Chapter 17 - Following the Trail

An hour later, Thunderbird Two landed near the raceway, and Virgil and John quickly went to work.

Virgil set about checking the raceway and with the people there, while John took a hover bike from Thunderbird Two and quickly rushed to the coordinates Fermat had given him.

Fermat had been taken back to the raceway by the authorities for questioning, so it was John who went to check the scene. He got within five feet of the scene which had been taped off, he made a scan of the area and found it deserted save for two cops who were keeping guard over the scene.

It was then that he saw the overturned motorcycle in the street. What have you gotten yourself into, Alan?

John thought through his options and decided quickly that they didn't amount to much. The only other thing he could think to try was to check and see if his brother had his tele-com active. Maybe he could home in on it and find Alan that way. After checking a few settings on his own tele-com and finding nothing, decided to get a different perspective. "John calling Thunderbird Five."

Once he had Gordon on the line, John asked him to check the frequency that he knew the tele-coms were transmitting on. He waited a few moments as Gordon checked a few readings on his panel, then was surprised as he swore. "I've got a fix, but you are not going to like this. Alan's in the air. Whoever he's following or whoever has him, they're heading towards the area where Scott had that run-in with those planes."

"Get that information to Dad and Scott," John ordered. "Meanwhile I will get back with Virgil and we'll wrap up here. There's not much more to find around here anyway."

"FAB"

No sooner than he finished his conversation with Gordon, he heard a beep issue from his tele-com, and he checked it to find Virgil's worried face staring right back at him. "Go ahead, Virgil."

"The governor is safe," Virgil stated quickly. "The local authorities have him sequestered in a safe house, and they have emergency workers starting treatment on the victims affected by the gas. Just how many players are we going to have to deal with in this game?"

John thought for a moment back to the information that he had gathered after the Hood had been captured the first time. "There's no room for error. General X risked a lot of exposure getting the Hood out. The thing is we got to the key players thanks to Alan, but he's not here, and neither is the Hood. Gordon has tracked them to the air already."

"The air? They're moving fast. I wonder what other surprises Shadow Force have up their sleeves."

"You might be surprised, Virgil," John quipped. "How about a pickup? I have an idea about how we can track down one or more of the hired goons for that group, but we need to pick up Fermat and get on the horn to Lady Penelope."

--

Following Gordon's instructions, Scott had Thunderbird One back in the area where he had encountered the kidnapping attempt on the French President. He then followed the signal for a few miles and double checked his sensor readings before finally declaring. "Dad, according to Gordon this is the last spot where the readings from Alan's watch came from."

Jeff looked out from Thunderbird One and spotted the island below them. It was slightly smaller than their own island and the vast jungle and outcroppings of rock that covered a good chunk of it almost looked impassable. He had an uneasy feeling about all of this, but he wasn't about to let show. There are far "Find a spot to land, son. I have a feeling that whatever we are picking up is coming from that jungle."

"FAB."

Scott found a spot near the southern tip of the island and landed with no problems. He looked out across the landscape and noticed that it was quiet. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Both father and son climbed out cautiously, taking care to arm themselves with laser pistols that Brains had developed. Once on the ground, they fanned out to look around the perimeter of the jungle.

Scott shook his head as he pushed overgrown plants out of his way. "I'm not seeing anything, are you dad?"

Jeff started to reply when he saw something a few meters ahead. He used his tele-com to hail Gordon and spoke quickly. "Gordon, I need a scan of the island we are on, ASAP."

Seconds later he heard Gordon exclaim. "You two better get out of there now. There are at least a dozen heat signatures down there converging on your position!"

Jeff swore and he quickly motioned to Scott. "Back to Thunderbird One, fast!"

--

In a dimly lit cave, Marilyn Winters was coming to. Lying on the ground, she opened her eyes slowly, finding it easy to peer through the darkness and at the shoes of her male captor.

Her voice sounded thick and slow, even to her. "I hope you know by kidnapping the President of United States you have brought a world of hurt on yourself."

The man's voice was unfamiliar. "Oh, but you will be missed, Madame President. In a few hours your Vice President will be coming on the American airwaves, rallying the American public to hold strong during this crisis, when in reality he is working for us."

Marilyn's eyes widened. "You lie."

The man then leaned down into her field of vision and that is when she realized that he was the one that had kidnapped her at the raceway. He replied with a sneer. "You'll never know, now will you?"

Before she could make sense of his statement, Marilyn found herself being lifted to her feet and then pushed forward towards a large pit. She had no time to scream as she fell forward and down.

Minutes later, a quick check of her limbs seemed to indicate that she was intact, despite the pain from the impact of the fall. Marilyn looked back up at where the man had pushed her into the pit. She wasn't sure how far she had fallen, but judging by how high it looked along with the smooth rocky walls, she was sure that she wasn't getting back out of this pit without help.

She managed to push herself up into a sitting position, a move which her head protested greatly-

And that was when she saw the person laying on the ground a few feet away from her.