Unwinding and winding up

Paolo did as told. Tony was in such a state that he shouldn’t cross him. But Paolo unwrapped it very carefully, meticulously, layer by layer, almost as if he was waiting for the music to stop each time. It was part of his strategy of winding Tony up so tight his spring might snap. A dangerous game, but if challenged on his snail-like progress, Paolo would argue that he didn’t want to miss anything that might be in the intermediate layers, or risk damaging whatever was inside.

“What’s inside?” shouted Tony.

“Still unwrapping.” Paolo replied, his strategy working well.