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After another useless attempt to call out Vin Tanner made a decision. If he couldn't call out for help for the hostages, he would have to BE that help. That decided, he needed a plan. Before he could devise one, though, one walked into the car where he was hiding. Two men who entered and began sorting through some of the baggage stacked there, not paying any attention to his corner, at least for the moment. Being a practical man, Tanner knew that would be a temporary situation so he made his move. He was able to knock the first man out without a sound, then as the second one turned to comment on a piece of luggage he'd found he met Vin's fist head on. "Two down," Vin observed as his plan took shape, "only about twenty or so to go." He tied the two men up, gagged them and dragged them to the back of the car, then buried them under a small mountain of luggage, smiling to himself in spite of the throb in his arm. Dragging bodies and piling luggage would have been a sure way to inspire Nathan's wrath, had the medic been there to see. His search of the unconscious men yielded a number of useful items. His gun, he knew, would have to be a last resort since to fire it would cause him to lose his only advantage -- surprise. If he could take on one or two at a time he might just have a chance. Then he remembered the overheard discussion about a ransom phone call and decided that help might, if he was very lucky, already be on the way.Heading cautiously towards the back of the train, he wished again that he'd stayed in Denver with Chris and the rest of the team. And once again he swore off "vacations." They were just too damn hard on him; give him a bunch of gunrunners or moonshiners any day.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Back in Denver things were about to get interesting. AD Travis just knew it. He had tried to argue with the head of the FBI team that had just informed him that they were "in charge" of the operation, but was met with a brick wall. Of course, without the FBI's interference last time, this entire situation wouldn't exist; both brothers and their gang would already be behind bars.
What Travis also knew for a fact was that there was no way that Team 7 or, more pointedly, Chris Larabee would accept the FBI's jurisdiction. Not when Vin Tanner's life was at stake. "The fact is," Orrin addressed the overbearing agent, "our Team has a man inside, and, since that is one more advantage that you don't have, the ATF will be running this operation. As much as I would rather not have you anywhere near our teams, we will accept your generous offer for backup assistance." "Why you..." Agent Hagle's face turned a bright red as he realized that he wouldn't get his way. "I haven't offered backup and I will not be stuck on second string duty while you and your... " He was cut off abruptly as Team 7, led by Larabee, entered the conference room. "Your what?" Chris Larabee asked in that deadly cold voice that could unnerve the most hardened criminal, let alone a blustering FBI agent. "I refuse to be relegated to some second-string back up position! This case is too important... " He was once again interrupted as Larabee stepped closer, standing inches from the shorter, stockier man, glaring down into the eyes that suddenly darted side to side, looking desperately for someone to step in.
The voice that answered was icy and left no room for arguments. "If your barely useful team, and I use that term loosely, doesn't want to be relegated to back up, then you can just pack your bags and get the hell out of here because I'm not putting any more of MY team at risk because of them. This IS our operation and I won't waste another minute discussing it with incompetent fools." He stood a moment more to make sure that the FBI agent had gotten the message, then turned and left the room, followed by his team and Travis. The assistant director turned to the openmouthed agent as he left, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head as he mouthed the words, "I tried to warn you." It helped that the other agencies knew of and respected Team 7's ability to deal with extreme situations better than any other local, state or national agency.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
On board the train, Vin had managed to locate the rest of the passengers, hostages and hostiles. Most were in the last two cars where the Senator and several other politicians had been placed for security reasons, effectively isolating them with a minimum of manpower needed to secure them. Two men stood outside the door, along with two in each car to keep an eye on the hostages. The rest of the hijackers were mostly in the dining car. Having checked through the rest of the train, they now waited for the ransom delivery. Vin still wasn't sure how they had missed him but hoped that perhaps his last minute booking had somehow caused his name to be left off the passenger list. The only ones who knew that the ransom was a diversion were staying with Bobby in a car near the front of the train. They had overridden the computers and changed the codes so they had complete control of the train. Then they had disabled the tracking system before they changed the train's final destination. Vin was spending his time in the cars between, quietly picking off any of the men who moved through alone. In some cases, needing to reduce the odds, he took out two men. He knew that even with the men he'd left in the baggage car and the seven he had now crammed into various cabinets and closets he was still overwhelmingly outnumbered. With each hijacker that he put out of the game his arm ached more and the chances that someone would be missed increased. And that meant that the chances that he would be found increased. He tried his cell phone again and was startled when he heard a ring. The call was finally getting through.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
The team was packed and preparing to leave for the heliport to meet the helicopter that would take them and Team 4 up to the staging area where they would attempt to stop the train. They had managed to track the train after the railroad's internal system went down by accessing the military's satellite tracking system.
