Snippet #1585175

"Who is going to be blamed this time, Mr. Michaels?" Came a voice from the back of the room, "The last time it was a breech in security, and since then we've been strengthening our firewalls and trap-doors ever since." Joshua sighed heavily, shaking his head as he eased himself into his chair, "In all honesty, I don't really know." More mutterings came from this response, many concerned, others angry, but most were just as confused as he. Voices began to raise steadily higher, as the arguments grew more and more intense, "Aren't you going to shut them up, sir?" Came his assistant's voice from his right. He shook his head and kept on listening.

"Lets blame it on a radical group," came one suggestion, which was immediately followed with the comment of, "What 'radical group' would that be? Mr. Michaels' fanatics killed all the ones that didn't go into hiding." Chuckles and out right laughter followed the comment, as many recalled the horrific war in the streets outside between the Developers' "Holy" fanatics, and several groups which tried to keep people from entering the game. They had said that it caused more harm than any weapon on the planet, but were ultimately wiped out when they claimed responsibility for a bomb planted on several trucks carrying millions of dollars in V Game appliances. "Oh yes, let us blame some imaginary radical group that just happened to be there when the system crashed." Eyes were rolling, and the arguments continued.

"What of a viral time bomb that was to be set off at an unknown time?" This caught Joshua's attention, which also caught his assistant's attention. She sighed heavily, knowing it was futile to try and keep him from expanding upon the idea. "Oh? And who are we going to blame it on? Another radical group?" The sound of a hand meeting the back of a skull could be heard through out the room, which caused the speaker to wince and rub the back of his head. "We could always blame it on an employee that was fired," the speaker became nervous as most of the arguments stilled, and many pairs of eyes turned to him, "There's Jones from the IT department. He was fired recently after using company equipment to look up things he wasn't supposed to."

"Where is he now?" Came the Developer's voice, "Where is Jones now?" The room stilled, as nearly all eyes turned towards him. He stared at the speaker, who seemed to shrink in size under the gaze of his boss. In a small voice, he said, "At his home two states away, but sir, he is one of the ones that were reported as deceased." His boss's expression was blank, but a slow smile crawled across his face, turning his visage to something more sinister. A sigh came from behind him, as his assistant stood up. "I know that expression. You're going to blame it on a dead ex-employee," another sigh, "I'll start on the paperwork."