Disclaimer: We do not own the Thunderbirds. No money was made off this endeavor.
NO GREATER LOVE
By: GrumpyMagrat and Magratconvert
"Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage." – Jean Anouilh
"They never fail who die in a great cause." – Lord Byron
Chapter 2: Informing the Family
When Virgil reached mobile control, he found Scott holding Gordon close begging him to respond to him. "Scott?" He questioned his older brother.
Scott looked at Virgil with a few tears still falling from his eyes. "Oh God, Virg…he's…" Scott said but couldn't continue.
Virgil was horrified by the look of utter despair on Scott's face. He could only think of one thing that would cause his brother to break down on a rescue. "Oh God, please no." He whispered as he reached for Gordon's wrist praying to find a pulse. When he couldn't find one there, he moved his fingers to Gordon's neck. He couldn't find one there either. Virgil felt the tears build in his own eyes. "Scott, what happened?" He asked hoarsely.
"It was Mitchner. He shot him." Scott whispered. "He wanted to kill me, and Gordon pushed me out of the way."
"You?" Virgil asked with confusion in his voice. "Why did he want to kill you?"
Before Scott had a chance to respond, Officer Harrison returned to the scene. "How is he? Do you need the paramedics?"
Scott looked at Harrison. Even though the tears had stopped, his eyes were red and puffy. His face showed his deep sorrow. "No, we are going to take him back to our base."
"Are you sure? He looks like he is in really bad shape." Officer Harrison's voice dropped off as he realized the implication of his own statement. "I'm sorry. Is he…?" He didn't finish the question.
"What about Mitchner?" Virgil asked angrily.
"He's dead." Officer Harrison replied. "Look, I'm sorry but I can't let you take your colleague. Procedure says that I have to call the coroner. We have to notify his family."
"Screw procedures." Scott growled, getting to his feet with Gordon in his arms. "We are taking him back home. We will deal with our local coroner's office, and we will notify the family. Even in death we have to keep our identities secret. It has to be this way."
Officer Harrison could hear the determination in Scott's voice. He nodded his head. "Ok, but if anyone asks, I didn't know his condition. I just thought you were taking him for medical treatment. Got it?"
Scott nodded. "Virg, break down mobile control while I get Gordon settled in Thunderbird 2."
"Shouldn't we alert base?" Virgil asked, though he desperately hoped that Scott would pull himself together to do that because he certainly did not want to have to break the news to their father.
"I'll handle that once we are airborne." Scott replied as he turned and headed towards Thunderbird 2.
Virgil nodded and turned to begin to dismantle the unit. He saw that the first section had been disconnected. He thought, "Gordon must have been working on this when Mitchner shot him. Scott never did explain why Mitchner wanted him dead. I'll have to ask him again." His thoughts were interrupted by the police officer.
"Your commander seems to be taking this awfully hard." Officer Harrison told Virgil. "He acted like he's family."
"He is family." Virgil said distractedly.
"What?" The officer asked.
Virgil scrambled to explain the slip of his tongue. "What I mean is that we have become like family. We have trained and worked closely together for over three years. When you learn to rely on a person for your life, well…Isn't there officers on the force that you feel that close to?"
"Yes, of course, I should have realized." Harrison said.
"Now if you will excuse me," Virgil said. "I need to finish this so that we can take our colleague for 'medical treatment'."
"Yes, of course, and again I'm sorry about how things have turned out." Officer Harrison replied as he turned and walked away.
Virgil finished breaking down mobile control and headed to Thunderbird 1 to put it away. As he passed the nearby storage shed, he was unaware of the reporter who hid in the shadow, furiously writing in his notebook. To the reporter, what had started out as a story about a fire on a day plagued by fires had just turned into the story of the century.
Virgil entered Thunderbird 2 and headed straight to the medical bay. He found Scott sitting on the floor with his back against the wall with his arms encircling Gordon's body.
"Scott?" Virgil questioned his older brother, concern resonating in his words.
Scott looked up at Virgil. "I can't let him go, Virg. I just can't."
Virgil gently placed his hands over Scott's hands that were clasped together. "I know it's hard, but you have to. We need to take him home. You need to do it for Gordon."
Scott looked down into his dead brother's face. "Oh Gordy, why?" He whispered.
"Come on Scott." Virgil said quietly as he gently pulled Scott's hands apart. "Let me take him." He felt Scott start to resist. "I'll be gentle. I promise."