After studying all the options for possible routes that the hijackers could use, they were pretty sure where the train was headed. The only target of size in the area besides Denver was... Salt Lake City. And despite the roundabout route the train would have to take to get there, they would have to move quickly or it would be too late to intercept then.
They were piling into the two vehicles that would deliver them when Larabee's cell phone rang.
"Larabee," the blond snapped out, anxious to be on the way. His expression changed from mild annoyance to beaming surprise as the voice at the other end answered.
"Hey, cowboy." Vin's raspy drawl was like a verbal sunrise to his worried partner. "Sounds like you're busy. Should I call back later?"
"Vin!" Larabee nearly yelled, unable to distinguish between the myriad of emotions that were bombarding him at the sound of his lover's voice. "Are you okay? " He paused a moment, thinking frantically what a stupid question that was. Then, taking a breath as his years of training took over, he continued. "We know what's going on and we're on our way. We have a plan to stop the train and hopefully can get some or all of the hostages off. Can you be ready and help from your end?"
"I can try. Chris," Vin responded. "But there are a lot of men with Rathson and I'm not sure how safe it will be to try anything. You could get the hostages killed."
"I know, Vin, but they're heading to Salt Lake and once they get there we won't have a lot of options."
Vin interrupted then, realizing what the large crates he'd found in every car had to be, and what Rathson had to be planning.
"He's got all those explosives on board, Chris, you can't let him get into the city. If he sets them off, he could take out half of Salt Lake!" He paused, considering the options. "How long 'til you can try to stop the train?"
Before Chris could reply, he heard a thump and a grunt, then the line went dead.
Chris stared at the phone as if by will alone he could get time to roll back just for a minute, that he could somehow stop what was about to happen,what was happening even now as he stood uselessly in a parking garage hundreds of miles from where he was needed. The crunch of shattering plastic served to break the spell, and as he tossed the now useless remains of the phone into the back of the truck, he swore that he would get there and find a way to repay Rathson for every scrape, scratch or bruise that he would inflict on his partner. He just hoped that whatever Rathson did wouldn't be immediately fatal.
"Please," he breathed, "just let him be alive when I get there."
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
One minute he had been talking to Chris, and the next Vin awoke to find himself on the floor, hands tied behind his back, his head pounding. "Shit!" he breathed as he opened his eyes, trying to see just how bad it was.
It became a chant as he peered up through his blood matted hair to see Bobby Rathson watching him, waiting for a sign that his quarry was awake and ready to be punished.
"Well well well, Mr. Tanner," the large, flabby man gloated, "how nice of you to join us on our little journey." Then he kicked out, connecting solidly with ribs that made an audible crack as the pain ripped into the prone man's side. Vin tried but couldn't surpress a groan as the second kick hit his kidneys, sending a flare of sheer agony across his lower back.
"I was just thinking," the sneering tormentor continued, "that all I needed for this day to be perfect was a chance to pay you back for killing my baby brother." He laughed then, a sound that sent chills down the spines of even the toughest of his hired men.
Vin's last thought before slipping back into the welcome oblivion of unconsciousness was of his lover, the image of his green eyes shining with passion as they had said goodbye just that morning before parting. His sigh, as he fell into the blackness, echoed his thoughts. "Chrissss..."
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
By the time the teams arrived at the chosen location, they had less than an hour to prepare for their assault on the train. With no other option available, they set up the only blockade they had on hand.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
As the train came around the long curve that skirted Kingston Junction, Jimmy Lee Bolton, former employee of the rail line and now employed by Bobby Rathson, looked up to see a large, beatup pickup truck stopped dead on the tracks barely 300 feet ahead. The train was moving at over sixty miles an hour and had fourteen heavy cars attached. Jimmy Lee knew that stopping was not an option. He braked as hard as he could, and picked up his com-link to warn the others.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Before he could open a channel the train plowed into the truck, brakes screeching as the vehicle blew up. The entire train shook as the impact rolled the burning wreck down the tracks before it, large chunks of debris flying as it broke apart. The emergency system took over, slowing, then stopping the train.
