Chapter Two: Don't forget to breathe.

Charlie looked around the brightly lit metro train. The last passengers of the night were getting settled inside the two separate cars. At one end of his car, a group of teenage boys had clustered together and all the way on the other end two young couples were sitting. Both sets were overly enamored with their partners and paying no attention to the other passengers. He could see a few other people scattered in the other attached car. Charlie decided on a seat right in the middle. Statistically that was the best place to be if there was an accident, or…..SHUT UP! Why would you think that way? He answered himself. Well, it's true isn't it?

The doors to the car slid shut and the metro started to move. Charlie could feel his heart rate increasing again. He dug his fingers into his knees and concentrated on his breathing. Calm down Charlie. If you can't even make it to Union Station, Don will never let you live it down. Breathe. You are not going to freak out. You can do this. Just think about something else. Keep it simple. Don't get lost in it. Prime numbers…..ok, let's do that. Two, Three, Five, Seven, Eleven, Thirteen, Seventeen, Nineteen, Twenty Three, Twenty Nine………

He had made it to seventy four thousand seventy seven when a pair of bright red basketball shoes walked directly in front of him and stopped.

"Hey?"

A young Latino man from the group at the end of the car was standing in front of him.

"Hey, Ese Vato, you got a cigarette?"

Charlie had to blink a few times to clear his thoughts so he could verbally answer the question. He shook his head.

"No…No, I'm sorry. I don't smoke."

The kid shrugged his shoulders and walked back over to where the others where gathered. Charlie forced himself to look up and again inventoried the other occupants of the car. The two couples had left. They must have gotten out at the last stop. Just him and six teenage boys were left on the car. What if I miss my stop? What if I get stuck on here? Again he answered himself. This line stops at Union Station dumb ass. You'll know when you get there. Still breathing……Seven thousand four hundred eighty one, Seven thousand four hundred eighty seven….good staying calm. Seven thousand…"

"Hey!"

Another kid, slightly older than the last had moved to the middle of the car.

"Are you sure you ain't got a cigarette? Or a blunt? Or something?"

Charlie lifted his head and realized the whole group of young men had congregated around his selected space in the center of the car. Any progress he had made in slowing his heart rate was quickly lost when he realized all six of these young men were wearing the distinct colors of a west L.A. gang. Oh crap. Stay calm. You're an adult, act like one.

"No. No. I um, I don't smoke….anything. I don't have anything."

Two of them sat down next to him, one on either side.

"What if we don't believe you?"

"I'm sorry…but I…..Honestly guys, I don't. Actually only twenty four point one percent of the adult male population smokes. Statistically, you only had less than a one in four chance that I would be smoker. If you want to increase your odds of actually finding a cigarette, you need a larger sample to choose from. One in four isn't great odds and if you increased the number of people in the room, your chances of……………."

Charlie stopped speaking and sucked in a deep breath. I said act like an adult you idiot, not a college professor. The other voice answered. But I am a college professor.

Charlie wanted to kick himself. The six young gang members were staring at him like he had four heads. None of them looked ready to admit that they hadn't understood, but their eyes contained that blank look that his students got when they really had no idea what he was talking about.

"So…no, I um, I don't have a cigarette."

The kid on his right turned and gave him a perplexed look.

"You are seriously loco man."

Charlie swallowed hard.

"You have no idea."

The young man on his left stood and looking cynical addressed the group.

"Ok. Ok. If this guys so smart, then let's go check out the next car. There are more than four people in there. If our new friend here is right, one of them will have a cigarette. Isn't that right smart guy?" He looked at Charlie; his pride at having at least partially understood what had been said was visible under his sarcasm.

After a moment's hesitation, Charlie nodded his head cautiously.

"Statistically speaking, yes, there is a higher probability that a group of four or more would have a smoker among them. But there are a lot of factors to consider and you can't just…."

He gave Charlie an amused grin.

"I say we test the theory then."

An undercurrent of hostility in the teen's voice kept him from returning the smile.

"It's not so much a theory….it's more a matter of statistical probability. But quantity is only one variable."

