Chapter Four
The first thing Alan Tracy noticed when he regained consciousness was that it was cold, the second that something was over his eyes making it impossible for him to see anything. But what he noticed most of all was the pain.
His head was pounding with what felt like lightning arcs of blasting through his brain seeming to set fire to his very thoughts. The pulsing throbbing coming from the back of his neck only made the pain tearing its way through his skull worse.
Alan groaned in pain and tried to his hands to cradle his throbbing head. Tried being the operative word as he found that his hands were bound at his sides and that he couldn't move them or his arms at all as they were bound with what felt like robes.
"Ah good your awake," a cold voice said. Alan felt the blindfold over his eyes be taken off. And abruptly the darkness, which had filled his vision, was replaced by harsh artificial light.
Alan groaned in pain as the light sent red-hot needles of pain shooting down his optic nerves into his already pain-fogged brain. Alan closed his eyes against the additional surge of agony.
"Hurts doesn't it," the cold male voice said sounding completely unconcerned about the pain Alan was in.
Alan opened his eyes and determinedly ignoring the pain that was tearing at him turned his head in the direction the voice was coming from and for the first time Alan saw the face of the man who had abducted him.
The man was tall at least six foot four, and he was very big. His shoulders were broad and his body rippled with huge lean muscles. The form hugging black clothing the man was wearing highlighted his physique even more strongly. He had a handsome face though it could have been carved from granite given the lack of expression it showed, and the mans piercing green eyes were cruel and uncaring.
Looking at him Alan found that the man gave him the creeps. There was something about him an air of menace and strength that was very unsettling and the vaguely lustful look in the mans eyes as he gazed back at him made Alan's blood run cold.
"Who are you," Alan demanded of the man putting on a brave defiant front determined not to let his captor see that he was afraid or intimidated in any way.
"Who I am is not important," the man replied. "What is important is you have information that is going to be really profitable for me."
"What are you talking about," Alan asked though he had a fairly good idea what information this creep was after. He wanted the secrets of International Rescue and somehow this creep had probably found out that he was a Thunderbird.
"Don't play games with me," the man answered. "I know what you are Alan Tracy. I know you are a Thunderbird." Alan laughed.
"Me a Thunderbird?" he said incredulous. "I think you have me mixed up with someone else." The man rolled his eyes.
"Must we do this the hard way," the man asked and Alan was sure that he saw a look of glee in the mans piercing but cold green eyes as he spoke.
The man moved off out of Alan's field of vision and for a few moments Alan heard him moving about behind him. And then the man reappeared holding a silver metal rod. Alan's blue eyes widened as he recognised an electric cattle prod.
"Now tell me all you know about your fellow Thunderbirds and your technology," the man said moving in close.
"I already told you I'm not a Thunderbird," Alan replied. "I know no more about them than anyone else."
"Wrong answer," the man replied and pressed the tip of the cattle prod against Alan and pressed the trigger. And an extremely painful blast of electricity convulsed Alan's muscles and despite his high natural tolerance to pain Alan cried out in pain. After about two seconds the pain stopped as the man withdrew the cattle prod.
"Tell me about the Thunderbirds. Where is your base?" the man questioned again.
"I don't know," Alan croaked back as he struggled to get his breath back.
No matter what this man did to him he could not and would not betray International Rescue. The consequences that could result from Thunderbird technology falling into the wrong hands were really too terrible to consider. Alan knew that he could not let that happen even if preventing it cost him his life.
"Why must you be so stubborn," the man asked then pressed the cattle prod against Alan again and again pulled the trigger.
Alan convulsed violently and cried out in agony, feeling as if his whole body was burning with the terrible pain brought by the electric shock. On top of the pain in his head the pain from the shock was too much for his battered body to take. Darkness raced up to embrace him and Alan gratefully gave himself up to the welcome bliss of unconsciousness.
Dennings withdrew the cattle prod and frowned when he saw Alan slump unconscious in the chair. He was doing what he was ordered to do, asking the questions he had been told to ask, giving the impression he had been told to give. But now he worried that he might have been a little too enthusiastic in carrying out the Hoods orders. Had he inadvertently caused Alan serious physical injury something that the Hood had flatly forbade him to do for some reason.