Rathson was thrown to the floor as the train was suddenly jolted, an explosion ripped the air and the sounds of shrieking metal fought with the thumps and bangs as the train continued to shudder and shake. Then, as the noise began to abate, the train slowed and came to a stop.
Bobby jumped to his feet, barreling past several of his cohorts as he ran toward the front of the train. Whatever Jimmy was doing up in the engine, it wasn't part of the plan and that would cost the driver if he didn't have some good answers by the time Rathson reached him. Bobby had plans, and this wasn't a part of them...
Vin came awake as the train began bucking and jolting, and muddled as he was feeling, he knew that Chris and the boys had to be the cause. This was it, he had to be ready to help get the hostages off the train. When Bobby ran out of the car and headed towards the front of the train, followed by the two men who had been in conference with him, he found himself alone, forgotten in the excitement of the moment.
Rolling onto his side, he wiggled over to the wall. Pushing against it, he worked his way onto his feet, dizzy, gasping in pain and barely able to move. Once upright, he started toward the back of the train, using his chin and elbows to push the handles on the doors and levering them open awkwardly. He passed through the three empty cars before having to duck into a small niche as several of the men from the dining car came into the car he was in, heading toward the front, presumably to help Rathson and the others get the train restarted.
There were still a number of men in the dining car and guarding the hostages, but the collision had knocked many to the floor and several had been injured badly enough that they weren't paying much attention to what was going on around them.
Vin stopped in the compartment he was in long enough to thread his legs and hips so thru his tied hands bringing them to the front. Though still tied, he could at least use them to club any unwary hostiles, and by picking up a stray jacket, he was able to hide the ropes. It might be possible that some of the men weren't aware of who he was by sight, allowing him to pass by in the confusion.
He made it to the entry to the last two cars where the hostages were being held before anyone even noticed that he was there. As the man watching the door pulled his weapon out, pointed it at him and gestured for him to drop to his knees, a shot rang out, closely followed by several more.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
As the truck exploded and rolled down the tracks, the entire team held its collective breath, hoping, praying that the train did not derail and crash. Although unlikely, given the size and weight of the train, it was a possibility. As the behemoth started to slow, showering the area in sparks and shards of twisted and burning metal, the teams gradually headed towards the train. The layout for the train had indicated that the senator and his staff were at the rear of the train, so that was where they headed.
Team 4 entered the last car, finding a number of reporters and staff who had, in the confusion of the collision, managed to subdue both of the guards who had been stationed there. They were in the process of opening the back door when the ATF men arrived and gladly climbed off the train. They were directed by the agents away from the wreckage to a "safe zone" several hundred yards away.
Buck, Josiah, JD and Nathan boarded the second car and found themselves in a standoff. Two of Bobby's men were holding the Senator and several local politicians at gunpoint, using them as a shield to keep the agents back. For the moment at least, no one was ready to make a preemptive move, Rathson's men unsure as to what their leader wanted them to do, and the agent's, unwilling to risk any lives unnessairly. As the armed men holding the hostages backed slowly towards the door leading to the next car forward, gunshots were heard coming from that car.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Vin had just begun to comply with the instruction to kneel when the first shot was fired. Before he could react several more shots followed. With his hands still tied and a gun pointed at his chest there had been nothing he could do but follow the order, but when the gunshots distracted the guard he took the only advantage he was likely to receive. Swinging his still bound arms he clubbed the man as hard as he could knocking him to the floor with enough force to cause him to lose his grip on the weapon.
Gritting his teeth against the pain as he bent, Vin picked up the gun and turned to see Ezra and another of Bobby's men taking shots at one another at the other end of the car. Neither had noticed Vin or the now unconscious man since they were both too busy with each other. Vin watched the other gunman move to his left in an attempt to get a better shot at Ezra, putting himself right in Vin's line of sight, raising his gun Vin fired,adding one more of the terrorists to his tally.
