CHAPTER 2

Scott leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and glared at the doorway. Alan snickered at the sight of Scott trying to be tough, which was hard to take when looking at his green hair which had little tufts sticking up in various directions after Scott slept on it.

Not unexpected, Gordon breezed into the dining room in his usual over-exuberant way. Not for the first time, the Tracy family wondered if anything ever got Gordon down.

"Good morning one and all!" he exclaimed happily. "Hey Dad! Welcome home. Virg, up early this morning, aren't we?" Gordon sat down and pointedly looked at Alan. Everyone at the table knew he was waiting to look at Scott last.

"How you doing kiddo? Wrist bothering you?"

Alan smiled and shook his head. "It's fine Gordon. Thank you for asking."

Gordon finally looked to his eldest brother and laughed. "Uhmmm, Scott? Forget to close your window again? I think Kermit got lost and decided to take up residence on your head."

Jeff, Alan and Virgil did their best not to laugh, but the snickers and chuckles were sneaking through. Scott only raised an eyebrow. With a tolerance he didn't know he possessed, Scott addressed his brother.

"Gordon, this is absolutely the last straw. You have drawn the battle lines and the war is about to begin."

Gordon amusedly nodded his head. "Uh huh. Sure Scott. And exactly what war is that?"

"Why the war of the pranksters, baby brother."

"Pranksters! Give me a break Scott." Gordon laughed. "You really think you can out prank me?"

"You better believe it, Gordo. I am going to get you with the ultimate prank," Scott challenged.

Gordon waggled his fingers at his brother. "Ooohhhhh. I'm soooo scared, here Scotty."

Scott got up from the table, walked over to the sink and put his coffee cup in it and then turned back to the table. He walked right up to Gordon's side and looked down at him. "Gordon, you won't know where, you won't know when and you definitely won't know how, but I promise you this. Sometime within the next few days I am going to get you but good for all the times you got me. I'm only going to get you with one prank, so you better be ready for it." With that said, he turned and walked out of the room.

Gordon looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you really think he is going to try and pull it off?"

Jeff stood up and patted his son on the shoulder. "It's been nice knowing you son," he stated as he got up to walk out of the room. He paused just at the threshold and turned back to his family. "Keep the pranks from getting out of control and destroying the house please!"

Gordon looked to Alan. "Don't look at me, Gordon. I suspect Dad is going to be sending me up to Five to relieve John a week earlier since I can't do much with this," he indicated to his wrist.

Virgil finally appeared to wake up and looked at Alan. "I should probably rewrap that Alan. I'm sure some of the swelling has gone down overnight."

"Scott already did it for me. It was too loose and I wasn't sure how long you were going to sleep."

Virgil nodded. "Okay. But if Dad does decide to send you up to Five, let me know. I would rather you wear a wrist support bandage than an ace."

"Okay." Alan got up. "I'm going to go start packing just in case."

Virgil finally turned to Gordon. "Well. You did it this time, Gordo. I hope you're ready for this."

"Oh come on, Virg! You don't really think he's going to try and get back at me, do you?"

Virgil shook his head. "Gordon, in the past 3 days you dyed his hair green, changed his mouthwash to vinegar, short-sheeted his bed, changed the hot chocolate mix with powdered baker's chocolate, and changed all his computer settings. What makes you think he isn't going to want to get even?"

"I always pull those same pranks on him and he falls for them every time," Gordon exclaimed.

"Yeah, you do," agreed Virgil. "But not usually so many all at once. You pushed him too far this time Gordon."

"Yeah, but . . ."

Virgil interrupted. "Maybe if you had waited until we had a chance to get some rest after that last rescue, it would be different little brother. But between how long we were gone and Alan getting hurt, you're timing was just not right." He got up and headed out of the room, turning back around just before walking out the door. "Dad was right, it was nice knowing ya."

Gordon sat dumbfounded at the table for a few moments. He couldn't believe everyone was taking Scott's side on this. Not even Alan, his usual ally in the pranks. 'No way can he ever hope to out prank me.' He thought to himself. A sly smile suddenly lit his features. 'I'll just have to be extra cautious around him for a few days, that's all. Once he figures out he can't out prank he, he'll give up!'

