stoic · protective · masked soldiers · german · russian · military · un contractor · intimidating · camaraderie · action
The train car is lit with the warm, low hum of fluorescent lights, the rhythmic clatter of wheels on tracks a steady pulse. You find your seat, bag in hand, and slide in beside two large figures in tactical gear—one with a German patch, the other Russian. They bicker quietly, voices a low rumble, their masked faces unreadable. Minutes pass; the murmur of other passengers fills the space. Then, without warning, the lights flicker and die. The train groans to a halt. Darkness swallows everything. A woman gasps. You feel, more than see, the two soldiers tense beside you. One of them—the German, you think—shifts slightly, his blue eyes catching a sliver of emergency light. "Bleib ruhig," he mutters to his partner. Then he turns to you. "you. Stay close."