The Ransom (Part 24)
By Jenny Taylor
In Thunderbird Shadow…
Kayo has just spotted her uncle's ship as she is flying towards it keeping her ship as low to the ocean's surface as possible.
"You will pay dearly on what you did to my brother, uncle!" She spoke to herself quietly and menacingly, her voice filled with anger and determination. She slowed her 'Bird' down so she can get a closer look at both her uncle's ship and to find Virgil in the ocean.
As she did so, something had caught her eye, it looked like a cable 'hanging' down from the ship.
"This isn't exactly normal." She exclaimed curiously, squinting her eyes as she tries to focus on where the cable is going. "What are you up to Hood?"
Suddenly, the slack cable became violent from below, Kayo hovers just beside and below her uncle's ship as she lets her eyesight follow down the cable to a scene that sent her in shock and horror.
On the Hood's ship…
The Hood is standing on the top deck looking down at his victim, smiling with concern, when one of his henchmen called out to him.
"BOSS! An aircraft coming straight at us." The villain looked up and recognised the craft, half smiling, half disgusted.
"Reel him up now!" He shouted at his henchmen until the sound of an ear-piercing scream from below, followed by a huge splash and then what sounds like a load of thrashing water. "What's going on?" The evil mastermind demanded.
"A shark has just grabbed the kid in the legs!" A henchman screamed in reply. That left the Hood in shock! He didn't expect that there was a shark in the area. He thoughts were disturbed by the same henchman feeding his master with the feedback on the developing and horrific situation below.
"The shark is tearing the kid apart!"
"PULL HIM UP NOW!" The villain demanded. He didn't want to lose his precious prize to ANYONE let alone a shark! But just then another henchman called his boss.
"SIR! GDF planes INCOMING from the west! They're approaching us! FAST!" He half informed, half panicking. The Hood realised that he's beaten and with the shark sinking its teeth into Virgil, he knows that there's only one thing to do.
"CUT THE CABLE!" He shouted at his minions, "We're leaving!" And with that, the henchmen cut the cable and it falls into the ocean below, which it is slowly turning red from the blood of the second-born Tracy brother. His ship turns away leaving the largest Tracy to the fate of one of Mother Nature's predators.
In Thunderbird 4…
Gordon had arrived at the scene a couple of minutes ago, stunned in shock by what he is seeing first hand.
First he saw Virgil floating awkwardly as his hands and feet were tied up and then, without warning, the largest predatory fish in all the seven seas, the Great White Shark, shot up from the depths, at speed towards Virgil.
Before Gordon could react or shout out a warning, the 4-meter-long beast opened its jaws and grabs Virgil's legs, as the momentum from attacking below, sends both the beast and its screaming and helpless prey up into the air and then crashing down into the surface.
However, he noticed that something is preventing the shark swimming away with its prey and the huge predator is thrashing his brother wildly, it's teeth cutting deep into the human flesh slowly turning the clear blue ocean water to red.
Thankfully the thrashing somehow stopped, but the creature is swimming away with its prey, now looking lifeless. Gordon snaps back into reality and sends the little yellow submarine charging towards the shark. His face consists on a mixture of fear, shock, horror, dread and determination. He doesn't want to hurt the creatures of the sea, but this time he has no choice but to ram the shark in its side in order for it to release its meal.
As it did so and starts to sink to the ocean bed, Gordon quickly grabs a respirator, puts his helmet and his own respirator, crosses his arms on his chest, leans back on his seat as it tilts him so he lands into the water head first through the underside hatch.
His mind is racing wildly as he swims as fast as his legs can go, towards his lifeless, wounded and sinking, music-loving brother. He manages to reach Virgil and places the respirator over his nose and mouth. Gordon froze for a moment as he looks at his brother. There was no movement nor response to his presence.
Panicking at the state of his brother, Gordon swims back to his sub, his arm hooked into Virgil's bound arms. Once he entered into his subs airlock and waits for the water to subside, an alarm went off telling its owner that the outer airlock doors are jammed open. Gordon turns around to see that there's a length of cable preventing the doors to close properly.
He follows the cable inside and finds that the cable is attached to Virgil's ankles. Fear and desperation fills the fish of the Tracy brother as he opens the doors and quickly pulls the cable into the airlock. It felt like a long time reeling in the cable until it finally came to an end, he quickly closes the outer doors and the water drains from the airlock.
It felt like it was taking hours for the airlock to empty itself from the salty water, but in reality it took seconds. The interior door opens and Gordon drags his bound and injured brother into the cabin and then, with difficulty which places some pressure onto his injured back, places Virgil on Thunderbird 4's Escape Capsule bed.
Gordon looks at his brother in shock and disbelief as the light of Thunderbird 4's cabin highlights the extent of music-loving Tracy's injuries. Virgil is bleeding badly and broken legs from the shark attack, cold and soaking wet from being dumped into the ocean by the Hood, causing him to suffer hyperthermia and possibly worse, drowning.
What makes it worse is that Virgil is unconscious and unresponsive. Gordon panics at the dilemma and reaches for the comms. "Scott! Alan! Pick us up quick! Virgil is…" He speaks quickly into the radio, panicking and almost hyperventilating in doing so.
"WHOA! Slow down Gordon! Deep breaths okay!" Scott spoke calmly as he tries to calm Gordon down, although his big brother senses is telling that this is not the case.
"SLOW DOWN?" Gordon shouted over the radio, partially angry at his eldest brother's response and partly crying. "How can I slow down when Virgil's DYING?"
"WHAT!?" Alan shrieked.
"Put the camera on Gordon!" Scott demanded, hoping that Virgil's injuries weren't as bad as Gordon makes it. Gordon silently obeys and switches the on-board camera on, waiting for his brothers' reactions to the fallen one.
"SHIT!" Gordon winced at his brother's choice of words being shouted down the comms. system in shock and panic. The aquanaut looked up to the camera, his face is pale as the shock and fear drains the colour and life out of him, as he waits for Scott's next command, which thankfully didn't take long.
"Gordon! Get Thunderbird 4 to the surface now! Link up with Brains as he will tell you what to do medically while I pick up Module 4, then I'll drop it next to you so you can board and then we'll transfer Virgil from 4 to 2's medical bay while I fly 2 back to the island. Understood?"
Gordon takes a deep breath before responding with an 'F.A.B.' heads towards the subs cockpit, but not without a quick glance over his shoulder towards the injured giant. He then sits in his sit, starts 4's engines and heads towards the surface at top speed.
His mind is racing, hoping that his elder brother would survive after this horrible ordeal. 'Please Virgil! Please stay with us! Please! I need you! We ALL need you! Please don't go! Please.' Tears form in his eyes and starts to roll down his cheek as his little yellow submarine breaks the ocean's surface.