Chapter Text
Tim sighed and rolled his eyes when a call from “jon 👻” interrupted the Scrabble game he was losing against his phone. He was not going to answer a work call at 11 pm. And it was definitely a work call, because these days Jon never initiated any interaction that wasn’t work-related. Tim let the call go to voicemail and went back to Scrabble.
About 30 seconds later a text notification popped up on his screen. Then another. Then another.
jon 👻
If you’re available, I require some work-adjacent assistance and possibly your bolt cutters.
-JS
jon 👻
If you’re asleep, I apologise for the disturbance.
-JS
jon 👻
Also, first aid supplies wouldn’t go amiss.
-JS
Well, shit. He called Jon back.
Jon picked up on the first ring. “Hello, Tim. I-I’m in need of some assistance.”
“Yeah, you said. What did you do?”
“I climbed over a fence to investigate the abandoned property from the Ashman case and I-I can’t get back out.”
“What, you can’t just climb over the other way?”
“I may have slightly dislocated my arm on the way in.”
“You probably should have led with that!”
“Sorry. I’m not… not thinking too clearly right now.”
“Are you safe? That case was like, shadow people or something, right?”
“Yes, yes, it’s fine. Nothing in here but rats and, well, me. Just a waste of an evening.”
Tim sighed. “Alright, stay put then. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Text me the address?”
“I will. Thank you, Tim. I-I really appreciate this.”
“To be clear, I’m doing this as a friend. Not an archival assistant. My workday ended at five but my friend hours are 24/7. Okay?”
“Ah. Understood.” Jon at least had the decency to sound abashed.
“Good. See you soon.”