THE MAN WHO STOPPED THE TRAIN

The two men began walking toward them.

Jace stepped forward.

The driver whispered:

“Please don't let them take me.”

Jace looked at the approaching men, then at the wrecked van.

He understood something was very wrong.

The accident hadn't been an accident.

The driver hadn't simply been stranded.

Someone had forced him onto the tracks.

And now they had come to finish what they started.

Jace took one slow step forward.

“Stay behind me.”

One of the men stopped.

He looked at Jace's motorcycle.

Then at Jace.

“This doesn't concern you.”

Jace glanced at the frightened driver behind him.

Then back at the man.

“It does now.”

The man's expression hardened.

But before either side could move, police lights appeared at the end of the road.

The two men immediately returned to their car.

The sedan sped away.

The driver exhaled shakily.

Jace looked at him.

“What's in that bag?”

The man didn't answer.

Jace waited.

Finally, the man whispered:

“Proof that someone inside the city government is selling people's identities.”

Jace stared at him.

The man continued:

“And now they know I have it.”

Jace looked toward the disappearing sedan.

Then toward the police lights.

He knew this wasn't going to end at the railway crossing.