CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Into the Fire

The cavern suddenly came to light. Shielding their eyes from the bright glare they struggled to see the owner of the voice.

"It has been a long time Jeff. I don't think you expected to see me again, certainly not so soon anyway".

Jeff squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light and the figure in front of him came into focus. He stared at the man in utter shock. "You!"

The Hood smiled. "Yes…me"

Looking up they could now see the well-camouflaged halogen lights that hung from the roof of the cavern.

Jeff quickly recovered his composure and his shock turned to anger. "What the hell are you doing here!" The moment the words left his mouth he knew it was a stupid question.

The Hood's smile broadened at his adversary's ignorance. "I thought that would be obvious. Come now Jeff, you're a smart man, surely you can see the simplicity of what has transpired here".

Jeff glared at the man and instinctively he stepped in front of his sons and the kids. There was no way in hell he was going to allow this monster to hurt his family again. Family…oh no! Jeff's eyes widened as he realized why they were even there in the first place and panic gripped his heart. 'ALAN!'

"Where is my son!" Jeff advanced towards the Hood, pure rage urging him on.

As he moved towards the Hood, two tunnels on each side of where the Hood was standing opened and men dressed in black, wearing sunglasses, earpieces and holding rifles instantly surrounded them. They had their sights trained on Jeff who immediately stopped his advance.

The Hood's expression turned dark. "Careful Jeff. You don't want to put your family in any more jeopardy than they are already in".

Jeff glared round at the guards for a moment then, reluctantly, slowly moved back.

Scott stepped up next to his father, his face set in stone. "Where is Alan!"

"Ah, Scott Tracy, such brotherly concern. It is commendable".

"Where is our brother you asshole!" Virgil came to stand next to Scott.

The Hood studied them for a minute, his gaze boring into them. "Brothers in arms. My, my how caring…." the Hood narrowed his eyes. "…Tell me Jeff, do you love your children?"

Jeff glared daggers at the man, "You leave them out of this!"

"It is a little too late for that Jeff" the Hood glanced towards the tunnel on his left. Mullion stepped out and came to stand at his side. The Hood whispered something into his lackey's ear they couldn't hear. Mullion nodded and stalked menacingly towards the group.

Circling around Jeff, Scott and Virgil he approached the back of the group. They didn't move as the men surrounding them had them covered. John gently pushed Tin Tin and Fermat behind him and readied himself as Mullion moved up to them. His mind was screaming at him that he was outmatched. The thug was twice his size and he couldn't deny that he was a little intimidated by the giant lackey.

But, John didn't wait for the thug to make his move and launched his fist at the man. Realizing to late that he couldn't beat the giant, Mullion easily caught John's fist in his hand and swiftly swung his own clenched fist into John's stomach. He grunted in pain as Mullion grabbed hold of his opposite upper arm yanking him off his feet, and with the force of a juggernaut threw him to the side.

John landed heavily on his side just in front of his father and brothers. "JOHN!"

Behind them Mullion pulled a struggling Fermat under his arm.

Tin Tin's face turned white as she watched her friend being attacked. "Let him go!" she screamed.

Quickly focusing her mind she stared directly at Mullion in deep concentration her eyes slowly turning golden yellow. Mullion stumbled as he advanced on her, his face screwed up in anger, as he seemed to struggle against an unseen force. His grip on Fermat loosened but he refused to let go.

The Hood glared at his niece, 'brave, but foolish my dear'. Focusing his own mind his eyes turned a deep red.

Tin Tin screamed and immediately lost her focus as she collapsed to her knees. Mullion recovered and grabbed her arm hauling her off the ground; Fermat continued to struggle under his other arm. The Tracy's watched in horror as Tin Tin sagged under Mullion's arm and he carried her and Fermat out the same tunnel he had entered from.

"What did you do to her!" Jeff demanded as Mullion left. Scott and Virgil helped pull John to his feet, hanging onto his arms as he leaned over trying to catch his breath.

"I think my little niece has just found out the hard way that my power greatly exceeds her own" The Hood grinned evilly.

"If you hurt those kids so help me I'll…."

"Don't threaten me. You are in no position to make demands! Guards!" The Hood commanded his minions and they advanced on the Tracy's. Six of the guards turned their weapons on the Tracy brothers, coming up behind them and urging them forward with the barrels of their rifles, while two more came to stand behind Jeff.

"Dad!" Scott looked back at his father as they were pushed towards the left tunnel.

Fear instantly gripped Jeff as he realized that the Hood intended to separate him from his sons and he moved to stop them.

