The hanger seemed enormous and so obviously empty without the massive bulk of Thunderbird 2 nestling between the inner faces of the rock cavern. John smiled a thin greeting at Brains, noting the fleeting glance he was awarded by way of acknowledgement. Brains was busy. And John knew better than to even attempt a conversation.
Stepping out of the elevator, John quickly read the scientists' moves and took in the various readouts on the bank of computer screens. Knowing instantly where Brains was in the sequence of uploads and preparations, John headed for the far end of the work- station and sat before the Thunderbird 1 diagnostic tools. They were a mere 90 seconds out, the proximity alarms and warning claxon from the responding pool controls signalling the arrival of the craft far above their heads.
Just moments later and the smallest of vibrations murmured through the hanger. To many, the gentle sinking of Thunderbird 1 into the silo was all smoke and noise and not much more. But life aboard a space station had heightened John's senses to the slightest shift in his environment; the tiniest incorrect alignment could quickly lead to a much bigger problem and so he could single out a faulty thruster as if it were a bad note amid an entire symphony.
And the melody of Thunderbird 1 docking was wrong. The computer watched the manoeuvre without concern, readouts all indicating a correct sequence, but John heard differently. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound. It wasn't so much a fault or … John smiled suddenly and nodded in understanding.
Seconds later and Thunderbird 1 was home, the pool sliding back into position and concealing the silo. The computers linked and chatting animatedly, the diagnostic programmes erupting into life and reviewing every detail of the trip.
John flicked on the onboard camera connected to the comm. and his smile grew as he saw Scott debriefing a fidgety, excited Alan who appeared to be trying to pay attention but so obviously needing to break free of the pilot's seat and run and tell anyone in earshot (repeatedly) that his big brother had let him drive home.
Switching off the camera feed and leaving the pair to their private chat, John watched the computerised debrief unfolding and was aware of Brains perching beside him. They continued their work in silence, each knowing what to do and not needing to share pointless small talk in their task. It was refreshing and familiar and John was grateful for the distraction of needing to concentrate and push all other concerns to the back of his mind.
Penny strode down the rocky path that led to the beach and frowned as she peered out across the sandy bay. The sun tingled on her shoulders and the back of her legs, the warm breeze bringing only the slightest relief from the already baking morning heat. After a moment she spotted her quarry down at the shoreline and she sighed as she continued forward.
It was almost too hot to be out on the scorching sand, let alone running along it. Penny frowned in concern and broke into a jog to follow the lone figure and she smiled a greeting as her presence was noted.
"Here." Penny held out the iced bottle of water that was already dripping in condensation.
Alex came to a halt and gasped in delight. "Oh, fantastic!" She responded breathlessly, taking the bottle and a long, grateful mouthful, keeping only the left side of her face towards her unexpected visitor.
"You run?" Penny began.
Alex shrugged slightly. "Yeah, sometimes." She glanced out at the ocean. "Although I'm not really used to this – it's not exactly Hyde Park."
Penny chuckled, "Oh, I know! All this fresh air, warmth and scenery. It cannot be healthy."
Alex laughed in amusement, taking another sip of water and then sealing the bottle. She rested her fists on her hips and let her head fall back, sighing as she gazed up at the cloud-spotted blue. "How did you know I was here, anyway?"
"Your watch."
Alex lifted her wrist and examined the device in interest.
"It contains a locator chip."
Alex frowned. "John lent it to me." She then smiled in amusement. "Among other things!" She added, tugging at the MIT t-shirt and grey boxer shorts she had resigned to wearing. "But all I've got with me is my uniform."
Penny chuckled in agreement, noting the fetching addition of now sand-covered standard issue black brogues that completed the ensemble. "You are welcome to borrow anything of mine. I have a few supplies stored here."
"Thanks." Alex turned and smiled at Penny.
"Bloody hell!" Penny exclaimed suddenly, stepping closer to her.
Alex recoiled from her but then realised the focus of her concerned gaze and she reached up to touch her cheek. "Oh … it's nothing."
"Nothing?" Penny echoed, "That is rather a dark, nasty 'nothing' …"
Alex shrugged and turned away from her.
"Alex?" Penny urged.
Alex groaned softly, "Look, we worked it out. Okay? It was a misunderstanding. Nothing more. He didn't mean to - "
"Perhaps not but it would seem to be another piece of a rather worrisome picture."
Alex turned back to her and waited for her to continue.
"He is not himself." Penny resumed after a moment. "In fact, I have never seen him like this. Well, perhaps …" Her gaze shifted out over the ocean.
"The explosion on the station." Alex surmised.
Penny nodded slowly. "You two met after that had all passed but …"
"He still dreams about it."
Penny's eyes drifted back to Alex.
"It's still too raw. I don't think he ever really dealt with it. And now … after all this …"
"What has he told you?"
Alex sighed and shook her head. "Enough."
Penny smiled, "You are not betraying his confidence if it ultimately helps him."
