127This is my first Thunderbirds story.
I hope to do them justice, and I am following the TV show, keeping as close to character as I can. For this story the boys ages are :-Scott 26, John 25, Virgil 24, Gorden 22, Alan 21.
Thunderbirds do not belong to me, I am only borrowing them for a short time. Any characters you do not recognise are a figment of my imagination. F-A-B.
Chapter 1
"Hey, ease off the gas a little will you!" the grey haired, uniformed man half warned, half teased the driver of the dark blue 'Ship security' armour plated van "We don't want to go over the edge".
Laughter echoed in the cab of the security van as the young blond haired woman took her foot slightly off the accelerator "Okay Jacob, keep your toupee on!"
Swatting her shoulder playfully, the kindly old guard answered "Sarah, this is your first time driving this route. These wagons are hard enough to drive without putting extra pressure on the steering by taking these corners like a racing driver, especially in these wet conditions. Don't push her too hard".
Sarah glanced in his direction, still smiling "Okay 'granddad' but we're already way behind schedule, I thought I'd catch up on time", her eyes drifted from the road to the clock "Speaking of which, shouldn't we have radioed in? You want me to do it?"
"Nah, I've got it covered".
Jacob already had the communicator in his weathered hand. Holding it up to his mouth he opened a channel "Galleon 6 calling Lighthouse. Do you read? Over."
"Galleon 6, this is Lighthouse. What is your position? Over." The connection was crackled with interference.
"Heading south on route 4AX10. Checkpoint 11 estimated in 56mins. Over."
"Understood Galleon 6. Over and out."
Putting down the receiver, Jacob looked out the gap where a window should have been, but instead the armour plating covered it all, but for a small slit about an inch wide.
He had travelled this road for 35 years, it was the windiest way through the mountains, but few travelled this way, making it perfect for the Security Company he worked for. Its views were spectacular, sheer drops down into the depths beyond. White cliffs and solid grey rock was all around them. There was only one way in and one way out of these mountains, alive that is. This was his last assignment, and he wanted it to go smoothly.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the van suddenly jerk sideways and Sarah gasp in surprise, her hands clutching the controls to steady the wheels.
"What the hell was that?" Jacob shot out at Sarah angrily "I told you to slow down!".
"I did!" She retorted "A car swerved out at me from nowhere, I just avoided us ramming into it!"
Jacob ran a hand down his face, "Where's the car now? What did it look like?" He looked out the front windscreen trying to see through the mist, but the vehicle had vanished around the next bend.
"No idea, it was black, must have been doing about 50 miles an hour!" she exclaimed.
"Hm" Jacob looked more alert now, and kept shifting his vision from the front window to the mirrors at the side of the van. "Keep driving carefully. Our cargo may have attracted a bit of attention, but it could have just been thrill seekers."
Sarah's eyes widened "You think that ….?"
"Maybe" he left the unasked question hanging.
They drove on in silence for a couple more miles, carefully winding and twisting along the tricky road, the van's engine roaring under them.
"What's that noise?" Sarah suddenly broke the air between them "It sounds like it's above us".
They both tried to see, but due to the poor visibility of the van, and the mist of the mountains, they could see nothing.
"What the hell is that?" exclaimed Jacob as the humming became louder and closer, Sarah felt the steering go as the invisible object knocked into them, "Shit!" cried out Sarah as the van began to snake across the road, almost out of control.
"Slow down, ease her off gently," shouted Jacob, his heart beating hard in his chest with fear of going over the edge, he couldn't help but yell at her.
Then, as they regained control of the van, a huge black Hummer appeared beside them. It came out of nowhere and rammed into them, pushing the van into the cliff wall. The scraping sound of metal on metal, and metal on rock and Jacob's and Sarah's panicked screams could be heard as the Hummer squeezed them into a standstill.
Letting out a long shaky breath, Sarah looked sideways into the window of the Hummer, its dark tinted window still intact. She could not see inside.
Jacob was already radioing for help. "Lighthouse, Lighthouse, this is Galleon 6. We are under attack; I repeat we are under attack. Over".
The reply was instant. "Galleon 6 report your status. Over" but the reception still not as clear as Jacob would have liked it.
"Two unmarked vehicles. We have been immobilised. Need urgent assistance. Location is 30 minutes from checkpoint 11. Over".
"Galleon 6, we …. send…forcements….d…ou….opy? Over"
Jacob looked at Sarah as she grabbed his arm, pointing upwards with her other hand. "Lighthouse, you are breaking up. We are under siege. Standing by for back up. Over".
The humming of a helicopter was right on top of them again, and then it faded into the distance. "What's going on out there?" Sarah whispered to Jacob.
Silence.
Then they heard something being clipped on to the back of the van.
"Oh my God, they're going to ….." Sarah never finished her sentence.
BANG.
The explosion threw the van forward, pushing the Hummer out of the way like a toy. The sound echoed around the mountains. Then there was silence again.
Sarah hit her head on the side door and was instantly knocked out, blood trickling down her face and onto her uniform, while Jacob's airbag had managed to save him from a similar fate.
Reaching out with a shaking arm, Jacob felt for a pulse on Sarah's neck. Then he heard movement from behind.
Someone was climbing into the back of the van.
TBTBTB
"Do you 'ave et in your sight yet?" The woman's voice was soft, with a slight French accent. She was concerned that the Ship Security's armoured van had yet to pass. "No. It's late, or it's not coming," was the gruff answer over the walky-talky.
She was sat in the passenger seat of a black Mercedes, a slight frown creasing her beautiful, creamy coloured face. Her hair was ginger and her cheeks were blushed with freckles. Her accomplice was a thin, wiry man with a very shifty look in his eyes.
