Hour Twenty-Two
The following takes place between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on the day Washington, D.C. was destroyed.
09:00:00
Scott landed Thunderbird 1 and headed for the house with Ned, Kyrano and the broadcasting equipment in tow. With every fiber of his being he wanted to run full-boar to the other side of the mountain and help his family get Alan, Tin-Tin and Megan back. But he knew his father was right. He had to get Thunderbird 3 into the air. Still and all, it took every ounce of willpower he had to sit down on the settee next to Brains, who'd been waiting for them in the Lounge when they arrived.
"You all right?" he asked the engineer. "You look a little pale."
"And you look like you have a headache."
"I do. Ned? Kyrano? Will you two be okay?"
Ned gave him the thumbs-up as he stood in awe of his surroundings. Kyrano simply nodded.
The settee moved downward, carrying the eldest Tracy son and the island's resident genius far below until it came to rest on a gantry. The gantry began moving them sideways and they passed through a long tunnel before finally emerging into Thunderbird 3's silo. Then the settee lifted and they rose upward into the space ship until the gantry came to rest in Thunderbird 3's Lounge, the magnetic seal locking their piece of floor into place.
"Take up launch positions," Scott said, rising to his feet and heading for the elevator.
"F.A.B.," Brains replied, moving to a nearby chair.
As the elevator rose, Scott's stomach dropped lower and lower until he was certain it had reached his feet. "Al," he whispered. "You should be here with me." Then his thoughts turned to Tin-Tin. So much had happened to her in the last twenty-one hours. Had she survived being kidnapped by Acronym only to die at the hands of their archenemy, the Hood? And Megan. A lump rose in his throat. He swallowed hard as the elevator deposited him onto the cockpit level.
Scott stepped out and seated himself in the pilot's chair. He ran through the systems check, but his mind was elsewhere. It was with Megan. Would he ever see her again? Would he ever see any of them again?
09:07:19
"Father! I've got it!"
"What, John?"
"Braman!"
"Braman?"
"It's dark outside, right?"
"Yes, of course it is. What of it?"
"If Braman closes his chest plate and hides my feed, he'll be camouflaged enough to where the Hood won't be able to see him coming. And with Thunderbird 3 launching, well, it'll create a diversion."
"But what can he do?" Virgil asked. He had now seated himself on the floor. His strength was waning along with his hope. "Any move he makes, the Hood will start killing..." He couldn't continue.
"Thunderbird 2's failsafe, Virgil."
Virgil's eyes opened wide. "Yes. Yes, that's it. That's it!"
"Failsafe?" Penny asked. "What on earth is that?"
"It's a way to kill Thunderbird 2's VTOL rockets, Penny," Jeff explained as a glimmer of hope began to shine through. "I get it and I like it. Now here's what we're going to do."
09:09:13
Scott frowned in consternation. He'd been just about to fire Thunderbird 3 up when his father had come on the line and told him to wait until Gordon gave him the word. He sat in his seat and fidgeted. What was his dad about to do?
"Goddammit, I should be up there!" he cried, slamming his fist into the console.
09:10:42
"Well, Jeff Tracy? I have waited long enough. What is your answer?"
Jeff walked calmly over to the control panel and pressed a button. "If you want to make a deal with me, you'll have to do it face-to-face. Like a real man."
Everyone held his or her breath as silence reigned. Finally the Hood's voice was heard. "Very well. I should like to stand face-to-face with you again, my enemy. Just to see the look in your eyes when you have to give me what I want."
Jeff's face twitched in anger.
"But no tricks! Or these three will die!"
"No tricks. Just you and me."
"Very well."
Penny laid a hand on Jeff's shoulder. He turned to face her and to everyone's surprise, gathered her in his arms. "If anything happens to me, Penny...take care of my boys."
Her eyes filled with tears. "Nothing will happen to you. You're Jeff Tracy."
He smiled and released her. "You always say that. Gordon, close the hangar door as soon as I'm out."
"Father!"
"Son, do it. If something goes wrong and he fires a missile in here, you, your brother and everyone else will die."
"Yes, Dad," Gordon replied, hanging his head.
"Parker, go get FAB One and bring her inside."
"Yes, Sir."
"Dr. Gray, you take care of Virgil. And thank you."
"You're welcome, Sir. I will."
"Dad, don't. Please don't."
Jeff knelt next to where Virgil was now mostly lying on the floor. "Don't worry. This will work. And if it doesn't...get up to the Lounge, go on the air with Ned Cook and tell the world who we are."
Virgil eyes darkened and he bit his lower lip. All he could do was nod.
"If I die, you have to stop this. I'm counting on you."
"I will, Dad. You have my word."
