Chapter Four
Watching as his brothers slid out with the remaining water, Alan wasn't all that concerned. They might get a few bumps and bruises, but the light that poured in from outside gave him a great deal of hope – they could now conduct a proper search for Scott and their father and have better access to the backup generators. Communications would return, they could call John—
A voice echoed back through the cavern and bounced along the walls to where he still stood on the monorail track. Frowning, he knew it wasn't a voice he recognized. Rescue personnel? Perhaps a Navy ship had been in the area and noticed their distress?
Very quickly he knew that was the wrong answer. Briefly his face lit up as Virgil appeared in the doorway, but it fell just as fast when he saw the state his brother was in. He nearly yelled out when he saw Gordon being dragged like a piece of flotsam, and had to clap his hand over his mouth to keep it in. Behind that was a creepy bald man and others dressed all in black and holding weapons.
The bald one started barking orders in a language Alan knew had to be some sort of Chinese, or maybe Korean. If only he had John's gift of languages. And Chinese, of all of them, so difficult to understand conversationally…if that was even what he was speaking.
Whatever it was he was saying was drawing nods of understanding from the soldiers, but before he could do any more guessing a thought clicked in his mind. Kyrano knew Chinese! So did Tin-Tin! Several dialects, if he was remembering correctly. Alan turned and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He had to bring the Malay man or his daughter back to see if they could understand who this was and what he was saying. His brothers' very lives could depend on it.
The Hood stood in triumph before one of the great wonders that was a Thunderbird craft. Lifted one hundred and ten feet into the air on telescopic legs, he had to take a few moments to stare in awe at its magnificence. And now here he was in full possession of it. It was his. This island was his.
International Rescue was his.
His laugh rang out as he approached the Tracy who was still standing. "I know you're Virgil," he said. "And I know you are the pilot of this craft," he gestured upward with his hand. "You will teach my pilots how to work it."
Virgil glanced briefly in his direction but remained silent.
"You will teach them. I have interesting ways of making people do anything I want them to. Even the intrepid rescuers who, I think," Belah continued, turning to look up at the great green 'Bird above him, "will never save another human life again."
He looked next to Thunderbird 2's left. "And I see we have the small submarine as well. 2 and 4 all at once!" Thoughtfully appraising the young man lying unconscious at his brother's feet, he continued. "And he is the pilot of this one."
"My Lord," a soldier said, skidding to a halt in front of his master.
"What is it?" the Hood snapped.
"We have located Thunderbird 1."
If he had been happy with acquiring 2 and 4, he was downright beside himself hearing that 1 was now also his. He looked Virgil up and down. "My sincerest apologies to your ego, but I have another bird to pluck now."
Barking something in another language to the man who'd brought him the news, the Hood took off at a dead run in the direction of the tunnel that led to Thunderbird 1's silo. As he reached its entrance, however, he stopped. A familiar feeling overcame him, and he knew it was a moment of fear in his half-brother. Holding a hand up to silence the men surrounding him with questions in their eyes, the Hood closed his own and concentrated.
Kyrano, Ruth and Tin-Tin made their way to the observation deck. When they entered the outer room, they were stunned for a moment by the natural light that filled it. A split second later they realized there were two men standing in front of them. As the food they'd been carrying clattered to the floor, Tin-Tin's voice rose above the din. "Who are you?" she screeched.
"We have three more!" the smaller man yelled out the window as he trained his gun on Tin-Tin. The other man leveled his weapon at Kyrano's head.
"Oh, no you don't!" Ruth Tracy crowed. It seemed surreal to the others as she launched herself forward from the group, her hand going into one of her large apron pockets, removing and twisting something.
Before anyone could react, she made a tossing motion at first the muscular intruder and then the wiry one. They cried out in pain, releasing their weapons and dropping to their knees at the same time. Ruth kicked both guns toward Tin-Tin, who picked them up, one in each hand.
"What in the world?" she asked as the men doubled over and began rolling around on the floor rubbing their eyes.
Ruth held a plastic cylinder up in the air, grinning from ear to ear. "Cayenne pepper, Tin-Tin. Gordon likes it on his coleslaw." Then she frowned. "I hope he won't be too disappointed that I used it up."
