Chapter Nine
Jeff and Gordon kept a watchful eye from their vantage point to the East. They could see Deke and Virgil making their way towards their objective. Gordon handed the field visor over to his father and pointed out what may have proven to be an obstacle.
"Over there, Father, the two guards."
"Yes, they could be a problem if..."
But before he could finish, his second eldest had already incapacitated the first man while IR's top operative "down under" had made short work of his partner.
"Way to go, guys!" Gordon quietly cheered.
Deke and Virgil donned their victims' clothing and weapons. Upon reaching the entrance to the chasm below, they began dismantling the items they carried on their backs and rummaged through them until they came across what they were looking for. Deke held up a chunk of Brains' version of a plastic explosive. It packed a slightly more powerful punch.
"You know, maybe we're approaching this all wrong." Virgil remarked.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, instead of sneaking around like we're doing, what say we just hit this head on?"
"I'm afraid I don't follow you."
"Well, now we have disguises, right?"
"Yeah."
"If we were to cause a distraction of some sort, what's to stop us from just sneaking down there once they all come up to the surface to check on things?"
"But your dad said we were to wait for his orders. They haven't gotten a clear idea on where the signal from the microchips is headed yet."
"I know, but if we just wait around here on the surface, we may miss our chance at getting the upper hand."
"But we were told..." Virgil cut him off.
"Look, Deke. Those are my brothers down there and I'm not going to waste any more time debating the issue. Now, are you with me or not?"
The struggle for a decision was evident on Deke's face, but in the end, he relented.
"What, you think I'm going to stay up here just so's your old man can ream me out for lettin' his baby boy go off alone? No fuckin' way!"
Virgil smiled broadly and replied in his best Aussie accent.
"Well then, Mate. What the hell are we waitin' for?"
He proceeded to relieve Deke of the explosive and molded some around the rim of the hatch. Satisfied with his handiwork, Virgil pulled out the electronic detonator.
"Clear!"
They both dove for the ground as the hatch was blown off and traveled almost straight up into the air. Deke was impressed.
"Whoa! Great stuff to 'ave around, that."
They both flinched as Virgil's wrist comm. again came to life, a live feed of his father's image on its face.
"Virgil, what the hell is going on down there! We'd just picked up the signal again about 4 levels down and I was going to call you when I heard an explosion."
Virgil straightened up and braced himself for a confrontation. "Nothing, Father. We're fine. I've decided that we shouldn't wait any longer, so I've blown the hatch and now we're going in."
"You've what! Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Virgil?"
Instead of replying, Virgil had decided that if he and Deke were going to make a move, it had to be now or they would face being surrounded by the entire compliment of the encampment. In between the ensuing commotion and incurring his father's wrath, Virgil grabbed Deke and disappeared down the rabbit hole.
A series of expletives escaped from Jeff's lips as he realized that Virgil had cut the communication. He turned to the young aquanaut, whose face reflected his own disbelief at the situation.
"I swear, Gordon, when I get my hands on that brother of yours..."
"Well, when this is over, Dad, I'll help you kick his ass. Right now though, I'd feel better if we just went along for the ride."
"You're right; at least we can back him up. He can't die before I have the chance to kill him first."
Gordon did a double take at his father's words but obediently followed him into the melee.
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Virgil and Deke made their way down to the lower levels while trying to avoid everyone else on their way up to the surface. They made steady progress by heading in the direction they saw everyone else coming from. No one gave them a second look, thinking they were just the relief crew. As they rounded the bend in one section of the maze, they found they were at an impasse. There was nothing to suggest in which direction they should go as they now had a choice of three different tunnels to use. Virgil's shoulders slumped dejectedly. There were so close, he could feel it. But, which way? He received another call on the comm. link and this time, it was Gordon to the rescue.
