Chapter Eight
Up from the depths he rose...rather abruptly. D-O-ON'T! The scream was shrill enough to shatter both the Polar ice caps. He jumped up, sharply, his heart about to rocket out of his chest. Bathed in cold sweat and shivering violently, he took in his surroundings, hesitating for a moment, confused and trying to shake off the vision, the vision of his closest brother and best friend lying unmoving on a clinical table, about to be dissected like some kind of lab rat. But Scott wasn't there. His head snapped around, back and forth in an attempt to locate him As he pondered his brother's whereabouts, he also began to wonder if anyone had overheard him. The confusion soon began to dissipate. He blinked until his eyes could focus without the aid of light. Yes, he remembered now. He knew exactly where he was. As he moved to get up, he came to the decision that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight and maybe his time would be better spent on other pursuits...
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They were about an hour and fifty minutes into their river expedition to the South Arthur Forest when the scanner alerted them to the fact that someone else had arrived on the Northwestern shore of the island. Gordon and Virgil had roused themselves and were now on full alert status, ready to take on whatever lie ahead in the rain and eucalypt forests. The signal became steadier, indicating that something was keeping pace with them. They knew they had to arrive in plenty of time to make sure that whoever was behind them did not become aware of their presence. Jeff, who had not opted to take a rest break, was at the bow of the hovercraft, discussing with Deke what the plan of action would be once they arrived.
"Any news, Dad?"
"Yes, Virgil. It appears our 'guides' have arrived. All we need to do now is make ourselves scarce until they lead us to where they are holding your brothers."
"I wonder why it is that no signs of life could be found in any of the standing structures?"
Gordon regarded him for a moment and then it was as if the whole of the universe had imploded.
"Virg! You don't suppose...my God, you don't think...? Dad, what if they've taken them underground?"
All three men gaped at him, perplexed as to why they hadn't thought of that before. Jeff chuckled, the hope now evident in him and clapped a hand on his auburn haired son's shoulder. Virgil looked like he was going to kiss him.
"Gordon, son, what would we do without you?"
Gordon leaned over and whispered into his father's ear, just loud enough for his older brother to hear. "Don't ever ask Scott that, because, given the options..." He trailed off and winked at Virgil, doing his part to lighten the mood.
Virgil grinned at him thankfully. Even with all the pain he'd had to endure in his own life, Gordon could always be counted on to find the humor in a seemingly hopeless situation.
Deke just smirked, shaking his head and remembering that these people were more than part of the greatest rescue organization in the world. They were also a close, loving family and he wondered how he would be holding up right about now if he'd been placed in the same position. Somehow, he doubted he'd have the fortitude to get through it. He already respected his boss, Jeff Tracy, but had found a new admiration for the family known to the world as International Rescue.
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The river broke off into an estuary and carried them to an area of undergrowth that looked like perfect cover not only for them but for their vessel as well. They all knew the hardest part would be the waiting. But their only chance of finding the rest of their family alive was to let the activity around the camp progress normally until someone could lead them directly to the holding area. If the kidnappers should be alerted prematurely to their presence, it could spell certain death for Scott, John and Alan.
Virgil was watching the scanner and keeping the others advised as to the distance traveled by the men with the money satchel. As they drew ever closer, his heartbeat and respiration rose steadily in frequency.
When it seemed, at last, that their opponents were nearly upon them, Virgil nodded to his father, who responded back in kind, and proceeded to make an adjustment to the instrument. As he did so, the faint blipping sound emitting from it changed to one reminiscent of that made by the flying saucers in an old television program about UFOs that Virgil had seen as a child. Deke watched him, his curiosity piqued.
"What've you set it to do now, mate?"
"Well, if there really is an underground structure as we suspect, we need to look for both bio signs and heat sources below the surface. It's one of Brains' modifications and he's really rather proud of it. He calls it the 'UltraScan.'
"Oh, I see. Sort of like the biomechanical sonar arrays I use in my other line of work, only for use under the earth's surface."
"Um, what exactly is it that you do, Deke? I mean, when you're not participating in clandestine operations and espionage." Gordon inquired.
"Oh, I'm an oceanographer, 'ave been for about 20 years on now."
"That explains the hydrofoil, but what about the fire power?"
"I'm a paranoid oceanographer."
Gordon's whole face lit up with an appreciative smile. "If we ever get out of this mess alive, you and I need to talk."
Deke was very aware of Gordon's background as both an aquanaut and an Olympic swimmer. "Sure...love to." And then as an afterthought added "Don't worry, if your brothers are anywhere within a hundred miles of here, we'll damn well get 'em out!"
"God, I hope you're right." He and Virgil exchanged a look that did not go unnoticed by their father.
"All right, enough of that. If we're going to help your brothers, I don't want to hear any more gloom and doom. If they're here, we'll find them. Now, any luck with your scan, Virgil?"
"Not that I can...wait! There it is! It seems to be an underground tunnel of sorts leading to..." His voice trailed off.
"Where, Virg?"
Virgil flinched involuntarily at the repeated use by Gordon of the nickname given to him by Scott.
"Jeez! There looks to be an underground bunker down there surrounded by more tunnels. It's like a maze with all the twists and turns in the network. If the guys aren't in the bunker, it would be virtually impossible to locate them on our own just by trying to follow the system around."
"That's why we've got our ace in the hole, Virgil." Jeff answered. "And, from your last update, any minute now it will be time to play our hand."