Jeff nodded and rose to his feet. FAB One was now inside the hangar. Everyone gathered in front of the small door and watched as he stepped out onto the tarmac. Jeff turned and nodded to Gordon. He heard soft crying from Penelope as the door began to move upward, closing him off from any modicum of safety.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Thunderbird 2. He heard soft scuffling off to his left. "Okay, Braman. Let's hope you get this right. Here goes."
09:16:11
Michael Canton was frightened. He had never been this frightened in his entire life. The men who had taken him from the precinct in Sydney had been interrogating him mercilessly since their arrival at what appeared to be an abandoned factory. All but one had left him in a small room. That man glowered at him, a smirk upon his face.
"What are you going to do to me?" Canton asked, his voice quivering.
"Since you'll only tell us half of what we want to know, we're going to have some fun. The others will return shortly."
Michael recoiled against the wall as though he'd been hit. They had asked him to reveal everything he knew about International Rescue, as well as why he'd gone after them to begin with. He'd complied with the latter request, but refused to reveal his extensive knowledge about Jeff Tracy's organization. In his mind, that was his hard-earned trophy, and he wasn't about to give it away so easily.
He'd told them that going after International Rescue had just been a smoke screen. His true agenda involved destroying every major city in the world until Earth caved in and accepted him as their leader. He'd been planning this for so many years it had become the focus of his entire life. Along the way, he had also been tracking Jefferson Tracy's movements, and had stumbled upon the fact that his boyhood enemy was none other than the head of International Rescue.
Using them had been a remarkable stroke of genius, he thought; a way to turn public opinion against them, and then sweep in at the last minute to become the hero of the world. And if the world refused to accept him as their leader, he would continue killing people until either they did accept him, or until there were so few humans left it wouldn't matter. The combined pleasure of seeing the gallant Tracys brought to their knees and gaining power over the entire planet had been almost more than he could bear.
But now it was all crashing down around him. Sure, his men had their orders, and they would destroy Southern California whether or not they heard a broadcast by International Rescue that told the world who they really were. But after that...what if these men began to torture him? What if he didn't get out of this alive?
For all his machismo and talk, without his gadgets and gismos, without his inventions and the thugs on his payroll, Michael Canton was, at his very core, a coward. As the man watching him opened the door and stuck his head out into the hall, Canton began to shake uncontrollably. He reached down and plucked something from his left sock. It was a cyanide capsule.
He would rather die than live to see his dream crumble around him. He would rather die than see Jeff Tracy triumph. He would rather die...than fail.
09:21:57
Jeff approached Thunderbird 2 with trepidation. His mouth had gone dry and his shoulder hurt so badly the pain was almost blinding. But he walked on; fully aware that at any moment the Hood might decide to just kill him and be done with it. Suddenly he saw movement in his peripheral and shifted his eyes to his left. There next to Thunderbird 2, stood Braman. He heard a panel clink open and smiled to himself. It would work. It had to. He just had to keep the Hood distracted long enough.
The great ship's side hatch opened once more. Two figures stumbled down the steps, a third coming close behind. The light from inside the vehicle revealed the figures to be Alan, Megan and the Hood. Tin-Tin was nowhere to be seen. Jeff stopped walking and tried to swallow as Alan staggered ahead of the villain and Megan cried out with nearly every step she took. The Hood held a gun in each hand, keeping his prisoners in front of him at all times as he neared Jeff's position.
"You coward!" Jeff spat. "I thought we said man-to-man."
"A little insurance. You would like nothing better than to kill me where I stand."
"Well, at least you've got that right."
Alan began to lose his balance and fall. Pure parental instinct forced Jeff to lunge forward in an attempt to help him, but the Hood waved one of the guns at him and said, "Ah-ah-ah!" He then grabbed the back of Alan's uniform and hauled him to his feet.
"You bastard! Let them go, can't you see they're injured?"
"Tell me what I want to hear and I'll consider it."
"What do you want to hear?" Jeff asked, stalling for time.
"Give me the plans to the other Thunderbirds and I'll give you Acronym."
"And what about Tin-Tin?"
"We are not here to discuss my niece! We are here to discuss a deal."
"Tin-Tin is part of that deal!"
"No she is not!"
"You listen to me, you sonofabitch. I get Tin-Tin, Alan and Megan, or you get nothing!"
"Foolish words when I'm the one holding all the cards."
Jeff noticed Braman out the corner of his eye. The robot was slowly approaching Thunderbird 2's nose, and the Hood wasn't any the wiser. Or so he thought.
Having sensed Jeff's thoughts, the Hood whirled on the robot, releasing his hold on Megan and Alan. Jeff grabbed one of them in each arm as they fell forward, and began dragging them back along the tarmac. He only hoped Braman and the upcoming surprise could keep the Hood busy long enough for him to get them to safety. He lifted his wrist, outfitted with a new watch communicator, to his face. "Now, Gordon! Tell Scott to go now!"
