There was a reason why Scott had taken Alan with him. He could rationalise it by saying Gordon would be of more use on the roof, but truth be told, he just wanted to talk to his baby brother, aware that he had acted badly, no matter the reason.
Alan, however, wasn't having any of it. He ignored Scott's attempts to talk as they made their way down, and eventually Scott got the message. There was a look of pain that passed over his face, and for an instant Alan felt guilty, but there was suddenly much to do and professionalism took over them both.
Walking the penultimate floor above the water, Scott called John for an update, hoping that they wouldn't need to go any further, and John confirmed he could find no other live signs. Turning to Alan to let him know, the building gave a groan, and Scott swore he saw the walls move.
Wasting no more time, he sprinted over to Alan, who was almost to the right staircase. Just as he was about to enter the stairwell, Scott grabbed him and swung him around, pushing him away just as the floor dropped out.
Alan watched in horror as his brother disappeared from the exact spot he had just been standing, with the dropping of the right side of the building. He stood there, paralysed for what seemed like hours, until he became aware of John shouting at him.
'Alan, Scott! Alan! Scott!' The shouts were becoming increasingly worried, so very unlike their space monitor. 'John,' he whispered in return, but it was enough for the sensors on Five to pick up, and he heard John's sigh of relief.
'Alan, report! What's going on?' To his surprise, and shame, a sob was all the response he could muster. It obviously affected John, for the next thing Alan knew Gordon was at his side and rubbing his back, while Virgil was looking over the ruins of the building before them. He didn't want to know how long he was out for.
And then Virgil did what he did best. As the engineer with a degree in civil engineering, he looked at the structure and set to work. They dared not use the Mole, since they had no idea where Scott was in all the debris, so they painstakingly moved everything piece by piece.
They were soon joined by those Virgil was supposed to have rescued last. Having seen the building collapse, and heard the reaction of John, Virgil had simply set Two down on the next building and fired a line across. Those who were able offered their services, and International Rescue was grateful that they did.
In the end there were three lines of people, with Virgil, Gordon and Alan the head of each line. They would remove a piece of debris and pass it down the line in hope that the building wouldn't collapse any further. It was very slow going, but that was the safest way.
When they reached the water and there still was no sign of Scott, Alan faltered. Still they dug, water swirling around first their ankles and then their knees.
Finally, Gordon gave a shout. It still took almost ten minutes to remove enough debris to get him out, and once it was clear enough, Virgil went in and retrieved the limp body of their eldest brother. Evidence of his struggle with the water and the debris was clear – his hands were bloody from where he had been trying to free himself – but the sight of him cradled in Virgil's arms sent a cheer through the rescuers.
It didn't last long. As soon as he had room to set Scott down Virgil was performing CPR, while Gordon rigged the line to take a stretcher. Risking it all, they sent Scott across, where Gordon carried on resuscitation while Alan and Virgil came over. The local rescue service took over evacuating the remaining people while Two shot off to the nearest hospital where they could guarantee their anonymity.
Gordon, and then Virgil had kept John informed about what was happening, and in turn John kept Base informed. Jeff was horrified. There was always a risk with every rescue, but there was something in the timing of this one, just when he had concluded that he needed a serious heart-to-heart with Scott, and now it looked like he wouldn't get one for some time.
Once Two had landed and Scott been rushed into the waiting emergency department, it was decided that Gordon would stay while Virgil would fly Two back to the rescue site so Alan could fly One home. Everyone was worried about Alan, who hadn't uttered a word throughout Scott's entire rescue, but he nodded his agreement.
Four hours after Thunderbird Two had arrived to help the town, Jeff, Virgil and Alan were on their way to the hospital to find out just exactly how Scott was.