November 27th, 2013

"The train of dreams, Mikey." Trevor swings open the door as he gestures for the older woman he was with to go first.

"Why Trevor, I never knew you had manners or was the real Trevor abducted by aliens?" Melody asks as Trevor looks up at her and growls.

"What is she doing here?"

"Nevermind her where have you been?" Michael asks as Trevor puts his arm around the older woman.

"Gettin' some fresh air."

"Talking of beautiful things." The woman adds as she pats Trevor on the cheek, Melody folds her arms across her chest and arches her eyebrow before she points at Trevor.

"Beautiful things? With Trevor? Now I know he was abducted."

"Something wrong with it?!" Trevor shouts at her as he approaches her and Melody steps onto her back foot making a smaller target for Trevor, her hand falls to the .45 tucked at the small of her back in the waistline of her cargo pants before Michael steps in between them.

"You watch your mouth girl alright?" Trevor says pointing over Michael's shoulder at her.

"Hey anytime you're feeling tired of life you come see me." Trevor growls and tries to push his way past Michael but Michael shoves him back.

"Knock it off the both of you. Trevor tell me about this train." Melody turns her back on them as Patricia Madrazo hums idly cleaning.

"Usted toma paseos con un hombre que te secuestró?" Melody asks as she leans her forearms on the counter the woman shines with a rag and looks at her.

"No es tan malo."

"No es tan malo? Es una locura, que daña a las personas. Usted deshonra a su familia con su comportamiento."

"Puta, no me hable de honor." The elderly woman says, spatting the insult.

"Whore?! Bitch I will-" Melody raises the back of her hand to slap the elderly woman before Michael grabs her wrist.

"Ok I think you've had enough socializing for one day babe." Melody futilely kicks in the air at the woman as Michael pulls her away, both arms now locked around her chest.

"Did you hear what she called me?!"

"I did." Michael physically drags her from the counter the heels of Melody's combat boots making lines in the carpet.

"That woman is rude." Melody says over her shoulder at him as he hauls her away.

"I'm beginning to get that impression." Michael plants her in place between Ron and himself taking hold of both her shoulders and turning her in place to face Trevor. Melody straightens her top and blows some bangs away from her face.

"You two deserve each other Trevor."

"I didn't know you spoke spanish." Melody looks at Michael a smug smirk curling at the corner of her lips.

"There are a lot of things you don't know me about me."

"Really? Well I'd certainly relish the opp-"

"Hello? Can we get back to the topic at hand or do you two want a few minutes to pop into the ol' bedroom back there?"

"Just talk Trevor, what's on this dream train?"

"Gold, my friend." Melody's blue eyes light up.

"How much gold?"

"It's not always gold, sometimes it's art or antiques anything too valuable for air travel."

"And how do we get this priceless find?" Melody rests her hands on her hips.

"The plan's simple, Mikey gets us a boat and you and me take a little off road adventure." She looks at Michael before looking back at Trevor her eyebrow arching quizzically.

Melody guns the dirt bike alongside Trevor's accelerating through traffic, twisting the handle and tucking her boot under the shift lever flicking it up another gear.

"Michael, what's the status on that boat?" Melody's voice echoes in her helmet.

"I'm working on it, are you ok?" Melody grips the brake lever, downshifts, and weaves around a car keeping one eye on Trevor.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"This kind of seat-of-your-pants bullshit is Trevor's thing..."

"I'm fine, Michael."

"I hate to break up the love fest here but this is our off ramp." Trevor accelerates up a steep dirt path dropping in behind the speeding train.

"Trevor, what are you doing?" Melody asks as she guns up the steep path kicking up a cloud of dirt behind her tire.

"Catching a ride!" Trevor catches another steep trail as Melody falls in behind him.

Trevor hits a small hump of dirt and catches air skidding onto the roof of the train the bike loses control and Trevor jumps off of it. The bike tumbles end over end until it careens off of the train flying over Melody's head before impacting and exploding in her wake.

"Jesus christ, Trevor." Melody mumbles as she accelerates towards the rear of the train reaching out she attempts to grab the railing but misses.

