Jin walked Bulldog to the assistant station manager's office on one corner of the platform. He thought he'd use the room using Bulldog's name but he didn't need it. The office was already vacant. There was no sign of the manager around.
Jin was satisfied at the sight. He pulled a chair and let him sit.
Then he closed the door and pulled another chair and sat facing him.
"Now...Mr. Bullock," said Jin, "you'll answer some questions I have."
Bulldog smiled mockingly, "what questions Mr. Kim? Your game is over. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. You will not be benefited from arresting someone like me. You have lost the game a long time ago."
"Mind clearing up it a bit? I hear only barking!" Jin's face became expressionless suddenly.
"I will not say anything. Just know this, you have shouldered the responsibility to save the world, but your last ray of hope has been put off a long time ago!"
"Pardon?"
"I mean—you're fighting for a lost cause, Mr. Kim. No matter how skillful you are, the result has been decided already."
Jin frowned with questions in his eyes.
"Sorry to inform you, Mr. Kim. I got the antivirus, It should have already reached the Pentagon. I also made sure that you don't get a copy of that no matter how hard you try."
"Dr. Buren! where is she? What have you done with her?"
"You needn't think about that anymore- that lady will be no longer useful to you."
"Did you kill her?"
Bulldog just smiled without answering.
"Answer me, Mr. Bullock!"
"There will be no gain in yelling at me. It's over, Mr. Kim."
"That's why you went to kill me and Arya? If we already lost our chance, then what is your need to kill us? Only insulting us wouldn't be enough, huh? Did I hurt your pride that much that you arranged a whole platoon to catch us?"
"A frayed thread must never be left hanging, Mr. Kim. It has to be cut off. What is the guarantee that you won't reveal the truth to the whole world in the future to damage America's image in front of everyone? How can we just let that happen?"
"America's image, or yours? If the conspiracy is exposed, don't you think I know who America will make a scapegoat at the first chance?"
"Think whatever you want," said Bulldog in a nonchalant manner.
Arya knocked on the door this time. She waved her hands through the glass pine on the door once Jin looked at the door.
Jin quickly got up and opened the door.
"You can think whatever you want," Bulldog continued his previous streaks of words, "your wishful thinking won't be anything useful around here. Stop running and surrender instead, I can give you a chance to live."
"Asking us to surrender!" Arya said, "shouldn't you know that you are the one at our mercy right now?"
"It's no problem," said Bulldog, seemingly unconcerned, "you can't hold me back much longer, my people will start searching for me. Rather, you are in the trap yourself. We've already alerted the local police.
you can't get out of the station, even if you want to board the train,
You will be arrested."
"Is that so?" said Arya in a crooked tone. She was going to say something more, but the microphone on the station's public-address system came alive, "attention, please. This is the last boarding call for Thalys Express to Paris. I repeat..."
Arya thought a little. She looked at Jin. Jin was also looking at her. Arya smiled a little realizing they both were thinking the same thing.
She smiled a bit and went ahead and picked up the intercom receiver from the table. She dialed the specific number and said, "information desk? I would like to address an announcement..."
Bulldog's eyes widened when he heard her words that she requested the information desk to announce it on her behalf. He scoffed and roared in an enraged voice, "what does that mean?"
"You'll see," said Jin and hit Bulldog's neck with the butt of his pistol.
Bulldog fell to the floor with his chair. He did not lose consciousness, but he was seeing the darkness in his eyes, unable to move anymore.
And then the announcement was heard.
"Attention, please! A little boy named Douglas Bullock has been found on the platform. He can't remember anything about the name and identity of his parents. He is crying. The parents of the child are requested to contact the office of the assistant manager of the station on an emergency basis."
Immediately, Bulldog's walkie-talkie came alive. Exciting questions were heard, "sir, where are you? What is being said in the public address system?"
Arya untied the walkie-talkie from the waist of Bulldog. She brought it closer to her mouth and said in a mocking nasal tone, "Help! Help!! They are killing me...!"
Seeing Jin trying to suppress his smile, Arya's lips also quivered in a mischievous grin.
