The underground station was empty.
It was then that he saw them.
They sat on either side of the central platform, one to each track: X-Rail engines.
'Whoa,' he breathed.
X-Rail systems are high-speed underground railway systems used by the U.S. military for equipment delivery and transport. X-Rail engines — or 'railcars' as they are known — move so fast that they require four railway tracks for stability: two tracks on the ground and two fastened to the ceiling above the railcar.
The X-Railcars that Schofield saw now exuded power and speed.
They were about sixty feet long — about the size of regular subway carriages — but their sleek curves and sharp pointed noses were quite clearly designed for one purpose: to slice through the air at tremendous speed.
Each train's design was based on that of the most well known high-speed train in the world, the Japanese Bullet Train. A steeply slanted nose, aerodynamically grooved sides, even a couple of winglike canards jutting out from the bow of each train were all included as part of the relentless pursuit of speed.
The X-Rail train to Schofield's left was actually made up of two carriages connected by way of an accordion- like passageway. The two railcars were positioned back-to-back, their sharpened noses pointed in opposite directions. Both engines were painted glistening white, so that they looked like a pair of space shuttles connected tail-to-tail.
It was only when Schofield saw their struts, however, that he realized why the system was called an 'X'- Rail.
Jutting out from both the front and rear edges of each engine, swept back like the wings of a fast-flying bird, were four elongated struts, which when seen from head-on would look like an 'X.' The lower struts reached down to the wide railway-like tracks beneath the railcar, while the upper struts reached up to an identical pair of tracks attached to the ceiling of the tunnel.
All the struts, top and bottom, were contoured like airplane wings to allow for maximum speed.
Nestled up against the blast door behind the double engined train was a smaller type of X-Rail vehicle — a kind of miniature car that was barely a third the size of the longer engines. It was little more than a round two- person cockpit mounted in the center of a set of four struts.
'Maintenance vehicle,' Herbie said. 'Used for tunnel upkeep and cleaning. Faster than the bigger engines, but it only holds two.'
'Now why don't they have these on the New York subway?' Elvis said, eyeing the double engined X-Rail train.
'Hey, over there,' Brainiac said, pointing at the open tunnel door at the far end of the left hand railway track. It was the only tunnel that wasn't sealed off by a blast door.
'That's door 62-West,' Herbie Franklin said. 'That's how they got out.'
'Then that's where we're going,' Schofield said.
They all hurried for the twin-engined X-Rail train, dashing out into the open, halfway down the length of the station's platform.
Schofield reached the forward engine's side door and hit a button. With a soft shoosh, all the side doors of the two rail cars — two doors per car — slid open.
Schofield stood inside the lead rail car's forward doorway, the Football hanging from his waist, as he ushered the others inside. Book II dashed in first, headed straight for the driver's cabin, Herbie close behind him.
The President and Juliet came next, rushing in through the lead car's rear doorway. They were flanked by Gant and Mother, and followed by Hot Rod Hagerty and Nick Tate — always keen to stay close to the President.
Trailing last of all, still making their way across the platform, were Elvis and Brainiac with the wounded Love Machine draped between them.
'Elvis! Brainiac! Pick it up! Come on!'
Schofield looked back into the interior of the rail car. The inside of the car looked like a cross between a standard subway carriage and a freight car. It had a few rows of passenger seats near the back, and a wide open empty space near the front for cargo boxes and the like to be stored.
Schofield saw the President over by the rear door, about forty feet away, slumping into a passenger seat in exhaustion.
And then it happened.
Completely without warning.
One moment, Schofield was looking down the interior of the rail car, looking at the seated figure of the President; the next, every single window on the platform side of the rail car just exploded, glass spraying inwards under the weight of a shocking amount of automatic gunfire, blasting tiny shards of glass all over the inside of the carriage.
More gunfire followed — loud, relentless, booming. It impacted hard against the right-hand flank of the X-Rail engine, so hard in fact that it caused the entire carriage to shudder violently.
Schofield ducked, shielding his face from the rain of flying glass. Then he spun and peered out through the shattered window beside him — and saw a phalanx of 7th Squadron commandos come leaping out of the air vent at the far western end of the platform, armed with P-90 rifles and a couple of devastating six-barreled miniguns.
The miniguns whirred, spewing out an unbelievable storm of bullets, pummeling the side of the rail car.
'You okay?' Schofield yelled to Juliet and the President, his voice barely audible above the thunderous gunfire.
The President, now lying facedown on the floor, nodded feebly in reply.
'Stay down!' Schofield called.
Abruptly, the X-Rail engine beneath them roared to life.
Schofield snapped around to see Book II and Herbie in the driver's compartment, flicking switches, pushing throttles. The rail car's power system thrummed loudly, warming up.
Let's go, Schofield thought anxiously. Let's go…
And then suddenly a voice exploded in his earpiece: 'Hey! Wait for us!'
It was Elvis.
Elvis, Brainiac and Love Machine were still out on the platform.
Lagging behind the others under Love Machine's weight, they hadn't been able to make it to the two connected rail cars by the time the 7th Squadron commandos had appeared at the other end of the underground station.
Now they were pinned down behind a concrete pillar, only ten feet away from the rearmost door of the second rail car, the area all around them shredded by the 7th Squadron's brutal minigun fire.
'All right! We have to move! Get ready!' Elvis yelled. 'Okay, now!'
They burst out from their position. Bullets slammed into the pillars all around them. Chunks of concrete flew everywhere. Two bullets blasted clean through Elvis's left shoulder.
'Come on, Love Machine, stay with us!' he yelled.
They reached the rear door of the second rail car, began to shove Love Machine inside it when…
Smack! Love Machine's head jolted violently to the left, snapping at an unnatural angle, smacking hard against the side of Elvis's shoulder.
'Oh, man,' Brainiac said, seeing it. 'No.'
Elvis turned.
Love Machine's head lolled lifelessly against his shoulder, a goopy syrup of brains and blood dripping slowly out of a bullet hole in the back of it.
Love Machine was gone.
Elvis just froze, oblivious to his own wounds.
Brainiac said, 'Elvis, come on. Get him inside. The train's about to go.'
Elvis didn't reply. He just looked at the lifeless body of Love Machine, slumped against his shoulder.
'Elvis…'
'Go,' Elvis said softly, as bullets hit all around them. He lowered Love Machine's body to the ground beside the X-Rail car. Then he looked Brainiac square in the eyes. 'Go. Now.'
