"How
do you 'borrow trouble'?" JD asked out of the blue.
Josiah,
the only other agent in the office with the young man, looked up at
him from where he was sitting at his desk working. "What?"
"You
know, how Buck's always telling me 'Don't borrow trouble'?" JD
gesticulated wildly with his hands. "How do you borrow
trouble? Do you sign it in and out, like with a library card?"
he asked, his voice high. "You can't buy trouble, but you can
borrow it? You can't rent it, can't lease it, can't get insurance
on it, how can you borrow it?"
"JD,"
Josiah said, "if you're done with your report, you can do mine."
But
JD continued as if Sanchez hadn't even spoken, "And what if you
don't return it in the same condition? Like, what if you bring it
back and the guy behind the Trouble counter says," he deepened
his voice, " 'I'm sorry, sir, but there's a scratch on your
Trouble.' Or, 'You're missing a part of your Trouble.' Or..." He
shrugged. "I mean," his voice rose an octave, "is
there a fee for that? Do they penalize you? Does it go on your
credit?" He shuddered. "And if so, how would you explain it
if you were trying to buy... oh, say a house?"
JD
deepened his voice as he laid out his scenario, "I'm sorry,
sir, but in 2004 you borrowed Trouble and," he sighed, "it
looks like you didn't return it in the proper condition. There was a
charge for that." JD's voice returned to normal, albeit a little
high as he gasped dramatically and then said, "But I didn't
know." And then his voice deepened into his 'IRS Agent' voice
again, "Ignorance is no excuse for bad credit, sir."
JD
shook his head, his eyes widening. "And then, BAM!" He
slapped his hands down on the desk, the sound deafening in the quiet
ATF office. "You're living in a refrigerator box under a bridge
embankment," he shrugged helplessly, "all because you
borrowed trouble."
Cocking
his head at the young agent, Josiah blinked slowly as if classifying
a new species.
Dunne
sighed loudly and then looked down at his desk. He straightened some
papers, and then hit a couple keys on his computer. Shaking his head,
he looked up at the older agent. "I mean, don't you think
about these things, Josiah?" he asked plaintively.
"JD?"
Josiah stared at him, his eyebrows high. After a few moments, he
shook his head and replied, "You need a hobby, son."
JD
grinned. "I know."
The End
Sequel: High Interest
