Chapter 5
En route to Lyon, France
May 8, 1937
It had been roughly ten minutes since Jack, Mike, and their new friend Nicole had gone to grab something to eat, even though it was extremely late, closer to morning than it was to midnight. There was not anyone at all that would have taken their order aside from a sleeping waiter. Mike had woken him up, much to the older man's annoyance, who instantly, upon seeing their age, scolded them on being up too late and to get some sleep. But as always, money talks, and it only took twenty dollars to get the waiter from scolding them to taking their orders.
It was tough to order something for Elizabeth though. Mike had told them that she was a picky eater and that ordering for her would probably result in her not liking the food that he'd chosen for her. So, Mike had turned to Jack.
"Hey Jack, why don't you take this and ask Elizabeth what she wants, she's pretty picky. Don't want her to have an episode like she would when we were kids," Mike said, handing the paper menu over.
"And what about you two?" Jack asked.
"We're still deciding, I'm leaning towards an omelet myself. It is getting close to morning after all," Mike responded with a shrug,
"I think I will simply have something light, then go back to sleep," Nicole replied, deciding on the opposite of what Mike was saying he planned on doing.
"Fine, be right back," Jack responded, turning around and starting to walk forward to their own car where Elizabeth was more than likely still writing.
It wouldn't have been the first time that Elizabeth had put work and studying before food. So Jack figured that he would have to get her order, a very specific order, judging by her track record of being a picky eater. So he knew he'd have to ask her to write it down. So once he got to the train car where he knew that Elizabeth's room was in he noticed a pair of men walking into a room in the next coach over. However that didn't keep his attention. A quiet constant banging noise was emanating from the room that Elizabeth and Nicole were sharing. He could also a much quieter sound that sounded like muffled screams. Jack was not a suspicious guy, but this was not the type of thing that he couldn't not be suspicious about. So he twisted the door handle and knocked.
"Lizzy? You there?" he called, and instantly heard the sounds intensify. He then pushed the door in, and peered into the room to see that the bags belonging to Elizabeth and Nicole had their contents strewn across the floor and then continued to poke his head in to see something that shocked him.
There was Elizabeth lying on her side. Her hands were bound behind her back and a white scarf was tied between her teeth. Her eyes had an urgent pleading look in them. A chair separated her arms and hands from her back as they'd been tied originally behind her back at the table. But why this had happened and who had done this had yet to be discovered as there was a more pressing issue at hand. Her muffled squeals of distress prompted him forward instantly as she thrashed about on the floor.
"Oh my God! You alright Lizzy?" he asked as he dragged her forward a bit to get her away from the chair and then sat her up against the wall. He pulled the gag out of her mouth, and Elizabeth gasped instantly upon its removal coughing as it was removed.
"I'm…I'm okay, but they took my notebook! They threatened to kill us!" she stammered out once she could properly speak again.
Jack began working on cutting her binds, starting with her legs. But stopped upon hearing this, "What?! Who did?!"
Only one word came from her lips after he asked that.
"Nazis!"
"What?!" Jack snapped, hearing that one word but not understanding why.
"They're after the Treasure, we gotta stop them. Untie me come on!" she hurriedly ordered him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jack snapped, grabbing her by the shoulders, "You do hear what you're saying right?"
"Dammit Jack!" she snapped, "I know exactly what I'm saying, I've only been bound and gagged here for ten minutes. I have had time to think this through. I'll explain everything once we get Mike and Nicole back here."
"You'd better."
Jack took his pocket knife and cut through the ropes binding her ankles together quickly and then carefully did the same to the ropes on her wrists. It was delicate work especially since a slip of the hand could cut into her wrist and bleed her badly. That was the last thing he wanted to do to a girl he had strong feelings for. Once her binds were cut she jumped to her feet and instantly made for the door and looked both directions to see if anyone was watching.
"Come on!" she motioned, quickly ducking into the hall to make her way towards the dining carriage.
"Lizzy!" Jack snapped, charging after the furious blonde.
It didn't take long at all for them to make it into the dining carriage as Nicole and Mike were served their fresh steaming omelets. Mike looked up at his sister and instantly furrowed his brow at how sudden and quickly she had run into the carriage.
