1931 The Grand Punk Railroad: Local (24 page)

“Be quiet, oaf.”

With zero hesitation, Goose took aim at Nick’s head.

Then, just as he was about to squeeze the trigger, someone kicked the door in.

Immediately, he whipped his gaze and guns that way. A man with a leveled machine gun stood there. He had a tattoo on his face and the air of a devil about him.

Realizing that the guy’s finger was on the trigger, Goose leaped sideways, squeezing his own as he did so.

The bullets launched from his hands grazed the youth’s arm and side.

At the same time, the tattooed young man’s machine gun spit fire.

“Uoooooooooooh!”

Yelling, Goose leaped even farther to the side. Hearing the sound of bullets striking closer and closer to his feet, he rolled behind the deluxe bed that was exclusive to the first-class passenger compartments.

Nick took that opportunity to help Nice up, and they slipped out behind Jacuzzi, evacuating into the hall.

Jacuzzi himself backed up, strafing the bed with the machine gun as he went, then shut the door with a bang.

When Goose crawled out from behind the bed, he had a warped smile on his face. It was as if he was enjoying the unexpected situations that kept cropping up one after another. However, the flames of hatred in his eyes were blazing even more fiercely.

“Interesting. Is this a trial? A trial, in order to become a being like Huey?! In that case, I really must not die here, nor must I run! As with Chané, I’ll rip through all obstacles on this train!”

After Jacuzzi and the others had passed by, Goose’s subordinates, who’d been on standby, poked their heads out into the hall. At first, they’d thought the gunshots were Goose’s, but he hadn’t taken a machine gun.

Then Goose came walking toward them from farther up the corridor. His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression seemed to say that, like Chané, he’d discarded his humanity—only in the opposite sense.

“Have you put the equipment in order?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

On seeing Goose’s expression, his subordinates’ voices tensed involuntarily as they responded. Goose passed his men, crossing to the equipment that was for his private use.

Goose shouldered that heavy weapon, and then, with an expression somewhere between anger and a smile, he started after Jacuzzi’s group.

Meanwhile, on the connecting platform by the dining car, Jacuzzi was giving Nice and Nick their next instructions.

A look to the side showed that the train was about to cross a great river. They could see a vast body of water through the gaps in the iron bridge. Sunrise was already near, and the surface of the water reflected the pale light beautifully. Several boats, large and small, floated on it.

On seeing this, Nice realized that this was where they’d arranged to meet up with their companions.

In fact, she’d forgotten that they were technically here for a robbery.

That’s right: They were going to drop the cargo in question into this river. That had been their plan. And Jacuzzi hadn’t abandoned the plan; in fact, on top of that, he’d come to rescue Nice and Nick—with a recklessness that would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances. Nice was appalled, but at the same time she felt renewed confidence that Jacuzzi really was their leader.

In an ordinary organization, he probably wouldn’t have been qualified to lead. However, in a way, Jacuzzi’s actions suited their group better than they would have suited any other people.

The boss of an imperfect, thoroughly vague gang of delinquents began to speak; his tattoo was shivering.

“Donny’s in the freight room right now, unloading! I told him to keep one box back, Nice, so you take that one!”

After yelling this, Jacuzzi set a hand on the connecting platform’s ladder.

“I’ll draw him away! You two run straight through the dining car! Just leave the ones who come through below to Fang and Jon!”

Jacuzzi nodded, his gaze steady and firm. There was no time for questions. All they could do now was believe in his confidence.

Nice pushed her glasses up to her forehead and peeled back the eye patch that covered her right eye.

With a practiced motion, she took out the thing she’d had in her eye socket, then pressed it into Jacuzzi’s hand.

It was a black, round object the size of an eyeball, with a long fuse wrapped tightly around it.

“That’s the last bomb I’ve got. It isn’t very powerful, but take it, just in case.”

At Nice’s words, Jacuzzi nodded firmly and answered:

“Thank you, Nice. I’ll think of it as you and detonate it carefully!”

“Don’t be creepy.”

Nice smiled. Jacuzzi listened until she’d finished speaking, then immediately began to climb the ladder.

“Miz Nice! They’re here!”

Nick, who’d been looking through the window into the first-class carriages, raised his voice roughly. Nice nodded in response, and then she and Nick opened the door to the dining car and broke into a run.

When Goose opened the door, the tattooed guy had just stepped off the top of the ladder.

