Crosscut Part Deux
by Crystalquirt
It's another of Van Arkle's Abandoned Mines.
[[[ I do not own anything to do with 'The Thunderbirds Are Go,' past or present. [Wish I did] but I just love this show and do not get to see new episodes very often. It is so awesome and great entertainment for all! This story is a work of Fan Fiction, and no profit is made from it.
Writing and reading other writers fan fiction about The Thunderbird's Characters helps me fill the void between new episodes and I hope with constructive criticism, helps my writing improve. ]]]
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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"Tracy Island, this is Thunderbird 5, we have a situation," John called.
"What's up Thunderbird 5?" Scott asked.
"Remember your pal, Miriam Van Arkle?"
"How could I forget? She tried to kill me three times in three different ways in not much more than three minutes," Scott admitted.
"We have a report of two people trapped in the abandoned Van Arkle Diamond & Gold Mine in Namibia. Mining operations stopped twenty years ago when the supply of gold ran out. The diamonds had all been extracted years before that," John said.
"Why would people have gone inside?"
"and how? Wasn't it sealed?"
"I've contacted Miriam Van Arkle at GDF Headquarters, and she knows of no reason why anyone would be inside the mine."
"How did you find out that there are people inside?" Virgil asked, sitting down on the couch in front of where Scott was standing.
"We had a report of at least two men going inside and soon after there was a cave-in. The kids who reported it ran straight to where they could make contact and then couldn't find their way back to the mine to give us an update."
"It's just as well. They might have gotten themselves into trouble too if they would have gone back."
"Shall we Bro?" Virgil asked Scott.
"Sure. We're on our way, Thunderbird 5."
"FAB, Thunderbirds 1 and 2," John said. "I'll send coordinates to you in flight."
"FAB, Thunderbird 5 – Thunderbirds Are Go!"
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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In flight
"Scott, remember the last time when you wouldn't wait for me?" Virgil said when he saw Thunderbird 1 leaving him in the dust.
"Yeah, but this is different. There are no diamonds or gold left for anyone to be trying to protect, and Miriam is not down there with a huge, very heavy Exo Suit. Maybe I can at least locate the trapped people before you get there. That way we'll know where to start with the Mole."
"FAB, Scott," Virgil said, wishing his brother could wait patiently. Just minutes later Virgil heard Scott's voice on the radio.
"I'm at the mine, and I'm going in. The entrance has been unblocked. I also don't see any evidence of a cave-in yet, but I'm not picking up any life signs either. The cave-in must have happened deeper inside."
"Thunderbird 1, can't you just wait? I'm only 9 minutes behind you." Virgil said.
"No trouble Thunderbird 2, I know you'll catch up," Scott said as he jogged inside, his hand held scanner actively looking for any sign of life.
To get down into the gold mine, this time Scott only had to use one grapple pack. He landed in the main processing room. Lined up on long narrow tables were iron trays to pour the gold into bricks. There were old tracks and one old ore car visible in the area. Three furnaces positioned under three huge cauldrons were so dusty and full of cobwebs that Scott couldn't tell what they were at first.
When he got closer, he said, "Wow, Virgil, they used wood-burning furnaces to melt the gold here. Oh, scratch that, I see gas intakes and valves under all this dust. There are still some traces of natural gas down here."
"FAB, Scott," Virgil answered.
"I'm from International Rescue!" Scott called, "Is anyone here?"
A shuffling sound behind one of the furnaces drew him to look behind it. A tall, dark and very large, figure stepped out behind him. Scott felt someone nearby and turned to look. Before he could see the face, he felt a sharp pain at his temple.
The person had hit Scott in the head. Scott fell to the side, and the person dropped the long, iron tongs he used to hit Scott, on the ground next to him.
Blood began to soak Scott's hair and ran down on his cheek. There was blood and a chunk of Scott's brown hair on the tongs.
Lying on the ground Scott's powerful flashlight was still on and lit the area well enough to see.
Scott's attacker wore old clothes including an old, black western duster, had only one tooth showing when he smiled at Scott and long ratty hair and beard. He looked kind like an old miner, right out of the old west in the United States.
