"Have a seat," said the Commander, waving at the chair across the table from him. Tom sat down as Captain Strong closed the door. They were sitting in one of the study rooms at the library in Sanford. "Would you like something, a snack, something to drink?"

"Um, water would be nice, thank you," replied Tom. Walters glanced at Strong.

Strong nodded. "Got it. Do you want something?"

Walters shrugged. "My usual, plus grab a few snacks and a second bottle of water for Corbett, just in case."

"Yes sir." Strong left the room.

"Now, if you don't mind, I would like to wait until Strong gets back before you tell us about the incident, but in the meantime, I will gather some personal information." He proceeded to ask Tom his age, his family history, and his reasons for attending Sanford. Tom finished answering his questions when Strong returned with the drinks and snacks. He gave Tom the bottles, Walters a cup of coffee, and placed a few bags of chips on the table. "Perfect timing, I just got his personal info. Now, the incident, as best as you can recall. If you need to go over it multiple times to remember any details, please do so, every little bit helps."

Tom swallowed and nodded. "Yes sir." He relayed the memory of the incident to the best of his ability. He tried to visualize the incident exactly as it happened. Johnny at the helm, him looking out the window. The flash of sunlight off the incoming plane. Johnny trying to sound calm even though Tom could tell he was panicking. Same with Mike and Martie. The maneuvers they used to avoid colliding with the intruder. How Mike and Martie were able to land. How Tom caught the color and model of the plane. How Johnny was finally able to land the plane.

Walters and Strong said no word while Tom talked. Walters took a few notes, but for the most part, the two were simply listening. When Tom finished, there was a moment of silence as the two seemed to ponder his words.

Strong glanced at Walters and broke the silence with, "Of the ones I interviewed, their stories line up. Of course, Tom's has more information, but otherwise, they all line up."

Walters nodded. "I noticed, same with mine. I'm sure the others do too."

Tome blinked. "Did you think we were lying?"

Walters shook his head. "Oh no, having a good memory is a necessity in space, and it's good that you all can give the events in an almost objective manner. Granted, there were a few differences, namely which details were noticed by whom and the emphasis on certain bits of information, but otherwise, it's a good, complete picture." He leaned forward. "But, did you notice anyone suspicious sneaking around the hanger?"

Tom blinked and thought back before shaking his head slowly. "No sir, not that I recall."

"Sir, Ted did say he was gone long before they showed up," remarked Strong.

Tom glanced between them. "Who?"

"He did, but he could have come back when he wasn't looking."

"If so, Tom might not have thought him out of place. He stole a uniform to get in."

Tom's eyes widened. "Say, say what?"

Walters held out a paper to Strong. "But Tom would recognize him." He turned back to the stunned teen. "At least, I think you would have, right?"

"Who?" Tom asked again, a little more forcibly.

"Ned McKay."

Tom blinked. "Ned McKay?"

"He was the foreman for Linda's father before your dad took up the job, remember?"

Tom had to think a moment before it clicked. He gasped as a specific memory ran through his mind.

. . . .

Tom was given a mission, his mother wanted him to find his father and let him know dinner was ready. He trampled across the open acreage that belonged to Mr. Carlton. Normally Linda and Mr. Carlton would have been asked as well, but they were both out east, visiting Mr. Carlton's sister. Tom began whistling a merry tune as he continued his search. The property was large, and his father could be anywhere, but there was no need to hurry. Mom would have to herd his siblings into the house, and who knows how long that would be. A commotion caught his attention and, curious, went in that direction to find out what was going on. As he got closer, he noticed the men crowded around a spot, yelling. He was too far away to make out the words and inched closer. His eyes widened when he could understand some of the words.

"Get him, John!"

"Don't turn your back on him, John!"

"Tell your men to shut up, Corbett!"

"Why don't you tell your men to root for you?" Tom recognized his father's voice as he fought his way through the crowd while the men laughed at the comment. He finally got to the front of the circle where his father was brawling with Ned McKay.

"You shut that smart mouth of yours, Corbett, or I'll shut it for you!" Mckay lunged, and Tom's father swerved.

"Dad!" Tom started forward, but felt a hand on his arm yank him back.

"No, wait, mijo, wait!" Tom glanced over his shoulder. It had been Jose Sanchez, John Corbett's right hand man, who grabbed him by the arm. "Your daddy promised a fair fight." Jose wrapped his arm around Tom's shoulders and pulled him close, whispering, "Besides, he seems to be doing quite well. No-Good Ned has no good chance!" Jose let out a soft chuckle. "Now don't you worry, I got my eye on No-good Ned, if he tries anything, I'm stepping in. Just like No-good Ned's no-good men." Tom then noticed the group of rough-looking men. A couple of them were eyeing him. Tom didn't like the look in their eyes and stepped behind Jose.

The fight only lasted a few minutes after that, with John being declared a winner, almost reluctantly, by one of Ned's men.

"No!" growled Ned.

