Disclaimer; Mr Anderson's, not mine. Again, re-written and re-formatted. Enjoy. AM Feb 2010.
A Brother's Bond - Dangerous Situation
By Angel Mouse
Unknown Location
Scott looked around the room and sighed. He was feeling tired and dirty and could use a shower. A very long, very hot shower. John grinned at him slightly, as if reading his mind. Sometimes the two oldest brothers were so close and could read each other like a book that it wasn't funny.
"You know you want to go have a shower Scott. You go first." Scott looked at him, a small smile on his face.
"You're sure?" John laughed and gave him a shove towards the bathroom.
"I'm sure. Go on. I'll be straight into it after you anyways." Scott grinned and headed for the bathroom. He really would feel better after a hot shower. He grabbed the clean towels and clothes that had been laid out for them.
The clean clothes consisted of just a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He quickly took off his shoes and socks, leaving them under the foot of one of the beds and headed into the bathroom. Moments later the sound of running water came from it and John smiled, looking around the room.
John sighed, leaning back against the headboard of one of the beds and thought for a few moments. The last thing he remembered was that they had gotten into a cab after seeing the show and then that was it. The next thing he remembered after that was waking in that cell.
He frowned as his mind went round and round in circles and the next thing he knew was that there was a wet towel in his lap. He looked up, startled, and saw his big brother standing in front of him, grinning at him, hair dripping wet but dressed in clean clothes.
"Give you a penny for your thoughts John." John just smiled, picking up the wet towel and threw it back at Scott, who caught it easily.
"Just trying to remember what happened to us." Scott nodded and sat down on the bed opposite John, his expression serious.
"I was wondering about that myself. We got into the cab and then..."
"The next thing we woke up in that cell." John sighed, getting up and grabbing the clean clothes and headed towards the bathroom.
"Oh well Scott. We'll find out what they want with us soon I think." John headed into the bathroom and soon the sound of running water came from it. Scott got up and stood in the doorway, folding his arms as he talked to his younger brother. The steam from the shower made it hard to see but he wanted to make sure that John knew he was there.
"Do you think they want us because of who we are or what we do?"
"Don't know Scott. If we get lucky, it'll be because of who we are. You know Dad will pay any ransom they ask." There was silence a moment.
"Yeah I know John. Let's just hope that's all they want." The shower stopped and Scott walked back out into the main room to give John his privacy. He sat down on the other bed and absently played with the hem of his t-shirt and moments later John came out, towel drying his hair. He threw the towel back in the bathroom and ran a hand through his hair. He sat down on his bed and looked at Scott.
"So what do we do now?" Scott shrugged.
"Wait I suppose." Scott suddenly smiled and looked at John. "So, what did your publisher say about your book? When's it going to be published?" John immediately perked up, glad for the change of topic.
"She thinks by the end of next month. I've done all the hard work so all it has to be done is proof read and then sent to the printers." Scott smiled.
"That's great John. So that'll be book number five published." John grinned at Scott.
"That it is. Makes me wonder what I'm going to do for my next book." Scott grinned back at him and gestured to the sky.
"Perhaps a book on Dad's exploits?" John raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"That's a thought Scott. Thanks." Scott opened his mouth to say something when suddenly the doors opened and two guards walked in. They gestured with their guns for the two brothers to follow them. They stood up and walked out, walking side by side.
They were taken into a room where the man in the blue mask was sitting behind a desk and the man with the red mask was standing next to him. The guards pushed them into the chairs in front of the desk and then moved backwards to stand by the door.
The two brothers looked at them and said nothing. The man in the blue mask finally nodded as if deciding something and then leaned forward, smiling through the mask at them. The two brothers exchanged concerned glances and then the man in the blue mask finally spoke.
"Thank you for joining us Mr Tracy." The two of them managed to keep the surprise that he knew their names. He continued to speak and they concentrated on his words. "You'll be wondering why I have brought you here." Scott finally stirred and his voice was hard when he answered.
"Well the thought did cross our minds." The red masked guy stirred slightly but the blue masked guy just smirked and continued.
"Well this is the continuation of a project we began some years ago." He looked at John in particular. "We were the ones behind this young man's kidnapping by Meriza. We financed his ventures, but he wasn't aware of it though." John gasped and Scott reached over, putting his hand on John's shoulder. Scott stared daggers at the men behind the desk and he continued speaking, ignoring them both it seemed for the moment.
