Dinner was a tense affair, thanks to the Tracy family's attempts at dealing with Scott's latest crash. Scott had to endure both the mothering of Grandma and Tin-Tin and the mocking of his youngest brothers over his meal. Even Jeff, not usually given to showing his emotions, seemed pleased and relieved that his eldest son was back in one piece. And that just served to make Scott feel even more guilty.

Things only got worse at the end of the meal. Scott devoured his extra-large slice of apple pie with his usual gusto, to Virgil's relief. Then he tipped his younger brother the nod as soon as it was polite for them to leave. 'Uh, excuse me, Father,' he said rising, 'but Virg and I have some things we have to discuss – last couple of modifications to do after the crash.' Virgil rose at the same time and nodded in agreement.

Jeff smiled at them. 'You two have been thick as thieves since the crash!' he said. 'But I can't say I'm surprised. Go and have your confab, then. And Scott,' he called, as the latter made to go, 'I'm sure glad you're all right.'

'We all are,' Tin-Tin added, and perhaps only Virgil caught the jealous look in Alan's eyes.

'Guess that goes for us too, Scott,' said Gordon, grinning, and punched his brother playfully on the left arm.

The tattoo! Virgil gasped inwardly.

It was a mark of Scott's stoicism that he didn't cry out. But it was obvious to everyone that he was in pain. He winced even as he tried to hide it, water coming to his eyes, and Virgil could only look on anxiously. 'Thanks, Gordon,' Scott replied weakly, as Gordon's smile turned to a frown of concern.

'Scott!' cried Tin-Tin, getting up herself and going over to him, Alan standing reluctantly behind her. Grandma, too, made a move towards him. Even Jeff looked concerned.

In amongst all the kerfuffle, no one noticed Kyrano's knowing look in Scott's direction.

'I'm fine, I'm fine!' said Scott, attempting to wave them away. 'I just banged my arm in the crash, is all. It was some bruise, I can tell you!'

'Yeah,' Virgil joined in, loyally. 'Purple and horrible. You don't wanna see it, Tin-Tin,' he said, grinning at the latter.

'Oh, Scott!' was all she could manage in reply.

'And you caught me square on it, Gordon,' said Scott, his usual lopsided grin returning to his face. 'Thanks a bunch!'

Gordon looked relieved. 'Any time, Scott!' he joked, and patted him gingerly on the back.

'Right,' said Virgil, taking charge, as Scott rubbed his arm, 'we're going to go and talk about our ships – in peace, and with no more accidents. So long, fellas!' And he shepherded his brother towards his room, watched by the worried eyes of his family – and caught Kyrano's curious stare on his way.

Only when they were safely in Virgil's room with a glass of Scotch each in hand did he think it safe to question Scott about it. 'Say, Scott, did you notice something up with Kyrano at dinner?' he asked. 'He sure looked interested in your arm…'

Scott took a long sip of Scotch and cradled the glass in his hand, waiting several seconds before replying. 'Virgil, I don't know how to tell you some of this, but the story sure gets weird from hereon in,' he replied, 'and Kyrano's involved in it. I don't even know how to explain it myself. I just know that something was going on that wasn't… normal. And that tattoo may well have been part of it.'

He took another sip of Scotch, easing back into his chair, as beside him, Virgil waited patiently.

'So where was I?' Scott finally asked.

'You and Nethya were on your way to the crash site…'

'Yeah. Of course,' Scott replied, and the same drawn look came back to his features. 'That's when the weirdness starts. We were running through the jungle, fighting our way through the undergrowth. I had no idea where we were going, but by this point, I figured I could trust Nethya to lead the way. The jungle was pretty dense, but we were making good headway, and I figured we'd only take a few more minutes to reach you.'

'A few minutes?!' Virgil exclaimed. 'I was hovering for a good half hour!'