"He's down, Ez." Vin called out, not sure if his teammate was aware of who had fired or if his opponent was neutralized.
"I'm gratified to see you and that you appear the be more or less in a singular condition, Mr. Tanner, furthermore I appreciate your assistance in subduing this miscreant for me."
Unable to decipher the exact meaning of Ezra's words through the pounding in his head Vin simply shrugged and replied, "Glad ta see you too, Ez."
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Chris had moved towards the front of the train, hoping to locate Vin. When they had spoken, Vin had indicated that he wasn't with the hostages and Chris was convinced that Bobby would most likely keep Vin in a different location after his capture. Somehow he couldn't imagine the man taking his revenge on Vin in front of that many witnesses, even if he intended to kill them all later.
He climbed onto the train about halfway to the engine and found himself on a car that was deserted, listening for a moment he could hear sounds of a gunfight coming from somewhere toward the back of the train. But when he turned towards the front he didn't hear anything. He knew that at least some of the men had to be up in the engine area because he was pretty sure that Rathson would be trying to restart the train. He hoped that Team 4 and the rest of his team could get the hostages off before that happened.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
When the sounds of the gunfight began, the men holding the Senator and other hostages stopped. They didn't know who was firing but didn't want to walk into the middle of whatever was going on in the next car. Josiah took advantage of their confusion and managed to convince them that there were simply too many agents on the train for any of them to escape, even with hostages, and since the men Bobby had hired weren't particularly bright it took very little effort to convince the men that surrender was their only option that didn't include their deaths. Within minutes Bobby's hired help had given up the hostages.
JD and Josiah had taken the handcuffed prisoners to join the two from the back car. After leaving them in the custody of Team 4, they headed back towards the train with Buck and Nathan who had delivered the hostages to the safety of the staging area. They were about halfway there when the train started to move.
Despite the relatively slow speed of the train as it started, it was just too far, even JD who was pretty fast on his feet was unable to reach it before it had moved away.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Ezra and Vin had headed towards the front of the train once Ezra had explained that Team 4 and most of Team 7 were with the hostages. Vin swore when Ezra informed him that Chris had headed for the front alone.
They increased their pace as they felt the train lurch, then begin to move forward.
"We've got to stop them Ez," Vin urged as they moved on, "this train is full of explosives."
"I agree, Vin..." Ezra replied, "but I don't think they are just going to stop because we ask, and they are in complete control of the train's computer."
"I just hope Chris has a plan." Vin muttered as the reached the end of another car.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Chris had reached the car where Bobby and three of his regular men were preparing for the final part of the journey, Jimmy had managed to restart the train and as it started to move, Bobby and Colin were preparing to set the timer on the remote controller for the explosives. Each crate had it's own detonator, but they were all tied into one control unit, once the signal was given, the countdown would begin on each bomb. The ATF agent entered just as Colin handed the control unit to Bobby.
"Too late, Larabee," the fat man gloated, "Once I push this button nothing will stop this train from blowing up Salt Lake City."
"You push that button and you're a dead man." Chris growled, "put it down now and you will live to face a jury."
Rathson just laughed, he wasn't planning on death or jail, "Not if you want to see your long-haired sharpshooter alive."
Chris went cold, he hadn't seen Vin as he came through the train and didn't know if he was still alive or not but didn't want to take the risk that he was alive and at the mercy of this madman.
"How do I know that he's even alive," he spoke aloud his thoughts, even as he prayed that he was.
The big man sneered, waving the remote and laughing as he realized that the man in front of him wouldn't risk his friend's life. "Drop your weapon and I'll take you to him."
Chris hesitated, there were three guns pointed at him and Bobby had the remote to the explosives too, his gun wasn't really much of an advantage at this point, if he complied, maybe they would let down their guard long enough for him to make a move. He slowly lowered his weapon and dropped it gently on the floor.
Bobby smiled and thought to himself "one more dead ATF agent to avenge my brother". As he ordered his second in command to shoot the agent, the door to the car burst open.
Ezra and Vin had been listening at the door for a few minutes when they heard Rathson give the order for Colin to shoot Chris, before Ezra could stop him, Vin was pushing the door open.
