In Too Deep - Chapter Two
"Thunderbird Five to the Mole!" John didn't wait for an acknowledgement. "Scott," he called, "Thunderbird One's automatic camera detector has just been triggered. You'd better get over there, quick!"
"Damn!" Scott cursed. The shout was uncharacteristic enough but the way his fist came crashing down on the nearest hard surface had Virgil's head spinning round to face his brother in disbelief. Virgil eyed him with caution and allowed his eyebrows to rise; Scott had a temper and Virgil was more than aware of that but his older brother rarely got angry without very good reason. When he sat back and considered the position they found themselves in now, it certainly didn't warrant the irritation that Scott was displaying. It may have been inconvenient and concerning, that someone was taking photographs of Thunderbird One, but it wasn't the first time it had happened.
Scott walked towards the door and then turned back, coming to stand at his brother's side and showing a sense of hesitation that he seldom experienced let alone exhibited. His head was telling him he needed to stop those photographers from getting away but his gut was telling him that he shouldn't be leaving Virgil alone on this one.
"Go!" Virgil encouraged, surprised at the apprehension in his brother. "What are you waiting for? I'll drill down to the scientists."
Scott shook his head, "I don't like it Virg," he confided. He placed a hand on Virgil's shoulder and the outward display made the younger brother realise just how worried Scott was. "You shouldn't be going down there on your own," he frowned hard, torn. "I don't like it; this place gives me the creeps, it doesn't add up. We don't know what we're facing."
"It's not the first time! I'll be in and out before you've caught your photographers, Scott." Virgil reassured him, "We can't let someone get away with photographs of the craft and it's not necessary for you to come with me. I can handle it, go!"
Showing great reluctance, Scott nodded. His stomach twisted at the realisation that he didn't really have a choice. Virgil was right, there was no way they could let anyone get away with footage of the craft and Lady Penelope was already on her way to London; he had to deal with it, there was no other option. Virgil could handle the Mole on his own, that wasn't a problem and going it alone wouldn't drastically effect the rescuing of the three scientists. But the twisting sensation in Scott's gut was telling him this was a bad idea.
A few seconds of hesitation passed before Scott turned to the door and hit the release button. He directed a pained look in Virgil's direction, "Go carefully," he warned.
"I will!" Virgil promised, with a nod. He couldn't understand where Scott's apprehension stemmed from but he was happy to accept that his brother had his reasons. Now wasn't the time to question him. "Now go, before they get away."
The door hissed closed signifying Scott's exit and Virgil frowned, shaking his head. He, of all people, understood how Scott felt sending them into dangerous situations. He knew his older brother worried for their safety and felt guilt whenever they'd been injured, as had happened in the past. Though Scott knew that they were all aware of the risks, there was a small part of him, which could never switch off from the fact that his subordinates were also his brothers. Virgil knew that only too well. Scott always did his best to hide it, especially in the field and that's why, in a way, the current situation was even more alarming. With the escalating crisis with Thunderbird One, Virgil knew deep down that Scott must have a really bad feeling to still hesitate.
Clearing his head, Virgil reached forward to the radio. "Mole calling Thunderbird Five," he said, "John are you still there?" He had a job to do and he intended to get on with it.
"Yeah, I'm still here Virg," the reply crackled through as John appeared in the communications window. Virgil busied himself starting the motors and commencing the drilling procedure. As was typical, the video feed became slanted when the Mole was lifted on its trolley. The machine juddered as the motors groaned and began to rumble a little as it burrowed.
To anyone watching through the dust cloud as the small yellow machine disappeared into the ground, it was a magnificent sight. But to Scott as he clambered inside Thunderbird One, it just caused his stomach to drop that bit further.
"Good," Virgil sighed and smiled warily at John. He'd have been lying if he said that Scott's strange behaviour hadn't bothered him a little, right now he needed John to help focus his efforts on the rescue and pull his mind away from whatever had caused Scott to feel so uneasy. "I've started drilling," he informed his blond brother. "I have the gradient set at 27º, drilling speed 13.5 mph," Virgil reeled off, waiting for John to apprise him of any changes to the course.
"Okay," John replied, concentrating on his own computer read out. "Continue at that speed and on that course for another 2.7 minutes. Then change the gradient by minus 12º, continue for another 2 minutes. You then need to adjust the gradient by plus 4º, you'll break into one of the main corridors of the research center after another 1.3 minutes."
"FAB John, that's 2.7 minutes, change by minus 12º for 2 minutes, change by plus 4º for 1.3 minutes," Virgil acknowledged, typing the necessary information into the computer as he spoke. "Anything else I should know about?"
"Not really," John shook his head, "the ground isn't all that stable. Looks like it's never really recovered from them building underground."
