Reunification
Rashid Allabadah came around, his mind clear again. He looked at Brains, who sat waiting for him to wake up. A hard look passed across his face. "I suppose I owe my sanity to you, Hackenbacker."
Brains shrugged noncommitally. Rashid struggled to get up.
"It doesn't change my opinion of you. I still think you are an arrogant son of a dog. And you are a weakling, as well."
"I plan on changing that," Brains said, a small smile crossing his lips. Rashid snorted, then left the room, his gait still unsteady.
In the garage, Ivan was making his farewells. He asked to speak to Bekkah privately. "Rebekkah, I am so very sorry about what passed between us. I was not in command of myself. I would never have hurt you the way I did. I would still like to be at least your friend. Perhaps in time something more. Will you forgive me?"
Bekkah looked on him wearily. She handed him his CD.
"In time, I will be able to forgive you for what you did, Ivan. But I cannot forgive what you said. No true friend of mine rejoiced when Terrence died. My true friends grieved with me. But you did not. You are a selfish, self-serving man, Ivan. I do not want anything more to do with you. I could never love such a possessive narcissist. Please leave me alone." She turned from him and walked away. He left, head bowed, tears running down his face.
Bekkah looked in the windows of the cab. She remembered what Sir James had said about her microcomp. To her delight, it sat on the floor of the cab, intact. She opened the door and pulled it out, checking it over for any damage.
"Thanks, Tin-Tin, for bringing the microcomp with you. It would have been difficult to replace." She gave Tin-Tin a big hug.
Rashid came up the stairs and out into the garage. He gave Bekkah a hard, long look. Then he walked on by and out of the garage.
Brains came up a few moments later. He offered his arm to each lady. They both smiled at him and took an elbow. "Mr. Tracy has an operative or two in the area who will be taking the machine to a subsidiary office of Tracy Industries. Eventually, I'll be back to dissect it and see what makes it work. With a few adjustments, it might prove to be useful to medicine." Brains sobered. "I hope Mr. Tracy can track down that biochemical lab and get hold of their research into that drug. It, too, could be useful, in the right hands."
They were met by Jeff in a hired car. He took them to the airport, where the Tracy jet waited. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 were long gone.
"I'm sorry, Bekkah. But we're going back to the island first," Jeff said as he powered up the aircraft.
"That's okay, Jeff. I need to pack some more clothes, anyway. Everything I was going to bring was burned up when my room was bombed." Bekkah replied.
Jeff taxied down the runway and lifted the craft into the air.
The three engineers were tired, and all of them dozed during the flight back to Tracy Island. On their arrival, Grandma Tracy fed them a big meal and sent them off for some more sleep. Bekkah looked around at her quarters. They seemed too quiet without the children roaming around in them. She picked up a book and lay down on the couch to read. Within minutes she was asleep again.
The next day she packed up some more clothes and headed down to the airstrip. John and Gordon waited for her in the Tracy Lear jet.
"I'll be flying you today, Bekkah." John explained.
"And I'm coming along for the ride," said a grinning Gordon.
They got in. Bekkah chose a seat toward the back so she could talk to Gordon without distracting John. They strapped in and John got clearance from Jeff for take off.
"First stop, New Mexico, then South Carolina." John intoned over the intercom, trying to sound like an airline pilot.
Bekkah leaned her head back and sighed. Gordon looked at her expectantly.
"Y'know, I'm going to have to have a plausible explanation for this cervical collar and the bruises I've collected over the past few days." she told him.
"Yeah, I know. We are always coming up with excuses for our injuries when we see the doctor. Sometimes they sound pretty lame."
"I was thinking about a fall down a flight of stairs. How does that sound?"
"It would fit. Except for the hickeys."
"I know. I'll have to cover them up. My dad would not be pleased if he saw them."
"You could say I made them."
Bekkah laughed softly. "Thanks for the idea. I might just do that."
"You don't like lying to your family, do you?"
"Not particularly. But I knew I was going to have to do it sometimes if I was going to be a part of International Rescue."
She paused for a moment. "You know, I've been in more trouble during the past six months than I have been in during the previous forty-two years. And it's not like I have gone looking for trouble. I'm not like you and your brothers. I don't go looking to take danger by the throat and shake it. It's more like danger gets me by the throat and shakes. Hard. I don't know if I can continue to live this sort of life." She looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. "Masters said something to me that really got my attention. He said that I would be killed and my children would be orphaned. I don't want that to happen. But then, I don't want to leave the challenge that I've come to love working with you all."
"So what are you going to do?" Gordon asked in trepidation.
Bekkah looked at him and smiled. "Carpe diem. Seize the day. For the next week, I'm going to enjoy a break with my children and my parents. And eat turkey and dressing until I burst."
"Sounds like a plan."
She unbuckled herself and moved closer to Gordon. "But right this minute, I'm going to indulge myself in kissing and some heavy petting."
Gordon grinned and pulled her into his lap.
John looked in the cockpit mirror at the two, and shook his head, grinning.
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