Figuring that he worked out the solution, Gordon whistled as he walked down to the Thunderbirds hangars to help with the cleanup from yesterday's rescue.

TBTBTBTBTB

It was a weary group of men that shuffled their way into the dining room that same day and sat down to eat a very late supper. Kyrano placed warm plates of food down in front of each person but everyone just stared at the plate in front of them.

"I can smell it and I'm starving," Scott complained. "But I don't think I can move." Kyrano took pity on them and removed the warming covers. Scott shot him a tired smile. "Thanks, Kyrano."

"You are most welcome, Mr. Scott. Has there been a problem that kept you all so late?" he inquired.

"It's all my fault," Alan whined and placed his head down on the table. "If I hadn't walked over by that pod leg we never would have been stuck down there all day."

"Alan," Virgil sighed. "If you hadn't walked over there none of us would have spotted that leak in the hydraulics until it was too late."

"That's right, Alan. The consequences could have been disastrous if Virgil had Two out on a rescue and couldn't raise her up to open the pod door," Jeff reminded his son.

"I know, dad. I know," Alan admitted. "It's just, who knew we would end up having to take apart that entire section of Two just to get to the hydraulics line."

Scott nodded. "I've got to agree with him on that one, dad. I know the hydraulics line has to be out of the way of the retractable legs, but that was downright ridiculous."

"What do you suggest, Scott? Just let the lines get in the way. Then we'd be replacing them all the time," Virgil shot back.

"Boys!" Jeff commanded. "We're all too tired and sore to get into this rationally. Let's wait until Brains comes back to discuss this and see if we can come up with an alternative. But for now, drop it."

Jeff no sooner got the words out when Alan accidentally dropped a glass of milk he had picked up with his right hand. It smashed on the floor. "Awww jeesh. I'm sorry Kyrano."

Kyrano stopped Alan from getting out of his chair to help clean it up. "No, Mister Alan. You finish eating. I will clean this up. It was an accident."

Jeff frowned at his youngest son. "Alan, is your wrist alright?"

Alan started to nod his head. "Tell him the truth, Alan," Gordon warned, knowing full well Alan over-exerted his wrist in helping to fix the leak. "Tell him or I will."

Too tired to argue, Alan replied. "No. It's swollen again and hurts when I move it."

Scott, who was sitting next to Alan leaned over and gently took his hand. "I'd say you hurt it worse than it was, Sprout. I can feel the heat just pouring off your wrist."

Virgil stood up. "Come on Alan. I want to x-ray it again."

"Can we finish eating first?" Alan sighed. "I'm starving."

Before Alan could even pick up a utensil, Scott grabbed his plate and cut up all the food into bite-sized pieces. Alan shot him a tired, yet exasperated look as Scott put it back in front of him. "I could have done that myself, you know."

"Don't argue with your brother, Alan," Jeff commented. "Virgil, if his wrist is worse than before, let me know if he needs to go see a doctor. You boys are too tired to be flying. I'll take him."

"Sure thing Dad."

Virgil and Gordon directed Alan towards the infirmary as soon as everyone was done eating. It was a testament to how tired he was and how sore his wrist was, that Alan didn't put up much more than a token protest.

Scott joined his father in his office for coffee. Jeff had just made contact with John as he walked in.

"Did you two just come back from an all night bender?"John joked. "It has to be the only explanation for Scott's new 'do." He could easily see how tired his father and brother were and pretty much guessed that Scott fell victim once again to Gordon.

"Just be glad you missed out on all the fun, John-boy," Scott shot back. "WE spent our day having to pull out and replace all the hydraulic lines on Thunderbird Two's port legs after Alan found a leak."

John winced in sympathy. "Not my idea of a fun way to spend the day."

"No kidding," Jeff agreed. "John, how are things looking up there?"

John frowned at the question but glanced over at his monitors to check. "Quiet, Dad. It's actually been unusually quiet on the emergency channels as well. Why? Is something wrong?"

Both Jeff and Scott sighed. "Nothing's wrong. I'm thinking about sending Alan up now to relieve you."

