Movie Virgil 2004 POV
Being a part of international rescue, meant that you saw a lot of things on the daily. Some good things, like families being reunited. People escaping certain death when disaster strikes. Some bad things, like horrific lifechanging injuries. The worst things were the people they couldn't save.
Virgil always had the hardest times with rescuing children. Not that he wasn't good with children, quite the opposite. He was great at taking care of children, making them feel better and make them at least temporarily forget the horror in their lives that caused them to meet international rescue on a job.
He was a big brother after all. Being the second oldest child in a big family, Virgil was one of the more, let's say, diplomatic of his siblings. Well as diplomatic as a Tracy can get. Stubborn to a fault and having tempers seemed to be a family trait. The only difference was how quick they were to anger. Someone had to be the voice of reason.
Dad was the boss at work and at home. Scott was his mini clone, and second in command. Sometimes you needed a gentler touch. That was the role in the family that had fallen onto Virgil's shoulders.
Why Virgil had a bit of a hard time with rescuing children, was that he often thought back to his own childhood trauma. His mother had died in an avalanche when they were young. Virgil and his little brother Alan were buried alive in the avalanche with their mother. A mother's love should never be underestimated, Virgil knew that, without a shadow of a doubt. His beloved mother Lucille had protected both him and Alan with her body. Thanks to his mother's quick thinking and bravery, Virgil and his brother Alan survived. If only she could have saved herself as well! Then maybe dad wouldn't have lost himself in his grief.
The problem Virgil had was that he could empathise a little too well with the children he rescued. He literally knew what it was like, being young, small, terrified and utterly helpless. Hoping for a miracle that usually never came. That's why he loved his job as a part of international rescue. To be the miracle he himself had hoped for.
Children, for Virgil, was both the best and the worst part of the job. Best when he could save them and their family, so that they didn't have to suffer the same fate as his. To lose one's parent was a terrible thing. To almost lose the remaining to grief, wasn't all fun and games either. It put a heavy burden on the older siblings, to take care of the younger. Throw in a dangerous job, with only family for co-workers, sometimes Virgil secretly thought that it was a recipe for disaster. Not that Virgil felt that anyone would listen to him. Stubbornness ran deep in the family, almost to a fault.
Virgil was out on a rescue on an oil rig during a typhoon. Dad was in Thunderbird one, both Scott and Gordon were with him on Thunderbird two. This was one of the few times Virgil's temperament would blow up.
Other Scott 2004 POV
It was a hard rescue. Having to lookout for windshear, fire and explosions. Like doing a rescue over the ocean during a typhoon wasn't hard enough.
They were almost done. According to the personnel lists they had got from the oil company, all personnel was accounted for, with what looked like no life-threatening injuries. "Thanks for small miracles." Scott muttered at the helm of Thunderbird two.
They were about to head out when Scott was the first to spot the red distress smoke signal in the ocean. He informed the commander for international rescue, their father Jeff, before investigating. Were the personnel list wrong? Did they miss someone. Had they been about to leave someone behind to die?
Scott turned Thunderbird two back around. Following the red smoke, he spotted two people floating in the water. The hard rain and wind making it impossible to see more details.
Gordon and Virgil carried out the water rescue while Scott piloted Thunderbird two. After a quick rescue, getting the two last people on board. Scott set a heading for shore as soon as they closed the cargo door. He ordered Gordon to take care of the injured oilrig crewmen in the front of the bird while Virgil, their most medically competent operative, took care of initial triage of the two stragglers in the cargo hold.
Scott swore under his breath when Virgil informed his family, that one of them wasn't breathing and that CPR was in progress. Virgil ordered through the communication system, to stay at their respective stations, because the other straggler seemed competent in CPR, and quite emotionally invested in his friend. It would take all of them to remove him from the patient to let them take over. This was one of the many times Scott whished that they had more personnel. Five active operatives total, with one stuck in space, just wasn't enough. Scott wanted to be able to do more, help more. All he could do was to get back to shore as soon as possible, while hoping that Virgil could bring the dead back to life in the back of the Thunderbird. Scott really didn't need more nightmare material. "All of us has quite enough, thank you very much!" He thought while setting maximum thrust towards the shore.
