The Shadows in Kidnapped

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 1- Looking After a Kid

"But, Mum, Dad . . ." 12 year old Sean Meehan whined.

Joseph Meehan counted to ten. Some things just never changed. If he ever became a drinking man, it would have been because of this, his youngest son. You think he and his wife Clodagh had been used to it after raising four other sons. But none of them had been quite this bad even their smart second youngest Daniel also known as Tony. Nevertheless, Joseph and Clodagh just had to keep reminding themselves and each other that they'd been successful with those four (including Tony himself!) and they would be with this one as well.

"Sean, your father and I have made up our minds," said Clodagh. "Daniel, or Tony as his friends call him, will be looking after you this weekend and that's final."

"But it's not even Saturday yet." Sean increased the whine in his voice as he noticed it getting to both his mother and father.

Joesph and Clodagh had to acknowledge that there was some truth to that. Sean had spent a week with Tony during the summer while Joseph was at work and Clodagh was out shopping. Then spent the weekend of Tony's birthday were spent recovering from a severe illness at home and Tony knew what was at the root of the problem right now. Sean was only 12 years old, for God's sake.

Joseph and Clodagh told Jet Harris, hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Tony to look after Sean for the weekend while they visited their oldes son Seamus for several reasons. First, it was his third wedding anniversary on Saturday. And second, he knew he was walking a fine line with Sean's recent behaviour. Sean wasn't allowed to be left on his own for a few days but he needed time to grow up and mature. At 17 years old, Tony was the right age to look after a bratty pre-teen. Joseph an Clodagh's job was to keep him on the tightrope – learning, but still getting a chance to be just a kid.

On the other hand, there was no doubt in his mind that Sean wanted to learn more about WOOHP which the Shadows were members of. Specifically, by several comments he had made it was evident that he wasn't old enought to join yet. Sean had had an intoxicating taste of what it was like when Tony was chased by Professor Chaos's minions in Belsize Park. That had been enough to whet his appetite. Unfortunately for Sea, Jet had made it pretty clear that Sean would be a member of WOOHP by the time he was 16 years old and over his dead body. In place of that, Sean had made it abundantly apparent that he would be just as happy to be with Tony for a weekend. And that would be over Joseph's dead body right at the moment.

"You're not staying in Hampstead on your own." Joesph said sternly to Sean's disgust.

"Please tell me that being with Tony's the best thing that happened to me since he moved out." Sean said cheekily referring to a conversation that had been the whole root of the problem last spring.

As they were at the Shadows flat in Knightsbridge, Tony had to laugh. His younger brother was never boring to say the least. Their relationship had definitely evened out some over the last few months. However, Joseph was under no illusions regarding his temperamental youngest son.

With the tension eased, Clodagh said "Sean needs to get new school clothes and books, Daniel. Term starts in a couple of weeks and your father and I want you to see the specialist again at the hospital for an all clear for him to return to normal activities."

THAT brought the expected storm clouds back to Sean's face. He didn't handle illness well and Tony knew that he was sick of doctors, treatments and restrictions. After dealing with meningitis and its aftermath, Joseph didn't blame him one bit but he still was taking no chances.

Before the oncoming storm could break, Joesph said "Glad you and your friends are looking after Sean for the weekend, Daniel. Your mother and I are also glad you mentioned something about a picnic in Hyde Park." He smiled as Sean's face lit up. "Provided you behave." He added sternly. And laughed at Sean's expression.

Since Hank decided to go to the library in Hammersmith and Jet went shopping in Brent Cross, the picnic Bruce, Tony and Sean had in Hyde Park went quickly and despite Sean's misgivings and the required visits to the hospital, he had a great time. The three of them had canvassed the park. This was way more fun than doing it with Hank and Jet. Bruce seemed to know all the little known facts about London and let Tony freely imparted his knowledge to his younger brother. Sean had a blast.