"Lizzy? I know that we were all hungry but really?" he chuckled.
"Mike this is no time for your sarcasm!" she snapped loudly getting the attention of the waiter who looked up from where he was setting up several other tables.
"Lizzy? You alright?" Nicole asked carefully, examining the flushed and rapidly breathing girl.
"No! None of us are alright!" she said, "I was just attacked, tied up, and gagged in our room by a bunch of Nazis!"
"What?! Nazis?!" Nicole shouted, standing to her feet instantly. She knew the danger in this, she as a Frenchwoman knew the dangerous history of Germany and was also sleeping in the same room as Elizabeth. It could have very easily been her that had been attacked and who knew what else.
"It's true partner, I walked in and saw her tied and gagged like someone had jumped her," Jack elaborated.
"Where are they? When I get my hands on them-," Mike snapped, standing up and slamming his napkin on the table and reached into his jacket to grab his pistol. This was his sister that had just claimed to have been assaulted and his best friend had just verified what she'd said. Now someone needed to pay.
"Mike! Wait, there's more. This wasn't just some Krauts looking to harass me because I'm some cute blonde. They were after my notes on the Treasure of Caesar, and more specifically, the Shield of Gallia. Apparently they think it's real, and that it can do what the legends say it can," Elizabeth said as she placed her hand on her brother's arm to prevent him from drawing his weapon.
"They what? They believe that?!" Jack said, not really believing that.
"They say that it is, and if what they've been doing in recent months is any indicator you can guess what they'll use it for if they end up finding it. The Germans will try to conquer the world."
"With France being the first target," Nicole whispered, realizing the danger to her own nation and more personally her father.
"Then Britain, and then America," Elizabeth said definitively, looking to her brother and Jack who were now stunned at this train of thought and what the imagined consequences might be.
"Are you serious?" Mike asked, "Do you honestly think that a big green ruby can protect you from anything? And that the Nazis could even use it?"
"Yes I do. If we don't do something to stop them then think of what could happen. They could attach that thing to some super weapon and they'd be unstoppable. If we don't stop them then who will?" she said.
"I will," Nicole said, "Real or not those Germans are after something that is a danger to my country, I will not let them accomplish their goal. With or without you, I will try."
There was a moment of silence as Mike and Jack just shuffled their feet and thought of the situation, what the consequences would be if they did nothing, and what the consequences would be if they did do something. If they did nothing there was still a chance that the Nazis aboard the train might just try and kill them anyway, to silence them. If they tried stopping them there was at least a chance they could succeed and live. Both guys knew either way, they were in danger, but if Elizabeth was proven right then the danger wouldn't be limited to the four of them.
"Alright, let's do it."
"Okay, let's find those Nazi creeps," Elizabeth said firmly, pounding her fist into an open palm.
"Yeah…where are they?" Jack asked.
"Front carriage," the waiter called out.
"Huh-what?" Mike asked, not realizing that the man had just heard everything.
"The men you are talking about, the one lead by the blonde haired German. He is in the very front of the carriage on the right side with his own room."
"Oh, okay, thanks," Jack said, moving towards the front after drawing his pistol.
"Wait!" Nicole ordered, "I'm going too."
"You girls stay back here," Jack said, holding his hand up to say that they were not to come.
"You're not doing this without me," Elizabeth said, "I've got a bone to pick with that guy!"
"No you can't come with us Elizabeth!" Mike groaned, "It's too dangerous."
"Oh and you two can go?! As if, suck it up boys!" Elizabeth snapped.
"Give me a moment to go back to my room, I have a pair of pistols that I brought for a situation like this," Nicole said.
"You suspected that Nazis would track us and steal my journal? While planning to take over the world?" Elizabeth asked, arching an eyebrow at her.
"Fine, I brought them to deter pickpockets, now come Lizzy, you can borrow one."
