DISCLAIMMER: DON'T OWN THEM - YET!

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NOTES:

* Hello, sorry for the near 3 week delay on this chapter. I've been exceptionally busy with work, and then just got back from a week away visiting family.

* The following chapter was originally linked to the next upcoming chapter, but as it was starting to stretch to over 5000 words I decided to split them. Which means the next section should hopefully be with you soon!

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* Further notes at the end of this chapter.

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Chapter 40: Missions.

Gordon and Scott had spent the previous hour searching various locations for the Hood's former hideout and so far, no luck had been forthcoming. They were now stood outside the next and final location, a one-story house.

"What do you reckon?" Gordon questioned, after Scott had finished a perimeter check.

Scott frowned. "Not sure, from the outside it looks like it's been empty for a long time… But this one is close to the hospital, and I can't see anything through the windows, so it may be worth checking the inside."

"Well, let's hope this one does turn up something," Gordon sighed, "Those two women will probably be released soon."

Scott nodded, did one final check to make sure they were not being watched, prepared his tranquilliser gun, and stepped up to the front entrance. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Gordon replied.

Scott pushed the door open and they both quietly made their way into a large hallway. Five doors greeted them, two on their left, two on their right, and one straight ahead. "This is looking promising!" Scott stated, when they began checking the rooms on the left side. The one revealed a kitchen which had some unwashed dishes placed in the sink, and some leftover food in the fridge, while the second, which was obviously meant to be used as a family room, had instead recently served as sleeping quarters for at least two people.

Gordon nodded and signalled that he was going to begin checking the rooms on the other side. Discovering a bathroom in the one. "Hey, Scott." Gordon called, when he made his way into the fourth room. "Come and check this out."

"What is it?" Scott asked, stepping into the medium sized room, which had clearly been used for a bedroom.

"Look what I found," Gordon grinned, holding up a journal he had discovered tucked under the makeshift bed.

Scott returned the smile. "Anything useful in it?"

"Potentially," He responded, flicking through the book. "How about we check out that final room at the end of the corridor first, then give this a good read."

"Sounds good to me!" Scott replied.

They both carefully made their way to the last doorway and pushed it open. "Bingo!" Gordon exclaimed, when he saw the contents of the room.

Before them was a large open room containing some computers, which were set up on a table with two chairs placed in front of them. On the far side was another desk with some more paperwork sprawled across it.

Scott exhaled in relief. "Okay, let's get to work!"

Gordon nodded, and attempted to get the computers working, while Scott started sorting through the various notes and files on the desk. "These computers have been damaged," Gordon sighed, after several attempts to get them working without success. "It may be wiser to call John in for this."

"I'll call him, and get Alan to join us, it will help to have another pair of hands to go through these documents as well."

… …

Meanwhile:

Penelope, with Parker by her side walked into the large canteen at Good Hope hospital, and scanned the room. "Jeff," She beamed, when she spotted him sitting at a table with his mother.

"Penny, how lovely to see you," Jeff stated, giving the young woman a warm hug, "and Parker, always a pleasure." Jeff added, shaking Parkers hand.

Penny and Parker exchanged pleasantries with both Jeff and Ruth, and then made themselves comfortable at the table. "Now, I've heard Virgil isn't doing too well?"

Jeff sighed and relayed all the details to her, explaining that the nurses would be attempting to wake him up in the morning.

"Will I be able to see him?" She questioned.

"Of course," Jeff replied, "the doctors are just running some routine tests, so we will have to wait another five minutes," he added, after checking his watch. "So, I hear that Brains has invented some new equipment, which will potentially stop the Hood's powers from working?"

"Yes, that's correct," Penny began, "Brains explained to me that the Hood's powers seem to resonate through the colour changes in his eyes. I'm not sure I understand it completely, but he's created these contact lenses, and when you use them they will protect the retina from receiving the hypnotic suggestions from the Hood's eyes."

"And you'll be going to test them?" Jeff asked.

"Yes, I've spoken to the police commissioner, who I luckily know quite well through some acquaintances, and we have arranged an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. They believe I'm representing a 'Mr Hackenbacker' and his invention. They know the details on how it works, and as you can imagine are only too happy for it to be tested out."

Jeff pondered to himself for a moment and then spoke again. "Penny, do you think I would be able to come with you?"

"Jeff, I'm not sure that's wise," Ruth immediately protested.

"Mother, I need to go. I need to look that man in the eye, and tell him his plan as failed!" Jeff stated.

