The Einstein Equation

26 All Aboard!

When the summit delegation arrived at the Koschei Airstrip outside Moscow, it was not an unpleasant evening by most standards, but it was dark early. Everyone had been to Russia before, but never before had the relentless reports and proposals been presented on a moving luxury train with only the finest cuisine and accommodations money could buy. From the private jets, the guests stepped onto a smooth cement area that led into a simple, but opulent building — the Koschei Train Station.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Clifton Tuft smiled as he took his place in front of the entrance, “I would like to welcome you to Russia, on behalf of my associate and owner of the Valkyrie Trans-Siberian, Mr. Wolf Kretchoff!”

A resounding applause from the refined group showed their appreciation for the ingenious idea. Many of the representatives had previously voiced their wish that these symposiums would be held in more interesting environments, and finally it could be accommodated. Wolf stepped onto the small landing of the entrance where everyone waited, in order to explain.

“My friends and fine associates,” he preached in his heavy accent, “it is my honor and the privilege of my company, Kretchoff Security Conglomerate, to host this year’s meeting aboard our train. My company, in association with Tuft Industries, has been working on this project for the last four years and finally the brand new tracks will be put to use.”

Fascinated by the physically imposing businessman’s enthusiasm and eloquence, the delegates erupted in another applause. Hidden inside the far corner niche of the building, three figures crouched in the darkness, listening. Nina cringed at the sound of Wolf’s voice, still recalling his hateful blows. Neither she, nor Sam could believe that the common thug was an affluent citizen. To them he was just McFadden’s attack dog.

“The Koschei Strip has been my private landing strip for several years since I purchased the land, and today, I have the pleasure of introducing our own, elite train station,” he continued. “Please follow me.” With that, he walked through the doors with Tuft and Mc Fadden in his tracks, followed by the delegates, bustling with awed remarks in their respective languages. Through the small, but lavish, station they strolled, admiring the strong architecture in the vein of the Krutitsy Metochion. Its arches, three in number leading to the exit onto the platform, were constructed in Baroque fashion with a strong taste of medieval architecture blended in to keep to the harsh climate conditions.

“Simply phenomenal,” McFadden swooned, desperate to be heard. Wolf just smiled as he led the group to the exterior doors at the platform, but before exiting, he turned again to make a speech.

“And now, finally, ladies and gentlemen of the Atomic Renewable Energy Summit,” he roared, “I have one last pleasure to present. Behind me is another force majeure in our endless pursuit of excellence. Please come through to join me on her maiden voyage.”

The large Russian led them out onto the platform.

“I know he is not English speaking,” a member of the United Kingdom representatives told a colleague, “but I wonder if he meant to call this train a ‘force majeure’ or perhaps he misunderstood the phrase as something powerful?”

“I suppose he intended the latter,” the other speculated politely. “I am just grateful he even speaks English. Don’t you hate it when they have ‘conjoined twins’ lapping about everywhere to translate for them?”

“Too right,” the first delegate agreed.

Under a substantial tarp, the train waited. Nobody knew what it would look like, but by the size of it there was no doubt that it took an ingenious engineer to design it.

“Now, we wanted to keep some nostalgia in place, so we designed this wonderful machine in the same fashion as the old TE model while using Thorium-based nuclear power to drive the engine, instead of steam,” he smiled proudly. “What better way to fuel a locomotive of the future while hosting a symposium on the new energy alternatives available?”

Sam, Nina and Kasper lurked just behind the last line of representatives. At the mention of the nature of the train’s fuel, some of the scientists looked somewhat uncomfortable, but dared not object. Kasper gasped, though.

“What?” Nina asked under her breath. “What is wrong?”

“Thorium-based nuclear energy,” Kasper replied, looking absolutely horrified. “This is next level shit, my friends. As far as the world’s energy resources go, the Thorium alternative is still under consideration. As far as I know, such a fuel had not yet been harnessed to be used like this,” he explained softly.

“Will it explode?” she asked.

“No, well… you see, it is not as volatile as say, plutonium, but since it has the potential to be an immensely powerful energy, I am a little worried about the acceleration we are looking at here,” he clarified.

“Why?” Sam whispered, his face hidden under his hood. “Trains are supposed to go fast, aren’t they?”

Kasper tried to explain to them, but he knew that only physicists and the like would truly understand what concerned him. “Look, if this is a TE locomotive… that… that is a steam engine. It is like putting a Ferrari engine into a baby’s pram.”

“Oh shit,” Sam remarked. “Then why would their physicists not see that when they built the fucking thing?”

“You know what the Black Sun is like, Sam,” Kasper reminded his new friend. “They do not give a shit about safety, as long as they have the bigger dick.”

“Aye, you can bank on that,” Sam agreed.

“Fuck me!” Nina suddenly gasped in a hard whisper.

Sam gave her a long look. “Now? Now you give me the option?”

Kasper chuckled, smiling for the first time since he lost his Olga, but Nina was dead serious. She took a deep breath and pinched her eyes shut as she always did when checking her facts inside her head.