"What the...Sir, we're coming right away!"
Arya threw the set from her hand.
Bulldog said, "you will be dead in my hand, woman! I will not spare you!"
Arya smiled cruelly, "you do not need to spare me, but this time I am sparing you. Let me say one thing before I go - you endangered the whole world for the sake of your interest, it wasn't a good idea.
I hate this type of person. I am sparing you now, but if you don't get out of my way, next time I'll not show any mercy. Goodbye."
"You woman...!"
"By the way, It's Araya Akaishi. Hope you'll remember this name for a long time." Arya winked and pulled Jin's arm, "let's go."
Both of them came out from the office on the platform. Their plan was working. They saw the CIA agents making a scene and running toward the office in search of their boss.
Forgetting everything, the police were rushing towards the office too forgetting their duty of catching the three fugitives.
Arya picked up Eva's phone and turned around in a posture of taking a selfie while Jin sat down to tie his already-tied shoelaces and let the team pass by them.
He stood up and both of them started running toward the train once the team got past them.
The compartment doors have started closing. Jin saw Eva's face in one window, calling out to them. At the very last minute, they jumped on the train through the narrow gaps between the doors which were almost closed by the time they reached there.
Arya stood up straight and saw people looking at them suspiciously.
"Sorry," she smiled a little and tried to normalize the situation, "guess we are a bit late!"
The furrowed brows of the passengers straightened as they lost interest.
Jin and Arya walked and sat next to Eva.
"How did you come?" Asked the young secretary, "I heard a strange announcement called..."
Without answering, Jin turned his eyes to the window. No one was coming to stop the train. Not yet.
Thalys TGV exited the Bijlmer Arena safely.
The agents helped Bulldog out of the office. As soon as he felt a little better, he pushed everyone away.
He said in a hurried voice, "leave me!
Were you walking around with your eyes closed? That bastard caught me and took me away and none of you noticed that?"
The leader of the assault team was already fed up with the insults.
He said bitterly, "why only blaming us? You haven't seen him either."
"You dare talk back to me! All of you just rushed here to save me!
Did you not understand that it was a diversion?"
Everyone went silent. They acted like a fool indeed. The team leader quickly said, "don't worry, sir. I'm going to look for him right now..."
"Right! As if Kim Seokjin is still hanging around so that you can go and arrest him! Idiot!" Bulldog was almost yelling at this point.
He looked at a police officer standing next to him. "Did any trains leave after the announcement?"
"Yes," said the officer. "A high-speed train, non-stop...set to Paris."
"Paris!" said the team leader, "then they didn't get on it..."
"Why do you speak before hearing everything?" Bulldog growled. "Officer, is there any stop for that train in between?"
The gentleman shook his head, "passengers will board from Amsterdam Central too."
"Alert the security over there..."
Bulldog's conversation was not over, but the mobile phone in his pocket rang. He raised the phone to his ear coming a little away from the crowd around him, "hello?"
"Hello, Mr. Bullock!" Elisa's voice was heard from the other side, "couldn't wait any longer to hear the good news. Did everything go well?"
"What well? That man is still ahead of my grips. I am chasing him. Still."
"What are you saying!" Elisa stopped. "The police from Duivendrecht called me just now. I got a call from the department saying there were gun firing in my villa. A few bodies have been found. I thought you had already finished work."
"Nothing is finished yet," said Bulldog, "those are all my people's corpses. That bastard Seokjin killed them and ran away."
Elisa couldn't believe the word, "ran away! How?"
"I'll tell you later, now is not the time.
I'm going to intercept a high-speed train now."
Elisa was annoyed, "what type of gibberish are you talking about? Where does the high-speed train come in Duivendrecht?"
"We are not there. Seokjin ran away and came to Bijlmer rail station. He has boarded a TGV from the railway station heading towards Amsterdam. This train will stop at Amsterdam central. We are heading there now."
"And with what will you chase a TGV, tell me?" quipped the elderly Uno.
"Don't tell me you have an airplane in your pocket now?"
