The explosion rocked Two hard enough that Alan let slip a swear as the cargo plane dipped suddenly, but Gordon had already slid into the co-pilot seat and, knowing the explosion was coming, was already pulling hard on the yoke and levelling Two out before punching it and heading home.

No one mentioned the explosion. Wayne blinked as he tried to process how on earth he was going to write this whole episode up assuming that explosion had destroyed every shred of evidence.

Gordon must have seen his dilemma on his face, for the man suddenly broke out into the biggest grin.

'Don't worry, Wayne. There was a slow gas leak and she'd left a candle burning in the bedroom. Fatal combination, that.'

Wayne didn't know whether to be worried or impressed. He decided that he was both. Impressed that they had thought ahead to make any damage realistic but worried just what lengths the family would go to protect themselves.

This time John spoke without looking up. He'd sat at the terminal the second he'd entered the cockpit and been engrossed ever since.

'I'm sending you a data packet. You'll find everything on there. How the Duchess was part of an illegal exotic animal smuggling ring. A list of contacts. Penny has already begun looking into some of the other names that she and Gordon recognised, and I think you'll find an additional slavery ring if you give her another couple of days and work together.'

Mouth open, Wayne just gaped at the back of John's head. But the man hadn't finished talking.

'As for Two being in attendance, we were nearby for exercises, testing out new equipment in the field and responded to the explosion.'

His comm pinged with the notification of the packet and he nodded distractedly as he quickly scrolled through the data. There was enough information there to arrest several high-profile people, including one on the World Council and a couple higher up in the GDF.

Kayo came and stood beside him. Wayne found himself blushing slightly. He didn't know how to react now that the crisis was over.

The sudden realisation that the Tracy family and others around the world could transform into animals at will…it shook his world view. He was self-aware enough to know that he was very conservative in his tastes and ideals. He remembered the distain he had initially felt for the Security Specialist and London Agent the first time he'd met them, and that had taken some effort to change.

He became suddenly aware that the silence was uncomfortable and realised that he must have missed something. He looked at Kayo and she was watching him, an eyebrow raised.

'I'm sorry, I missed that.'

'Do you want to call Colonel Casey in private?'

'Oh. Oh, yes please.'

Kayo flashed a smile at him and led him to a tiny room that had just enough room for him to stand in but with the door closed he couldn't even hear the engines. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before hitting his comm. It was answered immediately.

'Captain Rigby. Report.'

'Objective has been recovered.'

'Safely?'

'No, I'm afraid not. Virgil is dealing with it.'

'Good. Culprit?'

Wayne paused. He didn't want to lie to his boss, but he wasn't sure how to tell her what had actually gone down. Colonel Casey raised an eyebrow.

'There was an explosion and…'

'It's alright, Wayne. John, Kayo and Gordon have explained everything.'

'They have?'

'I have a new assignment for you. Thunderbird Two will drop you off at base as it is on their way, and I want you to work closely with Lady Penelope in regards to some of the names John has uncovered. It looks like this case has potentially international ramifications and I need my top man on the job. I have someone else who can be point of contact in this case if the coroner needs to talk to someone about the explosion.'

'Yes sir.'

It was with no little relief that Wayne signed off and opened the door. Kayo was outside but a little way away, and she nodded at him.

'When you have finished your new assignment I think you and I should have a discussion.'

'I think that's a good idea.'

'Excellent. It's a date then.'

They had gone several strides towards the cockpit before Wayne realised she'd already known about his new assignment. And then he registered her last words…but Kayo had already passed where he was going on her way to the infirmary.

Wayne found he had a grin on his face as he made his way back to his seat.

The GDF Captain wasn't the only one to receive a data package from John. By the time Kayo had reached the infirmary Virgil was pouring over the information sent to him, and he wasn't the only one. Grandma Tracy – or should she say Doctor Tracy at this point – was there in hologram form, the blue tinting the purple she habitually wore a much bluer shade.

Kayo took the seat on the furthest side of the bed and watched the IV that fed into the catheter in Scott's wing and listened as the two medics chatted.

'Thank goodness that woman made a note of what she used to upset your brother's brain chemistry.'

'Glutamate is a neurotransmitter. I had no idea that too much could cause seizures. Grandma, do you have any idea how to combat this?'

'I need to do some more research but I do know that the neurotransmitter that counter-balances Glutamate is GABA. I think we need a specialist's advice on this one, Virgil. Has Scott changed back yet?'

'No, not yet.'

'Well, head for home for now, but if he transforms while in the air I'll re-route you to a hospital. I just need to work out the best one for this issue. The drip will keep him hydrated, maybe that will help.'

'FAB, Grandma.'

Virgil turned and collapsed into a chair on the other side of Scott. Kayo couldn't help but see not only how tired the medic was but there was a haunting in his eyes that only Scott could deal with. But while he was out of it she could do her bit.

'What's Glutamate and how did the Duchess use it?'

'Huh?'

Kayo smiled at Virgil as he registered that she was talking to him. She repeated the question.

'Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that works with GABA to keep a certain balance in the brain. When one of them is out of balance people can suffer epilepsy as a result.'

He gestured to the station and the pad with the notes that John had sent him.

'It appears that woman dosed Scott with just enough Glutamate to cause a seizure which forced him to turn from eagle to human. And it is probably the reason why he's still in bird-form. It's caused a disruption that he can't control because it takes a while for the brain to rebalance. Scott's going to probably need a special diet of supplements and food for a while to achieve this rebalancing.'

'Wait – if he had a seizure isn't that going to affect his flying?'

'Technically he should be grounded until he's been seizure-free for six months.'

'Six months! That's going to be fun.'

'Yeah. Fun. Not quite the word I'd use.'

They looked at each other and burst into gentle laughter.

Of course this was the moment Scott chose to change back to human with a squark that turned into a groan. But he didn't fully wake up.

A relieved Virgil immediately got back in touch with their Grandmother and she redirected them to the Mayo clinic in Phoenix, Arizona as it had both a specialist Epilepsy Centre and neurology.