Responsibilities
Part 7
Virgil flinched as he noted the grim set of Scott's jaw. He, Gordon and Alan had barely set foot on the ground, but Scott was striding towards them with a speed and determination that made Virgil decidedly uneasy. Virgil had seen that expression on his brother's face many times, and by the nervous look on Alan's face and Gordon's audible gulp, he knew he wasn't imagining it. They were all looking at Scott Carpenter Tracy's pissed off face, and a pissed off Scott never led to ice cream and jelly. Virgil wondered what on earth could have happened to unnerve Scott in the two minutes it had taken him to land Thunderbird 2.
"Guys, I need you all suited up now," Scott bellowed as he approached them.
"What's going on, Scott?" asked Gordon.
"Some homeless people showed up. Apparently they know some way of getting in to the centre at night. They've been sleeping in the basement for the last month or so."
Alan frowned at the information. "Why would they tell us? Now that we know the place will be secured and they won't have any place to stay."
"Because apparently they have friend who came over here ahead of them. They think he may already be inside." Scott answered grimly.
"They think?" exclaimed Gordon. "You mean they don't know? We have to walk into that inferno looking for someone who might be there? You heard the fire chief, the structure of that place is red hot. And it's huge! We'll be going in blind. It'll be like looking for a needle in a giant burning haystack!" Gordon gaped at his eldest brother.
Scott's jaw twitched in irritation, but he was unable to meet his brother's eyes. "I know that Gords, and I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this, but what else can I do? If there's the slightest chance that only one person might be in there then we have to at least attempt to find them."
"Why aren't the local fire fighters able to help?" Alan's voice was cold, detached, seemingly unaffected by the carnage going on around him. The inferno raging behind Scott was scorching, and he almost thought he could feel the skin on his back blistering, even from a distance. Virgil and Gordon were also flinching away, and Scott noticed that Gordon's often ruddy complexion was deepening to a darker hue. Yet Alan simply stared at the burning structure, his expression as blank as his tone. Scott could barely suppress a shiver, despite the heat of the blaze.
"They've been fighting the fire for a few hours now. For some reason they can't explain their normal equipment can't stand up to the heat any longer. You need to be careful guys, something is causing this heat to intensify. We might have Brains' special equipment but we need to be on our guard."
"But where do we start, Scott?" asked Virgil. "If the fire fighters couldn't stay in there with their equipment what chance does anyone have in there?"
"We're wasting time discussing this. Virg, I need you to start up the Mole and…"
Whatever Scott had been about to stay was cut off by the urgent cry of the fire chief. He was gesturing towards the roof of the leisure centre. The four Tracy sons squinted upwards, bleary watering eyes peering through the shimmering, smoky night air. They could vaguely make out wildly waving arms.
Scott turned quickly to he brothers. "Change of plans. Virgil get TB2 back in the air, Gordon you need to go down on the rescue platform and rescue that guy now."
"FAB Scott," they replied and headed back up the ramp. They were halted however by Alan's clipped voice.
"What about me?"
"I want you here with me Alan," Scott replied. "I could use your help."
"My help with what?" Alan almost laughed. "Standing here and watching my brothers do all the work? What you mean is that you want me here where you can keep an eye on me."
Scott stood to his full, rather intimidating height and braced himself for the torrent of abuse that was no doubt about to pour from Alan's mouth. His full height was now, however, only about an inch or two taller than Alan, and not particularly commanding. Scott was astounded when Alan reached forward and grasped his shoulder affectionately and looked deeply into his eyes.
"I know you worry Scott but there's no need. I'm fine, and they'll need my help more than you will. Now, I thought we were wasting time."
With a quick squeeze to Scott's shoulder Alan turned on his heel and hurried back up the ramp to join Gordon and Virgil. Scott could do nothing but stare dumbstruck at Thunderbird 2 as it rose gracefully into the air, bewildered and just a little impressed by his suddenly grown up baby brother.
