Live Free or Die Hard Fanfic: "Payback"
Title: Payback
Fandom: Live Free or Die Hard
Characters: John/Matt
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1368 words
Summary: Matt thought that a relaxing trip through the countryside would be just the thing to calm John's nerves after a stressful case. Until he saw the train.
Notes: Minor spoilers for a section of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, because that's where my mind went when I saw this photo. Written for getyourwordsout bingo challenge, for this
Payback
by Severina
Taking a vacation together had been a great idea, if Matt did say so himself. Making that vacation a relaxing two-week train ride through the Canadian countryside had been an even better one. The clack of the wheels on the rails was soothing, once you got used to it, and with every mile under their belt Matt could see a little more of John's tension dropping away. John's shoulders got rounder; his breathing evened out; his eyes stopped darting anxiously between every customer in the club car. He read more - and not just the crime pages in the paper - and he slept deeply. And when they weren't sleeping? Well, there was quite a bit more enthusiasm in that department than Matt had come to expect lately. That last case had done a number on John, and Matt heartily if silently congratulated himself on coming up with the best plan to alleviate all that left-over stress.
That is, until he saw the train they were supposed to transfer onto in Alberta.
He stopped short, staring first at the shiny metal surface of the train cars and then up - and up and fucking up -- to the rail that hung above the valley before plunging into a tunnel. For a moment he wasn't sure exactly what had stopped his heart in his chest or why his flesh was suddenly covered with goosebumps. Then he realized… it was Blaine. Blaine the monorail and his suicidal impulses and his fucking riddles.
None of the damn pamphlets he'd looked at while planning their vacation mentioned this. He knew they should have gotten a brochure for this podunk little town!
People were shoving past him and he heard more than one angry mutter about blocking the path, but he still couldn't get his feet to move forward. Even when John finally noticed he was walking by himself and turned to give him a quizzical look over his shoulder, his feet remained firmly planted just inside the turnstile gate.
John hefted his carry-on onto his shoulder and retraced his steps. "What's up, kid?"
Matt had to wet his lips twice before he could finally get the words out. "That's Blaine."
John looked toward the crowd milling on the platform, and when he turned back his eyes were narrowed. "Somebody you know? Somebody who hurt you?"
Matt shook his head violently. "The train. From the book!"
He'd loaded all of the Dark Tower series onto John's kindle before they left, even as John complained about modern technology and how the smell of books was vital to their enjoyment and a bunch of other bullshit that Matt tuned out. But from the perplexed look on John's face it was pretty damn clear he hadn't gotten to that part of the story yet.
"Blaine is…" he moved closer, lowered his voice as if the train might actually be able to hear him. He forced himself not to look up to see if there were any transmitters nearby. "Blaine is a sentient train, okay? First he tries to kill Roland and his ka-tet with poisonous gas, and when that doesn't work he traps them on the train-"
"A train that's alive?"
"Not animate but cognizant, yes," Matt said rapidly. "Aware of its existence, and wanting to end it. It's powered by supercomputers and it's been alone for so long that's it's gone insane, and-"
"See, this is why you oughta stay away from computers, kid. First Skynet, now some kinda crazy suicidal train," John said teasingly.
"Look, I know it sounds stupid but it's fucking scary as shit and I'm not getting on that train!"
John sighed. Matt recognized that sigh. It was John's here goes Matty with his crazy ideas again sigh. And okay, fine, part of him could understand that this particular train probably wasn't going to turn the walls transparent or challenge them to a riddling contest or deliberately crash itself into a station. But that didn't stop the hair from standing up on the back of his neck.
Goddamn Stephen King.
"Ohhhkay," John finally said. Matt recognized that, too. That was his gotta talk Matty down now version of okay. He's heard it before, most recently over the whole 'refusing to shop at Whole Foods' thing. "How about we talk to somebody, all right? Find out about this thing's safety record. Hey, they run on computers, right? You can ask about 'em, reassure your mind."
It was a logical idea. It made sense.
Matt hated it instantly.
Because whoever they talked to was going to give all the proper answers and Matt would be forced to admit that John was right and then he'll spend the next two days on the Blaine-train unable to relax for a second because he won't be able to turn off his brain and he'll be certain that imminent doom is around every fucking corner.
But he finds himself nodding anyway, and then John is leading him toward some dude in a crisp blue jacket with the station emblem stitched on the pocket.
"Excuse me," John said. "My partner here is having a bit of a concern with the train. Thinks maybe it might have some… uh… mechanical issues."
