… All 3 of us swiftly returned back to car 7, and stared at Son. More accurately, stare at Son’s body that is currently on the table. There is an almost comical amount of blood coming from his eyes, ears, mouth, and probably other places that we did not want to know. All of it spreading across the table and falling to the floor.

  The first one to break our silence is Tangeren as he says, “Fuck me.”

  Limon grumbles, “You can say that again. I would say we should get a drink and process… that. But I’m pretty sure we broke all of the bottles there.”

  I sigh and say, “Before we do anything, I’ll grab the macguffin so we can guard it from whoever did this to Son.”

  Tangerine side-eye me, clearly not trusting me. “How do we know you won't just steal it?”

  I replied, “Because both of you will promptly beat my ass if I do.”

  Both of them look at each other. “He does have a point,” Limon says.

  Tangerine looks up and down and says, “Ok, but I’ll keep my bug on you.” When he says that, something appears from the shoulder of Son, a ladybug but with the colors inverted. It flies onto my shoulder and goes inside my jacket. “If you do try to leave the train with the case or just die, I’ll know.”

  I nod as I get up and walk to get the macguffin. As soon as I walk into the room, the view from the windows outside changed from outer space, to the familiar tunnel of a normal train. It would appear that we arrived at the next stop, which is Moscow, Russia. We probably missed the announcement because of our shock of the dead Son, or did it announce during our fight. Either way, the train slows down to a stop, and the doors open. I look at the door with an odd cautious look. I know the powers that be are taunting me. I could accomplish this mission if I just grab the case, and get out. Sure the brother could chase me, but I can time it so they would stay in the train and go to the next stop in another continent. But that would be impossible, if I did, the resonance would cause me to get back into the train, one way or another. It wouldn’t be the first time my damn luck punished me when I tried to deny my fate.

  Those memories flood toward me like a breaking dame, memories that I would much rather ignore. The door closed, causing me to snap out of my trance. The train warned passengers to remain seated while the train speeds up. Seeing that I wasted enough time, I grab the case, and head back. I sit down next to the “Twins,” as they sit across from Son’s body.

  As I put the case in front of us, Limon says, “First things first, shouldn’t we try to hide the body. Someone probably already alarmed the police and once the train stops, things will be complicated. Especially for us. Would the bloody eyes be hidden if you put your sunglasses on him?”

  Tangerine immediately dismissed the idea, “Find your own sunglasses, you aren't going to use mine”

  I shake my head. “The chance of that isn’t as high as you might think. Remember, once a Story Resonance happens, those who aren't part of the resonance don’t perceive anything odd. So everyone else will literally walk over a body and not notice it.”

  Tangerine asks, “I have heard of that, but isn’t there a limit to how much a person can “ignore” before they realize what’s happening in a Resonance?”

  I nod, “There is a limit, and the limit is unknown. But at the very least, it’s enough that the body won't be a problem. By the way, what was your relationship with this man?”

  Tangerine answered, “He was a complete stranger, I guess he still is as we didn’t even get his name before the Resonance happened.”

  “As we said a moment ago, he was our prisoner,” Limon says. “Our main job is for us to deliver the breadcase at a disclosed location, but we would be paid more if we kidnapped him.”

  Odd, Son seems to have been very calm for someone who got kidnapped. “Did he fight back?”

  Tangerine shakes his head, “No, found him at a bar and told him if he didn’t follow us, we would hurt him. He complied, didn’t even try to fight back.”

  I may not be a detective, but that doesn't sound like something an experienced kidnapper would do. “Was this your first time kidnapping someone?”

  Limon nods, “First time, but we do have some… experience in the business of crime.”

  Tangerine nods and continues, “This job, if we did both the objectives, would give us enough money for us to turn a new leaf.” I’m surprised they are now so willing to tell me everything when they were so cautious before. Then again, having a dead person in front of us tends to make people more cooperative.

  I say, “Are you picking all of this?”

  Both of the brothers look confused, but I hold one finger up. Elisa says, “It’s using a bit more energy, but yes. Please make it quick, I can’t do this all day.”

  I nod, “Sorry, I was just saying to my handler.” Both of them look concerned, so I added, “Don’t worry, she has the habit of “accidentally” deleting all of the notes she takes. So as long as you’re not too memorable, she'll delete any and all useless information.”

  Tangerine narrows his eyes and gently grabs one of his fingers, “Is that a threat?”

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  I shake my head, “I’m being realistic.”

  Surprisingly, Limon shrugs, “Even if you backstab us, we’ve been in sticker situations. So we’ll be fine.” Tangerine lets his guard down, for now.

  I then ask, “Do you know why your employers wanted him, and what kind of abilities he has, or… had.”

  Limon shrugs again, “I don’t know, you typically don’t ask too many questions when that much money is involved. As for Son specifically, I have no idea what abilities he had. All I know is he’s an up-and-coming Storyborn in the US.” That does narrow things down.