John Tracy's brow creased in concentration and not a small amount of frustration as he studied the leisure centre plans. He had been monitoring the fire at the leisure centre for some time, since it had been little more than a flicker. The situation had, however, deteriorated at a rate that both alarmed and intrigued the second-born Tracy son. As space monitor for International Rescue, there was little that went on around the blue and green globe circling slowly below him that escaped his notice. While he was on board Thunderbird 5 he was on duty 24/7, and he took that responsibility very seriously. He had a front row seat to every accident, natural disaster, terror attack and failed experiment that happened on that planet, and it was up to him to get help to people who needed it when all hope seemed lost. And the hope he sent them just so happened to be his brothers. He had an eye for when a situation was spiralling out of control, and this certainly had his alarm bells ringing.
What the hell was making that fire so hot? The fire brigades' equipment just wasn't up to the task of withstanding the searing heat of the inferno, and despite his faith in Brains' inventions John did not relish the idea of his little brothers charging in there. This was supposed to be simple. They were supposed to take the Mole in and spray the fire with the fire brigades' special foam from the inside, hit the fire at a low and central point, while the fire fighters outside took care of the peripheries and they could smother the blaze before it intensified any further. Now there was a man on the roof needing rescue? The roof of a building that had been burning steadily for the past 2 hours?
John Tracy often felt he had the worst gig in International Rescue, and not for the reasons Alan hated his mandatory stints as space monitor. He didn't mind being alone for weeks at a time. He'd always been quiet and analytical, and often found life with four brothers, well, deafening. As he'd grown older the sheer enormity of five growing boys, men, was just too huge for him to think properly. The day Gordon and Alan had been sent to boarding school had been for John, as much as he loved and missed the little hellions, a blessing. And the space station allowed him to read and study and think to his hearts content. Nor did he mind the fact that, in Alan's opinion, there was 'nothing to damn well do'. There was so much for him to research and study, and the resources on Thunderbird 5 were astronomical. As for John's lack of a social life, it was something he coped with. It wasn't something he wanted to do forever, but the sheer joy of being able to revel in his love of space and education meant that it was worth it.
But it was still the worst job in International Rescue. He got to call his dad, tell him a huge earthquake had hit somewhere and send his brothers off into danger, and then sit and watch the Earth slowly spin as he listened dumbstruck to every breath his brothers took. It was sheer agony, the things he heard sometimes. Like when Virgil had been impaled through the shoulder by some falling scaffolding. Each of the boys could chose to switch communication on and off with other members of the team, it was needed sometimes for concentration. If one was trying to carefully cut a victim free, he did not need to be hearing Alan bitching in the background about how he had stubbed his toe. But they could never, never cut off communication with Thunderbird 5. Their father did not allow it. And so when that spike had driven itself through Virgil's shoulder, John heard every gasp, every cry, every curse and every hitch in Virgil's breath as he fought to control himself and keep from screaming with the agony before he re-established communication and informed Scott, fairly convincingly, that he was 'fine'. His job officially sucked.
So John Glenn Tracy had a code he lived by, that if he couldn't be on the ground helping then he could damn well make sure his brothers always knew what they were heading into. And a fire that just won't go out was not something that John was going to let go. Focusing more intently on the blueprints before him and seeing nothing that would normally worry him, John decided that there must be something right in front of him, something glaringly obvious that needed to be thought about in a more simplified way. He squinted at the plans, willing himself to think clearly and not to wonder whether any of his brothers were tap dancing around on a red hot roof yet.
It was at that moment that the glaringly obvious hit John smack between the eyes. It was as if a fog had been lifted, like when you become aware of information as if you had known it all along and could not quite believe you'd forgotten, really important stuff like the name of your first dog, or the theme tune to your favourite show when you were a kid. There it was on the plans, right in front of him, staring him straight in the face. It wasn't a solution, not by a long shot, but it was a place to start digging. And if there was one thing John Tracy had learned growing up with four brothers, particularly when two of them were Gordon and Alan, it was how to snoop around.
