Beside Blue Moon Lake, the man who had hired them sat at the water's edge, watching the lake's surface rise and fall. They were on its western side, beyond the reflected rays of the setting sun, but the last glow of sunset gilded the opposite shore.
The man slowly closed his eyes, holding the fingers of both hands loosely before his lips, as though lost in some intoxicating reverie.
The Redhead walked over slowly. He did not speak right away, knowing his employer never kept anyone waiting long.
Sure enough, the man soon stopped indulging in his reverie and turned toward the Redhead.
"What is it?"
The Redhead took out his pocket watch and held it up.
"The sun's gone down. Are you sure the target will arrive tonight?"
"There shouldn't be any mistake."
"All right, we'll start setting up. If they don't come tonight, I'll wait two days at most, even with those gems you paid above the agreed price."
"No problem. That's plenty of time. Go get ready."
The Redhead nodded and jogged toward the railway, where others were already working on something. They lifted the sleepers partway, then put them back, hammering and banging for quite a while before they stopped.
Over by the woods, the Steam Tank had backed up some distance. Grass and branches covered its hull, while its main gun pointed toward the railway beneath a rag draped with more camouflage. It looked like an oversized heap of dead grass among the trees.
Once everything was in place, the Redhead lifted some of the camouflage covering the tank, opened the hatch, and climbed inside. His companions outside immediately restored the covering.
The Steam Tank's interior resembled a miniature locomotive cab. At the front was a combustion chamber insulated by three layers of doors, while