Home » The Archives » Chapter 7 » Trouble Under the Hood
| Re: Trouble Under the Hood [message #1884 is a reply to message #1880] |
Sat, 28 July 2012 18:23   |
Lillehafrue
Messages: 478
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northeastern USA
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TB Pilot
Evil Genius |
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From: Tikatu Sent: 4/19/2006 6:43 PM
Tracy Island; July 12; 5:25 PM
Jeff watched from behind his desk as the recruits showed up one by one. His look of puzzlement when Brandon went over to Gordon and handed him something, saying, "I believe this belongs to you", changed to amusement when he recognized what the object was. Then he watched as Dom walked in with Joshua. The boy saw Emily and reached out to her. Dom handed his son to her and took a seat beside her. Emily began bouncing Joshua lightly on her knee.
When Callie walked in, she paused as she saw Kat, then took a seat on the opposite side of the room. Jeff noticed this and glanced around, catching a small shake of the head and a "let them work it out" look from John. He shot a quick look at Dianne, who had gotten the same expression from her stepson, and she shrugged.
Finally everyone was there and he opened communications with Thunderbird 5. Then he began to speak.
"A couple of recent events have occurred which has prompted me to call this meeting. One you all know about - Kat's encounter with a man who stole a hoverbike during the rescue in India. The other happened three days ago. Someone tried to invade Tin-Tin's mind, in order to get information about you new recruits."
He would have continued, but was interrupted by gasps and exclamations of "What?", "Oh no!", "Are you okay, Tin-Tin?" and "Who could do a thing like that?".
"That's why we brought you here today," Jeff continued, answering the last question. "We believe the perpetrator is an old enemy of International Rescue, known as The Hood." He turned to his longtime friend. "Kyrano, you probably know more about him than anyone. Will you begin?"
The Malaysian stepped forward so he could be seen by everyone in the room. "The Hood is in actuality my half-brother, Belah Gaat. He has become a master criminal, specializing in appropriating new technology, either for someone who has hired him, or to sell to the highest bidder. He has certain powers that make him more successful than others at what he does; he can invade minds, mesmerize others, and force them to do his will."
"What does this Hood person look like?" asked Dom.
"We aren't certain, since Kyrano hasn't seen him in many years, and Hood is also a master of disguise. But our best guess comes from Brains, who encountered him at Lake Anasta a couple of years ago," replied Jeff. "Brains?"
"Yes, well," Brains began, standing up, his hands behind his back. "The man I first saw looked very much like a Bedouin, with a dark beard and bushy eyebrows. But... I believe that was a disguise. I encountered the man while underwater, where he could not wear a disguise. At that point, he was bald, with a cruel face, and bushy dark eyebrows."
He took a deep, steadying breath. "In both cases where he used his mesmerizing powers on me, his eyes glowed a sickly yellow color. I couldn't help but focus my own attention on them; they were that unusual and hypnotic.
"In both of his guises, he had large, powerful looking hands. He was well-built, muscular, and relatively tall. I'd say about Gordon's height." He glanced over at Jeff. "I... I don't know that I can remember anything more."
"I don't understand," Kat said. "Why is he after us?"
"He wants International Rescue and our technology," Scott answered. "At first, it was just the machines, especially the Thunderbirds. But he was thwarted time after time, and it's become an obsession with him."
"Then why hasn't he already gone after one of you guys?" asked Brandon.
"He did," Gordon replied. "He went after Brains. Not only that, but he's managed to get pictures of various Thunderbirds at different times." He shook his head. "He's never succeeded, partially due to Pink Lady's diligence."
"He has also attacked my father from afar," Tin-Tin added. She looked at her entwined fingers. "My father has found the strength to counter him. I only hope I can do the same."
"Apparently he needs a familial link to invade a mind from a distance, as he has in the past with Kyrano and now Tin-Tin, who has fully recovered, I understand," added Jeff as he looked over at her. She smiled and nodded, and he continued. "Otherwise International Rescue would probably not have lasted very long. But with more people in our organization, and more rescues in remote areas, the chances of him trying to get to any one of you who goes out increases, as does the possibility of him succeeding.