Virgil frowned at the comment; he hadn't noticed anything out of order when he'd landed. In fact, he remembered thinking what a nice scene he could paint from the different colours of the greenery. "Really? The vegetation seems pretty healthy on the surface, there are trees everywhere and the grass is still growing," he voiced his surprise.
"Well yeah," John smirked, "you want to try pulling the leaves off one of those trees, Virgil." His grin widened, "They're not real, they're just there for show. I'm not sure but I'd hazard a guess that the grass is real. We'd have had problems drilling down if it was synthetic." Ever the scientist, John was straight to the point.
"What a shame," Virgil commented with a saddened shake of the head. "There were so many colors; it looked pretty from the air." He turned back to business, not wanting to dwell on the failings of mankind when it came to nature. What about when I break through, John, where do I go from there?"
"If you follow the coordinates I've given you, you should break into the main access corridor to the laboratory. The two blast doors will be directly in front of you, you'll have to cut through them and then on the other side of the second one, you should find the scientists," John told him with confidence. "They're not injured that I know of," John said seriously. "But maybe you should be prepared to deal with smoke inhalation," he suggested.
"Okay," Virgil nodded, "How are the scientists holding up?" he frowned.
"They're holding up okay, I was a bit worried about one of them," John informed his brother. "The guy I've been talking to, Jake, he mentioned that one of others was claustrophobic." John couldn't hide the surprise in his tone at the revelation and after a few seconds to digest it, it became apparent that Virgil agreed.
"Claustrophobic!" Virgil exclaimed, shaking his head with the same incredulity that John felt. "Then why the hell does he work in an underground research center. No wonder these guys have got problems," he muttered.
"That's exactly what I thought," John admitted with a raised eyebrow. "Anyway he seems to have calmed down now. They all appear to be holding up pretty well." He paused, "I did notice they were agitated, I think they're anxious to get out of there, but who wouldn't be?" Virgil nodded at that. "They'll just be pleased when you get there."
"Okay, well tell them I'm on my way," Virgil looked up at his blond brother's image. Unable to stop himself from thinking about Scott, he wondered how his brother was progressing on the surface. "And find out how Scott's getting on, would you?" he glanced at John and smiled.
"Sure," John nodded having expected the request already from his brother. "I'll let you know, Thunderbird Five out."
As the Mole trundled along its course, Virgil frowned to himself at the way his gut churned. It seemed Scott's anxiety was catching.
XxxxX
Having scanned the area from Thunderbird One's heat seeking camera, Scott Tracy's expression almost matched that of his younger brother's in the Mole. He made his way over to the two human shaped blobs of colour on his heat radar. The hover bike he travelled on sped round the outskirts of the woodland that surrounded the centre. Scott's frustration was growing as he scanned the area visually, his handheld radar was telling him that the photographers were straight ahead and sure enough, when he squinted he could make out two figures in the distance.
Scott's expression hardened as the drone of the hover bike increased and he accelerated towards his target. He was planning to give these two a piece of his mind. What they'd done was totally irresponsible; they'd pulled him away from the Mole, away from an important rescue and he was not in a mood to be messed with.
Slowing the bike down, Scott pulled it to a stop and disembarked. Making his way across to the two men, he became cautious, unsure what to expect at first. The closer he got, the surer he was that he recognised them.
"Ned Cook!" Scott exclaimed, making his presence known. His tone laced with anger.
Cook and his associate jumped as Scott came forward from his observation post, previously hidden by trees. They looked at each other and offered awkward smiles as they turned to see Scott stalking towards them.
"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" Scott scowled, his anger at the reporter's presence was obvious and he gestured to the camera they had. "Haven't you learned your lesson?"
"Now listen here buddy…" Cook began, his smile fading in surprise at Scott's outburst.
"No, you listen!" Scott countered, pointing a finger in Cook's direction. "I'm half way through a dangerous operation back there," he hooked a thumb behind him at the Mole's trolley, visible in the distance, "the last thing I need to do is to leave it and come over here to deal with you!"
"Look," Cook tried again, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry we had to take pictures, but it was the only thing I could think of to get your attention." He took the film from the camera, "Here," he said, thrusting it into Scott's hands. "Please, just listen to me." He sighed, turning to Scott with wide eyes, "Just hear me out."
Scott looked the reporter up and down, Ned's desperation sparked Scott's scepticism but there was something about the urgency in his voice that made Scott relent. "Okay," he nodded. "I'm listening but you'd better have a good excuse, Cook." He paused, "Now I think you ought to tell me how you got here and what the hell you're playing at!" Scott's scowl didn't lift but he got the unfortunate impression he wasn't about to like what Ned Cook was going to tell him.