He spit a big wad of homegrown chewing tobacco on the ground near Scott's head and bent down to pick him up. The miner carried Scott across his arms to the nearest furnace, dropped him inside like a bag of potatoes and closed the furnace doors.
When the stranger spoke, it sounded more like a bear growling. "You won't be getting our treasure!" Just for good measure, he put a modern padlock on the furnace door, to make sure Scott wouldn't be getting out.
Scott groaned and opened his eyes to total darkness. Groggy he tried to sit up, but only banged his head again on the top of the furnace. He held his head, and his fingers found the large laceration on his scalp.
"Ouch," Scott mumbled and fell over on his side again. He managed to touch the IR logo on his harness, and it glowed in the small space, but Scott's eyes were closed again. "'gil . . . Ambu . . . 'n't." he mumbled into the comm.
"Scott, come in! I can barely hear you!" Virgil said as he landed Thunderbird 2 next to Thunderbird 1. Scott had passed out again.
"Thunderbird 5." Virgil began. "Come in - it's urgent!"
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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"I'm here Virgil, what's happened?" John said.
"I think Scott is trying to contact me from in the mine, but I can't make out what he's saying. Here's the recording, can you enhance it?"
"Sure, it will just take a moment to begin playback," John said.
Virgil listened as he jogged to Thunderbird 1 to get Scott's helmet. He was already wearing his helmet and his Grasping Arms.
Soon he heard the playback and cried, "John! He clearly said 'ambushed' and 'don't'! He could already be hurt! I'll be in contact."
"FAB Virgil - I'll get Kayo and the others on their way. It might take a little while; they're looking for survivors in that mess the earthquake made in Russia last night." John said.
"FAB, John, I'll find Scott," Virgil said.
"Thunderbird S, 3 and Firefly, this is Thunderbird 5, come in. Urgent!" even John sounded worried when he called them.
"This is Shadow - What's up, John?" Kayo asked.
"Scott's in trouble and I'm worried about Virgil trying to handle it alone," John answered
"What's the situation?" Kayo asked.
"Scott went down in a mine alone, and now I've lost contact. He got one last message through that clearly said 'ambush' and 'trap.' Now Virgil is going into the mine alone to find Scott."
"I'll get Alan and Gordon. They called in a few minutes ago to say they found the last of the survivors downtown and were getting them out. John, give us coordinates en route."
"FAB Thunderbird Shadow," John replied.
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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Wearing his Grasping Arms, Virgil jogged a little awkwardly to the mine entrance. There were signs posted, 'Danger,' 'Keep clear' and 'No Trespassing' but the mine entrance that had been boarded up a long time ago, had more recently been reopened.
Near the mine entrance, Virgil saw freshly dug and fertilized dirt with a short fence around it. Tall, large-leafed plants grew inside the fence. Virgil pinched a leaf and smelled it, "I think this is Tobacco growing by the mine, Thunderbird 5 and it's well cared for."
"I didn't think anyone grew Tobacco anymore," John said. "If you do go in, be careful Virgil, The others should be there soon."
"I can't wait for them John, Scott may be hurt."
"I know, just don't get yourself hurt too," John said.
Just before Virgil went inside, two teens called out to him from a distance. When he turned to look, they were running toward him.
"Wow! You are a member of International Rescue! Are you going inside that mine?" the blond boy said.
"I sure am. Are you the kids that called this in?" Virgil asked.
"Yep - We're sure there are two guys stuck in there."
"Okay, you two stay far away. Go all the way over to Thunderbird 2 to wait, okay?" Virgil instructed.
"Okay, but we should warn you!"
"Warn me about what?" Virgil stopped and asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"This mine is haunted by two brothers who they say died in the mine! They say that they attack people to protect the diamonds."
"There's no such thing as ghosts." Virgil said, "Get back now."
The two teens did as they were told, sort of. They moved away a little, but when Virgil disappeared into the mine, they came closer again.
One boy said to the other, "Now, International Rescue can get rid of the ghosts and we can go in ourselves later and look for gold and diamonds."