They laughed as Tin-Tin gave one weapon to her father and the other to Ruth. Then she pulled the cuffs from the two intruders' belts and secured them by cuffing the wrist of the smaller man to the legs of the control panels on one side of the room. She forced the arms of the larger one around a support column in the room's center, and then handcuffed his wrists together. Neither of them would be going anywhere anytime soon, and judging by the fact that neither could stop their eyes watering, they would be in pain for a good long while.
"Who are these men?" Kyrano asked, handing the weapon he held back to his daughter.
"I don't know, but someone else knows we're in here if they heard this one yell," Tin-Tin said.
Alan Tracy effectively stopped Kyrano's next words when he came bursting into the room. Within seconds he took in the scene before him and his jaw dropped. "Remind me to tell Dad to put you on the roster more often, guys," he said as Tin-Tin wrapped her arms around him.
"Alan, I'm so glad you're safe. There are men here—"
"I know, Grandma," Alan replied. "They've got Virgil and Gordon in 2's hangar."
Ruth and Tin-Tin gasped as a voice carried through the air, reaching them faintly through the open deck window.
"My God," Kyrano breathed, sinking into a nearby chair.
"Father?"
"Kyrano, what is it?" Ruth asked, coming to stand before him.
He looked up, face stricken. "A voice from the past, Mrs. Tracy." He looked to his daughter. "I'm so sorry, Little One."
"You could recognize it from so far away?" Ruth asked incredulously.
"Yes. It's a voice I haven't heard in a great many years. The voice of a man so terrible—"
"Father, just tell us! Please! Whose voice is it?"
Bowing his head, they could barely hear his response. "My half-brother," he replied.
"My uncle? What would he be doing here?"
Alan and Ruth exchanged glances, shocked that Kyrano had a sibling. "Why is your half-brother here on Tracy Island?" Alan asked, face growing red.
"He wants International Rescue," Kyrano replied in a near-whisper. "He always has."
"How long has this man been after my family?" Alan demanded.
"Your family? Why would he be after your family?" Tin-Tin asked, frowning in confusion.
Kyrano seemed not to hear her. "I don't know," he said to Alan. "But I should have known. I was blinded by my own surety that he could not find me here. That he couldn't find any of us."
Alan came forward and grabbed Kyrano's arm, forcing him to his feet. "What have you done? Have you led him here to destroy us?" he seethed.
"Alan, don't hurt him!" Tin-Tin cried, trying to wrench his hand away.
"Tin-Tin you know how I feel about you, but if your father has done something that will harm us—"
"Now don't be foolish, Alan," Ruth said, effectively prying her grandson's hand from Kyrano's arm. "You know darn well he's a peaceful man who loves all of us as much as you do, if not more. He wouldn't hurt a ladybug, let alone our family."
"You should know better!" Tin-Tin added hotly.
"Oh, should I?" Alan asked, turning and pointing to their two prisoners. "Then how precisely do you explain them?"
Neither woman answered causing Alan nodded in satisfaction. "I thought so. Now, whether you brought him here through something you did or not, Kyrano, the fact remains that we have intruders on our island, intruders who are holding two of my brothers prisoner. And Scott and Dad are still missing."
"Not anymore we're not," came a booming voice from the door behind them.
Alan went white as a sheet as the group gasped, turning in unison. There before them stood two very dirty and beat-up – but very alive – Tracy men.
"Jeff!" Ruth cried.
"Scott!" Alan grinned in relief.
Jeff came into the room limping slightly and running a hand through his damp hair. He put the other hand on his old friend's shoulder. "We heard most of that, Kyrano," he said, giving it a squeeze. He turned to the rest of them. "Now, I want you to give Kyrano a break. He had no way of knowing Gaat would find the island and it isn't even Kyrano he's after."
"Father? You knew about this…this…you called him Gaat?"
"Yes, Alan, I did. Belah Gaat. Kyrano told me about him many years ago when we first met. In fact, he and Tin-Tin were on the run from the man at the time."
The ghost of a smile crossed the Malaysian's face. "You saved our lives," he said simply. "This is why I've served your family ever since, Alan. I am forever indebted to your father."
