Chapter Twelve: Back in the Hunt

"Hello father. I was beginning to wonder if I'd hear from you."

"I'm surprised that you noticed. I hear that you've been quite busy yourself."

"Oh, sure. But nothing we couldn't handle." Scott sat back in the chair as he talked to his father. "So how are things going in New York?"

"Interesting," Jeff replied. "First things first, the lady is not your mother."

"You found her?" Scott sounded astonished.

"Yes."

"So who is she then?"

"Natasha Morgan-Evans, as her AIDD profile stated."

"But Dad… I saw the printout. For all intents and purposes, she was Mom. You were right in that respect."

"I know, Scott. But once she started talking, I knew that she wasn't. I was going to come home."

"But?" Scott was relieved that his father had seen sense over at least one issue, however he knew that there was something else coming.

"Lady Penelope believes that there is something here worth looking into. So do I now. I'll be staying in New York for a while longer," Jeff said.

"How much longer?"

"I'm not sure. Our information so far suggests that we may be travelling to Florida at some point."

"Florida? What exactly do you think you've uncovered?"

"We don't know."

"Sounds like you've still got a long way to go then."

"Yes. We're about to contact Parker and go and see Natasha again."

"Is there anything I can do this end?"

"Not yet, Scott. This is still my investigation. I don't wish for any of you to be dragged into things," Jeff said, adamantly.

"Okay Dad. But don't hesitate to give us a shout if you change your mind."

"Will do, son."

"Well, I guess I'll let you get on with things," Scott said. Jeff nodded.

"I'll be in touch," he said and then ended the communication. He went to the door of his room to go and collect Penelope, but she got to him first.

"What's the matter?" he asked, noticing that she looked unusually perturbed.

"I can't make contact with Parker," she said.

Back on Tracy Island, Scott was mulling over the latest turn of events. He hadn't really had the time to think too much about his father over the past twenty four hours, with the latest major rescue requiring his attention. All was quiet at the moment however, including the Tracy household. Alan and Tin-Tin had taken a trip to the mainland – for shopping, they claimed – whilst Gordon was doing a spot of diving. Virgil was doing some routine maintenance on his beloved Thunderbird Two along with Brains. Grandma and Kyrano were probably out fussing over the gardens. Scott was glad to see his grandmother occupied with some task rather than sitting fretting over her only precious son. He knew that part of her worry had been quelled when she found out that Lady Penelope was at Jeff's side. He went and dug out the AIDD printout from a locked box in his bedroom. He was relieved in more ways than one at the news that this woman was definitely not his mother. Although his father was clearly determined to get to the bottom of things, at least he was chasing a more straightforward mystery and not a ghost.

Also, Scott hadn't really been sure how he himself would react if suddenly confronted with his dead mother. He knew of course how her death had affected his father. But having had a little time to dwell on the matter himself, Scott was also drawn back to some long-buried feelings and memories. He remembered running from the room after his father had told him the news, wanting to get away from everyone. His initial reaction had been anger. How could his mother be so selfish as to leave them all? Why did she die whilst Gordon and Alan escaped relatively unscathed from the accident? Most of the anger was his own sense of guilt – all he had been interested in was getting to his baseball game that morning, rather than paying her any attention. And of course he then also felt guilty for feeling angry at her, therefore entering a vicious circle that took him some time to escape from. He supposed that that was one of the reasons he threw himself into helping out with his younger brothers. As the eldest, he'd always been expected to help his parents. He was also a natural leader. Yet he had sensed the almost immediate change in his father, and intuitively felt that it would be best if he could keep his brothers out of their father's way. At the end of the day, it had been something that he hadn't minded – and still didn't. He looked at the printout once more before placing it back in his box and wondered for how much longer he would have to keep the true nature of his father's trip from John, Gordon and Alan.

Penelope sat at the wheel of FAB1, trying every frequency that could possibly be generated from the equipment in the car. There was still no response from Parker. Jeff joined her in the front passenger seat.

"I take it that you're still unable to get through?"

"Yes. I've tried everything that I can think of," Penelope replied. She pulled at her seatbelt and Jeff did the same thing with his.

"I'm sure that he's all right," Jeff said. "It's probably just a malfunction."

