Devastation
Enough food to feed a small army had just arrived at Jeff and Scott's table when the entire pub was rocked by tremors from an outside source. Several windows were shattered and the two men instinctively "hit the deck" by diving under their table. Chunks of ceiling material rained down in front of them, knocking Sean the bartender cold.
"What in God's name...?"
Jeff reached out a hand to grab his shirt collar to try and drag the man to safety. Scott helped and together they managed to get him under the table and out of harm's way. As soon as the shuddering subsided and the dust began to clear, Scott got on his cell phone and tried the emergency number. As he'd half expected, the airwaves were already jammed.
After giving up on the call, Scott checked Sean's vital signs and blotted blood from a scalp wound with Jeff's handkerchief. All around them, frightened people were screaming and calling out to loved ones. The scene was one of utter chaos.
Sean's condition didn't seem to be life threatening so after getting one of the cocktail waitresses to keep an eye on him, Scott and Jeff got up to leave. They were halfway to the door when they noticed an elderly woman lying on the floor. She had become injured after a lighting fixture had fallen on her. A cursory examination showed that she had a broken collarbone but the real danger was that she was beginning to go into shock. Jeff quickly elevated her legs while Scott looked for something to cover her up with that would retain her body heat. The only thing available to him was a tablecloth but it would have to suffice. They made the woman as comfortable as possible and, after a time, she began to show signs of improvement. Since there was nothing more they could do for her at the moment, they decided to leave her in capable hands and make a hasty exit. The two Tracy men literally bolted out the door and onto the street. As they looked to their right, Scott gasped and squeezed his father's arm.
"Dad! Oh, God..."
"What is it, Scott?"
"Alan...Alan and Tin Tin...I left them at that nightclub no more than forty five minutes ago."
"Where's the nightclub, son?"
"There."
Jeff's eyes followed to where Scott was pointing. Down at the end of the next block he could see the remnants of a building, now half demolished.
The eyes of a frantic brother met those of an anxious father and together they ran toward the ruined building, both praying that they wouldn't find what they so desperately feared.
> > > > > > > > > >
Back in "Paradise," word of the catastrophe had filtered down through the satellite and into the lounge of Tracy Villa where Gordon stood before a live vidscreen, riveted in place. The ancient names of three well-known religious figures came to mind, not that Gordon was a religious man.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! John! Virgil! Get your asses in here, now!"
The pair had been raiding the kitchen, as they often did whenever there was a lull in the action. John had taken up Virgil's favorite pastime ever since Jeff had decided to try out the automation program in Thunderbird Five and bring him back to Terra Firma for an extended period. He figured it couldn't hurt since everyone kept telling him he needed to put some meat on his bones anyway. The food up in the orbiting satellite was not exactly what came to mind when you were craving a particular snack. It was nutritious and filled you up but did nothing to excite your palette.
The two brothers ran toward the lounge upon hearing Gordon's cry, bumping into each other and nearly spilling the contents of storage containers and bowls on their way out. Once within earshot of the news broadcast they froze in their tracks, the doughnut held firmly between Virgil's lips falling to the ground as the full realization of what he was hearing and seeing struck him. They all knew that district full of clubs, restaurants and pubs and had all frequented it at one time or another. It was a favorite destination of the family, which is why it had been chosen as the place to celebrate Tin Tin's achievement.
When the broadcast finally ended, a deathlike silence descended over the room for a few seconds as the three brothers processed what they had just seen. Without a word and without waiting for the call, they ran for both the slide and the passenger lift that would take them to Thunderbird Two.
> > > > > > > > > >
As Jeff and Scott approached the scene, a horrible sight greeted them. People that had been standing just a few feet from the building waiting to get in were now almost unrecognizable as human beings. The two had been around this kind of situation before, and both of them knew that for many of the victims, the only means of identification short of a DNA sample would be articles of clothing, women's handbags, and other similar personal effects. Scott closed his eyes, feeling the bile rising in his throat. Having been in the nightclub just a little while before, he knew that most of the victims were barely more than children. Jeff placed a slightly shaky hand on his arm and tried to be optimistic.
"Maybe your brother and Tin Tin left before this happened."
"No, Dad. I don't think so, as much as I'd like to believe it."
"What makes you say that, Scott? How do you know?"
"Have either of them tried to contact us to tell us they're all right? They'd know what we'd be thinking at this point."
Jeff raised his wrist to his lips in the hopes of locating his youngest son. "Alan, this is your father. Please respond and let us know that you're okay."
There was only an eerie silence that continued. Scott didn't dare look at Jeff for fear that his rather shaky façade would slip and reveal the overwhelming fear in his heart for the safety of Tin-Tin and his youngest brother. Knowing what his eldest son was thinking, Jeff tried to detach himself from the situation and get his thoughts moving in a less gruesome direction.
"Well, from the look of it, the blast happened inside the building, with the full force of it being released towards this side of the structure."
Scott did not respond but began moving towards the area where he thought the local authorities would be gathering. Jeff stuck to his side figuring the best thing to do in a situation like this was to remain proactive. To let your mind wander was the quickest way to drive yourself mad with worry.
They recognized the Incident Command Post and went directly to the dispatcher, in this case the head of the local disaster response team.