Braking she narrowly dodges a boulder and moves back to the railing reaching out she manages to get one gloved hand around it before the bike goes tumbling away beneath her. Clutching the railing she grips her wrist with her other hand her boots skidding and kicking off the gravel as she lifts herself up.

She drops onto the metal platform at the rear car of the train and climbs onto the railing swinging herself out and grabbing the roof with both hands, kicking off the railing she nimbly flips herself onto the roof. Landing half crouched, she spies Trevor only three cars away.

Melody unbuckles her helmet and lets it go flying in the wind. Dropping her amber lensed aviators back over her eyes her copper hair whips in the wind as she works her way up the train easily jumping the small gap between the cars. She follows Trevor until he jumps down onto the locomotive and barges into the cabin.

Trevor walks up to the conductor and slams his head into the console. The man falls to the ground and Trevor stomps on his head repeatedly.

"Trevor!" Melody shouts as she makes her way into the cabin.

"I think he's no longer a threat. Where's this cargo?" She picks up a manifest on a clipboard and begins flipping through it.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Trevor touches his headset.

"Michael, are you ready with that boat yet?"

"Almost."

"Step on it Michael." Melody says as she looks at the manifest, Trevor turns to the controls and pushes the throttle forward using a switch on the console to switch the tracks.

"Where's the cargo Trevor?"

"I told you I don't know. Sorry we've been diverted!" He shouts out of the open window at no one in particular before blowing the train whistle.

"And how do you intend to find it?"

"In the wreckage, of course."

"In the wreck-" Trevor points to the train coming out of the tunnel towards them as the train comes onto a narrow bridge.

"You're insane, do you realize we're on this train?!"

"All we gotta do is jump." Trevor kicks open the door of the cabin and walks out into the open.

"Oh is that all? What a bloody inspired plan that is!"

"It's either that or die! Sayonara sister!" Trevor yells waving at her before he jumps.

Melody rushes through the door and to the railing looking down at the waters below then looks to her right at the train barreling down on her.

"Goddammit Trevor." Melody climbs onto the railing of the speeding locomotive the wind whipping her copper ringlets around her before she forces her legs to leap as far as they can, feeling her body go weightless as the trains collide.

A touch of panic overwhelms her for a brief moment before old training and muscle memory kicks in and she instinctively spreads her arms her spine straightening and her feet coming together. The wind rushes past her as she sails through the air just before she brings her hands forward and uncurls her fists straightening her fingers.

"Melody!" Michael screams, he grips the windshield of the little Dinghy as he watches her careen towards the choppy waters below several train cars only meters behind her.

Melody pierces the water like a missile, a thousand tiny needles stab her body as she arcs her arms her momentum swinging her upwards and swims towards the surface. Pausing, she lets a half dozen train cars slam into the water around her before she surfaces. Her head breaks water as she flips her wet hair behind her hearing the low rumble of Michael's boat coming closer as he makes his way over to her.

"Oh thank christ, I thought you were dead." Michael takes her hand and helps her into the boat Melody collapsing against the rubber side coughing and sputtering water.

"What the ever loving fuck just happened?" Both of their heads turn at the sound of a large explosion.

"Trevor tried to kill me that's what happened." Melody pulls her knees to her chest as she tugs open a pocket on her cargo pants taking out her cell phone, finding it water soaked and useless she carelessly tosses it into the water. Trevor appears, swimming away from the cargo containers not far from the boat his arms thrown in the air a watertight case clutched in one hand.

"Whoo! That'll wake you up! Better than coffee." Melody grabs Trevor with two fistfuls of his shirt and physically hauls him into the boat. Locking her knees on either side of his midsection a trail of water follows her hand as she snatches the knife from the small of her back and raises it above her head.

"MJ!" Michael says his hands outstretched in front of him but too far to stop her.

"You son of a bitch." Melody growls.

"Sister if you're going to stay on top of me either kill me or let's finally twist those bed sheets."

"Melody...don't. Merryweather will be here soon." Michael moves closer to her and rests his hand on her wrist. Melody slowly sheaths the knife and moves off of Trevor dropping into the seat beside Michael's as he slips behind the wheel. Melody slides her aviators over her eyes and folds her arms, letting her eyes drift closed.

