33
At around 2:30 a.m., the train began to slow as it approached the next station. Logan was on the first class side of the dining car, so he hustled to the back of the train, and waited by one of the doors until they pulled to a complete stop.
As before, he stepped down onto the concrete pad. This time he did a few stretching exercises to get his blood flowing. Even then, his mind was still a little foggy, so he almost didn’t realized that someone had stepped off the same first class car where the others’ cabin was.
The lights on the platform left something to be desired, but the passenger did him the favor of moving down the train into the halo cast by a lamp on the outside of the station.
It was Aaron.
Logan’s first thought was that the others were getting ready to leave.
He moved back to the door, ready to jump on and grab Daeng. But none of Aaron’s companions appeared.
“Okay, so what are
Aaron pulled something out of his pocket and raised it to his ear. A phone, Logan realized. Unfortunately, he was too far away for to hear what Aaron was staying, so he pulled himself back onto the train, then rapidly made his way to the smokers’ area passageway just beyond the dining car. There he leaned up to the open window and listened.
There was nothing at first, not even footsteps. For a second, he thought that maybe Aaron had already finished and gone back inside. Then Logan heard a foot kick at the concrete almost directly below him. Involuntarily, he pulled back a few inches.
“Yeah, yeah…okay,” Aaron said. “No problems at all…yeah, I’m sure…okay, okay…we’ll see you in a few hours, then.”
Logan heard the muffled tone of the call being disconnected. There was some movement, then a scratching sound followed by the intake of a breath. A second later, he caught the whiff of cigarette smoke.
Aaron took a few steps, then stopped. Logan could hear him blow out a stream of smoke. Suddenly, he was enveloped in its cloud, and had to choke off a cough.
“Who’s up there?” Aaron asked, surprised.
Dammit.
Logan ducked into the dining car, intending to rush back to his bed, and get behind his privacy curtain in case Aaron came looking for him. But he only made it halfway across the empty dining car, before the train started rolling again. He tottered to his right, and grabbed the nearest table to keep from falling down, then started on his way again. He was just moving around the snack counter into the narrow passageway, when he heard the door behind him open.
“Hey, you!” Aaron yelled.
There was no way he would get into his berth now. That left him two choices: keep going until he reached the end of the train, or stay in the dining car where there was no one but the two of them. Either way he sensed was a confrontation in his future. And while he liked his odds no matter where it happened, it would be best, he thought, if they weren’t surrounded by sleeping passengers.
Having walked the train a dozen times already, he knew there was a little nook at the backside of the kitchen near the exit to the next car.
He raced down the passageway, took the sharp left that marked the end of the kitchen, then tucked himself into the nook.
Five seconds later, Aaron blew passed him, then stopped at the car door without opening it. It was easy to imagine what was going through his head.
Aaron’s youth was his downfall. Once he realized he’d been tricked, he whipped around so he could figure out where Logan had hid. What he didn’t expect was that Logan had silently slipped out of the nook, and was standing two feet behind him.
“What the hell?” Aaron shouted, jerking back.
“Aaron Hughes?” Logan asked.
Aaron’s eyes widened, confirming what Logan had already assumed.
“Hello, Aaron,” Logan said. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Logan Harper.”
Aaron stared at him confused. “Harper? Harper. You’re…you’re that guy.” Though he had never seen Logan before, he’d obviously heard his name from Ryan or Angie back in Los Angeles.
“I’m that guy,” Logan confirmed, then hit him in the jaw.
Aaron stumbled backwards into the wall, and fell to one knee. He wasn’t out, but he was definitely shaken up.
Logan grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his feet.
Aaron took a swing, but Logan easily moved out of the way, and grabbed Aaron’s wrist, using its momentum to guide the kid’s fist into the wall. There was a satisfying crunch.
Aaron yelped out in pain, then tried to swing at Logan with his other hand. Logan decided it was time to do him a favor. He twisted Aaron around, then put his arm around the kid’s throat and cut off his air just long enough for Aaron to slip into unconsciousness.
It really wasn’t a fair fight from the beginning. Logan had had years of military training and experience, plus the
