Fate

Pouring himself a glass of water, Jeff slumped down at his desk. He fiddled with the comm button.

‘Dad…don’t back down now.’

‘I know…but it’s hard, John.’

‘I get it. I do. But you got to do this for Scott’s sake.’

‘Ok. Ok. You’re right…stay?’

‘Of course.’

Jeff hit the comm and input a number. He was asked to go through several security measures and only after that was he connected to a person.

‘Mr Tracy, good afternoon.’

‘Harley, afternoon.’

‘How can JP Morgan be of service today?’

‘I need a freeze of my son’s assets and credit cards.’

‘I see. All of them?’

‘All those not connected to his private income and his mother’s trust fund.’

‘There is a wage paid by Tracy Industries into the account you’re asking me to close.’

‘Leave it. He won’t be getting any wages. How soon can you implement this?’

‘I can freeze his credit cards immediately but the rest of his assets will take 24 hours.’

‘That’s fine. Thank you, Harley. And I know I can rely on your discretion?’

‘Of course!’

‘Excellent. Thank you.’

‘Pleasure doing business with you, Mr Tracy.’

Jeff expelled a noisy breath and looked to John’s hologram.

His cardiac arrest had been almost a week ago, and everything still hurt. 

Jeff Tracy lay in bed in his private room at Mount Sinai Hospital, his eyes on the acoustic ceiling tiles above him, and did his best to only do what was absolutely necessary because breathing hurt. 

Talking hurt. 

Moving hurt. 

Hell, just taking a piss hurt. 

It was pretty understandable though, what with the condition he was in.

He had a big zipper of a surgical site going down his chest and a second in his left forearm where he’d donated his own replacement artery for the one that had failed him. There was a bunch of new hardware in and around his heart to keep it ticking, he was plugged into multiple IVs for fluids and meds, monitoring leads had been stuck wherever they’d fit, and it felt like half his body was just one gigantic bruise. To cap it all off, this morning the docs had been talking about ablating his ‘pacemaker node’ because he was apparently still throwing some arrhythmias. 

‘Yeah, this hurts, but I’m alive,’ Jeff reminded himself. He turned his eyes towards the glass inset in the door and the Spectrum non-colour coded officers guarding the other side of it. ‘Yeah I’m still under arrest, but I’m above ground and breathing, so the game’s not over yet.’ 

Jeff smirked as he walked back through his memory and reviewed the last update he’d gotten via Tobias. He’d already spoken to the hospital CEO as soon as he could think straight and a sizeable donation ensured that he’d be kept here, where he could access the outside world, for as long as possible. Tobias had finally proven his worth, serving as the messenger between himself and the lawyers and at the same time neatly switching the campaign’s tracks into sympathy-mode, but in a way that also cast aspersions on Spectrum’s intentions, cleverly insinuating how ‘convenient’ it was that the sitting World President’s main political rival had had a near-fatal cardiac event in the cells. Seeds of doubt were also being flung by the handful as Tobias and his team leaked WAAF medical reports and slyly questioned the Bastard’s sanity, thereby weakening the veracity of his testimony. ‘And yesterday Tobias found some very damning reports on Gordon that’ll sink the public’s opinion on whatever he has to say.’ He smirked again. WASP had been forced to cough up Gordon’s medical records and one of his doctors had carelessly made a note in there about suspecting drug-seeking behaviour due to all the opiates Gordon had been dosed with after his multiple spinal surgeries. ‘But,’ Jeff frowned, ‘that bitch is still broadcasting. Hm. I need to take care of her. Now. And I need it done without any mistakes. I need Kyrano to fix that.’ He knew exactly where to find his former chief of security. It’d be difficult to get the message to him, but it was doable and it would be worth the effort: unlike other, more recent hires, Kyrano’s track record spoke for itself. 

‘Hm. Do I get Lee in on that? Or Tobias?’ Jeff turned that over. Tobias was useful, but his attention was needed on the campaign. Lee would usually do what he was told, ‘but I’ll need to word it carefully, he’s an idiot. Useful, but an idiot…eh?’

Shouting. 

There was muffled shouting outside, and the Spectrum lackeys were moving away from the door. ‘What the hell is going on now?’ 