"I had hoped, since we hadn't seen or heard from him in a long time, that he had lost interest, or found easier targets. But if he had, he is back now. And you all need to be warned so you can be on your guard. My sons are also vulnerable, but from what Tin-Tin has told us about her ordeal, he's after one of you new recruits."
He noticed Brandon was shaking his head with a look of disbelief on his face. When the young man saw Jeff watching him, he said, "This is hard to take in. It sounds more like the plot of a bad science fiction movie."
There were a few chuckles and Jeff smiled slightly. "I know it does, but believe me, it's real."
"Why would he be after one of us?" Elise asked, a perplexed look on her face. "I mean, it's not like we have extensive knowledge of the Thunderbirds, like Scott, Virgil, or Brains would."
"He probably thinks that you'd be an easier target," Dianne suggested. "After all, we Tracys know to be on the lookout for him. Until now, you had no idea he existed." She glanced over at Jeff, then continued, "But now that you do, you have to be alert and watch each other's backs."
"So what, besides that, do we do to keep him at bay, so to speak?" asked Nikki.
Dianne glanced at Jeff to see if he wanted to answer that first, and when he indicated that she should speak, she said, "I think we should all check in at regularly scheduled intervals, either with Mobile Control or Thunderbird 5. Say every fifteen to twenty minutes?"
"Sounds like a feasible idea," Alan said. "It might be wise to indicate which operatives are to check in with which station, so no one assumes that someone has checked in with the other." His face screwed up in a puzzled frown. "Did that make any sense?"
Jeff smiled. "Yes, it did. We'll come up with a list of who checks in where later. Does anyone else have another suggestion?"
"I suppose," Callie said slowly, "that we should try not to get so absorbed in what we are doing that we forget about each other, or about checking in. We need to keep track of each other when we are together, not only because of a possible kidnapping, but because of one of us getting injured as well. I especially should remember that, since I have a tendency to concentrate so hard on my work, I block everything else out at times."
"You do that, Ursa?" Alan said with a teasing grin. "I hadn't noticed."
There was a round of chuckles and groans. Jeff noticed that Kat didn't participate, but just shifted in her chair. John smiled, but it looked a bit strained. Do I ask? he wondered. Internally, he shook his head. If it was something that affected the team, John would say so. I can trust him to tell me if I need to know.
He held up a hand for attention. "Any more suggestions?"
"Set a meeting place?" Dom said hesitantly. "If there's ever a spot of trouble, we can meet by Mobile Control, or in Thunderbird Two or something... count noses...?"
Jeff nodded. "Good notion. It's a sound safety precaution in any situation."
"What about sending extra people out there, just to keep an eye out for trouble?" asked Kat.
"I don't think that would be feasible, for several good reasons," Jeff replied.
"Would making more beepers, like the one Kyrano has, be a possibility?" Virgil looked from his father to Brains and back. "Although if the Hood does get to any of us, I doubt we'd be in any shape to use it."
"I concur with that, Virgil," Brains said. "He had me under his thumb so fast I could barely utter a word." He shook his head. "For Kyrano, it's different; though the attacks come out of nowhere, he has learned to recognize them and has that little bit of time to warn the rest of us."
"I wish I knew how he did this," Scott said, folding his arms. "You'd think he'd have to be close to invade another's mind."
"I do not believe he does, Mr. Scott," Kyrano said quietly. "Else we should have been aware of his presence near the island."
"Does anyone else have suggestions?" asked Jeff. When no one answered, or they shook their heads, he continued. "All right. Scott, I want you to work with me in deciding who checks in with you and who checks in with Thunderbird 5. We'll do it tonight and email you all so you'll know first thing in the morning." He looked around. "Are there any questions or comments?"
There was a general shaking of heads. Jeff nodded, and added, "If you think of anything later, please ask. I want to have you all as fully briefed on this threat as possible."
Elise raised a hand. "I just thought of something. Can we see any logs where you've encountered this guy before? Maybe we can see some kind of pattern or something."
Jeff glanced over at Scott, and the latter nodded. "Yes, you may. See John to set you up with the logs; he and Alan know more about them than anyone." He surveyed the room again. "Anything else?"
Again, there was a general shaking of heads and uttered negatives. He nodded, and said, "Then this meeting is adjourned."
fair warning by Hobbeth and Tikatu
98% pure evil...and loving every minute of it.
 
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