Other Virgil 2004 POV
Virgil had seen many strange things during his career in international rescue. But rescuing what looked like two teenagers, dressed in strange cosplay of international rescue, in the ocean just off an oilrig, during a bloody typhoon took the cake. What the hell were they doing there? How did they even get there? Virgil's normally cool temperament started to simmer.
The older of the too cosplayers stood like a deer caught in headlights. Like he couldn't quite believe what he saw, when he looked around. Virgil got a bad feeling about this whole situation. When the cosplayers eyes found his friend, he woke up from his temporary shellshock and threw himself next to his friend's lifeless body on the floor and started CPR.
"Huh, well look at that, it seems that he knows what he is doing at least." Virgil thought as he went to retrieve the defibrillator and first aid bag, while he informed his co-workers of what was going on through the communication system.
He ran back to the patient and focused on the task at hand. First save this kids life, dear god it was a child, and then chew them out for their stupidity. Priorities. Sometimes they suck. Virgil just wanted to scream and shake some sense into them. Unfortunately, you could not understand a lecture if you were dead. He let it slide for now.
Rescues was hazardous work. How did the children even end up there? Virgil did not see any vessels around. Did it sink? Why were they there in the first place. It was during a typhoon for Christ's sake. Virgil pushed the rest of his thoughts into the back of his mind for the moment and got back into work mode.
Virgil was surprised how well he worked together with the cosplaying teenager, making quick work of removing the clothes on the chest of the younger patient and attaching the defibrillator stickers to the teen's chest. Analysing the heart rhythm and then shocking the patient who was experiencing a ventricular fibrillation cardiac rhythm.
Doing CPR was never fun. It was a last resort. A prayer for a hail Mary for a nonbeliever. But doing it on children and young people sucked quite frankly. The success rate was quite slim. So, when the patient's heart rhythm was shocked into a normal sinus rhythm, with the first shock Virgil was quite pleased. The faster you got someone back the better their chances were. A big step in the right direction, along with a clear airway and breathing on his own.
The older cosplayer shot forward and helped the patient roll over to his side, to not choke on the saltwater he coughed up, while saying, voice thick with emotion "You're okay Alan! I got you! I promise, I'm here, I got you! Don't you dare do that to me again, okay!".
What the hell were the cosplayer thinking? Where they seriously trying to impersonate international rescue? He called the younger one Alan. Why? Was it really his name? Did they know about his own little brother Alans connection to international rescue or was it just a coincidence. They kind of looked familiar too, even if he couldn't quite place them. Virgil did not believe in coincidences anymore.
The kid had a normal heart rhythm again but wasn't out of the woods yet. What in the world is going on? Were they trying to mess with his family? Reveal their secrets as international rescue? If they did, they went about it in a very stupid way. If they were imposters with the worst plan in the world, why was he looking so afraid for his friend. Why was he on the brink of tears, if this was an elaborate scheme to reveal the identity of international rescue. Such a scheme wouldn't be worth risking a kid's life, right? I hate not knowing what is going on. Virgil's temper started to reach his boiling point. Just hold on a bit more, Virgil pleaded with himself. Take care of the patient first.
He relocated the kid to a medical bed from the floor with the imposters help. Unconscious people were heavy and hard to move on your own. With a higher risk of bumping them into something and hurting them more if you weren't careful. "Do not make it harder on your back then you must. Use the resources available!" Virgil's training sang in his head, and his body followed on autopilot. Hooking him up to the vitals monitor. "Go through the ABCDE. Always trust your alphabet." Virgil thought as he a second later facepalmed in his own head. "Virgil, get your head in the game.". He was too exhausted for this shit!
