Opposites Attract

Home From Home

“The road just opened beneath us,” a scared looking woman was telling the reporter. “It was like looking into hell. We were on that bus you see, and managed to climb out of the back window before it was sucked in.”

On screen the sleek silver underbelly of Thunderbird One lowered into shot.

"And here come the Thunderbirds, right on time to help as only they can.” The camera panned up to show the underside of One with the big feet of her pilot clearly visible through the glass bottom of her cockpit. “We’re expecting Scott Tracy to touch down any second now to liaise with the emergency services already here.”

Selene saw Scott tense, knowing as well as he did that they wouldn't be talking to the eldest Tracy any time soon.

“Here she comes, back up everyone, back up!” The reporter continued as he backed away with the camera crew, who panned out for a wider shot.

The hovering jets kicked up dust and rubble as the landing legs lowered from her undercarriage. She touched down, not as gently as she normally would, Selene noticed, and her engines cut out a little abruptly, but she was down. The glass bottom of the cockpit opened and the pilot's chair extended from the cabin of the plane.

“And here comes...Jeff Tracy?” the reporter's voice rose in shock and awe.

Scott’s sharp intake of breath was as audible as the reporter’s, his fingers tightening on the arm of the couch.

“Scott?” Alan’s soft tone was so unlike his usual bouncing voice it was scary.

“I’m OK, Allie.”

“We don’t have to watch this…” Selene started to say, but knew she was wasting her time, they would watch, there was no way they couldn’t.

On screen Jeff could be seen talking to a number of fire officers in the distance.

“We have been given word that Thunderbird Two should be arriving any minute, bringing with it the organisation’s life saving equipment.” The reporter continued to repeat the same details over and over, recapping for anyone that had just tuned in as they waited for Virgil and the big green machine to arrive. “We’ve heard from our sources that…”

“John?” EOS’s voice rang out clearly from her portable drive on the coffee table and Selene stretched out to grab it, handing it to him.

“Yes, EOS?”

“You promised me you would contact me today to explain why you will not be here, yet you have not. I have done as you told me and I am relaying all calls to the control center at the Villa, but I still do not understand.”

John sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was strange to see him this way, talking to EOS, the round lights of her drive flickering in time to her words, her voice coming from his bare hand. Selene was so used to seeing his hands with his gloves on, so used to feeling the brush of their soft material against her skin that she hardly noticed them any more. He was wearing casual civvies, they all were and they looked tired, emotionally wrung out.

“EOS, now really isn’t the best time to talk about this,” he started.

“Why not? The rescue is underway and I am capable of focusing on multiple tasks at once, this will not tax my systems.”