He turned to his daughter. "I thought you would be safe here on Tracy Island. I knew of my brother's wish to have the secrets of International Rescue, but never dreamed he would find us."
Tin-Tin's eyes were wide and she shook her head slowly, as if trying to see through a mess of cobwebs. Her uncle was here to get the Tracys?
"Where have you two been anyway?" Ruth asked as Scott moved to stand next to his dad. "Leaving a little old lady here to fend for herself!"
Jeff and Scott turned to look at the two prisoners whose eyes were squeezed shut and running rivers of tears down their faces. Scott laughed, "Doesn't look like the little old lady did too badly for herself, Grandma!"
His father chuckled. "Now you know where we all get it from."
"Besides, Al, I told you I'd get both Tin-Tin and Dad back here. I just never said at the same time."
Alan shot Scott a look as Jeff turned to face everyone. "Has anyone been able to get through to John? Scott and I can't get our watches to work."
"Not yet. We tried our cell phones too and nothing. It's like every type of communicator we have is jammed."
Scott and Jeff frowned at the news.
"What happened to you, Dad?"
"Scott managed to grab me at the top of the steps as the hurricane shields went up. We were able to get into the cubby that houses the electricals for the outdoor lighting."
"Behind the big gray rock at the top of the steps?" Tin-Tin asked, trying to focus on anything but the fact that her uncle was close by. "And the door held?"
"Not exactly," Scott replied.
Jeff shook his head as he continued. "The door was completely taken off its hinges; we couldn't get it open no matter what."
"Eventually," Scott picked up the story," we just used the maintenance ladder that goes under the villa and found our way to Tunnel V."
"That's the fresh air duct that goes from right next to the house all the way down to Thunderbird 1's launch pad, isn't it?" Ruth asked incredulously. When Scott, Jeff and Alan all nodded she flinched. "Wasn't that an awfully steep descent?"
"Like a slide, Mother," Jeff said nonchalantly. "Eventually we reached 1's launchpad and then the first generator room just beyond that. We tried to get the backups online but the outtake flooded back into the generator room. We hung on to stalactites once the water carried us in there, then when it began to recede we got through to it."
Scott continued where his father left off. "In the meantime, the launch pad door wouldn't open anymore due to water pressure, so we made our way back through the outtake cave and it took us this long to break in through a damaged hurricane shield in the villa."
Alan nodded. "I saw that. I was going to try and find something to open it with. How'd you manage it?"
Scott barked a laugh and held his hands up as did his father. "With a bit of difficulty and a piece of the pole from the tennis court that handily found its way to the staircase."
"Virgil and Gordon were trying to get to the generator. They probably would have found you if they hadn't been intercepted by—" Alan glanced at Kyrano. "By the intruders."
"What? He's got them?"
Alan nodded, his eyes full of concern.
Taking a deep breath, brow furrowed in thought, Jeff slowly let the air out of his lungs before he spoke. "It would appear there are equal parts Nature's Fury and sabotage going on here." As those around him nodded their agreement, he looked at each of them. "What we need is a plan of attack."
"We have to dress Scott's wounds," Ruth said, eyeing the bleeding and seeping gashes on her grandson's hands.
"We just don't have time for that now, Mother," Jeff countered. "We've got to figure Gaat's next move and we have to get your other grandsons out of his hands."
"But we should also try to get the power back on, Father," Alan chimed in. "It would allow us to use our defenses to stop him."
"Then there's whatever's at the root of the communications disruption. Scott, what about the Thunderbirds themselves? I imagine 1's rockets are useless to us right now, but 2 should be all right."
"I see where you're headed. If we can get outside whatever's jamming us, we can reach John on Thunderbird 5."
"Exactly. And 2's sitting up high on her legs in the hangar, so she should be airworthy still."
"That's where he had Virgil and Gordon, when I saw them. I accessed it via the monorail track. Gordon was…" His voice trailed off.
"Alan?"
"He was unconscious. One of the men dressed like these two cold-cocked him. Virgil seemed all right."
"How many men?"
"At least half a dozen, but there have to be more than what I saw if Gaat's truly trying to take over the island. Dozens, maybe?"
Jeff's mouth set in a grim line. "Well, we aren't very many against dozens, but we're a tough bunch."
