Day Three – Part Three
The car full of criminals and their hostage sped down some quiet country lanes in the late evening. The rain that had persisted all day in England and France was now turning to light drizzle and fog was coming in from the coast. "So Granny came in useful after all," Ted said. "Good job we brought her along with us."
Pennington glanced at his elderly hostage, "She did. Pity I had to scare her though, she reminds me of my old granny. We're going to have to dump her somewhere. No sign of unwelcome guests following is there, Tom?"
Tom glanced in his rear view mirror. "Nothing, but I still don't trust them. I think we should hang on to her. She must be worth a ransom if International Rescue gets called out to look for her."
"No, we just get away while we can," Pennington told him, "Not worth the trouble. Look, here's a farm up ahead, dump her there. She should be safe enough."
Minutes later, the car stopped and Ruth and Ken got out of the car beside a path that led up to a small farmhouse. Remembering that she could not see properly he turned her to face the way she needed to go. "Just keep walking in that direction and you'll get to that house. It's not very far to walk," her captor told her before he got back into the car and the gang quickly fled the scene.
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On board the ferry, John had been too anxious to sit still and he was now up on the deck looking hopefully for signs of the port of Dieppe coming into view. He was relieved when it was. "About time," he said out loud to a puzzled passenger beside him. Then he went back downstairs to tell Lady Penelope the good news.
"Good, John," she said. Then lowering her voice she added. "I've had a message to say your father is meeting us here with Virgil and Gordon. FAB 1 is going to be picked up and put in the pod so it is going to save us a lot of time."
"Terrific, but where's Virgil going to land right in the middle of the port?" John asked, relieved that at least they could make up some of the time they had lost.
"Now don't worry, John, dear. I'm sure they'll have solved that problem, too," she replied. "Let's just wait and see."
"H'I'd better go h'and get ready to get the car h'out, M'Lady," Parker said as he handed John the tracking device. "Can you keep h'an eye h'on that?" he asked him. "H'it might not work so good h'in the car deck below."
"Sure thing, Parker," John said as he studied the steady light flashing on the screen.
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Ruth felt relief in her heart at last as she walked cautiously up the path she'd been told would lead to a house. She'd heard the thieves saying International Rescue had been called out to look for her and she was free from those villains at last. She was tired and cold but now had some hope that her ordeal would soon be over. Her dear son and grandsons would be so worried about her, and so would Lady Penelope. Her other close friends at home would be, too, so for all of their sakes she had to keep going.
She put her hand on the silver locket around her neck and briefly told Grant of her plight before offering a silent prayer of thanks that she was still alive. Then pulling her cardigan tightly round her shoulders to protect her from the damp, late evening air she continued walking. It would be dark soon and she wanted to get to that house and summon help.
It wasn't too far and she could make out the shape of the door in front of her. She found a large iron door knocker and banged it as hard as she could. Seconds later a middle-aged man came to the door followed by his wife. Both were anxious to see who was calling on them this late in the evening.
Ruth had been thinking hard as she walked up the path about her days in school when she'd learned French. It was so long ago now and she never really needed to use the language, having been no further than a farm in Kansas after that. She just hoped the people that lived there spoke English or would still help her anyway. Now as she stood in front of these strangers she just cried out, "Please, help me!"
The farmer and his wife did not speak much English but could see that their visitor was in distress and promptly brought her into the warmth of their home.
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Exactly fifteen minutes after the gang had left the scene at the harbour, Charles Leroux and the police began their pursuit. Scott launched Thunderbird One and immediately contacted Alan. "Thunderbird One to Thunderbird Five. What's the latest fix on the signal from Grandma, Alan?"
"She's not moving fast anymore, Scott," Alan told him anxiously, not knowing it that was a good sign or not. "The signal went very slow now it's stopped altogether, reference E24268-0"
"Good work, Alan," Scott said. "They must have released her. I'll tell Agent 11 and he can go after her while I pursue those crooks."
"FAB, Scott, I hope you get them for what they did to Grandma," Alan replied. He looked at the stationery green light on the console and gently touched the glass above it with his finger and willed her to be safe and unhurt.
