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Chapter 16

The Eye of the Hurricane

1840 – Undisclosed location

The lack of motion was the initial shock, then the eerie silence when the gun battle ended.

The only thing the passengers could see when they chanced a look around was the haze of the flash bangs and mutilated furnishings. Acrid stench of gun powder filled their nostrils, and their ears were ringing from the thunderous claps of the handguns. Elvis reloaded his pistol behind the cover of a distorted tabletop, blood visible on his left hand and forearm that had trickled down from the flesh wound.

"Everyone! Stay down!" he ordered wiping a sleeve across his damp brow. He ventured a cautious peek down the aisle from his location. There was no movement. He could see Spanner two rows forward perched between seats. He knew Jackson was in the rear. He was always the rear guard. "You're out of options!" Elvis shouted.

No response from the driver's cabin. They all could hear Metro helicopters circling overhead like angry bees. If their asset attempted to flee, it would be impossible for him to escape. The train was completely surrounded. Elvis hand signaled for he and Spanner to advance. As Spanner was about to withdraw from cover, they heard a muffled voice call out.

"Think again!"

"Time to come out mate. End of the line for ya!" Elvis shouted back, checking his remaining supply of bullets.

Spanner gave his captain a quick back glance. Something did not feel right. They both sensed it. The stakes were getting higher and more dangerous. Elvis signaled to Jackson to prepare. The sniper slowly nodded and slowly adjusted the sight on his rifle scope. The asset made no attempt to emerge. Anxious passengers coughed and shuffled in their places. A helicopter was now hovering even closer. Elvis surmised the flight crew had locked eyes on the front window of the cabin.

"What's going on?" one passenger murmured.

"Let us off. Please. Why can't we get off?" others cried out.

"Negative. Not yet." Elvis said.

There was no way for the Special Forces team to know who was a legitimate passenger and who may be a target waiting to ambush them or escape when everyone vacated the carriage. His wound was throbbing, and he talked himself out of every possible reason why he should just storm the cabin. If Metro could take an easy sniper shot through the window they would have done so by now. Those watching the stand-off on television from the varied news sources could only see what was happening outside of the train. They had no idea of the ticking time bomb inside, ready to go off at any moment. At least that is how it felt.

Xxxxx

Hereford, UK

Georgie was fixated on the screen. She knew Laura was safe. Debbie had already been notified and on her way to meet up with her in London. There was no contact from Elvis. Nothing. He was inside that lone carriage with his team. How could a perfectly normal day come to this? Why did it have to be this train? She chewed on a thumb nail and raked her hair back with taut fingers, sat forwards on the sofa, planting elbows on her knees. There was no position of comfort and there was nothing she could do to change anything. All she could do was wait out and the wait was killing her.

Xxxxx

Undisclosed location

Inside of the train everyone heard the Metro Counter-Terrorism Unit calling out for the asset to surrender. Elvis tapped his comms mic. "Hello command? This is sierra foxtrot one, do you read me? Over."

"Read you sierra foxtrot. Go on Elvis." Warner responded.

"The asset is shielded inside the driver's cabin. We had a word. He's not budging. Wha' are ya seein?" Elvis said.

"CT helo has zero visibility into the cabin. He has covered the windows with some sort of shit. We can't be certain who or what may be in there with him. Snipers ordered to stand down. CT are deploying dogs to sniff out any potential explosives." Warner said.

Elvis pinched the bridge of his nose so hard he left an imprint in the flesh. This just keeps getting better and better he thought. "Has he attempted to make any contact? Elvis said.

"Negative. No calls. No threats. Perhaps he's wounded." Warner said.

"Nah. I'm not buying 'at. He's playing us Dave. I agree, we don't know wha' he may 'ave inside there with him, but you can be damn sure he's gonna let us know." Elvis said. He looked at his watch, 1855. Fifteen minutes since they had breached and their asset was still at large, just meters away, behind a steel door.

