CHAPTER FIVE
Scott discovered that Gordon hadn't been doing anything but sleeping the night before, so that ruled out the possibility of him having moved everyone's marionettes around just to mess with their heads. Upon closer investigation, Gordon realized his own puppet was slightly askew, and questioned Scott about what it might all mean. Before Scott could even think of something to say, Alan came bursting into the Lounge.
"Scott! Gordon!"
"What? What is it?" Scott asked, alarmed.
"My puppet!"
Gordon exchanged glances with Scott as Virgil entered the room. "What about it?"
"When I woke up, it wasn't there, I left it on my dresser, but it wasn't there so I went looking for it and I found it only it was back on the dresser again, I swear, I'm not going crazy, you guys have to believe me!"
"Whoa, little brother, slow down," Virgil said as he approached them. "What's this all about?"
"It seems we have some very strange marionettes on our hands," Scott replied grimly. "I honestly can't tell you what's going on."
"But something definitely is," Gordon added before relaying his own findings. Scott and Virgil filled them in on what had occurred with their marionettes as well, and then Scott told them what their father had said about the papers on his desk.
"What about John?" Alan asked, having calmed somewhat after his one-breath outburst.
"You know, I haven't seen him all morning," Virgil mused.
"Alan, Gordon, see if you can locate John. Virg, you and I need to talk to Father."
"Right," they replied in unison.
Still a bit shaken from his experience, Alan allowed Gordon to lead the way down the hall to John's bedroom. As they approached the door, the brothers looked uneasily at one another. Gordon pressed the button on the entry panel that would signal the room's occupant someone was outside.
There was no response. Not even via the panel com. Exchanging frowns, Gordon chimed again. Still nothing.
"Gordo, I don't like this," Alan said worriedly.
"He could be somewhere else on the island," Gordon supplied, not really believing his own statement. "I don't have his code, do you?"
"No," Alan replied. It was times like these he wished they didn't have secret access codes that locked their personal suites.
"I know, the GPS in his watch. It'll tell us where he is."
"Yeah. If he's wearing it."
Gordon cocked his head, as though challenging his brother to come up with a better solution.
Alan sighed. "Okay. Let's go."
"There you are, Father," Scott said as he and Virgil entered Brains' laboratory.
"Yes, Brains and I are going over the itinerary for his trip to Tracy Engineering today." He turned to them and alarm bells sounded in his head when he noticed the looks on their faces. "Scott? Virgil? What is it?"
"Well, Father, it's a strange one. We both thought we were crazy, but I don't think we are."
Brains looked suddenly interested. "What's going on, Scott?"
"You know how you found those papers scattered on your desk this morning?"
"Yes," Jeff nodded, "what of it?"
"Were you ever able to find out why they were like that?"
"No, but I really hadn't given it much thought after I filed them away. Why?"
Virgil looked ill at ease as Scott continued. "Last night around 2am, I thought I saw my marionette move. I just figured it was my imagination. But Virgil put his marionette in the bedside chair before turning in last night. When he woke up, it was lying across the foot of the bed."
"Sounds like Gordon u-up to one of his tricks," Brains commented.
"No," Scott replied, shaking his head. "I already asked. He swears he had nothing to do with it. Then he discovered that his puppet wasn't quite the way he'd left it, either. And Alan was real shook up. He couldn't find his marionette when he woke up this morning, so he went looking for it. When he got back to his bedroom, it was sitting there on his dresser."
"I don't get it. What are you trying to tell me?"
Virgil spoke up. "I don't know, Father, but it's strange how we've all had something odd happen with those marionettes."
Just then, Jeff's wrist communicator beeped. He raised his arm and looked into it. "Yes, Gordon, what is it?"
"Father, we can't get John to answer his bedroom door. The GPS says his watch is in there, but no matter how much we chime and knock, he won't respond."
"I sent them looking for John after we realized nobody had seen him this morning," Scott explained.
"Just because his watch is there doesn't necessarily mean he is," Virgil offered.