"You got that right," Ruth agreed.
"Here's what we'll do," Jeff said, and they all listened intently. He looked first at Kyrano. "You and Tin-Tin have the job of reaching the secondary generator near Storage Locker C-4. Now, C level shouldn't be flooded; anything below A is sealed tight and should've remained dry. Stay on your toes."
The Kyranos nodded and scurried away.
Jeff turned to Alan. "You and Scott need to get to Thunderbirds 2 and 4. Get them outside the interference once Kyrano and Tin-Tin have the power back on, and get hold of John and with anyone else you have to."
"That leaves us going after Virgil and Gordon," Ruth finished for him.
"That's right, Mother, but first I'm putting you in a bullet-proof vest." She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. "No arguments. I mean it."
Her eyes widened as they all left to take on their respective tasks, not a one noticing the smooth pate that appeared at the open window of the observation deck just in time to see Ruth Tracy fling her apron to the ground.
He kept silent as he crawled through the window. Three men followed him and he motioned for them not to speak. The muscular man, still with his arms wrapped around the column Tin-Tin had trapped him against, opened his mouth to cry out. Without so much as blinking, Belah shot him in the head, then turned and did the same to the wiry man.
"Failure is not tolerated," he hissed, and his companions nodded complete understanding.
The Hood darted to the entryway through which the last of the Tracys had disappeared and could just hear their footfalls retreating. He returned to the center of the room. "Four and Six," he said, looking first at one man, then the one who stood next to him. "You will go out this door and to the left, following the ones who have gone for the Thunderbirds."
The men nodded curtly and were soon out of sight. Gaat turned to the remaining man. "You're with me."
He nodded and obeyed, sparing just a glance at his dead comrades as he went by. He knew he'd better follow instructions to the letter or he'd be sharing their fate. The master was not a forgiving man.
"Gordon," Virgil whispered fiercely, looking across the metal floor. "I saw your eyelids flutter, Gordon, open 'em up. Come on."
The first thing he thought was that someone had stuck an axe in his skull. At least, that's what it felt like. He groaned. "What…happened…?"
"They put us in Pod 1. Probably three dozen men or so, they all look Southeast Asian, they've invaded the island."
Gordon's eyes opened wide at that. Only Virgil's watch-light enabled him to see his brother's face near his. "Who are they?"
"Don't know, they didn't speak much English. But they're trying to power up our 'Birds."
Trying to sit straight up in protest, Gordon winced as the pain slicing through his head reminded him just why he shouldn't. "Shit!" he swore, letting his head rest on the floor again. "Not my girl!"
"Trust me; I'm not any happier about it than you are. At least they can't get into 2, she's at full height. But sooner or later they'll figure a way to."
"They won't be able to start them without our corneal patterns."
"Let's just hope they don't dig our eyeballs out to get them."
"Where's everyone else?"
"I'm not sure, but I know I heard Al's voice just before we were sucked through the door."
"He must have seen what happened. He's probably gone for help."
"Gone to who? Grandma? Tin-Tin? Unless Scott and Dad have shown up, that's not ultra-comforting."
Gordon's chuckle morphed into a hiss as he fought the terrible headache that had settled in. "We need to get the lights on. We need to see what we've got in here."
Virgil nodded, struggling into a sitting position. This accomplished, he twisted his torso to let his watch-light shine around. As soon as he had his bearings he scooted toward the front of the pod.
"Where are you going?" Gordon asked and then groaned in agony as he rolled to his side and tried to push himself upright.
"You said to get the lights on."
"That I did," he moaned – while left mostly in the dark, he still felt like the pod was spinning wildly around him. "Ohhh, my head."
"Hard as a rock, Gordo, always has been. First thing," Virgil grunted, "after I make it so we can see, is to get these damn cuffs off us."
"That would seem prudent," Gordon said dryly. "And then?"
"That depends on what we find in here."
Virgil reached the pod door and managed to get to his knees, then to his feet. He moved backwards a few paces until he reached where the door met the pod's hull. Turning to face it, he moved to the right only a few more inches until he felt the control panel under his lips. Slowly he tipped his head forward so that his nose was touching it, and found the one area of the small four-by-four panel that was slightly depressed. He pushed it and was rewarded when it lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Ah, progress," came a voice from his left shoulder. Virgil jumped, turned, and glared at its owner. "Sorry."