Scott quickly opened the link to the radio in the limousine belonging to Charles Leroux. "They must have released her," he told the French agent. "Go to reference E24268-0, that's her last known location. Be fast, Charles, I want to know if she's safe. Take care of her for us until we all meet up. I'm going after the low life now. With any luck this fog might delay them from taking off."
"Oui, Monsieur, I'll do my best," the agent told him, "I'll let the police know."
Scott flew off to circle the area to scan for any sign of a plane. He knew the gang couldn't be too far away from the area. He informed Virgil en route about the latest news concerning their grandmother.
"FAB, we'll be right over as soon as I collect the others from the ferry," Virgil replied.
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Parker drove FAB 1 out of the ferry landing at Dieppe. Lady Penelope and John looked around the scene for some sign of International Rescue amongst the heavy traffic and general public. They didn't have to wait long when Virgil came through on the radio, "Thunderbird Two is waiting in a park north-east of here, it's just outside the town. It's not far, follow the road to the north-east and you'll find us."
Soon FAB 1 was safely inside the pod of Thunderbird Two and its three occupants went to join Jeff, Gordon and Virgil on the flight deck. John dreaded facing his father and brothers. He still felt racked with guilt over what had happened in spite of what Scott and Jeff had said earlier. Jeff though was only too pleased to see them all. He stood up and, knowing how John was feeling he embraced his son to him to reassure him he didn't blame him for his grandmother's abduction. He gave Lady Penelope a reassuring hug, too, before they all took their seats again. Parker was still operating the scanner for the antiques and sat in front with Virgil so the two of them could follow the trail.
"We've traced her," Jeff said to both of them. "Virgil, you follow Scott. Penny, can we borrow the Rolls to go and meet mother?"
"Of course, Jeff," she replied. "Parker and I will stay with Virgil to follow Scott to help him and the police catch those criminals."
Relief began to flood through John's senses; then he asked, "Gordon's wearing his uniform though, Dad, what about me?"
"The police know International Rescue is involved so Gordon will be their representative as Scott and Virgil will be busy elsewhere. You and I will be going as family members. With any luck Agent 11 and the police should be with her now," Jeff told him. He was secretly bracing himself for the report from Charles Leroux on his mother's condition and prayed that it was a good one.
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The small farmhouse had become a hive of activity since Ruth's arrival. The farmer and his wife enlisted the help of their English speaking daughter who had been about to take a bath when their unexpected visitor arrived. Now Ruth sat beside the warm fire drinking a mug of hot chocolate and told the tale of how she came to be there. No sooner had the tale been told and the daughter translated it to her parents, when Charles Leroux knocked on the door. A police car had accompanied him to the scene and he waited with the two police officers.
The farmer had expected this to happen after hearing the story but not quite so soon. "Do you have an elderly American woman here in a distressed state?" he was asked by one of the policemen.
"Yes, she is here. She told us she had been kidnapped and abandoned here," the farmer replied. "Come in."
International Rescue's French agent went over to Ruth who had been listening to the conversation in French between the farmer and the police. He introduced himself. "How are you feeling Mrs Tracy? I have been asked by our friend Lady Penelope to take care of you until your family arrives. They are on their way now. My name is Charles Leroux." He hoped the shock and distress would not cause her to reveal his true identity as an agent working for her son.
He needn't have worried. Ruth was feeling stronger and more relaxed, now that she was away from her captors. She knew once the man had mentioned Lady Penelope he would most likely be involved with Jeff's secret organization. "I feel a lot better," she answered. "I just wish I could see clearly. I lost my spectacles when those thieves made me go with them. Have they caught them yet? They've stolen some of Lady Penelope's things"
"Did they hurt you at all?" one of the policemen asked in his best English.
"No, I thought they were going to," she replied. "I thought it best to keep my mouth shut and not say anything to annoy them. There were times I wanted to tell them what I thought of them but I held my tongue. I'm sorry I can't give you a description, I couldn't see them properly."
"Don't worry about it Mrs Tracy, we have no doubts that we'll catch them," Charles Leroux told her.
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Meanwhile Scott had been circling the area trying to locate the signs of the thieves and their plane. He couldn't see any small private airfields and narrowed his search for a large field or another suitable area that an aircraft could use to take off in.