"Hey, Virg! Father and I are just about fifty yards behind you. The signal from the chip is getting stronger so we must be headed in the right direction. From what I can see, you just need to turn around and go back the way you came until you come upon the entrance to the fourth level. They've got some very strange looking equipment down there, along with a couple of offices, which is where I'm guessing the money is."
"Thanks, Gordo! I owe you one."
"Forget it. It's all just part of the service."
Virgil could hear the grin in his younger brother's voice and it supplied a bit of warmth for a place inside him that had been very cold for the past day. With renewed hope, he turned and led Deke back the way they had come, sticking to a path along the wall as they went.
Though all the other paths to the lower levels involved the use of either an elevator or a staircase, the entrance to the fourth level was actually a chute containing a slide. Deke insisted on being the first to go down it being that part of his job involved protecting his benefactor, along with all the members of International Rescue's 'core' group. Once he signaled that the coast was clear, he looked up from the bottom of the slide and motioned for Virgil to follow him. Before doing so, Virgil checked his laser pistol to make sure the charge was at maximum.
"We're down on the fourth level. Where to now, Gordon?"
"Okay, you should be in a small room that opens out into a passageway. Take a left as you leave the room and keep going until I tell you to stop. The signal is getting a bit erratic, as if someone is locking the money up into a vault or a safe where the receiver can't penetrate.
They did as they were told, and after they had traveled about thirty five feet, Gordon signaled for them to stop. "Guys, wait! The signal, you're right on top of it. Look to your left. That's where the money is and there's someone in there with it."
Deke and Virgil exchanged a look. "The men's room?" Virgil asked.
"Yeah, I can see the echo of some fixtures in there on the scanner. Must be a wall safe."
"Yeah, let's hope so." Deke responded.
He jiggled the knob but the door was locked. While he stood off to the side, both as protection from any would-be gun fire and also as cover for his fellow operative, Virgil proceeded to kick the door in. They were not prepared for the sight that greeted them inside.
There at the urinal, in mid-piss, stood a tall gentleman who might have also been considered imposing had it not been for the compromising position he had been discovered in. Contained in the wall in front of him, at eye level, was a small safe with a combination lock. The door was opened, revealing a rather large store of cash. He had taken some of it out and was fingering the treasury notes in his hand as if they were the opulent curves of a lover. The unsolicited intrusion had taken him completely by surprise, his stance becoming statue-like.
Virgil said nothing to their captive, but kept him steady in his sights as he lifted his chronometer to his lips.
"Father, we've found the location of the ransom money and the person to whom it was delivered. Any luck finding the guys?" Had his wrist comm. been a living entity, he would have sworn it was mocking him with its ensuing silence.
"Father?" Again, nothing.
Virgil closed his eyes and after taking a deep breath to quell his rising panic, tried again.
"Gordon, can you hear me? Father, please answer."
After a couple of moments that to Virgil passed like hours, he was finally rewarded with a reply.
"Sorry, son. Yes, we heard you; we were both just a little busy. We've located Alan and John and although I can't say they are both okay, they are still alive."
Virgil's breath all but left him and he doubled over in relief, his hands placed just above his knees. Deke, who also had his gun drawn, took over guard duty while at the same time grabbing Virgil's forearm with a reassuring squeeze. The chestnut haired Tracy glanced up at him with a smile and a grateful nod. The moment was short-lived, however, as there was still one unanswered question looming over them. Virgil raised his gun at their enemy once more, an icy glint in his eye and his voice laced with abhorrence.
"Where's Scott?"
The man before him simply put the money down, turned around and zipped himself up before glaring back into the dark honey colored eyes, now filled with loathing. Virgil fired his gun and hit a spot so close to the man's head that he nearly emptied his bladder a second time. He adjusted the setting and pointed it straight at a spot between the man's eyes.
"The next shot will be a lot messier, I guarantee. Now...WHERE'S MY BROTHER!"
His booming voice bounced off the tiled walls and caused bits of the already compromised ceiling to crumble and fall to the floor. Deke was even a bit apprehensive of his fellow operative in his current state and wondered just how far he would go to get what he wanted.