The two girls quickly hurried back to their carriage with Jack and Mike right behind them. Their rooms were on the way, and as they made their way forward Nicole pointed out that they would need to pack the one or two bags they had with them because they may not be able to return to pick them back up. Thankfully the bags that they'd brought were tough ones, each had a backpack and a satchel packed with clothes, their passports, notes, and a few camping items. But also in Nicole's satchel were two identical pistols, Walther PP's, pocket pistols. After a brief instruction Nicole taught Elizabeth how to load, aim, and operate the small and light weapon. Elizabeth eagerly took the quick Pistol-101 class in and hid the fact that she was uneasy that she might have to actually aim and fire the thing at someone with the intent to kill or maim. Mike and Jack quickly got their backpacks put on and strapped their pistols down within easy reach and waited just at the door to the carriage that was in between them and their opponents. Then after a quick couple moments they heard the door to the girls' room open and the now armed group was ready.
"I'll lead, stay quiet," Mike said intently, "We sneak up there, grab the notebook, and try and find a way off of the train before they realize we were even there."
"Why do you lead?" Nicole asked with an offended tone.
"Because I'm in charge, I'm the oldest," Mike responded.
"Oh and how old are you again Mike?" Nicole snapped.
"Twenty thank you very much."
"And have you ever tried sneaking up on a group of armed men on a train in the late hours of night?" she asked.
"Have you?" Mike snapped back.
"Oh get a room you two," Jack grumbled as he shoved Mike back, "Stay behind me and stay quiet," he growled at Mike and Nicole and opened the door to begin making their way towards where they needed to go.
After a moment's hesitation the rest of the group followed anxiously, carefully making their way into the carriage that held no one they needed to worry about, but was the basic buffer between them and the Nazis' coach. At the extremely late hour of four forty-five there was no one awake to see the armed teens sneaking down the hall on the side of the car. In this part of the coach there was usually rooms on the side of the coach with a hall spanning down the length of with the window on the opposite side being the wall. The pitch black of the French countryside flashed by their window without hardly a single pinprick of light shining out in the darkness. The hall was dimmed quite a bit, allowing them to be less conspicuous. So without any difficulty they reached the point of no return.
"This is it," Jack said, "There's still time to turn back."
"Oh shut up and get on with it," Elizabeth snapped.
"Open the door," Mike nodded to Jack who looked through the window to see that the dimmed lights revealed no one moving about and that they were clear to go.
"Here we go," Jack breathed as he slid the door open and then moved quickly with revolver in hand to open the door and slipped inside.
He winced slightly as he heard the howling of the wind and the loud chugging noises of the train outside and beckoned everyone else inside as quickly as possible. First Mike ran in, then Nicole and then Elizabeth right behind her and left Jack to shut the door. The loud noises from outside ceased, and thankfully hadn't awakened anyone from what they could tell. Everyone had a gun in hand by now, with Jack holding his in his right hand, hammer drawn back ready to fire. Mike was beginning to get jumpy as they crept forward, one foot in front of another. Elizabeth stayed mere feet behind Nicole who seemed to be the calmest of them all, including Jack, as they made it to the end of the train. This was where the guy who had taken Elizabeth's notebook was supposed to be. However, now that they were here not one of them had a clue as to what to do next.
"What now?" Jack asked, "We're here."
"Allow me," Nicole whispered as she tucked her gun into her pants and then pulled a small hair pin from her hair and kneeled down to start picking the lock, "Keep an eye out for me."
"Have you ever done this before?" Elizabeth asked her as she made her way next to her.
"A few times, to sneak into and out of the house one must be able to pick a lock."
"Nice to know you are a girl of many talents," Mike whispered flashing her a smirk that she just shook her head at and ignored.
"This shouldn't take long at all…" she trailed off as she picked the lock. As she continued the warm glow of the early morning sun began to light the sky on the horizon.
"Hurry up," Jack hissed, seeing their time beginning to run short.
"Done," Nicole replied triumphantly, getting the sliding door to nudge over a bit, "You two stay here, I'll get the notebook."
"I know what it looks like, I'll help," Elizabeth said, moving aside as the sliding wood door was pulled over gently to allow them entrance.
"No, don't!" Mike said, grabbing Nicole's hand.
"Where would you rather us ladies be? In the hall where all those Germans will come running or inside with one German at our mercy?" Nicole cooed, getting the reaction she wanted and proceeded into the single room where she and Elizabeth could clearly see that the man in question was soundly asleep on a bed in the wall near the door.
"There," Elizabeth pointed, seeing her notebook out in the open.