Two years ago...

14 February, 2011 0232 hrs
Somewhere in the Mountains of Afghanistan.

The sound of the rifle thunders through the still night as Melody looks over her scope her breath condensing and wafting around the tight space of the cover she laid beneath, now covered in snow. Her voice comes through the radio, calm and steady.

"Go."

She focuses on the makeshift building just in time to see her team blow the door off with a shaped charge followed by the sudden burst of light and audible pop of a flashbang as she blinks looking down the starlight scope. The sounds of weapons fire echo in the air as she makes a quick notation in her data book and drops her finger back onto the trigger.

She focuses on one corner of the roof and sees a sentry readying a weapon pointed at the door as her team breeches and clears working their way to the roof. The rifle bucks against her shoulder as the sentry tumbles over the edge and falls to the ground.

"Problem?" A voice comes over the radio in her earpiece.

"Negative."

From out of her scope view a sudden flash appears, a streak of light sails towards the building as Melody presses her transmitter.

"RPG!" The rocket propelled grenade impacts the side of the building and blows out one of the walls of the ramshackle structure, the flash of the explosion reflecting in her night scope making her shy away and blink.

She forces herself to tuck the stock back against her shoulder as she pivots the rifle searching for the source as a sudden explosion several dozen meters away makes her cover her head. The sounds of trees cracking and falling into the snow fills the air as another mortar round hits to her right instead this time showering her cover with falling dirt.

"I've got mortar fire." Another RPG streaks through the night and hits the building.

"Charlie team, respond." She blinks searching the building for any sign of her team as another RPG impacts the building, tracking back the streak she spies two targets on a nearby ridge preparing to reload. She pulls the trigger the rifle bucking as she pivots a few degrees and fires again, the last man falling onto the corpse of his dead friend.

"Charlie team. Paris? Monroe? Anyone respond." No more mortar rounds.

The sounds of boots crunching in the snow near her makes her hold her breath. Moving very slowly she reaches to the drop leg holster strapped to her thigh wincing as she pops the snap, two pairs of boots moving past her. She adjusts herself gripping the cover in one hand and her pistol in the other, taking a slow deep breath.

In a fluid motion she whips off the cover coming to rest on one knee as she empties six rounds into the nearest man. The second whirls on his heel and levels his rifle as Melody pulls the knife from along the small of her back and sends it spinning through the air, the blade digging into the soldier's chest as he tumbles back falling into the snow.

Rising to both feet Melody puts two rounds between his eyes as she takes a couple of steps towards him. Taking a knee she yanks the bloody knife out of his chest and sheaths it, her blue eyes searching the dark woods. The sounds of hurrying boots approach as Melody quietly sprints behind a nearby tree, throwing her back against it.

"Where is he?" One asks the other in Pashto.

She slowly leans around to see three men examining her nest, one was holding her rifle while another flipped through her data book ignoring their fallen comrades. Melody quietly drops the clip from her Sig Sauer and pulls a fresh one from a pocket of her ACU pants.

"Are they dead? Go check." She grips the slide in her gloved hand and hits the release slowly letting the slide close, a round slipping into the chamber. One of the group walks up to his dead comrades stepping right into view of her behind the tree, all he had to do was look to his left.

And he did.

Melody rushes from behind the tree, pulling her knife she ducks under the swing of the man's rifle butt coming up behind him she slits his throat, her pistol coming up in her right hand under his arm as she cradles his body her left arm across his chest.

The two men turn and fire into their friend's corpse as she pumps five rounds into one, letting the human shield drop into the snow she brings her off hand to her pistol and shoots the remaining soldier, twice in the heart and one between the eyes.

Panting her eyes flick back and forth searching for anyone else. She jogs over to her rifle and stuffs her data book into her jacket, she slips the sling over her neck holding the stock against her hip she pauses for one last look at the ruined building at the base of the valley.

"Charlie team, respond."

Hesitating for a moment, Melody backpedals a few steps then turns and takes off sprinting into the freezing night... the red Merryweather patch on her arm gleaming in the moonlight.