The Ninth Orphan (24 page)

#

At dusk, the train made its second scheduled stop when it pulled into Limoges Railway Station, in central France. Kentbridge was the first passenger to disembark. He’d retained his ageing hippy guise as he was certain Nine hadn’t recognized him earlier.

The senior agent lit a cigarette as he waited for other passengers to disembark. Pretending to be bored and casually filling in time, he watched a university professor wearing a black cape board the nearest carriage. The professor was obviously dressed for a graduation ceremony or similar formal occasion.

On board, more passengers queued to disembark. Among them, Nine pushed a tea-chest along on a trolley. He was now dressed in a railways uniform and hat. A whistle hung around his neck. In his rush to disembark, he knew his latest guise wasn’t as convincing as the Sikh disguise, but it would have to do. He was aware any hesitation at this stage could be fatal.

Nine cautiously stuck his head out the carriage door and looked up and down the now-crowded platform. Satisfied Kentbridge was nowhere in sight, he prepared to wheel the tea-chest onto the platform.

Still in her janitor’s guise inside the tea chest, Isabelle studied the platform through a peephole. Dust got up her nose. She tried to refrain from sneezing. It was a losing battle and she finally gave a small sneeze which she largely managed to smother.

Only Nine heard the sneeze. Without moving his lips, he uttered, “Shhh!”

Nine’s admonishment reached Isabelle. She remained perfectly still and quiet.

As he wheeled the tea-chest off the train, Nine suddenly noticed Kentbridge in his ageing hippy guise some twenty yards away. Kentbridge looked strangely at Nine then drew his Beretta pistol from his concealed shoulder holster. Back-peddling fast, Nine pulled the tea-chest inside the carriage before Kentbridge could squeeze off a shot. The senior agent began sprinting toward the carriage door.

Out of sight of Kentbridge for the moment, Nine opened the tea-chest, reached inside and pulled Isabelle out by the collar, taking care not to dislodge her janitor’s cap.

“
What’s happening?” she asked.

Not stopping to explain, Nine pushed other passengers out of the way as he dragged Isabelle down the corridor, away from the open doorway. He prayed their fellow passengers wouldn’t recognize Isabelle. None did. Just before reaching the adjoining carriage, he saw Kentbridge enter their carriage.

Kentbridge caught a glimpse of the pair before they disappeared. He hurried after them, giving other passengers no more respect than Nine had, pushing them to clear his way. Kentbridge kept his pistol hidden so as not to alarm them.

A
shrill whistle announced the train's imminent departure. Passenger numbers momentarily thinned as more passengers disembarked and just as quickly numbers swelled again as new ones boarded. The sudden influx of people hindered Kentbridge’s progress as he pursued his quarry through the carriages toward the end of the train.

Nearly two carriages ahead, Nine urged Isabelle to move faster as he tried to stay ahead of his fellow Omegan. As they entered yet another carriage, he debated whether they should exit the train and try their luck in the station. He knew Kentbridge would be expecting them to try that, so decided to remain on board.

Another shrill whistle coincided with the automatic doors closing and the train beginning to pull out of the station. In less than a minute, it had cleared the station and was soon picking up speed. Through the carriage windows, the lights of factories and houses flashed by. Night had fallen and there was a full moon hanging in the sky.

The deadly game of hide-and-seek continued as Kentbridge pursued his prey toward the end of the train. Sensing he’d soon catch up to them, he drew his Beretta and held it at the ready. A woman screamed and several passengers shrank back at the sight of the weapon. “It’s alright, I’m security,” Kentbridge assured them in French.

Up ahead, Nine knew he was nearing the end of the train. There, he realized, there’d be no place to go. The train was now moving too fast to jump off it. Seeing a bathroom, he pulled Isabelle into it and locked the door. They remained dead still as someone hurried past. Nine hoped it was Kentbridge. He listened to the mystery person’s disappearing footsteps then pulled Isabelle out of the bathroom and back toward the front of the train.

