"Good work. Both of you." Zephyr paced the room, eying the documents. "You work well together."
Elphaba took a subconscious step away from Avaric, too aware of the truth in that statement.
After her gesture, a peace had formed between them. He'd shut the door on the next room (and not just physically), but she could feel his gratitude in the sincerity of his tone, the lack of teasing.
She saw now. Whatever his faults, they were cut from the same cloth. They knew what this job took.
And took, and took, and took, endlessly. But they gave it. That was the sacrifice. For the greater good. A life to save whole species.
"We've done a little more intelligence on your shipment, too."
She blinked, surfacing from her thoughts. "And?'
"The shipment is not the asset. But it is dangerous. You'll still intercept, but, not to recover."
"So the asset's still lost?" Avaric broke in, disappointed.
"Yes, yes. But we've lost a pebble to gain a mountain." Zephyr swatted away his concerns like flies and nodded toward the pages on the table. "The trains that are bringing this delivery are the weak point. They'll be unguarded until the cargo is loaded."
"So what? We board the trains? They'll search before they load, right?"
"Remove the bolts," he produced a schematic, "here, here, and here." She frowned, but Zephyr supplied the answer before she could ask. "The strain will be slow to let them gather speed before breaking loose."
"That's fairly cavalier treatment of a dangerous weapon. Are you certain it's nothing flammable or explosive? How can you be certain what else the train is carrying?"
Zephyr didn't answer, his penetrating eyes burning into her.
"Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die." The quote fell on her oddly from Avaric's voice, numb and expressionless behind his mask.
Zephyr gave a sage nod. "Quite. Get it done."
Elphaba scanned for security, but Zephyr had been right. The trainyard was abandoned. At least for now, with the sun burning a distinctive lunchtime feel into the sky. Half a dozen engines nestled side by side on the tracks, where double switches crisscrossed the ground into a shining spider web in the bright sun.
Avaric slipped through the fence first and held it open for her. "Which one?"
"Number 27."
They scanned the lot, and found their train the second closest to the platform. The calm, quiet feel to the job unnerved her. Too easy, her brain worried. Too easy. It was almost a relief when an attendant came through, scanning the undercarriage of the closest train.
They edged toward their train, careful not to make a noise. She'd nearly reached the door when the man turned. "Oy!"
Avaric hauled her to him, and this time she didn't fight him. The kiss felt convincing, to say the least, as he pinned her to the warm metal side. Their audience laughed and tossed out a halfhearted, "You folks ain't s'posed to be back here. S'dangerous."
Avaric only moved to her neck in answer, and she tilted her head back, the picture of seduced.
"Naugh'y, naugh'y." But he chuckled and continued on his route.
Avaric was a terrific actor, and she could see where he got his arrogance. Not that she would be blind enough to fall for it, of course, but she could see the appeal. Particularly when he grazed his lips over her collarbone like that.
She peeked up, and saw the attendant had made it halfway down the bend, far enough not to notice their absence. She tapped Avaric's shoulder, and he swung back to push the door of the train inward. He hopped up and pulled her after. "Is that your only move? Kiss some girl?"
"If it works, why fix it?"
The first bolt waited between the first two cars, and they bee-lined for the back door. "And when you don't have a girl with you?"
He shrugged. "I usually find there's a girl in need of kissing just about everywhere one goes."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you do." She knelt to scan for the bolt.
While they'd both memorized the schematics, she found herself wishing she had the paper to refer to. A ring of bolts in various sizes held the cars together.
She concentrated. Third from the left. "Here."
"Oz, you're fast." Avaric passed her the wrench, and she tried to pry the bolt loose. But it held tight.
He bent beside her, taking the wrench, and grimaced as he turned the tool against the stubborn metal. His biceps tightened and jumped beneath his sleeve, and she found herself idly wondering if all men were gifted with superior upper body strength.
The bolt popped free, and a few quick turns later, Avaric had it slipped in his pocket. They moved through the second car, scanning for another door out. Not in that car. Or the next. They entered the fifth, and she spotted the door near the back.
"Down," Avaric hissed, swinging her under him.
They rolled off the seat cushions and into the tiny aisle between rows of seats. He covered her with his body, tucking both of them as far out of view as the metal supports would allow.
"Face in the window," he hissed in her ear.
The door clicked open and shut, and footsteps tapped closer. She pressed harder into the narrow space, trying to give Avaric some clearance. Face to the ground, she could only see the shoes from below the other rows of chairs. Shiny and black.
And moving fast.
They clipped along up to their row, and then past without stopping. The person must have been in a hurry and not bothered to look down. Avaric sagged against her with a breath of relief. Then he hauled himself up and offered her a hand.
They disembarked quickly, before any more incidents, and he set to work on the bolt on the outer edge of the wheel another car down, just short of halfway.
Elphaba left him to slide under the train two cars down. The narrow gap made it far better suited for her than bulkier Avaric. She shimmied along in an alligator crawl, careful to maneuver her knees over the railings and her head under the train.
When she reached the next junction, she rolled onto her back, squinting in the relative darkness. She reached a tentative hand up. Her fingers bumped over the parts, sliding over the grime and grease. There. The bolt was jammed in tightly, a thin crust of rust flaking under her fingernails.
"Fae?" Avaric hissed from the side, and she called back so he could place her.