Virgil's assessment of Alan according to ABCDE
A: Airway
Free airway, now that he coughed up water.
Virgil tilted back the patients head in a chin lift to secure the airway.
Instructed the cosplayer/imposter to keep the airway free.
B: Breathing
Patient is breathing on his own. Simultaneous chest movements. A bit high breath frequency. Breathing still sounding a bit off. Keep an eye on it. Pale face and blue lips, sign of Cyanosis. Oxygen deprivation related to the drowning. Blood oxygen saturation is a bit low. Hook him up on Oxygen. 15 litres per minute in a high flow mask.
C: Circulation
Remember a bit high breath frequency can be an indication of circulation failure. Pulse stabilised to a normal sinus rhythm, if a bit high, after the life-threatening ventricular fibrillation cardiac rhythm after one shock with the defibrillator. Keep an eye on it. He had a nasty bleeding bump on his head. Insert an IV-line in his arm and push fluid. Stop the bleeding headwound with a bandage.
D: Disability
Reacts to pain stimuli currently, but otherwise unconscious. P on the ACVPU-scale.
E: Exposure
Pupils were responsive and the same size bilateral. No signs of an internal brain bleed of the headwound. Might be a concussion. Cold to the touch. Get him warm with a heated blanket for now. No other obvious injuries.
Finally, Virgil thought, first assessment and initial treatment complete. Whatever was going on there was no reason for this child to be so close to dying. He released his tight hold on his temper and addressed the international rescue imposter, with a seldom seen icy anger "Hi, I'm with international rescue! Your friend is stabilised. Can I ask what the hell you were doing in the ocean off an oilrig you do not work on in the middle of a typhoon dressed in bad international rescue cosplay?!".
The Imposter just stood shocked and speechless so Virgil continued laying into him "Your friend almost died; you both would have died if we did not save you. Who the hell are you and what gives you the right to impersonate us!". Virgil did not know why he had lost total control of his professionalism. The imposters somehow reminded him of his younger brothers. But something was wrong. Virgil was missing something. Something important and he could not put his finger on it. Virgil wanted answers and he wanted them now.
The imposter snapped out of his shock and gave back as good as he got. The imposter raised his voice "We're the impostors!? I'm thankful for the help with my brother. But you seemed to have it turned around. Everyone knows that it is the Tracy family that runs international rescue. As I am Gordon Tracy, and this is my little brother, Alan Tracy, we are the real deal."
The imposter looked around and continued "Your imitation of thunderbird two is good but still way off base, your uniforms are completely wrong. Who the hell are you trying to imitate in that white crap disguising as a uniform. Everyone knows Internationals rescues uniforms are blue. I don't know what your deal is but if you could just return us to our brothers before they go full smother hens on us it would be appreciated, and we can forget all this impersonation crap as a thank you for helping me save Alan!".
Now it was Virgil's turn to be speechless. What was going on? No one, except family, knows that we are international rescue. The imposters already knew who they were. The threat level seemed minimal. One was an unconscious, and very ill child and the other was acting like a scared older brother. Virgil could empathise quite well with that. He felt this strange need to help them. It was almost certainly because they reminded him of his own family youngest members. If they were in trouble, he would want someone to step up and help them.
Virgil probably should be more on his guard, but his gut feeling was telling him that he could trust them. His intuition wasn't usually wrong. And if he was, he was quite sure the entire team of international rescue could take care of one sick child and one young adult if worse came to worst.
After a little while, Virgil had made his decision. "I'm probably going to get chewed out for this" he thought. Virgil removed his helmet covering his face and identity and said" Well, that's interesting. Because I am Virgil Tracy. No one outside our close circle of friends and family knows who we are, and you are not my brothers. I think it would be best if we take this back to Tracy Island to try to figure out what the hell is going on.".
Informing his family of his plan was going to be a nightmare.