Virgil growled in response, stuck his tongue out, and then thought of what his brother might say. He looked at Gordon and said, "No wisecracks."
"Couldn't if I wanted to. Feels like Jason Voorhees got my head more than once with his machete."
Sticking his tongue out again, Virgil pressed a series of buttons with symbols on them. The small screen at the top of the panel said RETINAL SCAN and Virgil squared his eyes in front of it. A small beam of pure white light radiated outward in a V-shape running from right to left over his eyes. Seconds later the screen said ACCESS GRANTED.
"Good thing we weren't blindfolded, too, or that would never have worked."
"Sounds like you need another machete," Virgil replied sarcastically. Then he stuck his tongue out and pressed a button with the small Greek letter iota on it. The pod was flooded with lights, causing both men to squint for several long seconds until their pupils adjusted to the sudden shock.
"There," Gordon said, looking around them. "Looks like we didn't unload this one properly after its last use."
"Wait a minute, how come I can't unlock the pod door?"
Gordon came to his side and looked at the panel. "Maybe after we get these damn cuffs off you can get it to work."
"You mean, it might take something harder than my tongue?"
Gordon laughed, then winced as a stab of pain shot through his head.
"Hell," Virgil mumbled, looking around for something to get their wrists unbound, "don't need my hands freed for that."
"Father, are you keeping up all right?" Tin-Tin asked after she'd had to slow down a fourth time so he could catch up to her.
"I'm fine."
"Someday I'm going to have to explain to you the many things that could mean."
He half-smiled but she could tell his mind was also on something else. "Tin-Tin, you are as intelligent as you are beautiful. But as imperative as our mission is, you must remember patience and caution above all else."
She frowned. Really, to get all philosophical at a time like this when the very organization that had kept her half-uncle away from them was in danger of being squashed like a bug? She huffed in exasperation. She loved her father so very much, and knew that he always wound up being right about everything…eventually.
But she also knew that the entire future of the Tracys and International Rescue…as well as that of her and her father…might rest on their current task. The faster they reached the generator and got the power on, the more likely their chances of succeeding in keeping their secrets safe.
"We're one-quarter of the way around B level, we should reach the stairway to C very shortly," she stated, picking up the pace. Deciding she just had to keep going in spite of Kyrano's seeming inability to keep up, her feet moved faster.
It was so unlike him, she mused, but chalked it up to the attack he'd experienced earlier in the kitchen. As she continued to jog along, she realized far too much was at stake for so many millions around the world to keep fretting and fussing over him. He was a grown man and could take care of himself.
Tin-Tin began sprinting and reached the stairs in no time. She descended three-at-a-time and rounded the corner at the bottom, her mind mapping the exact route to the generators in question. But halfway through the next passage, not ten feet from her destination, someone stepped out in front of her. She skidded to a halt and could barely get a squeak out of her throat as a large hand grasped it. Too late she realized her mistake. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
She wished she'd stayed with the man who'd given up everything to protect her, to keep her alive, to keep her safe. She felt the strange sensation of her fingers and hands tingling, and then going numb. Her toes and feet followed suit. There was so much she still had to do, to say to the ones she loved. Her vision began to blur, darkness creeping in at the corners and narrowing what she could see to mere pinpoints.
Then he dropped her to the floor like so much garbage. Tin-Tin gasped and choked, one hand flying to her throat while the other tried pushing her up into a sitting position. The one thing she hadn't counted in leaving her father's side on was that she'd run into his worst nightmare.
But the one thing Gaat hadn't counted on was that Tin-Tin was never without an eight-inch keris, a weapon native to her birth country.
She leaned forward as he stood before her, arms folded across his massive chest. He looked like he was about to speak when her hand whipped lightning-fast to her sock, and thrust out toward him. He made a large, sweeping gesture with his left hand that sent her flying back into the wall.
Why had she paid no heed? Why had she not learned what her father had tried her whole life to instill in her? The last thing she saw was glittering black irises that swirled as though alive.
"Damn," he swore quietly. "Why did you do make me do that, child?"