mariashades asked: Febwhump- DAY 10: killing in self defence John and EOS
Characters: Scott, John, OC's
Warnings: Knife, Blood, Held hostage, Shooting, Death, Drowning (not described)
'What do you want?'
There was no reply.
Instead the knife dug deep into the soft skin of Scott's neck, causing a line of blood to trickle down and soak into his collar.
Still nothing was said as the blood flowed. The only sound was Scott's ragged breathing as he tried to keep himself together.
John bit his lip. Behind the screen where the scene was shown EOS paced back and forth, her lights ranging from the anger of red to the purple of fear. He knew that she'd be searching everywhere for Scott and that he could trust her to be thorough and that allowed him to concentrate on the kidnappers.
It soon became clear that they weren't going to say anything, so obviously John was asking the wrong question. John centred himself.
'What can I do for you?'
'Better. A civil tongue never hurt anyone, Mr Tracy.'
'Understood.'
'Mr Tracy, I am a reasonable man. I don't want to hurt your brother any more than is necessary – '
He punctuated this statement by yanking on Scott's hair again and John found he was hard-pressed not to jump up and scream at the man to stop as Scott's breathing became desperate chokes. And then abruptly he let go completely. Scott collapsed on the floor and just concentrated on breathing.
' – so I want you to pay attention to me because I will only say this once.'
'I'm listening.'
'I want you to deliver Thunderbird Four and $10 million to the following coordinates in 48 hours. You, Mr Tracy, and only you. If I see another brother or your sister or that pink Rolls Royce then I don't need to tell you what will happen.'
A boot kicked Scott under the chin, jerking him around. There was a chuckle in the background which was silenced by a gesture from the man John assumed was the boss.
He reeled off some map coordinates and then cut the feed.
John sat back and gathered his thoughts. He had 48 hours to get the money together and get himself and Four to the meeting place.
Virgil's holo popped up and John pulled himself together. It wouldn't do to let his younger brothers see just how distraught he was. He wasn't sure how successful he was if Virgil's sceptical glance was anything to go by.
'Well?'
'I saw Scott.'
'Is he alright?'
'No. No, he's not.'
'What do they want?'
'Thunderbird Four and $10 million.'
'WHAT?!'
Both men winced at Gordon's shout. As if realising how loud he'd been Gordon smiled sheepishly in apology.
'Gordon, you know we have protocols in place for just such an occasion.'
'I know, I know, John. I'm sorry.'
'How long have they given us?'
'3 days, Virgil.'
'Come home, John. We need to plan this carefully.'
'Will do, but not just yet. I got some programs running trying to trace Scott. I'll be down in a couple of hours.'
'I'll hold you to that.'
'FAB.'
John signed off from the island. He hated lying to his brothers, but this was one time he needed to deal with this himself. Younger brothers would only be a distraction.
'John? Why did you lie to your brothers?'
'Because they would want to help and I need them to be safe, EOS. Do you understand?'
'I understand.'
'Let's get started then.'
It took less time than John envisioned to prep everything he could from Five, and once he was sure he'd done everything EOS downloaded herself onto the portable drive and they set off home.
The atmosphere on the island was thick with worry and tension. It never felt right when Scott wasn't there anyway, but knowing that he'd been kidnapped and was somewhere in the world, hurt and without them, made it so much worse.
But his brothers needed him to step up, so step up John did. He rarely needed to – Virgil quite often took the mantle on by dint of being Scott's second for iR – but he could do it and do it well.
By the end of that day plans had been made on how to get Four to the coordinates without Two dropping the sub off too closely, how they were going to rescue Scott and how they were going to get Four back. Everyone was exhausted and they all dropped off into uneasy sleep.
John took advantage of the sleep – he wouldn't get much opportunity tomorrow and he'd need to slip away before everyone woke up. The only one he'd actually have to worry about was Gordon, but he was confident that he could be up and away before then. The only thing he couldn't control was whether Gordon looked in on Four before they had scheduled to leave. But by then there would nothing they could do.
Four was a compact sub. She took one pilot and had bunks for two people. But at a push she could – and had – fit seven people standing. The kidnappers numbered three that John had been able to determine, plus himself and Scott. It would be a squeeze but they could manage.
It had been a long time since John had piloted Four but, as with all the vessels, he made sure that he kept up to date on the sims. He placed EOS in the holder he'd brought with him and attached her to the dash where she could connect to Four.
