Final Fronts by Aaron Solomon (the chimp paradox .TXT) 📕

Rail Warriors

Final Fronts

Chapter One

It was all just another normal day on the rails of the Norfolk and Atlantic. I had just strolled into the train crew office and waiting area at the Jessup yard which was all lively as usual and took a seat serenely at the round table in the center of the room with Aaron and all the rest of the rest of my wonderful family and friends I had known and had a great bond with from the very first moment of moving here and joining this seventh wonder of the world sort of company after holding a shitty desk job at an insurance company in our family’s hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin for ten years before finally deciding to get ahead in life. I had said my goodbyes to my faithful companion, Lena Stilson, as only two mere days ago she was promoted up to full-fledged engineer and now runs trains overseeing a trainee of her own under her wings while her replacement for me was a bit of a still yet pleasant surprise of none other than my own daughter in law, Lilly Solomon. She was a bit of a shrinking violet but still a kindhearted and gentle wolf with lovely golden brown and cream fur, icy blue eyes, and these cute little signature bangs that drooped lovingly over her right eye in which I rarely ever saw her wear back. We spent a good hour or so there, laughing and talking with the rest of our pals for life until finally our train of the day was prepared and we strolled out into the heart of the bustling transportation hub over to the ready track to begin our usual order of the day. “Honey, you okay?” I turned and asked her before we climbed aboard our lead engine, SD60I number 6748. Lilly sighed and stared blankly at her feet. “It’s just not the same without him, is it, Nala?” She replied. “It’s never, ever the same.” “No.” I answered. “This and nothing else can ever be the same but sometimes we just have to deal with the changes that have come to pass. The bitch who ripped him from us has perished and now we can hopefully have a bit of peace and quiet for the time being and do our jobs plus live our lives normally the way it’s meant to be. It’ll all get better in the long run, my dear. Just trust and believe me.”

Chapter Two

We ended our journey and hunkered down at the Willard hotel on the east side of Cumberland. After a late dinner at the café in the lobby area, we boarded the elevator to our room on the fifth floor and settled down, dropping our duffle bags on the floor next to the coat and storage closet and getting changed out of our work gear and into our sleepwear before tuning on the television for some nine o’clock news. I was just kicking back in the bed and about to nod off into sleep when a breaking news bulletin flashed across the screen and I was suddenly all ears at the incoming information statement. They were saying something about a terror plot by the notorious Pernicious-D organization that was fortunately foiled by members of our railroad’s police force but had now escaped on one of our trains and was still running amuck somewhere in what they believed to be Florence, South Carolina. The male reporter droned on about the situation for a while standing on the platforms at DC Union Station where Gnash Payne had boarded the Silver Star and then said they’d have more details on the matter as more information was released before I quickly clicked the off button on the remote and sighed. Great. Yet another bat shit crazy lunatic has tried to rear his ugly head near our company and then once again tried to bail when he knew good damn well his time was up and it was hopeless trying to come after a whole slew of us anyway and get caught right in the act. It was just yet another day at the good old office as Aaron, the others, and I would often like to say. It was noon by the time we returned to Jessup yard on autorack train 694 the day. After setting out our long load of brand new automobiles on the pickup track to later be switched into the unloading terminal, we moved our engines over onto the pocket track to tie down and checked out of the yard office to begin our rather quick but tiresome journey back home. I got into my place around 6:46 that evening and almost just as soon as I got in, I got changed out of all my work clothes and quietly laid right down on my bed, nearly drifting off into sleep just when my head hit the pillow right before the doorbell rang. I rose groggily to my feet and padded on weary legs down the stairs and answered it to find just the friendly Shiba Inu I had been meaning to see for a while standing there with the most pitiful and worried looks plastered on his muzzle as I motioned for him to step inside out of the smoldering mid-June heat. “Bradley!” I said gleefully with a sheepish grin. “What are you doing over here so late? Sure doesn’t look like you wanna go out and by a few rounds.” “This is terrible, Nala!” He burst out, suddenly pacing the floor. “We’re fucked, my girl! Just FUCKED!” “What is, friend?” I asked with concern etching my voice. “Calm down. Just slow down and tell me what’s going on?” He took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself and then said slowly, “You heard what happened on the news, right? Us and that Payne bastard?” I nodded. “Yes.” “Well, it’s been a good week since he escaped from our clutches and now somebody just torched our little yard in Florence last night with a couple pipe bombs. We’re looking more into but all our information so far of course only points to one source. Payne is there somewhere and obviously has more Pernicious-D members hanging out around there than we originally thought.” “Ok. So, let me guess.” I said. “You want me and the guys to get over there with you and try and sort this thing out before we have bigger problems on all of our paws.” “Took the very words right out of my mouth.” Bradley answered. “Done.” I replied simply. I motioned for him to take a seat on the couch while I marched up the stairs to the phone in my bedroom to begin making a few calls.