"Maybe."
"Listen." Penny sighed, "I think we should talk to Jeff. It seems clear that John needs us to help him."
Alex nodded in agreement. "And Scott and I think we know how."
"Oh."
Alex took a deep breath and explained the idea of contacting Eva. She watched Penny considering the possibility for a moment and they were both then distracted by the none-too-quiet arrival home of Thunderbird 2.
Alex shaded her eyes from the bright sunshine to look up in awe as the immense craft made a seemingly impossibly smooth approach. She had been mesmerised by the similarly precise manoeuvring of Thunderbird 1 a short time before and murmured appreciatively as the green sister ship sank below the tree line to touch down on the out of sight airstrip.
Penny sighed and frowned worriedly. "We ought to let them have their boisterous post rescue breakfast and then there will be time to have a quiet talk with Jeff."
"Sounds like a plan." Alex offered merrily, deciding that there was nought to be gained from sitting and worrying. "Meantime." She crouched down to untie her shoes and peel of her damp socks. "I do believe I stink of sweat."
Penny laughed and watched in delight as Alex jogged into the surf, gasping as the perhaps not as warm as she had anticipated deeper water hit her legs.
Breakfast was anything but the usual animated recounting of the mission. Even Alan's enthusiasm for his piloting home was subdued.
It had begun pretty much as normal. Then Virgil had voiced his concern about John and a dark cloud had gathered over the group. They now picked at their feast of cereals, pastries and fruit in quiet contemplation.
"He doesn't make wise-cracks." Gordon offered quietly, glancing at his brothers and seeing the same concern and confusion on their sombre faces. "Not during an emergency."
Virgil turned to their father and nodded slowly.
Jeff closed his eyes and ran a hand over close-cropped, greying hair.
"He takes a lot of those pills." Alan added.
"Guys!" Scott groaned suddenly, "He's been through a lot. Give him a break!"
"No, Scott." Virgil countered, "Maybe that's precisely what we shouldn't do."
"Yeah," Gordon agreed quietly, "'Cos that sure worked a treat the last time."
Jeff turned to watch Onaha quietly washing up in the small kitchenette. She seemed to be politely ignoring the discussion but he knew she had been spending time with each of the boys during their 'downtime' and he needed her insight. As if sensing this, she looked up at him and a small nod was all she needed to add her concern.
"Is it a security thing?" Alan pondered aloud. "Is there no doctor that you could trust?"
At the mention of the word 'doctor' the uneasiness in the room grew and Scott visibly tensed.
"No." Jeff replied quietly, "There is a friend I can call. That's not an issue." A brief smile pulled at his lips as he glanced round at his sons and tried to offer them the reassurance that their well being would always come before the needs of the organisation. Or at least it should.
Gordon had been watching Scott in concern during the discussion and his frown grew suddenly. "There's something you're not telling us."
Virgil scoffed in sarcasm. "That much has been obvious from the start."
"Boys." Jeff cautioned.
Scott clenched his fists and tried to put the image of Alex's bruised face far from his thoughts, as though his family would somehow be able to read the horrible truth from him.
Gordon's gaze was unwavering. "What really happened out there?"
Scott shuddered at the memories that instantly tore through his mind and stood from the table. He thanked Onaha for breakfast and hurried out through the open lounge doors.
"Nice one." Alan remarked.
Virgil closed his eyes and hung his head with a sigh.
Gordon watched his elder brother's departure and then turned to face his father. "Since when do we keep stuff from each other?"
Jeff had no reply and could only watch in dismay as Gordon also left the table and headed into the house.
Penny watched the approaching figure, noting his heavy shoulders and sorrow filled face and needing no further information. She paused part way up the stairs that led to the poolside, out of view of the house, and waited for him to reach her.
"It's worse than I'd realised." Scott began, "Listen, Pen, Alex thinks - " He sighed and shook his head. "We think maybe Eva - "
"I know." Penny nodded towards the beach behind her. "We were just talking about it."
"Dad's gonna call that shrink friend of his."
Penny regarded Scott's pale face. "And?"
"I think forcing him to face it is the only way."
"Okay." Penny smiled thinly, "Then we should make the call."
"We can create a secure link from your car."
Penny turned and began to head back down to the beach. "We will have to work it out together somehow. Last time I saw Parker he was engrossed in an apparently crucial to the survival of the human race match between two of the London teams."
Scott laughed gently, his amusement bringing a welcome light to his otherwise sombre countenance.
Penny glanced back at him. "Besides. Perhaps the less people that no about this, the better."
Scott murmured an agreement.
"Darling John has developed somewhat paranoid tendencies. Best not to prove we are teaming up against him."
The diagnostics complete and the computerised accounts of every minute detail of the mission examined and saved, John smiled at Brains and received a slight nod of agreement.
"Hungry?" John offered lightly, the first word spoken between them sounding strangely loud and hollow in the hanger.
"Yup." Brains agreed.