"Shut up, Ned! He won fair and square!" spat the man. He turned to John. "As promised, we will leave and never come back."

"Thank you, but that was for Ned. He is to never set foot on Carlton property again," stated John firmly, shooting a glare at Ned. He turned to the man and glanced at the rest of Ned's gang. "However, if any of you want a job here, we're willing to have you." Tom had never seen such a rough-looking group soften in mere seconds like that.

One of the younger men stepped forward. "You mean it?"

John nodded, smiling. "I do." The young man and two others accepted the offer right there. John turned to the rest. "What do the rest of you say?"

"We'll think it over," remarked one fellow.

"Well, here's one thing you'll need to think over," snarled Ned as he poked his finger into John' chest. "And that's how I'm going to get back at you and Carlton!" Ned's eyes darted to Tom. "And your brats!"

Jose stepped towards Ned, cracking his knuckles. "Think hard about that, No-good Ned, because you'll be dealing with all of us." The rest of the ranch hands agreed as they each stepped forward. Ned just snarled and marched away, followed by his gang. The Corbetts and the ranch hands watched them leave, not moving an inch until they were sure they had left the property.

"Jose, take a couple of men and stand watch tonight."

"You got it," remarked Jose as he rounded up a couple of fellows and took off.

"We'll check in town to make sure he has gone, if you'd like," stated one of the new hires, Finn Hatcher.

John nodded. "Please do, thank you, Finn. We'll go over your job when you report here with the news."

Finn shot him a grin. "Yes sir." The three took off. The rest of the hands dispersed, leaving John and Tom to walk home.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Could you teach me to fight?"

John placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "I think that's a very good idea, but we'll talk about it in the morning."

"Yes sir."

. . . .

"No-good Ned," whispered Tom, "is Ted's father. No wonder why we recognized the name!"

Strong blinked. "Did you just call him No-Good Ned?"

Tom gave a slow nod. "Yes, it was a nickname the ranch hands gave him."

Strong chuckled. "That would describe him pretty well. No-Good Ned, I kind of like that."

Walters merely nodded. "So you understand a few things now?"

"I, I think so. But, but sir, do you think he piloted that plane?"

"Do you?"

"I, I don't know, I couldn't see the pilot very well, but it kind of makes sense." Tom proceeded to relay what he remembered of the confrontation between his father and Ned McKay, putting extra emphasis on the threat.

There was another moment of silence as the two men pondered over the new information. Walters sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin. Strong glanced down, brow furrowed.

"Well that, that certainly puts things in a different light, and yet," said Walters, his voice trailing off at the end.

"And yet it doesn't make sense," muttered Strong. "If he really wanted revenge, he would have tried to get it long before now. Why wait ten years? He certainly didn't wait long with his Captain."

Tom blinked. "Whait, what?"

Walters sighed. "Yes, Ned McKay used to be a Lieutenant from Sanford. He, whether deliberately or not, basically got his Captain killed while the team was responding to a distress signal. This was back in the day when we just did three person teams, the other member of that team has been under a close eye ever since. Ned, meanwhile, has managed to avoid our detectives. But now, after all these years … maybe, just maybe, we might finally get to the bottom of the incident and find out what happened."

"May I ask who was the Captain?"

Walters glanced at Tom and thought a moment before shaking his head. "I won't tell you, even though I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. His son is attending Sanford and I promised his mother to keep things quiet, though we all long to tell the boy. He's yearned to find out what happened as much as we do, but we fear repercussions from that third member of the team should a wrong move be made. My top priority is keeping that boy alive, but that could be an issue in and of itself." Walters let out a breath. "These four years are going to be the toughest I think I will ever deal with. The sons of all three are here at Sanford, and they don't know their connection. I have to keep them all alive, and separated. Though, I'm not so worried about Ted as I am about the other two." He looked at Tom. "And now you and your friends have to be added to that list with this kamikaze wacko on the loose. Not to mention this connection between you and Ned McKay." Walters shook his head. "Boy, these are going to be four long, exhausting years."

(Author's Note: And let's just say, Commander Walters is quite right in his prediction, though there will more than just that reason for those four years being hard, as time will tell. No, not going to give up on writing, just going to take me longer with work and all. Speaking of work, there are some changes happening and it has us all on edge right now. Several things are up in the air, but we won't get more information until tomorrow. Please pray that everything goes well. Will provide more information later. Right now, only a few people know the particulars and don't want to say anything until more is known. Otherwise, doing alright. Hope to finish at least this mystery and Nancy's mystery by the end of this month, now that I think I have worked through the issues I was having with these last chapters. Hopefully I can figure out what the issues are with the Hardys and the Sprite Society. The Hobbit mysteries are on hold until I get these finished. Then, depending on what I can finish this month, all of these will be on hold during June while I work on three of my original stories. Will see how that goes. Thanks for reading, your patience, and for hanging around! Hope you enjoy! God bless!)