Unbearable Heat

"So, any ideas?" Virgil asked of his father and brothers.

"I have one," Jeff stated. "But first, pull out of the way so that those trucks can get across."

"F-A-B," Virgil responded.

Within a few moments, Virgil had cleared a space for the Firefly to pull off the dirt road. John contacted the lead truck driver and told him to drive over the bridge to safety. As each truck eased across the wooden span, the passengers rolled down windows and waved madly at the Firefly's occupants. Behind his air mask, Gordon grinned, and waved back. His eyes followed the vehicles as they rumbled into the fire-free forest across the ravine and out of sight.

"Okay, Dad," Virgil said as the last truck drove off the bridge. "What's the plan?"

"How wide do you think this ravine is right here?" Jeff asked.

"I have no idea," Virgil replied. "Why?"

"We need to find a spot where the ravine narrows to less than the length of the pod," his father explained. "If we can find such a spot, we can just put the pod across and you can drive right on inside."

"Cool idea, Dad," Scott said from his perch overhead in Thunderbird One. "Hey, Gordon, do you have something to measure this ravine with? I have a feeling that the reason this bridge is here is because this is the most narrow spot."

"I don't think we have anything in the Firefly," Gordon said. "But I'm sure there's something on Two." He looked across the landscape, seared and still burning. "We have to do something quick. The dicetyline supplies are running out."

"Just keep the fire away from you and Virgil," Jeff said. "Scott and I will see to measuring the ravine."

"F-A-B," Gordon said, his voice weary. He took a deep breath and continued his fight against the onrushing flames.

"Thunderbird One from Thunderbird Two," Jeff said, cutting his communications to just between him and his two eldest sons. "There's no place I can land Two outside of spanning the ravine. The woods are too thick. So, Scott, you're going to have to do this. I'm going to put Two on autopilot while you land One where you had her before. Then I'll lower the toolbox with the laser measure. Unless you have one in Thunderbird One's toolbox?"

"I just might, Dad," Scott said. "I'll take One down and look."

"F-A-B."

"Firefly from Thunderbird Five," John's voice had an urgent tone to it.

"Go ahead, John," Virgil answered.

"The wind has shifted again, and it's coming from the west, which will bring more flames toward your position."

"F-A-B," Virgil replied. "Thunderbirds One and Two from Firefly. I'm going to take the Firefly back out to the roadway and wait there. No sense being caught in this brush."

"F-A-B, Firefly," Jeff answered. "Scott is coming out to measure the ravine right now. He had the ruler in his toolbox."

"F-A-B, Dad." Virgil put the Firefly in reverse and prepared to move it back out to the dirt road. "Virgil to Gordon. I'm pulling out and onto the road again. Hold on tight up there." He paused for a moment, waiting for an answer. "Gordon? Are you all right up there?" Another silent moment, then he called louder, "Virgil to Gordon! Acknowledge!"

"Firefly from Thunderbird Five. What's wrong?" John called.

"I don't know, John!" Virgil cried. "Gordon's not responding!"

"C-Come in," Fermat called when he heard the knocking. The door slid open, and Alan walked in, math book under his arm.

"S-So, did things g-g-g... how d-did thing go with D-Dom?" Fermat asked as he swiveled his chair around toward his friend.

"Pretty good," Alan said, dropping the book to the floor and sitting down next to it. "Looks like we might be able to help each other out." He glanced around the room. "Where's A.J.?"

"Th-The library. He left a n-n-note."

"Ah, too bad. Wanted to ask him how things went with his call to his dad," Alan said with a shrug. Then a calculating look came into his eyes. "Hey, I've got an idea. Since he's not here, let's give your dad a call and find out what's going on with the rescue."

"I d-don't know," Fermat said, frowning. "I d-don't think that's such a g-g-good idea. D-Dad would be at the c-c-c... at your father's d-desk. He w-wouldn't appreciated being d-distracted."

"Well then," Alan said as he got up quickly from the floor. "How about the tertiary drive? Open it in a separate window that we can collapse easily... we can lock the door..."

Fermat was silent for a moment, which told Alan that his friend was powerfully tempted by his suggestion. Then he looked up into the older boy's eyes and said, "Lock the d-door."

Alan grinned and did as his friend requested. When he came back to look over Fermat's shoulder, the younger boy was entering a password to access the hidden third drive, the one that was keyed to a server at the command center. "Th-This should give us a p-p-p... an account of wh-what's happening, with c-communications and e-everything."

