Sky did not like the news received from Jennifer about real FSB agents waiting to get on the train, neither did Aari. “This could definitely be big trouble for them,” said Aari, “and there is no way we can help them either.” “Stop the car Aari,” said Sky, “let’s take a look at something. Also, contact Misty and let her know what is happening.”

“Hey Aari,” said Misty, “guess what? Steve is okay now, would you like to talk with him?” Aari said yes, so Misty transferred his call to me. I was getting my massage at the time, but took the call when I found out it was Aari. He filled me in on the good news first, then told me about the possible bad news for the other team. I asked Sky if she could possibly get there with Angel to help out.

I also asked Cristy to find out what village they would likely be stopping at, Sky needs to know in order to get there. Cristy got back to me amazingly fast, since there was only one village along the way. Actually it was a town but most of it was not visible from the train. Sky and Angel were quickly on their way, but even with their fast travel ability the train had already left and was out of sight, so they returned to Aari.

Now, back on the train, with our team slightly worried at this point. Since it was already known that some FSB agents (our team) were on the train, it stopped at the right passenger car to allow the new agents to board the train. There were only 4 other passengers on that car with our team and they were at the opposite end.

As the train was stopping, Sapphire went around to our team members and told them exactly what to do. Fortunately, Sapphire knew from her dad how the FSB operated and so she chose one type of operation that just might work. If not, then they would have to do some fighting to get off the train safely before getting too close to the border.

They really didn’t want to do that, but, sometimes plans need to be changed at the last minute, and sometimes quite drastically. Sapphire is the top officer in our FSB group, dressed as a Colonel, though she does look young, mainly because she is only 21. She is hoping that the officers coming on board will be of lower rank than her, then there will be less problems.

One problem though is the length of Sapphire’s hair, which is longer than is usually allowed. Only another officer would likely notice that however. Fortunately there were only 4 men that came on board, the highest ranking officer being a captain, which was perfect. But then another agent came on, this time a woman, and she would definitely notice Sapphire’s longer hair.

The captain came along and tried talking to our FSB agents, but none returned answer to him, they just sat looking straight ahead. This angered the captain and he yelled out asking who was the officer in charge. He had obviously been looking for a man and didn’t even pay attention to Sapphire even though he was almost at her seat. She stood up slowly.

“What is your problem, CAPTAIN?” she asked, emphasizing his lower rank. “Your agents are…” he began angrily, but he suddenly stopped when he noticed that Sapphire was a Colonel. “You are to salute a higher ranking officer, CAPTAIN!” she exclaimed sternly. He did so immediately and apologized right away for not recognizing her rank. He then tried to excuse his actions by blaming the agents under her care.

Sapphire asked him to sit with her so she could explain. The seat configuration was such that 2 faced one way and two faced the opposite way, so four people could sit together. The captain asked the woman agent with him to join them and Sapphire had Nakedra join them as well. Unfortunately Nakedra knew very little Russian so she faked having a severe sore throat and refrained from speaking for the most part.

Sapphire explained that she was testing some new FSB agents in transporting criminals, though the criminals used were actually other FSB agents. She had been told that they might be used at the border in helping to find the escaped women from the penal colony, if no other agents could be found. Then they talked about normal things for a bit and the other woman remarked on Sapphire’s very long hair and indeed all of the women’s long hair in her group.

Sapphire explained that they had been chosen for a certain undercover operation coming up and the long hair was a requirement for it. However, as per usual rules, she was not able to talk about the secret operation. The captain and the woman were satisfied with this explanation, knowing that Sapphire was correct in what she said.

Then the captain began to ask Sapphire about the testing of her new agents. Sapphire was able to answer every question with ease and also answered questions about where she was from. She was almost tripped up on his last question, so she decided it was time for a diversion. “I have noticed that man at the other end,” she began, “the one wearing the leather jacket. He has been watching us intently ever since we sat down here together.”

The captain looked casually behind him, as did the woman with him. The man in question turned to look out the window when they did. “He looks familiar somehow,” said Sapphire. The woman took a laptop out of her briefcase and began to look through photos. “There, that is him,” she said, and showed the captain and Sapphire.

The Captain then stood up and the men with him and began walking down to the other people. Once there the two men stood up and shot the Captain and his men. The women then got up too and all began to run down toward Sapphire and her team. Sapphire and Nakedra stood up and shot the two women and the one man, but the other man was close and Rock stood up in the aisle, blocking it.

The man ran into Rock but Rock didn’t move at all. He then punched the man who fell flat on his back and was out cold. “The others are alive too,” said Sapphire, “we are using sleeping darts.” “Very good,” said the woman as she stood up and removed her jacket revealing her uniform underneath. She too was a Colonel, but still a higher rank than Sapphire, so Sapphire saluted her.

“No need for that Colonel,” she said, “thank you for helping us capture these men and women. It would look good on your record, if you really were a Colonel, which we both know you are not. I also have 20 agents and soldiers on the car ahead of this one. I have already called them and told them to come here if they do not hear from me after a set time.”

“What now?” asked Sapphire, “My team and I can’t just give up without fighting.” “Yes, I am sure that is the case,” she said, smiling, “so perhaps we can talk instead. Do you have handcuffs to use for these new prisoners? They killed an FSB officer, his wife and 3 young sons. Oh, I also speak English if you would prefer.” “That would be nice for my friends,” said Sapphire.

“A while back a certain Colonel and his daughter left our country,” said the Colonel, “one might think you are the daughter, though I do not see the father.” “It is possible that the Colonel mentioned by you might be dead,” said Sapphire, “because it might be possible that he betrayed his friends.” “I see,” said the Colonel, “I am sure that if such a thing happened it would make the daughter quite sad.”

“Yes, I am sure it would, Colonel,” said Sapphire, “now, um, what will happen to us? A fight will kill some on both sides.” “And you would be the first,” said Jennifer, who was now standing next to them. “This is the actual leader of our team,” said Sapphire.

To Be Continued.

©2025 Steve McLeod.