Chapter 9 - Edge of the Abyss
Lucas twisted Eleanor’s wrist, applying a devastating joint lock that forced her fingers to release the weapon. The gun clattered against the iron floor and bounced over the side, disappearing into the dark abyss of the tunnel.
Eleanor didn't panic. With surprising viciousness, she drove a hidden ceramic blade from her sleeve directly toward Lucas's neck. He caught the blade with his bare forearm, the razor edge slicing deep through flesh and uniform fabric. Warm blood flooded his hand, but he didn't yield an inch.
He shoved her back against the cab wall, pinning her by the throat. ""Stop the train.""
""Too late, Captain,"" she gasped, her face turning crimson beneath his grip, eyes darting to the laptop mounted inside the cab window.
A progress bar flashed across the screen: Upload 98% complete.
Clara scrambled past them into the cab, frantically typing commands into the terminal. ""The encryption is cycling! I need the physical fob!""
Lucas reached down, ripping the severed finger and the biometric key from Eleanor's neck. He tossed it through the open cab door. ""Do it now!""
Clara caught the key, pressing it against the terminal sensor. Biometric Verified. Abort Command Initiated?
Eleanor smiled bloodily beneath Lucas's grip. ""You think stopping the upload saves you? The brakes were cut two miles ago. This train terminates at the deep-water shipyard bulkhead.""
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Lucas glanced forward through the cab's grimy windshield. A quarter-mile ahead, the dark tunnel ended at a concrete barricade overlooking the churning, freezing black waters of the harbor basin.
The train was traveling at sixty miles per hour.