He was soon rewarded by his effort when the scanners indicated life forms below. Scott quickly swept beneath the thick clouds and saw the car the thieves had used parked in a driveway of a large house. Behind it was a small plane and the thieves were busy loading the boxes of stolen items on board. "Got them at last," Scott said out loud with satisfaction as he soared skywards again. Now he had to inform the police who had been following at a discreet distance so the criminals would not be alerted. He called Alan who was on standby for this with the police radio frequency. "Thunderbird One to Thunderbird Five," he began.
"Go ahead, Scott," Alan replied.
"I've found them, Alan. Tell the police the reference is 565/625. Tell them to make it fast, Alan, it won't be long before these crooks are ready to take off," Scott told him.
"FAB, Scott, I'm opening the frequency now," Alan told his eldest brother, who, like him desperately wanted the criminals brought to justice for what they had done to their grandmother.
On the ground below the thieves were getting desperate to get away. Ted had jumped when Thunderbird One had swooped down but put it down to a low flying aircraft on route to Rouen. Pemberton was not entirely convinced, "I don't trust them. I won't be happy until we leave here," he said. "Are you sure the pilot can take off in this fog, Tom?"
"Piece of cake for him, quit worrying. He's got radar hasn't he?" Tom replied as he watched the last two boxes being loaded. "Pity about those other two boxes left in the boat, come on let's get in the plane."
Jane was the last person to board the plane and just as she did, the police arrived on the scene at the same time as Thunderbird Two. Virgil set the huge craft down in an adjacent field. Seeing they were surrounded, the criminals made a hasty attempt to launch the plane.
"They're on to us! Get going now!" Pemberton yelled to the pilot.
"This has been a disaster from the start," Jane complained as the plane taxied across the bumpy ground. "We should never have done that mansion, we'd enough without that. We could've been away home and dry now."
Scott had suspected they might try to get away and had been circling the area again, not wanting to let the thieves know they had been discovered. He quickly descended and fired a missile from Thunderbird One that caused damage to the tail of the plane, right where he intended to hit. That way the thieves would not be hurt and the boxes of antiques damaged. The damaged plane was unable to rise and take off and slid to a halt. Scott set Thunderbird One down in the field next to Thunderbird Two and quickly left the craft to join his brother, Lady Penelope and Parker to help round up the gang.
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The farmer opened his door for the third time that evening to admit visitors to his home. John spoke in fluent French and introduced himself and his father and younger brother, telling him why they were there.
The farmer promptly showed them into his home and Jeff saw his mother. To his relief she appeared unhurt but looked very tired after her ordeal. He quickly went over to her and hugged her to him and kissed her. She returned the embrace and hugged him to her as though her life depended on it. She kissed his cheek and he finally spoke to her, "Are you okay Mother, you're not hurt are you?" he asked.
"I'm just fine, son, and even better now you're here," she replied. "Just wish I could see you properly but I lost my spectacles."
"I have them here, Mom," he told her as he broke from her embrace to retrieve them from his pocket. "Penny brought them along with her and gave them to me."
She slipped them on to her nose and smiled, "That's better, now I can see everybody," she said and looking around she saw John waiting to greet her after his father. She saw Gordon, too, but knew that as he was wearing his uniform she had to keep her relationship to him a secret which pained her. She wanted to hug all her family again she was so happy.
"Here's someone else that's pleased to see you," Jeff told her and beckoned John over to his grandmother. The two of them embraced and John told her, "I'm just so pleased you're okay, Grandma, I've been so worried about you."
Ruth stroked his blonde hair, "Well I'm pleased to see you, too, darling and can't wait to see all the family again."
She gave him another hug and stood up. Security or no security she was going to get around that problem somehow. "I guess I have somebody else to thank for bringing you two to me," she said as she gazed on her red haired grandson looking so smart in the uniform she'd made for him. By his expression, he was feeling left out of things but was doing his best to keep his father's rules intact. "Come here young man and let me thank you. You boys from International Rescue do such a good job."
Gordon walked over and was given a huge hug and a kiss too, which he briefly returned and tried to make it look as casual as he could. Smiling, he gave her a gracious bow and said, "All part of the service Ma'am, we aim to please. I'm sure my buddies will tell you the same when you meet them later. We will, of course be taking you and your son and the other man back to England and to the home where you were staying."
