Chapitre 71: Train

The lucky run had exhausted its course. They had fixed the tire with some local help and had uneventfully secured a bag of fuel chips. They were headed back for the car with their suitcase and Tama in tow. Fortunately, Tyne had returned the radio back in the case and had hidden it in the bushes nearby before they headed down the path for assistance.

They had been taking a route to the bushes to reclaim the suitcase when Kei, fortunately, spotted the unexpected attention around the car before they were noticed.

The four men hid behind the cover of bushes in the thick belt of trees nearby, watching men in beige uniforms examining the car. Tyne whispered his doubts on their Wiesmen personae getting them out of trouble. Especially when a new party of men in black suits and overcoats entered the scene. Kenpeitai. Their presence was obviously making the men in the beige uniforms nervous and overly conscious of not making the wrong move.

"We can't take the car," Tyne whispered the obvious and a look of apology to Kei.

Kei flicked him a look of, 'I'm not stupid.'

The men quietly moved away from the scene and back to the boatyard where they hastily paid for a cart ride to the local train station that was manned by women.

Eiji had learned that all the local men had been recently drafted to Okinawa for the current fight. He had lied, saying he was headed there himself, after he had fulfilled his current orders to bring the German doctors to their company in Kure. He explained that the men were making fake limbs for the soldiers in Kagoshima.

This had fortunately intrigued the station attendants who were more than happy to help a fell soldier doing the honorable duty of escorting medical aid for those on the front lines.

Eiji stifled his guilt and feelings of dirty dishonor, accepting their help onto a train bound for Kure.

Unfortunately, they had jumped out of the pan and into a fire when kenpeitai boarded the same train. As the train traveled in motion, they patrolled the aisles on a search. A group stopped before their booth and demanded their papers, causing the surrounding passengers to go quiet and move as far from the men as possible.

Tyne assessed the situation and compiled it by handing over a set of their fake identities.

The kenpei's attention was refocused on Eiji's face.

"You are Takaki, Eiji?" Grunted a man about Eiji's age with acne scars on his face.

He let out a sinister chuckled that made the train carriage stifle nervous cries.

"Of course you are." He handed Eiji his papers with a black-gloved hand and added a gesture to get up. "Come with me now."

Eiji carefully let out a sigh and calmly rose to compile. There was no point in causing a scene that could cause harm to innocent civilians.

Tyne began to do the same and was curtly ordered to stay put. They only wanted Eiji.

"It's okay Sir." Eiji flashed them a weak smile. He moved out of the booth and down the aisle, taking the secret police with him.

Tyne and Sean shared knowing glances and agreed to an unspoken plan with a nod. They counted to ten then roused Kei out of his seat and moved down the aisle in the direction the kenpei had escorted Eiji out of the carriage. Apologizing politely to relived passengers on their way.

They passed through car doors and saw Eiji being led towards the car vestibule. Tyne knew that Eiji was dead as soon as he stepped out onto the car exit platform beyond.

Sean glanced about the near-empty first-class car, looked at the suitcase he carried and Tama held in Tyne's hand. He whispered a plan to the men.

"Why should we bother? We have our orders." Kei hissed back with his sound logic.

"Orders yes, but don't tell me you don't feel anything here." Tyne hushed Kei's question by calling out Kei's truth of his feelings for Eiji.

The man did care about him at the end of the day.

"Fine. This will jeopardize the mission." Kei carefully answered back.

"Since when did you care about missions," Sean said through gritted teeth. "Besides, these men have your Blended Beauty. I see the only way back to it is to eliminate the obstructions."

Mentioning on Kei's car ensured his one hundred percent commitment to the cause.

Sean quickly recapped on the plan in German like they were talking about tea to deflect unwanted attention.

Eiji's head was just visible beyond the small car door window. He was soon hidden behind a crowd of black-capped heads belonging to the kenpeitai.

He had entered the vestibule. It was now or never.

They retraced their steps back to the other vestibule and stepped onto the open car platform; fierce winds slapping their skin as the train unsuspectingly moved at high speeds along the tracks lining the coast.

"Go back to our seats and protect our bags," Tyne ordered Kei

Kei grumbled, but willingly held the suitcase, Tama bag, and returned to their designated seats.

Tyne and Sean carefully climbed over the platform rails and onto the fire ladder, making sure their hand and footing didn't miss a rung. The fierce winds and howling about their bodies were threatening to knock them off their perches.

They climbed up and crawled onto the top of the train car roof, which was fortunately cool from the astringent sea breeze whipping against the metal despite baking in the approaching noon sun.

Tyne paused to hand Sean a pistol he had been secretly carrying in the lining of his suit jacket.

"Don't miss." He managed to say to his corporal.

Sean grabbed the small pistol tight in his white glove hand. Like he would. He wasn't a soldier if he screwed up his target.

They continued their crawl to the fire ladder on the other side of the car.