"Okay," Ned heaved a sigh before he began. "We were here already, investigating a leak from the International Government. We know that whatever's going on down there," he peeked over Scott's shoulder, "it's got something to do with an underground research center. And we also know that it's not public knowledge." He paused, watching Scott continue to eye him with caution, desperate to give nothing away. "There are rumors," Ned confided, looking around them and shifted from one foot to the other, searching for any signs of anyone else listening in on their conversation.
"What rumors?" Scott asked, hiding how much he wanted, needed, an answer to that question.
"Rumors about what they're testing down there," Ned jerked his head towards the facility. Scott risked a glance across to where Dr Hunt and Mr Foster now stood, not far from his mobile control console. He shook his head when it looked like they were arguing again. "It's a government conspiracy!" Ned exclaimed with uncloaked excitement, "A cover-up! They're testing vaccines for nuclear weapons."
Scott's head snapped round to face him at those words. It concerned him just how Cook knew that but he tried to look surprised and shook his head, "Come on, Ned, that doesn't make it illegal. Why would the government cover it up?"
"It's not what they're testing," Ned told him, a serious frown developing on his features, "it's who they're testing it on." There was something wild about the look in his eye, that made Scott wonder if he was just attention seeking.
"Who?" Scott asked, relaxing his body language as if wasn't interested in what Ned had to say.
"I don't know!" Cook snapped, "That's what I'm trying to find out!" Believing Scott's smokescreen of artificial disbelief, he continued. "I'm telling you, it's a conspiracy!" he cried defensively, the desperation in his voice just causing the whine to become more aggravating.
Scott looked Cook up and down yet again, "How did you get here?" he asked, attempting to catch Ned off guard. He was intent on preventing the reporter from finding out just what was going on over his shoulder.
Ned was taken by surprise, "What?" he frowned. "Oh," he waved a hand, shrugging off the question. "I have ways; a good journalist never reveals his sources."
"Yeah, and a good journalist reports real news not uncorroborated gossip," Scott replied, shaking his head in feigned disbelief. He knew he was playing a dangerous game in pretending that he wasn't interested, but he also knew that to trust Ned outright could leave them all in much more danger. "Look Ned, I don't know what you're doing here but I suggest you go back and wait at a safe distance." With one final shake of the head Scott turned and started walking towards his hover bike. He took slow steps, waiting for Ned to call him back.
"I'm trying to help you!" Cook reached forward and grabbed Scott's arm. Scott tried to prevent the relieved sigh that his plan was working from escaping his lips. "Why would I lie?" Ned asked, looking Scott in the eye. "I owe you guys my life!" he screeched, incredulous of Scott's claims. "You don't seriously think NTBS would pay for me to fly all the way out here on a whim, do you?" Ned paused to study Scott's reaction. "I have evidence," he gestured to his cameraman, Joe, hoping to tempt Scott into hearing him out.
"What evidence?" Scott asked, his frown was hardening but Ned smiled at him hopefully. After a few moments, Scott nodded, "Okay, tell me everything you know…"
XxxxX
John meanwhile was in contact with the scientists again, letting them know what was happening on the surface. "Jake, my buddy's on his way through now. How are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just doing great!" Jake replied, terse and sarcastic. He took a few minutes to calm himself down, "You said he'd be here by now," the accusing undertone cut through the silence on Thunderbird Five, almost causing John to flinch.
"Yeah," John conceded trying to ignore Jake's fretfulness, "sorry about that, we had a few complications. How's your colleague, Luke?"
"Complications!" Jake exclaimed anxiously, "What kind of complications?"
John frowned at the irritated voice that replied. The more John spoke to him, the more he could tell he didn't like this guy, he just couldn't put his finger on why. "Just some problems with the machinery," he lied, "but don't you worry. We'll have you out of there any minute now." There was an uncertain pause. "Say, Jake, is Luke okay?" he asked changing the subject in a deft manoeuvre. "He was the one with the claustrophobia, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Jake replied, his manner off hand. "Luke's fine," he added but he didn't sound at all bothered.
John decided he had a bit of work to do himself and adopted a soft tone, "Okay, now I've got to guide my colleague to you, so I'm going to leave you on your own now. If you need me for anything, you can contact me on this radio okay?"
"Sure," Jake replied, and switched the two way connection off before John could respond.
In Thunderbird Five, John just frowned and shook his head in astonishment, before turning to his new task.
"What the hell are you playing at!"
Jake turned to the angry voice behind him and threw the radio onto the metal table in the centre of the lab. Test tube bottles shattered as the communications device skidded across the rectangle, sending equipment flying. "We need them to get us out of here, the last thing we want to do is wind them up!" the exclamation came from a tall, well built tattooed man. His blond hair was unkempt and stubble shadowed his jaw as he loomed over Jake.
"Now you listen to me, Billy, I've got a plan." Jake grinned maliciously and pressed his hands together; his knuckles crunched, clicking and snapping into place, and his bulging muscles stretching the material of his shirt. "This is just what we've been waiting for," he laughed and his long flaxen hair fell into his eyes.
