Ayumi tucks her swords away at the sound of Jacque's voice. "Now you stay quiet, or else," she whispers at Karl. Sensing the man who helped them earlier is probably worth their trust in the short run, she lets him in. (Besides, if he tries something, he'll have Carla to deal with.)
At the invitation, Jacques steps just inside the door. It is clear that the women have the situation well in hand.
Ahem, he clears his throat, looking just a bit uncomfortable. "I just overheard a couple men talking in the loo. Sounded like they were up to no good, and you might be the targets. Just thought you might want to know.
"By the way, any idea why these men attacked that young woman and then you?"
Jacque occasionally checks the corridor, watching for the two men to show themselves...which they do a few moments later.
They are dressed plainly with well-worn shoes, a fairly good indication that they are some sort of government officials and not your typical high-paid hitmen. Both men have their hands in their overcoat pockets and seem to be moving cautiously.
At first sight of the two men, Jacques turns and whispers into the cabin, "Here they come."
He then steps out into the hall. <"Ah, I'm sorry, wrong cabin. My mistake."> He then moves off down the hall toward where he last saw the babuska and her young charge. He doesn't walk too fast or too far - just in case...
The goverment-types don't seem too interested in Jacque, ignoring his words as they walk down the corridor.
Glancing over his shoulder as he leaves the area, Jacque sees the two men nod to eachother just as one of them (Georgi) pulls out a stun gun while Pavlov opens his coat and goes for his service pistol.
Inside their cabin, Ayumi and Carla continue to grill their captives with Carla shifts her attention between the interrogation and the entrance.
The first one through the doorway is Georgi, firing off his stungun into Carla as she reactively throws her knife. Electricity courses through Carla as the metal barbs jolt her. It's a thoroughly unpleasant experience, but not enough to keep the tough gal down. Wincing through the pain, Carla sees that her knife has buried itself into Georgi's upper arm. It doesn't look too bad, but there remains the fact that he's now got a knife stuck in him.
Upon seeing his partner get hit, Pavlov pushes Georgi aside and fires his pistol at Carla. Shots ring out in the traincar as one bullet catches Carla in the leg with the other punching a hole in the cabin floor.
(murmur of an upset stomach followed by a puking sound)
Peter is fast asleep in the passenger with the (literal) rumblings of Anatoli being heard over the drumming sounds of NOFX on the rig's stereo.
Anatoli appears to have awakened from his drug-induced stupor, wiping a bit of vomit off his unshaven chin. His breath could peel paint, which does not add to Artis' displeasure of having him on this roadtrip.
"Ah. Hello, my friend. Are we near Novosibirsk yet?"
Jacque is near the door to the next car when the men make their move on his new acquaintances. The fact that they attack right off, rather than identifying themselves and asking the women to surrender, makes them look less than official.
Oh well, here goes nothing... Jacques thinks to himself.
Taking a step back into the car, Jacques pulls out his handcannon and aims it at the nearest of the men. <"Stop right there! Drop your weapons!"> he calls out, hoping the men take the hint. He'd rather not have to kill them.
Members of SMP's finest climb aboard the train and begin to force everyone (at gunpoint) off the train. When two of them arrive in Moten and Brian's car, the conductor enthusiastically points out their credentials.
"They are....FSB. I see...badge."
The policemen do a double-take at the conductor's remarks, snapping salutes to Moten (in particular) and Brian.
Upon seeing his partner get hit, Pavlov pushes Georgi aside and fires his pistol at Carla. Shots ring out in the traincar as one bullet catches Carla in the leg with the other punching a hole in the cabin floor.
Carla grits her teeth, feeling the searing kiss of hot lead go through-and-through her leg. In a bout of adrenaline, she yanks on the stungun's wires. They don't seem to be going anywhere, so Carla grabs her spare bootknife with her free hand and cuts herself free from further electrocution.
Moten returns the salute, then motions for the police to take him to their leader, keeping an eye out for anything that looks, sounds, or smells even remotely like an ambush.
Peter looks at the back of the cab, shaking his head.
"To think I wanted to put carpet back there...Can you please get the truck to my garage before the repair list grows longer than the Principia Discordia? Man, they told me that you folks fuck over every vehicle you get into, but this is just insult to injury."
Brian gets the idea of what is going on, and follows the men out, doing his best to look like the strong, silent, and generally dangerous part of the two-man team.
In other words, discouraging the damn police from talking to him.
"Oh please. This thing doesn't even have bullet holes in it yet. You'd be surprised how drafty a vehicle can get once it's been sprayed with machinegun fire."
Dieter
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