Chapter 8 – Do what you must
Jeff Tracy was frozen in horror. The masked gunman was following Kyle Wescott's instructions and was about to shoot Alan. There was no way he could reach the man in time but Jeff knew he could not just stand there. Leaving Tin-Tin to Brains, Jeff began to move towards the monster who was threatening to kill his youngest son. Suddenly, a shot rang out. Shocked, Jeff looked over at Alan, expecting to see his child dead or dying. Instead, he looked… confused?
Alan was trying to keep a stirring Fermat from moving and possibly getting between Alan and the bullet that would surely end his life. When the shot rang out, Alan braced himself for the pain. But there was no pain. Looking up at his father, Alan was confused. Shouldn't he be in agonizing pain right now?
As one, both Tracy men looked at the gunman, who in turn was looking down at his own chest. At first, they couldn't see what he saw. Blood was harder to see on the man's black shirt than it had been on Alan's white one. The gun slowly dropped from his nerveless fingers, as his other hand clutched at his bleeding chest. Like a dying swan, he crumpled to the floor.
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From his secure perch, Gordon Tracy looked down on the scene in the hall where his father and brother were being threatened. One threat had hobbled out of the room with most of the other hostages; the second man would no longer be a threat to anyone – Kate was not the only good shot in the Tracy family.
Now if only his father would move a bit more, Gordon could take out the final threat. "C'mon guys - either nail that cretin yourself or get the hell out of my way."
Hermoine James tried not to laugh at Gordon's unintentional joke. Man, this guy was awesome! Too bad he was at least ten years her junior. Though the sight of him holding that rifle was majorly hot; OK, resolve hostage situation first, check out cute guy later.
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Seeing his conspirator fall to the ground, a bullet in his chest, filled Kyle with rage. No. No way. No way on earth was Alan Tracy going to win. No way was his tormentor going to get out of this one alive.
Turning back to where Alan remained sprawled on the floor, Kyle raised his own gun back up. It would work this time, it had to.
Jeff had gone to check on the fallen gunman. The shot had pierced the man's heart: he had been dead before he hit the floor. Turning back towards where his son was, Jeff felt his own heart stop in dread. Wescott once more was raising a gun at Alan, prepared to murder his youngest boy.
Tin-Tin stirred in Brains' arms, looking over at Alan. A sweet smile crossed her face at the sight of her fiancé trying to rouse Fermat. There was no bond of blood between them as there was with Alan and his older brothers, but the link between the two was much the same. Turning her head slightly, she tried to spot Mr. Tracy, but the sight of Kyle Wescott raising his gun at Alan brought a scream from her throat.
"Alan!"
Alan raised his head, as his father and fiancée both cried out his name. His eyes widened at the sight of the gun in Kyle's hand once more being pointed at him. He needed a miracle…
And then he got it.
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John could hear Captain James reporting back. One gunman had been captured trying to escape. Gordon had just taken down a second gunman who had been about to shoot Alan. There was only one left.
Emily approached her husband from behind. There were tears in her eyes at the sight of his tense shoulders. She had always known how he felt up on Thunderbird Five, listening, praying that his family would be alright. But she had never had to witness it. And seeing it first hand, Emily prayed she would never see it again. The physician lay a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder, offering what small comfort she could. John placed his own hand on hers briefly before continuing with his work.
After quickly squeezing John's shoulder to indicate her understanding, Emily returned to the triage site. If anyone else needed care, she had to be ready as well. But standing by, feeling helpless while loved ones were at risk, was something no Tracy – born to the name or not – did well.
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Fermat Hackenbacker had been slowly regaining consciousness. He could feel Alan softly tapping the side of his face. Suddenly, the tapping stopped and Fermat could feel Alan suck in his breath. Timidly opening his eyes, Fermat saw Kyle once more prepare to shoot Alan. Kyle stepped over one of the younger boy's sprawled legs and leveled the gun to Alan's head. What had Scott and Kate always taught them in their self-defense training. "Take advantage of any opening your opponent gives you. There is no dirty or unfair moves when the choice is between life and death."
Kyle was ecstatic. He finally had Alan Tracy where he wanted. Now was his time of triumph, now was his moment to shine, now… ow.
Brains, Jeff, Alan and Tin-Tin could only stare. First at the sight of Kyle Wescott, crumpling to his knees, his weapon slipping from nerveless fingers as he clutched at his crotch. Then they all turned towards Fermat, struggling to sit up, a smile forming on his bespectacled face. Alan stared down at his friend. "Dude, you kicked him in the family jewels. That's… that's…"
"Brilliant!" Tin-Tin dashed over to the pair on the floor. Kneeling beside them, Tin-Tin gave Fermat a quick kiss on the cheek, before bestowing a more lingering kiss to her fiancée. Alan smiled at her and the three friends melted into a group hug.
Leaning back, Alan gave Fermat a last one-armed hug as he helped the slighter boy up from the floor. "Oh, Mister Hackenbacker," he simpered in a falsetto voice. "I do declare, you are my hero."
Tin-Tin cuffed Alan in the back of the head before kissing him once more. Seeing that their fathers had Kyle by the arms and were dragging him towards the exit, the threesome moved to follow. Smiling at his fiancée and best friend Alan snarked, "So, that was lunch. What do you guys think we should do for dinner?"
A/N - no cliffie, but a few last twists and turns in the next chapter - then an epilogue