Revelations Pt.1 Fool's Gold

He feels the approaching train under his feet long before he hears it. The weighty locomotive making the very ground beneath them rumble, in turn causing the arch of the tunnel they stood upon to shiver ever so slightly.

No matter how many times he stood awaiting these moments, there was always a certain thrill that came with it. Despite the circumstance, despite looking his own mortality in the eye, perhaps Jake Torres was simply born and bred to be an Outlaw. He'd never know now, of course. Any remote chance he'd ever had of tracking down his real parentage and heritage long gone. All he had was what Alexander had taught him, and Alexander had taught him to live for this.

Crouching on the wooden support beam he stood upon, he rests his hand on the solid oak and feels the telltale rattle. It brought with it a perfect calm and for a moment he closes his eyes, letting his past wash over him like a wave. Drawing his hand back he pulls in a breath and rises to his feet, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the others. Isabella, Ripley, Faith, Hank and Vaughn all waiting to make the leap in to the carriages hopefully cleared for them by now by Leon, Yuliy and Leanna's men.

"Everybody ready?" He bellows over the rocky outcrop through the metal of his mask.

He can't see them, but he hears Isabella's voice come back to him. "I can see it!"

Grinding his teeth together, he feels that surge of adrenaline erupt somewhere deep inside him. A feeling like no other, undeniably a rush. The struts of the tunnel begin to tremble more violently and soon the sound of the approaching train has birds erupting from trees and the sounds of nature fading in to the background.

Crouched like a gargoyle, he waits. Every breath ringing in his ears until it's all he hears. The beam he perches upon rattles like it's going to collapse and in second heartbeat his field of vision is suddenly filled with warm steam. He throws an arm up to cover the eyes of his mask, holds his breath to a count of five and then releases. It takes him a moment to survey his target and landing, and he drops from his ledge with the graceful spring of a cat.

He lands on the wooden deck of a flatbed carriage, bending his knees to absorb the impact and bracing a hand on the slats to keep his balance.

Rising, he finds himself face to face with a dumbstruck military man who can't quite believe what just landed right behind him. They meet, eye to eye, the soldier frowning deeply as he takes in the masked, musclebound monster before him. Jake tilts his head.

"What the.. fuck..?"

It's all the man manages as Jake grasps his shirt and headbutts him, slamming the metal mask in between his eyes and knocking him cold. The body crumples. He drops low and skirts a stack of crates, moving on feather light feet up behind another two guards, he snatches one around the throat and relieves him of his rifle, sending the heel of it in to the other mans windpipe. He chokes and clutches at his neck while Jake sends the first to sleep.

fumbling for his gun the second guard coughs and splutters for air as the body of his ally slumps to the ground. Jake advances toward him and he draws his revolver, only to have Jake snatch it out of his hand, flip it and hurl it in to his face. The butt of the gun hits the soldier between the eyes and he falls like a sack of potatoes.

He hears the rifle ready behind him and ducks in time to miss the shot, grabbing the revolver that just clattered to the ground he spins low and fires two shots, taking out his assailants knees. Rising up, he apologizes.

Elsewhere on the train he hears gunfire erupt, the others had made it safely on board.

Turning toward the front of the rumbling locomotive. By now, the driver for sure knew they were under attack. Assuming the man would be armed, Jake dismisses the idea of climbing over the coal store to jump him from behind and instead moves swiftly to the side of the train, taking the chance, he skirts the edge of the coal bin, the rush of wind whipping his hair back, the mask protects his eyes. Sure enough the driver waits with a revolver aimed above the coal store. He isn't expecting his assailant to strike from outside the train.

"Drop it." He commands, a blade held to the drivers throat through the window. "Now."

"You don't.."

"DROP IT!" Jake roars his order and the gun clatters down on to the metal floor without hesitation. The driver holds his hands up, both of them trembling as Jake eases himself around and kicks the gun off the side of the train.

Lifting his own revolver to the mans head, he gives him simple instruction. "Keep us moving."

"Okay! Alright.. just don't kill me."

"The tunnel before Bacchus Bridge, you know it?" Jake rumbles, pressing the muzzle of the gun to the mans temple. He nods urgently.

"Stop us once we're inside. Co-operate, nobody has to die. Try anything, I'll gut you and leave your insides for the wolves." He snarls. "Understood?"

More frantic nodding.

The sudden sound of coal scattering has Jake shifting his aim, ready to fire at any soldiers feeling brave. It's a small breath of relief that leaves him as Isabella appears in his line of sight.

"You got everyone?" He asks.

"All down."

"Get Ripley and Faith to make sure they're all hogtied. Don't want anyone wakin' up." He instructs, glancing to his driver buddy. "I feel this thing start to slow, you're a dead man."

More frantic nodding. Jake swiftly pats him down for other weapons and finds none. Trusting fear will keep them moving, he clambers up and over the coal store behind Isabella, dropping back down to the flatbed.

"Think they found the cabin the golds in." Isabella tells him, breathing heavily as though their battle to take down the soldiers had been a tough one. "Locked up tighter than a Salmons butthole."

