11: SPRUNG ADVENTURE
"I feel ridiculous." Gumi said, looking at the folds of her skirt in disgust.
"Shut up and make some sacrifices." Miku said. "Now close your eyes."
Gumi sighed as Miku applied generous amounts of eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and various other eye things. Gumi had never worn makeup in her life, and she didn't like it.
"Last but not least, the tattoos." Miku spread peach goo over the stripes on Gumi's nose and cheeks, completely covering them up with several foundations and creams.
"This is a lot of work just to steal a train."
"They won't let us on if we look like street rats." Miku replied, finishing the touches on her own complexion. When she was done, she looked around the room.
Everyone assigned to the mission was gathered in the girls' dorm, all dressed up in fancy outfits stolen from nearby villages and warehouses over the years. The men looked smart in tuxedo and three-piece suits, and the girls wore dresses or skirts and blouses. Gumi herself was stuffed into a victorian-style green dress with a built in corset. She cursed modern fashion trends for bringing the 1800's back into style.
Unfortunately, the corset resulted in unwanted cleavage, and she noticed a few of the boys glancing at her chest.
"Well, gang. Are you ready for this shit or what?" Miku yelled. Everyone shouted back at her, cheering. Gumi was quivering with excitement.
"We all know the plan, correct?"
Correct, they replied.
"And we leave no one behind, correct?"
Of course, they replied.
"Then let's go hijack a train!" And she ran out screaming a war cry. The rest of them followed her, their eerie screeches filling the halls. Gumi grinned and ran after her family.
… … … … … … … … … …
Miku stepped on first, scanning her Metrocard in the small device.
"I'm paying for my friends as well, sir." She said, flashing a brilliantly white smile. "We're going shopping today."
The driver nodded, looking grumpy, and waved the small group of teens onto the light train.
Gumi had never been this scared before in her life. As she walked down the train aisle on shaky legs, she looked around the small train and was relieved that there were only a few passengers on it today. A small man sleeping in the front and a woman reading a newspaper in the middle.
Miku gestured for her "friends" to sit around her in the back. As Gumi moved past her to sit by the window, Miku hissed, "Look happy. We're rich kids going shopping."
Gumi managed a fake smile and took her seat, fanning her skirt out in front of her.
The driver looked behind him to make sure everyone was seated. Then he brushed his short, pink hair back from his eyes and pressed a button to start the electric engines.
Miku ducked behind a curtain of teal hair and whispered into her earpiece, "Ready, Gakupo?"
"We just need the train's model number." He replied from Matryoshka HQ. Gumi wondered where exactly all of this modern technology was located, and how the gang had gotten hold of it. Earpieces, computers, tracing software, and more were stored secretly somewhere in headquarters. Gumi hoped to find them someday.
Miku's eyes darted all around the train compartment, searching for a number, any number.
"Model number, I need a model number." She hissed under her breath. The boy in front of her, whom Gumi did not know, replied under his breath, "They don't usually write it on the inside."
"Fuck." Miku scratched her head and whispered, "Gakupo, we can't get to it if it's on the exterior. Any other way you can lock on to us?"
"Maybe if you give me the company and that particular train's route."
"Um…" Miku looked to Gumi for help. Gumi remembered the big block lettering on the side of the light-train, and she whispered, "Tanabe Tramway."
The chief repeated it through her earpiece, along with the route they were taking. After a few tense moments of waiting, Miku nodded at Gumi. "Get ready."
Suddenly, the lights flickered, and the train jolted to a sudden stop. The other two passengers looked around wildly, murmuring under their breath. The driver checked levers and buttons, but the train wouldn't budge.
"Show time." Miku stood up confidently and strode to the front of the train. She stood directly behind the driver, and, with a steady hand, held the barrel of a gun to his head. Simultaneously, Meiko threatened the old man in the back with a pistol, and Neru did the same with the woman passenger.
Gumi got a shiver of excitement and fear.
The other passengers screamed a bit, but Meiko got them to shut up.
"Now." Miku said to the driver, who was slowly putting up his hands in surrender. "This train is under the control of the Matryoshka. We've got it deadlocked. You three will walk off of this train, unharmed, and then we will commandeer the train. Got it?"
The driver said nothing.
"I said got it?" Miku growled.
Then, he started to chuckle.
Gumi and Kaito frowned at each other, then turned their attention back to the driver with pink hair. The driver was laughing harder now, a full, evil belly laugh that echoed throughout the train.
"Shut up!" Miku said. Gumi heard the quiver in her voice. They were all confused. "Now stand up and you're gonna get off the-
"Oh, shut up, will you?" The driver stood up slowly and turned around to face them all. "Now, listen, this has been fun, but I'm on a schedule. Kuriko?"
The woman being guarded by Neru stood up and laughed as well. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" She taunted Miku. Miku looked to her team, desperate for help. They shook their heads.
"They're bluffing." Akegata Rai, the boy with black hair, shook his head. "Just finish the job. Come on, you heard Miku. Move!" He kicked at the driver, and made his way to the train doors. He pulled at the handle once. Twice. Four times.
Locked.
And the woman, Kuriko, slowly opened her trenchcoat to reveal….
Miku froze. No. She'd failed them. It was too easy. No.
Across the train, Gumi looked at the woman with wide eyes, and then at her leader, who wasn't moving.
The air was tense, and the bomb ticked away.
