Author's Note: I do not own Thunderbird and do not profit from them. They are owned by Carlton, created by Gerry Anderson.

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Jeff sat grim faced, waiting for his 4 sons to enter the lounge. When Gordon, the last to arrive, entered and sat down, Jeff started, "We have a rough one, boys. There is a collapsed church with children caught in the basement."

Scott interfered, "That doesn't sound that difficult father. We have had many rescues from basements of fallen buildings."

Jeff looked at Scott, worry written all over his face. "This particular church is in Cumaguay."

Virgil asked, "Isn't that the civil war torn country?"

"Yes" answered Jeff. "This is what is going to make the rescue so difficult. The Rebels have pretty much destroyed any rescue equipment that the town has. The government army will supply a troop to cover our backs while on the rescue, but they said they can't afford to give any equipment just to rescue a bunch of villagers."

John piped up, "Wonderful government, huh?"

Jeff continued, "To decrease the amount of damage to the Thunderbirds, and to keep separation of you boys to a minimum, I have decided to leave TB1 home. Scott, Mobile Control stays here too. If you need to escape out of the area fast, it would take too long to pack up Mobile Control. You can work from inside TB2. Virgil, pod 1 has the grabs, which I think you will need. Bring the Mole just in case. I want all four of you to go. The faster we get the basement open and the children out, the faster you can get out of the war zone."

"God speed."

Virgil slowly circled the small town of San Pablo de los Angeles. He wasn't used to having to find a place to land his big bird, Scott usually found a good spot for him before he got to the scene. However he was lucky to find a field at the edge of town large enough for TB2 to land. All 4 brothers stood in the cockpit looking out the window surveying the area. They could see the destroyed church from where they had landed. The town looked quiet enough. Too quiet in fact. They didn't see anyone around. Then they saw an army jeep drive up to TB2. Scott said, "Hey guys, no use all of us getting shot at if these soldiers aren't friendly. I will go down and talk to them." Virgil was about to mouth his objections, but changed his mind.

After exiting, Scott walked towards the jeep with 4 soldiers sitting in it. He extended his hand, "Buenos tardes" he said.

"And a good afternoon to you too, senor. You are International Rescue, yes?" Asked one of the soldiers, who seemed to have a higher rank than the others.

He took extended his hand. "Yes, you can call me Scott."

"Se llamo, uh, I am Captain Jaime Rojo. I am here to protect you while you free the trapped people in the church." The army captain said. Scott noted that although he was a bit gruff and rough around the edges, he was a good man. He really did seem to care about the charges he was put there to defend, and he did seem to want the villagers saved. The Captain continued, "We have patrolled the parameter, and have secured the area. You can start whenever you are ready." He then took a moment to look up and scrutinize the big green transport ship. "Marroon! We would win this war in a week with such a ship of our own." That brought a realization to Scott, that not only do that have to be careful from being caught in a crossfire, but they have to be careful of either side wanting to hijack TB2. He turned and went back inside the great ship.

"Virgil, make sure this bird is lock up tighter than Fort Knox." Scott said. "I am sure there are people on both sides of this little war that would love to have her." "No worries, Scott. I was thinking the same thing."

"Right now, let's just go with the grabs for now. I can see from here there is one wall that is leaning precariously. But I don't think we will need the Mole. Actually, on second thought, Gordon, stay with TB2 for now, John and I will laser cut into the basement while Virgil uses the grabs on the one wall. As soon as an extra pair of hands are needed we will call you."

"Ok, Scott. But don't hesitate to call! I want to help."

Scott answered, "Gordon, if we do go under fire, having someone in TB2 where we have firepower, is the most important thing I can think of right now." Gordon nodded his head in agreement. Scott continued, " And you are our best shot." That brought a smile of pride to Gordon's face.

Virgil chugged over to the failing wall of the church and attached the grabs. He contacted Scott who was waiting at the basement doors, "Ok, Scott, I have the grabs in place. You can start cutting."

Scott started at one side of the door and John started at the other side. They were to meet in the middle. They not only had to cut through the heavy wooden door, but through concrete blocks that had fallen against the doors on the inside, preventing them from opening up. They met at the top of the doors and were able to pull the doors out. Sitting behind the doors was a solid wall of fallen concrete. The two Tracys started laser cutting these as soon as they pulled the wooden doors away. Virgil was monitoring the grabs noting any slight change in pressure.

John had cut through a small piece of concrete before Scott had and was able to peer inside the basement. Huddled near the door were about 10 children and two adults. The hole John had cut was big enough for the kids to squeeze through. Scott and John discussed what they had and decided that Scott would continue cutting while John started to get the kids out one at a time. Scott was cutting far enough away from the hole that there was no danger of hurting the kids. But if he was able to cut through his piece then they could get everyone else out much faster. Two of the army soldiers were there receiving the children as they popped out.

When 5 of them had safely emerged, mortar fire erupted. Scott jumped out of the stairwell and headed for cover behind a jeep sitting nearby. John hunkered down where he was, covering his head. Virgil jumped from the grabber and headed for a rock formation just behind the church, near a ravine. Gordon, seeing that an attack was happening, used TB2 equipment to locate the source of the attack. He found the location and ran over to the controls for TB2's cannon. Using the coordinates that TB2's locator gave him, he took aim.

A mortar round hit the ground a foot from the front of the jeep that Scott was using as protection. He covered his head as dirt and rock rained down upon him. His ears were ringing from the explosion.

One of the children still inside started to panic and was trying to come out the hole in the church wall, so John was covering it up with his body. Luckily no rounds came close to the basement doors.

As soon as the firing started, the army scattered into the thick brush surrounding the village. Small arms fire could be heard throughout the woods. They quickly found the rebel source of the mortar fire and neutralized it before Gordon could fire the cannon.

During the attack Virgil ran as fast as he could for the rock formation. Five strides to go, 3 strides, almost there, then when he was almost at safety the last mortar round blew up right behind him, sending him airborne over the rocks and down tumbling into the ravine. Crashing, rolling, tearing through the brush, he couldn't stop his rapid descent through the thick brush. He could feel the branches grabbing at his clothing during his uncontrolled slide further and further down. On the edge of consciousness, he began to wonder if indeed there was a bottom and if his fall would ever end.