Out Of The Past
Part XXIV - A Dangerous Situation
1/15/2025 - Updated:2025-01-15Words:60,200Chapters:24/?Kudos:10Hits:591
A group of men crowded down the hallway within the deepest parts of the train, each with a mask completely covering their faces and all shuffling quickly as they moved as carefully as they could while supporting the body they carrying between them.
"Careful, lads." One of the men whispered. "She's been bumped around enough for today."
Several more men followed closely behind, bumping and nudging against each other as they tried to assess the condition of their wounded comrade. But one of the men broke away from the group carrying the body as they entered one of the narrow passages behind a wall and took a stand to block the others path.
"Look, lads, I know we're all worried about her. But her odds don't improve any by the number of people in the room. What we need are distractions. Get to your posts and do what you can to keep the Jackboots busy. You know Wilford's already heard about this and is likely got scouting parties out looking for us. So get out there and lead 'em on a merry chase. We'll take care of things here and keep everyone posted. Off you go."
The bodies in the hallway instantly scattered, all taking off in different directions. When the last of them had gone, the man stepped into the narrow passage and closed the opening behind him.
Hurrying down the passage, he quickly came to an open room where the others already had the body laid out on a table. One man was holding a flashlight while another was examining the wound.
"How is she?" Came the immediate question.
No one in the room said so much as a word, all watching instead as the man next to the table continued in his work.
"How is she!" Came the more demanding question.
But it was the body on the table that answered him.
"Now, don't go getting started, 'T'. I'm fine." Eliah's soft voice answered him.
The man checking the wound spoke up. "You're far from that, my girl. This is deep. The only good thing I can say about it is it's a clean cut. In and out."
Eliah winced slightly as the medic continued to examine the wound. "Aye. 'J' cuffed him for me though."
Another man leaned over from the side of the medic. "Did more than cuff him for ya', 'E'." He stated with a wide grin. "That one won't be telling Wilford any tales."
Eliah gave him a slight smile, but winced again suddenly. Turning to the man next to her she tried to brush him off. "Leave it be, Doc. I'll be fine."
The man straightened up, catching her stare. "The wound needs looking after, 'E'. But it's more than I can do."
The man from earlier grabbed the medic's arm "What does she need?"
The medic finished dressing the wound before turning back to her. "You rest, my girl. Let me go try and calm this wild buck of your's down a bit."
The medic quickly pulled the man of to the side. "Get a grip, 'T'!" He immediately stated in a whispered voice. "You know she'll look to you to judge what's really going on. And I need her kept calm right now."
'And what IS going on?"
The medic gave a deep sigh as he checked what his patient was doing. "'E'!" Came the strict tone. "I told you to lay still!"
The body on the table had been trying to pull itself up. But at the command it quickly settled back with the assistance of several other men round the table.
"The wound is deeper than it looks." The man quickly explained in the same hushed whisper. "She's having trouble breathing and she been coughing. Nothing has come up yet, but I'm afraid that knife jab managed to go deep enough to puncture a lung, and she's bleeding into it internally."
"But your a doctor. Can't you...?"
"I'm a field medic, 'T'. Not a surgeon." The man quickly replied. "That's what she needs. I can stitch up wounds fair enough. But if I do that here, I'm afraid she'll risk either bleeding out or she'll bleed so much blood into the one lung she won't be able to breath. She needs someone who can get to the lung and close that wound."
The other man looked frantic. "What about Snowpiercer? We can take her..."
The medic shook his head. "She can't leave Big Alice without an explanation."
"But 'J' put the Jackie down. He's not telling his tale to anyone."
"But other Jackboots likely saw, 'T'. And you know they've already reported the fight to Wilford. He knows one of us was hurt bad, and he'll be crawling through this train himself if he has to to find a person with a knife wound. You know how crazed he is to capture any of us. Now, you tell me, what are her chances of survival if Wilford get even the SMALLEST sniff she's one of us? Let alone our leader?"
'T' stood silent when another man came up to them.
"How is she?"
"Doc says she needs a surgeon."
Silence fell between the three men before the new comer suddenly offered up a solution.
"The...the Wellstead woman!" He stated. "She's a surgeon!"
But 'T' vehemently shot down the suggestion. "To my ole cow Bessy maybe! The woman's a veterinarian, mate!"
The man didn't back down. "All got the same parts, 'T'. Mostly in the same places."