"Right. Ok then. I guess we'll see, won't we?"

The young man headed thru the doors and into the next compartment, followed closely by his posse. Charlie leaned his head back and exhaled loudly. Ok, maybe the fact that it was a Friday night should have been reason enough to have had Don drive all the way to North Hollywood.

Charlie felt the train slow as they approached the MacArthur Park stop. Three more stops to Union Station. Almost there. Less than ten minutes left to endure. He glanced around him again. He was alone in the last car now. He could see several people unloading from the front of the train. I could walk the rest of the way to Union Station. I shouldn't stay on here, not after that. Don't be stupid Charlie. No one is going to hurt you in here. You have a better chance of getting mugged on the street than being assaulted on the L.A. Metro. They have security cameras on these things. He stayed in his seat watching people get off the last car. Hoping those young men were among the exiting passengers, Charlie leaned back and tried to relax his shoulders.

The doors closed again and the train picked up speed for the last leg of its journey. Don would be waiting when he got there and then he could go home and forget all about this. Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty Nine, Seven Thousand Four Hundred Ninety Nine…

The door to the second car opened and the group of teenagers filed back into the compartment. That's just great. Here we go again.

"Hey. You were totally on the money man. Dude gave us his whole pack before he got off at the last stop."

Charlie looked up apprehensively. What do these guys want? Despite the anxiety that was trying to consume him, Charlie couldn't help but notice that the hostility he had heard in the young instigators voice was gone and in its place was something that almost sounded like awe or maybe even admiration. The rest of the group seemed to follow that ones lead, so maybe he'd make it to Union Station in one piece. He mustered up a thin smile and nodded. "Good. That's good. So I was right then?"

"Yeah. How'd you know that stuff with all those numbers?"

Charlie eyed the group around him.

"I um….I have a propensity for remembering numbers."

One of the boys leaned against the center pole in the car.

"Yeah. OK. But how'd you know what to do with 'em."

"That's…..that's what I do. I…..um, I teach applied mathematics…….at the university."

The leader sat down across from him on the other side of the car.

"So you salty or what?"

"Excuse me?"

The kid standing next to him grinned.

"He wants to know if you're one of those guys who thinks he knows everything."

Charlie shook his head quickly in denial.

"No…no. Not everything. You can never know everything."

"Good answer. You are a smart guy."

The leader leaned back on the bench and lit a cigarette giving Charlie a half smile.

The metro flew past the Civic Center Station without stopping and Charlie made a mental note. Two miles to go at 60 miles an hour. Almost there.

"Chill, Math Man. It's all good."

Charlie watched the group that surrounded him. He almost opened his mouth to tell them that smoking wasn't allowed on the metro, but quickly stopped himself. Yeah, that would be pretty smooth professor. The six young gangsters passed the pack of cigarettes and a lighter around, the one on Charlie's left handed him the pack.

"Oh. No really guys, no thanks. I...I don't smoke."

The guy in with the red shoes stood and walked in front of him to retrieve the pack of cigarettes.

"It's never too late to start, man. It's a great stress reliever. And you do look a little stressed."

A couple of the boys laughed and Charlie forced a smile, trying to decide if he needed to respond.

Suddenly the subway car lurched with a violent jolt, knocking him off the bench. The two young men that were standing lost their footing and joined him on the floor. What started as a deep rumble escalated into a loud roar and the subway car continued to sway. Its own velocity combined with the awkward movements of the shifting earth, was more than the two car train could handle and the first car jumped the tracks. The derailment sent the seven passengers of the metro car sliding across the floor and slamming painfully into the benches and support bars as the first car acted as a braking mechanism. Power was cut and the lights went out, while the train continued to slide along the tracks, sending up showers of sparks from the third rail as it lost it's momentum. By the time the subway cars came to a halt, the earth had stopped shaking and everything was still, including the seven passengers.

1

1

1

Authors Notes: Thanks for your comments! I thought I would let you know straight away - No Common Allegiance is a series.

The Red Line Blues is only part one. An intro, if you will, to angst city. (I just figured you'd like to know that.)

Chapter Three: Pardon me while I panic.