DISCLAIMER: THEY STILL DON'T BELONG TO ME.

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NOTES:

* On time for this weekly update. :) and hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews are welcome!

* WARNING: Potential triggers involved in this chapter. All taking place within the background checks. Please read with caution! *

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* Further notes at the end of this chapter.

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Chapter 39: Background Checks.

Previously:

Scott slumped into his chair. "So, how have you been getting along with the background checks on the nurse and Doctor?"

"Well," John started. It's actually brought up some interesting information on both, but one is very damning!"

"Which one?" Scott enquired.

… ...

"Nurse Andrews!" John replied.

"So, it was her?" Gordon frowned.

"Unfortunately, we still don't know for definite," John sighed, "we have no proof, and as I said, the checks I've done on Sanderson are quite intriguing as well!"

"But what you've found so far does point to this Andrews woman?" Penelope questioned, taking her coffee from Parker who had just re-entered the room.

"Yes, it does," John confirmed.

"Okay," Scott breathed out, trying to keep the anger that was beginning to seep in at bay. "Let's hear what you have on her."

Alan who had the notes in front of him started. "Maria Jessica Andrews, aged 24. Gained a Bachelor of Nursing with Honours at The University of Auckland. She grew up with her parents and three younger brothers. Her father Duncan Andrews was a pharmacist and her mother Bridget Andrews was a receptionist in a health clinic."

"Was, have they both passed away?" Parker questioned.

Alan breathed out. "They both died two years ago. It seems they were caught in a landslide at Crest Valley."

"Oh God!" Scott burst out, recognising the incident that Alan was referring to. "That was two months after we first launched International Rescue."

"It seems that her parents had been enjoying a vacation with her two youngest brothers, who were aged 12 and 14 at the time," Alan continued, "they had all been in their cabin when the disaster occurred. According to local news reports they were the last ones to be reached."

"Were they the ones that Virgil went in for?" Gordon questioned hesitantly.

"Yes, they were!" John confirmed.

Gordon and Scott released heavy breaths, as their memories flashed back to the tragedy that had happened that day.

There had been severe storms in the region which had caused the mountainous area that surrounded the valley to weaken and give way, toppling onto the small unsuspecting village. Scott, Virgil, and Gordon had gone in to help with the rescue relief. Unfortunately, it had been too late for some residents who had died in the initial landslide. Sadly, it had also been the first time that they had lost lives after the rescue had taken place. Towards the end of the rescue, all three of them had been doing final checks when Virgil had heard a noise. Since the previous hour had been spent pulling out the bodies of those who had died. Scott and Gordon had believed that fatigue and stress were affecting Virgil's senses. However, refusing to back down Virgil had insisted on investigating further.

Eventually, due to a combination of Virgil's instincts and quick thinking he had located the family who had been buried deep underneath their collapsed cabin. With his brothers help Virgil had been the one to crawl inside the makeshift entrance, discovering that the father had already passed away. The mother was wedged down, unconscious and bleeding out, while their two young sons were both alive, but badly injured. Realising immediately that there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable death of the woman. Virgil made the decision to get the two boys treated and out of there as quickly as possible. As he began to remove the second boy, the mother had come around in a state of blind panic. Not wanting to leave her on her own, Virgil had handed the child over to Scott, and remained with the woman. Talking to her and keeping her calm in her final moments.

After a short period of silence Gordon spoke. "What happened to the family afterwards?"

"Well, as there were no other family members to take them in, and the third brother was only 16 at the time; Maria, moved back into the family home, and supported her brothers while continuing to finish her studies and hold down her job," Alan answered.

"So, what makes you think it's her?" Scott asked. "She sounds like a decent person, who is doing what any self-respecting older sibling would do. Stepping up and doing what it takes to keep her family together!"

"Yes, she is," John replied, "but there's a lot more we have discovered!"

"Like what?" Gordon questioned.

"The injuries that her brothers received for a start," John began, "the 14-year-old boy suffered a closed fracture to his skull, several broken ribs, and a broken leg. He had to undergo an operation for the leg fracture, and unfortunately this and his other injuries put an end to his promising football career.