'T' stepped up to answer him back when a hand grabbed his arm.
"'T' ," the medic said, "he's right. She may have only operated on animals, but she has the skill none of the rest of us does."
'T' held his ground for a few more seconds. "'E' decides." He finally said firmly. "We abide by her decision."
Coming back over to the woman on the table the three men gathered around, all looking somber.
Opening her eyes, Eliah looked over the gathering. "You know I'm not dead yet, right?" She asked.
'T' quickly leaned down, taking hold of her hand. "'Course we know that."
Eliah easily read his expression. "But?"
The man took a deep breath before speaking again. "Old Doc says the Jackie cut you good this time. Got down to the a lung."
Eliah quickly shifted her eyes to the medic. "So why aren't you doing something about it?"
"Because I'm not a surgeon, 'E'. And that's what you need. Someone who can cut deep."
Eliah scanned the worried faces. "And?"
"We have someone...but you have to give the say so."
"Then you have your bloody say so. Get the doctor!"
'T' tightened his hold on her hand slightly, causing her to turn back to him.
"The doctor is Josie Wellstead, 'E'."
For a moment she lay on the table, staring up at him, but then gave a short, solid laugh that ended in a coughing fit. "The vet? I'm suddenly a bloody heffer?"
"She can likely do the surgery, 'E'." The medic stated. "And without it, you possibly won't survive."
The rebel leader started to pull up on the table. "I've survived worse. I'm not having some..."
"Some 'doctor', 'E'!" The medic put in quickly as he stopped her from moving any more. "Regardless of her patients, she's still a doctor. And a surgeon."
Eliah fell back on the table, listening to the man's words. Taking a breath, she could feel it already becoming difficult to do so without falling into another coughing fit. She knew what that meant.
"Fine." She said finally. "Haven't got much choice I guess. But if I catch one word of anyone sounding off to Manny about what's happened," she addressed those in the room, "I'll turn you over to Wilford myself. Understood?"
A quick round of acknowledgements went through the room as 'T' quickly turned and left the room.
The man moved quickly through the train, utilizing the hidden corridors when he could and trying to remain out of sight when he had to resort to the main corridors. Getting stopped or detained was not an option, he knew. The smallest delay could mean Eliah would not survive her injury and loosing her was not just a personal loss for him, it could spell disaster for the whole group. She was the one who held the movement together, protected them, gave them purpose and direction. Without her, Wilford's Jackboots would likely pick them off one by one. And without 'E' to protect them from that assault and lay false leads, they wouldn't likely last long.
But it was more than that for him.
Before the freeze, he had worked under Eliah's father as an operative. While his superior had acknowledged his skills, Frank Jackson did not hold to any high regard the attention the younger man had paid to his daughter and always made his feelings plainly known. And no matter what he did, the older man's feelings on the matter never softened. Even when he had learned it had been the younger man who had gotten Eliah passage on Big Alice. Knowing her skill level, he had immediately brought her to Wilford's attention when all Wilford seemed interested in was how many security people he could get onboard. Otherwise the old man would likely have taken one look at the whisp of a girl and immediately passed her over. But once Big Alice had begun her own journey out into the frozen world and the two saw what life on this train was going to be, they had quickly joined ranks and began recruiting members into their own group to subtly undermine Wilford's totalitarian regime.
Once in the corridor leading to Josie's cabin, 'T' quickly checked the corridor for any sounds someone might be coming, then moved quickly down to the door. Knocking on it, he nervously scanned the corridor. It hadn't occurred to him until then that she might not even be there, but a sudden click of the lock opening caused him to breath a sigh of relief.
Opening the door, Josie greeted the person at her door with considerable suspicion as he wasn't anyone she recognized.
"Who are you?" Was the first question she had for the man.
"Someone who doesn't like standing in an open corridor." Came the quick reply as the man shoved his way into her cabin.
Josie quickly turned with him, trying to keep her guard up and her front covered until she could figure out what was going on.
The man turned back to her, quickly noting her guarded stance.
"I'm not here to hurt you none." He stated. "We need your help."
"Who's 'we'?" Josie quickly replied.
The man took a quick breath. He knew of only one real way to get her trust. "Well, who do you think we are, you stupid cow?" He stated, but just as quickly added a small smile to the end of the statement.
Josie immediately crossed her arms in front of her. As surprised as she was to see one of the rebels openly face to face for the first time, she would have preferred anyone else to the man standing before her, regardless of her voice's interpretation of the relationship being that this one actually liked her.