“I’ll go after him! You men go underneath and circle around behind him!”

His expression might have been abnormal, but part of Goose was still calm. After issuing orders to his subordinates, he began to climb the ladder himself.

On the roof near the middle of the carriage, Jacuzzi was waiting for Goose and the others to come up.

He didn’t know how many of them would come up, but he was pretty sure only one could climb the ladder at a time.

He didn’t really want anybody to come up. Even now, killing people hurt. He’d seen corpses lots of times, and he’d seen his friends kill opposing mafiosi, when he himself had been the cause of it all. Talking to Isaac and Miria had softened the feeling of guilt somewhat, but killing people directly was still painful.

But I have to do it.

Swallowing hard, fighting to keep his balance on the swaying train, he waited.

Then a shadow appeared at the break in the roof.

He put his finger on the trigger, but something was very strange.

For a human head, it seemed really narrow. Almost as if it was some sort of nozzle—

As he was thinking this, said nozzle turned his way. It was caught on the corner of the roof and angled slightly upward, but it was definitely turned toward Jacuzzi.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

The moment he thought that, the premonition came true.

With abnormal force, the end of the nozzle spit fire.

“—Huh?”

As Jacuzzi stood, stunned by this unexpected situation, his face was brightly illuminated by red flames.

Because the nozzle had been tilted, the band of flames passed far over Jacuzzi’s head. Even so, a wind so ferociously hot it nearly burned him struck his face.

“Wah, waaaaugh!”

In spite of himself, he fell on his butt right there, then hastily scooted backward.

He’d been surprised by the jet of flames, too, but what had surprised him more was the distance. Although he was sure the nozzle had been at the end of the car, the column of flame had clearly reached the opposite end of the roof. If it had that sort of range when shot at an angle, if fired horizontally, it would easily surpass the length of the car.

This distance was dangerous. Jacuzzi hastily got up, then began running full tilt, trying to widen the gap.

When he looked back, he saw the owner of that nozzle come up onto the roof. But the man didn’t chase the fleeing Jacuzzi; he simply took aim from where he was.

When Jacuzzi leaped across the next coupling, the nozzle spit fire again.

As he staggered from his landing, a band of red flame passed by him. Jacuzzi had gained a certain distance, but the wave of heat that assailed him was no joke. He worried that his clothes might catch fire, but the skin on his face seemed likely to blaze up first.

Because the train had been heading into a curve, he’d managed to avoid a direct hit, but if the direction of the nozzle changed, he’d be barbecued.

As he’d feared, the trajectory of the flames began to move. Jacuzzi continued running desperately, finally sprinting clear of the flames’ range.

He could tell the tip of the flames had cut behind him. The heat felt as though he’d been thrown into an oven. That wave of heat was probably more than enough to kill a person, even if they didn’t directly catch fire.

Jacuzzi kept on running, then turned back when he thought the influence of the superhot wave had lessened.

“Please hit home…”

He took aim at the fire-man and pulled the trigger. At this distance, when the person firing was an inexperienced amateur, it was hopeless. Even so, all Jacuzzi could do now was shoot.

Click-click-click-click-click-click.

“Huh?”

The reality was beyond hopeless.

Never mind amateurs and those other things: The machine gun was already out of bullets.

The guy leveled the machine gun, but before long, he threw it away.

Out of bullets, apparently. What a cretin.

“An imbecilic end for someone who gave me so much trouble. I’ll take my time burning him to ash.”

With a fiendish smile, Goose slowly began to walk toward the rear cars.

In his hand, he held a 1918-model flamethrower, made in Germany. In addition, it had been modified a bit to bring it in line with current technology. It was an antique, purchased through illegal channels, and he’d never expected it to be this useful. The weapon had originally been used by Master Huey, but he’d brought it just in case, and it had been the right move.

Still, it was a mistake not to wear fireproof clothing. If I fire this repeatedly, the heat may do me in.

As he pursued the fleeing man over the roof, Goose’s head gradually regained its composure.

That aside, aren’t the men who went through the car up here yet? Well, if that’s the best my adversary has, I’m more than capable of handling him myself, but…

Goose’s men had run through the dining car and reached the door to the coupling.

On seeing them, the passengers huddled into themselves like frightened rabbits.

Without sparing a glance for them, the black suits reached out to open the door to the platform.

Clunk.