094: bomb

Every jerking movement of the second hand brought another bead of sweat upon his brow. Hands working diligently, independent of the trembling eyes above, he started to feel threads of consciousness snap away; fingertips free of his own control continued about their task.

The dim glow of digital displays shifting frantically from screen to screen forced him into a hypnotic state, the anxious affect giving way to a meditative, almost vacant stare. Wires had been pried from beneath cables, severed with mechanical precision, and yet the flashes of numbers still burst onto the screen.

In one second, the world ended.