"Oh, it's you then, is it?" She stated, keeping her guard up. "No bag over the head for me this time?"
"Bit of a hurry." The man stated with a smile, sauntering over to her in a casual manner. "But if you'd rather, Ducky..."
Josie suddenly noted that despite his nonchalant attitude, the man indeed looked like he was about to internally combust.
"So what's the hurry?" She asked, letting her guard down a little.
"There was a fight tonight. One of us got injured...our leader."
Josie's interest suddenly picked up at the new information. "Your leader?"
"The one who's always talked to you. Who's been helping you." The man quickly explained. "Now she needs your help."
Josie was surprised by the information. She knew the voice was one of the rebels, and suspected she was a high ranking member of the group, but she never had any confirmation the woman was their leader until now.
"My help?"
"She was stabbed in the side. We have a medic, but he says he can't stop the bleeding himself. He said she needs surgery." The man gave her a long, pointed look. "She needs a doctor."
Josie quickly pulled back. "Surgery?! I can't do surgery on someone."
"Don't lie, girl." The man quickly replied. ""Heard what you told the Headwood's about your skills. Said you've done surgery."
Josie looked both astonished and confused. The only time she had ever discussed her past work as a veterinarian was with the Headwoods when they were assessing what help she might be able to be to them in their own work. "How do you know any of that? The only people there were the Headwood's and myself."
The man gave her a none to friendly, knowing smile. "And a lowly trash collector."
"The trash collector...?"
"And he said you told them you've done surgeries before." He stated, pulling her towards the door. "And that's what we need."
Josie quickly dug her heels in. "Surgery on ANIMALS!" She specified. "Not humans."
"All the same parts, darlin'." The man answered, pulling her again to the door.
Josie pulled back again. "Wait!"
An exasperated expression turned back to her. "We don't have a lot of time here, little Ducky. My china plate needs help NOW!"
"Say...say I could do this surgery." Josie quickly put in. "I need...tools. Surgical tools. She may need anesthesia, sutures, antibiotics..."
The man pulled on her arm again. "Anything you need, we have. What we need, and don't have, is a surgeon. That's you, Ducky. Now come on."
Josie gave a deep sigh and stopped fighting the man. If nothing else, she might be able to help on some level. Her 'voice' had done her several favors. The least she could do is try to help her in return.
Opening the door, 'T' quickly checked the corridor, then turned back to Josie.
"Just walk like you got somewhere to go." He told her. "If you get caught or stopped, tell them...your out for a walk. No one should question you."
"What about you?"
"Just watch where I go, darlin'. I'll be clearing the path for you. Just walk normally, but put a little move in it, all right?" The man started out the door, but stopped suddenly and turned to her one last time. "And try to keep up." He advised her.
At first Josie thought the last comment was something of a joke, until the man hit the corridor.
For someone moving with caution and checking every step, she couldn't believe how fast they traveled. Because she tried to follow his instructions to walk normally, he was often outpacing her and had to redirect her by calling from a different corridor several times. A few times he came back to her and pushed her unceremoniously into a side corridor. A hand over her mouth kept her from saying anything until a unit of Jackboots or other people went past. Then, checking the corridor again, they were once more on the move.
Josie figured the trip took about fifteen minutes. But even in that short amount of time, and trying as hard as she could to remember markers or signs, she had absolutely no idea where on the train they were. The last length of the journey sealed her inability to retrace their steps as the man stopped in the corridor and, hitting the wall with a solid thump, opened a small panel. Reaching in and hitting the switch, a door quickly opened in the wall.
Shoving Josie in ahead of him, the man checked the corridor quickly and, stepping in behind her, closed the door from the other side.
Though in total darkness, the man pushed her forward.
"Hands out to the sides to guide ya'." He instructed her. "Nothing to trip over. Just walk. And put some effort into it this time, would ya'?"
Josie turned back to him even as she started to walk. "You said walk normally. Keeping up with you would not have been 'walking normally', believe me."
A soft chuckle and a solid shove answered her. "No worries, darlin'. Stick with me. I'll get you up to movin' like every Jackie on the train was chasing you in no time."
Josie gave a deep sigh in return as she tried her best to quickly move through the darkness.
Within a few moments, she could suddenly see a pinpoint of light ahead of them. The closer they got the more and more it illuminated the corridor until she was able to practically run through the corridor with no trouble.