Scott had to keep himself from grabbing the man and demanding to look under the sheets covering the triaged victims lying over to the side that had been classified as deceased. He knew the drill and he was not going to interfere with this man's job. He just wanted to be able to search for the missing members of his family. He stealthily approached the area and checked for any recognizable physical characteristics while Jeff kept the dispatcher busy with questions about survivors. After he had confirmed that his little brother and Tin Tin were not included in the group of recovered bodies, and knowing that he and his father would never be granted access using their layman's identities, he made an almost imperceptible gesture in Jeff's direction indicating that they could sneak by the barricade and find a way into the building.
Jeff started to shoot a look of disapproval at his son for the suggestion, then paused, mentally conceding that they had to do something. Along with his son, there may be others who had gotten trapped under the mountain of debris. Normally, he would have stayed out of such matters until those in charge of the situation requested International Rescue's help. In these cases, you didn't want to become part of the problem and if the local authorities believed they could handle it themselves, who was he to argue. But this was different. Two of the people most precious to him in the world might be lying somewhere injured and unable to call out for help. If the unthinkable were to happen, he would also rather be aware of that situation instead of having to stand by and wonder.
Scott had grabbed each of them a hardhat and as they tried to make their way around to the side of the building where there was less debris blocking the way, they passed a few of the rescue workers who were coming out. A couple of them were carrying a stretcher with a victim on it. At a glance, they could see that it was neither Tin Tin nor Alan. They would have been relieved had all of the victims been recovered at that point. Since this was not the case, they continued on to where the frame of a doorway still stood but the outward force of the blast had turned the opening itself into a huge hole in the wall.
Just as Scott started to step through it, a beam fell from above, nearly landing on top of him. For the second time that day, his lightning reflexes saved him. He jumped out of the way, nearly knocking over his father behind him.
"Ow! Sorry, Dad."
Jeff tried to hide the fact that he'd just had the wind knocked out of him. "Don't worry...about it. I'm just glad...that thing missed you."
"Yeah, I guess today's my lucky day."
"Well, let's hope it was Alan's as well."
"Amen to that. Father, when I was in the club earlier, I noticed it had a glass roof so people could see the stars."
"What are you getting at, Scott?"
"Well, if I can get up there on top of it, maybe I can peer down and get a better idea of the situation inside."
"How do you know it's stable enough? The whole thing could come down, taking you with it."
"I know but what choice have we got? I can't do anything for Alan and Tin Tin until I know the conditions inside the building and by the time the locals are able to find them..."
"Well, I don't like it. We haven't even been able to determine their location. But right now, I haven't got a better idea. Be careful."
"I will, sir."
Scott was about halfway up the ladder that ran along the outside of the building up to the roof when his wrist com beeped. His reflex was to become irritated given his location, but then he realized that it might be Alan.
"Scott here. Alan, is that you?"
"Scott, thank God!"
He blinked in surprise as he recognized the voice. "Virgil?"
"Yeah, we're about 20 minutes from your location. We heard what happened on the news. Is everyone all right?"
"Dad and I are but Alan and Tin Tin are missing and we haven't been able to track their comm. signals. They were at the nightclub where the bomb went off."
Virgil's image on the tiny display screen showed a face that was stoic but his eyes spoke volumes and Scott's heart nearly broke at the sight.
His voice became little more than a whisper. "I know, Virg. I know."
"They'll be okay, Scott. They have to be."
His older brother bowed his head, trying to keep his emotions in check.
"God, I hope so."
Scott pushed his feelings away and tried to get back to the task at hand.
"I'm going to get up on the transparent roof so I can see down inside there and find out the extent of the damage. All the other entrances are blocked."
"You're what? What if the damn thing collapses while you're up there?"
"Oh, not you too. I've already gotten this lecture from Dad. Look, if you have any better ideas, I'm open to suggestions."
The brief silence that followed confirmed that Virgil had none. "Okay, but be careful."
"Always, Virg, always. I'll talk to you again when you arrive. Dad can suggest a good spot for you to land. Scott out." And with that, he continued his ascent.
Once on top of the structure, he was relieved to find that the integrity of the sky light hadn't been compromised. He couldn't really tell about the rest of the roof yet as there wasn't much light except for that thrown by the half moon hovering above. As he was trying to inspect it, a voice from behind him nearly made him jump.
"How's it looking, son?"
"Dad, what the...what are you doing up here?"
"Well, I've decided to share the risk. I wouldn't order any of the men in my unit to do a job I wouldn't do myself."
"But, Dad, you didn't order..."
"I know I didn't, Scott, but I figured you might need this."
Jeff handed him a high-powered torchlight, which he had "borrowed" from the emergency supply bin at the staging area. Scott accepted it with a grateful smile and proceeded to inspect the roofing. Jeff checked the area opposite from where his eldest was kneeling.
Satisfied, the young field commander stood up and started suggesting to his father what their next move should be. He was halfway through his sentence when the elder Tracy heard a faint cracking sound. It didn't seem to be coming from anywhere specific. Instead, it seemed to be all around them. Scott heard it too and he froze in his tracks, not daring to take a breath. For a moment, their eyes locked. Father and son held each other's gaze...right up until the moment the roof collapsed and they fell together, forty feet straight down.