Scott gave Virgil a look. He knew Virgil was just trying to be the voice of reason, but they all knew that the only time any of them didn't wear their wrist communicators was when they were in the shower. Chances were, if John's watch was in his room, so was he...most likely attached to it. Jeff had come to the same conclusion as his eldest son. "All right, I'll be there in a minute to key in the override. Brains, you'd better leave soon so you're not late for your appointment with Dr. Levin."
"Yes, Sir," Brains replied, rising to his feet.
"Virgil, Scott, let's go."
They followed Jeff out of the lab, and Brains sighed. He was really looking forward to his meeting with Dr. Levin at Tracy Engineering, but was intrigued by what the brothers had said. As his mind sifted through various possible explanations, his brow furrowed, a feeling of dread almost overwhelming him.
It couldn't be. Could it?
Jeff, Virgil and Scott reached the door to John's suite rather quickly. Alan and Gordon stood aside as Jeff entered the override command that would open the door. It slid open with a swish, and Jeff entered first. Seeing nothing amiss in the Sitting Room, he motioned for the rest of the group to join him.
They entered John's bedroom, where they were greeted by the sight of him laying slanted on the bed, fully-clothed in the outfit he'd worn on Christmas Day and looking even paler than his normal complexion.
"John!" Alan cried, rushing to the foot of the bed, where John's head hung slightly over the corner end. He reached down and checked for a pulse. Even though he found one, his face became white as a ghost. "Dad..."
By now, Jeff and the others had joined him. "What?"
"He's hurt."
They all looked at where Alan was pointing. There was dried blood on the top right of John's forehead and hair, and it was only then they all noticed the dark blood stain on the comforter beneath him.
Jeff instantly moved into Command Mode. "Gordon, get the stretcher. Scott, get the Sick Room ready. Virgil, find Tin-Tin. Alan, make sure Brains has everything he needs and gets off the ground in Ladybird."
The others scattered, but Alan remained, staring down at his brother's prone form. "Dad, I want to stay with John."
"Go, Alan. Now."
Alan knew you didn't argue with that voice, so he took one last look at John before heading out the door. Jeff grasped John's wrist gingerly and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the strong pulse for himself. Then he moved to inspect the bloody area and discovered a gash running from just above the hairline up toward the top middle of his head. Thankfully it didn't seem too deep, but Jeff was disconcerted by how much the blood had dried.
Gordon returned with the stretcher and helped his father lift John onto it. "Get him to the Sick Room quickly, Gordon. He's been laying here for hours. Contact me at my desk as soon as Tin-Tin has a diagnosis."
"Right, Father," Gordon replied, rushing off with John and the hover stretcher, fast as he dared.
Jeff headed for the Lounge. There was a phone call he needed to make.
Once Alan conveyed how they'd found John, Brains had no intention of leaving the island. From the cockpit of Ladybird, he activated his wrist com as Alan hotfooted it back to the villa.
"Mr. Tracy, this is Brains."
In response, he received a signal indicating the older man wasn't able to speak to him at that moment. Frustrated, Brains hopped out of the plane and was soon right on Alan's heels.
"That's right, Mr. Fields. I'm asking you if anything out of the ordinary happened to those marionettes prior to them being delivered to the Longfellows." Jeff's face was like a thundercloud, but Jay Fields, puppet designer for Living Puppets, could not see him, as he'd chosen to contact him using sound only.
"I-I guess you could say there was one strange thing."
"Well?" Jeff asked impatiently. "What is it?"
"The, uh, the marionettes actually disappeared for just over a week."
"What do you mean, disappeared?"
Jeff didn't notice Brains' arrival in the Lounge. He'd sprinted all the way from the runway, but wasn't even winded. When he saw the elder Tracy on the vidphone, he turned and ran for the Sick Room.
"Well, Sir, one morning a couple weeks before Christmas, we went to get the marionettes for packaging, but they were gone. They reappeared on the twenty-third."
The thundercloud on Jeff's face turned into an all out storm front. "Do you have any idea who took them?"
