Day 5: "You better pray I don't get up this time around."

With help from Sineater and MariaShadow

Characters: Alan, Kayo, Scott

Warnings: beatings, bound, kidnapped, ransom

Babysitting duty was not something Kayo enjoyed. Well, she did…and she didn't.

Kayo loved spending time with Alan, especially in space. Seeing his excitement at getting to fly Three and his joy at being out there in space would never get old, it was just that she was aware that she was only here to watch out for him because he was so very young.

Fifteen, too young to have a pilot's licence and yet the boy could fly a rocket. And fly her with a panache no one else could, not even John or Scott. Three more months and he'd be sixteen and Alan could go on missions alone.

Today, though, that idea had gone out the window when the space freighter she and Alan had been sent to rescue had turned out to be a trap.

The emergency call had said the freighter had been hit by some stray shrapnel and they were venting atmosphere. Time was of the essence and so Three had been launched. Five was too far away for John to affect a rescue, but he kept the three-man crew talking and EOS confirmed they were indeed venting.

When they entered the ship was silent. There was no one to be seen, and for a moment Kayo's internal alarm sounded. But Alan was already striding for the bridge and was in full rescue mode, and she hurried to keep up.

The trap was sprung the second Alan entered the bridge. Kayo was two steps behind when she saw a huge arm yank Alan aside and she reacted.

The fight was short and dirty but superior numbers and sheer beef won the day.

Three life signs multiplied into six, and Kayo's yell had been cut off by a jamming bubble at the same time EOS registered the sudden increase. Five barely picked up the yell before Alan and Kayo's life signs winked out.

'Scott – we have a situation.'

Kayo and Alan were bound with duct tape and left in the middle of the floor. She looked Alan over, worried for the teen, but he winked at her in an action that was pure Gordon. There was blood running into his eye from a cut on his forehead and bruising were already beginning to show. She sighed in relief.

She wasn't much better off. She grinned back at Alan, but was sure it was more grimace than grin. Aware that her teeth were bloody and, judging from the pain her face was in, her nose was broken, there didn't seem much more she could do right at this moment.

Alan had obviously cottoned on to the extent of her injuries, for he frowned before getting unsteadily to his feet – not an easy thing to do with bound hands. Kayo shook her head at him in an effort to make him stop but all that did was cause her to almost black out.

The men were equally surprised to see Alan get up. They watched him until he was fully upright before one of them kicked the back of his knee, causing Alan to fall heavily onto his side. He looked up at them, pure anger on his face, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

'You better pray I don't get up again.'

They laughed at his words, and two of them left the room, no doubt set on trying to get into Three, while the remaining ones amused themselves by tormenting their captives. She really hated Duct tape, especially around her mouth. They had gagged her, but they left Alan free to talk, a move that worried her a little more than if they had gagged him.

Space boots hurt just that little bit more than the normal steel-toe boots, Kayo decided. It must have something to do with their bulk, because they sure were heavy and they sure hurt.

She glanced over to Alan. He was receiving similar treatment, but they did look like they were holding back a little. She guessed they didn't want to hurt the opportunity of Tracy Money too much.

Curled into a ball and almost forgotten, Kayo watched as two of the men manhandled Alan into a sitting position and made the call they all knew was coming.

'Calling International Rescue.'

'International Rescue here. How may we be of assistance?'

To the average person John sounded like the consummate professional he was, but Kayo could hear the underlying fury, could see the tension in the set of his shoulders.

'Nah, I don't speak to underlings. Get me the Commander.'

The screen blurred and Scott appeared, all iR'd up. The background was the villa, but Kayo wasn't fooled for a moment. Scott must be on Five, that holo-background was just a little off to someone who knew their home well. She glanced over to Alan, and his face softened, showing her that he'd seen it too. The men, however, were oblivious.

Scott's tone could cut flesh.

'I am the Commander of International Rescue.'

'Ah yes, Mr Scott Tracy, billionaire.'

'What do you want?'