"Oh?" the man said. He smiled blankly at John for a second before turning those pearly whites his way. "Well sir, I can assure you both that there is no risk whatsoever. This is one of our newest models. In fact, this blaine is a prototype for a new generation of travel."
"What…what did you say?"
The conductor blinked. "This train is a prototype? It's the brainchild of a consortium of--"
"That's not what you said!"
"Sir?"
On some level Matt was aware that his voice was rising, that the conductor was frowning confusedly at him and that people were giving him odd looks as they hurried past. He wasn't aware that he'd taken a step back until John's hand curled around his bicep.
"Relax, kid," John said.
Matt took a deep breath. Relax. Right. His mind was playing tricks on him, making him hear what he expected to hear. That was all. He swiped a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. "Sorry," he murmured.
The conductor was still watching him with concern, but he didn't look like he was reaching for his walkie to call security. In fact, he plastered another brilliant smile on his face and shook his head. "Perfectly all right," he said. "You're not the first person to suffer anxiety before going on a long train ride. I can only assure you that this is one of the scariest trains in existence."
Matt literally felt his stomach drop as his voice rose. "WHAT?"
Now even John was looking at him funny. "He said it's one of the safest… fuck, Matty, what's wrong with you?"
Matt shook his head, backed up one step. Then another. "I'm not," he said firmly, "taking this train."
John reached out a hand, his brow furrowed. "Matthew."
"Sir," the conductor called after him. "Please don't worry. We're so sure of this train's stability that we'll soon be running a sister train out of Topeka-"
Matt made a noise that defied description - though later John would tell him the closest analogy was of a cat puking up a truly prodigious hairball - and turned on his heel. He was vaguely aware of pushing past a woman in an oversized hat and vaulting some kid's prone bike, of John calling his name, and then he was over the turnstile and flying through the parking lot.
Blaine the train would never get him. Never.
* * *
John watched Matt scurry from the station, shook his head before turning back to the conductor and pulling his wallet from his back pocket. "What'd we say, a hundred?"
The conductor's smile was genuine as he reached for the proffered cash. "Pleasure doing business with you, sir."
John nodded before he hitched his carry-on further onto his shoulder and retraced his steps.
"'Read The Dark Tower series, McClane. You'll love it, McClane'," he muttered under his breath as he strolled through the exit turnstile. "Guess we know who got the last laugh there, huh kid?"
.
Fandom: Live Free or Die Hard
Characters: John/Matt
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1368 words
Summary: Matt thought that a relaxing trip through the countryside would be just the thing to calm John's nerves after a stressful case. Until he saw the train.
Notes: Minor spoilers for a section of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, because that's where my mind went when I saw this photo. Written for getyourwordsout bingo challenge, for this
Payback
by Severina
Taking a vacation together had been a great idea, if Matt did say so himself. Making that vacation a relaxing two-week train ride through the Canadian countryside had been an even better one. The clack of the wheels on the rails was soothing, once you got used to it, and with every mile under their belt Matt could see a little more of John's tension dropping away. John's shoulders got rounder; his breathing evened out; his eyes stopped darting anxiously between every customer in the club car. He read more - and not just the crime pages in the paper - and he slept deeply. And when they weren't sleeping? Well, there was quite a bit more enthusiasm in that department than Matt had come to expect lately. That last case had done a number on John, and Matt heartily if silently congratulated himself on coming up with the best plan to alleviate all that left-over stress.
That is, until he saw the train they were supposed to transfer onto in Alberta.
He stopped short, staring first at the shiny metal surface of the train cars and then up - and up and fucking up -- to the rail that hung above the valley before plunging into a tunnel. For a moment he wasn't sure exactly what had stopped his heart in his chest or why his flesh was suddenly covered with goosebumps. Then he realized… it was Blaine. Blaine the monorail and his suicidal impulses and his fucking riddles.
None of the damn pamphlets he'd looked at while planning their vacation mentioned this. He knew they should have gotten a brochure for this podunk little town!
People were shoving past him and he heard more than one angry mutter about blocking the path, but he still couldn't get his feet to move forward. Even when John finally noticed he was walking by himself and turned to give him a quizzical look over his shoulder, his feet remained firmly planted just inside the turnstile gate.
John hefted his carry-on onto his shoulder and retraced his steps. "What's up, kid?"
Matt had to wet his lips twice before he could finally get the words out. "That's Blaine."
John looked toward the crowd milling on the platform, and when he turned back his eyes were narrowed. "Somebody you know? Somebody who hurt you?"
Matt shook his head violently. "The train. From the book!"