"A malfunction with all of his communication devices?" Penelope retorted, a little incredulously. She took a small breath and returned to her usual mask of coolness.

"You are right, Jeff. I'm sure that Parker is just fine. He is more than capable of taking care of himself," she said, though Jeff couldn't help but think that she was telling that to herself as much as him. He did not comment on it though. She would not welcome an overload of sympathetic reassurances any more than he would.

"How far away is Natasha's apartment?"

"About forty-five minutes," Penelope replied. She started the Rolls Royce up and eased it into the traffic on the main road outside the hotel. Jeff offered to keep trying to contact Parker whilst Penelope drove. The attempts were unsuccessful right up to when they pulled up in front of Natasha's apartment building.

"We'll go to her apartment first," Penelope said. She checked to see that her small handgun was safe in her handbag. After securing the Rolls, she and Jeff made their way into the building. Cautiously, Jeff knocked on Natasha's door. He pressed his ear to the door, but could hear nothing. He looked at Penelope.

"I'll try the handle," she said, having already pulled on a pair of black leather gloves. The door opened. Penelope readied her handgun and the two stepped carefully into the apartment. It was empty. Jeff closed the door as Penelope began hunting for clues. The first thing to catch her eye was a crushed digiphone. She picked it up.

"Oh Parker," she sighed. "I told you to contact me if there was trouble." She looked at Jeff. "I don't see any signs of a struggle, but obviously Parker felt inclined to act quickly on something."

"There must be something here that will lead us to both Natasha and Parker. We must assume that they are together," Jeff said. Penelope nodded.

"You search in here, and I'll look in the bedroom," she said. Jeff began looking though a small pile of papers on top of a desk. There was nothing of interest there. Penelope did not have much more luck in the bedroom. She moved to the bathroom. Again, the possessions were neat but sparse. She glanced over at the toothbrush in its holder, and had an idea. She pulled out one of her supply of little evidence bags that she carried around and popped the toothbrush inside. Then she put it away securely in her handbag and went back to see Jeff.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"No. There's nothing. Even her social security number seems to be non existent," Jeff replied. He looked around the apartment. "She doesn't seem to keep much of anything."

"I'd agree," Penelope said. "She's been very well trained to cover her tracks."

"Do you think that she kidnapped Parker?" Jeff asked.

"I would doubt that, Jeff," Penelope replied. "No, there are greater powers at work here. I think that we may be forced to ask other people for help."

"Such as?" Jeff wasn't sure if he liked that suggestion, but now that Parker appeared to be in danger he knew that this matter wasn't just about himself any more.

"I have my contacts," Penelope said. "Don't you have someone covering this area?"

"I do, but I'm not sure if they'd be suitable for this. He's more of an engineer than an investigative agent."

"He surely must have more qualities about him than simply being an engineer," Penelope replied. "Look at your hillbilly friend. His style might not have been conventional, but it was effective."

"Yes…well, Jeremiah is certainly unique," Jeff agreed. "Although I would say that you are not the conventional agent yourself." Penelope seemed a little cheered by this comment, for she smiled at him.

"Why, thank you, Jeff," she said. "Returning to the matter at hand, since you are reluctant to involve any more members of International Rescue, I shall start liaisoning with my contacts in the New York area."

"Do you know anyone down in Florida?"

"No, I don't," Penelope replied. "How about you?"

"Well, I suppose there are people at NASA and the World Space Agency," Jeff said, thoughtfully. "I still deal with some of them in regards to the aerospace side of Tracy Industries. I could set up a meeting with one of them under those pretences and see where I go from there."

"How high up can you go?"

"With the aerospace stuff, I can meet with fairly senior people."

"Perhaps if they heard that Jeff Tracy was coming in person for a visit, the top brass might be very interested," Penelope said.

"Perhaps," Jeff agreed. Penelope took a look around her.

"Well, I think that there is nothing more for us here," she said. She rummaged around in her handbag and produced a skeleton key.

"We'll lock up as we leave," she said. "You never know, we might have a reason to return. And it's only fair to Natasha to secure her home."

"Certainly," Jeff said. They left the apartment, closing the door quietly behind them and set off to begin the next part of their adventure.

In a dimly lit room that could have been anywhere on the planet, a figure lying in a corner stirred slightly at the sound of voices not too far away.