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Alan blearily opened his eyes. It would have been a gross understatement to say he felt like he wasn't all there. When he tried to move, however, he was reminded otherwise as a white hot bolt of agony shot through his left side. His surroundings began to swim about him and he fought down the bile that was threatening to rise up from within his parched throat. He made an effort to turn his head and looked around him as his eyes tried to focus on something. When they finally did, he let out a gasp as they fell upon the still figure in the bed next to him.
"John! Johnny, can you hear me? It's Alan." There was no response from his older brother who, except for the heart monitor and blood filled IV bags, now seemed to be lying in state. His face was deathly pale and although his chest appeared to be rising and falling in a steady rhythm, one would be hard-pressed to actually be able to see it.
"My God, Johnny. What have they done to you? This wasn't supposed to happen. For once, we were just supposed to be able to relax, to let loose a little without having to constantly be on our guard. They won't let us, though. They just won't leave us alone! Oh, God, please say something. Don't leave me here alone. I need you, John!"
His only response though, was the continued beeping of the heart monitor. Alan, unable to move any other part of his body, laid his head back down and squeezed his eyes shut as the floodgates of despair finally overflowed and ran down his cheeks. He had never felt so completely alone in his life. He had no idea what was happening to Scott and feared that he may already be lost to them. The powers that be had apparently forsaken them and even though he tried to tell himself that his father would eventually find them and that this nightmare would soon be over, he was beginning to have trouble believing his own mantra. Having already lost his sense of day and time, he eventually began to lose his sense of self as well.
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"Okay, Father. It looks like the cards have been dealt. Our 'friends' have arrived. We should probably leave the skimmer behind and get a little closer to where we need to be."
"Okay, Virgil. We'll travel in pairs, you and Deke and Gordon and myself. That way, if anyone gets the drop on us..."
"We won't all be captured." finished Gordon.
"Right, but I don't want you both going off half-cocked. We'll do this correctly and only on my order. Is that understood?"
He got a simultaneous "Yes, sir!" from his second and fourth offspring.
Gordon glanced over at his father, who suddenly looked much older than his years, and realized just what the patriarch of the Tracy family was getting at. Jefferson Tracy would not lose another of his children. Though he was uncertain of getting his other three sons back alive, he was downright assured of this one fact, he would die before he lost Virgil or Gordon. The auburn-haired son suddenly saw his father in a different light. Everyone knew the burden of the events of the past hours had been almost unbearable for him, but now Gordon saw something different in his expression. It was cold, deceptively calm. It was the expression of a man who had made a decision and the ramifications of that decision were enough to make those auburn hairs stand up on the back of Gordon's neck. Suddenly, all he could feel for their adversaries was a sense of pity, knowing that they had indeed, messed with the wrong man.
Deke had to admire how the Tracys had banded together in this time of extreme crisis. He remembered growing up with only two other siblings and they couldn't even agree on how to organize a birthday party, much less a surprise attack in the jungle. Everyone grabbed any equipment they thought they might need and could strap to their backs. As they paired off and headed into the jungle, they could hear the sound of approaching atomic powered, axial flow turbine engines and they were winding down, signaling the arrival of the henchmen with the ransom money.
Virgil and Deke positioned themselves just behind the munitions structure, facing west. Virgil heard a low hum and deduced from the sound that it must be a huge ventilation system of some sort, geared to pump as much fresh air as possible down into the lower levels of the network. Deke agreed and together they waited for the word from Jeff and Gordon on what their next move should be. Deke noticed Virgil absentmindedly staring at his comm. link.
"You okay, Mate?"
Virgil snapped back into reality, sighing resignedly.
"Huh? Oh, fine. I was just wondering what's keeping Dad? We should have heard from him by now."
"Take it easy, Virgil. I'm sure they're a little busy tracking our friends right now. They'll let us know as soon as they have something."
Virgil, who was sitting down on the ground with his knees bent, placed his forearms across them, closed his eyes and laid his head down, seeming to try and gather strength from within. Deke regarded him for a moment before he spoke.
"You're close, aren't you?"
Virgil slowly raised his head at the query. "What?"
"I can tell, you guys are close."
"Of course we are, it would be impossible for us all to work so well together if we didn't trust each other implicitly."
"No, that's not what I mean. I was talking about you and your older brother."
"Scott? I...yeah, I guess we are." He smiled slightly. "It's been that way ever since we were kids. What made you say that?"
"Oh, just something about the look on your face every time your dad mentions his name, the 'I've lost my best friend' look."
Virgil face reddened a bit. "Well, we've just always been there for each other through thick and thin, even when our mom died."
"Sorry, I-I didn't mean to stir up the past."
"No, no, it's okay, really. You've given me something else to focus on."
Deke smiled sympathetically and laid a hand on Virgil's shoulder. That's when the comm. link flashed and vibrated. Virgil swiftly answered the call.
"Yes, Father?"
"Okay, we've got a lead. Now listen to me, son. I want you and Deke to move to the Southern end of the compound. There, you'll see a small aperture rising just above ground level. It's well-camouflaged but we saw the occupants of the boat that just arrived use a remote device of some sort to clear the brush away and open the hatch. You just need to find a way to bypass the security protocols. Good luck!"
The communication ended but Virgil and Deke hadn't taken their eyes off the wrist chronometer. Virgil swallowed hard.
"Oh, is that all?"