Thunderbird Five Is Go {John Tracy}

14 - Stowaway

14

Cautiously disentangling himself from the uniform cabinet in Thunderbird One, Alan dashed off after the two uniformed figures disappearing into the compound.

"Wait up!" he yelled, yanking the door open so hard that it fell off its hinges. The lights flicked on one by one, revealing an empty room.

"Where'd they go?" Alan mumbled, perplexed. He exited and jogged around the entirety of the compound.

"Gone," he concluded, "but where to?"

He ran back into the empty room – except it wasn't empty anymore. A table stood in the center of the room. A little creeped out now, Alan backed up slowly, half expecting the Hood to pop up.

"Aargh-" Alan's cry choked in his throat as a hand clamped over his mouth without warning.

"Calm down, Alan," a drily amused voice said.

"Kayo," he acknowledged, "you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kayo merely laughed mirthlessly in reply.

"Wait, why are you here? I thought you were following a lead in Brazil," Alan asked.

She smiled slowly, " John called me to follow One, and it does look like he's walking into trouble. I tracked him, and the charts show he's beneath us."

"Beneath?" Alan was confused. Then it clicked. "Oh," he ran over to the table, "The table is actually an elevator. When I came at first it wasn't there because it was taking Scott and John down.

"Very good, Alan," Kayo reached for the button, "C'mon, we have no time to lose."

"Wait!" Alan shouted, "That's like ringing the doorbell and waiting for the Hood to invite us in!"

Kayo raised her eyebrows, "Any other ideas as to how to get in? No? Alright, let's go."

"But it's probably monitored!" Alan remonstrated.

Kayo said nothing.

"Ok, ok, this was a suicide mission anyway," he threw up his hands in defeat.

Kayo frowned, "What do you mean, suicide mission?"

Alan shrugged, "Any mission with you along is a suicide mission."

"Wow thanks, I could say the same for you," Kayo clapped him on the back in a rare show of affection, "we should hurry. People need saving."

Alan pressed the button gingerly.

A smooth hum of well-oiled gears filled their ears as the floor beneath them rotated slowly down.

"Watch out for the cameras," Kayo hissed in Alan's ear.

They both sprang off nimbly as soon as the elevator began spinning into a room.

Alan winked at Kayo from right underneath a camera, where it couldn't see him. "Thunderbird Shadow is go," he mouthed.

***

Crystal strained to listen. She had been woken from a light doze by scuffling and clanging outside despite the soundproof walls.

"Intrusion detected," a cool female voice announced.

About time. It had been about two days since she had been captured, she estimated, so it had been about 24 hours that she had been constrained to the bed.

Her arms were sore and raw from her initial struggling against the tight straps, and her head pounded. Crystal knew that even if she managed to get rid of the restraints to stand up she would not be able to stay upright, much less walk, faint from hunger, dehydration, and sleep deprivation, and one leg partially bent in a heavy cast. She could barely move an inch.

She wondered if John had made it through all right, and if the Tracys were still dealing with other emergencies or if they were on their way to save her. She could never forgive herself if something had happened to John. She laughed a little. If she ever even made it back to Tracy Island. A cinnamon bagel with cream cheese sounded like heaven to her right now.

Please let me survive this, she prayed silently.

***

John whipped out his blaster, but he was too slow. Pseudo-Scott already had a blaster pressed to John's temple, and masked men surrounded them.

"Drop your weapon," Scott sneered. His voice was higher and colder now. Seeing no alternative, John let his blaster clatter to the floor. Scott clicked a handheld remote, and the mask dropped.

The Hood. John couldn't believe it. The answer had been right under his nose all along. "Where is Scott?"

He cursed himself for not acting sooner. At least there was Kayo. He trusted her to find them when he had failed.

The Hood had been watching him all along. Suddenly he broke into a sinister smile, "Ah, you must be thinking of Kayo, hot on our trail. Dear Kayo, how glad I am to be able to see her soon."

"You-" John's eyes widened.

"John, John," the Hood wiggled a deprecating finger, "The bathroom is the most obvious place. Did you really expect me not to bug it?"

John felt a wave of desperation crash through him. All was lost.

"My burning question is, have you alerted the rest of International Rescue or the GDF?" the Hood asked.

John said nothing, channeling all his hatred and anger into a death glare.

"Silent?" the Hood slapped John's face, drawing blood. "Let's see if you're still this sullen after we've visited Crystal," he spat.

"You have Crystal?" John couldn't help asking, then mentally cursed himself for giving the Hood a bargaining chip.

"Strip him, first!" the Hood barked to his henchmen.

John was dragged away into a cell and ordered to change. Of course, the Hood didn't know the functions of the uniform and so wanted him to change into civilian clothes.

John changed into the white tee and dark red jeans, wondering if there was a tracker inside. He slipped two blades hidden in the sleeve of his suit into his pants pocket.

"Let's go, let's go!" two henchmen grabbed him as soon as he'd finished.

John was pushed and pulled roughly down the dim hallway.

***

The Hood grinned as he entered Crystal's cell with a syringe. Now that he had both John and Kayo in the bag, he could relish torturing her in front of them. To be honest, he didn't even need John. He could kill them both slowly and let them watch each other in their final moments.

He injected the syringe into one pale wrist. He chuckled a little as he put her into a wheelchair with one strap across her chest to keep her from falling out.

Crystal's eyes flew open at the sound of his laugh. "What-" she started, looking down. Then she realized that she couldn't feel anything beneath her waist, "What did you do to me?" she felt tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't worry," the Hood smirked, "You won't be any less diminished in John's eyes."

"What?" Crystal glanced up at him with terrified eyes. "He's safe at home, no thanks to you," she snapped.

The Hood snickered, "You wish." He snapped his fingers, "Bring him in!"

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Crystal & John meet again next chapter <3 and even the Hood ships it! Do you?

Thanks for reading and keep your eyes peeled for the next update sooon!