DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimer applies. We don't own the Thunderbirds. Neither are we making any money off this endeavor.

Chapter 4 – THE RESCUE

Six hours later, Jeff woke up when his watch started vibrating. He wanted to jump for joy, but he held it in check. This could be a trick of Franklin's.

Quietly he keyed his watch and said. "This is the Commander."

Gordon's unmistakable voice came back to him. "Da…uhm…Commander, what is the situation?"

Ignoring the question, Jeff asked one of his own. "Where are you? Obviously Brains got the RAC working. Is he with you?"

"Yes, he is here with me. We are in a helijet about two miles from your location." Gordon answered.

Scott woke up to his dad's voice and saw him talking into his watch. Sitting up Scott asked, "Is that…" He stopped when Jeff held up his hand.

"OK Gordon, I need you to do a fly by and scan the building. We need to know how many people we are up against and where they are." Jeff commanded.

"F-A-B, I'll get back to you with the information." Gordon replied.

Jeff turned to Scott with a small smile on his face. "They're here, and when Gordon gets back to us with the information, we can formulate a plan."

"I'll wake the others." Scott said.

"Just Virgil." Jeff told him. "Let John sleep as much as he can. He'll need all his strength later."

"OK sure," Scott said turning to where Virgil slept in the recliner. He tapped Virgil's shoulder. "Hey Virg, wake up. The cavalry is here."

"Huh, what?" Virgil said trying to wake up.

"Gordon and Brains, they're here." Scott repeated.

"They're here? Where?" Virgil asked sitting up straight.

Right at that moment, the sound of a helijet flying overhead met their ears. As the sound faded, Scott grinned at Virgil. "That was them. They are doing a reconnaissance scan. We should be hearing from them soon. Once we know what we are up against, we can devise a plan."

Glancing over to the bed, Virgil asked. "How is John?"

"He's still sleeping." Jeff said, joining the conversation. "I want to let him sleep until we need him."

Jeff felt his watch vibrate. He was grateful that Gordon was using the silent mode of communication instead of taking the chance of someone overhearing his beeping watch. Not willing to take the chance that Franklin broke their communication code, he answered. "This is the Commander."

"Uh…yeah…" came Gordon's voice, causing the three Tracys to smile. "I have the intel that you requested. The building that you are in is a typical one-story warehouse. It has two offices on the south side of the building, and there is another room in the northeast corner of the building. I think that's where you're at. It's the only room that I registered four people in. So if you are all together then that has to be you. Please tell me that you are all together." Gordon's voice had a hint of desperation in it when he asked that question.

"Yes Gordon, we are all together." Jeff told his son. "How's the rest looking?"

"OK, there are four guards outside. Each one seems to be patrolling one side of the building. In one of the offices, there are three people, and in the main area of the warehouse, there are another six people." Gordon reported.

"OK, good work Gordon." Jeff said. "Now what kind of armament did you bring?"

"We brought standard riot control gear." Gordon said. "We have a dozen knock-out grenades, gas masks for us, four tranq guns with six injections each, and of course for last resort, our standard issue revolvers with spare cartridges."

"OK this is the plan." Jeff began. "Gordon, this plan is going to be basically up to you and Brains. It's actually pretty simple. First, you need to take out the four outside guards with the tranq guns. Then using the knock-out grenades, take out the people on the inside. Then get us out of here. The element of surprise is important, so be as quiet as you can."

"That sounds simple enough." Gordon said.

"There is one more thing, Gordon." Jeff continued. "We don't know how the ventilation system is in this building. There is the possibility that the gas will get into this room and we will also be knocked out."

"That's OK. We'll get you out. I'll carry you if I have to." Gordon interrupted.

"I never doubted that, Gordon." Jeff said, smiling slightly at his son's tenacity. "But if we are unconscious there is one more thing that you have to do." Stopping for a moment, Jeff took a deep breath. He gathered his thoughts on how to break the news about John to Gordon. He hated to burden Gordon even more since so much was already riding on his shoulders. "This mad-man Franklin has poisoned John."

"What? Poisoned?" Gordon said interrupting his dad. "Is he alive? Oh my God, what poison did he use?"

"Gordon calm down and listen to me." Jeff ordered. "John is still alive. The poison used was some kind of slow acting poison that Franklin developed himself. He also developed an antidote that he had with him the last time he was in here. If we are rendered unconscious, you MUST find Franklin and get the antidote from him."

"I'll get it." Gordon said in a quiet yet determined voice. "I need to know what Franklin looks like, though."

