Virgil ran out into the still raging storm keeping a firm eye on his wrist comm where John had pushed directions to locate Alan. He followed the bright arrows, dodging between storage containers, bits of equipment and debris tossed around by the wind while John gave him a run down of his concerns.
"Al's wrist comm is showing as being under water. It shouldn't be, right?"
"Nope," replied Virgil shortly, saving his breath for running.
"I can't raise him."
"I'll find him."
Virgil rounded a corner and found his way forward blocked by a small dock off the main harbour. He skidded to a halt and checked the directions. Alan was shown as being fairly close. Could he be in the water? His torch was in his hand before he had made a conscious decision to reach for it. He scanned the choppy waters in front of him and the light quickly picked up his brother, floating on his back a few meters away. Virgil's first instinct was to jump in and swim to rescue Alan but the water looked choppy and Gordon's advice came into his mind about not becoming a victim himself.
"Hang on, Al!" he shouted, hoping Alan had heard him. He quickly scouted around the local area, the wind gusts making him stagger a couple of times. He found some strapping that would make do as a rope and small bit of concrete which he tied to the end to give it some weight. He rushed back to the edge of the dock.
"Al? Alan? I'm throwing a line. Grab it!" His was worried that words wouldn't have carried over the sound of the storm but then saw Alan splashing about to find the strap and, grabbing it, roll over onto his front and hold it securely with both hands. Virgil pulled strongly and Alan seemed to have the energy to kick with his legs and soon Alan was dockside. Virgil grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him out of the water in the same way as he had, for many years, plucked his two youngest brothers out of places where they shouldn't have been.
Alan collapsed on the ground, coughing violently for a few seconds and bringing up some water before giving Virgil a grateful half smile.
"Thanks," he spluttered.
"You okay?" asked Virgil, concerned. "What happened?"
Alan coughed a bit more and then sank back on his haunches before answering. "I'm not really sure. I think a gust of wind pushed me into that container and my head got a knock. The next thing I knew, I had fallen into the dock a bit dazed. I tried to swim to the edge but I took in some water and the waves were too rough. I thought I was going to drown! Then I remembered what Gordon said about the starfish position and I decided to do that until I felt less dizzy and had more energy. Then I heard your voice. How did you know I was in trouble?"
"John. He got an alert that your wrist comm was submerged. Hang on and let me tell him you're safe and then we'll sort you out."
Virgil gave John the good news and then dragged Alan to his feet. "Take my dry shirt and then we need to get you to Two and warm you up."
Alan had begun to shiver violently and didn't argue when Virgil pulled off his, mostly dry, jersey and made him put it on. Virgil wrapped an arm around the shoulders and started to direct him towards where they had left the hover bikes.
"Wha….what…..what about Scott?" asked Alan between chattering teeth.
"No idea," replied Virgil, "but you need to get warmed up stat and I can only worry about one brother at a time."
They made it back to Thunderbird 2 and Virgil fussed around Alan, getting him dry and re-dressed into a new uniform and then wrapping him in a warming blanket and making him a hot drink. Satisfied that Alan only had a touch of hypothermia, minimal concussion and was rapidly recovering, he went to the cockpit and contacted John so they could exchange information.
"So to sum up…" finished John, "Dad's still in surgery, Kyrano is getting a weird attack, Alan has hypothermia and we still don't know where Scott is."
"What a day…" muttered Virgil. He gave a big sigh. "Once Al's warmed up, we'll go and have another look for Scott. John, it doesn't look good for Scott, does it? Something pretty extreme must have happened to him if he can't find his way back to One? I mean, he could be…..what if he's…..?"
John was jolted by the fear he heard in the normally unshakeable Virgil's voice. "Let's not jump to conclusions, Virg. It's been one unexpected thing after another. Let's hang onto hope for now, until we have evidence to the contrary."
Virgil didn't reply for a few moments, seemingly taking in John's words and gathering his thoughts. His voice was stronger when he spoke again. "FAB, John. I'll make sure the baby's pinked up and then we'll head back out again, but this time together."
"FAB. We can't fix Dad but we can try to track down Scott."
Alan was looking much better when Virgil returned to Two's medical room. He had stopped shivering and was sounding much more coherent.
"What's the plan now?" he asked of Virgil.
"Well, now you look like a human being again, we'll get back out there and look for signs of Scott. We won't split up this time – let's stick together for safety. And we ought to check what the Harbour Master's team are doing, first, to see if they've got any results."
Alan leapt to his feet with renewed vigour. "Let's go!" But before the two of them could make a move, John contacted them.
"I've just found something I can't quite believe."
"What's up, John?" asked Virgil.
"You made me question what else could have happened to Scott, rather than him just lying injured, or worse, in the harbour area. So I started to think of something more sinister, especially if Kyrano is getting those funny spells which could be something to do with The Hood. I was nosing around on the dark web and I think I found the answer, although it's mighty odd. Scott is apparently being auctioned to the highest bidder."
"Auctioned?" asked Alan, confused.
"Listen to this," continued John. "'Want to get your hands on a member of International Rescue? We have got hold of one of their operators and are willing to offerhim to the highest bidder in this one off auction. We don't care what you want him for, ransom, information about International Rescue or even a revenge killing, we just want rid of him quick. Send your bid to the link below.'"
"What the hell…?" stuttered Virgil.
"He's been kidnapped!" said John.