CHAPTER 9: THE BLACKWATER TRAIN
1202 Words
The rain had stopped by dawn.
Neo-Vesper City looked wounded beneath the pale gray morning sky.
Smoke still rose from the ruins of Velvet Mirage Casino while emergency drones circled overhead broadcasting evacuation warnings. News channels blamed the m******e on international terrorists.
Ghost Orchid.
Kaedrin Vale.
Every screen in the city carried their faces now.
Wanted.
Hunted.
Condemned.
---
A black armored vehicle sped silently through the industrial outskirts of the city.
Inside, tension filled the air like poison.
Nysera drove while encrypted maps glowed across the dashboard. Kaedrin sat opposite Vaelora, cleaning blood from his pistol with mechanical precision.
Neither had spoken for nearly twenty minutes.
But silence between them felt louder than gunfire.
Vaelora sat near the window, her thoughts trapped on one thing:
Lyrielle.
Kaedrin’s missing sister.
The necklace around her neck suddenly felt heavier than steel.
Fragments of broken memories still clawed at the edges of her mind.
A girl laughing.
White laboratory lights.
Screaming.
Fire.
And blood.
Always blood.
Nysera finally broke the silence.
“The Red Cipher is moving tonight.”
Kaedrin looked up instantly.
“Where?”
Nysera activated a holographic railway map above the dashboard.
“One of Soryn’s transport networks intercepted military cargo before dawn.”
Several glowing routes appeared.
Then one began blinking red.
“The shipment is aboard a classified armored train called Blackwater.”
Vaelora frowned slightly.
“That name sounds familiar.”
“It should,” Kaedrin said coldly.
“Blackwater trains don’t officially exist.”
Nysera nodded.
“They’re mobile military vaults. No digital tracking. No public routes. No witnesses.”
Vaelora crossed her arms.
“And somehow you found it.”
Nysera met her gaze evenly.
“I still have contacts inside intelligence.”
Kaedrin watched Nysera carefully.
Too carefully.
Vaelora noticed.
He still didn’t trust her.
Smart man.
Nysera continued.
“The train crosses the northern industrial sector tonight before entering the underground transit tunnel beneath the ocean.”
Kaedrin’s expression hardened.
“If Helix reaches the tunnel system, we lose it permanently.”
Vaelora leaned forward slightly.
“So we board the train before then.”
Nysera looked at her.
“You say that like it’s simple.”
“It’s a train.”
Kaedrin almost smiled.
“An armored military fortress moving at two hundred kilometers per hour.”
Vaelora shrugged faintly.
“So… slightly complicated.”
For the first time all morning—
Kaedrin actually smirked.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
And somehow that tiny expression disturbed Vaelora more than his coldness did.
---
Night fell quickly over Neo-Vesper City.
Thunderclouds gathered again as the Blackwater Train sliced through the industrial wastelands north of the city.
Massive.
Black.
Silent.
Its armored exterior reflected almost no light while railguns rotated slowly along the roof.
No civilian train looked like that.
This one looked built for war.
High above the tracks, Vaelora crouched atop a steel bridge wearing tactical black combat gear. Wind whipped strands of dark hair across her face while freight lights glowed beneath her.
Beside her, Kaedrin adjusted a magnetic harness.
“Timing matters,” he said calmly.
“If you miss the jump—”
“I die,” Vaelora finished.
“Yes.”
She glanced sideways.
“You always this encouraging?”
“Only with people I’m trying to keep alive.”
The words caught her slightly off guard.
Kaedrin checked his watch.
“Thirty seconds.”
Far below, the Blackwater Train thundered closer through the darkness.
Nysera’s voice crackled through comms.
“Satellite sweeps are increasing. You have twelve minutes before military drones lock onto your position.”
“Plenty of time,” Vaelora replied.
“Those words usually end badly,” Nysera muttered.
The train roared beneath the bridge.
Kaedrin looked toward Vaelora once.
“Ready?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Then he jumped.
Vaelora cursed softly and leapt after him.
The magnetic harness slammed them hard onto the roof of the speeding train.
Wind exploded around them instantly.
The train moved terrifyingly fast.
Metal rattled beneath their boots while rain began pouring again across the armored surface.
Kaedrin moved first, sprinting low across the roof toward the central cargo carriage.
Vaelora followed closely.
Searchlights suddenly activated behind them.
“Movement detected!”
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Bullets sparked against the metal roof.
Vaelora slid beneath incoming fire while Kaedrin returned precise shots toward the guards climbing onto the roof.
One soldier fell beneath the speeding wheels instantly.
Another rolled sideways after Vaelora’s blade opened his throat.
More guards emerged ahead.
Too many.
Kaedrin pointed toward a roof hatch.
“Inside!”
Vaelora shot the lock.
The hatch burst open.
They dropped into the train seconds before machine-gun fire shredded the roof above them.
The interior corridor glowed red beneath emergency lights.
Cold steel walls.
Heavy security doors.
No windows.
The inside felt more like a bunker than transportation.
Kaedrin checked the digital layout on his wrist device.
“Cargo vault is three cars ahead.”
Vaelora reloaded her weapon.
“And heavily guarded.”
“Obviously.”
Alarms suddenly screamed throughout the train.
INTRUDER ALERT.
Well.
So much for stealth.
Automated turrets emerged from hidden ceiling compartments instantly.
Kaedrin shoved Vaelora sideways as bullets tore through the corridor.
“MOVE!”
They sprinted through narrow hallways while automated weapons tracked them relentlessly.
Vaelora slid beneath one turret and shot its sensor core.
It exploded in sparks.
Kaedrin hacked another security door open just before armed soldiers stormed the corridor behind them.
Gunfire erupted again.
The train became chaos.
Metal walls echoed with bullets, alarms, and screaming commands while the speeding fortress hurtled through darkness.
Finally—
They reached the central vault.
A massive reinforced steel door blocked the corridor.
Red digital locks covered its surface.
Vaelora exhaled sharply.
“That’s annoying.”
Kaedrin pulled a small explosive device from his coat.
“You hack.”
“I blow things up.”
Vaelora almost laughed.
“Very balanced partnership.”
Seconds later—
BOOM.
The vault door exploded inward.
Smoke flooded the carriage.
Inside—
A glowing silver container rested alone beneath bright white lights.
PROJECT HELIX — RED CIPHER
Vaelora stepped toward it slowly.
Finally.
But then—
Her instincts screamed.
“Wait.”
Kaedrin froze immediately.
“What?”
Vaelora looked around the vault carefully.
Too clean.
Too empty.
No guards.
No resistance.
Then she saw it.
A blinking red light beneath the container.
Bomb.
Kaedrin’s expression darkened instantly.
“Trap.”
The train lights suddenly shut off.
Darkness swallowed the carriage.
Then Soryn Kade’s voice echoed calmly through hidden speakers.
“Good evening, Ghost Orchid.”
Vaelora’s blood ran cold.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to find me.”
The blinking red light accelerated faster.
Faster.
Kaedrin grabbed Vaelora’s wrist instantly.
“We run now.”
Soryn chuckled softly through the speakers.
“Oh, I don’t think you understand.”
The train entered the ocean tunnel at full speed.
Then every carriage door locked shut automatically.
WARNING
DETONATION SEQUENCE ACTIVE
Vaelora’s eyes widened.
“How much time?”
Kaedrin checked the timer.
His face went still.
“Thirty seconds.”
And suddenly—
The Blackwater Train exploded beneath the ocean tunnel.
- Writer