"OK, Franklin is about 6 feet tall. Weight is probably around 240 to 250 pounds. He has dark brown hair, with a little gray at his temples, and he has a bald spot on the back of his head. He is clean shaven and has green eyes. The last time that we saw him, he was wearing a dark blue suit. I would guess that he is probably one of the three in the office." Jeff paused for a moment. "Gordon, I know that we are putting a lot on your shoulders with this rescue. Please be careful. We are counting on you. I know that you can do it."

Gordon was feeling self-conscious. He knew that his family's lives, especially John's, rested on his shoulders. "OK, I spotted a clearing about two and a half miles from your location. That's where I will set down the helijet. We will get there as quickly as we can. A lot of it will depend on the terrain."

"Do your best Gordon." Jeff told him. "We'll be waiting."

"F-A-B, we'll be seeing you soon." Gordon replied while cutting the radio link.

Turning to his other sons, Jeff said. "OK, we need to be prepared in case things go wrong. If that happens, I'm sure Franklin will be coming in here. After all, we are his 'aces in the hole'. Once that door opens, we will need to engage them immediately in hand-to-hand combat. We need to disarm as many guards as we can. We can use their weapons ourselves IF we have to. Understand?"

Scott and Virgil both nodded their heads, so Jeff continued. "OK, take up positions at the door. Stay alert for any sound that they are on to our plan. I'm going to wake up John."

Scott and Virgil followed their father's instruction while Jeff knelt down next to the bed. "John, it's time to wake up. John?" Jeff said. He saw John's eyelids fluttered but did not open. Jeff placed his hand on John's shoulder and gently shook him. "Come on John, wake up." Jeff pulled his hand back when John let out a painful moan.

John slowly opened his eyes. His first waking thought was, "God, I hurt all over."

Jeff saw John open his pain-filled eyes. He could see that his son's eyes were staring straight ahead, unfocused. "John, can you hear me? Are you with us? How are you feeling?"

John focused on his Dad's face. Clearing his throat, he said. "I…uhm…I really hurt. It feels like I've been beaten all over."

"Well, it shouldn't be much longer." Jeff told him. "We've heard from Gordon. He and Brains should be here shortly to affect a rescue."

"That's good to hear." John said as he tried to sit up. He fell back against the pillow with a groan.

"John!" Jeff said with alarm.

"I'm…OK…I'm…OK." John said, but his rapid breathing belied that statement. Between breaths he continued. "I…think…I…need…some…help…up."

Jeff helped John get into a sitting position at the edge of the bed. John tried to fight against the pain, but he couldn't stop the whimpers that escaped his lips. The three other Tracys grimaced in sympathy. John closed his eyes and took some deep breaths trying to get his bearings.

"Are you going to be able to make it out of here on your own?" Jeff asked with concern.

"I'll do whatever I have to." John answered.

Jeff nodded his head. He knew that John was trying to be strong, but that the poison was quickly draining his strength. "Save you strength. We'll help you as much as we can."

Twenty minutes later, the Tracys heard the sound of breaking glass and a startled yell.

"Be ready." Jeff ordered.

Sure enough a few seconds later, the door opened and Franklin and one guard entered, coughing. The guard slammed the door behind them to keep out the gas. When he turned around, he found his vision filled with Scott's fist. With no time for the guard to react, Scott's fist found its mark and the guard crumpled to the ground. Scott picked up the rifle and pointed it at Franklin.

Franklin however seemed oblivious to the fact that he now had a gun pointed at him. He ranted at Jeff. "Damn you Jeff. I don't know how you did it, but you have a team trying to rescue you."

"Give it up Franklin." Jeff said. "It's over. You can't win."

"I may not win, but neither will you." Franklin sneered, pulling the vial of antidote from his pocket.

"Give that to me." Jeff ordered.

"No way Jeff," Franklin replied. "You can live the rest of your life knowing that you killed John."

The next few seconds were a blurred chaos.

Franklin began to pull the top off the vial. "I will have my revenge." He said.

"NO!" Jeff roared heading toward Franklin.

Virgil noticed that the guard had awoken and had pulled a hand gun from a hidden holster. As the guard took aim, Virgil rushed his father. "LOOK OUT!" He yelled, but it was drowned out by the sound of a gunshot.

Author's note: A GUN? Ok, did we shoot Jeff or not? (Grins evilly.) If you want to find out what happened, please review. Also sorry that it was a short chapter this time, but sometimes that happens.