"You see, we wanted to see what steps International Rescue would take to rescue one of their own." Scott and John exchanged glances and Scott dropped his hand off John's shoulder and they both looked at the men before them. "It's simple really gentleman. We want International Rescue's secrets. All about her machines, her procedures, her people. And if you think you're going to be rescued like you were last time John, then you both are sadly mistaken. Any possible link to us - our location, where we got our information, who we got it from - anything like that, has been taken care off. There is no possible way that the rest of your organisation could possibly know where you both are."
John paled and Scott knew that when they were out of this room he'd have to have a chat with his younger brother. This was bringing up to many bad memories for his brother, and he obviously was struggling to cope with them. Scott exchanged a glance with John and then answered for the both of them, staring hard at the man in the blue mask.
"I'm sorry. But neither of us will give you what you want. And you have to know that." The man in the blue mask nodded.
"We thought as much. But I can promise you this gentleman, in a few days time; you'll be begging to tell me everything you know." He looked at the guy in the red mask who gestured to the guards. The guards came forward and roughly grabbed the two brothers, dragging them out of their seats.
"Take them to the chamber. We'll be along shortly." The guards roughly dragged them away and Scott looked back at them as they reached the door.
"We won't tell you anything." The man in the blue mask just smiled.
"You will."
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
The guards took them into small dark room that was lit by an overhead light bulb. They were shackled to the wall, opposite each other, and then the guards left them alone. Scott looked at John in concern and was worried. John was pale and his eyes were darting around.
"John, are you okay?" John took a deep breath and focussed on his brother. Scott's eyes were concerned and full of love and worry for him.
"I don't know Scott. These guys, these guys were the ones behind the whole mess that my life became over ten months ago. I don't know if I can handle another episode like that." Scott just kept his eyes on his brother.
"But this time I'm here to keep you okay and safe John. No matter what, I'm here for you." John just nodded, grateful for his brother's presence. Just then the doors opened and the two guards walked in again. This time the man in the red mask was with them. They stood in the middle of the room and he looked between the two brothers. He gestured at Scott.
"Start with this one."
The two guards moved to either side of Scott and glancing at the man in the red mask, who nodded, the two of them began to lay into Scott with their fists. Scott winced and the breath was knocked out of him.
John struggled against his chains but refrained from saying anything, he somehow knew that any words from him would be a waste. So he just had to stand there and watch as his older brother was beaten in front of him. It was a memory that would haunt him forever. It seemed to last for hours but then the man in the red mask gestured for them to stop and then looked at John.
"Now him!"
"No!" Scott managed to raise his head at those words, blood streaming from his split lip and his right eye was almost swollen shut but John could see the worry in his eyes. John tried to tell Scott he'd be okay with a look but Scott could see the fear in John's eyes.
Moments later, John's world was full of pain as the two guards began to beat him mercilessly as well. After an eternity for both the brothers they finally finished. The guards left and the man in the red mask just looked at them both. They were both bleeding, breathing hard and looked worse for wear. He went over to Scott and undid the restraints. He then helped Scott to John's side and loosened the chains holding John to the wall. John slumped down onto the floor and Scott joined him. The red masked man chaining him as well.
"We'll be back later." With that, he left them alone. The two figures were sitting next to each other, arms above their heads. They were trying to get comfortable but it wasn't easy as they were sitting on cold, hard stone floor. Both were looking worse for wear, their clothes were dishevelled, ripped and torn in places. Both were sporting bruises and injuries and both were looking terrible. One of the figures moved and looked at his younger brother, his blue eyes concerned.
"You okay John?"
"Just peachy Scott. You?"
"About the same. You know we can't tell them anything, don't you?" The blonde haired figure sighed, leaning against his big brother, trying to catch his breath.
"I know. I know. But it's not going to be easy Scott, it's not going to easy." Scott leaned his head against John's, sighing softly as well.
"I know Johnny, but we won't let them break us. We won't."
Creighton Manner - England
Penelope was sitting down eating some breakfast when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and answered it in her soft cultured tones. She was curious though as only a few people had this number, mainly a few selected secret agents of International Rescue.
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward." A voice came over and it wasn't one she didn't know.
"Hello Ma'am. Is this a lady called Penny?" Penelope frowned; very few people called her that.
"I'm called that sometimes, so yes. Who is this?"
