Lona was given no time to think. Before she realized fully what she was doing, she had broken into a full run towards her friend and adoptive brother. Knocking him forcefully out of the way, which caused a near scream of pain from him, she stumbled back as the bullet whizzed over her ducked head and shattered part of the rock wall behind her. Bits of stone pelted both her and Scott, but she barely noticed. Leaving his side, she was rushing the man who had almost taken him away from her. Two bodies collided, and all hell broke loose. Mullion was now holding a squirming body; it was all he could do to keep him under control. Jeff struck out with both elbows and feet at the men holding him. Slipping away, he was trying to figure out who to save first when a hand on his shoulder made him spin around instantly. Standing behind him was his second oldest son.
"Virgil!"
"I'm ok, dad. I played the classic rope trick when they were tying me up. I've been working at 'em while the Hood had his eyes on you. Sorry I wasn't more of a help…"
"You did great, Virgil. Go cut Scott down and I'll get Alan; then we'll help Lona."
The two central figures had no idea of the chaos around them. They were locked in a struggle that was mental as much as physical. Lona held onto his upper arms while he did the same to her. Both were using their body weight to keep the other person from the rest, but the Hood was-of course-playing dirty. His eyes were red as he gazed deep into her eyes, attempting to take control of her will. She, however, would have none of that. Her focus was on anything but his eyes, attempting to keep in control. Suddenly, she realized that he was maneuvering her while they were locked in this position where she would have to see his eyes. Knocking the Hood away from her, she tried to quickly bring her breathing down from the small, quick gasps she had been using. Soon he was upon her again, this time using his mental powers to throw her aside. Gritting her teeth, she climbed back to her feet and shoot her hand, palm up, into his chin. He went reeling back, shaking his head slightly to clear it from the hit. Back and forth this went, until Lona chanced a full look at her opponent. He had her. She felt her muscles relax on their own, while her body came to a stop in front of the evil man. A sinister smile slide momentarily onto his face before disappearing; he had her where he wanted her. Walking slowly up to her, he paused just out of arm reach to study his reclaimed prisoner.
"Miss Danvers, you have no idea how good it is to have you back." He took the one fatal step further. With a painful groan, her eyes snapped fully open and her body tensed instantly. Her right leg moved fast into a high kick that sent the Hood flying for several feet. She felt her legs seize and she came down hard on one knee. Breathing like she had run a marathon, Lona smiled tiredly. She had fought his control and won. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder; too tired to move her head, she allowed it to sink forward in a nod and promptly fell over. Distantly, she heard people she thought she knew talking, but answering or thinking would take far too much energy. Sleep was better.
Jeff surveyed the battlefield in the Bank of England vault. Most of the Hood's men had been lead away by London Bobbies, leaving only one or two more and the Hood himself. His eyes passed quickly over the prone figure who had yet to wake up from the injuries he had received with that last kick of Lona's. Jeff had made sure that none of his boys, nor himself were set to guard him. There was no telling what any of them might do.
The chief investigator walked back over to him. He sighed. The good news was that he had yet to recognize him as the owner of Tracy Industries; the bad was that he seemed to take deep delight in going over the chain of events every five minutes. He had not even had a chance to check on his own daughter. Virgil had come by and let him know she was still unconscious and that he would let him know when she woke up. Sighing again, he turned and began answering the same questions he had answered less then seven minutes before.
Scott leaned back in the seat of his Thunderbird and let out a huge sigh. He had been treated for the whip marks he had received at the hands of the Hood and now was finally able to go home. His father was beside him in the pilot seat, flying him and Lona back to base. Wincing slightly as he moved, he glanced behind him to where Lona sat, gazing silently out the window. She still had not spoken about what had happened. They had been forced to make all kinds of promises that they would send a written statement of what she saw and did before the police would allow them to leave. All, however, had agreed that whatever had happened, it was best to not force her to tell anything at the present time. The man in charge of England's prison system had personally met with the leader of International Rescue and swore that they would never allow this evil man to escape. You allowed him to escape last time, and look what happened! Scott knew he was tired if he was being so cynical. They would do their best, he knew, but it would not be enough. Having spent enough time in that man's presence for several lifetimes, he was firmly convinced no walls could hold him.
A sharp pain in his hands caused him to glance down. Slowly, he exhaled and attempted to open his tightly clenched fists. The muscles were spasming, he had held them so tight for so long. Scott risked another glimpse behind him at his sister. The darkened cockpit with its many lighted panels cast a dark shadow over her, as if she had pulled it around her to hide from the world. Scott was mad and confused after the Hood's attack, but much of this was caught up with the fact that his friend and now sister had been forced to face her deepest fears and doubts without any help or support. The Tracys had let her down in her time of greatest need.
Jeff allowed his eyes to wander from the view outside the cockpit to his eldest son beside him. Scott was slowly opening and closing his hands, as if to work out the tension that must have gathered in the muscles. What could he say to his son? What could he say to any of his children? They had been attacked and their lives threatened by this mad man once again. And Jeff knew this wasn't the end of it. The Hood would keep coming after his family; as long as they were International Rescue, as long as they had in their possession the amazing machines that were the envy of many. The Tracy family would never really be safe as long as the Hood was alive.
"Commander." Jeff made no move to turn around. His daughter addressing him as the head of International Rescue rather then as her father did not bode well.
"Lona. What can I do for you?"