In addition, at their parents request and Sean's wholehearted endorsement, the two brothers and Bruce had made a special trip to see a Catholic Church. The man had been instrumental in getting Sean home safely and in no small way had saved his life. Tony had made sure that the reward he had offered for Sean's safe return had gone to the Catholic Church itself.

What Bruce didn't know was that Tony and Sean had been dispatched with a handwritten note from Joseph as well as a rather substantial donation. Sean and Tony were both was glad to see the soft spoken man again. Tony also managed to take him aside and impart the whole family's thanks.

"Guys, hurry up!" Bruce said sounding frustrated. The last flight checks had been done and he was ready to leave. It was very late and his car was lit only by the three focused spotlights directly near him, Tony and Sean. Outside the Catholic Church was thrown into black darkness with only a few dim metallic glints giving any indication of the carpark residing in the shadows.

Bruce gave a groan of annoyance. He'd had fun with Tony and Sean the last few hours. After the time in WOOHP!, he felt like he'd gotten to know Tony a lot better. They had more in common than either of them had ever figured. Probably more would continue to emerge as Tony continued to mature. He had a feeling that Tony was going to be the first to leave the Shadows. He was sure fascinated with anything to do with psychology.

But right now, all Bruce and Tony wanted to do was get underway. Sean, as only a typical 12 year old could, was just about anywhere except where he was supposed to be. Climbing out of the car, they headed to the carpark and saw what looked like Sean being kidnapped by Professor Chaos's minions.

"SEAN!" Tony yelled hoping that the two Professor Chaos minions would let Sean go as he rushed after them and stopped cold at the sight of his younger brother being bundled into a large van and rushed after it until it dissapeared out of sight and Bruce caught up with him.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 2- Kidnapped

Tony had called Larry at WOOHP! headquarters to tell him that his brother had been kidnapped and Larry knew he had to call Jet and Hank as well. Knowing that, Bruce called Hank first and then Jet to tell them to be at Piccadilly Circus at 3:30pm to tell them about Tony's younger brother Sean.

"You know, I'm surprised Bruce would allow us to get here." Hank commented as he ran to Piccadilly Circus station with Jet ahead of him.

Jet's eyebrows went up as he said "I know. Knowing Bruce, he might have something important to tell us."

"Especially when he and Tony are looking after Sean." Hank reminded his bandmate.

Jet scowled. Hank was right. The fact that Bruce had called them to meet them in Piccadilly Circus was important or a matter of life and death.

"I hope they did a great job." Jet commented, a premonition nagging at him.

Hank just stopped dead and nodded. Concerned as he was, he noticed that Bruce was alone by the station. Jet, on the other hand, had seen some stands of Tony's hair from behind Bruce and saw the youngest Shadow look at them sadly.

"Tony?" Jet asked his youngest bandmate. "Are you looking or feeling okay?"

"My brother Sean was kidnapped by Professor Chaos!" Tony said as he was about to cry.

Sean lay on the van floor, wrists bound behind his back. He was blindfolded but interestingly enough, he was not gagged. That bothered him. That indicated that there was nobody to hear him if he yelled.

And he was scared. The sight of his brother Tony trying to chase this van was the last thing he had seen. Before he could do anything besides process the scene, he'd been hit from behind and the next thing he knew, he woke up to find he was here. Wherever here was. And whatever time it was.

Now at any other time, being separated from Tony on a trip (however long or short) was a bad thing. Sean could think of any number of times that he would have killed for a car like this when they were growing up but this was not one of them. He would dearly love to know where his older brother was right at the moment. He could only hope Tony was going to find him with his bandmates. Any other possibility was too frightening to consider.

A deep voice startled him. It was loud, not surprising, considering the sound of the engines. "Hey, kid. Enjoying your flight?"

Sean didn't answer. He was struck sharply on the side of his head for his trouble.

"Answer me!"

It took Sean a moment to get his equilibrium back and focus on the words. He'd already been knocked out once already and had a whopping headache because of it. He also felt somewhat sick from the motion of the helijet. He really hadn't needed the additional blow on top of everything else.

