So the muse has still deserted me, apart from the occasional short-lived flash of inspiration. But my new year's resolution for 2023 was to finish my stories and this one is at least in with a fighting chance of getting there. Fingers crossed! Thanks - and sorry - to anyone who's still reading.

Chapter 15

Challenge Nine: Scott

John: 54 points

Virgil: 53 points

Scott: 53 points

Alan: 50 points

Gordon: 34 points

"But why do we have to run Scott's marathon tomorrow?" Alan whined. "I thought that was supposed to be the final challenge so we'd have a chance to recover. I mean, come on, guys, I'm supposed to be organising everything and lately I've been the last to know."

"Not quite the last," said Jeff, quickly forestalling the usual arguments about Alan having an advantage if he knew the content of the challenges before his brothers. "I still don't know what Virgil's got up his sleeve." He was slightly taken aback by the vicious look he received from his middle son.

"None of us do," Gordon told him. "Though we can probably guess, right, Virg? Write a tune, sing a song, draw a picture... my money's on any one of those."

"Virg said he had something different for us," Scott reminded his next-to-youngest brother. He glanced over at Virgil, not really surprised to see he was still scowling. Scott hadn't really been fishing for clues earlier that day when he'd asked Virgil if the plans for the mysterious challenge were going well, but he'd not expected the anguished look and utterly unintelligible answer he'd received before Virgil practically ran away.

Scott had a sneaking suspicion that his usually creative brother had no more idea as to the content of his challenge than the rest of them and that, sure enough, it would end up being one of the options that Gordon had listed. Not that he'd ever express his suspicions. No, whilst in front of the others he talked up his brother's ingenuity, in private he was working on his sadly limited music and painting skills and wishing he shared just a little of Virgil's talent.

"Give us a clue, Virg?" John asked, scuppering Scott's hopes that they could change the subject.

Virgil responded with an airy comment that everything was under control and they'd just have to wait.

"You've gone red!" Alan exclaimed. "Are you sure you've got a plan?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Virgil snapped. "Stop hassling me."

Gordon and Alan exchanged knowing looks.

"Told you," Alan whispered - just loud enough for everyone to hear. "He's just teasing us with all this talk of something different. Art or music - I guarantee it."

"Good ol' Virg," Gordon said, grinning across at his brother. "Not the most exciting guy in the world, but you always know where you are with him."

"I'm not boring!" Virgil snapped.

"I didn't say you were."

"You did."

"Didn't! Dad, did I say Virg was boring?"

"Leave me out of it!"

What Jeff had intended as a light-hearted way of avoiding any involvement in yet another brotherly spat, had completely the opposite effect. Virgil jumped to his feet with an angry "Thanks, Dad!" and stomped out of the room, muttering something about needing to get some sleep given that he was going to have to get up at the unearthly hour of 3am to run some stupid race.

"Well, what was that all about?" Jeff asked. "Bedtime? It's only 7 o'clock."

"Told you," Gordon grinned, completely unaffected by Virgil's uncharacteristic outburst. "He's got nothing. Nothing, I tell you."

He cast a combative eye at Scott, expecting him to leap to Virgil's defence, but there, too, he got nothing.

"Anyway," said Jeff. "Scott, are you all set for tomorrow?"

"Sure am. The route is marked, the lights are in place. All you guys need to do is show up - and eat my dust!"

"Confident, aren't you?" Gordon teased.

"Well since I'm the only one who's been doing any proper training..."

"I've been in the pool every day. Olympic record holder, me. Again!" Gordon couldn't help but grin.

Scott wasn't impressed. "Yeah, but that's butterfly. All your strength is in your arms. Those puny little legs of yours won't get you through a marathon."

"Puny!" Gordon rose to the bait. "I've got more muscles than you, big guy."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

The argument - with accompanying insults and abuse - continued until it was decided that an adjudicator was needed. And so it was that Penny spent a rather pleasant evening running her eyes over some exceptionally muscular Tracy appendages.

Virgil didn't spend such a pleasant evening. As if the prospect of being woken up at 3am wasn't bad enough, the thought of having to do so in order to run 26 miles over the rough terrain of the island just added to the misery. And he was miserable. He'd been so sure he could come up with something special, but no. His creative spark had fizzled out just when he needed it and so it seemed he'd have to go with plan B after all. Of course, he was bound to win. None of the others would be able to come up with a better closing song for the Tracylimpics than he would, for example, but it would be a hollow victory. No bragging rights for boring old Virgil. Gordon would tease him mercilessly.

