The Rule of Nine

Joselyn sees two uniformed cops patrolling the station on the other side of the tracks. “Give me a moment, I’ll have to go back up and over the top so I can tell them what’s happening. I’ll be right back.” She leaves me standing on the platform as she heads back toward the ticket area.

I turn again and look for Thorn, but I don’t see him. I am begi

I look back toward the ticketing area where Joselyn was headed and notice that she’s still on the platform, and she’s not moving. She is stopped near a pillar, standing there motionless, not saying anything and not moving.

I start to walk in that direction and suddenly Thorn steps out from behind the pillar. He has one hand on her arm and the other in his coat pocket. The way he holds it there I can tell he’s handling some kind of weapon.

“Never mind that your friend’s seen us,” said Thorn. “This way.” He held her arm, gripping it hard above the elbow, and pulled her behind him, retreating toward the far end of the platform.

Thorn had already seen the two cops on the other side. He got up close in Joselyn’s ear from behind. “Don’t say anything,” said Thorn, “just motion with your hand. Tell him to stay away. Do it or I’ll kill you right here. Trust me-I can shoot you and nobody’s even going to hear it.”

Joselyn moves her right hand out, her palm facing me, away from her waist, her fingers open and extended, and while Thorn grips her arm tightly, she waves me off, a sign that I should keep my distance.

All I can do is stand there and watch as Thorn, with his hand around Joselyn’s arm, retreats toward the other end of the platform.

Suddenly I hear the rush of air coming from the open tu

He sees me and stops. Before he can move again, the doors close and the train starts to move. Thorn realizes that his best chance to escape has just pulled out of the station. Instead he backs up toward the open tu

In the rush and commotion of the train pulling out, I look across to the other side. The two uniformed cops are gone. When I look back at the tu

I run for the end of the platform, lean over, and try to peer into the tu

I jump down and enter the darkness. It takes a minute or so for my eyes to begin to adjust. I can make out warning signs, red lights facing in this direction in the distance. I start to make my way deeper into the tu

I look down. There are two sets of tracks. One on this side and one on the other, three rails for each set. Two of them are safe, the third one, off center and just inside the rail nearest me, carries high-voltage electricity for the train. It is deadly. Touch it, even wearing a rubber-soled ru

As soon as they were enveloped in darkness, Thorn pulled the silenced Walther PPK from his coat pocket and held it firmly against the side of Joselyn’s head as he pushed her through the tu

He had no idea how far it was to the next station. His plan was to kill her with a single silenced shot to the head the moment he saw any light at the end. That way he could emerge alone into the station, where he could take the escalator up to the street and disappear. He wasn’t sure what he would do about his passports or his luggage. That he would have to think about, and figure it out when he got there.

As all of this was ru

I see the lights approaching. I jump the two rails next to me, skip over the other rail, and then clear the opposite set of rails carrying traffic in the other direction. I want to get to the far side of the tu

I wait until I feel the rush of the wind, the pressure wave in front of the train as it fills the tu

As the train reaches me, I sprint as fast as my legs can carry me. My feet kick up gravel. But Thorn won’t be able to hear a thing, not with the sound of the speeding train in his ears. The lighted windows race by, like a falling ladder. The instant they pass I am once more immersed in darkness. But the sound of the retreating train still covers the noise of my feet on the gravel.

I jump the two rails closest to me, then the outside rail and the other set, and within a few seconds my back is pressed against the side of the tu

Then I hear it. I can’t tell how much distance I have made up, but it doesn’t sound right. Suddenly I realize why. Joselyn and Thorn are no longer out in front. They are behind me, coming this way. I can hear Thorn talking to Joselyn, telling her to keep moving.

I realize what has happened. They had stood stationary, probably pressed against the wall of the tu

Thorn must have been looking back for me, using the lights of the train to try to scope me out in the darkness. Instead, I am already past him.

Now they are closing in on me. I can’t tell how close, maybe no more than ten or fifteen feet away. I can hear Joselyn breathing heavily as he pushes her along. “Keep moving, bitch!” He shoves her and she stumbles forward, landing on her hands and knees almost at my feet. She looks over and sees the bottoms of my pants legs. There is an expression of shock on her face when she sees me. Then she looks away.

My body presses against the side of the tu

Joselyn gets to her feet, takes two steps, and just as Thorn clears the I beam she begins to run. Her sudden action must have startled him, because it takes him a second before he realizes. He focuses all of his energies on the pistol in his hand. He raises it and takes aim just as I reach out and grab his wrist with both hands, forcing the muzzle of the gun up.

Thorn pulls off the round. The pistol coughs and the bullet ricochets off the ceiling of the tu