Ruth sighed and shook her head, while Penny inwardly smiled. "Jeff, I would be delighted for you to accompany myself and Parker."

"Great!" Jeff responded, checking his watch once more, and then standing. "It should be okay to see Virgil now."

"Penny smiled and stood. "Parker, will you please keep Ruth company?"

"Of course, M'Lady," Parker replied. As soon as Penny and Jeff had left the room Parker pulled some playing cards out of his pocket and placed them on the table. "Gin Rummy?" He suggested to Ruth.

Ruth grinned. "You know me well, Parker!"

… …

"If you keep pacing back and forth like that Scott you're going to wear a hole in the floor!" John remarked, as he tapped away at the computers keyboard. "And it's certainly not going to help me get these computers working any faster."

Scott stopped pacing and frowned. "You've been at it for half an hour. I just thought you would have had them up and running by know."

"Well, whoever was here knew what they were doing," John replied, "and whatever was on here, they obviously didn't want anyone else to find it!"

"Fine!" Scott replied, sinking dejectedly onto the floor next to Gordon and Alan who were sorting through all the papers. "So, what have you guys found?"

"Detailed floorplans of the hospital, inside and out. Copies of Virgil's medical records, a printed list of the various drugs Virgil has received, and how they would interact with the Rynax. Plus, some other medical files," Gordon replied.

"Are there any handwritten notes?" Scott questioned hopefully.

"These ones here," Alan responded, passing some paperwork Scott's way.

Scott flicked through the files. "Any chance these were written by one of our suspects?"

Alan shook his head. "I don't think we're going to get that lucky I'm afraid. We presume these were made by the Hood."

"How do you know?" Scott asked.

"It matches the personal diary that I found in that bedroom earlier," Gordon responded.

"Anything interesting in there?" Scott queried.

"Stuff we won't be leaving for the police to find," Gordon retorted, handing over the book.

Scott began flicking through the journal, his eyes widening at what he was seeing. The book was filled with personal notes on everything the Hood knew about Jeff Tracy, his family and businesses. Including details on everything he had gathered over the years on International Rescue. When he was done Alan passed him another which he quickly skimmed, noting the contents were similar. "How many more diaries are there?"

"Another two, that we've found in here," Alan confirmed.

"We'll need to do another detailed search of the building," Scott frowned, "as you said Gordon, we don't want to leave any more of these lying around!"

After another thirty minutes, Gordon, Alan and Scott had finished going through all the documents, and were now standing behind John, who was still working away at the computers. "Okay," John began, "whatever recorded data was on here as definitely been wiped and there is no way it can be retrieved. However, the computers were picking up live images from somewhere."

"Can you restore the link?" Gordon questioned.

John nodded. "We should be able to see whatever they were watching in a minute," John replied, tapping a few more keys. After a few more seconds the link to the hospitals security cameras appeared on the screen. "It also looks like there's another live feed that was being watched. Whatever it was should be displayed in a few seconds."

They all watched the screen as the live feed from inside Virgil's original ward room was now being broadcast back to them. "He was watching us the whole time!" Scott growled.

"And it was recorded!" John exhaled. "Unfortunately, It's the same as the other data that was on here. Whatever was recorded as been completely wiped from the system and from the hard drive."

"Do any of the two women know anything about computers, or do they have any possible connections that might?" Gordon enquired.

"Not that I've discovered," John sighed, "but before we got called out here, me and Alan did manage to find some more information on Sanderson's past."

"And what does it reveal?" Scott questioned.

"Quite a lot!" John responded.

… …

Penny sat next to Virgil's bedside clutching his hand in hers. She had been shocked when she had seen how bad he had looked, she knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but she hadn't expected him to look so small and lifeless as he lay there surrounded by the wires and machinery that were keeping him alive. "Oh Jeff," she finally spoke, "he doesn't look like our Virgil at all!"

"I know," Jeff replied sadly, "but I have faith in my boy. I'll know he'll pull through."

Penny nodded. "Yes Jeff, you're right. Virgil is strong, always has been, and I know he'll come out of this even tougher than before!" They both sat there in silence for a while longer. Eventually, Penelope leaned in to Virgil, whispered some words into his ear and placed a gentle kiss on his head. "Your mother really must be missing her grandson by now. Why don't we go and get a cup of coffee, and let her see him, and we can then discuss tomorrows excursion to see the Hood."