And so he went to bed. But sleep, unusually, eluded him. Well, it was barely 7.30! After a while, hot and bothered, he took himself onto his balcony. The cool night air and the gentle wash of the waves in the distance went some way to soothing him and finally he fell asleep. There he remained for the night, dead to the world. Though if he had been awake, he might have spotted the shadowy figure which made its way by torchlight into the forest and towards the route Scott had so carefully prepared…

Scott was annoyingly chirpy when they gathered at the starting line the next morning. He always enjoyed his early-morning run, though he usually started later and covered less ground. Still, he liked a challenge and the prospect of beating his younger brothers was exceptionally welcome. Gordon, especially - he'd enjoyed their spat of the previous evening, especially when Penny had judged his legs the most impressive - but the brat still needed to be put in his place. As if any of them had a hope of beating him!

Relaxed and confident, he couldn't help but laugh at the bleary eyes and sullen expressions in front of him - and that was just from his father and Parker, who had been volunteered by Penny, Tin-Tin and Grandma to monitor proceedings.

"Wake up, Virg!" John prodded his brother with his foot.

Virgil managed a rather impressive one-eyed glare before drifting off again.

John kicked him a little harder. "Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we finish. I don't want to be out when the sun comes up."

Virgil's reply was unintelligible - he'd never been particularly coherent first thing in the morning and he hadn't even had his third cup of coffee, Scott having decided that plenty of water should accompany the fruit and oatmeal which was apparently the best source of energy for their forthcoming exertions.

Gordon whistled tunelessly as he stretched his legs, his cheeriness surprising the others. The redhead had never enjoyed running and he'd been complaining on and off about Scott's challenge ever since his brother had announced it.

"Okay, boys," Jeff called them to the start line. "You know the deal. Five times round the route Scott's laid out for you. The lights will stay on till the sun's up. All ready?"

Reactions ranged from enthusiastic - Scott and, surprisingly, Gordon - through resigned - John and Alan – to, finally, non-existent - a gently swaying Virgil, who appeared to be falling asleep on his feet.

But even Virgil couldn't ignore the crack of the starting pistol as his father set the race in motion. Even so, it took him a few moments to get going. Not that he was particularly worried. With 26 miles to go, he was happy to pace himself. Scott, John and Alan were doing the same, though Scott's pace was somewhat quicker than that of the others.

Gordon, however, ignoring all the advice his eldest brother had given him, was surging ahead, disappearing round the first bend at a speed he could never maintain. But he grinned to himself as he rounded the corner, knowing full well his brothers would think him a fool for his rapid pace. Well, the joke was on them, because Gordon was a man with a plan.

To say Jeff was surprised when Gordon was the first to complete a circuit of the track was an understatement. He'd expected Scott to lead the way. Or maybe Alan - his youngest had never had much patience and Jeff had envisaged him overdoing it at the start, with the slower - but steadier - eldest brother coming good at the end. Virgil, whilst exceptionally fit, wasn't really a runner and John, although light on his feet and reasonably speedy, surely didn't have the stamina to succeed over such a long distance.

"Thought you didn't like running?" he asked, as Gordon took a few sips of the water Parker held out to him.

"Don't!" Gordon grinned. "Like winning, though."

"Remember the hare and the tortoise!" Jeff called after his son's retreating figure.

"Oh, I do," Gordon called back. "But they're not the only animals in the jungle. You've got to watch out for snakes, too. And birds."

And off he went, leaving a somewhat bemused Parker and Jeff to shrug their shoulders and wait for the rest of the pack to arrive.

"Scott will have caught him up by the next water break," Jeff assured the chauffeur.

But he hadn't. Gordon once again led the field, his lead actually increasing. Scott had broken well away from his remaining brothers and was setting a quicker pace than he'd intended at this stage of the race, but he was clearly irritated - if not incredulous - to hear that Gordon was still beating him so emphatically.

"Well, 'e's fit," Parker commented.

"He's not a runner!" Scott snapped at him, as he returned his water bottle. "Little devil's obviously been training in secret, and he told me he wasn't taking this seriously anymore. Anyway, three laps to go - he can't possibly keep this pace up."

But Gordon did! Though his lead was shorter now, the news of which perked up a slightly flagging Scott considerably. He was certain he'd overtake his brother on the next lap and he pushed himself even harder.

But once again, Gordon was first to arrive at the checkpoint - with a lead now of nearly ten minutes. Jeff had never been in any doubt as to the swimmer's fitness, but he was seriously impressed at the freshness of the redhead. Gordon was barely breaking a sweat - unlike Scott, who was red-faced and dripping with perspiration when he came through, his face only getting redder when he discovered the extent of Gordon's lead.

"H'overconfident," Parker muttered to Jeff, and the Tracy patriarch had to concede that Parker might be right. Scott would have to swallow his pride and admit defeat, and Jeff himself would have to apologise to the younger son he'd so clearly underestimated.

Also surprised at one brother's achievement and the other's failure to impress, John, Virgil and Alan maintained a steady pace and kept each other company. At least, they did until the penultimate lap, when John managed to turn his ankle. Not wanting to make a fuss, he dropped back, hoping he'd at least be able to finish if he took things easy. It would be a shame to make all this effort in order to come out of it with no points. His ankle did hurt though and the pain was getting worse with each step.