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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Even though Virgil was worried about Scott and wanted to run inside blindly, he went more slowly and carefully than Scott did.
The Grapple Line that Scott used to go down still hung from the cliff and Virgil used it himself. He hung onto it with his suit's mechanical claw. A loud clank echoed in the mine when Virgil landed on the same spot where Scott had stood. He saw Scott's footprints in the dust and followed them to the area behind the closest furnace.
There he found the bloody tongs used to attack Scott and picked them up.
"Fresh blood," Virgil held the ends of the tongs up to his shoulder torch and saw the hair. "And this is the same color hair as Scott's – Scott?"
Virgil called.
When he came out from behind the furnace, Virgil noticed many sets of footprints where apparently more than one person had been walking back and forth all over the large area.
"I'm not finding any of Scott's footprints beyond here, and ghosts don't leave footprints last I heard," Virgil thought aloud.
"Thunderbird 5, can you hear me?" Virgil called.
"Go ahead Thunderbird 2." John answered, "You're breaking up a little, but I can hear you right now."
"I'm in the mine, but bad news, John. I found evidence that Scott's been attacked, but I have not found him yet. What's Thunderbird Shadow's ETA?"
"Shadow hasn't left the earthquake scene yet. She said it wouldn't be long. Thunderbird 3, with Alan and Gordon, will be joining you too."
"Have Gordon and Alan wait topside. I'm sure that there is someone down here or maybe several someones who are intent on doing others harm." Virgil said.
"I'm still not scanning anyone in the mine, Thunderbird 2, not even you."
"I'm not down that deep, Thunderbird 5. All the traces of precious metals and iron are probably messing with our scanners." Virgil guessed.
"If Scott was dazed he might have wandered down one of these tunnels trying to find a way out. I'm going in," Virgil said and entered the nearest tunnel. He never heard John acknowledge his message. There were no signals at all in the tunnel.
Only ten meters inside, Virgil's shoulder torch lit up two figures that had looked like shadows until the light hit them directly.
"Hello! I'm here to rescue you . . . I think." Virgil said.
The figures remained still and silent.
"Have you seen someone in a blue uniform like mine?" Virgil was frowning after he didn't get any getting any answers.
Rather than answer the questions, the smaller of the two men ran at Virgil screaming like a banshee; He braced himself with his armored arms crossed in front of his body and let the man run into his Exo Suit. The man fell back cursing, and now the other man joined him, and they both ran at Virgil.
"Stop! I don't want to hurt either of you – I'm here to help!" Virgil cried as he backed away.
"We don't need any help – This is our mine and our gold, and you can't have any!" The large man took a swing at Virgil's head. Virgil blocked again with a Grasping Arm. The little guy kicked Virgil's leg but contacted with Exo Suit, so Virgil was not affected.
"Even if there is gold here - you guys can have it!" Virgil said, "I only want to find my brother – where is he? He's dressed in a blue suit like mine, and . . ."
"Brother Bart! I think you can git 'im." The smaller of the two said, backing up.
"I believe you're right, Billy Ray," Bart said. He grinned and pointed above Virgil's head. Virgil looked up and saw an old fashioned stick of dynamite wedged above his head, behind a support beam. When he looked back at the two men, one of them had an antique shotgun.
Virgil instinctively put his mechanical arms up to try to cover his head as he turned to run. Bart fired the shotgun over Virgil's head at the dynamite.
The dynamite blew up and knocked Virgil down. Wood, rock, and dirt down fell steady on him. Virgil's Exo Suit and helmet helped protect him from the falling rock, but the continued pounding buried him before he could get away.
The cave-in left one grasping claw and Virgil's hand visible. His slipped off of the grasping arm's controller and didn't move anymore.
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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"Thunderbird 5, this is Thunderbird Shadow, arriving in the danger zone. I see Thunderbirds 1 and 2, but nothing else." Kayo said, "Are Virgil and Scott still in the mine?"
"At last contact, they were both in the mine, Shadow – I haven't been able to contact them since Virgil said he'd found evidence that Scott had been attacked. He did not say what the evidence was. I'm worried." John admitted.
