CHAPTER THREE
Christmas Day arrived, bringing with it the delicious aroma of Northern pine, cinnamon and that indescribable mixture of scents that permeates a happy home during the holidays. Grandma, Kyrano and Tin-Tin busied themselves in the kitchen while Alan blasted off in Thunderbird 3 to fetch John. Jeff had decided that this Christmas, for the first time since International Rescue had begun operations, the entire family would be home for the holidays. He'd instructed John to put the space station on auto-relay and come home. John couldn't wait.
Christmas dinner came and went. Fairly bursting at the seams from all the food they'd eaten, the entire household sat around the Lounge opening numerous gifts. Everyone was more than pleased with what they'd received, and it wasn't long before Jeff moved behind his desk.
"Okay, it's time to call Nicky. Alan, make sure everyone has the gifts he sent."
"Right, Father," Alan replied, doling out the packages Virgil and Gordon had brought back with them two days ago.
Jeff opened a line in John's portrait, relaying it through Thunderbird 5's space scanners and scrambling the signal so many times not even Brains, he thought, would've been able to decode it. He smiled as Nicky's young face, flushed with happiness, appeared before them.
"Mr. Tracy!"
"Hi, Nicky. Merry Christmas!"
The rest of the Tracy house erupted into variations on the greeting as Nicky looked 'round the room.
"Oh, everyone's there! Even John!"
"Yeah, I'm here this year. Hiya, Nicky!" John waved from his seat on the couch. Next to him sat Gordon and Grandma. A chair to their left contained Alan and Tin-Tin, sharing the same space as always, while Scott and Virgil rested on the settee in front of Jeff's desk. The patriarch moved out and took his present from Alan before seating himself in a chair between John and Kyrano.
"Hiya!" Nicky waved back.
"All right, then, Nicky, who do you want to open their gift first?" Jeff asked.
"I'd like Kyrano to open his first. He was so kind to help me put this uniform on after I arrived," Nicky replied, glancing down to the blue outfit he wore. "And he was always bringing me more egg nog!"
"Thank you very much, Mr. Nicky," Kyrano said, bowing as the others laughed softly. He slowly opened the wrapping paper with the same patience and care he displayed in all aspects of life. When at last he reached the box inside, he opened it and gasped quietly.
The others watched with anticipation as Kyrano pulled out a wooden base covered by a glass dome. Within the dome was a lone white rose, which seemed to hang suspended by nothing at all. Everyone ooh'd and aah'd as Kyrano pressed a button on the base and the rose petals slowly opened to reveal a small glass cherub nestled within.
Kyrano looked up to Nicky. "This is beautiful. How can I ever thank you?"
"Well, I told Mom you liked flowers, that you had lots of gardens, so she helped me pick it out. I'll tell her how much you like it!"
"I do. Thank you."
"Who's next?" Tin-Tin asked from her perch next to Alan.
"You are, Tin-Tin!" Nicky replied. "You took that picture of me with 'Santa', and I've kept it right next to my bed every second since. It's one of the best things I took away with me."
Tin-Tin smiled as she delicately undid the paper around her package. She opened the rather flat box and pulled out an 8" x 10" framed photograph. "Oh, Nicky, it's lovely! Are those your parents?"
"Yes, they are! Do you like it? It's not much, but I wanted to give you something like you gave me."
"It's wonderful, Nicky. I will keep it next to my bed as you do with your picture. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Okay, Grandma, you're next!"
Grandma smiled. "Oh, Nicky, you didn't have to get me anything at all. I can't tell you how much fun it was having a little boy around to fuss over!"
Everyone chuckled as Grandma began unwrapping her present.
"Well, I never had grandparents. And you were so nice to me, you even told me to call you Grandma. When I got back to Coralville, I felt like I had a real family at last, with a real Grandma, just like I'd always dreamed about."
Ruth Tracy just smiled and shook her head as she came to a box about ten inches on each side. She opened it and exclaimed, "Oh! Look at this!"
Everyone's eyes were on Grandma as she pulled a white porcelain plate out of the box, followed by a stand to hold it. The plate was rimmed in gold and on the front was painted a large bunch of spring flowers. Inscribed in gold lettering were the words, 'Grandmas are life's most precious gift'. Tears came to Ruth's eyes as she smiled up at Nicky on the vid screen.
"Oh, Nicky, this is so beautiful. I will always treasure it. Thank you."
Nicky smiled. "You're welcome. Mom helped me pick that one out, too. Okay, Brains, you're next!"
The engineer blushed, fussing with the wrapping paper on his gift. He quickly opened the box contained within and his face turned even redder as he brought the contents out. He looked up at Nicky and said, "Thank you. Thank you very much."
"Well, Brains, when you told me you were an orphan like me, I didn't feel so different like I always did before. You did so many things with all the International Rescue equipment, and it made me believe I could be as special as you are even though I didn't have folks. My 2nd grade teacher gave me that plaque, but now that I have a family, I thought it might be better if you kept it."
"What is it, Brains?" Scott asked, straining to see.
Brains held it up, a smile upon his face. "I-It says, 'Orphans are Heaven's way o-of proving that angels really do e-exist'," he said.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Tin-Tin said.
"Thank you, Nicky. This is very special coming from you."
"You're welcome, Brains."
"Well, Nicky, are we ever gonna get to open our presents?" Alan asked.
"You always were impatient at Christmas," Virgil said as laughter rang 'round the room.
Nicky was positively jumping out of his skin. "Yes, Alan, all of the rest of you, open yours now!"