Jake just snorts, nodding and reaching for his belt as she leads him through. They get Ripley and Faith and Yuliy on to tying all of the unconscious guards, and meet Leon and Leanna's men outside the cabin.

Metal doors, no visible weakness. Jake pulls various items from various pouches in his belt, it isn't long before he's constructed an explosive that has everybody raising their eyebrows.

"Never knew you could do that.." Leon muses.

Jake just smirks beneath his mask, nodding and sticking the explosive in place.

"Everybody stand back." He instructs.

Well away from the blast zone, Jake pulls his revolver and shoots the makeshift dynamite.

The boom shakes the entire train and every one of them staggers, catching their balance against railings and crates. Lose rocks tumble from the high sides of the track carved through mountain range. The metal door hangs off of it's hinges and between them, Jake and Leon wrench it free and send it clattering off the side of the train. It crashes down the cliff edge, the sound swiftly fading away.

Inside, their payday glistens in the sun that streaks in through the dust and shattered wood. Gold bars stacked one on top of the other. A sight that would make any man or woman salivate at the prospect of getting their hands on.

"See! Told you she weren't wrong!" Hank speaks up gleefully, pushing past Jake and Leon to get inside.

"Can we even fit all this in our bags?" Larry laughs, shoving his way inside also.

As Leanna's men fawn over the payload, Leon looks back to Jake and the others.

"I guess we start packin' it up!" Jake gestures, almost in disbelief himself. He'd sure as hell never seen so much gold in one place. This amount seemed like it would need an entire army protect, not just a handful of soldiers on a rickety supply train.

"Holy crap!" Ripley exclaims, arriving beside them with Faith in towe.

"Uh huh.." Isabella laughs quietly.

"We can go to Hawaii with this!" Ripley enthuses. "Live on the beach! Buy a damn boat!"

Isabella nudges her, gesturing slightly to Jake and the way the man had barely moved, stoic behind his mask. Assuming his silence was because he wouldn't live to see the spoils of this venture. "Lets just get to packing it, huh?" Izzy says quietly.

Yuliy arrives with the saddlebags and holdalls and they begin loading the gold bars in, as many as they can fit. Jake watches with a frown, glancing over his shoulder toward the scarce amount of soldiers littering the floor. Unconscious, armed only with revolvers and the occasional rifle.

"Somethin' ain't right." He murmurs behind his mask.

Stepping in to the cabin, he grasps a crowbar and wrenches the lid off another crate that sat near the gold. Puzzling at it's contents. Rocks. Plain old rocks. Granite, red stone, even chalk. Almost like samples.

Heart beating a little faster, he pries the lid off of the next one.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hank barks at him, shoving gold bars in to a bag.

Leon crosses over to him, peering in to a box full of slate. "The hell.."

Jake hefts the lid back on to the crate and searches it for a marking. Anything. Not finding one, he finally turns to the gold. Snatching a bar off of the top of the depleting stack, he instantly knows he isn't holding gold. His stomach churns and drops.

"What is it?" Leon asks, peering over his shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, Jake digs his thumb in to what should be solid gold. His nail scratches the golden coloring away, revealing soft, grey colored metal beneath.

"It's worthless." He grunts.

Everybody stops in their tracks, staring at him.

"The hell do you mean it's worthless. It's gold!" Peter snaps.

"It ain't gold!" Jake snaps right back, showing him the thumb print in the soft metal. "It's Fools Gold! Iron Pyrite.. it's for scientists.. all of this shit..." he throws the gold bar down and gestures to the crates. "It ain't going to a bank it's going to a goddamn museum! Somewhere they can make somethin' out of it. It's worthless!"

A sea of blank faces stare back at him.

"But Leanna said..."

"Oh she heard gold was on board alright.." Jake snorts, yanking his mask up and off of his face to scowl in disgust at the stacks of yellow metal. He grasps another piece, scratching the surface off just the same as the last. "She just didn't think to find out what kind! You think this much gold would have a handful of soldiers guardin it? On a supply train? You seen what else its movin? There's coffee and biscuits out there!" He gestures angrily, tossing the second bar aside. "She's either the worlds biggest idiot, or she knew all along and this is a set up."

"A set up?" Peter scowls.

"She promised us." Hank reminds. "Said we'd be paid, all of us. We followed her ass all over lookin' for you.. she promised."

Jake just shrugs. "She's either a fool, and you've been followin' a pretty dream. Or she considers you expendable, and waitin for us at the rendezvous is a whole mess of law or worse."

As her men digest this news, the others stare back at him in shock and confusion.

"What do we do?" Izzy asks in a breath.

Jake bows his head for a moment, then plucks up another bar, shoving it in to a satchel and slinging it over his shoulders he gestures to the front of the train. "Don't know about you, but I wanna find out which she is. An idiot or a liar."

"And if it's a set up?" Leon asks.

Jake starts toward the front of the train as the tunnel looms ahead. "Then get ready for a fight." He grunts, pulling his mask back down over his face.