by Robert Boren
***
Cary and the rest of the team watched the drone video of action near the bus terminal.
“Wow, look at that!” shouted Penko, as the UN tank burned, the citizens killing the UN Peacekeepers as they tried to escape, more citizens rushing south on 9th Street.
“You’d better hit that bus terminal,” Vasil said. “The UN Peacekeepers are trying to escape. Look at them.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” Slash said. “Hit them before we have citizens in the way.”
Cary nodded, getting a lock on the bus facility, firing the first missile, which raced to its target, causing a huge explosion, vehicles and men flying through the air, the rushing citizens stopping to watch the carnage.
“Hit them again!” Vasil said.
“What about Roosevelt Island?” Albena asked.
Cary glanced at her. “Jared approved another drone. It’s on the way there right now.” He locked onto the target, a little more to the west, and fired, the missile hitting in a few seconds, the whole area engulfed in flames now. “Send out a social media message. Tell the citizens that was all we have, and they can secure the area.”
Julio grinned, getting on that with Penko, Eve, and a few others.
Jace came into the room with Taylor.
“What’d we miss?” Taylor asked Laleh.
“Probably nothing as good as you just had,” she whispered.
“Shut up,” Taylor said, cracking a smile.
Laleh and Eve told her what happened, Jace sitting with Cary and Hector, discussing what to do next.
“This isn’t a good day for the UN,” Penko said.
“That other drone is in place,” Cary said, turning back to his terminal.
“Look, they know,” Jace said, pointing at the UN Peacekeepers in the drone video, trying to rush across the Queensboro Bridge.
“Bye bye,” Cary said as he locked the target and fired, a huge explosion blowing up the bridge, Cary firing the second missile, hitting the island where the bridge started, blowing up a multitude of UN Peacekeepers who were queued up there.
“Fire in the hole,” Slash quipped.
“This is gonna start some serious shit,” Vasil said. “We’d better get ready.”
“Maybe, but we’ve got the UN back on their heels for at least a few days,” Kinsey said.
“True, my friend,” Zev said, “but they’ll come back stronger, and they’ll kill many. I’ve seen it before. Too many times.”
{ 11 }
Retreat
L inda and Pat were watching TV coverage of the rioting in Philadelphia, where unlikely allies were fighting the UN together.
“Gang members and cops,” Linda said, shaking her head. “This would be funny if there weren’t people getting killed.”
“I used to trust the UN more than our own police,” Pat said, eyes glued to the screen. “I was wrong about that.”
John walked into the living room. “Can’t write anymore. Got to let the well re-fill.”
Linda got up, giving him a hug. “Cops and gang bangers are fighting the UN together. Did you expect that?”
“Never crossed my mind, but it won’t last long,” John said.
“What do you think will happen?” Pat asked.
“This is just a guess,” John said. “The Governor will pull the UN Peacekeepers out, but leave us in martial law and continue with the push for social scoring and commute grids. He’ll slowly tighten up controls on the individual, at a pace that won’t upset the majority of the population.”
Pat smiled. “Sorry I asked. Guess that sounds better than what’s going on now.”
“No more UN massacres?” Craig asked, walking into the room.
“Not so far, and they’re being pursued wherever they are,” Linda said.
“What have you been up to?” Pat asked.
“Editing my next article,” he said, “but I need to type it into a file. Want to take a ride to the house?”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she asked.
Craig eyed her. “The trip home or the article?”
Pat sighed. “You’re gonna write what you’re gonna write. Sorry I’ve been such a pill. I was talking about going home. We heard that gunfire, remember?”
“That was hours ago,” John said. “You’re probably okay.”
Pat sat silently for a moment. “Okay, let’s go.”
“You want to come?” Craig asked. “Maybe you ought to stay here.”
“If something’s gonna happen, I’d rather be with you,” she said.
Craig smiled, giving her his hand, helping her off the couch. “Let’s go. We can come back, if John and Linda don’t mind.”
“I’d like you to come back, but no pressure,” Linda said.
“Me too,” John said.
“All right, see you later,” Craig said. He and Pat left.
“They’re going to be okay,” Linda said.
“This valley is still safe.”
“I meant their marriage.”
John nodded. “Oh. I never thought they’d break it off. Craig vents a little, but he worships Pat.”
“He said that?”
John sat on the couch. “Not those exact words, but close enough.”
Linda sat next to him, leaning close, giving him a kiss. “Love you, sweetie.”
“Likewise,” he said. “Oh, look, the Governor.”
Linda turned towards the TV, then picked up the remote and turned up the sound.
Governor Hinkley was sitting behind his desk, flanked by US and Pennsylvania Flags, bags under his eyes.
“He’s looked better,” John said.
“Stress.”
“Yeah, I could imagine,” John said. “Never trusted this guy. He speaks out of both sides of his mouth.”
“I like him more than you do.”
Hello, fellow citizens of Pennsylvania. I’m here to announce a change in direction, and to apologize for the unfortunate incidents which have happened over the past few hours.