Billy frowned, "How did you work that out?" he waved a large hand in the air, "We're trapped miles below the surface in a lab that's on fire!"
"This is our chance at freedom!" Jake grinned, his large frame stretching to slap an arm round Billy's broad shoulders.
"Freedom?" Billy screeched out a raucous laugh. "That's ironic considering we're trapped!"
"I'm serious," Jake's tone of voice changed to one of significance, showing just how serious he was. "Now listen to this," he paused, turning to face the only other occupant in the room, a smaller, dark haired young man who, until now, had been quiet. "You too, Luke, get over here and listen. Here's what we do…"
XxxxX
Scott hurried back to Mobile Control, ignoring requests for a progress report from Dr Hunt. The Mad Doctor, as Scott had termed him, scurried to the field commander's side and fired out random questions at break neck speed. Gently pushing him back, Scott sat down and, with an acquired speed of his own, switched the console on, opening a channel to John.
"Mobile Control calling Thunderbird Five," his frown deepening as he waited for John to reply.
"Thunderbird Five, go ahead Scott," John looked up at him through the communications window. "How did it go with your photographers?"
"The photographer was Ned Cook, John," Scott replied before lowering his tone to a near whisper. "He has evidence that this place is being used to test vaccines on real people," he told his brother with a disgruntled shake of the head. "I can't speak too loud because Dr Hunt's just over there but Ned has the photos and the footage to prove it."
"What do you mean?" John frowned back, needing Scott to be one hundred percent clear about what he'd discovered.
"I mean, I've seen it. He showed me the footage; huge trucks turn up." Scott scowled, disturbed by the discovery, "They offload people into the entrance to that place, just like they were cattle going to market." He paused, screwing his nose up once more, "It's sick, John, those scientists don't deserve rescuing."
John could see his brother was disturbed and angry, but could do nothing but nod, "But it's not up to us to make that decision. We don't discriminate," he found himself saying. He bit his tongue as soon as the words left his mouth, knowing he didn't have to tell Scott that.
"I know that!" Scott almost snapped back as John had pretty much predicted, "Listen, I need you to find out everything you can about those trapped scientists, run their names through Five's computer and see what comes up."
John nodded again, "I'm already on it, just waiting for the results. I started running background checks as soon as I thought they were acting weird."
Scott let out a heavy sigh, deep down he'd been expecting that. John was more than capable of doing his job properly and he didn't need Scott to tell him how. He almost felt stupid for ordering John to carry out the task in the first place. "How's Virgil going?" he asked, changing the subject.
"He's doing okay," John reported, noting the sudden change in Scott's attitude and accepting the apology of sorts. "I checked a few minutes ago and he was starting on the second door."
"That's great," Scott smiled. "The sooner he's back up here and we're on our way home, the better."
"I'll second that," John grinned, pleased Scott's anxiousness seemed to be subsiding. It was not often Scott Tracy was anxious about anything. In fact, to anyone else observing the rescue he would have seemed his normal cool, calm and controlling self, but John knew him better than that. Scott hid how he felt a lot of the time, but his brothers had learned to pick up on the small outward indicators; sometimes a terse response or a tight smile was all that was needed. "I'll let you know what the computer comes up with," John gestured off screen. "Dad wants a progress report."
Scott nodded his sympathy, "FAB John." A part of him was glad it was John giving that progress report and not himself. It usually was; however, he knew his father would realise that he'd been tied up with the photographers.
Scott sat back, scowling at his surroundings. From the moment John had called him with the details, he'd known things at this research centre didn't add up. Now he was here and the rescue was underway, that feeling of unexplained anxiousness wasn't subsiding. He was about to put a call in to Virgil to apprise him of the new information, when a warning light caught his attention.
"Mobile Control from Lady Penelope."
Scott opened the channel and looked straight at the aristocrat with a small smile, "Penny," he greeted in a business like tone. "How's it going, what have you found out?"
"Well Scott, it seems your father was right to be concerned." She nodded retaining her serious demeanour, "I've just spoken with Sir Jeremy and he's agreed to meet with Professor Borender for a spot of tea." Scott watched her glance at her watch, "In fact they should be meeting now. Parker and I are outside the restaurant awaiting Sir Jeremy's finds. I suggested to Parker that we took some of Brains' truth serum but I shall see how things progress before using it." She paused in thought, "Understandably I'm somewhat reluctant to use it on Sir Jeremy's good friend. However he did tell me something rather interesting himself…"
"Go on, Penny," Scott urged, ready to listen.
"Well, he did mention something that concerned me," Penelope spoke in her usual soft tones. "He's heard a few things, shall we say on the grapevine, about a research centre testing their vaccines on people. Allegedly, they inject their victims with some kind of noxious chemical and then attempt to cure them." She shook her head, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "It's disgraceful!"
