Caleb and Rodland dropped to the ground between the train cars and froze. When the movement wasn’t met with a hail of gunfire, Caleb took that as a win. He nodded toward Rodland, and they crawled toward the engine car. The darkness offered them cover, but he was sure that at least some of Bohdan’s soldiers were equipped with night-vision goggles.

They hoisted themselves up onto the engine car platform and Rodland smashed the side pilot window with the butt of his gun. The sound of breaking glass was startling. If their attackers hadn’t been aware that they were out here, surely they were now, Caleb thought. They waited a moment to see if there was a response. But there was so much shouting and talking among Bohdan’s men surrounding the train that they’d lucked out. The glass breakage hadn’t been noticed. Rodland reached inside and slid open the door.

The two men crouched behind the main console.

“What now?” Caleb whispered.

Rodland was ready. He pulled the laptop from his pack and flipped up the lid to reveal a screen filled with a photo of the exact same console in front of them. The screen was filled with handwritten annotations that described the engine start-up routine.

“Another MI6 resource?” Caleb said.

Rodland shook his head. “Even better. A railway enthusiast website.” He flipped a dizzying array of switches, some of which were hidden behind safety panels below the console.

The lights on the panel switched from red to green. “Good,” Rodland said. “Sometimes you have to wait for the oil and water to warm up in the prime mover. But this is equipped with a Smartstart system to keep them ready.”

“So how long will it take?”

Rodland took a deep breath and pushed the power lever up. The engine roared to life. “Here we go!”

The five-car train lurched forward and moved sluggishly across the rail yard.

*  *  *

Jane peered out the window as she felt that first lurch.

Caleb and Rodland had done it!

She could see some panicked movement from the shadows, then the flashes of gun muzzles as shots rang out! She ducked down and then hit the floor as the train picked up speed. Bullets rained against both sides of the car, but the assault seemed to dwindle as they left the rail yard. But the train was picking up more and more speed as it zoomed down the track.

They’d bought some time, but no telling how much. Bohdan’s forces would be in hot pursuit.

Don’t think about it, Jane told herself. Her job right now was to stay out of the range of those bullets and hope that Caleb and Rodland could do the same. Then find a way to keep them all alive.

Distraction. Keep moving. Keep thinking about something else. Help me, MacClaren.