Frozen In Time - Rescue

Part XVII - One Last Break For Freedom

On Snowpiercer's side of the border, Layton stood with his own guards, the tension in the room rising by the second as they watched the door slowly begin to open. But as soon as the alarm went off, the tension in the room amped up several notches. They knew there were at least twelve guards stationed at the border. Now they knew that number may double or even triple in a matter of minutes. The fact that there was nothing they could do from their side to make the door open any faster was not helping their situation. Everyone knew it was a waiting game. No amount of force used would make the steel door open any faster, and trying to make it do so might just cause it to jam, locking it in a barely open position.

But every second it took to open, was a second more Wilford had to gather his own forces on the other side of the door.

Making use of the time as best he could, Layton tried to even out the odds, yelling out a good amount of propaganda to those on the other side, telling anyone who could hear him if they wanted safety, they would find it on Snowpiercer. That anyone who wanted to defect to their side would be welcomed. But from the sounds of fighting already starting on the other side of the door, he wasn't sure if anyone heard him or not.

But suddenly a thin, scrawny looking man pushed himself through the opening.

Five Snowpiercer guards instantly had weapons surrounding the man, who quickly put his hands in the air.

"Wait!" He stated in a nervous stutter. "I'm here to help!"

Frank Jackson quickly stepped forward, grabbing the man by the front of his shirt. "Tell me your number!" Was all he demanded of the man.

"5847490...D" The man quickly supplied.

Jackson turned to Layton as he released the man. "You can trust him. He's one of the group that have been helping Ms. Cavill and the other two stay safe."

Layton quickly turned to the man. "What's happening over there?" He asked, pointing to the door.

The man turned to the door, watching it slowly open a little bit more. "Well, in about two minutes you're going to find out, it looks like." He replied, turning back to Layton. "What YOU need to know is there are currently twelve guards. A few have already been taken out. But you heard the alarm. More are coming. Enough to overwhelm those already fighting. But three guards are already ready to defect. They'll turn on the others in the end. Wilford's Jackboots won't be expecting that, and hesitate. It'll help you get your people out. But they'll want what Ms. Cavill promised. Sanctuary on Snowpiercer."

"And they'll get it." Layton quickly promised, keeping his eye on the door.

"There's an opening on the far side of the room. That's where the Jackboots will be coming from. Wilford already designated fifteen more Jackboots to head to the border if the alarm sounded."

"Will he send more?"

The man shook his head. "He's arrogant. He thinks his numbers should take care of the problem. But that works for you."

"How?"

"Keep letting the Jackboots know anyone who wants to defect to Snowpiercer, can. Because Wilford's guards know if they fail to recapture the border, and those three escape, no guard in that room will survive."

"What do you mean?"

"Wilford will have them killed." The man gave Layton his characteristic lopsided smile. "Defect or die. Which would you choose?"

Layton had already laid out instructions to his own guards. Now he turned back to those standing waiting for the door to open enough to get through. He quickly reiterated the main goal of their being there; to help Melanie, Alex, and Hes get back to their side of the border. Once they were secure, they were to pull back to the secondary door down a narrow hallway as fast as possible and seal it once everyone was through, since it wasn't likely Wilford's Jackboots would politely stop at the border.

But he quickly added one more order, stating anyone who tried to defect or was injured from Big Alice's side was to be helped and guided to the secondary door and freedom.

Once the door was open wide enough for anyone to get through, Frank Jackson was one of the first people pushing through. Layton had opposed having the older man on the front lines. He had also pointed out that if anything went wrong and Melanie, Alex, and Hes had to abandon the attempt and pull back to a safe place on Big Alice, her enigmatic assistant was the only one who could communicate with Melanie.

But Jackson quickly countered by stating this was their last push. It was vital the three made it back to Snowpiercer in this attempt, since there would likely not be another. As such, Layton would need every able fighter he had to face down Wilford's Jackboots. He was also quick to remind the train's chancellor that from his days in the Tail, Layton knew Jackson could handle himself well enough in a fight.

And so Jackson was solidly positioned among Roche's best fighters when the doorway open enough to let even one man through.

Seeing the first body squeezing through the opening, Melanie was completely surprised to see who the person was.

"Frank!"

Jackson immediately turned to the voice. Despite his own goals, on one matter he totally agreed with Layton. First and foremost was to get their three captive citizens back on board Snowpiercer.

Jackson immediately began getting across the room as quickly as he could, making short work of one of Wilford's guards that attempted to stop him from reaching his employer.

A situation he knew could change at any moment.

But as he hurried towards her, his attention was suddenly distracted by one of the room's other occupants.

Off to the side, 'E' was quickly dispatching yet another guard in her short list since they had made contact with Wilford's Jackboots. Having watched the girl work with single minded precision with each new opponent, Melanie was surprised to see her whole focus shift the moment she laid eyes on Frank Jackson.

Both of them simply froze at the sight of the other.

But the moment was quickly cut short as hurried footsteps could be heard echoing down the main corridor to the room.

Suddenly Jackson gave the girl a quick nod and they both moved as a single unit towards the opening the Jackboots were also headed for.

As soon as the first Jackboots stepped into the room, they were set upon by the pair. Melanie was astonished at how well the pair fought together. 'E' had proven herself already several times to be a force to be reckoned with on her own. But when paired with Jackson, the two together seemed unstoppable. Each dispatched the Jackboots coming at them with frightening speed, easily taking out the first six men who entered the border area.

With weapons now in hand, neither Jackson nor 'E' seemed particularly interested in using the poles tazer capabilities, preferring to utilize their new weapons in much more effective means as they deployed them more as swords against the onslaught of men coming into the room.

But as good as they were, the two couldn't stand forever against the increasing number of Wilford's own guards. But by this time several other fighters from Snowpiercer had made it through the door and had come to join in the fight.

