I always set out with each chapter in mind and what it'll involve yet a lot of the storyline ends up being put in the following chapter, or even the one after that. As I've never wrote a full fic before I didn't realized how these things can grow and how they really do become slightly obsessive. Or how I get frustrated at the number of followers to this fic which for each chapter greatly outweighs the reviews… grr you silent followers, make yourself heard!
Thank you so much to those of you who take the time to review and let me know what you think, the fic started of rather messy and will need a lot of work to get it all polished off (when complete) and what I'd like to think of as improvement, and for the want and need to do this, comes down to you. Gorgeous reviewers, you are my guiding lights.

Shout out to CC who has just started a new Alan/Virgil fic, my favorite author on the site who always brings the goods. Not reading her fics is seriously depriving your eyes.

G

For a moment neither of them spoke, their eyes met in a deadlock of understanding as they waited to see what the other would do. Alan's eyes were the first to drift, wide with shock and a new level of fear he'd never before felt he looked down to where Taio's fingers dug into his right arm. His heart was hammering making it hard for him to think, he could hear the rain beating at the window and the storm that was well and truly above them rumbling like the drummer before the gallows yet his thoughts wouldn't focus.

The cigar between Taio's lips trembled giving him an almost maddened expression, flashes of lightening highlighting his face but also casting shadows below his brow and nose. He looked like he'd lost what little sense he had, his mind unable to process what had happened he'd turned to what he could make happen and at that point in time the only thing in his way was Jeff Tracy. With only one goal in mind his inhibitions vanished beyond the edge of reason and he relished the new found control.

He held the cigar in his spare hand, blowing out a trail of smoke straight into Alan's pale face, the blonde's eyes closed against it momentarily, eyelids fluttering upwards to someone who suddenly didn't seem quite as small and weak as when he'd first walked into the room. Whatever power Alan had felt he had or could gain through the show of weakness had well and truly vanished.

"I didn't come here to kill you." Taio mused, looking towards the door. "I was going to scare you a bit, let Jeff wallow in his pitiful failure to protect his son before I returned you undamaged." He barked a laugh. "Not harming his precious offspring would show Jeff just what I was capable of, such an easy transition between giving and taking."

Alan frowned, Taio wasn't intent on achieving any kind of dialogue between them, he was commentating on his own musings. Rambles of a man driven mad by obsession and loss, his mind digging itself deeper into whatever crevasse he'd been wallowing in.

"You can still do that." He was shaking, he could feel his arm against Taio's grip and knew the man could feel his fear yet he couldn't stop himself.

"No." Taio let out that low rumbling laugh again that gelled with the thunder all too easily. "I'm tired Alan, I'm getting too old for this game we play." He ran his free hand through his greasy black hair, ash falling unceremoniously from the cigar between his fingers. "Like all games, everything needs to come to an end."

"I don't understand." Alan tried to step back but Taio pulled him closer, he could feel his breath on his face as he calmly looked down upon him.

"I'm going to finish this tonight, first you, then your brothers one by one, and then I will bring Jeff Tracy to his knees." His eyes were manic, wide and unseeing as his mind raced around the possibilities.

In one swift motion he used his grip on Alan's arm to swing him round, unprepared for the sudden movement the teen didn't have time to catch himself and fell to the floor with a thud, his ribs crying out for an end to their punishment and the straps protecting his foot searing with pain. A hiss escaped his teeth but he didn't have time to dwell on the injuries he already had, he had to protect himself from those to come.

Scrambling on weak limbs he turned and edged away until his back came up against a tall bookcase on the opposite wall, the back of his already pounding skull hit one of the shelves and brought the reality of the situation into a much more disturbing clarity. The room was poorly lit and the weather seemed to hide much of the outside world, yet the man before him was all too real, there was no waking up from the nightmare.

Taio was grinning like a mad man, his smile stretched from ear to ear as he wrung his hands and stepped forward, cigar protruding from his lips sending the smile into a half sneer, teeth glistening along with the whites of his eyes.

