Finally an update...

Chapter Fourteen

Jeff's flight back to Tracy Island was uneventful, to his relief - and, surprisingly, to his frustration. He'd been hoping for some news about Penny and the others but the hours went by and still there was nothing. Equally, he'd feared some sudden act of hostility on the part of his passenger, debating the wisdom of flying back alone with a man who had already been shown to be capable of acts of aggression which were seemingly beyond his control. He'd considered getting Scott to come along with him, but hadn't wanted to drag him away from the search for Penny. Nor had he wanted to leave Virgil alone – if nothing else, his middle son's ability to do any investigating was limited now that he seemed to be under suspicion himself. Jeff still couldn't get over that little bit of insanity and he made a mental note to brief his lawyer as soon as he got back home.

In the end there hadn't been any problems. Parker had spent the entire six hour flight slumped in one of the cabin seats staring blankly into space. Now and then Jeff would call back, just to check the man hadn't zoned out completely, but every time, after a weary, "Still 'ere, Mr Tracy," Parker had gone right back to his musings. Jeff hadn't needed to ask what he was brooding over - the man's misery and guilt were more than obvious. Worse still was his complete lack of understanding about how and why he'd done what he had - and why he remembered absolutely nothing about it.

There was one small development in the search for the hostages, relayed through to Jeff when he was just twenty minutes away from Tracy Island. Scott and Virgil had been roped in by Alan to help in monitoring the numerous transmissions from the London authorities and it was Scott who picked up the news that the van which the kidnappers had used to transport the hostages away from Westminster Abbey had been found parked on a quiet road in the East End. Not too far from the Dog and Duck as it happened, making them wonder if Parker himself had driven it there. The traffic warden who'd initially ticketed it after finding it on an expired meter had realised this was no ordinary vehicle when he'd glanced inside and spotted a grey top hat nonchalantly resting on top of a copy of Penny and Simon's wedding service. Too obvious a clue? The police seemed to think so, suspecting that the van had been left there as a deliberate diversion from the true location of the hostages. But, since this was their first concrete lead of any kind, swarms of officers descended on the area and a house-to-house search began as the van itself was carefully examined by forensics.

Parker had simply shrugged when Jeff gave him the news, commenting that he still didn't remember anything between driving Lady Penelope to Westminster Abbey and having a pint at the pub later that evening. It didn't give the Tracys any further clues, either, and with so many official investigators on the scene there was no point in Scott or Virgil going along. All they could do was continue to monitor the situation and hope that Brains would be able to find something to help them when he examined Parker.

John and Grandma were waiting to greet the jet when it landed. Gordon was in the house catching up on some sleep, exhausted after the lengthy and stressful rescue mission that International Rescue had carried out in Australia, the brunt of which had been borne by him as the most experienced member of the team. Jeff thought that John looked like he could do with some sleep himself, but his son insisted he was fine and ready to assist Brains in examining Parker and trying to find some answers.

Parker stammered almost as badly as Brains as he once again apologised for his actions and insisted that he hadn't known what he was doing. It had fallen to Grandma to give him a hug, promising him that no one blamed him for what he had done and that they'd soon put everything right again. He looked a little brighter once it became clear that he was forgiven, willingly falling into step beside John as they made their way down to the infirmary where Brains was waiting with a somewhat intimidating array of medical equipment. Scanners, needles, electrodes and monitors were put to good use over the next couple of hours, but Parker submitted to every test without complaint, fortified by frequent supplies of tea and cake from Grandma, helping in the only way she knew how.

Finally Brains was done. Nothing obvious had shown up and all he could do now was analyse the readouts of the various brain scans and wait for the blood test results to come through. He'd just advised Parker to get some rest when Gordon made his appearance in the infirmary. It wasn't lost on Parker that the Tracys were making sure he wasn't left unguarded, just in case, but the man wasn't going to object, still not quite trusting himself not to do anything untoward . Instead he allowed Brains to settle him back on one of the beds and was soon snoring away, stress and exhaustion finally catching up with him.

Satisfied that everything was in order, John left the infirmary and headed up to his room. He'd intended to catch up on some much-needed sleep but instead had succumbed to curiosity and hacked into the systems of MI5 just in case there was something useful to be found there. It was frustrating to be unable to make direct contact, but the family had agreed that with the head of the organisation having been taken, MI5 had to be a key part of whatever was going on. Who knew how many people there had been compromised like Parker? So far International Rescue seemed to be safe, but they couldn't risk a security breach by making contact with any other MI5 agents, not even those who had worked closely with Penny in the past. John worried that they might be missing out on some key information as a result, but for now all he could do was monitor the encrypted channels and hope to pick up something useful. However, the intelligence agencies seemed to be just as baffled as the police. John was forced to accept that with their knowledge of Parker's involvement, the Tracys knew more than anyone right now - not that it was getting them anywhere. Why hadn't there been some word from the kidnappers? Surely they hadn't just killed their hostages - why bother removing them from Westminster Abbey if that was their intention? John hated not being able to work it all out.

