Prologue
Shit, shit, shit! MOVE! Get out of the way! Coming through!
Let me through, damn it!
Pistol in hand, I ran from the locomotive cab and rumbled through the crowded Casino Car. The surprise poker game that Bae rushed to organize was coming to a close, so the Shrimps, Deadbeats and their guests alike were already trickling to the Center Car to find seats. Folks from the Dining Car were making their way into the Center too, clogging the gangway on both ends. I had to push and shove my way through the seat of people, making a fuss and drawing attention to myself - but I didn't really have a choice.
Navy training gave me enough strength to force my way through most of the crowd. For anyone who refused to give way, I threatened them with 'Bloom' and the stiffest German phrases I could muster.
At the same time, my eyes scanned the crowds. I hoped and prayed that Ame had somehow finished her investigation of the baggage cars and was already back in the reserved cars. Unfortunately, Ame was still nowhere to be found.
Soon enough, I made it through to the end of the Dining Car. There was hardly anyone left to notice the gangway doors there curiously ajar. I saw silhouettes of two masked men through the window, one on each side of the gangway. They were armed with their sledgehammers and myriad of tools.
They were already decoupling the train - and the passengers aboard were none the wiser!
Not on my watch!
…
Kiara burst through the gangway door. The Owl Pal closest to her had his back turned to her, but she didn't want to take any chances. She opened fire - three shots in quick succession at center of mass. Her shots, however, bounced off the man's cloak.
Body armor!?
"Orange ticket." The Owl Pal grinned maniacally at Kiara, "Twenty dollar ticket."
He swung his sledgehammer wildly, smashing up the gangway. Kiara had to duck beneath the swings. She never got the chance to raise her gun again! Instead, she wound up and tackled the man down to the ground.
The sledgehammer slipped from his hands and fell off of the train, but not before it struck the damaged coupling beneath the gangway. The coupling creaked and moaned ominously.
"No…!" The Owl Pal wailed, "Don~ don~ gone!?"
Losing his sledgehammer drove the Owl Pal into a fit.
"DON DON FUND NOW, ORANGE TICKET!" He screamed.
All of a sudden, the downed Owl Pal got a second wind of strength and pushed Kiara off of him. Kiara flew back into the gangway railings, knocking the wind out of her sails. The enraged Owl Pal grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off her feet.
Kiara struggled, kicking the Owl Pal on the chest as hard as she could. However, in that state, the Mumei Nanashi fanatic hardly felt any pain. At the same time, the other Owl Pal from across the gangway drew closer.
"Squeeze Orange Ticket?" The enraged Owl Pal asked.
"Squeeze Orange Ticket like Friend." The second Owl Pal grinned, brandishing his sledgehammer, "Hold Orange Ticket. I'll don~ don~!"
Shit…!
Before the second Owl Pal could cross the threshold, Kiara heard gunshots. The second Owl Pal stopped in his tracks and fell silent. Then, he fell sideways with his sledgehammer in tow and traced a trail of red mist from the back of his head on the way out.
Behind that second Owl Pal, however, Amelia Watson emerged from the baggage car doors with her own gun drawn.
"Close your eyes, Kiara!" Ame's voice suddenly warned.
Kiara obliged and closed her eyes, bracing herself.
Two more gunshots rang through the gangway. The warmth of blood splattered on Kiara's face. Then, she fell from the Owl Pal's tight grasp.
Kiara wiped the blood from her face and turned to the other end of the gangway.
"Ame!" Kiara cheered, "I was worried about you!"
"Sorry I'm late." Ame holstered her pistol and rubbed her sore fists, "I had to deal with a few bad guys on this side too."
The two detectives smiled at each other from across the gangway. Their reunion, however, was cut short by the sharp scraping of metal - followed by a heavy crack.
The couplings finally broke!
The detectives were thrown off their feet. They had to grab onto the gangway railings for dear life, but the gangway itself came undone. Slowly but surely, the baggage cars and the rest of the general public cars were falling further and further behind from the reserved cars.
"Ame!" Kiara cried, offering her hand, "Jump over the gap! Do it before it's too late!"
Beads of sweat formed on Ame's brow, but she nodded. The senior detective wound back and sprinted through what remained of the gangway. She leapt over the growing gap with every ounce of strength she had and reached towards Kiara's outstretched hand.
Kiara caught her and pulled her into safe ground. The two detectives fell upon each other and tumbled through the doors to the Dining Car.
…
Through the damaged, swinging door, they saw the baggage cars and the other public cars grow smaller and smaller. The three reserved cars, however, continued on their tense journey.
Before the detectives could pick themselves up from the floor, though, two long shadows loomed over them. Ame and Kiara dared to look up from where they laid and their faces went pale.
Bloop and Death-sensei were looking down on them. Menacing expressions were painted on their faces. The fires in their eyes burned brightly, almost like they had been waiting for that very moment.
Ame and Kiara looked around the Dining Car, looking for any allies to help them. The bartender and the other Rat Pack staff were frozen in fear. Kronii and her posse of detectives, meanwhile, were held at gunpoint by Mumei. They were kneeling on the floor and had their mouths gagged with table napkins.
"Oh hi~!" Mumei greeted the downed detectives, "You've been causing a lot of problems for me and the Queenpins' Lieutenants, detectives." She tilted her head cutely, still pretending to sound innocent, "What names are you going by today? Amelon and Erika? Or is it Pudding and Hinotori? I forgor~"
The detectives glared at the Lieutenants.
"I should have known you two stooges were coordinating through a Third Party." Ame spat and frowned, "The Owl Pals, huh?"