The deal the lady had set up was worth a fortune to him, to them all. He had planned it so nothing could go wrong.
But it had.
The Ships Security Truck had not appeared when it should. The heist was all down to timing. The route the van took had always been the same, for months he had watched and timed and studied it. Why it hadn't turned up yet was beginning to irritate him.
Their client wanted them to deliver the item by 4pm, having already paid half up front, but only because they were the best at what they did.
"Let's go." The soft French voice broke into his thoughts, he turned to look at her, thinking, for a second, that she was going to call it off. He should have known better.
"We're going up ze mountain to see if it's en route. We should be able to pass it, if it's there. If not, we're wasting our time."
He nodded in agreement, and turned the engine on. They sped off along the narrow road, and started their twisted drive up the looming, giant mountain.
Picking up the walky-talky again, she let everyone know what they were doing, ordering them to keep in position.
TBTBTB
Scott finished helping his brothers put away the Mole into its pod before climbing back into his beloved Thunderbird 1. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, leaving another smear of mud across his face.
He was dirty and tired. Physically, and emotionally. This had been another tough rescue. And they had already had a busy week.
He really hated land slides, the mess and terror they caused never failed to amaze him. This time a school had been covered, luckily most of the children had already left to go home. They saved four children and seven of the teachers from within the school building.
It had been close though. Just as Virgil was taking out the last few people, the mud started to slide again, covering their escape.
Scott and Gordon had watched in horror as their brother and the survivors disappeared beneath the mud and rubble.
Scott instantly was on his communicator, calling Virgil to see if he was all right, but there had been no answer.
Gordon watched in a daze, until he saw Scott charge over and begin to dig away the mud with his bare hands. Coming to his senses, Gordon copied and they both dug, trying to get through to the people buried beneath.
"Stop" Scott suddenly said, "Gordon, stop. Listen".
The brothers stood as the sound rumbled gently under them.
Gordon gasped, then a grin broke out on his face, "It's the Mole! They made it back to the Mole!" Scott's smile spread across his face, then realisation fell upon him.
"Move out the way, quick, he's coming through!" He shouted, pushing his younger sibling away from where the ground was now shaking as the Thunderbird digging machine poked its nose out from the ground.
"You know, Scott" Gordon said, turning to look at his older brother, "You look a mess! What possessed you to get you're hands dirty?" Laughing in relief, the two brothers moved to the door of the Mole to help out the last few people that Virgil had saved.
"You okay, Virg?" Scott called in through the doors.
"Yeah, just my watch got knocked off by some of the rubble falling down. It went dark and I couldn't find it, so we made our way back to the Mole."
"Are you hurt?" Scott called back, concerned.
"Nah, just a knock. I'll get it looked at back home. Don't worry." Virgil came to the door and took in the state of his older brother. "You look a mess, what happened to you?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows as Scott looked away, blushing under his muddy face pack.
"I..We started to dig you out…"
Virgil just stared. Then blinked as he took in what his brother admitted. "You tried to dig me out?" He paused, looking down at Scott's muddy uniform, face and hands. "With your hands?" His tone was amused and surprised.
Scott looked sheepishly back at his brother, "Yeah, well, it seemed a good idea at the time"
Laughing, Virgil patted Scott on the back "Well buddy, next time change your clothes first! Tin-tin is going to have a fit when she sees what a mess you've made of her new uniform!"
Smiling along with his not so clean brother, Scott ordered Virgil to start packing away, while he went and found Virgil's watch just inside the new tunnel, knowing they could not leave any trace of Thunderbird technology for anyone to find.
Sitting down in the cockpit, Scott opened a channel as he strapped himself in.
"Thunderbird 1 to base."
"This is base, how's it going, Scott?" John's voice came back across the speaker as his face appeared on the vid-screen.
"All clear, I'm heading home now. Virgil and Gordon are just behind me. ETA about 45 minutes"
"You all right, Scott? You look a little ….dirty" John's voice was calm, not giving anything away. Though his eyes danced merrily as he waited for Scott to reply.
"I know I'm a mess, thanks, but so are the others. You would be too if you'd come as well." Scott answered, his voice going hard, fed-up with everyone commenting on his appearance. He was always so clean and tidy, he hated dirt, and they all knew it.
"Okay Scott," John put his hands up to show he would back off "Tin-tin will have supper ready for when you guys get back. Base out"
Scott gently took his 'bird' into the air, and headed off nearly at full throttle back to base, careful to go high enough into the clouds away from prying eyes.
He was half way home when another call came through.
"Thunderbird 5 to Thunderbird 1, Scott, can you hear me?" Alan's voice sounded urgent.
"Go ahead Alan, you're loud and clear. What's up?"
"We've just had call from a Security Company, one of their vans was attacked, and it contained some components for military stealth aircrafts. They say they can't get up the mountain in time, and they are having trouble communicating with the guards. They seem to think they are on a ledge of a cliff."
"So, what's that got to do with us? We don't get involved with military things. You know that." Scott replied.
His fathers voice broke in, "Yes, but if these components fall into the 'wrong' hands, we'll have big trouble on our hands. Scott, I want you to check out the area. John will give you the co-ordinates. We might as well check on them, seeing your only about 10 minutes from their position."
Scott sighed; he had been looking forward to having a hot shower. "F.A.B. father. Thunderbird 1 to Thunderbird 2"
"Thunderbird 2 here, we heard loud and clear, we'll follow you Scott. ETA 20 minutes, you sure put your foot down today, Scotty boy." Virgil answered.
"Yeah well, no rest for the wicked, see you there. Thunderbird 1 out"
TBTBTB