Evolving Infinitely From An E-Class Hero-Chapter 90: Brief Case Gambit

Sector B.

Train Station.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

A sound of hurried foot steps and echoing announcements surrounded a middle aged man navigating his way through the busy walk ways of the train station.

He had a suit on, which was a shade too large for his slight frame, it was stuck to his skin due to his sweat drenched body that oozed from his brow like a broken faucet.

He had a timid demeanor and his eyes darted nervously from one end of his view to the other. In his grasp, he held a sleek, black brief case.

He moved briskly towards the check in counter and with every step it took, it felt like a march towards judgement, as his heart hammered as if it might betray his intentions.

He wiped his clammy palms off his trousers, leaving dark streaks across it, and approached the ticket counter with a forced smile.

The check in employee, a young woman took notice of his approach and set her eyes on him. He noticed her name badge on her uniform.

LILA.

It read.

She glared at him, taking note of shaken appearance with her observant eyes.

She received the ID from the man’s outstretched hand and ran it over her scanning machine.

"One ticket to Sector A," she said with a professional voice but deep in her mind, she kept track of the oddity the man in front of her possessed.

’He looks like he just ran through a rain storm in that suit,’ she thought, her curiosity piqued but quickly dismissed as the next passenger stepped forward, dragging her attention from the man.

The ticket printed with a soft whir sound, bearing the name. "Tucson Jameson."

Swish!

He snatched it from the printer with his trembling fingers, muttered a thank you, and shuffled away from the counter with his briefcase swinging lightly by his side.

His pulse quickened as he neared the train’s entrance, where a security checkpoint stationed themselves.

A metal detector stood there, with two bored security men flanked at both sides. The sight sent fresh waves of panic through him, his sweat now totally drenched his collar and dripping to the floor with a large of at least four seconds.

"They can’t find it! They can’t! They simply can’t!" He said softly to himself, as his mind whirlpooled with fear and anxiety.

It was his turn, he stepped through the metal detector, holding his breath, the brief case passing through the scanner beside him. His eyes remained in the brief case the entire security procedure.

The machine remained silent. No beeps, no flashing light. The guards barley glanced up to look at his shaken appearance.

He exhaled sharply, his legs wobbling as he boarded the train.

Inside, he collapsed into a window seat, the leather clothing of the cushion offered a certain comfort to his strained body. His brief case still in his clutches and strapped against his chest tightly.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, and let out a shuddering sigh.

"I wasn’t caught," he whispered to himself.

Then, the train began to hum as passengers poured in from the security checkpoint. He took note of every single individual that boarded the train: a mother soothing her fussy toddler, a business man barking at someone on the other end of the phone, a group of teenagers laughing over a shared screen and so on.

The last of the passengers boarded and the train doors hissed shut, the train suddenly jerked forward and just like that, in less than a minute it was speeding faster than the average human and still climbing in speed.

The man sat rigidly, his eyes fixed on the passing blur of steel and concrete outside. The rhythm of the tracks was almost hypnotic, but it did nothing to calm the fear and anxiety in his chest.

He glanced at his watch, its cracked face ticking steadily as fifteen minutes into the journey had passed. His expression hardened.

"It’s time..." He said softly with a grim, determined expression setting over his face.

"For my daughters..." He muttered under his breath again. He rose from his seating position, still clutching the brief case against his chest and then he slipped into the trains narrow bathroom with the door clicking shut behind him.

The train barrelled forward at full speed and her passengers were entirely oblivious to the man’s motives inside the cramped, florescent lit bathroom.

He set the briefcase down on the sink, opened it, grabbed the pulsing object inside with both hands and bit down.

Munch!.

***

ISA Call Center.

Tower A, Sector A.

Beeping, flashing screens and holographic monitors. It was all a controlled chaos. The massive flat screen monitor dominated the room, on its surface was a graphic, geographical tapestry of the world’s Sectors from A all the way down to Z. Each of the pulsing with real time data.

At the center sat The Apostle, with his usual towering figure in a tailored black coat, his presence heeved respect and command from the dozens of operators clattering away at their stations on the far sides of the room.

Blare!

A sudden ring cyt through the hum of the call center, one of the ISA’s distress lines flashed blood red.

The Apostle’s head snapped towards it. "Answer it!" He ordered with a low but sharp baritone voice. An operator, a young man with a headset, patched through the call.

The voice on the other end of the line was extremely erratic and frantic with choas clearly audible in the background. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"A creature—it’s a Calamity Creature, I think! Came out of the toilet like a ghost... so many people dead! Send help now!" the words tumbled out in quick progression without interruption. Then, there was a loud crash follow by the unmistakable sound of blood squirting out like a frayed pipe.

Then, the line went dead, leaving a heavy silence in the room.

The Apostle shit to his feet, his chair scraping the floor from the force. "Trace that call immediately!"

"Already done it Sir! The call came from a train that just left a station in Sector B, it is en route to Sector A as we speak..." Someone responded almost immediately.

"A Calamity Creature on a train to Sector A?" The Apostle said in disbelief as he ripped of his shade glasses, revealing a face marred by scars. "How did it get inside without anyone noticing?"