"Here comes Thunderbird 3. I'm going in, Thunderbird 5." Kayo said and ran to the mine entrance.
Behind her, Thunderbird 3 was landing. "This is Thunderbird 3 landing in the danger zone. We will wait near the mine's entrance as ordered." Alan reported.
"FAB Thunderbird 3," John acknowledged.
"I don't know if I can stand just waiting around out here for long," Gordon said.
"Me either, I hope we hear something soon."
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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Quieter than a cat, Kayo came down the grapple line following her brother's footprints. She landed silently and walked to the furnace, then down the wall to the first tunnel. When she looked in, her helmet lights lit up the pile of rubble with Virgil's Grasping Claw and hand sticking out from under the edge of the pile.
"Oh no!" She ran to him, took his hand and felt for a pulse. Virgil's fingers weakly closed around her hand.
"Thunderbird 3! Come in! I need you down here with digging equipment, lift jacks and whatever else we need."
"FAB Kayo, we're on our way. What's happened?" Alan said. Gordon ran to get the equipment.
"I found Virgil buried under a cave-in. He's alive, injuries unknown." Kayo said, "But there's still no sign of Scott or the people he came to rescue."
"FAB," Alan said, sadly. Worried, he ran to help Gordon get the digging equipment.
"FAB, Shadow," John acknowledged, "And I'll call the GDF."
Gordon and Alan tied all the digging equipment in a bundle and lowered it on another grapple line down into the processing area. They used separate lines to get down.
Kayo called them over. She had been digging and moving rock and uncovered Virgil's arm and saw part of his helmet.
"How is he?" Gordon asked.
"Virgil hasn't stirred, and he won't respond to stimuli, but his fingers moved when I first found him, and he has a good strong pulse."
Gordon moved right in beside her and started digging. After only a moment Gordon said we're gonna have to move this beam! Alan, go get the Lift Jack."
Alan ran across the room, back over to where they left the large bundle of digging equipment.
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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In the shadows
"Looky, Brother Bart - that little one is away from the others." Billy Ray whispered in the darkness, "I got him."
"Good on ya," Bart answered.
Billy Ray snuck up behind Alan when he was bent over to untangle and pick up the Lift Jack. Alan cried out in surprise and found himself suddenly in a headlock. A smelly arm held him tightly around his neck, and a knifepoint pressed to the side of his neck.
Weakly pulling on the smelly arm only made the arm tighten and the knife cut his neck deeper. Alan gritted his teeth and frowned, trying to see who held him.
"Where are all you people coming from?" Billy Ray yelled in Alan's ear.
"We came to help! We had a report that someone was trapped down here!" Alan tried to answer.
"You lie!" Billy Ray accused.
Kayo and Gordon stopped digging to look when they heard Alan yelp. Kayo looked too but showed no emotion. Gordon looked very angry and even growled when he saw Alan being restrained and threatened with a knife to his neck.
Bart joined his brother, Billy Ray, and they stood together facing Kayo and Gordon.
"You're trespassing, and we can shoot or do anything else we want with trespassers!" Bart threatened, looking at Kayo. He spit on the ground between his feet. "We could use some help to dig deeper, and I think we both could use some female companionship."
"We aren't trespassing, and we aren't going to dig - or do anything else for you," Kayo said sounding menacing.
"We got a call for rescue," Gordon stammered, "There was a report of someone trapped in here - My brothers only came to help, and now they're both probably hurt!"
"Or dead!" Bart answered, smiling with his one tooth showing. "No one needs rescue here. There won't be enough left of any of you newcomers for rescue either." Bart yelled.
"You couldn't have killed my brothers, please," Alan cried and struggled. Billy Ray pressed the knife to his neck, drawing a little more blood and making him yell. Alan looked desperately at Gordon.
"Stop! Don't hurt him!" Kayo yelled.
"Where is our brother?" Gordon asked, but the strangers just smiled.
"We're not getting anywhere talking, Gordon." Kayo spoke softly, "These two are idiots, and fortunately for us, they're standing together. I'll take them both out and get Alan. You keep digging Virgil out."