Scott ran a hand through his hair before refilling his Scotch. 'Yeah,' he replied. 'I know. See, here's the bit I can't explain. One minute we were running through the undergrowth, the next… The next, I was out cold. All I can remember was hearing this voice… and seeing these staring, yellow eyes.'

Virgil watched in concern as his brother shuddered involuntarily.

'I felt these eyes on me,' Scott continued, 'like they were trying to get me to do what they wanted, and all I knew was I had to resist. The voice was speaking to me, telling me what to do, and I think it was saying I was under his powers, and I think I was shouting, screaming 'No! No!' as loud as I could. And then I heard this other voice, from really far away, but it was a woman's voice. And eventually, I realised Nethya was shaking me awake. "Scott!" she was shouting. "Scott! You must wake up! Do not listen!' And somehow, I don't know how, she dragged me back to reality.

'I don't know how long I was out cold, but when I came to, I was soaked in a cold sweat. Nethya was standing over me, stroking my forehead, trying to bring me round.' Virgil found himself oddly affected by the idea of a strange woman behaving so intimately with his brother – even if, he reminded himself, in her mind she was his wife. 'Nethya looked seriously concerned. "It was him," she told me. "It was Belah Gaat! That is his power over people!"

'I tried to tell her that there was no way that's what it was. How could it be? He was nowhere near us! And there was no way some strange voodoo curse could be affecting me! I just fainted, and that was all.

'But Virgil… I didn't believe it even as I was saying it,' Scott admitted, his voice slightly shaky. 'How else could you explain the eyes and the voice? I don't faint easy, I'd be the first to admit that, but I passed out a couple times in Air Force training. And I don't think I've ever seen yellow eyes or heard a strange voice before, let alone felt like someone was using some kind of mind control on me. I tell ya, it was like nothing I ever experienced before. And I guess that was what made me feel she was telling the truth.

'And then she said, "He knows you're leaving! He will be coming for me and for you – and for your brother. I must stop him." That was all she said.'

Scott paused for a second and stared at his glass. 'And then, Virg,' he said, 'she kissed me and ran off. And there was nothing I could do to stop her.'

'But you could have run after her!' Virgil cried, not knowing why he was so concerned. 'You could have followed her!'

Scott raised his eyes to meet his brother's, and Virgil saw the pain in his gaze. 'Yeah, Virgil,' he replied, slowly. 'I could. And that would have meant abandoning you and Father, and leaving International Rescue without a craft and without a pilot, and Nethya with no chance of getting outta there. And besides, I was weak, and I could barely walk as it was, let alone run after her. By that point I could see Thunderbird 1 through the trees. I figured if I could get to you, then we'd have a chance of getting to Nethya, but if I ran after her, we were both lost.'

He looked his brother square in the face, and said, 'So tell me, buddy: what would you have done?'

Virgil's silence was the only reply Scott needed.

'Yeah. That's what I thought,' Scott said, and drained his glass. Virgil thought it best not to pour his brother a third glass, but Scott was already reaching for the bottle, and gave himself a large measure.

'And the problem was, Virg,' he continued, 'I had another… well, "attack", I guess you'd say. The yellow eyes appeared again, and they wiped me out real good. I felt like something was pulling me back, back to Nethya and the village and the huts… only this time, I knew it wasn't her, and I knew it wasn't right. And there was another small part of me that knew, somehow, that you and Thunderbird 1 were only a few yards away, if I could just head in the right direction…

'So I started to crawl, slowly. Every step, every inch of the journey was a battle. I made no progress, but at least I wasn't heading in the wrong direction. The eyes, the voice – they were like a pain in my head, and every step I took, the pain got worse. I don't know what it that voice was saying – I just knew it was a command, and that it was angry. Sweat was pouring off me by now – I thought I was gonna pass out for sure.

'And then, suddenly, it stopped. And that was when I managed to stumble the rest of the journey, and meet you next to Thunderbird 1, and fix her up and get going. And the rest, you know,' he finished, sipping his drink.