Vin came through the door as Colin moved to carry out the command, the movement causing him to turn as he fired. The bullet hit Vin mid chest and lifted him up and back, throwing his already limp body into the bulkhead behind him where he landed in an untidy sprawl as Chris turned towards him.
"NOOOO...." Chris cried out as he started towards his fallen partner.
Ezra, unable to stop Tanner as he barged into the car, followed carefully, watching as Chris threw himself onto the floor next to the man, oblivious to the gun raised and ready to fire again.
As Chris knelt beside Vin, unaware or maybe just not caring that Colin was about to put a bullet in his back, Ezra realized what was about to happen, leaned into the room and shot Colin before the gunman had knew that there was another person onboard.
Bobby still had the remote control for the bombs and was becoming increasingly agitated as events began to spiral out of his control. He was also furious that Colin had shot the man who had killed his brother before he had time to exact his revenge.
Ezra, while still outside of the car, knew that he wouldn't have many options for long. As soon as Rathson or one of his men thought of it, he would be forced to surrender or witness the death of Larabee too. He was still in shock after watching Vin sacrifice himself for Chris. He wasn't surprised that the Texan would be willing to do so; Tanner's devotion to their team leader was well known. Especially since the two men had become lovers. Just how Tanner's death would ultimately affect Larabee was something that Ezra was reluctant to envision. He hadn't been around when Larabee's wife and child had been killed, but knew that it had nearly undone the team leader and feared that another such loss would be too much.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
It took several moments for Chris to realize that, despite the fact that he was completely limp and seemingly lifeless, there was no blood on Vin. Hoping for a miracle, he reached out with a shaking hand and gently placed a finger against the pulse point on Vin's neck. Long moments passed before his mind registered what his finger had detected. A pulse; Vin was alive! How that was possible he didn't really care; all that mattered was that his best friend and lover was still breathing.
Well, almost all that mattered, he realized as his awareness returned to the room and the fact that there were two men with guns pointed at him and a madman with a remote device that could set off a series of bombs that could take out half a city. They were trapped here with the men and the bombs with no real plan for how to stop the man or the train.
It soon became apparent from the rantings of the man with the remote that he too believed that Vin was dead. Chris realized that if Bobby found out that Vin was alive, he would alter that situation in the most painful way that he could devise. Now he just had to find a way to either keep Vin unconscious or let him know that he needed to play possum for as long as possible. He wondered again how it could be that Vin wasn't killed by the shot but decided that would have to wait for a more private moment. Knowing that Vin tended to wake alert and wary of his surroundings, Chris decided that the most important thing he had to do was to hide that fact that there was no blood on the "body". He took off his ATF jacket and placed it over Vin, praying that he would stay silent when he woke up.
Looking up at the men in the room, he had to control the giddy sense of relief he felt knowing Vin was alive. He had to convince them that he was devastated by the loss of his teammate and friend. Thinking about how battered his lover looked when he had entered the room it wasn't very hard to look upset and angry.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
After listening to Rathson bragging about his numerous bombs and how they were all equipped with detonators that could be triggered by the remote he held, Ezra decided the best course of action for him to undertake would be to locate and disarm as many of the weapons as possible before the men in the front of the train realized that they were alone, that the rest of their men and the hostages were no longer on the train. He knew that there wasn't anything else he could do for Larabee at the moment but if he could neutralize the threat inherent in the remote then he might be able to handle the gunmen who would assume the threat of the bombs would forestall any action on his part. It wasn't much, but it might be the only advantage he had.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Back at the staging area Buck was working on a plan. It wasn't the best or the smartest plan that he or the Team had ever come up with, in fact it might have been one of the worst. But the train couldn't be allowed to enter a metropolitan area. Regardless of his personal feelings for Chris, Vin and Ezra the train had to be stopped and the only way he and the rest could come up with was to take the helicopter, fly ahead of the train and drop explosives onto the tracks thereby causing the train to derail before it reached Salt Lake. He would rather have tried the "truck on the tracks trick" again but the location was just too remote, they couldn't get a truck or any other vehicle there in time.
The main problem with the plan was that if the crash itself didn't kill the three agents, the crash would most likely set off the explosives.
