Stranger
Sometimes, meeting a stranger can be a good thing. Without any strangers, you can't meet someone new.
I'm back! And with another part of The Apologize Saga! Betcha y'all happy now, aren't cha? Well, once again, thanks must be given to my Beta Reader Athena's Owl for once again Betaing this fic. Let's all give a big hand for her!
*Tracy's clap approvingly. 'specially Gordon and Alan*
One more thing for Athena's Owl, she is taking her paramedic training this week, so let's all wish her good luck!
Disclaimer: Some wishes come true, and some don't. I will never own Thunderbirds or Alan. Wahhh!
WARNING: Mention of torture devices and other pre-gore stuff in this first part.
Just a hint on some of the things happening here. CPS stands for Child Protection Service, APB stands for All Point Bulletin.
I betcha y'all are tired of listening to me, so without further adu, I present The Apologize Saga: Part 3: Stranger
"BOY! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!" Adam Frost bellowed drunkenly from the doorway leading to the back yard. When no reply was forthcoming, he staggered outside into the downpour and yelled again when he reached the tree house.
Still getting no reply, he attempted to climb up the "steps," which were actually long wooden pieces nailed to the trunk. However, the pieces were wet from the rain and he ended up falling on his arse. "When I get a hold of you, you're going to get a thrashin'," he slurred darkly before getting up and stumbling back into the house, not noticing the trapdoor was wide open.
The next morning found Adam once again attempting to climb the steps. Unlike the previous evening, this time he made it. His head swiveled around when he noticed the "house" was empty. Scrambling down the tree, he quickly ran back to the house.
"JUDY!" he screamed in a panic.
Judy, wearing the same clothes as yesterday, came running into the living room, if you could even call the pigsty with the moldy carpet, ten day old food, roaches, and maybe even a rat or two, a living room. "What is it, Adam?" she asked, her breath smelling strongly of alcohol.
"The little bastard is gone! He escaped during the night!"
"WHAT?!" Judy screeched. "That effing shit! After all we've done for him!"
Adam walked across the room, dodging the rats, until he reached the dresser. Opening one of the drawers, he pulled out a box.
"Is that what I think it is?" Judy asked with a sick smile.
"The rest of it is downstairs. This is all I need to bring him back. Then we can have fun."
"Working at that damn Tracy Enterprises is really helping our cause. Who would've thought that we could've gotten these toys anywhere else? I can't wait to use that cattle prod on his skin. At full power, too!"
"Calm down, my love. I'm a goin' huntin', and there ain't anything that damn Jeff Tracy can do about it. This time, we'll go through with our threat we made seven years ago. We'll send him his son, piece by piece."
"Skin strip by skin strip," Judy added, snickering.
"Tissue by tissue!"
"Hair strand by hair strand!"
Adam pocketed the small gun and walked over to the door, grabbing a long, ragged jacket and putting it on. He turned back to Judy and smiled, showing his yellow teeth. "No matter how long it takes, I'll bring back Alan Tracy. And this time, he won't escape."
With that, he slammed the door shut, making the house shake.
~Thunderbirdsarego~
"What did you just say?" Scott asked, his tone edging on angry. Alex's eyes lost their brightness and closed.
"Scott, quiet. Kiddo, what's your name?" Jeff asked in a soothing voice.
"Alex. Alex Frost," came the meek reply.
"Alright, Alex. What are your parents names?"
There was some hesitation before Alex quietly replied, his voice full of fear. "Adam and Judy Frost."
Jeff stiffened. 'It couldn't be…' he thought. "Did they ever work at Tracy Enterprise?" he asked sharply.
"Dad?" Virgil questioned. Jeff held up a hand and shook his head and mouthed, "I'll explain later."
Alex didn't answer. He just turned his head away. 'They could never understand what I went through…' A soft sigh emanated from the boy as his chest rose raggedly, his breath catching slightly. His ribs hurt, as did his stomach, but he was used to the pain. It didn't bother him as much as it used to. But what he couldn't understand was the fact that it was getting harder and harder to breathe.
Virgil glanced at the others before lifting Alex's shirt and running his hand gently across the boy's ribs. 'Why didn't I notice this before? Why didn't I notice that he was having trouble breathing? Some medic I am…' he thought in annoyance. As he got to one of the upper ribs, he frowned as Alex let out a quiet yelp of pain. His anxiety only increased as he listened to the rapid breathing, and realized it was barely there at all on the right side; right where the injured rib was. Virgil let down his shirt and reached for the oxygen mask that was hanging on a hook beside the bed.
"I'm just going to put you on some oxygen okay? You need to calm down," he said. He reached for the monitor the tube was already connected to and turned the flow on.
"That alright?"
Alex nodded, his eyes closed.
Virgil thenpulled Brains away. Speaking in a hushed voice, he spoke, "I'm pretty sure he has at least one broken rib and a punctured lung. We're going to need x-rays. And fast." Brains nodded. Virgil walked back over to the group and turned to Alex. "Alex? I'm going to have to x-ray your chest. But before I do that, can you answer one more question for us?"
