The Collectors Book Five (The Collectors Series 5) Read Online Free Page B

footplate.
    Brock operated the levers and opened the throttle. The train shuddered as it gathered momentum. Bullets struck the cab and ricocheted into the air. With its weight, those rocks scattered over the track fell to one side. Behind him, the big guns and machine guns blasted the slopes.
    A few kilometres along the track, he turned to his fireman. “We might make it. What the...” He peered through the chipped armour-plated glass as the train entered a tunnel and the cab doors opened.
    Two men wearing British army battle dress opened fire. One of the mercenaries clambered into the cab and opened the throttle wide before he leapt and joined his companion at the side of the track. 
    “They will have the ride of their lives,” said Georgios as the carriages trundled on.
    “We must wait for the next,” said Savas.
    “They will have heard the firing. It will not be so easy”
    “How can we tell which train carries the artefacts?”
    “On the next train, study the closed trucks. Prisoners have to relieve themselves and it shows. To be sure, we have a man posted in a hole under the track. He not only sees but is often covered.”
    A dull explosion rattled along the tunnel.
    “They found the bottom of the gorge.”
                  “Perfect place for the German bastards,” said Georgios. “Let’s get into position for the next train.”
                  The ground beneath their feet trembled and dust floated in the air.
    “What the hell?” asked Savas.
    “The train. The vibrations take their time to travel through the rock.”
     
    ***
     
    Axel Koch listened to the boom of howitzers. “Driver. Stop the train.” He jumped to the ground and ran to the first troop carrier. “Lieutenant, send one of your men. I want every officer here in ten minutes. Sergeant, you and two others release the prisoners and make them run. A few shots into the air will make sure.”
    “They’re Italian, sir, good runners.”
    Koch shouted. “Get on with it.”
    The sergeant chose his men and raced to the first wagon. With a heave, the metal securing bar swung free and the double door slid back.
    The odour of stale urine and faeces fouled the air. Exhausted men shielded their eyes from the bright sunlight.
    The two soldiers grabbed those tottering by the door and threw them to the ground. “Go, go, go.”
    Confused, they went to help their comrades.
    The sergeant fired his machine pistol into the air. “Go, go, go.”
    Those on the ground stared at their captors before they crawled away.
    “Leave them. They’ll soon get the message. Next wagon.”
    As they opened the doors to the last wagon the Italian prisoners ran, staggered, or crawled away from the train. Many glanced back expecting a bullet.
    Major Koch faced his lieutenants. “You heard the gunfire. What they faced and whether they overcame the resistance we don’t know. Their radio is not transmitting which means nothing. You will prepare your troops for an attack from either side. The signal to open fire and keep firing will be one long blast on the whistle. Whatever is there, the first train will have inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. This train is not stopping.”
    “The prisoners, why release them?” asked a young officer.
    “Weight. The lighter this train is the faster it runs. Dismissed.”
    The shrill sound of a train whistle forced Koch to turn away from the train and gaze up the track. Zimmerman’s train slowed to a halt stopping metres from the last truck.
    Koch met Zimmerman halfway and told him his plan.
    “What choice do we have?”
    “I’ll give two long blasts of the whistle when we are clear of danger.”
    “It’s a sound I’ll be listening for but all the same, I’ll have my men ready.”
    “Time we left.” The two men shook hands.
    Back in the cab the driver said, “Major Koch, with the ballast truck in front it’s difficult to see the line. One, perhaps two men, checking the rails could make the