Time is of the Essence

Time. That’s what it was all about, and they didn’t have much left. This should be easy. Everything had been planned, practised, and rehearsed. Everyone was in place waiting for the word. And then it came. Go! Everyone swung into action. Alpha rappelled down the outside of the building. Beta cut the electricity and communications. The backup generator would kick-in in 2 minutes. Delta was causing a diversion at the front desk. Alpha smashed the 98th-floor window. Gamma had been waiting on the opposite building for the opening and now shot a rocket-propelled rope through the broken window and zipped across into the laboratory. This was it. This was what they were after. The prize. They just needed the program and would have the secret to time travel. The past and the future would be theirs. Gamma started shutting down the machine so they could extract the hard drive. A door opened. Security had arrived early. They were armed. They fired without hesitation. Missed. Fired again. They hit the machine. It crackled and whirred. A flash of all the colours in the spectrum. Gamma shielded their eyes. Time. That’s what it was all about, and they didn’t have much left…