Scott was silently nodding as she spoke, "That's interesting Penny, I've just been talking to Ned Cook…"
"Ned Cook?" Penelope interrupted him, "How bothersome! I hope you dealt with him appropriately Scott."
"Actually," Scott raised an eyebrow in surprise; he never thought he'd hear these words, let alone from his own lips. "Cook was very helpful, he was trying to warn us off this center, but he pretty much told me what you've just said." Scott matched Penelope's look of disgust, "He showed me some footage he has of truck loads of people arriving. Apparently, he's been camped out up here a while now, he said a lot of people go in but no one ever comes out."
Penelope frowned, "I'll be interested to see what Sir Jeremy discovers from Professor Borender. I do hope there's a rational explanation for all this. It seems to me we could be heading into undesirable territory, Scott."
Scott nodded, agreeing with their London agent without a trace of doubt, "I think you could be right, Penny. Keep me informed, won't you?"
"Absolutely, Scott," she smiled but held on to that air of determination. "Absolutely."
XxxxX
"So," Jake sat back from explaining his grand scheme, "what do you think?"
"I'm in," Billy replied, without hesitation. "Definitely in, I'd do anything to escape this place," the smile he displayed was crooked. "The view from my room isn't what it said in the brochure," he flung his head back letting out a hearty laugh and Jake joined him.
"Wait!" the youngest of the three shook his head. "We can't do this; International Rescue, they're going to save our lives." He gestured to the slowly moving blue flame that indicated Virgil was cutting through the final partition. "How can we do this to them?" Luke was uncomfortable at the notion, "I won't do it," he decided.
Jake's grin faded with menace before he advanced on the younger man. "You'll do what the hell we tell you," he spat in Luke's face. "You're outvoted," he sneered.
"Are you crazy!" Billy was exclaiming, moving to occupy the space Jake had just vacated, inches from Luke's nose. "This is our one chance at freedom and you're going to throw it away just because it's," he paused to adopt a high-pitched, pathetic voice, "International Rescue."
Luke leant forward, apprehension evident in every movement, "This isn't going to get us anywhere."
"Luke," Billy assumed a patronising tone and laid a lazy hand round the young man's shoulders. "International Rescue aren't all that fantastic, it's taken them this long to get down here already. You heard what their man told Jake; complications he said. What if the complications were them finding out who they're really rescuing, huh?" He shook his head, taking in Luke's wide eyed expression. "They won't be so quick to rush to our aid once they know who we really are. We have to protect ourselves."
"No," Luke disagreed, "they wouldn't discriminate like that. We can't do this to them, there are other ways." He shook himself free from Billy's grasp and turned to face both of the larger men, "Listen, maybe after all this, it'll be over. People will find out what's going on down here and then they'll tell the government, they'll make it stop!"
"People know already, Boy," Jake frowned indignantly, "they just don't want to do anything about it! Who's going to help us? We're already the outcasts; nobody's going to want to save us." He paused, squeezing his fists into balls, "The government are the ones behind all this, you idiot! This is the only way, we don't have a choice."
"No, there's always a choice," Luke stood by his original decision. "There has to be another way," he sighed and ran a hand through his dark, russet locks.
"Look," Billy took him to one side, away from where Jake was becoming angry. "Winding him up isn't a good idea, okay?" he gestured over his shoulder to where Jake's large frame could be seen beginning to pace. "Now listen, you want to see your kid, right?"
Luke nodded with great reluctance, "Of course I do but…"
"Right," Billy sighed. "And when this is all over, you can see him," he could see Luke wasn't convinced. "We're not asking for your approval," he drew himself up to his full height and towered over the young man in a menacing gesture.
"Okay," Luke nodded again. "Okay, I'll do it. On one condition: no one gets hurt, okay?"
Jake turned to look at him before rolling his eyes, but the reply came from Billy.
"Yeah, no one gets hurt," he glanced across to Jake over Luke's head and they exchanged silent but mutual thoughts.
"You promise?" Luke asked. It was obvious that there was no love lost between the three and trust was even harder to come by. The hollow words were lacking in reassurance.
"We promise," Jake snapped. "Now here," he thrust a white coat into Luke's chest and threw another at Billy. "Put those on, we've got to look the part." He began searching through doors and locked cupboards, sending bottles of pills and vials clattering to the floor. "Ah ha!" he triumphed, pulling out a metal tray and placing it down on the table. Pulling away the surgical green cover, he grinned, "Arm yourselves."
"With scalpels?" Billy turned his nose up and laughed.
"You got any better ideas?" Jake asked, brandishing one of the sharp implements. "I don't see any knives or machine guns lying around the place."
