by Kells, India
Kindly, he pushed Gabrielle aside when he found a door. Unlocked, but stuck. Two sturdy hits with his shoulder successfully opened it.
Gabrielle went in first. It was even darker inside and Sully’s hand itched for a weapon—any weapon. Beyond the dark, one thing soon struck him: coolness. No, it was freezing! It took about a minute to turn him to ice, straight to the bone.
As his eyes adjusted, he could discern boxes. Frozen foods. Endless boxes all around them with little place to move.
Gabrielle hugged herself as she moved through the car, examining each of them.
“It’s all food.”
“Yeah, and cold as hell. We should stay in between cars. At least we won’t freeze to death.”
Gabrielle rubbed her arms. “Too dangerous. If my memory is still unfrozen, we will pass several villages. Not good if someone sees us. At least not before Namibia.”
“It won’t do any of us good if we turn into human popsicles.”
No blanket and even if they huddled together, they wouldn’t survive through the night. He was about to suggest climbing to the roof when a tiny red light caught his eye.
“Gabby, pray I don’t have a hallucination.”
When he realized Gabrielle didn’t retaliate at the nickname, it was a proof he needed to find a solution. Fast.
The panel was partly hidden by high stacks of boxes. There were four lights, two reds and two greens.
“Please tell me you have a screwdriver in your cleavage, babe.”
Sully didn’t know if she laughed or coughed, but he could see her breath in the dim colored light.
“Sorry, hot shot, I left my tools at home. Would you care for my lucky nickel?”
He was still debating if she was making a lame joke or not when she dug into her pocket to retrieve it. He felt a grin on his face.
“Did I ever tell you I can’t resist a resourceful woman?”
“Did I ever tell you using that line won’t get you into my pants?”
Sully laughed and turned his attention back to the panel. Ignoring the cold and his numb fingers, he unscrewed it. He immediately used one of the signal lights to give him more lighting. The green light messed with the color of each wire, but he compensated in his head.
The wiring was not as complicated as some other bombs he had to play with, but it was the alarm system that worried him. If he made the wrong choice, it would light up the controller’s board like a Christmas tree. The sheer challenge made him forget the predicament they were in for a minute. Wires, bombs, and computers were his true passion. Losing himself in an undecipherable maze, virtual or not, was pumping adrenaline through his veins, almost more than being caught in a firefight. It took a long time, as without any cutter—only with his nails, teeth, and a lucky nickel—he couldn’t risk pulling too hard. Time passed at a snail’s pace, but Sully didn’t care. Once he completed the rewiring, the air shifted, stopped for a moment before blowing again. He dared to move when a faint mild breeze blew at last.
“In a minute, we’ll be back from Alaska to South Africa. Let’s get margaritas!”
But when he turned, Gabrielle was unconscious, pale as a ghost, slouched against a pile of boxes.
“Gabrielle!!” His heart stopped in his chest as he fell on his knees. He knew firsthand hypothermia could creep up on you without even feeling it. Too often in his line of work he had to flirt with low temperatures. As a SEAL, he was trained to see the signs … hell, see the signs before the signs.
When he gripped her shoulders, her shirt crunched under his fingers. Her water-soaked clothes were now all frost and ice.
His training kicked in like nothing else as he couldn’t wait for the car to warm up. He removed his clothes down to his underwear and stripped hers as hurriedly. Her skin was all iced goose bumps when he sat and bundled her up in his arms, protecting her from the cold as much as he possibly could.
He heard her mumble something against his chest and that’s when he started rubbing her back and arms.
“Come on, darling. I need you back here, in full mode. We’re not out of this mess and I know you will hate me to no end if I start carrying you around.”
“Cold …” Her voice was small and barely audible. It didn’t reassure him yet.
“Yeah, I know, baby. I’m freezing, too. Though, I don’t dislike where I have you now.”
She shifted again and he was surprised to feel her arms circle his waist and squeeze. He relaxed a bit; she was finally coming around and that’s all he was asking for now.
Sully didn’t know how long it took for the temperature to rise above freezing point, but he was reassured not to see his breath anymore. It wasn’t hot, but it was warmer.
“Shit.” That was the first coherent word Gabrielle spoke, now that she was not shivering.
“Yeah, good summary of the situation, honey.”
Sully smiled when she growled at the nickname.
She pushed herself away from him, enough so he could see the outline of her face.
“How long have I been out?”
“Not long. Still night, but dawn is creeping closer, I guess. I can see it from under the door.”
She murmured something he didn’t understand and then turned back to him again.
