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Caleb nodded at his computer. “Use this.”
Rodland produced his key ring, where a tiny USB stick was attached. He inserted it into Caleb’s laptop and booted the computer into his own operating system. As his fingers flew across the keyboard, Jane turned to Caleb. He took her hand into his. It was meant as a gesture of reassurance, though she was anything but reassured.
After a couple of minutes, Rodland leaned back. “I have it. The PRAM was still on the MI6 training server. But we’ll still need to go to the forward car and manually power up the engine. Once it’s online, I’ll be able to control it and the local track switches from this laptop.”
“Good,” Caleb said. “You and I will make our way up there and see if the engine is as efficient as Fraser told me it was.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Jane asked quietly. “How can I help?”
“Keep yourself and the baby safe so I won’t regret doing this. I’ll tell you if there’s anything else for you to do as it comes along.”
“That’s not enough. I’ve got todosomething.” She glanced back at the paintings. “Maybe MacClaren will help to keep me busy so I won’t go crazy. I’ll finish the job I started.”
“Only you,” Caleb murmured.
“Don’t worry, I have my priorities straight. I’ll keep our daughter safe.” She was opening the weapons box and removing a 9mm Luger pistol. “I won’t let those assholes touch her.”
“I can see you won’t.” Caleb gestured toward the two long guns on the floor beside the box. “Why don’t you take one of those?”
She shrugged. “I will.” She ignored the AR-15. “I prefer the carbine. It handles better if you have to use it short range.” She took the M4 carbine. “I remember you said you liked the idea of me with a long gun.”
“I definitely do. And if anyone but the two of us tries to come in here, don’t hesitate to use one of those.” He added grimly, “Like Rodland said, Bohdan really wants us.”
***
“Why the hell haven’t I heard something?” Bohdan stood up in the rear of his mobile command center, an old Russian war-surplus vehicle he found much more robust than the newer and shinier units he’d owned. “Chiswick has his orders. He knows what I want.” He’d ordered the vehicle parked five miles north of the train yard, but it still wasn’t close enough to make him feel part of the action. He whirled on Lasoff, the young tech who was communicating with his attack team via a headset. “Well?”
Lasoff moistened his lips nervously. “We have them, sir.”
“They’re alive?”
“As far as we can tell.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We have them cornered. They’re trapped in a railcar.”
“Youfool.” Bohdan’s face flushed with anger. “Then we don’t really have them, do we?”
The tech was almost stuttering. “According to the unit commander, it’s a simple matter of—”
“The commander is an idiot.” He reached for his cell phone. “And that’s what I’ll tell Chiswick. I’m not going to lose Caleb or the MacGuire woman because you’re all being clumsy. I’ve waited too long.” He’d make that clear to Chiswick. Bohdan wasn’t sure if he was being impatient or if he just wanted to get his own hands on that son of a bitch, Caleb. It didn’t matter. The result would be the same. He put down the cell phone. “No, I’ll tell Chiswick in person. I’m going there myself. Tell the driver.”
***
Caleb and Rodland dropped to the ground between the train cars and froze. When the movement wasn’t met with a hail of gunfire, Caleb took that as a win. He nodded toward Rodland, and they crawled toward the engine car. The darkness offered them cover, but he was sure that at least some of Bohdan’s soldiers were equipped with night-vision goggles.
They hoisted themselves up onto the engine car platform and Rodland smashed the side pilot window with the butt of his gun. The sound of breaking glass was startling. If their attackers hadn’t been aware that they were out here, surely they were now, Caleb thought. They waited a moment to see if there was a response. But there was so much shouting and talking among Bohdan’s men surrounding the train that they’d lucked out. The glass breakage hadn’t been noticed. Rodland reached inside and slid open the door.
The two men crouched behind the main console.
“What now?” Caleb whispered.
Rodland was ready. He pulled the laptop from his pack and flipped up the lid to reveal a screen filled with a photo of the exact same console in front of them. The screen was filled with handwritten annotations that described the engine start-up routine.
“Another MI6 resource?” Caleb said.
Rodland shook his head. “Even better. A railway enthusiast website.” He flipped a dizzying array of switches, some of which were hidden behind safety panels below the console.