"No, no," Billy shook his head, frantic at the perceived threat, "it's a good idea." He said, changing his attitude quickly and picking up one of the silver handled blades, a little out of self defence at Jake's intimidation.
"Why do we need scalpels if no one's going to get hurt?" Luke asked, his vision flicking between his two companions in innocent confusion. "I think we should leave them where they are."
"They're not going to take us seriously unless we threaten them!" Jake snapped back, throwing an angry glare in Luke's direction. "You're really asking for it, Kid," he muttered.
"Look," Luke shook his head, glancing at the tray of blades. "I'm sure if we just spoke to International Rescue on the way up to the surface…"
He was cut off abruptly as Jake thrust a blade toward his neck. Luke stumbled backwards against the wall but Jake kept coming at him, holding the blade inches from where Luke swallowed and whimpered, afraid of what the larger man would do next.
"Just take one of the damned knives and do as we say, got it?" Jake growled, pushing the blade of the scalpel against Luke's skin. "Don't mess with me, Kid, I'm warning you."
Luke nodded and swallowed again, he heaved a sigh of relief when Jake moved the blade away. Reaching up to his neck, he was dismayed to feel a trickle of blood. The pressure from the scalpel hadn't been that great and the fact that it had drawn blood was surprising but illustrated just how sharp the blade was.
Jake gestured for him to take a weapon and in one nervous movement, he did so, "If you're scared…" Jake mocked, grinning in Billy's direction.
"I'm not scared," Luke denied. "I just don't think it's right."
"Yeah well, you'd better not lose your nerve," Billy sneered, moving to stand alongside Jake as if they were a united front. "Or we'll kill you," he threatened with a manic grin. "It's not like we haven't done this kind of thing before."
There were a few moments silence, during which Luke tried to judge just how serious they were. He was fast concluding that he was out of his depth but before he had time to dwell on the fact, they heard a shout from the other side of the steel.
"Stand back from the door, I'm going to kick it in," Virgil's shout preceded a few inelegant grunts and the steel door hitting the ground with a slam. "This way," Virgil shouted through his heat proof suit, holding an arm to guide them back towards the Mole. "Come on!"
XxxxX
Tin-Tin walked into the lounge, unsurprised to see three heads snap up to meet her gaze. She carried a tray with a fresh pot of coffee and a plate of toast for herself. "How's it going?" she asked eyeing them all with caution.
The tense atmosphere in the room didn't bode well; it never did during a rescue.
Alan cleared a space for her to sit down and unconsciously draped his arm over the back of the sofa behind her head. "Virgil's drilled down to the scientists," he informed her as she leaned forward to pour fresh coffee. "He should be reaching them any minute but Scott got delayed."
"Delayed?" Tin-Tin asked, sitting back and tucking her feet underneath her. She raised a piece of toast to her mouth, "Delayed how?" she asked.
"Delayed by Ned Cook, Tin-Tin," Gordon replied, shaking his head. There were few times when Gordon really got angry. His temperament was a lot like Virgil's; laid back and difficult to irritate. However, there was something in his manner that told Tin-Tin that, at that moment in time, he was feeling irritated.
"Ned Cook?" Tin-Tin questioned. "But it's early morning, how did he get there?"
Jeff's head came up to reply, "He was already there, Tin-Tin." He sighed, "Apparently investigating this research center." He waved a hand in exasperation, and Tin-Tin got the distinct impression he was annoyed too.
"Yeah," Gordon told the young engineer, "They've been testing these vaccines on people."
"People?" Tin-Tin screwed her nose up; so that was why everyone was so anxious. It seemed this rescue wasn't going as planned. "You mean volunteers?" she asked, needing to be sure.
"No, Tin-Tin," Jeff shook his head sadly, cutting in again. "Not volunteers," he looked up at the disgust on her face. "Not that we know of anyway; seems people are being herded into the place 'like cattle'." He used Scott's own words with pure distaste.
"Oh that's terrible!" Tin-Tin exclaimed. "It can't be true!" She paused for the enormity of it to sink in, "Well, can we prove it? We know what Ned Cook's like, he'll do anything for a story," she frowned. "Maybe he's making it up to get some attention."
"Scott's seen the footage, Tin-Tin," Alan told her. "Cook showed him what they'd found so far; people being smuggled into the facility late at night. Whatever's going on there, they're hiding something."
"But Alan, we know that the media jumps to conclusions. I mean," she waved a hand. "Look what happened to us that time, when those people posed as International Rescue. The media were quick to jump to conclusions then; perhaps Cook is just doing the exact same thing that Eddie Kerr did."
"No, Tin-Tin," Jeff said for a third time, "I think there might be some truth in his claims. Penelope called in from her meeting with Sir Jeremy and he's heard the same rumors. That's more than a coincidence."
"Where there's smoke, there's fire." Gordon stated, nodding in agreement with his father.