Moments later, Jeff heard Thunderbird 3's rockets fire. He glanced up and saw the Hood turn toward the roundhouse, startled by the sound. Braman's chest plate slid down, and Jeff knew John was taking control of the robot. Thunderbird 3 roared up through the center of the roundhouse, rockets flaring. The Hood didn't even know what hit him as Braman's metal arm came down on the back of his head. He sank to the tarmac in a heap, both pistols clattering to the concrete.
"John! Get Tin-Tin! She's inside Thunderbird 2!" Jeff raised the watch to his face again. "Gordon! Open the hangar door!"
The entire cliff face began rumbling downward, sinking into the slot directly beneath it. Then a metal drawbridge opened, traversing the gap left by the false front's retreat. Gordon and Penny rushed out and half-carried, half-dragged Megan and Alan into the hangar. Dr. Gray was upon them immediately as Jeff ran back toward Thunderbird 2. "Parker! Help me out here!"
"Yes, Sir!" Parker called out as he raced after him.
Braman appeared at the top of Thunderbird 2's steps just as Jeff and Parker reached the bottom of them. In his arms he held Tin-Tin, who was unconscious. "Parker, take her into the hangar," Jeff said quietly. Tin-Tin's body covered Braman's chest, but Jeff knew his son was still there by the glow that emitted from it. "Thank you, John. You did it."
"Yeah, but now I have to undo it so you can get 2 back into her hangar."
Jeff watched Parker gently take Tin-Tin from the robot and head back along the runway, then turned back to John's live feed. "Well, it's a quick fix, and besides, it would've saved our asses if this hadn't worked. Have at it, son. I'm gonna take care of the Hood."
09:36:04
Scott and Brains listened as Ruth explained what had happened, and that everyone was now safe. They both heaved huge sighs of relief. Once the conversation was through, Brains decided to begin explaining to Scott how the distribution of the UH-3 counter agent would take place. They patched John in from Thunderbird 5 and the three discussed logistics.
"You think we'll make it in time?" John asked at one point.
Scott looked him straight in the eye. "We've got to, Johnny. We've just got to."
09:39:08
Kyrano knew his daughter was safe. He'd been watching from the cliff house patio as the incident had played out. Now he moved back into the cliff house proper and seated himself upon the floor. Crossing his legs and flattening the palms of his hands together in front of him, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Concentrated hard.
At last he found his quarry. He felt great fear. Fear and the knowledge that a life was about to end. He probed the man's mind, probed deeply into it. He had to know what had been behind Michael Canton's wish to destroy International Rescue. Jeff and Ruth, it seemed, had understood. But Kyrano had not. And above all, he needed to understand. That was just part of who he was.
But what he discovered surprised him more than anything. International Rescue was just a red herring...something of a diversion from Canton's true intentions. Then Kyrano felt a stab of pain through his head and gasped as his eyes flew open. He knew what had happened. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. Acronym had ingested poison.
Michael Canton...was dead.
09:43:51
Jeff entered the Lounge, where Ned Cook was waiting impatiently. "Ned, are you set up?"
"Yes, Mr. Tracy. What the hell is going on around here?"
"Never mind, it's a long story. Ned, I want you to patch me into NTBS."
"What?" Ned asked, crossing the room to where Jeff had just seated himself behind his desk. "That's why you wanted this equipment here? You're gonna reveal your identity. Aren't you?"
"Well, what did you think it was for?"
"I don't..." Ned's voice trailed off. Deep down, of course he'd known. He just hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. Hadn't wanted to admit the time would actually come.
"Ned, I have to. The Hood may be down, and his men may have Acronym, but I figure whoever's controlling the UH-3 bombs is gonna drop 'em unless I go on the air."
"But you have those shields in place, and the counter agent!"
"That doesn't mean people won't die," Jeff said. "Hook us up, Ned."
09:45:18
Ruth, Penelope and Dr. Gray managed to get Virgil, Alan, Megan and Tin-Tin to Tracy Island's Hospital Ward. Penny and Ruth did what they could, but it was mostly Dr. Gray who attended to each patient's needs. Tin-Tin was unconscious, but Dr. Gray's scans of her brain and body turned up nothing untoward.
Next he moved to Alan, who was sweating profusely and seemed to be delirious. The doctor administered several drugs and was able to sedate him enough so that he fell asleep. He redressed Alan's burns with clean bandages and moved on.
Dr. Gray had to sedate Virgil as well. His leg wound had opened nearly 1/8 of the way. After knocking him out, he spent time resealing the ripped area and replacing the torn syntheskin. Once that was accomplished he moved on to Megan, who was in bad shape.
