CHAPTER NINE
The guard raised his eyebrows in appreciation of the lovely young woman arriving at the gate in a somewhat out-of-place white van. She looked Asian, and had long, shiny black hair. "Hello, ma'am," he said, smiling. "Who are you here for?"
"I am a temporary secretary for Dr. Byron Levin, Sir. I have been fulfilling these duties for the past two days."
The guard, a forty-something man with light brown hair, checked the computer. "What's your name?"
"Mei Ling."
"Ah, yes, here you are. All right, do you know where you're going?"
"Yes."
"Fine. Here's your temp ID, go on ahead."
"Thank you, Sir."
The guard stared after the woman as she drove away. She was almost...mesmerizing.
Brains shook off his feelings of dread...well, best as he could, anyway. One drawback to having a brilliant mind was that it never stopped working. Even while he slept, his brain went a thousand miles a minute. And now, as he maneuvered Ladybird closer to her destination, he couldn't turn that part of his mind off that had remembered the man he now knew as The Hood.
He'd run into Evil again at Lake Anasta. Once he'd seen those eyes...he'd known instantly it was the same man from Cincinnati. He'd toyed with him then, burying him up to his neck in the sand, leaving him to bake in the desert sun. And then he'd tried to kill him in the underwater temple. Brains wasn't certain why he hadn't kidnapped him right then and there, but surmised the promise of millions in treasure had gotten the best of his judgment.
"This is Ladybird calling Tokyo Air Control. ETA fifteen minutes. Request permission to land."
"This is Tokyo Air Control. Permission granted. Approach from west, runway 4-2."
Brains opened his mouth and almost said "F.A.B.," but managed to reply, "Roger that," instead.
The closer he got to the airport, the more he felt he should turn back. Just turn the plane around and head for the sanctuary of the island.
"I can't," he suddenly said aloud, shaking his head. "I can't run and hide forever."
Having gotten over the initial shock of finding the John marionette missing, Tin-Tin returned to Jeff and went about setting his shoulder. Scott held his good arm down while the others hovered nearby.
"Are you ready, Mr. Tracy?"
Jeff nodded, gritting his teeth, waiting for the pain he knew was just around the corner.
"All right. This is really going to hurt," she said by way of warning. He closed his eyes and Tin-Tin pulled his arm out quickly so it was perpendicular to his body.
Jeff grunted, but maintained his composure. Then she lifted the arm slightly and shoved it toward him. Everyone in the room could hear the sickening pop as the shoulder was forced to realign. Jeff managed to stifle most of his cry, but couldn't keep it all inside.
"Thank God that's over," he breathed, visibly paled.
"All right, Mr. Tracy, I'm going to give you a painkiller. It should take the edge off."
"No, Tin-Tin," Jeff ground out as Scott helped him sit up. "I can't be blinded by painkillers right now. Not with that puppet loose."
This reminded Tin-Tin of what had happened, and she returned to the hall where Gordon was inspecting the burn mark on the wall.
"You're sure you hit it..."
"Yes, Gordon, I'm certain. There was a hole in its chest the size of an apple. I know I hit it."
"Well, it seems to have gotten up and walked away."
Jeff appeared in the doorway, not altogether steady on his feet, but otherwise none the worse for wear. "Where are the other marionettes?"
"I put them in Containment Unit Alpha at the base of the shaft."
"Okay, Gordon. Where are Virgil, Alan and Kyrano?"
"They stayed behind in Thunderbird 3 silo, Father, they were looking for the marionette," Scott supplied.
"Well, you'd better warn them it's on the loose. We should get down to the shaft and make sure those other puppets are secure."
Before Scott could even lift his wrist com, there was a commotion coming from the end of the hall. Jeff, Gordon and Tin-Tin turned to face that direction.
"What's going on out there?" Ruth asked from her position near John.
"I don't know," Scott replied. "Gordon?"
"Oh, no!" Tin-Tin cried. "Everyone, back in the room!"
"What--?" Jeff began, but was cut off as Gordon and Tin-Tin shoved him backwards before turning and slamming the door shut with a hit to the keypad. Gordon quickly punched in the lockdown codes that would seal the entire house along with all Thunderbird hangers and silos.
Scott frowned as he approached his younger brother. "What the hell is going on?"
"The puppets," Tin-Tin breathed, visibly shaken. "They're out there."
"How can that be?" Jeff asked, his eyes widening.
"I don't know, Father," Gordon replied, concern etched on his face. "But they were out there. All six of 'em."
"And their eyes," Tin-Tin said as she seated herself wearily on the edge of the bed. "Their eyes were red. Glowing red."
Wild laughter echoed beyond the door as small footsteps approached. They could hear hissing and speech, but the language was foreign to them. Almost everyone jumped as something banged on the door.
"They're trying to get in," Scott said.
"What are we going to do, Jeff?"
Jeff shook his head. Aside from Ruth's laser pistol and Tin-Tin's laser rifle, he saw no weapons in sight. "I don't know, Mother. I just don't know."
"Where is he?" the janitor growled. He looked like your average Joe, his bushy blonde hair tucked beneath a cap, body clad in a navy blue cover-all.
Mei looked up from her seat behind a mahogany desk, seemingly unsurprised at being spoken to in such a manner.
"He was delayed. Reason unknown. I have just been informed via text message that his craft has landed at Tokyo Airport. He should arrive within the hour."
The janitor rubbed his hands together in glee. "At last, Mr. Hackenbacker," he snarled, "thanks to my marionettes, you will be mine. As will the technology behind the Thunderbirds!"