“This ought to be good,” John said. Linda shushed him.
First, on the Penn Wynne incident, my deepest sympathy to the victims of that tragedy. It should not have happened. There is no excuse, and I take full responsibility. I have decided to resign from the Governorship at the end of this week, or as soon as I can bring an interim government together to serve Pennsylvania in this difficult time.
“Oh, bullshit,” John said. “If he resigns, the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor. He can’t go around the state constitution.”
“Lieutenant Governor Radley is his enemy,” Linda said.
“That makes no difference.”
Effective immediately, the UN Peacekeepers will withdraw to their barracks. They will no longer be used to help police protect the people in this state. They will be held in reserve, just in case we are attacked again.
“I have a tremendous urge to punch this moron right in the nose,” John said.
“Quiet. You can rant when he’s done.”
John chuckled, patting her thigh.
In order to preserve order and ensure fairness, we will continue under martial law for the time being. Status will be reviewed weekly, and it is our goal to get life back to normal as soon as possible. Please make every attempt to cease and desist the aggressive behavior we have seen over the past several hours.
We will proceed with the new changes recently passed by our legislature, including the reforming of our society using the Social Scoring and Commuting laws. Given the behavior displayed during this crisis, it is essential that we put controls in place to ensure citizens work together for calm and progress.
That is all I have at the current time, but we will be updating the public as we make progress on getting our society back to normal.
Thank you. I won’t be taking any questions from the press at this time.
The picture moved from the Governor’s office to the newsroom, Linda grabbing the remote and turning the sound way down.
&
nbsp; “Okay, rant away.”
John chuckled. “Forget it. I’m too tired to rant.”
“That’s a first.”
“Stop it,” John said. “Wonder how long Craig and Pat will be gone?”
“I’m not so sure they’ll come back right away,” Linda said. “I hope they give us a little time. She wears on me.”
“Still interested in moving?”
Linda shrugged. “I suspect the real estate market might be a little hard to deal with, given the recent events.”
“I was kidding. Maybe your libido is working right now.”
Linda smiled. “As a matter of fact, it is.” She stood with him, kissing his lips, then leading him into the bedroom.
***
Mateo sat at his desk in Geneva. His cellphone rang. He looked at it. Saladin.
“Hello, old friend. Make it into California?”
“I did,” Saladin said, the sound of chopper blades in the background. “What are you going to do about this Ivan the Butcher? He’s nearly ended our campaign in LA and Orange Counties.”
“He’s a thug, and that’s your job,” Mateo said.
“We could use additional UN Peacekeepers. If we show my army too quickly, the people will redouble their efforts to attack.”
Mateo chuckled. “Actually, that might be possible. Have you been following events on the Atlantic seaboard?”
“Here and there,” Saladin replied. “I’ve been a little busy. California isn’t my only theater.”
“I understand. We’re pulling back the Peacekeepers due to a few unfortunate incidents.”
Saladin was silent for a moment. “Your forces are being kicked out?”
“I said pulling back,” Mateo said, “and it’ll be very temporary. We had a long meeting.”
“Who?”
“My team and the Governors of the New England and Mid-Atlantic states,” he said. “It’s our belief that the martial law and expansion of social scoring and other controls will bring peace to the region, and allow us to force our changes at a pace that will prevent further bad reactions.”
“You’re underestimating our enemy.”
“Perhaps. Time will tell. We can’t continue to lose Peacekeepers at the rate we’ve seen, especially in New York and Pennsylvania.”
“I told you that would happen,” Saladin said. “There are Caliphate forces available from Brazil and Argentina. You should bring them north.”
Mateo chuckled. “All in good time. Our sources indicate that most of the east coast population views reports of the Islamist Army as Fake News. We’d like to ride that for a while.”
“Fake News. Haven’t heard that term for about ten years.”
“The spirit of that time has been hard to stamp out,” Mateo said. “Americans are pig-headed.”
“I could’ve told you that,” Saladin said. “So I can count on some of your excess Peacekeepers?”
“Yes, I can accommodate you,” Mateo said.
“How will you keep the pressure up against the resistance?”
“We’ll kill them person by person, using the surveillance resources we’ve already built, enhanced by the social scoring construct being put into place.”
“All right, my friend,” Saladin said. “Can’t argue with that plan. We should’ve gone slower in Southern California. Live and learn. As you said, Americans are pig-headed, but they’ll come to heel. We just have to fine tune our operations. Talk to you soon.”
***
“They’re starting to change strategy,” Albena said, eyes glued to her computer screen.
“What do you mean?” Penko asked, getting up to look over her shoulder.
“There are still many thousands of UN Peacekeepers in the area, but they’re moving away from Manhattan.”
“A retreat, huh?” Penko asked.
“I don’t trust it. Something is going on. Call Mayor Fine, Chief Harvey, Jace, and Vasil in here.”
Penko nodded, sending the text on his thin phone, the men showing up a few minutes later, Jean, Julio, and Kate with the Mayor.
