The Exterminator - Bob Duncan x Bertram Winkle

Ch 1 Bugs?

Cockroaches filled the apartment.

Everywhere you looked there was a bug making a tile on the floor its home. But that's what you get when you rent a shitty New York apartment.

Walking into the tiny master bedroom Bertram looked around in disgust. They were crawling all over his bed, his dresser, and they probably found their way into the nightstand too. He was used to finding a cockroach or two every couple of weeks, but this? It was like his closet was a breeding ground for the fuckers. This was far past spraying some bug spray and hoping for the best. The apartment was overrun by bugs and it was getting worse day by day. Bertram couldn't keep setting up camp on other peoples couches, he had to call an exterminator to solve the issue.

And not just any exterminator. It had to be Bob Duncan, Owner and Founder of Bob's Bugs Be Gone. His company had won awards for their service. They were praised for their work and frankly, some cheap, underpaid, and under experienced exterminator wouldn't cut it. he'd probably still find a roach in his coffee if he hired anyone other than Bob Duncan.

And he just so happened to be based out of Manhattan. (i know hes not but go with it)

And with a quick google search, he found the name and number of who he needed. Bertram was hesitant to tap the call button, but it needed to be done. He had to get rid of these bugs and get his apartment into livable conditions again.

The phone rang for a minute until someone picked up.

"Bob's Bugs Be Gone, how can I help you today?" sang a cheery voice.

"Uhm, I've got a- I've got a bit of a cockroach infestation..." Bertram quavered.

"Well that's quite alright," the voice chuckled. "How bad of an infestation are we talking?"

"Well... There might be cockroaches in every room, and uh- I think I found one in my cereal box this morning."

"Well the earliest I could get out there is tomorrow around noon. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, yeah that's good. As long as these you can get rid of these damn things."

"Okay, and the flat rate for an extermination is about $300, and then manual labor is also applicable, but we'll work that out tomorrow. Have a nice day now!"

"O-okay." Bertram's voice faltered as the line went dead.

Pull yourself together man, what kind of person gets nervous over a phone call. It's the dude's job for fucks sake. He's probably seen way worse than your apartment. Bertram thought to himself.

So Bertram spent the rest of the day trying to clean his apartment. Or at least try to. Shoving a box full of dead cockroaches underneath his bed isn't really cleaning but who cares. It made him feel better about the monstrosity of a phone call he made earlier.

-----

As he sat down on his neighbor's couch, who he had somehow convinced to let him stay the night. His mind filled with thoughts of how tomorrow could go down. It could either go really well, or Bertram would have to find a new apartment. Which wasn't ideal.

As he laid down on the slightly scratchy pleather couch he couldn't seem to contain his thoughts. There was something nagging at the back of his mind and he couldn't quite figure out what. It was something he had never quite felt before.

But even though his mind was filled with thoughts, he managed to drift off into a not-so-great-but-still-okay slumber.

end ch 1.