Bulldog bore the insult in silence—Elisa had said nothing wrong.
He can't reach Amsterdam earlier than the train. He still tried to say timidly, "the police there will be ready..."
"Huh, Kim Seokjin vs. Railway Police- should I remind you about the guaranteed outcome? He even got away from your highly trained selective troops, didn't he?"
Bulldog couldn't protest further.
Elisa said in an angry voice, "I see it was a mistake to give you the job.
It would have been better if I had sent Theo."
Bulldog couldn't stand it anymore. He said with a raised voice, "enough, you don't have to rub it on my face now. We have done everything we could.
If he has extremely good luck in him, Who am I to do anything, tell me?"
"Then why did you go there?" Elisa's voice stinged like a poison needle, "to see his face?"
Until now, Bulldog has only scolded people, never faced it himself. As Elisa spilled his medicine on himself, he burst out and said, "enough, doctor. Do not say a word further!
I will show you what I can do. I'll deploy every one of our assets in the field now. Within the next few hours, there won't be any signs of Kim Seokjin and Araya Akaishi in the world."
"Have you lost it completely? If you go to such length, it will catch attention!"
"Scared?" Bulldog smiled crookedly, "then how about you deciding what to do next?"
"Looks like I indeed have to do something." Elisa said in a calm voice, "you guys just come back."
"Why...what do you want to do?"
"You will see that. Come back now."
Bulldog didn't get a chance to say anything else. The elderly Uno has already disconnected the line.
Jin was briefing Arya about what he had heard from Bulldog before Arya went there. The conversation was in Korean, not want to let Eva know anything yet.
She was a fragile girl with a delicate nature, she can get scared after hearing everything.
Arya frowned after hearing about the news of the CIA having the antivirus. She asked, "what do you think, Jin? Was he telling the truth?"
"I don't see any reason to lie," Jin's voice was also worried, "the way he was flaunting his achievements,
It is more likely to be true."
"What does that mean? Did he kill Buren?"
"He didn't say exactly that. Will Bulldog dare to kill the world's last Uno? will he be willing to lose a powerful thing like Uno-code? Not at all. Maybe, Elisa is a prisoner now; That's what Bulldog meant when he said that She will not come in handy to us anymore, maybe.”
"Why did we spare him then? Shouldn't we beat him to a pulp until he spilled out Dr. Buren's location?"
"It wouldn't have helped - a man like him wouldn't have opened his mouth.
If we were late interrogating him, we would have been caught."
"What is the benefit of running away either? Where else can we find out about Dr. Buren?"
"I know, the chances are slim," admitted Jin, "If caught, we
wouldn't have that slim chance too. That's why I insisted we leave.
I will do something after getting off. We'll kidnap Bulldog or one of his companions if necessary."
For quite some time, they could hear the noise of the passengers around.
But because they were busy with the discussion, they did not pay attention.
Suddenly the whole train started to sway. The two NIS agents instantly got back to reality. They noticed the look of panic on the faces of their fellow passengers.
Jin asked Eva, "what happened?"
"They are saying that the train has changed direction," said Eva, "and now It's not going to Amsterdam Central, it's running the other way."
"Bullshit!" Arya waved her hand, "It's nothing! Why would the TGV change route so suddenly?"
"No, no," Eva disagreed, "something has gone wrong. Did you guys notice how the speed is increasing?"
Jin also caught the inconsistency this time. The TGV was speeding up. It wouldn't be anything unusual if it weren't accompanied by simultaneous swaying.
this train floats on magnetic tracks, not only it shouldn't sway but
not even the slightest vibration should be felt. Something was very wrong.
An attendant was seen coming down the aisle, the passengers pouring out
catching him. But the man was not giving any answer, with a smile on his face, he was trying to convince and ensure everyone. As he came closer, Jin grabbed his hand tight. He stood up and said loudly, "stop! Answer our questions."
"What's the matter, sir? Any problem??" The attendant's voice was pouring pure honey."
"Is it true that we have changed direction?"
"No, umm...I mean..." No one had any trouble understanding that the answer was positive.