The men tore into their packages like little kids. They couldn't wait to see what these marionettes looked like! Alan's was the first out of the box. He whistled in surprise as Tin-Tin's hand came to her mouth and she said, "Oh!"
"Nicky, this-this is amazing! It looks almost exactly like me!" Alan breathed, standing and uncoiling the strings from his marionette.
Similar gasps of amazement came from this one and that around the room as each of them brought their 1 1/2-foot likenesses out of the confines of their boxes.
Jeff held his puppet up to his face. "How on Earth...?"
"Nicky, how did you..."
"My God, this is unreal!"
"Would you look at that?"
"Well, I'll be."
Nicky watched as each male Tracy stared in wonder at the creations made possible by Living Puppets. He knew these marionettes had been the perfect idea, but was a little taken aback at the silence. You could've heard a pin drop as everyone gathered 'round to inspect the incredible little creations.
"Do you, uh, do you like them?"
"Nicky, how in the world did you get them to look so much like us?"
"Well, Mr. Tracy, I just...I remember you, that's all."
"You must have a photographic memory," Scott said. He started maneuvering the strings a little and jumped slightly when he inadvertently opened his puppet's eyes. "Even the eye color is right. This is uncanny."
"Nobody took any pictures, Mr. Tracy. I wouldn't let them, my Dad made them promise. Nobody except the ones who made them saw 'em, but they don't even know it's you. I didn't tell them who they looked like, I just said they were faces I made up."
"Well, Nicky, you outdid yourself. Even the uniforms...how did you manage that?" Virgil asked.
"Mom made them. She used the uniform you gave me as a pattern, and I told her what color to make the sashes."
Jeff shook his head, still unable to believe how much the puppets looked like them all. "Well, Nicky, these are by far the most unusual and remarkable gifts we've ever received. Thank you!"
"Yeah, Nicky, thanks a lot!" Gordon added as his brothers all chimed in.
"You're welcome!" Nicky turned his face away from the monitor for a moment, and everyone could hear a woman speaking to him. "Aw, I gotta go. We're going ice skating at the new rink they just built!"
"Well, you have fun," Jeff said. "And thank you again."
"I'm glad you like 'em, Mr. Tracy. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Nicky!"
Everyone waved and said "Merry Christmas!" as Nicky signed off.
"I didn't want to say anything in front of Nicky," Gordon said, eyeing his marionette warily, "but this thing is creepy!" He maneuvered the strings so the eyes would open and the lower jaw moved as though it were speaking. "I'd swear it looks alive."
"Yeah, it sure is strange seeing yourself like this," Alan agreed.
Scott looked around at everyone else's puppets as he said, "We gotta keep our eye on that kid. There's room in International Rescue for a mind like that."
"Agreed," Jeff replied. "Well, it's getting pretty late. This has been another very special Christmas, but what say we head off to bed?"
Several yawns accompanied the murmured sounds of agreement as each member of the villa headed for their bedroom, unique gifts from Nicky Longfellow in their hands.
Deep within the Malaysian jungle, Belah Gaat stood in front of the statue of Manay in the cavernous central room of his temple. He was clad in the same long, black robe used in the animation ceremony he'd performed on the International Rescue marionettes, the hood pulled over his head, hiding his face.
"Manay, jin punya kemilikan. I am calling you, my children. Wake. Wake!" He raised his arms up over his head as the hood fell back from his face, revealing glowing yellow eyes that permeated the darkness of the room. "Listen to me, your Master. Wake and search. Seek and find. Show me all that you see. Show me. Show me now!"
Belah closed his eyes and began to hum low and long, mentally contacting each of the demons housed within those ridiculous puppets that stupid boy had given to International Rescue. Fifteen long minutes passed until at last he was certain they were each under his control.
He walked to the altar upon which sat six brass bowls, with ugly faces like gargoyles carved around their bases. Within each bowl was a special mixture of Belah's own making, and the liquid had decidedly different tints...the first bowl on the left held a goldish-colored liquid; the second, blue; the third, yellow; the fourth, lavender; the fifth, orange; and the sixth was milky-white.
Placing his hands around the first bowl, the tone of his hum increased as he gave orders to each marionette's demon, stopping at each bowl in the same manner, never opening his eyes as instructions flowed from his mind to theirs.
"Find out where you are...find the Thunderbirds...find each member of International Rescue...send me all your information. Do not fail me, and you shall live. You shall live!"
Scott turned on his side, grumbling to himself about being awake at 2 o'clock in the morning yet again. His eyes wandered around his moonlit bedroom suite before coming to rest on the marionette of himself in full International Rescue uniform that rested in a seated position on the floor over in the corner of the room. For a split second, he could've sworn he saw it move...but chalked it up to being tired.
And so, Scott Tracy closed his eyes and relaxed, willing himself back to unconsciousness...not realizing that if he'd only kept his eyes open a few seconds more...he really would have seen the puppet move.
Small Scott's eyes blinked open. It twisted its head, eyeballs moving from side to side as it scanned its surroundings. Believing its human counterpart to be asleep, it sneered as the hard Bondaglass that made up the skin of its face softened into something more pliable, and decidedly more human looking. Hands, too, ceased to be made of rubber and turned instead into real, working hands. It carefully untied the strings that seemed to be attached to every point on its body, then stood and stretched.
Glancing around one more time to ensure its movement was undetected, Small Scott made its way to the suite door. Leaping up to the key panel, it pushed the button that slid the door wide open. Looking first one way and then the other, the marionette dashed into the hallway, headed for the Lounge.
If any of the real people in Tracy Villa had been awake, they'd have heard a soft laugh...an evil laugh...that would've made their hair stand on end.
