Narrator pow:
"Is it always so calm in here?" Kowalski asked, as he and Emily were moving down the line with the line of empty trucks to deposit in a nearest shunting yard.
"Well, yes. Outside of tourists season and routine trains to Callan Castle we barely get any work there." Emily responded as the two slowly approached the station at Callan.
"At least you aren't overworked." Mix-traffic engine smiled, whistling for clearance as they went into the track leading to the shunting yards. "It seems to be an evening by now.. Let's get down to shunting, shall we?"
"So, this is the engine you built?" Spy asked, as he and Engineer came down to the woods north of the Crewgir, where a purely amateur railway was being built.
"Yes! His name is Jiff and he will be as loyal engine of the BLU Team as it gets!" One of Soldiers said, happly pointing behind himself at a small shuhter who pasisvely watched other mercenaries building an off-regulated lumberyard.
"You guys know that it isn't New Mexico and Badlands? There is an actual paperwork to be done prior to that." Engineer added, looking with concern at the horde of man in blue trenchcoats and eye covering helmets walking around and accelerating regional deforestation.
"I don't care! I know that the others minus you two will join us anyway and proclaim a Democratic Country of BLU Team!"
"... Fine, I'll pay for the land and get the stuff done, but don't expect Kowalski to join us back soon." Spy sighed, turning around on his heel. "Let's go Engineer, before they manage to get spotted by authorities."
"No thanks, people with more money are already in Vickarstown with bonus money for the payments. I need to stay here and guard these rocket boys."
"Very well then, I'll be going alone." Spy said, walking away from the gathering towards the town. "Just don't mess things up too far, authorities can be picky in those scenarios."
"There ya' go." Kowalski smiled, putting the last few trucks on the siding before looking up at the orange sky. "Oh my, about time I'll look for a place to sleep." He added, slowly backing up as the points behind him were being set one after another.
"Oy mate! Why don't you stay with us?" On of the trucks asked him out loud, making the engine stop in tracks.
"Can I?"
"Of course! It's not everyday an engine asks us for names!" The other one added from the other side, smiling confidently to hide the rust covering his cheeks.
"Lonnie? How did they throw you from Vickarstown all the way here?" Kowalski asked, suprised to see a familiar face from his first job today.
"They throw me to the fast goods train because I was the closest one, nothing too unordinary."
"Y'know what? I'm staying with us." The engine said, concluding it's opinion with thunderous applause from the other residents. "Now buckle up mates, because a late evening with nothing to do and a bunch of friends is a perfect time for gossip and shitty story time..."
"I do hope this isn't too late, but given that the office lights are still on this shouldn't be the case." BLU Spy thought, as he and four massive man referred to as Heavies walk up to the doors of Sir Topham Hatt's office, the prior knocking on them twice given the lack of ringbell.
"I'm coming!" A rather hurried voice from inside responded before the doors opened and revealed a suprised controller of the railway. "Hello Sir, what seems to be the matter?"
"A few things, actually." Spy responded with modest tone while Heavies took out the cases filled with money from under their casual clothes. "But I believe we both have motivation and resources to manage them in a cultural way." He added, making a slight move to the right while his escort left the cases with him and closed the doors to ensure privacy.
"Hmm, a considerable development. Please, take a seat." The Fat Controller responded as the two made their way to the nearby desk. Hatt taking a sit on his usual place while Spy took a second one on the opposing side with all four payments prepared for him. "Now then, may I ask you for a reason of coming to my office? I'm a busy man after all."
"Naturally." Spy responded with thick French accent, making him flinch. "You see, Northern part of Sodor with such places as Cregwir and Ballaswein have no railway connection. Even more, some have no connection by road at all." He began the explaination, pointing at the upper part of the island's map that was convieniently placed high on the wall behind his interlocutor. "My idea is, that with the help of the funds I secured in physical form we could expand your railway line in that direction, providing local communities with services just as good as the rest of the island, perhabs even accessing so far unreachable on mass parts of Sodor to settle on top of other possibilities." He added, flicking his finger to the right and pointing precisely at the cliffs of north-eastern part of Sodor.
" That sounds like a very good proposition, people in this region need a railway connection equal to the ones rest of my railway has!" Sir Topham Hatt responded proudly, making Spy flinch with his enthusiasm. "And I'm certain those funds you have here alongside mine and donaton from the goverment shall be enough for the project to be finished."
"Indeed." Spy responded with tamed enthusiasm. "Since we are agreeing on the general idea, we shpuld proceed to the planning department..."
"... And that is why I'm banned from riding on the entire US east coast!" Kowalski ended, giving trucks a good laugh as the sleep time was coming near and talk time did the same, but with leaving.
"Three hundered! Three hundered! You were going downhill in there don't you?" One of the trucks asked him, amazed by the straighforward dumb stories no less than his brothers.
"Yes I did, Horacio. Twenty two degree hill and thousands of mercenaries pulled behind while escaping a regiment worth of firepower. That was a life..." He added, sighing lightly like an old man who reminded himself of the good old times.
"You really aren't a type of dude who just doesn't fit in the safety stuff, are you?" Other truck asked him, concerned by the mental condition of his pal.
"No I'm not Tyler, no I'm not." Blue engine responded, looking into the rails for a moment before the smile appeared on his face. "Whenever you ride with me, high speed is guaranteed as long as you keep helping me and won't try to derail me."
"Yaaaaay! Free speed! Free speed!" Trucks responded with a cheerful chant, thanking the kind newcomer for light treatment before they all went asleep into the night.