"Ma'am, my name is Inspector Ian Rogers of the NYPD. Do you know a Captain Nigel Striker?" Penelope frowned; her instincts began screaming at her something was wrong.
"Yes I do Inspector. He's a very good friend of mine. Why, has something happened to him?" The inspector took a deep breath and Penny instinctively knew that it wasn't good news. The inspector was impressed by the calmness and feeling of trust he received straight away from the woman on the other end of the phone line and he decided he'd be totally honest with her. Hopefully she'd give him some of the answers he needed.
"He was acting strange and when I gave him some bad news he said he'd betrayed two good men for nothing and he had to tell Penny. Moments later he got in his car to leave the prescient and it exploded. I'm sorry, he was killed instantly." Penny gasped in shock. He was a good man and now he was dead! And he'd said he'd betrayed two good men, what could that mean.
"Inspector, if I may ask, what bad news did you give him?" She heard him sigh.
"That his younger sister had been found dead late yesterday afternoon, murdered." Penny couldn't help the gasp that left her.
"Oh my heavens Inspector. That poor man, what must he have been feeling?"
"Yeah, I agree. But something must have been going on Lady Penelope, for him to say what he said. Do you know what he meant by betraying two good men?" Penelope sighed.
"No I'm afraid not." Penelope wasn't sure what that meant; she could only hope it didn't mean more trouble for her and the Tracy boys. "When is his funeral Inspector? I would like to attend."
"Two days time Lady Penelope." Penny nodded, making up her mind.
"Two days. Thank you Inspector for letting me know about this. I shall ring you when I arrive in New York tomorrow and I would so like to meet up with you to discuss this."
"It would be my pleasure Lady Penelope."
"Good. I shall call you when I arrive in New York. Until then Inspector."
"Goodbye Lady Penelope. I look forward to seeing you then." Penelope ended the call and went over and rang the bell pull. Moments later Parker opened the door.
"Yes m'Lady?"
"Get the Rolls Royce Parker and book us a flight on the Fire flash. We have to go to New York."
New York, the next day
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward stepped out of the pink Rolls Royce and accepted Parkers helping hand. She nodded her thanks and he stood by the car as Penelope headed into the corporate Headquarters of Tracy Industries. She was a frequent visitor and therefore well known by all.
Jeff had told her a few days ago when she had called him to chat that John was going to be in New York for a week and Scott would be joining him on the Friday night. So, it was Saturday morning and she knew that John would finish anything outstanding that he had left to do before going home. She'd already checked with the apartment building and they had said that neither John nor Scott were there.
So, she'd assumed they were here. Parker waited by the car as she walked into the building. The security guards were used to her occasional presence and smiled warmly at her.
"Good morning Lady Creighton-Ward."
"Good morning Marcus. Is either Mr Tracy in yet?"
"No ma'am, we haven't seen them since they left last night. Are they supposed to be here?" Lady Penelope smiled even though her insides began to scream that something was wrong. Things weren't adding up at all.
"I must have gotten my dates around the wrong way. Thank you anyway Marcus. Good bye." Lady Penelope turned around and left, heading for the Rolls Royce. Parker looked surprised to see her so quickly.
"Milady, is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure yet Parker. Take us to the police station where Captain Striker was posted. It's time I had a little chat with Inspector Rogers."
The funeral was a full police funeral and a very sombre affair. Afterwards Lady Penelope sat in the back of her Rolls Royce pondering the events of the last two days. Inspector Rogers had confirmed the words he told her over the phone and Penelope had done some discrete checking of her own.
Things weren't adding up and now she was becoming increasingly concerned. Sighing she reached out and hit the button to call Tracy Island. Time to tell Jeff that one of his agents was dead and she didn't have any clue as to why.
Tracy Island
Penelope's portrait began flashing and Jeff looked up from where he and Virgil were going over the designs for a new aircraft engine. He hit the button and smiled.
"Go ahead Penny." Penelope's sombre looking face stared back at him and for once she wasn't wearing something pink, she was in black. "Penny, what's happened?"
"Captain Nigel Striker was killed two days ago by a car bomb Jeff." Jeff paled and Virgil gasped. Those sort of things were barely heard of these days.
"What happened?"