They headed towards the lift together and began the ascent to the main house. John smiled to himself as he then recalled the somewhat worse-for-alcohol form of Alex that he had left a few hours previously. He lifted his wrist and called up the locator grid, surprised to find her corresponding signal out on the beach.
Breakfast was apparently finished as John and Brains wandered into the lounge. Onaha smiled a welcome and nodded towards the remaining food that she had left on the side for them. Brains hurried across eagerly but John hung back, glancing out beyond the pool and wondering when Alex had surfaced. Now more intrigued than hungry, he grabbed an apple and hurried outside.
The sand was hot and John jogged down the beach, glancing at the map on his watch face. As he reached the halfway point between the cliffs behind and the low surf before him, John surveyed his surroundings and confusion filled his eyes as he beheld the empty beach.
His heart racing, John focused in on the map and found the exact position of the signal. It was mere metres from him. Turning along the beach, he watched the signal flashing insistently and his frown grew. With a sudden dread growing deep within him, he then saw a dark object nestled amid the bright sand.
John crouched down and picked up the watch, brushing the sand from the face and hardly daring to take a breath. The gentle chirping of his own watch then startled him and he glanced at the incoming message.
"Dad?"
"Hey, bud. You got a minute?"
John couldn't help but smile. "Just one?"
"Well, maybe more than one."
John heard the concern hidden within his father's gentle voice and closed his eyes. Great. A deep and meaningful was exactly what he didn't want right then. He swallowed back the reactive retort and nodded a reply. "Sure. Be right there. Oh, Dad? You seen Alex?"
"Not personally but I know she's out on the runway with Penny. I think they're playing with FAB1." Jeff laughed gently, "Which I guess is a worry in itself."
John's frown reformed.
"See you in a minute?"
"Sure." John signed off and turned to gaze up towards the high, tree covered cliffs and the runway beyond. He looked back down at his watch and flicked up the locator map again, his heart sinking as he saw the ID beacon sitting over the pink FAB1 symbol.
Scott.
He was fuming. It probably wasn't the best plan to head in the direction his fast pace was taking him but he could hear nothing in his mind except the endless voice telling him this had to be dealt with.
Perhaps there was a logical, innocent explanation for it all but right now he could see only white hot fury. He was shaking with adrenaline and desperate to hit something. Or someone. If he had stopped long enough to contemplate this, perhaps he would have recognised that this just wasn't him.
The anger grew as he stepped out onto the runway and his suspicions were confirmed. They were sat inside the car together, laughing as if sharing a joke. And far too close to each other.
Scott caught sight of his brother's approach and frowned in concern as he quickly recognised his body language. He stood and stepped down from the car, watching apprehensively as John neared.
"What have you told him?" John blurted out as he halted before the front of the car.
"What? Who?" Scott shrugged.
"I'm not talking to you." John spat back.
Alex climbed from the car. "John? Are you alright?"
"Not according to some."
"I … I don't understand." Alex fumbled.
John stepped closer and noticed Scott's immediate shift in position to move protectively towards Alex. "Oh, that's just perfect!"
Alex and Scott watched him warily.
"Just perfect." John repeated.
"John?"
John turned and watched Penny hurrying along the runway towards him.
Penny looked between the three of them and frowned. "What is it?"
"What's going on?" John countered.
Penny sighed and nodded in understanding. "You saw the transmission. I knew we should have asked you." Penny smiled thinly and then saw the confusion on John's face. She glanced at Scott and watched as, out of sight of his brother, he was shaking his head urgently.
"Transmission?"
Penny was lost for words.
Alex stepped forward and reached out to place her hand on John's arm, noting the way he flinched at her touch. "I …" She swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat, glancing at Penny and Scott for reassurance. "I wanted to call home. Check on my mum."
John frowned.
Penny took a deep breath, grateful for the rescue and quick to pick up the thread. "Your father would not have thought it wise."
"And he'd be right."
"It's my mum, John …"
John regarded Alex in interest.
Penny waited with baited breath, watching her three companions nervously. Quite how she had managed to leap in with both feet again she was unsure. And now even the wind that had picked up around them could not blow away the tension hanging in the air.
"So how is she?"
Alex shrugged.
"Fine." John nodded. "If that's how you want to play it." He spun on his heel and turned away, jogging towards the hanger.
Scott watched his departing brother in stunned silence and slowly approached Alex, glancing down at her pale face. "What the hell was that?"
Alex shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand to try and hold back the sob that rose in her throat.
"He's lost it." Scott placed an arm around Alex and pulled her against him. "He's totally lost it."
Penny watched them both for a moment and then tossed her hands in the air in exasperation. "God, I am so bloody sorry. I - " She closed her eyes and dropped her face into her hands, groaning softly. "Oh well. Too late for all that." She looked back up and forced a smile onto her lips. "Well? What about Eva? Did you get through?"
"Yeah." Scott replied quietly, still staring after his long since disappeared brother. "We got through."
Tbc …