"Once the explosives unit sends an all clear, we need to start getting those folks off of there," Warner said.

Elvis scrunched his face. He felt like a trap had been set and said, "They will need to be kept together until the manifest is cleared. We can't 'ave any targets walking off into the sunset."

"Agreed. Metro will intercept." Warner said. "The guard was wounded and taken to hospital so he will be of no help."

"Get this box cleared Dave. We need to move on this bastard before he makes his next move" Elvis said making direct eye contact with Spanner, channeling his all or nothing resolve to succeed in that one look.

Two canine handlers walked the perimeter of the carriage. Explosives specialists used mechanical mirrors to assess the underbelly and wheels. It was an arduous task. They had to be certain. A bus was stationed at a distance, as well as several ambulances and fire engines in anticipation of the final rescue.

Elvis stretched his head up to watch the activity outside but said nothing to alert the passengers of the bomb sweep. He kept telling himself Laura was safe. She had to be safe. All of those folks were safe. And then he looked at the faces of the people nearby who were staring at him, hoping he would give the word to move. The misery of distress clouding their eyes stung him. This nightmare was not over by half.

He and Spanner began to inspect the carriage, wary of any surprises from a covert target. The artificial lighting had been destroyed and the light of early evening streamed through the windows casting shadows here and there. The two Special Forces operatives regarded every passenger intently. Keen to the disposition of any injuries or suspicious behaviors. Spanner took the lead as he was equipped with an armored vest. Row by row they went. When Spanner reached the front, he could see two pairs of legs on the floor in the crew station. He flattened himself against a wall then swung around in a crouch, pistol aimed for potential contact, as he swept the compartment. Before he could say, "clear" a muscular body pounced into his back. Elvis rushed at the assailant, pounding the butt of his pistol against the back of his head. The man crumbled to his knees before falling backwards onto the floor. Spanner crouched and pulled out two zip ties to further incapacitate the man. Elvis checked the target's pistol. The clip had two bullets left. Spent shell casings littered the floor and he swept them aside with his foot.

"Reckon there were these three and the prick behind door number one," Elvis said.

"Let's hope so," Spanner said pulling the ties taut.

Outside, one of the detection dogs became pre-occupied with the bottom section of the driver's door. The handler alerted his superior, who in turn notified MI5. Upon hearing this Dave Warner crushed a paper water cup in his hand and flung it into a nearby bin.

"Is it a credible hit?" Warner asked.

"We must assume so unless proven otherwise," Speers said.

"Shit!" Warner growled.

"We need to get those people off that train, and I do mean now!" Speers said.

"Right. And just one foot steps off and he blows it, then what?" Wells blurted out.

"Harte is going to have to break in from the inside." Speers said.

"The rat bastard probably has that access rigged as well," Communications Specialist Jenkins said, taking her glasses off and wiping the lenses with her shirt tail. "I imagine he is watching everything from within his little cabin. On his mobile most likely. There isn't a news source that's not covering this. I say pull the plug on coverage. The cameras have been shot to shit inside of the carriage so he can't see what's going on in there. Unfortunately, we are providing him with all the information he needs from right outside the train."

Warner and Spears stared at her and side-eyed each other. "Well done Agent Jenkins," Warner said. "I do believe you are on to something there."

"We need to be swift about it," Speers said. "If indeed he planted explosives, we can't predict how he has them triggered."

Xxxxx

1915 – Hereford, UK

Georgie scowled and repeatedly clicked the remote. "What the…you have got to be fucking kidding me!" she said, wide-eyed, launching herself to her feet.

Coverage of the train hijacking all but disappeared from the television. The only information visible was stock footage from earlier in the siege. She grabbed her mobile from the coffee table. Nothing. She could not access any updated information. The room suddenly felt cold and quiet. She grabbed the remote again, pressing the very life out of the buttons. "This is not good," she whispered to herself. Her heart dropped like a runaway lift. So much so that it took her breath away.