“Glad you could rewire the car so we’re not transformed into, what was your expression, human popsicles. Shit, it’s the first time I got caught so suddenly by hypothermia.”
“Yeah, it’s sneaky. Through our basic training, we were constantly confronted with it, testing our boundaries. And it can be influenced by fatigue, eating, sickness … Some people are more susceptible to it. I remember some pretty impressive guys, in incredible physical shape being taken down by the cold.”
“Is that a way to make me feel better for conking out on you? Not working, by the way. I know too well why it took me by surprise.”
Sully frowned and was about to ask what she meant when the train started to slow down.
Promptly, they scrambled to their feet, got their clothes back on, and rushed to the door. Dawn faintly colored the horizon. He risked a glance to see where they were arriving. No clue. No light. If they were made, they would be too exposed.
“We need to have a better point of view.”
“Let’s climb up.” Gabrielle pointed to the roof.
She was right. On the rooftop, they would be able to see what was coming. But they would need to lay low.
Gabrielle smiled. “Ladies first.”
Sully held his breath when he saw her leap closer to the edge and swiftly slide onto the roof. It was only when she’d been in his arms, soft and warm, that he forgot what she was capable of. In his experience, there were good reasons why women shouldn’t play in that game. But this particular one messed with his convictions.
He climbed after her and walked a little, checking the landscape. Did they cross the border? Probably not. They would have stopped altogether and agents would have searched the cars. But they were approaching something; otherwise, the train wouldn’t have slowed down much.
In the middle of the car, they both crouched down. Sun was making an appearance at last, illuminating the landscape. At a distance, there was a town. Still far away, but he could make out buildings and smoke.
“We’re getting closer to civilization. I don’t know where exactly.”
Gabrielle nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay onboard, even on the top. If they saw someone messing up with the car wiring, they would search the whole train.”
“Agreed. But even at this speed, it’s too dangerous to jump.”
At a distance, he could see the wide turn the tracks did before arriving into town. “Is this a bridge I see?”
Gabrielle squinted. “Where?”
He pointed at an odd shape over what looked like a ravine.
“But if your suggestion is to jump, let me point out that we don’t know if it’s actually a bridge crossing a river, and if there is water, maybe it isn’t deep en
ough. And at the speed we’re going, diving into the water would be like hitting a brick wall.”
“You’re right. If we were going at the same speed.”
“What do you mean?”
Sully searched around and saw there were no more than ten cars before the last one. “Follow me.”
Rising, he started to jog toward the end of the convoy, careful when he had to jump from one car to the other.
As he reached the last car, he climbed down. Gabrielle on his heels, she landed beside him.
“Help me unhook the last car.”
Gabrielle grimaced at first and then smiled again. “Yeah, if we slow down enough, we will be able to jump.”
Sully turned and it took him only a minute to see it was a Janney coupler holding the last car. Quite common in this part of the world. The coupler was rusty, still there was a chance.
“Okay, honey, jump to the other side and when I tell you, pull the lever up.”
Gabrielle jumped on the last car ledge and waited for the signal. He would have to be quick. Once he removed the pin and safety, and she lifted the lever, he would have but a second to jump onto the decelerating last car.
It took a little more time than expected to free the pin, and when he signaled Gabrielle, the coupler made a retching sound as the last car disconnected. The rust cracked, and when the coupler finally opened, it jerked in such a way Sully was pitched back and forward again. Instinct took over, and although out of balance, he decided to jump. The car had decelerated quickly and he bit back a curse as his fingers skimmed the railing. He braced for impact when someone caught his wrist with both hands. Gabrielle.
“Help yourself, sailor. I won’t be able to hold on.”
She had her legs wrapped around the upper rail and her whole body straining to hold on to him.
His boots dangled a second before using her leverage to haul himself up. His bruised side screamed when he hit the railing as Gabrielle was pulling him over.
They were heaving with the effort when he was safe onboard.
Sully looked around, assessing their decelerating speed. The car was slowing down, but not enough.
Gabrielle turned to him. “Are you all right?”
He nodded, his teeth grinding from the receding pain.
“We must be approaching the bridge. Don’t wagons have independent brakes?”
Sully pondered. “We can try. But I think we should let the car decelerate on its own. When they find out about it, they may think there was something defective with the coupling and not someone onboard. That’s why I would prefer we jump in the water, no trace to follow.”
“Okay.” Gabrielle nodded. The bridge was in sight. The good thing was they would have the time to evaluate if there was enough water or not.
The bridge came and revealed a deeper canyon than what he expected. And the water was churning angrily.