A small nod was the only reply.
"Alright, I'll lay it straight. Alex, were you ever abused?"
There was a moment a brief hesitation before a confusing answer was given. "International Rescue saves people, right?" Alex's voice was barely above a whisper, and somewhat muffled by the mask.
"Yeah," Gordon said questioningly. "But what does th-"
"Thank you for saving me."
Alex fell into the abyss once more, leaving more questions just waiting to be asked. His ragged breathing became even more so, enough that everyone could notice it this time.
Virgil didn't waste any time. "Alright, the rest of you, out! Out, out, out, out! We have work to do!"
Jeff didn't like being pushed out of the infirmary much and was about to tell Virgil so, when he glanced down at Alex again. He gently placed his hand on the boy's forehead and ruffled his hair, ignoring the fact that it was filthy. It seemed almost natural to him. Feeling the stares of his sons and friend, he quickly pulled his hand back and walked out of the infirmary. A few seconds later, he stuck his head back in. "Uh, you boys coming? I'm pretty sure Virgil and Brains want to get started on saving the kid's life."
"Uh, yeah…Right…Come on, Gordy," Scott said, grabbing his younger brother's upper arm.
"But-"
"You can come back and see him later," Scott muttered, a scowl still plastered on his face.
"Fine," Gordon muttered, following his older brother out of the room.
~Thunderbirdsarego~
Nine minutes later found Jeff, Scott, and Gordon waiting in the hallway outside of the infirmary. Gordon was pacing back and forth, and was driving Scott nuts. Scott was about to clobber his brother when Gordon spoke.
"Dad?" the copper-topped Tracy asked.
"Yes, Gordon?"
"Do you believe him? What if he's not who he says he is?"
Just then, Virgil and Brains invited them back in. "We've got him stabilized," Virgil spoke quietly. "We'll clean him up and run a DNA test, Dad." Jeff glanced at Brains, who nodded.
"It would be no p-pr-problem at a-all. Mr. T-Tracy," Brains said.
Jeff nodded. "Do that and get back to me. Take notes of all his injuries. We're going to need it in order for the CPS to send him to a foster home."
"You're going to turn him over to them?!" Gordon asked incredulously.
Jeff looked at him. "Of course. He can't stay here. It's too dangerous."
"Yeah, but-" Gordon began, but was cut off by his father once more.
"No,Gordon. He's going into foster care and that's final," Jeff said firmly.
"You wouldn't do this if Alan was still here," Gordon muttered as he walked toward the door.
The room went silent except for the hiss of the oxygen that was still attached to Alex's nose and mouth.
"What was that?" Jeff growled.
Gordon paused in the doorway and answered without turning around. "Nothin'. I'll take the responsibility for the kid until the CPS can find a home for him. I won't abandon him." With no other words, he left and the door closed with a hiss.
Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, mentally counting to ten. In Japanese. "I don't know where he got that attitude."
Scott knew the answer, but thought it best not to respond. Instead he glanced down at Alex and sighed before also leaving the infirmary to find his younger brother.
"Dad?" Virgil questioned.
Jeff looked up from pinching his nose and discovered that everyone else, save for Vigil and Brains, had left. "I'm going, I'm going." And with that, he left.
Virgil and Brains were about to get started taking x-rays when the infirmary doors opened with a hiss. They glanced up and saw Jeff standing there. "Make sure the kid's going to be all right."
Virgil smiled. "FAB, Dad."
~Thunderbirdsarego~
Two hours later found Gordon swimming laps in the pool, Scott in the lounge reading a book, and Jeff in his office. Tin-tin and Fermat were doing their homework and hadn't heard about Alex; Onaha was making dinner, and Kyrano was tending his garden.
Gorgon sighed as he hauled himself out of the pool. 'Maybe I should apologize to Dad,' he thought. He grabbed a towel and was headed towards his father's office when he ran into Virgil.
"Virgil!" he exclaimed. "What's up?" he asked, seeing Virgil's panicked face.
"It's hard to explain."
"Well, try!"
"Well, we were cleaning up the kid-"
"Alex," Gordon interjected. "His name's Alex."
"Right. Well, were cleaning up Alex and…" He broke off, unsure of how to continue.
"And?"
""You'll just have to come and see for yourself!" Vigil grabbed his younger brother's arm and pulled him along.
"What's going on?"
Virgil and Gordon froze and slowly turned around to see Scott standing behind them. They quickly glanced at each other before each grabbing one of Scott's arms and pulling him along with them.
"Hey!" Scott cried, trying to free himself from his brothers.
"Virgil thinks he knows who Alex really is!"
"I never said anything like that!" Virgil objected.
"Well then tell us what is going on!" Scott ordered.
Virgil stopped and turned to look at them. In a quiet voice, he whispered, "I…I think… I think we've found Alan."
Dead silence met his words.
"Wh-What did you just say?" Scott stammered.
"I said 'I think we've found Alan.'"