"I think you should allow me to man THUNDERBIRD 5 this turn. John gets hardly any ground time and it's been awhile since he and Gordon got any time together. I've ran through the sims until I can recite them in my sleep." Jeff kept his back turned on Lona, pretending to be working on business while listening to her. In actuality, the father could do nothing but stare through the computer screen in front of him. It had been barely two weeks since the THUNDERBIRDS had limped back home from England. During that time, Lona had scarcely said two words together to anyone on the island. Even a visit from Penny had done nothing but earn the English woman a nod and a half-smile before Lona had retreated into her room. Nothing anyone could say or do had any effect on her; the distant Lona had returned and Jeff feared she was going to stay permanently this time. Jeff was fairly certain Lona was asking to take THUNDERBIRD 5 duty to escape everything for awhile. Still, Jeff had to concede that it would be good to give John more earth time and more time with all his brothers. Perhaps duty up in the space station was what Lona needed to deal with the emotional and psychological fall out from the latest incident.
"Ok. Tomorrow I'll send Scott and John up with you. John can get you settled in and everything for the month you'll be up there. Check with him, Gordon, and Onaha to make sure the station has everything you'll need." Lona nodded, which of course Jeff could not see, and walked silently out of the room. When the echoes of her footsteps had fallen silent, the dark head fell into the waiting hands. Jeff was not sure if he had done the best thing, but he dearly hoped he had not done the worst thing.
Scott, John, and Lona sat silently in the cockpit of THUNDERBIRD 3 as it rose stately through the upper atmosphere and towards the orbiting satellite hanging serenely above the world. Ever watchful, the station's position allowed it to see everything concerning the welfare of the plant and monitor all its communications. For an entire month, Lona would remain alone and monitor all the radio transmissions from around the world. With the sophisticated equipment Brains had installed, all transmissions were automatically translated into English for the family members (all but John-who spoke three or four languages fluently) who had barely passed Spanish in high school. Finally, John could not take the laden silence anymore.
"Lona, did you remember to bring…"
"Yes."
"Did you try…"
"Yes."
"Did…"
"Yes, DAD! I remembered to pack my socks and underwear." She smiled weakly as her brothers' faces turned red with embarrassment. "I'm fine, ok? I know you don't want to trust your 'bird to anyone else, but believe me when I say I'll take good care of her."
John smiled. "I know you will. Otherwise I'd go up and stand over your shoulder the entire time." Lona shuddered as she remembered the many times the Tracy boys had tormented her by standing right behind her and gazing over her shoulder at whatever she was reading or doing.
"You do and they won't find the corpse!" Her eyes sparked with fire, but the small grin on her face gave it away.
Soon they arrived at the floating station. Stowing the newest member's gear, John took her on a quick tour of the workstation, as well as the galley and the entertainment area. Lona was pleased to find that because of the long periods the Tracys had to spend up on the station, the DVDs and library were extensive. She would not be bored in between disasters.
All too soon, it was time for the two boys to leave. With all four up at the station, as she was reliving Gordon from his duty; if there was a rescue, International Rescue would be very short staffed. John gave his sister a quick hug and smiled at her.
"I'll give a call later today to make sure you've settled in ok." Lona nodded. She knew an attempt to argue with him would only be a waste of breath, so it was better to just agree. Hopefully, it would just be a quick check in. Then John climbed through the airlock, leaving her alone with Scott. Lona had been avoiding him since the incident at the Bank of England, and was not anxious to be here now. She knew both Scott and Jeff had been watching her since the Bank of England affair. Whether they thought she would leave or something even more drastic, she was not sure. It was however, most annoying. All she wanted was to be left alone. That was what was best for her right now. With so much insecurity and fear flooding her mind, she hoped the peace and quiet of space would be what she needed to clear her mind and try to-again-rebuild her life.
"Lona, are you sure you're going to be ok?" Lona grimaced slightly, but since she was gazing out of a porthole, he could see nothing. Without taking her eyes off the awesome beauty in front of her, she gave him a curt nod of the head.
"Yes, Scott. I'll be fine. I'm not totally useless."
"I never said that."
"No, none of you have. But I spent most of last year being just that. Well, at least now I'm earning my keep."
"Lona, this has nothing to do with being useful or earning your keep." Scott was beginning to become frustrated and was not completely sure why. If he thought for a moment Lona was actually goading him… "We're worried about you, that's all. We…" Scott was interrupted by Lona twisting around and piercing him with the harshest gaze he had ever seen. He had seen Lona angry many times, but never, he realized, at him. He took a cautious step back. "Lona…"
"I'm not going to f---ing break, Scott! God! You treat me like I'm about to break! Get back to your island and let me make my small contribution to the great International Rescue. Or am I not trustworthy anymore? What am I? Do you guys think I'm some mental case? I've always been strong, why should now be any different? …Just…go, Scott. I've got work to do." As those final words rang dully yet solidly in the airlock, Scott nodded at the turned back and pushed the button the close the safety doors.
Lost in a haze of disbelief and hurt, Scott settled in the copilot seat and stared unseeing at the controls in front of him. He must have answered John and completed his tasks, because soon they were heading back to the earth-bound base. But Scott knew none of this. All he saw was Lona's angry visage and heard her last full phrase.
"I've always been strong, why should now be any different?" Scott was not sure if the question had truly been directed at him, or if she had unknowingly asked herself the one question she was desperate to answer.