"Stay where you are Jeff!" The Hood glared down at him. The guards behind grabbed his arms to stop him from chasing after his sons.

"Damn you Hood! Leave them alone! I'm the one you want!" Jeff struggled against the guards' hold, panic evident on his face as he watched his sons being physically shoved down the tunnel and out of sight.

The Hood smiled. "Good bye Jeff".

Before Jeff could react one of the guards abruptly brought the base of his rifle down on the back of Jeff's neck. He fell to the floor unconscious.

The Hood laughed softly at the fallen man. "I have what I want. Your family is your weakness".

He looked up at his men, "Take him back to Thunderbird Two's location and leave him by the craft…unharmed!"

"Yes sir" they said in unison and grabbing onto an arm each they pulled Jeff off the ground and dragged him back out the entrance to the cavern where a jeep was waiting for them.

The Hood pulled out an earpiece from inside his sleeve and placed it in his ear. "Transom. Phase one is complete. Dispatch the team to Thunderbird One and begin phase two immediately. I want the ship ready to leave as soon as possible".

"Yes sir" Transom replied over the radio link.

Smiling triumphantly the Hood left the cavern and made his way down the left tunnel.

Up in Thunderbird Five, it had been forty minutes since Gordon had last heard from the search team. Studying the computer screens in front of him a smile spread across his face and he heaved a sigh of relief. The storm was starting to dissipate earlier than predicted.

Moving over to the mic he opened a radio link to inform his father of the good news, "Thunderbird Five to search team. Come in search team".

There was no reply.

"Search team, this is Thunderbird Five. Do you read me dad?"

Again there was no answer.

"Scott, Virgil, John, come in"

There was no answer.

Gordon frowned and glanced over at the locator monitor. His frown deepened as he looked at the screen. "What are they doing?" He muttered to himself.

All the search team's locator signals were functioning normally, but one was in a different location, separate from the rest. His father's locator beacon flashed on the screen next to the coordinates of Thunderbird Two, while the other signals were coming from roughly a mile away North of his father's position.

'It's not like them to separate without radioing in', Gordon returned to the mic. "Dad! Do you read me?"

His father didn't answer.

"Guys, answer me please!"

He waited for a reply, prayed for a reply. None came. Gordon calmed his nerve and thought for a minute. "Ok, get a grip Gordon, there's probably a simple explanation for this. Maybe they found Alan and dad's taken him back to Thunderbird Two…" a worried expression crossed his face "…but why haven't they radioed in".

Spurred on by worry he did the only thing he could think of. "Thunderbird Five to base. Come in Brains".

"Base here. Go a-ahead Gordon"

"Brains, I've lost contact with the search team!" Gordon couldn't keep the worry out of his voice.

"Do you have a fix on their locators Gordon?"

"Yes, but dad's locator signal is coming from Thunderbird Two's location and the others are a mile from him. Could something have gone wrong?"

Brains frowned, "They might have found Alan. You did s-say Alan lost his watch, your father may have t-ta-t escorted Alan back to the landing site".

"Yeah, but none of them are answering!"

Brains was silent for a minute. "Is the radio signal reaching them?" Back on Tracy Island, Brains called up the radio transmitter diagnostic programs on the computer.

"All readouts say the transmitter is operating under normal parameters," Gordon brought up the systems page on his own monitor.

Brains studied the current readings coming from the space station. "You are right Gordon, signal strength from Thunderbird Five tests normal. It must be a p-problem on their end".

"But the other's locator signals are coming from inside those caves. I thought Thunderbird Five's transmitter could penetrate rock".

Brains continued to scan page after page of computer data. "The transmitters can penetrate any rock surface. Like I said. They may be h-having d-dif-di problems with their receivers".

"What do you suggest Brains. I'm kinda worried about them, they're completely cut off and they're in the middle of nowhere". Gordon leaned forward on the edge of the control desk.

"Keep trying to r-raise them on the radio. I'll run some detailed scans of the area, see what I can find out".

"FAB Brains" Gordon cut the link. Taking a quick glance back at the locator monitor he opened another radio channel.

"Thunderbird Five to search team. Come in dad"

"This is Thunderbird Five. Please respond!"

Silence filed the airwaves.

"Scott, come in please!" Gordon paused, 'please…somebody.'

TBC

(Gasp!) This story is even starting to get me tense. Yay! 2 for 1... two chapters in one night, am I good or what!

Thanks for all you reviews. New chapters will come so stay tooned!