Coming out the other side of the tunnel, she found herself in a room with approximately ten other people, all of who seemed to do their best to stay out of the light.
"All right, you lot. If you aren't needed, you aren't needed. Move." Came the solid male voice behind her.
Instantly more than half the group headed through the open door, closing it after them. Only when the last one left did a new male voice address her.
"Ms. Wellstead, we thank you for coming."
But Josie wasn't interested in pleasantries.
"Where's my patient? This one," she indicated the man behind her, "said it was urgent."
"It is. But you need to understand the rules first."
"Rules?"
"We rely on our anonymity, Ms. Wellstead. It's how we survive. No one knows no one."
So this was about keeping their identities secret? Josie stepped forward towards the man speaking, shoving her guide out of the way. "Look, I don't care if two of you turn out to be Wilford and his second-in-command..."
The comment got a slight, low, soft laugh from several still in the room.
Thinking it bit odd, Josie disregarded it to get to her point.
"All I am interested in is my patient. I was told she was seriously injured."
"She is." Came the same voice. "And you'll see her soon. But first, know the rules."
Josie sighed in exasperation. "Look, I don't care who you are. And...and besides that, I'm on your side."
The man suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck in a firm grip. Yanking her forward, Josie suddenly found herself turned around and pushed up against a wall. When he spoke again, she could tell she had tried the man's patience a little too far, but not without reason.
"Keep your head down!" The voice instructed in the same solid tone. "You're here to do an operation. Nothing more. When you're done, we'll take you back to your cabin. Do you understand!?"
The grip was positively painful on her neck, causing her to wince slightly.
"Yes!" She barely got out.
"Try to look up from your patient, to see any of our faces or figure out where you are..."
"First off," Josie cut him off, straining, but able to get the words out, "I don't want to see anyone in the operating theater without a mask on. No mask? Get yourself out. Second, I have no idea, nor do I care, where I am on Big Alice. All I care about is my patient. Now, can I see her please?"
The man reached around her and hit a mechanism next to her. The wall she was pushed against suddenly slid open.
As firmly as the man kept her focus on the floor, Josie could barely make out any specifics of the room. But from what little she could see, it looked like a field army operating room, just more sparsely furnished. There was a centered table with a bright light shining above it, and next to it a tray table with instruments on it. All she could see of her patient was a body with a drape over it and an exposed wound. Past that, she couldn't have identified one other thing about the strange scene.
"When did this happen?" Josie asked, immediately beginning to examine the wound. But as soon as she began pressing into it to get a better idea of the depth, the body jumped slightly with a pained sound.
Josie quickly pulled back, fighting to remember to keep her eyes only on the body before her.
"You said you had anesthesia!" She stated.
The man next to her passed her a syringe with a needle attached. Josie looked it over.
"Local? Are you serious?"
"It's all we have." Came the stoic answer.
The body on the table moved slightly.
"No worries, Ducky." Came an all too familiar, though labored voice. "Been through worse. Didn't have any anesthesia last time."
Josie turned to the head of the table. Somehow knowing this was her 'voice', a semblance of a friend, did not help.
"Giving you the shot will still hurt." Josie advised.
"Not half as much as this bloody stab wound. Get on with it."
"Just the same, try to hold still. And it'll take a few minutes to take effect."
"Not going anywhere." Came the softer reply.
"How did this happen?" Josie asked her.
But before the woman could answer, the man who had brought Josie there stopped her.
"Too much talk!" He nearly shouted.
The body gave a derisive sound before it answered. "It's CALLED a bedside manner, 'T'. Leave her be."
Josie gave a deep sigh, then took the anesthesia from him. "'T'." She mused, latching onto the man's identifying letter as she began to administer the shot. "That's fairly well through the alphabet." She added, finishing with the anesthesia and handing the syringe back to him. "Does that also mark your place in this lovely little group?"
While the body on the table gave a slight laugh past a few coughs, the rest of the room fell utterly silent.
The man next to her leaned down slightly so he was directly next to her ear. "I'm her second-in-command." Came the information that somehow also sounded remarkably like a threat.
Josie paused, trying to think of anything to say in response. But she finally turned to the medic on the opposite side of the table. "It'll take a few minutes for the shot to take effect. Let's go through the operation before we begin and make sure we don't come up short with something we may need."
For the next few minutes Josie and the medic ran through a mock operation, gong over steps and checking available supplies. Finally convinced everything was in order, Josie turned to her counterpart once more.
