The law was perfectly clear regarding the building of these devices.
In short, under federal explosives law it is illegal to engage in the business of manufacturing explosives without a license. The government’s explosives bill, targeted those who were involved in the manufacture, supply and use of improvised explosive devices states clearly that anyone found guilty of detonating a homemade explosive, such as this, without a lawful excuse, faces up to twenty years imprisonment.
It was for this reason that his work takes place in the shadows of the spacious and almost empty cellar beneath his grandfather’s old fashioned yet popular pie shop. The old man rarely went down there, and was happy for him to tinker with his laptop and play video games to his heart’s content. The only thing of value down there was the shop owner’s Blue Willow china collection, gathered over many years. These had been carefully wrapped and were kept in a locked cupboard for safekeeping. They were far too precious to have on display, and it had been emphasised that the cupboard was not to be disturbed in any way.
On this particular day, his grandparents were out for the afternoon. They were visiting a touring exhibition of precious porcelain, showing at a library in a nearby town. The bomb-maker saw this as his chance to settle down and finish his work. He regarded this particular construction to be his masterpiece. It needed to be built to strict specifications. It had to be powerful enough to completely destroy the upper floor of a government building.
He unlocked the large suitcase and perused his stock. It was packed with dozens of blocks of C-4. He considered carefully before removing five of them. These were placed and secured in a smaller case that would be used to transport the device. Once the detonators had been prepared, he set the timer to allow for a one hour delay.
At the very moment that the last two wires were connected, the glass display cabinets in the library rattled. His grandparents looked on with horror, as one or two precious items toppled off their plinths. When the room stopped shaking they peered at the delicate pieces, hoping that no damage had been done.
Meantime, back home, the quaint little shop dropped suddenly into the smouldering pit that had once housed the family’s prized porcelain collection.
His late grandson knew a lot about bomb making, but was obviously behind the times when it came to daylight saving.