Always Was The Better Shot

Chapter 11

The time of the heist came all too soon, with the day flying by with much scrambling around and last-minute preparations. The train was set to leave at 12:00 AM sharp, which meant that in order for the crew to reach the train as it picked up speed, they'd have to start riding along the train's path before the train left. When 11:45 AM rolled around, Ashe, McCree, Gianna, and Travis all pulled up a quarter-mile away from the train station, dismounting their bikes and hiding behind the natural rock outcroppings that stood sentinel nearby.

The train station lay basically in the middle of nowhere; it took the gang about an hour to reach it at their top speed. With nothing but miles and miles of empty desert and canyons between it and the nearest sign of civilization, Yucca Station stood out like a flare among the monotony of the natural landscape. The station was mainly used as a waystop for repairs or refueling trains that were traveling from coast to coast. Yucca Station was by no means a large station, but it was big enough that it was easily spotted from miles away, with its large flood lights illuminating the train stop, as well as the large warehouse dotted with obstruction lights, that was used for storing fuel and spare train parts.

The train that was transporting The Western Sunrise was in the station, going through repairs and refueling. From what Ashe and Cassidy could assume from Lauren's vague details, the Diamondbacks were going to sneak the bomb onto the train while it was refueling and repairing damage that had "accidentally" occurred while en route to Yucca Station. Since most of this was done by drones or some unfortunate Omnics, sneaking the cargo onto the train would be quite easy. The Diamondbacks would then do a quick sweep of the train after they secured it, and then it would continue its journey to Las Vegas.

"So why doesn't Talon just drop in and pick up the bomb when it's out at the station?" Ashe had asked hours earlier. "The station is far enough away from any town or city that they'd be able to grab the weapon unnoticed by the local authorities."

Cassidy tapped at the holo map that floated on the table between them. "The reason why is that there is a military base in the vicinity of the station. Even though this base is about twenty miles away from Yucca Station, they'll have aerial patrols doing surveillance and drills in the surrounding airspace for miles." Cassidy looked up at Ashe, the light of the map lighting up both of their faces. "Talon won't risk getting spotted and shot down at the station, they'd rather wait to grab the bomb when the train is deep in the desert."

The crew sat waiting in their natural hideout, watching the train station through their Panoptica field-glasses for any sign of the Diamondbacks or The Western Sunrise. With about ten minutes until midnight, the only signs of movement at the station were drones finishing up their refueling as well as disposing of damaged train parts.

"I don't like this," Travis grumbled, shifting on his stomach to get more comfortable. "What if they laid out a false trail for Lauren, put the bomb on another train, or already sent it?"

"How could they? They wouldn't have known that Lauren was spyin' on them,"
Ashe replied, adjusting the dials on her field glasses. "She's pretty good at that, and the Diamondbacks are as dumb as a bag of rocks."

"Well, maybe they already put The Western Sunrise on the train, before we got here."

"Nah, they wouldn't do that," Cassidy said, tracking a pair of drones back to the warehouse. "In order to get the bomb on the train undetected, they'd have to move it on right before the train departed. Otherwise, the drones would spot them."

"Are you sure? Cuz there-"

"Quiet!" Ashe hissed. She turned her head towards the warehouse's open doors, zooming in on them. "Spotted them, warehouse doors."