Scott found himself getting angry. "Get real."
"Scott-" Gordon began, but Scott cut him off.
"Alan's gone, guys. I don't know why I didn't see it before, but…he's gone…"
"Scott-" Virgil attempted to say.
Scott felt his pent up anger building, and then exploded, "Screw you, Virge! Live with it. Alex is not Alan. No matter how much he may look like him. Alan is long gone and it's all my friggin fault! Don't you dare tell me otherwise."
His harsh words felt like a slap to Virgil and a punch in the gut to Gordon. They could only watch helplessly as Scott turned around and left.
After what felt like hours, they continued on down to the infirmary, where Gordon's eyes widened in amazement when he noticed how similar Alex was to Alan. He would've noticed the similarities before, but the griminess of Alex's hair prevented that. Well, that and the fact that Alex was covered in scars, bruises, and was filthy.
~Thunderbirdsarego~
It had been two months since Alex had stowed away on Thunderbird 2, and a month, three weeks and three days since Alex had woken up from a coma he had slipped into. He never did recover his memories of when he was younger than seven, but didn't even try. He just figured that they would be just like all the others.
Virgil and Gordon still held onto their suspicions on who Alex really was, but didn't share them with anyone. No one ever did find out if Alex was really who he says he was. The DNA testing machine turned out to be faulty and malfunctioned, leaving what little data they had come up with, inconclusive. Jeff Tracy had contacted the CPS, who in turn began looking for a home for Alex immediately; so far, they'd had no luck. An APB went out on to the two people who matched Adam and Judy's pictures, Alex had described them in complete and perfect detail for Virgil, who drew the pictures and gave them to the police. No one was ever found.
Gordon and Virgil hung out with Alex as much as they could, even telling him some of the secrets of the Thunderbirds, since Alex already knew who they were and had sworn he wouldn't tell.
John had even come down to meet the infamous Alex and had the same suspicions as Gordon and Virgil. It was only when he had brought a magazine in for Alex to read that they discovered the poor teenager could barely read at all; he could read some, but it was extremely difficult. So, they spent as much time as possible teaching him to read while they showed him around the island.
Tin-tin and Fermat finally met the newcomer and had become good friends with him. They had shown him some of their secret hideouts and walked down to the beach with him from time to time.
Jeff even hung out with the boy who reminded him so much of his long-lost youngest child. He taught Alex how to behave at the table and helped him learn how to read as well. When he had seen the pictures Virgil had sketched from Alex's memory, he instantly became protective of Alex. He knew there was something about those two faces that sent shivers down his backside. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let them come near Alex again.
Parker taught Alex how to pick locks, hotwire cars, do the Parker Haymaker, and all that good stuff Alex might need.
John- when he was able to come home- Virgil, and Gordon taught Alex how to fight, and fight well. They challenged him often, and rarely surprised him.
Brains taught him how to use computers and educated him in other school necessities like math, science, ect.
Virgil, when no one else was watching or listening, secretly taught Alex to play the piano. Turned out the kid was pretty good at it.
John personally taught the kid about the stars by pointing out the individual constellations.
Gordon, of course, taught Alex how to swim. They even got into water fights.
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward had come to the island from time to time and was absolutely charmed by the teenager who made the family seem whole again and made everyone happy.
Well, almost everyone. Scott didn't want anything to do with the kid. He would just watch from the balcony in his room as his brothers played in the pool with the kid, fuming. He didn't trust this kid.
And he didn't know why.
~Thunderbirdsarego~
Adam Frost looked at the TV in the window in disgust. His picture was plastered all over it with the words "WANTED" on the top. 'Damn bastard can't keep his mouth shut!' he thought in anger. 'This is only going to make my job harder! When I find you Alan Tracy, you are going to wish you had never been born!' With that last evil thought, he turned and walked away from the crowded streets of NYC, pulling his hood up while he walked. He was going to go and borrow a wig so that he could continue his hunt.
This is not the end. Merely the beginning. Do not fret, my humble readers, for your wish for this saga to continue shall be appeased…
Well, howdy-doo! Whazzup me hommies? Lol. Forget I ever said that! I hoped you liked this latest installment of the Apologize Saga. Goodness knows I took long enough to write it! And I did tell you it would be extra long!
And I KNOW John, Virgil, and Gordon were mentioned a lot in the last part, but they helped out Alex more than the others.
Don't worry, this saga is nowhere NEAR being finished! I still got a lot more to do! Alright, I'll give you a preview of the next part. DON'T FORGET IT'S A ONESHOT!!!!!!!!
Part 4The CPS [child protection service] had found a foster home for Alex after he had spent two months living on the island in happiness. Alex can't understand why the Tracy's don't want him, and he goes back into his shell. Meanwhile, the Tracy's are sad to see him go. Even Scott, though he doesn't show it. But Danger looms around the corner as Adam Frost continues to search for his "son."
Now this may change, but I am not sure. I may just keep it like this! What do you think?
Until next time!!!
Fenix