Jin asked again, "why is the train swaying?"
"Umm...a little technical fault, it will be fixed soon."
The passengers shouted, Jin raised his hand and calmed them down and then asked the attendant, "what kind of technical fault is this, can you tell us?"
The smiling mask fell from the face of the man. He said, "I give up, sir. I don't know anything. just go to the driver's cab if you have further questions."
"Okay, lead the way. Take us there."
Jin, Arya, and Eva started walking behind the attendant; quite a few passengers followed. Moving through one compartment after another,
They and the new anxious passengers joined the party and they all followed them toward the driver's cab.
What was happening?
When they finally reached the driver's cab, the team was of at least forty curious people.
Meanwhile, the speed of the TGV increased, it was swaying so much that It was visibly swaying left and right.
The attendant knocked on the door.
After a few moments, a middle-aged driver peeked out, he was looking older than his age in worry.
"What happened? Why is there such a crowd here?"
All the passengers shouted together, asking questions one after another. Jin quickly calmed them down. He said, "let me speak."
He turned towards the driver. Seeing the name-tag hanging on his chest, he asked, "Is there a problem with the train, Mr. Thiessen?"
The driver hesitated a little. Then he said, "something indeed happened, you guys felt it too, right? That's why you are here."
"What's the problem?"
Thiessen didn't speak, just shrugged.
"Answer me, sir," said Arya, "everyone has the right to know if there is any danger."
Thiessen leaned forward, “I lost control of the TGV,” he said in a low voice, "the control panel is not taking any commands. Speed is increasing too, the optimum limit has already been exceeded, which is why it is swaying. If it increases further, then we will just get derailed. And judging the situation, that is exactly what is likely to happen."
Everyone stopped realizing the gravity of the danger. This train was running at a speed of three hundred km per hour. If this train gets derailed and crashes, it will just be crumpled like a paper plane. There will be no more twists and turns; All passengers will die for sure.
The crowd remained silent for a few moments, then their voices began to scream.
"Stop you guys!" shouted Jin, "keep it down for a bit, please!"
He looked at the driver, "come on, let me see the situation inside."
Jin, Arya, and Eva entered the cab passing Thiessen; There was no place for the rest, they kept peeking from the door.
The inside of the cab was like a small cockpit, where only one driver can sit. There was a huge windshield ahead, the scene seen through it was not static at all. The scene was coming rushing towards the cab as if it will jump on the body anytime.
Right below the Windshield, there was a semi-circular console, with various buttons and a glowing LED screen.
"Is everything here computer-controlled?" asked Jin.
"Yes," nodded Thiessen, "something happened to the onboard computer, it is not taking any commands."
Jin looked at Arya, "can you do anything?"
"I can try," said Arya, "but I need a computer." Her laptop was left behind in the garden house, and she could not bring it with her.
Jin turned to the passengers peeking at the door, "look if someone has any laptop with them. It is urgent. Hurry up."
A few people from the crowd ran away and came back a little later - they brought a laptop of Toshiba's latest model.
The swaying has grown even more,
It took Arya a lot of effort to connect the laptop to the console. She was unable to keep balance, swaying from side to side in the cab. Seeing the situation, Eva came forward to help her friend.
With the combined efforts of the two, the laptop was finally connected to the console via a data cable.
Arya sat on the driver's seat, keeping the laptop on her lap.
Quickly pressing a few buttons, she brought the train control interface to the screen.
At first, she tried to stop the train with normal commands, but it didn't work so she got busy with the analysis of the whole system.
Her fingers awoke a storm in the keyboard. One by one, she brought out each program to test.
Jin turned back hearing the sound of rustling behind him.
The passengers could not keep up their balance in this swaying and trampled over one other. Panicked screams of women echoed from the compartments. At the same time, a few children were crying in their cabin.
"Go back to your seats," Jin told the crowd, "there is no use standing here. If there is anything to tell, I will go and tell you guys."
No one protested, everyone got a lesson. Quickly they started returning to their respective compartments holding the bulkhead.