Gordon's face was a mask of concentration as he secured both himself and Alan to the rescue platform. He could feel the hum of TB2's engines all around him, felt the shift in vibration as the huge craft ceased manoeuvring into place and began to hover. He flinched slightly as Virgil opened the trapdoor beneath him. He could feel the heat from here, and to be perfectly frank he was terrified. He had been in his fair share of rescue situations, flown through the air on the crest of several shockwaves caused by explosions, but he could not remember a fire ever being quite so intense as this one. He really did not relish the idea of going anywhere near the flames, despite his confidence in Brains' state of the art fire suits. If he could help it, neither he nor Alan would be setting foot on that roof.
"OK Al," Gordon turned to his brother and for the first time in as long as he could remember he did not flash his partner in crime a cocky grin. "Whatever happens, I do not want you out on that roof, and under no circumstances are you to remove that safety line, understand?"
"Sure Gordon, I understand. But you need to understand that if something happens out there that requires me to remove this safety line, I'll damn well do it. And as for all the crap about not removing it, that goes for you too." Alan replied grimly.
Gordon rolled his eyes but conceded begrudgingly. He nodded sharply to Alan, then switched on the intercom in his helmet. "All set Virge, bombs away!"
"FAB Gordon, you guys be careful down there. Grab him and get the hell out." Virgil's voice was slightly tense, but he didn't seem at all fazed by the task ahead. Gordon huffed mentally. Of course Virgil wouldn't be bothered. He was the one who got to sit in his lovely leather, made to measure chair, open the trap door and press the 'down' button. But it was him and Alan who got to be the ones dangling above the towering inferno.
"But Virge, I thought we'd hang out for a while, admire the view, take in the night air…"
"Yeah, yeah, put a sock in it Gordon. I'm turning control over to you," came Virgil's clipped tones across the intercom. Gordon rolled his eyes at Alan, which earned a lopsided grin in response. Gordon smiled to himself, that was the most positive response he'd got from his little brother all day.
Alan began to lower the platform carefully, almost painfully slowly, towards the roof of the leisure centre. From the height of the rescue platforms Alan could see the dry grasslands stretching out ahead of him and in the distance, not nearly far away enough for his liking, the twinkling lights of the town. If they could not get the flames under control, this fire would spread to populated areas within minutes. Alan turned his attention back to the task at hand and peered through the rolling smoke to try and make out the trapped civilian. He could just about make out a vaguely man shaped silhouette about 30 metres away. He deftly brought the rescue platform to a smooth stop about six inches above the roof. He raised an eyebrow as Gordon began to secure himself to a longer safety cable on a reel.
"You going out there?" he questioned, surprised.
"Yeah, got a problem with that?" Gordon replied, his eyes sparkling, daring, no begging Alan to have a problem with it.
"No, no," Alan said nonchalantly. "It's just that I thought you were terrified of heights. I thought you said that God created gravity to remind us all that we should keep our feet firmly on the ground." Alan grinned wickedly at Gordon's indignant face. On any normal day, nothing would have persuaded Gordon to go out on that roof. But his brothers had obviously held a top secret summit meeting on the problem of him being on a rescue when he was in such dire emotional straits. He himself had been guilty of the same thing after Virgil had had his awful crash in TB2, worried about his state of mind when returning to active duty. It was only the memory of that experience, how concerned he had been for Virgil and how he had acted out of love with the best possible intentions, that allowed him to accept his brothers efforts and not blow up at them as he would have done not so very long ago.
"Yeah well, I have to go. I weigh less than you. With all those cookies you've been eating lately you'd go straight through!"
Alan just laughed and double checked Gordon's cable. When they were both sure it was secure, Gordon took a tentative step off the platform. He bounced slightly, checking the stability. It held. Gordon shot a lopsided grin at Alan, then wasted no time in hop-scotching across the roof into the smoke towards where they had last seen the trapped man. The smoke was so thick now that they had lost sight of him. Alan gazed into the smoke, trying to make out any trace of his brother. He was becoming progressively more alarmed by the heat around him and the flames licking at the sides of the roof.
