Photo © Al Forbes 2015

From ground level it didn’t look good. A lone figure swaying unsteadily on the high balcony above Connors Bank. The growing rumour – it was actually Lord Connor himself.

The word from across the counter was that the Lord’s midas touch had finally failed him. His bank had invested heavily in Oil and the Rouble, just at the wrong time. And his new corporate slogan, “You can’t con a Connor” had gone down like a lead balloon.

As the number of bystanders outside the bank increased, the tension grew steadily.

Two harassed bank staff struggled outside with a red carpet, which they rolled out on the likely drop zone. “The Old Man would surely want to go out in style”, one of them muttered.

TV crews arrived and quickly set up. A large group was shouting “Don’t do it!” up towards the roof, but the cameras concentrated on the few yelling “Jump!”

Meanwhile, up on the balcony, a smiling Lord Connor looked down and wondered what all the commotion was about. He finished his champagne, and flicked the crumbs from his cucumber sandwiches over the edge. It wasn’t often he took his lunch up here, but it had seemed to cause quite a stir. If this was the sort of publicity it got him, perhaps he should do it more often.

But he had more important things to think about than the rabble below. Maybe it was time for a new yacht? Why care about a few bad investments when he had a lovely big bonus on the way!

A few people had started moving inside the bank to withdraw their money. If Lord Connor was throwing in the towel, maybe a collapse was already in motion? Due to live national News coverage, the trickle became a torrent. Within hours, every Connors Bank in the country had locked its doors, never to re-open.

There would be no bonus and no business left for Lord Connor now. Just financial and social ruin.

Who knows. He might be needing that high balcony one last time…

The story was inspired by Sunday Photo Fiction, January 18th 2015, hosted by Al Forbes. Click the logo for more details.

 To view other entries click the link here.

This post is also entered in the Word Snap Weekly challenge,  hosted by Amanda Lakey at UniqueArt Chic.com. Click the logo for more details, and to read the other entries.