Firdaus had to admit, there was something strangely cute about the sight of Alex supporting Josh on his back, swapping Doctor Who catchphrases, and getting ready to carry him in a flying leap from train car to train car. She also, as always, envied him this ability, both for his strength and his flight capabilities.

But she couldn't stick to that envy for long, not when she needed to stay behind and lend Ahmad a hand. The man was good, but they were a tag team for a reason. He so often needed her help handling the connections between his devices and the internet. God bless him, but his strange aversion to Wi-Fi if he could help it, it was a little problematic sometimes.

Right now, he wasn't really avoiding the Wi-Fi, though. He couldn't exactly make a wired connection to the next car, and that was what the flash drive was for, the one he'd handed off to Josh and Alex.

So, for now, Firdaus almost felt useless.

Almost, but not quite.

She could at least spend this time keeping an eye on Mr. Graziadei. Keeping an eye on his face, especially. Not because it was particularly good to look at - not that it wasn't - but because she was searching for any kind of micro-expression tell that would betray his true thoughts.

She was still convinced he had every intention of hurting Alex the second he got a chance.

And probably Josh too.

And herself and Ahmad for being Josh's friends.

Hell, even AK, just for good measure.

Even with Scoville being the worse villain between himself and Mr. G, as long as they were in the big man's presence, none of them were truly safe. Not even when he would eventually get them to his hotel room after they survived this runaway train ride.

Of that survival, though, Firdaus was surprisingly sure.

Mostly because Josh had told her and Ahmad at least one good story about Alex's previous exploits, so she knew he'd been in far worse situations than this. For instance, that one time he'd landed on a moving truck and managed to bust his way through the roof - though, to be honest, she still wasn't sure if that was a true story or a recap of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Still, Josh had no reason to outright lie, did he?

Not outright, but she was still pretty sure he didn't tell them everything.

Could he even? Probably not, not if he wanted to stay in his father's good graces long enough to continue to undermine him.

She tore her eyes away from Mr. G long enough to watch Alex and Josh smash their way through the window on the door to the train behind them. Then they climbed through.

She turned around and announced to the boys still sharing a car with her, "They're in."

"All right..." Ahmad fiddled with his laptop again, and Mr. G stared imperiously, stone-faced as always, in his son's direction. "All right," Ahmad said again. "Stand by, everyone."