Elizabeth carefully crept over to the table where the single leather-bound notebook was still sitting with a larger cleaner book sitting next to it with half-finished German translations written into it. Elizabeth knew that the Germans hadn't gotten all of it written down judging from the page that it was on from this. So she proceeded to reach out and snatch it right from under the nose of the sleeping Nazi who'd humiliated her by catching her off-guard, tying and gagging her to a chair, threatening her friends, her brother, and her. She couldn't wait to see his face when he realized he'd been outwitted.
However, she knew that seeing him awake was not something that should happen. She remembered the Luger that he'd pulled out to silence her when he'd first appeared. That pistol sat in a holster on a coat hanger within easy reach of the German who was still fast asleep. But that didn't last long, as soon as Elizabeth wrapped her fingers around the journal she noticed that her weight was being throw to the side as the train turned. This allowed light to flood into the room, and right into the face of the sleeping German. And he, it turned out, was a light sleeper when light was involved.
"Mmm…schon morgen?" he grumbled in his sleep as he rubbed his eyes.
This made Elizabeth gasp slightly, and snatched her notebook quickly and recklessly and knocked over an empty bottle on the table. And this did the trick to set off the alarm.
"Alarm!" the man shouted instantly but was cut off by Nicole bashing him in the nose with a closed fisted blow that shut him up and made him grab onto his now bleeding nose.
"Shit!" she hissed, pulling her borrowed pistol up and aimed it right at the man's face which was now staring at her in pure fury at what she and Nicole had just accomplished.
"You are dead mein fraulein," he hissed staring at the pistol and its holder with contempt, knowing that he'd gotten the call out and he and they could hear the shouting of the men in the carriage, "You should have taken my advice, a pity."
"Yeah well I take to threats too kindly," Elizabeth remarked, grabbing the Luger and its holster from the coat hanger, "I think I'll take this, I need one of my own anyway, and this is just my style."
Elizabeth handed the Walther over to Nicole who smiled at the guts exhibited by her friend and now held the two pistols in both hands awkwardly. Then a shout came from around the corner.
"Ladies time to go!" Jack said, and then a single shot rang out.
Elizabeth and Nicole instantly knew that this was not over, and scrambled to leave as the German scowled at them confidently knowing that his men would, more than likely capture or kill every one of them. The shouting in German was now a clear indicator that there were several more than four Germans on board the train and all were up and ready to go. Which meant that for the three of them, it too was time to go.
"Let's go!" Mike ordered and began running towards the exit but a German burst from his door wearing black trousers and white shirt and fired a single round from his Luger at them.
The round missed wide and shattered a window and now the smoke from the train began seeping in with the cold howling wind.
"Fuck, not that way!" Mike said, firing back with his powerful Colt 1911 and forced the German into cover as they ducked back to the front of the train.
"We're trapped back here!" Elizabeth said, seeing that the door was locked that would have led them to the coal car.
To that Jack just aimed his revolver and fired into the door handle and with a small shower of sparks and splinters turned into a swinging door.
"Go! Get on the top of the train and run to the back!" Jack ordered, turning and firing his revolver again at a German as he tried leaning around the doorway of the room he was in.
Elizabeth was the first one out, followed by Nicole. But as Jack made a move to follow them a bullet shattered the glass behind him and he took cover as Mike fired back.
"Come on!" Elizabeth ordered, "We gotta go!"
"We'll be right behind ya, don't worry about us! Remember? We're Americans, a Cowboy and a Gangster, this is practically our day job," Mike said confidently, winking to Nicole who grinned at the proclamation.
"Come Lizzy," Nicole beckoned, climbing up a ladder that would let her run on top of the carriages.
Elizabeth hesitantly followed her, and the two of them started running carefully on top of the coaches, their boots making loud thuds that the men inside could clearly hear. And so with the cover of two men three of the Germans stormed down into the hallway and made an effort to give chase. One of them carried an MP40 submachine gun.
"Come on!" Nicole said as she jumped onto the dining coach. As soon as Elizabeth joined her a roar of automatic weapons fire erupted behind her and a shower of splinters sprayed into the air where she had been not a moment before.