Behind them, Kentbridge reached the last carriage only to find it was empty. He realized he’d been given the slip. In his haste to reach the end of the train, he hadn’t stopped to check the bathrooms in each of the carriages he’d passed through. He’d known that had been a calculated risk, and it had backfired.

Kentbridge began checking the bathroom of each carriage. He didn’t hurry now: he knew it was only a matter of time before his quarry ran out of hiding places.

At the far end of the train, Nine and Isabelle entered a carriage that resembled a walk-in freezer. It was, in fact, a purpose-built, refrigeration car used for transporting frozen meat. Carcasses of beef and large legs of mutton hung on hooks from the ceiling. The carcasses swung in time to the steady motion of the train.

Nine looked at Isabelle. “This will have to do.” Isabelle didn’t seem thrilled by the idea of spending the night in a freezer. “Don’t worry, it will only be for an hour or two,” Nine assured her. “We’ll get off the train at the first opportunity.” Nine knew there was hilly terrain ahead and he was counting on the train slowing sufficiently to allow them to jump off without being killed.

#

It was a good ninety minutes later before Kentbridge reached the last carriage, the refrigeration car. Having made an exhaustive search of the rest of the train, he knew his quarry must be hiding here – unless they’d jumped off the train. Knowing how Nine’s mind worked, Kentbridge felt certain he’d still be on board. With pistol held high in the ready position, he approached the refrigeration car’s door.

Inside the car, Nine held Isabelle tight to keep her warm. Both shivered as they stood motionless among the swaying beef carcasses. The pair held their breaths as the freezer door creaked open, letting in light from the corridor outside. A shadow on the floor indicated someone was standing in the doorway. Nine drew his trusted Glock pistol.

Just inside the freezer entrance, Kentbridge peered through the gloom. He studied the swaying carcasses intently. Holding his pistol out in front of him, he ventured further into the freezer.

The fugitive pair shivered violently as they tried to remain still, their eyes fixed on the shadow that grew ever-bigger on the floor. They tensed as the shadow drew near.

Nine could sense rather than see the shadow belonged to Kentbridge. It was still too dark to make a positive identification. He aimed his pistol at the shadowy figure. Still he couldn’t be sure it was Kentbridge.
Give me a sign, Tommy
. Nine hoped it was him. If it was, he’d have no hesitation in blowing him away.

Nine’s finger tightened around the trigger. He knew from experience the Glock’s trigger mechanism would offer no more slack. The faintest additional pressure would send a bullet on its way. The only thing stopping him firing was the fact that he couldn’t be sure the intruder was Kentbridge.

At the last second, he reached up for a spare hook he’d noticed hanging from the overhead rail that supported the nearest carcasses. He pulled the hook, dislodging the rail, then grabbed Isabelle and yanked her down onto the floor.

Kentbridge looked up too late to see the carcasses flying toward him. A dozen or so fell from the overhead rack and landed on top of him. Nine scrambled over to Kentbridge. He pulled the carcasses aside and found his former mentor lying unconscious underneath.

The rogue operative put his pistol away and began dragging Kentbridge toward the door when a railways inspector suddenly entered the refrigeration car. The inspector was alarmed to see the carcasses on the floor and even more alarmed when he saw Nine coming at him out of the darkness. Before he could react, Nine dropped him with a solid punch to the jaw. The man was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Nine turned his attention back to Isabelle who was now so cold she looked close to passing out. Stepping over the unconscious pair, he hurried back to her. “Can you make it back to our compartment on your own?”

Shivering uncontrollably, Isabelle nodded. Nine
steered her gently into the corridor then scouted around
and found a laundry trolley laden with fresh linen. He pulled the trolley back into the refrigeration car and bundled the still-unconscious Kentbridge into it. Covering his former mentor with the linen, he began pushing the trolley back to his passenger compartment.

