Without warning the doors behind Reyes burst open. He stopped mid-sentence, his body jerked as a bayonet was thrust into his back. Blood stained his shirt around the blade. A hulking figure in a Hazmat suit appeared in the doorway behind him. Mercy took a step back and raised her M16.
What the hell—?
The bayonet disappeared from Reyes’s chest and he slumped to the floor, a glazed look in his eyes. Mercy fired at the Hazmat-suited man, her high velocity 5.56 mm rounds slammed into his chest, stopping him in his tracks. Her rounds passed through the first figure into a second, similarly suited figure behind. The two NSA soldiers collapsed to the floor, dropping their bayonetted M4s.
Mercy squeezed off another controlled burst into the dark tunnel. Something jerked and flailed backwards. Her magazine ran dry and she brought her torch to bear on the tunnel ahead, illuminating a scene of carnage. Three NSA soldiers were dead in the narrow passageway, riddled by her bullets, their bayonetted M4s lying beside them.
Christ, a rearguard?
Mercy looked down at Reyes, who lay slumped, unmoving at her feet.
Dammit, we’ve lost our guide—
Mercy leaned against the door frame.
Shit Reyes, I had questions to ask you. Guess I’ll never know now, it’s not every day I run into a Cobalt Biotech operative. Perhaps it’s for the best though—
Flynn leant over her shoulder and surveyed the scene, “You’ve not lost your touch Dawes. That’s a sweet kill zone right there—”
Four more lives gone. And for what—?
Mercy discarded the empty M16 and took one of the bayonetted M4 carbines. She searched the NSA bodies for ammunition and found nine magazines which she shared with Flynn and Tawny.
Mercy entered the tunnel, her M4 at the ready. She kept up a steady pace. Three minutes later the floor started sloping up. She reached a blast door, held her breath and turned the handle.
It’s open—
Relief flooded through her. The door opened into a shaft occupied by a spiral staircase. She went up, taking two steps at a time.
Hang in there Rose, we’re on our way—
Mercy’s breath came in ragged gasps as she staggered up the final steps. Her torch flickered briefly.
Shit, the batteries are running out—
She shook the torch and the beam rallied, pushing back the darkness.
A door—
The others followed her, their breathing laboured.
Mercy stepped up to the door and turned the handle. She pushed and swore as the hinges grated. Cold air washed in from outside, light rain shimmered in her torchlight. Mercy pointed the torch down, covering its beam with her fingers. She stepped out into the night, her breath misting the air.
Voices. Shouting. The smell of soot. Mercy frowned.
What in god’s name?
She ran along the ivy-festooned concrete passage, emerging seconds later onto a railroad siding.
Flynn ran up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Wait up Mercy, you can’t take on the whole world—”
A shrill whistle pierced the night.
Mercy cursed and pointed at a steam train pulling out of the station a hundred yards away. “Looks like some of the NSA are getting away—”
“Yeah… Reyes said they had a redoubt in Charlottesville—” Flynn replied.
A high-pitched beeping came from behind. Mercy swung around and raised her eyebrows. Barnes was fiddling with the GPS tracking device.
“What? What is it?” Mercy asked, her voice tense.
Barnes looked up, confusion on his face. He pointed at the departing train, “The tracker… that alpha queen and her pack…” Barnes looked down at the screen, “it says they’re on the train—”
Mercy stared at the departing train.
Rose is on that train—?
The steam train’s whistle went again. Smoke enveloped the train as it gathered speed, leaving the station behind. Mercy sank to her knees, the rain glistening in her hair.
No, no, no. Rose—
Chapter 16
Chase
“A steam train?” Tawny said.
“Yeah, old school, so steampunk,” Flynn muttered.
Mercy lifted her head, “The alpha queen’s on that train… which means Rose is on that train—”
“Which means we go after it,” Barnes growled. “Charlottesville… that’s close to a hundred miles away.”
“That thing’s an antique but it’ll be fast, barring any obstructions on the tracks—” Mercy stood up.
“I doubt the NSA know they have those alphas on board. They’ll have stowed away somewhere—” Tawny said.
“Stowed away? How intelligent are these alphas? Do they really have a plan? What the hell do they want with Rose?” Flynn sounded exasperated.
Several distant shrieks pierced the night.
We’re not safe—
“I smell diesel fumes,” Flynn said.
“Me too,” Barnes agreed.
“Where’s it coming from?” Tawny asked, looking around.
“From over there,” Mercy pointed at an engine shed in the distance. “Come on, let’s take a look.”
They reached the engine shed a minute later. The fumes were stronger.
“I can hear an engine in there,” Tawny said.
Mercy nodded, “On me, safeties off.” She led the way around the side of the shed to the front entrance. Dim light spilled out onto the wet tracks. Mercy stood to one side of the entrance and listened.
No voices, no sign of life, just the engine noise—
Mercy glanced at the others then turned the corner and entered the shed. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the yellow track-maintenance train.
There’s no one here. They’ve left in a hurry, the engine’s still running—
Footsteps behind.
“The place is deserted, wonder what they were doing with that thing?” Flynn said, he walked forwards to peer into the driver’s cabin.
Mercy followed him.
They could’ve used it to push the steam train into position if they were in a hurry. It’d take the steam engine a while to build up a head of steam—
“Reckon they’ve used this thing like a tug to get the old train out of hiding. There’s a large siding shed back there where they could’ve kept it hidden—” Barnes said, stepping up beside Mercy.
“Yeah… maybe, whatever,” Mercy said, her mind racing.
Wait, could we—?
Flynn climbed up onto the diesel engine and disappeared into the driver’s cab.
