Unforgotten

AN – So here is the long awaited sequel to Unexpected Encounter and Decisions, Decisions. If you haven't read them, please do go and read them first as this story will contain spoilers pretty much from the beginning. Otherwise, this is the first story I've started for a while and I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer - I do not own Thunderbirds

Chapter One – A very bad day

Scott Tracy, first responder for International Rescue and pilot of probably the fastest aircraft the world had ever seen, was having a bad day. Not just because he'd managed to cut himself when shaving that morning, in that really annoying spot below the jaw that it was hard to see but stung a lot now. It also wasn't because he'd had to give up on reading his book - he was just getting to the really good bit - when his two youngest brothers, Alan and Gordon, started having a very loud and over dramatic argument about which Thunderbird machine was the best. Despite the fact they were both obviously wrong because Thunderbird 1, his own machine, would wipe the floor with '3 or '4 any day.

No, the reason that Scott Tracy was having a very bad day was because the motor racing that his youngest brother Alan was watching had just been interrupted by a news bulletin. This news bulletin had caused his younger brother to cry out and for all of them to congregate around him to find out what the matter was. The outcome being that he was currently watching the news bulletin alongside his three youngest brothers, father, Grandma and good friend Brains.

"We interrupt this programme to bring you a special news bulletin. Convicted criminal Ethan Grey has escaped from the high security Prentice Prison in Missouri, in the United States of America. It is unknown whether he has an accomplice or is acting alone. Ethan Grey was convicted due to the courageous actions of the eldest two sons of self-made billionaire Jeff Tracy, who apprehended the villain after they had been kidnapped and tortured. For the last two years he has been held under close surveillance, but earlier today there was a disruption at the prison that left two guards dead and three severely injured. In the ensuing mayhem Ethan Grey absconded. The public are reminded not to approach this highly dangerous and volatile convict, but are instead to call the number displayed on the screen now. To repeat, convicted-"

Jeff Tracy, the tall and stern head of International Rescue, silenced the television with a press of a button. The occupants of the lounge of Tracy Villa, which were all of Tracy Island's current residents with the exception of Kyrano the housekeeper, stared at the television in shock and horror.

Ethan Grey. Approximately two years before, he had kidnapped Scott, John and Brains with the intention of luring International Rescue to the scene and stealing their technology. Whilst they had manage to subdue their assailants and call for help, the ordeal had had a lasting impact. Particularly on Scott, who as the eldest brother was the one that had been the one that Ethan had singled out for special 'treatment' – otherwise known as torture. While Ethan had entertained John and an unconscious Brains his henchmen were working to obtain information from Scott, who hadn't given them anything but who had remained traumatised for a long time afterwards.

Well, that was what most of the inhabitants of Tracy Island thought, anyway.

Scott knew better.

Scott knew that it wasn't the memory of torture that still had him waking up in cold sweats in the middle of the night. Or that caused him to suddenly suffer from episodes where he would feel all the air leave his body as emotion welled over him and threatened to cripple him, more than two years on.

It was grief.

Because the day that Ethan Grey had targeted the Tracys - had targeted International Rescue - Scott had suffered through more, much much more than simple torture. He had lost something that was irreplaceable.

Scott had lost Angel.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jeff Tracy was the one to break the oppressive silence in the lounge. "Alan, can you go and pack a bag. I need you to relieve John for a bit. Virgil, you'll be co-piloting."

Any objections his boys may have had - that it wasn't Alan's turn to man Thunderbird 5, the orbiting space station that acted as International Rescue's communication hub, for another couple of weeks; or that Virgil never usually travelled in the space rocket Thunderbird 3 as co-pilot – died on their lips as they looked at the ashen grey face of their eldest brother. With a quick affirmative, Alan dashed out of the room to hastily throw things into a bag while Virgil took up a seat on the couch that served as the access for Thunderbird 3.

Jeff turned to his intercom. "International Rescue to Thunderbird 5, come in John."

John's face appeared in place of his portrait on the wall facing Jeff's desk. "I'm here, father." John, the second eldest of the Tracy siblings, was tall and fair. Amongst the brothers he took after their mother the most, who had passed away when they were all still very young. Now though he looked very pale in the screen, a worried expression on his face.

"You've heard the news?"

"It's just come through."

"Ok, I'm glad I don't have to repeat it. I'm sending Alan up to relieve you."

John frowned. "I'm alright father."

"You might be, but Scott isn't." John understood immediately and cast his eyes around the room until they alighted on Scott. Scott hadn't moved from the sofa and was now being cajoled by Grandma, Jeff Tracy's formidable mother. But it was to no avail, his eyes were blank and he was unseeing. One hand rested on his thigh but the other clutched something around his neck. With a sinking feeling John felt he knew exactly what it was hidden underneath his brother's polo neck.

"F.A.B., father. I'll be ready whenever Alan is."

"I'm ready!" The youngest Tracy skidded into the room, small bag rammed with clothes with a stuffed toy dog hanging out lopsidedly. It was a sign of how sombre the mood was that no one commented on the sight of the animal, hurriedly shoved out of sight by Alan when he noticed it on display. He sat next to his middle brother Virgil on the small sofa, nodding to show that he was ready. With a quick flick of a wrist the couch disappeared into the floor, an exact copy coming up to replace it.

Soon the sound of Thunderbird 3's engines roared around the small island.

The noise seemed to jolt Scott into action. With one swift movement he stood up, leaving the lounge with long strides. The remaining occupants of the lounge watched him go worriedly.

"He's gonna be ok, isn't he?" Gordon asked. "Not go back to how he was when, you know."

"I don't know, Gordon," Grandma replied. "I just don't know."

