Disclaimer - yeah, yeah. No own.

I am NOT mean to Alan, he is just a very handy plot device

Chapter 17 – Rescued?

Emily Tracy sat in command and control watching her husband via the monitor on Jeff's desk coordinating everything with Brains sitting in her father-in-law's chair. How could they do it? How could they be so calm? She was use to the drama of the ER, of working under tense situations, but the people who were brought to her were not people she knew and loved. Looking at John, she could spot the tell-tale tightness around his mouth and she realized how frightened he was for his little brother. And Brains? He barely spoke; his stuttering had gotten so bad. Fermat was his only child. Even John could not tell her what had happened to Fermat's mother. The boys were sure she hadn't died like their own mother, but when Brains had gone to work for Jeff so many years ago, it had been with a six month old in tow and no one else in his life. And if Jeff knew the story, he wasn't talking.

John Tracy calmly relayed information back and forth, letting his family know weather conditions and other information. He would give anything to be down there right now. Hell, he would love to just be able to sit there and talk with the wife he could see at the edge of the screen. How could this be happening? His whole family had been so proud of Alan and his achievements. The Sprout had grown up so much but it seemed as if fate kept testing them. How many ways could his baby brother be put at risk? And, he had to wonder, what was it about Alan and fires? Jeez, trapped in the middle of a forest fire, rescuing kids from a burning lab (broke his arm on that one) and now held prisoner by an inferno at his hotel. But Alan had survived all the other traumas of the last couple of years, mostly without the Thunderbirds. He had to survive this one as well.

Hiram "Brains" Hackenbacker reviewed the data from the 'Birds, especially John in Five, as well as the information from the emergency services in Boston. Thunderbird One was almost at the scene, and Thunderbird Two was practically burning up the engines, not far behind. The Thunderbirds would save the boys. Brains didn't know what he would do without his son. An orphan and a loner, Brains had not had many friends in his life and even his wife had deserted him without a glance back, not even for their baby. He had taken the job with Tracy Industries not long before Jeff had lost his own wife. At least Lucille Tracy hadn't chosen to leave her family. But it had been both fathers intention to lose themselves in their work and an unlikely friendship had blossomed. Much, he thought, as their sons' friendship had. Brains wondered if that was the only thing that kept him calm: the knowledge that Alan Tracy would die before he let anything happen to Fermat. It was that knowledge that both comforted and terrified him. He was comforted at knowing Fermat would probably be fine and terrified that Alan would risk everything to save his best friend and their companions.

Scott Tracy had arrived on the scene in Boston. Based on the data he had been sent, he had hoped that everyone from emergency services to John would be wrong. But they were not. Only Thunderbird Two with the rescue platform would be able to reach the boys in time. His heart went into his throat at the flash of white at a window. At first he thought someone was signaling them. Then the pilot realized Alan – yes, it was definitely his kid brother – was merely getting linens wet again. Watching Alan bend over, coughing, he knew smoke was getting in. As Alan straightened, he saw his brother look up and see the search lights from Thunderbird One, pinpointing their location. The only acknowledgement Scott received was a quick nod. But the Thunderbirds had long ago learned to communicate nonverbally. That nod told Scott everyone was still OK, the fire was still a threat and tell Virgil or Dad or whoever is piloting Two to get here now!

Alan Tracy had never seen such a beautiful sight in his life. Smoke had begun to get into the room. The heat from the flames in the hallway had dried out the linens and he had begun to re-soak them in the rain beating down into Boston Harbor from the hotel window. The rain was soaking his pajamas, he had cuts on his arms and feet from broken glass and the smoke kept sneaking in, making him choke. Alan had set Fermat to keeping the other boys in the bathroom, as far away from the door and window as possible. Maintaining his calm for the others, he was silently screaming inside. He had wanted to contact his family directly but with the others there could not. So the youngest Tracy son had done the next best thing. When he called 911, he had reviewed everything with the dispatcher, and was able to make them see that the only way the sixteen teenagers were getting out of this alive was to call in the Thunderbirds. Choppers couldn't fly with this wind, and there would be no other way to reach them on the waterfront side. And now that he could see Thunderbird One hovering outside, directing the surely incoming monolith that was the work horse of the family business, Alan knew a sense of comfort. His family was here. It would all be OK.

Virgil Tracy watched as his father began to guide Thunderbird Two in above the inferno on Boston Harbor. Scott had secured a spot and had beamed a searchlight directly at the window. It took several attempts but finally the Thunderbird Commander proved why he had been a decorated Air Force pilot, managing to get the 'Bird into the perfect position to secure the rescue platform. Kate and Gordon, as the two lightest, went down with the platform. The more they could get on the platform each time, the faster everyone would be safe, especially Alan. He knew his kid brother would not leave until everyone was safe, even at the risk of his own life. Virgil knew they had to hurry.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Kate Tracy held onto the side of the platform. Gordon would open the gate; guide the boys in as Kate monitored the payload. Too much weight and the platform would be unable to rise back into Thunderbird Two. Setting the boys down directly would be too risky so they would have to bring them back up. Virgil, who had been co-piloting with Jeff, would now be setting things up in sickbay. Kate wished Emily had come along. But a rocking Thunderbird was no place for a pregnant woman.

Gordon Tracy impatiently waited for his father to guide them in the platform until he was close enough to the window to begin extricating the boys from the room. Alan had been at the window a minute earlier but had disappeared when the platform had begun to drop. Seeing a glint at the window, Gordon recognized Fermat standing there. If he knew Alan – and he did – Al had convinced Fermat that as Thunderbirds it was Fermat's responsibility to lead the boys out and Alan's to bring up the rear.

Fermat Hackenbacker held onto the window frame, waiting for the rescue platform to get close enough. Smoke was coming into the room now, as Alan had removed the comforter that had been there to cover the broken glass near the window and draped two large towels over the window frame. He knew Alan was hurt and had inhaled more of the smoke than the other boys but that his friend would not give into his injuries until everyone else was safe. Fermat was aware that the fastest way to get Alan help was to get the others to safety. And that would be his job.

When the platform was adjacent to the window, Gordon opened up the gate. Fermat climbed in, and then promptly began to help the other boys on. Due to the weather conditions, it would be safer to split the group in half, so once eight of the boys were in, Gordon signaled that they would be right back and the platform was pulled back into Thunderbird Two. Kate and Gordon turned the rescued boys over to Virgil and went back for more. During the second load they ran into a snag. Several of the teens were fully grown and this load could only support seven. Alan signaled them to come back; he would wait until the next time. Seeing the increasing smoke filling his brother's room, Gordon felt that the platform had never moved slower.

As he waited to be the last one rescued, Alan thought he heard a noise. Moving back into the room, he edged cautiously to the door. Knowing that the fire was just beyond, Alan was reluctant to open the door. Thinking that he had imagined it, Alan turned back to the window, only to fall to his knees. Somewhere in his mind, he acknowledged the searing pain at the base of his skull and then Alan Tracy knew nothing. He never heard the footsteps walking away from him, he never saw the hands pull the linens from the door, he never saw the figure use an extinguisher on flames between his door and the hallway and he never saw the person who unlocked the stairwell door, leaving Alan to die in the flames.

a/n - OK, so maybe I am mean to Alan.