I do not own the Thunderbirds. I do not own the Thunderbirds. I do not own the Thunderbirds. I do not own the Thunderbirds. I do not own the Thunderbirds. I do not own the Thunderbirds. I do not own the Thunderbirds.

Chapter 7 – The Next Sound That You Will Hear…

Alan steeled himself not to close his eyes or move them from meeting Kyle's directly. The son-of-a-bitch would never gain the satisfaction that seeing Alan's terror would have given him. But dear God, he did not want to die. He had the kind of relationship he had always wanted with his father. He had earned his brothers' respect. He had Tin-Tin and she was going to marry him. Everything had been going his way and now because of this freaking lunatic Alan was going to die.

Jeff was desperate. The second gunman had his weapon pointed at Jeff, Tin-Tin and Brains, covering them so they would be unable to help Alan or Fermat. And now that SOB was about to kill Alan. Helplessness was not a sensation that came easy to the former astronaut. Kyle had been right about one thing: there wasn't anything Jeff wouldn't do to protect one of his boys. But if Jeff were to try anything at this exact moment, the second gunman was prepared to spray bullets across the table. And the father knew just what Alan would want him to do at this time – protect Tin-Tin. As he tried to draw his son's fiancée behind him, Jeff missed how her dark eyes suddenly narrowed and turned a golden yellow.

Brains was terrified. His only child lay unconscious on the ground, held in the protective embrace of the boy's best friend. But Brains loved Alan too, nearly as much as he loved Fermat. He had watched the little boy grow up into a remarkable young man, one that he was proud to consider as part of his family. And now he was going to lose Alan, maybe even Fermat due to the twisted madness that possessed Kyle Wescott's mind. Looking over at Jeff and Tin-Tin, he saw the fear and horror of his own soul echoed in Jeff Tracy's face. But in Tin-Tin he saw something he had not seen in more than three years. Her eyes… the eyes that indicated a power of the mind that even Brains' genius had yet to unravel. Where as those eyes, glowing red in the face of the Hood would forever haunt the gentle genius, the golden light emitting from Tin-Tin's eyes filled his heart with hope for the first time since this nightmare had started. Please, let her be able to stop this!

Tin-Tin steeled herself to do this. She had sworn never to use her powers again. It would be too easy to fall into the trap that had ensnared her uncle. Power corrupted the soul and she had sworn she would not let it catch her in its rapture as it had The Hood. But if she did not use her power – no, her gift… Yes, that is how she must consider it. Recalling how she had twice before used her gift to save Alan – once from a scorpion on Tracy Island, then again in the Bank of London when her uncle was trying to make the youngest Tracy son plunge to his death before his father's horrified eyes – Tin-Tin knew the only chance to save the love of her life was to use her ability to stop this madness. Her powers were limited, mainly due to her reluctance to use and thus refine them, but if she could just buy them just a moment's reprieve. In that moment would surely lay their salvation.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Captain Hermoine James crawled up to where Gordon Tracy had positioned himself. Peering through her portable sights, the police officer tried to see what the auburn haired Tracy son could see. Gordon quietly spoke. "Most of the hostages are out of the way. The third gunman is out of range but he is also well away from the hot zone. The second gunman is clear; I just need the green light. The first guy – he looks like a former classmate of Alan's – I can't get a clear shot on him, my father is in the way. Oh, God, he's gonna shoot!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

From high above the Earth on Thunderbird Five, Kate relayed the signal that John was able to pick up from the watches – there was some kind of interference, but by varying which watch he monitored, he was able to maintain a steady flow of communication – back to Tracy Island. It would be a hard call to determine which sight felt the highest degree of frustration. Kate busied herself with focusing on the equipment in front of her, much as John was doing. Scott paced back and forth in their father's study, while Virgil sat next to his wife, holding her hand and wiping her tears. Emily was the only one not listening in on the drama that was unfolding. With the release of more than half the hostages, her services had been required. While the most serious injury, a gunshot wound on the track coach, was quickly dealt with, the physician was drawn to three chest pains – one being a genuine small heart attack – and a variety of stress induced ailments.

John worried another receiver, trying to get a clearer signal when he picked up Gordon's voice – his brother must have left on his own wrist communicator. The astronomer was about to signal Gordy when he heard his second youngest brother say "Oh, God, he's gonna shoot!"

Before any of the Tracys could say anything else, a shot rang out…

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Back in the hall, Kyle Wescott gloated for a moment at the power he held over the Tracys. Then he saw Alan's eyes. These eyes were not afraid, they were not cowering. Damn him, damn him straight to Hell! Was Tracy so clueless that he couldn't see that he was about to die? Couldn't he appreciate the fact that the game was over and he, Kyle Percival Wescott, had beaten Alan Shepard Tracy once and for all?

"I didn't kill you back in Boston Tracy; you were supposed to die in that hotel room. I had my chance and I took it. I would have killed you sooner but your little buddy Hackenbacker kept sticking his head out of the bathroom and would have seen me. But when you played hero and sent the others off while you waited to be rescued, I took my shot. Shot. If I had only had a gun that night, I could have just shot you. Instead I clobbered you over the head and left you to die. But you lived again, didn't you? I had to appreciate that it was where I hit you that you developed the infection that led to your MRSA. Nearly had you that time as well, didn't I? Oh, well, third times a charm. Say hi to your Mama, won't you?"

With those taunting words said, Kyle pulled back the trigger and…

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Frustrated, Kyle moved the gun trying to see what the problem was. He never saw Tin-Tin begin to collapse. The strain of holding the bullet into the chamber had gotten to her and she lost her concentration. As she released it, the bullet poured out of the barrel and struck a copper plaque on the wall, ricocheting towards the other end of the hall, before drilling itself into the left leg of the third gunman. Panicking, the third man stumbled from the hall. The few hostages left with him ran out the door he left open behind him. The job of the authorities had just been made much easier, with fewer hostages to save. But the danger remained to the Tracys.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Back in his perch, Gordon allowed himself a sigh of relief. One down and the other guy's gun was no longer pointed at his little brother's head. But with two weapons in such close vicinity to his family, Gordon could not relax. Adjusting his weapon once more, he chose his target and waited for his moment. Beside him, Captain James whispered. "If you see a shot, take it. I'll take any heat – you just take the shot."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Furious, Kyle turned to the other terrorist. "Shoot him! Kill him now or all this is going to be for nothing! Do it! Shoot him!!!!"

The masked man's face was hidden but every member of the Tracy party could see the look in his eye. This was a man who had killed before and would enjoy doing it again. He raised his weapon and once more a semi-automatic weapon was pointed at the head of the youngest Tracy son. Once more the father and friends were helpless to do anything. And this time his fiancée was too weak to do anything to save him.

On the communications end, the Tracys froze in horror at the sound of a gunshot piercing the silence that had followed Kyle's tirade.

a/n - and you thought you hated me after chapter six... please. no more I hate you's - OK, maybe a few. but I really do just like to up the drama...