Grandma Tracy gathered up some mugs that were lying around the lounge, placing them on a small tray. "I'll go and let Mr Kyrano know what's happened, he'll want to make sure John's room is ready." The Tracy boys almost always did their own cleaning, but because John and Alan were up on Thunderbird 5 for a month or two at a time Jeff had made an exception for them and allowed Kyrano to clean their rooms before they returned.

Scott meanwhile had retreated to his own room and was currently sat on the edge of his bed. He had pulled his necklace out from underneath his blue polo shirt and was running his fingers around it. On a slim leather thong a metal claw hung, glinting in the light coming in through his open window. He could hear the sound of the Pacific Ocean breaking on the rocks around the Island and some birds singing in the shrubs below. All else was quiet, except for his racing thoughts. His expression might have been blank but his mind was not. On a loop he kept thinking about Ethan Grey, his scheme to gain the secrets of International Rescue, how he had been stopped and what the cost had been. He remembered Angel, her soft brown hair and eyes so light they were nearly golden. About her driven expression, occasionally so cold but at other times intense and determined. At the touch of her skin, the smell of her hair - all the things that had made him feel like he was drowning in her presence.

Scott had expected the memories to fade with time, but whilst details of the day itself did he could still picture her so, so clearly. She shone like a beacon in his mind and a part of him thought that perhaps she always would. He worried that he had made her out to be more than human, had glorified her in his subconscious, but he would never know now. It was impossible for him to move on, no other woman would ever come close to the echo of her in his mind.

One hand turned the small metal claw over and over in his fingers. Since he had first picked it up and placed it on a strap around his neck it had been blunted and polished from the amount of times he had held it. He used it as a good luck charm, a talisman and sometimes just something to make him feel better. Now though, he used it to focus his thoughts on one purpose, making a promise to the woman he had loved and lost.

"I will find him, Angel. I will find him and make sure he returns to prison where he belongs."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When Thunderbird 3 returned to the Island, having swapped one blond brother for the other aboard the space station, the atmosphere was still so tense it could be cut by a knife. Brains had fled to his laboratory, which was his safe haven and the place where he could try to comprehend everything. He had never said it but he felt a lingering guilt that he had been unconscious for the whole ordeal. Similarly, Gordon was working off his stress the best way he knew how, by ploughing up and down the pool. Jeff was still in his study, although Grandma had gone down to the kitchens to cook up a hearty home cooked meal, something Scott always loved.

Jeff surveyed his second eldest as he stepped off the small sofa. John was still pale, but now had a steely determined glint in his eye. "Hello father. Where is he?"

Jeff shook his head. "I'm not sure, probably his room."

With a wave at Virgil John left the lounge, his long strides easily making up the distance across the corridor to Scott's room. Out of politeness he knocked, but when no answer came he pushed the button to open the sliding door and went in anyway, knowing that Scott was probably inside.

He wasn't disappointed. His older brother sat on the edge of his bed, leaning forwards with his elbows resting on his thighs. Scott was slightly more heavily built than John, but not to the extent that Virgil or Gordon were. He took after their father in looks, except for his piercing blue eyes that were just like John's. Those eyes were currently starting blankly out of his window while he played with something in his hands.

John sat down next to his brother and bumped his knee. "It looks almost calm out there today."

It was, in fact, a rather beautiful day. The faintest breeze was gently moving the palm trees and the ocean looked peaceful. Such a contrast to the mood inside the Villa.

Scott merely grunted in reply, but John was pleased he'd actually been acknowledged. John was the only person who knew what actually happened that day in California when Ethan Grey had kidnapped the Tracy brothers, the only person who understood quite why Scott had never fully recovered. He didn't know all the details - he'd never met the woman before, except for once when he was barely conscious and he still wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't a dream. He didn't know how Scott knew her, or for how long they had been together, but he had seen the fatal fall into the ocean and Scott's subsequent breakdown.

"What's in your head, Scotty?"

John wasn't sure he actually expected Scott to respond. So when Scott passed the small leather strap back over his head and flopped backwards onto the bed, hands folded behind his head, it took John by surprise. A small metal claw lay on top on Scott's chest, glinting in the sunlight.

"I'm torn." The dark haired sibling admitted eventually. "I want to hunt him down, kill him maybe; certainly return him to justice. It's what she would have wanted, it's what he deserves."

John whistled. "I'm not sure I've ever heard you talk like that before, meting out vigilante justice. You are normally the voice of law and order, all about leaving punishment to the legal system."

"Yes, well in this case I'm prepared to make an exception. Besides, we saw how well that has gone." Scott dragged one of his hands down his face. "I thought we were done with this, John."

"Seems like your mind is made up. So why are you torn?"

"I've already lost so much to this man. Too much. What happens if next time it's me? Or worse, one of you? If I do go on a vigilante mission, the cost may be more unbearable than it already is. Maybe if we stay out of it, it will all blow over and we can move on with our lives."

"So what now?"

"Wait and see, I guess. It's good to you to come back early John, but I'm not going to go off the deep end. It brought it all back suddenly, that's all."

"I know you still think about her, Scott. Ever thought of going out, meeting new people, seeing where it goes?"

"Nope. She was it, Johnny, there won't be another."

John simply nodded, he'd known what Scott's answer would be. Scott had never been one to show any particular interest in playing the field, unlike some of his brothers, but over the last two years he hadn't even looked twice at a girl. Much to the disappointment of many a lady when the brothers did get a rare night out.

"Well we'd better go out there and show dad that you aren't suffering too badly. He was pretty worried earlier. This isn't going to be easy for any of us but if we let the police do their jobs hopefully he'll be back behind bars soon."

Scott allowed John to pull him up from the bed, tucking his necklace back inside his polo neck. Neither of them voiced the unspoken question, the question in the minds of all Tracy Island residents that evening.

What if now Ethan Grey was free he decided to finish what he started?