Growing up as the second born of six made it so that when your little brother told you he had a problem, you worried but you didn't panic. When that brother was a member of IR, you worried a little more but you still didn't panic. When that brother was half way across the globe with another younger brother, you worried even more but still didn't panic. When that brother was half way across the globe to pick up the one and only younger sister who was possibly in danger, then you panicked. But you did not show it.

So that's what John was doing, or trying not to do, when he sounded the klaxon and waited for everyone to get into the study. It didn't take long before the thunder of feet running down the hall reached him and the first body appeared at the door. Of course it was Scott, and by the look on his face, he had expected to see their dad, not John.

Scott hadn't moved fast enough out of the way and Gordon pumped into his brother. "Sorry Gords," Scott apologized, a curious eye still on John as he moved to sit in the chair. Gordon slid onto the couch, and John could see the water still dripping off his copper hair and his shirt clinging to his body. That boy was always swimming.

"John," Jeff's voice turned all three heads towards the door as they saw their father at the door. He pointed up at the ceiling; the klaxon was still going off and rather loudly. With a nod, John pushed a button and silenced the alarm.

"Sorry," he apologized, not standing from the desk. "It was the quickest way to get you here."

"You mean to say there's not crisis?" Scott asked, his eyebrows burrowing together, appalled that John would use the emergency klaxon for a non-emergency situation. John shook his head.

"Oh there's a crisis alright," Alan's voiced appeared loudly over the speakers John had turned on. "It's just not IR. Hopefully not yet anyway."

"Alan, "Jeff's voice was crisp and firm, asking him to get to the point already. John detected the hint of worry in his voice.

"Right sorry," Alan apologized. John could hear talking in the background then they diminished. "I have to be quick; there are cops and people everywhere now."

"Cops?" Scott asked, sitting up. His face was plain with worry now. "Alan, where's Virgil?"

There was a silence, before Alan spoke hesitantly. "That's the thing. He's not here. We didn't make it in time guys. We were too late. They're gone, both of them."

Alan let his family think about the words he just said as he moved out of the dorm room and into the hall. It was about to get extremely hard to talk to them over the watch. The police were now coming in numbers, setting up camp and trying to investigate what had happened. Two paramedics ran by him, probably to check on Ben who had looked rather pale. Any second now, Alan knew he was going to be called back into the room to give a statement, and more than anything, Alan was going to have to lie.

What he really hadn't expected was his brothers' sudden outburst and demand for answers; it was so loud that he had to cover the watch with his hand to dampen the sound.

"Guys calm down, you're too loud. You're going to blow my cover," Alan told them.

"Your brother is right," Jeff's voice was calm, yet loud enough to command attention. "Calm down. Alan, can you talk?"

Before he could respond, a policeman stepped out into the hall, beckoning him into the room. Alan nodded and held up the sign for a minute, pretending he was on a phone call. The cop nodded, and headed back into the room. Alan waited a second before turning back to his family, an idea come to mind.

"Stay quiet and listen," Alan said into the watch, before lowering his hand and walking back into the room. He made sure the microphone level was as high as it could go by twisting a knob on the side as he approached the police office.

"Have you found anything?" Alan asked the police. The officer just shook his head.

"Nothing yet, but we've just begun the investigation. The other boy, Ben, said you would be able to help us out with some details, such as identifying some of the voices. Of course, we would like to know your relation to the victim, and what you were doing on a campus that clearly isn't yours?" Alan could hear the suspicion in the cop's voice, and knew that unless he helped out and thought of a story without too many holes, he could become a suspect in the case.

"Sure officer, anything I can help."

"I already told him you're a close acquaintance with her Alan," Alan heard Ben say from afar. "Told them she didn't family, that he was to call my parents." Alright, so Ben had already set up part of the cover for him. Yet it felt like a knife to the stomach when he said that she had no family, that the Benedicts were to be called. Just another thing he had failed at.

"Your relation to the victim, mister…." The cop trailed off, because Alan had yet to introduce himself.

"Sorry," Alan apologized. There was no way he could lie about his name; it was probably going to be run through the system later for clues. "I'm Alan Tracy. I'm Kathryn's… friend. I lived in Kansas when she did until I moved to boarding school. I looked her up while I was in New York, and found out she came to school here. My brother and I decided to come visit her. He called her, to let her know we were on the way."

"You said you and your brother?"

"Yes, you see officer one of the voices from the video belongs to my brother Virgil."

"Which one?" The cop motioned for the computer to be brought over and Alan pushed play, careful to place his watch near the speakers so his family could hear what was happening in the video. As the entire video replayed, Alan pointed out to the officer when Virgil spoke.

"So you're telling me, this Austin Jacks, along with his accomplice took your brother as well as our victim? All through an elaborate scheme of passing as a janitor to gain access to the residential dorm and the victim."

"Her name is Kathryn," Alan told him, slightly upset that he kept using the word victim. "And yes, that's what it seems to have happened, officer."

"Officer Kelvin," he introduced. "Mr. Tracy, we're going to ask that you stay around for a while. We may have to ask more information about this case as it pertains to your brother as well now." Alan nodded and the officer moved away.

Alan took this moment to step outside in the hall once more and get back in touch with his family. "Did you guys get that? It's the basic rundown of the entire situation."

"Alan, we're on our way," Jeff's voice said rather solemnly. Alan could hear the retreating footsteps of his brothers in the background, no doubt heading to the jet.

"What about IR?" Alan asked him, kind of surprised this wasn't an issue.

"We're on temporary leave. I don't think any of your brothers would be able to concentrate properly if anything were to come up. That would do more harm than good." Alan could see the logic in this, yet, he also knew that his father had never put International Rescue on temporary leave in the three years it had been operating.

"Besides, we're going to have to be there to clear many things up."

"Like what?"

"Like the coincidence between a Kathryn being Austin's last victim and his current victim. But mostly, and I'm amazed they haven't caught onto this yet, but our father and little sister are bound to provoke questions. I just hope we're ready to answer them."

A/N: Short to make up for the long one before. Family finds out and they jump into action. Will they be too late? Find out on the next chapter!