"Yeah, and see if you can get them to tell you where Scott is."
"FAB, they will," Kayo answered, "one way or the other."
Gordon went back to digging Virgil's legs out.
Kayo started talking again and took a step toward Alan's attackers.
"What do you think holding my brother at knife point will do?" Kayo asked calmly.
"To make you give yourself up! Dumb old girl!"
Kayo walked closer.
"Stop right there, or Billy Ray will cut him!" Bart threatened.
"Yeah! I'll cut him!" Billy Ray echoed his brother's statement.
"What are you afraid of? I'm just a dumb old girl, and I thought you wanted some companionship." Kayo said sweetly.
"Yeah and ur purdy too," Billy Ray said grinning like an idiot. Bart bopped him in the head.
"We'd like to ask you to stay willingly with us," Bart said.
"That won't be happening," Kayo said under her breath as she smiled sweetly.
Gordon could not help but look over at Kayo when they invited her to stay with them. She was fine as always so he went back to digging as quickly as he could to get Virgil out of the cave-in.
"I'm giving myself up, just like you said you wanted," Kayo spoke softly and sweetly. "Gordon will give himself up too, as soon as he finishes what he's doing." Her sweet tone of voice didn't change, even as she kicked Bart right in the gut and gave him a karate chop to the back of his neck that put him down.
It happened so fast that all Billy Ray could do was turn toward her so that Alan would be between Kayo and himself. The movement made the knifepoint move, and Alan got a longer cut on the side of his neck. He whined and gritted his teeth. He was scared half to death.
"You stay back, or I'll cut this one's head right off!" Billy Ray threatened.
"Yes, and when you hurt him, there will be nothing to keep me from killing you in a most unpleasant, lingering way. I suggest you let him go and give up without a fight."
Kayo did not wait for an answer; she spun around and struck Billy Ray's fingers that held the knife so hard with her heel that it came away from Alan's neck and skittered along the floor.
Billy Ray tightened his grip on Alan. "I think you broke my fingers!"
"You better give up, or next, I will do more than break your fingers," Kayo said.
"Kayo, behind you!" Alan cried suddenly.
Without even turning around, or looking, Kayo raised her fist, and her knuckles met Bart's nose just over her shoulder. He fell back crying, and she brought her elbow down on his neck hitting him much harder than she did the first time.
"What did you do to my brother?" Billy Ray yelled.
"I think you just saw what I did to him. Just think what I'm gonna do to you for threatening MY little brother!"
AS she spoke, she got close enough to grab the arm that held Alan.
Alan turned and twisted out of Billy Ray's grip at the same time, and Kayo put Billy Ray down next to his scruffy brother.
"Thanks, Kayo!" Alan said as they ran back over to Gordon and Virgil.
"My pleasure," Kayo said.
Gordon had Virgil uncovered, except for one leg from the knee down that had a large rock on it and the long wooden beam across his shoulders that he still needed the Lift Jack to move.
"I need help moving that rock too, so it doesn't roll onto Virgil and crush him!" Gordon said as Alan, Gordon, and Kayo came over.
"FAB," Alan said.
Gordon held the beam from the end, and Alan lifted it in the middle, with Kayo on the other end, and they rolled it all they way off and put it back down on the floor.
Alan put the Lift Jack right against the large rock and unfolded the jack's automatic stabilizers, right next to Virgil's leg. He pushed against the Jack, at the same time he pressed a button to activate the lift and the pressure came off Virgil's leg. Gordon and Kayo pulled Virgil out by pulling on his Exo Suit.
Keeping Virgil's body straight, the three of them carefully rolled him over. Gordon and Kayo released his grasping arms and Gordon held his shoulders up a little as Kayo they pulled them out from under his back.
Alan released his legs from the Exo Suit.
"Gordon, take his vitals and report to Thunderbird 5. We will find Scott." Kayo said.
"Alan, I have a feeling that those two are ordinarily very lazy. I doubt that they move very far from this area even when they think they're looking for gold. So I think it's safe to say that they probably wouldn't take Scott very far from where they attacked him. We have to cover every square inch of this place.
