Interludes are posts by me, the GM, giving a little peek at what may be going on in the background. There should be no replies, here, except by me.
-------------

I sighed and looked out of the window, gazing down upon the city below. In the distance, I could see the faint red and blue lights of emergency vehicles reflecting among the buildings. Things had not gone as I had hoped, but there was no one to blame.

Well, that could’ve gone better.

Shut up, I snapped, my patience thin enough, as it was. My reflection in the glass frowned back at me.

Hey, no need to get snippy with me. I’m not the one that blew the whole deal.

Drawing a deep breath, I ran my hands down the front of my suit, smoothing my jacket and the adjusting cuffs as I attempted to curb my anger. It would do me no good to argue, to stoop to their level. What was done was done. The best thing to do was accept it and come up with a new plan to account for this unforeseen complication.

I reached over and pulled the blind strings, shutting the outside world away. For a moment, I stood and stared at the appallingly beige blinds, the color of old oatmeal. I need to replace those, I thought absently. After a few seconds of musing over what would look best in the office, pale blue or lilac, I marshalled my thoughts back to the problem at hand: the explosion.

I made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat, snorted, and moved to take a seat at my desk. Nothing about the antiques shop had indicated an alarm system more complicated than the basic security setup that most businesses had. And, it was highly doubtful that the old man would implement something that resulted in self-destruction if tampered with. So, what had caused the sudden and quite unexpected detonation of one unassuming antiques dealership?

Do you think it survived?

My lips pressed together in annoyance. Possibly, I replied curtly. It could be that the item itself had a built-in security measure, one that did not take into account the surroundings. In which case, it was likely that the old man had no idea what he even possessed.

Hah! Well, good luck getting it now, Bucko. Cops are gonna be all over that place like fleas on a dog.

I could hear the amusement in their voice, and it grated on my nerves. I caught myself starting to grind my teeth and I consciously forced myself to relax. Release my jaw, drop my shoulders, breath deeply, uncrease my brow…

“We’ll see, you little asshole,” I muttered aloud as I began weighing my options.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:40, Tue 09 Feb 2021.