad?"
John pushed Alan's shirt back down. "Bad enough to be painful, but nothing looks broken." He turned to Alan. "How did this happen?"
One corner of Alan's mouth turned up. "I wouldn't do what he told me."
Scott and John let out a bark of laughter. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Scott answered.
Alan lifted his head off of Scott's shoulder and turned it around, examining their new surroundings. "What do we do now?"
John and Scott met each other's eyes. "We're working on that," John replied lightly. "In the meantime, just relax."
Alan glanced over at Chris, then turned to his brothers. "He said he's our uncle."
Scott sighed. "Yeah. Sprout, we know."
"You mean it's true?" Alan asked, horrified.
"'Fraid so, kiddo," John agreed.
"But . . . but . . . he kept saying how Dad stole Mom, and that it was all Dad's fault . . ." Alan protested, upset.
"Hey, that was a lie," Scott said firmly. "Come on, Sprout, you know that. This guy's just insane. He just wants to get Mom back into his life, and what better way than through her children?"
Alan settled down slightly, but his expression still showed his unhappiness. "I want to go home now."
"We know, Alan, we know," John said, feeling anger at their situation welling up inside of him. "We do, too."
All three tensed as Chris and Luke suddenly returned. Chris pointed his gun at John. "We've just been discussing our new situation, and we've come to a decision."
"Glad to hear it," Alan retorted.
"Alan, be quiet," Scott whispered.
"Three Tracys will slow us down on the way to our next home," Chris continued. "I'm afraid two of you have to go."
"No!" Alan shouted.
Scott pushed Alan over into John and stood in between his brothers and the gun. "Listen, no one's died yet," he stated. "Do you really want to add murder to everything else you've done?"
Chris cocked the hammer of his gun.
"Then just kill me," Scott said quickly. "Spare my brothers."
"No!" Alan yelled again.
"Scott!" John cried, holding onto Alan to keep the younger boy from jumping up.
Chris shrugged. "Fine by me." He lifted the gun, pointing it right at Scott's head. Scott drew himself to his full height, meeting his uncle's eyes fearlessly.
John held his breath, forcing Alan to turn away. He could feel Alan's hot tears soak into his shirt on his shoulder, and felt them echoed in his own eyes.
A loud crash filled the tensed silence. Alan cried out and clutched at John, certain that he had just heard the end of his eldest brother's life. Scott ducked at the sound as something round and silver spun through the air, connecting with the gun and knocking it out of Chris' hand.
Chris let out a cry of rage and turned to chase after his gun when a solid force crashed into him, sending him to the ground.
Scott wrapped his arms protectively around John and Alan, unsure as to what was happening but determined to keep his brothers safe. He watched as two more figures burst into the room and tackled Luke to the ground.
The figures who had subdued Luke suddenly stood and headed for the figure grappling with Chris. A patch of moonlight fell over their faces as they crossed the room.
"Gordon! Virgil!" Scott exclaimed, rising.
His brothers didn't respond as they helped pull Chris to his feet. The last figure stood, and Scott recognized his father.
"Dad!" John called.
Alan's head swung around, searching for his father. Hope filled his tear-stained face as his eyes fell on Jeff Tracy. "Dad!"
"Alan!" Leaving Chris with Gordon and Virgil, Jeff crossed the room and knelt down, pulling Alan into a tight embrace. With a free hand, he reached out and squeezed John's shoulder.
Sounds of a struggle pulled Jeff out of the hug sooner than he would have liked. Gordon's alarmed cry brought him to his feet and spinning around just as Chris shook off his sons' restraining hands.
"This is all your fault, Tracy!" Chris bellowed. "You took her away, and you're doing it again!"
"You pushed her away, Soble!" Jeff shot back, heat rushing to his cheeks. "Do you honestly think you could bring her back by torturing my son?"
Chris' eyes dropped down to Alan, who knelt on the ground behind Jeff. "You brought it on yourself!" he shouted at the boy. "I didn't want to do it! You made me! And now it's all ruined! I'll kill you!"
He took a step in Alan's direction, causing the boy to flinch.
He never made it any farther. Gordon, Virgil, Scott, and Jeff all jumped forward, taking Chris to the ground as John pulled Alan behind him. Chris was shouting obscenities, bucking against the Tracy men's hands. Finally fed up, Jeff cocked a fist and threw it at Chris with as much force as he could.
Jeff's fist struck Chris in the chin, causing his head to snap back. He fell to the ground, out cold.
"Nice shot, Dad," Gordon said admiringly.
"Thanks." Jeff stood, rubbing his aching knuckles. "Let's tie him and his son up and get the hell out of here."
As Gordon and Virgil set about doing just that, Jeff turned to Scott and pulled him into a fierce hug. Surprised, Scott returned the embrace.
"Dad?" he asked.
"When I saw him point that gun at you, I thought we were too late," Jeff admitted softly. "I'm just glad you're all right."
"Dad!"
Jeff released Scott in time to welcome Alan back into his arms. "Alan! Are you all right"
"I'm fine," Alan replied, holding onto his father tightly. "Can we go home now, Dad? Please?"
Jeff smiled and gently ruffled Alan's hair. "Yeah, Sprout. We can go home now."