'Tracking is off, John, and comms are silenced.'
'Thanks, EOS.'
And they set off.
They headed towards the rendezvous site. Four didn't have much scope without Two, but the coordinates were just within range. They reached it easily with a few hours to spare, and John let Four rest on the floor until it was time. It allowed him to go over the minutiae of what they had planned.
When the time was up Four surfaced to find a small boat waiting. There were four men in the tiny dingy, and John absentmindedly wondered where the boat had travelled from. It didn't matter though, and he shoved aside that thought as he exited the back of Four and stood on her backboard, arms crossed and waiting.
One of the four was Scott, sat behind the two men who'd obviously been the muscle and in front of the boss. The knife wound had not been cleaned and the dried blood still tracked down his neck. There was no knife this time, just a gun resting on his shoulder and against his cheek. From the angle of his shoulders John could tell his hands were still bound behind him.
Scott looked…resigned. Even from the distance that the boat held John could see the bags under his eyes and the pinched look to his cheeks – probably a combination of lack of food and the pain he was obviously in. Still his brother managed to smile at him, going for the usual attempt to encourage a younger brother.
There was silence for a moment. Nobody moved. Inwardly John sighed. Looked like he'd have to make the first move.
'How do you want to do this?'
'Where's the money?'
'Inside.'
'We'll pull alongside, you climb into the boat with your brother and we'll take possession of the Thunderbird. Keep your hands where I can see them.'
'Okay.'
John stayed still as the two thugs pulled on the oars – oars? Who uses oars in this day and age, especially so far from land – and they pulled alongside. Carefully the two oarsmen stood up, but the in a move that surprised them all there was a startling 'phut phut' noise and both men toppled into the sea.
Scott had barely flinched, but when the gun was removed there was a small black burn mark on his cheek, and John cursed again. The man then prodded Scott and the pair made their way over to him.
'Get inside.'
John obeyed. It was a position he hoped to find themselves in, but not at the cost of the others. Still, Scott was here and in one piece.
'Sit in the pilot seat and dive.'
'Hold on to something.'
The man held on to Scott, bracing his legs as Four dove down and keeping the gun firmly against Scott's cheek. John kept an eye on Four's fuel, there wasn't much left and they weren't going to get much further. The man didn't look at the switches, however, and John wondered how long he'd get before Four's engines began to protest.
Not long, as it turned out.
The man's eyes narrowed at the changing pitch and before John could react he'd pulled Scott closer and the stepped backwards into Four's quarters and jammed the gun under Scott's chin. John left the sub in a hover where she was and warily followed.
'Judging from the sound I guess the sub's run out of fuel?'
'Yes. I used up most of it getting her here for you undetected. Usually she'd be dropped off closer so the fuel isn't used.'
'Well, I guess this is the end of the road then.'
The man stepped around the cabin, gesturing John to do the same, until his back was to the pilot seat and John was at the rear doors. The suitcase of money, which the man had not even inquired about since coming on board, sat on the floor by the cockpit doors.
Things happened really fast.
With a quick shove the man pushed Scott at John and hit the button he must have seen John hit to close the back doors.
'EOS! NOW!' John screamed as his body wrapped around Scott and EOS remotely activated the magnetic grabs in John's gloves and feet and he felt his feet connect with the deck plate.
As water flooded Four the man twisted and reached for the pilot chair, but the water pressure flowed around him and pulled at him, snatching him away from the seat. As he was carried outside he grabbed at John and Scott, snagging Scott and holding on to him tight enough to almost rip him away from John.
With his boots firm on the deck John felt confident enough to let go of the grab rail and with all his might he pulled Scott in until he could reach the man. Time seemed to slow down as John grabbed the hand that had Scott and squeezed with one hand while using the other to pry the fingers free.
And the man disappeared into the deep.
Immediately EOS shut the doors and started the water draining. John clung to Scott and Scott leaned on him until the water was gone, and even then they stayed where they were for a beat longer. Then John cut his brother's bonds and made him sit in the pilot's seat, keeping his hand on Scott's shoulder.
EOS set Four to reach the surface where to no one's surprise Two was hovering, and as John reconnected the comms the blistering swearing of Gordon, Kayo and Virgil on the comms. Scott chuckled.
'John, John, John, John. You are so in the s*** for this stunt.'
'Worth it to get you back, Scott. And to keep them safe.'
'Yeah. To keep them safe.'