“You said the engine is a TE-model steam engine?” she asked Kasper. He nodded affirmatively. “Do you know what the TE really is?” she asked the men. They exchanged glances for a moment and shook their heads. Nina was about to drop a concise history lesson on them that explained a lot. “They were designated TE after they passed over into Russian ownership after the World War II,” she said. “During the Second World War they were produced as Kriegslokomotiven, ‘war locomotives’. They made a fuckload of them by altering the DRG 50 models into DRB 52’s, but after the war, they were assimilated into private ownerships of countries like Russia, Romania and Norway.”

“Nazi loco’s,” Sam sighed. “And I thought we had problems before. Now we have to find Olga while worrying about nuclear power under our arses. Jaysuss.”

“Like old times, hey, Sam?” Nina smiled. “When you were a reckless investigative journalist.”

“Aye,” he scoffed, “before I became a reckless explorer with Purdue.”

“Oh God,” Kasper moaned at the sound of Purdue’s name. “I hope he buys into your message about the Dire Serpent, Sam.”

“He will or he will not,” Sam shrugged. “We have done all we could from our side. For now, we should get on that train and find Olga. That should be all we care about until she is safe.”

On the platform, the impressed delegates cheered as the brand new, vintage-looking locomotive was unveiled. It was certainly a magnificent machine, although the new brass and steel gave it a grotesque, Steampunk touch that took from its spirit.

“How did you get us into this area so easily, Sam?” Kasper asked. “Owned by a prominent security affiliate of the meanest organization of villains in the world, you would think it was more difficult to get in here.”

Sam smiled. Nina knew that look. “Oh Christ, what did you do?”

“The Bratva hooked us up,” Sam answered, amused.

“The what?” Kasper whispered curiously.

Nina looked at Kasper. “The fucking Russian Mafia, Dr. Jacobs.” She sounded like an exasperated mother discovering once more that her son had repeated a crime. Many times before Sam toyed with the bad boys of the block to gain access to illegal things and Nina never stopped reprimanding him for it. Her dark eyes pierced his in silent judgment, but he smiled boyishly.

“Hey, against these Nazi pricks, you want this kind of ally,” he reminded her. “Sons of sons of gulag enforcers and gangs. In the world we move in, I thought you would have appreciated by now that throwing down the blackest ace always wins the game. There is no fair play when it comes to evil empires. There is only evil and worse evil. It pays to have a trump card up your sleeve.”

“Alright, alright,” she said. “You do not have to go all Martin Luther King on me. I just think it is a bad idea to be in the debt of the Bratva.”

“How do you know I have not paid them yet?” he teased.

Nina rolled her eyes. “Oh, come now. What did you promise them?”

Kasper seemed keen to hear the answer too. Both he and Nina leaned over and waited for Sam’s answer. Hesitating for the immorality of his answer, Sam knew he had to square with his companions. “I promised them something they want. The head of their competition.”

“Let me guess,” Kasper said. “Their competition is that Wolf guy, right?”

Nina’s face darkened at the mention of the thug, but she bit her tongue.

“Aye, they want the head of their competition, and after what he did to Nina, I will go out of my way to deliver,” Sam admitted. Nina felt warm at his devotion, but something about his choice of words struck her.

“Wait a minute,” she whispered. “You mean they want his actual head?”

Sam chuckled while Kasper winced on the other side of Nina. “Aye, they want him eradicated and made to look like one of his own associates did it. I know I am only a humble journalist,” he smiled through the bullshit, “but I have spent enough time among people like that to know how to frame someone.”

“Good God, Sam,” Nina sighed. “You are becoming more like them than you know.”

“I agree with him, Nina,” Kasper said. “In this line of work we cannot afford to play by the rules. We cannot even afford to maintain our values at this point. People like this, who are going to harm innocent people for their own benefit don’t deserve the blessing of good judgment Such individuals are a virus to the world and they merit the same treatment as a patch of mold on a wall.”

“Aye! That is exactly what I mean,” Sam said.

“I do not disagree at all,” Nina argued. “All I am saying is that we should make sure we do not become affiliates of people like the Bratva, just because we have a common enemy.”

“That is true, but we will never do that,” he assured her. “You know that we always know where we stand in the scheme of things. Personally, I enjoy the ‘you don’t fuck with me, I don’t fuck with you’-concept. And I shall stand by it for as long as I can.”

“Hey!” Kasper alerted them. “Looks like they are boarding. What do we do?”

“Wait,” Sam halted the eager physicist. “One of the platform conductors is Bratva. He will signal us.”

It took some time for the dignitaries to board the lavish train with its old world charm. From the engine, just like a common steam locomotive, white billows of steam appeared, expelled from the cast iron chimney. Nina took a moment to relish the beauty of it before perking up for the signal. Once everyone was on board, Tuft and Wolf shared a brief exchange of whispers ending in laughter. Then they synchronized watches and stepped through the last door of the second carriage.

A bulky man in uniform crouched to tie his shoe.

“That’s it!” Sam urged his companions. “That is our signal. We have to enter at the door where he ties his shoe. Come on!”

Under the dark dome of night the three set out to rescue Olga and derail whatever the Black Sun had planned for the global representatives they just captured voluntarily.