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Chapter 14

Barriers to Break

1740 – Undisclosed Location

Elvis and Spanner were preparing to breach the eleventh car when bullets began to rip through the connecting door, shattering glass into a mosaic of pieces.

"Fuck !" Elvis spat, hitting the floor and rolling over for coverage as did Spanner, who cried out,

"Everyone! Stay down! Stay as low as possible!"

Startled gasps and screams filled the enclosed space. Passengers pitched themselves low, flinging arms over their heads, desperately trying to shield themselves.

"We 'ave heavy contact. Be careful how ya get to us but get 'ere ASAP!" Elvis said over comms brushing fragments of glass from his hair.

"Roger," crackled back at him.

"You are making a fatal mistake!" a male voice called out from the far end of car eleven. Each word punctuated as a punishing threat.

Elvis chuckled sardonically. "Nah. You already did pal, when ya tried to take this train."

His nemesis laughed. "Oh….but I did take this train."

Elvis reloaded his pistol, forcefully ramming the magazine upward with the palm of his hand and said, "Not yet." He looked up and saw his trailing teammates behind cover at the rear of the aisle. "Prepare to move," he voiced into comms, nodding at Spanner. The two took turns firing repeatedly into car eleven providing cover for Spunky and Jackson to advance and join them. Return fire from within eleven ripped through seat cushions sending fragments of material and plastic flying. The passengers rekindled their screams, some trying to muffle their ears. The acrid scent of gun powder filtered through the air as spent shells pinged off the floor. Several errant shots struck the overhead lighting fixtures, shortening the circuitry and rendering the passenger cars without artificial lighting.

Elvis tried to sneak a peek into eleven only to quickly draw back as bullets blistered into the door frame sparking next to his cheek. "Pricks!" he growled, crouching onto his heels. "Listen in. They 'ave the same field of vision we 'ave," he said into comms. "Try to crawl over the seats best as ya can. We'll continue coverage."

"Copy boss," Spunky said in response.

"On three. One…two…..three….." Elvis ticked off then he and Spanner took aim down the aisle of car eleven whilst Spunky and Jackson shimmied over seat backs and passengers. The return fire from the targets intensified and Elvis became concerned the bastards would soon employ a hostage to dissuade the team. "Our asset is in twelve. We're getting through 'at door boys," he said.

Xxxxx

1750 – Hereford, UK

Georgie looked at her watch. Her eyes drifted to Daniel propelling himself across the lounge floor with a rapid crawl. Her mind flashed to Elvis, imagining that is how he was as a child, determined to get to that toy, that goal. Was he any closer to stopping the nightmare? How was Laura faring? This entire experience will be life altering for the child. Georgie shuddered out of her thoughts when she heard Daniel's high-pitched squeal when he reached the toy car. She smiled and closed her eyelids, pressing shut, squinting them shut. She prayed that when she opened them again her worries would soon be behind her.

Xxxxx

1755 – Undisclosed Location

"On me boys." Elvis pulled the pin on the small canister and tossed it underhanded into car eleven. The concussive burst of sound and flash of light terrified the passengers but it provided a haze of cover for the Special Forces team to advance. There was a volley of return fire, the muzzle flash eerily penetrating through the smoke. Elvis rolled his torso around the doorframe, muscled arms extended as he fired repeatedly right and left to the back walls . The thud of downed bodies gave him pause. Three bullets seared over the top of his head and he dove sideways between seats. Spanner landed on his belly answering the bullet fire with a volley of his own. Then it was quiet. Everyone's ears were throbbing from the intense percussion of gun battle. Smoke swirled throughout the passenger car. Wary coughs and groans could be heard but there was no movement. Spanner crawled forward. Jackson was perched with his sniper rifle ready to pick off the slightest threat.

Elvis crouched out of his position, joining Spanner as they inspected the downed targets. Elvis pressed his comms mic, "We're clear."

Spunky darted up the aisle and said, "Everyone out of here! Move back into the other carriages."

"Any wounded?" Jackson asked watching several go past him. He pulled a first aid kit from a cabinet.

"Cuts and bruises mostly it appears, perhaps some flesh grazes" a man offered taking the kit from Jackson. "I am a physician. I see I have my work cut out for me."

"Better than the alternative," Jackson said pressing a strong hand onto his forearm.

"Thankfully yes." The physician said seeing a man holding a kerchief on a woman's brow and he moved along with them.

Once all four operatives came together Elvis said, "We good?"

"Affirmative," Jackson said watching the last person settle into car number ten.

Elvis moved down the middle of the aisle and in between two seats as Jackson passed by. Peering out the window and looking up at the utility lines Elvis said into comms, "Hello, this is sierra foxtrot two seven preparing to breach asset, over."

