Chapter 11:

A/N: Hello! Isn't this quick! (for me of course). Thank you all for the reviews!

Thank you white rose01 for beta-reading!

Numbuh 14 – Heya. Thanks! Yeah, I felt that this kind of thing would happen, with John being the one who speaks most languages. I just wondered what would happen if he were out somewhere, and they had a mission where they didn't understand the language. Of course, nowadays it's almost impossible to have a town anywhere, where no one speaks the slightest English, however, that's another matter entirely. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

White rose01 – Yes, pity that lever wasn't loose… :( Dumb author! She should have really made that lever loose! Grmbl. I'm going to write a complaint to her! "Hey, author! You should have let that lever be loose! It would have made the chapter so much better! So you'd better have that done for next time!" There. /satisfied smile/ … oh, hold on… I'm getting a message… "Hey, author! You should have let that lev…" /looks slightly uncomfortable/ Does this sound familiar? Heh heh oops… ehm, right! Let's get on with the story. : ;)

Darkhelmetj – I'm so glad you enjoyed last chapter. Enjoy this one too:) Thanks for the compliment! Yup, Nicole is getting very suspicious. But first: John talks to his boss about a certain issue. I wonder what that would be…;) Yup, I'm hoping school will start to slow down too… however, I'll have my first exam soon, so… Thanks anyway:) By the way, how's Ariel? As far as I've noticed, she hasn't used that third FP yet! Should I be happy or sad about that:s Anyway, enjoy!

Moonlightbear – Ooooh, moving, always nice. I've moved three years ago from Holland to France, two years ago from one town in France to another town in France, one year ago from France to Holland, and this year I'll be moving from one house in one town in Holland to another house in the same town in Holland. Got to love moving… still wondering where that particular book went to… or more accurately: in what box! Thanks for taking your time to review though! I appreciate it very much! Yup, I agree, it was bound to happen. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too! Good luck with moving!

OK, and that's it for the reviews again.

Now, I messed around with the timing for a bit, so if it didn't come out right: my fault! ;)

Enjoy!

The connection was broken and John looked as the time replaced the live-picture of his youngest sibling. For several minutes he lay there, pondering about the last couple of hours. Then he decided he should call his father. This was one thing he wasn't particularly looking forward to, but it was necessary.

"John." Jeff sounded only slightly surprised. He had expected John to call in and ask about the rescue.

"Hey Dad. I heard everyone is on his way back."

"Correct. I'm sorry we had to disturb your break. Perhaps when you're back you could teach the boys some basics in certain languages." Jeff's mind was already speeding ahead. He noticed this and quickly hit the brakes. "Thanks anyway."

"You're welcome." For a moment John remained silent. Then he continued. "Dad? When Alan called, I was talking with Nicole and Ben." At seeing his father's questioning expression he quickly explained. "Do you remember I told you about Nicole? Ben is Nicole's brother."

"OK. But you didn't answer in their presence, did you?" Jeff wasn't as much asking as stating it.

"No, no. I excused myself and went to the bathroom. However, halfway through the conversation with the Japanese man, Nicole became worried and came up to ask what was wrong. … She heard me speak Japanese, Dad."

Jeff felt anger rising but he quickly pushed it away. This wasn't something John could have avoided. In fact, it could have been expected.

"How did she react?"

"At first nothing. I told her I'd be finished soon, she went back downstairs, I finished my part of the rescue, and went downstairs as well. It was then that she confronted me with it."

Silence.

"What did you say?" Jeff's voice sounded strained, and John prepared himself for an explosion.

"I told her I couldn't tell her anything about it."

"And she accepted that?"

"Yes and no. First she asked questions, but when I didn't answer them to her satisfaction, she let it be."

Again there was a long silence.

"Is she a security breach?"

John had expected that question. "No, I don't think so. Neither is her broth-"

At this Jeff lost his control over his anger.

"You're telling me this conversation took place with her brother there too? Are you aware that the safety of our organisation, and with that the safety of people all over the world, is in danger because of two supposed friends of yours!"

At this John's voice got a cold quality, his face went taut, and he spoke in an even, calculated manner.

"I trust both Nicole and Ben as if they are family. At this moment, they hardly know a thing. They are two bright people, so they might figure out what exactly I'm working for, especially with all the attention International Rescue receives from the media; but even if they do, they will not pose a danger to us. However, I would prefer it if I could tell them myself what I'm doing."

The moment Jeff had seen his son's expression change, he knew he had gone too far, a rare occurrence with his second son. However, at the last sentence, Jeff's anger flared up again.

"You want to give these people more ammunition! We can't go around telling strangers who we are! You hardly know these people!"

"May I remind you, Father, that I have spent a large portion of my downtime with these 'strangers', as you so nicely put it, and that I do in fact know them quite well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep now as it's almost 2am here. Goodnight."

Without waiting for a response John cut the communications and left Jeff to his thoughts.

At Tracy Island someone cleared his throat and Jeff looked up.

"Scott?" The greying man looked at his clock. The talk with John had taken longer than he had thought, but still, Scott should not be here yet. As if reading his thoughts, Scott answered the unspoken question.