Sean tasted blood and debated whether to respond or not. Finally, he sighed "Not really."

A genuine laugh answered him "So, a comedian. I rather expected railing against your situation. You may be a realist much like I understand the rest of the Shadows, eh?"

Figuring it was safer not to say anything, Sean remained silent.

"Hmmm," came the thoughtful voice again. "You surprise me, Tony Meehan. You ain't what I expected."

"First off, I'm not Tony, I'm his his younger brother Sean and second, what exactly did you expect?" This was tough. This man may or may not know about WOOHP! If he knew, then there was one set of problems. If he didn't, there was another. Anything he said could be wrong and could give ammunition to the other side.

"Great, what I expected . . . Well, let's just say I stayed away from your older brother and Bruce Welch. I know that they're both WOOHP! agents and so are Hank Marvin and Jet Harris but you now, well, you're a kid. I thought you'd be an easier target. But now, I ain't so sure," the voice continued conversationally. "Oh well. Can't be helped now. Professor Chaos's got you now."

Sean's eyes snapped open at that even though he still saw only the underside of the blindfold. Anyone mistaking him for Tony since they both lookad alike was a little like calling a cobra harmless. He might change his mind after Bruce and Tony dealed with him for a while. And if this man thought that because he thought Sean himself was Tony, he was an easy mark, well . . . he had another thing coming. He'd managed to survive growing up with four brothers and two Irish parents.

Just as I thought, he thought I was Tony. Sean thought as indignation faded. This man couldn't know half of what his brother had accomplished. Vulnerable indeed. Well, if that's what this man thought, that may work to their advantage. Obviously, with that comment, this man couldn't know about WOOHP! He would be handling the him with significantly more safeguards if he did. His suspicions were confirmed when the man continued "Just exactly what I needed to make my millions."

Ransom. Oh, for crying out loud. This was patently ridiculous. Sean was going to be the laughing stock of his brothers for months to come after this.

"Now, I'll tell you what I want you to say for this tape recording I'll be making shortly for your brother," said the man. "And please remember, Professor Chaos originally wanted your older brother Tony but got you as hostage for your good behavior."

Sean felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him. This was for real. His life was in Tony's hands. He also had no doubt that he was also the hostage for Tony's good behavior.

At WOOHP! headquarters, Larry, Jet, Hank, Bruce and Tony watched in horror the image on screen unfolding in front of them. The other agents hadn't been available to ask about Sean and his resemblance to Tony. So arriving in the study and seeing the blinking light signaling a message on the vidphone had been a welcome sign.

Tony, assuming it was Sean, was ready to chew him out for not communicating with them. But the scene, a generic seat on a generic plane was heart stopping. The five men watched in horror as the handcuffed and blindfolded man that was unmistakably Sean spoke and said "Tony, I'm being held for 10 million pounds in ransom. You'll get further instructions on payment in a future transmission."

The screen went black as the transmission ended. The silence in the room at the close of the transmission was deafening.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 3- Now What?

Exhaustion forgotten, Larry decided that it was time for the Shadows to take matters into their own hands. Immediately following receipt of the transmission left on the screen, every WOOHP! agent gathered in Larry's office. After the initial protestations of disbelief, the group got down to business.

"Are you gonna go to MI5 with this?" asked Caddy guardedly. It was always better to be cautious when a WOOHP! agent's family was in trouble.

Larry rubbed his face and looked pensively at the others. "I've got my ideas but first I'd like to hear yours." He gazed at Jet. "Jet?"

"Hang on," was Jet's immediate explosive response. "We can deal with this faster ourselves. We have better communications tracing equipment, faster planes and better overall capabilities and Professor Chaos's got any idea what he's getting into."

Hank eyed Jet warily as though he were a snake about strike, then looked at Larry and said "I agree with Jet. We're probably more capable of extracting them than anyone."

The calculating look on Hank's face told Larry that this guy's agile brain was already on the job. Good, they were going to need it. He turned to Bruce and said "Bruce?"

"The guys are right," said Bruce. "We handle this ourselves. We don't know what they know about WOOHP! or what their real motives are. I mean, they want money but is that all they want? No, we do this ourselves."

"Tony?" Larry turned to the youngest Shadow.

Tony looked at everyone else in the room carefully. They were a serious, hard-eyed bunch right now. Very, very intimidating and competent. Although Larry hid it better, he had the same look about him. "We handle it." he said briefly.

"And you, Larry?" asked Jet.

Larry thought about how to frame his reply. Finally, he just said bluntly "I want the authorities involved," He held up his hand to forestall the massive explosion taking place around him. "Let me finish!" At his stone-faced glare, the Shadows backed down.

Jet had to hand it to the man. Lorenz Martelli still had iron control over his agents. No mean feat considering the strength of character and sheer capacity of each of them.

Larry waited until there was silence in the room again. Sullen silence, but silence none-the-less. "I want these kidnappers thrown in jail for the rest of their natural lives. I want absolutely everything that we've got at it's disposal thrown at them and landing on them so hard that they won't know what hit them. And above all, if any harm has come to Tony's kid brother Sean, anything – even something as minor as a scratch, I want these people nailed to the wall."

At Larry's vehemence the level of sulky glowering the room abated greatly, replaced by a mood of intense, laser-focused interest.

"That said, I want the bulk of this handled by us, and in such a way that Sean Meehan's safe. Once that's accomplished, then we move in with the authorities. But I want an air-tight case against these criminals. Any objections?"

A roomful of negatives was his answer. "Good then. Now, we need a game plan. Tony, you're the smart one. Any comments?"

"First off, I wouldn't try the wristcomms from our end. If they were able to, they'd've contacted us by now. One, they may not have them in their possession anymore and two, giving my little brother away'd put him in more danger than he already is." Tony commented.

"Agreed," Larry said in response. The others nodded as well. "What else?"

"Well, we know the transmission came into the vidphone this morning and was left as a message," said Tony. "So I believe that we're safe to assume he might communicate the same way the next time. Professor Chaos'll probably think it's secure."

Hank snorted "Yeah and it'd be if we weren't WOOHP! agents."

Jet nodded in agreement and said "Hank's right. With all the buzz about vidphones being the most secure of communication forms right now and all the safeguards in place around its transmissions, it'd follow that that's what they'll likely use."

The five exhausted men remaining in the study just looked at each other in silence for a moment in the bright light of the sunrise.

"What a mess." Jet muttered finally getting up and beginning to pace.

Hank, Bruce and Tony watched their adult bandmate knowingly. Jet's feet were moving which meant that the wheels in his brain were moving as well. Leaving Jet to it, the three teenagers turned to Larry.

"Any guesses as to when we'll get the next communication?" asked Hank.

Larry just looked at the three Shadows looking at him pointedly.

Bruce grimaced and threw up his hands. "I know, I know – stupid question. But seriously," he began. "Any plans in the works?"

"Maybe," Larry muttered. "It really depends on where and when they want the drop."

Hank, Bruce and Tony all studied their WOOHP! boss's face. They could see the strain in it. "Will you pay the ransom?" Tony asked desperately trying to keep his tone neutral.

The question stopped Jet cold in his tracks and he turned to look at his WOOHP! boss expectantly as well.

Larry gazed back thoughtfully at them for a moment, eyes hooded. Then he answered "If I have to – YES. Whatever it takes to get your kid brother back. And then I'll want blood."

He studied the four stunned Shadows for a moment and said "I suggest you four go home and get some sleep while you can. I want you guys in top form when we move." With that, Larry got up and left his office leaving the Shadows staring after him open mouthed.

The Shadows all looked at each other for a moment. They had always been under the impression that Larry was do whatever it took to protect his agents but to hear him state it quite so bluntly was another story. They were far more used to the subtle mind that created WOOHP! To see this side of Larry out in the open was quite another story.