Chapter Three

We all rallied up at the police station in Florence, South Carolina just two days later to the previous one at around 9:47 that morning to pay a well-deserved visit to a little special someone who I knew worked at this very department before any of my pals aside from one, even had a clue she had taken up this gig and was still kicking ass and taking names just like she had done with us over at her old one last year. Almost about the very instant we walked in, there she was walking over and greeting each and every one of us, especially her sister, Aaron, and I with jovial pawshakes, warm hugs, and smiles. “Holy shit!” Aaron exclaimed. “Hailey Jenkins in the actual flesh! How ya been, sisty.” “How have I been?” Hailey replied, grinning widely. “I haven’t seen all you guys since after last Christmas. How the hell have you been?” “Just fine, my girl.” Aaron answered. “We’ve been pretty busy a while during the past few months though as usual. Listen, we were all wondering if you could do in a little solid ya owe us.” “Sure. I’m listening.” She said affirmatively. “Know anything about this Gnash Payne character?” “Yeah.” She said. “He’s that asshole in charge of that nasty Al Qaida like terror group right? We’ve been digging up information up on him and his organization for the past few days and think we’ve finally hit the jackpot. One of his business associates runs an auto shop over on the corner of Cashua Drive. We should probably get over there and she just what this quack knows on his boss’s whereabouts.” “Sounds good to me.” I replied. “Time for a little one to one.”

Chapter Four

“Morning, Mr. Murphy.” Hailey said to a snow white Siberian husky dressed in mechanic attire as we serenely strolled into the auto and body shop on the southeast side of Florence. “Shit!” He exclaimed, scanning the room nervously. “Officer Jenkins?! And who are these Marks?” “Well, I believe you and I both know you’re Payne’s associate. These are my associates. All we want to know is where to find him.” “Fuck you, one time.” Murphy spat. “You’ll never get shit from me. Not now, not ever in a million years.” “Now, James.” Hailey scolded. “Is that really the way to talk to a young lady like me? Mama, maybe you should teach this little prick some manners.” “With pleasure.” I replied, picking up a nearby tire iron. “Where’s Gnash Payne?” I asked as I held it firmly against his throat. “Go to hell.” He struggled to reply under the force of the instrument. “Just a bit more pressure and your larynx will be reduced to mush.” I growled. “What’s it gonna be?” “Okay. Okay!” He finally agreed. I slowly began to loosen up. “He and a few members of the crew are over at the rail yard in Charleston. Said he was gonna rid of that one too until he got to the main hub in all of the state. You’d better hurry or else he’s gonna make that whole place look like a cherry bomb.” “Thanks.” I answered. “Now you get to take a nice little nap.” I gave him a hard upward strike with the tire iron to his face and then turned to leave with the others as he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, knocked out cold. We hauled ass over to Charleston and a little under twenty minutes later we were already rolling up on the sprawling yard and parked our vehicles in the lot before quickly making our way up to the offices where we ran into heavy resistance. After what had seemed like nearly hours of intense fighting out in the open parking lot, we rushed inside the yardmaster’s office, only to find it almost completely deserted with only about two to three guards posted inside which I easily took down with a few precisely aimed shots to their chests and upper torsos with my P226 pistol. We turned and figured the only other place to check would be the train crew office next door. “For Iki.” Aaron said as we all lined up on it. “And for Ashley.” Hailey kicked it open and sure enough, we found our target just as planned with his back turned on the far side of the crew waiting area, seemingly staring at little dots on the walls even as Bradley pointed his gun directly for his head and shouted at him several times to get down on his knees before he put a bullet in his brainpan. “Last chance, asshole!” He shouted again. “Get down or get creamed! The choice is yours!” From the way I was staring at him beyond the sight of my own weapon, I could see that he was steadily fiddling with something of what appeared to be a cell phone in his right paw and putting two and two together, I could