'I like that. Straight to the point. The point is, Mr Billionaire, I have two of your operatives and one Thunderbird, and I am wondering how much they are worth to you. I am not a greedy man, but I reckon at least a couple of billion should be a good start.'

'You better not have harmed them. I want to see them.'

'Of course you do!'

The man panned his phone around so that Scott could see Alan, but he stopped short of showing Kayo. She could still see Scott, though, and at the sight of the state Alan was in, he gritted his teeth and his nostrils flared, but his voice remained calm and soft.

'Alan. Are you alright?'

'Scott…'

But that was all Alan was permitted to say before one of the other men back-handed him. The blow was hard enough that Alan keeled over onto his side, and he lay there, willing his smarting eyes not to betray him.

'Your people are fine. I have two demands.'

'And they are?'

'I want a billion dollars for the girl and two for the boy, and I want you to grant access to Thunderbird Three.'

'Access to Three is granted. The money will take a while. You can't move that level of money around easily.'

'I think I might be generous and allow…'

'NO, SCOTT! DON'T!'

This time Alan was silenced with a boot, and the gasp he let out had Kayo attempting to move. She also received a kick to the ribs, and the tell-tale crack and pain as she breathed in told Kayo that this time a rib had broken.

'If you lay one more finger on either of my people you will not see a cent!'

'You are in no position to threaten me! I will call you in two hours with details of how to give us the money.'

And with that the connection was cut.

'Boss, he said he'd granted access to the Thunderbird!'

'Yes. I admit to being surprised at that, but I guess he knew he had no choice really. You go help the others while you and I will secure our guests.'

The man disappeared, leaving her and Alan with only two. Alan looked over to her and winked.

'You better pray I don't get up this time around,' he said. The threat was somewhat dampened by the position he was in, and once more the men laughed at him. The leader strode over and picked him up as if he was a sack of potatoes, throwing him down next to Kayo.

'Yeah, right. Whatever, kid.'

And they both turned their back on their captives.

Slowly Alan moved into a crouch, his bounds falling aside as he did. Carefully he used the tin-can laser cutter he'd managed to work free from its pocket in his baldric to free Kayo before silently walking up to the two and tapping the leader on the shoulder.

Both men turned.

The fight – if Kayo could even call it that – was short and dirty. She watched with admiration as Alan employed everything she, Scott and Gordon had taught him about how to defend himself, and a few moves that were purely his own.

Once they were groaning around the floor Alan used the roll of Duct tape on their hands and feet before helping Kayo up. She was never more grateful that he was the right height for her – their other brothers would have been too tall (except Gordon of course, but she'd not tell the man that) and leaned heavily on him.

Alan paused at the entrance and looked over his shoulder at the men. Surprise was still clear on their faces.

'I warned you.'

It was all he said as the door slid open.

Scott stood on the other side. He had a bruise forming on his cheek and his eyes were as dark as night, but he looked them over before carefully pulling them both into a quick hug. Kayo knew he hadn't missed her muffled gasp but she was ever so grateful for that hug.

He stepped aside and allowed Alan to help Kayo out of the room and back to Three. The last thing they heard was Scott's voice over the comms.

'John – the threat has been neutralised. Tell the GDF we have six prisoners for them and ask where they want them dropped. I'm just going to have a chat with the leader.'

'FAB, Scott.'

The comm went dead.

Alan busied himself getting Kayo's wounds seen to as best he could while trying not to think too hard on why Scott hadn't followed them back directly. Kayo smiled and winced through the treatment, acutely aware that Scott was currently doing her job and wishing he would come back already.

Scott came back seven minutes later.

'John, can you remote-pilot Three for a bit while I see to Alan?'

'FAB, Scott.'

He gently placed a hand on both their shoulders and smiled at them.

'How about we go home?'

'Home sounds good.'

'And Alan?'

'Yes, Scott?'

'You did good. I'm very proud of you. You kept your head.'

Alan sagged as Scott's arms came around him and Kayo squeezed his shoulder.