0o0o0

Minutes earlier, Tobias Ghent was striding down the hallway, severely distracted as he mentally recited paragraphs of information to himself. Tracy insisted on that - all updates were purely verbal. Nothing written. Nothing on phone calls. Nothing by any electronic means. ‘Which is damn well understandable considering who we’re up against! Doesn’t make memorising it all any easier though.’ 

But what was encouraging was that this time he had a lot of good news to bring under the guise of delivering missives from the team of lawyers. Yeah, the leaked recording had been a hell of a set-back, one that’d cost them a good chunk of the team, but he was choosing to take it as a filtering event, a sifting of the wheat from the chaff. ‘Once we beat these charges and get him back on campaigning, this is gonna be a hell of a platform. Behold: the guy so dangerous to the establishment they framed him and tried to kill him. All the fringe elements are gonna love him for it, and if we can spin it just right, anyone with an axe to grind with Younger is bound to lap this up. If we can get more leverage on the media we can start sinking the negative press and use ‘telling both sides’ to get our story out there.’ 

So caught up in the glittering future that awaited him, Tobias almost walked straight into one the two on-duty Spectrum grunts. This guy was a tall man with a severely broken nose. He planted himself squarely in his way and held up one hand to stop him.

“Tobias Ghent?” the nameless officer asked.

“...who’s asking?” Tobias hedged, taking half a step back. 

“Me.” The man was utterly stonefaced. “It is a requirement by law for you to provide or confirm your legal identity when requested to by a Spectrum or police officer.” 

“Then yeah, I am, but I’ve already got authorisation to be in that room as the official liaison from his lawy…” Tobias started, but the officer was holding up an official-looking piece of paper with a seal at the bottom. 

“Tobias Ghent, you are under arrest for receiving stolen classified information,” the officer began. “You have the right…” 

Under the looming threat of consequences, Tobias broke and bolted. He managed about six yards before the pursuing Spectrum officers tackled him into the floor… leaving the door to Jeff Tracy’s private room unguarded… an opportunity that was quickly capitalised on by two figures in lab coats and scrubs, approaching from the opposite direction. 

0o0o0

‘Do I go for the call bell or not?’ 

His eyes flicking between the door and the button on a cable looped over the bedside rail, Jeff weighed up the question carefully. He needed to know what was going on, but he had to be careful and continue to play the charming innocent. Pestering and demanding stuff wouldn’t endear him to the doctors and nurses, and he knew Charlie. That man would be hovering over this hospital like a vulture, looking for any crack or crevice he could use to pry open and get more information. People wanting to complain about ‘that irritating SOB in room 2015’ was a perfect vector for someone like Charlie. ‘That damn thing also likes to run away on me.’ He glowered at the call button. He’d tried grabbing it yesterday but it’d fallen between the mattress and the frame the second his fingers touched it. The other factor to his calculations was his limited movement. If that button fell, getting at it was nearly impossible. ‘Can I risk going for it?’ 

Before he could decide what to do, the door clicked open and two people in scrubs and lab coats came in. “Doctor, what…” 

One of the figures hung back, but the shorter one came forward. 

It was his mother. 

"Ma?" He started in utter confusion at her. She wasn't one of his doctors. 

"Oh Jefferson, I am so sorry." 

The grief written on her face made Jeff's stomach clench. 

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"All set, my dear." The second figure left the shadows by the door and slapped something onto the monitor beside his bed. It was Lord Hugh! Who, Jeff belatedly remembered, wasn’t just a financier, he’d also been Penny’s first mentor in intelligence gathering.

"You!" Jeff tried to push himself up right. His ma and Hugh couldn't portend anything good. Strong hands shoved him back into the bed. "Me." Jeff took as much of a breath as he could, but found a hard hand slapped over his mouth, Hugh switching up his grip to pin him with his spare arm across his shoulders. He scrambled for the call button, but the damn thing slithered between the bed and frame again. 

"I'm sorry I wasn't a better mother, that I hadn't acted on things sooner." Sally stood on the other side of the bed. "If I'd done things differently, perhaps we wouldn't be here." She took a small case out of her pocket and pulled out a hypodermic. 