"But that stinky one said he was dead," Alan said with fresh tears in his eyes.
"Don't even think that - they implied that he could be dead, but they didn't kill Virgil. So I have to believe Scott's not dead." Kayo said. "And they were both stinky."
Alan started on one side of the room, and Kayo started on the other looking in every dark corner whether they thought Scott would fit in the space or not.
Gordon stayed with Virgil and sent his vitals to John, now that they were out of the tunnel.
After searching one dark corner behind the molds to make gold into bars, Alan looked over at Kayo, exasperated and worried because he didn't find Scott right away. "This room is not that big," he said to himself.
"Kayo! There is no sign of Scott over here!" Alan stopped speaking. He paused, thinking and then suddenly said, "Wait a minute . . . That furnace over there by you, Kayo – it's the only furnace with a lock on the door."
"You're right," Kayo said. "Why would this be the only furnace they locked?"
"Why would someone lock a furnace at all?" Alan thought aloud.
"Those two idiots must have wanted to be sure someone stayed inside of it!" Kayo said.
Alan tapped on the side of the furnace and yelled, "Scott? Are you in there?" He paused for a moment and said, "No answer."
"Virgil said that he found evidence that Scott had been hurt," Kayo started to say. She yanked futilely on the lock.
"Yeah, he might not be able to answer. This is bad," Alan said with tears forming in his eyes.
"Or he might just not in there." Kayo thought grimly. She was busy examining the lock. "Don't let your imagination run away with you."
"But there's no key, and we don't have a passcode. This lock is pretty high tech to be in an abandoned mine." Alan said.
"No problem." Kayo found a weak spot on the lock. She spun around and brought her heel down on the lock. It cracked open.
Alan's hands shook as he pulled the lock out of the brackets and opened the doors.
"Oh no – he's in here!" Alan gasped when he saw a bit of blue in the darkness.
"Step back Alan. I'll get him." Kay wanted to protect Alan from finding out the hard way if they'd found Scott too late. She made Alan get out of the way before he could look closely at his brother.
Kayo stuck her head and shoulders inside the furnace and felt Scott's neck for a pulse. She exhaled with relief when she found that he had a heartbeat.
"He's got a pulse, but he's unconscious," Kayo called out to Alan.
With Scott facing away from her, Kayo grabbed him under his arms and pulled. As she pulled him out, she said, "Alan, grab his legs, we'll let him down easy."
Alan caught Scott's legs, and they lowered him to the floor. Alan gasped when he saw the blood that had run down Scott's cheek and across his lips from his head wound.
"While I send John his vitals, go see if Gordon needs any help with Virgil." Kayo hoped to spare Alan any more sudden surprises.
As Alan got close, he could hear Virgil's voice, sounding groggy but talking.
"My leg hurts," Virgil said.
"Do you feel pain anywhere besides you leg?" Gordon asked.
"No – Oh! – There are those two men – you gotta get out of here! They use dynamite when they're mad!" Virgil cried urgently and tried to sit up.
"It's okay, Kayo's here, and she took care of both of them," Gordon answered holding Virgil down; with his hands on his shoulders.
"And we found Scott. He was locked in a furnace." Alan said.
"How is he?" Virgil asked.
"Not good - he's unconscious. His head bled a lot, and I t-think there was blood in his mouth," Alan said. He hiccupped trying to keep from crying and failed miserably.
Virgil nodded at Gordon, to let him know he didn't need anything, and to comfort Alan.
Gordon stood up and gave Alan a hug. "Seeing Scott so badly hurt must have been awful."
"Sorry Gordon, I'm okay now," Alan said, "Kayo is sending his vitals to John."
The whole cave shook, and the roar of big engines grew louder and louder outside the mine.
"That must be the GDF landing," Kayo yelled.
"That's them, arriving just after the nick of time," Gordon said, trying to make Alan smile.
"Come on, get me up!" Virgil said. "I want to see Scott, and we gotta get out of here."