Scott reluctantly let go of Gordon. He rested his face in his hands. He drew in long deep breaths and exhaled them slowly. He had to bring himself under control. He was needed. Things had to be done. People needed to be told. Scott silently stood up and walked over to the bed. Virgil was securing the safety straps. Scott noticed that the sheet covering Gordon only went to his shoulders.
As if reading Scott's mind, Virgil said. "I couldn't cover his face. That would be too final. I'm not ready for that."
Scott nodded his head. "I understand. I just can't believe this is happening. I keep hoping that I will wake up and find that this is just an awful dream."
Virgil looked Scott over. Even though Scott seemed more in control, he was still concerned about him. "Are you ok to fly? You could lock down Thunderbird 1 and we can get her later."
"I'm ok." Scott said. "Besides leaving a 'bird here would raise unwanted questions. How about you? Can you fly?"
Virgil nodded. "Yeah, although I'll probably leave her on automatic pilot for most of the way."
Scott looked Virgil in the eyes. "I need you to be completely honest with me. Will you be ok if I fly ahead? I think that I should tell dad about this in person, and I would like to do it before you get back with the body. But if you think that you will need me, I will fly escort for you."
Virgil shook his head. "No, I will be fine. You're right. The family needs to be told as soon as possible. I don't envy your position right now."
Scott clasped Virgil's shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "All right, let's get going. I just want out of this hell."
At top speed, it took Scott less than twenty minutes to reach the island. He spent that time thinking about how things had gone so horribly wrong. Why was Mitchner so paranoid? Why didn't he realize what a danger Mitchner was? Why didn't he send Gordon back to Thunderbird 2 immediately? Why did their father even send him on the rescue?
The approach signal broke into his thoughts. Procedure dictated that he call in for clearance, but this time he decided to ignore procedure. He wasn't ready to face his family yet. He didn't know if he would ever be ready. He checked his radar and when he saw it was clear, he activated the pool remote and slid Thunderbird 1 back into her silo.
Jeff sat alone in the lounge doing some paperwork for Tracy Enterprises. Alan and Tin-Tin had taken advantage of this "quiet time" and had gone to the beach. Jeff heard the rumbles of Thunderbird 1's engines as she returned home. Jeff frowned. Scott had not called in for clearance. It was unlike Scott to ignore procedures. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the wall rotate and Scott appeared. He began to lecture his son. Disregarding procedures could be dangerous, and he was going to nip it in the bud.
"Would you care to explain to me why you ignored standard landing proc…" The lecture died on his lips when he turned and took a good look at his son.
The disheveled appearance, the filthy uniform, and most of all the look on Scott's face all indicated to Jeff that something horrible had happened since the last radio contact, indicating a successful rescue.
"My God, Scott, what happened? Is that blood on your uniform? Is it yours? Are you hurt?" Jeff questioned.
Scott had intended to break the news gently to his father. He really had. But somehow standing in front of him listening to his father inquire about his health, something snapped inside him. The feelings of sadness and despair suddenly turned into anger. "Yes Father, it is blood, but it's not mine. I wasn't injured." Scott said in a very sarcastic tone. "This is GORDON'S blood."
Jeff was about to take Scott to task about his tone but was stopped short at Scott's last statement. He understood Scott's protectiveness over his brothers. He began to ask a string of questions. "Gordon's blood? What happened? Why wasn't I notified of an injury? Is he alright? Do I need to call Brains? Or maybe Dr. Dewitt?"
Scott shook his head and in the same belligerent tone began to answer the questions. "You want to know what happened. Well here's the nice condensed version. After being rescued that paranoid son of a…accused Gordon of spying. When the cop wouldn't arrest Gordon, he accused me of paying off the cops. He came back a few minutes later with a gun. He shot Gordon. I didn't even see him and the gun until I heard the shot. I held Gordon and tried to keep him awake, but he couldn't keep his eyes open. No, you don't need to call anybody because he died in my arms while I waited for Virgil to bring the emergency kit."
Jeff's face blanched. "Died?" He gripped the edge of his desk. "You're saying that Gordon is…"
"Dead." Scott broke in, anger resonating in every word. "That's right, Dad. He's dead and it's your fault. He shouldn't have been out there. We could've handled it just Virgil and me. We did in the past. You sent him out there even though you knew what a psychotic Mitchner was. I know why you did. He was bored and distracting to you, so you sent him out. You should never have done that. Tell me, which is better: a bored Gordon, or a DEAD Gordon? Well now you don't have a choice. It was made for you."
Scott's emotions were flooding him. He knew that he was yelling at his father, but he wasn't sure if he was making any sense. He knew it was irrational to blame his father, but he did. He had this intense feeling of anger toward his father. He forced himself to stop yelling.
