Chapter 21 – Race For Information
It had taken some doing, but Penelope was finally able to get on the road only after Tin-Tin insisted that she came along. It hadn't helped that the young woman had overheard her conversation with Gordon and was worried about what was happening with Shadow Force. She had warned Tin-Tin that what they would encounter would be rough, but the girl had refused to be swayed. In the end Penelope had agreed on the condition that the young woman would listen and follow Penelope's every request.
Soon FAB-1 pulled up outside the Silver Mark Pub, the place where John had recommended they start their inquiries. Parker turned off the engine and turned to the two women in the backseat. "Ladies, now this is a pretty rough scene. I would like the honor of getting the information that you need."
"Nonsense Parker, we are far from helpless," Lady Penelope protested, looking over at Tin-Tin. "Besides, now that Tin-Tin is old enough to know, she needs to see for herself what kind of undesirables she might run up against working for International Rescue. Also, considering the circumstances, I think her worry for Alan is going to supersede everything. But you are free to try and talk her out of it if you wish."
Sighing, Parker then shut his mouth. He knew better than to try and argue down Lady Penelope. Ninety nine point nine percent of time she had always gotten her way. Well at the very least he could do the honorable thing. He may be a respectable member of society now, but he could at least offer some protection from the very blokes that he used to run with. "Very good milady, but I will go inside first, and I will not be swayed by that argument."
Lady Penelope smiled, "Very well, Parker." Turning to Tin-Tin who at this point was staring out of the window of FAB-1 she laid a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I know you are worried about Alan, but I need you to focus. There are men inside that place that work for the Organization that has Alan, Scott, and Jeff. They know where, and it is our job to find out what they know."
Tin-Tin's distant look concerned Penelope at first, but then she finally turned and smiled at her. "FAB. Let's go get them."
--
Jeff did what he could to work on his bonds, but it was no use. Whatever kind of clamp they had used in the walls of the cell was effective in keeping his bonds from moving anymore. He looked over at his son Scott who seemed mesmerized by the events unfolding on the monitor.
His voice bordered on the edge of anger. "Dad, these guys are playing us for all we are worth. We have fallen into their trap and Alan is in danger. What can we do?"
He could understand Scott's frustration. During the time that they were trapped on Thunderbird Five while Alan was on the island with Tin-Tin and Fermat, frustration was only one of the emotions that he had been feeling that day.
He chose his reply carefully. "We wait for our opportunity. Somehow I have a feeling that they are not through with us yet."
--
Virgil kept an eye on his instruments as he coaxed every last bit of speed he could from Thunderbird Two. Based upon the coordinates that Gordon had fed them, the deadline that had been set was tight indeed. "Time check."
"Five minutes later than when you last asked me," John replied calmly. "Look Virgil, it's not going to do either of us any good if we get too wound up. That leads to mistakes that we don't need to be making right now."
Irritated now, Virgil lashed out. "How can you stay so calm? Our brother is down in some hole with a bomb, set to obliterate both him and the US President in a little over thirty minutes. Even at maximum speed, we are going to have fifteen minutes at best to canvas an island only slightly smaller than ours. Those are odds that I don't care for."
"How, you ask? Because I faced those same odds, Virgil," John countered with a low and even voice. "In those few seconds before the Hood's missile hit Thunderbird Five, I was praying like you wouldn't believe. I knew that you guys would either get the emergency message I had broadcast or the automated alerts from Thunderbird Five. After the impact, though I was in pain, the one thing kept me from completely losing it while I was waiting was that I knew that you guys were coming to get me. Alan is going through that right now - I could see it in his eyes when I talked to him. He needs us calm and ready to get the both of them out of that hole before the bomb goes off."
With a mollified look, Virgil turned his attention back to his instruments and sensors. "Let's get there then."
--
Gordon's search into Gene Prescott's past was turning up some juicy tidbits that he was pretty sure the press would be interested in. There had been military communiqués that had been sent his way, warning him on communication chatter of the kidnappings, but he had buried them under other business. Not only that, his bank account was suspiciously growing in similar increments to Mr. Edwards. If that didn't scream corruption, he didn't know what would.
Monitoring the police communications, Gordon knew that there was already an all points bulletin out for Mr. Edwards arrest. Now he just needed to point the authorities to the information on Prescott.
Using software to mask his network identity over the web, he sent out a few key emails to the FBI and the Secret Service that should have been enough to give them a head start. Gordon then turned his attention back to the sensors and watched as Thunderbird Two closed in on the island in question.
--
"John, we are now over the island where the signal is coming from," Virgil confirmed. "How much time do we have left?"
John checked his watch again. "Twenty minutes." He looked out over the island that they were hovering over. Much of it was covered in thick vegetation, but he spotted a small area of coastline that just looked big enough. "Better land in that clearing. I see Thunderbird One down there, but we don't have much time to check anything else out. I'll grab our gear and a portable scanner."
Once Virgil had Thunderbird Two landed on the beach, they disembarked quickly. John activated his handheld scanner and took some basic readings. After a few minutes though, it was clear that they needed a new plan.
"Virgil, I can't get a solid lock on Alan's location," John growled in frustration.
Shaking his head, Virgil tried using his tele-com. "Alan? If you can hear us, please come in." Digital static greeted his attempts. "Uh Jonny, we have a problem."
"No kidding," John muttered as they proceeded forward towards the rock formations through the forest. As they went, the readings changed to indicate that Alan was within the rock, but how could that be? The walls looked to be of solid rock.
John checked his watch again and looked at the timer. Eleven minutes and counting.
Time was running out.