An explosion to his right caused Alan to throw himself to the ground, the searing heat burning the sides if his face. Instinct made him throw his arms up over his head, despite the protection of his helmet, as he heard glass rain down around him. He hauled himself back to his feet to see flames billowing out from where a sky light used to be. It was at that moment, the moment when Alan began to think that this could all start going wrong, it did.
"Al! Alan help!"
Gordon had barely made it ten feet from where Alan had dropped the rescue platform when he completely lost sight of his brother altogether. He had glanced back to where Alan was in order to try and gain his bearings, but there was no sign of his brother. The smoke was so dense it was almost like a solid object, like it, as well as the flames that produced it, were living entities. For a moment the fourth Tracy son panicked. He couldn't see where he was headed, nor could he see where he had come from. He was about to contact Virgil to see if he had a visual of where he and the victim were in relation to each other when he heard a hacking cough somewhere ahead of him. He stepped forward carefully, following the direction he thought the sound had come from. Another cough, then another, and soon Gordon was dashing ahead again, as fast as he could manage given that he was dicing with death every step he took.
Soon Gordon had come across the man they had seen from the ground. He was on his knees, slumped forward and clutching at his throat. Gordon could hear his short, shallow gasps and feared that perhaps they were too late, that he had inhaled too much smoke. There was a glazed look in the man's eyes, something about him that Gordon couldn't quite put his finger on. Springing into action he surged forward and grabbed the man by his shoulders and hauled him to his feet. Unfortunately for Gordon he sagged forward and his knees gave way. Gordon caught him under his arms. Struggling for a moment to regain his balance, Gordon quickly assessed his options and realised that he really only had one, and that he would really regret it in the morning.
In one swift, fluid movement, Gordon swung the semi-conscious man onto his shoulder and braced his knees to take the extra weight. He could feel the bones grind in his back, and instantly began to think of the days he was bound to be flat on his back after carrying such a weight. His hydrofoil accident had not been all that long ago, as his father and brothers never tired of reminding him, and a broken back was nothing to be taken lightly. As if he didn't know that! It was him that had woken up and didn't know whether or not his legs were even there! He remembered asking that question. It was John who'd been there, holding his hand when he'd asked the question that was still etched on the back of his mind. He had vague memories of the crash, of the smell of blood and burning flesh, the feel of the flames and the burning, agonising pain that felt like fire running through every nerve of his body. And when he woke up, he couldn't feel his legs. It stood to reason that he might think they weren't there any more. John had been horrified at the question of course. He'd told the rest of the family, which then only made them worry even more about what memories he had of the crash and what more emotional trauma he'd have to suffer through. But he'd gone through it, and had come out relatively unscathed. A dodgy back though, was unavoidable. Gordon didn't care however. He'd been given back the use of his legs, so he was damn well gonna use them.
Shifting the not insubstantial weight of the man hoisted over his shoulder, Gordon began to weave his way carefully forward, testing each piece of ground gingerly before placing the whole shared weight of him and his rescuee down. He was making good progress until a deafening blast somewhere ahead of them nearly made him jump out of his skin. Shards of glass shot into the air and landed all around him, the reflection of the flames making it shimmer like fairy dust. The blast however also shook the man on Gordon's shoulder from his expended state, and he began to struggle madly against Gordon in his panic. He thrashed and beat his fists against Gordon's back, writhing around and nearly causing Gordon to drop to his knees. Gordon knew he had no chance of containing the larger man in his terrified state, and the roof was becoming more and more unstable, the explosion moments ago testament to that fact. Gordon knew he had no choice.
"Al! Alan help!"
Tin-Tin watched nervously as Jeff Tracy paced back and forth behind his desk. His anxious gaze flitted distractedly between his watch and the portraits of his sons ranged across the wall in front of him. His eyes came to rest ever more frequently on the likeness of one blonde haired, speed junkie in particular. The Tracy patriarch shook his head and sighed loudly, sitting down at his desk. He began to fiddle with the pen resting on the table top in front of him. He clicked the nib in and out, in, out, in, out, over and over again. Suddenly he seemed to realise what he was doing and pushed the pen angrily away from him and began to wring his hands together. Then in a flash he was up and out of the chair and standing in front of the window, running his hand back through hair that Tin-Tin could swear was going greyer before her very eyes.