"All right then," She stated from behind her own mask now in place, "shall we begin?"
Over next half hour the only voices in the room were between Josie and the medic. For the rest, they had pulled back to the walls of the room and stood there as still as stone statues. Josie had recommended they leave to decrease the possibility of infection in an already tenuous operating room, but the second-in-command insisted they stay as security in case they were found out by Wilford's security forces.
The body she was operating on only made scant comments. Mostly in response to Josie's questions checking on her state and if she felt any pain. The answers were always brief and labored, telling Josie more than her words did.
While Josie and the medic had run through the mock operation, the man identified as 'T' had quickly arranged a makeshift transfusion set up from parts they had scavenged, placing himself on the table first to donate to their injured leader. Waiting after him there was no shortage of others who were ready to donate.
The dedication of the rebels for their injured leader astounded her. Regardless of anything else, the sole focus of the group seemed to be that she survive.
But finally closing the outer wound, Josie felt confident she had done all she could to cut off any bleeding and seal the inner wound so it could begin healing.
"We appreciate what you did for her." 'T' stated, stepping up to her a short while later, a makeshift bandage wrapped about his arm.
Josie was watching the medic get the next person ready to donate.
"Don't thank me yet." She replied. "She's far from out of the woods. She really needs to be in a more sterile area. Like a medical car."
At her words it seemed the entire room fell silent.
Josie quickly looked around. "What?"
"We can't move her anywhere." The man next to her explained. "By now Wilford has a complete report of the attack, and he's likely searching every inch of this train he knows about looking for us. The Jackboots may even have reasoned out they injured our leader. For that alone Wilford will give them a huge reward as incentive for the others. Showing them what they could get if they find us. Especially if they find 'E'."
"You don't understand." Josie stated, trying to advocate for her patient. She didn't doubt the people cared for their leader. She doubted they understood just how serious the situation was. "She needs care. Medications. Likely an IV run. And she needs a clean, safe environment."
"And you don't understand." 'T' quickly countered. "Wilford knows one of us was hurt in the fight. He'll be on the lookout for anyone with an unexplained injury. Going to the medical car won't save her life. It's a death sentence. The minute Wilford has her," he said, making a quick cutting gesture across his neck, "she's done."
"But she needs care. PROPER care." Josie paused as she tried to think of a solution to the problem. "What about Snowpiercer?" She suddenly offered.
"Snowpiercer?"
"Could we get her over there?"
"She can't leave the train." The man quickly explained, but then stopped as he thought over his next words. "It's already a sticky situation. 'E''s position on the train is...noticeable. If she isn't at her shift tomorrow morning, Wilford will get suspicious. She has to be there."
"And my guess is she'll collapse within an hour if all she has to do is stand in one place." Josie replied. "She's already lost a great deal of blood and the wound could still be seeping blood internally. And if she rips out the sutures..."
A tired but insistent voice brought the argument to a halt. "Stop whispering!" 'E' demanded "If you're going to discuss me, come over here and do it. I am the topic, after all."
The three paused for a moment, a quick look passing between them before they stepped back over to the table where the woman still laid.
Josie didn't miss for a second the decided effort the other two made to block her from getting too close to the table and being able to see her patient's face.
'E' took a steadying breath before speaking. But even in it Josie could hear a slight sound of rattling deep in the lung.
"Now, what's the diagnosis, 'doctor'?"
Josie gave a deep sigh, trying to think of any way to get the woman to realize the seriousness of her situation. "You've lost a lot of blood."
"And my china plates are lined up to the hallway to make sure that isn't a problem." Came the quick reply. "What else?"
Josie senses a brick wall. "You need rest and medical care." She stated firmly.
The woman was silent for a few seconds, giving Josie hope she was seriously considering the order.
"I can get that for the next eight hours." Came the answer finally.
Josie quickly countered her. "Try a week...a least."
The body shifted on the table. "Eight hours is all I have. After that, Wilford will expect me to be at my post."
Josie stepped forward slightly, causing the two men to step in to stop her. "Then he'll be disappointed." She answered nonetheless.
The body shifted again, but this time Josie was surprised to see it deftly pull itself up into a sitting position despite the pain she knew the woman was in. Still managing to keep her face hidden in the shadows cast off from the light they had used to operate by, the woman turned slowly to her. "Listen, ducky. You don't understand. If I am not at my post tomorrow, everything hits the fan in a big way. Wilford will immediately know who I am and come after me. He'll rip this train front to end to find me once he realizes I've been the one leading the rebels on Big Alice all along. In case you haven't noticed, he doesn't take betrayal well."