He'd loaded all of the Dark Tower series onto John's kindle before they left, even as John complained about modern technology and how the smell of books was vital to their enjoyment and a bunch of other bullshit that Matt tuned out. But from the perplexed look on John's face it was pretty damn clear he hadn't gotten to that part of the story yet.
"Blaine is…" he moved closer, lowered his voice as if the train might actually be able to hear him. He forced himself not to look up to see if there were any transmitters nearby. "Blaine is a sentient train, okay? First he tries to kill Roland and his ka-tet with poisonous gas, and when that doesn't work he traps them on the train-"
"A train that's alive?"
"Not animate but cognizant, yes," Matt said rapidly. "Aware of its existence, and wanting to end it. It's powered by supercomputers and it's been alone for so long that's it's gone insane, and-"
"See, this is why you oughta stay away from computers, kid. First Skynet, now some kinda crazy suicidal train," John said teasingly.
"Look, I know it sounds stupid but it's fucking scary as shit and I'm not getting on that train!"
John sighed. Matt recognized that sigh. It was John's here goes Matty with his crazy ideas again sigh. And okay, fine, part of him could understand that this particular train probably wasn't going to turn the walls transparent or challenge them to a riddling contest or deliberately crash itself into a station. But that didn't stop the hair from standing up on the back of his neck.
Goddamn Stephen King.
"Ohhhkay," John finally said. Matt recognized that, too. That was his gotta talk Matty down now version of okay. He's heard it before, most recently over the whole 'refusing to shop at Whole Foods' thing. "How about we talk to somebody, all right? Find out about this thing's safety record. Hey, they run on computers, right? You can ask about 'em, reassure your mind."
It was a logical idea. It made sense.
Matt hated it instantly.
Because whoever they talked to was going to give all the proper answers and Matt would be forced to admit that John was right and then he'll spend the next two days on the Blaine-train unable to relax for a second because he won't be able to turn off his brain and he'll be certain that imminent doom is around every fucking corner.
But he finds himself nodding anyway, and then John is leading him toward some dude in a crisp blue jacket with the station emblem stitched on the pocket.
"Excuse me," John said. "My partner here is having a bit of a concern with the train. Thinks maybe it might have some… uh… mechanical issues."
"Oh?" the man said. He smiled blankly at John for a second before turning those pearly whites his way. "Well sir, I can assure you both that there is no risk whatsoever. This is one of our newest models. In fact, this blaine is a prototype for a new generation of travel."
"What…what did you say?"
The conductor blinked. "This train is a prototype? It's the brainchild of a consortium of--"
"That's not what you said!"
"Sir?"
On some level Matt was aware that his voice was rising, that the conductor was frowning confusedly at him and that people were giving him odd looks as they hurried past. He wasn't aware that he'd taken a step back until John's hand curled around his bicep.
"Relax, kid," John said.
Matt took a deep breath. Relax. Right. His mind was playing tricks on him, making him hear what he expected to hear. That was all. He swiped a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. "Sorry," he murmured.
The conductor was still watching him with concern, but he didn't look like he was reaching for his walkie to call security. In fact, he plastered another brilliant smile on his face and shook his head. "Perfectly all right," he said. "You're not the first person to suffer anxiety before going on a long train ride. I can only assure you that this is one of the scariest trains in existence."
Matt literally felt his stomach drop as his voice rose. "WHAT?"
Now even John was looking at him funny. "He said it's one of the safest… fuck, Matty, what's wrong with you?"
Matt shook his head, backed up one step. Then another. "I'm not," he said firmly, "taking this train."
John reached out a hand, his brow furrowed. "Matthew."
"Sir," the conductor called after him. "Please don't worry. We're so sure of this train's stability that we'll soon be running a sister train out of Topeka-"
Matt made a noise that defied description - though later John would tell him the closest analogy was of a cat puking up a truly prodigious hairball - and turned on his heel. He was vaguely aware of pushing past a woman in an oversized hat and vaulting some kid's prone bike, of John calling his name, and then he was over the turnstile and flying through the parking lot.
Blaine the train would never get him. Never.
* * *
John watched Matt scurry from the station, shook his head before turning back to the conductor and pulling his wallet from his back pocket. "What'd we say, a hundred?"
The conductor's smile was genuine as he reached for the proffered cash. "Pleasure doing business with you, sir."
John nodded before he hitched his carry-on further onto his shoulder and retraced his steps.
"'Read The Dark Tower series, McClane. You'll love it, McClane'," he muttered under his breath as he strolled through the exit turnstile. "Guess we know who got the last laugh there, huh kid?"
.