{"id":404,"date":"2014-12-30T08:13:03","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T08:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/?page_id=404"},"modified":"2022-01-31T22:21:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T04:21:18","slug":"himtakpoem","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/episodes\/episode11\/himtakpoem\/","title":{"rendered":"Twelve Hours Before Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twelve Hours Before Christmas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Twas\u00a012 hours before Christmas, and all through HimTak,<\/em>
\nAll the agents were snoozing; even me, with a snack.<\/em>
\nStockings were hung by the dorms with great care,<\/em>
\nEven though K really didn’t want them there.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now the agents were bustling all through the hall,<\/em>
\nWhile Diamond and Lancy made plans for the mall.<\/em>
\nJay with his fedora, me with my mistletoe hat,<\/em>
\nHad just parted ways so I could take a nap\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

When down in Pearl\u2019s lab there\u00a0arose\u00a0such a clatter,<\/em>
\nI sprang from my bed to see what\u00a0was the matter.<\/em>
\nAway to the lab, I ran like a flash,<\/em>
\nI tripped down some stairs, but avoided a gash\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

And there by the table, I saw standing tall,<\/em>
\nMy boss, Agent K, not like himself at all,<\/em>
\nDecked out like St. Nick while a happy tune blared,<\/em>
\nI was shocked when he smiled instead of just glared.<\/em><\/p>\n

With a look on K\u2019s face so enraged and inflamed,<\/em>
\nI had a bad feeling it was me who\u2019d be blamed.<\/em>
\nHe stared us all down, and the crowd quickly scattered,<\/em>
\nThough he called a few back, ones he must have thought mattered.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCome Diamond, come Lancy, come Pearl,\u00a0come Red\u00a0Jewel!<\/em>
\nI\u2019ve got some big news about crimes most cruel!<\/em>
\nCome Jay, Leo, and Emerald, I\u2019ll be needing you too,<\/em>
\nAnd Carter — don\u2019t think I\u2019m done dealing with you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As I looked out the window of our private jet,<\/em>
\nI couldn\u2019t help wonder if we were there yet.<\/em>
\nThe last time I flew somewhere cold was due South,<\/em>
\nWith K\u2019s country cousin and his smart-aleck mouth.<\/em><\/p>\n

Moving on, anyway, K soon did announce,<\/em>
\nThat we\u2019d arrived in New York, and it was time to bounce,<\/em>
\nWe took a few moments to sit down and think,<\/em>
\nOf where we might next find that evil eye\u2019s wink.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then hit me at once, like a ton of fruitcake,<\/em>
\nIf it\u2019s Christmas he\u2019s after, it\u2019s the toys he\u2019ll take!<\/em>
\nSo off we all rushed to the biggest toy store,<\/em>
\nLittle did FANS know they\u2019d be leaving there sore.<\/em><\/p>\n

My creations — they twinkled! They all looked so merry!<\/em>
\nK said my idea was so brilliant, it was scary.<\/em>
\nThough it made me quite happy, getting credit where due,<\/em>
\nI wasn\u2019t sure if he noticed this was so 1992.<\/em><\/p>\n

We waited and waited, \u2018til seven that night,<\/em>
\nNo Rough did appear, just two elves in our sight.<\/em>
\nOne had a narrow face and the other a goatee,<\/em>
\nOne called the other Jon, the other Danny.<\/em>
\nThey were dressed like morons — I mean, jolly old elves,<\/em>
\nAnd I tried not to laugh at them, in spite of myself.<\/em><\/p>\n

My heartbeat grew faster as I watched from above,<\/em>
\nAs that dumbass Jon reached for the two turtledoves.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now covered in feathers and buckets of tar,<\/em>
\nThey must not have realized that they wouldn\u2019t get far,<\/em>
\n\u2018Cause onward they went, all through the shop,<\/em>
\nFinding more of my traps at every last stop.<\/em>
\nI looked down from above as they walked under my feet,<\/em>
\nNow it was time to choose which one to beat.<\/em><\/p>\n

As we watched while the cops hauled our crooks far away,<\/em>
\nI looked up and saw a really strange flying sleigh.<\/em>
\nIt was black with red trim and a ferret on the side,<\/em>
\nAnd who should it be but Drums steering this ride.<\/em>
\nMy laughter unleashed as he lowered his flight,<\/em>
\nWith antlers on his head and his nose all alight!<\/em><\/p>\n

He frowned and he glared as he shouted to us,<\/em>
\n\u201cYou won this time, jerks, but you\u2019ll still eat our\u00a0dus\u2019!<\/em>
\nWe\u2019ll be back for ya all and ya better beware,<\/em>
\n\u2018cuz when we\u2019re through wit\u2019 you, ya won\u2019t\u00a0gots\u00a0a prayer!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I was pissed that he sped off in such a bright flash,<\/em>
\nBut K grabbed at my arm as I started to dash.<\/em>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not worth it, Carter,\u201d he called out to me,<\/em>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s already Christmas; let\u2019s go home to our tree.\u201d<\/em>
\nAlthough very surprised at K\u2019s jolly advice,<\/em>
\nI had to agree, and for now it sufficed.<\/em><\/p>\n

I finally relaxed as I lay in my bed,<\/em>
\nWith visions of Red\u2019s \u201cChristmas gift\u201d in my head,<\/em>
\nUntil I heard bells and a laugh like a boom,<\/em>
\nThat caused me to run halfway across my room,<\/em>
\nWould you believe when I looked out my window that night,<\/em>
\nThat I got to see Santa before he drove out of sight?<\/em>
\nHe gave me a smile and a wave of his hand,<\/em>
\n\u201cTry harder this year to be good, my young man,<\/em>
\nRight now, though, go to sleep! Celebrate your good plan!<\/em>
\nI\u2019m very impressed that you knew such a trick,<\/em>
\nBut I\u2019m mostly quite grateful! Merry Christmas, dear Nick!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twelve Hours Before Christmas   \u2018Twas\u00a012 hours before Christmas, and all through HimTak, All the agents were snoozing; even me, with a snack. Stockings were hung by the dorms with great care, Even though K really didn’t want them there. Now the agents were bustling all through the hall, While\u2026<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":147,"menu_order":11,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"templates\/template-onecolumn.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-404","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P5xaHX-6w","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":964,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/404\/revisions\/964"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}