"Run!" Nicole beckoned and the two of them sprinted down the top of the moving coach as the rising sun illuminated them as they endeavored on a course of action only seen in the movies and imaginations of Wild West authors. Bullets tore through the roof as the Germans tried desperately to stop their escape to the back. Nicole had had enough as soon as she got to the next coach and stopped and aimed one of her pistols down into the doorway and waited for one of the Germans to show his face. And as soon as the first one ran to pull open the door Nicole fired three shots that hammered into the man's upper chest and threw him back into the dining hall. But the other two returned fire with an MP40 and a Luger making her nearly slip and fall as she tried avoiding the bullets.
But as then she got up and ran forward to join Elizabeth who was at the caboose already, kneeling down behind the small house looking structure on top. But then she stumbled and tripped onto one of the stovepipes on the roof and fell to the roof with painful hit to her knee. At the same time the train went into another turn and she was spun to the side and rolled. With a terrified scream she nearly fell to the rapidly passing grasses and rocks below if not for a pipe running on top of the edge that her backpack snagged onto. She was hanging by the straps of her pack, her legs flailing desperately as the ground rushed by her menacingly. The wind bit at her face as the ask from the train's smoke stack stung her eyes a bit.
Then, much to her surprise and terror, a hand smashed the glass next to her head and she felt her shirt being grabbed and pulled through the glass. She grabbed onto her pack at the last moment and brought it down right onto the head of the German who had pulled her from dangling on the side of the train.
"Unhand me!" she shouted desperately, and felt her pistol smacked to the floor and then felt something similar happen to her face and was thrown back onto the floor. The lock of a weapon being loaded shot her eyes to the barrel of the MP40 aiming right between her eyes. But then a single and rather unexpected thing happened that neither she nor the Nazis had seen coming. A loud war cry emanating from the outside signaled the two of them to look out the window they'd just smashed. Two boots worn by a certain blonde haired girl met their faces with a smash that sent them into the wall.
"That's what happens when you-," Elizabeth started but the sound of bullets snapping be her head surprised her and made her and Nicole duck down.
"No time for your American trash talk! Come on!" Nicole beckoned.
The two of them continued their cat and mouse game with their pursuers and continually evaded the Nazis attacking them. But in the front of the train it was still a fight. Jack and Mike were still firing and ducking down as bullets whistled and snapped past their heads and shattered the veneer wood they took cover behind. Jack and Mike knew that they had to try and keep the Nazis occupied so that the girls could make a run for it to the rear of the train. But as the pounding of the bootsteps alerted everyone present as to where the girls were headed two Germans dove forward and fired their Lugers at Mike and Jack who ducked back as five rounds tore at them. Before one of the men could get away Mike fired a single heavy forty five caliber round the lifted the man up off the ground and slammed into the wall. Mike whooped with triumph as he fired again but realized that he was out of ammo.
But as the click of the empty gun sounded out Mike was struck from out of nowhere by a fist that came plowing into his face from around the corner. As he hit the ground next to Jack he remembered the single man in the room next to him was still there. The man rushed around the corner, intent on finishing the job. Thankfully Jack was there and a left hook met the German in the face and sent him sprawling back. Mike scrambled to his feet as Jack dove forward, and took cover behind the doorway that had not a moment ago been where the girls had snatched the journal.
"How many?!" Mike asked loudly as he slammed a clip into his pistol.
"At least four, not counting this feller!" Jack responded as he aimed and fired again, and hit a German right in chest and saw him crumple into the hall, "Make that three."
"Jack!" Mike yelled as his friend tried to reload.
But when Jack looked up he was already being tackled right into the room he was taking cover inside of. He felt himself pinned to the ground and a fist came rocketing into his face from the German leader and he struggled to bring his right arm up to block the next one. He the swung his pistol barrel into the guy's face and slammed into wall with the force of the blow and then lifted his legs and kicked him clean through it. But unfortunately, as the man tumbled through the small hole in the wall Jack saw that one of the German henchman was inside and holding a submachine gun and aimed right through the hole and fired. Bullets tore up the carpet as Jack rolled to the edge of the wall to get out of the line of fire.
The German chased him down, and soon had the deadly weapon a foot away from Jack's face, and Jack stared at what he thought was sure to be the weapon that was going to end his life.
"No you don't Jerry!"
