Sean cursed under his breath. He wondered who Will really was. At the moment, that was a question that would have to wait. His eyes narrowed as he reached a hand out and grabbed hold of a ladder rung on the side of the train.
Will had been sending Lindsey a text message when he looked up and saw Sean Wyatt standing thirty feet away in the next car. The shock on Wyatt’s face had told Will he had the element of surprise. He’d pulled out his weapon quickly and managed to get off three shots, but he assumed the rounds missed. The sound suppressor on his barrel was bulky and made accuracy less than reliable from that distance.
Sean had hit the floor and rolled out of sight before he could fire any more shots. Will’s initial thought was to pursue, but he knew Sean would do the chasing, if for no other reason, out of curiosity. The IAA agent had thought him dead, so, there was no doubt he was trying to figure out what was going on
Still, Will knew that Sean would come after him. He’d opened the side door of the car and climbed out into the cool, windy night air and onto the roof. As he expected, a few moments later, Wyatt’s head had poked out through the door.
He’d fired another shot, but his target had been startled by a railroad crossing and jerked back inside the train, causing the bullet to narrowly miss the head.
He wondered what Sean’s move would be. Whatever it was, staying out in the open on the roof was probably not a good idea. Quickly, he turned and started moving towards the back of the train.
Sean reached the top of the ladder and, hanging on with one hand, raised his weapon above the line of site on the roof. Will was moving quickly towards the rear of the car. Sean pulled himself up onto the top and started jogging in the same direction, careful to keep his balance on the constantly shifting train car.
Will had almost reached his destination when Sean knelt down and took aim. He trained his sights on the small of his target’s back and was about to squeeze when he heard the engine’s horn blast.
Sean turned to see the front of the train disappear into a mountain tunnel. He dropped down flat against the roof, pressing his body against the ridged metal, just as the train car entered the tunnel.
The roof of the burrow rushed by, mere inches above him. He forced himself to lie perfectly still in the darkness amid the pungent smell of diesel exhaust. The short time the train was in the tunnel seemed to last forever. Suddenly, the night sky opened up above him and the air became clean again. He stole a quick look towards the front of the train to make sure there wasn’t another tunnel up ahead.
Returning his focus to the back of the train car, he saw that Will was gone. He stood up again and started making his way in the direction Will had gone.
A silhouette popped into view at the end of the roof. Sean raised his weapon as the other figure fired off three shots. He dove to the right and rolled to the edge of the roof, nearly falling over the edge.
He managed to stop himself with his left hand and extended his gun out in front of his face. He fired off a quick succession of shots, sending his target ducking for cover. Two rounds sparked off the upper edge of the next train car.
Sean rolled over and pushed himself up. He sprinted down the rooftop in Will’s direction, his gun in the lead. He closed the gap quickly and jabbed his weapon over the edge where his quarry had just been.
Will had disappeared into the car’s side door. Sean deftly descended the rungs and swung into the open door, catching Will off guard with two boots squarely in the back.
The force of the blow sent Will sprawling forward towards the other door. Sean had landed on his tailbone, momentarily shocking his system. Will spun around and extended his gun at arm’s length. Sean simultaneously did the same.
“What are we going to do, Sean? Kill each other?” Will sneered.
“I thought you were dead,” Sean replied. “I also thought you were one of the good guys. Guess I’ve been wrong a lot lately.”
Will shrugged, “What can I say? I’m a hard man to figure out.” He’d torn his jeans in the fray and his leg was bleeding, slightly. His dark, emotionless eyes stared fearlessly at Sean.
“So, you’re working for the Order,” Sean shouted above the wind. “How much did they pay you?”
Will laughed. “More than you’d make in two lifetimes. But I enjoy the work,” he smirked.
Sean kept up the poker face, his voice and nerves remaining calm. He’d been in that situation before. Losing his cool would only make things worse.
“They gave you a policeman’s funeral. It was a beautiful service,” he said sarcastically.
Will cocked his head to the side. “How sentimental. Let’s stay on task, though, shall we? I pull my trigger and you pull yours, neither of us gets what we want.”
Sean nodded. “True.”
Will’s head turned slightly as if he saw something out of the corner of his eye. As he did, he squeezed his trigger. The weapon clicked. Wyatt’s didn’t.
He reacted instinctively and fired his weapon when he saw Will’s finger move. The shot rang out in the tiny space, instantly causing both of his ears to ring loudly.
The bullet’s impact sent Will staggering backwards, his gun clanked to the floor. A dark, wet stain formed around a hole in the right side of his North Face jacket. He leaned up against the door for a moment, looking down at the bleeding wound.
“You should have killed me,” he said, his voice trembling slightly.
Sean said nothing. His ears were still ringing from the shot. But kept his weapon raised, and stayed a safe distance from Will.
“You’re going to be apprehended as soon as we arrive at Luxor,” he said.
“By who?” Will laughed, sickly. “You? You don’t work for the government anymore. The Egyptians don’t know you. If anything, they’ll arrest you!” He clutched the wound in his upper abdomen, wetting his fingers with blood.
“I’m not giving you to the Egyptians,” Sean said, in a scathing tone.
Will’s face had become ashen, and he coughed a few times. He knew there was no escape. Then again, there was always one option. His hand slipped onto the handle of the door and jerked it open. Sean lunged forward to grab him but it was too late. Will’s legs pushed hard and he jumped out of the room and disappeared into the desert night.
Sean rushed over to the opening stuck his head out. In the pale light of the moon, he could see Will roll to a stop in the dust far behind the train. He wasn’t sure whether the bullet wound was fatal or not, but without medical attention, he would bleed out within the hour.
Sean reached over to the handle and pulled the door closed. He stuffed the gun back in his jacket then knelt down and grabbed the one Will had dropped. He reopened the door for a moment before tossing Will’s gun out into the darkness. After reclosing the door, he headed back towards his car.
No way I’m going to sleep now, he thought.
Chapter 10
“We’re here, Sir,” the voice of the driver woke Lindsey from his slumber. He wondered how long he’d been asleep. Sleeping in cars wasn’t something he could normally do. However, travelling so much lately had finally taken its toll. He yawned and stretched out his arms. Apparently, his French companion had also fallen asleep and was rubbing his face in an attempt to wake up.
One of the security team members from the other vehicle opened the door for Lindsey, and the older man stepped outside into the cool, early morning. He gazed up at the sky for a moment, taking in the view of billions of stars. He’d heard the desert provided an amazing panorama of space. But seeing it was a whole other thing.