And so it was, that, limping around a corner, he almost bumped into Gordon. Or at least, the hoverbike Gordon was about to mount!

"You rotten cheat!" Though there was a certain degree of admiration in John's voice. He'd always appreciated the devious.

"Shush!" Gordon admonished. "It's okay, I'll confess. I'm not going to take the points, I'm just having a bit of fun with Scotty. According to Parker he's just about ready to break the Olympic sprint record trying to catch me, never mind the one for the marathon. Want a lift?"

John had often favoured the sneaky approach, but he still hesitated before shrugging his shoulders and hoisting himself up on the bike behind Gordon. "Well, since my ankle's killing me and I'm going to lose my lead, why not!"

As they took a shortcut through the jungle, Gordon told his brother that he hadn't been joking when he'd announced that, having been reinstated as world and Olympic champion, winning the Tracylimpics wasn't a priority. Not that he was really in with a chance of winning now anyway, he laughed. No, he'd happily allow one of the others a taste of glory. But he'd been determined to have some fun with the last few challenges and, whilst John's and Virgil's might as yet be unknown, Scott had not only announced his event right at the start, but had kindly mapped out the route a week ago. 'Fun' wasn't a word Gordon would ever associate with a run, especially one of such a distance, and when he'd been taking the competition seriously, he'd been resigned to an unreasonably early start just so he could endure a few hours of unrelenting boredom followed by blisters and aching legs - until he'd realised that, having effectively withdrawn himself from the contest, he might as well do something to alleviate the misery - and prank his brother into the bargain.

And so he'd appropriated a few hover bikes from Thunderbird Two and hidden them at intervals in the undergrowth. It was no wonder he'd barely broken a sweat. His time spent actually running had been limited, to say the least.

All Gordon had to do now was decide whether to continue the charade by ditching the hoverbike and running across the finish line - just to see Scott's face when he crossed the line in second place - or to play the joker and ride in triumphantly on the bike.

"What do you think?" Gordon asked his brother.

It wasn't a difficult decision. The race had been hard going for a man who spent much of his time in space and John had definitely been feeling the pull of gravity as he'd pounded the ground. Plus his ankle was killing him. All Scott's fault for coming up with such a nasty challenge.

"Go for it!" he told his brother.

So Gordon ditched the bike and, with a cheeky wave to John, who was going to hobble in once Virgil and Alan had gone past, set off at a sprint towards the finish line.

Having accepted the congratulations of his father and Parker, Gordon was leaning casually against a tree, sipping a bottle of water and whistling tunelessly, when Scott appeared around the final corner. The eldest Tracy had never looked so dishevelled, not even on any of International Rescue's most strenuous missions. He practically staggered across the finish line, collapsing to the ground with a groan.

"You okay, Scott?" Jeff asked, somewhat concerned.

Scott couldn't speak, but he attempted a nonchalant wave which fooled no one.

"Thought you'd make it more of a contest," Gordon told him, approaching his brother with a grin. "Here. Have some water." He poured the bottle over his brother's face,

Scott didn't even have the energy to react. To tell the truth, he welcomed the coolness. He didn't think he'd ever felt so exhausted.

"Tired, Scotty? Guess my puny little legs aren't so useless after all. Old age, see. It's all downhill from here, you know."

Scott drew in another ragged breath. Not having the energy to formulate words, he waved irritably at his brother before swallowing his pride and accepting a helping hand up to his feet.

"Need a lift back to the house?" Gordon asked, slinging an arm across his brother's shoulder. "'Cos I know where there's a hoverbike or two stashed in the forest."

Scott's mouth dropped open. Parker burst out laughing and Jeff buried his head in his hands. No wonder Gordon had breezed through the 26 miles - and no wonder Scott, despite his herculean efforts, had been unable to keep pace with him. He should have known, he thought. It was typical Gordon.

"You... dirty... rotten... lousy… cheat!" Scott gasped.

"Hey, who's cheating?" Gordon asked, his expression one of innocent bewilderment. "A cheat wouldn't come clean, would he? No, I'm not trying to claim any points. I just wanted to give you a run for your money, Scotty." He laughed. "Run for your money! Get it?"

"Gordon..." Jeff didn't have the words.

Scott didn't either – at least none he'd be comfortable using in front of his father - but somehow he dredged up enough energy to lunge after his brother, who simply skipped merrily away, challenging Scott to catch him.

And so it was, that, hot, tired and very relieved it was all over, Alan and Virgil arrived together to find, much to their surprise, that two of their brothers appeared to be not only setting off for an extra lap, but adding some blood-curdling cries and frantic hand gestures into the bargain!