"Well, what can we do, Mr Tracy?" Tin-Tin asked eagerly.
"Nothing. That's the problem Tin-Tin, we can't do anything; we just have to wait and see what Penny discovers. John's checking out these scientists, maybe he'll be able to shed some light on the whole thing," Jeff frowned.
There it was. That was the crux of the matter, Tin-Tin nodded in understanding. If there was one thing the Tracy family hated doing, it was nothing.
A sombre silence descended on them.
"Oh, in all the excitement I forgot," Tin-Tin smiled, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. "Mrs Tracy called late last night, Mrs Robinson seems to be doing better," she commented, aware that no one was listening. "She said she was planning to stay on for a few more days anyway, she was feeling a bit under the weather herself, now."
Mary Robinson was a good friend of Jeff's mother and after she'd become ill, Mrs Tracy had flown back to Kansas to be with her. She'd been keeping the family updated and fussing over the running of the house but Tin-Tin was sure it was her worry for her friend behind it all.
Sighing, Tin-Tin looked round at the worried faces of the people she classified as her family. Jeff was understandably anxious; he always was when any of his sons were out on a dangerous mission. This one, it seemed, was puzzling them all.
Gordon frowned, frustrated no doubt, by the lack of action. Tin-Tin knew that it was more than likely he'd missed his morning swim and that he was probably feeling tense. Of course, he wouldn't leave the lounge now. Not whilst his brothers were out on a mission, he would want to know exactly what was going on and when. Alan was the same, they were anxious for their brothers' safety and she sympathised, feeling the same herself.
Rescues, no matter how simple, always caused a tense atmosphere to descend onto the Tracy Villa. And Tin-Tin knew from experience, that the tension would remain until Thunderbirds One and Two were both safely on their way back home.
XxxxX
Scott had fielded Dr Hunt's barrage of questions with the ease that command bestowed upon him. He sat at his mobile control console and now that he possessed the knowledge he had, he eyed the head scientist warily in the distance. Several thoughts ran through his head, concoctions of just what that man was capable of, and a chill ran down his spine.
Matt Foster hadn't been a great deal of help and when he'd mentioned that he had to check on the other scientists, Scott had gladly sent him off to the hospital, leaving only himself and the Nutty Doctor at the scene. Dr Hunt had accepted Scott's offer of a coffee after much persuasion and he now sat on top of a rock, under the shade of a counterfeit tree. From his position at Mobile Control a few feet away, Scott couldn't help but stare. As he waited for information from John and Virgil, his mind drifted to consider all the possibilities of the Nutty Doctor's experiments.
He was snapped out of his reverie by John's incoming call and answered it with haste; hoping for information. "Go ahead, John," he commanded. "What have you got?"
"Well," John sighed in reply, "not an awful lot." The communications window in front of him told Scott his brother was frowning. "I've got the preliminary finds back from Five's first search and it's come up with nothing on any of these guys."
"What?" Scott matched his brother's expression, struggling to believe what he was being told. Thunderbird Five had one of the most advanced systems to date and accessed thousands of databases world wide. Some of which, Scott was in no doubt, it probably shouldn't.
"Yeah, I know," John nodded, fully understanding his older brother's surprise. "Not a thing." Lines on the blond brother's brow deepened further, "I've expanded the fields of the search and I'm trying again."
"Nothing," Scott repeated, pondering over the results. "Nothing, at all," he muttered.
"Nope, nada," John replied, echoing his brother's surprise. "To begin with I thought maybe there was a problem with Five's search engine but I've checked it and it's working fine."
"This isn't normal, John," Scott was shaking his head at his brother's image, "It should bring something up, even if it's just the voter registration list."
"The electoral register," John corrected, "yeah, I know," he agreed. "We'll just have to wait and see what the second search comes up with," he shrugged, not sure what else to suggest.
"Yeah," Scott replied, a little testy, "but I don't like it. I'm going to try to get through to Virgil, warn him that these guys aren't what we think they are," he decided.
John concurred but warned, "He should have made his way through by now, so be careful what you say; he might be with them."
Scott just nodded, trying to think of a good reason why the trapped scientists would need to give them bogus identities.
XxxxX
Down in the research centre, the main corridor had filled with smoke. Visibility was considerably reduced and the smouldering building was causing the three scientists to struggle; they lagged behind coughing and spluttering as Virgil attempted to lead them in the direction of the Mole.
Virgil turned back, "Come on, guys," he encouraged. "This way, hurry!"
"Hurry to where?" Jake asked, reaching the back of hand to his mouth as he coughed.
Virgil was relieved to see the smoke fading to be replaced by the bright yellow colouring of the Mole's bodywork. "In here," he gestured to the door and tapped in the required code with some urgency. Obediently, the door hissed open and all four of them stepped inside.
