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Over the past handful of weeks, I have discovered a gem in the popular drama NCIS. Marco Sanchez is mostly to blame as I watched his guest appearances in the series. And it snowballed from there. To make a long story short, as I was wondering where to go in this next story in my series, I decided to weave in a bit of 'Tiva' (as I hear it is called) to see how I could handle the pressures of crossover drama. This will not be the first TV show crossover story. I have much more of that coming in the future. Meanwhile, I also wanted to dive into Trent and Molly's relationship more. So from these and other additional aspirations came this little tale having to do with a much larger scale crime than what at first meets the eye. To fill you in on where we are in the Walker universe timeline, this story is set right after "Way of the Warrior" for WTR and still prior to "Fighting Back" for SOT. As always, thanks for reading and review. I appreciate it greatly! God Bless, 'Kath'
UNDER PRESSURE
Chapter One
Secluded in a dark corner of a shack not five miles outside of the city limits of Corpus Christi, Texas, two men in dark suits huddled by a candle-lit table, stuffing two individual duffle bag full of weaponry, ammunition, and camping supplies. They were fast and determined, each casting wary glances out the meager window every few seconds for fear they might be being watched.
"Do you have it all set, Morrison?"
"Yeah. It should work like a charm. By this time tomorrow, the news will be saying how an unfortunate accident it was that we lost the great Jacob Worthington."
"Perfect! Now let's get our bags packed." James loaded his pistol, snapping a fresh magazine into it before stuffing the weapon into the base of the back of his trousers and letting his camouflage coat cover it.
"What's the hurry, James?! It will look like an accident. We've got nothing to worry about. The cops won't even question us."
"Still," James flung his own duffle bag over his shoulder and started for the door. "I don't want to take any chances. Now get a move on."
Katheryn took extra care to give the clock a slow, deliberate gaze, the second hands ticking away and chipping at her heart second by second until she final threw off the blanket from her body and rose from the couch. She paced lethargically over to the window, suppressing a cough with her fist lifted to her lips. Kath then slipped her hand in her back jeans' pocket to reveal the two dinner train tickets Carlos had worked so hard to acquire for their Saturday date night. In just under an hour, he was scheduled to come pick her up and whisk her away to a romantic evening aboard a scenic route train, taking them out into the Texas countryside. According to the itinerary, they'd be back first thing in the morning. Just in time to make Roscoe's morning sermon. It was a comforting thought but not one she found comfort right then as another hacking cough seized her. Swallowing hard, Katheryn tried to dismiss the sinking feeling that she was coming down with a cold. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Reluctantly and with quite the heavy heart, Katheryn walked the short distance to the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialing Carlos' home number.
"Hi, you've reached the Sandoval residence. I'm not able to take your call. Please leave a message, and I'll get back with you." BEEP
"Hey, Carlos. It's me. I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make the dinner train tonight. I wish I could, but I think I've got a little cold or something. Don't worry. We'll try again soon. Love you, bye."
Kath hung up the phone just in time before another cough seized her, welcoming her best friend and roommate into the residence at the same time.
"Kath?" Molly asked with concern in her eyes as she deposited her purse quickly and rushed to Kath's side. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Katheryn managed through a smile. "It's just a little cold. That's all. I'll be better after I get some sleep I'm sure. I just got through calling the love of my life to tell him I can't go on literally the most romantic date we've planned so far."
Molly consoled Katheryn with a touch of her hand on her shoulder as the latter plopped down onto the barstool, sniffling away her disappointment. After another earth-moving sneeze, Katheryn concluded she would head back to the sofa, reluctantly surrendering herself to the final chapters of her latest martial arts study book and a cup of steaming tea that Molly swiftly prepared.
As the two women quietly enjoyed their tea together, Katheryn slipped the train tickets out of her back pocket again and gave them a thorough glance over, almost scoffing before she handed them to Molly. "Take them," she urged.
"What?" Molly stated through a confused shake of her head. "Why?"
"Call Trent. You two take the train. Carlos and I will figure something else out at a later date."
"Kath," Molly retorted, "No. I can't. You and Carlos have been looking forward to this trip all week. I can't take that from you. And I'm sure Trent would agree with me."
"No," Katheryn echoed. "I insist. It will make me feel better knowing it wasn't an entire waste."
After a moment's thought, Molly smiled. "Are you absolutely sure?"
At Kath's firm nod, Molly hurried to the telephone, quickly confirming with Trent that they could make it happen after all. Katheryn estimated Molly to have had her bag packed and waiting within the hour, Trent arriving five minutes later to pick her up. As Katheryn watched Trent and Molly preparing to leave from her place on the sofa, she knew she had made the right choice. Whether or not she would start regretting it tomorrow when she was feeling better had yet to be determined.
Two mugs of hot tea and four chapters later, Katheryn was nearly ready to call it a night as she stumbled through the kitchen to deposit her dirty dish in the sink. It was well past dark and she estimated Trent and Molly were well into enjoying their train trip by now. Wrapping her blanket snuggly against her shoulders, Katheryn ambled back through to the living room to work her way around turning off the lights. She planned to spend the rest of the evening in her bedroom. After all, she had little focus to watch any television, and the bed seemed to appeal much more to her right now.
Kath had just nearly reached her bedroom when a knock on her door caused her to stop, catching her off guard. Rolling her eyes, she was tempted to ignore it, hoping it was not important or simply someone had gotten the wrong apartment. After all, she knew whoever was on the other side of the door would appreciate her keeping her cold to herself.
Crossing the short distance, Katheryn exhaled sharply and opened the door, a half-crooked smile slipping onto her face as she saw Carlos standing in front of her. Immediately she could only imagine how bad her face and hair looked, having neglected its care for most of the day.