Having landed smoothly at Tokyo airport, Brains enjoyed a rather swift cab ride through the streets of downtown Tokyo and into the large industrial complex owned by Tracy Engineering. During the forty-minute trip, he'd managed to put his mind off The Hood and back onto the project he was in Tokyo to meet with Dr. Levin about to begin with: a compact air shield device that, theoretically, would eliminate the need for bulky flight suits used at high altitudes.
He'd developed the idea for use by International Rescue. Alan and Scott had both tested it back on the island. There were a few modifications needed after Scott nearly passed out at twenty thousand feet, but subsequent modifications and testing had seemed to iron all the kinks out. Jeff suggested the device would be useful to Tracy Corporation, and had asked Brains to pass the invention along to Dr. Levin.
For the past three weeks, Dr. Levin and his associates had been testing and doing some redesigning, with Brains' help via vid-conference. Now it was time for the final shakedown, so the product could be registered and demonstrated to potential clients worldwide.
The device itself resembled a thin, rather flat box. It was silver in color and strapped onto the back of a pilot. Once activated, it covered its wearer with a protective barrier that meant a man could move uninhibited at high altitudes, leaving his hands and body free for any type of maneuvers that might be required.
Dr. Levin had even gone a step further and begun a project to modify the ASD1 for use in space travel. His hope was that one day astronauts would be able to float in space and bounce around on the moon wearing nothing more than their normal clothing and an ASD2. Brains found the prospect of such a feat titillating, and had agreed to go over ASD2's design specifications with the doctor after ASD1's shakedown test.
Now, as he approached Dr. Levin's office, his step was light, as was his heart. His mind was spinning with some new ideas he had for ASD2, and he couldn't wait to see how they panned out in the laboratory. He approached a double-set of gray doors that were on the 3rd underground floor of one of the buildings in the park. This was Dr. Levin's floor, where new products were constantly being invented and tested. Brains had visited here several times in the past and never failed to enjoy himself. For a genius inventor, it was like being a child in a toy store.
"Find anything you can get your hands on that can be used as a weapon," Scott said, subconsciously slipping into command mode.
Tin-Tin handed her laser rifle to John, whose head was still throbbing mercilessly. She made for a cabinet that housed various surgical instruments and began ripping vacuum-sealed bags open, trying to find things that they could use to defend themselves.
Ruth, Jeff and Gordon spread out. Cupboards flew open and things started flying as they tore through the room in search of anything that made sense in the moment.
Scott lifted his wrist com. "Virgil, do you read me? Virg, come in."
"Yeah, Scott. We're not having any luck down here."
"That's because they're up here."
"They're what? You mean all of them?"
Scott nodded. "Listen, they're really giving it to the door. I don't know how much longer it'll hold. We've sealed the island so they can't escape."
"Do you have weapons?"
"Just two. We're looking around now for things we can use."
It was Gordon who first noticed the strange sound coming from the infirmary door. It was a hissing, crackling sound. "What is that?" he asked.
They all listened for a moment, before a look of horror settled on Scott's face. "Oh, my God."
"Scott?" Jeff asked, taking the laser pistol his mother offered him.
"They're using the oxyhydnite gas to cut through the door!"
"Oh, no!" Tin-Tin gasped.
Virgil's voice was tinged with worry as it came through Scott's communicator. "We're on our way."
"Hurry, Virgil. We're running out of time."
Brains passed through the double doors and saw a desk to the left of the waiting area. He was struck by the beauty of the woman who sat behind it. She was decidedly Asiatic and wore a red silk skirt suit with a white silk blouse beneath it. Her long, black hair was so shiny it almost glowed. He approached the desk somewhat nervously.
"Uh, hello, there. I'm here to see Dr. Levin."
Her voice, when she spoke, was low and sultry. "I take it you are Mr. Hackenbacker."
"Why, yes, I-I am."
"Please be seated. Dr. Levin will be with you in a moment."
Brains nodded, dumbfounded by her beauty. It was all he could do to make it over to the nearest chair without tripping over his own feet. He plopped onto his hind end, paying no heed to the man who was watering the potted palm to his right.
He didn't catch sight of the woman looking up at the janitor. He didn't see the janitor put his watering hose down. He didn't feel the man moving towards him. He didn't sense how close he was. He didn't notice anything amiss...until the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Brains knew that feeling. He'd know it anywhere. No. It couldn't be. He gasped, jumping to his feet. He heard a low growl and could feel warm breath on his right ear. He shivered, then froze as his eyes shifted to the right.
Dear God, no.
"Hello, Mr. Hackenbacker," the man menaced, his dark eyes glittering.
Brains closed his eyes tightly, all the fear he'd felt seven years ago returning ten-fold. For now, it was worse. Now...he knew all of International Rescue's secrets. His head filled with those terrible things he'd seen back then when his mind had been linked to The Hood's. Terrifying images that seemed larger-than-life.
Mei came to stand on Brains' left. He opened his eyes and looked helplessly at her, silently pleading for her assistance. But she just stood there, cold and unfeeling, staring right through him.
Seemingly of its own volition, his mouth opened and he yelled, "Help!"
Belah grabbed Brains' head in his hands, his nose mere inches from the engineer's face. "I think it is time we get reacquainted, Hiram Hackenbacker."
Brains winced, unable to take his eyes from those of the man before him.
The Hood grinned evilly. "Or should I say...Brains."
