It's been a while, I know.
Chapter Fifteen
Catching up with Scott and Virgil...
Virgil wasn't in the best of moods. Under normal circumstances he'd have relished the extra downtime he'd been given, taking full advantage of it in order to visit the art galleries and bars that London offered in abundance. But these weren't normal circumstances and right now he preferred to sulk in the comfort of his suite at the Ritz rather than brave the cold, wet weather of the city streets. He wished the suite offered the use of a piano. He supposed he could demand one - with the Tracy billions at his disposal it probably wouldn't be that much of a problem for the hotel to sort it out - but he wasn't sure he was in the mood to play, anyway.
How had he suddenly become a suspect in the kidnapping of an Archbishop, a prince and the head of MI5? Not to mention Penny, Simon and the businessman who had been taken to make up the numbers. Virgil felt sorry for the man, though he had to admit he was grateful, albeit a little surprised, that the attackers hadn't taken him in place of his father. He'd had enough of being held captive over the years.
And now he might end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
Scott and his father had laughed when he'd voiced his fears, told him he was being overly dramatic and promised him that it wouldn't come to that, but Virgil couldn't help wondering all the same. Okay, so Inspector Garland didn't have much concrete evidence, and there was certainly no motive for Virgil to get involved, but he knew full well that given the importance of those who had been taken, everyone who was even slightly under suspicion was going to be in for a hard time of it.
He wondered where Scott was. Earlier that morning he'd helped his brother smuggle Parker out of the Ritz. One of the man's previous escapades with Penny had taken place at the hotel and he had been able to give them the location of a long-abandoned passageway that led down to the basement and then underneath not only the Ritz, but several other buildings, finally emerging in a distant and deserted alleyway. Parker had waited there with Virgil whilst Scott had gone to retrieve Rosie's car in order to take him down to the airfield where Jeff Tracy would collect him.
Parker had been fretting over his involvement with the kidnap, so to distract him, Virgil had asked about Rosie. The man had been grateful to talk about something else, his pride in his niece obvious as he told Virgil about her studies at university, the law degree paid for by Lady Penelope. She worked at the Dog and Duck most evenings and on weekends, determined to pay her own living expenses, despite the aristocrat's offer to take care of those, too.
He'd even perked up enough to warn Virgil off the girl. Virgil had assured him that he wouldn't lay a hand on Rosie, though he extracted a promise that Scott, too, would get the same 'advice'. Parker had been more than happy to agree to this, and had actually laughed for a moment before lapsing back into a morose contemplation of the situation he found himself in. Virgil had been glad to hand him over to his brother and return to the suite, where he'd ordered room service then tuned in to the local police radio transmissions in an effort to help out Alan up in Thunderbird Five.
Now he was bored. Scott wouldn't be back for a couple of hours, and Virgil was sick of thinking back on every second he'd spent in Westminster Abbey over the past few days and coming up with nothing. He'd seen nothing out of the ordinary. Indeed, the only person he'd met when he'd sneaked up to the restricted areas to put the cameras in place had been Parker. Maybe he'd been the one to set up the gas canisters whilst under the influence of whatever it was...
He jumped when the phone rang, hoping it wasn't the reception desk warning him that he was getting another visit from the police.
It wasn't.
"Virgil?"
Virgil knew that voice, and he didn't want anything to do with its owner.
"Virgil, please, don't hang up on me."
"What do you want, Flora?" Virgil made no attempt to keep the bitterness and resentment out of his voice.
"I just wanted to apologise. I got you into trouble, didn't I?"
"Yes."
"Oh. I know I shouldn't have said anything to the police - I mean, the idea of you being involved in this thing is crazy - but I was so angry when you dumped me like that. I didn't know what I was doing. It was only when I got home and started thinking straight that I realised you'd been so worried about your father that you weren't thinking straight either."
"Yeah."
"The other girls were furious when I told them what I'd done. Faye and Frances haven't spoken to me since."
"Right."
"Virgil, I can tell you're upset, but please, accept my apology. I really am so sorry. I'm surprised the police took it seriously anyway. I mean, as if you'd have any reason to kidnap anyone."
"Yeah, well I wish the police had seen it that way. They took my passport, Flora. I'm stuck here. Dad's gone back home and left me to it."
"Oh. Well, if you want some company..." The hopeful note in the girl's voice was obvious.
"No! Thank you. I'm fine." Virgil's distaste for any more of her company was equally clear. Not that Flora chose to take any notice of it.
"No you're not. I can tell. Look, let me buy you lunch."
"No."
"Coffee then. Just as a peace offering. I promise I won't bother you again afterwards - unless you want me to."
As if that was likely, Virgil thought. Still, he was bored and frustrated - and hungry.
"Okay. Lunch. And then that's it."
"That's great, Virgil. Really. I'm so glad you feel you can forgive me. How about that place we used to go to when we were rehearsing? Round the corner from the Abbey?"
"Fine. In about thirty minutes?"
"Perfect. I'll be waiting."