The only way disaster might be avoided was if they blew the tracks and could contact the train and persuade Rathson to stop the train. If he knew that the explosion would only kill himself and his men along with the three agents he might back off figuring that three deaths weren't enough reason for him to die too. But that assumed that the man was still capable of making a rational decision.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
It took Ezra only a few minutes to find the first bomb. Actually it would have been hard to miss it, it was big. The large crate was marked with tags that claimed it to be cameras and other equipment that the news group would use for the planned news conference at the end of the trip. He opened it and was relieved to see that the set up was really quite simple, a detonator attached to the relay and timer that would set off the rest of the contents, mostly C-4. Removing the radio relay and detonator was easy and within a few minutes he was heading further back to locate the next one. He just had to be sure that he found them all before someone came looking for him or realized that the rest of the hostages were gone.
Bobby knew that the man on the floor had to have boarded the train after the collision and he was concerned that he hadn't heard from any of his men at the back of the train. It finally occurred to him that there might be any number of agents on the train besides the one that had shot Colin. The problem was that he didn't have enough men left to go and check. On the other hand, as long as they stayed where they were they couldn't stop him or the train so he decided that as long as he had Zack and Winston watch the door it didn't matter. They would all die in a couple of hours anyway.
Then the radio on the train came to life.
"We have destroyed the tracks ahead of you," the voice stated. "If you do not stop the train in the next 20 minutes you will derail and crash." The voice paused then before continuing in a deep foreboding manner, "In case you haven't noticed, the hostages you had were all removed from the train when it was stopped. We will not allow you to enter any city. If you change course, we will destroy the tracks on any line you switch onto."
If the man on the other end of the radio had more to say they would never know what it was as Rathson smashed the radio unit with the fireaxe that was mounted on the wall. He was ranting and screaming and still carried the axe as he turned towards the end of the car where Chris sat next to Vin's "body". He would have his revenge on someone before he died in a fiery crash.
As Zack and Winston watched Bobby smash the radio they realized that the man who they were working for had finally gone completely insane. He was going to keep the train moving until it derailed and they were all dead. That was not what they had signed up for. They didn't have a problem blowing up some politicians or even some feds, but suicide was another matter altogether. But they'd been with Rathson long enough to know that you never confronted the man, that was a sure way to die.
Rathson came out of his rage for long enough to notice that his men were staring at him in a disconcerting way. Deciding that he needed to keep them busy, he ordered them to go check and see if the hostages were really all gone and if any of his men were still on the train.
Not wanting to argue with the man in his unbalanced state of mind they both were glad to get away. They left the car as quickly as possible, never looking at the man on the floor. They knew what was in store for him and were extremely glad to be able to miss seeing it firsthand.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Buck and the Team had dropped the explosives at the location that the rail company had determined would be the safest place to derail the train with the least chance of major damage. Knowing that any derailment would be devastating they just hoped that their teammates would have at least a chance of survival.
After Josiah had finished delivering the message to the train using his most authoritative tones they had reboarded the chopper and headed back toward the chosen area. Close to where emergency services were already preparing for the crash and resultant injuries, but far enough away in case the train exploded. Buck turned to see Josiah's head bent in prayer, hoping that Rathson would stop before they reached the damaged section of tracks. He added his own prayer as they approached their landing area.
"How long til they get here, Buck?" JD asked, knowing as well as Buck did that time was running out. There had been no reply from the train but the radio operator assured them that the channel was open, and assuming that there was someone in the control car they would have heard the warning.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
Ezra had found and disarmed six of the large bombs but he had no idea how many there were in all and if he had any chance of finding and disarming the rest before his time ran out. He had just found the seventh when he heard the sounds of men approaching. He crouched down behind the large crate and waited.
Winston just wanted to get off the train. He didn't care if they were in the middle of nowhere or not, it had to be safer to jump off the thing than it was to stay on board while it crashed and then exploded. Zack agreed, to a point, but he thought that it would be better to just shoot the crazy bastard and make Jimmy Lee stop the train so that they could just walk away. Hell, Jimmy Lee would probably agree with them once he found out that the tracks ahead had been destroyed.
"I don't know, Zack..." the younger brother argued, "do you really want to face Bobby, even with a gun?"
