Unpacking

Fermat was pleased to find that he was the first occupant of his room to arrive. "Means I can t-t-t... have the lower bunk!" He slung his heavy backpack, filled with the books he and his father had purchased, onto the aforementioned bed.

"Third f-f-f... story! Good thing there's an el-el-el... elevator!" Brains declared, smiling at his son's obvious pleasure.

"Whew! I agree! I'd hate to have to climb those stairs everyday... several times a day," Gordon quipped. He pulled a luggage float, piled with boxes of Fermat's belongings, behind him. Most of the other boys in the dorm were waiting for the maintenance men to help them with their bags.

Jeff had shaken his head in disbelief at the pampered ones; he had always taught his sons to do as much as they could for themselves, a habit he knew would hold them in good stead all of their lives. So, he sent Gordon and Alan out in search of something to carry the heavier things, and helped Brains and Fermat unload the trunk of the limo. The driver offered to help, and Jeff nodded. Together they sorted out the individual boxes, and the driver carefully put Alan's things back into the trunk.

The room was spacious, with a desk for each of the two students who would be living there, as well as two chifforobe-type closets. Having been in the dorms before, and knowing their layout, Gordon and Alan were able to help Fermat put away his clothes and linens in the drawers and shelves of the wardrobe, hanging up what needed it, and neatly laying out Fermat's shoes and boots on the floor of the closet side. While they worked, Jeff moved the books then took the time to make Fermat's bed, tucking in the sheets and blankets with military precision. When he was done, he glanced around and, seeing everyone else occupied, he took a coin from his pocket and dropped it on the bed. It bounced. He smiled, satisfied, and moved over to help unload the books.

Brains, in the meantime, was piecing together the parts of Fermat's computer. It was a laptop/desktop combination, one of the best on the market, and enhanced with Hiram Hackenbacker's unique and efficient upgrades. The main component of the computer, the laptop, could be easily disconnected from the screen and the stationary CPU for mobile work, but when it was plugged into the rest of the outfit, the processing power increased tenfold, and the screen, a thin, flat plasma model, made it easy for Fermat to see, even with his poor vision. This model was special as they were beta testing a wireless modem that connected the computer's hidden, tertiary hard drive directly to Thunderbird Five using a dizzying series of major and minor satellites to bounce the signal around the globe. Brains unconsciously hummed while he worked; he loved the challenge of fitting the puzzle pieces of technology together. Suddenly, he was struck with a thought, and he looked over at his son, then at Jeff.

"G-G-Gordon? Close the door, please?"

Jeff could hear the seriousness in his chief engineer's tone and asked, "What's wrong, Brains?"

"I-I-I just realized something. The boys aren't g-g-g... won't be able to use th-th-the new drive."

Jeff frowned. "Hmm. You're right. If the two of you were rooming together, it wouldn't be a problem. But since you're going to have roommates that know nothing about our operations..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head. "You can't use the hidden drive."

Alan huffed out a frustrated breath. "Aw, Dad! That's not fair! We want to know what's going on when you're on a mission!"

"We'd be really c-c-careful. Use it only when n-no one else was around," Fermat chimed in.

The two fathers exchanged glances, and both shook their heads. "N-N-No, son. It's much t-t-t... it's risky," Hiram said regretfully.

"Hey, look at it this way," Gordon suddenly said. "It's one more reason to get the two of you rooming together again. Add it to the list, Dad."

Jeff snorted a chuckle. "It's not a reason I'll be able to share with the board of directors, but it's one I'll keep in mind. C'mon, let's finish up here and get Alan moved in."

The five got back to work, and before they knew it, all of Fermat's belongings were unpacked and put away. He looked around at his room, still half-bare since his roommate had not yet arrived, but feeling a bit more like home.

"The c-c-computer tests out fine, son," Brains said as he finished up his task. "You'd b-b-b... time to shut it down."

Fermat moved over to his desk, sliding the ergonomic chair that had been brought especially for him out from under it and sitting before the screen. He began shutdown procedures, and when asked for a password, typed in something rather long. Brains smiled at him knowingly; he knew his son's mind and where it would be for the rest of the school year when not focused on studies: back home at Tracy Island with the magnificent Thunderbirds. The computer shut down with a slightly saucy "Goodbye, Fermat!" startling the boy, and putting a slow grin on both Gordon's and Alan's faces. The feminine voice was that of Tin-Tin Belegant, their female friend and daughter of Jeff's retainer, Kyrano and Kyrano's wife, housekeeper Onaha.

For the first time, Tin-Tin was going away to school, too, but to a school in England, close to Jeff's good friend and International Rescue agent, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, who promised she would keep an eye on the girl. Alan sighed and his grin faded as he thought of Tin-Tin; they had been through training together over the summer and had the adventure of a lifetime battling her uncle and Jeff's nemesis, Trangh Belegant, known to police around the world as the Hood. Alan knew that English schools ran on different timetables than American ones, and that he and Fermat couldn't count on seeing her at home when they had vacations from school. The next time they would all be together again would be Christmas and that seemed a lifetime away.

Jeff looked around with satisfaction. "I think we're done here." He turned to his youngest son. "Alan, it's your turn."

The five men left the room, and Fermat put his palm up to the door's locking device, keying in the code he had memorized. "W-W-Wait a minute," he said. He grabbed Alan by the hand. "I want to program this to accept your input, t-too." He glanced over at Brains. "Y-Yours, too, Dad. Never know when it might be useful."

