A/N: What is this? I wrote a Joe story? What madness! Seriously though, it's just a short little fic meant to be a promise that once finals are over I will get back to updateing. Until then, enjoy.
Tye
Tick Tick
"Tick tock tick tock tick tick." Neal Stephenson
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
It's amazing what you notice while you're waiting to die.
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Like, for exampled, the abnormal rhythm of the time bomb strapped to the boiler that I have the miss-fortune to be handcuffed to.
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Every third tick is doubled and that's just weird. Cause, I mean, shouldn't it keep the rhythm? I don' know, it just seems a little screwy. In fact, this whole day has just a little screwy.
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
I mean it started out normal enough, well for me anyways. Frank and I were on a stakeout, watching some old warehouse for our dad. It was boring, routine work; kids stuff. You know, the kind of work that can keep two teenaged detectives out of trouble? But, and I don't know how, I guess I ended up pissing off Karma or something; cause the bitch decided to through a bomb into my day. Literally…
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
I don't know which deity I pissed off; Frank says I seem to always piss one off every day. No clue which one it was this time though, but seriously man, can't we talk about this? All I wanted was to take a leek. That's it; it was just my bad luck that I chose the alleyway that our bad guys were in. And now they've decided to cut their losses and run, blowing up the warehouse and me inside it. And I still gotta go too….
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Well, in about five minutes, it won't matter. Come on Frank, where the hell are you? I mean, you've had to notice I went missing by now? Right? I mean, nobody there to pester you isn't that hard to miss. And all I need you to do is come waltzing in here, and disarm a bomb. Simple enough for you, right?
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Any second now, your kid brother sense is going to go off and you're going to walk through that door to save his butt, right Frank? Oh Frank, come on, you can make it…
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Any second now…
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Come on Frank, you still got two minutes…
Tick tock tick tock tick tick…
Thirty seconds…and he's not going to make it. Damn, and here I thought I'd make it to eighteen. Oh well. There are worse ways to go.
Tick…
Five.
Tock…
Four.
Tick…
Three.
Tock…
Two.
Tick…
One.
Tick…
And nothing. No explosion. No big bnag. Just a whole lotta nothing. You got to be kidding me. That was it? I've been sitting here for twenty minuets trying not to piss myself, staring at a time bomb that doesn't even work?
"Joe?" and now Frank comes to the rescue? What the hell?
"Joe! Where are you?"
"I'm over here Frank! Boiler room!"
A few seconds later and there is big brother standing over me, picking the locks to my handcuffs. "You are the luckiest son of a gun I've ever met," he mumbles around the flashlight in his mouth.
"Hump," I snort, "I've been sitting here for twenty minutes listening to that bomb ticking away while trying not to piss myself and I'm lucky?"
Frank shrugged as he finished un-cuffing me and offered me a hand up, "Could have been worse."
"Oh yeah, how's that?" I snap at my brother, irritated.
Frank gave me his best innocent look and a shrug, "I could have been the one who built the bomb."