"We don't know. I have been talking with his boss, Inspector Rogers and he is mystified as well. The only thing we have to go on is something he said to Inspector Rogers before the car exploded. Inspector Rogers had just told him that his younger sister had been found murdered and then Nigel went on to say that they had promised him that she would be let go unharmed and that he'd betrayed two good men for nothing. And that he had to tell me. Well, Inspector Rogers and I just don't know what he was talking about. Do you have any idea?" Jeff shook his head, stunned at her words.
"I don't know Penny, I truly don't. We hadn't heard from him since the entire thing with John." Jeff paused, growing horror in his eyes. "Penny, have you seen the boys?" Penny shook her head.
"No Jeff. I went by Tracy Industries yesterday morning to see them only to be told they had gone home. Jeff, Jeff. What's wrong?" Jeff slumped against his chair and Virgil put his hand on his shoulder.
"Dad? Dad? What's wrong?" Jeff finally looked up at Penny but then his gaze turned to his middle son.
"I know what two good men he was talking about Penny. John and Scott are overdue from returning from New York. We thought perhaps they had caught up with you and were having some fun and forgot to call."
Virgil paled now and staggered slightly, moving over to the chair and slumping down in it. Just then Gordon came walking in; a grin on his face but it quickly disappeared when he saw his father and Virgil looking so upset. He raced to Virgil's side.
"Virgil, what's wrong?" Virgil stirred and looked at his younger brother.
"John and Scott are missing." Virgil gestured to Penny and Gordon looked at her, waiting for an explanation. Penny sighed.
"I got called by Captain Striker's commanding officer. He was killed two days ago in a car bomb. But not before he said something about betraying two good men. When I went to Tracy Industries yesterday morning to see John and Scott, I was told they had already left to come home." Gordon just slumped down on the floor.
"Shit." Jeff didn't even stir at Gordon's use of profanity. He felt like saying a lot worse. Jeff reached out with an unsteady hand and hit the button to call Alan. Moment's later his youngest son was staring back at him.
"Yes Father, what's wrong?" Alan saw his two brothers slumped over and his father looking pale. He began to immediately worry. "What's happened?" Jeff looked at Alan.
"Alan, track your brothers for me." Alan opened his mouth to say that Gordon and Virgil were in front of him but then realised what he meant. He swallowed and began to work.
"Activating tracking now, locking on to their watches." Moments later the computer beeped as it displayed its results. Alan looked up, confused. "Father, according to this they are in their hotel room in New York." Penny looked at Alan and gently shook her head.
"No Alan, they aren't. I've already checked." Jeff stirred and looked at his family.
"We can only conclude that they have been taken. Someone's taken John and Scott."
Unknown Location
Scott was unconscious and his breathing was shallow. John cradled his head in his lap, stroking his brother's dark hair away from his forehead. In the last few hours they had both been repeatedly beaten until they had both lost consciousness. John had awoken first and found themselves still in that tiny cell.
First one and then the other, watching each other suffer all the while. It was breaking John's heart to see Scott deliberately try and take on most of the beatings himself, trying to spare his younger brother. But John wouldn't let Scott sacrifice himself for his sake, they were in this together. John looked down to find Scott's eyes opened slightly, but they were glazed over with pain.
"Hey Scott, welcome back." Scott blinked a couple of times and licked his lips.
"Hey. You okay?" Scott's voice was a shade of its former strength and John kept the worry he was feeling from his face and voice.
"I've had better days. How about you?"
"Don't really want to move from here." John managed a tiny grin.
"You don't have to. Stay there and get your second wind." Scott just managed a tiny nod, his breathing still shallow but colour was slowly beginning to return to his cheeks. John just kept stroking his brother's hair, giving him what little comfort he could. They were both now unchained and John thought that was because both of them were so beaten and hurt that they couldn't even try to escape, even if they wanted to.
Just then the doors opened and the two men in the coloured masks came back in. The man in the blue mask knelt down and looked John in the eyes. John reflexively put his arms around his brother's battered body and held him close.
"So, are you ready to tell me your secrets yet John?" John gave a soft sigh and when he answered his voice was tired and weary.
"You know that neither of us will tell you anything." Blue mask just stood and nodded.
"I expected as much. Take him." Two guards came in and no matter how hard John tried to hang onto Scott; they pulled him away from him and quickly strung him up again. "You will tell me John. One of you will. You will both suffer like no other person has suffered until I get my answers."
And with that, the guards started to beat Scott again and John couldn't help the cry of anguish he gave as his brother just hung limply from the chains. But he had promised Scott and he wasn't going to break his promise.
Tbc…