Chapter 6

Dinner time was as crazy as usual. Actually to Virgil it felt even crazier than normal since they were missing Jeff's calming presence. As much as Virgil was grateful for the opportunity to take over his father's role while he was recovering, he hated it. Not the job itself; no, he was glad to still be a part of rescue operations even if it meant helping from a distance.

But what he really hated was that his family was out there putting themselves in harm's way to help others and he wasn't there to help them; Or to keep an eye on them, as Scott would argue. That was one of the biggest downsides with working with someone who knew you so well; it was impossible to hide anything, not matter how hard he tried. Virgil found out he had failed miserably at it the night before after talking to his older brother. Scott knew that not being out there on rescues with them was making Virgil anxious and frustrated, and he wanted nothing more than to have his brother back at his side during a rescue. He knew that Virgil hated that his family – his wife and son – were out there without him to support them. But Scott knew better than anyone the dangers of rushing back out there before being physically ready.

The incident happened so quickly and so unexpectedly.

On the surface it seemed like a routine rescue and evacuation at an earthquake site. Something that International Rescue had dealt with numerous times before since its creation. The biggest difference this time was that it was the first time that Lucas would be out there with them. It wasn't his first rescue, but it had been his first time in an earthquake zone. The rescue itself hadn't been particularly hazardous and Virgil felt comfortable enough to have his son accompany him with the last part of the rescue he had been performing.

They had had to make their way over some uneven terrain, looking for a young boy who's mother had insisted had gone in that direction. The ground had been rocky and debris littered, but nothing that Virgil hadn't dealt with before. He had insisted that Lucas lead the way and he followed closely behind. Things had been a little slow going, but they had made good progress and they were getting closer to the last known location of the kid.

It was the panicked call from Alan up on Thunderbird 5 that changed everything. He radioed in to say that aftershocks were about to hit their area just as the ground beneath their feet started to tremor. Virgil could still see the moment clearly when he realised that Lucas was panicking. He picked up his pace, rushing through the debris before them, clearly unsure what it was he was supposed to do. Virgil had tried called out to him, but he hadn't heard his father's warning and it was then that Virgil saw the danger that Lucas had put himself into.

Without thinking of the potential risk to himself, Virgil rushed forward and was able to push Lucas out of the way before the remains of a building wall began to fall. The force of being pushed meant that Lucas fell and ended up with only cuts and bruises; Virgil on the other hand had not been so lucky. He hadn't been able to completely avoid the falling debris and a sharp piece of metal had ended up embedded in Virgil's thigh. Lucas returned to his father's side and had done what he could to cover and put pressure on the wound to prevent Virgil from bleeding out.

Virgil's memory of what happened after he sustained the injury was hazy as he drifted in and out of consciousness; but the one thing he did remember was how calmly Lucas had dealt with everything. This was later confirmed by Scott, who told him what had happened once he had arrived on the scene. In some ways Scott was glad that Virgil didn't remember much about what happened after he was injured. Things had been a bit touch and go for the first couple of days. The worry and stress that Scott had felt in regards to his brother's injury had only been heightened by the revelation that the boy they had been looking for hadn't even been in that direction. That piece of news had angered Scott more than he cared to admit.

"Tracy 1 to base," Jeff's voice said over the comms, his voice cutting through the dinner time noise.

"Go ahead Dad," Scott said in reply, as he glanced around the table at the rest of the family. Jeff wasn't expected back on the island for a couple more days.

"Requesting permission to land?" Jeff asked.

"Granted," Scott replied, "Is everything alright Dad, you weren't due back until Friday."

"Everything's great son, I'll explain when I see you all, Tracy 1 out."

"So they're interested in our proposal," Jeff explained, "But there is competition for the job. Another company has put forward their own proposal and it seems that the board is putting pressure on Graham to consider their offer."

Jeff looked around the room at the confused and angered looks he was getting from Scott and Virgil. Once he had landed back on the island, he had called a meeting with his two sons as well as Brains, to give them a run through of what had happened while he had been on the mainland.

"But I thought that Graham and Wyvern Industries had approached us specifically for this job?" Scott asked confusion evident in his tone.

"And he had," Jeff confirmed, "But as I said, another offer has been put forward and Wyvern's Board of Directors wants Graham to take their offer seriously."

"But why now?" Virgil asked, "Wyvern has worked with TI a number of times over the years and it's always been a successful partnership…"

Jeff nodded in agreement.