"I could just shoot you." He mused, catching one of Alan's flailing feet - thankfully the uninjured one - with a hand and pulling him sharply back. His head hit the ground this time, his shirt riding up over his stomach he once more tried to scramble away but there was nowhere to go. "Though that would be far too quick." Taio went on, snatching hold of the blonde's ankles and sharply pulling him into the centre of to room. "You deserve a bigger send off than that, something to truly capture Jeff's attention."

As Alan's palms scrambled on the floor for some kind of purchase, Taio caught his left hand beneath an Armani loafer and began to press down on sprawled fingers, enjoying the hisses of pain coming from the boy as he struggled to pull away.

Alan knew he had to act, he knew that his fear would get him killed unless he turned it into something akin to a greater self preservation, his family said he was stubborn, he was far too stubborn to die. Not there, not like that. He had curled over himself, knees on the floor with the rest of his body arching around the injured hand Taio had released and stepped away from. The lull was momentarily.

Taio stepped back to allow himself the momentum of the first kick he planned to place in the youngest Tracy's stomach, he didn't expect the until now subdued teen to spring from the half curled position into Taio's own stomach, sending him staggering backwards as he realized what had happened.

Alan didn't wait to see what Zucco would do next, he saw the door and threw himself out of it, ignoring his bodies protests as he stumbled into the dark corridor and along the row of office doors. He instinctively headed the way they'd come in, mind in the there and now rather than foreseeing the fact that he didn't have the time to wait for the elevator. The lit up sign above showed it was at basement level, he cursed out loud at the bad luck, a hand shooting to the call button in a bid of desperation. He spun, searching for a door leading to a flight of stairs or any sign of direction.

He was too slow though. Something hard hit him from behind and he collapsed into a heap, eyes swimming for a moment before he blinked to focus the man who stood above him with a gun in his hand. Whereas before he looked manic he now looked extremely pissed, anger making veins pop out on his brow and the alcohol induced redness on his face increase to an almost maroon color.

"I said I could shoot you," he held the gun in one hand pointed at Alan's head as he stared down to barrel, in the other hand he held the cigar, now nearing a stub as the ash continued to scatter itself wherever the erratic hand movements sent it. As Alan's eyes flickered to follow the ash before settling back on the gun, Taio's eyes followed, and for an agonizing few seconds he watched the fading glow of the embers and smiled in a way Alan would never forget, it sent shivers up his spine.

He gave the fallen teen the kick he'd missed out on and followed with a few extra for good measure, making sure Alan was truly subdued before dragging him back down the corridor and stopping outside of the room they'd previously been in. Alan was having problems staying awake, he had a pain threshold and was beginning to think he'd discovered it and gone way, way beyond. He remembered the seating from before and the carpet outside of the door where a pacing motion must have worn it down. As one of his arms was lifted and used to drag his body his eyes followed Taio, settling on a rusty old fashioned radiator attached behind the chairs. Taio unceremoniously pushed the chairs away so he was able to get at it, still groggy from the kicking Alan didn't follow where things were going until the click of the handcuffs used on him earlier snapping around a wrist and the other end to the radiator, it sent him wide eyed as he knew he couldn't prevent his oncoming death.

"What are you doing?" His words were mumbled, his mouth tasted like pennies from the blood he'd coughed up, lips crimsons and saliva dripping from his chin. He thought Taio was going to shoot him and leave him for dead, vaguely he wondered how long it would be before his body would be found.

"I'm setting your world on fire, young Tracy. I'm going to bring your world burning down to ashes around you." He shrugged off his jacket, retrieving a lighter from his pocket he flipped it open and watched the flame with morbid curiosity. "When my wife died my world was torn apart, Jeff seems to have forgotten how that feels. He seems to think money can fix things, well I tried that and guess what? It doesn't."

"No…" Releasing the grip he had with his free arm over his ribs, Alan clawed forward towards Taio, desperate to try to stop him yet reaching only thin air. "They wouldn't want this!" He hissed, words wet with blood and a spray of saliva. "You're family Taio, they wouldn't want you to do this! They'd want you to move on."

