Chapter Five

"What do you mean, it's gone?"

"Gone, Dad. As in, not there." Gordon stared at the monitor, cold chills running down his spine. "It was there when we left. It's just…not there now."

"There's nothing on the satellite scan," John's voice was sharp with disbelief. "How is this even possible? It's got to be there!"

"It is there, John. Gordon simply can no longer see it."

"Come again?" Gordon grunted with frustration. He swung around to the main console vidscreen and toggled the display. The screen flickered to life and he saw Kyrano standing beside his father, who was looking up at him with an expression that Gordon thought probably mirrored his own.

Kyrano nodded, his dark eyes very serious. "It is true. Evil forces are at work here. They have caused the building to become invisible to your eyes, but it is still where it was."

"Invisible?" John's voice went up an octave. Gordon couldn't see him, but he knew his brother's eyebrows had hit his hairline.

"Evil forces?" Jeff choked out. "What the devil do you mean, Kyrano?"

"Not quite the devil, but someone of great power," Kyrano said. "I fear the situation will become worse before it is over."

Gordon felt the pit of his stomach sink a little lower. "What can we do?"

He could see the distress now, leaking through the usual Zen calm of Kyrano's demeanor. "I do not know yet, Gordon. I do not know."

Scott crossed the concrete floor to Thunderbird One, trying not to feel like a man headed for his own execution. Gaat followed closely behind him; despite the other man's proximity, Scott's combat trained mind couldn't help looking for angles, for some way to get the upper hand. If it had just been the two of them, or even if they'd all been able-bodied… But Virgil's situation changed the equation completely. Any plan Scott made now had to include a way to get his injured brother out alive.

They reached the ladder at last. Gaat waved him up. "Open the hatch."

Scott turned toward him. "What assurance do I have that you –"

"None," Gaat rumbled.

Scott desperately wanted to wipe the smile off the other man's face with his fist, but he got a hold on his temper with a supreme effort. "Then why in hell am I doing this?"

"Because I will kill you if you do not," Gaat said.

"I'd like to see you try." Scott couldn't keep his teeth from baring. Let the bastard come at him. He was ready.

Gaat actually looked like he was considering it for a moment. Then he shook his head impatiently. "I have no time for this foolishness. I will take your ship and be gone." He gestured at the ladder. "Open the hatch. Now."

Out of options, Scott started climbing. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what Gaat would do when he got into the cockpit seat and discovered that One, like all the Thunderbird machines, would remain completely inert unless her scans recognized the person in the pilot's seat to be a living, breathing member of the team. If he didn't immediately order someone killed on the spot out of sheer rage, the best case Scott could come up with was that Gaat would try to force him to be his pilot…and Scott didn't want to think about what might happen to the others after he was gone.

The Sig Sauer was burning a hole in its holster, itching to be in his hand. He'd have to act fast. Maybe once Gaat was in the confines of the cockpit he could pull off a head shot before their captor could activate his henchmen.

He could feel Gaat's impatience, knew he could stall no longer. He keyed in the code and the hatch slid open.

"There," he said. "She's all yours." The words tasted bad in his mouth.

Gaat threw his head back and laughed in triumph, a booming sound that echoed around the warehouse. As Scott jumped down and stood aside, bracing himself for what he knew was coming, the Asian man climbed the ladder and reached up to pull himself aboard the silver rocket plane.

And howled in pain, snatching his hand back. "What is this trickery?"

Scott had conjured up a whole raft of scenarios in his head for what might happen after he opened that hatch…but this hadn't been one of them. He could only look at Gaat blankly.

Gaat tried again to reach through the open hatch, only to pull back his hand once more as if it had been burned. He looked closely at the metal surrounding the entrance, then scowled. "This hatch is warded! Who is responsible for this?"

"It's what?" Scott asked, totally confused.

"Do not play games with me!" Gaat thundered. "Someone has placed wards on this aircraft that prevent me from entering it! I want to know who has done this!"

"Listen, buddy, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. What the hell is a ward?"

Gaat swung around, stared across the hangar at Tin-Tin, who was standing now, meeting his gaze. "Your father," he said, slowly. "Your father did this! I will punish him for daring to obstruct me!"

Tin-Tin said nothing. Gaat strode back toward her. Scott stayed with him, one eye on the silent henchmen, getting ready to pull his weapon if necessary.

"You will remove this protection at once," Gaat rapped at Tin-Tin. When she didn't move, he snapped his fingers and one of the demon figures came to life, moving swiftly around the painted circle to his side. Gaat pointed at Virgil and the demon produced a sidearm, aimed it at his head.

Horrified, Scott tried to get past him, but Gaat held up a hand and it was like he'd run into a brick wall. "What the hell..?"

Gaat never looked at him. "Do it," he said to Tin-Tin. "Do it or I will have him killed."

"No!" Alan burst out. He stepped over Virgil, blocking the demon's weapon with his body.

Tin-Tin was shivering violently, lost in her uncle's black gaze. "I can't," she whispered at last. "I don't know how."

Gaat stared at her. The moment stretched out until Scott thought something would break inside him and he'd just start screaming. Then suddenly Gaat threw out his arms, threw back his head and roared one word. "KYRAAAAAAAAANOOOOOOOOOO!"

John quickly arranged a secure conference vidcall with Eduardo Tamayo, Agent #305, which produced the unwelcome information that he hadn't spoken to anyone in their organization in the recent past. He'd just arrived home from a three week trip to Rio de Janeiro with his wife, he explained, and expressed honest surprise when he found out International Rescue had been in Costa Rica. "Mr. Tracy, sir, I had no idea! Where did you say 'I' told Scott to leave Thunderbird One?"

Jeff rubbed his temples. "Gordon?"

"A deserted airfield out in the jungle a couple hundred miles northeast of San Juan," Gordon responded. "You…he…said there used to be a village here, but it's all gone now. He called it Las Muertas."

"Las Muertas?" Eduardo's brow furrowed. "I am not familiar with that place. I will have to look it up."

"You do that," Jeff rumbled. "There's something strange going on there and we need to get to the bottom of it, and fast."

"Something strange?" Eduardo's eyebrows raised a little.

Jeff hesitated, glancing up at John's live feed. John stepped in. "The hangar seems to have…disappeared," he said.

"Disappeared." Eduardo repeated the word.

"Our chief engineer is working on it," Jeff said. He could hear how stiff he sounded, as if the entire conversation was causing him pain. "But so far he hasn't been able to come up with a logical way this could have happened."

There was a long silence. Eduardo's expression became even more serious. "I see. Perhaps… Mr. Tracy, there is someone I can consult who might be able to tell us something more about this situation."

Jeff suppressed his surprise. He had expected a completely different reaction. "Do it. And let us know if you need any assistance."

Eduardo signed off. "I'll start digging into that place some more," John added. "There has to be some reason they were taken there."

A loud crash, followed by a shriek of distress from the direction of the kitchen made Jeff start. "Mother! Hang on, boys."

He scrambled out from behind the desk and raced across the lounge to the kitchen doorway. "Mother! What's wrong?"

The answer became obvious the moment he entered the room. The broken remains of a tray of coffee cups were scattered across the polished stone floor, and Ruth Tracy was bent over the limp form of Kyrano. "He just collapsed, Jeff!" she exclaimed. "I was looking at him when it happened. He was just bringing you some coffee…"

All Jeff could do was look at Kyrano. Despite his unresponsive state, the other man's eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling.