Moonstrike! Chapter 10 - Homecoming
Author's note: Details about the Tracy Villa and the underground layout are from Graham Bleathman's various cross-sections. The path from the airstrip to the Villa level is an addition.
Disclaimers, et al.
Chapter 1: Discovery
Chapter 2: Enemies
Chapter 3: Trust
Chapter 4: Disappearance
Chapter 5: Alarms
Chapter 6: Contrasts
Chapter 7: Reasons
Chapter 8: Travels
Chapter 9: Rescue!
"TRAC 0004, requesting permission to land."
"Permission granted, and welcome home, all of you. Come join us in the dining room when you're ready."
Rhea smiled. "See you in a bit, Dad, and thanks." She looked over to John. "Dining room, at this hour? Sounds like the boys went out."
"Sure does. Not only that, they haven't been home that long, either. Wonder what went down." John surveyed his instruments, bringing the jet low over the water, heading for the landing strip. He flipped a switch. "Tin-Tin, we're making final approach."
"Thank you, John." Tin-Tin's voice filtered into the cockpit. "Everything's secured back here."
"F-A-B," John replied, grinning. Rhea glanced upwards, shook her head a little, then turned her gaze to watch the tarmac roll up towards the plane.
They touched down smoothly, and the jet slowed as it approached the smaller hangar door, which was already opening for it. The hangar was brightly lit, and they slowly passed Thunderbird Two, raised up on her spindly-looking legs, the Mole revealed inside the pod, filthy, the corkscrew drill bit packed with dirt and rock. "Looks like the Mole had a workout." John's comment was so offhand that Rhea shot him a puzzled frown. He glanced over at her, and asked, "What?"
She paused, trying to think of what to say. "You... never seem this... blasé about it. It's always been a big, exciting thing for you, being on earth, going out on rescues. Getting your hands dirty, you always said. You don't sound so excited now."
He sighed. "Ray, I feel like I've been going non-stop since I arrived home. I need some rest, some of Grandma's good food, some sun, and then watch me go."
"I'm sorry, John," she replied softly, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm tired, too. It's been a rough couple of days.."
John smiled at her as he brought the jet to a stop in its berth and powered down the engines. "Maybe we'll both get some rest this holiday."
He picked up a data pad, and downloaded the mileage they'd flown. "I'll do post flights later." He unbuckled his restraints and stretched his long arms above his head, then rolled his head around. His neck made little crackling sounds as he did. "I need some sleep first."
"Look, there's Kyrano!" Rhea gave the retainer a wave, then unfastened her own safety harness. "Let's get out of here. The dogs probably need to do their business."
She moved between the pilot and co-pilot seats and headed back into the cabin. Tin-Tin already had the door open and the steps down. Kyrano waited at the bottom, an antigravity float humming patiently behind him. Rhea smiled as Tin-Tin gave her father a brief, heartfelt hug, and they exchanged greetings in French. John leaned out the door. "Hey, Kyrano."
The retainer beamed at him. "Hello, Mister John. Shall I take the luggage from the hold?"
"Just wait a moment or two, okay? I'm going to help Rhea get her dogs out for walkies, then I'll pitch in."
Rhea appeared at the top of the steps, Bodie on a leash. She gave him a rueful smile as she led the dog down the steps. "Hello, Kyrano. Did you get my message about the dogs?"
"Hello, Miss Rhea," Kyrano smiled and gave a small bow. "I did indeed receive your message and have made arrangements for the delivery of more food."
"Whew!" Rhea looked relieved. "Thanks, Kyrano. You're a lifesaver!" She turned to watch John urging Bruno down the steps. "Come on, you big mutts. Time for walkies!"
She hurried over to the hangar door, which was sliding open at John's command. As soon as it was high enough for Bodie to walk under, Rhea ducked beneath the edge and ran over to the side of the airstrip. There, among the palms that lined the runway, Bodie wasted no time in relieving herself. John had a little more difficulty with Bruno, who insisted on sniffing the base of three different palms before saluting the third in true doggy fashion.
John handed Bruno's leash to Rhea. "Here, take him. I've got to help Kyrano with the luggage."
"Okay. We'll be in soon," Rhea said as she watched John head back to the hangar.
He turned in mid-stride. "Don't be too long; Dad and Grandma are both waiting."
"Right."
John disappeared inside, and Rhea let out a sigh. She breathed deeply; the night was warm and full of stars; a subtle breeze from the sea brought its eternally fresh scent her way. Sitting down on a rock, the leashes lying slackly in her hands, she was suddenly aware of how overdressed she was for the tropics. Bruno came out from behind the rock, and another odor permeated the air. "Ew! What have you been eating, you big lug? Has Therese been feeding you cheese again? Yikes!"
Taking his face in both hands, she ruffled his fur and touched her forehead to his. Bodie came up beside him, giving a slight whine. "Oh, you jealous baby! I can't pay attention to one without paying attention to both!" She repeated her action with Bodie, adding a kiss for good measure. She glanced up at the sky again, so luminous with starlight that she could almost walk the path up to the house without any other illumination. Then she turned her gaze to the cliff, so dark and foreboding. Her view of the top was spoiled by the Cliff House itself, jutting far out over the tarmac. The light from the open hangar door beckoned, and with another heavy sigh, she got to her feet. "Come on, you two. Time to face the music."
By the time she and the dogs got up to the Villa, the debriefing was winding down. She stood just outside the open dining room door, listening to her brothers.
"So, in the future, please inform each other where you've put the equipment," Scott said. He sounded sober, and slightly chiding. "We lost valuable time having to clean out the imager and laser cutter."
"And make sure you bring along an extra tank of air if you think you'll be long," Jeff's commanding voice added. "Alan, any news on our little rescuee?"
Alan sounded as if he were in the room, not floating tens of thousands of miles above the earth, and it startled Rhea for a moment. "Broken leg, some bruising and scraping. He may lose a few toes, too, from circulatory deprivation; Agent 44 reports that the doctors aren't quite sure yet. His parents are with him in Seoul, and the grate has been replaced on the drain."
"Will Kwan do what I asked him to?" Gordon sounded so serious; it made Rhea wonder if something had gone wrong on the rescue.
"Yes," Alan replied. "One new soccer ball will be delivered to Jintao's hospital room, courtesy of International Rescue."
Virgil chuckled, his tone warm and wry as he added, "I bet he'll be the envy of all his friends."
"If he even dares to play with it," Scott said, his voice now good-humored. There was a pause as the men laughed, and he asked, "Is there anything else?"
She heard a murmur of negatives, then Jeff said, "Then this debriefing is adjourned." There was the sound of people getting up and stretching, the clatter of silverware, the clink of glasses.
"I wish Rhea would get up here; the food's getting cold." Another voice, female, older, and slightly peevish, sounded out. "How long does it take to walk those dogs of hers?"
"That's our cue," Rhea muttered as she stepped into the dining room, flanked by Bruno and Bodie. "Sorry it took me so long, everyone," she called, smiling. Looking around, and seeing her brothers sitting around the table with coffee cups and data pads, she added, "I take it the debriefing is over?"
"Yes, sweetheart, it is. We've just finished." Jeff crossed the room to embrace her. She dropped the leashes and stepped forward to return the hug with a fierceness that always surprised her. He kissed her on the forehead, as he usually did, and stepped back an arms-length to look at her. "It's good to see you, Rhea. How was your flight?"
"Long, but not boring, since I had John to talk to." She grinned at John, who was busy filling his mouth with food, then turned to her youngest brother - or at least, the vid feed of him, streaming live to her father's laptop. "Alan! You doing all right up there? I heard something about a sprained ankle..."
Alan, who had been waiting for an opportunity to say something, groaned. "I suppose I should have expected that. My ankle is doing fine, thank you very much. How are you doing, Ray?"
"Better now that I'm here." She took a spot near the end of the table. Bodie nudged a chair aside to worm her way under the table, while Bruno simply laid down behind Rhea.
"You are looking too pale, Rhea. Are you hungry?" Patricia Tracy came from the kitchen with a freshly baked chicken pot pie on a plate, and a bowl of saland, placing them down in front of her granddaughter. "What would you like to drink?"
"It's good to see you, too, Grandma." Rhea took the silverware that her brothers passed to her. "Just water, thanks. It's three in the morning today back in New York and I don't need any caffeine keeping me awake." She glanced around. "Where's Brains?"
"He took his dinner down in the lab around seven, and as far as I know, hasn't left it." Patricia put a tall glass of ice water down, then sat in the chair across from Rhea. "Tin-Tin took two pot pies down with her, just to make sure he ate something. Said she'd had a nap on the way back and wanted to get some more work in before bed." The old woman shook her head. "Those two are working entirely too hard." Her voice was meant to carry, and it did, for Jeff stopped to glance at her before wandering back to his seat.
He sat down, and began quietly discussing something with Scott. Both Gordon and Virgil had a freshly-showered look about them, but Alan let out a big yawn, not even bothering to cover his mouth. Rhea chuckled a little, then began to eat.
"On that note," Alan said. "I'll say goodnight. Ray, good to see you again. I hope we can talk later."
She hastily swallowed some half-chewed potatoes. "Count on it," she said, waving a little, her voice thick. "Goodnight."
Her sentiment was echoed by the others around the table, and with a final, "Thunderbird Five, out," Alan's picture disappeared.
John sat back and wiped his mouth with a linen napkin. "Grandma, that was great! Worth coming home to."
Patricia beamed. "I'm so glad you liked it, John, and happy that you, Tin-Tin, and Rhea showed up before these boys ate them all!" She turned back to Rhea. "So you'll be here more than a week?"
Rhea held up a finger as she drained half the water. She patted her lips dry, then said, "Pretty much. I figure I'll leave a week from tomorrow and give myself a day to recoup. I gave Therese the week off, too. I wasn't going to be there, after all. I did have Andrew call..." She turned her attention to her salad, forking up the first mouthful.
"I knew he'd called, but I didn't know why," Patricia said. "It was good of you to let Therese have the whole week. We'll get you all fed and rested."
Rhea and John continued to eat as, one by one, their brothers got up and stretched. "I need to do post-flights on Thunderbird One," Scott said, "Then I'll help you and Gordon with the Mole, Virgil."
"Better say goodnight to your sister then," Jeff suggested. "From the looks of it, I doubt she'll be waiting up for you to finish."
"Good idea, Dad." Gordon grinned as he passed behind her, leaning over to murmur, "Goodnight, Rat," in her ear. Bodie growled from where she was, and Bruno lifted his head to keep the redhead in sight.
"Goodnight, Leroy," Rhea replied, smirking in return. "See you in the morning."
He kissed his fingers and blew over them, in her direction. She ducked, chuckling.
"I swear you two act like teenagers when you're here, Rhea," Patricia said, shaking her head.
"That's only because Gordon's in his second childhood, and I like to humor him," Rhea quipped. "I'd better make sure there's nothing weird in my bed and my shower head hasn't been tampered with." She scooped up the last bit of pot pie, and ate it. "That was great, Grandma. Thank you."
"Would you like any more?" Patricia was ready to stand and get Rhea seconds, but the younger woman shook her head.
"No, thanks, Grandma. I'm fine."
Scott skirted around Bruno to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Good to see you in one piece, Ray. Talk to you in the morning."
Rhea smiled, a little rueful expression, and returned the kiss. "Good to see you, too, Scott. Goodnight."
"Yes, we've all heard about your little escapade," Virgil added as he took his sister's hand and kissed it. "Talk more about it tomorrow. Goodnight, sis."
She sighed. "Goodnight, Virgil. See you at breakfast."
Virgil turned around, laughing and pointing as he walked backwards. "I'll believe that when I see it!" he said. He gave her a sloppy salute, and nearly stumbled as he spun back around and headed out into the hallway.
Shaking her head, Rhea pushed back her chair and stood as Jeff came towards her. "Did you have to tell the whole world?" she asked, picking up her dishes and glass.
"I'll take care of that this time, dear," Patricia murmured.
Rhea didn't miss the slight emphasis on "this time". She stifled another sigh, and stepped back as Bodie clawed her way out from under the table. Bruno was already sitting up, accepting rubs from a crouching Jeff. Bodie moved in to try and gain his favor as well, and the combination of two huge dogs jostling for attention knocked Jeff on his rear.
"Bruno! Bodie!" Rhea said sharply. "Heel!"
The two dogs returned to her side, and John, who had been on his way out, offered their father a hand up. "You okay, Dad?"
"Nothing hurt but my pride," Jeff said, a wry smile on his face. "Those two are a handful!" He gave each dog a last ruffle on the head. "Heading to bed, John?"
"Yeah" John yawned and stretched. "I'd offer to help the guys, but was a long flight. I'll do post-flights on the family van in the morning, if that's okay." He leaned over to give his sister a kiss on the cheek, which she returned. "Goodnight, Rhea."
"Goodnight, John. See you at breakfast."
"Breakfast? I'm with Virgil on that one - believe it when I see it." John grinned as he made his way around the table to Patricia. "Jet lag will have its way, you just wait." He hugged his grandmother, and kissed her on the forehead. "G'night, Grandma. Thanks for a great meal."
Patricia smiled. "And goodnight to you, John. See you in the morning."
"Dad, see you in the daylight." John gave a last wave and sauntered from the room, hands in his pockets.
Jeff ran a critical eye over his daughter. "You look like you're wilting, sweetheart."
"I am." She and Patricia met at the end of the table to embrace. "Goodnight, Grandma. Thanks again for the food; it was great."
"You're welcome, Rhea. Sweet dreams."
Rhea picked up the dogs' leashes, and headed down the hallway. Most of the family had their suites upstairs, with quick access to the lounge in case of emergency. Rhea had one on the ground floor; it made getting her dogs outdoors a lot easier.
She wasn't surprised to find her father pacing her down the hall, Bruno between them. They walked in silence until they reached her suite. She opened the door; it slid aside, and she let the dogs off their leashes. "Go ahead, Bruno, Bodie." They crowded through, Bruno a little in the lead. Motion-sensitive lights went on inside.
Rhea turned to her father. "John's probably right. I'll likely sleep in."
Jeff smiled. "I'll try to keep Gordon from playing 'Reveille' at the crack of dawn."
She chuckled. "Thanks, Dad." Her chuckle ended in a deep sigh, one of relief. "It's good to be here."
"And it's good to have you home." He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Rhea. Sleep well."
Waving a little at him, she stepped through the door and it closed behind her. Jeff sighed. "Better go see what the brains of the operations is up to, and chase him and Tin-Tin to bed if necessary."
Tin-Tin stretched and yawned, then settled back into her chair. "We need more information, Brains. The data that the probes have provided..."
"Is n-not enough, I agree." Brains was scanning lines of numbers, his screen set to maximum text size. "We n-need samples, and better scans. If Mr. Tracy decides to s-send a mission..."
His comment broke off as Jeff came into the lab. "H-Hello, Mr. T-Tracy."
"Good evening, Brains, Tin-Tin. Any news?" Jeff pulled up a tall lab stool and sat down across the table from Brains.
"Not much new to report, Mr. Tracy. The probes' images aren't giving us the data we need." Tin-Tin rubbed her eyes a bit.
"So it looks like we've got to take a trip." It was a flat statement, not a question.
"Yes, sir," Brains said, nodding. "I still don't understand why the, uh, World Government doesn't see the, uh, d-danger."
"I don't either, Brains. I'm of the opinion that they do, but they don't want to admit it. I can't believe they are truly blind." Jeff sounded disgusted. "But they're leaving it to us to deal with the threat, as usual."
Tin-Tin frowned. She got up and put a hand on Jeff's arm. "You sound so... cynical, Mr. Tracy. It's not like you."
Jeff gave her a sad smile, and patted her hand. "I'm not usually a cynical person, Tin-Tin. I like to believe the best, in people and for the future. But this... this may be well beyond our capabilities. It's the biggest challenge we've ever faced, or ever will face, if the fates are kind. I don't know that we can do it." He shook his head. "But to fail... means losing so much."
"Mr. Tracy." Brains rose from his seat and moved to face his employer. His light blue eyes met Jeff's darker blue ones. "You have a-always said, 'Never g-give up, at any c-cost'. And I'm not willing to, uh, give up, not yet. We still have a ch-chance to defeat this, but we must d-do it together." He paused, straightening his shoulders. "That's why I think you n-need to tell the boys about this now. Their input could be, uh, invaluable."
There was a long, drawn out sigh, then Jeff shook his head. "No, not yet, Brains. I want as many of our ducks in a row as possible before we broach the subject to the boys. When we're nearly ready, then I'll involve them."
The two engineers exchanged worried glances. "M-Mr. Tracy," Brains began, "we r-really need..."
"To get some sleep," Jeff said quietly. "My mother made it a point to tell me she thinks you're both working too hard, and I have to agree." He rose, and gave them both a benevolent smile. "So you're both to quit for the night and come back to this fresh in the morning." Moving towards the door, he paused and pointed at each of them. "Consider that an order."
The doors parted, he stepped through and was gone. Tin-Tin and Brains glanced at each other; she shrugged, and he shook his head slowly.
"Perhaps if John spoke with him...," she began.
"I d-doubt he'd listen," Brains morosely muttered. He returned to his computer and began to save his work for shut down. "But he's, uh, correct in one matter."
Tin-Tin looked over at him from her workstation, where she was preparing to shut her computer down. "What's that?"
"We n-need some sleep." Brains smiled at her ruefully. "You shouldn't have come down here after, uh, flying back from New Y-York. I didn't expect you to."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Brains, I told you I'd had a lovely nap on the way back, and I had. I just couldn't stay in the dining room with those big dogs of Rhea's; they're very intimidating. Coming down here was as much self-preservation as it was anything."
"Dogs? She brought both?" Brains didn't sound terribly interested; he was just clarifying a point, a habit of his that Tin-Tin was used to.
"Yes, she did. You can ask her why tomorrow."
"If I remember to, I, uh, will."
Their computers in hibernation mode, the two left the lab. Brains locked it with his handprint on a scanner, while Tin-Tin called the monorail car. The underground parts of the island were never truly silent; there was always the humming of machinery emanating from somewhere. Tin-Tin had spent so much time down there that she could identify each sound. A throbbing thrum came from the power plant that lay up the grade from the lab block. There was a buzzing from the lights above their heads, and a sort of low pitched whine heralded the appearance of the monorail car as it rounded the bend by the power plant.
The red transport slowed to a stop in front of the lab's platform, and Brains gallantly handed Tin-Tin into the car. He took his place at the controls, and with deft fingers, set the course back up the grade and to the elevator banks. Tin-Tin sat down on a padded seat, turning so that she could prop an elbow on an inside railing, and support her head with a gently curled fist.
"Do you think we can do it?"
Brains turned to her briefly, then turned back to stare out the front window of the car. "We h-have to. There's, uh, no other choice and one else who can."
"She's what?" The voice on the other end of the phone rose to a screech, and the man pulled it away from his ear.
"She's gone. Left early to go home. Didn't come into the office at all, and when I asked around, I was told she was on her way to her father's place."
"Damn! And here we were planning for both her and her brother this weekend."
He shook his head, even though his caller couldn't see him. "We discussed this. It's too soon. Henderson is going to be touchy about security for months now, and will make sure anyone named Tracy is thoroughly covered, no matter where they go."
"Even at her father's place?" The voice sounded thoughtful and speculative.
His eyes widened in incredulity. "Her father's place? Are you kidding? He doesn't exactly live in Kansas, you know! His location is one of the best kept secrets in the world. All I know is that it's a private island in the southern Pacific. He's locked up the coordinates somehow; only the family and a few very close friends know where it is." He paused. A buzzer had gone off in his office. "I have to get back to work. Later."
He cut off the call, and responded to the buzzer. "Yes, Tammy?"
A perky voice responded. "Sir, there are two detectives here. They'd like to speak to you about yesterday."
He drew in a sharp breath, then let it out, allowing himself to relax. He had nothing to worry about, after all. He was secure, well-hidden. No one could connect him with Tellus Prime, or with those two imbeciles whose fate had been sealed before the day was new. He nodded to himself, confident of his camouflage, and adjusted his tie. "Show them in, Tammy."