Chapter Five: Closing

John winced as Gordon rubbed salve on his wrists where the shackles had dug into his flesh, making it look like he'd been hacking at them with razor blades. "Where the hell are we?" he asked as Virgil did the same for Dev.

"Nanda Kot," Scott replied as Jeff entered the room with two standard IR-issue winter gear outfits in vacuum-sealed blue bags.

"Another mountain," Dev moaned. He stared at John. "You are determined to take me mountain-climbing every time we're together, aren't you?"

John cut his eye at his friend, but noted the look on Dev's face held nothing but warmth, so he allowed his own countenance to soften into a smile.

Jeff handed one of the packages to Dev, then moved to John and stopped right in front of him.

John tensed, fully expecting a tirade of patriarchal proportions.

"Are you hurt, son?" Jeff asked as he handed over the second package.

Shaking his head, John replied, "Just banged up a bit, I think."

Jeff's shoulders sagged, and then he moved in and enveloped his boy, taller than he was by two inches, into a careful hug. John felt a stinging at the backs of his eyes when his father whispered his name like he'd thought he wasn't ever going to see him again.

Which, truthfully, he almost hadn't.

"I'm all right," John reassured his father, though newly-appearing aches and pains told him that might not be altogether true.

Pulling away, Jeff eyed him for a moment, and then turned to Dev. He held out his hand, which Dev took. "I'm glad you're both all right."

"As am I, Mr. Tracy." John could tell there was way more Dev wanted to say...more likely, to ask...and the look on his face must've told Jeff the same thing, for his father turned to look at him and John knew exactly what that look meant.

"We, uh..." John hesitated, swallowing as Gordon put the salve away. "We're going to need to talk."

Jeff looked at Dev, then at John again, and John gave a small nod. Jeff took a deep breath as he released Dev's hand, and nodded curtly in response. "Get yourselves changed and let's get out of here."

"How did you find us?" Dev asked as Virgil and Scott zip-tied X's and the Hood's wrists behind their backs. Still unconscious, X's broken nose was swollen to four times its normal size, and the Hood hadn't stirred since he'd gone down.

"Well, that's a bit of a story," Jeff replied.

Dev raised his eyebrows. "We have some time," he stated as he pulled open the package of clothing, which included winter boots, a flight suit modified for cold weather and underclothes.

Scott, Virgil and John all looked at each other, while Gordon made a face that seemed to indicate he wasn't at all surprised by any of this. That should bother him in and of itself, John thought.

"Once I reached Penny's, I thought of something I'd forgotten to ask John," Jeff said, then turned his attention to his boy as John ripped open his own package. "You didn't answer your cell or your wristcom."

At that moment, Scott moved forward and handed John the item in question. He took it with a grateful smile and slapped it on his wrist.

"No answer means trouble," Jeff explained to Dev. "I had the hotel check his room. The door was ajar, no sign of John, a broken mug and coffee all over the floor...and a mask that looked like your," he pointed at Dev, "face."

Dev looked down at the Hood, then up at John, who turned away without a word to pull on the underwear and flight suit.

"Wallet still there. Clothes. So we sprang into action. Traced your GPS," Jeff continued, eyes now back on John. "We thought maybe you two had gone mountain-climbing again when that's where your watch said you were."

"I wouldn't have put it past him," Dev muttered.

Gordon grinned as he picked up the empty plastic packs while John and Dev continued dressing. "History repeating?" he quipped.

"Once we got up here," Scott said, "we saw the entrance to the bunker and figured you guys were inside...but then we found the body and knew you were in trouble."

"Dead bodies are a good indication of trouble," Dev agreed as he sat down on the now-upright bench to slide the boots onto his feet. "How did you know my size?"

"We make it our business to know everything," Jeff replied.

John's eyes widened. Was his father actually...he was going to...yes. John knew in that moment that International Rescue was about to get a new agent, in the form of his very own best friend.

However, Dev seemed to interpret Jeff's reply a little differently because he said, "This is not my fault. Just for the record."

"How the hell was I supposed to know this would happen?" John asked, thoroughly annoyed.

Dev walked right up to him, craning his neck to look into his eyes. "I already told you, John Tracy. You attract trouble like a magnet."

Annoyance turned to amusement, and John cracked a smile. "Must be why we're such good friends."

Jeff cleared his throat. "Come on, boys. Let's get off this damn mountain."

"What about these guys?" John asked, nodding toward the men on the floor as he slid his boots on.

"Oh," Jeff replied, looking at his watch. "There's a Mil-Mi 25 transport on the way thanks to Penny."

John looked at his dad appreciatively, then guiltily as Jeff leveled his eyes at him. Not that it was, as he'd said, his fault...and he knew his father knew that. Still, having IR outed to Dev wasn't something any of them...John, especially...were really prepared for.

"What is going to happen to those men?" Dev asked.

"They'll be taken care of," Scott replied in a tone of voice John recognized all too well. Boy, was he glad he wasn't the Hood or General X right now.

"One more question," Dev said as they exited the room and made their way along the hall. "Do you make it a habit to rescue those in peril?"

The Tracys all looked at each other, but not one of them said a word. Instead they stepped up and out of the bunker entrance. Jeff led them up a small rise. And on the plateau beyond sat Thunderbird Two in all her glory, high on her struts above Pod 5.

The look on Dev's face as he took in the massive craft was worth him having discovered who and what the Tracys were beyond their public personas. That Dev turned and gave John a look of complete awe was icing on the cake. John smiled broadly as the others started crunching through the hard-packed snow toward Two.

"Unbelievable," Dev whispered.

"Quite believable," John countered, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get outta here."

Dev shook his head, and the look of shock on his face slowly morphed into a smile. "I should have known, John Tracy."

John gave him a grin.

Sure, Dev was now in on their secret, but John knew deep down that the knowledge wouldn't change their friendship one bit from being what it seemed it always was for them: getting into trouble at the drop of a hat.

Business as usual.

Well...more or less.