Cautiously Dennings approached Alan and carefully felt for a pulse at the blond teen's neck. To his absolute relief he found one there. Alan had merely passed out from the pain of the electric shocks on top of his headache. He wasn't in danger of facing the wrath of the Hood.
Dennings pulled back and studied the unconscious form of Alan Tracy for a few moments trying to come up with another way of carrying out his orders. Then Dennings grinned as the answer occurred to him and he wondered why he had not thought about it before. It would be forfililng the Hoods orders to cause Alan suffering without inflicting permanent injuries and would be very pleasurable for him in the process.
He looked at Alan and gave a cruel smirk even though Alan was unconscious and thus could not see it. This was going to be so much fun.
Jeff Tracy's Hotel Room
Jeff looked up when he heard someone knock on the door to his hotel room. Sergeant Royce the police liaison officer assigned to Jeff got up to answer. Royce opened the door and went outside for a few moments then came back in.
"Mr Tracy there is someone here to see you," Royce said her voice cool and professional.
"Who is it," Jeff asked curious as to who it could be. He had already spoken to Fermat already though the young genius hadn't been able to shed anymore light on Alan's disappearance which hadn't put Jeff's mind at ease one bit.
Though talking had given Fermat a chance to show his own feelings about Alan's kidnapping. The teenage genius had broken down and cried on Jeff's shoulder terrified that he might never see his best friend alive again.
It was a feeling Jeff understood as the longer Alan remained missing, with out any word from whoever had kidnapped him the more likely it was that Alan hadn't been kidnapped by someone who was after money. And it was getting increasingly likely that Jeff could find himself in the situation that every parent feared the most. The death of a child.
"A Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward sir," Royce replied. Jeff's widened in surprise for a moment at that. But then he realised that it was no surprise that Penelope was here. Penelope would have come running to his side the moment she heard about Alan's kidnapping.
"Let her in," Jeff said. "Then can you leave us alone for a bit?"
"Of course," Royce replied with a smile.
With that Royce went back out into the hallway. A moment later the door opened again and Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward – British aristocrat, close family friend and number one agent for International Rescue – came in dressed in a sleek travel suit which like Penelope's entire wardrobe was bright pink in colour.
"Hello Penny," Jeff said.
"Hello Jeff," Penelope replied closing the door behind her she had left Parker outside in the hallway with orders not to let them be disturbed unless it was important. "I came as soon as I heard," Penelope continued. "Has there been any news?"
"No," Jeff replied turning away and going over to the window and looking out at the darkness of night that had fallen a few hours ago. The knowledge that Alan was out there somewhere alone, and in the hands of someone who was probably working for the Hood – if Alan wasn't in the hands of the Hood himself – chilled Jeff right to the bone. And despite the fact that he was tired Jeff knew he would not sleep until Alan was found and returned one way or the other.
Penelope guessing Jeff's thoughts came up and put a comforting arm across his shoulders. Though he was hiding it Penelope knew that Jeff was terrified that he might never see his son again. She had known Jeff long enough to be able to see through the calm, always in control mask that Tracy's had this habit of wearing. She could see that Jeff was terrified that whoever had kidnapped Alan would kill him before they could find and rescue him. And she knew that if the worst did come to pass and they found Alan dead that Jeff would probably not withstand the loss.
Penelope wished that there was something she could do, something she could say to ease Jeff's fears. But she knew that there was nothing that she could say. All she could do was to be here to offer silent comfort and support. She smiled when she felt Jeff begin to respond, some of the tension left Jeff's shoulders and he began leaning slightly against her accepting the offered comfort.
The moment was broken when a knock came at the door. Penelope lowered her arm and she and Jeff turned to look at the door.
"Come in," Jeff called. The door opened and Detective Howard followed by Sergeant Royce and Parker came in. And Jeff could tell immediately that there had been a development.
"Mr Tracy," Detective Howard said. "There has been a promising new development in your sons disappearance. The report from the lab boys has come back. We've been able to identify the DNA on the mobile that wasn't Alan's or Fermat's and the DNA on the chloroform cloth that didn't belong to Alan. Mr Tracy we know who has your son."