Virgil looked at his brother in astonishment. 'So that's why you were so keen to get out of there,' he breathed. 'I wondered… I mean, I know John said there was danger of another electro-magnetic fluctuation, and we needed to get out of there fast, but you were off even before he radioed that in.'

Scott nodded. 'Yeah,' he said, simply. 'That was it.'

'So when we checked out Thunderbird 1, and you realised she was OK, and I explained about that electro-magnetic pulse that had brought her down…'

'…There was a reason I looked that relieved,' Scott finished. 'Yeah. That was it.'

'Good thing Brains made her more crash-proof after the desert incident,' Virgil commented, struggling to think of what to say.

'Yeah. Sure was.'

There was silence for a few seconds. Virgil wondered what had happened to Nethya, but the look on Scott's face stopped him from asking. Then, almost with reluctance, Scott began again: 'There's something else I need to tell you, Virgil, and this part is probably the strangest of all.'

'I'm all ears, Scott,' Virgil replied, encouragingly.

'Ah… well, this bit's kinda close to home,' Scott said. 'You're not the only one on the island who knows about the tattoo.'

'What?!' Virgil exclaimed. 'You mean I've been keeping it a secret for nothing?!'

'No, Virg! It's not like that,' said Scott, hastily. 'Hear me out first. I was coming back from that long run I took the day after. I was worried about Nethya, but I knew Dad wouldn't let me go anywhere till he was sure I was OK, and I needed to clear my head, and…'

'And you fainted?!' Virgil interrupted.

'No! Just wait, Virgil, please. I got in from my run, and the lounge was empty. And without thinking, I took off the t-shirt I was wearing and changed into an old basketball shirt. And then I remembered about the tattoo – but it was too late. Just as I was covering it up, Kyrano walked in.'

'No!'

'Yep,' Scott said, grimly. 'You can guess how worried I was. The first thing I told him was not to say anything to Dad. I told him I was sorting it out and that no one else needed to know. But I wasn't expecting what he said next:

'"Of course, Mr Scott," he replied. "But, you see, I know what that tattoo is. It is the tattoo of a Malaysian tribe."'

Scott paused for the gasp of shock he knew was coming. 'But how?' Virgil asked, incredulous. 'How did Kyrano know about your tattoo? This story just gets weirder and weirder, Scott!'

'Oh, you haven't heard the best part yet,' said Scott, a tight, humourless smile on his face. '"You know what this is?!" I said, in about that same tone you just used. "Yes," he replied. "It is connected with marriage. It represents you joining a tribe." Then – and this is the weird part – he suddenly became really serious, and almost threatening. Virgil, I've never seen him like this before. "It is a serious business, to marry into such a tribe," he said. "Once you have joined, you will always belong. And if you try to leave… it is said that such actions will bring a curse upon you."'

Virgil sat in silence. To his mind, Scott couldn't have told a better Hallowe'en story if he'd tried. And it wasn't even October.

'And then he dropped the other bombshell. He said, "Some say that these tattoos have enabled mind control of one person over another, even when the two persons are many miles apart…" Then he kind of returned to normal, thank heaven, and said, "But that is superstitious nonsense!" So I smiled at him, and breathed a sigh of relief to myself. But then he followed it up with, "Still, such tribal rites are very serious, Mr Scott. I hope you know what you are doing."

'So I did the only thing I could think of to do: I asked him how he knew so much about the tattoo.

'And that's when he rolled his sleeve up, and said, "Because I have one exactly the same."'

'You're kidding!' cried Virgil.

Scott shook his head. 'Exactly the same, Virgil, down to the last stroke. And when I asked him where he got it from, he said his brother gave it to him, when he married Tin-Tin's mom.' He sipped his drink, then said, 'And that, Virg, is when I ran to you and said I needed to get the damn tattoo removed.'

Virgil's mouth gaped, an incredulous look on his face. He sat in shock, unsure of what to say. Finally, he came out with 'Yeah. Yeah, I can see why you wanted it gone now. Wow.'