When Sean woke up, he recognized that he was no longer in the van. Stretching his stiff neck, he realized that the last thing he remembered was finishing the transmission, then a needle driving deep into the side of his neck. As that memory surfaced, Sean's stomach churned and he turned his head just in time to lose his last meal. Drugged. Great, just great. Sean thought as he felt vaguely dizzy as well.

Shaking his head to try to clear it, he took stock of his situation. He was on a floor on what felt like thin padding of some kind with his hands handcuffed around some kind of post behind him and the blindfold still very much in place. The room smelled vaguely musty and he could hear rain on the roof. Additional smells of oil and machinery. A shop then. Some kind of outbuilding.

Sean listened carefully. Aside from rain, he could hear what sounded like light wind moving through trees. No traffic sounds, no city sounds. Out in the middle of nowhere then.

Sean continued to take stock of his situation and try to make plans as the time dragged on. But he was having a hard time making the intuitive mental leaps that had always come so easy for him. He just felt slow and logy. Like he wasn't thinking quite right. Kind of like when he was extremely tired and it seemed to take a minute to change his mental focus. God, what had they shot him up with?

He called out, yelling for Tony periodically but there was never any answer. Sean didn't know how much time had passed but eventually he was treated to the sound of a door opening, footsteps and an evil American voice which was a bit deeper that the voice he'd heard before.

"Good afternoon, Mr Meehan. I take it you enjoyed your nap?" the voice said.

"Not really," Sean replied coolly after clearing his throat. "I'm not overly fond of being drugged and who are you?"

"No, I don't suppose that you are and I am your older brother Tony's deadliest enemy Professor Chaos." the voice said.

There was a momentary lull in the conversation and he strained to hear the activity around him.

"No, you moron," Professor Chaos's voice suddenly hissed. "Over there. And clean up this mess!"

"Sorry." the man who kidnapped Sean answered him.

"Shut the hell up!" Professor Chaos snapped.

Two, at least, Sean thought. And from the sounds of it, maybe three people.

"So, kid," Professor Chaos's voice broke into his thoughts. "You'll be glad to know that you were as reasonable as your brother would've been if I'd gotten him too, he'll know you're in one piece and unharmed. It'd be appropriate to keep matters as they stand, don't you agree?" A pause which Sean did not fill.

"Now, we have the matter of the next transmission to your brother. WOOHP! headquarters in King's Cross, kid. Really. What must he have been thinking. Such a recluse and so weird. And such an extravagance. The ultimate in self-protection? Well, it hasn't sheltered him from outside interests this day."

Sean did his best to hide his laughter as he thought Self-protection, my bum! Professor Chaos had no clue whom he was dealing with. WOOHP! headquarters had some of the best communications tracing equipment in the world as Sean knew Tony had cause to know. Professor Chaos and his minions were poking a hornet's nest with the biggest stick imaginable and had absolutely no clue what they were doing. It was highly amusing that is until he remembered the gun to his own head. That thought sobered him up quickly.

"Don't forget," Professor Chaos said. "This is what I want you to say. Don't fail me or you'll suffer the consequences in your hearing. I assure you that you won't enjoy the process."

Sean felt cold at the chill tone of Professor Chaos's voice and said "I understand."

"Great," said Professor Chaos. "Here's what you're gona sayd 'Tony, I want you to know that I want you to bring ten million British pounds cash in unmarked, non sequential, random mix of used ten, twenty and fifty pound bills. Have these ready to deliver upon the next transmission. Don't call the police.' Okay?"

"Yes." Sean said.

"Good," said Prfoessor Choas evilly. "Repeat it to me please."

Sean did so.

"Great," said Professor Chaos. "Now, you'll repeat it on my say so, and say nothing else. Please remember this."

Sean cursed silently but obediently did as he was told. He just didn't see any other option.

"Great," said Prfoessor Chaos. "If your brother and his pals follow these instructions as well as you've followed yours, then you'll be safely home tomorrow night."

