Frozen In Time - Rescue

Part III - Contact

Walking back into the engine room, Layton dropped a small communicator on the table in front of his second-in-command.

"Well?"

"He's over confident." Melanie replied. "He knows there's little we can do to force him to return either one of them."

Layton looked around the group gathered, consisting of himself, Melanie, Bennett, Roche, Till, and Melanie's assistant, Frank Jackson.

"Suggestions?"

"I still say we go with your plan." Melanie answered. "A clandestine attack. There's more than one way onto that train."

"And who would you suggest we send." Layton asked, already knowing her answer.

"I didn't just build Snowpiercer, Layton. I built Big Alice also. She was a prototype, but basically the same. Just smaller. We just need to figure out a way to get onto Big Alice. Then I can find Alex and Hephaestus, and be back before Wilford knows I'm there."

This time Bennett spoke up. "First we need to know where they are. Even if the plan is to go over to Big Alice covertly, we need to know where we're going. Big Alice may not be as large as Snowpiercer, but she's big enough to keep us chasing our tails over there for days looking for just two people."

Melanie turned to Layton. "What about the brig area?"

But Layton shook his head. "Wilford in no fool. Alex is his card in the hole and Hes is too important to risk in an obvious location. He'll keep them somewhere else. Likely separated."

Frank Jackson slowly stepped forward. "I believe I may be of some assistance in this part of the plan." He stated in a non-to-committal tone.

Layton turned his attention to the man. "How?"

The man appeared more than a little reluctant to offer his help, but seemed to decide in the end it was worth the risk.

"I...have a contact on Big Alice..."

"A contact?" Layton asked in surprise. "Since when?"

Jackson pulled out a small box and laid it on the table next to Layton's communicator. While undoubtedly another communicating device, it was slightly larger and looked a good deal more sophisticated.

"Since both trains left their respected stations." He replied, pulling up slightly as he faced Melanie. "You were not the only one, Ms. Cavill, who left someone behind. My contact was suppose to meet me at the station. But the train left prematurely and they did not make it on board. But we still had our communicating devices. Whenever the trains came close to each other, we could, through a series of short coded messages, let the other know we were still alive."

Layton's expression switched from curiosity to anger. "You knew...for years...Big Alice was hunting Snowpiercer?"

Jackson straightened his frame once more. "I knew there was another train out there, Mr. Layton. It's purpose I was totally unaware of."

Melanie was less interested in what her assistant had been up to in the past than Layton. "Could your contact help find Alex and Hes?"

"I can only ask. The choice as to whether or not to lend their assistance is solely their's."

Layton kept his stare fixed on the man, promising himself when this was all over, he and Melanie's personal assistant were going to have a very long talk. "Ask."

Jackson gave Layton a gentlemanly nod. "It may take a moment." He replied. "And I can't use the communicator. With the trains this close, all communications can be picked up too easily."

"So what's your method? It's a little cold outside for carrier pigeons."

The man gave him a small smile, then turned and headed for the access to the subtrain lines. "I will need to establish contact first." He stated. "That may take anywhere from an hour to the rest of the day."

Holding a hand up to keep Layton from following the man, Melanie hurried after him. "I'll let you know how it goes."

Melanie rode next to the man all the way to the last stop of the subtrain, which was just before the border. The access came up through car 991. But Jackson stayed in the tunnels of the subtrain as he and Melanie made their way closer to the border.

As they walked, Jackson seemed to keep most of his attention focused on the pipes that ran along the walls. Eventually he stopped in the corridor and ran his hand over one of them. Seemingly satisfied he had the right pipe, he turned and started to climb a nearby access ladder to the next level.

With a slight inward shrug, Melanie followed him.

Once on the catwalk of the next level, Jackson quickly located another series of pipes and seemed to quickly work his way through them until he found the one he wanted and began following it down the walkway, getting steadily closer to the border.

Just as Melanie was sure they were gong to run into the steel wall that signaled the end of Snowpiercer, Jackson stopped.

Reaching into his upper pocket, he pulled out a small, thin tube shaped piece of metal, not much large than a pen. Reaching over to the tube, he quickly tapped out a series of three quick taps and one short one. As soon as he was done he reached into his pocket again and extracted a small piece of wire with two objects attached to either end. Melanie quickly recognized the one end as an earpiece, which Jackson quickly confirmed by seating it securely in his left ear. The other end looked like a simple circular piece of fabric. This Jackson took and wrapped around the pipe itself, fixing its ends together so they securely stayed wrapped around the pipe.

Melanie stood watching him.

"Now what?" She ventures after a moment.

"We wait." Came the stoic reply.

The wait wasn't a long one. Within a matter of minutes the same series of taps echoed back. It was so soft Melanie barely heard it. But Jackson stood silently listening to the taps through his earpiece. At the end, the series repeated the last three taps.

Jackson gave the smallest smile to Melanie. "We were in luck." He stated. "My contact was at their work station today."

Melanie watched as the man suddenly tapped out a rapid series of communication through the pipe. She couldn't begin to understand how the person on the other end understood the message, as quickly as it was delivered. But within a matter of minutes, the same coded tapping replied in the same rapid fire speed down the pipe.

After a few moments, as Jackson simply stood staring at the pipe, Melanie ventured a question. "Was that the answer?"

Jackson turned to her. "My contact said they are not aware of where the two are being kept. But they are checking."

"How long will that take?"

Jackson shrugged. "It could take a few minutes. A few hours. A few days."

"So we just wait?"

The man seemed to consider the question with some irritation. "I've spent a great deal of my free time down here, Ms. Cavill. I am quite used to it. However, you are welcome to leave if you wish."

Melanie sighed as she settled in on a makeshift seat, wrapping her jacket tighter about herself. She was used to her assistant's sometimes abrupt manner. While to others it may at time seems rude, she understood it was more his own impatience over a matter than anything else.

After about two hours of sitting in the cold of the corridor, Melanie found herself suddenly jarred from a half sleep by her assistant's movement. Jackson had suddenly leapt up and had a hand pressed over his left ear as he worked to decipher the message. When the tapping stopped, he gave a disgruntled sound as he pulled back.

"The last part was unclear." He stated. "It was your daughter either being in her room or 'a room'. It simply wasn't clear enough to hear."

To Melanie the answer to the problem seemed obvious. "Can't you asked them to repeat that part?"

But Jackson shook his head as he pulled back from the pipe. "Messages are never repeated. To asked for such would be a clear sign something was wrong and all communication would cease."

"For how long?"

Jackson turned to her. "For my contacts safety, I wouldn't try again unless they indicated it was safe to reconnect."

"And what did they say about Hes?"

But Jackson was already up and moving, directing her out of the area ahead of him. "Let's return to the engine room first. I think you've been sitting in this cold long enough."