Gordon and Alan got under Virgil's arms and lifted. He was taller and heavier than either of his brothers, and they had to work hard to get him up.
"Crud! I can't use my leg at all, sorry guys." Virgil was frustrated.
"It's okay Virg, but boy are you heavy!" Gordon said.
"Try a little harder, Gordo," Virgil said.
From above the processing area, an officer yelled, "Global Defense Force!" Three more grapple lines came down, and the officer who yelled came down with two more officers, very quickly and aimed their weapons around.
Colonel Casey stepped into view, close to the edge. She looked down, surveying the situation.
"Put those weapons away!" Colonel Casey ordered, looking at the two filthy strangers on the floor. "International Rescue has everything under control down there. Help them bring their fallen men and their equipment up."
Kayo was on her helmet comm. "John, we have company from the GDF now. Can you remote pilot Thunderbirds 1 and 3 back to Tracy Island?"
"FAB," John answered. "Did you find Scott?"
"Yes, and he looks bad John."
"I will need to stay here long enough to give my report to Colonel Casey. Virgil injured his leg but swears he can pilot Thunderbird 2. Gordon can help, and they will take Scott to the London Hospital."
"FAB, Kayo," John said, "let me know if you need anything else."
"FAB," Kayo confirmed and went to talk to Colonel Casey.
Alan, Gordon and 2 of the GDF officers helped Virgil onboard with Scott on a stretcher.
Gordon strapped Scott's stretcher onto the treatment table that unfolded from Thunderbird 2's hull just behind the pilot's seat. Alan watched, wringing his hands like Grandma Tracy sometimes did.
The GDF officers left Thunderbird 2, and Virgil readied to take off. He gritted his teeth when his leg burned and hurt just hanging from the pilot's chair.
Only a few minutes into the flight, Alan heard Virgil groan and went to him. Virgil was leaning forward in his seat with his head almost touching the controls.
"What's wrong Virgil?" Alan asked, looking at him closely, Alan answered his own question.
"You're in terrible pain. I'll take over."
"Gordon, Virgil can't fly! Make him lie down." Alan called as he sat in the co-pilot's seat.
"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 5," Alan called.
"Thunderbird 5, go ahead Alan," John said.
"Virgil is in too much pain to fly. I'm taking over."
"FAB," John answered, frowning.
Virgil didn't argue. He was too relieved to argue. Lying on the floor with his injured leg elevated helped with the pain a little.
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[[[[[THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO]]]]]]
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Kayo and Colonel Casey were above ground while her team of officers cleared the mine to be sure no one else was still inside.
The two boys still hung around looking at the activity with excitement.
Kayo saw them. "Look over there, Colonel Casey, we have an audience. I bet those are the two that reported this mess in the first place."
They started to walk toward the boys, and the boys turned to run. Colonel Casey caught up quickly, and the boys gasped when Kayo suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Why are you running, boys?" Colonel Casey asked, "Aren't you the concerned citizens who called in the emergency?"
"Yes, we were just concerned citizens." One boy said quickly.
"We didn't find your two trapped men, but we did find two men who were living down there. Two of our team members were injured by them since there was no warning about the possibility of intruders. One member of International Rescue may die."
"We're sorry!" the shortest boy cried, panicking. "We just wanted someone to get rid of the ghosts so that we could go in and look for treasure."
"Stan! Shut up!" the tallest boy said.
"You mean this was all just a false alarm? Because you thought International Rescue could get rid of 'GHOSTS?'" Kayo said suddenly full of emotion.
"Easy Kayo," Colonel Casey rested her hand on Kayo's shoulder.
"We're sorry. We just thought if we could find a diamond or a little gold, it would help our families get more food."
"Come on boys; let me show you an official GDF flagship." Colonel Casey tried to make it sound fun, but both boys knew they really had no choice but to go as she said.
Kayo followed quietly, thinking about Scott and Virgil and how such stupid circumstances led to their injuries. "If those boys had just reported two dangerous men inside, the GDF would have handled this from the beginning, and no one would have been hurt," she thought.
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To Be Continued . . .