… …

Scott had decided that it would be best if they all returned to the hospital before John divulged the information that he had discovered on the doctor. He really didn't want to hang around the building any longer than necessary, just in case the Hood did have any more minions, and they decided to show up. He also wanted to make sure their father was filled in on everything that had been discovered so far. Before leaving they had all performed another detailed search of the building, and found two more personal journals. When they had finally finished their search, they made copies of any other documents that had proven useful, and then returned the hideout to how they had found it, making sure that they left no trace of them ever being there. The only other thing they did not return to its original state were the computers, making sure that the live links would be easily accessible for the police when they discovered the location. Which they were certain to do after Scott had sent them an anonymous tip off.

They were all now back at the hospital, sitting around a table in the hospital gardens, sipping coffee with their dad and Penny, while Parker and their grandma had remained with Virgil. Scott began by relaying all the information they had discovered so far. Followed by John who had continued by filling their dad in on the backgrounds of both women, before he started divulging the new information he and Alan had discovered on Doctor Emily Sanderson. "So, as we know her mother seemed to disappear two years after losing custody to her sister," John began, "I found some interesting medical and police records on Rebecca, from the time she was treated for the overdose. The medical records show that the only drugs in her system were from the overdose itself."

"What does that mean?" Jeff enquired.

"It could mean a number of things," John replied, "that she hadn't taken anything in a while. That this was her first time experimenting with drugs… Or someone made her take them."

"What?" Gordon exclaimed.

"Well, according to the police records we've found," Alan continued, "Rebecca made several claims that her sister Zara had actually found her a few weeks prior to the incident. She states that she had visited her that day and forcibly injected her with the drugs."

"Did the police ever follow this up?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Alan answered, "but Zara had an alibi, and when Rebecca tried to get her kids back, they did several drugs tests which she continually failed. So, it was concluded that she was lying."

"And do we know where Rebecca is now?" Penny queried.

Alan smiled. "It's actually quite good! She cleaned herself up and got a well-paid job as a secretary. The reason we didn't find her earlier, is because she got married to a Benjamin Clarke, and changed her last name. They had a couple of kids and now live in Canada."

"Do you know if she ever tried to contact Emily or her brother?" Scott questioned.

"Sorry, I have no idea," John replied, "but I believe I have found out who Emily's father was!"

"Who?" All of them said in unison.

"A Christopher Harrington," John responded.

"Harrington, why do I know that name?" Jeff questioned.

"Because you do know him," John confirmed.

Jeff looked at John with a puzzled expression. "How?"

"Around eight years ago, he wanted to do business with Tracy Enterprises. You turned him down when you realised it was some sort of dodgy deal," John reminded him.

Jeff's eyes widened as the memory returned to him. "Of course, I reported him and his company to the authorities, but just before it came up in the courts all the charges were dropped. I remember believing at the time that he had paid himself out of trouble."

"He probably did," John stated, "his business practices are definitely not the cleanest!"

"Does Emily know her father was reported to the police by me?" Jeff enquired.

John shrugged. "No idea, I'm not even sure if she sees her father."

"What makes you think this is her dad?" Scott asked.

"There's too many coincidences for it not to be him," John stated. "Firstly, he lived only three doors away from where Rebecca grew up. Secondly, a large lump sum was paid to the Sanderson's from Christopher's bank account around the time Rebecca became pregnant."

"He paid them off?" Penelope queried.

John nodded. "He was fourteen years older than Rebecca, he was married with a 2-year-old child, and his business was flourishing. I'm guessing he didn't want it to come out that he'd been having an affair with a 16-year-old girl, who he had managed to get pregnant!"

"And does Emily know all this?" Gordon probed.

"No idea," John replied, "what we do know is that at the age of 14, Emily was brought in by the police for stalking him. No charges were ever brought against her, I believe Christopher may have dropped them when he discovered who she was."

"And do we know why they left America?" Jeff asked.

John shook his head, "Still no light's been shed on that, but I will keep digging."

"If Emily does know that I reported her father to the police," Jeff began, after a moment of silence, "and they are on speaking terms, then she could be seeking revenge for him."

"And even if she doesn't talk to him. It could be some warped way of getting his attention." Scott added.

"Which unfortunately means that we're back at square one and either of them could have done this." Gordon sighed.

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INDEX:

* 'MR HACKENBACKER': In the original series Brains uses the pseudonym: Hiram K. Hackenbacker when working on external projects. (Not sure if Brains as used this name in TAG?)