Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking

[luckyrabbit]

Ahhh don't worry, I was thinking the same thing... wait... did I just say that too? LOL

Uh-huh, it's like an epidemic!

[luckyrabbit]

Here's a late night update for you all, I'll just preface this chapter by saying; I hate it, personally I think it's crap, the story was just not co-operating at all and I am sorry for it's sh*tfullness and I'm just posting it so I can get past it and move on because it just was not working. Anyway...

PART 4

Eve moved in close enough to see the timer on the small bomb in the center of it all, ticking down from just under three minutes. "This looks like it's rigged for this to go off first, it'll trigger a sequence of explosions from the fuel and fertilizer." Eve thought out loud.

"Get everyone out of here and as far away as possible." She instructed Jack and Tracey. Jack didn't need to be told twice. Sweating profusely from the stress, he left his two ranking officers, to go and evacuate the building.

"What about you?" Tracey asked even though she knew the answer.

Eve turned to her. "I've studied the specs of the bomb at the country house, it looks like the same kind of set up here. I can defuse this." She assured Tracey.

"What if…?"

"And if I can't, then all there is going to be left of this place is a really big crater, so will you just go? Please." Eve said urgently, biting her lip as she studied the bomb from a distance.

Tracey nodded reluctantly and left to help Jack evacuate the building as efficiently as possible. Eve took a deep breath to steady her nerves and went to work, with the timer hitting the two minute mark.

"Jack, what is it? What's wrong?" Dan asked urgently the second that Jack came into view.

Jack put a hand on his arm and subtly began moving him towards the exit. "Please don't panic but there's a bomb and we need to get out of here." Jack said clumsily, not at all experienced with dealing with a situation like that.

"What!" Sally exclaimed.

"Strike me pink!" Alf cried, following Jack and Dan to the doors. Jack took a precious second to try and steady himself, he couldn't believe this was happening, it was like a bad dream. He just hoped he'd wake up before it was too late.

As soon as he exited the bar Jack was mobbed by an angry and confused bunch of residents each with their own questions. He put up his hands in an effort to silence them. "Everyone please, I know that you're confused but if you could all make your way outside in a calm and…" He recited, his mind reaching back to his training from the Academy on how to deal with a situation like that.

"Calm!" Alf exclaimed, making Jack cringe. "You expect us to be calm when there's a bomb about to go off? We need to get out of here."

"A BOMB!?!" Was the question shouted by all, but Colleen's shriek stood out above the rest.

"Yes, a bomb." Tracey confirmed, exiting the bar and calmly taking charge of the situation. "Now, if everyone would like to make their way outside as quickly as possible…"

There was a mad rush for the door, as everyone hurried to empty the room and Jack and Tracey brought up the rear. Leaving only a paralyzed with fear Matilda and Lucas behind.

"Matilda!" Beth cried, once she realized that she had been separated from her daughter in the confusion.

"She'll be alright love," Tony assured her, keeping her moving away from the Surf Club. "Lucas is with her."

"Mattie, come on." Lucas said urgently, taking her arm. "We have to go."

But she still wouldn't, couldn't move. Memories washing over her, the wedding, Zoe, the explosion, the flames, the burns…the scars. She was frozen.

"Come on." Lucas tugged on her arm, practically dragging her out of the Surf Club.

"Mattie, Lucas!" Ric and Cassie called to them from across the road. They'd been the first out of the building and had already run across the road before Jack had started instructing people to head for the beach.

For Matilda the next few moments happened in a blur, one second Lucas was there, holding her hand, rescuing her, dragging her across the road to safety, the next there was a screech of tires and a sickening thump and suddenly Lucas wasn't there anymore. The next thing she knew Cassie's arms were around her and she was telling her not to look.

"Luc!" Ric shouted, unsure of whether he should try to shake his unconscious friend's broken body or if that would just do more damage. "Lucas, can you hear me?"

"Oh my god." Ric heard Tony's stunned voice from behind him. "What happened?" He asked dropping to his knees next to his son's prone body.

Ric looked at him, unwanted tears starting to form in his eyes. "The car…it just came out of nowhere. It hit him." Ric said his voice wavering on every word.

Tony shakily touched his fingers to Lucas' neck, his whole body sagging in relief when he felt a pulse, it was faint but it was there. "Ric. Ric, mate, look at me." Tony said, trying to keep himself calm for the sake of the kids. "Get the girls and take them down to the beach with the others." Ric looked back at Lucas in concern. "Now Ric!"

Ric grunted and pushed away from Lucas put his arms around Cassie and a still out of it Matilda and herded them away.

Tracey appeared back in the doorway of the storeroom to find Eve sitting crossed legged on the floor, the bomb laid out in front of her, mumbling to herself about how they had changed the colour of the wires.

"How's it going?" She asked with timer hitting forty seconds.

Eve's head whipped around, sending her curly hair flying. "What are you doing back here? I told you to go!" She said angrily.

"And since when have I ever listened to you?" Tracey smirked. "Can you do it?" She asked when Eve rolled her eyes at her flippancy.