"Looks like we have some catching up to do," Alan commented as the window opened that listed the communications as if they were a movie script, or an IM conversation. The communicators were listed with either an operative's name or the craft/vehicle they were using. "Look, Dad's piloting Two, Scott's in One, and Gords and Virge are in the Firefly." He frowned. "I wonder where the hell they are?"

Fermat clicked on a link that brought up a map of the world, with a blinking light showing the current position of the Thunderbird craft. He clicked on the light, and the map "zoomed in", showing the forest and which craft was where. "Th-There. They're in E-Ecuador. One is the b-b-blue dot, Two is g-green and the F-Firefly has two Fs on it." He turned his attention back to the communications log. "They're b-battling a f-f-forest f-fire."

Alan prompted his friend to put up a second window of the dialogue. The younger boy could read much faster than the Tracy son, and Alan didn't want to hold Fermat up as they scrolled down.

Finally, they caught up to the end of the dialogue, and Alan's face creased in deep concern, "Gordon? What's wrong with Gords?"

Just then there was a noise at the door. "It's A-A. J.!" he hissed as he quickly shut down the drive, clicking down the windows and map with the speedy application of his mouse.

Alan looked at him in disbelief. "Wait! I have to know...!"

A.J. walked in and both boys looked over at him. He took in their startled expressions and frowned a bit. "Hello, Fermat, Alan. What's going on?"

"Damn!" Scott said as he hovered over the Firefly. "He's slumped over the dicetyline cannon!"

"Then we have no time to put down the pod," Jeff said curtly. "Scott, you need to land. Virgil, get out there and see to your brother. I'll prepare the mega-grabs."

Virgil slid his face mask on as he popped the canopy of the Firefly's driver compartment. The heat of the fire, so close to where they were stopped, made him take in a deep breath. He scrambled up over to the cannon's platform, where Gordon's limp form made a gasp catch in his throat. Beyond the end of the Firefly, Thunderbird One made a quick landing, obscured in a billowing cloud of blowing soot and sand. The pilot's cockpit dropped open, and Scott slid out, wearing a face mask and air tank but no heat suit. He ran as fast as he could to join Virgil at Gordon's side.

"What's wrong with him?" Scott asked loudly.

"Heat exhaustion, maybe," Virgil replied, his face furrowed with worry as he examined Gordon. "And he's low on air." He turned to Scott and in a voice tight with fear, ordered, "Let's just get him into One and out of here!"

"Okay, Virgil. Calm down; I'll take him. But Dad will need you down here." Scott bent down and lifted Gordon into a fireman's carry. He grabbed at Virgil's arm briefly, giving him a sharp, serious look. "Will you be okay?" he asked.

Virgil nodded briefly. "I'll be fine. Get Gordy to safety!"

"F-A-B," Scott replied. He withdrew his hand, readjusted Gordon's weight, and hurried off to his 'Bird.

Virgil watched them go for a few seconds then turned his attention back to the fire. "Damn! The dicetyline supply is below five percent!"

"Just keep the fire at bay," Jeff's no-nonsense voice cut in. "I'll be over your position in a few seconds. Then I'll lower the mega-grabs. You'll need to attach the grabs for me."

"F-A-B," Virgil replied. His father's commanding tone was exactly what he needed to stay focused on the job at hand. He pressed the trigger on the dicetyline cannon and watched the green foam shoot out under high pressure, extinguishing the flames that crawled so close to him.

Thunderbird One took off with a roar and another scattering of sand and soot. It flew off over the ravine, toward the cool forest, passing above Thunderbird Two's bulk as it moved slowly towards Virgil and the stranded Firefly. The winds kicked up by Thunderbird Two's hoverjets pushed some of the fire away from the pod vehicle, and the cargo craft came between the hot, smoke wreathed disk of the sun, making it easier for Virgil to look up. A door in the base of the pod slid open and the bright yellow magnetic mega-grabs came snaking down towards him. He allowed himself a small, grim smile behind his face mask; his father's aim was as good as his own.

"I've got the grabs! Let out another three meters of cable!" he directed.

"F-A-B," came Jeff's voice, audible only because it was directly fed to Virgil's ear. The grabs moved down a bit more, and Virgil pushed them open just a touch so that they would connect with the special pads that were built into each pod vehicle in the event of such an emergency.

"Okay! They're in position!"

"F-A-B!" said Jeff. There was a humming noise as the electromagnets came to life and Virgil listened carefully for the tell-tale clanks that meant the vehicle was secure.