Jeff had retreated to his study, where he spent his time flicking between news channels. Every station around the world was still focused on the kidnapping. After all, with so many high-profile and world-famous people missing, after a wedding of all things, it was the juiciest story they'd had for years. It might not have been Jeff's wisest choice of viewing material, though. He was usually the calmest of men but he couldn't help shouting his objections at the newscasters as they offered ever-more outrageous speculations and comments about the hostages, only to redden in embarrassment when Kyrano caught him in the act.

"They do not know the real Lady Penelope," the man commented softly as the woman on-screen continued to dismiss their friend as nothing more than an over-privileged airhead with an unhealthy obsession with the colour pink.

"They certainly don't," Jeff agreed. "Thank you, Kyrano." He took the glass of whisky from the tray, then, as Kyrano prepared to slip silently from the room, called out to his friend to wait.

Kyrano turned and fixed his calm gaze upon Jeff. "Yes, Mr Tracy?"

"Sit down a minute, Kyrano."

Kyrano did as he was asked, though it was clear that he wasn't particularly comfortable in this situation. Jeff couldn't help smiling to himself. He'd done his best over the years to persuade the man to drop the formality he'd always adopted towards the family, but to no avail.

"I wanted to ask you..." Jeff trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. He wondered for a moment if he should just keep quiet. Surely he was crazy even to consider the possibility... But he remembered watching the video of Parker's activities at the Abbey, then witnessing the man's utter bewilderment when confronted with the reality of his actions. No, he decided, the question had to be asked. Jeff wanted Kyrano to dismiss his fears - to laugh, even, as unlikely as that scenario would be - but he had a horrible feeling Kyrano was going to take him seriously, and that really unsettled the practical and down-to-earth Jeff Tracy.

"You believe in a lot of things I don't," he finally said. "I mean, there are things in your culture that I, well, I find hard to understand."

Kyrano just nodded calmly.

"You've seen what Parker did," Jeff went on. "What do you think of it all, Kyrano? I'm hoping Brains can find some kind of drug in his system to explain his behaviour, but although I know that there are things that can make a man act out of character, I've never heard of anything that can wipe out the memories afterwards. Do you think there might be some other explanation? Something more... mystical?"

As he voiced the idea out loud he laughed, albeit unconvincingly. But Kyrano simply nodded.

"I believe it is possible, yes. I have seen men take control of others. Not for long, and not without grave consequences, but there are tales of those who have developed such powers beyond anything I have witnessed. How true these are I do not know."

"I see. I was rather hoping you'd tell me not to be a fool."

Kyrano simply smiled. "I would never say such a thing, Mr Tracy."

"No. So, tell me, how would we go about proving something like that happened?"

"I do not know, Mr Tracy. Perhaps Mr Brains will discover something in his investigations."

"Perhaps. I have to admit that the prospect of mind control being a reality scares me." He downed the rest of his whisky. "Let's hope we're worrying over nothing and it's simply some new kind of drug."

"I hope so, too, Mr Tracy." For once in his life Kyrano looked troubled. "It would not be a good thing for a man to have such power."

"It certainly wouldn't."

Kyrano rose to his feet. "I will bring you some coffee," he murmured, leaving Jeff to settle back in his chair, grateful that the newscast had moved on to some sporting results.

But it was only a momentary respite. Alan's voice broke in, full of excitement.

"Dad? I've got news. They've found the Archbishop of Canterbury!"

"Where? Is he alright? Any news of the others?"

"Nothing on Penny," Alan told him. "As to the rest of it, he turned up in some little village. Woke up in the doorway of a church and gave the vicar the shock of his life when he knocked on his door in the middle of the night. The police are on their way now. They're keeping it quiet until they know more, so don't expect the press to get hold of it for a while."

"No ransom then," Jeff mused. "But why? What do these people want?"

"No idea. Hopefully we'll find out more when the police have interviewed him. I'm not sure how we'll find out what's said, though. Not unless Johnny can work his magic on the police computer system..."

Jeff sighed. He hated authorising this kind of thing. Not that John would wait for his agreement to do it... "I'll get onto it," he said, rising to his feet. "Let me know if there are any more developments."

"FAB."