  Elisa says, “Damn, images begin an up-and-coming big shot, only to be killed in a damn space train. It’s kinda like being excited for the X-force in Deadpool 2 only to find out everyone but domino dies during the fall.”

  I put my finger on my ear, to tell the 2 that I’m talking to my handler. “I can imagine, but I thought you didn’t watch any movies with Brad Pitt?"

  She stops typing and sounds very confused, “Yea, are you telling me he’s in the movie?”

  I say, “He cameo when the invisible dude gets electrocuted."

  I wince as she yells, “Damn it! No wonder he looks so god damn familiar."

  “Inside voice.” I turn to the brothers, “Do you know who your employers are?” Both of them shake their heads, which is expected. “Can you tell me how much money they are willing to pay?”

  Limon says, “10 million for the capture of Son. 25 million for the delivery of the briefcase.”

  Red flags immediately appear in my mind. I look at both of them to see if there are signs of embellishment, uncertainty, or deceit. I found none. I ask, “That is a life changing amount of money. Are you sure it wasn’t a scam or a set up?”

  Tangerine says, “It probably is, but we are desperate enough to take the job.”

  Limon solemnly agreed, “Like we said… We want to turn a new leaf. This is the simplest way to disappear and have a fresh start.” During the fight I could tell that Limon did not want to kill me, but was willing to if needed. His brother probably feels the same. They have blood on their hands in order to survive, and want to clean their hands with the money from this mission.

  I ask, “Is that why both of you attacked me, because I would have found out that you’re criminals?”

  Tangerine nods but adds, “That, and our middleman warned that a lot of people are after that briefcase and would go after us. He especially warned for any government officials.”

  Limon added, "Doesn't help how odd you were. With the know randomly revealing your identity and all.” In hindsight, being so direct was probably a bad idea.

  I ask, “Is there any other information that any of you know?”

  Limon is about to answer when Tangerine says, “It’s not information, but there is something odd about this.”

  I raise my eyebrow and ask, “That being?”

  Tangerine points to Son, “I know it’s stupid, but I find it hard to believe he’s dead.”

  Limon looks at the body and says, “Are- are you serious? Look at all that blood.”

  “Not to mention the fact that he doesn't have a pulse.” I added.

  Tangerine wavers, but still says, “I know it sounds like I’m coping, but I can’t help but find it odd that he died so easily. I mean, we were fighting a room away for less than 10- no, maybe 5 minutes. Even if he has a low endurance, there should have been some signs of a struggle.

  He does have a good point. In my experience, killing a storyborn is almost always an exercise of attrition. But the killer could also have some sort of weird ability that could make the kill swift and easy. That or they already knew his ability, or at the very least his stats and planned accordingly. But even then… Why attack in the brief time the brothers confronted me? There could have been many more opportunities if they just waited.

  I shake my head, “Although it’s odd, we don’t have enough clues to find out.”

  Limon nods, "Especially when there's a wild killing in the train.”

  “Speaking of killers,” I said. “You might want to know who is going into the train.”

  Both of them seem surprising, but Tangerian says, "Does it have something to do with the story this renaissance is based on?”

  I nod, “I believe it’s a movie about different assassins/secret agents who got on a bullet train. And each one has a code name.”

  Limon chuckles a bit, “Let me guess, are some of them Ladybug, Limon, Tangerin, and Son?”

  I nod my head, “There are also some more roles that will or have boarded the train. I believe they are Elder, Hornet, Prince, Wolf, and White Death. If the Resonance is going to include the animals, then there’s also Boomslang.”

  Tangerine sighs and scratches his head, “Great, there's going to be at least 5 or 6 more Storyborn.” He then looks concerned, “Isn’t a Boomslang a type of Snake.”

  I nod and Tangerine squeezes his head in anxiety, while Limon pats his brother’s back while trying to hide a smile. “Are you afraid of snakes?”

  “How could anyone not be afraid of snakes,” Tangerine says with laced fear and disgust. “They're unsettling to look at and they can bite you and you're dead.”

  I can’t help but remember one of his creature he summoned, “But, didn’t you-”

  Tangerine interrupts me, already knowing what I’m about to say. “I don’t know. I’m fine when I see my snake, but when I see a snake in the wild, I just can't.”

  I shrug, not the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard.

  Limon says, “Anyway, I think we should explore this train. If their will be confilice on the train, we might as well know the layout. And if we find out who killed Son on the way, the better.”

  I look at him with uncertainty, “I doute the killer will be holding a sigh that says ‘Fight me, I killed a man.’ They will be hidden. Hell, they could be in this room and we could not even know it.”

  Limon nods but says, “If we don’t find them, all we will lose is time. Plus, do you have any other ideas other then wait it out.”

  Tangerine nods his head and says with a smirk, “I’ll be damn, you actually made a good plan. What else, will a pig fly next to the space dragon.” Limon stuck his tongue out in response.

  I wouldn’t mind just sitting down and wait for something to happen. But since we probably don’t have much time, it’s probably best to be more proactive. “Alright, lead the way.”