"No, we don't. Our security systems never showed a breach and they didn't seem any the worse for wear, so we just told the Longfellows there'd been a production delay."
"So there's nothing else you can tell me?"
"I'm afraid not, Sir. I'm sorry. A-Are you really from International Rescue?"
"Yes, Mr. Fields, I am. And I wish you'd told someone about the disappearance before now."
"Why? What's happened?"
"I'm not sure, but there's something funny about them."
"Funny?"
"Never mind. Thank you for your help." Foregoing any niceties, Jeff closed the channel and tapped one finger on his desk before punching another number into the vidphone panel.
"Yes, hello?" a man's voice answered. Again, Jeff had selected sound only.
"Hello, Marvin Longfellow?"
"Speaking."
"Mr. Longfellow, this is International Rescue calling."
"Oh, hello, there. I'm sorry, but Nicky's not here right now. He's gone after-Christmas shopping with Teresa."
"Well, it wasn't Nicky I was calling for, Mr. Longfellow. I actually wanted to speak with you."
There was a moment's hesitation before Marvin spoke. "Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Mr. Longfellow, were you aware that the marionettes given to us by your son had been stolen from Living Puppets and then returned just before Christmas?"
By the tone of Marvin's voice, Jeff knew the next words he spoke were truth. "Oh, my, no. No, we didn't know that at all!"
"Mm, I thought not. But I had to be certain, you understand."
"No, I don't understand, really. Has something happened involving the marionettes?"
"All I can tell you is that there's something odd about them. We're going to try and figure out what it is, but first I had to know whether or not you knew anything about it."
Marvin was obviously confused. "I'm sorry, I don't. I apologize very much, they were just supposed to be gifts from Nicky to thank you."
"I know, Mr. Longfellow. I'd appreciate you not troubling Nicky about this, especially since we don't have a lot to go on."
"I agree. Please let me know if there's anything else we can do."
"I will. And thanks." Jeff cut the line just as his wrist com beeped. "This is Jeff Tracy." A face appeared on the small vid screen. "Brains? You don't look like you're in Ladybird."
"No, I-I'm not, Mr. Tracy. I'm with John and the others."
Jeff rose to his feet and headed for the Sick Room. "I told Alan to make sure you got off the ground. I need you at Tracy Engineering!"
"I know, Mr. Tracy. I'm certain Dr. Levin won't mind the short delay." He turned as the man he'd been speaking to entered the room. "Oh, Mr. Tracy, you're here."
"Yeah, so are you," Jeff replied, his voice stern. But he couldn't really fault Brains for having remained to look over John, and was secretly glad he had. "What have you come up with?"
"He was struck with a blunt object that caused a two-and-one-quarter inch gash on his head, one-sixteenth of an inch deep. His life signs are good, but he's still unconscious from the blow."
"Recovery?"
"Complete, near as I can tell."
"Thank you, Brains," Jeff said, turning away from the engineer. "You can go now."
Virgil gave Brains a slight smile, which Brains returned. He knew full well they were all grateful for his presence to assess John's injuries, in spite of Jeff Tracy's apparent gruffness.
"Yes, Sir, I'm on my way."
As Brains left the room, Jeff watched Tin-Tin working to make John as comfortable as she could, cleaning and bandaging his wound before tucking him under the sheets.
"Alan, as soon as John comes to, find out what happened. Scott, Virgil, I want you to round up those marionettes. Gordon, get something to put them in, something they can't get out of."
Alan did a double take at his father. "Something they can't get out of?" he asked.
But Jeff didn't reply, just turned on heel and left the room.
"What'd he mean by that?" Gordon asked.
Scott shrugged. "I don't know, but we'd better get to it."
What Scott didn't tell his brothers was that he did have an idea what his father had meant. And that idea sent shivers down his spine.
"Scott?" Virgil asked as they headed for his room. "What is it?"
Without looking at him, Scott replied, "If it's what I think it is, you don't wanna know."