Sean could hear shuffling in the background as Prfoessor Choas said "Goodnight, kid." and the door shut leaving him in black silence once more.

Sean found himself trying hard to reach Tony even thought he was far away. Stay cool, Tony. No heroics. Just do as they say. Please! Sean thought as he finally turned his attention to trying to escape.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 4- It's Show Time

A few months ago, Professor Chaos taking over the world was one of the most harrowing things the Shadows could think of. It was their other line of work as well as musicians and their sanctuary. That was bad enough. But to be trapped with no other hope had made it even worse.

But his pipsqueak little brother had really come through. That alone had made Gordon think that there might be hope for the brat yet. As much as he could make Gordon crazy, they had always been pretty close. Gordon had always liked his sheer cheekiness, and besides, for him, it was utter self-defense to get close to Alan. Following in age order of the ‘big three’, geez, a guy found camaraderie where he could. Scott, John and Virgil always seemed like perfection personified, and Gordon was usually looking for new ways to take them down a peg or two. Alan always had managed to rise to the occasion to help him whatever plans he was making to torment their older brothers, and was usually a pretty admiring audience as well.

Gordon switched strokes again. Then came the whole rotten episode in late spring. Gordon still cringed when he remembered the things that he’d said. Alan had run away, and when they’d finally found him, he was so ill that they weren’t sure he’d pull through. That had been a really long couple of days. He still didn’t think Alan even knew how close he’d come to not making it.

But there had been good coming out of that time. Gordon now had not just an admiring audience, he had an active partner in crime. As Alan grew up, Gordon was discovering more hidden depths in his little brother. He thought about the prank they’d pulled on Scott with the computers. Well . . . let’s just say he had something else percolating in his mind for the two of them. But now this had to happen.

John and Alan both missing. They didn’t even know who was behind it. This was shaping up to be the worst year ever. Well, maybe not ever, but it was pretty close to as bad as the year his mother had died, and to the year he’d had the hydrofoil accident. Having seen his father’s face, he knew Jeff’s thoughts weren’t much different.

Alan was a magnet for trouble, Gordon thought as his mind turned back to his missing brothers. They all knew that. But John was Mr. Clean. He could make a boy scout look like a hoodlum. John had to live the most boring life imaginable, at least in Gordon’s opinion. Gordon was still astounded that John had joined in when he caught Alan reprogramming all the computers to practically self-destruct when Scott logged in. And John had never said a word to anyone about it. John was his brother, and he loved him, but he would never understand him. How could a guy be so absolutely unexciting?

Gordon’s mind skipped to another tangent as he swam. The thought of John and Alan together on this one made him laugh. He’d love to be a fly on the wall at some point in this one. Mr. Impulsive (Hurricane Alan as Virgil had once dubbed him) and Mr. Conservative himself. But they seemed to be getting along pretty well this summer. Dad had sure dumped Alan on John a lot, but John never seemed to care. He actually seemed to enjoy it.

Still, stressful situations brought out the worst in people, and he’d love to see where this one led. John probably wouldn’t ever tell him, but he’d get it out of Alan eventually. Gordon could play his little brother like a piano. Having five years on him sure didn’t hurt.

But first things first – they had to get them back. That led Gordon full circle again, and he started to chew over the days events again. His thoughts were halted as his attention was caught by movement at the side of the pool. Feet in fact, stopping at the edge, and wavering through the filter of the clear water. Gordon stopped mid stroke and emerged into the noise and sunlight, loud after the muffled solitude of underwater.

“What?” He said to Scott who was standing at the edge.

“Dad says to come up to the study. He wants to have a pow-wow,” Scott said briefly.

“Okay,” Gordon answered just as briefly, and proceeded to climb out of the pool. One look at Scott’s face had shown him that old Scotty was in ‘big brother mode’. There’d be no living with him until they got to the bottom of this. Tunnel vision didn’t even begin to cover it. Time to tread very carefully.