Jeff didn't make it to John's room straight away, though. As the door to his office slid open and he made to step through it, he was forced to jump backwards as he was confronted by a flustered Brains.

"I-I-I've got s-something, Mr T-T-Tracy."

"Okay, Brains. Sit down, take a breath." Jeff perched on the side of his desk and tried to hide his frustration as the genius fought to calm himself.

"The b-blood t-tests came b-back," he finally said. "There's a-a drug in P-Parker's s-system. I-I need to r-run more t-tests to b-break down its c-components, b-but I b-believe it to be b-based around a n-natural substance. The p-plant is n-native to M-Malaysia."

"Malaysia?"

"Y-yes. P-perhaps K-Kyrano can h-help us."

"I'll call him."

A few minutes later Kyrano reappeared in Jeff's office. He listened as Brains outlined his findings, frowning a little as he considered this news.

"I know of this plant and its properties," he told them. "It induces a state of deep relaxation. Men use it when they wish to enter a trance or to allow them to meditate for prolonged periods."

"W-would it make s-someone act un-naturally?" Brains asked.

Kyrano shook his head. "I am not aware of any such thing."

"But if he was in a trance he might not have any defences against someone who wanted to condition him," Jeff said slowly.

"There are o-other, synthetic c-compounds in the d-drug," Brains pointed out. "The a-addition of those c-could change the w-way the p-plant acts. I-I'll investigate f-further."

"Thanks, Brains. Kyrano, is this plant used a lot?"

"No, it grows wild and only in a few small areas where the conditions are right. Attempts to cultivate it properly have always failed. Few people outside of my country would know of its existence."

"I-it wasn't on the u-usual d-databases," Brains agreed. "I-I had a j-job to identify it."

"Parker hasn't been to Malaysia since Tin-Tin's funeral," Jeff said. "We need to talk to him, find out if he's been in contact with anyone from your country, or even anyone who's visited recently. This could be the clue we need. How would the drug have been taken, Brains?"

"I-it appears to have b-been ingested over a n-number of days," Brains told him.

"Something he's eaten or drunk, then?"

Brains nodded.

"Is it worth getting one of the boys to search Penny's place in London?" Jeff asked. "Parker's been staying there for the past few weeks. If there's anything to be found, that's the most likely place."

Brains agreed that this was a good plan, and so they headed off to speak to Parker, though Jeff took a quick detour to pass on the information about the Archbishop of Canterbury to John. Ducking quickly out of the room with a hasty, "I don't want to know!", he left his son happily tapping away at his keyboard and went on down to the infirmary.

Parker was relieved to discover that there seemed to be a logical explanation for his behaviour - or at least for part of it, though he could offer no explanation as to how the drug had got into his system. Agreeing that a search of the London flat was in order, he promised to guide Scott, Virgil or both in breaking through Lady Penelope's security devices once they reached the apartment block.

"I'll call the boys now," Jeff said. But before he could activate his watch, the door of the infirmary slid open to reveal John, and his watch burst into life of its own accord, Alan's face coming into view.

From the expression on his boys' faces, their father knew exactly what they were going to say.

"More problems?"

"Yep," John informed him before looking awkwardly over at Parker. "I'm sorry, Parker, but you've just gone from victim to chief suspect. The Archbishop doesn't remember much - he says he was drugged and drowsy the whole time. But he does remember that you weren't in the room with the others, and he says he could hear voices. Men with Cockney accents."

"That hardly narrows things down," Gordon said. "I mean, they were kidnapped in London. What accents did he expect to hear?"

It was Alan who replied. "It wasn't just that," he said. "They've got fingerprints, too. The results have just come in."

"Fingerprints?"

"Yes, in the van they found. On the steering wheel, the stereo... Only the driver could have left them there. They're Parker's."

"They're setting you up to take the blame," Jeff reassured the agitated chauffeur. "You're not responsible, you know that."

John kicked out at the nearest bed leg in frustration. "Why didn't I switch Parker's records when I had the chance? I was already in the system to fix the issue with Virg. I should have realised something like this would happen. I'm sorry, Parker."

"Don't worry about that now, son," Jeff said. "Parker's safe here and we're starting to make progress."

Gordon, too, was quick to reassure his brother. "Yeah, you can't do everything, John. Don't forget you were caught up in a rescue at the time. Cheer up - you too, Parker. Like Dad says, we're getting somewhere now. We'll soon find the people responsible for all this, rescue Penny and the other men and clear your name. It's all in a day's work for International Rescue."

John wasn't so sure. There were other implications to this news, things he was sure that his father and the others hadn't yet considered.