Carlos didn't seem to mind but instead reached out a hand to feel of her face. "No fever. That's good."
Katheryn reached her hand to take his in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze as she lowered it. "You didn't have to come over."
Ignoring her, Carlos slipped inside the apartment, looking around in the darkness. "Do you always spend evenings in the dark around here?"
Kath shook her head. "No. I was just about to go to bed. That's all."
"Oh, I see. I won't stay long then. I just had to come check on you. I knew if you canceled our plans, it could not have been for anything good."
"I see," Kath echoed. She nearly reached up to kiss Carlos on the cheek but held herself in check, crossing over into the living room to turn the lamp back on. "Would you like something to drink while you're here?"
Carlos smiled, sauntering over behind Kath and sitting on the sofa next to her. "No, I won't trouble you any. You need your rest."
"Why don't you get out of here," Katheryn jabbed at Carlos, grinning as she playfully punched him on the arm.
"Trying to get rid of me already?"
"No. I just don't need you getting sick too. I want at least one of us to be at church tomorrow, or Roscoe will think we've abandoned him."
"Oh, alright." Carlos heaved a sigh as he drove himself to his feet. "Do you think you'll be up to church tomorrow?"
"I don't know," Katheryn sighed, admitting silently that she highly doubted she would be attending services tomorrow.
"What do you want me to tell the others when they ask about you?"
Katheryn smiled mischievously. "Hm…tell them I'm deep undercover."
"Yeah," Carlos chuckled and wrapped his arms around Kath for a quick embrace and kissed her on the head. "You get better you hear?"
"Yes, sir," Kath saluted as Carlos pulled away from her, looking her in the eyes before he started for the door. He then called out over his shoulder that he'd call her first thing in the morning before he disappeared around the corner, shutting the door behind himself, leaving Katheryn to the lonely silence of the night.
The clanging of glass echoed within the box car dining room, the train's steady locomotion rocking the twosome gently to its subtle and romantic beat. Both parties held steady smiles across from each other at the minute square table as they took a drink from their glasses before returning them to the table's glistening white cloth. They then mutually took a moment to observe their surroundings together, admittedly feeling somewhat guilty that this had not cost them a dime. Still, you could see every bit of pleasure shining on their faces.
Around them were five others, Molly had counted discreetly as she enjoyed her evening with Trent. While they occupied a table by the window in the far corner of the car, another couple, holding hands and gazing endlessly into each other's eyes from the opposite corner. Molly could barely hear their voices above the train's steady chugging on the rails. But she could tell in between the young woman's giggles that they were definitely love filled comments. It caused herself to smile at the notion, returning her eyes to Trent's warm smile. At the table directly behind Trent was a man dressed in a casual polo and black slacks, a matching black suit jacket draped over the empty chair next to him while he gazed listlessly at the passing scenery in the dark. Lastly, across the aisle two tables ahead of Trent and Molly say another couple. At least it was easy to assume they were a couple. The man and the woman seemed to be the complete opposite from the other love-stricken couple though. Instead they sat in silence, picking at their gourmet dishes with the prongs of their forks as if they had been giving animal feed to eat instead of the extravagant food it really was.
"I still can't believe Katheryn and Carlos gave up this trip for us," Trent admitted with a shake of his head, stealing Molly from her observation of their fellow passengers.
"Yeah. Me neither. I argued with her. But she insisted. After all, you could tell she was definitely under the weather. I couldn't blame her at all for wanting to postpone such a romantic getaway." Molly took a quick tour of the frame of the car with only her eyes, her smile broadening by the second. "This is a rather beautiful train! Carlos has good taste. I'll have to ask Kath whose idea this was in the first place. Whomever it was, they were smart…and very considerate."
"Considerate?!" Trent questioned with a deep crease of his forehead.
"Considerate of a woman's feelings. After all, this is such a romantic gesture. I'm sure Carlos came up with it."
"Well," Trent tried suppressing the twisted, mischievous smile that grew on his face as he tapped the table with his finger. "Actually, it was my idea."
Molly's eyes flashed wide. "You?! How?"
"Simple. Carlos asked me about ideas for romantic getaways last week. And I had seen an ad for this dinner train the night before. So I told him about it. Apparently he does listen to me every once in a while," Trent chuckled.
"I see." Molly bit her lip, trying her hardest not to show how happy she was. But it was becoming rather difficult, the smile slipping out with her control. So following her feelings, she set her hand on top of Trent's and searched for his eyes. Once she had secured his gaze, she whispered, "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Trent's voice nearly merged with a playful scoff just as the waiter arrived with their food. After exclaiming to the waiter about how good the food looked, Trent proceeded to lead them in a quick prayer.
No sooner had Trent said amen did the entire train car jolt backwards, sending all of them forward and most of the food and silverware crashing to the floor. Another similar jolt followed, causing them to tumble to the floor, trying uselessly to grab hold of anything that could save them from further peril.
"Are you okay?" Trent asked, reaching out in the darkness from the car's floor to help steady Molly.
"Y—yeah. I'm alright," Molly replied, taking Trent's hand while looking to be sure the other passengers were okay. As far as she could tell in the blinking lights, everyone seemed alright. Perhaps some of them were shaken up. But no one appeared to be injured or hurt. "What was that?!"
"I don't know…."
Following the screeching sound of the brakes against the rails, the train suddenly jolted again. Another loud explosion-like sound triggered screams from the other passengers just before they could all feel the train give way and come off of the tracks. Suddenly they were tumbling, the sound of iron and steel crunching beneath them and around them lasting for what seemed like an eternity before it was quickly over.
Approximately fifty miles away from any significant Texas city in any one direction, the once romantic getaway now lay in twisted shambles, silence filling the valley as the engine of the train could be heard roaring away from them in the distance.