“Tick Tock”

The city of New York was never a very peaceful place; there was always some commotion, activity or chatter among its busy streets, but tonight it was evident that something strange and suspicious had come over the city. There were no gun shots, no singing, not even the light flutter of wings from the pigeons nest on the rooftop; it was a dead ominous silence. The only sound came from one person, the man. He was their leader, leader of the untouchables. Winding in and out of dark and dingy alleyways, the man walked on, completely unaware of his surroundings. He wore a lime green bowler hat with the letters J.C etched onto the back of it; along with it he was draped heavily in shawls and mufflers to prevent the bitterness of the cold. Suddenly an icy wind passed by slapping me across the face like a leather whip, sending a tingling sensation down my spine. Shadows big and tall began to loom over the alleyway, like a spider they started crawling swiftly across the walls finally enveloping both the man and I in total darkness. It was like a great black marquee was placed over the city. I suddenly began to panic! “Where was the man? If I didn’t find him my family would starve; it was my job to trail him!” It must have been God’s grace, just to my luck the man lit a match a mere few feet away from where I was standing, and continued onward towards the door at the end of the ally. Hiding myself in the shadows I watched the man rap his knuckles on the door three times. A woman answered and spoke in a voice that was meant to be a whisper “Welcome, the meetings just started…” The man gazed around the alleyway, his fierce green eyes flashed in the dense darkness as they rested on the place where I was standing, my back pressed flat against a stone wall. My heart was threatening to break through my ribs with its furious pounding. “I hope he couldn’t see me.” However, it seemed that the man was satisfied that no one was watching him for within a few seconds he followed the women into the building. As my heart rate began to steady once again I had an ominous feeling of guilt for what I was about to do, just for a sack of gold. Crouching low to avoid being seen by anyone peering out of their windows I edged closer towards the door. I pulled out the scrubby little package my master had given me and pushed it into the mail slot. “Tick Tock Tick Tock” went my watch. My heart was beginning to beat fast again. “Tick Tock Tick Tock” Nervously I wiped several beads of sweat from my forehead. “Tick Tock Tick Tock.” Slowly I began to walk back down the alleyway with a strange feeling of accomplishment and guilt. I wondered whether my means justified the end. However, before I could come to grips with my last thought there was a blast from behind me. I glanced at my watch and heard it tick for the final time. “Tick Tock Tick Tock”