"What is this thing?" Billy asked as he struggled to control his breathing. He took in his surrounding with wide eyes.
"It's a drilling machine; it'll take us back to the surface," Virgil told them as he led them into the main control area. "Here, sit down," he said as he disappeared into the store room to place the oxyhdnite canisters away.
"He seems like a nice guy," Luke commented as they took their seats. "I'm sure if we explained…"
"We explain nothing!" Jake hissed back fiercely, "Now we just need to calm down and bide our time. When the moment's right we'll…" he didn't complete the sentence. He snapped his head up instead, and looked directly at the small console to his right as it emitted a sound.
"Mole, from Mobile Control," Scott's voice came over the radio. There were a few moments of silence, during which Scott expected a reply. "Mole, this is Mobile Control, acknowledge," he tried again, anxiety forming in his tone.
Startled by the radio, Billy and Jake looked at each other, and then turned to the storage room where Virgil had disappeared. They exchanged a silent dialogue, coming to the same conclusion with a mutual nod of understanding.
Nervous apprehension descending around them.
Having heard the call, Virgil came back into the room and when the bang of the door shutting caused all three of the scientists to jump, he just smiled at them, assuming they'd been startled. "Don't worry," he assured them. "We'll be on the surface in no time."
Scott's voice came over the radio again and Virgil watched as his three passengers' heads spun round to face the console. "It's just my colleague wanting an update," Virgil attempted to set their minds at rest. He put their unease down to being trapped.
He made his way to the control panel and took his seat, unaware that behind him, the scientists were plotting.
"Mobile Control, this is the Mole," he responded to Scott's hail, surprised at the anxious expression on Scott's face when his brother appeared on his monitor. He made a mental note to discuss this mission with Scott when they got back. Whatever was eating at his older brother, it didn't look healthy from where he was sitting and it was having an effect on him too.
"Switch to frequency 3," was Scott's curt response.
Virgil frowned. Perhaps curt was understating it slightly. Scott was often abrupt when they were out on a rescue. It wasn't that he was being rude; they just didn't have time for pleasantries when lives were in danger. Virgil, like his brothers, understood that. However, lives were no longer in danger; the scientists had been rescued and Virgil found his brother's tone surprising, if not a little grating.
Frequency 3 was their own code for private conversation and Virgil reached out for the headset that swung above him on the control console. Placing it over his ears and adjusting the mouthpiece, he sighed. "Okay, Scott, Frequency 3, what's up?"
"Are the scientists with you?" Scott asked, a frown pulling his eyebrows together.
"Yes, of course they are," Virgil looked puzzled. "We're about to make our way up now," he informed his brother.
"Listen, Virg," Scott began his expression was anxious enough but his tone dripped with concern, "John did a background check on those three guys and Five didn't come up with anything. This isn't adding up, I was right, there's something going on," he shook his head. "I want you to get to the surface quick and don't let them know that you know anything's amiss."
Virgil glanced across to his passengers hoping his unease wasn't showing. He offered them a nervous smile when he realised they were all watching him. "What do you mean?" he asked Scott, deliberately keeping his tone low and his words ambiguous.
"I mean I don't think they are who they say they are. Since we arrived at this place we've been told conflicting stories and half truths," Scott was more than a little harassed and Virgil listened as the angry words came out. "Now I don't know why they've been hiding things from us or what the hell's going on, but I don't want to get caught up in it."
Virgil nodded, keeping his movements slow and sure, "Okay," his tone became professional. "I've just got to get my passengers settled and then I'll head for the surface," his sombre expression told Scott he knew this was serious.
"FAB, take care and hurry it up."
Intentional or not, Scott had just made his brother incredibly anxious and when he added those words, Virgil's stomach fluttered. Whatever was going on, it was enough to rile Scott and it was therefore enough for Virgil to think twice about discounting his brother's apprehension.
He turned in his seat, formulating the words to explain to his passengers that they were ready to move. He was unprepared for the fist that hit him squarely in the jaw. The punch sent him flying off the seat and on to the floor.
Virgil reflected that it wasn't the force of the hit but rather the abruptness of it that stunned him. He wasted valuable seconds processing what had happened and struggled to respond. After what felt like a while though, his instinct for self-preservation kicked in and he fought back. He rolled to his feet, fists flying at his attacker and ready to return the aggression. His success was short lived and moments later, a tackle from behind sent him sprawling to the floor once more.
The scuffle that followed was frenzied and brutal, fists and legs flailed everywhere. Even on the floor and still under attack, Virgil scored a few direct hits but truly his defence was futile; he was outnumbered. Despite his desperate attempts, he found himself pinned down on the floor within a few minutes. He continued to resist though, struggling against his captors and thrashing about until he felt a cool blade press against his throat.
He froze instantly.
"Just do as we say and no-one will get hurt," he was told in a callous, rough voice.