There was a pause. Virgil looked at his older brother, who was staring down at his drink again.

'Say,' he asked, 'I still wondered: why did you ask me to go with you? Why didn't you just go yourself?'

Scott gave a wry smile. 'Honest answer, Virg? I kept trying to tell myself I didn't believe in any of this stuff. But the truth is, it had really creeped me out. I didn't know what to believe at that point. And a part of me thought maybe I could get the tattoo removed and go back and find Nethya, if it would stop the fainting fits. But honestly… a part of me was really scared that I'd faint and see those eyes again during the removal process.'

'You did look like you were fainting on me in the room for a second there,' Virgil said, relief in his voice. Scott's near-faint during the laser treatment had been playing on his mind. Finally, he could talk to him about it.

Scott was similarly relieved. 'As the laser moved over my arm, I heard the voice and saw those eyes again, and that's how I knew I wasn't hallucinating. And he was angry, Virgil. Whoever this guy was, he was really, really angry. And I swear to God, that process hurt way more than it should have done. It was one of the hardest things I've had to sit through.'

They sat in silence for a few minutes more. Scott emptied his glass, but made no move to fill it up. In spite of the amount he'd had, he didn't look remotely tipsy to Virgil – his story sobering him up far better than water ever could.

Virgil wanted to ask what had happened to Nethya, but couldn't bring himself to – at least, not straight away. He decided to ask Scott for a bit more information as a way in. 'So what's she like, this wife of yours?' he asked, being careful to use the present tense.

Virgil was worried Scott would take offence, but his brother merely smiled. 'Beautiful, Virgil,' he replied. 'She's beautiful. Long, dark hair… Skin a golden brown colour, almost like Gordon goes when he's really tan… And large, deep, brown eyes, like a slightly rounder almond shape. She has this beautiful smile, that really lit up her face when she realised I was gonna get her out of there, and I can't wait to see it again.' He thought for a second, then said, 'Honestly, Virgil? I don't know her that well, but I think I sure could've done a lot worse in getting a surprise bride!' And he grinned widely, looking like his normal self again.

Virgil returned the smile, briefly. Then he asked the question that was plaguing him. 'So what about Nethya, Scott? Are you going to go and find her?'

Scott's face was resolute. 'Yes, I am,' he said, nodding, and he at once became the commanding leader of their rescues. 'I owe her that much. I'm going to try and sort things out once and for all. And I'm gonna need your help, Virg. First thing tomorrow, we tell Father that the EMP modifications have been finished, and that they need testing. I guess you can back me up on that. And then I'll fly Thunderbird 1 out to that island, and see if I can find her. And then… Then I'll ask her what she wants to do.' He shrugged. 'Who knows if she's even gonna want to come back here and leave her home?'

Virgil nodded in reply. 'Agreed. But I'm coming with you.'

Scott shook his head. 'No, you're not, Virgil,' he replied. 'You better stay here on standby in case I need you. The island's not that far away from base – you'll be there in a half hour if you're already prepped to go. I don't want to scare her, and… well, I just gotta do this one myself, OK?'

And Virgil saw he had no choice but to agree.

'But how are you going to find the place again?' he asked.

'Well, the crash site should be easy enough to find, I guess. But the thing is, we were so quick to leave, that I didn't realise I left my wrist communicator behind. I'm gonna ask John if he can get a lock on it, then get him to guide me there on foot.'

It was a good plan. Virgil felt slightly reassured. But a nagging sense at the back of his mind made him worry that something would go wrong.

He didn't voice his fears to Scott. 'OK, Scott,' was all he said in reply. 'Tomorrow it is. First thing in the morning, we'll go talk to Father about those modifications, and convince him they need testing out. And I'll try and get Brains on board – without telling him about the real reason for you going, of course. But you have to promise me you'll stay in radio contact the whole time, you hear?'

'Of course, Virgil,' Scott replied with a smile. 'And thanks.'