Apart from the rain and rumbles of thunder it felt so quiet it highlighted how alone they were, both men gazing at one another. Shaking his head Taio sighed, letting the flame ghost the edge of his jacket as he backed away. "If they hadn't been taken away from me then maybe I wouldn't have to be here now." The jacket caught alight, he was already halfway down the corridor with it yet turned and grinned, "If your beloved father hadn't forgotten his own wife then none of this would have needed to happen, it's a shame I had to remind him of such things. You can't get over a loss so easily, no matter how much money you have." He dropped the coat by one of the office doors, a good thirty feet from Alan yet the fire was picking up and no doubt it would catch the carpet alight. "Let that be your final thought Alan, your father failing you and your mother in every way possible."

He left through a far door, presumably to the stairway and to an easy exit, leaving Alan pulling desperately against his handcuffed hand whilst eye's still glued to the flames of the jacket which easily spread to the carpet and edged its way outwards, wider and wider and higher and higher.

"TAIO!" He screamed, fear in his voice evident but he didn't care, he didn't want to die and he wasn't going to hide the fact now. "TAIO!"

Taio smiled to himself, he felt that he deserved a celebratory drink but recalled having left his favorite whisky on his desk. The memory earned a smirk as he thought of the fact it would be helping the flames. "Have one on me, kid." He muttered, jogging down the stairway at a leisurely pace.

Ironically as he'd left the corridor he'd heard the lift ring as it reached the floor, no doubt young Tracy would have sat and watched the doors opening and waiting for him, maybe it would have driven home the fact that no one would be coming. It was a shame that Jeff would never know such minor details though Taio supposed he could always fill him in later, particular expression played on the cries for help the teen was still sending his way. It didn't make him feel at all guilty, quite the opposite really, the feeling of control spurred him on.

As he reached the basement level leading into the underground parking area he imagined he could smell the smoke that would quickly envelope the old office building, the flames would help cleanse his way to a better future, one without Jeff Tracy. It was a sobering thought which put a spring into his stride, car keys twirling round a finger as he headed towards his car at the back of the lot. He was just about there when there was a resounding clicking sound that seemed to echo through the parking bays and all of a sudden rain seemed to be pouring down around him, soaking his suit and plastering his hair to his skin as it seeped down into his eyes. It only took a moment of dawning to realize that in fact it wasn't rain at all.

"Shit." He hadn't thought of that, it was a stupid oversight yet the building was so old and for so long had been barely used, checks hadn't been carried out in years…The sprinkler system.

No doubt it had taken longer than health and safety experts would have liked to kick in yet it was operational and probably dowsing the fire he'd hoped would end Alan Tracy's life. He swore to himself, a muttered mind thesaurus of expletives as he spun around for some kind of sign or idea as to how to get his plan back in motion.

There was one other car in the lot, not useful unless he moved the kid again which he really didn't want the hassle of doing. There were some empty pallets left piled by a wall, probably quite flammable as long as they didn't get too watered down but not really enough to bring down the building.

He smiled a toothy smile as his eyes fell on the various canisters by another pile of crates, they'd all been put together yet they looked like they hadn't been moved in years. Still, even if they were presumably empty they'd have enough gas for an explosion, coupled together with the solitary car it would make for an interesting scenario.

He spent the next half hour carefully maneuvering the canisters to the stairwell leading up into the building, he could have set them off anywhere yet a fire in the stairway would quickly spread upwards. Also, he'd spied painted white metal pipes leading from the bottom of the stairwell up into the building. The main pipe which led up through the stairwell and off into various floors started its journey below ground, at the level he was on Taio was faced with an intersection where the main pipe was sectioned off at a junction of levers and wheels before they went on their own paths. The levers and wheels themselves had been painted over with thick industrial paint that had prevented any tampering, yet Taio felt fairly certain that plowing a car into them could quite possibly dislodge the whole thing. With a bit of luck, anyway.