His heartbeat thundering in his ears, Jeff tried to fight, to scream, to do something as his mother slid that needle into the IV line in his hand. But he was too weak, and Hugh was too strong. Helpless, he could only watch from the corner of his eye as she pressed the plunger and emptied the whole thing into him. 

It took effect within seconds. 

Jeff tried to howl as for a second time it felt like his chest was being ripped in two, like his heart was trying to pump concrete, like there was an anvil on on his chest and his left arm was going numb and… 

Lord Hugh waited a moment longer, then let go. It was the work of moments to straighten up the covers and hide the signs of his presence, and any incidental bruising would be lost in the mottling that already marked the body. He also collected his little device from the cluster of monitors. It would make them replay the last five minutes of data and only then, when they were (hopefully) well away would it send its alerts about the patient’s change in condition. When help arrived, he was supremely confident it would be too late. The syringe had contained a solution of potassium ions. Their introduction had completely derailed the delicate chemical balance needed for the nerves of the heart to fire, and any testing would only reveal the presence of a heightened amount of those same potassium ions, a completely expected finding in a cardiac arrest. That, plus the known odds of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patient leaving hospital in the first place, would ensure that this would not be investigated further.

“Come along, my dear, time to go,” he said as he came around the bed. 

“...yes, Lord Hugh.” Keeping her eyes averted from the body, Sally put the hypodermic back into its case, pocketed it, and permitted him to guide her out the still unguarded door - Tobias had decided to do the toddler flop and the officers were having to carry him away. That was, Lord Hugh mused, quite a useful happenstance. They were going to simply bluff their way past as doctors, but Tobias had drawn the guards completely away, leaving no one there to remember their visit.

Through some extraordinary feat, Sally managed to re-donned her professional mien as they navigated their way out of the cardiac wing, negotiated hallways and elevators, escaped the hospital grounds, and finally made it to his waiting car, driven by Parker. Doors shut, the vehicle purred into life, and only when it pulled away did she permit her tears to flow down her cheeks. 

“I am so, so sorry he forced your hand like that, my dear.” Hugh had no qualms over enfolding her in his arms. “We had no choice. We had to protect the children.”

She nodded as she let out tears she'd never let her grandchildren see. 

Hugh gently patted her back and raised his head. “Parker, to the hotel please.” 

Game face it was, then.

Scott opened the door with a small smile on his face but he couldn’t hide the exhaustion from the ordeal he’d been through. That she’d put him through…Kat hid a wince. But this was important.

‘Kat?’ ‘I - I want to thank you.’

Frowning, Scott leant against the doorframe and unconsciously folded his arms.

‘For the interview? You’re welcome, I guess.’ ‘No! Yes!! Oh…I’m messing this up.’

She sighed in frustration at herself, took e deep breath and started again.

‘I want to thank you for the interview, yes, but not for the reason you think. Since we started airing…what you went through we’ve had thousands of people, and especially children, calling the dedicated hotline asking for advice.’

At Scott’s startled look Kat paused, put a hand on his forearm and smiled gently.

‘Your bravery at coming forward has inspired others to seek help, not only to escape abuse but to stand up for others going through it. We’ve even had a few call in and say they recognise themselves as doing similar things as he did and they’ve sought help to change their ways.’

Kat let that sink in as Scott blinked at that particular bit of news.

‘But there’s one person I think you should meet.’

Immediately Scott stiffened but Kat didn’t back down. She gave his arm a squeeze.

‘Meet here , in private. No cameras, no recording and no witnesses. I think you both need this.’

Scott relaxed a fraction. Warily he followed Kat through the twists and turns of backstage to a plain door simply marked private.

Kat paused and glanced at Scott.

‘I promise. This isn’t a set-up of any kind.’ ‘Ok. Ok, I trust you.’

Relieved at his words, Kat knocked. A woman answered.

‘Come in.’

Opening the door, Kat stood to the side and let Scott enter first.

The woman was probably in her mid-to-late fifties. She was dressed in a simple long dress and her thick greying hair was plaited over her shoulder. She was fiddling with the end of it, clearly nervous.

