Tinker [On Hold]

3. Just In Time

Jared spun on his heel, scowling at his own stupidity. The man at the other end of the hall simply smirked, brandishing a crossbow.

"But fortunately for you," the man continued. "I got here just in time."

When Jared quizzically raised an eyebrow, the man casually pointed the crossbow in Jared's direction and fired. Flinching at the click of the crossbow's trigger mechanism, Jared was surprised to hear the whizz of the fired bolt as it passed him. Doubting that the man was a bad shot, Jared turned to look at where the bolt had flown, through the doorless passage where he was heading seconds earlier.

The bolt embedded itself in the brick tile floor with the dull crunch of ceramic. An instant later, the sound was amplified and replicated a multitude of times in hall beyond the passage. Eyes widening in surprise, Jared looked back at the man, who had already sheathed his crossbow and began approaching Jared.

"I think you owe me one," he said, his smirk now a grin. Before Jared could come to his senses, the man reached him and stuck out his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Lionel."

Jared began reaching for the hand, only to realize that he still held his tool. Lionel's grin grew wider in amusement, as Jared fumbled while trying to transfer the instrument to his left hand. After what seemed like an embarrassingly long time to Jared, he took Lionel's hand.

"Jared," he responded, managing only a feeble smile.

Their hands still in a firm grip, the men took a few heart beats to look over one another. Both men were still in their twenties, although Lionel seemed to be a few years Jared's senior. While of similar height, the pair shared few traits otherwise. Jared's many years spent behind a desk indoors had left his skin fair and his body lean, where Lionel's more muscular body was a rich olive, a result of constantly being in the sun. Jared's light-brown hair was not long, but stood in erratic spikes pointing every which way, the rest of his jaw covered by a light stubble. Lionel instead wore a soul patch and a trimmed moustache, his raven hair neatly combed back. Where Lionel's dark brown eyes had an intense focus, Jared's light grey eyes threatened to waver at every instant, as if wanting to keep up with his ever-changing thoughts.

Lionel slightly inclined his head in acknowledgement, ending their handshake. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Jared, but I think it best that we get moving," he said, gesturing to the passage behind Jared.

As the two men went through the passage and into the hall beyond, Jared paused to appreciate the lethalness of the trap set off by the other man. The entire right wall of the fifty-some yard stretch of hall was covered in metallic shrapnel, spaced closely enough to shred anything larger than a mouse. What amazed him most though, was the fact that the metal embedded itself over an inch deep in the wall after having to first blast through the left wall.

Watching Jared try and fail to come up with a conventional weapon that could deal this much damage, Lionel elbowed a weakened section of the left brick wall, shattering it. He reached into the resulting gap and removed a black spherical object the size of his fist. Tossing it to Jared brought the younger man out of his cognitive trance, his hand flying out to intercept the projectile. Before Jared could begin studying the object, Lionel loudly cleared his throat to get the man's attention.

"I realize how fascinating this must be for you, but, really, your questions will have to wait," said Lionel, his voice losing some of its previously jovial quality.

"Okay, but one last question?"

As Lionel suppressed a sigh and gave into Jared's inquisitive nature, a smile found its way back onto his lips.

"Shoot."

"How the hell did you get into the room back there?"

Lionel responded with only a hearty chuckle and began walking away from Jared, slightly shaking his head. Jared could not help but smile as he began following him.