The L train was making its daily stop when Mr. Finchem found himself standing on the platform. He did not remember how he got there and for the briefest of moments the dream flashed again in his mind, so swiftly in fact he did not register it beyond the slight quiver that rattled down his spine. He stepped off of the platform and found a relatively easy accessed compartment for his trip north to Edinburgh. The small compartment was well lit, the sun beamed in from the open window as it began to set. Small posters were lined perfectly across the open space above the seat across from his, each displaying one travel destination or another that the British Railway company connected too. As the sun drew closer the compartment turned a bright red and his dream came again.
"My, my, my." said the woman seated across from him. The diner car was full and he was forced to sit across from an aloof woman with a bee's hive hair do and large rimmed glasses that magnified the pale brown eyes behind them. "Don't you just look scrumptious; I could jus' eat you up. What's y'ur name darlin'?"
"Willy Finchem," said Mr. Finchem through a small bight of over cooked potato.
"And where might yall be headed?"
"To Edinburgh, you do not sound as though you are from London miss."
"What gave it away, the accent I'd bet."
"Something like that," He chuckled mildly and continued with his dinner listening to her talk.
The oil lamps flickered back and forth bringing back the dream once more as he made his way to his compartment. He looked for his luggage, but it was no where to be found and after a brief and tired remark to the steward, he pulled down the bed in his cabin for a restless night of dreams and sleeping in his clothes.
He awoke with a start the small travel clock was ringing loudly, set to half past midnight. The whole dream flashed before his eyes once more.
"You will place the suitcase nearest the engine as possible, somewhere where the engineers won't find it, understood?"
"Yes, yes understood."
"Once the bomb explodes you will gather all the pieces, do you understand."
"What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will go wrong, do as you are ordered."
The man in black swiveled in his seat as two burly men brought Mr. Finchem to his feet. "And one more thing, if you do not get all of the pieces I will kill you personally." The dark room loomed and only the desk was lit, Mr. Finchem nodded to the man in black.
"Ye-yes sir."
"Give him the bag and drop him off at the platform."
The train he stood at was a cargo train, nothing more. The engineering team was busy linking an unhitched coupler which was the perfect time to plant the bomb. The pieces were in one of two different cars, he needed to find them and get off the train before the bomb exploded. Mr. Finchem donned a false mustache and officer's uniform in the platform's bathroom, and after making his way to the front of the train as though to inspect it he placed and set the bomb. "Now where are those pieces..."
Not knowing what he was doing Mr. Finchem was already racing past the engineers after climbing out past the coal car and onto the engine it's self.
"Is he mad?" One of the engineers screamed over the roar of air.
"I don't...wait what is that, that suitcase..."
Mr. Finchem opened the suit case, his arm wrapped around the guide pole. The bomb was ticking down, five seconds, then four, three, two...
Published by Xtom James
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