He took a deep breath and continued. "Virgil will be back soon. I need to help him with Gordon." With that he stormed from the lounge and headed to Thunderbird 2's hanger.
Jeff sat in his chair in stunned silence. "How did this happen?" He thought. The rescue was over. His sons should have been safe. His eyes were drawn to the painting of his red-haired son. It couldn't be. His fun-loving, joke playing son couldn't be dead. Just hours ago he was laughing and joking with his brothers. Now they would never hear that laugh again. Jeff sat at his desk staring at the picture of Gordon lost in his thoughts. He unconsciously brushed away the few tears that escaped his eyes.
Scott was making his way towards Thunderbird 2's hanger when he happened to run into Alan and Tin-Tin who had just returned from the beach.
Alan took in Scott's disheveled appearance. Jokingly he said. "Geez, Scott, you look like hell. That must have been a killer rescue."
Scott exploded. He grabbed Alan by the shirt front and slammed him against the wall. "Damn you Alan! Just shut the hell up!"
"Scott!" Tin-Tin said in a startled gasp. Normally Scott did not react with such anger to Alan's smart alec comments.
"Hey, I was just joking." Alan said trying to remove Scott's hands from his shirt. "I'm sorry if I upset you. What's made you so touchy?"
Scott suddenly felt ashamed at how he reacted. Alan didn't even know about Gordon. He pulled Alan into a hug. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this out on you."
Alan pulled back from his brother. He could see the despair in Scott's eyes. "Hey, I'm serious. Something has really upset you. What happened?"
Scott opened his mouth to explain but was overcome by his emotions. His throat closed off and he could feel his tears building again. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I…um…" Scott struggled to find the words. How do you tell a person that his closest brother is dead? Finally he gave up. "You better go talk to dad. I have to help Virgil." He said and then abruptly walked away.
"Scott? What…Hey Scott?" Alan called after his brother, but Scott refused to acknowledge him as he disappeared down the hall. Alan looked at Tin-Tin with confusion written all over his face. "Well, I guess we go talk to my dad, but I can tell you this. Whatever has happened is BIG to have Scott this upset."
Tin-Tin took his hand. "Well, we might as well go find out." She said as they headed down the hall together.
Jeff looked up when Alan and Tin-Tin entered the lounge. Before Alan could say anything, Jeff said. "Oh Alan, there you are. I want you to go get John from Thunderbird 5. Um…Tin-Tin can go with you."
Alan was even more confused. "You want me to 'get' John? Am I supposed to relieve him?"
"No, I need you all to come home." Jeff said. "I'll tell John to have everything on auto by the time you get there."
Alan was getting worried. Between his dad and Scott, things weren't adding up. "Dad, what's going on? We ran into Scott in the hall and he was really upset. Did something bad happen on the rescue?"
Jeff sighed. "Yes, something did happen, but I would like to deal with this as a family. Besides, I won't have all the facts until Thunderbird 2 gets back."
"But you can at least give me an idea." Alan argued.
Jeff rubbed his temples trying to fight off the building headache. "Please don't argue with me about this, Alan. Just go get your brother. I need you to do this for me."
Alan's anxiety level was rising. Whatever was wrong was big, huge. He got the feeling that life as he knew it was about to change forever. "F-A-B" He said as he and Tin-Tin sat on the couch readying to board Thunderbird 3.
Jeff felt the slight rumble that went through the villa as Thunderbird 3 took off. He knew that he had a couple of hours before Alan, Tin-Tin and John returned, but how was he going to tell them? His thoughts were interrupted by an incoming call.
The eyes on Virgil's portrait were blinking indicating who was calling. Jeff keyed the comm. "Go ahead, Thunderbird 2."
Virgil's picture changed to the live feed from Thunderbird 2. Jeff's heart broke at the sight of his middle child. He could see the stress lines creasing Virgil's forehead. Virgil's eyes were red-rimmed, and his lips were quivering slightly. "Dad, I'm about 12.7 minutes out." He hesitated for a moment. "Are…has…do…did Scott…inform you of…"
Jeff could see that Virgil was battling his emotions. "Yes son, Scott has told me about Gordon. He only gave me the basic points. I will still need a complete debriefing, but that can wait. I'm sorry that this has happened."
Virgil nodded his head. "I'm going to need some help when I land."
"Scott's planning on meeting you," Jeff replied. "I'll take care of the rest."
"F-A-B. Thunderbird 2 out." Virgil said as he cut the link.
Jeff pushed a few buttons and opened the link to Brains' lab. "Brains, can you come to the lounge?"