But there was something about her brown eyes that felt familiar…

‘Scott Tracy, I’d like to introduce you to Bree Cohen. I’ll leave you two to chat. Take as long as you need.’

Neither person gave any indication that they’d heard her, and Kat quietly retreated and closed the door. She moved a little way off to give them their privacy, but within sight so she could take Scott wherever he wanted to go afterwards.

Bree’s eyes suddenly widened and she dropped her hair.

‘Oh my goodness, where’s my manners!’

She came forward and Scott automatically held his hand out. She grasped it with both of her own and held it tight rather than shake it.

‘Scott Tracy…what a wonderful man you’ve turned out to be!’ ‘Excuse me?’

At first she reached up as if to touch his cheek but she stopped herself, tightening her fist as she dropped her hand.

‘You look so much like your Mother.’

For a moment Scott thought his legs would buckle but he got himself under control with some effort. By the time he had the woman who called herself Bree had dropped his hand and partly turned away.

‘I wish I’d had the opportunity to meet her properly. I - I don’t suppose you would remember me…’

Bree trailed off and turned to look at him again. Her eyes held a mixture of fear and…something else, something he would have called guilt if it had been Virgil looking at him like this.

There was something about those eyes, though, that held him even as she waited for his answer.

She offered him a smile and it hit him. Scott was sure his mouth was hanging open…

‘Ms Brenda?’ ‘Oh…you do remember!’ ‘Of course I remember! You were the only adult to show me any kindness while I was alone and separated from my Mamma.’

Scott smiled warmly at her now he’d placed her. She sat down rather abruptly on the small couch, and Scott sat next to her in the chair, leaned forward and took her hand.

Bree couldn’t help the tears that fell. All these years…she’d wondered what had become of that frightened little boy she’d lost her career trying to help.

When International Rescue had been revealed to be Scott and his brothers Bree had watched their exploits with Sully, a smile in her heart at the good they were doing.

When Jeff had reappeared it brought back all her old nightmares, and without questioning her Sully had simply stopped watching anything to do with International Rescue.

All this tumbled out from her in a rush along with how she’d tried to find him, how that man had killed her career, how she’d been blackballed and lost everything and yet she kept looking…

…how she hoped he didn’t blame her…

Scott’s heart broke for the woman who had been the only kind face he’d seen during that terrible time.

Blame her? That thought had never even entered his mind!

So he held her tight as she shed years of feelings and comforted her as best he could by talking about his brothers and how much he loved them, about how he’d tried to find her when he was much younger but didn’t know how, how even now he didn’t hold her as bearing any responsibility over what had happened, and was she sure she didn’t blame him for what had happened to her?

Eventually they were both talked out, wrung out in that way of sharing heavy burdens and lighter for having someone who understood and who didn’t blame them for what happened.

They stood up together and hugged tightly but briefly, and Scott left with a promise to visit if he was ever in the area and another reassurance that no blame was held by either of them.

It came as no surprise to see Kayo waiting outside for him instead of Kat, and when she took one look and immediately folded him into a tight hug he all but melted into her embrace.

‘Home?’ ‘Please.’

They hadn’t planned on heading directly home but Scott needed his family tonight so Kayo piloted while he tried to relax and sort through what had happened in his head.

A buzz on his comm and Scott flicked it from private to public, smiling as John appeared.

‘Scott? Are you ok?’ ‘Yeah. Just…need you all.’ ‘Understood. Race you home!’

Scott laughed. It had been many, many years since they last did that, and somehow it settled something inside him.

John grinned as he saw his brother relax a little. They all knew that this would be tough on Scott, so to hear him laugh was a good thing. In return John relaxed too.

‘I found her, John.’ ‘Who?’ ‘Ms Holt.’

Stunned silence greeted him and Scott smiled softly. He understood the feeling.

‘She lost everything because of me, John. Everything.’ ‘Stop. You know it wasn’t your fault. I’ll set the wheels in motion, see what we can do for her.’ ‘Please.’

John filled the remaining time with light chatter, Kayo occasionally throwing words in too, until the island was clear on the horizon.

Scott sighed, happy and content. He was home.