"I-I don't know." Eve admitted turning back to the bomb. She picked two wires, a green and a yellow, out from the rest. "They've redesigned the circuit, switched out the colours of the wires. But, I'm pretty sure it's one of these two."

"So cut one! There's only thirty seconds to go."

"It doesn't work like that!" Eve snapped, nervously licked her lips. "This isn't like the other bomb where you could just keep cutting till you found the right one, if I cut the wrong wire, it'll complete the circuit and…I may have been able to survive two explosions but for some reason I don't think it'll be third time lucky, you know." She flicked open the swiss army knife she'd pulled from her boot.

"So leave it and let's get out of here!"

"No! You go, Trace…"

"Not an option." Tracey said simply, kneeling down behind Eve. "I'm not leaving you."

With less than twenty seconds to go, Eve didn't want to waste time arguing with her she simply nodded. "I think…I think it's this one." She put the blade of the knife against the yellow one. Tracey touched Eve's arm gently. Eve closed her eyes allowing herself a moment to enjoy the skin to skin contact. With her eyes still screwed shut she cut the wire and held her breath.

"It's still counting down." Tracey informed her, pressing herself against Eve's back.

Eve opened her eyes, ten seconds left. "I know, the timer's battery operated, cutting the wire doesn't make a difference to that." Their eyes locked. "We won't know if it worked until it hits zero."

"Should we run?"

"Wouldn't be much point now." Eve said with six seconds left, she turned to Tracey. "Tracey, I-"

"I know." Tracey cut her off, anything that Eve said now would sound like goodbye. "Just hold me?"

"Aw, mate come on." Tony begged holding Lucas in his arms. "Please son, open your eyes. Just open your eyes. Please Lucas." He pleaded with his immobile son. He rubbed a hand across the back of Lucas' head and felt sickened when it came away sticky and red with blood. "Oh no."

Lucas' eyelids started to flutter open. "Dad?" His groan was barely audible. But it was enough to have Tony sobbing in relief.

"Oh Luc, you're alright mate." He breathed in relief, clutching his son close. Suddenly Lucas' eyes rolled back in his head and his body started twitching as he started to fit. "No, no, no." Tony cried, trying to hold Lucas' convulsing body still, his youngest son gurgling on the blood that was blocking his airway as he struggled to breathe. Suddenly Lucas went quiet, his body completely still, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his lips.

"Dad!" Jack shouted finally arriving on the scene. "Luc?"

His father turned to him looking utterly broken, tears streaming down his face. "He's dead, Jackie, he's dead."

Next Time On Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking: Did Eve cut the right wire? And the Holden/Hunter family struggle to deal with their tragic loss. Was it an accident or part of a sinister plot?

[Oxidizer]

Rabsey! That was awesome! I don't get why you didn't like it! Poor little Lucas *Sniffles* I hope Eve & TT cut the right wire - LOL @ "I've survived two explosions, I don't think I'll be third time lucky!" Wickedly awesome update!

[Lauz]

Ohhh!!! What a great start to the day Thanks Rabsey for more awesomeness!!! This is the part where I was like "Awwwwwwwww "

"Wouldn't be much point now." Eve said with six seconds left, she turned to Tracey. "Tracey, I-"

"I know." Tracey cut her off, anything that Eve said now would sound like goodbye. "Just hold me?"

SOOOO CUTE!!! Oh right, Lucas died... I hope Tracey and Zoe aren't dead!!!

[luckyrabbit]

Thanks guys, I'm gald you don't think it's crap. I'm still not happy with it though. This was originally the chapter where I was going to kill Eve but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, so I had to do a rewrite and kill Lucas instead. Sorry Lucas but when it comes down to you and my girl, she's always going to win.

There are going to be a lot more deaths before it's over though, I'm beginning to feel like Dan Bennett. No seriously, I'm starting to fear that he's taken over my body

[Lauz]

!!! NOOOOOO !!! Please don't turn in DB Rabsey I couldn't handle two of him Hopefully you aren't killing off your main heroes like me

[Oxidizer]

LOL bring on the bloodbath! As long as it's Zoe/TT doing a couple of killings I'll be happy.

[luckyrabbit]

As long as it's Zoe/TT doing a couple of killings I'll be happy.

No killings yet, but they will get to do a spot of tortuing in an upcoming chapter though I'll leave it up to you guys to guess who their victim is.

[Traceve]

As long as it's Zoe/TT doing a couple of killings I'll be happy.

No killings yet, but they will get to do a spot of tortuing in an upcoming chapter though I'll leave it up to you guys to guess who their victim is.

That was Brillant, Please update soon

Hopefully Eve gets her 3rd time lucky!

Aww Lucas

[Oxidizer]

As long as it's Zoe/TT doing a couple of killings I'll be happy.

No killings yet, but they will get to do a spot of tortuing in an upcoming chapter though I'll leave it up to you guys to guess who their victim is.

Torturing? That's wonderful! I can't wait! I wonder who the stalker really is then... is it the person/people who get tortured by Secret Agents Jacobsen and Thompson?