Brains' face appeared on the screen. "I c-c-can, but if this is about G-G-Gordon, Scott has al-al-already informed me."
"Is Scott with you right now?" Jeff asked.
"No, he w-w-went to Thunderbird 2's hanger to wait for V-Virgil to return." Brains replied. "He asked me to m-m-meet them with a st-stretcher."
"Ok Brains," Jeff said. "Virgil just called in. He'll be landing in a few minutes. So you should probably head to the hanger. I will meet you there, but first I have to call John. I've sent Alan to get him. I need to let him know so that he can put Thunderbird 5 on auto."
"D-D-Does Alan know?" Brains asked.
Jeff shook his head. "He knows that something happened on the rescue, but he doesn't know what it is. I want both him and John to be back on the island before I tell them."
Brains nodded his head. "I un-understand. I will m-m-meet Thunderbird 2 and t-t-take care of Gordon."
Jeff nodded while he felt his tears build. "Thank you Brains. You don't know what this means to me. I'll meet up with you shortly." He disconnected the comm.
"Did Gordon get hurt on the rescue?" Jeff heard his mother's voice ask.
Jeff's head shot up. "Mother! You're here. How long have you been here?"
Effie "Grandma" Tracy was startled by her son's reaction. "I came to see what kind of rescue Thunderbird 3 was called to. When I came in, Brains was saying something about 'taking care of Gordon'. What happened, Jeff? You look horrible."
Jeff moved away from his desk. He took his mother's hands gently in his own. "Let's sit down, Mother. I need to tell you something."
"Why of course Jeff," She said as they sat down, side by side, on the sofa. "My, this sounds serious."
"It is serious, Mother." Jeff began to explain. "Thunderbird 3 isn't out on a rescue. I sent Alan to get John. Something happened on the rescue, and I want the whole family home."
Effie could tell that something had really upset her son. "Jeff? Sweetheart? Tell me what's wrong. Let me help you."
Jeff stared into his hands. He couldn't stop the few tears that managed to escape his eyes. "Oh God, this is so hard. I knew that this was a possibility, but I never thought that it would happen like this."
Things were starting to come together in Effie's mind, but she needed to hear the words. "Jeff, what happened to Gordon?"
Jeff took a deep breath. "Gordon was…killed…shot actually…murdered."
"Murdered?" Effie gasped. She had expected to hear that he had been killed. But murdered? That fell into a whole different category. "Who? Why? Oh, my poor Gordon." Tears began to fall from her eyes.
Jeff pulled his mother into an embrace. "I'm sorry Mother. I don't have all the details. Scott was really upset and wouldn't discuss it. He blames me."
"You?" Effie questioned, pushing out of the embrace. "Why would he blame you?"
Jeff cleared his throat. "Because Gordon wasn't really needed on the rescue. He was bored, so I let him go. He's right. I know how dangerous this job is. I should have never let him go. I should have protected him."
"Stop that right now." Effie told her son. "You had no way of knowing that this would happen. Your boys know that their jobs are dangerous, but they love their work anyhow. I'm sure that Gordon was excited to go out on that rescue. You can't blame yourself. The only person responsible is whoever shot Gordon." Her voice started out strong, but when she mentioned Gordon, her voice broke again.
"Mr. Tracy?" Kyrano's voice broke in.
Jeff turned toward the voice. Kyrano stood respectfully at the open door. "Yes, Kyrano?"
Kyrano bowed slightly. "I do not wish to interrupt, but I have felt the sadness that has befallen this house. Is there anything that I can do?"
Before Jeff had a chance to answer, the comm beeped and the eyes on John's portrait began to flash. "Could you take care of my mother? Make her a cup of tea or something?"
"I'm ok, Jeff." Effie replied.
Jeff cut her off. "Please go with Kyrano, Mother. I would like to be alone to talk to John."
His mother nodded and Kyrano gently guided her from the room. Jeff returned to his desk. He ran a hand over his head to smooth his hair. He took a deep breath in an effort to compose himself. He reached over and keyed the comm unit. John's portrait was replaced by the live feed.
"Dad! Finally!" John exclaimed.
"John, I was just about to call you." Jeff broke in wondering if John had already found out that Alan was on his way there.
John broke in. "Dad, I was listening to the news report of the earlier rescue. The reporter claimed that an International Rescue operative was shot and killed at the rescue site."
"Damn, how'd they find out?" Jeff said without thinking.
John's face blanched. "Then it's true?"
Jeff realized that he had slipped. "I'm sorry, John. I wasn't going to tell you this way. Alan and Tin-Tin are on their way to get you, so you need to put the station on automatic."
