Chapter Nine – Bet on It
As John Tracy stepped into the lounge, he breathed in the morning sea air and felt right at home. He did love being in space with the various constellations and access to communications on a whim, but coming home had its own special place. He had disembarked Thunderbird 3 ahead of Scott after he offered to do the post flight checks.
It seemed strangely quiet for that time of day so he called out. "Hello? Dad, is anyone here?"
Moments later, Jeff came into the lounge. "It's good to see you, John. The ride back okay?"
John nodded. "Scott is securing everything in the hanger now. How about Alan, did you see him off to his race filled summer?"
His father laughed, "Oh, I don't think he realizes that he isn't going to see much action other than behind the scenes."
John chuckled. "Oh, on the contrary, I think he does. He confided to me the other night that he was going to try and wow the driver to see if he could at the very least get lessons."
Jeff couldn't help but smile at that prospect. "Now THAT sounds like Alan. More power to him if he manages to make that happen, though I will have to check on him a little more if that does happen."
John went to the kitchen and grabbed a juice box from the fridge and came back into the lounge. "Where is everyone else?"
"Virgil is doing some checks on Thunderbird 2 and Tin-Tin opted to spend the summer at Lady Penelope's."
John dropped onto the main sofa in the room. "Did anything else come out of the investigation into Shadow Force?"
"The authorities didn't have much more information than what was recovered at the scene," Jeff replied as he sat at his desk. "There have been reports of kidnappings coming through that sound suspiciously like their handiwork. I think you might have more information than the authorities."
John froze. Busted. "How long have you known?"
His father got up and walked over to the sofa, taking a seat beside him. "I could tell. The late nights you were up? The time you have logged on the computer? How could I not know?"
John stared everywhere else but at his father. "So, you are probably ready to call me paranoid?"
"No John, but I would call you someone who wanted to make sure that no one like the Hood could hurt us again."
He looked at his father with a look of relief on his face. "Thanks dad."
"I would like to see what you have though," Jeff replied, "The first time that the Hood came after us, he seemed to be working alone. If Shadow Force is now bankrolling him, we will need to know how far their reach can be. Until something else happens that we can trace, it will be status as usual around here."
John stood and stretched. "I can have some information for your reading pleasure in a few hours. In the meanwhile, I think I'm going to catch a nap, and then I have a certain brother of mine that needs to schedule some time to come mountain climbing with me."
Jeff smiled. "Mountain climbing? Dare I ask?"
John thumbed his nose and grinned. "Let's just say a certain brother's knot tying skills need to be sorely tested."
Malcolm Alistair woke up to his own personal hell. The last coherent thought he had had was when he was attacked by his guards, and now…now he didn't know where in the world he was.
As he became more aware, he realized that he was restrained in a metal chair in a non-descript room. There was a metal table in the middle. Across from him, he recognized the unconscious forms of Japan's and Australia's leaders sitting bound in chairs similar to his own.
"Look who's awake."
Malcolm flinched at the new voice and struggled against his restraints before realizing that there was no one else in the room with him.
He shouted out to the open air. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
"Why?" the voice mocked. "Why not? The world is ripe for domination, and I am but merely a player in its conquest."
Out of nowhere, a wave of pain assaulted Malcolm's senses. He closed his eyes and groaned.
The voice seemed amused by his pain. "Like it? Even now, my mind is in yours, looking for the secrets you keep."
This has to be a bad dream. Yes, that's it. If I keep my eyes closed…
Malcolm then felt strong hands grasping his arms painfully. He opened his eyes in shock and looked into the eyes of his tormentor. He recognized him from the numerous reports that had crossed his desk. He spoke with a bravado he wasn't quite feeling. "Hood, so this is where you escaped to. There's no way this plan of yours will work. "
Laughter greeted his declaration. The Hood kept up the painful hold on his arms. "Oh, bet on it, Prime Minister. For you see, your government should be receiving a ransom demand for your safe return in just a few short hours. With Australia's and Japan's leaders here as well, we have some powerhouses that I am sure will have some secrets that are worth sharing, along with cleaning out a few country's bank accounts. Now, back to the business of picking your mind."
Malcolm groaned as a fresh wave of pain flooded his mind. Meetings with MI-5 and the cabinet came to his mind, and must to his disgust, he couldn't stop it.
In the workout room of her estate, Lady Penelope stood in her pink gi, following the fluid movements of Tai Chi. Though she was well versed in quite a few forms of self-defense, she found tai chi almost as relaxing as her daily bubble baths.
Beside her, Tin-Tin was going through the movements as well. The teen had chosen to spend her summer with Lady Penelope partly because the IR agent promised to train her in certain aspects of self defense and International Rescue, and add to that Alan's news that he was not coming back to the island for the summer.
Though she would not admit it to herself, Tin-Tin felt a brief stab of disappointment at the news. The more time that she had spent with Alan over the previous years, the more she had grown to appreciate him.
As she extended her arms outward for another move, Tin-Tin's mind extended outward, and encountered a familiar energy that she hadn't felt in years. It was impossible, it was unsettling, and yet-
She broke her stance and stumbled over to a nearby bench Penelope had placed over in a corner. The power she felt nearly took her breath away, and yet the only person she knew that could generate that much power should still be in prison.
Moments later, Tin-Tin heard Lady Penelope taking a seat beside her. "Tin-Tin? Are you all right?"
She clutched the pendant around her neck tightly. The feeling Tin-Tin had soon passed, but she had to know. "Lady Penelope, has my uncle escaped from prison?"
Tin-Tin's suspicions were verified when Lady Penelope didn't say anything. She turned to her. "I have been watching a lot of TV since you have been away from the house, but didn't hear any mention of any escapes."
"You are quite the perceptive one, Tin-Tin," Lady Penelope finally replied. She placed a comforting arm around the girl's shoulders. "Yes, your uncle has escaped prison. I didn't want to concern you since you were supposed to be here to relax for the summer. The boys know all about it. They are investigating now and will make sure that he cannot cause any trouble."
Tin-Tin nodded shakily, finally releasing her hold on her pendant. At least now she knew, but yet she couldn't get the nagging feeling from the back of her mind that there more to this than a simple prison break.
Reluctantly she stood up and plastered a smile on her face. "Let's finish our workout."
Umm…long explanation about where I have been with this story, the short of it being this part when written for NanoWrimo, it took a totally different direction than what I finally decided on. It took a writer's block and a vacation to help me sort out what I wanted to convey at this point. One stumbling block down, half a dozen to go. (sigh) I will have more soon.