"Here." He slid the wrench toward her, and it skidded to within an arms reach from her. She had to admire his aim. She probably would have lobbed that thing hard enough to slam into his skull.
She stretched a hand out for it and clasped it to her. Blindly she felt for the bolt again, and attached the wrench.
She struggled to turn it. She yanked the wrench too hard, and it popped off the bolt, showering her with flakes of rust and dirt. She sputtered, wiping at her eyes with the back of her arms.
"Alright?" he called softly. She could see his feet shuffle an awkward pacing, unable to help.
"Yep." She reset the wrench and tried again. "Just wish I had," she paused to grunt in time with her twist, "your upper body strength."
"Never thought you'd willingly admit you wish you're like me."
"Your arms, baboon." She grunted again, long and hard like the twist, and she felt it start to settle in. "Just your arms."
"Um, Fae, you might want to hurry."
"Not exactly dillydallying here." She twisted as hard as she could, and the wrench shivered with the effort.
"The others are coming back." His feet picked up their pace, and she heard the faint sound of arguing from the front.
"You seen? Surely there's someone you could be kissing," she teased.
"No, the driver trying to get the men off their break. Less talking, more motivation."
"Relax." She fought another turn, twisting the wrench off again and slamming her hand into the parts beside it. She bit back a curse and clapped her smarting knuckles to her mouth before she realized what a terrible idea that was. Lips puckered, she spit out the grimy taste and went back to work. "They haven't even loaded yet."
"They're loading at the next platform, not here," he hissed back, frustrated.
She cursed.
Throwing herself into the wrench with more dedication now, she ignored the slams of her hands and scrapes to her elbows. The driver whistled, and the sound of several doors closing had Avaric calling in earnest to hurry.
"Yes!" The bolt jolted loose, and she rushed to finish.
The engine had started, and she could smell the thick smoke billowing. "Just leave it," Avaric called, no longer bothering to whisper.
"Hang on. I've almost got it." The wrench swung the bolt to teeter precariously. One more should do it.
"Damn it, just leave it. It's loose. That'll have to do."
"Hang on." She reached up, and the final turn knocked the bolt into her chest. She didn't bothering trying to find it. She twisted onto her stomach, crawling toward the exit, but the wheels were already creaking.
Damn, she'd waited too long.
She fought the sting of panic. Okay. If she laid flat, the train should just pass over. She squinted back, but the caboose seemed to have some sort of cowcatcher or steps on the back. Damn, damn.
She crawled toward the edge, head tucked as far from the train as possible. Even so, she slammed painfully on her elbows and already injured wrist. The engine inched forward, slowly gaining speed. Still, if she timed it right…
She waited until the front wheels of a compartment passed, and thrust herself out from underneath in a frantic roll for freedom. The wheels crushed over the spot an instant after her feet burst free, and she went careening into the train beside them with a heavy bang.
"Ow," she complained, a hand rubbing the spot on her head that would certainly bruise. Avaric hauled her to her feet. His hands brushed over the grime to check her for injuries. Scapes, cuts and bruises she had by the plenty, but nothing extreme.
"You are idiot," he hissed at her, snatching her tight against him. "A damn suicidal fool!"
"Haven't you ever climbed out from under a moving train?" She faked a scoff. "Pansy."
The train had picked up, ticking along the switch tracks to the platform where its cargo would be loaded. Avaric let go of all but her elbow, guiding her toward the back.
They hurried to reach the derailment point. She had no plans to let this mission be her third failure in a row. If the bolts didn't work, they'd think of something else to intercept that shipment. Whatever it took.
Their horses were waiting, and she mounted awkwardly with her fresh injuries. "How come I'm always the one taking the hits?"
"Here I thought you believed in feminism," he teased back.
The train would loop around, and Zephyr had indicated a short stretch on the eastern edge of the county just after a string of switches as the place where the bolts should finally fail. They set up camp in the trees in a bluff overlooking the area.
Avaric passed her the binoculars. She watched for a while idly. Between loading and its extra twists, the train might take minutes or hours. Telltale smoke finally showed on his second watch.
He tapped her shoulder and pointed. Back smoke streaked back from the engine like a horse's mane. Her spine straightened, and she watched it round the bend.
Here. The loose bolts should pull the cars off on this steeper curve. The first might be able to hang on, but not with the other two missing as well. Each twist should have grated on the other, popping them with the creaking strain of metal on metal.
The engine rounded, and the first car with it. Then the second car shuddered.
Its wheel left the rails, scraping along the ground beside it. Sparks shot off from where the undercarriage dragged over the metal rails, and within another few seconds, the weight of its load caused the engine to jackknife.
The train crumpled like a child's toy, the cars in terrifying angles sparking down the track. Without intention, she caught Avaric's hand. The engine slammed into a copse of trees along the side, and the cars behind crashed together with a loud crunch.
The roaring, screeching ended as the ruin of train slid to a halt. In its place, the silence felt eerie. Then came the low screams, inhuman in their agony. The cargo was…alive? She squeezed his hand tighter, fighting a wave of regret.
But it took some sacrifices to start a revolution. And the people on that train would've done worse to an entire species. Someone had to stand up for the Animals, do what it took to save them. Whatever it took.
"Do you hear that?"
She blinked up at him, not quite wanting to answer, as if that might make it real.
"Is that…snarling?"
Her brow drew together, and she turned back to the train in horror. It wasn't just inhuman from agony. The screams were literally inhuman. Animals.