Scott sat against the railings of the narrow walkway and gazed at the broken body of his baby. Repairs were taking time, the parts hard to locate and ship through the alert eyes of a suddenly attentive world.
There were many offers of help and people willing to give them their contacts and whatever safe passage that could be afforded. But his dad was worried. And understandably so.
It took time to filter necessary parts through dummy corporations and most of the components arrived in a form that even he would not have associated with a powerful rocket. But Brains had carefully and painstakingly sorted through what he needed and what was a smokescreen, taking hardware to pieces and picking out what he wanted.
And she was almost done. The internal mechanisms were back together and most of the amazingly delicate elements as good as new. But the outer hull still hung open like a gaping wound and Scott looked up at the broken nose cone in dismay. She was a part of him now. It was a close relationship forged through some of the most intense moments in his life. And having her hanging there helpless was hard to see.
At least he wasn't also grounded. Flying shotgun with Virg and still being a part of the team had kept him occupied. But things had been quiet of late. And he had time to think.
Not a good plan. And here he shared a similarity with his departed sibling. Not that anyone except John would ever have guessed just how much time Scott spent thinking, brooding, edging ever closer to the same depression that had taken his brother from him.
Scott hugged his arms around his legs and rested his chin between his knees, trying to ignore the nagging concern over his low mood that seemed determined to not give him any peace. The sudden eruption of a jovial tune then made Scott jump in shock. He grabbed the phone from his pocket and smiled as he recognised the caller's ID.
"Ruthie?"
"Scott!" Ruth blurted shakily. "I need to talk to you!"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Not over the phone."
Scott frowned, his heart racing as he heard the fear in her voice. "Okay."
"Can you come here? I mean, I know it's a long way and - "
"I'll be there."
Ruth sighed loudly. "Oh, thank you. When?"
Scott glanced upwards to the house somewhere above him. "I'll need to speak to the old man but as soon as I can."
"Great."
"Sure."
Ruth seemed to be fighting back tears. "I'll wait to hear from you, then." She concluded and said farewell.
Scott was on his feet in an instant and hurrying back into the main complex, his mind full of a thousand possible reasons for such a worrying call. Racing into the office, he found Virgil sat behind the desk, nose in a book and feet tapping to whatever tunes were filtering though his headphones.
Virgil looked up at Scott's sudden entrance and watched him in intrigue.
"Dad?" Scott asked quickly.
"Pool." Virgil replied, a little louder than was necessary over his music. "You okay?"
"Fine." Scott waved off his brother's concern and headed on out of the office.
The house was quiet. Alan and Gordon had left early that morning to go exploring, leaving Virgil some peace to sit and read. It had been their father's idea to send the two youngest away from the house for a while. The family were getting claustrophobic within the complex and boredom made for either mischief or fighting. Neither of which sat well with the somewhat quieter Virgil.
Scott found his father just where his brother had said, perched on a bench and surrounded by a ton of large schematics, pinning the corners of the paper down against the breeze.
"Hey." Jeff greeted merrily, seeming glad for a distraction from his work.
"Dad," Scott smiled thinly and shrugged his shoulders as he jogged down the stairs. "I need a favour."
"Sure." Jeff's attention was taken from the blueprints and one of them made a bid for escape on a gust of wind. He grabbed the paper just in time and laughed in relief. Looking back at his son, his smile fell away. "What is it?"
"I …" Scott sighed and continued forward, shaking his head slowly. "I just need some space. A few days away."
Jeff considered this for a moment and took in his son's weary face. "Take the jet." He agreed quietly.
"Thanks." Scott smiled.
Jeff nodded, "And stay in contact."
Scott took his phone from his pocket and waved it as a reply.
Jeff gathered his papers together in a tight bundle and stood slowly. "Where will you go?"
"California." Scott answered, "I'm gonna call in on some friends."
"Sounds like a good plan."
Scott turned back towards the house but then spun back. "Will you - "
"We'll be fine." Jeff urged softly, "We're not exactly back up to full operation anyhow." He saw the concern in Scott's eyes and nodded slightly. "I'll tell your brothers. They'll understand."
"I just don't want them to think that … well … with John … and … you know …"
"I do." Jeff assured. "Go. Give me a call later."
Scott hurried over to his father and gave him a brief but firm hug before then heading back inside.
Ruth met him at the airport as promised. She ran forward from the end of the arrivals waiting aisle and threw her arms around him, the greeting not seeming unusual amid the many other happy reunions in the terminal.
Scott could feel her body trembling and frowned down at her as she released her tight hold. He saw her shake her head in warning and his heart was racing as he followed her out to her car.
They made the short journey out to the coast in silence and Scott waited nervously for Ruth to give him some indication as to what the hell was wrong. He watched her focusing on the road and avoiding his concern, her foot heavy on the accelerator as they hurried to wherever it was that she had obviously deemed safer to talk.
