The Troubled City

The Troubled City

By Paul McCann

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Micky pulled up at the top of the hill and rode the clutch as he waited for a break in the traffic before venturing out on to the main road to town . He took a look to the left and then right and one more , then off he went , in his Ford Zephyr going through the gears and blending with the morning traffic . He hit the brakes as the on coming traffic light’s turned red .

It was his first day driving to work and he was a little nervous because he had just got his drivers license the day before .

Suddenly a car bomb exploded on the corner on the other side of the road . The lights turned green and he drove off along the road ,

Strange how you get used to the sound of bombs exploding and gunshots . It was just part of everyday life now since the troubles started . Finally he got to the linen mill where he worked as a clothes inspector . After he parked his car he went through the doors to the foreman’s office for his work orders for the day .

He was shocked to find the foreman lying on the floor in his underwear with his hands and feet tied up and his mouth gagged .

Micky untied the foreman and removed the gag from his mouth .

“About time . I’ve been lying here all night “

“What’s happened Walter ?“

Micky asked .

“After every one finished work yesterday I was locking up the place for the night and an intruder took me by surprise . He took my clothes and walked out with the petty cash box . “

“That’s terrible Walter . So you spent the night here . Must have been a cold uncomfortable time you had here .“

Said Micky who took a white coat from the cupboard and gave it to

the foreman rang the police and his wife to explain what had happened .

Micky brought the foreman a cup of tea and a chocolate bar . Reaching out he took the cup off tea and said ,

“Thanks , you can’t beat a decent cup of tea. I’ve got to going down to the barracks to have a look at some photos . Then I’ll go home for the rest of the day . You’ll have to fill in for me today Mickey “

“No problem Walter .”

“I’ll get some overalls in the store and head off “

He drank his tea and left . Micky sat down at the desk and checked the run for the day . There was no special additions to the usual cloth orders . As he looked out the window of the foreman’s office he noticed some of the workers were arriving to start work .

He turned in the radio and thee was a mention on the news about the prisoner who had escaped from jail the day before . The news report also mentioned about several car bombs that had exploded around

the city with some innocent people loosing their lives .

Funny how you get used to people being killed , it’s just another day in a troubled city . Most people these days would leave for work not knowing if they would get home alive at the end of the day .

The mill workers finished the shift and Micky locked up and got into his car . He drove along the main road back to his village where hundreds of houses had been burned out during the day . Flames and smoke filled the sky and the sound of windows shattering was everywhere . Burned out buses stood at the top of every street as he parked his car in the street .

Another day in a troubled city had come to a close .

The End

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