Virgil ended the call and wondered what he'd let himself in for. Still, with Scott still not back and no progress anywhere, all he could do was sit and wait. He might as well find some way to occupy his time, and if nothing else, he might decide to vent a little of his current annoyance on Flora. Not that such a thing was likely, of course - Virgil wasn't that type. Not unless he was really provoked, and probably the only way Flora could do that was to bring her only slightly less annoying sisters and cousin with her.
Which of course she did.
Faye, Frances and their cousin Isabel were effusive in their sympathies for poor maligned Virgil - and more so in their condemnation of Flora. The girl didn't look happy as she explained to Virgil that Frances had overheard her making arrangements to meet him and ambushed her when she was about to leave.
Well, it was a distraction at least, but Virgil couldn't say he was in any better a mood when he finally managed to escape. He'd ordered another lot of coffees then, under the pretence of going to get more cream, made a run for it, throwing more than enough money at the cashier to cover the bill. This trip was costing a fortune, he thought, as he threw himself into yet another cab.
They really should buy a car. Still, at least he'd lost the man who'd been tailing him since he'd left the hotel. Inspector Garland must have left someone behind to keep an eye on him. He hadn't been surprised, but all the same it was a depressing reminder of his situation and he knew it was going to make it a lot harder to play any useful role in tracking down Penny.
Scott was waiting in the hotel suite when Virgil got back.
"Where the hell have you been?"
Virgil told him, then, before his brother could launch into a lecture about the advisability of wandering around the city whilst kidnappers who had already expressed an interest in their father were still at large, asked him how he'd got on with Parker.
"Fine. I just hope he hasn't been programmed to do something to Dad whilst they're in the air. I mean, he's seemed alright so far, but, well..."
Virgil considered this unwelcome suggestion for a moment before dismissing it. "I don't see how he could. He was supposed to kill himself last night, remember. Do people know he's still alive?"
"No. Rosie didn't speak to anyone before I got hold of her this morning. We agreed that it might be best to let our enemies think their plan worked."
Virgil nodded his agreement. "She'll let us know if they come snooping round again?"
"Yeah. I had a good look around as I was driving her car back, but there was no sign of them. I've got the jet pack back, by the way. It's in the basement under some old carpets. Not that it's much good to us now with the power pack virtually dead. No good if you need to flee the country quickly, that's for sure."
Virgil scowled. "About as much use as your 'bird, then."
It was Scott's turn to sulk. "I hate the thought of her stuck on that new base. As soon as all this is over you're going to help me fix her, right?"
"Sure. The sooner the better. Johnny hasn't come up with any new leads, by the way. He's hacked into every system he can think of that might give us some clues, but there's nothing. Alan's still monitoring the police transmissions but they're as stumped as we are."
"Well, not quite," Scott said. "At least we know that Parker's not a kidnap victim and that their other prime suspect is innocent too."
"I'm not their prime suspect," Virgil told him. "Apprently they've barely mentioned me."
"What about last night at that pub? Have the police done any more about that?"
"No. Alan says they're directing all their resources to the kidnapping. You're in the clear on that one. But what about now? Are you here legally?"
"Not sure. Johnny could sort out immigration easily enough, but it might be best for me to keep myself hidden for a while. Good thing we've got a suite."
"Yeah." Then, for want of anything else to do, Virgil glanced at the clock. It was almost an hour since he'd finished his cake at the coffee house.
"Room service?"
"I had a sandwich on the way back," Scott told him. Then he thought better of it. "Oh, go on then. But won't the staff wonder why you're suddenly eating for two?"
"Comfort eating," Virgil told him. "I'm stressed."
"Aren't we all."
There was silence for a minute or two, then Virgil spoke again. "The kidnappers still haven't asked for a ransom?"
"No. Which makes me wonder if this is less about money and more about MI5."
Virgil considered this for a minute. "Better MI5 than International Rescue."
"Yeah. But those security agencies can be brutal. I don't like to think of Penny in the hands of some foreign power. Who knows what kind of revenge plans they might have."
Virgil shot a quick glance at his brother, longing to ask him to elaborate on his feelings for the woman. But despite the pair being closer than any of the other brothers, there were still some things that were out of bounds in terms of discussion. Virgil knew this was one of them.
"So what can we do now?" he asked.
"Wait," Scott said. Then he perked up as a knock came at the door. "And eat."
The rest of the day passed slowly. They were pleased to hear that their father had reached home safely with no Parker-inspired drama along the way. Virgil had fallen asleep shortly after midnight, but Scott was too stressed to do the same, continuing to monitor the radio broadcasts from the police. He was finally beginning to drift into oblivion when he jerked sharply awake again, wondering at first if he'd really heard that they'd found one of the missing hostages or whether he'd been dreaming.
But he'd really heard it. The Archbishop of Canterbury was free. Unceremoniously kicking his brother in the shins in order to wake him, Scott turned up the volume and brought Virgil up to speed.
"No news of Penny," Virgil muttered.
"No." The frown that had been present on Scott's face ever since he'd learned of events at Westminster Abbey had deepened further.
"This has got to be the start of something," Virgil said, in an effort to reassure his brother. "The kidnappers' first move, right? It'll lead us to Penny, you know it will."