Gordon grabbed a towel and began to dry off as he watched Scott head purposefully for the study. He was under no illusions. Most kidnappings did not end successfully. As much as he tried to hide from the knowledge, he was well aware of it, and knew that his family was cognizant of this as well. So far, nobody had mentioned it, and Gordon was sure not going to be the one to point this out. If this all ended badly, it wasn’t only going to be John and Alan as the victims. This whole family would self-destruct. Ignoring the knots in his stomach, Gordon took a deep breath, and went to join the meeting in the study.

TB TB TB TB TB
John waited what seemed like an eternity before he began to try and see what he could do about getting loose. He’d been checked on twice. Nobody had spoken to him, but he had heard footsteps, then the door opening, sharpening the sounds of the rain. After a pause, the door had shut, and the footsteps had faded away again.

After the second check, John began to fiddle with the handcuffs and try to feel around behind him to see if there was something he could pick them with. He still felt lousy, even several hours after waking up. His head was killing him, and his neck was stiff. But worse was the way he was thinking. He still just felt slow, and like he wasn’t able to plan as well as he usually did. Shoving those thoughts aside as unproductive, he turned back to getting free.

TB TB TB TB TB
“What’s up? Any news?” Gordon asked as he entered the study a few minutes later than Scott, having detoured to dry off.

“No,” Jeff said from his seat at the desk. Scott had joined him, leaning with one hip hooked on the desk and conversing with Virgil via the vidphone.

Gordon dropped into a nearby chair and waited.

“I want to make sure everything is set. Make sure all the Thunderbirds are fuelled and equipped. I want the first aid supplies checked and ready. Virgil and Brains are standing by with the new tracking program. And I want us set up in shifts to monitor things from here.” Jeff held up a hand to forestall the inevitable protests from both Scott and Gordon, neither of who were willing to give up the first shift.

“No. We have no idea when this is going to go down. Having all of us operating on no rest is ludicrous. I want somebody in here round the clock, but only ONE of us. Understood?”

A chorus of ‘yes sirs’ answered him. But before Scott and Gordon could put their heads together to figure out a timetable, Jeff continued. “And boys? Make sure you put generic, non-identifiable flight suits in each of the birds. If we have contact with the kidnappers before the authorities as we’ve planned, they must have no inkling that you are International Rescue. Understood?”

“FAB,” came the response. And the Tracys went into action.

The remainder of that day and night were awful for Gordon. He had more patience than his little brother, but he also had an extremely high energy level. The waiting made him crazy. They were as prepared as they could be. The Thunderbirds were provisioned and ready. Generic flight suits and helmets in an intimidating charcoal gray were stowed, as well as carry-alls with civilian clothes for each of them just in case.

To Gordon, the hardest part was inventorying and restocking the emergency crash carts. Bad enough to have to use this stuff on people they rescued, but to have to use it on his own brothers. . . Gordon shuddered. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.

The red-haired Tracy son watched as Scott checked the weapons, and stayed well clear. He wasn’t going to cross Scott right now for anything. With the mood his older brother was in, Gordon was just going to stay in the background, let super-Tracy do his thing, then step in to clean up the aftermath. Scott had always been tough, and his time in the Air Force had just honed that to a razor’s edge.

He’d also always been fiercely protective of his brothers. Overprotective in Gordon’s opinion. Add those two traits together and Scott was downright intimidating. At least, now, the older Gordon got, the easier he found it to deflect that eagle-eyed attention of ‘Captain Tracy’ over to Alan and off himself with just a couple of words. He’d gotten remarkably adept at it. A skill his little brother had yet to learn, Gordon thought to himself with a grin.

With everything done and ready, the activity on the island settled to a quiet waiting. A quiet pregnant with anticipation and alert readiness. The Tracy family stuck to their watch schedule, but otherwise disappeared to silently indulge in whatever helped them to cope. Action was preferred, but until that time, they persevered through the hardest thing of all – waiting.