The sound of a gunshot ran out and the weapon tumbled down into Jack's lap as a small spurt of blood trickled onto his clothes from Mike's perfectly timed gunshot.
"Thanks pal," Jack said with a heavy breath.
"No time to thank me yet, come on!" he said, and then grabbed the German weapon and moved into the doorframe as he could hear the Germans starting to reload, "I've got an idea, follow me."
Without much warning than that Mike took off at a full sprint, firing the automatic weapon from the hip as he went, shattering the wood and sending splinters everywhere. It was a perfect way to make the Germans duck and gave Jack and Mike the perfect way to make an attempted escape. They charged through the door into the hall of the next carriage. Gunshots and yelling came from directly behind them. Mike stopped one last time to empty the magazine and force the Germans to duck one last time and gave the two of them the final seconds needed to run like hell.
As the two guys ran like Olympic sprinters the two girls were running out of places to run. They'd made it to the caboose with two Germans still armed and dangerous right on their tails. The two of them ducked down behind a stack of crates that was sitting on both sides of the caboose and waited. But they continued to hear gunfire behind them, which now gave them the time to realize that the boys were still fighting the majority of the Germans. But their thoughts were cut short when the door they'd locked behind them began shuddering as the Germans on the other side pounded at it, trying to gain entry. They both raised their weapons, and waited.
"This will be easy Lizzy," Nicole stated as the shouting continued, "They have to come through that door. We'll be able to easily pick them off."
"If you say so," Elizabeth responded and aimed her stolen Luger at the shaking door.
But then a hole was shot through the wood, splintering part of the board the hole was in. Then another shot and a scream. Then voices came from the other side.
"Lizzy! Nicole! Open up!"
"Mike!" Elizabeth shouted, running to open the door and let in her brother and Jack.
As soon as she opened the door Mike stormed in with Jack right behind him, firing his revolver at the coach they'd just exited. Bullets tore past them, and everyone inside ducked down into cover with Nicole and Mike firing back as Jack grabbed Elizabeth and yanked her down and threw his body over her for protection from the shrapnel from all of the fire coming at them.
"We gotta get off this train!" Nicole stated, making her way to the rear of the caboose and kicked open the door.
"What jump?!" Mike asked, "Are you crazy?!"
"It's either jumping or being turned into Swiss Cheese. Nothing against the Swiss, they're fine people but I like being Monterey Jack thank you very much," Nicole snapped.
"Whatever, we're gonna do can we hurry things along?" Jack asked.
"I vote we jump," Elizabeth called out, getting out from under Jack's protective human shield.
Bullets tore into the caboose once more, and that made up Mike's mind, "Alright, we jump, girls you first!" he ordered, moving back and covering them alongside Jack.
"Go!" Jack yelled.
Nicole was already at the edge and with Elizabeth right behind her she said a quick prayer and took a deep breath before jumping into the cool early morning air. With Elizabeth less than a second behind they both hit a steep embankment and instantly began rolling down the twenty foot high hill in the wet dew covered grass and weeds. They each hit and fell onto a few pointy sticks, rocks and other items but by the time they stopped rolling and sliding they were able to catch a glimpse of Jack and Mike both tumbling down the hill about fifty yards away, much less gracefully. However, their trip didn't end dry like theirs had. Instead, a small creek bordered by shrubs and trees awaited the two guys who fell face first into its cold waters.
"Mike, Jack!" Elizabeth yelled, seeing her brother and friend falling off the train.
Both she and Nicole rushed to the creek to see Jack helping Mike out of the water, sopping wet. The two of them were not happy at all, and made that quite clear. Mike looked up at Nicole was stifling giggles at their condition and along with Elizabeth were both silently relieved they were alright. Everyone was okay, they'd made it. But that left some unfinished business for Mike, who wasn't happy at all about being soaking wet in the cold early morning.
"Jump huh?"
And there's the second of hopefully many action scenes to come. I worked for a long time on this over the Thanksgiving Holiday, and had managed a couple minutes to finish up the editing portion of it before I went to bed. Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
Please leave a review sharing your thoughts on it and what all you think of the story thus far.
Next Chapter Preview: Indiana Jones has to track down some kids who are now in way over their heads, and worse still, he has competition.