"He won't even know what hit him. We'll walk in and shoot before he even realizes that there is anything going on."
"Well, if we're gonna do it we better do it now, cause we're gonna be at that blown up track pretty quick." Winston continued, but then realized that Bobby still had the remote. "What if he pushes the button?"
"There's a ten minute timer on the bombs, so even if he pushes it we can get far enough away before it blows."
"I still say we should just jump..." Winston whined but followed his brother toward the front of the train.
"Oh, marvelous..." Ezra thought, "they're gonna go up there and irritate the lunatic and the train is about to crash, how else could my day improve." He quickly disarmed the bomb he had been hiding behind and as he headed further back to look for the next he wished that he'd thought to grab the two dimwits and find out exactly how many crates full of explosives there were. There couldn't be too many more or someone would have wondered at the amount of "camera equipment" that was loaded onto the train.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
As the two men had left the car to check on the rest of the train, Chris had waited, aware that Rathson was prepared to use the huge axe on him. He didn't have a weapon and knew that he would have little chance against the huge man in his enraged state. He was still next to Vin, but had moved up into a squat in preparation for the attack that he knew was coming when he felt a hand grab his ankle.
Vin, he was awake, Larabee wondered briefly how long he had been listening and was answered in a way, when the hand disappeared under the ATF jacket briefly and returned with a large Bowie knife and a small caliber handgun. He almost laughed then. Shooting Bobby with that peashooter would be like a bee stinging an enraged bull.
Unless he could take him right between the eyes.
He checked to see that the gun was loaded and was trying to figure how to line up the shot when the two men who had left only minutes before walked back into the car.
He had to wonder if it was guts or stupidity for the two men to walk back in, knowing how crazy Rathson was, but that didn't really matter because Bobby had obviously expected them and opened fire on them even as they entered the car. Zack went down like a rock, taking a bullet to the heart and Winston was hit at least once before he retreated back into the next car, bleeding and reeling from the loss of his brother. He ran to the other end of the car, pushed the door open and jumped off the train without even looking to see where they were or what he was jumping into or onto. He just wanted off the train.
That left Bobby and Jimmy Lee, and Jimmy had no idea what was ahead because he had been up in the engine when the message had come through. Chris wondered briefly if he could get himself and Vin up and off the train and if there was any way to let Ezra know to do the same because he was beginning to think that Winston had the right idea.
The interruption proved to be a good thing for Chris since it had distracted Bobby from his attack on him. Rathson had dropped the axe when he had pulled his gun out and shot his men. He then followed Winston into the next car and watched as the young man threw himself from the train. The shock of seeing that caused him to pause and wonder. A short reacquaintence with reality ensued while he pondered the chain of events that had led him to this point.
Chris used the opportunity to gain his footing, run to the door that the two men had just exited through and look to see if there was a lock of any kind. There wasn't, but when it was shut the two handles lined up and if Chris could find something to wedge across them he might just gain some breathing space for he and Vin. As he grabbed the axe and used it to barricade the door he realized that Vin had pulled the jacket off and was working on sitting up.
It looked like it hurt.
"Vin," Chris called to the slowly rising man, "how the hell did you..." his voice trailed off as he saw the grin on his partners face as he pulled up his tee shirt to display a kevlar vest. Not an ATF issue one. "Where the heck did you get that?" he asked, knowing that Vin was enjoying his confusion way too much.
"First two guys I took out down in the baggage room, they were loaded with weapons and all sorts of useful stuff. Thought this might just come in handy." Vin smiled again as they both looked towards the front of the car to the door leading to the engine. "Think we can convince Jimmy Lee to stop this crate?" Chris asked as they moved forward.
"Don't know..." Vin shot back, but we gotta try, "I don't know how long that axe is gonna hold if Bobby starts hammering on that door and where the heck is Ezra?"
Chris just shook his head, Ezra had disappeared a while ago and he just hoped that the undercover man had found something useful to do. They entered the car as the train rounded a curve and looked up to see Armageddon. Several hundred yards down the tracks was a large crater where the tracks and everything else disappeared.
They looked at each other knowing that only fate would decide how their day would end and dove back into the second car.
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