"Why? I've got another week to go before my rotation is up."

"Alan hurt his wrist on that last rescue and may have done more damage to it helping fix the hydraulic leak," explained Scott.

"Virgil is x-raying it now. If it's not broken, I'd like to send him up there," Jeff said. "He's less likely to hurt it up on Five than down here."

"How bad is his wrist?" John asked concern evident in his eyes.

Scott shrugged. "It looks like a really bad sprain."

"Poor kid," John shook his head. "Well. Unless there's a major earthquake or forest fire somewhere waiting to happen, it should be pretty quiet for a few days."

Jeff nodded. "I'm going to see if Virgil is done yet so I can let you know. I'll be right back." Scott sat down in the chair as his father left.

John chuckled and shook his head as he looked at Scott's hair. "So how many does that make this time?"

"Too many," grumbled Scott. "Another reason why we need you down here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I threatened Gordon with payback sometime within the next five days."

John snorted. "YOU? Come on Scott. You have never, ever been able to pull a successful prank on Gordon."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence brother," Scott replied sarcastically. "You're as bad as Virgil in the support department."

"Sorry!" John chuckled again. "What have you got in mind so far? Maybe I can think up a few things while waiting to see what Dad wants to do."

"Don't really know," Scott shrugged. "Like you said, planning paybacks aren't my forte."

"You're problem, Scott, is that you tend to over think everything. It makes you a great Field Commander, but a lousy prankster."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

John shook his head amusedly. "Scott, think back on all the pranks Gordon pulls, especially on you. Most of the time, he pulls the same ones all the time, just varies them a bit. Sure, he's pulled some elaborate pranks that took some planning, but if you break those down, you'll find that most of them contain a combination of his favorite pranks."

Scott sat back and looked at his brother in amazement. "How did you figure that out?"

John shrugged and gestured around him. "What? You guys think I spend ALL my time star gazing when the rescue front is slow?" He grinned as he watched Scott's eyes narrow.

"John. If I find out you've been helping Gordon play pranks on me,"

"Hold on there, Scooter. Honest. I haven't been helping Gordon at all. In case you've forgotten, Gordon tends to prank me quite a bit as well. I think through his pranks to try and figure out if there was some way I could have caught on before hand."

Scott tilted his head to one side. "Did you figure it out?"

"Nah," John shook his head.

Scott was about to respond when Jeff came back into his office. "How's Alan?" he asked.

"His wrist is only badly sprained," Jeff told them. "John, Virgil wants Alan to wait at least one day before replacing you."

"Not a problem, Dad. That works out fine for me. There's some cosmic activity going on that I've been keeping an eye on. This will give me an extra day to watch it."

Jeff and Scott exchanged knowing smiles. "Okay John. While you're at it, why don't you make up a supply list for what Alan will need. Tin-Tin is flying back from her vacation on the mainland tomorrow and she can pick up anything he'll need."

"Shouldn't be anything more than the usual stuff," John replied after quickly thinking through the supplies on board. "You might want to consider getting Alan foods that are easy to microwave or fix up."

Jeff nodded. "I think Kyrano has already considered that and was calling Tin-Tin when I sought him out. He's way ahead of me as usual."

John and Scott chuckled, both knowing that there was very little that went on at Tracy Island that Kyrano did not know about.

"Okay, John. Let's play it by ear and see how Alan's wrist is doing in 24 hours. If Virgil thinks he can handle being on Five, we'll send him up."

"Sure thing, Dad," John agreed. He looked off to the side for a moment. Jeff and Scott could see him smile. "Gotta go. There's some cosmic stuff happening." John signed off before they could respond.

Jeff only shook his head at the now blank screen. Scott came up behind his dad and put a hand on his shoulder. "Dad, are you sure that John wasn't switched at birth with an alien child?"

"Watch it, Mister," Jeff sternly replied, however Scott could easily hear the underlying amusement in the tone. "You forget that at one time, I probably would have done the same thing."

Scott laughed as he headed out of the office. "Of course, how could I forget. I mean, John would have had to pick up his space case ideology somewhere."

TBTBTBTBTB