An Act of Spite

*Whistle*
Steam blew out of the train's smokestack. Large crowds filled the bustling station and at the center of those crowds stood Rin, Lena, Klein, and Miles.

Each disguised with a simple hat and pair of shades, the four walked side by side, squeezing their way through the sea of people rushing to their destinations.

"You have it right?", Klein asked.

Rin unzipped his jacket to show him the paper bag sitting inside. As soon as Klein nodded, Rin concealed it once again and kept walking.

As Rin scanned the area, he noticed he had a tendency to linger on all the people around him. Many carried themselves in the same way as him, though it was hard to imagine any of them were dealing with anything even half as important as he was. 

But his mission would soon be over. All he had to do was steal the final key, hand everything over to Klein, and then ride the train to his new life.

-A happy ending. A satisfactory conclusion. 

Rin kept thinking that to himself as the group split into two pairs: Rin and Klein and Lena and Miles. They each took their own two-seater in the train car. 

***

More and more people started filling in. But no matter how many people passed by him, Rin never took his eyes off the top shelves where all their luggage was stored. 

"That one.", he said. 

Rin's eyes settled on one man in particular. A completely ordinary looking man, armed with nothing but a completely ordinary looking suitcase. He would have gone unnoticed by anyone else, but not to Rin.

"The sooner we get this over with, the better.", Klein said.

He stood and Rin followed him. They approached the man who'd just settled into his seat.

"Come with us."

Klein pushed the man into an isolated part of the train.

"W-What's this all about!?"

Rin stepped forward.

"We know what's in the suitcase. We're here on your employer's behalf."

The loudspeaker came on at the worst time.

"Attention passengers, please take your seats. The train will be moving momentarily."

It was loud so Rin had to shout over it.

"The situation's changed! Hand over the suitcase and forget this ever-"

"I repeat. The train will be moving momentarily. Please take your seats."

"Hand over the suitcase and-"

"What!?", the man asked.

Before Rin could repeat himself, Klein struck the man in the face and watched as he slumped to the floor. 

"This is important. We don't need to explain anything to him."

***

Outside, a woman in a trench coat approached the train. She stopped at the man standing by to check people's tickets. As soon as he turned around to do so for her, the woman pressed a pistol to his waist. She hissed in his ear.

"Get inside."

***

Lena stared out her window as she leaned against it.

"Planning on doing anything after this?"

She lifted her head off of the glass and looked over at Miles. Her gaze was a bit cold.

"N-No that's not what I meant."

As he tried to clear things up, Lena shifted her eyes downward. She wasn't listening.

"Why is he being like this?", she asked.

"...Rin?"

"I just don't get it. He knows what he's doing is stupid, so why?"

Miles scratched his cheek, wondering if it would be best to just let her rant instead of adding in his own two cents.

"How would you deal with him?"

Lena looked Miles dead in the eyes.

"Uh, I'm not really the best person to ask about this kind-"

"Just answer."

A brief silence.

"...Well, to be honest, I'd probably smack the shit out of him.", Miles said.

Lena frowned slightly before responding.

"That... might be a bit difficult for me."

"Maybe you don't have to go that far, but you've got to be tough on him sometimes, especially if he's being unreasonable."

"...I guess so..."

Without even realizing it, she started twiddling her thumbs. 

"Do you think he'd hate me?"

"...He'll probably be upset at first, but I think he'd understand eventually..."

Miles paused briefly.

"He'll understand he's lucky to have someone like you looking out for him."

Lena's gaze softened in response to that.

At that exact moment, Rin and Klein returned, and they went directly for the suitcase. Miles tilted his head at them.

"How about you set things straight with him now?"

It took a bit, but Lena smiled at him.

"I thought you weren't great at this kind of thing."

Miles shrugged.

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Lena stood up.

"Thanks.", she said.

"Hey if you really want to thank me, how about a date after this?"

She waved back at him as she walked up to Rin, determined to finally get through to him. 

Before she could get far though, the train's engine roared to life. Almost everyone lost their balance as the car shook violently into motion. 

Lena grabbed onto the chair next to her as she looked behind her to see what was going on. It started with one, then two, and then a sea of gasps coming from the head of the train as more and more people started flooding into the back of it.

Her vision was completely obscured by the smokescreen of people, but she could still hear everything. A voice rang out over everyone else's. A voice she knew all too well.

"RIN! I know you're here. Come to the control room now! Take too long and I'll come find you myself!", Eva shouted. 

All she heard after that were the sounds of her footsteps getting farther away and a door shutting afterwards. Lena shoved towards Rin immediately as a massive panic broke out among the rest of the passengers. She managed to find him pretty quickly.

"Rin. What do we do!?"

The train was already in motion. Jumping out of the window would be suicide. They were completely trapped, and Rin seemed fully aware of this.

He simply stood there, trying to collect his thoughts.

"There's only one thing we can do in this situation."

He slipped the final key into his pocket and moved towards the front of the train as he said that.

Lena stopped him immediately.

"Are you crazy!? Eva will kill you."

"She's going to find me anyway. My only choice is to negotiate with her."

Lena knew he was right, but she still had to do something.

"I'm coming with you.", she said.

***

The two stepped into the control room together to face their biggest nightmare.

Eva simply stared out the window as they entered. She didn't speak for the first couple of minutes. They were forced to wait for her, an act made difficult by the constant swaying of the train. 

Eventually, she spoke, but not at them.

"Bring in the chopper."

She spoke into a walkie talkie, then turned to face the two.

*Click*
In an instant, her pistol was raised, aimed directly at Rin's head. She didn't fire immediately though. She knew what was coming next.

Rin unzipped his jacket and held out the paper bag to her.

"The bomb and all three keys. You can have it in exchange for our lives."

*Chug, chug, chug*
The train powered down the tracks as Rin waited for Eva to take the bag from him. After what seemed like an eternity, she walked forward.

*Chug, chug, chug*
She snatched up the bag and peered inside. After a brief glance, she turned her back on both of them. 

Eva looked up. A chopper's blades could be heard approaching the locomotive. Hearing this, she whirled around in an instant. 

*BANG*
Blood everywhere. Rin's eyes widened. He was unharmed.

-Then who?

The realization dawned on him. Rin turned slowly, dreading what he would see.

Lena slumped to the ground, blood flowing out of her torso and forming a puddle around her as she lay there motionless.

Rin opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

*BOOM*
The walls around him came crashing down. Rin was hit with a blast of cold wind. He could barely hear or see anything due to the intense pressure suddenly contorting his face. 

Air entered his lungs too quickly. He couldn't breathe properly. But he was only focused on one thing. He pushed against the wind with all of his might and reached out to grab Lena's arm. With all of his strength, he pulled her away from the edge of the train so she wouldn't fall off.

"You really got on my nerves Rin! Hope I was able to return the favor!"

Eva cackled as she flew off in her chopper at high speeds, leaving Rin alone at the front of a speeding train.