Chapter 4: Sparks

"Alan, tell Gordon he needs to get in the pod and get the Fire Truck ready."

Alan sighed at Virgil's request. He was heartily sick and tired of being piggy-in-the-middle between Virgil and Gordon. The three of them were in Thunderbird 2's cockpit, nearing the danger zone. Gordon could hear what Virgil was saying perfectly well so Alan merely turned to Gordon and raised his eyebrows. Gordon was also heartily sick and tired of the fact that Virgil seemed to have lost his sense of humour. He got to his feet and started to leave the cockpit. As he did, he voiced his own opinion.

"Alan, tell Virgil that he can stick a nitro shell up…"

Alan was already on his feet and hustling Gordon out through the door.

"I'll go help Gordon," he said loudly over his shoulder to Virgil, covering up the end of Gordon's sentence. Heading towards the pod, Gordon angrily shook Alan's hands off him.

……………………………………………………………

International Rescue had been called to a power station in central England. The power station used co-firing of biomass to generate 3,500 mega watts of electricity. A military aircraft from a nearby RAF air-base had got into difficulties soon after take-off and crashed into the central turbine area of the plant. The turbine was housed in a strongly reinforced concrete building that was built to withstand a light aircraft ploughing into it. Unfortunately, it couldn't withstand a C-30 Globemaster transporter loaded with explosives heading for a destination that the British Government wasn't about to disclose anytime in the next 30 years.

Loss of life had begun from the outset. The two pilots had left their ejection from their plane too late as they wrestled with the controls to steer it away from the power station. There had been several plant employees, working in the vicinity of the turbines, who had also perished at the time of the crash.

However, there had been some staff working near the generator and condenser, and the rescue efforts needed to be directed towards them as these people were now trapped by fires or collapsed buildings and equipment.

While on-site emergency services were able to make the machinery safe, International Rescue's efforts were aimed at the rescue of the trapped men and women. Scott set up Mobile Control and began to manage his team and equipment. He wasted valuable time ensuring that Virgil and Gordon both worked alone or with Alan rather than each other and cursed himself for not addressing the situation sooner. He felt that both of them were too professional to carry their grievances into a rescue but, on the other hand, he had an inbuilt need to minimise risks and there were enough sparks flying around the danger zone without his brothers adding to them.

International Rescue carried out their part of the rescue speedily and efficiently. Everything went to plan, which made a nice change, and Virgil was pleased when he finally returned the Mole to the Pod. He walked back down the ramp and was about to call up Scott to find out if he had finished for the day when a flash of blue and orange caught his eye. He saw Gordon heading in his direction on foot. Gordon had been working with Alan using the Fire Tender and was presumably looking to get a supplementary piece of equipment out of the pod.

Virgil watched Gordon thoughtfully. There was nothing like a rescue to put things into perspective. Perhaps he should proffer the olive branch of peace? Perhaps not. He was still pondering this point when an earth-shattering bang blasted his ear drums. Virgil watched in horror as a small outbuilding exploded just as Gordon was walking past. The force of the blast lifted Gordon into the air and flung him to the ground several metres away. Debris rained down on him.

"NO!" Virgil didn't recognise his own voice as the scream was wrenched from his throat. He stood shocked and transfixed for a moment. Then his legs began to move and he ran full pelt towards the inert form of Gordon. He skidded to a halt next to his brother and dropped to his knees.

"Gordon, Gordon, are you okay? Gordon?" There was no reply, no movement. Virgil thumped his wrist comm into action.

"Scott, get an ambulance to the pod. Gordon's been hurt." Scott gave an acknowledgment which Virgil scarcely heard. He looked at Gordon, hating the stillness in his usually active brother. First aid! He had to check Gordon over. He did this to people on rescues all the time. Why was it suddenly so hard to remember what to do? Breathing? Yep. Pulse? Weak but steady, good. Anything obviously bleeding? A piece of debris had managed to have a fair impact on the side of Gordon's head and it was bleeding profusely. Virgil pulled off his sash and managed to fashion a sort of pressure bandage to stem the flow of blood. Anything broken? Gordon's left arm looked to be at a bit of an odd angle. What about his back? What if his back was injured again? Unable to think of anything else to do, apart from worry, Virgil sat back and waited for the ambulance