A Simple Train Ride - Part 1

Mango’s grin was manic. Wild in the eyes, teeth sharp like she was chewing on chaos. She was dressed in a white top and jeans with sneakers. The jeans were tight, showing the curves of her ass. The white top was low and exposed her thin waist. She didn’t know if he was looking at the gun or her chest, but she didn’t care.

The sneakers were Black ankle Adidas shoes. Just in case she had to move around quickly.

“You really thought you got me, didn’t you?” she said, jabbing John hard in the chest with the barrel of her gun. “You dumb bastard! You thought it was over huh?”

“You’re alive!” John said, stunned. His eyes went wide, like his brain was playing catch-up with his reality.

“Of course I am,” Mango said with a smirk. “Although... you almost got me.”

“Mango, I—”

“Shut up!” Her voice snapped like a trap. “Sit. The fuck. Down.”

She stepped forward, gun steady, guiding him backward until he hit the seat. She pushed, and he dropped into it with a dull thud.

This man really thought he’d ended her.

He thought wrong. That wasn’t going to be the end of her story. She’s in control.

Plenty of people had tried to kill Mango before. Ex-lovers, ex-bosses, a Russian assassin who once mailed her a bomb in a teddy bear.

But this one? This rich boy mafia wanna-be?

He’d come the closest.

If it hadn’t been for her FOCUS, she wouldn’t be standing here. She’d gone completely unconscious, bleeding out fast. But the AI kicked in, took full override, and injected the emergency meds she had buried in her purse.

Thing was, FOCUS wasn’t programmed to do that. Not without a command.

But it did. Somehow, it took over completely when she went unconscious.

Maybe the machine liked her. Maybe it just wanted to see how the story ended. Maybe it knew that it would die when she did.

“How did you survive?” John asked.

Mango shrugged. “You want details? My FOCUS saved me. Auto-injected the meds. But that wasn’t enough. I came to with thirty seconds of brain fog and a bloodstream full of adrenaline. Had to drive myself to the hospital. Delirious. Fading. Ran every red light from the East Side to Mercy General.”

She leaned backward with a proud smirk.

“Doctor said if I’d shown up five minutes later, I’d be dead. So…” She cocked the gun. “Congrats. I’ll actually remember you. But unfortunately, fun time’s over.”

John didn’t flinch. Just stared at her.

“I don’t know what’s more impressive,” he said. “Your will to live… or your tracking skills.”

“Enough talk,” Mango hissed. “This is where you die. Right here. Right now.”

She angled the gun, ready to end it.

“Any final words?” she asked.

John didn’t move. She could see his mind was racing. Spinning through escape plans, calculating distance, checking the angle of her grip, probably trying to remember if he left anything flammable in his suitcase.

“No,” he said. “Just one. A question, actually.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Fine. Shoot.”

Her mind was focused solely on him. No tricks this time.

Talent: Knife Shade. Activate, she thought.

<<<>>>

[Acknowledged]

[Talent: Knife Shade, Activated]

<<<>>>

A buzz pulsed behind her eyes.

The several knives on her person instantly lit up in her mental interface. On her hip, thigh, ankle and several other places.

She didn’t know what was coming next, but she wasn’t about to be caught off guard.

Not again.

Mango still had that crazy grin on her face. The kind that said she was seconds away from either kissing you or pulling the trigger.

John looked at her, eyes steady. “Why didn’t you shoot me?”

“What?”

“Back at the apartment. You had me. You could’ve pulled the trigger. You didn’t.”

“That’s for me to know and you to never find out.”

“Even now.” John’s voice sharpened. “You talked. You waited. You could’ve ended it as soon as you saw me. But you didn’t.”

Mango sat up and a frown seeped onto her face. “Easy. I wanted you to know. Know that you didn’t get the drop on me. And you never will. I wanted to see the look in your eyes when it hit you. That you failed. And most importantly…”

She stood up. “I need to get my money.”

“Your money?”

“Even though I figured he didn’t betray me, I needed to be sure before I continued.”

“Wait,” John said, looking down as if he was thinking, “You really think my brother’s still gonna pay you?”

“There was no time limit,” Mango snapped. “ We talked already. You got away, yeah, but now I’m back. I deliver the body, I get paid.”

John’s eyes went cold. “So you do plan to collect.”

Mango smiled wide. “Told him myself. You’re dying today. Soon as we hit the drop point, his guy meets me, hands me my cash, and takes your corpse. Easy peasy.”

John shot to his feet.

Mango raised the gun. “Hey! Sit down! No sudden movements.”

“You dumb bitch,” John said in a dark tone. His fist clenched so hard they went white.

“Excuse me?!” said Mango, jumping up to her feet as well. This wasn’t the reaction of a man about to be shot.

“You’re the reason I never saw my contact. You blew the whole op. You tipped them off.”

“Of course I told them where you were,” Mango said, chin up. “We’re working together. Or did you miss that?”

John stepped toward the window, slow. “You’re gonna kill me anyway, right? So if I so much as breathe wrong, you’ll shoot me.”

“Glad we understand each other,” Mango said. “What’s your point?”

“I want to open the blinds.”

Mango squinted. “Why?”

“I’m not jumping,” John said, his dark brown eyes piercing into her soul. “You’d shoot me before I made it two steps. I just want to look. One last time.”

Mango hesitated. The move made no sense. And John looked nervous. Not scared of her, but of what was outside.

She didn’t like it. He played tricks before and it didn’t end well. However, she had a funny feeling in her spine. He seemed less concerned with her and desperate to see out a damn window.

It piqued her interest.

“Fine,” she said, motioning with the gun. “Weird-ass last request, but get to it.”

John moved slowly.

Too slowly.

Each step measured. Too careful.

Something was wrong.

Again.

Last time she’d been missing a piece of the puzzle and it almost got her killed. But this time? She didn’t care. She had the gun. She had the upper hand. She had the money coming. Everything was hers right? She won.

John reached for the blind cord. Pulled.

The light spilled in.

His eyes went wide.

“Oh shit!” he yelled.

Then he dove straight at her. Mango fired.

Bang!

Missed by an inch.

“What the hell are you doing—?”

She didn’t get to finish.

John tackled her to the floor just as the windows exploded into a million razor shards.

The glass shattered as gunfire poured in.

Bullets screamed past their heads, ripping through cushions, walls, everything. The feathers and cushion stuffing started flying throughout the room.

The train car was getting lit the hell up. Full-auto, no mercy.

John grabbed her and shoved her head down.

“Get down, you idiot!” he yelled.

Metal rang and pinged. Ricochets everywhere. The air smelled like cordite and chaos.

Mango’s ears rang. Her head spun. She sat up and saw a black helicopter outside the train.

Hovering. Gun mounted. Muzzle smoking.

Standing at the open door working the gun was her drop off contact. He was reloading as the gun cooled down.

<<<>>>

[WARNING: Unforeseen element could risk survival]

[Suggestion: Abandon mission]

<<<>>>

“What the fuck is this?!” Mango shouted.

John’s voice cut through the madness.

“This?” he yelled, pushing her head down again. “This is you fucking up my life!”