As he was breaking out in a cold sweat, the big, burly man wavered for a moment. And, not doubting that his adversary would indeed pull the trigger, divulged the requested information. Before Deke could even draw his next breath, Virgil had disappeared out the door.
"Virgil, wait! Don't go without back-up!"
But his concerns fell on deaf ears as the young pilot was already gone.
>>>>>+>>>>>+
Meanwhile, Gordon and his father where trying to figure a way to get their precious cargo back up to the surface. Alan had been drifting in and out of consciousness, mumbling something about how his brothers had gone away and left him alone. They had managed to control the bleeding from the gunshot wound in his side and knew that his chances of survival were good.
John was another story. He had lost so much blood that he had lapsed into a deep coma. He would need to receive several more pints in order to stabilize his condition. They had secured another tourniquet around his leg and then carried both men the only way available to them. Jeff slung his youngest over his left shoulder, trying to keep his pain to a minimum. Gordon did the same with John and they embarked on their journey up three levels to the surface. They had their weapons at the ready and just hoped they could make it before the band of reprobates had time to discover that the blast up above was just a ruse to distract their attention. Gordon wondered how his older brother was making out locating Scott.
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Virgil ran as fast as his legs could carry him to a room at the end of one of the junctions in the tunnel. He slowed down as he approached the doorway, not forgetting the fact that he might not be alone and there was a good possibility that some armed entity could be lurking about.
As he peered inside, he took in the white room and all its sterility, wondering what in the hell kidnappers would need with a facility like this way down here. As he approached the operating table, he reflected that it didn't appear to have been used recently, that is until his eyes had traveled to the floor. There, not quite dried yet, was a single drop of blood. He bent down to dip his fingers into it and brought them up to his nose to take in the scent. Yes, it was blood all right. But who...?
Suddenly the room went from having a slight chill in the air to being stifling as Virgil's guts fairly twisted into a knot. "Oh my God."
Unfortunately, during that one moment when he had let his guard down, 'Dr. Frankenstein,' who had indeed been lurking about, saw an opportunity and took it. He lunged at the younger man, once again wielding something long, sharp and shiny. Virgil spun and managed to dodge him just as he plunged the entire blade of a scalpel into the table, nearly taking off his ear in the process. Van Gogh was certainly one of Virgil's favorite classical artists but he had no desire to completely follow in the man's footsteps.
In a flash, he had leaped off the table but before he could draw his gun, the doctor had grabbed him by the neck from behind and was now attempting to slit his throat. Virgil called upon all of his IR training and bent his knees, pulling all of his weight down with him and using his hands to deflect the man's grasp as he managed to slip out of his arms. Infuriated, the doctor lunged at him again, the scalpel poised to be thrust into his heart. He was quick, but Virgil was quicker and the shot found its mark, just in the nick of time. The man in the white coat dropped like a stone to the floor and didn't move again.
Virgil leaned against the wall, panting. As he looked up and around to see if there were any more imminent threats, his eyes landed on something and stopped, cold. There, back in the corner of the room, behind a partition was the protruding edge of a gurney...and he could see a sheet over it, possibly covering something.
His heart began to pound again, his body trying to tell his brain that he didn't want to know, didn't want to see, and his brain ignoring its pleas. His steps were slow and deliberate as he drew ever closer. Suddenly, he just had to know and he certainly didn't want his father to be the first one to see whatever lie beneath that shroud. His pace quickened until he was almost running, his desire to get it over with now outweighing his apprehension. He stopped short as he arrived at the partition and peered around it. Yes, there was definitely a body lying under there. He rounded the corner and his worst fears were realized. The head of the body was uncovered, a huge stain of blood on the sheet near the abdomen. "Oh, Dear God, no!" He raised his voice skyward and bellowed his agony to the heavens.
"SCO-O-OTT!"