Ch14
Li looked on as the Master scanned the sky with narrowed eyes. There was a slight hum in the air.
Li and the Master stood at the entrance to the maze of caverns that had been their base for many months. The bald headed man smiled slightly, and nodded to Li. "I can sense Mr Tracy's family arriving soon, which is as planned. Make sure they find the boy and get him out before you destroy the buildings. I don't want any other survivors. "
Li bowed as he watched the powerful man stride towards a waiting jeep. Quickly, he snapped out orders to the men standing nearby, there was no time to lose.
It was drizzling rain on the jungle island as Virgil slapped down in the dirt next to his brothers. Hidden behind a log, Scott scanned the area with binoculars.
"The entrance to the building is down there," Scott pointed. Virgil risked a look over the log.
"No activity. It's very quiet, what do you think?"
Alan took out his gun, and checked it. "I say we go in and surprise them. There's no way they know we're here. The cloaking device on TB2 would have made sure of that."
Scott bit his lip in thought. "We can't be too sure, Al. We don't know what Gordon's kidnappers are capable of. We'll wait till its dark and then make our move."
Alan was about to argue but a warning glance from Virgil killed his reply, and he slipped his gun back into its halter. "FAB, Scott."
The Tracys didn't have to wait long before night settled on the island, and Scott gave the order to proceed. The brothers were dressed in black fatigues; Alan's blond hair was covered by a black beanie. To see their way through the blackness of the jungle, each of them wore special glasses with infra-red lenses. Guns ready, the brothers made their way stealthily to the entrance of the kidnappers' base.
Signalling for his brothers to stay put behind a large shipping container, Scott scouted ahead to see if the path was clear to continue into the building. He soon returned.
"There is no one I can see. No guards, workers, nothing. I don't like it. It feels like a trap."
Alan slumped back onto the container and flipped up his glasses. "What do we do then? Should we risk it? It may be a trap but I know Gordon is in there."
Virgil made no comment but he looked to his elder brother. He was torn between two emotions, the need to play safe and the need to storm in and rescue Gordon.
Scott paused in thought. They were so close to finding Gordon. It was just strange that there appeared to be no one about. Another possibility for the building's apparent emptiness, it was abandoned, and Gordon had been taken to another destination.
As if reading his elder brother's thoughts, Virgil spoke up. "John has been monitoring the island, there has been no one leaving it by sea or air since we found out Gordon was being held here."
"It's not to say he wasn't spirited away much earlier," Scott remarked.
Alan shook his head. "No, no. Gordon is here, guys. I know he's here."
Scott raised his wrist-com to his mouth. "John, do you copy?"
"FAB, Scott. What's your current position?"
"We have reached the entrance to kidnappers' base. There doesn't seem to be anyone about. I need you to see if you can find any signs of life in the building."
"Will do, Scott. Just give me a moment."
There was a momentary pause before John's voice came back through the wrist-com. "That's a negative, Scott. The walls of the building are too thick for any of our technology to penetrate."
"FAB, John. Will contact you when we need you."
"FAB, Scott, good luck."
Scott made his decision. "Right, we're going in," he gave his brothers a curt nod. "Tread carefully, and watch your backs."
"FAB" Virgil and Alan replied in unison before following Scott into the building.
Sticking to the shadows of the walls, the brothers made their way through a rabbit warren of corridors and rooms. There was an eerie silence throughout the building, and they were acutely aware of the noise their footfalls made on the hard floor. Whoever had been in residence didn't live in comfort. There was hardly any furniture, no windows, and only faint lighting from feeble torchlight in the corridors. One room they stumbled across was in marked contrast to the sparseness of the rest of the building's interior. It contained a huge bed, thick fur rugs on the floor, and a mirror. On a side table sat a large fruit platter, with a half glass of red wine next to it. Virgil hazarded a guess it was the room of whoever was in charge of the operation.
Moving out of the room, the young men made their way down another corridor. After inspecting several more empty rooms they came across a closed wooden door.
Lifting his glasses to the top of his head, Alan tried opening the door, and found it locked. He turned to his brothers who had also taken their glasses off. "What do you think? Is there something in there we aren't supposed to see?"
"We have to get it open, Gordon could be in there." Scott tried to ram the door open with his shoulder with no success.
"Alan, you keep a look out, Virgil, I need your help." Scott and Virgil both shoulder charged the door with tremendous force. The door gave way with a crash. Grasping hands reached out and caught the two Tracys as they half fell into a room that was cold and dark. With one hand, Alan pulled Scott, who was nearest to him, back out of the room, while training his gun on the cluster of men who surrounded Virgil. Regaining his composure, Scott backed up Alan with his gun, and slowly forced the men to retreat into the gloomy darkness of the room.
Virgil, noting the half starved appearance of the men, holstered his gun, and raised his hands. "We don't want to hurt you. We are here to find our brother, Gordon Tracy."
A thin man approached Virgil tentatively, his wide brown eyes aware of the guns Scott and Alan still pointed in his direction. "I know of your brother, Gordon Tracy. He is a prisoner like us."
"You're prisoners?" Alan asked.
The man nodded. "I am Shu. The Master's men captured me and my friends from our island and brought us here. We have not seen our families for a long time."
"The Master, who is he?" Virgil questioned.
"He is a demon who infects peoples' minds. You are not safe here. You must find your brother and leave."
"Where is our brother?" Scott asked.
"Set my friends free, and I will show you to your brother."
The Tracys looked at each other briefly before Scott replied, "We'll let your friends go, but you will be our prisoner until we find our brother safe and well."
The man nodded and bowed, "I will gladly go with you." Shu turned to his companions and spoke rapidly to them in another language, before the men filed out of the room and shuffled down the corridor.
Shu looked to the Tracys. "I will take you to your brother, hurry, we don't have much time. I know the Master will soon destroy this building and everything in it."
The brothers followed Shu through a seemingly endless network of corridors. Finally, they reached another wooden door. The door was not locked, and Shu opened it.
Like the other room it was icy cold and the light was dim. A bed was in the centre of the room, and a person lay unmoving on it. Alan entered first and seeing a familiar shade of coppery hair ran to the bed and gathered his brother up in his arms.
"Gordon! We found you. You're safe, Gordon," he cried.
Gordon didn't respond. His body was cold and rigid. Shocked, Alan pulled away from his brother and looked at Gordon's pale face. "Gordon!" He gasped. "Scott...is he?"
Scott rushed to the bed and took up one of Gordon's hands. He felt a pulse but it was sluggish. He also noticed a blood-drenched bandage around Gordon's arm. "Come on, help me bundle him up in some warm blankets. We have to get him back to TB2."
As the brothers gathered the blankets around Gordon and prepared to take him out of the room, they didn't notice Shu slip quietly away.
Alan led the way out of the room as Scott holding Gordon's upper body, and Virgil his lower, followed him out. A sudden explosion rocked the Tracys as they made their way through the building.
"What the hell?" Alan paused midstride, stunned by the blast.
"Keep moving, Al," Scott called out from behind the youngest Tracy. "We could all be trapped here, Shu was right, someone is trying to destroy this place!"
Hoping he remembered the way out, Alan led at a steady pace. From behind them, they heard more explosions and the sound of falling rock. The blasts seemed to get closer. Alan could hear the noises of the jungle grow louder until he finally led them out of the building. Another massive explosion thundered through the building at their backs, and the Tracys were forced to shelter behind the shipping container.
The explosions stopped briefly, and the Tracys took the opportunity to escape into the jungle and head for TB2.