An action-y scene

[I'm Murrin]

I haven't been writing much other than for the games here, but last night I sat down and got a short scene out. I haven't done enough stuff with action in it before, and need to start remedying that--that, and better dialogue.
Good thing is, I know what happens next, which is genuinely a first for me.
I kinda stole character names--and a little of one character--from someone else.
Strong language. I can't seem to avoid it in my work.

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Time, that was the problem. There was never enough time.
Joey sat crouched at the side of the corridor, hands working at a bundle of wires in an access panel, making and breaking connections as he tried to find the right combination. “Come on,” he muttered around the crumpled cigarette that hung from his lips, and pulled another wire. The lights in the corridor went out, pitching him into darkness. “Shit.”
He fumbled in a pocket for his lighter, and after a second a tiny flame lit up the inside of the panel. He found the connection again, and the fluorescent tubes flickered back into life. He checked his watch; he still had another five min—
With a screech the alarm above his head activated, making him drop his cigarette as he slapped his hands over his ears to shut out the noise. Jumping up straight, he had to uncover his ears again to attack the alarm with his wire-cutters; a second of noise then suddenly quiet, though he could hear alarms continue to scream in the distance. The noise of footsteps reached him from the end of the corridor, and then Jack emerged around the corner, running full speed toward him.
“Time's up!” he shouted.
With a yelp Joey plunged back into the panel, scrambling around for the last wires. Jack shot past, long coat streaming behind him as he shouted—“Fucking move it!”—and Joey finally found the last connection and made the switch. Slamming the cover back into place—it wasn't on right but he didn't have time to worry about that—he sprinted after Jack, who had disappeared around another corner.
There was a loud crash as he reached the corner, and he rounded it to see Jack framed against the gaping hole of a window, staring down into the dark. He turned and gave Joey a wide grin.
“Oh no. Not again.”
Jack just laughed, and began to pull a length of rope out of the bag he had been carrying on his back. Joey eyed the contents of the bag suspiciously.
“I'm beginning to think you plan these things,” he said.
Jack flashed him a smile over his shoulder. “Always pays to be prepared, Joe.” He winked.
They were at the bottom of the stairs to the next floor. Jack tied one end of the rope to a rail, then threw the other out through the hole in the glass. “Of course, I might have been hoping this would happen again,” he grinned. “Grab on.”
Shouts could now be heard coming from the corridor they had just left. With a frustrated sigh, Joey gave in. Jack took up the rope in his hands and moved to the side of the window, and Joey wrapped his arms around him, clinging tight to his back. “Ready?” Jack asked, then without waiting for his answer, “Go.” They jumped.
Joey hung onto Jack for his life as they slid fast the three stories toward the ground, the wind roaring past as they accelerated. Jack struggled to slow their descent as they neared the ground, tightening his hold on the rope with hands and legs. Then there came a sudden jerk, and they weren't sliding any more—they were falling, no longer in control, and the ground came up to meet them with a thud.
They lay for a few moments in a heap on the ground, the coils of the rope lying loosely over their forms. Then Jack pulled away, disentangling himself from the pile, and Joey lifted himself faintly onto his knees.
Jack held a loop of the rope in his hand, staring at its end. “They cut the rope,” he said, in a tone of stunned disbelief. “The bastards cut the rope.” He staggered to his feet, staring up at the just-visible hole in the side of the building, where shapes now moved. Joey lifted his head to look, then his eyes dropped to the blonde-haired figure.
“Leave it, Jack. We need to get out of here.” Jack was fumbling inside his coat; after a moment of searching, he pulled out a gun.
“Fucking bastards tried to kill us, Joe.” He raised the gun toward the distant window. Joey got to his feet and laid his hand on Jack's arm.
“I know, Jack, but we need to get out of here. Now.” He tugged at the arm of his friend, and Jack reluctantly lowered his aim. Without putting the gun away, he stopped to collect the rope, then followed Joey as he ran off down the street, away from the alarms.
“Okay,” Joey said as they ran, “we need to get down to the safehouse on seventy-third street, and then we can wait out until Tom comes over tomorrow with...” He trailed off, realising that Jack wasn't listening. His friend was checking his watch, and then started to look around at the buildings they were running past. Suddenly he grabbed Joey's arm and pulled him over to a doorway on their right.
“What—?” Joey started to ask, but was interrupted by a bang as Jack shot out the lock on the door.
“Out of time.” Jack kicked the door open and hurried inside, pulling Joey after him.
As he slammed the door shut behind them the floor shook, and the distant sound of an explosion echoed from down the street.

[Zarathustra]

Well, you've got a nice dynamic going between the two characters. There's a sense of tension. I was immediately pulled in by your first couple of sentences. The dialogue was realistic. The pacing was tight.

Due to its length, there's not much more I can say about it at this point. I don't notice any glaring problems. My personal preference is for stories to be character driven, and we don't know anything about the characters at this point except that they've had similar conflicts and differences in opinions in the past.

Expand it. Make it a story. And then show us what you've got!

[I'm Murrin]

Thanks. You're right about it being too short to really say anything--I have an idea for what happens after this, but I'm sticking on the details of what they were doing this for in the first place. I'll be trying to add to it sometime soon.