Her broken ankle, though well held in place by a contraption Gray had found on Thunderbird 2, had taken an awful beating out there on the tarmac as the Hood had forced her to walk. He was certain it was even worse than before, and decided after viewing some X-rays that immediate surgery was the only option. He recruited Ruth and Penelope as quasi-nurses, and set about getting ready to fix Megan up.
"I'm so glad you're here," Ruth said as she and Penny scrubbed their hands.
"Yes, I think we're all grateful for your presence," Penelope chimed in.
"Well, I'm glad to be here," Gray replied. "I just hope you two don't get squeamish over blood."
"We won't," Ruth replied. "Bet on it."
Dr. Gray smiled. "Odds?"
Penelope smiled. "When it comes to helping someone, Doctor, the odds are 100% in our favor."
"Then I'm glad I'm on your side."
"You'd better be," Ruth admonished, waving a rubber glove in his direction. "You've never seen me royally pissed off."
None of them had any idea what was happening in the Lounge.
09:50:25
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Ned Cook coming to you live from a secret location. A secret location that will soon be secret no more."
Jeff's heart was heavy as he watched Ned speak into the vid camera. He was standing in front of a geisha statue in the other corner of the Lounge as he gave his live report. Jeff closed his eyes, willing the nausea he felt to leave him. He had to do it. It was right. It was the right thing to do. He just kept telling himself that over and over and over again. His family might be safe, but all those people in Southern California and in New York City, Canton's next target...and what had happened in D.C. and Arlington. And Fiji. It has to end, he thought, reopening his eyes. I'm sorry, Lucy.
"I have the sad task today of bringing to you live the head of the International Rescue organization. An organization that's been put under fire by a madman, a madman bent on their destruction, and on the deaths of innocent people. This is a noble organization, Ladies and Gentlemen. They have dedicated their lives to saving mankind, but because of a sick, sick man, lives have been lost today, and all in the name of vengeance. This reporter has seen with his own eyes how hard International Rescue has worked throughout the day to save as many lives as they could, even in the midst of this impossible situation. And now they are about to make the ultimate sacrifice to save more lives in ten minutes than they could ever hope to in a lifetime of rescues."
Ned looked away from the camera to where Jeff sat behind his desk. Tears sprang to his eyes as Jeff bowed his head and nodded. The reporter turned back to face the camera, tears spilling over onto his cheeks.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be honest with you. I don't want to do this. It's not right, or fair! It is not International Rescue's fault that Acronym has caused so much grief among you! They have given and given to us for ten years, and asked nothing in return! They don't accept payment, they don't accept anything! And now...now I'm forced to reveal their identities to you all. Forced to assist them in making this horrible sacrifice, all because of someone who wanted to turn you against them. To turn your minds away from the good they've done and make you think all of this is their doing."
Jeff couldn't keep tears from stinging his eyes as he stared at Ned Cook. He didn't want to do this. God, he didn't want to do this. It was all going. Everything. Just going.
"In a few short minutes, it's all going to be over," Ned continued. "Once they're unmasked, they'll never be able to operate as International Rescue again. Do you know what that means? Whenever a building's on fire and you're trapped in the elevator, there will be no one to save you! Whenever a mine caves in, there will be no one to tunnel beneath the earth and pull you out! And when a plane's about to crash? Who will save you from certain death now? Or that cruise you're planning on taking...what if the ship begins to sink? Do you realize what the world is about to lose?"
Ned was practically yelling now, he was so worked up. It was all Jeff could do not to lose his cool and join him up there in the rafters.
09:57:56
"No," John breathed, staring at Ned's face in his monitor. "It can't be. It just can't be. Oh, God. Father."
09:58:26
"Brains..."
"I-I know, Scott. I know," Brains replied, wiping tears from his eyes. They were listening to the broadcast, too.
"He can't do it. He just can't."
"I-I think he feels there's no o-other option, uh, Scott."
"I know, but...God...Dad..."
09:58:43
Gordon stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the Lounge. He could barely think or breathe. He just stared at his father, who looked like such a broken man that he could hardly stand it.
This can't be happening.
09:59:03
Ned took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"I can't believe you all started calling for the tarring and feathering of these self-sacrificing men and women. I can't believe you would be that gullible! And for those of you who've continued to support International Rescue, on their behalf, I thank you. As I once thanked them from the bottom of my heart for risking their lives for me and my cameraman Joe, I thank them now again. And I say I'm sorry. On behalf of the world, I am truly sorry. And now..."
Ned faltered. He looked over to Jeff again, then back at the camera. "Now...Ladies and Gentlemen...I give you...the head of International Rescue."
09:59:58
09:59:59
10:00:00