Crimson

next stop: hell

"But we usually get what we need." His gun poked her neck once more before his radio crackled to life and he moved away to a more private area of the train car.

"You're gonna give me a bruise, Reese." She spit out his name, rubbing her ribs with a glare at him.

"And you're gonna get us all killed." He whispered, harshly, his eyes flicking to one of the guards that was clenching his gun tightly.

"I know what I'm doing." Pippin felt at ease.
Adrenaline was running through her veins but not enough to cloud her mind.

Instead, scenarios were flashing through her mind as she wracked her thoughts for a way out of this mess.

"Sorry if I'm not placing my entire confidence in a twenty-something year old that's almost shorter than me and obviously has a death wish." He hissed, shifting uneasily.

"Will you shut up? I'm trying to think." She growled, her eyes flicking towards the leader of the group who had accosted her with his gun.

"Are they going to kill us?" Reese asked after a moment, Pippin glancing at him to see his face visually pale.

"I don't think so. They would've done it by now."

"Thanks for the reassurance." He responded, with the earlier fire in his voice before  the leader bark something into his radio and the same scared look showed on his face again.

"Making you feel good isn't my priority. Getting out alive is." She retorted, the leader moving over to the two of them.
"What are you doing?" Pippin protested as he yanked her up to her feet, his gloved arm rough against her skin.

"I'm taking these two to the top of the train. Get rid of the last cars."

He ordered the rest of the masks in the car, ignoring Pippin and motioning for Reese to follow him. They pushed through the connectors of the train cars, ending up in a dining car.

"I need to tinkle."
Pippin spoke up as he dragged her through the carpet of the car.

"Tinkle?" He paused, turning his strange masked face towards her.

"Take a piss, use the little girl's room, pee?"
Pippin snapped, sarcastically, wriggling a little to emphasize her need.

"Don't try me, doll." He growled, roughly pushing her in the direction of the restroom.
She shot him a glare before disappearing in the bathroom.

Glimmers of a plan were racing across her mind as she searched the small stall for anything to use. Her eyes rested in the long handicapped rod next to the bathroom.
She crouched next to it, using the tip of her knife to unscrew the bolts.

"Don't try anything."

Curses flew under her breath as the gunman pounded on the door.

"There's not much I can do in a bathroom, Vader." She retorted, rolling her eyes before she returned to her task.

One side of the rod was free and she moved to the other side that was harder to reach because of the toilet.

"Do I have to come in there?" He pressed, his mask hissing as he spoke.

"Sure, I may need your help with the blood. Lots of blood." Pippin shouted back, wincing as her arm started to stiffen in the uncomfortable position she was in.

"What bl-" He trailed off, Pippin pursing her lips. "Oh. Just hurry up."

She finally unscrewed the last bit holding the rod in place, making sure it didn't clatter to the ground. She held it behind her back, slipping her knife into her boot before slowly opening the door.