"Having two extremely qualified henchwomen appear at our headquarters out of the blue is one thing." Bloop chimed in, brandishing his heavy harpoon, "But watching them charm their way into the Queenpins' hearts soon after? It was a deal too good to be true."
"You crazy gals have been stealing our thunder, yo!" Death-sensei hissed, knocking on the stock of his light machine gun, "The Queenpins were so close to throwing down on their own. They listened to everything we had to say - and then you come along and fuck everything up!"
Mumei stepped forward with a smirk on her lips.
"The Lieutenants came to me asking for help. I gave them everything they needed." The owl-girl sauntered around Kronii and grinned, "The only thing I asked was that I had to take Kronii and Chief Enma alive. I want them to suffer at my own hands."
Kiara furrowed her brow.
So she really does want to make Kronii and Chief Enma suffer… and we practically handed Kronii to her on a silver plate!
"Now…" Bloop cracked his neck, "We're gonna make you two finks suffer too."
Without warning, Bloop and Death-sensei started beating up Ame and Kiara. The detectives tried to draw their guns, but they were kicked out of the way by the two Lieutenants during the scuffle. Mumei and Kronii bore witness to a brutal beating that left Ame and Kiara battered, bruised and writhing helplessly on the ground.
"Excellent work." Mumei smiled, applauding the Lieutenant's handiwork, "Now, the real show can begin."
At Mumei's command, Bloop and Death-sensei carried the incapacitated detectives on their shoulders - Bloop took Ame and Death-sensei took Kiara. Then, they paraded the two through the Dining Car all the way to the Central Car. Mumei herself, with Kronii and her posse in tow, followed leisurely behind.
Together, the three usurpers barged into the conference hall and pushed their prisoners down to the floor for everyone there to see.
…
"What the hell are you doing!?" Baelz Hakos started angrily, "Making a fuss on MY Casino Train and…"
However, when Bae got a closer look at the unfortunate souls that Mumei, Bloop and Death-sensei were parading, she tensed up and fell silent.
"Oh fuck…" Bae winced.
Calli and Gura also were confused at first, but shadows formed over their eyes. They rose up from their seats and marched towards the beaten detectives.
"Hinotori…" Calli asked Kiara with a frigid tone, "I thought you said Pudding wasn't going to make it today?"
"And I thought you said Erika wasn't gonna be here either, Amelon!" Gura gritted her teeth angrily at Ame.
Neither Ame nor Kiara, however, had the strength or the heart to speak.
"Allow me to explain." Mumei chimed in, approaching the two Queenpins with her devious smile, "Your precious henchwomen have been lying to you, Calli. Gura. They're with City PD - and they've been trying to sabotage your organizations from within." She pushed Kronii towards the Queenpins and snickered, "This one's one of their accomplices. The star detective of City PD herself!"
Calli and Gura lowered their heads, hiding the pained expressions and utter disbelief on their faces.
"We caught em' trying to sabotage the Casino Train too, boss." Death-sensei insisted to Calli, "Hinotori was messing around in the locomotive."
"And Amelon was snooping around the baggage cars." Bloop added, speaking to Gura with a frown, "They managed to decouple the public cars. Who knows what else they could have done."
"It was the freaking Owl Pals who…!" Kiara tried to speak, but Mumei whacked her with her hammer.
Kiara recoiled from pain and curled up into a ball, wailing from pain.
"They even went so far as to beat my innocent, peaceful Owl Pals when they tried to confront them." Mumei spoke over Kiara's wails, unfaced by the new splatter of blood on her cheek, "They have an agenda - some sort of plan with Chief Enma. Perhaps they're trying to rub out one of the Queenpins this afternoon." Her honey brown eyes shimmered menacingly, "Just like they did with the Owl Pals."
"It's happened before." Death-sensei insisted, "What's to stop that bespectacled bitch from doing it again."
"This could be another orchestrated operation like the shooting at the Nephilim Club." Bloop folded his arms and lied through his teeth, "Chief Enma has been making moves ever since that attack."
"The question now is…" Mumei added, "Who are they trying to rub out - and who are they trying to turn into City PD's new puppet? Who cut a better deal with Chief Enma, perhaps?"
Ame and Kiara gritted their teeth. They walked right into Mumei's trap and played into her hand.
"That means that this whole Peace Conference thing was a sham all along." Calli concluded. Her voice trembled with stark disappointment and she shook her head, "What else have I been lied to about." She clenched her fists and shouted, "Answer me, Hinotori!"
"Calli…" Tears started welling up at the sides of Kiara's eyes.
She couldn't even look at Calli in that state.
Gura, on the other hand, frowned bitterly.
"Amelon. How could you!?" Gura whimpered, "I've had enough betrayals for a lifetime. I trusted you. I really did."
"Sharkie…" Ame tried to speak.
Gura's face twisted sharply with disgust.
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT, YOU LIAR!" Gura roared.
Gura's words pierced through Ame's heart. The senior detective couldn't say another word.
"I'll deal with you later, liar." Gura sniffed and wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her blue dress shirt. Then, she drew her twin blue pistols and pointed them at Calli, "But first, I've got a score to settle."
"And so do I." Calli scowled, drawing her katana.
Bloop and Death-sensei brandished their weapons and pretended to confront each other too. The Shrimps and the Deadbeats who accompanied them also formed up. Bae, stuck in the middle of the chaos, tried to calm down the belligerent factions.
However, her words fell on deaf ears. Negotiations had already broken down after Ame and Kiara were thrown into the room.
Because of them, in a single heartbeat, the Central Car of the Casino Train turned into a warzone.
…
Queenpins
Decoupled
…
To Be Continued