He'd smiled to himself before resuming his plan. Some of the canisters he moved into the stairwell were much heavier than others which gave him the hope of a larger explosion if his everything played out, it would be the trigger to what he hoped to start. Conveniently the double doorway to the stairwell was around the same width as a car, left in position at the other end of the car park with fuel soaked into its upholstery and Taio's lighter at the ready, everything was set to go. All he needed to do was set the car in gear, light the damned thing and then get the hell out of there, though he quite fancied the idea of watching from a distance.

One Tracy problem solved.

Jeff knew the cops were doing their jobs to the best of their ability, yet at the time their ability seemed to consist of coffee breaks every five minutes and long winded conversations over what they should be doing next. What seemed like half the police force for the entire city had been put on the job, most likely because they knew Jeff Tracy was a celebratory billionaire that the media would be watching closely, whatever steps they took would later be scrutinized in detail. It was swings and roundabouts, each step forward seemed to require a step back and so far there were no clues into where Alan had been taken or who had taken him.

Scott had been busy arguing with whoever he could lay hands on about the person he felt they should be after - Taio Zucco, yet as his father kept telling him there was no physical evidence so other than supposed speculation all the police could do was to give Taio a courtesy call and inquire as to his whereabouts and whether he knew anything about the situation. It was ridiculous. Eventually and with the help of the threat of being put in one of the cells to cool down, Scott had backed off and had returned to his father's and brother's side, muttering about how little help this was doing.

"Any news from Lady P?" Virgil enquired, coffee cup clutched in his hands as he blew the rising steam away. They were sat in an empty office at the downtown station, door open so they could see the humdrum of activity beyond yet feeling secluded and uninvolved.

"She's got people looking for Taio but other than that, nothing. I just don't understand why he'd go so far…" Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose, he'd been scrolling through his cell trying to find someone who might be able to help or something that could be of use but his eyes were unseeing as his mind blurred through the sudden change in events. "Any news from the hospital?"

"No."

"All the security cameras in the city and they can't track one van, stolen or not surely it's recognizable, surely the number plates being picked up somewhere." Scott couldn't sit still, he felt grounded, told point blank not to help in the search for his baby brother. He wasn't use to feeling so useless and just wanted to be doing something, anything that could be even the slightest help. He was field commander to the Thunderbirds for God sake, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops till they listened and realized that he could be far more help than they could possibly imagine. For all they knew Alan's life was on the line yet protocol made him hold his tongue.

"I hope he's ok," Virgil breathed out the words, voicing the largest thought in all three of their minds. "I don't think Taio will hurt him though, he wants to get at you right?" He glanced to his father who frowned, nodding slightly. "He's playing a twisted game but so far he's only done it to hurt you Dad, vanishing doesn't seem his forte."

"Hmm. That's true, though he's changed so much from the man I once knew. To think all of this started because I refused to work alongside him, he doesn't seem stable any more."

"That's what scares me most." Scott stood again, trying not to pace he walked to the door and leaned against the frame, looking out glumly. "He was crazy before Alan was taken, if he knows what's happened to Tess then what's to say he wouldn't do something stupid? We don't know what he'll do and right now that could be anything."

Standing and looking between his sons Jeff shook his head and brought himself up, returning his cell to his jacket pocket he tried to smile. "We can't think like that, if we focus on what could happen then we'll lose sight of the here and now and that's when we really lose control. We might not be able to help physically right now but we have contacts, we have technology, and let's not forget that we have a space ship orbiting the earth searching for your brother. Taio knows nothing of what we're truly capable of, if he thinks we're going down without a fight then he's got another thing coming."

Virgil nodded, returning his fathers confident smile as they both turned to Scott, glad to see some of the spark of hope had returned to his eyes as he nodded. "Let's hope Alan sees things that way."

Virgil booted up the computer in the room, setting up a secure link between Thunderbird Five and the desktop he began exchanging information and brought up the current police reports and the logs of the choppers current up in the skies. Knowing what work was being done was a great asset to ascertaining what needed doing and what areas were being left uncovered. Jeff watched over his shoulder and commented as he noticed things Virgil hadn't and vice versa, the activity alone bringing their spirits up, be it slightly.