"Dad, who…" John was so overcome with emotions that he couldn't finish the question.
"Gordon. It was Gordon." Jeff said quietly.
"How did it happen? Why?" John asked.
"I'm not sure of the specifics." Jeff replied. "Scott was really upset and didn't give me much information. Hopefully Virgil can fill me in when he gets home."
John blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Does Alan know?"
Jeff shook his head. "No, he knows that something happened on the rescue, but I didn't want to tell him about Gordon, not when he had to fly. I didn't even want to tell you either until you were all back home. Those two were so close; I don't know how he's going to handle this. Listen, don't say anything about Gordon, I need to be the one to tell Alan."
"Ok, Dad." John whispered. "I can't believe this is happening. Not Gordon. He was so full of life. This can't be real." John finally lost the battle with his tears.
Jeff's heart broke when he saw John's tears. Even though he knew that all his sons felt things deeply, John was the one who showed it more. "John, I'm so sorry. This is why I wanted to tell you in person. I wanted to be able to put my arms around you to comfort you."
John tried to brush his tears away. "I know Dad. I know." Clearing his throat, he continued. "Alan will be here soon. I need to go if I'm going to be ready."
Jeff nodded. "You're right. I need to go too. Virgil should be back. I said I would meet him. I will see you when you get back."
"F-A-B, Dad." John said as he closed the comm link. He began to set the station on automatic. Involuntarily Gordon's smiling face came to his mind. Why would someone want to kill his brother? His breath caught in his throat. He knew that he had a job to do, but he was having a hard time concentrating. The control panel in front of him swam as his eyes filled with tears. He sat in the command chair and buried his face in his hands. The sound of heart breaking sobs echoed around Thunderbird 5.
By the time that Jeff had finished talking to John and got to the silo, Virgil had already parked and shut down Thunderbird 2. Brains and Scott had already transferred Gordon's body from the med bay bed to the stretcher. Seeing his son's lifeless body, with the blood stained uniform, made real this whole situation. His son was dead. He saw Brains placing a blanket over Gordon's body. "Wait! Please I need a minute with him." Brains nodded and backed away from the stretcher.
Jeff gently brushed Gordon's hair away from his face. Quietly he said. "I was told about this, but until this moment, it wasn't real to me. Now…oh dear God…my son, my PRECIOUS SON, you're really gone. I am SO sorry. This should never have happened. Forgive me. I love you, son. I will always love you. I'll never forget you. Oh Gordon, if I could change places…" Jeff gently placed a kiss on Gordon's forehead.
Jeff backed away and nodded to Brains. Brains moved forward and in a slow, sad movement, pulled the blanket up over Gordon's face. It was so final. Jeff couldn't stop the sob that escaped his throat.
Suddenly Virgil was standing next to him. "Dad?"
Jeff pulled Virgil into an embrace. In an anguished tone, he cried into Virgil's shoulder. "He's gone. My son is dead. Why? Oh God, why? This is all my fault. How could I have done this?"
Virgil held his father, speaking quietly to him. "It's ok, Dad. Let it out. Everyone is hurting." Virgil's voice cracked as his own tears began to fall. "We'll get through this together. It's not your fault. Don't ever think that it was your fault." The two Tracys held each other as they gave into their grief.
When Jeff was finally able to pull himself together, he realized that Scott and Brains had left with Gordon's body. Jeff took a deep breath and said. "I'm sorry that I broke down like that."
Virgil cut him off. "It's ok Dad. This is hard on everyone. We all need to be able to let it out. You're no different."
Jeff nodded. "Thank you for understanding. Alan, John and Tin-Tin should be on their way home. I need to know what happened out there. All Scott told me was that Mitchner accused Gordon of spying and then shot him."
Virgil shook his head. "I really don't know much more than that except Scott told me that Mitchner was aiming at him and Gordon pushed him out of the way."
Jeff was shocked. "Scott? Why was Mitchner after Scott?"
Virgil shrugged. "I don't know. Scott wasn't giving many details at the scene."
Jeff sighed. "Well, I need the details. Your brothers need to know what happened. Plus I need to make a press release."
"The press?" Virgil asked. "Why do we have to say anything to the press?"
"Because they already know." Jeff answered. "John's already heard it on a news report."
"Dammit." Virgil exclaimed. "A reporter must have snuck up and overheard us talking. I'm sorry Dad."
Jeff gave Virgil's shoulder a slight squeeze. "It's not your fault. You had more important things to think about. I'll handle it."
