Ch16
Alan and Scott sat at the kitchen's island bench mulling over cups of coffee. Both were tired yet still had to work the excitement of the last hours out of their system. Their dad and Brains had taken Dr Porter back to the mainland in the Tracy jet, so the two brothers were discussing the possible identity of Gordon's kidnapper.
Alan rose from his stool and went to the sink to rinse out the contents of his cup. "I know I'll never give up looking for whoever took Gordon. They are a threat to all of us, and I sure don't want to be looking over my shoulder every time I go racing or on a holiday."
"Dad might get a bit edgy every time we ask for a holiday, after what happened to Gordo," Scott replied.
"Yeah, so it's doubly important we catch the creep who took him."
Scott looked to the kitchen clock on the wall. "Better go and relieve Virgil, he may need a break."
Both Tracys made their way to Gordon's room. Scott knocked softly before entering the semi-dark room. Virgil was nowhere to be seen. Alan approached the wrapped-up figure in the bed, and gave out a cry of alarm.
Alan whipped back the blankets to reveal Virgil trussed up in a torn sheet, a darkening bruise over one side of his face. Quickly, Alan and Scott worked together to free their brother.
Virgil groaned as his limbs were freed but the young man didn't regain consciousness. Scott checked his vital signs.
"His pulse is strong. He should be okay."
Alan raced around the room checking for any sign of Gordon. "Do you think Gordon did that to Virgil?"
"He can't have. Gordon wouldn't have the strength of a kitten. Someone must have breached the island's security, attacked Virgil, and taken Gordon. " Scott made sure Virgil's airways were clear, before standing straight and pulling his youngest brother into the hallway.
"We have to find Gordon. Whoever took him can't be too far away. I'd hazard a guess they'd be heading for the runway; if we take the lift down to 2's hangar we could cut them off." Scott and Alan ran in the direction of the Thunderbirds.
The two men had stepped out of the lift when an arm suddenly shot out of the shadows and grasped Alan around the neck. The young blonde man yelped in surprise as a sharp knife was pressed to his throat.
Scott stumbled backwards in shock. Gordon held the knife. His eyes blazed, and his mouth twisted into a cruel smile.
"Gordon! W...what's wrong? It's us, pal, Scott and Alan." The eldest Tracy raised his hands in the air, trying to calm his brother down.
"I know who you are, Scott Tracy," A vicious sneering voice came out of Gordon's mouth, any traces of his amiable brother barely visible in the man that held the knife to Alan's throat.
Alan struggled against his brother's powerful hold. The more he struggled the deeper the knife cut his skin. Blood started to trickle down his throat and onto Gordon's arm. "I'd cease moving, Alan Tracy, otherwise you'll be a bloody mess on the floor."
Alan stopped struggling.
Gordon smiled, and edged Alan towards the sealed door that opened to the hangars. "I want you boys to help me. I want to know everything about your secret organisation and then I want you to help me destroy it."
Anger fired up in Scott. "Gordon, what the hell are you doing? We're your brothers!"
Gordon sighed and spoke slowly, as if he were speaking to a child. "Gordon is no longer here, Scott Tracy. I am in control, and I demand you provide me with all your technology, otherwise your brother will die." Alan grunted as the knife pushed into his throat.
"Who are you?" Scott's cry was exasperated. He was so used to having his brothers take his commands with little or no questions that he was finding it difficult to handle that Gordon would openly defy him, brainwashed or not.
"I am your new Master, Scott Tracy. Now, shall we proceed?"
Seeing the growing fear on Alan's face as blood dripped from the knife cutting into his neck, Scott turned to the number pad on the wall, and punched in the code to open the door.
The door started to open with a long hiss when a sudden war-like cry reverberated in the air, and a body crash tackled Gordon and Alan to the floor. The knife fell from Gordon's grasp and clattered out of his reach. Alan wrenched himself away from his brother, and watched from a safe distance, as Scott joined Kyrano in pinning a struggling Gordon to the ground.
