Gronk sauntered around and marvelled at the expensive decor. He had only ever worked in an open-plan office before and the height of excitement was reading figures on a spreadsheet or maybe changing the colour of columns or rows. Now he had Area Seven to run and was clueless how to begin. Gronk switched the new computer on and waited. As it chimed and the screen glowed into life, he clicked on the email icon. Nothing.
What to do? The newly installed leader thought as he strolled up and down. I have a broad remit. What does that mean? Can I do anything I want? Do any rules exist here? He looked out the window, which had the best view down the High Street. But it was quite run-down. That would be rectified. Wandering back to the computer, he looked at the inbox. An email was there! His heart skipped a beat. This was an exciting development. Its subject was ‘An Introduction to Managing Areas.’ He sat down and clicked the message open.
‘Dear Mr Gronk-LaTwonk,
BogSplat will make few demands on your leadership of Area Seven, apart from reinforcing social divisions and making us money, of course! Given El Thickos own Area Six next door, you will need to cordon off the boundaries. We recommend only two gates for entering and exiting Area Seven. Watchtowers are useful as a means of ensuring you contain the population and keep the riff-raff from other Areas out. You must retain firm control. The creation of bureaucracy is essential. Organisations will be needed to defend Area Seven. You must be strict in order to dissuade any dissidents. But do not attract attention. Just keep Area Seven quiet! There should be no excuse for the national government to poke around any of our Areas. So guns and knives are banned. Pick a trusted inner circle to assist in the running of your Area. Good luck, we have faith in your ability to deliver.
Yours, Sir Twollop.’
Gronk sat for a moment. It’s a shame about the limit on weapons, but we can improvise, and securing the borders is a marvellous idea, he thought. This demanded brilliance. And a pencil. Gronk opened the middle drawer of his desk and found a pad of paper and propelling pencil. Only the best for moi! He scribbled down some fence designs. No quotes were necessary from a fencing contractor because he intended to steal the money to make any upfront payment and then not pay the balance. As far as he was concerned, normal rules did not apply anymore. Gronk enjoyed power. The important thing was to get the fencing up quickly and then he could stop paying for things altogether as his influence took complete control.
Copyright © 2024 Callum Stanford. All rights reserved.
What a rich imagination you have.
It may come from having lived in poverty…