#

Kentbridge regained consciousness to find himself tied down on top of a bunk in Nine’s compartment. Struggling to focus, he saw Nine wrapping blankets around a still-shivering Isabelle. Although ten minutes had elapsed since they’d escaped the confines of the refrigeration car, Isabelle continued to tremble violently.

Nine finished warming Isabelle, drew his pistol and turned to face his captive.
“Before I end this once and for all, I want you to know I'm outta the game, Tommy. I’m getting off the grid so I can live out my days in peace.” Just saying that made Nine feel good. It was like an affirmation. Before he killed Kentbridge, he wanted him to know
he’d finally broken free of Omega's chains.
“You created me. Now I must destroy you.” Nine pointed his Glock at Kentbridge. “But first, tell me why you began all this.”

Suddenly alarmed, Isabelle touched Nine's shoulder. “Sebastian?”

Nine ignored her. He locked eyes with Kentbridge. “You always favored me over the other orphans. Why did you invest so much time and energy in me? What was in it for you?”

Kentbridge stared out the window as he reflected. The lights of farm houses flashed by. “Rachel couldn't give me children,” he reminisced, “and you were different to the other orphans. You reminded me of myself.” He paused as his gaze returned to his protégé.

Behind Nine, Isabelle strained to make sense of the conversation. She sensed she was witnessing the first-ever honest communication between the two men. The Frenchwoman also sensed something terrible was going to happen, but felt powerless to stop it. She could only watch and listen.

Nine knew the older man was stalling for time, but Kentbridge wasn’t going anywhere so he was prepared to humor him.
Let's see you talk your way out of this one, old man
.

“
I wanted to adopt you,” Kentbridge continued. “Rachel wouldn't have it though. Besides, Naylor never would've allowed me to take you out of Pedemont. Not its star pupil. So I decided the next best thing was to teach you everything I knew.”

Isabelle listened, intrigued, as Kentbridge reluctantly opened his heart to Nine.

“
It wasn’t my intention for you to suffer. I just wanted a son to inherit my gifts.”

“
You created a monster,” Nine said accusingly.

Kentbridge stared into his protégé's anguished face. “But look what --”

“
This all ends now,” Nine interjected. “I've gone along with Omega's power games all my life!” Nine picked up a pillow from an adjoining bunk. He intended using it to muffle any noise when he shot Kentbridge.

Isabelle tried to restrain him. “No, Sebastian!”

Nine pushed her away. “Look the other way, Isabelle.”

Realizing there was no stopping Nine, she turned and looked out the window.

As Nine removed the safety, he looked at Kentbridge triumphantly.
“
You underestimated me, Tommy. You molded my personality and controlled every facet of my life. But there was a place in my mind you could never reach.
”
Nine put the pillow over Kentbridge’s chest and jammed the pistol into the pillow.

Kentbridge closed his eyes as he prepared to die. Before Nine could pull the trigger, there was a knock at the door. Kentbridge opened his eyes.

Nine looked at Isabelle and nodded to her. She understood immediately. “Oui?” she called out in response.

“
We are doing routine checks of each compartment,” came the answering voice.

Nine put his face close to Kentbridge’s. He whispered, “One word and I promise I’ll finish you here and now.” He then turned to Isabelle and whispered instructions.

Addressing the man on the other side of the door, Isabelle shouted, “We're busy right now. Can you come back later?”

“
Non, madam.” This voice belonged to another man.

Nine now knew there were at least two men in the corridor purporting to be security guards. Considering his options, he glanced at Kentbridge. The older man was following developments with keen interest. He knew his life hung in the balance.

T
he two men in the corridor outside Nine’s compartment were who they claimed to be – security guards. Employed by Eurorail, they’d been assigned to this particular train on this particular evening for no reason other than a scheduled security inspection.

This was one of those rare occasions where a genuine security issue had actually arisen. A passenger had reported seeing something unusual. The security guards had come to check, expecting the usual innocent explanation. Their suspicions were only aroused when the passenger compartment’s occupants wouldn’t immediately open the door.