Casting a quick glance around the room, Jackson seemed to do a fast analysis of how the battle was going before turning his attention back to finding where Melanie was. Locating her, Jackson gave 'E' a tap to the shoulder, then quickly moved to where Melanie was trying to fend off two Jackboots who had centered their attention on her as one of the prisoners Wilford wanted retrieved at all costs.

Coming up behind the two, Jackson quickly laid them both out with a blow to one's head from the end of his pole, and a sharp elbow to the back of the neck taking out the other. Without a word, Jackson grabbed his employer by the arm and pulled her against him so he had completely control of her body, then quickly maneuvered himself back towards the now more open border door, even as guards were still pushing through it from Snowpiercer to join the fight.

As they made their way towards the door, a Jackboot quickly tried to block their retreat. Reaching out to grab Jackson, the man never even got close enough as a solid kick to the chest laid him out with enough force that Melanie was sure she heard something break.

Hurrying her again towards the border doorway, Jackson caught sight of Layton coming through the door and immediately passed Melanie off to him even as he was already turning back to rejoin the fight.

For her part, Melanie was fighting against them, not to get free, but to try and make them realize that Alex wasn't where they would be looking for her; on the ground. She screamed at Layton several times to stop trying to drag her to the door, trying to alert him, without also alerting the Jackboots, that Alex was in the vent above the door, not on the ground with everyone else.

Just as the alarm had sounded, Alex had popped her head out of the vent. She knew this wasn't going to go well and tried as fast as she could to locate her mother in the group below. Finding her, Melanie locked eyes with her daughter and signaled for her to stay put. At least where she was she was safe. Coming out of the vent now would only put her at a disadvantage as she had to dropped a good fifteen feet to the ground.

Watching the fight progress, Alex watched in admiration at how well their small group managed to hold off the Jackboots at the border, nearly taking out most of them before reinforcements arrived.

Like her mother, Alex didn't miss for a moment the silent exchange between Jackson and their enigmatic, if not reluctant, helper, 'E'.

Watching the fight progress, Alex practically cheered her mother's assistant on as he took control of that situation and worked to get Melanie safely to the border. Alex breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Jackson hand his employer off to Layton, who in turn passed her to a waiting Bennett, who ushered her quickly through the door and back to the safe arms of her beloved train.

Sensing things were coming to a head, Alex began wondering how she was going to get out of the vent. The only two people left on Big Alice they needed to get to safety were her and Hes.

Frustrated at her lack of any help to those below, Alex suddenly noted her mother's assistant quickly engage another Jackboot as he delivered a solid blow to the man's face. But as he took care of his opponent, Alex suddenly noticed another man coming up from behind which, for the first time, Jackson seemed totally unaware of.

Alex did her best to shout out a warning, but the noise in the room made it nearly impossible. But Jackson seemed to hear something from overhead as he suddenly turned to her. But that was the last thing Alex wanted the man to do. She frantically pointed behind him, but too late. The Jackboot immediately pulled a short, sharp knife from his vest and buried it in Jackson's back.

Alex thought the scream she heard was her own. But it was easily overshadowed by another.

Across the room, 'E' had been trying to locate Melanie's assistant, and, like Alex, only saw the man coming up behind him too late. As soon as the attack happened, the girl was already plowing her way across the room, brute force being dealt out to anyone who got in her way as she screamed out a single word over and over.

"Manny!"

But long before she could fight her way too him, Hes had already grabbed the man, still struggling to stay on his feet despite the wound to his side, and handed him off to another guard who quickly took him through the border door.

Below her, Alex heard her name shouted and turning, saw Hes stationed directly below her, both arms held up above him to catch her.

Knowing time was short, Alex spared only a second to see where 'E' was. She caught sight of her one last time as her own people had grabbed hold of her and were forcefully pulling her back and out of the room as she fought like a tiger to get free. All of her previous skills seemed to have vanished as she simply screamed and scratched like mad at those holding her, still screaming that single word over and over.

Quickly looking down, Alex wasted no time in launching herself head first out of the vent and into Hes' waiting arms.

Grabbing hold of her and slowing her fall as much as he could, the blacksmith finally wrapped her safely against his chest and headed through the door.

A shill pitch suddenly filled the room, which seemed to be the signal for Snowpiercer's guards that the battle's goal had been achieved and it was time to retreat.

Keeping their faces to the Jackboots, several of Snowpiercer's guards acted as a wall to block the Jackboots advance as their fellow fighters retreated. But it wasn't lost on any of Layton's own people that those most in the forefront of the Jackboots line didn't seem to be fighting Snowpiercer's guards as much as serving to hold the others back. But as soon as the last Snowpiercer guard exited the area, the guards in the forefront of the Jackboots line suddenly turned on their fellow fighters. With the element of surprise on their side, they managed to hold them off for the few precious seconds they needed to back their own way to the second door and make it through before it was slammed shut in the Jackboots faces.

On the other side of the door, Layton and Roche stood staring down at the seven men who had held off their fellow Jackboots to the end. Once through the second door, the seven had quickly dropped their weapons and were now kneeling on the floor, hands tightly clasp behind their heads.

Layton gave a deep sigh as he turned to his head of security.

"I'm guessing our population just increased by seven." He stated solemnly.

Roche shrugged. "I guess they knew a good deal when they heard it. And they did help a lot of our own guards get back safely."

Layton nodded briefly as he turned to several other guards still standing in the corridor leading to the main border area. "Take them to a holding area. Have them each seen individually for medical care. Then see that they are allowed to shower, given clean cloths, fed, and allowed to rest. Roche will come down and talk to them tomorrow."

Several of the guards got the men to their feet and quickly escorted them off.