She smiled sadly at the irony of this situation. Everything that Jeff Tracy was doing now was a mirror image of the behaviour Alan was displaying only yesterday. Or should she say Alan's behaviour was a mirror image of his fathers. They were both ranting and raving at each other, as they had been for years, because neither was what one wanted or expected from the other. And all that time they were just the same, they were exactly what they wanted the other to be yet both were too stubborn to see it. Tin-Tin had often heard Mr Tracy talking to her father, telling him how much like his mother Alan was, how he had inherited her passion and drive. It was what frustrated Jeff the most about his son, and yet at the same time they were the characteristics he cherished most in the boy. Yet watching Jeff now, Tin-Tin saw only an older version of the boy she had studied secretly and silently since childhood. Alan Tracy was most definitely his father's son.
She stepped forward timidly, walked up behind the man she hoped once more to some day call Father. If he sensed her slow approach he made no sign, and when she reached out and gently rested a hand on his arm he made no response. She looked up at him hopefully for a few moments, praying for him to show some kind of acceptance, of solidarity in this time of turmoil. When long seconds passed and he made no move to acknowledge her, Tin-Tin tried to blink the tears forming in her eyes away. She dropped her hand from Jeff's arm heavily and began to walk away. As she neared the door, his gruff voice stopped her in her tracks. He did not look at her, but continued to stare out at the churning waves, searching for something that only he knew.
"Why did you tell him you couldn't marry him?"
Jeff's tone gave nothing of his thoughts away. Tin-Tin could sense neither approval nor condemnation in his voice.
"Because you made me realise that losing Alan would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me. You made me realise that I loved him so much that I think I'd shatter into a thousand pieces if anything ever happened to him. And I panicked." Tin-Tin tried to be as earnest as she could, to let the man in front of her whom she respected and owed so much to, that she had not callously and needlessly broken the heart of his youngest child.
"And now?" Jeff queried uncertainly. "You don't sound so sure any more."
"Oh, I'm sure Mr Tracy," Tin-Tin replied with conviction. "I'm sure that last night I made the biggest mistake of my life, and that I'll never be able to make up what I've done to Alan. But I do know that I'm going to try. I know now that if I turn him away, if I don't marry him, I'll have already lost him anyway."
Tin-Tin did not wait for a response. She didn't care whether or not Jeff Tracy had also reconsidered, or if he was still dead set against her engagement to his son. For all she cared, Jeff Tracy could go to hell if he thought he could stop her from doing everything in her power to win Alan back, no matter how hopeless that quest might be after the damage she had so thoughtlessly inflicted.
For Jeff Tracy's part, all he could do was nod in sad recognition of his role as author of this mess, and how he had failed his son and the girl he professed to love as a daughter so badly.
Alan did not stop to think. He unhooked his safety cable and dashed forward into the smoke, intently focused on the desperate sound of his brother's voice. It didn't take him long to find them, Gordon with his arms around the man, trying frantically to try and control his flailing arms and legs. He was trying to reason with him, shouting over the din of the fire, but the man seemed not to hear. An arm shot out, catching Gordon hard around the side of his helmet and stunning him momentarily. The panicked victim almost broke away from Gordon's grip then, but Alan shot forward and grabbed him around the waist. Gordon shook his head and regained his senses, instantly grasping the man under his arms, while Alan moved his grip to his still kicking legs. They both knew they wouldn't be able to hold him for long, fighting as he was in blind terror. Gordon jerked his head back towards the rescue platform and Alan nodded hastily in agreement.
They began their journey back to the rescue platform, scuttling sideways like a crab. They were back within sight of the platform when their world shuddered, and a paralysing creak, followed by a long groan, ripped through the ground beneath their feet. For one agonizing, endless moment, Gordon and Alan held each others eyes. Then the ground fell away.
TBC