Chapter 4 – Rooftop Tango & Axe Trouble

 

All Aboard the Fastest Spanish Train

Chapter 4 – Rooftop Tango & Axe Trouble

The AVE’s aerodynamic nose cut through the wind like a sword through silk. On the roof, the air was a wall of force, the sun blazing off the silver surface. Sarah gripped the narrow walkway, every step a gamble against the roaring gale. Below her feet, 312 km/h of pure speed thundered toward Barcelona.

Inside, Sgt. Salty was busy making friends the hard way. Woodie Wood swung first — a wide, brutal arc of his axe that embedded itself in the luggage rack with a metallic scream. Passengers shrieked and dove for cover.

Salty ducked, drove a shoulder into Woodie’s gut, and shoved him against the window. “Tell Ron to hit the brakes,” Salty growled.
Woodie grinned, blood at the corner of his mouth. “You’ll have to ask him yourself, mate… in hell.”

The axe came free, slicing the air — but Salty caught Woodie’s wrist, twisting until the weapon clattered to the floor. The two men crashed into a row of seats, spilling churros, handbags, and one very annoyed Yorkshire terrier.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Sarah spotted her target — the brake override box, bolted just behind the first-class car. She inched forward, wind whipping her hair into a cyclone. Then she froze.

The roof hatch in front of her snapped open.
And out climbed Candle of Spices, his chef’s coat flapping, a spice satchel slung across his back like an assassin’s kit. He pulled out a small vial and smirked. “Capsaicin. Pure. One whiff, and your lungs will burn before you can scream.”

Sarah smiled sweetly. “Hope you brought dessert.”
She lunged. The two grappled dangerously close to the train’s edge, the Spanish countryside flashing by in a blur of gold and green.

Back inside, Salty finally floored Woodie with a knee to the ribs, then looked up just in time to see Sarah and Candle locked in a deadly rooftop tango through the skylight. His pulse jumped.

“Hang on, Sarah…” he muttered, grabbing the roof ladder. “Dinner’s still on me.”