Alan grinned and put his hand up to the palm print scanner. The boys were allowed to program two people other than themselves into their door locks. Fermat was good at programming anything; getting the lock mechanism's silicon brain to accept first Alan's, then Hiram's palm prints was the work of a few moments. "There. N-Now you can get in any time," Fermat said with satisfaction.

"Good work, Fermat," said Jeff, smiling. "Now, let's find Chetwood."

Alan's first floor room already showed signs of occupancy. The lower bunk was made, one of the wardrobes was full, and there was a laptop computer sitting closed on one of the desks. The teen shrugged; he was used to the top bunk from living with Fermat. Jeff found making that bed a bit more of a challenge than he had found Fermat's to be, but in the end the coin bounced and he was satisfied. The drill was pretty much the same for Alan's things as it had been for Fermat's with the exception of a sleek, compact sound system. Brains had tested it thoroughly and had set the volume and bass levels so that the major complaint that Alan's neighbors had filed the year before, that of music played too loud, would be eliminated. Alan didn't mind; he was sure that between Fermat and himself, they could get around Brains's lockouts. Gordon was the one who put the whole thing together, muttering all the time that he wished he had owned something that nice when he went to Wharton. Jeff grinned, but otherwise paid him no heed.

Once Alan's room was done, the little group left. Alan made sure that Fermat's handprint was filed in the door's lock, and for the first time since he had been sent to Wharton, Alan wanted his father's handprint logged. "I know I've usually given access to another friend," Alan began sheepishly. "But if there's one thing I've learned this summer, it's that family means more to me than I thought it did."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, son," Jeff said as he put his hand up to the plate. The scanner's light ran up and down his hand, and he entered a password, one he was unlikely to forget. Alan completed the process with his own password, and the small group found itself out in the hallway without much to say.

"How about dinner in town?" Jeff suggested. "One last good meal before we leave you to the rigors of cafeteria food."

"Sounds great to me," Gordon piped up. "Then we can take them to the store to stock up on snacks and drinks to tide them over... for about an hour or so."

Brains and Fermat both chuckled, and Alan playfully swatted his older brother. "Sounds good to me, too, if only to satisfy this bottomless pit here," he said.

"Bottomless pit? Moi? I'm crushed!" Gordon raised the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic motion.

Alan swatted him again, and Jeff smiled while shaking his head. "C'mon, boys. Let's eat before the day gets any later. We do have a sizeable trip back home, you know."

"R-R-R... yes, we do," Brains agreed. "And I'm st-st-st... hungry."

With that, they headed back down to the limo and Jeff instructed the driver to take them to downtown New Ashford and a restaurant that Jeff knew from his many visits to Wharton.

It was nearing curfew when the boys returned to campus. They stopped in front of Chetwood dorm, intending to let Alan off first. But before they left the limousine, Jeff handed each boy the latest in satellite cell phones. "Here are your phones," he said. "Call anytime, son, and I mean that. Email is okay, but... I like to hear your voice, too."

"I will, Dad. Promise."

"And, Fermat, d-d-don't lose it," Brains cautioned. "I expect to h-h-hear from you on a r-r-r... often."

"I'll t-take care of it, Dad."

"And here's another piece of equipment for you." Jeff gave them each a stylish watch. "Something else we're beta testing. It's a communicator, one that puts you in contact with John up in Thunderbird Five. But I warn you both; it's only to be used in extreme emergencies. The red button on the side will activate a signal that will both tell us that you're in trouble and a locator chip will tell us where you are, anywhere in the world." He wagged a finger at both boys. "Wear it at all times and remember: extreme emergencies only!"

"Right, Dad," Alan said, his blue eyes shining. Fermat nodded eagerly, happy to be given such a cool piece of tech.

"Now, let's get you inside, Alan."

Brains said his goodbyes to the youngest Tracy there in the limo, but Jeff and Gordon got out and walked Alan to his room, Gordon carrying one bag of goodies and Alan the other. They paused before the door to Alan's quarters, dropping the bags of groceries there. Father and son embraced, and Gordon gave his brother a friendly poke in the arm, then pulled him into a brief hug.

"I'll miss you guys," Alan said softly.

"Ditto, sprout," Gordon replied.

Alan didn't even protest the name this time. He walked his father and brother to the front door, waving at them as they got back into the limousine. Then he sighed, and trudged back to his room. It was still unoccupied, but he knew it wouldn't be that way for much longer. He looked around the room, then sighed again and opened the small refrigerator to put away his goodies.

At Maplewood, Jeff accompanied Brains and Fermat up to the third floor. Gordon had ruffled the boy's hair as he got out of the limo and said, "Take care, sport."

"I-I will, Gordon," Fermat promised.

Now it was time to say goodbye to Jeff and to his father. "You take good care of yourself, F-F-Fermat. And c-c-c... phone me whenever you want, o-okay?"

"I will, Dad." The two embraced, a long, tight hug that both were loath to break. But they did, and Jeff added a quick hug of his own and ruffled Fermat's hair as Gordon had.

"Take care of Alan for me, Fermat," Jeff told him with a smile, as they walked to the elevator.

Fermat smiled back. "I will, sir. I promise."

Brains waggled his fingers as the elevator doors closed. "Bye, son."

Fermat returned the gesture. "Bye, Dad."

Alone in the hall, he swallowed and sniffed, then turned back to his room. The bags of snacks lay beside the door, and he put up his palm up to the lock. The door swished open, and Fermat stepped inside, a bag in each hand. Bags that quickly dropped to the floor as he exclaimed, "Hey! Wh-What do you think you're doing!"