"And the 12-year-old?" Scott enquired hesitantly.

John breathed out. "According to his medical notes a delay in being able to treat his back and leg injuries led to him having his one leg amputated, and permanent damage to his back. Unfortunately, because of this he's been in a wheelchair since, and as had to undergo several operations."

"So, you think that she blames International Rescue for not finding her family sooner, and the extent of her brother's injuries?" Scott questioned.

John nodded.

"And when the Hood told her who Virgil was, it obviously fuelled her reason for doing this." Penny suggested.

"Yes," John replied, "that's the conclusion me and Alan have come too. Plus, when we looked at her finances it showed that she's been struggling to cover various bills, and even though most of the medical costs were sorted by the ACC, she's still has to cover a lot of other expenses herself."

"So, money would also be a big motivation for her!" Scott concluded.

"Exactly!" John confirmed.

At that point, the food that Parker had ordered arrived. He busied himself in getting everything ready, while the others quietly discussed the findings on Nurse Andrews. Once everyone had eaten the meeting continued.

"You said there was some interesting information on Sanderson as well?" Scott questioned.

John nodded. "For a start, the fact that she went through a lot in the first 10 years of her life and still ended up coming out as a Doctor."

"Her childhood was rough?" Gordon asked.

"Rough," Alan exclaimed, "that's an understatement!"

"In what way?" Gordon queried.

Alan picked up the notes that he and John had been making and began. "Emily Sanderson, aged 32. Born in Scarsdale, New York. Her mother Rebecca Sanderson was only 16 at the time. It seems that Rebecca's parents wanted her to give Emily up for adoption, but when she refused she was kicked out of the family home, and was left to raise Emily on her own!"

"Sounds like such responsible parenting!" Scott mumbled sarcastically.

"And what about the father?" Penelope probed.

"No mention of who the father was on her birth certificate, or anywhere else. I'm still checking some other avenues, so I'll let you know as soon as I find anything," John replied.

"So, what happened to Rebecca and Emily afterwards?" Gordon asked.

Alan continued. "Rebecca remained in New York, moving into a small self-contained apartment above a diner. She managed to get a fulltime job working in the diner as a waitress, while she attempted to put herself through a college course at night."

"Attempted," Parker commented, "what happened?"

"During the next three years, Rebecca fell in with a bad crowd, and started dating some guy named Daniel Burnt. She quit college, and eventually she lost her job and her home. Rebecca then moved herself and Emily into her boyfriend's apartment," John explained.

Alan continued. "Throughout the next few years Daniel, Rebecca and Emily moved around several times. During that time, both Rebecca and Emily were admitted to several different hospitals for numerous injuries, but due to them not staying in one place long enough nothing was brought up with any of the local authorities." Alan paused, allowing everyone time to process the information before continuing. "When Emily was 7 years old, and they were living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Rebecca gave birth to a son, and they named him Warren Sanderson Burnt. They seemed to stop moving around during the first year of Warren's life. However, a month after Emily had turned 8; Daniel attempted to rob a convenient store, and killed the young man who was on duty at the time. When the police turned up, he attempted to flee the scene, but he was shot dead."

Scott exhaled. "What happened next?"

"The next two years, Rebecca continued to move around with Emily and Warren in tow," Alan replied, "but she failed to hold down any type of job, and struggled with various class A drugs."

"How do you know that?" Scott asked.

John breathed out. "When Emily was 10, she was living back in New York with her mother and two-year-old brother. She returned home from school one day to discover her mother unconscious from an overdose."

"Jesus!" Scott exclaimed. "Where was her brother?"

"According to police records he was asleep in his room at the time," John explained.

"What became of Emily and Warren after that?" Parker questioned.

"They were both placed in care, while attempts were made to contact Rebecca's parents," John responded.

"And let me guess," Scott scoffed, "they didn't want to know!"