"Oh my, I'll look forward to that," Ruth smiled as she told him. "Not many people my age get to fly in a Thunderbird. The other man is my grandson, dear."
"He is? Oh yeah, I forgot he called you 'Grandma' didn't he?" Gordon answered smiling at John, who was, along with Jeff, fascinated by the acting skills of both of them.
They were interrupted by the farmer's wife serving coffee for her guests along with some home made French pastries which looked very tempting.
The police may want to ask your mother if she wants to press charges for kidnap and threatened assault," Charles Leroux whispered to Jeff when he managed to get a quiet word with him.
"I want them jailed for everything the law can get on them," Jeff replied. He looked fondly at his mother who was busy asking the farmer's daughter to let her have the recipe for the pastries they were all enjoying. His two sons even more so, he realized Gordon hadn't had the chance to make breakfast for everybody before they came here, no wonder he was so hungry. Jeff felt hungry himself and took another piece.
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All seven criminals had been arrested and were securely locked up in the police cars. Scott and Virgil stood with Lady Penelope and Parker beside the damaged plane while the rest of the police were unloading the boxes of stolen antiques. Parker ran the scanner over them and the items belonging to his employer registered with a loud bleeping noise coming from two boxes. "Those will be mine in there, Officer," Lady Penelope told him. "I do hope they haven't damaged my mantel clock. It's a family heirloom and over three hundred years old."
"I'm sorry, Madam, but you won't be able to take them back with you," the policeman told her. "They will be used as evidence along with all the rest. As soon as they are photographed we will see that all items are returned to their rightful owners."
"Oh, of course, how tiresome. Please take care of my things for me. Will it help if my chauffeur marks my boxes with my name?" she asked. "It will save you having to sort everything out to return each item to its own home."
"I'm sure my superiors will have no objections to that, Madam," the policeman replied. "It will be a big help later."
"Well I guess we can't do anything more here," Scott said after most of the policemen had gone. "Come on let's go and meet Grandma. I'm pleased she's okay after all of this."
"Me, too. Dad, Gordon and John will have met up with her by now," Virgil replied.
"You got any food in there, Virg? I'm starving," Scott asked as they all began to walk back to the waiting Thunderbirds.
"Might have, I'm not sure," Virgil replied, "Take a look and see."
"Never mind, Scott, when we all get back to my home we will all have something to eat and I insist you all stay overnight, too." Lady Penelope told him.
When they got to Thunderbird Two, Virgil turned and looked as the police cars drove away with their cargo of crooks and stolen goods. "I hope they find the Mr. Big in all of this. He must have funded it all. They were going to sell everything on once they got to where they were going," he said. "More stolen works of art may get returned to their owners if they do"
"Right now, Virg, I just want to see our stolen treasure," Scott told him. "After I grab something to eat on the way there."
Scott went to the living quarters of Thunderbird Two while the others went up to the flight deck. He opened a storage container and to his surprise found it contained two of his stolen chocolate muffins. Smiling to himself, he walked to Thunderbird One with the container, thinking, 'Looks like I got my stolen goods back, too, Virg.'
A few minutes later the sound of the two Thunderbirds could be heard above the farm house and four more unexpected guests were shown into the large room inside. Once again Ruth was greeted this time by Lady Penelope who was so thankful to see her alive and apparently unhurt. Parker expressed his pleasure of seeing her again, too. Scott was longing to hug his grandmother after seeing her held hostage at knifepoint, he was the only family member who knew about that. Virgil's feelings were similar to the rest of the family, in that he wanted to hug her, too. It was Ruth though that solved the problem as before with security. She looked at her two grandsons and smiled at them. "Let me thank you other two boys from International Rescue for all you have done for me," she hugged and kissed both Scott and Virgil in turn.
Gordon watched as his brothers faces both tried to remain composed and said to them, "I told Mrs Tracy it's all part of the service we do, isn't it, guys?"
"Yeah and those crooks will be spending a long time behind bars," Scott said. "I don't think they'll be trying that little stunt again."
Jeff stood up and said, "I think it's getting late and we ought to be leaving now. You must be tired, too, Mother."
After Ruth and everyone else thanked her host and hostess along with their daughter, they left to go out into the very late evening air. The police had obtained a statement from Ruth concerning the whole incident. She had been spared the usual trip to the precinct to do this because of her age and the trauma she had already suffered. Instead a detective and a police doctor had come out to her.