He turned toward Gabrielle. “Go or no go?”
The crazy lady smiled. “Ladies first.”
And she jumped.
***
The sun rose steadily and there was no possible way to know where they were and in which direction they were heading. Gabrielle was cursing under her breath with each step she took. She ought to be grateful for jumping from a moving train, into an unknown body of water, and still be alive. Sailor boy had been right. They were going slow enough and the river was deep enough. It had been a battle to swim to the bank. Even sailor boy was breathing hard after the exercise. Soaked again, with what could be called water, and many other things she preferred not to think about, they followed a tracker’s path for a while, until signs of civilization increased. They played it low key at that point.
Gabrielle had to admit, she was an urbanite by choice, but also by talent. Not that she couldn’t disappear into the countryside, but certainly never as well as this SEAL. He moved noiselessly, as if he knew beforehand where each twig or leaf was. Even when following in his footsteps, she kept making too many noises.
Now hidden behind heavy foliage, they crouched while debating going into the nearby village or not.
“We will need to go, unless you know how to grow a cell phone on trees. And even with that skill, it will take too long.”
Sully had a definite annoyed look on his face. “Are you bringing something useful to this operation or just a smart mouth?”
She rolled her eyes and bowed her head lightly. “Very well, Captain, what do you suggest?”
“I know we have to go. I was thinking I could sneak in later, even wait for the cover of darkness.”
“First, hotshot, you aren’t going alone. Second, may I remind you we have bad guys tracking us?”
“We’re not sure of that.”
“And we’re not sure of the opposite, either. What supposition do you prefer?”
Turning quickly, Sully grabbed her arm. “I don’t know how you work, but I do as a team. And now the team is composed of you and me. I would prefer to have your collaboration and expertise, if it isn’t too much to ask.”
Gabrielle was about to reply when two men came walking down the path near them. She scooted closer to Sully to whisper in his ear. “Okay, Captain, what is your plan of action?”
It took a moment, but when he smiled, it was a mix of glee and challenge.
“You know anything about Spock’s Vulcan neuro-pressure?”
Gabrielle shook her head. Did she hear him say those words or had she hallucinated them?
“Don’t tell me you’re a closet trekkie. You know, if you would have told me that earlier, I wouldn’t have had sex with you.”
“Shut up. Quick. What I mean is can you disable those men without killing them?”
“Ah! All you had to do was ask.”
She liked having the last word as the two men were now closer. They were talking and laughing, obviously villagers, who made Sully’s question quite obvious.
Gabrielle crouched beside Sully as he made a quick gesture, telling her that he would take the left one. So the one carrying a backpack would be hers.
She didn’t know the efficiency of the Spock’s pinch, but she had learned a trick or two … and also more deadly tools in her past life, which she would rather forget.
Gabrielle didn’t glance at Sully when she snuck behind her target and silenced him before we would be able to scream. Not killing a man always took a little more time and skill.
Apart from thumping on the ground and the rustling of a nearby bush, the two men now slept an oxygen-deprived slumber.
She let Sully drag them into a covered area as she searched the backpack.
The boy liked food … a lot. There were so many pieces of dried meat and cans of soda; it was as if he knew the end of the world was near. Or was it? Meat and soda, and soda and meat. If only one had wires and a battery.
“Did you find anything?” Sully asked, coming up beside her.
She smirked. “Yes, but I hope you were searching for beef jerky and a weird brand of soda. Did you have any luck?”
“Yes, ma’am.” And he showed her a cell phone.
“Gimme, gimme!!” Gabrielle never thought she would be so glad to see a phone in her life; she even ignored the amusement in his eyes.
When she heard Bea’s voice, Gabrielle did a mental happy dance.
“This is an unsecured line, Bea.”
“Gab! Thank God! We’ve been trying to locate you for the last twelve hours. Where are you?”
“I don’t know, we lost our cell phone and had to jump off the train.”
“Lost? Forget what I said, Ana is with me, she’s trying to locate you. Are you injured?”
“No, Bea, we’re fine, but we don’t have any weapons. We’re within walking distance of a village. That’s how we could find a phone.”
Gabrielle heard muffled curses, and recognizing Ana’s volatile spirit, she smiled.
“Is she having trouble tracking us down?”
Bea sighed, clearly not wanting to relay the sarcasm to the frustrated hac
ker beside her.
While they waited, she saw Sully scanning the area. It was only a question of time before someone walked that path again.
“You’re still in South Africa. Close to the Namibian border, though. If you find transportation, and evade patrols, you could reach our safe house in a matter of hours.”