Train to Darkness

"This target is a scumbag, an illegal arms dealer. An appointment is scheduled with a private defense contractor on the eleventh floor of the building 15 blocks away. It is a two-minute window. No visual of the target yet. Are you in position?", requested the female agent responsible for locating the target and providing visuals.

"En route to the nest. Climbing fifteen stories in 2 minutes is not an easy task, why did the meeting room have to be changed to the other side of the building at the last minute!", said the male agent huffing and racing through the emergency staircase.

"Target visuals confirmed! The window is open! Where the hell are you?"

"Reached the rooftop, determining the distance. 1200 meters approx. setting up the sniper"

"Target is leaving, the window's gonna close, there is no next time with this extremely cautious criminal!! Have you locked on?"

"Target locked, requesting permission to fire"

"Fucking shoot Goddammit! "

"Roger that", He pulled the trigger with absolute confidence as he replied. He could never get enough of the exquisite sight of the bullet traveling and hitting his target. His confidence and passion in the skills he possesses are the very things that made him one of the best agents in the world.

"My shots never fail to make me go all excited! Anyways, Mission accomplished, returning to the rendezvous point. ETA 2 minutes", said the agent to his partner. "That was extremely close! Better be quick next time! Meet you there in two", replied the female agent.

He swiftly transformed and put his sniper in his particle case. Since many people carry a particle case, it would be easy to easily sneak it in anywhere. Advancements in technology made assassination jobs much easier due to the ability to conceal weapons as everyday equipment. The location was an alley one block away from his sniping nest. He met his partner and proceeded to go to the safe house with her.

As both of them were walking he started teasing his partner. "You'd never have issues escaping, who in their right mind would doubt that you're an agent, you look too beautiful to be an agent. There's no way that your boyfriend would ever find out about who you are", and burst out into laughter.

"You sick junkie, there was no rule that beautiful people shouldn't join! Moreover, it's more annoying than you think. Do you even have any idea how many people I have to turn away? Such creepy idiots! And, don't you dare mention my boyfriend!"

"Alright, calm down miss Aphrodite, I get it". He couldn't control his laughter which pissed off his partner.

"Surya! I'm seriously gonna put a bullet in your head!"

She started to scurry after saying that. Surya started to walk a little faster and called out, still giggling, "Okay, okay, Jiya, slow down, I'll try not to tease!". She slowed down, but he could see that she was still angry. The pair have been working together for a long time and have been sent to almost all kinds of operations. Being through life and death and the trust in each other in the field made their bond special. Jiya slowly tried to restart the conversation.

"So, Surya, what are you going to do after getting to the hotel? There isn't anything to do till you depart, right?"

"I don't know, maybe I'll grab a drink and just visit the Expo at Optomorium. Heard they have new defense technology and even storage devices. I definitely wanna check it out. What about you Jiya? This is your Sector, right?".

"Yes, I live here. It's in the area opposite your hotel, so we'll be going different ways at the MagRail. I'll probably go rest in the recovery pod; I don't feel so good"

"Ah, right then, it's settled. Guess we won't be meeting until the next op."

"Yeah, I guess so. Better don't die before that, you moron!"

"I'll take that as a compliment"

Surya giggled and she let loose and burst into laughter too. It was a nice departure for both of them. But they didn't know that it would be the last time they would be seeing each other.

Soon, Surya went back to the hotel and as planned, he got a coffee and left for the expo. Since devices were prohibited at the expo, he left all his communication devices at the hotel and took only his basic equipment. His bracelet, which was a concealed particle container that holds a small dagger, and his concealed glide blades which were small and could be hidden anywhere easily.

The Magrail was packed with passengers. Since they were working at full capacity limit, they let a little more standing passengers than usual. Surya got in the last compartment, leaning on the rear end of the train. Little did he know that it would be the longest ride of his life.

He couldn't resist his habit of checking the surroundings. He scanned all the faces in his compartment. There were people of all age groups, but no one seemed suspicious. It was an irregular yet calm day away from the constant field assignments he receives.

He took out his linker to check his vitals. Every time he sees it, there's a glimmer of fascination in his eyes. The linkers were linked and assigned to every person exactly 1 year after birth. This device can scan vital conditions by collecting data from the nanites in the bloodstream. The linker also acts as an identity proof. His linker especially was tweaked to enable him to look at much more detailed stats and the nanites were replaced which can heal minor wounds and seal off major lacerations. His vitals looked normal and the nanites were fully functioning.

He looked out the window, slowly getting lost in thoughts. looking at the cityscape. The high-rise buildings spanned across the sector. The complex travel and transport network was extremely well connected and made every corner of the sector easily accessible. The tube systems were neatly organized, with packages flowing to and fro. The massive star was shining in the sky with a small black hole in its vicinity. His train of admiration was interrupted by a sudden explosion.

It had come from a couple of miles away from his left. He zoomed his glass lens to see the site of the explosion. The situation was unprecedented. There was no sign of fire anywhere near the explosion. There was quaint dark matter floating around the site. Then suddenly there was a distortion in the view. It was faint but noticeable. No one else noticed the distortion. Everyone was in confusion, but they were not alarmed. No one knew that a wave was approaching them.

Surya saw the same distortion again. He suddenly remembered the extra physics lectures during his education. "This is the first time I'm actually thankful for choosing that elective! What is a freaking space-time distortion wave doing in the middle of the city! This thing only appears in regions having strong gravitational fields! Shit, this is bad", he thought to himself. It set off trepidation in him as he knew space-time distortion waves can rip apart matter. He realized that there was no escape as the wave slowly progressed toward the Magrail.

There were 3 minutes until the next stop, and there was no way to exit when the train was in motion as Magrail works like a slingshot. The worst fact was that there was a left curve ahead, which was in the direction of the explosion.

Surya was getting restless, but he couldn't afford to alarm others. He resolved himself to face the situation as there was no other choice. All the people gathered near the window started to go back to their seats. Seeing everyone calm made him get a bit nervous, but he had no other way except to face the wave. He was able to see the wave getting closer every passing second. Before he knew it, the train was at the curve.

As the train approached the distortion, people started fidgeting. As the Magrail went a few meters ahead, he could see the people dropping unconscious in the compartments before him. Everyone started to notice, but it was too late to react. Surya shut his eyes awaiting the impact of the wave which was a few feet away.

He felt immense pain around the frontal lobe. He felt like his brain was being torn apart from within. He was getting dizzy. He wasn't able to maintain his balance. He started falling on his face. He wasn't able to move his body, it felt as if his motor functions were inhibited. He couldn't prevent the faceplant. But before he could hit the floor, everything went black.