"I guess so." Scott didn't sound convinced.
"Scott..."
"What?" The reply was sharper than the oldest Tracy had intended, but it had the desired effect and Virgil immediately backed off.
"Nothing."
Sometime later, everyone was fully briefed on all the latest developments. A hastily arranged conference involving all five Tracy brothers, their father, Kyrano, Brains and Parker had taken place and Scott and Virgil were preparing to leave the hotel in order to search Penny's London flat. Once again they took the secret route out via the basement.
It hadn't come as any surprise to find police cars outside Penny's apartment block, but Alan was able to confirm that no search warrants had yet been granted, and Parker had assured them that even when they could enter legally, the police would still have to find a way into the place, no easy feat for anyone who didn't have a key and the codes for the various security features. The brothers didn't even have to worry about getting past the men who had been charged with guarding the front door, since Penny had had the foresight to set up a secret entrance accessed via the apartment below, which she also owned, but which was left unoccupied and registered under a false name. If nothing else, it gave her somewhere to store her frankly phenomenal collection of shoes.
It was just as well they had Parker to guide them through the many security devices that Penny had set up. It took a while, but they were able to disable alarms, sidestep pressure pads and, perhaps, most importantly, avoid activating the trigger which would have filled the hidden elevator with sleeping gas. Virgil was more than happy about that one, having had enough of that kind of thing lately.
"Right, we're in," Scott informed Parker, who was still in contact via the wrist-comms. "Parker, Virgil will take your room. "I'll do the rest."
"FAB." Virgil followed Parker's directions to his quarters, dismissed the man's apology for the state of the place - he clearly didn't have the same regard for order in his own room that he did when he took charge of things for Penny - and began his search.
It had provided an interesting insight into the workings of the man's mind, though Virgil knew he'd never mention half of the things he'd found to anyone, least of all to the man himself. Parker had had enough embarrassment over the past few days.
His first find was in a box under the bed. The middle Tracy guessed straight away that he was on to something - this box was clean, not covered with a layer of dust like everything else under the bed.
Virgil showed it to Parker, who just looked confused. "You've never seen this before?"
Parker shook his head. Virgil raised the lid and whistled. "It's full of money," he announced, before calling for Scott.
The brothers counted the bundles of fifty pound notes. "There's over twenty thousand pounds here," Scott estimated.
"It's not mine," Parker insisted. "At least, I don't remember it..."
"Okay," Virgil said. "Looks like you really have been set up to take the fall for this. Guess we should take this with us." He was grateful for the capacious pockets of his overcoat as he stuffed the money into them.
"You finished in here?" Scott asked. "The kitchen's clear. At least, there's nothing in there that looks like it's been tampered with."
"H'I threw h'out h'anything that was h'opened," Parker told them. "H'I was 'eading back to the mansion h'after the wedding."
"Pity," Scott said, watching as Virgil completed his search. He had one last drawer to rummage through.
"What are these, Parker?" Virgil held up a glass bottle with a few small capsules resting at the bottom. There was a hand-written label stuck onto it.
"H'I've never seen 'em before," Parker said.
"It says they're vitamins," Virgil told him.
Parker just looked bemused. "Not mine. H'it's not like h'I'm the 'ealthy type."
Virgil smiled. "So maybe this is what we've been looking for."
"Let's see." Scott caught the bottle as Virgil threw it to him. He was unscrewing it to get a closer look when a sound from the front door startled them.
"Someone's there."
"Come on." Scott pushed Virgil through the door and back into the lounge.
"No one can get in," Virgil reminded him. "We're okay."
But if they'd been looking at their watches they'd have seen Parker's face pale as a voice filtered through into the apartment.
"Now then, was it a three or a six...?"
"Doris!"
"Who's Doris?" Scott asked.
"Milady's cleaner. She's got the keys h'and she knows the codes. You've got to get h'out of there."
"They must have got that search warrant," Scott said, hurrying over to the elevator shaft that would take them down to the floor below. "How come the guys didn't tell us?"
"Too many other things to worry about, I guess," Virgil muttered. "They can't monitor everything."
They got into the elevator and pushed the button that would seal up the secret entrance.
Nothing happened.
"Parker?" Virgil jabbed at the button again and again.
Parker cursed. "H'it's done that h'a few times," he said. "'er ladyship said there was no point fixing h'it, not when she was getting h'out of the secret h'agent game."
"So what do we do now?"
"Only one thing we can do," Virgil said, his voice resigned and weary. He darted out of the elevator. Before Scott could stop him he'd hit the hidden switch on a nearby bookcase that closed up the entrance from the apartment side. As the door slid shut, the front door opened and a voice could be heard instructing Doris to stay back, telling her she'd done what was needed and that the police would take over now.
Half an hour later, Virgil was escorted out of the building and towards a police car, ready for the short journey to Scotland Yard. He caught sight of Scott hovering at the back of the crowd of onlookers who had gathered once news of a development in the kidnapping case had got round. Virgil would have waved to his brother - but that was an impossible task for a man wearing handcuffs...