Chapter 4

One week later

Virgil laughed and it felt good. He realised that it had been a while since he had let rip with a genuine burst of amusement and he was pleased. Mind you, what wasn't funny about crawling about on the kitchen floor with Tin Tin trying to identify green fluff?

When Tin Tin wasn't working as Brains's assistant she liked to help her father with household chores. Kyrano had suggested that she might like to clean behind the industrial sized fridge. Although it was on wheels, Tin Tin looked around for one of the Tracy brothers to help her move it and Virgil had been the first one that she had come across.

Now they were kneeling on the bit of floor where the fridge had been, sweeping up but being distracted by the dust bunnies and gunk they found there.

"I knew that screwdriver was under here somewhere," said Virgil, pleased.

"No, don't touch it!" squealed Tin Tin. "It's got green stuff attached to it. Wipe it first."

"You think I should break out the haz. suits for us?" asked Virgil, deadpan.

"We'll be fine. Oh no, mind your knee. What is that?"

The two peered at the gunk/fluff combo next to Virgil's knee. "Cookie," decided Virgil.

"No, no, more like some bit of fruit," replied Tin Tin.

"Since when have you seen fruit with chocolate chips in?"

"Those are not chocolate chips, they're…oh my God, they look like mouse droppings. You don't think there's a mouse in here do you?" asked Tin Tin.

"No, that's just who Scott blames his midnight snack attacks on."

"You're right!" Tin Tin started laughing. "I heard him the other day: 'That wasn't me, Grandma, we must have mice.'"

Virgil and Tin Tin went off into gales of laughter again.

"What are you two up to?"

The two looked around and saw Alan standing behind them. "Oh Alan," giggled Tin Tin, "it is horrible down here. Are these chocolate chips or mouse droppings?"

Alan watched Tin Tin bend over the mysterious gunk again to examine it. The sight of her fetching rear-end and the sound of her giggling made him feel quite attracted to her at that moment. "Let me look," he said, kneeling down on the floor next to her and elbowing Virgil out of the way. "It's okay, Virg, I'll help Tin Tin finish up here."

Virgil watched Alan huddle closer to Tin Tin and instantly felt like a gooseberry. He stood up and frowned at Alan's back. Then he left the kitchen, only the fact that the door swung both ways preventing him from slamming it.

He walked off down the hallway, his good humour vanished. Alan, bloody Alan. Didn't he realise how lucky he was? All the fun and excitement of International Rescue with the benefit of an on-site romantic interest. It just wasn't fair. Virgil had no idea what Alan and Tin Tin got up to on their walks across the island but he guessed it wasn't bird spotting.

Virgil felt tension build up in him as thoughts of Sophia rushed into his head. He missed her so much but he just couldn't see a practical way of rekindling a relationship with her. Not that he could now she was going out with some idiot called Mike.

Virgil had just wanted to have a chance with her. A chance with any woman, in fact. He only wanted to be able to develop a meaningful relationship but be in International Rescue at the same time. Why was it so difficult?

Virgil stopped in the hallway. He felt so angry at the unsolvable situation, unhappy about Sophia and jealous of Alan. The feelings overwhelmed him for a second and he lashed out, kicking his sneakered foot into the wall next to him.

In the instant he hit the wall the tension vanished and he sagged, feeling stupid at losing control. Then he looked at the wall and noted a hole surrounded by crumbling plaster.

"Oh crap." said Virgil.