“What’s going on?” Mayor Fine asked.
“We’re seeing a UN retreat,” Albena said.
“From where?” Chief Harvey asked.
“Everywhere.”
“Where are they going?”
“Some to the north-east, through Queens,” Albena said, “but also west via the Lincoln Tunnel.”
“Well, we kinda messed up the Queensboro Bridge,” Jace said.
“Yes, the people going north east were already on that side of the bridge,” Albena said. “This can’t be over yet.”
“No way,” Mayor Fine said. “We still have no state government in place. I was trying to raise people in the legislature and the governor’s office. Whoever attacked them was very thorough.”
“And the news media is being hush-hush about the whole thing,” Vasil said. “I don’t understand that. Our entire state government was murdered, and nobody’s saying anything about what happens next.”
“Well, we know Tracy was in the secure location,” Mayor Fine said. “That’s the normal protocol, but who knows what Romano had in mind.”
“Yeah, what he did with the UN was definitely not part of the normal protocol,” Julio quipped. “How was your relationship with Tracy McCain?”
Mayor Fine shrugged. “Charming lady. Not very ideological. Never thought she was all that smart, given her position. She’s further left than most people think.”
“Yeah, she likes to parade as a moderate,” Chief Harvey said, “but I remember when she was Attorney General. That was a bad time to be involved with law enforcement.”
“Why?” Albena asked.
“Her default position was to side with anybody except the police,” Chief Harvey said. “She was also part of the woke movement in the 2020s.”
“Before that, actually,” Kate said.
“She disliked black police officers,” Chief Harvey said. “I was a lieutenant at the time. My boss would deal with her if anything came up, because of my race.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mayor Fine said. “Why?”
“I’m a black conservative,” Chief Harvey said. “We’re hated by the left. You know that.”
Julio chuckled. “All of that garbage seems so stupid now.”
“Thought we were making progress on stuff like that,” Jean said, “and now look at us. Want me to place a call, Mayor Fine?”
“She won’t be in her office,” Julio said.
“She’s got a state cellphone,” Mayor Fine said. “They all do.”
“Did,” Kate said.
Jean shook her head. “I hate this. Shall I call her cell?”
“Please,” Mayor Fine said.
“What about those two state senators who survived,” Julio asked. “Dannon and Walter. Any idea why they were in Canada?”
Mayor Fine chuckled. “They’re both big hunters.”
“Think they were together?” Chief Harvey asked.
“Doubt it, they aren’t friends,” Mayor Fine said.
“If something happens to McCain, you know one of those two will become Governor,” Kate said.
Mayor Fine nodded. “That’s right. Somebody will ascend to President of the Senate by default, and that’s third in line.”
“Yeah, but which one?” Jace asked.
“Probably Walter,” Julio said. “He’s senior.”
“I’ll take a look at the State Constitution,” Kate said.
Jean looked up from her phone. “Got her.”
Mayor Fine went into the call room and picked up the receiver.
“Hello?” asked a woman’s voice, car noise in the background.
“Tracy?”
“Who is this?”
“Mayor Fine.”
“Oh, good. You still in the same place?”
“Yep, we’re still in the bunker under City Hall.”
“Is it safe?”
Mayor Fine chuckled. “As safe as
anywhere, I guess. Are you taking control of the state government?”
“Yes, I’m making my way back to Albany,” she said. “Dan Dannon and I talked. We’re meeting on the way back. He was north of the border.”
“Anything on Senator Walter?”
“Dannon told me he’s okay, as far as he knew, but they weren’t together. What are your plans?”
“I’m trying to get services restored in the areas that survived the bomb attack, but we’ve been having to fight the UN Peacekeepers who flooded in.”
“Why would you fight them?” Tracy asked.
“They killed NYPD officers who refused to give up their precincts.”
“No they didn’t. That can’t be true.”
“Sorry, Tracy, but it is true. We were on the phone with one of the precincts when the UN came in, demanding to take over. We heard the whole thing go down. Chief Harvey told the watch commander not to give up command of the precinct, and when he did that, the UN Peacekeepers killed every officer there, using automatic weapons. After that we warned all the other precincts. We lost two more, but the rest held, because they were ready for the invaders when they got there.”
“That’s horrible. I had no idea.”
“Just so you know, my last conversation with Governor Romano didn’t go well. He ordered me to cooperate with the UN and arrest the civilians that have been helping the NYPD against the UN Peacekeepers. I refused. He threatened to have me killed.”
“Oh no,” Tracy said. “Is it safe for me to come back?”
Mayor Fine sighed. “I can’t answer that. The UN was trying to dig into the bunker. They’d like to take me out so they can put somebody more to their liking into the Mayor’s office. Given those circumstances, I’d say you’re in danger, assuming you aren’t planning to give in to the enemy.”
“Enemy? The UN is our enemy?”
“They killed American police while trying to take over Manhattan. I now consider them a hostile foreign power.”
Tracy was silent for a moment. “This can’t stand. What do you think of Dan Dannon?”