The wind pulled at the car doors as they climbed out and walked a short way across the headland. Ruth sat down on the narrow bench at the cliff edge and tucked her long hair out of her face.
Scott joined her and could not take any more suspense. "For God's sake, Ruthie." He began carefully, "What the hell has happened."
Ruth nodded slowly. "I'm sorry." She sighed, "I just couldn't take the chance that - " She paused and closed her eyes, swallowing back tears.
"Hey …" Scott moved closer to her. "Ruth, please."
Ruth cleared her throat and looked up at him. "It was sabotage, Scott."
Scott's stomach lurched.
Ruth looked into his suddenly pale face and nodded slowly. "Someone killed Jake."
Scott gasped in horror and sank back against the bench, his head spinning. He reached into his jacket to grab his cigarettes and used the chance to gently activate the small scrambler device hidden in his pocket.
"I had to know," Ruth continued, turning away from him and looking out over the valley below them. "And the story they kept trying to pacify me with just wasn't enough."
Scott lit a cigarette and waited for her to elaborate.
"I found someone on the base and bribed him to get me the report."
Scott frowned.
Ruth glanced back at him. "It was some top secret prototype." She shrugged slightly, "Which is nothing new. Jake was into all kinds of test flights and new technology. It was his ticket to the stars."
Scott nodded slowly.
"Project Trailblazer." Ruth watched Scott's face and saw none of the recognition she had hoped for. She sighed and looked back out at the afternoon sky. "Something called an XJ215."
"Jet fighter."
Ruth nodded, "A two man ultrasonic something-or-other. So why the fuck my brother was flying it alone is the first question."
Scott reached out and placed his hand on her arm. "I'm sure they knew what - "
"Oh, don't give me that closed ranks bullshit!" Ruth shouted suddenly and spun at him. "He was alive, Scott!"
Scott stared at her in shock.
"If only barely. God knows how after a fall from that height and with the injuries he had but … he was alive when they found him. And he lived for three days in a military hospital. Three fucking days!" And now Ruth was sobbing.
Scott sat forward and pulled her into his embrace, tears stinging his eyes as she fell against him and sobbed into his chest.
"Three days!" Ruth continued desperately, "Lying there helpless and slowly dying. And those bastards deciding that what a sedated high ranking officer might say was too great a risk." She clutched at Scott and cried bitterly. "I never got to say goodbye!"
Scott held her tightly and pressed his face into her hair, rocking her gently and wishing that he could take all of her pain away.
"It's not fair." Ruth husked quietly, "Who are they to decide that? How could they not tell us? How could they lie to my parents like that?"
"I know." Scott soothed. "It's shit."
"And then some." Ruth agreed. She sat back from him and wiped her face with her hands. She took a moment to compose herself and then took a deep breath. "And then … this morning … I get a call from some guy warning me to drop it."
"What?"
Ruth nodded, "The number was withheld and that was all he said – 'back off'." She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "And I'm so scared."
Scott placed his arm around her shoulders.
"Art's away and I just didn't know what to do." She turned back to him, "I hid the file and - "
"What? You've got the file?"
Ruth nodded. "At the house."
"Shit!" Scott gasped, "Ruthie, you have to get rid of it!"
Ruth's face crumpled as fresh tears gathered.
"Oh, it's okay." Scott put his arms around her again. "It's okay. I'll help you."
XXXXX
The house was an immense, Greek-style mansion set back among the trees on the side of the valley. Ruth drove in through the automatic gates and steered the car along the drive up through the long front lawn.
Scott gazed out of the window and whistled in awe as he took in the view. "What did you say Art does?"
Ruth chuckled, "I know. It screams 'drug baron', huh?" She pulled the car to a halt and shrugged slightly, "Guess you saw me more as a cosy homemaker."
"No." Scott laughed, "It's not that. It's just - " He climbed from the car and gazed up at the ornate columns of the front entrance. "Wo. And I thought my dad had a taste for big."
Ruth stepped up beside him and smiled at his reaction. "It makes hide and seek last an interesting few days." She offered and led him inside.
They headed straight for the study on the ground floor and Ruth crouched down behind the large mahogany desk to open the safe. She retrieved the file and handed it to Scott.
Scott stared at the file and his mouth was suddenly dry. TOP SECRET blurted the red words on the cover. And it was all but an invitation.
Ruth watched Scott open the file and saw his intrigue become horror as he flicked through the pages. She stepped closer and saw that he had paused on the copy of the prototype jet's schematics.
Scott could feel his chest tightening and he stared at the design. There were only two massive engines and the fuselage was broader and more triangular but the similarities were too obvious to ignore. XJ215 Ground to Orbit Stealth Shuttle, the heading stated. But there was no mistaking her and suddenly Scott couldn't breathe; it was Thunderbird 3.
Tbc …