A quick update! I felt inspired by the amount of positive feedback I've been getting so I got another chapter done. Hope you enjoy it!

Silence.

There hadn't been a single sound for twenty minutes and Virgil was beginning to get worried. It wasn't like his brother to be this quiet during a rescue and since he'd told Gordon to remain in constant contact with him, the artist knew something was definitely wrong.

"Thunderbird 2 calling Gordon. Do you read me?"

Static.

Virgil tapped the steering column of his 'bird nervously. It wasn't like Gordon to be this quiet on a rescue mission since he was naturally the most vocal of the Tracy brothers, so his lack of response was really beginning to stress him out.

He tried again. "This is Thunderbird Two calling Gordon Tracy, do you read me? Gordon, are you there? Come in, please!"

Instead of Gordon's voice, it was Scott's which entered the cabin as he called his younger brother. "Hey Virg! How's Gordon doing?"

Virgil ran a hand through his chestnut locks. "I don't know, I can't get a hold of him. Last time we spoke he said he was going to try finding the crew but I haven't heard from him since."

Scott could sense fear in his younger brother's voice and knew that something wasn't right. "Have you tried the emergency frequency?"

"Yeah, I did that when I couldn't get a hold of him the first five times."

"I'll try him my end. You contact John and base."

Virgil noticed the change in Scott's tone. "Will do."

Immediately after talking to Scott, Virgil simultaneously contacted John and his father back at Tracy Island. "Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 5 and base. I've lost contact with Gordon."

"Have you tried the emergency frequency?" John quickly pitched in.

"Yes, both of them. He boarded Stingray with no issues and told me he'd let me know once he found the crew, but he never contacted me. I waited twenty minutes then tried to hail him but he never picked up."

"Alright son, try not to worry too much." his father could be heard consulting with Alan, Brains and Tin-Tin in the background. "Brains reckons the radio link could have somehow jammed his end. It would also explain why the World Aquanaut Security Patrol couldn't contact Stingray."

"Would explain that, I guess..." Virgil murmured. "What do you want me to do?"

"Is John on the line?"

John perked up, "I am, father!"

"Can you pinpoint Gordon's position right now?"

John could be heard tapping away at his console. "According to the tracking data he's still fixed on the submarine."

Everyone relaxed.

"It's obviously just a radio malfunction. Fly around the area and keep hailing him. Wait fifteen minutes and if he doesn't get in contact with you then, call me back and we'll re-evaluate the situation."

"Yes father." Virgil closed the radio link to the base and the space station, sighing in his seat. "Come on, Gordon..."

Gordon felt himself groan as he started to regain consciousness. His head was pounding and his back felt stiff, making for an uncomfortable feeling that rocked his whole body. Blinking himself awake, the aquanaut tried to move and found that his arms had been bound tightly behind his back. Struggling against the binds, Gordon struggled into a sitting position, trying to work out what had happened. He looked ahead and saw he was trapped behind some metal bars.

He was in a prison cell?

Gordon wobbled to his feet. He walked over to the bars and rested his head on them, their cool texture providing his flushed head with some relief. Through their gaps he could see what appeared to be a circular shaped lavish room complete with red lounging chairs and a grand firepit in the middle.

Just where was he?

As he went to try his radio, a door swooshed open across the room. Gordon looked up and saw two hooded figures enter, making their way over to his cell. Trying to shake himself out of his daze, Gordon stood back as they opened the cell door, grabbing him by the shoulders.

Having no strength to fight them, Gordon allowed them to take him further into what appeared to be a detention centre. Numerous prison cells were lined up parallel to the corridor he was being forced down and Gordon noted that all of the cells were all empty.

As the guards led him down the next set of stairs leading further down into the basement, Gordon became faintly aware of two voices echoing up the corridor.

"What do you reckon these goons want, skipper?"

"I don't know, fella, I just don't know!"

"They normally seem to want Stingray, Marina, or you, dead."

"Gee, thanks for the burst of optimism there."

"It was just an observation."

Gordon frowned. One of those voices sounded very familiar...

The hooded figures guided Gordon down the stairs with a hard shove. At the bottom was another corridor, much darker than the one upstairs, also lined with empty cells.

"Hey, what's all this about? Who are you?" Gordon finally found his voice but his pleas went ignored. The aquanaut was walked to the bottom of the last corridor and pushed into the only occupied cell, the door slamming behind him. He watched as the two figures silently walked away, causing him to groan.

Now he was stuffed.

"Howdy stranger!" a Carolinian drawl greeted him. "What they got you in for?"

Gordon span around to see three people behind him. One man was casually laying on the stone slab making up the bed of the cell. There was also a striking young woman with green hair sitting against the wall. The third man was someone he recognized almost instantly.

"Troy?" Gordon's jaw dropped to the floor, momentarily stunned.

"Gordon? Gordon Tracy?" Troy beamed from ear to ear. "Why, it is you! You old son of a gun. I haven't seen you in years!"

"Tell me about it! Last time I saw you, you were on shore leave in Miami!"

"And last time I saw you, you were-" Troy cut himself off, face suddenly falling. Gordon gave him a sympathetic smile. "-laying in that hospital bed." his voice became sombre. "They told me you recovered and retired from the service."

Gordon nodded. "Yeah, moved on to bigger and better things."

Troy shook his head. "Where are my manners?" he turned to his colleagues. "Gordon, these are my friends, Phones-" he pointed to the relaxed aquanaut who gave him a lazy wave, "-and Marina." Troy offered his hand to the green haired maiden who stood up, giving Gordon a little bow. "This is my old friend, Gordon Tracy. We bunked together for a spell before I started my submarine training."

Gordon suddenly remembered he wasn't the naval scout that Troy used to know and snapped out of his reverie. He'd been sent out to rescue the crew of a submarine and that's exactly what he intended to do. But the fact that Troy knew him personally...

This was serious.

"How did you guys get here?" Gordon asked in his best 'professional' voice, trying to gain an insight into the situation he now found himself in.

"Our vessel was brought down to the bottom of the sea during one of our missions." Phones informed him. "Then we were captured."

"Why were you captured, Gordon?" Troy asked, brow furrowed into a frown.

"I work for the WSS as a diver. I was sent to find you." the lie came off smoothly.

"The World Submarine Service? I thought the boss man hated asking for help." Phones turned to Troy, who just shrugged.

"Needs must and all that. Atlanta probably made him do it."

"So I swam across to your vessel and searched for you guys. I think someone must have knocked me out or something because the next minute I'm laying in a prison cell." Gordon winced as he tried to remember the full details.

"They must have gotten you too then."

"Who's 'they'?" Gordon asked. "And where are we?"

Phones and Marina shot Troy a cautious look.

Troy grimaced, before sighing. "Well since we're all stuck together I may as well tell you the full story..."