"Eva, you go too. You have nothing to do here." Arya said to Eva.
"No," said the girl firmly, "I will not go anywhere. If you die, I will die with you."
Jin looked at Arya with a shrug. "Arya, hurry up. The train will not last long, it can be thrown off the line at any moment now."
Arya slowly turned the chair towards him after closing the laptop's lid. "Sorry," she said in an upset voice, "there is nothing I can do."
"Why? Does it have a big problem?"
"Not only big but the biggest," said Arya bitterly. "There aren't any faults in the system, but it is not being allowed to work. The entire train from outside the system has been hijacked. That's why it is Willingly changing the route and increasing the speed. Someone did it so that these accidents happen."
Jin's face was in shock. "You mean…."
"Yes, Jin. This is the feat of Uno-code... The train is attached to the mainframe of Dutch Railways. Our opponent Uno came from behind and took the control of the whole TGV. He is sending commands in Uno- code one after another. There is nothing for us to do...except die quietly."
Jin stopped— he couldn't believe the bad news. How is this possible? That Uno is full-on to get him and Arya out of the way so much so that he wouldn't mind killing a trainload of people?
Innocent women and children were among them. Is the man a man or a ghost?
Jin felt helpless. His mind was towards the comrades in the battle and doing something to save them- Jin's mind was a mess. But he also knew—nothing is there to do.
Arya was right, except to accept death quietly. They have no chance. Jin looked around once at Arya and another time at Eva with a sad look.
The sound of crying children was coming from the nearest compartment. Arya's heart almost broke- Won't she be able to save them? She whispered,
"Jin, at least an attempt must be made to save the children..."
Jin was about to nod his head, but seeing Eva, he stopped. The appearance of the young secretary has undergone a radical change, her jaw hardened—a look of firm resolve emanated from her face.
"Leave the chair," said Eva to her friend in a commanding tone, "let me see it,"
"What do you mean?" Arya's forehead showed creases from frowning too hard.
"Don't say anything," Eva scolded, "get out of here."
The personality of the young woman has changed radically, and suddenly Arya felt small and cheap in front of that girl. Why should she stay put and leave her out there, she still couldn't understand.
Not being able to catch the reason, she left the seat curiously and let Eva sit in the seat.
There was no hesitation in Eva's eyes. She lifted the lid of the laptop once again and stroked a few keys. TGV's control interface program came up on the screen, she looked at it for ten seconds, then she pressed two more buttons to empty the entire screen. This time the girl started work faster than Arya.
The girl started typing on the keyboard, in the blink of an eye
The interface popped up on the screen—
As the writing increased, Jin noticed a change.
The sound of the engine of the TGV changed—slowly coming to a screeching halt.
Jin's jaw dropped in amazement - suddenly he was guessing an unbelievable thing.
The TGV overcame all dangers within five minutes.
The swaying was completely absent, the speed also came to a very soft level.
Even then, Eva did not stop, she continued to work on the laptop. The train run for two more minutes in the end and then the it stopped completely - in the middle of a huge deserted field.
Screams were heard from all compartments. They all were happy to be saved. Eva pressed a button on her computer and all the doors opened with a click. Excited passengers got out In the field—hugging each other and drawing free air into their lungs.
Driver Thiessen clapped his hands, "you have done great, Ma'am. You have saved all of our lives."
Jin was also smiling, "good job, Eva. Good job indeed!"
Only Arya had no smile on her face - Her head was messed up, and she couldn't think clearly about anything. Bewildered, she said, "H...But...how? How is this possible?"
Eva closed the laptop and stood up, not directly answering the mystery, she just smiled.
"She's an Uno, Arya," Jin said, "Eva is the eleventh Uno!"
"Sorry, my name isn't Eva."
Now it was Jin's turn to be startled, "No? So who are you?"
"I'm Christina Walden."
"Michael and Debbie Walden's daughter?"
The mysterious girl shook her head, "I am not the eleventh Uno. If you still want to call me by a number, you should call me number One because..." her quiet voice was firm and determined, "I am the creator of Uno-code!"