“Just a few more seconds,” Kiris muttered as she worked her breaker.

Gaylen nodded faintly, although the woman was absorbed in her work. He stayed alert, keeping the previous late night buried in his mind, beneath survival instincts. They had put together a pretty decent plan, but hotel staff walking in on them would complicate matters right here on square one.

There were several emergency exits on the bottom floor, and this one was both out of sight and away from any general traffic. There was of course a camera, but Fredrak had dealt with it.

He did yet another quick examination of the agent and Jaquan, and found them both suitably at the ready. Gaylen adjusted his hat one last time, getting one final outlet for nervous tension before the electronic lock gave a soft click.

Kiris tucked her breaker away, and there was absolutely nothing to wait for. Gathering courage was a waste of time, Gaylen had found. One just went ahead and dealt with a situation.

The morning sky was heavy with dark clouds, promising a monstrous downpour to replace the light drizzle that hit Gaylen as he stepped outside.

They didn’t hurry; hurrying drew attention. Instead they just strolled out like they had every right to use this exit. It was just a few steps out of the hotel’s actual property and a few more to join with the morning foot traffic.

It was fairly thick; there were several factories and office buildings nearby. But their foes had now had hours to prepare and cover every exit. They did not disappoint. It was a different car that hovered up above, but Gaylen still took notice when it started following them. And it was only seconds later that Fredrak spotted a team on the ground. Gaylen divided his attention between anyone who got close and every reflective surface the environment had to offer, and thought he spotted yet another team on their flank.

“I hate being popular,” Jaquan commented dryly.

Gaylen withheld any commentary of his own. He just kept his senses on alert and his body primed. They had a planned route, and a less ideal backup route should they be intercepted, but they made it to that one particular street as intended. All the while the ground agents ranged between keeping in step with them and drawing closer.

They walked onto a pedestrian bridge above another pedestrian street, keeping to the left-hand railing. Halfway across, Gaylen made the first move and leapt over the railing. The drop was short enough to merely be a bit painful. The rest followed, and they ran along the street.

They drew some attention from the people around, of course, but the agents were onto them anyway. And there was nothing that notable about hurrying to catch a train. Fredrak led the way up the stairs to the platform. They were rather narrow, and it was simply impossible to avoid the odd collision. Gaylen didn’t make any friends on the way up, but he didn’t care.

There was a line before the open cart that they arrived at, and with guards watching they now had to behave themselves and be patient. Gaylen looked behind without trying to hide it; the enemy agents knew damn well they were made. He didn’t have a perfect view, but the people were about halfway to the stairs. And the damned car had of course followed them without issues, hovering right above.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Would these people be bold, desperate or dumb enough to start a fight right here on the platform, in view of cameras and guards and hundreds of people?

For a few seconds it seemed like he would actually find out, as he caught glimpses of their heads coming up the stairs. But his turn came as the conductor sent out a warning chime and lights came on above the doors. It was the rush moment and everyone moved a little bit faster, and finally he was inside the eighth car.

Fredrak had been the first and paid for all four of them to save time, so they simply shuffled in as a group, through a sea of coats, cloaks, ponchos, hats and hoods. The final warning chime sounded three times and Gaylen glanced back again. A group of their pursuers made it into the ninth car just before the doors slammed shut.

“They’re here,” Gaylen said at low volume.

“I see it,” Fredrak replied.

They kept on going, keeping to a glacial movement speed as befit the circumstances, and as far as anyone would think they were just looking for a nice, roomy spot as the train headed off. It took them along one of the elevated rails, picking up speed as it went. The city buzzed by, except that damned hovering car of course kept pace, keeping to the left-hand side.

Now the question was whether they’d be bold, desperate or dumb enough to start something on a train car. The enemy agents did have an escape vehicle ready right outside.

Gaylen glanced back again, and happened to make eye contact with one of the agents. They were moving as well, and going just as casually as his own group. The screens showed twelve minutes until the next stops, after all, and they would reach the end of the train long before that.

They entered the seventh car, and the car sped up, presumably going on ahead towards their stop. Whatever other vehicles they might have in the game would also have enough time to catch up. It was very convenient for a hunter to know exactly when prey would be either stationary or out in the open. Which was exactly why that wasn’t the plan at all.

Gaylen looked back again as they reached the sixth car. His group had gained a slight distance on the others, able to walk faster as people found seats or standing spots. He couldn’t help but glance at that one agent in the lead again. It wasn’t hostility as such that he saw in the man; just a cold determination. He really would have preferred the former. Angry people made mistakes. And at least there was a certain honesty to them.

Fredrak, still in the lead, stopped, bringing them all to a stop and Gaylen bumped into Kiris. He still disliked letting the man lead like this, but this whole plan depended on his local knowledge and that was that. So Gaylen just stood still in the entrance to the fifth train car, as their enemies communicated and planned their strike, and kept an eye on the agents.

They’d stopped too. Inaction was when tension could really dig its claws into you, and Gaylen saw signs of it in the nearest agent. One never knew how twitchy the other person was, and that alone made one very twitchy. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to a firefight, here in a public place on a civilised planet. And of course with all these poor, oblivious schmucks in the firing line.

The plan really was very simple, which was why they’d settled on it. The rail went into a rather sharp turn to go around a major high rise, and so of course the conductor had to slow down. And as they neared the middle of the curve Fredrak entered the little bathroom in the fifth car. Gaylen didn’t see the blasts he and Jaquan fired into the wall; he was keeping his eye on the agents.

Everyone reacted to the sounds of plasma and destroyed metal. But while the commuters screamed, the agents’ immediate instinct was to dive for whatever person or bit of metal could serve as cover and go for their pockets and jacket flaps.

He didn’t see what came next, as he followed right on Kiris’s heels. The bathroom wall had been blasted open and the Chanei flew out of it in a leap. After hours of gnawing worry about this part, Gaylen simply did as he had to and leapt out after her.