Another week, another chapter! I hope you're all still enjoying the story and for any Scott-lovers out there, this one's all him!

baao xo

Chapter 12:

Scott had been left alone after the camera had been turned off, something that he wasn't entirely sure whether to be pleased or not about. It had been at least a quarter of an hour since the Hood had left the room with his henchmen, and, in a moment of desperation, Scott had tried to wriggle his wrists out of the handcuffs in order to contact someone to let them know where he was. The fact that neither Gordon nor John were anywhere to be seen suggested that his current whereabouts were unknown, though the only thing Scott had achieved in the last ten minutes was having two bloodied wrists that weren't going anywhere.

Finally admitting defeat, Scott relaxed in the chair, taking a moment to consider the dilemma he had found himself in this time. The Hood wanted money from the Tracy's, and Scott could only assume that the 'planes' he referred to in his broadcast were the Thunderbirds - he knew that they were International Rescue; he wouldn't want anything else. It was revenge on their father he supposed, and whilst Scott was wasn't sure whether he was the intended hostage - any of the brothers would've done - he couldn't help but feel relieved that it was him. It seemed fitting anyhow, that he was the one in this position considering that he was the Field Commander - he would've made the call to stop searching the caves in Malaysia all those months ago, and Scott would never have allowed his brothers to take the blame for an order he gave.

As suddenly as he had left, the Hood returned to the room that was holding Scott prisoner and Scott fixed him with a cool glare as he was approached by the madman. The Hood grinned manically, thoroughly enjoying the tension that sat heavy in the air. Coming to a stop in front of Scott, the Hood crouched slightly in order to view his captive in the eyes before raising his hand and moving it towards Scott's forehead. Scott flinched, trying to jerk his head back as much as he could, unsure of what the Hood was doing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Hood smirking as Scott was unable to move any further away, and the Hood's hand made contact with the pilot.

Almost immediately, Scott's world turned black and his nerve endings felt like they were on fire. White hot pain tore through every fibre of his being, shattering each bone, ripping each muscle, and rupturing every artery. Through cotton-wool ears, Scott could hear his own screams being viciously torn from his throat, yet he was helpless to stop them echoing through the reactor room, splitting the previous silence like an arrow. Then, as quickly as the pain had come, it stopped. Panting slightly, Scott took a moment to compose himself, his breaths coming in harsh, pained whimpers as beads of sweat fell softly from his face. The Hood stepped back, seemingly satisfied, and then he spoke:

"A taste of what may come if your father doesn't give into my demands. I wonder how much the human body can take... I survived a landslide, but can your body survive what I have planned for it? I know exactly who you are, Scott Tracy, therefore I know exactly who made the call to stop searching for any missing persons. A Field Commander's job in International Rescue is to give orders that will save lives, and that day in Malaysia - plus countless more before and after that, no doubt - you failed."

Scott silently shook his head, unable to speak, to defend himself against the pure venom in the Hood's voice. The Hood grinned, satisfied with the suffering of his victim. He leaned forward once more, hoping to harm Scott once more, and even laughing out loud when the man flinched away again from his hand, but a beeping noise behind him stopped him in his tracks. One of the henchmen stepped forward, gesturing the device they had previously been recording on which had a small screen stating "incoming call". The Hood nodded, and Scott couldn't believe who was on the other line.

"Jeff Tracy! What a pleasure. I thought I'd have to be contacting you again and again - have we come to an agreement, then?" the Hood greeted Jeff with false cheer, spreading his arms and partially hiding Scott from view.

"What's this all about?" demanded Jeff "I've never seen you before, we've never done anything to you yet here you are holding my son for ransom."

"Now that is exactly where you're wrong, Tracy. See, me and Scotty here have been having a nice chat about what really happened all those months ago, and I think we both agree on what happened, didn't we?"

The Hood turned slightly to look at Scott, who had recovered somewhat, and was now glaring at the Hood in fury.

"And what was that?" asked Jeff acidly.

"That your delightful Field Commander here" the Hood patted Scott patronisingly on the head before fisting his hand in Scott's hair to stop him from jerking away, "really let the side down. Calling the order to stop searching for victims? Shameful."

"You know that's not how it happened!" replied Scott, angrily.

The Hood tutted, and stepped away to allow one of his men, who now wore a shining pair of knuckle dusters on both hands. He took a few swings at Scott, which resulted in the pilot receiving more bloody wounds to his face, and gasping out broken swear words as he fought to regain composure. Jeff had had to quickly look away from the screen as his son was treated brutally by his captors, wincing as the distinctive sound of cracking ribs made its way through the line.

"Honestly Tracy, I thought you would've raised you little clones to not be such dirty liars. What would the public think if they knew that their precious members of International Rescue told such horrid lies?"

"Is that this is really about? Destroying the reputation of International Rescue? You haven't even said that the Tracy's are part of the organisation."

"Well, maybe I like to surprise people," replied the Hood, "and I think this will be one of the greatest surprises the world has ever seen. So what say you? The money and those delightful Thunderbirds of yours for your son?"

"Dad, don't you dare!" answered Scott, leaning forwards and pulling on his restraints.

Jeff could be seen looking back at his eldest son through the screen, clearly thinking hard through his options. Scott stared back in horror - his father couldn't honestly be thinking about not only paying this lunatic but giving him the 'birds as well? The Hood's anger at IR was down to him and him alone, there was no way Scott was going to allow his decisions affect the rest of his family.

In one final attempt to stop his father potentially speaking the words he couldn't bear to hear, Scott kicked one leg out, catching the man holding the camera on the knee. The man stumbled, dropped the camera, and grunted in pain and fury. The screen went black, and the Hood turned to Scott, fury evident in eyes. Scott didn't care - anything to stop Jeff from choosing him over International Rescue. Surrounded by his captors, there was nothing Scott could do to prevent the punishment that he knew was coming, but all he wished for was that unconsciousness would come quickly.

The other boys will be back soon, promise! Let me know what you thought...