Once the statement was received and she had been examined and declared unhurt, they left the scene. The doctor gave her a mild sedative to take before going to bed in order to help her sleep better, after Ruth insisted that she wanted to go back with her family and friends. The police had received a report that the people responsible had been arrested and they went to interview them.
Charles Leroux was thanked by all of the Tracy clan present and Lady Penelope. Jeff shook hands with him as he left to get into his car. "Thanks again for everything, Charles," he told him. The French agent smiled and said, "It's all part of the service, Monsieur, so I hear."
They stood and waved him off as the limousine drove away out of sight. "He's a good man, Penny, I'm pleased you recommended him to me to take on as an agent," Jeff told her.
"Yes, he's certainly one of the best in our line of business. He worked with me on a number of occasions," Lady Penelope replied. "Come on let's go home, I'm sure everybody is tired and hungry."
"I am for sure," Gordon answered.
"You know, Dad," John began as they began walking towards the two Thunderbirds, "I think Gordon's in the wrong business. He could have won an Academy Award for his performance in there earlier."
"He wasn't the only one, son, "Jeff said as he took his mother's arm. "I know where he inherited it from."
He hugged his mother close to him again as they reached Thunderbird Two.
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The journey back to Foxleyheath didn't take as long as it had for those who had travelled to France earlier. It was, thankfully, dark and still foggy so the two Thunderbird machines could land virtually unseen in the part of her huge estate in that Lady Penelope described as her 'wild life garden reserve' where the old croquet lawn had been allowed to grow wild next to the ruins of the stone curtain wall of the old castle.
Once all of the passengers were out of Thunderbird Two, the four Tracy brothers covered both crafts with green camouflage covers before going into the mansion to get something to eat and drink before going to bed. Lily had been informed of their imminent return and had provided hot soup and sandwiches for everybody which was most welcoming. Before going to bed though Ruth asked Jeff and Lady Penelope, "Can I ask you both a special favour? I would like to see Alan and let him know I'm fine and tell the others on the island also."
"Why certainly, we'll let you do that," Lady Penelope told her. "We can go to my study, you can talk to them all in there."
"Alan did well," Scott told her. "He kept us informed of where you were all the time."
"Good job Brains invented those edible transmitters," Jeff said, "They have been tried and tested now alright."
Lady Penelope showed Ruth to her study where she had similar video links to the ones on Tracy Island but on a smaller scale. Instead of portraits of the five Tracy brothers, there were five pictures of items associated with their hobbies. Scott's was a jet plane, Virgil a piano. John's was a picture of earth from space. Gordon had a leaping dolphin and Alan a racing car. A sixth picture of Tracy Island was Jeff's, a landscape of palm trees, sand and sea. Anybody that came in would think the pictures were nothing other than what they showed. She pressed a button on her desk and the racing car was replaced by the face of Alan. "Hello Alan," Lady Penelope began, "I have somebody here that wishes to speak to you."
Ruth stood looking at the face of her youngest grandson. "Grandma!" he exclaimed, "Gee it's so good to see you, are you okay?"
"I'm fine sweetie, thanks to you," she smiled back at him and longed to hold him as she had the others. "We've just got back here and I'll be going to bed soon but I wanted to see you before I did."
"Scott said they got the bad guys, Grandma, I sure hope they lock them up well for a long time for what they did to you, and to Penny's things," he told her.
"I'm sure they will be darling. I'll have to go now because it's very late here and we're all tired. I'm just going to speak to Tin Tin and the others on the island first. Goodnight Alan."
"Okay, enjoy the rest of your stay, Grandma, goodnight," he answered. Then the image changed to a racing car again as the link was cut.
Later Jeff accompanied his mother up to her room as though he was scared to let her out of his sight again. When they reached her bedroom door she gave him a hug and stroked his cheek. "Don't worry, son, I'll be fine. I just want to go to bed and get some sleep now. You and the boys do the same. You must all be tired, too."
He kissed her and said, "Okay, Mom, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow."
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Scott came out of the en suite bathroom into the room he was sharing with John for the night. John was standing looking out of the open window at the groups of stars that were appearing in the sky. The clouds were finally breaking after the miserable weather throughout the day. John looked at the great square of the constellation of Pegasus, with the stars of the Andromeda galaxy twinkling faintly in the top left corner. He thought back to his visit to Steve's home and family. Little Darren was probably tucked up in bed now unaware that the winged horse was just above him. So absorbed was he in his thoughts, he never heard Scott come in.
"Come on, John, don't you get enough of seeing stars?" Scott asked him as he went towards his own bed to get in. "It's late and we're both tired after everything that's happened today."
"Sorry, Scott, I was just thinking," he said as he closed the window and faced his brother.
He sat down on his own bed and put his head in his hands. "You know Grandma could've been killed, Scott. Then how could I ever face any of you guys again, or Dad? I suppose I would have to stay up in Five for months at a time and get leave away from the island now and again. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself though wherever I was."
Scott was over to his younger brother in an instant and sat down beside him putting his arm around his shoulders, he pulled him to him. "Johnny, you've been told you're not to blame for what happened. Stop tearing yourself apart like this." Scott too had the vision of the knife being held at his grandmother's throat in his mind and knew how very easily she might just have been killed. "She's fine Johnny and probably asleep now. What's more, if she knew you thought this way she would be upset, too. I've never heard her or Dad say anything about your not being there when she was abducted and being to blame. I told Dad where you were and he just accepted it. Come on, this is Grandma we're talking about. She's an adult not a little child that has to be babysat at all times. We all thought she would be safe here with Penelope and her security gadgets that put Fort Knox to shame. They just managed to beat the system that's all, in an unusual way. Just be grateful they had a sense of decency and left her safe and well."
"It's just that it was such a good trip, Scott," he told his brother still leaning his head on Scott's chest. "I enjoyed it because it was like old times before we started International Rescue. The two days I had there were the best I've had for ages. Then I come back to everything that happened here. Nothing happened when Grandma went with Virgil to Philadelphia when he went to that art exhibition and she visited some friends did it? Or when you and Dad went to New York with her to give her a break while you both had a business meeting? It seems I can't be as lucky as that."
"Johnny, you're tired and not thinking straight," Scott told him. "If you were you would have remembered what happened to her and Alan on the bridge over the San Miguel River. Did anybody hold Alan and his racing car hobby to blame for it? I don't think so, little brother. Now come on and get some sleep. Besides don't you threaten to have Alan and Gordon together on the island for months at a time. I might be the one to leave if they were. Those kids drive everybody nuts at times after only a few days together."
John sat up and looked into the dark blue eyes of his brother. "Okay, Scott, I guess I am a bit tired. Thanks for listening."
"That's what I'm here for, Johnny," he smiled and gave his brother a huge hug. "Virg isn't too happy at being left with Gordo but I'm sure he'll get over it. Tomorrow you can tell me all about your trip."
John smiled and thought what a lucky escape he had there by not sharing a room with his red-haired brother, "I guess I have two reasons to be glad of your company then. Goodnight, Scott."
"Goodnight, John," Scott replied as he got up to go back to his own bed. He was pleased he followed his instincts by offering to share with John, in spite of Virgil's protests at being left with Gordon, who everybody knew, was a noisy sleeper and an early riser. Virgil was neither. He hated being woken too soon from his sleep if his energetic younger brother decided to get up early then sing loudly in the shower, to some ghastly pop song blaring from the radio. Scott knew John well enough to know that he would still be blaming himself for what had happened to their grandmother and would want to talk about it.
Ruth had felt too tired to have a shower, so after settling for a quick wash she changed and sat on her bed for a few minutes just trying to relax and be thankful she was here in familiar surroundings. The sedative was taking effect now. She looked around the room, her eyes falling on the portrait of Lady Ann Kerr-Doulton again in her elegant yellow silk dress and wondered what life was like here when she was alive. Did she live here in this house and was this her bedroom? 'I'll have to ask Lady Penelope about her,' she thought as she got into bed. She lay awake for a few more minutes clasping her silver locket, and telling Grant how thankful she was that she was safe again and she was not going to let what happened spoil the rest of her visit, she wanted to see some more of London and that is what she was going to do. After offering a thankful prayer, she finally fell into a deep sleep.