"And if you stay here, you'll die." Josie stated. "Look, we can keep you safe by taking you to Snowpiercer."
The body shook it's head slightly. "You're not listening very well, Ducky." Came the labored response. "I don't show at my post tomorrow, Wilford figures the whole scheme out. You won't be able to get me off this train once that happens. And regardless, even if you could figure something out, too many people on this train rely on me to do what I do. To BE who I am. If my cover slips, I'm not the only one that pays the price. Now do you understand?"
"I know that doesn't change the circumstances one bit. We have to get you to Snowpiercer. We can sneak you over by way of the exchanges at the border."
"Ducky doesn't hear well." The woman stated in labored breaths. "I can't leave the train."
"And you don't seem to hear any batter." Josie replied, putting more emphasis into her tone. "Stay here and you possibly won't survive."
A derisive snort answered her. "Possibly." The voice answered. "Go to Snowpiercer and that's an absolute, Ducky. And not just for me."
"And if you don't show up at your post tomorrow because you didn't make it through the night, do you think Wilford will be any less suspicious? Not come looking for your people anyway?"
The man who now stood blocking her view gave her a hard stare by way of warning, then turned back to the woman sitting on the table. A few quick words passed between them, but Josie didn't get the idea it was an argument. From the man's side the tone was soft, caring, almost frightened. Through his impassioned plea, the woman hardly said a word. Instead she seemed to simply listen. When he finished talking, the medic tried to add additional support to the man's case, but the woman on the table quickly waved him off. For several minutes she simply sat thinking. But finally she slowly she lifted her head, still keeping her face shielded by the shadows cast by the light above her.
"All right." Came the labored response. "I'll go to Snowpiercer." There was a deep pause as the woman took several shallow breaths before she continued. "But I'll go MY way."
"Your way?" Josie questioned. "What does that mean?"
A trace of a smile could be seen in the dim light. "It means I'll walk over there."
'T' immediately turned to her. "No! You can't possibly..."
"...NOT do it, 'T'." Came the firm statement. Carefully balancing herself on the table, she reached up and laid a hand on the man's cheek. "Listen to me. If I just disappear..."
"We tell them you were kidnapped." Came the quick answer as the man pointed to Josie. "Tell him the girl took you. You both get back to Snowpiercer that way."
The voice laughed softly. "You HONESTLY believe old man Wilford will believe that? That this girl could force me to go with her? And how did she get off the train, 'T'?" She shook her head. "He'll still be suspicious no matter what. You know what he's like. It has to look...natural."
"And then what?" The man vehemently protested. "You're there for a few hours? You have to come back. He'll STILL know. He'll still figure it out. You said it yourself. He's naturally suspicious of everything."
The woman seemed to have spent her strength as she lay back down on the table with her back to the three of them as she took several shallow breaths. "Talk to Manny." She finally stated softly. "Manny's good at plans. He'll figure something out."
The man at her side quickly turned to Josie with a worried look.
"Whose Manny?" Josie asked.
The man looked decided uncomfortable. "He's...a contact...on Snowpiercer."
A soft laugh came from the table. "He's the man who's going to rip your..."
"'E'!" Came the sudden exclamation from 'T'.
"...off one day if he ever finds out what you've been up to."
'T' shook his head before turning back to Josie. "He a strategist. Best there is. If there's a way out of this mess, he'll find it."
"How do you contact him?"
The woman on the table suddenly reached into the pocket of the suit she was still wearing from the fight and pulled out a small grey colored cube. She carefully passed it to the man standing beside the table.
"You know the code." She softly whispered.
'T' leaned over her with a smile. "And afterwards are you going to turn me over to Wilford? That was what you threatened to do to anyone that breathed a word of this to Manny."
Eliah gave a softer smile. "Maybe I'll give you over to Manny instead."
'T' gently kissed her forehead. "I'll take Wilford." He replied, then, taking the cube, immediately began tapping out the message.
Over on Snowpiercer Frank Jackson stood with the small cube in his hands, carefully deciphering the message as it came across the wireless transmission. With each composed word his face grew grimmer. But when the message concluded, he stuffed the small cube back in his pocket and quickly left his cabin.