"I don't think they took him far." Highlighting the areas of the city covered by CCTV Virgil outlined the area covered overall and it left few routes that the vehicle could have gone untraced. He pointed the unmarked route out. "If they went through South Bank then they'd be heading up the interstate and would have come up through the traffic surveillance by now, so I'd rule that out. They could have headed southbound for a while." He traced down the screen on the aerial map of the city, scrolling out as the route grew longer. "They could have followed this a way but it leads out to a business district and through to a large industrial estate, I've cross checked the business directory but none of these buildings flag as being owned by Zucco." He moved the map once more and zoomed in this time, a smaller route came up which crisscrossed through the smaller city streets, back alleys mainly. "They could have easily planned ahead, it doesn't take a genius to track unmarked streets. They could have gotten across half the city this way yet it's a loop," Virgil circled round loosely. "With the cops on look out there's a good chance they'll get picked up if they followed it."

"That's if the cops have managed to work that out." Scott growled, arms crossed over his chest as he now sat hunched in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Why haven't we heard any news? Huh? A progress report would be good."

"Perhaps, son," Jeff put on his best parenting voice, "they need to concentrate on finding your brother rather than keeping you updated. They are trained for these things you know, despite what it feels like they do know what they're doing and they're revered as a great police force. You've got to let them do their job, remember that."

"Hmm."

He wasn't filled with faith and right now he felt far from any kind of faith at all, things at the moment had just progressed from bad to worse, someone up there seemed to like throwing curveballs just to see how they coped. Either that or there was a vendetta against the Tracy family, it certainly seemed so.

As his father and Virgil skimmed through the police reports and discussed the thinking of the notes and references different officers had made he found himself tuning out, the steady hum outside the room couple with their busy voices was beginning to drill into his mind giving him an unpleasant headache. He was forever being told that he worried too much yet when he couldn't be amidst the action and in control all he was left to were his thoughts and who could blame him for them shifting between possibilities of what could or already had happened to Alan. He was his eldest brother, he'd practically raised the kid when their mom had died. Scott couldn't help but feel almost solely responsible for letting everything happen, allowing things to get so far.

Unsure how long he'd been dwelling on depressing thoughts he found the noise from around coming back into focus, it wasn't his brother or father who had interrupted his reverie though, it was the distinct lack of noise that suddenly filled the background. Looking up and out of the room he realized that the din had died down and the busy station had slowed, less people flitted from desk to desk and there was a noticeable divide in the room.

He stood and once again found himself leaving against the doorframe.

"Hey." Scott turned to his father and gestured outwards, "Is it just me or has everything slowed down?"

Jeff looked up from the computer screen, as did Virgil who shrugged. "Maybe another job came in, big city means lots to keep them busy. Unfortunately they can't give Alan all their time and resources." Virgil gave Scott what he supposed was a reassuring look.

"Hmm. I suppose."

As Virgil and Jeff went back to the screen Scott tried to catch the eye of one of the workers at the desk, having being told quite forcibly to stay out of their space he was finding it difficult to refrain and not just march straight over. Luckily for them a passing officer stopped to see what he wanted, sighing as he looked over his shoulder and shared Virgil's thoughts on the city keeping them on their toes.

"Fire department just got a big call out." He explained, his radio buzzing occasionally with static as traffic messages were relayed. "Office building has gone up down West Park, they're having to cordon off the area whilst the fire crews do their stuff."

West Park was in the business district, a quieter area yet other buildings surrounded it. "Sure seems like they've sent a lot of cops to deal with a fire." Scott grumbled, understanding the need yet not wanting to in such circumstances. The cop reiterated what he was thinking.

"Yeah, well, fires are usually suspicious and they always attract the whacko's, if we didn't cordon such areas off they'd probably be sat roasting marshmallows." He rolled his eyes, a short laugh suggesting he'd seen plenty of stupidity on an equal scale before. "Typical night for city cops I'm afraid."

Scott smiled glumly and let the man on his way, the feeling of uselessness once again rolling over as he slumped back into his chair and let himself sink back into thought. The buildings down in West Park were old and mostly deserted office buildings, if it wasn't for the wacko's then letting the fire burn itself out would have been a favorable option.

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