"Copy two seven. We are on standby. Over."

Elvis looked at his watch, 1800 hours. The second hand ticking away the time like the motion of the train itself. At 1830 Duvall had standing orders to destroy the track. Elvis had to let command know their progress. They were nearing Paddington. Elvis' heartbeat pounded along with the second hand. His blood ran cold, deadly, this would end now.

"Let's see how he fancies first class," Spanner said as Elvis moved in alongside of him.

"Copy 'at. We'll give 'em fuckin first class. Prepare to breach." The captain said. All four positioned themselves around the door. "Breach!"

Spunky punched the release to the intermediate gangway opening what little was left to the door. Spanner looked down to assess the location of the retract bars. The track beneath them appeared like fluid metal as it whisked by. The rumbling loud and shuddering.

"It's now or never mate," Elvis said as Spanner looked up at him.

"It's gonna work yeah?" Spanner said.

"Let's find out."

"Thought you'd say something like that." Spanner said with a grin.

Elvis chuckled then wedged his pistol inside his waist band. "Time to get this party started."

He crossed over to the twelfth car they had to breach. First class car number one. There were passengers inside and their lethal asset. Fortunately he had been lucky. To his knowledge there were no civilian casualties. Now, the stakes were higher. The asset would be desperate. Spanner followed him. Jackson slung his rifle behind his back and grabbed hold of the metal rung ladder on the side of the car, grunting as he climbed up hand over hand. Spunky was preparing to move over when shots began to pierce through the door leaving large bore distortions in the metal. The bullets pinged as they ricocheted in the small open space, sending hot sparks all around.

"Fuck me!" Spunky groaned, retreating backward, dragging his left leg.

"Talk to me Spunks!" Elvis shouted across the gangway.

"I'm hit. It's a through and through to my leg…Go on! I'll cover ya!" Spunky said, pulling a tourniquet tightly around his mid-thigh. He reloaded his pistol and fired a hail of bullets back at the entryway.

Spanner reached down to release one of the hooks between the cars. Elvis grasped a railing on the side of the car, leaning out and down to grab hold of the retraction bar. Jackson snaked his way on his belly along the top of the rooftop. Elvis pulled up hard without success.

"Shit! Come On !" His faced was a grimace of effort as he strained. "I need proper leverage!" he shouted to Spanner, who narrowly made it over to him amidst another round of hostile gunfire.

Spanner hooked a carabiner onto Elvis' belt and wound a rappelling rope behind his own back and through his arms to provide support for his captain. The agitated motion of the train making their efforts difficult. Elvis leaned out and down again. He tugged, tugged hard and grunted a deep guttural groan as he exerted brute strength on the rod. Bullets exploded alongside Spanner and he had to pivot away whilst still trying to steady Elvis. One….more….yank on the bar and it came up, uncoupling the two cars. Spanner pulled a nearly flailing Elvis onto the gangway and the two watched the eleven tandem cars begin to drift away from them.

Xxxxx

1810 – London, UK

Dave Warner and Jason Speers were locked on the video feed from one of the helicopters tracking L831.

"They did it! Holy shit they did it!" Speers cried, high-fiving one of the techs standing nearby.

"Affirmative. But it's only begun," Warner said trying to bridle his elation.

Xxxxx

Drew Woods' head sprang up. "Can you feel it?"

"What?" Penny asked moving in closer to him.

"We're slowing down!"

"We are!" Laura said jumping up pressing her hands against the window. "Look!"

Everyone in the passenger cars were on their feet crowding together to watch the kaleidoscope of scenes begin to morph into stationary buildings and landscapes.

"He did it….." Woods said in disbelief.

"Yay!" Laura said bouncing from the window to look down the aisle hoping to see her father coming for her.

Xxxxx

1815 – London, UK

The MI5 agents and Paddington station officials were absorbed in the action on screen. Medical and Metro vehicles were swarming towards the slowing train cars. They could see the lone Special Forces Sniper on the rooftop of car number one.

Jason Speers looked up when a technician said, "We have a call sir."

Speers nodded and flipped the speaker on.

"You do not listen very well do you?" the caller said. This time it was a distinct male voice. Not computer generated.

"Excuse me sir, what?" Speers answered.

"Shut the fuck up! Call off your dogs! Now! Or I shall commence killing hostages. One by one."

"How many passengers in first class?" Warner asked leaning into Jackie Jenkins.

"Thirty. But we can't be certain some are not targets that conveniently boarded as well," she replied.

"You're running out of track," Speers said to the caller.

"And you are running out of time….."

The room was left in silence once again. MI5 agents, technicians and transit workers looked from one to the other. "Get me Harte," Warner said, deeply creasing his brow.