"…So why are they now considering this other offer instead of just…" Virgil's words trailed off as the reason why they had to fight for this contract suddenly occurred to him. "Let me guess, their proposal cost less than ours?"

Jeff nodded once again.

"But how?" the words exploded from Scott's mouth just as forcefully as he exploded from his seat and got to his feet. "Our proposal was a fair price. You know as well as I do that we had reduced the costs we had included…"

"I'm well aware of that Scott, and Graham himself said that he thought our price was a good one. It is Wyverns' Board of Directors who want him to seriously consider the proposal that has been put forward from this competitor, DWC or whoever they are."

"Never heard of them," Scott commented as he sat back down in his chair.

"That would make two of us," Jeff replied. "But we can't just assume that because we have worked with Wyvern in the past that any future projects would automatically be handed to TI with no questions asked. It's business Scott you know how things work."

"Your F..Father is right," Brains said. He had yet to say anything and his silence had been a little unsettling as they all knew how much time and effort he had put into this project over the past few months.

"Are you saying we should just give up?" Scott asked the engineer.

"Of c..course not Scott." Brains replied.

"And we are not giving up. Graham told me that he argued our proposal with the Board of Directors, and because of our history of working with Wyvern, they have given us some extra time to put forward another proposal for them to consider."

"But there was nothing wrong with what he had already provided," Scott said angrily.

"And I agree," Jeff acknowledged.

"B…but there is always room for improvement," Brains said with a small smile, as he looked over at Virgil.

"Do you really think it could work?" Virgil asked the engineer, a smile crossing his own features. Brains didn't give a verbal response, but the expression on his face told Virgil what he wanted to know.

"What are you two talking about?" Scott asked, clearly confused. Although he had been involved in certain aspects of the proposal for Wyvern Industries, he wasn't an engineer like Brains or his brother, so his input had been more from the business side of things. He would be the first to admit that he understood very little about the technical aspects of the offer they were proposing.

"Well…" Brains began, "Virgil did have an interesting idea of how we could make the proposal more viable, but it would have meant creating a…an entirely new manufacturing process," he explained.

"Which was why you decided to exclude it from the initial proposal?" Jeff asked.

"Yes Father," Virgil confirmed. "However, if they are willing to pay out the initial costs to make these changes, it could end up saving them even more in the long run."

"How much more?" Scott asked, intrigued.

"Well, we'd need to work on the numbers…" Virgil said.

"A…and there could be a way to make further refinements to the process," Brains added.

"…So we would need some time to look over it before we know for sure," Virgil finished.

"Well they have given us some time if you boys want to take it," Jeff told them, a smile growing on his own face.

"Well get started right away," Virgil said, turning to Brains as the engineer pushed Virgil from the room; the two of them talking between themselves as they went.

Scott watched the two of them leave, confused but also a little surprised by their reactions. He had seen the anger and disappointment in his brother's face the moment that Jeff had told them his news. Yet the Virgil who had just left the room seemed to be excited and enthusiastic; a version of his brother that Scott hadn't seen since his accident.

A small chuckle from his father drew Scott's attention from the door and over to him instead. It was then that realisation hit him. "You knew that would happen, didn't you?"

Jeff smiled back at his son and gave him a small nod. "I know that your brother has been struggling a lot lately, what with being grounded and not being able to go out on rescues. Although he has been helping from the Island…"

"It's not the same as being out there in the field," Scott agreed.

"I thought that this development from Wyvern with the project would help take his mind of his situation and make him feel like he's still useful. Plus he enjoyed working on the initial proposal with Brains and you know how your brother gets with wanting to see something through until the end."

This time it was Scott's turn to just nod.

"I know that it's not saving lives," Jeff continued, "But Brains had already explained this new process to me before we out forward the original proposal, and when I mentioned it to Graham, he seemed excited by the idea. Now we just need the details to show Wyvern its true potential and to get their go ahead. It has great implications for both Wyvern and TI and I think focusing on this is what your brother needs right now."

"I agree with you completely Father, but it was a risk and what if Virgil hadn't agreed…"

"Well it doesn't matter about that now does it? He has agreed and looked more like his old self, that's all that matters right now. Besides I have a feeling that this project is going to have a big impact on Virgil," Jeff added.

What Jeff didn't know was how prophetic his words would be.