"When John stopped during the rescue mission because someone interrupted him, I figured he would call to tell you about this. I also suspected you wouldn't take it too well, which I suspected correctly apparently, so I used the turbo to get home A.S.A.P." Before Jeff could comment, his eldest son continued. "And I'm glad I did."

Jeff decided to ignore the personal use of the turbo for the moment. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to realise that John's patience is incredible. I would not have taken those insults as 'well' as he did, I can tell you that."

At his father's emotion-deprived face, Scott said exasperated: "You had no right to call John's friends 'strangers' or imply that they were untrustworthy and dangerous! Due to the nature of our 'business', none of us has many friends outside International Rescue, John least of all because of his long stays on Five. So, don't set about destroying the few true friends he does have."

"And how does he know who is a 'true' friend, and who's not?" Jeff threw back, not liking the fact that his own son was preaching to him about his treatment of one of his other sons.

"Dad! Of all of us, John is the best at reading people. As you might remember, he lost his naivety quite early on in life, as we all did, to a certain extent."

Jeff paled slightly at the remembrance of his wife's death. The doctors back then had told the boys everything was going to be fine, their mother would recover, her injuries weren't life-threatening, etc. Not an hour after they had said that, Lucille had died. Since that time, none of the boys were too fond of doctors, nor did they just trust anyone to speak the truth.

"Don't you trust John, Dad? Don't you trust his judgement?" Scott's voice was softer now.

"Of course I do."

"Well, you might want to tell him that, because you hurt him, Dad. You hurt him really badly."

Jeff remained silent, however this time the emotions were clearly expressed on his face. "I didn't mean to. I could only think of the business. I didn't think about…" Jeff whispered.

Scott's voice softened somewhat, but there was still a slightly cold tinge to it. "Exactly. You didn't think. Dad, no-one on this island is getting any younger." Scott felt the blood rise to his face as he realised what exactly he was saying. Jeff's eyebrows rose. "Ehm… that wasn't what I really wanted to say. I meant that… OK, I suppose I did want to say that."

Jeff started to be slightly amused by his son's stammering. It didn't happen all that often that his eldest son was unable to set up a coherent argument. Scott took a deep breath and started again.

"Dad, we all have friends. We're all men. And just because Tin Tin lives here, doesn't mean that we're all satisfied with that. I suppose at one point we will all feel that we need to share our secret with someone who we really care about… before they find out on their own. Because if they do, without us having told them anything about it, they will probably feel betrayed or something. That's just not the best foundation for a…good friendship. And going back to John," Jeff's face dropped slightly, "as I said before, he doesn't have all that many good friends; if he now has to lie to his best friends, how will that affect their friendship, especially since it's likely they will find out anyway? I can tell you, it isn't for the better."

As Scott finished his 'speech' which had to be the longest he had given in years, his father mulled everything over in his head. He rubbed his chin absently.

"So you think I should let John tell this Nicole about International Rescue." It was more of a statement than a question, but Scott answered nonetheless.

"Yes. He doesn't have to tell her about everything in detail, but just being able to tell the truth should do the trick."

"You do realise, that if I would allow this, I would have to allow all of you boys to do the same. Now, I don't want to come across as… distrusting, but I just don't feel secure with all of your friends knowing. There would only have to be one person who can't shut his or her mouth, and we can say 'goodbye International Rescue'."

The wheels in Scott's head turned rapidly. "What if… what if you would be able to meet the people we would want to tell beforehand? Then you still have the final say. And it's not like we'll all invite all our friends suddenly. I know John only wants to tell Nicole and Ben. I don't think Alan knows anyone on the mainland he's really desperate to tell. Of course he has Tin Tin."

Mentally Scott hit his head against the wall. That was so not what he wanted to say. Jeff couldn't help his mouth from quirking upwards slightly.

"OK. We'll see what the rest of you boys have to say about it, and if we all agree, that's how it's going to be." Scott breathed out in relief. "But Scott."

"Father?"

"Don't go about and invite every girl that looks nice, will you." Jeff said smiling wickedly.

"Dad! That's not what…" That's when he noticed the wicked look in his father's eyes. "Just when I'm wondering where every brother of mine gets this certain 'evil' streak, you do or say something to remind me." He sighed.

At this Jeff laughed. "Well, I have to do something to remind you boys of who's the master." He winked. Scott huffed. "Yeah, right, as if we could forget!"

Both men laughed as there was a continuous beeping and the eyes of Virgil's portrait lit up.

"Go ahead Virgil." Jeff said.

"Thunderbird 2, asking permission to land."

"Permission granted. Bring her in safely."

"FAB Father."

Virgil's life portrait returned to the silent picture of the brown-haired man with the yellow sash. Scott turned to Jeff.

"I'll wait for Virgil and Gordon to show up so we can debrief. Please talk to John soon."

Jeff nodded. "I will. Don't worry about it." The oldest Tracy paused for a moment, then added: "Thank you, Scott."

"Anytime, Dad… just not too often please! John's the peacemaker of the family for a reason." He said with a lopsided grin.

A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter might take a while, as my exams start really soon. Yikes:) Have a wonderful time! Bye - zeilfanaat