"Wait, Dad! Release the clamp! Pad one isn't in position!" Virgil jumped down from the cannon platform as the humming noise stopped. He checked out the magnetic foot that was designated as pad one. It wasn't quite in place, and he moved it slightly forward. Then he checked the other feet, feeling the heat of the fire as it tried again to approach his position. There was a loud crash behind him and a tree fell across the road, missing the Firefly by mere inches. He jumped at the sound, then leaped back up onto the platform. "Try it now!"

The magnets hummed into life again and this time Virgil heard four solid clanks. He sighed, letting his shoulders relax a bit, then climbed back into the driver's cab. Sealing it up again, he called into his face mask's communicator, "We're good to go, Thunderbird Two. I'm strapping in and ready to blow this popsicle stand!"

"F-A-B!" Jeff's voice filter down, sounding relieved. "Upsy daisy!"

The big winch that had lowered the grabs began to take up the slack on the cable, and slowly the Firefly moved into the air. The winch stopped, leaving about three meters between the bottom of the pod and the Firefly, then Two moved out, going slowly so as not to create too much of a swing.

Virgil took off his face mask and hood and ran his hand through his short, light brown hair. It was wet with sweat, and he shook his head sharply, letting sweat drops fly before he ran a hand through his locks again. "Firefly to Two, how's Gordon?"

"Don't know, Virgil," Jeff said, his voice sounding weary. "Scott's taken him to the nearest hospital. He couldn't wait for Two's sickbay."

"The hospital at Peyo reports that Thunderbird One is on approach to their helijet pad," a third voice broke in.

"Hey, John," Jeff said with a touch of humor. "Almost forgot you were there."

"Yeah, right, Dad," John replied. "Not when I was reporting every little shift in wind direction so you knew what was going on when you were on your way to and from Peyo." Virgil could hear his brother blow out a long breath of air. "That was too damned close, Virge. You guys are going to give me premature gray hairs."

"Then your hair won't need peroxide," Virgil quipped.

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Virgil, we've got a sizeable clearing coming up. I'm going to let you down and then open up the pod so you can put the Firefly to bed. I don't think it's safe for me to carry you like this all the way to Peyo," Jeff told him.

"F-A-B," Virgil replied. "Let's do it." He paused and said, "Just be glad you're up in Five where it's air conditioned, John. It was hot as hell down here today."

"I'd much rather have been down there helping you out than staying up here listening and not able to do a damned thing," John came back sharply. Then his voice moderated. "I'm sorry, Virge. I'm just worried about Gordon."

"We all are," Jeff cut in. "Good thing Alan has no idea what's going on out here. I'm sure he'll hear about it though. I think I saw Lisa Lowe's crew setting up at the hospital in Peyo."

Virgil groaned. He wondered briefly how the reporter got to their rescue venues so quickly, then he leaned over to see the ground slowly coming up toward him as his father let the Firefly back down to the dry, grassy ground.

"Uh, ah, just checking the scores," Alan prevaricated. He picked up his math book, and gave A.J. a weak grin. "Got to get going on the homework."

"Hmm. What scores?" the younger boy asked.

"Football!" Alan said at the same time as Fermat blurted out, "B-Baseball!" The two of them exchanged glances as A.J.'s frown grew deeper. Fermat indicated Alan with his head. "F-Football."

"Oh, okay. Are either of you going to dinner?" A.J. asked as he put his things away.

"Uh, no. We usually we just hang out and snack," Alan explained. "Same thing on Sunday nights."

"Uh, I've g-got to go t-to the infirmary," Fermat said with a small groan. "M-Medication." He sighed. "I might as well g-go to the d-dining hall while I'm th-there."

This stopped Alan cold for a moment. "Ah, right," he finally said. "Okay. Well, I guess if you're going to supper, I'll go too."

A.J. smiled. "Great! You can tell me all about the football scores. I've never been interested in the game and maybe it's time I started."

"Uh, sure!" Alan replied. He left his textbook on Fermat's desk as his friend shut down the computer. "We can tell you all about the game, can't we, Brain?"

"Y-Yeah, P-Pinky," Fermat hesitatingly agreed.

The three walked out, with A.J. locking the door behind them. Alan's ears strained to hear what was on the television in the common room, and was relieved that it had nothing to do with his family. But just as he passed out of earshot, Lisa Lowe's blandly pretty face appeared and she began, "The main hospital here in Peyo, Ecuador..."