His chest heaving, Alan clambered to his feet and felt his neck. The cut wasn't deep, and he soon helped the other two men in quelling Gordon's thrashing limbs.
Gordon was yelling. "Get off me, you fools! How dare you touch me! You have no idea who you are dealing with!"
Instantly recognising the voice, Kyrano shouted at Scott and Alan. "Hold him still for me. I know what has taken possession of your brother's mind, and I will free him."
Shocked by Kyrano's sudden show of strength, the Tracys quickly obeyed the man and held Gordon's body still.
Kyrano sat on the young man's chest and placed his hands on the sides of Gordon's head. Gordon laughed out loud and spat in Kyrano's face. Kyrano calmly wiped the spittle off his cheek and resumed holding his hands to the aquanaut's temples.
"You are a worthless little man, Kyrano. I took everything off you before and I will do it again." Gordon's features were savage as he sneered at Kyrano. Kyrano didn't flinch but exerted more pressure on Gordon's head with his hands.
"You can't save this boy. He is gone. His body is a shell and is useless without me!"
This time Kyrano did react but it was to pull the metal medallion from Gordon's neck with one sharp tug. He threw the medallion on the floor, where it lay discarded, no longer glowing. Kyrano then replaced his hands against the sides of Gordon's head.
Gordon's features twisted into a snarl. "That will not help you. I have no need of that device now. The Tracy boy is mine, body and soul."
Bewildered, Scott looked to Alan across Gordon's body. Alan returned his confused look and clamped down harder on Gordon's struggling body.
Kyrano started to sing in a language foreign to the Tracys. The young men watched as the manservant's eyes closed and his head lowered till it almost touched Gordon's. Gordon gave out a wail of indignation before his eyes too closed, and his body tensed.
In a dry treeless plain, Kyrano called out to Gordon Tracy. Kyrano's half brother stood in his way, his hard evil stare emphasized by thick black eyebrows, and a stony chiselled face. A large snake coiled itself around his brother's feet, and hissed as Kyrano approached. Singing the song his mother taught him as a child, Kyrano calmly walked past his brother and continued his search for Gordon. He found the young man swimming laps in a sapphire blue pool. Kyrano called to Gordon but the man kept swimming up and down, up and down. Kyrano hesitated. He knew he could not swim, but he had to reach the young man. He had kept silence earlier about his brother's role in this affair, so now he was prepared to risk his own life to save the son of his friend. Taking a deep breath, Kyrano plunged into the pool; the water seemed to writhe around him; his clothes grew heavy, and he started to sink. He looked up to see his brother standing at the side of the pool, a sneer on his face. The water closed over Kyrano's head, but as darkness threatened to overtake him, strong arms embraced his body and he was raised up out of the water.
Gordon smiled at Kyrano as the young man held them afloat. "Don't worry, Kyrano, I've got you. What are you doing here? "
"I've come to save you, Mr Gordon."
Startled by Kyrano's reply, Gordon almost let Kyrano slip from his embrace. His eyes were wide, and his voice small, like that of a frightened child. "Have you come to take me home?"
Trying to keep his head above the water, Kyrano nodded and gasped. "Your brothers are waiting to see you. Come out of the pool, no one is going to hurt you anymore."
Gordon's body relaxed and the water disappeared. Kyrano found himself dry and standing in a lush grassy meadow. Slowly, Kyrano, with his arm around Gordon's shoulders, walked the young man back towards home. His brother's evil presence glowered in a dark recess before disappearing altogether with a howl of rage.
Alan and Scott's cramped legs were starting to tingle when Kyrano finally raised his head from Gordon's and sat back onto floor, his breathing laboured from exhaustion. Gordon relaxed in his brothers' hold, and he let out a deep sigh. Alan and Scott released their grip on Gordon, and all watched as the young man's eyelids fluttered open.
"Hey guys," Gordon's voice was weak but he managed to reach up and clasp his brothers' hands. "Had a bummer of a holiday."