John nodded. "Luckily though, they did manage to contact Rebecca's older sister Zara. From what I've found, she had been away from home travelling when Rebecca had been kicked out, and had made several failed attempts to track her sister down. Zara was 28 at the time, and had a stable income working as an Anaesthetist. She happily took on the role of parenting both Emily and Warren, and moved them into her home in Oakland, Chicago."

"And Rebecca?" Gordon asked.

"Apparently, Rebecca tried to get herself clean and see her children again, but when it was obvious she wasn't succeeding, full parental rights were awarded to Zara." Alan responded.

"Two years after losing custody of her children Rebecca seems to disappear," John added. "I'm hoping that once I've checked a few more records, I will find out what became of her."

"What happened to Emily and Warren after moving in with Zara?" Penelope enquired.

"Really good for Emily," John confirmed, "I've found a few reports saying that she obviously struggled at first, but once she had started seeing a counsellor, and began settling in with her aunt things began to turn around for her. Emily did extremely well at school, gaining the highest marks within her class, and went on to complete a pre-med undergraduate study at The University of Illinois. She then passed the Medical College Admissions Test and was excepted onto a scholarship programme at Stanford University, where she completed her medical degree. She went on to complete her residency at a hospital in California."

"And what about her brother?" Scott asked.

"Warren has done okay himself. He got decent grades at school and went on to do an apprenticeship at a garage fixing cars," Alan replied.

"So, when did Emily move to New Zealand?" Gordon questioned.

"About two years ago, which was a year after completing her residency. She moved with her aunt and brother to Auckland. Warren started his own business fixing cars and bikes, and both Emily and Zara successfully registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand. Zara now works in a smaller hospital just outside of Oakland, while Emily's been working here at Good Hope Hospital ever since."

"And do we know why they left the US?" Gordon asked.

John shook his head. "That's the second thing that's intriguing about her. They just seem to up and leave, and it's a complete mystery as to why they would move away. All of them had good jobs, were well paid, and Emily was tipped to rise within her chosen field."

Scott frowned. "There must be some reason they left."

"I will keep checking to see if I can find anything." John assured him.

"So, she doesn't have any motivation for wanting to help the Hood or hurt Virgil?" Penny questioned.

"Not that I can find," John confirmed, "but as I said I will keep looking."

After a short period of silence Scott spoke. "Okay, we all seem to agree that Andrews as the motivation to do this, but we need proof. Also, there's still so much more that we don't know about Sanderson, that it could still possibly be her. John, you and Alan have been doing a fantastic job so far. So, I want you both to continue with these checks and to see what else you can find out on both women."

"No problem!" John and Alan both responded.

"Penny you mentioned that you had some information on places that the Hood was possibly using as a hideout before being arrested?"

"Yes Scott, I have all of the information with me." Penny confirmed.

"Good. Myself and Gordon will check them out and see what we can find."

Penny nodded. "Perfect! That will free up my time to visit your father and Virgil at the hospital. Once I've put my mind at rest that your brother will be alright, myself and Parker will then make a visit to the Hood. Hopefully, this invention that Brains has come up with to block the Hoods mindpowers will work, and it will stop the Hood escaping again"

"Okay," Scott responded, secretly smiling to himself when Penny had said that she needed to 'check in' on Virgil. Knowing all too well that she had a soft spot for his younger brother, which had grown since the Anderbad incident, when Virgil had rescued her from certain death.

"Right bro, are you ready?" Gordon asked Scott.

Scott nodded and stood up readying himself to leave, but was stopped by Parker, handing him some tranquiliser guns and ammunition. "Just in case either of you come up against any trouble." Parker assured them.

Scott took the tranq guns. "Thanks Parker… Right. John, Alan. We'll see you later, keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on."

"Will do," John and Alan echoed.

"Okay," Scott grinned, "Gordon let's go!"

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INDEX:

* THE ACC: The Accident Compensation Corporation.

A/N:

* The Crest Valley is an area I made up for the purposes of this story.

* The disaster that Nurse Andrews family were involved in does not occur in any episodes and is completely made up for the purposes of this story.

* The Anderbad incident that Scott refers to (Virgil rescuing Penny) Is from an episode in the Original Series called, 'The Perils of Penelope.'